Wanna See?
She was wearing a black leather jacket and leather spandex pants that clung tightly to her body, just like always. On top, a crop top that exposed not just her cleavage but her navel too.
Her pale skin glistened faintly with sweat.
I had no idea where to look. It was embarrassing as hell.
"Rough day, huh? 'Exhausted' is written all over your face."
A clear laugh echoed from inside her full-face helmet.
"Nah, it's not that."
"Really? Then why the long face?"
"I'm not tired or anything. Just had a bit of a... special incident."
"Hmm~ Is that so? Well, if you say so."
Her voice resonated softly from within the helmet.
Even inside the store, Lumina hadn't taken off her helmet.
That made her exposed white skin stand out even more.
"Oh, right—the manager mentioned something about a special delivery today. What is it?"
"He didn't tell you?"
"Just said logistics would arrive this afternoon."
"Hmm~. Guess he figured it'd be fine with me here. I'll go grab it. Wanna come?"
Lumina nodded toward the black motorcycle parked at the entrance.
She opened the delivery box attached to the back.
Just like before, she deftly pulled out the cargo.
Inside the neatly stacked logistics boxes were convenience store staples—and some items I'd never seen before.
One box was plastered with bizarre talismans, magic circles, and warning labels.
"What's this?"
I pointed at the box with the chilling warning label, and she chuckled.
"That's the special order. A customer asked for it specifically."
"......"
"You gotta inspect it carefully. Mess it up, and it could cause an accident."
"Yeah, it looks like the type."
A dark red smoke-like mist was seeping out from the box.
And... was that a scream I heard?
Nah, just my imagination, right?
"You have to check it right here in the store. I'll give you the item list—use a cutter to open the packaging and confirm it matches."
"Is that safe?"
"The manager's power infuses the store, so as long as you're not touching it directly, no curse will stick."
Huh?
Curse?
Didn't she just call it a cursed item?
"Yep, a cursed item. A necklace with a nasty curse on it."
"Why the hell would a convenience store sell cursed items?"
Her helmet turned toward me at my question.
"You didn't know? Convenience stores sell everything."
"I've heard that. They say they carry just about anything—alchemy reagents, ores, blacksmith-forged items, you name it."
"Exactly. No reason they can't sell cursed stuff too. It's a world where undead roam free, after all."
"Oh."
Right.
Taepyeong City didn't play by my common sense.
It was a world where undead and monsters lived alongside everyone else.
Beastkin, elves, dwarves, spirits—all walking around like it was normal.
No law saying they couldn't sell cursed items here.
"Ahem. Alright, I'll open it."
"Cool. I'll handle the other stuff—check the condition carefully."
I sliced the tape with the cutter knife and opened the box. The dark red mist that had been seeping out billowed everywhere.
Inside lay a creepy necklace with a skull-shaped pendant.
Just looking at it sent chills down my spine. Definitely not your average item.
"Looks like something from a black market."
"Heh, right? I see 'em often, but I can't wrap my head around the aesthetic sense of those lich researchers from the curse labs. What's so great about that skull?"
"Never imagined I'd be handling cursed items as a convenience store clerk."
Lumina chuckled from behind her helmet.
"Might be a bad curse for a guy like you, Minchul, but it's essential for tower climbers. It tanks your movement speed and defense like crazy, but it forces one instant-death pattern to fizzle out—a debuff survival item. Super popular among undead hunters tackling upper floors lately."
"Cuts speed and defense, but it's a survival item? A curse that's trending...?"
I tilted my head, staring at the dark red aura wafting up.
"Is this a nice curse or something?"
I muttered as I carefully picked up the necklace with my bare hand. Lumina flinched and reached out.
"Hey! Don't touch that carelessly...!"
"Hm? Why?"
She stared at my hand and the necklace alternately, trailing off.
"You're fine? Most hunters would be bedridden for days if they touched that bare-handed. It's pretty lethal to living beings—even with the manager's protection, you shouldn't handle it directly..."
It was that dangerous?
I hurriedly dropped the necklace back into the box.
"Doesn't bother me at all."
"...Weird. You're human, right, Minchul?"
"Yeah."
"Maybe it doesn't target humans? Or your body's special somehow."
After finishing with the cargo, Lumina scanned me up and down.
"Special how?"
"No mana coming off you at all. Zero mana means curses don't stick."
I confirmed the box's contents and stowed it in the special safe.
Lumina stared at me intently through her helmet.
The gaze lingered so long I spoke first.
"Why're you staring like that? Something on my face?"
Lumina plopped down on the chair in front of the counter and asked,
"Just... first human I've seen up close. It's fascinating. Why're you immune to curses?"
The blue light inside her helmet flickered with her words.
"Mind if I hang out a bit?"
"Huh? Oh, sure. You worked hard—grab a cold drink and relax."
I pulled an ion drink from the fridge and handed it over. She nodded and took it.
But even holding the drink, she kept that thick helmet on.
"Why don't you take off the helmet?"
"The helmet?"
"Yeah. Makes sense on the bike, but not indoors too. You'll need to remove it to drink."
Lumina fiddled with her helmet's chin strap and let out a low laugh.
"Wanna see?"
"......"
Her question made me freeze for a second.
What if she had severe burn scars or some racial complex she didn't want to show?
Felt like I'd been too nosy. I backpedaled fast.
"No, no. If there's a story behind it, no need. Not my place to pry."
Lumina shrugged and gripped her helmet with both hands.
"Hmm, wouldn't show anyone else. But our cute part-timer's curious? Special service just for you."
Psssh.
A soft hiss of air, and she lifted the helmet straight up.
"......Huh?"
I nearly dropped the cargo I was sorting.
Gone.
No face.
No—there was no head where one should be.
Her neck was cleanly severed, empty.
Above her rider jacket, just a blue flame.
A blue flame rising from the cross-section of her neck.
That was the source of the flickering blue light I'd seen in the helmet.
"H-head...?"
It was the first thing that popped out amid the whirlwind in my mind.
"Dullahan."
Even without a head, her voice came naturally.
"Can't remember where my real face is. Been delivering cargo nationwide, searching everywhere for it. Surprised?"
"Ah......"
I alternated between the empty helmet and her neck stump, speechless.
"Yeah... pretty shocked."
"Don't usually show it, but you're cute, Minchul, so I did."
Doppelgangers copying memories.
Minotaurs streaming broadcasts.
Elves doing manual labor.
This city had all that—what's a Dullahan courier hunting her head?
"Kinda cool."
"Right? Maybe 'cause no head? People stare a lot here."
Lumina innocently pressed her exposed white cleavage together a bit.
Pretty sure it's not the head they're staring at.
They'd stare even with one.
How do you not look at those?
"Didn't expect you'd get shy about this. You were chill about my head."
"Th-this is a bit embarrassing."
"So fun teasing the innocent type. That's why the manager likes you?"
A bright laugh rang out.
Lumina watched my gaze wander lost in the air, amused. No lips to smirk, though.
The flame surging from her neck stump flickered a bit more wildly.
She lifted her crop top slightly, fanning herself, then let out a deep sigh.
"Whew, why's it so hot today?"
She tugged at the neckline of her cleavage-baring crop top with one hand, fanning more.
Sweat beaded inside her leather jacket, trickling precariously down her white skin.
Her blatantly seductive pose made me cough awkwardly and whip my gaze away.
"Store AC's cranked up high."
"Really? Then why's our Minchul's face burning up?"
Lumina leaned her upper body over the counter, closing in tight.
Her smooth waistline peeked from under the crop top right in my view, and the blue flame from her neck stump came close enough to brush my nose.
The flame wasn't hot—cool, almost chilly.
"No eyes, but this flame lets me see everything."
Her husky voice tickled my ear.
"Where you're looking while dodging my gaze. How fast your pulse is racing. I feel it all."
Big-sis charm at its finest?
Her dizzying tease choked the air from my lungs.
As I swallowed dryly at that razor-close distance—
"So cute."
Lumina pulled back lightly with a cheerful laugh.
The tension deflated in an instant.
Thud.
She gently set the helmet she'd been holding on the counter.
Then pulled wet wipes from her pocket and started tenderly cleaning the scratched surface.
"Sigh, ran deliveries all day—helmet's inside's soaked in sweat. But it's like my other self."
"......So it's not just some off-the-shelf bike helmet."
"Kinda serves as my head? Don't wanna show this side to just anyone."
Lumina slid the now-clean helmet toward me.
Then propped her chin—well, no face, but the pose—with both hands, radiating a stare.
"Minchul. Sis worked her ass off hauling cargo today. Mind petting my head?"
"Huh? Your head?"
"Yeah. Right here."
She nodded at the sleek full-face helmet sitting on the counter.
"No head, so... pet the helmet?"
"Exactly—no real head, so this'll do. C'mon, sis is craving some praise today."
"Uh...... Okay, sure."
Was she serious?
A bit dumbfounded, I gently stroked her helmet.
Rubbed the crown softly.
Poof, pop.
The blue flame from her neck stump ballooned round and bubbled up.
"Huh?"
"S-stop, that's enough. Plenty comforted now."
She snatched the helmet back in a hurry.
"Y-yeah, guy's hands are big. Feels different from when I clean it."
"......"
What was that reaction?
"You okay?"
"Of course. Fine. Just got too energized, caught me off guard."
She stood up after speaking.
"Rested too long. Won't finish today at this rate. Gotta head out—hang in there, Minchul. See you soon."
"Take care."
She slipped the helmet back on and bolted from the store like she was fleeing.
That reaction earlier...
Was she embarrassed?