The Scent of Another
Eventually, we did it once more in the early morning. After barely managing to shower and clean our bodies that had gotten messy again, we ended up going back into the shower together when things heated up once more. Only after finishing did we rush out, calling a taxi in a hurry to head toward the art museum. The heat between us burned hotter than any honeymoon, yet even that wasn't enough to fully release what we had pent up inside.
With the morning sun finally rising and bathing us in its light, it was time to head to work. Fortunately, the roads weren't too congested, giving us a bit more leeway than expected. Instead of having the taxi drop us off inside the museum grounds, I asked to be let out near the main entrance. There was a reason for that.
"..."
A neatly dressed woman in a suit, her face flushed bright red since morning, was walking toward me with an awkward gait, her heels somehow scraping against the floor. The place she had just come from was a small pharmacy near the art museum.
"How did it go?"
"...I don't know."
She knows exactly what happened, yet she's still asking. How mischievous.
Her coy eyes avoided mine as she denied it, but the way her gaze secretly checked my reaction was adorable enough to wash away the fatigue from staying up all night. Her golden hair, which seemed to have grown a little since I first met her, now reached her nape. She hadn't dried it completely, so today she had tied it back neatly. My eyes kept drifting to that hidden nape where she had stuck on a pain relief patch to cover the marks, and it was becoming a problem.
"You bought the right thing, right?"
"Yeah..."
By the time things flared up again in the morning, we had already used up all the condoms. In her hand, along with the receipt sticking out, was none other than the morning-after pill. Even though we hadn't gone all the way without protection, I had still asked her to buy it just in case.
"Still, it's a relief. Since the pharmacy owner is an old lady, it must have been less embarrassing, right?"
"...I come here often to buy glucose candies even on normal days."
"Ah, because of overtime... I didn't know that."
I didn't want to put her in an embarrassing situation in front of some other man either. Back when we used to take the subway a lot, I had walked from the station to the art museum and knew who the pharmacy owner was... It was supposed to be a calculated little prank, but who would have thought she was already acquainted with them?
"Ugh... She asked if I got a boyfriend."
When she handed me the candy and asked if I came to buy some again, I wondered what kind of expression I was making...
"Did your heart race?"
"..."
Her face was red, but the corners of her mouth kept twitching uncontrollably. Seeing how satisfied she looked, I supposed it was fine.
"From now on, carry some with you. You never know when or where you'll need them, right?"
"...Got it... Ung."
Thanks to our little game with the adorable girl, we arrived at the main building just before opening time. As we stepped inside and felt the cool air of the empty, spacious museum—
"Ung-ah, slow down a little... My legs and back right now... Hik?"
An unexpected figure was waiting there.
"Good morning. Ung-ssi, and Response Team Leader?"
I only knew one person who wore a grotesque clown mask that didn't match her perfectly tailored suit at all, even though it wasn't Halloween.
"...Team Leader."
Running into her so suddenly made me feel a bit intimidated, honestly. There wasn't really any reason for me to be scared, but the fact that she was outside at this hour, unlike usual, and the way she greeted me so casually made me feel like she had the upper hand even before the conversation started. Maybe it was because my body, still sore from yesterday's beating, remembered the sharp taste of her fists all too well.
"Don't be so on guard. You came to see Nero, right? As you've probably heard, I've been banned from entering that floor. If I wanted to apologize, I had no choice but to wait here."
"An apology...?"
The person saying she wanted to apologize was acting so confident that it was hard to tell if she was actually sorry. With the mask hiding her expression and her voice distorted, there was no way to know for sure.
"Yes. I didn't expect you to come with the Response Team Leader, though."
The mask tilted slightly, as if glancing behind me.
"A pain relief patch...?"
"...Eek."
I could see Yerin hiding behind my back at some point. From the Team Leader's perspective, she was the main culprit who had reported everything to the President and ruined the plan, so maybe that was why.
"You don't have to do that, Response Team Leader. I'm grateful that you reported it to the President. You prevented a situation that could have become irreversible."
"..."
"By the way, the distance between you two has narrowed quite a bit since I last saw you."
"Ah, this is... I mean..."
Yerin, who had unconsciously hidden behind me, only realized it now and hurriedly stepped away, but that reaction only made her look more suspicious.
"...More importantly, you said you came to apologize to me."
"Yes, that was the case."
When I spoke up first to cut the tension, the Team Leader's gaze returned to me.
"..."
It felt as if someone was pushing me from behind, giving me confidence. Was it because someone was hiding behind me? Because I felt like she was relying on me...? Maybe it was just a male instinct not wanting to look pathetic in front of his woman.
"I think there must have been some reason for you to act that way, Team Leader. Maybe there was some personal circumstance I don't know about."
"Hmm..."
"But is that reason really enough to justify hurting Nero, who is like family to me, and even trying to kill her right in front of my eyes?"
"..."
Perhaps because of that, my mouth moved smoothly even in the cool morning air, pouring out everything I wanted to say. Surprisingly, my voice didn't even tremble, and I didn't stutter like I would have regretted later.
"If you truly want to admit your mistake and ask for my forgiveness, then first, please honestly tell me why you acted so hastily. If you can't even do that... I will never be able to understand you."
"...I did it for your safety, but I suppose I can't say that right now either."
"One way or another, you've always looked out for me, so it's not like I don't understand that feeling. I just want to hear it. The reason why someone as composed as you suddenly took on the role of the villain so obediently."
"..."
A short, uncomfortable sigh escaped, and the Team Leader didn't continue.
"If this isn't the kind of conversation to have standing here, I can make time later. Honestly, I was deeply shocked and disappointed by your actions, and part of me doesn't even want to understand. But you're still my superior, and I don't want our relationship to completely fall apart either..."
After saying my piece, I calmed my emotions and took a step back to show my willingness to improve things. Only then did the Team Leader open her mouth again.
"Then... I'll contact you separately. I'm sorry for blocking your way when you're busy."
With her hands behind her back, the Team Leader stepped aside. I gave her a polite nod in return and walked past. A moment later, hurried footsteps followed behind me.
"Ung, you... You're better at talking than I thought?"
Ah... Wait, did I just win against the Team Leader with words? It wasn't really a situation where winning or losing mattered, but it was the first time I had said everything I wanted to say in front of her. Was it thanks to this girl...?
I glanced at her. She was looking up at me with sparkling eyes full of admiration. Come to think of it, she used to get teased by the Team Leader just like me.
"...Maybe it was thanks to you."
"Huh? Yeah?"
Leaving her muttering behind me in confusion, I finally boarded the elevator feeling like I had pulled out a troublesome tooth. Of course, the next hurdle came quickly, in a new form.
"...What are you?"
"Huh...?"
"When you left yesterday, you acted all worried and caring... Come here, right now!"
"Eeeh...?!"
Before returning to her busy duties as the Response Team Leader, she had said she wanted to check on Nero. We headed to the containment room together, but the moment we stepped inside, this happened.
Nero, not caring how precious her beautiful voice was, let out a sharp hiss and pounced, leaving claw marks all over my arms without mercy. It wasn't as bad as before—she didn't tear the skin, just left stinging scratches—but she was clearly furious.
Yerin gave an awkward laugh, muttered something like "Looks like she's fine," and had long since fled. Not knowing what was going on, I looked toward the Field Team Leader like a drowning man grasping at straws, but she was just leaning against the wall by the door with her eyes closed, as if asleep, just like the first time I entered this room.
"Ow, that hurts, Nero..! What's wrong with you?"
"What's wrong...? You're asking me what's wrong? You really don't know...? You're dead today!"
Chomp!
In the end, Nero bit down on the back of my hand, sinking her teeth in. Still not satisfied, she put more force into her jaw and refused to let go no matter what.
"Aaaah.. I was wrong, I was wrong, so let go...! It hurts...!"
"At that time... I told you not to..."
After threatening that she would never let go, Nero had seemed like she would cling to my arm forever. But when she saw blood trickling down the back of my hand, she finally released me and curled up in the corner of the containment room, turning her back to the wall and lying down.
The memory of her getting sulky like this after I teased her with churu once and not speaking to me for days made cold sweat run down my forehead. Right now, no matter what I did, she probably wouldn't even look at me.
But seriously, what did I do wrong? I couldn't understand why Nero was this angry. Had something happened while I was gone? That didn't make sense, because when the door opened, she had clearly looked happy to see me...
"Ugh..."
Pressing down on the clear teeth marks on the back of my hand where blood was welling up, I had no choice but to walk over to the only person who might know the reason.
Her brows were slightly furrowed, as if the noise had disturbed her, so she probably wasn't actually asleep...
"...Field Team Leader?"
"You did something wrong, so go away. I'm tired."
...That was the answer I got the moment I called her. She spoke as if she already knew exactly what I had done wrong.
"...Field Team Leader? What do you mean..."
"I said I'm tired."
Even with her extraordinary physical abilities, could she really get tired? I wondered if she just didn't want to tell me, but there really was fatigue in her voice. Had something happened between her and Nero last night?
"Ugh..."
Both Nero and the Field Team Leader seemed like people I shouldn't provoke right now. I stood there shifting my weight, clutching my throbbing hand, when my pacing near her apparently annoyed her.
"...Haa."
With an irritated sigh, the faint wrinkles on her forehead deepened, giving her a sharp expression. Naturally, I tensed up, but what came out of her red lips wasn't a curse.
"Shampoo."
"...?"
The answer I barely managed to get was completely out of place in this situation. Shampoo... Shampoo...?
"Did the shampoo... do something wrong?"
"..."
Creak... This was dangerous. I could feel it. The woman in front of me had already reached the limit of her patience.
"Hoo..."
Fortunately, she seemed to remember her current position and barely swallowed her anger. But thinking that I would keep bothering her if she didn't explain properly, she spoke in a blunt, curt tone. And what she said was—
"The smell. You and the Response Team Leader... You smell like the same shampoo."