22
Chapter 22
Countless camera flashes went off.
The crowd cheered endlessly.
Joohyun smiled and waved at the people from the red carpet.
"Kyaa-! You're so cool, Joohyun! Please give me your autograph!"
"Wow! He's even more dashing than I heard!"
"Ah... if I could live just one day like Joohyun, I'd have no other wishes."
Amidst such reactions, Joohyun smiled haughtily and took elegant steps forward.
'Hehe. As expected of my popularity.'
He felt so full of himself that his haughty expression threatened to slip.
But Joohyun was a professional.
He couldn't reveal his true colors in a place like this.
It had already been a year since he started rolling in money.
He had become a godfather leading famous Awakeners.
Number one in South Korea's Management industry.
<Gather Around Management>.
Now, any Awakener in South Korea would do whatever it takes to join the Management where Joohyun was the CEO.
'This is the life~. I've been through a lot~.'
Yeah.
How much had he suffered to get here?
The suffering was over now. The happiness had begun.
Joohyun's chest felt a pang of emotion as he recalled everything that had happened so far.
It was while he was enjoying the moment he had always dreamed of.
"Huh...?"
That his body suddenly began to shrink.
The expensive suit he was wearing grew loose, and his field of vision dropped.
"What is going on here!"
Joohyun, who had been strutting down the red carpet, had shrunk into a white furball before he knew it.
And the people around him vanished.
"What the. Where did everybody go!"
In an instant, darkness swallowed his surroundings.
Just as a terrified Joohyun was floundering about.
Two lights flipped on right in front of him.
Joohyun naturally looked ahead.
Standing before him were Yuna and Mina.
The two were looking at Joohyun, smiling with creepy expressions.
'That is...'
It was a familiar expression.
Goosebumps erupted all over Joohyun's body.
It was an automatic reflex.
It couldn't be helped.
'That's the look they give right before they hug me!'
Driven by instinct, Joohyun stumbled backward.
But it was no use.
He was blocked by a massive wall behind him.
"CEO~."
"Joohyun... where are you going."
Exhaling hot breaths, the two gigantic shadows closed in on Joohyun.
"Aaaah... save me!"
Ultimately failing to find an escape route, Joohyun was caught in their hands.
The two people who grabbed Joohyun immediately rubbed their faces against his belly.
"Haa. So soft."
"...It's so fluffy."
The two of them were even drooling as they fondled the soft furball.
"How did I end up like this!!"
To think he had suddenly turned into a pure white furball of unknown identity.
Just a moment ago, he had definitely been an upstanding? Formal? Enviable nouveau riche.
Trying hard to deny reality, Joohyun thrashed his tiny body to escape their embrace.
"I want to go back~!"
Joohyun, who shouted with his arms spread wide while being held by the two,
"Gasp...!"
woke up from his dream.
"It was a dream..."
He let out a sigh as he welcomed the warm morning sunlight.
"Hm? But why can't I move my body?"
Joohyun thought as he looked at his own body.
And then he understood why he couldn't move.
"It wasn't a dream!"
On his right was Yuna, and on his left was Mina, each wrapping one arm around Joohyun with their faces pressed close.
No, they were practically touching him.
Hot breath tickled Joohyun's fur.
Every time they exhaled, he could faintly smell the lingering scent of alcohol.
'Come to think of it, yesterday.......'
Joohyun tried to recall what happened the previous evening.
For some reason, Yuna had been gulping down alcohol she normally couldn't handle well.
And when the drunk Yuna offered a few drinks to Mina, she passed out after just a few sips.
The two intoxicated girls then fought over who would get to cuddle with Joohyun, whose fluffy fur made him like a doll.
Of course, Joohyun refused with a sigh.
But when Joohyun refused, the two looked at him with pleading eyes.
With a soft heart, Joohyun had no choice but to find a compromise.
He would sleep in the center.
But no one was allowed to touch him.
The two nodded as if they reluctantly understood.
Joohyun had sighed looking at the two of them.
'Seriously, not like they're little girls or anything.'
And so Joohyun ended up sleeping between the two.
Which led to the current situation.
"Both of you, wake up-!"
Joohyun shouted as he pushed the two away with his squishy paws.
"Nyam nyam......."
"Mmm......."
Mina and Yuna only scowled and turned their bodies the other way, showing no intention of waking up.
"Sigh. I have so much to do today."
Joohyun clicked his tongue at the two sprawled out and got up.
When he stood up, he felt a soft sensation under his feet.
Joohyun's gaze naturally drifted downward.
It was a cushion.
A fluffy cushion filled with plenty of stuffing, not the blanket that had been worn threadbare.
Eunha had bought it for Joohyun yesterday.
'It's soft, sure, but.......'
Joohyun let out a short sigh filled with annoyance.
'What kind of design is this!'
A cutesy bunny pattern with pink sheets.
It was a cushion with a distinctly girly and cute design.
Joohyun tried to recall when he received the cushion from Eunha yesterday.
'What on earth is this! How am I supposed to use something this embarrassing!'
'What's there to be embarrassed about? It suits our humble CEO perfectly.'
'What do you mean it suits me! A tough man like me deserves a hardboiled design!'
'That's a bit.......'
'It's not hardboiled, it's softboiled. Because it's squishy.'
'Joohyun...... it suits you well.'
With Eunha, Yuna, and Mina's combined attack, Joohyun had no choice but to sigh and accept the cushion.
'Sigh. Well, it's soft so I guess it's fine. It's not like I'll carry it around outside.'
Joohyun tried to rationalize as he stepped off the cushion.
Then he looked at the two still lost in peaceful slumber.
"Nyam......CEO~"
"......So soft."
He didn't know what kind of dreams the two were having, but ignorance was definitely bliss.
'It's only been 4 days, so why does it feel like so much time has passed.'
4 days since Awakening.
Only 4 days had passed, but so many things had happened in that time.
'At this rate, when will I ever clear the Tower.'
Joohyun sighed as he thought about climbing the Tower in the future.
He was already feeling overwhelmed.
If it's like this from the start, how much more would happen later on....... It was dizzying.
'Still, it wasn't bad.'
It was tough, but he didn't hate it.
'They're my lucky charms, so it's good if they grow.'
Joohyun couldn't help but let out a laugh at the thought of already sitting on a pile of money.
Snickering to himself, Joohyun walked out into the living room and naturally turned on the TV.
He missed it yesterday because he was drinking, but it was obvious the news would be talking about the Magical Girls again.
'It would be weird if it wasn't on the news after causing such a fuss.'
Joohyun switched to a News Channel.
Just as expected, the news was broadcasting yesterday's fight.
'Magical Girls appear in the city! Just what is their Identity?!'
Following that headline, a Composite Sketch of the presumed Magical Girls appeared on the screen.
Along with zoomed-in photos from the poorly filmed video.
'What's the point of doing that. They look different when they don't do a Magical Girl Transformation.'
Joohyun picked his nose and watched the TV with an unimpressed look.
That was right.
When they were Magical Girls and when they weren't. Their appearances were completely different.
'Plus, it doesn't even look like them.'
Moreover, the Composite Sketch shown on the TV barely resembled the two of them.
It was undoubtedly because the quality of the recorded video was so poor.
After the Composite Sketch of the presumed suspects passed, a segment featuring discussions with various Specialists came on.
"What are your thoughts on this recent Magical Girl incident?"
"Yes. The whole world is currently in an uproar. It will likely bring a massive fallout to South Korea. I can't even begin to guess what kind of covert operations foreign countries will employ to take the Magical Girls. The fact that an Awakener Ability can be used outside the Tower is truly unprecedented."
Joohyun clicked his tongue as he listened to the voices coming from the TV.
'It definitely got exposed too early that Awakener Abilities can be used outside.'
He had planned to reveal that Awakener Abilities could be used only after climbing high enough up the Tower and securing a stable situation.
Because the moment it became known this early that they could use Awakener Abilities, it was obvious people would search for the Magical Girls with even more desperate fervor than now.
It was like pouring oil on a fire.
Even so, Joohyun had no regrets.
'But if Accountant Yuna hadn't used her Awakener Ability, Younger Sibling Eunha would have been badly hurt.'
At the time, it was for the best.
Even if he went back in time, he wouldn't have stopped Yuna from using her Awakener Ability.
'Still, the good thing is that people don't know Mina and Yuna are the Magical Girls yet.'
That was true.
If there was a silver lining, it was that their exact identities hadn't been figured out.
But that was only a matter of time.
As time passed, they were bound to catch the scent and swarm in.
'Should I be standing guard or something.'
With that thought, Joohyun sighed and watched the continuing segment on the TV.
The TV was showing Mina and Yuna fighting Suhyun.
"It's a scene straight out of a movie. I think this is the first time seeing Magic used in reality."
"That's probably true for anyone who isn't among the Awakeners. Strangely enough, electronic devices don't work inside the Tower. I think I kept replaying this video for minutes when I first saw it too. It's just that surreal of a sight."
"And I hear there's a lot of property damage for the citizens because of this?"
"Yes, that's correct. Some are raising their voices, demanding we find the Magical Girls and make them pay compensation......."
"Ahem-!"
Joohyun quickly cleared his throat and muted the TV.
'I didn't hear anything~'
He forced himself to rationalize and focused on the video playing again.
"Whoa~ It's my first time seeing myself use Magic, and it looks pretty good?"
"I know, right...... I look pretty cool."
Mina and Yuna had come out at some point and were Staring Blankly at the video from behind Joohyun.
"What do you mean, cool! There's no proper coordination at all."
Joohyun clicked his tongue at the two of them.
"Hey, that's pretty good fighting."
"Right....... Joohyun's standards are too strict."
The two grumbled and looked at Joohyun.
"You guys, seriously."
Joohyun leaped onto the TV cabinet.
Then he pointed at the TV screen with his cute little leg and said.
"You're not utilizing your Abilities properly! This is why it took so long to deal with Suhyun."
When Joohyun started his Nagging, the two put on a Nonchalant Act and looked elsewhere.
"Phew....... Right, what's the point of this Nagging. Hurry up and get ready. I'll teach you guys how to use Magic when we go into the Tower today."
"Huh? You, CEO? I don't think you can use Magic better than us."
"......Agreed. How can you fight looking like that."
Mina and Yuna looked down at Joohyun and shook their heads.
"Gah! You guys, seriously! Quit whining and get ready!"
The two looked at Joohyun with half-closed eyes, then sighed and nodded.
"Yees......."
"Okay......."
And so, unable to overcome Joohyun's temper, the two got ready to climb the Tower.