Chapter 98
Apparently, Ferry had gotten the wrong idea after seeing that kiss just now.
It was one thing for unrelated strangers to misunderstand after looking only on the surface, but it was quite another to mislead acquaintances.
So just as Nina hurried to explain, Rabian, who had been fixing Ferry with a cold glare, opened his mouth.
“Anyway.”
“What…?”
“So what if I did? Got a problem?”
“N-no, I didn’t mean it like that…”
Ferry stammered, tongue-tied for a long moment, before regaining his bluster and pointing a finger in triumph.
“The problem is you! Finally got your nose hooked properly, huh? Ha! Serves you right, stuck with that burden now—”
“Why am I a burden?”
Nina, who had been staring blankly at Rabian, cut in sharply.
Ferry froze, belatedly realizing he had slipped.
“No, no, that’s not what I meant…”
“Then what did you mean?”
“I mean… uh, that is to say…”
Ferry faltered, utterly lost, shooting a pleading glance toward Rabian. But Rabian only smirked triumphantly in return.
“I-it was just a joke! Just a joke between friends, ha ha!”
“I’m not friends with you, mister. You get mad when people joke and call you a weasel, so why do you think you can joke around with me however you want?”
Nina’s sulky retort was sharper than any defense Ferry could muster.
Rabian’s eyes went wide, and Ferry’s own eyes quaked like an earthquake.
Boom!
I’m not friends with you, mister…
We’re not friends…
Was there any phrase more merciless to come from the mouth of a child?
“N-not friends…?”
“Friendship isn’t something earned so easily.”
“B-boss!”
“Whoa there, don’t act familiar with me. I’m cutting ties with you too from now on.”
Boom-boom!
With Cheshire’s heartless remark piled on top, Ferry staggered as though struck twice, drowning in the loneliness of abandonment.
Meanwhile, Cheshire leisurely walked past him and approached Rabian, with Den tagging along at his side.
Rabian’s eyes narrowed.
“Yo, Rabi. You’re back. Nina too—”
“Yeah, I’m back. I hope you’re ready.”
Setting Nina down, Rabian suddenly dragged Cheshire away, disappearing into the arcade area.
It happened so fast that Nina and Den could only gape at where they vanished, without even having time to greet properly.
“Uh, Nina.”
“Hm?”
When she turned quickly, Den’s pale cheeks were tinged with a blush.
“They’re not going to fight, are they?”
“No way. What would they fight over?”
“I don’t know… But that guy looked scary too, and Uncle Cheshire gets scary when he’s angry.”
Den blinked his long lashes in anxious concern.
From the way he said uncle, it seemed clear he wasn’t Cheshire’s biological son. Not surprising, and Nina wasn’t too shocked.
Still, worry began creeping into her too.
Maybe Rabian was secretly irritated from everything that had happened so far, and maybe he was about to take it out on Cheshire.
And Cheshire was someone Nina still needed to keep an eye on.
“I’d better go check.”
“Wait, what if you get lost? I’ll come too.”
“…Fine.”
Hand in hand, the two children trotted along, while Ferry dragged his weary feet behind them.
The arcade was crowded with stalls for target shooting, balloon-popping, and other carnival games—packed with children more than any other section.
‘If they make a scene here, even those two would get arrested.’
As Nina glanced around nervously, Den tugged at her hand.
“Nina, I think I heard something over there.”
“Where?”
They dashed toward the direction of the noise.
Pushing through the noisy crowd and rows of stalls, they finally caught the sound of familiar voices.
“You’re saying I won that here?”
“Yeah, and you were wearing the same clothes.”
“Why do I feel like you’re spouting nonsense?”
“Who would I be trying to please with a lie?”
Rabian and Cheshire were standing in front of a shooting stall, holding toy guns and bantering.
It was impossible to tell what they were even talking about, but at least they weren’t fighting.
Nina was dumbfounded at their carefree expressions.
“What are you two doing…?”
“Oh, hey Nina. Rabi said he’d finally show off his shooting skills.”
“When did I say that? Like I’d show off with some cheap toy gun.”
“Well, it’d be worse if you tried with a real gun—”
“You idiot!”
“Ah! Don’t shout like that…”
Startled, the two men flinched at Nina’s outburst.
With the crowd staring wide-eyed, Nina pounded her tiny fists against her chest and vented her anger.
“Do you know how worried I was? Do you know how scared Den and I were? You two always do whatever you want, making other people worry, then act like you don’t look down on anyone—idiots! You’re both idiots!”
“Nina, don’t get mad, it’s bad for you. Okay?”
While Den tried to soothe her tearfully, Rabian and Cheshire coughed awkwardly.
“Ahem… Maybe we went a little far.”
“Yeah… We didn’t mean to, though.”
That was hardly reassuring.
Den looked up at them with disbelief, while Nina huffed and turned her back.
“Forget it! From now on, I’m not getting involved with you two!”
Boom!
The two gang leaders of the West glanced at each other with shaken gazes.
What do we do, you idiot?
How should I know, you idiot?
“Let’s repent. Repent.”
Still dazed, Ferry muttered like he was chanting a sutra.
Rabian slung the toy gun over his shoulder, crouched behind Nina, and spoke softly.
“Hey, little one.”
“…What!”
“Sorry. I was wrong.”
Such uncharacteristic humility left Nina confused—was he being serious or just teasing?
She uncrossed her arms and turned to face him, her blue eyes suspicious.
“Sorry for what…?”
Boom!
That question was practically a death sentence for men everywhere. The whole area seemed to freeze.
It really was Nina’s day for wreaking havoc.
Gulp.
The sound of people swallowing nervously echoed all around. Scratching his temple, Rabian finally spoke.
“Well… Ah, I know. I’ll make it up to you by winning that giant prize doll. How about it?”
Nina blinked and followed his pointing finger.
Inside the stall hung a large teddy bear marked as the first prize—nicer than the one she’d once had at the palace.
‘I don’t really need a doll…’
But since he was offering, it felt hard to stay angry. She muttered back, half testing him:
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Rabian grinned confidently and stood.
For a moment, Ferry looked at him with reluctant admiration, then quickly scoffed.
“Ha, and if you miss, you’ll be the laughing—”
“Wait, come to think of it, Ferry, wasn’t your army nickname ‘Sniper’? Why don’t you show off for the kids too?” Cheshire suddenly suggested.
Instead of rising to the challenge, Ferry sputtered like a broken machine.
As Rabian approached the shooting line with Nina, he chuckled.
“That idiot said that? Called himself a sniper?”
“That’s what I heard. Unless… are you saying my trusted lieutenant, the vice-boss of the Lynx gang, has been lying to me all this time?”
“Uncle Ferry lied…? Then I’m cutting ties with you too.”
Cheshire’s incredulous tone and Den’s teary declaration left Ferry desperate.
“I did NOT! I swear on heaven, I never lied to the boss—”
“Ahh, so the code of the West has fallen to the ground.”
“No! I’m telling the truth! That really was my nickname—Sniper!”
Who knew what the truth was anymore?
Nina turned a blank face toward Rabian.
He winked at her, then aimed his gun at the first prize.
“Sniper, huh? More like a sniper at his own team—every time a fight broke out, he’d nail his allies without anyone noticing.”
“Hey…!”
Ferry turned beet red and leapt up, but Cheshire held him back.
“Oh, so every time he aimed at the enemy, he missed?”
“No, he just panicked and sprayed bullets everywhere. In the end, the commander had to confiscate his gun.”
Cheshire burst into laughter, shoulders shaking, while Ferry’s face turned nearly dark crimson.
