The Mask Comes Off
Nero had prepared dinner but stayed hidden in the room until I left. Her reaction still weighed on me, yet with the meeting time approaching, I hurried out. Not long after leaving the apartment, I ran into the person who had just messaged me.
"...It really was you, Team Leader."
"You came out early. We still have a little time before the reservation, so shall we head over first?"
"Sure, why not."
She wore her usual tailored suit, gloves that covered every inch of skin, and that ever-unsettling clown mask. Nothing about her appearance had changed.
"By the way, this number..."
"Ah, it's my personal number. Not the one I use for work, but the one for private contact."
"I see..."
I couldn't quite picture the Team Leader's life outside the company. Did she really keep that mask on even in her private time?
"I wanted to properly apologize for last time, and there are a few other things I'd like to discuss. Do you like Western cuisine?"
"Western...? Ah, as in not Korean or Japanese. Yeah, I don't mind it."
"I'm glad. I already made a reservation at one place, so let's go there."
Surprisingly, she flagged down a taxi right away and gave the driver an address. I'd imagined her driving a sleek black sedan, but apparently not. Since she took the front seat and I sat in the back, I ended up fiddling with my phone. The usual voices around me were silent, so I decided to simply enjoy the rare quiet.
"We've arrived, sir."
While I was staring blankly out the window at the passing cars, we reached our destination. It was in a secluded spot, but the building had the unmistakable air of an exclusive, members-only Western restaurant. Then again, I could afford a meal like this now. No need to get nervous.
"I've rented out the entire restaurant for tonight. I hope you'll take it as a small gesture of sincerity."
"R-right..."
...Though I still couldn't imagine renting out a whole place myself. Same-day reservations probably weren't even possible, yet she hadn't considered the possibility of me refusing. Following her inside, we were immediately guided to the innermost private room on the second floor. The table was already set, and not a single sound from outside could be heard. She really had reserved the entire place.
"Shall we eat first?"
"Ah... but..."
She couldn't possibly eat while wearing that mask. The moment the thought crossed my mind, her hand rose toward it. I held my breath. I'd seen her drink through a straw a few times, but never once had I seen her eat. And I'd never seen her without the mask at all.
Click. With a soft sound, the mask lifted slightly. If she pulled it away now, her face would be revealed. But her hand paused. Instead of removing it, she suddenly spoke—not to me, but to my shadow stretched across the floor under the soft lighting.
"You're there, aren't you? Founder, would you mind isolating the space for us?"
...Founder?
"...Sure."
"Eek?"
I let out a startled sound as a black-haired girl suddenly poked her head out of my shadow. I'd guessed she was nearby, but I never expected her to emerge from my own shadow. Wait—did that mean she was there when I was looking at Nero in her underwear too...? My face burned.
"Haha, don't mind it too much. I'm counting on you."
"No way. Why should I do anything for that creepy clown?"
At Founder's blunt refusal, the Team Leader turned to me instead.
"Mm... It seems I'll have to ask you, Ung-ssi."
I had no idea what this "isolation" even was, but if the Team Leader had been turned down, there was no way Founder would listen to me...
"..."
I looked at the Team Leader, silently signaling that it was impossible, but her gaze stayed fixed on me.
"Founder? Could you do it...?"
In the end, I gave it a try anyway. To my surprise, Founder agreed without hesitation.
"Fine, whatever."
"...Huh?"
She leaned out of the shadow up to her waist and, as if swimming, dragged my shadow across the floor toward the window. Then she pressed her small palm against the glass. The light stayed the same, but the shadow stretched and moved in an eerie way. After holding her hand there for a few seconds, she pulled back.
"Done. No more interference."
"Thank you, Founder."
Founder didn't respond to the thanks and simply sank back into the shadow.
"..."
I touched my now-normal shadow once, then turned back to the Team Leader. Noticing my gaze, she let out a soft laugh.
"Pfft... You really don't realize how much this world loves you, do you, Ung-ssi?"
"Loves me...?"
"The fact that Founder came out of your shadow is proof enough, but... that's not what matters right now."
Without hesitation, she removed the mask from her face, as casually as someone taking off a hat upon entering a room.
Clack. The mask was placed on the table.
The Team Leader's mask had come off.
...!
Where a man of similar build had been sitting moments ago, the figure had shrunk, curves softening into a distinctly feminine shape. Her hair lengthened in an instant, cascading down, its color shifting from black to a vivid, burning blue—like living azure flames. The mirror-like property of the mask vanished, and her true appearance was laid bare before me.
Before I could even process the striking color of her hair, my eyes were drawn to her bare face. I stared, completely captivated.
"Ah..."
Her eyes, the same endless blue as her hair, glowed with fierce vitality. That beauty was what had stolen my breath and left me dazed. She looked nothing like the image I'd built in my mind. Everything—from head to toe—was different.
Those bright blue eyes that would never overlook anything wrong, framed by sharp, righteous features. The elegant nose and the faintly smiling lips beneath that vivid blue hair completed a stunning visage.
She was beautiful. So beautiful it was almost unsettling.
...I almost wondered if she was even the same person.
"Is it... really you, Team Leader...?"
The words slipped out before I could stop them. I couldn't believe this was the same person I knew.
The President had said she could identify people by scent, but if someone else had worn the Team Leader's mask, I would have been completely fooled. I was so shaken that I couldn't even accept the reality in front of me.
"Ah, of course. This is the first time you've seen my real face, isn't it?"
Her voice was no longer the grating, metallic noise from the mask. It was the clear, pleasant voice I'd once overheard through an ability. This was... the Team Leader's true self.
It was hard to believe she was the same unsettling clown-suited figure who had been sitting across from me just moments ago.
...But why had she taken off the mask? Just to eat? That didn't seem like enough reason. She'd once told me the mask was nothing more than a childish expression of self-loathing and hatred toward her own kind.
"I did say I wanted to show my sincerity, didn't I?"
"Ah...?"
I flinched. It felt like she'd read my mind. Right now, my expression was probably completely transparent.
"Pfft... Your face is hilarious. Did my beauty leave you speechless?"
She narrowed her eyes and teased as usual, but this time I couldn't even deny it. The feeling was completely different from before.
"I was... a little surprised."
Still, was it really okay for someone's image to change this drastically? Only her appearance and voice had changed, after all.
"That doesn't look like 'a little surprised.' Don't tell me you're feeling lust?"
"..."
"...The silence is making me a bit nervous."
Normally, I would have been too dumbfounded to respond to such teasing, but this time the reason was different—and that scared me too.
It felt like I was being enchanted. Not the same way as when I looked into the Field Team Leader's eyes, but something purer... like faith being born where there had been none before. I didn't even know what I was thinking.
"The President had a similar reaction the first time she saw me. Shall we eat first?"
Eat... Right, we had come here to eat. I nodded blankly. Right now, I felt like I wouldn't be able to disobey any order she gave.
She was glowing. Under the soft lighting, it looked as if she alone was absorbing all the light, her pale, smooth skin radiating a gentle radiance. Her beauty shone even brighter, and her hair swayed like living blue flames.
If she asked whether I was feeling lust, the answer was no. Some part of me refused to allow such base emotions in front of her, sweeping them all away.
She looked less like a beautiful work of art and more like a statue in a cathedral.
...Was I really supposed to eat in front of her like this?
"If you stare too much, I'll get embarrassed... Hehe."