I'm Watching
Baek Wol is strong.
The pinnacle of the sword that so many hunters favor, Baek Wol has reached the absolute peak and stands as the idol of every swordsman and the ultimate goal of all combat-class awakened. Baek Wol is strong. Even as hunters from every corner of the world fell or fled, she fought valiantly alone inside an X-rank gate. She is the idol of every hunter alive. Baek Wol is strong. She had to be strong. She must be strong. To protect what mattered. To reclaim happiness. But Baek A-rang, the girl who was not Baek Wol—
Cheon Ma-ru?
I stared at the boy looking back at me. Why the hell is this guy here? Even the locals barely know about this hidden spot. No, that’s not what matters right now. How much did he see?
Everything from start to finish? Or maybe he hadn’t caught my real appearance?
“U-um… Lady Baek Wol?”
He saw everything.
The conclusion came instantly, and so did my action.
Bang—!!
“Hiiik!”
I drove my blade into the wall right beside Cheon Ma-ru’s neck where he was pressed against it, letting killing intent roll off me in waves.
“Whatever you saw here, you don’t breathe a word of it to anyone. Actually, just forget it all.”
The fact that Baek A-rang and Baek Wol were the same person could never be revealed. To ordinary citizens she was simply a powerful hunter and a hero, but there were plenty of people who viewed Baek Wol as a thorn in their side or an outright enemy. Not that I thought those small fries could ever touch me.
Family is different, though.
My parents were under the Association’s protection, so I could breathe easy there. But my little sister, currently studying abroad, was another story. Neither I nor the Association could properly safeguard her. My reach didn’t extend well into foreign countries. And above all, that bastard would definitely target my family. I had only allowed her to study overseas because of him; if my identity were exposed, it would be the worst mistake of my life.
That was why I hid my identity from the start. If I wasn’t known as Baek Wol’s family, my sister would never become a target.
Should I kill him?
The Association president and a handful of others were one thing, but this guy was dangerous. In the original story he had been a villain, and I had no idea how tightly he could keep his mouth shut. Even if he could stay silent, his track record made him a problem. He might try to use this to demand something from me.
He possessed an exceptional talent for shaking people by exploiting their weaknesses. Getting close to him would bring nothing good. He didn’t have any powerful backers; as far as I knew, his family was perfectly ordinary. In that case, dealing with one guy like him should be manageable…
—Dad hopes our A-rang becomes a hunter who saves people. Can you promise me that?
—Yes! I promise!
“…Haah.”
Yeah. Let’s put the killing option on hold for now. I still might be able to handle this another way.
I yanked the blade from the wall and stepped back. Cheon Ma-ru practically collapsed onto an abandoned chair beside him.
“Hey.”
“Y-yes?! Yes!”
“…Calm down first.”
It probably wasn’t advice that carried much weight coming from the person who had just pulled a sword on him, but still.
Now that I think about it, his vibe is pretty different from the game.
In the game he had been confident and arrogant, exactly like the blonde delinquent character he was based on. He even had the insane boldness to lay hands on the granddaughter of a high-ranking conglomerate executive. Come to think of it, he had acted surprisingly timid back in the classroom on the first day too. It was a normal enough reaction, but it didn’t match his established character at all.
Did something change?
My own existence had already broken the original storyline. I never expected things to flow exactly like the game, but this was still way outside my predictions. Well, none of that mattered right now.
“You calm yet?”
“Y-yeah…”
“First, how old are you?”
“I’m… twenty-one.”
One year older than me, huh?
“I’m twenty. Just speak casually.”
“No, how could I possibly—”
“Just do it. You’re annoying me.”
“U-uh, okay.”
I let out a sigh and continued.
“You saw everything.”
“Huh?”
“My real appearance. You saw it all, didn’t you?”
“Yeah… pretty much.”
“Haah…”
My head was starting to throb, so another sigh slipped out. I couldn’t kill him, but I couldn’t exactly let him walk around freely either.
“Um…”
“What?”
Surprisingly, Cheon Ma-ru spoke first. I had expected him to stay cowering a while longer.
“If it’s about your identity, you don’t have to worry. I won’t tell anyone.”
“…”
He was quick on the uptake, at least. The fact that he immediately zeroed in on what was worrying me proved that much.
“Besides, even if I did say something, who would believe me?”
“Well… that’s true.”
The item I used—the Fantasy Glasses—wasn’t publicly known. The Association strictly monitored the manufacture and distribution of any artifacts too useful for concealment or disguise; they were perfect for committing crimes. Without evidence, it would just be my word against his. These glasses even masked magical power output. So if I could just keep his mouth shut, the immediate problem would be solved. Even without proof, rumors could still cause headaches.
Which meant…
“But why should I trust you enough to feel at ease?”
Might as well threaten him a little more.
“Huh?”
“Killing you would solve everything. Why would I leave you alive and carry around this anxiety?”
“N-no, that’s a crime—”
“It would be, sure. But do you really think this country would cast me out just to punish me for one guy like you?”
The privileges granted to an X-rank hunter were overwhelming. And when you factored in power and influence, there were plenty of situations that even national law couldn’t touch. I released my killing intent once more and lightly rested my hand against Cheon Ma-ru’s neck.
“Honestly, cleaning up after killing someone like you wouldn’t be that hard. But even for me, taking a life isn’t exactly pleasant.”
I could feel cold sweat breaking out along his neck. Was I naturally talented at intimidation? This was my first time trying it.
“I’ll be watching you from now on. If any rumors about my identity start to circulate…”
I applied the slightest pressure to his throat.
“You die. Even if it has nothing to do with you. Understand?”
Cheon Ma-ru nodded frantically, his face deathly pale. That should take care of the immediate issue. I would still need to keep an eye on him periodically. Maybe I should ask the Association for help.
“We’re done. Go home.”
I removed my hand from his neck and stepped back.
“…”
“…”
The walk back home was wrapped in a strange, heavy silence. That was only natural. After all, a blackmailer and her victim were strolling along together.
“Hey.”
“Y-yes?!”
“I told you to speak casually.”
“Yeah, I mean—yeah.”
That last threat seemed to have worked a little too well.
“Why are you following me?”
“Huh?”
“Why do you keep following me? I told you to go home.”
The reason we were walking the same path was simple: Cheon Ma-ru refused to stop trailing after me.
“I’m… also on my way home…”
“Really?”
Apparently our homes were closer than I thought. There was no point in trying to shake him off now, so I simply continued on my way. We walked the same street, entered the same apartment complex, stepped into the same building, rode the same elevator… and then Cheon Ma-ru stopped right in front of the door beside mine.
“…”
“…”
He was my next-door neighbor?!
“Haah…”
After stepping inside, I stripped off my clothes, showered quickly, and collapsed onto the bed. The bloodstained outfit wasn’t worth worrying about; it had an automatic cleaning function anyway. The only thing on my mind was Cheon Ma-ru. Of course discovering that he knew my identity was a problem, but his behavior was also completely different from what I remembered.
He had never been the simple-minded lust monster who thought only with his lower half, but still… he seemed timid. Or maybe cautious? It was nothing like the original story’s version of him, the one who always looked down on women. In the game he should have used my secret as leverage to approach me. Instead, he had looked deeply uncomfortable.
If I stopped to consider whether that was a bad thing, the answer was no. If he wasn’t obsessed with stealing other people’s women, then I wouldn’t become a target and the protagonist’s mental state wouldn’t crumble. As long as he kept quiet about my identity, there wouldn’t be any issues.
Still, the fact that he was so different from the Cheon Ma-ru I knew somehow made my own actions feel… off. I had been pretty vicious with him.
“Whatever. Let’s just sleep.”
Things would feel clearer after some rest.
Cheon Ma-ru was losing his mind.
While wandering the Academy grounds—since he would be spending a lot of time here anyway—he had discovered a strange hidden space during what was supposed to be a casual stroll. The completely enclosed, secret location had somehow tugged at his heartstrings. He had been sipping a cola and looking around when someone suddenly entered.
“?!”
He was shocked that another person even knew about the place, but the identity of that person pushed the shock into outright horror.
Baek Wol. One of the strongest beings not only in Korea but on the entire planet. The hero who had single-handedly stopped the demonic beasts that poured out of North Korea. And now she had appeared right in front of him. His brain couldn’t process the situation.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Suddenly Baek Wol pulled out a pair of glasses, put them on, and her white hair began turning black. Her ears and tail vanished. In their place stood the girl he knew.
Baek A-rang. The beautiful girl who sat beside him in class. The awakened who had measured A-rank during the assessment. She acted like she didn’t notice, but she was actually quite famous—mostly because of her eye-catching figure.
Having experienced surprise, shock, and pure terror in the span of seconds, he accidentally dropped his cola can.
“!!”
He was immediately discovered by Baek Wol—no, by Baek A-rang.
What followed was pure nightmare territory. She drew a blade and stabbed it into the wall right next to his neck. She threatened him, saying she could kill someone like him without facing any real punishment. She placed a hand on his throat and glared at him like she really would end his life. Every single action felt genuine; he had nearly wet himself. If he hadn’t gone to the bathroom earlier, he probably would have.
After somehow surviving with his life intact, one final bombshell remained: she lived right next door.
The person who had declared she would keep watching him lived in the apartment right beside his! His mother had gone out of her way to find him this place and even sent living expenses, but right now he felt a tiny bit of resentment toward her for picking the room next to that woman.
“Just sleep… just sleep…”
He closed his eyes and tried to drift off. He couldn’t skip the Academy tomorrow no matter what.
“If I beg Cheon Nu-ri to save me… she’d probably just tell me to die quietly so I don’t bother Lady Baek Wol.”
Yeah, that fanatical sister of his would definitely say something like that.
“I’m going crazy…”
He finally fell asleep, completely unaware of what the next day would bring.
He never could have imagined that she would be waiting in front of his door, smiling as she said,
“Good morning.”
“Eh?”