Gallery Owner (3)
We stepped inside her home, both of us carrying the awkwardness of our first meeting. The interior was remarkably tidy for a place where someone lived alone in this mess of a world. But there was this subtle, alien dissonance prickling at my skin.
It's dark in here.
Even in broad daylight, blackout curtains sealed every window without a gap, and thin sheets of paper covered the ceiling fluorescents, making the light itself soft and dim. It felt like the decor was designed to shun strong illumination. Come to think of it, a comment she'd let slip during our first exchange over gallery issues flashed through my mind.
"I can't go out during the daytime."
Her pale skin, snow-white hair, and this gloomy house—it all connected in some hazy way.
"Please, have a seat on the sofa, even if it's humble. GrimBangBang."
"...Pardon? Ah..."
Lost in thought for a moment, I nearly missed that she was calling me. Yeah, my gallery handle was GrimBangBang, but hearing it spoken aloud in this serious atmosphere made my face burn with embarrassment.
"Uh, about that nickname..."
"Oh. Then, may I have your real name...?"
My words caught in my throat. My real name? I had one, of course—a pretty manly one. But my current body looked like a girl fresh out of high school. No way was I revealing the gender swap right now.
Just make something up.
A split-second dilemma. My main skill, Train Summon, popped into my head. Train... summon... Cha So-won.
"Cha... Cha So-won."
It sounded plausible enough, inspired by the skill name. I blurted it out without much thought, but she nodded faintly, a subtle smile touching her lips.
"Ah, I'm Do Ha-seon..."
Do Ha-seon.
After our light introductions, we sat facing each other on the worn sofa under the faint lighting. Ha-seon spoke cautiously.
"Um... So-won? What exactly happened in Yeouido, and why was there a tracker in the item I bought...?"
"Ah..."
I spilled everything: the gallery posts, info from the Awakener Alliance folks, every word I'd eavesdropped on with the recon drone. She deserved to hear it all firsthand. The politicians were targeting her because she held the most influential skill for controlling people and Awakeners.
"Your skill is the only info network survivors can rely on. I felt like I had to protect you..."
That's why I'd rushed here. If she fell under someone's control, the fallout would be massive.
Her clear eyes trembled slightly at my words—a mix of fear, relief, and strange guilt. She clenched her hands on her lap and bowed her head with a sigh.
"Thank you so much for protecting me. But..."
She lifted her gaze, staring straight at me. After avoiding my eyes before, this look carried resolve.
"You've told me all this, so I should probably open up to you too, So-won."
The air in the room grew heavy with her solemn tone. I swallowed hard, steeling myself. Great power comes with great responsibility, right? I'd sacrificed my precious masculinity for the train and ended up like this. So I figured she'd paid some massive price for her gallery skill too.
Maybe something like me—
As my imagination wandered there, Ha-seon parted her heavy lips.
"When I first awakened this skill... I gained so much, but I lost a ton too."
"Lost... what do you mean?"
"My... normal life."
I pondered that. Normal life?
"If you keep me around for protection, it might be a huge hassle. This skill came with countless phobias."
"Countless phobias...?"
She gave a bitter smile and folded her white fingers one by one.
"I can't even remember them all... Acrophobia, social phobia, heliophobia... hemophobia, and gynophobia—no, androphobia... That's just what I recall, and there's more..."
"...Androphobia?"
She explained it straight: fear triggered by the opposite sex. Men, specifically. She'd gasp just seeing male pics on the gallery sometimes. Beyond phobias, she'd gained other changes.
"No idea why, but my hair turned pure white... And honestly, my looks got way more striking. Some might like it, but with this appearance, running into male survivors outside sparks these weird persecution delusions—what if they do something horrific..."
She rubbed her chest and let out a deep sigh.
"So when I opened the door and saw you were a woman, I was so relieved inside. If it'd been some rough guy..."
I clamped my mouth shut. Awkward situation. My body looked female, but my mind was still a guy's. Wonder how she'd react if she knew.
I gave up one big thing, but she got a bunch of minor penalties. Huh, options like that exist too.
I wondered idly which was better. Water under the bridge now.
"I hate to say it myself, but... I might just be a burden to you, So-won."
Seeing her so withdrawn, I swallowed a short sigh and asked calmly.
"Are you scared of me right now, by any chance?"
She flinched at the question, then gently shook her head.
"...No. Not at all. Windows or drones scare me, but..."
"Those scare me too."
My spear and drone, sure. If a stranger showed up with a spear or armed drone, I'd freak too. That wasn't phobia territory.
"Then we're good."
She was vital to tons of survivors—me included. Minor inconveniences were no big deal.
Her eyes widened like a rabbit's, then she whispered softly, voice trembling, "Thank you..."
Gotta hide that I'm a guy inside.
No clue how far the androphobia went, but revealing it wouldn't help. One more secret added.
We waited in the living room, holding our breath till evening. She feared the sun, and those birds quieted down at night, per her. We'd move after dark.
Finally, full night fell. We grabbed minimal gear and slipped out of the apartment cautiously. Her stuff was sparse: laptop, peripherals, clothes.
"That's the train."
"Ah... so that's the famous..."
"...Famous?"
"Yes..."
Amid the shadowed station, the train revealed itself. Ha-seon bit her lip at the sight of its brutal spikes and turrets, tense. One of her phobias kicking in? Or just plain scary.
"It's fine. Looks tough outside, but inside..."
I led the spooked girl quickly and opened car 1's door.
"Ah."
Whoosh—
A small gasp escaped Ha-seon at the cozy scene beyond. Unlike the exterior, it was comfortable: sofas, bed, Donggle's tank—almost like a luxury hotel, minus the cockpit.
Considering her, I tweaked the cockpit panel to bathe car 1 in soft, warm orange light.
"Wow..."
Under the glow, Ha-seon perched on the sofa, eyes wide with awe as she scanned the interior. Color faintly returned to her pale cheeks, easing my mind.
"Want a quick tour?"
She nodded eagerly. Car 1 was simple—just more on the cockpit and Donggle—then to car 2. Armory, drone bay, disassembler, storage: her eyes went round, exclamations nonstop.
"Like something out of a movie."
After touring passenger car 3, her tension had melted. Back in car 1, her gaze lingered on the bathroom door.
"...Ha-seon, want to shower?"
"Ah... yeah, actually..."
I told her it was fine, pointed out towels and spare toiletries. Blushing slightly, she grabbed a towel and change of clothes and ducked inside.
Click.
The lock engaged, and soon...
Shhhhaaaa—
Nothing major, but the sound grated on my nerves now.
...Hmm.
I cleared my throat awkwardly and turned away. My imagination ran wild—the water noise conjured images. I tried ignoring it, but those assets were big—
No, focus elsewhere!
I yanked out my smartphone and logged into the gallery. Had to distract myself.
Right on cue, the free board was ablaze with pointless bait.
"Yeah, chicken... chicken sounds good."
I ignored the shhhhaaaa— from behind and dove into the gallery.