Chapter 6
#GentleML #DevotedML #TragicML
Those three tags described him perfectly.
“I love gentle male leads. Sure, clingy wolf-type guys are popular these days, but I’m still on team sweet puppy.”
In a genre flooded with obsessive male leads, a sweet and kind one like Leotis was a breath of fresh air. Some readers had even started “I Will Be Happy This Life” just because of that keyword. That’s how popular he was.
He was the only one who possessed healing powers and had risen to the top as the High Priest—an untouchable position. He could’ve taken revenge on the people who hurt him, but he didn’t.
Despite his tragic childhood, he never turned bitter. He stayed kind and always put others before himself.
Leotis was like warm sunlight—a gentle and kind male lead. Readers loved him for that.
But his popularity didn’t last long.
Comments (315)
– If he’s that kind, he’s just a pushover, not a gentle ML.
– I usually like kind male leads, but Leotis is such a doormat it’s hard to like him.
– I don’t get his thought process. I mean, even if he’s supposed to be kind, why save the people who bullied him and endangered the FL?
– Can’t believe I wasted cash on this story.
Even his biggest fans started turning against him toward the later part of the novel. His kindness went too far—it made him seem like a fool.
“A guy who’s kind to everyone isn’t appealing.”
Leotis’s kindness wasn’t just for the heroine. That caused problems between them too.
And when the heroine was in danger, Leotis didn’t choose her. He chose to save the majority instead.
He was someone who couldn’t make selfish choices—not even for the one he loved.
And that Leotis… just said what?
[Are you deaf? I told you to get lost!]
Author-nim… what happened to our boy?!
Selena took a deep breath and calmed herself.
‘He probably thinks I’m here to bully him like the other kids.’
When emotions run high, people sometimes say things they don’t mean.
Trying to reassure him, Selena spoke in a gentler tone than usual.
“Leotis, I’m not like the others. I’m not here to hurt you.”
“…”
“I want to help you.”
“I never asked you to.”
His voice had softened, but his words still had an edge.
“What did you just say?”
She could’ve let it slide that he threw the blanket back at her.
But this—this was different.
“I said I never asked for help.”
“Before that.”
Leotis didn’t seem to get what she meant. Even though she knew he couldn’t see, Selena raised a fist and scowled.
“You called me ‘you’ just now.”
“So what?”
“I’m a year older than you.”
“…”
Yep.
Selena was one year older than Leotis.
And in Korea—a country all about respecting age—you don’t just ignore that.
Even if it’s only a one-year difference, older is older.
“You’re still a kid, so I’ll let the casual speech slide. But you better call me properly from now on.”
Leotis was speechless.
She’d suddenly shown up with a blanket, acted all friendly, and now she was angry… over an honorific?
Was she always this weird?
He thought about what he knew of her.
Selena.
From what he’d overheard, she wasn’t particularly pretty.
“Hey, Limon. Do you like Selena?”
“Are you nuts? Why would I like a pumpkin like her?”
Limon always teased her for being ugly. He was generally a mean kid, but he was especially harsh to Selena.
If what Limon said was true, Selena wasn’t cute. And yet strangely, the adults really liked her. Even Sophie Elenion, the director who hated children, seemed fond of her.
“She’s such a lovely child.”
“She acts so sweet and polite.”
It wasn’t her looks they liked—it was how she talked and acted.
Leotis was sharp enough to realize that Selena was just acting. Pretending to be sweet and lovable to get on the adults’ good side.
She’d use a baby voice around grown-ups, then act way more mature with kids her own age.
Leotis didn’t like that about her.
He knew it was just a survival tactic—but still, he couldn’t understand why she tried so hard to please adults.
There was another reason he felt uncomfortable around Selena—not that it mattered much. Either way, he didn’t like her.
“Leotis, are you even listening to me?”
“…”
He stayed silent.
“Okay, maybe you don’t know, so I’ll explain. Why it’s important to speak properly to someone older.”
Selena kept chattering away.
Leotis let her words go in one ear and out the other.
‘How long is she gonna talk?’
Most kids would’ve given up and left by now, but Selena’s voice showed no sign of stopping.
“I’m not saying this to brag or anything, but I even brought my lunch for you, you know?”
Leotis was starting to get annoyed.
How could he make her leave?
‘What did Limon do to make girls cry?’
He thought back to how Limon and his gang teased the girls. Those stupid, mean insults—
“I don’t listen to ugly pumpkins like you, so just get lost.”
“…What?”
Selena’s voice was sharper now.
‘It worked.’
Girls were sensitive to comments about their looks. Even Selena, who hadn’t reacted before, was clearly upset.
“Ugly pumpkin. Witchy voice.”
“You little…!”
He could feel it—Selena had stood up.
‘Good. She’s finally leaving.’
He’d called her a pumpkin twice. She wouldn’t come back to bother him again.
Leotis felt relieved.
But at the same time… a strange little pang of disappointment tugged at his chest.
It wasn’t because he liked Selena or anything. It was just that, after so long, someone had talked to him. Even if only briefly, someone had shown interest.
‘No. I’m not disappointed at all.’
He shook off the feeling.
“I’m leaving the bread and water here. Eat it later if you get hungry.”
Her voice was cold—very different from when she first came in.
Leotis flinched.
A bit of guilt… and something he couldn’t quite name poked uncomfortably at his chest.
Clack. The door locked. Her footsteps echoed up the stairs, fading away.
Leotis let out a short sigh.
Growl—
His stomach rumbled again. After all that, he still hadn’t eaten anything. And he’d been thrown in here with an empty belly.
‘Bread and water…’
He reached around in the darkness. Not far away, he found the bread, the water bottle, and the blanket he had thrown earlier.
It wasn’t the usual hard, stale bread. It was soft, white bread.
“I even brought my lunch for you, you know?”
He thought he’d ignored everything Selena said—but somehow her voice stuck in his head.
He took a bite of the bread and then picked up the blanket. It was still warm. Wrapping himself in the soft fabric, the cold faded a little.
‘Maybe I went too far.’
The thought popped into his head. Leotis quickly shook it off.
‘Why should I care about a weird girl like her?’
He preferred being alone.
If someone came to him out of curiosity, only to leave just as easily, then it was better to never know kindness in the first place.
That way, he wouldn’t crave it.
He was fine being hated. Being locked up in a cold basement. Skipping meals.
It didn’t matter.
He had to make it not matter.
Leotis curled up in the darkness. The blanket still had a faint, sweet scent.
“…I shouldn’t have called her a pumpkin.”
He muttered to himself, knowing no one could hear.
Her voice, always chirping like a morning bird, had been loud—but not unpleasant. Even the way she rambled about Confucian values had been strangely bearable.
“From now on, call me noona properly.”
Half-listening at the time, those words suddenly echoed in his mind.
“Noona…”
He clapped a hand over his mouth. That word felt so awkward to say.
‘Noona? Please.’
She was only a year older.
Feeling strangely annoyed, Leotis called her name instead.
“Selena.”
The name rolled off his tongue smoothly. It felt oddly nice.
“Selena. Selena. Selena.”
Didn’t her name mean moon?
Leotis thought it suited her perfectly.
