When A Ghoul Falls In Love

Eli glances at her hand squeezing his. She’s putting all of her strength. He glances at her face. Her brows are furrowed and the corner of her lips is tilted up into a smirk. Even though she’s deeply asleep, she seems to be happy.

She’s dreaming of Baek Joon-Woo again.

Though Baek Joon-Woon only exists in her past and in her dreams now, he is envious of that boy. There was someone who made her show an expression like this. This playfulness that she doesn’t show to him is proof that her heart hasn’t accepted him completely.

“Someday, I hope that you can love me more than you loved that boy.” He cups her right cheek. “I can wait forever, Nell.”

Her eyelids flutter before she opens her hazel eyes. She stares at him with a gaze that she had never shown him before. His heart thumps louder. Eli realizes how much he wants to be loved by her. Maybe it’s his nature because he’s a ghoul. He is famished for her affection. A proper kiss isn’t just the touch of their lips. It’s something more than that. He wonders how he seems to her at the moment. Does he look greedy and earnest? Can she understand him?

Her tender gaze fades away. She blinks her eyes. Then, she looks at ‘him’. He tries to smile at her. But she loosens her grip and looks away. The guilt in her eyes is the evidence of the feelings. He wants to know what she dreamed of. Does her heart pound for him like it had pounded when she was asleep? It doesn’t.

He wishes that the girl who loved Baek Joon-Woo never comes back to the woman he loves.

“How are you feeling?” He asks her cheerfully, not letting her take her hand away. Eli is afraid that she might leave him if he let her hand go.

“Tired.” She sits up. “And starving.”

Exhaustion is common after the magic is drained. “What do you want to eat?”

“Tacos,” She blurts out.

The guilt returns in her eyes. Nell purses her lips. He wonders why she feels guilty about wanting to eat tacos. Maybe she thinks that she’s being demanding because tacos aren’t sold in his world. “Don’t worry. I know how to make tacos. Can you wait for ten minutes?”

“No, it’s fine.” She waves her other hand dismissively. “Just show me the kitchen. I will make something for myself.”

“You are weak.” He tells her sternly, “Wife, if you don’t listen to me when it comes to your health, I am going to tie you to the bed.”

“Isn’t that illegal?” She scowls at him darkly.

“I am a doctor,” He replies solemnly. “Your magic was drained by that cat. That’s why you fainted. I need to have a talk to him about this. This world doesn’t have a moon. Your magic will be weak here. He should spend it with care.”

Nell becomes quiet. She seems quieter than usual. There’s no snarky reply or the look of anger. Eli mumbles softly, “This must be how that puppy felt.”

“Which puppy?” She queries him curiously.

“A few days after I shifted to the human world, I saw a puppy in a box in a park. The puppy was still wearing a collar but it didn’t have an owner’s number. There were food, water, and a letter in the box.”

“What did that letter say?”

“The owner was apologetic. He couldn’t keep the dog because his cat was a possessive one.” Eli divulges with a casual voice, “The cat kept bullying the owner for keeping a puppy and the puppy was whiny. So, he sent the troublesome puppy away.”

“Strange that it didn’t bully the puppy,” Nell muses, tilting her head. A few strands of her hair fall over her eyes. “If the cat liked the owner so much, it shouldn’t have treated the owner badly.”

He brushes them away. “If the cat had bullied the puppy, the owner would have pitied the puppy more. So, it bullied the owner. The owner was always fixated on the cat. So, it ignored the puppy. When the puppy whined, the owner threw it away.”

“That’s sad.” Nell heaves a sigh. “But I understand why the cat would be so possessive. If the puppy had stayed, the owner might have loved the puppy more than the cat. That’s why the cat was scared.”

“I think that the owner was scared of loving the puppy.” Eli stares at her. “The owner loved the cat a lot. So, he didn’t try to love the puppy at all. In the end, it was the owner who chose the cat and abandoned the puppy.”

She stares back at him. Does she understand? Her expressionless face is rather frightening. Can’t she show him what she’s thinking? He keeps searching for recognition in her eyes, but Baek Joon-Woo is deeply inscribed in her soul. Will his owner abandon him because she loves someone else a lot?

“When I am here, why are you thinking of getting a puppy?” Devil Cat screeches near Eli’s foot.

Nell breaks eye contact first. She turns her gaze toward the calico cat and asks him in a grave tone, “Did you eat someone?”

“I swallowed him once.” Devil Cat smirks at her, “Then, I vomited him out. He’s still unconscious.”

“You shouldn’t have done it.” Nell doesn’t look back at Eli, albeit she feels his intense questioning gaze on her. The question is too heavy for her. She can’t answer. Not at the moment. Maybe someday she will be able to answer. But her memories aren’t back. She doesn’t know how much she loved Baek Joon-Woo or whether her heart is capable of loving the puppy. “Who was that person?”

“Little Marshmallow’s younger brother.” Devil Cat climbs on Eli’s lap and rubs his head against his chest, comforting him. “Why do you ask for her attention when I am here? I love you more than I love Nell. I don’t mind sharing you with Nell either.”

Eli takes a deep breath. He won’t get an answer today.

___Read the Author Note___

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