Public Authority
Dangerous.
It was dangerous.
That single thought spread, multiplied, and before long completely filled my head.
At this timing, the police were definitely dangerous.
Had I been spotted wandering outside?
But I was sure I'd hidden my ears and tail properly.
If someone looked really closely, they might notice the hood's outline was a bit off, but would the police come just for that?
My head spun.
Of course, they might have come for some other business that had nothing to do with beastkin or Cecilia.
I knew that much was possible.
"…Eunhyuk?"
But the timing was bad.
As long as I couldn't rule out the worst possibility, I had to prepare for it.
"Hide, Cecilia."
"Wh-what?"
"Hide. The bathroom or anywhere… just somewhere you can't be seen from outside!"
I spoke urgently, yet kept my voice low enough that it wouldn't carry beyond the door.
Fortunately, Cecilia moved fast.
The moment she heard me, she nodded and slipped straight into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
She must have been on edge from the start; her reaction was remarkably quick.
"Is anyone home?"
The voice came from outside again.
I drew a deep breath, opened the door, and poked my head out.
"Ah, there you are."
"…What brings you here, Officer?"
First I needed to size up the situation.
When I asked in a slightly stiff voice, the officer gave me a good-natured smile and spoke.
"No need to be so tense. I just stopped by to ask a few questions."
"…A warrant or something…"
"Come on, nothing like that. Really, it'll only take a moment right here. Are you busy?"
I hesitated for a second after hearing that.
At least it didn't seem like the worst-case scenario. His manner was light; there was no gravity to it.
Chances were high he'd genuinely just come to ask about something.
At this level I could probably brush him off by saying I was busy and send him on his way without issue, but…
"…No, it's fine. What is it?"
I accepted the questions without deliberately refusing.
If it had nothing to do with Cecilia, there was no reason to be afraid.
Acting unnaturally defensive and inviting suspicion would be worse than just handling it casually.
"Well, things have been pretty noisy in the news lately about otherworlders and all that, right?"
At the officer's next words I tensed and went rigid.
It was good that it wasn't about Cecilia specifically, but I never expected it would still be related to otherworlders.
This might still be a little dangerous.
"W-well, even if you say 'lately,' I haven't really been watching the news much recently."
"Is that so? How long has it been since you last checked?"
"Just yesterday and today, mostly…. I did read the articles saying otherworlders had appeared, though."
That part, at least, wasn't a lie.
Almost everything I knew about otherworlders had come from the article Jaeseop hyung had passed along.
I'd meant to look into it myself, but from the day before yesterday everything had been so hectic that I never found the time.
Because of that, the information I had was sparse.
The sense of reality was even thinner.
People talked about otherworlders showing up, yet the only one I'd actually met was Cecilia.
"If you know that much, there's no problem. It's not that big a deal, but…"
The officer trailed off and continued, lowering his voice in contrast to the claim that it wasn't a big deal.
"Otherworlders are completely unprecedented, right?"
"Of course."
"So the only order that came down to us was a simple one: gather them up and manage them. For temporary housing we just rented lodging facilities here and there in a hurry."
"I see."
"The sooner they gather, the better for both us and them, so we've been running around hard since the day before yesterday. But every now and then you get… you know, those types."
He broke off there.
He scratched his chin as if searching for the right word, then continued.
"Thugs."
"…Thugs?"
"The rough, delinquent kind. Most of the ones I've met have been cooperative, but every so often there are a few who go around attacking people, and it's just…"
Looking thoroughly fed up, the middle-aged officer twisted his face and shook his head.
At a glance he seemed cheerful, but it was clear he'd been quietly stacking up a lot of stress underneath.
"One of those types was reported to have passed through this area recently."
"Ah."
I nodded at the officer's next words.
Asking people who lived near where the suspect had passed whether they'd seen anything.
In other words, this man had come here for a simple investigation.
"The time was last night at eight. The location is around here, but it's not precise. If you saw anything at all, I'd appreciate it if you told me."
"Hmm."
Last night at eight?
Last night at eight. Hmm.
Around then I was probably…
"…Having a light drink early in the evening and reading a book while half-drunk and half-asleep…"
"Ah…"
In other words, nothing had been going into my head at all.
To add a little more, even the contents of the book I'd been reading were a bit hazy now.
"If I try to remember, I feel like I might have heard some kind of noise, but I'm not sure. Sorry I can't be of more help."
"Oh, no need to apologize. I'm the one who should be sorry for taking your time."
The atmosphere drifted in a warm direction after that.
I was glad I hadn't drawn any unnecessary suspicion.
"Sorry for the intrusion. If you happen to see anything later…"
The officer was wrapping up the conversation, and I nodded as I prepared to close the door.
That was when it happened.
A loud clatter of something falling rang out from the bathroom.
"…!"
"? Sir, aren't you a bachelor?"
I froze in horror; the officer asked the question out of pure curiosity.
This was not good at all.
I had no idea what had made that noise, but the situation right now was extremely bad.
"No! It's nothing. You can just head back—"
"Just a moment."
The officer grabbed the edge of the door I was trying to force shut with a sharp thud.
This man was far stronger than he looked.
The door wouldn't close.
"You are a bachelor, correct?"
"W-well, yes…"
"…Excuse me for a moment."
"What? Wh-whoa?!"
As the officer pulled, the door swung open easily despite my resistance.
With unhesitating footsteps he walked straight into the living room.
Then he bent down and picked something up.
"What's go—"
"A hair…"
I flinched.
What the officer had found was a single long strand of silver-white hair.
Obviously, anyone could tell it wasn't mine.
"Please step back."
"Wait a second. What? Wh-what are you trying to…"
Speaking in a suddenly grave voice, the officer straightened up again.
He muffled his footsteps and approached the bathroom door.
"Hup…!"
Then, before I could say a word, he flung the door open with a force that made a sharp whoosh.
"…!!"
Cecilia came into view, crouched and frozen stiff.
At the same time I saw the officer, face tense, reaching toward his hip.
Dangerous.
It was dangerous.
A true hair-trigger moment. In the illusion that time had slowed, I…
"Stop!"
I threw myself between the officer and Cecilia.
"Eun…!"
Cecilia's stifled voice came from behind me.
"…Ugh?!"
The officer's eyes went wide and the hand he'd been moving froze with a start.
Cecilia inside the bathroom, me in front of her, the officer at the entrance.
We held a standoff, each frozen in an awkward posture.
"…Uh……"
The officer was the first to speak.
With an extremely confused expression, he said,
"…So what exactly is going on here?"
I was about to let out a long sigh at the sight when I suddenly felt someone clinging to my back.
It was Cecilia.
I slowly stroked her trembling back.
"Let's try to sort this out, then."
A few minutes later, in the living room.
The still-bewildered officer—who had introduced himself as Park Wunho—spoke up.
"First, our gentleman here… met Miss Cecilia two days ago and decided to take her under his protection."
"That's right."
"Miss Cecilia agreed to that as well. …Miss Cecilia?"
"…"
At Wunho's words Cecilia gave no answer; she only curled up tighter and pressed herself closer against me.
I gently patted her back with soft little taps.
She must have been thoroughly startled. Her small hands kept fidgeting with her right ear the whole time.
"…I'm sorry. I was absolutely certain it was an illegal intrusion…"
"I didn't handle it perfectly either. Hiding her so half-heartedly…"
This whole incident had simply arisen from a misunderstanding between incomplete information and each person's perceptions; it was hard to say anyone was truly at fault.
If anything, Wunho had responded well.
He had faithfully pieced together the information given to him and taken decisive action based on it.
The fact that the "information given to him" included the false details I had planted was what caused this mess, but still.
"…So what do you intend to do now?"
I asked in a voice still laced with wariness.
"I know it's extremely awkward to say this in an atmosphere like this, but…"
He cleared his throat and continued.
"Per police policy, you'll need to come with me."
A startled tremor ran through Cecilia's body where she clung tightly to me.
Whether he failed to notice or simply pretended not to, Wunho kept talking.
"…I can assure you the facilities are excellent. They're lodging establishments prepared with support funds. There's nothing lacking for daily life."
"…"
"Security is of course excellent as well. There are plenty of police stations nearby, and officers will come running whenever you call."
"…"
"Counseling is available too. We can bring in professional psychological counselors, or if you want something else like a room change, we'll gladly accommodate it."
"…"
Cecilia still said nothing.
"We can protect you safely on our end. For now, let's just go together and—"
Stroking Cecilia's trembling back, I lifted my head and looked straight into Wunho's eyes.
Then I spoke.
"I refuse."
There was nothing more to say.