September 17th, Clear ☀

Since he would probably get suspicious if <me> and <Lee Sun-ho> existed at the same time, I had the android prepare a hologram video (though that’s not as simple a technology as you might think. It’s not what you’re thinking. Do you know how much budget went into developing this?). I made it perform simple actions like how I usually observe the inside of the cage from outside.

As soon as my hologram video appeared….. Kim In-woo cursed <shibal> just like when he shocked me a few days ago. Hearing it directly beside me was even more shocking.

Kim In-woo added more curses like <that f*cking bastard has nothing better to do>, <unemployed bastard> and such.

But the shock from the cursing didn’t last long. Throughout his cursing, Kim In-woo’s body trembled with fear. His crumbling voice, fingertips that couldn’t stop shaking….. Signals that I couldn’t see from outside the cage were now clearly visible. Kim In-woo was terribly afraid of <me>.

I held Kim In-woo in my arms and carefully comforted him. Kim In-woo kept trembling before finally calming down. As soon as he came to his senses, he pushed me away with an awkward expression, probably embarrassed.

I had no intention of looking down on Kim In-woo, but he seemed afraid of how I would react to seeing him trembling.

After rambling for a while, Kim In-woo gave a long explanation about <my> atrocities. He seemed to want to explain why he was afraid. I listened to Kim In-woo’s explanation feeling like I was sitting on pins and needles. In Kim In-woo’s story, I was a completely garbage owner. Honestly, it hurt.

I wished he would understand. That while I might have been an clumsy owner, I wasn’t that bad of an owner. Though I wasn’t a particularly good owner either.

Some of the things Kim In-woo was angry about were indeed my fault. But giving raw meat at first, not clothing him, handling him carelessly, giving strange objects – these were just because I didn’t know better. Though Kim In-woo didn’t explain directly, the same goes for giving him the dress and helping him m*sturbate.

I thought he would like it. I wanted to see him happy. It was just pure goodwill.

Of course, wearing Lee Sun-ho’s shell now, I couldn’t honestly explain myself. Instead, I tried persuading him that at least now I’m just watching quietly, at least I’m taking good care of his food, clothing, and shelter, right?

Then Kim In-woo treated me like a pathetic guy who knows nothing about the world. He also said there’s no point in trusting aliens as you’ll just end up getting hurt. It seemed to be about his time at the training facility, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask for details.

When I kept quiet, Kim In-woo started complaining about <me> again. He said he can’t even eat properly having to look at that unpleasant face all the time.

Unpleasant face….. I was shocked by Kim In-woo’s assessment.

I am handsome. Though I don’t care much about appearance, it was an objective fact. I can look into others’ minds. There were several times when someone who was about to be tortured got distracted being captivated by my face. The aesthetic standards between Earth and us aren’t that different either.

When I learned that Kim In-woo cared about faces, I honestly thought it was fortunate. Because I’m handsome. But an unpleasant face? I hadn’t sensed that he thought so badly of my face. Did I not examine his memories thoroughly enough?

I protested to Kim In-woo. How is that an unpleasant face? Isn’t it incredibly handsome?

Fortunately, Kim In-woo agreed with my words. Then he said it’s unpleasant because it’s so handsome it seems unrealistic, like an alien. Then he said he prefers the current <Lee Sun-ho>’s face.

I was speechless. I wanted him to feel attracted to this face, but I hadn’t meant for it to win against the real <me>.

I suppressed the urge to look into Kim In-woo’s mind and massage his brain. My mental manipulation probably left permanent damage. Of course, even that damage could be manipulated to seem natural, but it can never go back to how it was before. Just like how I can’t restore my own memories.

I don’t want to modify Kim In-woo.

I’ll just have to cultivate his aesthetic sense when I get the chance later. His aesthetic sense must have gone wrong from living such a harsh life.

***

September 28th, Cloudy ☁

A few days ago, when Kim In-woo said he wanted to drink alcohol, I included alcohol in the items I put in this time.

Of course, I didn’t mix it in clumsily. If alcohol came right after he told me he wanted to drink, anyone would find the situation suspicious. I handed over things that Kim In-woo would likely think were f*cking stupid along with the alcohol. This time, Kim In-woo was too busy cursing at the transforming robot that came with the alcohol to be suspicious.

Well, it would be hard for a human to imagine that I am that <f*cking bastard>. (The handwriting here is very shaky)

Though he never said he wanted to play games, what he responded most enthusiastically to was the gaming console. Kim In-woo smiled, saying he’d never played before but would try it here. Of course, rather than pure joy, there was also an attempt to interpret the current situation positively. Since I appeared, Kim In-woo tried to show positive aspects on purpose, worried that <Lee Sun-ho> might feel anxious.

When I responded enthusiastically saying it would be fun, Kim In-woo’s efforts gained momentum. We set up the gaming console and played games together.

Both my and Kim In-woo’s skills were terrible. We kept dying repeatedly, unable to get past the same spot. The protagonist in the screen fell down in similar patterns every time. I even felt the urge to hack and manipulate the game for a moment.

But watching Kim In-woo laughing beside me, I realized that simply completing the objective wasn’t everything. The game was very satisfying.

After playing games for about three or four hours, Kim In-woo seemed to have really refreshed his mood. Kim In-woo looked genuinely happy for the first time in a while.

Before we knew it, being absorbed in the game, it was dinner time. Kim In-woo offered me alcohol with the meal, and having no reason to refuse, I drank together.

Kim In-woo isn’t particularly strong with alcohol. Not weak either, just average.

As for me, I’m very strong with alcohol. You could say alcohol doesn’t affect me at all. Arkea have incredibly strong resistance to drugs and such compared to other species.

But Kim In-woo seemed to want to get me drunk. Sadly, that was an impossible goal. Though I drank about twice as much as Kim In-woo, he was the one who got drunk.

Completely drunk, Kim In-woo clung to me crying. At first, Kim In-woo made trivial comments. They were small questions like how he doesn’t like the wallpaper color, wondering how deep the soil surface of this cage goes down to the bottom, if I’ve watched Drama A in Korea, and such.

While drunk, Kim In-woo drank more. After drinking for a while, Kim In-woo was quiet for some time. Thinking he seemed to have drunk too much, I took the glass away from Kim In-woo.

At that moment, Kim In-woo suddenly grabbed my wrist. Kim In-woo’s eyes were completely drunk and wet with moisture. I was so flustered that I couldn’t shake Kim In-woo off and completely froze.

Finally, Kim In-woo started dropping tears. Strangely, it felt like one side of my chest was throbbing with pain.

Crying, Kim In-woo said we were <humans with good fortune>. Then he said <we should consider it an honor to be sold to a good place>. Also <let’s not dare have complaints>.

It didn’t seem like he meant it sincerely. It’s completely different from what Kim In-woo usually thought.

I realized these words came from the training facility, most likely from Rudy. While supporting Kim In-woo, I asked what that meant.

Instead of answering, Kim In-woo looked down at his hands. He mumbled <I don’t think I killed him purely to grant his wish. In that moment, I really hated him and wanted to kill him>. It was in a tone mixed with deep guilt.

I heard something I shouldn’t have heard. Even my affection and actions trying to be good to him were pain for Kim In-woo. Regret for having heard washed over me. No, from the beginning, I…..

But I couldn’t take back any of it.

***

September 29th, Clear ☀

Kim In-woo didn’t remember anything he revealed while drunk. That’s fortunate.

***

October 12th, Cloudy ☁

Since Kim In-woo doesn’t like many things in this house, I decided to change them a bit. I’m changing the items one by one. It will take some time since I have to mix them with other things.

The ultimate goal was to change everything inside this cage. Isn’t environment important for humans?

Surely after changing the environment, Kim In-woo will feel much better. He will come to like this place, and come to like me, his owner, too.