The Trash Wants to Live

“What does this thing think it’s doing?”

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I immediately lifted Cookie up from my legs when I heard Jung Yi Joon’s threats.
His stare became sharper and scarier.

Cookie didn’t seem to mind though.
It immediately licked my face clean like it was mocking Jung Yi Joon. 

“This—”

“Why are you so angry at the dog anyways?”

I was now defending Cookie with my back turned towards Jung Yi Joon, who appeared to be glaring in my direction.
I could almost feel the heat of his stare behind me.

I looked up at the house.
Ignoring Jung Yi Joon’s menacing stare, I had Cookie safe and sound in my arms.

“It’ll be a bit of a squeeze,” said Jang Eui Yeol, unlocking the door.

His home consisted of a single room with a little living space, a palm-sized kitchen, and a bathroom door on one side.

It looked small—smaller than the classroom at Sungwoon, and a little cramped for three people.

The house’s structure was identical to the one I had seen before I possessed this body, but the scent and layout were different.

When Jang Eui Yeol noticed that I was standing and looking around the room, faintly saturated in recollections, his face turned red as if he had misinterpreted something.

“Is it too cramped?”

“No… It’s actually the first time I’m seeing this in person.”

“Oh really?”

Jang Eui Yeol, who had been deep in thought, was taken aback by my words and gave me a puzzled look.
Just as I was about to ask why, I realized what had happened.

I had seen the inside of the room with my own eyes the day I had employed Jang Eui Yeol’s abilities.

“Oh no.”

Jung Yi Joon, who was completely unaware of the current situation, was confused when I waved my hand and said that I didn’t mean it that way. 

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Jang Eui Yeol went red with embarrassment and covered his face with both hands.
The awkward silence between us caused Jung Yi Joon to look at me with suspicion.

“What are you two up to?”

“…”

“What did you do with him?”

Jung Yi Joon’s eyes widened as he clutched my shoulder, ready to leave.
On the other hand, I was pleased with myself since I pretended not to be bothered.

“We didn’t do anything!”

“Yeah, then why? Why are you two staring at each other so awkwardly?”

Despite being agitated, he couldn’t force a word out of me.
I suspected that he was having weird thoughts.

“Arf… Grr—”

“Ouch! Why did he bite me?”

When Jung Yi Joon grabbed my hands, Cookie bit him off.
It seemed that the dog hated him.
It had done so because it thought that he would take me away and it didn’t want me to leave.
Fortunately, there was no blood, but Jung Yi Joon was surprised.

Seeing him take back his bitten hand and stare at the dog wide-eyed was both amusing and weird.

“I… I was just asking!”

“Take it easy.”

“I only asked!”

“Then calm down.”

It was technically not asking, but more like him making a racket just to get an answer.
Yet he seemed grumpy because I didn’t take his side.
What a kid.

“Haah, yes.” Jung Yi Joon pouted.
I sighed and sat down alone with the pillow that Jang Eui Yeol gave to me.

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“When will Grandma arrive?”

“Any moment from now, or maybe in an hour or two.”

We couldn’t do anything about Jang Eui Yeol’s grandma being late because this was an impromptu meeting.
Nevertheless, he seemed agitated.
Perhaps he thought that his place was a little below standard for someone like me, but I honestly didn’t mind.
He was the main character for goodness sake.

“Why are you standing up? Come and sit here.” I patted the space next to me.

“Yes.
Would you like some water? Or tea? I think the milk is out of stock today so—”

“I’m fine with the tea.”

My words seemed to reassure him.
Perhaps because it was homemade, the tea was much darker than the commercial ones.
It also came in a mug and not in a teacup.
I thought it was cute because it had been refrigerated.
When I drank the cold tea, my thirst was immediately quenched.

“Do you think it’s a bit warm? Is it okay if I turn on the fan?”

“No, I’m okay, please take a seat.
Why are you staring at me like that?”

Eui Yeol blushed a little.
His face slightly dropped as he bit his lips.
It seemed that making small talk like this made him blush.
He opened his quivering lips and said,

“I’m just delighted that you showed up to my residence—”

“…”

“I want to help in any way I can, but I don’t know how.”

He had a depressed expression on his face.
The tip of my nose wrinkled at what was going through Eui Yeol’s mind.
Jung Yi Joon, who was sitting next to me while pouting, spoke.

“Don’t joke… You’re actually overdoing it.”

When Jang Eui Yeol heard this, he burst into laughter.
I locked my gaze on Jung Yi Joon, who spoke with a smile.
Jung Yi Joon, who misunderstood the situation before, stood up while not understanding the situation here either.

“Hey, I’m starving.
Please feed me.”

“What… Why are you asking for food?”

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I murmured something absurd, snorted, and turned around to see what was going on again, while Jang Eui Yeol, who was staring at us with a grin, glanced through the cabinet.

“Rice takes a long time to cook, so how about some ramyun?”

He held a bag in his hand, but it wasn’t ramen.
I shoved Jung Yi Joon’s ass with my foot when I saw Jang Eui Yeol preparing to go buy some.

“Wait, what?”

“You’re going too.”

“How about you?”

“Bring me some crackers or something.
I’ll be looking after the house.”

“What are you so worried about? I have borrowed the ability right here.”

“Hngh.”

Since Jung Yi Joon was eager to lend me his power just like Kwon Jae Hyuk, I accepted.
Now two out of the five slots had been filled; so I could fight, or at least intimidate others.

Jung Yi Joon told me to keep calm and that he would return soon.
He went with Eui Yeol, leaving me alone.
Of course, Cookie stayed with me.

“Is this what you looked like?”

I touched the part where its face was supposed to be.
Its black nose welcomed me; however, I was eager to see the full face of the dog.
Thus, I proceeded and separated the hair that covered its face.
I saw its big, black, dreamy eyes staring at me.

“You can see clearly when you’re like this.
Let’s tie these loose hairs shall we?”

I saw a thin rubber band nearby that could be used to secure the dog’s hair.
I tried awkwardly to tie it up, but Cookie’s defiance was extraordinary.
I tied its hair up while attempting to calm it down.
When I let go of my hand however, the band was stretched too tight, causing it to break and come loose.
It shook its head.
Its face and buttocks were once again indistinguishable.

“It’s not that Eui Yeol didn’t tie your hair, I think you just really won’t budge—”

“Woong!”

Cookie growled at me, as though it didn’t want me to know what was going on.
I ruffled Cookie’s fur again, revealing its eyes.
We locked gazes.
Cookie’s black eyes reflected the image of me staring into them.

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“Are you able to speak?”

“Oong?”

“Are you really a dog or a divine beast?”

Huh? Cookie shifted its gaze.
I wasn’t sure if it didn’t understand, or if it did, but was pretending not to.

“Uhm—”

Should I borrow Eui Yeol’s ability? If I had that, I could tap into Cookie’s mind and look at its feelings.

Even if it was a divine beast, determining its identity may be difficult because it currently resembled a dog.

Cookie rushed up and licked my face as I stared into its eyes with so much remorse.

“Ugh wait—”

My face was lightly licked by a small, short tongue, but it was moist all at once.
A message appeared in front of my eyes as I grasped Cookie with both hands and pulled it away.

[GHU$%[email protected]#$… … .]

“Huh?”

There were words written, but I couldn’t tell if it was in a language that I didn’t understand, or if it was broken and unrecognizable.
For a moment,however, there was a vibrating sound.
It gradually transformed into words I could recognize.

[■■■■■■■’s piece…… ■SD$■■#%with contactU&.
LinkE#&JN.]

Suddenly, I began hearing something I shouldn’t have heard.

“Woo.”

[The smell is like Master’s! I love it!]

Along with Cookie’s barking, a voice of unknown gender could be heard.