Aren't You Scared?
The ones who killed my entire family were you people, right?
“Aren’t you scared?”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking if you’re not scared of me.”
Of course I’m scared.
The bare foot resting on my shoulder right now doesn’t look any different from other girls’ feet, but that single toe could probably shatter my shoulder if it wanted to.
“I’m only behaving myself because I’m scared.”
“So the person who’s scared sits there watching TV without a single hint of fear while massaging a villain’s feet? You really are a pervert, huh?”
I’d poured my heart into giving her a proper foot rub, and this was the thanks I got—being called a pervert.
“I’ll change the bandage. It’s bleeding again.”
“What?”
The girl looks up at me with an expression of pure disbelief, but she doesn’t stop me.
Her right arm is horrific no matter how many times I see it.
Whether you’re a villain or a magical girl, can injuries this bad really heal just by wrapping them in bandages?
At least she stays still while I’m wrapping them. That part’s convenient.
“All done. Even if it feels stuffy, try not to scratch it. That itch means it’s healing.”
As the villain’s wound began to mend—whether from natural recovery or the aftermath of the attack—a gentle warmth spread from the injured area and wrapped around my hand.
“Uncle, what’s your relationship with that blonde bitch?”
A sudden, completely out-of-nowhere question.
I kept wrapping the fresh bandage and answered flatly.
“We’re nothing to each other.”
“You’re nothing to each other, yet she’s deeply indebted to you and calling you brother-in-law and all that?”
“We only met today. I saved her when she was about to be killed by a villain, and I helped the woman who nearly got attacked by one. That’s all.”
“Saved her, my ass. It’s a magical girl’s job to save people. Why act like it’s some huge favor?”
It’s natural for them to save people.
Then why couldn’t that magical girl protect my family back then?
Why did she fail to block the attack and let my family get crushed to death?
“All those magical girl bitches are hypocrites. They go on and on about how smile is their signature and love is their motto, but behind the scenes they’re only worried about their performance numbers. And that’s only after they transform—who knows what kind of people they really are before that. Don’t tell me you actually thought they only picked righteous girls?”
“I know. That’s why I don’t like magical girls either.”
“Hmm. When you invited her home just because she saved you, I thought you were an idiot.”
Once her arm was fully bandaged, the girl stood up and picked up the only remaining family photo.
“Whoa, look at that school uniform. Is this an old picture of you, uncle? Did you keep it to pass your genes on to your little sister or something? The resemblance isn’t that strong though. Your sister didn’t end up ugly, right? Or maybe she’s an adopted kid you picked up somewhere.”
“Ahaha… It’s not like that.”
“Huh?”
“She’s dead. The building collapsed from a villain’s attack that a magical girl deflected.”
The girl stared down at me with an expressionless face.
“I told you. Those things called magical girls only care about their own performance. They don’t give a damn that your family died. All they worry about is their numbers dropping and their image getting ruined. Even after your family was killed, I bet the next day they were smiling and signing autographs for fans like nothing happened.”
“……”
The girl sat on the sofa and glared at the magical girl on the television like she wanted to murder her.
“They’re so drunk on their own sense of justice that they don’t care when everything around them falls apart. The perpetrator is always a villain, so they dump all their own mistakes onto us.”
That’s bullshit.
It happened because you villains attacked in the first place.
If you people hadn’t attacked—
But maybe it was the resentment toward magical girls buried in one corner of my heart; before I knew it, I was starting to nod along with the girl’s words.
“But you’re not all that different, are you? You’re on the run, yet you break into someone else’s house, order the owner around, and threaten him.”
“Hah?”
“Sorry.”
Outside, the sky had already grown dark.
“Whatever. I’m going to sleep. Turn off the lights.”
“This is my bed, though…”
“So you’re really going to make a high school girl sleep on the cold hard floor? Don’t you know that a good citizen should obediently follow the words of a bad villain?”
“I’m sorry.”
“If you sneak out and report me, I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth. And my name is…”
The girl crouched right beside me, pressing so close that her breath tickled my ear.
“I’m not telling you yet. It’d be a waste to teach it to a pervert like you, uncle.”
For the first time, she flashed a grin, then stood and limped into the bedroom.
Outside the window, the sirens of the Magical Girl Management Bureau’s patrol cars still wailed through the night.
I had managed to send Han Yeeun and the bureau agents away today, but they might come bursting in again to search for the girl who had even appeared on the news.
Han Yeeun would probably barge in for no reason at all.
No.
Right now, this house held neither victim and perpetrator, nor citizen and villain—only an ordinary man and a wounded girl.
There was no need to worry.
“Still, it’s a relief the compensation for the bereaved family was generous.”
The reason I’d bought this ridiculously luxurious sofa with the compensation money was simple.
My little brother had wanted a sofa so badly.
When I lay on it, I could fool myself into feeling like I was being embraced by him and our parents.
That was all.
The next day was a refreshingly shitty Monday morning at 6:58.
I spent dozens of mental debates on whether to get up at the seven o’clock alarm before finally dragging myself out of bed.
Same morning as always, same scenery, same physical condition—except for the different bed.
On my bed, an A-class villain with messy black hair lay fast asleep, rolled up like a burrito in my blanket.
How the hell does she sleep like that?
“Hey. Wake up.”
“Mmm… I’ll rip off your arms and legs… make you show off your organs…”
A terrifying sleep-talking session.
I was half-convinced that if I woke her any further I’d be the one turned into an organ exhibit, but I gathered my courage and tried again.
“The sun’s already high in the sky. Time to wake up now.”
The girl who had been rolling around suddenly went still. Her blood-red eyes opened, gleaming with pure irritation.
“Don’t wanna.”
“It’s Monday. You have to go to school. You said you’re a high school girl.”
She looked up at me through narrowed eyes, then let out a short snort.
“Why would a villain go to school? Besides, it’s… oh, spring break right now.”
“Spring break?”
“Yeah. I don’t have to go for a week. So stop bothering me, close the curtains, and get out.”
She burrowed her head back into the blanket like a caterpillar. This time, I was the one who snorted.
“Hey.”
“Hey? You want to die?”
“Today is March 9th. What kind of spring break starts after only one week of school? Everyone knows spring break is in February.”
Twitch.
The blanket bundle wriggled noticeably. The girl’s head popped out again.
The earlier domineering, razor-sharp glare was gone. Her eyes now wandered, lost and uncertain.
“…Well… some places do it. Our school is a special one. A specialized high school, so we have spring break in March.”
“You didn’t bring your uniform anyway, right? There are unisex clothes you can wear. I won’t report you to the police, so just put them on and go.”
“I don’t want to. I’m sleeping more.”
“Come out…!”
“I said no…!”
After a long, drawn-out argument, the girl finally emerged with a thoroughly sulky face. She wore one of my hoodies and jeans folded over three times at the waist, stuffing bread into her mouth.
Thankfully the hoodie completely hid the bandages on her right arm, and her leg that had been limping yesterday was fully healed. There was nothing that would raise suspicion.
“Nexth time… peanuth butter too.”
“I’ll buy some. Drink your milk too.”
After breakfast, the girl stood at the front door radiating extreme displeasure. If I had to describe it, she looked less like a dangerous tiger that might pounce at any moment and more like a wet cat that had been forcibly bathed and was now sulking about it.
“If you report me or contact that blonde woman—”
She grabbed my collar.
“—I’ll use the bounty money you get for handing me over to throw you a funeral. Understand?”
A chilling threat.
I nodded without changing my expression.
“I won’t.”
“You’re not tempted by the reward? Reporting an A-class villain would bring in quite a lot of money.”
“I’m not interested in bounty money. There’s no benefit, it’d only be annoying. I’ve already treated your wounds, let you sleep here, and didn’t report you. If this continues I might end up being treated as an accomplice later. And I did suffer damage… so you’ll at least overlook me getting a new smartphone, right?”
“Idiot.”
“Besides, after what happened to my family, I lost all interest in things like magical girls and villains and the rest of the world.”
The girl silently released my collar.
“Hurry up and go. You’ll be late for school. You’re not going to fly there or anything, right?”
“Hmph.”
I left the front door open and watched the nameless villain girl leave.
I saw her off.
But the girl who had been waiting for the elevator turned around and walked back to me.
“Did you forget something?”
“I’ll come back tonight.”
“Huh? Why?”
What kind of crazy statement was this now?
“You have to rewrap my arm, don’t you? You kept acting like you’d take care of me, so don’t tell me you’re planning to pretend you don’t know me now.”
What kind of nonsense was that?
“What’s the password?”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking for the front door passcode.”
“It’s 4885.”
“If you’re lying, you’re dead. I’ll use the rest of the bounty money to pay for your funeral.”
“No, my parents—”
Before I could finish, the girl darted into the elevator like she was fleeing.
A man sending a villain off to school.
No matter who I told, they’d definitely reply with something like “write a novel with that plot.”
The silent house that had been empty for years, where the only sound had been the television.
It had always been this quiet, yet for some reason today the silence felt colder than ever.
“Spring break in March, of all things. Good grief…”