Twisted Future
I didn't want to go this far. Waiting in front of someone's house—if you looked at it kindly, it might seem like I was waiting for a lover. Look at it the other way, and I was nothing more than a stalker. Either way, it was pathetic. Still, I had no choice. As long as any chance remained that my identity could leak, I couldn't afford to let my guard down.
Should I just kill him? No matter what Dad said, was it really more important than my sister's life? If I explained the situation, I was sure he would understand.
While those thoughts ran through my mind, the door creaked open and he stepped out. The way he openly flinched the moment he saw me grated on my nerves.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you for no reason at this point."
I shoved the debate about whether to kill him out of my head.
"Hurry up. Unless you want to be late again like the first day."
"…Were you waiting for me?"
"Yeah. I still can't trust you completely."
If this guy really was different from the original Cheon Ma-ru, maybe one day I could believe in him and move on. But right now, he was a dangerous person I couldn't trust no matter what.
…Honestly, it left a bad taste in my mouth. Technically he had been there first, so if anyone was at fault, it was me for slipping up. My mistake. He had been forced to learn information he never wanted to know and was now stuck under my surveillance because of it.
Still, there was nothing I could do. I couldn't weigh my family's safety against something as trivial as my own conscience.
And so our bizarre academy life began.
My own academy life naturally changed too. For one thing, I could finally sleep without worry. The Mirinae Guild had finished its schedule in North Korea and returned. On top of that, it seemed the cleanup operation there was nearly complete. I still didn't understand why cleanup alone was taking three years.
Another change was that I now had someone to go to and from school with. Of course, it wasn't a warm relationship between friends—it was strictly between monitor and monitored.
"Are you seriously planning to watch me all day?"
"Yes."
At least until I was certain he would never reveal information about me even if it killed him, I had to do this.
"Try to understand. I have my reasons."
"What reasons? Isn't being an X-rank hunter supposed to mean you can do whatever you want?"
"Do I look like the kind of person who does whatever she wants?"
"No, that's not what I meant…"
He spoke while tearing open the wrapper of a hamburger. Even though this was a clear infringement on his freedom, I figured it was only fair to give him at least some explanation. If he was being watched without knowing why, resentment would eventually build up where none had existed before.
"If you don't mind hearing a boring story, I'll tell you a little."
He nodded quietly. I couldn't remember the last time I'd brought this up.
"Just so we're clear, this is a secret too. The moment a rumor starts, you're dead."
Cheon Ma-ru froze solid at that. Even so, he didn't try to take his words back. He had some spine, at least.
"There's a villain targeting me."
Villain. The collective term for criminals among the awakened.
"The Corpse Engineer. You've heard of him, right?"
"I've heard the name."
When I began working in earnest, the villains' momentum had been crushed and their numbers had shrunk dramatically. But back then they had been the number one social problem. And one of the worst was the S-rank villain known as the Corpse Engineer—the enemy who had put my parents in comas. That bastard was now after me.
"It looks like he wants to use me for something, but I still haven't managed to catch him."
If we fought properly, I was confident I would win without question. But that was only if the bastard was standing right in front of me. Since I had no idea where he was or what he was doing, there was no way to catch him.
"The moment that bastard figures out who I am, my life is over."
He didn't know my identity in detail. At most, he probably thought of me as a girl with white wolf ears and a tail. He didn't know my real name, where I lived, or anything about my family. I was barely maintaining my ordinary daily life thanks to that gap in information.
"So it can never be discovered. Baek A-rang and Baek Wol must remain completely unrelated."
The biggest reason I had created the identity of Baek Wol was because of the Corpse Engineer. By operating as Baek Wol—an orphan who had lost her parents—I cut off any reason for my still-living parents and my sister studying abroad to be targeted.
And… I would find that bastard and kill him. That was the reason I kept living.
"I… I'm sorry."
"If anyone's sorry, it's me. I dragged you into my mess."
Of course, these were my circumstances. There was no reason for Cheon Ma-ru to care. After all, he had only found out because of my mistake.
"But can I ask you one thing?"
"Sure."
"You know tomorrow is the day for elective class selection, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then how are you going to monitor me tomorrow?"
"I can just take the same classes as you."
"Huh?"
Why did he look so shocked?
"First-year first semester doesn't have exams for the electives anyway. I can just follow whatever you pick."
"No, this is about your future career path, so you should think about it a little more seriously—"
"Are you telling me to seriously worry about a hunter career path right now?"
"…Ah."
I already had my position decided and more than enough real combat experience. Above all, when it came to swordsmanship, I was the one who should be teaching, not learning from anyone. What could they possibly teach me? I was the best in the business.
"Anyway, I'll be sticking right by your side for a while, so just understand that."
"…Okay."
The next day, the elective classes came around again.
…
I half-heartedly participated while watching Cheon Ma-ru's passionate but completely futile efforts. Seeing him like this made it clear he really was different from the original. In the game, he had slacked off during class.
However, despite all that enthusiasm, his actual skill was utterly mediocre.
"If your sword shakes like a flag like that, you couldn't even cut through cotton candy!"
"Yes!!"
Listening to the passionate instructor and the equally passionate student made me feel like I was watching a scene from a shonen manga. Tanned skin and hair the color of flames. The light outfit that showed off her defined abs was making the male students blush.
In the middle of it all, Cheon Ma-ru was passionately swinging the Japanese sword he'd been issued. She seemed to like his attitude, because she kept giving him extra attention and advice.
"Were you interested in katanas?"
It was break time. I decided to do a little casual information gathering. If I was going to monitor him closely, it would be better to get at least a little closer. I could pick up some information while I was at it.
"My little sister uses one. So I was a bit curious."
"Little sister? Is she an awakened?"
"Yeah."
This was new information. A younger sister. For some reason, I suddenly felt a sense of kinship. I wondered what my own cute little sister was doing right about now.
"How old is she?"
"She's a senior in high school right now. She'll be coming here too."
"I'm jealous. Going to the same academy as your sibling."
When I said it sincerely, Cheon Ma-ru made a face like he'd tasted something sour.
"It's not something to be jealous about. That kid frowns the moment she sees me."
"You're not on good terms?"
"Not really."
His short answer carried a faint mix of truth and something softer. It didn't sound like their relationship was that bad. Just normal sibling stuff, I guess.
"Everyone!! Assemble!!!"
"That's it. Let's go."
"Okay."
We gathered again and continued with class. He was adapting surprisingly fast. I clearly remembered him looking completely shocked that morning.
"I really don't want to say this, but…"
"Yeah?"
It was on the way home after the last elective class of the day. I finally spoke the words I'd been turning over in my head the whole time.
"Is there a particular reason you're so set on going into combat?"
I'd taken four electives today: Japanese sword, spear, and two different attack magic classes. He had thrown himself into all of them. The problem was that his performance in every single one had been absolutely miserable. There wasn't even a hint of talent to be seen.
"Wouldn't production be better for you?"
I'd tried to phrase it gently—you have no talent—but he saw right through me. Not every awakened person had to fight. Production-class hunters worked without ever entering combat. Of course it was hard to gain recognition and only a few succeeded, but with his level of talent, he'd only ever become a mediocre hunter at best. It was a harsh thing to say, but talent accounted for ninety percent of what made a hunter.
"…Are you trying to tell me I have no talent?"
I'd spoken indirectly, but when the other person asked so directly, it was still a little awkward. At least the message had gotten through, so that was something.
"I was wondering why you were avoiding production classes so deliberately. You didn't take a single one last week either, right? You should throw away the idea that hunters have to fight."
Maybe it was because he was going along with this without complaint even though my mistake had put him in this position. Or maybe it was the occasional glimpses of that wounded look in his eyes. Either way, I couldn't just leave him alone.
"…What if there is a reason?"
"Then I can't stop you. Just like I have my reasons for hiding my identity, if you have your own reasons, that's that."
I stopped walking for a moment. Cheon Ma-ru stopped too. I looked him in the eye and spoke. It was probably overstepping, but I still wanted to say this one thing.
"Still, think about it seriously at least once. Think about whether that reason is important enough to risk your life for. If you keep putting it off saying you'll think about it later, it'll be too late."
"What the hell…"
"If you die, there will be people who'll be sad, you know."
I had seen it too many times. People who awakened and became hunters just because it looked fun, because it made a lot of money, because others looked up to them. People who jumped in with light hearts and died just as lightly. And the screams of the families they left behind.
No matter if they were strangers, seeing that never felt good.
"…As expected, I don't know how to start or end a serious conversation like this. Let's go."
"…Yeah."
The mood had grown heavy. I wondered if I'd said something I shouldn't have. Still, I had meant every word. I hoped he wouldn't just brush it off.
No matter if he used to be that blonde delinquent Geumtaeyang, I didn't want to see his family suffer. I knew all too well what it felt like to lose family.
On the surface, Cheon Ma-ru didn't show it, but his self-esteem had been shredded. From a young age, he had dated a girl who, right after going on a date with him, slept with another man right in front of his eyes. To him, who had loved her sincerely, it was a massive shock.
The reason for her betrayal wasn't that he had disappointed her or made some huge mistake. She had simply left him without even a proper breakup because the new guy had more money and a better family background—better conditions. Naturally, rage had boiled up inside him. But there was nothing he could do. Both his ex-girlfriend and the man she cheated with were awakened. On top of that, the other man came from a good family. He was a director in one of Korea's three major guilds. Against a large guild that only kept rising, there was nothing he could do.
With the shock and helplessness he received, he dropped out of the university he had been attending and simply rotted away in his room at his family home. Then he awakened by chance and entered the academy, but the wounds never disappeared. He had simply learned how to hide them.
And during summer break of his first year at the academy, some incident had twisted that wound into contempt for the female gender.
But—
Still, think about it seriously at least once.
If you die, there will be people who'll be sad, you know.
It had only been a single day since they met. Even counting the days they had simply been aware of each other's existence, it was only about a week. And yet a person he had known for such a short time was worrying that he and his family would grieve.
Even though that same person had threatened to kill him just the day before.
…
When he thought about his mother, who had suffered alongside him while he shut himself in his room, he couldn't simply ignore it. The fact that he could live independently like this and attend the academy comfortably was all thanks to his mother. Above all, the look in her eyes when she said those words had been so pained and sad. At the same time, he could feel that she had spoken them sincerely for his sake, and that made them sink even deeper into his heart.
"…Alright."
He lay down on his bed and tried to fall asleep. The words she had spoken and the look in her eyes refused to leave his mind.
And so, without even realizing it, Baek A-rang had twisted the already twisted original story once again.