Someday, You Will Surely Regret It
"Ugh..."
Marie, who had been unconscious after being kidnapped by the villains, rubbed her heavy eyelids and slowly sat up.
"Marie unnie! Are you okay?"
Spica looked at her with a worried face. Marie, now coming to her senses, was startled and flustered upon seeing Spica's condition.
Spica's face was a swollen mess, her lips split and bleeding. She looked like she'd been rolling around on the floor—covered in dirt from head to toe, an utterly wretched sight.
"Haneul? What the hell..."
"Hehe. I'm just glad you're safe, unnie."
Only then did Marie remember that she'd been knocked out by the villains' attack. Turning her head to survey the unfamiliar surroundings, she could infer she'd been kidnapped. And the reason Spica looked like such a disaster? She'd probably fought the villains to rescue her.
How badly did they beat her to leave her like this? Marie swallowed the surge of emotion threatening to burst out, forcing it down. Instead, she smiled back at Spica, who was beaming at her like a puppy greeting its owner.
"Looks like you're finally awake. Mind if we talk now?"
At the voice of a stranger, Marie turned to see a woman in a pure white dress, lounging casually in a chair with her legs crossed, watching her.
Marie had never met her in person, but every hero knew her—one of the White Knights, the Princess.
She was stunned that a heavyweight like a White Knight was here, but since she'd been out cold the whole time, she had no idea what was going on.
"Talk? Didn't I already tell you everything earlier?"
"I heard your teammate got kidnapped, and you came to rescue her. What I'm curious about is Joker and Headhunter."
"Headhunter?"
Spica knew about Joker since she'd brought him along, but when the Princess mentioned Headhunter, she could only tilt her head in confusion. She hadn't brought Headhunter here.
In fact, Spica had never even met Headhunter in person. An S-rank werewolf villain wanted by the Association—if she'd actually faced that monster, a mid-level hero like her wouldn't be alive right now.
"Headhunter was here?"
"You didn't even know that?"
"...How would I know?"
"What about Joker? You seem to know something."
"When I was fighting the villains underground, I overheard them panicking about Joker breaking in. Thanks to that distraction, I was able to save Marie unnie."
Spica didn't mention that she'd brought Joker. He was a villain wanted by the Association, after all—admitting a hero had teamed up with one wouldn't do her any favors.
More than that, she was puzzled why she was still alive after Drake had gotten the drop on her. Had Joker saved her? Or the Princess? She was curious but didn't ask.
"What about you? Know anything?"
"No... I don't even know what's going on here."
The Princess asked Marie, but she truly knew nothing and could only shake her head in denial. If anything, the names Joker and Headhunter only confused her more.
"Fine, if you don't know. Oh, and Joker and Headhunter seem to be in cahoots, so watch out. Spica, you especially—you've got history with Joker."
"What? Joker and Headhunter are on the same side?"
"Yeah. Headhunter showed up, saved Joker, and vanished. It's clear."
Spica panicked. The infamous Headhunter, on the same side as Joker? Last time, during the Villain Alliance's hero ambush, Joker had said he didn't run with groups. Maybe he'd joined another organization after that, or perhaps as fellow werewolves, they'd known each other from the start.
Still, Spica didn't like the idea of Joker being tight with such a brutal villain.
"Anyway, if you don't know anything about Joker or Headhunter, that's that. More importantly, should I escort you to the hospital?"
"I'm fine. I can get there on my own."
Spica was exhausted, barely able to move, but being around the Princess felt awkward, so she politely declined. The Princess didn't seem thrilled about it either.
With the Princess staying behind to handle cleanup at the hideout, Spica left with Marie and headed home. A lot of time had passed—the dim sky was starting to glow with hints of blue as the sun rose.
"Haneul. What was the Princess talking about earlier? Joker and Headhunter—what's that mean? Were they at the hideout?"
Leaning on Marie as they walked, Spica hesitated, then decided to come clean with her—at least to Marie.
"Well... truth is, I called Joker. I don't know about Headhunter, though."
"You called Joker?"
"Yeah. I was heading to the hideout to save you when I ran into him. So I asked for his help."
"And he just helped because of that?"
"Not sure, but it seemed like he had some grudge against the Villain Alliance. He said if he knew where the hideout was, he couldn't just walk away, so he came along."
"Sigh. Haneul, I told you before—stay away from werewolves."
Marie sighed as she spoke, and Spica pouted, feeling a sting inside. She didn't know the full story since she'd passed out midway, but without Joker, she probably wouldn't have made it either.
"But Joker's different from other villains, right? We've both been helped by him before anyway."
Looking purely at results: Marie had survived the convenience store attack thanks to Joker, Spica the hospital terror, and now this kidnapping.
But Marie's expression turned serious as she stared straight at Spica.
"Haneul. Werewolves aren't people. They're monsters that eat humans. They blend into crowds, fooling people to survive. They act nice, act normal, but deep down, they don't see us as equals."
Marie often fussed over Spica, but this earnest tone froze her solid.
"Still..."
"Haneul. I don't want you getting tangled up with werewolves anymore—with Joker. Someday, you will surely regret it."
With that, Spica said no more in Joker's defense.
Werewolves were society's evil—it was common knowledge. But most people spouted that without ever meeting one.
Since encountering Joker, Spica had started inwardly rebelling against those views. She'd met a werewolf herself; she knew better than strangers who hadn't.
Yet Marie's words—"someday, you will surely regret it"—gave Spica a sudden certainty that Marie had encountered a werewolf in her past.
Was that why? Spica suddenly recalled first meeting Marie.
Three years ago, when Spica had just become a hero, Marie had been ice-cold. Nothing like her current gentle self—impossible to imagine from today's warm demeanor. She distrusted everyone, kept her distance, drew lines. Spica had wondered why someone who didn't trust humans became a hero protecting them.
Then, after a mission together, Marie's attitude softened toward her, and she gradually opened up to others.
Maybe back then, Marie's distrust stemmed from a werewolf.
Spica wanted to ask about Marie's past but held back. Even close friends had secrets they didn't share.
Still, it stung that the person she trusted most couldn't understand.
Sorry, Marie—but Spica had no intention of following her advice to avoid werewolves. Joker wasn't someone she could just "get tangled with" on a whim anyway.
Blindly accepting others' words as truth, abandoning her own judgment—that was foolish.
Spica believed in judging things herself, from what she'd seen and felt.
Even if it ended in regret, as Marie said.
She didn't want to worry Marie, though, so she quietly vowed not to mention werewolves around her anymore.