Why?
“Let’s talk.”
“Hey!” Even as she vented her complaints and snapped at me, I held my tongue. I tried to understand her. Unlike me, she had far more to worry about. Go Yu-jin was a college student. Though I didn’t know the details, escorting her to school for the past few days had made it clear how much stress she was under. Women were excessively jealous of her, and men seemed to be constantly scheming how to get her into bed. I didn’t know why it had come to this. Was it because this wasn’t reality? Maybe she had her own story, too. Because of her activities as the magical girl Double Melon, malicious comments kept piling up. Even if she didn’t show it on the surface, she must have been sad. Angry. And now she was trapped here in a situation she never intended. Understanding her circumstances, I tried to accommodate her. I made the effort. I thought that if I just endured whenever she got irritated, everything would be fine. But now I’d reached my limit.
I rushed over to Go Yu-jin and grabbed her shoulders. “Hey! Listen to what people are saying!” I yanked the shoulders I’d seized toward me. Her body moved. Turning around, Go Yu-jin glared at me fiercely. It was the kind of look that could devour a person whole.
“……Let go.”
“Just talk to me first.”
“About what?”
“Well……” What had I even wanted to say? Why had I been so startled upon noticing Go Yu-jin’s presence that I came out here? When I couldn’t continue because of the sudden doubt, Go Yu-jin grabbed the hand that was holding her shoulder. Resisting her attempt to peel my hand away, I pulled her again, turning her half-turned body fully toward me. I didn’t know why I was doing this. But I did know what I needed to say.
“It’s a misunderstanding.”
“What is?”
“There was nothing like what you’re thinking.”
“Who said anything?”
I tightened my grip to stop her from turning away again. “Let go.”
“I said let’s talk.”
“I already listened.”
“Why the hell are you acting like this!” I shouted, pouring out my frustration. Both Go Yu-jin for behaving this way, and myself.
“You’re the one who should explain why you’re acting like this. What do you want me to say, huh?”
“You got angry and left, so I came looking for you because I had something to say. Wasn’t that it?”
“No. I was just passing by. And you’re the one getting angry. Why are you like this to me?”
Go Yu-jin’s face was expressionless. But her eyes were glaring at me as if she wanted to kill me. If I interpreted any emotion other than anger from that gaze, what would it mean?
“I……” The words wouldn’t come easily. I was angry that Go Yu-jin was irritated. But that wasn’t all.
“You’re afraid of being misunderstood about the relationship between you and me, aren’t you?”
While I hesitated, Lani suddenly hugged me from behind and spoke. From the feel of it, she’d put her clothes back on. Lani’s face was now level with mine. Go Yu-jin’s gaze grew even sharper.
“I’m leaving.”
Go Yu-jin turned her body again. Startled by the sudden turn of events, my hands slipped from her shoulders. I hurriedly grabbed her hand. “Wait!”
Once more, she turned her irritated face toward me and Lani, glaring at us both.
“Misunderstanding? Whether it is or isn’t, what does it matter? What do you want me to do about it?”
“Don’t you get it? Or are you pretending not to?” Lani answered in her place.
“You shut up.”
“Double Melon. Or should I say Go Yu-jin? That’s exactly why you’re angry, isn’t it?”
“Don’t call me by my name so casually.”
Her gaze and voice grew even fiercer whenever she looked at me. It was a presence that truly seemed ready to kill. Yet Lani didn’t back down.
“Then I’ll call you Double Melon. If that suits you better, I can’t help it.”
“……”
“Shall I guess? First, you’re angry that I was alone in the room with you.”
“Shut your mouth.” Go Yu-jin said, and I pushed Lani’s body away. She gave me a disappointed look as she stepped back, but didn’t cling again. Lani stood beside me and chuckled.
“There’s that saying, ‘strong denial is affirmation.’ It doesn’t apply to every situation, but right now it seems fitting.”
“I told you to shut up, rag.”
“Calling me a rag is really too much. The boss already removed all the sewn-on skin, you know? Now the only piece left is the one you stuck on my butt.”
Go Yu-jin’s face flushed red. Her clenched fists trembled visibly. One more provocative word and she looked ready to throw a punch. Fearing the situation would escalate, I quietly stepped in front of Lani. Her furious gaze immediately turned to me.
“Next is this, right? You wanted her to see your appearance, not mine. That’s what you said.”
“Let go!” Go Yu-jin roughly shook off my hand. When I didn’t release her, she kept swinging her arm violently as if she’d keep doing it until I let go. Damn it. Why was this woman making things worse?
“Let go, you bastard!”
“Listen to me too! I──”
“Don’t worry. It really is a misunderstanding. You just didn’t like me taking on Double Melon’s appearance. You didn’t want another woman copying that look.”
Lani cut me off. Her calm voice and tone stopped Go Yu-jin’s movements more effectively than my raised voice.
“I know because I faced you directly. I can tell what you want to see, what you want to do, and who you desire. I know that much because I kept watching your eyes. You only said those words because you were jealous.”
“……I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Go Yu-jin said. Her face looked much calmer than before. Though it was still red.
“Sorry, dear. Because of me, you two ended up fighting. Think about what I said today slowly later.”
Smiling as she spoke to me, Lani turned her gaze to Go Yu-jin.
“Why don’t you go back to your room and talk things out slowly? I’ll be going now. Bye-bye.”
Lani waved at us with a smile and walked down the hallway. Even after she disappeared, we stood there for a long while without looking at each other. Slowly, I released Go Yu-jin’s hand. Once I’d peeled all my fingers away, she grabbed that hand.
“Can I come into your room?”
“……Yeah.”
Holding Go Yu-jin’s hand, I led her into the room.
*
“Come in.”
Seeing Lani enter as the door opened, Angel removed the cigarette from her mouth.
“How did it go?”
“The reaction was more intense than expected. It was tough.”
“Intense? Which side?”
“Both of them.”
“Puhahaha.” Angel burst into laughter while clutching her stomach, then put the cigarette back in her mouth. “I see. So that’s how it was. That’s what happened.”
“But wasn’t it too rushed? If I hadn’t responded quickly, their relationship might have deteriorated badly.”
“Kids grow up by fighting. When they make up, they sometimes get closer than before. Because they end up revealing their honest feelings. Their understanding of each other deepens.”
“Even though they’re not friends, but a man and a woman?”
“That’s exactly why it’s more important. People in this country have a strangely strong tendency to hide their feelings. As if liking or wanting someone is something shameful. It’s really funny.”
“Is it safe to assume this confirms he has the qualities of a Patriarch?”
“Hmm. I don’t know about that. But it’s true that the possibility has increased. We only provided the opportunity. To confirm the Patriarch’s qualities, we need to see the changes when he has women to protect and a pack.”
“I see. But was there a need to rush like this? Even I, who met the two of them for a short time much later than you, boss, could tell easily enough. Though he was a bit of a troublesome type. If we’d left them alone, it would’ve happened soon anyway.”
“I want Rin to grow quickly. Werewolves—and Patriarchs—become stronger when they have something to protect. No, maybe that’s true for anyone?”
Lani shrugged as if she didn’t know either.
“Besides, isn’t this good for you too? The sooner that guy finds his mate, the sooner your chance comes. Don’t you think?”
“You’re a scary person, boss. Did you hire Double Melon for this? To awaken Rin?”
Angel exhaled gray smoke and shook her head. “You’re making me out to be too much of a villain. Hiring a man and a woman to encourage office romance? What kind of terrible employer does that? Double Melon was the one who hired us first, anyway. As a result, we might have used Double Melon, but that wasn’t why we hired her.”
“The magical girl project?”
Angel didn’t answer.
“It seems there’s something I don’t know. Anyway, I did as you instructed, boss. You won’t kill me now, right?”
“Of course. I keep my promises. But what happens from now on depends on you.”
“Naturally.”
*
Though we’d entered the room together, we didn’t speak for a while. I sat in the chair while Go Yu-jin sat on the bed, both of us just staring at the wall or ceiling. What should I say? Various words and sentences swirled in my head. Which one was best? How should I start? What did I even want to say? If I kept worrying like this, time would just keep flowing meaninglessly. I should just say something, anything, and then choose my next words based on her reaction. With that thought, I opened my mouth.
“Sorry.”
“Sorry.”
Had we both thought the same thing at the same time? We said the same words, then looked at each other in surprise.
“Ah.”
“Ah.”
Even our startled sounds came out simultaneously.
“You speak first.”
“No, you first.”
After repeating the back-and-forth a few times, I decided to speak first.
“Um…… Sorry for causing a misunderstanding. That woman…… Lani came looking for you in your form. You said you wanted to talk after this incident was over, right? So I opened the door, but when she came in, she undid the transformation.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. And while we were talking about this and that, she transformed back into your form. She was right. I told her to go back to her original form because I didn’t like her transforming into you. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it wasn’t for that reason.”
I felt like I was rambling.
“Then what was that thing about ‘service’?” Go Yu-jin asked. Had she heard that too?
“I-I didn’t ask for it. She insisted she wanted to do it. I had no intention of that.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It’s true.”
“Then it’s my turn. I…… just…… ah.”
Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes. She looked at me with eyes brimming with tears. Two streams of tears flowed down her cheeks, and as if those tears had washed away the anger that had built up, she looked at me with trembling eyes and asked.
“Why……? Why am I……?”