CHAPTER THREE: The annoying demon

"When are we going home?" Jiyong asked for the nth time as she kept ignoring him and continued stocking books on the shelf of the library. 

"When are we going home?" 

"When are we going home?" 

Nari closed her eyes and let out a soft hiss before opening her eyes and glared right through him. However, he looked unfazed at the fact that she was getting annoyed at him. In fact, he found it amusing and fun. "If you have nothing good to do, please don't bother me. As you can see, I'm working," she warned.

He leaned against the shelf and smirked, "I am doing something." 

Nari looked at him and raised a brow, "Doing what? Annoying me? Because you're doing an awesome job at it." He chuckled and shook his head,"No, guarding you, but thanks. I'll take it as a compliment." Nari furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Jiyong. "Guarding me? And why would you want to guard me?" 

However, he did not answer and just walked away. 

Nari hissed and called him with a loud whisper, "Ya!" He didn't turn around, so she called again, "Ya! Jiyong-shi!" Jiyong stopped and peered over his shoulder, "I thought I was bothering you? Why are you calling me now?" Nari rolled her eyes and said, "Let's talk later. Just take this book and read it." She shoved a random book against his chest as she caught up with him. He took the book in his thin fingers and looked at it, dumbfounded. 

A children's book. 

He scoffed and glared at her, "How old do you think I am? Three?" 

She rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, a three year old trapped in a 30-year-old body. Now, just go and sit down will you?" Jiyong shook his head in disbelief as he muttered incoherent curses under his breath and followed her orders nevertheless. He sat down by the table beside the shelf Nari was stocking and sat on a chair where he could see her easily. 

He pulled the book up and glanced at her as he obediently read the story. He didn't even know how she got him wrapped around her finger so fast. 

Nari was able to do her job faster since the distraction was now void, but she would sometimes glance where Jiyong was sat and observe him as he read the book she gave him. She shook her head and let out a soft chuckle at the sight of Jiyong reading a children's book. Hearing her soft chuckle from afar, he looked up and was mesmerized at how beautiful she looked while laughing. 

However, he immediately averted his gaze and just stared at the last page of the book. 

He sighed to himself and closed his eyes. Just do what you're here for and nothing else. He told himself as he opened his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows when he didn't see Nari by the aisle. He raised an eyebrow and tried to sense her presence and felt relieved that he could still feel her presence. He closed the book he was reading and left it on the table, shoving his hands inside his coat pockets. 

He walked by the aisles and followed where his gut feeling was leading him. 

It lead him to the front desk, where Nari was sitting down behind the desk and was talking to someone who had his back facing Jiyong. 

Jiyong observed this situation and carefully analyzed the man's appearance. He walked to the side to get a better view and suddenly felt something wrong. He stayed rooted in his spot as he listened to their conversation from afar. 

"How are you today, Nari-shi?" The man asked politely as he had his hands shoved in his pants pocket. 

Nari blinked, not amused that the man had initiated their conversation again. She let out a fake smile before answering him back, "Ah... I-I'm alright." It was rather obvious that she did not want to continue the conversation, hence, she didn't ask how the man was. The man nodded his head in satisfaction and smiled, "That's very good to hear." 

Nari slowly nodded her head, feeling awkward.