I Picked Up an Abandoned Villain in the Polar Region

Episode 98

 

After finishing the conversation with the couple and stepping out, quite some time had passed.

Brody hurried back to her room, worried Kyle might be waiting for her.

However, contrary to her expectations of being scolded, Kyle was fast asleep on the bed. He must have been utterly exhausted, sleeping deeply like someone who hadn’t rested in days.

Worried that she might wake him, Brody extinguished the candle and carefully climbed onto the bed.

Her body was so light that the bed barely shifted under her weight. She lay beside him, mimicking his sideways sleeping posture and facing him.

When he wakes up to see me right in front of him, he’ll probably be startled, she thought, stifling a mischievous giggle.

However, as she gazed quietly at him, the earlier conversation with the couple resurfaced in her mind.

‘It’s just… visible. Sometimes, when you see someone, it’s evident even if they don’t say anything. People who were loved growing up carry that warmth, while those who didn’t receive love often show the marks of that absence.’

That remark had been about Kyle and Abel.

Abel, who exuded the confidence and ease of someone loved, and Kyle, who seemed to carry the scars of the opposite.

Though Brody already knew about their past, meeting Abel in person made the contrast more palpable.

Abel had eyes full of confidence and a demeanor that reflected inner peace, undoubtedly stemming from the unwavering love and trust of his parents.

Kyle, in contrast, often seemed consumed by irritation, anger, and an inexplicable restlessness.

This difference made Brody feel all the more sorry for Kyle.

Whenever he lost his temper in front of his parents, it reminded her of a little boy throwing a tantrum, desperately seeking attention.

It was as if a boy, who hadn’t received enough love to grow fully, still lived inside him.

Brody felt conflicted, blaming Kyle’s parents for their ignorance but also sympathizing, wondering what circumstances had led to it.

Gently, she reached out and stroked his hair, her touch tender with affection.

The sight of Kyle’s peaceful face slowly soothed her troubled heart, bringing a warm smile to her lips.

Unbeknownst to her, Brody’s feelings toward Kyle had deepened into something far beyond mere compassion.

 

***

 

While Brody had been away fetching clothes, Kyle, who had been sleeping on the sofa for days, had dozed off on the bed.

He had stayed up, watching over her for the three days she was unconscious, working without proper rest.

As soon as he lay on the soft bed, exhaustion overwhelmed him, and he fell into a deep sleep, only stirring late into the night.

When Kyle awoke, he found Brody asleep beside him, facing him.

Still groggy, he didn’t react with surprise, simply blinking slowly at her.

The sound of her soft breathing reached his ears, inexplicably calming him.

He stayed still, watching her instead of getting up. Thinking of how she must have climbed onto the bed to look at him before falling asleep made her seem endearing.

A small smile played on Kyle’s lips as he carefully brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen across her cheek.

At some point, his touches toward her had become more cautious, almost tender.

His gaze lingered on her, taking in her petite frame. She was so small that he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

How could a person be so tiny? 

When she was in her rabbit form, she seemed small enough to swallow in one bite.

Her face was tiny, yet it held delicately proportioned features.

Kyle found her existence both fascinating and beautiful, his chest swelling with unexplainable emotions.

He poked her round forehead gently with his finger, then slowly traced down the bridge of her small nose. His finger slid to her philtrum and finally stopped at her lips.

He knew he should stop there, but a primal instinct urged him to lower his hand a little more.

His fingers touched her lips—soft, warm, and smooth, like the apples she loved so much. They gleamed faintly, drawing his gaze.

In that moment, the smile faded from Kyle’s face.

His fingers pressed slightly against her lips, and he felt a sudden thirst, as though his mouth was parched.

This thirst morphed into an impulsive desire to taste the softness before him.

But just as he was about to succumb, Kyle swallowed hard and regained his senses.

Startled, he jerked upright but stopped abruptly, worried about waking her.

Like a guilty man fleeing the scene, he scrambled off the bed, his face and body flushed with heat.

Unsure what to do, he paced in front of the bed before collapsing onto the sofa.

“What the hell was that?”

He muttered, tugging at his hair in frustration.

The sudden surge of desire had caught him off guard, reminding him of the time in the inn when he’d inhaled the scent of a candle and acted irrationally.

Back then, he had assumed it was a dream, but now, the emotions he’d felt were all too real.

His heart pounded wildly, his mind racing. Hadn’t his uncle said he’d been drugged back then?

Since that day, everything had been fine, so why was this reaction suddenly happening again?

Kyle couldn’t calm himself and, after a while of restless unease, lay down on the sofa.

Feeling too guilty to look at Brody, he turned his body toward the backrest. Yet, even with her out of sight, the memory from earlier kept playing vividly in his mind, whether his eyes were open or closed.

No matter how hard he tried to push it away, thoughts of Brody’s lips persisted, along with the impulse he had felt to kiss her.

It was a torturous night.

Kyle fought against his instincts until the early hours of dawn, eventually succumbing to sleep.

 

***

 

However, the next morning brought another moment of panic.

Waking up with the distinct sensation of being watched, Kyle instinctively opened his eyes—and was startled to see someone right in front of him.

Brody was sitting on the floor by the sofa, staring straight at him with her chin resting on her hand, a sheepish grin on her face.

Her messy hair and casual demeanor contrasted sharply with Kyle’s guilt-ridden state.

Startled, he shot up from the sofa with a gasp.

“What the—!”

To an uninformed observer, it might have looked as though Kyle had just seen a ghost.

Brody, who had been smiling, furrowed her brows at his reaction, baring her bunny-like front teeth in annoyance.

“What do you mean, ‘what’? Why are you acting like you’ve seen a ghost? You’re making me feel awkward!”

Realizing his reaction had been too extreme, Kyle hurried to placate her.

“No, it’s not that…”

He began, rubbing his face with a sigh before continuing,

“I was just startled, that’s all. Just startled.”

Of course, the real reason for his reaction was his guilt over what had happened the previous night.

Brody, unaware of this, continued to glare at him before muttering in a sulky tone.

“Hmph, you didn’t want to sleep in the same bed as me last night, did you? That’s why you slept on the sofa, right?”

Under normal circumstances, Kyle would have readily agreed to such an assumption.

But the truth was that he had no such thoughts, and this realization startled him. He shook his head.

“What are you talking about? I moved so you could sleep comfortably.”

A lie was easy to spot, especially one like that.

Brody, sensing the falsehood, narrowed her eyes and scoffed.

“Yeah, right.”

She said, turning away with a snort.

Realizing too late that he needed to explain further, Kyle hastily grabbed her arm to stop her.

“I’m serious! I just wanted you to sleep comfortably—”

In his rush, he misjudged his strength and ended up pulling her toward him entirely.

Before either of them realized what had happened, Brody had landed squarely on his lap.

“Ah!”

Brody gasped, covering her mouth with both hands as her eyes widened.

Kyle, on the other hand, was equally stunned and wanted to scream in embarrassment.

Panicking, he quickly lifted her by the waist and placed her beside him on the sofa. Only after taking a deep breath did he even begin to consider how to salvage the situation.

But before he could say anything, Brody spoke in a teasing tone.

“What’s this? Acting all innocent, but secretly being sneaky, huh?”

Her words filled him with an overwhelming sense of self-loathing.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

He muttered, his face buried in his hands.

Though his words were sharp, he couldn’t even look at her.

Of course, Kyle couldn’t wallow in his embarrassment forever.

Brody, sitting beside him, broke the silence.

“But Kyle, why did you sleep so uncomfortably on the sofa? There are other rooms, aren’t there? Oh, wait—this is your room, isn’t it?”

Realizing the obvious, Brody scratched her head awkwardly.

“Haha, I guess I should’ve been the one to move.”

Kyle, however, responded firmly.

“It’s fine. Just stay here.”

“Why? Are you going to move to another room?”

“…No.”

With that, it became clear: he was suggesting they continue to share the room.

Brody’s dark eyes sparkled mischievously as she caught his meaning.

“What’s this? So you actually wanted to share the room with me? Is that it?”

She teased, linking her arm with his.

The unexpected physical contact made Kyle flinch, though he quickly tried to act indifferent.

Standing abruptly, he said,

“Say whatever you want.”

Brody’s playful voice followed him as he walked away, calling him a ‘shy boy.’

Kyle ignored her, heading straight for the bathroom.

Refusing to share the room would have spared him from her teasing, but Kyle couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He simply couldn’t let Brody sleep alone anymore.

Even though the environment was perfectly safe, the thought of something happening to her—like being kidnapped—kept him on edge.

This anxiety had become an unshakable habit. So unless Brody was sleeping within his sight, Kyle couldn’t truly rest.

The idea of sleeping apart from her had become unthinkable.