The Symbiotic Relationship Between The Rabbit And The Black Panther [EN]: Chapter 70

Rabbit and Black Leopard Symbiosis, Episode 17 (70/75)

After dark, Ahin briefly stopped by his office to review Ivelin’s report.

After Ahin, Vivi, and Lillian left, the meeting was successfully concluded under the leadership of Valence and Ivelin.

The Council of Elders, having confirmed the reality of the ability, even proposed a groundbreaking hypothesis: if combined with the healing pheromone, there would be no need to worry about Ahin’s dominance pheromone being passed down to future generations.

*Thud.* Ahin closed the report and let out a soft sigh. He couldn’t simply rejoice at the results achieved by putting Vivi’s arm in such a state.

*Click.* As he left the office, he stared silently at Mayme, who was waiting.

Her being there to report meant that Vivi hadn’t gone to the bedroom but had moved elsewhere.

“She stopped by the indoor greenhouse and then went to the stables to say hello to Lady Lily.”

“She must have gone to the indoor greenhouse to make a bouquet.”

“…Yes.”

Ahin chuckled softly and turned toward the stables.

‘Did I show too much joy whenever I received flowers from the romantic rabbit?’ It seemed Vivi thought Ahin would feel better if he received flowers.

In truth, he wasn’t interested in the flowers themselves, but he smiled because they were a gift from Vivi.

Ahin didn’t think it was necessary to correct her, and he quickened his pace. The thought of Vivi being at the end of his steps added urgency to his stride.

In front of Jane’s stables.

The two baby black leopards, who had been tumbling around on the dirt floor, stopped playing. They raised their eyes to where Ahin stood, having arrived unnoticed.

‘It’s him.’

‘Him?’

‘Dad said he’s the rabbit’s lackey.’

The baby black leopards, judging Ahin’s rank to be lower, cocked their chins and strutted around.

Ahin used his dominance pheromones to make the black fluffballs dazed and peered through the stable window.

Vivi, Lily, Ash, Bara, and even Jane, who hadn’t noticed his presence, were having some kind of serious discussion.

Facing the absurd scene, Ahin leaned against the wall next to the window.

‘Since when did the Grace family become so animalistic?’ He thought it must have been since the little rabbit moved in, and then he began to hear hushed voices.

“Dinner party? Rabbit, I don’t really know what that is.”

Lily asked, puzzled, with her arms crossed.

‘Dinner party?’

Ahin pondered and then recalled the regular event at the Belhelm Academy. Sure enough, Vivi continued to explain it in detail, just as Ahin knew it.

“I see, so you’re planning to ask Ahin to be your partner.”

Lily nodded, having heard the whole explanation, and asked again.

Was that all it was, this serious discussion? Ahin, who had been complacent in assuming he would be the partner, began to consider the color of his tailcoat.

Just as he decided on a navy blue tailcoat that Vivi admired,

“No, I have someone else in mind as my partner.”

Vivi’s voice, like a bolt from the blue, struck Ahin’s ears.

* * *

Vivi and Lily’s chatter continued for over an hour.

“See you later, Lily!”

Vivi, finally realizing it was late, hurried out of the stables.

Her hurried footsteps, passing over the dirt floor, suddenly stopped. She had spotted two baby black leopards lying side by side.

‘Cute… even if they’re predators, they’re still babies.’

Perhaps they had played so hard that they had fallen asleep exhausted. As the sound of their soft snores echoed, the corners of Vivi’s lips curled up slightly.

*Growl-* Ash, unable to bear it, sternly woke them up, and the baby black leopards blinked sleepily.

Soon fully awake, they frantically told Vivi, the apex predator, what had happened.

‘Rabbit, your lackey attacked us. He’s a really, really bad guy. Let’s punish him right now!’

They waved their paws wildly, desperately trying to express their feelings, but

“Are you hungry…?”

Vivi just saw it as an adorable display of affection.

And so, Vivi walked back to the main residence, surrounded by the particularly noisy black leopard family. Even then, the baby black leopards kept scratching at her shoes, going crazy.

‘Why are they acting like this?’

Vivi looked down at her feet in confusion and stopped. Ahin came into her view, sitting on the railing of the stairs connected to the entrance of the main building.

‘Is he waiting for me?’

He was staring into the distant air with a strangely ominous aura, seemingly unconcerned about the anxious glances of the guards.

Vivi barely calmed the black leopard family, who were showing their displeasure, and sent them on ahead. Ahin was a Suin [a person with animal-like features or abilities], like the king of the black leopards, but she couldn’t understand what they were trying to do.

*Sigh,* she let out a worried breath and looked at his long legs stretched out diagonally.

“-Vivi?”

Ahin, belatedly noticing Vivi’s presence, met her gaze. A night breeze blew, scattering his silver hair horizontally.

Vivi gripped the bouquet of roses she was holding tightly.

Her gaze slowly moved up from his black uniform to his crimson eyes, which held the night. Every time she saw those heterochromatic [having different colored eyes] red eyes, she realized that they were from different clans.

‘Did Ahin even know what kind of determination she had when she stood on the stage at the conference?’

Perhaps the opposition from the Council of Elders was just the tip of the iceberg of trials to reach Ahin.

But Ahin had saved her, and she had saved Ahin, so she attended with the determination that there was nothing more she couldn’t do.

‘I must be crazy.’

When did her heart grow so big?

She liked his low voice that called her name, whether she was a rabbit or a human, and she liked his delicate face that went well with the night.

She liked his rough palms, unlike the back of his hands, and his particularly red lower lip, and his languid smile. Even the way his brow furrowed when he was annoyed or displeased.

She even liked the rude way he spoke, which came out whenever he was bored.

Vivi, accepting the overwhelming unfamiliar emotions without filtering them, approached Ahin.

“Ahin.”

Thank you for finding me when I was trapped in a cage.

I will try to walk the path you walk together.

I want half of your life.

She didn’t know how to express this sincerity to convey it properly.

Meanwhile, Ahin looked down at Vivi, who had come before him and was tiptoeing.

As expected, she had made a bouquet and had flushed cheeks. He barely managed to maintain a stoic expression and fell into contemplation.

‘No, I have someone else in mind as my partner.’

‘No, I have someone else…’

The more he thought about the philanderer’s actions, the more he ground his teeth, but his heart was already melting at the sight of her holding the bouquet and looking excited.

Could it be that he was destined to be unable to say a word even if Vivi committed atrocities? He thought that might be thrilling in its own way, and he tightened his loosening lips.

For several seconds, agony, anger, and forgiveness towards Vivi were repeated.

In fact, it was commendable that the timid rabbit had dared to enter the conference room full of predators. Because he knew what that choice meant.

But thanks to the dizzying attempt to pierce his arm, all Vivi had heard all day were scoldings and rebukes.

Ahin, softened by Vivi’s somewhat subdued expression, finally compromised with himself. If Vivi confessed about the dinner party partner matter, he would secretly deal with that unknown Suin.

He quietly covered up the past time he had floundered in shock and loosely curved his eyes.

“Vivi, don’t you have anything to say to me?”

However, his slow voice contained an anger that he couldn’t hide.

“…Anything to say?”

“Yeah, anything to say.”

Vivi’s fingertips turned pale as she reacted sensitively to his anger. She thought it was a continuation of the scolding that she hadn’t finished because of Lillian’s intervention.

‘I’ve reflected a lot, isn’t it enough now?’

Like a petty black leopard. Vivi hid her sulky feelings and gently held out the bouquet of roses.

“I said I wouldn’t do it again….”

Ahin, receiving the bouquet of red roses, stared silently at Vivi. Her purple eyes were endlessly rebellious, but her body, following the laws of survival, couldn’t be more polite.

“Besides the conference, something about the academy, or something.”

As Ahin hinted, Vivi’s body twitched.

‘…The academy? There are so many things about the academy.’

She swallowed hard and carefully watched Ahin’s expression.

Was he now going to question her for hiding the fact that she had entered the academy?

Or was he going to insist on entering himself, like last time?

If not, was he perhaps not going to send her back to the academy?

Vivi’s eyes darted around anxiously, with too many things coming to mind.

The longer the silence, the deeper Ahin’s misunderstanding became. Just what kind of guy was this partner that she was trying to protect so much?

“Is he prettier than me?”

Ahin asked indirectly, not even wanting to mention the word partner.

“……!”

Thanks to that, Vivi completely misunderstood his intentions and covered her mouth.

‘Could he be suspecting my relationship with Alan?’

He had persistently asked who Alan was last time. It seemed he was trying to falsely accuse her of being a *baramjengi* [ 바람쟁이, a 바람 is wind, but in this context, it means someone who is unfaithful or a flirt] again.

Vivi, convinced that her speculation was correct, clenched her fist to assert her innocence.

“Do you want to talk about Alan?”

“Alang?”

“I have nothing to do with that beast. I just accepted him casually because he kept bothering me…!”

Vivi, recalling the confrontation with Alan, continued to explain incoherently, leaving out the context.

However, her red cheeks and her trembling eyes, full of embarrassment, only looked like the clumsy excuses of someone caught in the act of *baram* [cheating].

Ahin narrowed his eyes, facing the shameless rabbit’s excuses.

‘Alang, huh…’

Ahin soon remembered the black leopard family he had encountered under the clock tower of the academy.

Was that guy the partner? Ahin recalled the situation at the time to remember Alan’s appearance and turned around with a cold expression.

*Stomp, stomp.* Vivi, who had been blankly watching Ahin walk towards the bedroom alone, hurriedly followed him.

“Ahin, wait!”

Despite her desperate call, Ahin went ahead relentlessly. Vivi, unable to even speak, followed him, and suddenly wondered if she should go with him like this.

Should a man and woman who haven’t even had a *honyak* [혼약, engagement] continue to share a bedroom? Vivi was a rabbit with conservative tendencies, even though her heart was impure.

Moreover, because she had lived as a baby rabbit, wasn’t it a problem that even the employees took it for granted? Anxious, she followed Ahin, determined to clear her name first.

“Greetings, Lord Ahin.”

*Clang,* the guards in front of the bedroom saluted.

“Ahin, let’s talk.”

Vivi, who had barely caught up, urgently grabbed Ahin’s wrist as he was about to enter the bedroom.

“…Alang too,”

“……?”

“Was quite pretty, probably.”

How did Ahin know that Alan had a pretty appearance? Vivi postponed the minor question and shook her head so hard that her cheeks jiggled.

“That’s not true. I’ve never thought he was pretty.”

Ahin sneered at her firm denial.

“Vivi, do you know that one of your eyebrows goes up when you lie?”

“What?”

“So you did think Alang was pretty?”

Vivi, flustered, hurriedly covered both eyebrows.

“I guess you did.”

“…….”

“Perverted trash rabbit.”

Ahin, with icy eyes, passed Vivi and entered the bedroom. Only after the door slammed shut did she realize that she had been left alone.

‘Why do I have to hear such outrageous words every time!’

Vivi, feeling unjustly wronged, stroked her eyebrows, and even the eyes of the guards on both sides were filled with suspicion.

Since ancient times, rabbits were a clan known for using cunning tricks to lie as a habit, and for flirting with the opposite sex whenever they were bored.

* * *

After finishing preparing for bed, I lay down on the bed and tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep easily.

I carefully lowered the blanket that covered my head, and the sound of a pen scratching was heard. Ahin was sitting at his desk, processing documents.

He seemed to be going in and out of the bathroom, preparing for bed, but then he put on his uniform with epaulettes again. Not only did he go to his office and bring back a pile of documents, but he had been doing that for an hour already.

‘Is he staging a sit-in or something?’

I lowered my sharply raised eyes and moved my lips.

“Ahin, aren’t you going to sleep-…?”

I managed to ask the question, but Ahin glared at me with a sulky look and then lowered his gaze back to the documents.

‘Is Alan’s existence that bothersome?’

Wasn’t that obviously a sulky attitude?

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be acting like a normal person and doing night work like that. Feeling spiteful, I started doing all sorts of bizarre things to get his attention.

I pretended to be dead, waved my arms left and right over my head, and deliberately messed up the bed.

Nevertheless, all that came back was cold indifference.

‘That’s too much.’

He didn’t show any joy at the bouquet, and he cut off the possibility of conversation even when I tried to explain. Feeling unfairly sad at his indifference, I picked up the pillow and got up from my seat.

I’m not generous enough to sleep with someone who says they don’t like me.

*Creak,* the closet I opened for the first time was more cozy than I thought, thanks to the extra blankets inside.

I spread out the blankets and put the pillow on top, and finally glared fiercely at Ahin.

To be looking at me with wide eyes only after I dared to run away. Even if you reach out a hand of reconciliation now, I won’t accept it.

‘What are you looking at.’

I didn’t avoid his gaze and slowly pulled the sliding door in the shape of diagonal lines.

The light gradually faded, and Ahin’s face, which had been half visible, became completely invisible as the door closed.

As I buried my face in the pillowcase, I finally heard the sound of Ahin moving. The sound of footsteps crossing the bedroom gradually grew louder and then stopped in front of the closet door.

“Vivi.”

Soon, a lower voice, more relaxed than before, seeped through the crack in the closet.

“-Weren’t you supposed to stop hiding in small places after achieving humanization?”

‘Can you change a habit you’ve kept for twenty years overnight?’

I retorted inwardly, silently staying put.

“Not coming out?”

“…….”

“It must be very cramped.”

“…It’s cozier and more comfortable than I thought, so leave me alone.”

‘So, it would be better for your well-being to stop paying attention to this Vivi. Let’s endure with stubbornness.’ Beyond the closet door, a wind-like sound echoed, as if someone was holding back laughter.

“Then I’ll come in too.”

“What…?”

No sooner had I lifted my head from the pillow than the closet door slid open.

The first thing I saw as the door opened was Ahin’s black uniform pants. My gaze gradually rose and stopped at his half-lowered red eyes.

*Thud,* I reflexively closed the door, but the door slid open again.

*Thud.* *Slide,* *Thud.* *Slide,* *Thud.*

A small battle unfolded for a reason I couldn’t even understand.

As I gasped for breath with the door closed, I heard the sound of fabric brushing and epaulettes [shoulder ornaments on a uniform] clashing.

Faintly, I saw a shadow moving, and it seemed Ahin had knelt down.

“Rabbit, it’s narrow and cold in the closet.”

As expected, a languid voice reached me from right in front of me.

“You’ll catch a cold if you’re alone.”

“…….”

“Won’t you let me in?”

It was clearly a gentle tone of concern for my health, but why did it sound like the whisper of a devil?

Suddenly, the story of a terrible beast pretending to be a mother sheep, asking to open the door to devour the lambs, flashed through my mind.

Nevertheless, my hand, defying orders, slowly opened the door. Ahin, who met my eyes in the air, soon wore a subtle smile that anyone would drop their guard for.

‘Don’t be fooled,’ I repeated in my mind, raising my eyes and insisting firmly.

“I’ve never cheated.”

“…Can I believe you?”

Ahin, subtly leaning against the wall, came into the closet and settled down. The place, which was somewhat cozy, seemed extremely cramped for Ahin.

‘He seems to have grown taller….’

Lost in thought, I was caught off guard when he slid the closet door shut.

Silence fell between us as we sat side by side, facing the closet door.

Depending on the light seeping through the diagonal lines, I stealthily turned my head. As soon as our eyes met, I became awkwardly stiff and fixed my gaze forward.

“I don’t know what you’re suspecting, but anyway, it’s all not true.”

I cleared my throat and carefully opened my mouth.

“And Ahin is the most… in the world.”

“…….”

“The most… in the world.”

“In the world?”

“…The prettiest.”

I didn’t even want to say these words. It was no different from giving wings to his already high self-esteem.

Perhaps he would scoff and say, ‘Isn’t it obvious?’ Contrary to my expectations, he showed no particular reaction, but tilted his large body and gently rested his head on mine.

Could it be that he thought even this was a lie because the silence had dragged on for too long? Feeling uneasy at his lack of response, I added.

“I mean it.”

“I know, Vivi is bad at lying.”

“…….”

“I’ll try to believe you.”

I was relieved by his calm reply, but then I frowned instantly.

“Then why do you keep accusing me of being a 바람둥이 [baramdungi – a playboy/playgirl]?”

Even though our rabbit clan has pure intentions…! I was about to argue, but I pursed my lips.

Come to think of it, the rabbit territory legally allowed multiple marriages for its citizens, let alone pure intentions.

I shuddered as I pondered whether the rabbit clan’s blood might contain 바람기 [baramgi – the tendency to be unfaithful/a flirtatious nature].

“…Scared?”

“You said it before, you’re anxious about when you’ll be abandoned.”

He remembered what I had said in a fit of anger in the rabbit territory. Unexpectedly, I was reminded of the past, and I fidgeted with the hem of my negligee.

It was an anxiety that festered in me every day until I actually voiced it.

Once I left the Rabian family’s fence as a baby rabbit, my life was in Ahin’s hands.

Having recalled the now-vanished anxiety after a long time, I opened and closed my lips.

“Why all of a sudden…?”

“Me too.”

“……?”

“I’m afraid that the rabbit I picked up will say they’ve repaid their kindness and leave.”

‘Not a rabbit repaying kindness, what is that?’

“I’m afraid that you’ll disappear when I open my eyes, like a year and a half ago.”

“That’s….”

“Now you’ve grown too big to keep in my pocket. So every day is scary.”

There were words I wanted to nitpick here and there, but since Ahin was showing a weak side for the first time, I couldn’t find any fault with him.

Suddenly, the lectures on imperial studies that I had applied for out of curiosity came to mind.

‘You must not be bound by personal matters, you must not show weakness, and you must constantly doubt…’ It was all about things you couldn’t do, and it was no different from abandoning yourself.

No matter how crazy Ahin is, he must be unconsciously carrying that weight. Perhaps that’s why seeing him show a docile side in front of me made my heart melt.

Softly, Ahin rubbed his head against mine and said quietly.

“Don’t abandon me.”

In an instant, my heart jumped out and then plummeted down.

‘What is he lacking, having everything, that he’s afraid of losing just me?’ Even as I thought that, the feelings tangled in my chest swelled up like cotton candy.

I gently tilted my head towards Ahin and returned the words that had become the catalyst for me to completely give my heart to him.

“…How could I abandon Ahin?”

Would he even know how much comfort these seemingly insignificant words were to me back then?

No answer came from Ahin for a long time.

I was curious about his expression and reaction, but I thought it might be better not to check. Just as I was thinking that it would be nice if Ahin felt even a little relieved by these words, he slowly spoke.

“Vivi.”

“Yeah.”

“We barely met after a few days.”

“That’s… right?”

“But do we really have to have such a wholesome conversation?”

‘I’m about to go crazy,’ Ahin added, smiling faintly.

‘You cunning beast.’ Before I could even be shocked, his lips lightly touched and fell from my temple.

Quickly turning my body, I stretched my neck back to avoid his approaching face again.

I felt a sense of disappointment as his lips, which couldn’t reach, flickered in front of my nose, but there was something I definitely needed to address.

“Don’t accuse me of being a 바람둥이 [baramdungi – a playboy/playgirl] anymore.”

“I’ll try.”

“…You should say you understand.”

“Isn’t that what I said before?”

Ahin let out a scoffing laugh as if he was dumbfounded. I didn’t give in to his attitude and narrowed my eyes, urging him.

“Say you understand quickly.”

“I understand.”

“And take back the word ‘trash’ too. You trash…!”

“Okay, I’ll be the trash.”

I put all my strength into saying a bad word, but Ahin seemed happy even with that, which made me even more frustrated.

“Vivi, then should I take back ‘pervert’ too?”

“…That’s…!”

That’s…! I was about to shout, but I had nothing to say and rolled my eyes back and forth.

‘Pervert… I think that’s right….’

I had committed various atrocities since I was a baby rabbit, and I felt a pang of conscience if I denied being a pervert.

If I pretended not to know and got a nosebleed, I would be a laughingstock for the rest of my life. In the end, acknowledging that I was a pervert, I stretched both arms out into the air as desire dictated.

“……?”

Ahin blinked, looking at my arms as if he didn’t immediately understand the meaning.

‘He’s usually so quick-witted, why is he like this?’ Frustrated, I lightly shook my arms.

“Hug me.”

We need to share a reconciliation hug.

Ahin, staring blankly at my arms and mouth alternately, performed the bizarre act of tapping his ears. Then, he suddenly covered his face with both hands.

‘Ah….’ He let out a groan as if he didn’t know what to do, and unexpectedly pulled me towards him.

“…Vivi seems to have a talent for driving people crazy sometimes.”

‘It’s not that, it’s because you’re crazy about me. The cunning black panther was now in this Vivi’s paws… no, hands.’

I let out a sinister smile and burrowed my forehead into Ahin’s chest. His body, as hard as a rock, brought pain rather than comfort.

He buried his chin on the top of my head, pulled me into his arms, and suddenly bit my ear.

*Hick,* startled by the chilling sensation, I covered both ears and knelt up.

Thanks to the slightly higher eye level, Ahin’s clouded eyes were right in front of me.

*Chu,* *chu,* he kissed both cheeks and fell away, wrapping his arms around my waist. His narrowly curved eyes were very seductive.

“-Cover me.”

‘How can he say such things out loud, he must be really crazy.’

Nevertheless, swept away by the heat, I forgot even the place called the closet and immediately covered his red lips.

As I lingered over his soft lips, his lips, closed like a clam, showed no sign of opening.

I tilted my head and glared, and Ahin, who smiled softly, slowly opened his lips. The more our breaths mingled, the hotter the sticky sound became.

*Clatter,* *clatter.*

Every time the uniform epaulettes rubbed against my body, the fine hairs on my body stood on end sensitively.

Before I knew it, Ahin had not only forced his way into my lips but was also rushing in as if swallowing me. Even the intermittent breaths I exhaled quickly disappeared into his mouth.

Ahin, who had been rummaging through my head as he pleased until it became hazy, slowly pulled his lips away.

He lightly licked his glistening lips with his tongue and made a husky voice.

“Something annoying has come up.”

“…Suddenly?”

His red eyes, which had briefly lingered in the air, roamed around my neck.

“If you could heal your own wounds, you could erase them right away, right?”

“Wh-what?”

“What else, the ones I left…,”

*Slap,* I unknowingly slapped Ahin’s lips, interrupting his next words. The tips of my ears tingled as if dipped in lava.

“I get excited when I get hit.”

“You crazy beast…!”

I stepped back, recalling the experience of tossing and turning all night and almost fainting.

I have to go to the academy as soon as dawn breaks tomorrow. If I fall completely for his seduction like this, I might be put on the carriage in a state worse than exhausted.

I pushed his broad shoulders hard with my foot, but Ahin, with his screws loose, rather kissed my instep.

“This is a closet!”

“So you don’t like it?”

Speechless, I swallowed hard.

Academy or Ahin. Reason and desire collided, and my mind was in a mess.

My back was already blocked by the wall, and Ahin, who had come between my legs, supported the back of my head so that it wouldn’t hurt.

“…I wondered why you were wearing your uniform in the middle of the night.”

I muttered, squinting my eyes.

“You wore it on purpose, didn’t you?”

“I thought if I wore this kind of outfit, you’d look at me lewdly and cover me.”

A meticulously crazy beast.

“When did I ever look at you lewdly… *eup,*”

As if that word was a signal flare, Ahin pulled down my negligee and buried his lips in my collarbone. The negligee, with its elastic stretched to its limit, flowed down my body.

Before the exposed bare skin could even feel the cold, a firm arm wrapped around my waist.

Then, a warm hand touched my skin and went up over my flat stomach. The muscles felt through the clothes bulged as if throbbing.

While I was thinking that the silver hair buried in my body was too sensual, I met Ahin’s eyes as I raised my gaze.

“If you can heal yourself, can you also recover your stamina?”

“Maybe? I might be able to do it to some extent….”

As I answered absentmindedly, an uncontrollably ominous feeling washed over me.

As if to make that premonition a reality, Ahin gave a refreshing smile that was hard to refuse.

“That’s great.”

“No, no. It’s impossible to recover stamina, ah…!”

He didn’t give me any more leeway and instantly put me on top of him.

It was a night when I experienced the stamina of a beast to the point where I thought of swear words that I had never used in my life.

* * *