Practically Day Two of Living Together, and a New Encounter

The first thing that caught my eye was her slightly damp hair.

A few strands clung to her cheek and collarbone in a way that was thoroughly alluring.

Next came her startled expression.

Her flushed cheeks and the faint steam still rising from her skin made it plain she'd just stepped out of the shower.

And last of all — this was the important part.

Thankfully.

She was fully dressed, top and bottom.

"Whew…!"

"O-oh, welcome home, Eunhyuk."

"I'm back…."

I answered Cecilia's startled voice with a note of relief mixed in.

If the timing had been even a little off, things could have gone very badly. If — heaven forbid — I'd walked in on her naked, how would either of us have survived the awkwardness afterward? Just thinking about it sent a chill down my spine.

"…Hoo."

But separate from that chill, something else stirred in me. Standing there with a damp, unguarded Cecilia right in front of me, I could feel my heart pounding.

Was it just nerves, or something else entirely? I couldn't tell.

"…Did you just finish washing up, Cecilia?"

"Ah, yeah. I was about to go to bed, then I remembered you said I could take a quick shower. …Just trying it out."

"Good. Well done. I'm going to wash up and head to bed soon too, so feel free to sleep first."

"Okay."

With a shy reply and cheeks a little redder than before, Cecilia padded off toward the bed with soft little thumps of her feet. I glanced after her and reached for my shirt. I was about to peel it off when a certain scent tickled my nose.

"Shampoo…."

The same shampoo I used — the scent Cecilia had left behind. Heat flooded my face as I shut the bathroom door.

And when I came out of the shower, Cecilia was already asleep. Seeing that, I laid out my own blanket on the floor. That night, nothing else happened. We both simply fell asleep.

And the next morning.

"…Good morning."

Almost the moment I opened my eyes, a hesitant voice came from beside me.

I stretched long and hard under the brilliant sunlight. At the same time, a drawn-out yawn escaped on its own, flooding my body with oxygen.

The air felt warm and soft. My foggy brain registered that the weather seemed especially nice today.

"…Good morning, Cecilia."

When I turned, I found Cecilia staring right at me. She gave a timid little nod at my greeting. Apparently she'd woken up first and been waiting.

"Yaaawn…. When did you get up…?"

I stretched again and asked in a still-groggy voice. Cecilia thought for a moment before answering.

"Maybe… about an hour ago."

"You're up early…. Have you been watching me this whole time?"

"Y-yeah."

"Hmm."

That was a little embarrassing. Fortunately I wasn't the type to talk much in my sleep, so it wasn't that bad — but still.

"Well…. Ngh, there."

I kneaded my stiff shoulders, then pushed myself up off the floor in one motion. I felt refreshed. Drawing in the morning air, I checked the clock.

"…Eleven."

…Not morning air. Lunch air. I'd slept pretty hard.

"Looks like it'll be brunch today."

"Brunch?"

"It means something between breakfast and lunch."

Answering Cecilia's puzzled look, I headed to the bathroom to wash my face — all the while thinking about what to make for her. She had to be pretty hungry by now.

"Come to think of it, Cecilia — one question."

"Hm?"

I spoke while chewing on the bread in my hand. Cecilia answered in a similar muffled voice.

For the record, what we were eating was a simple one-meal toast. Two slices of bread with egg, sliced ham, and cheese. Simple, but tasty and filling.

"Mm — gulp. So how did you end up coming to this world, anyway? From your perspective, this is another world, right?"

I swallowed the toast I'd been chewing and finally asked the question that had been on my mind for a while.

Cecilia had mentioned before that the concept of other worlds itself was common knowledge, and I'd been curious ever since. How had she gotten here? Magic, most likely? Or maybe something surprisingly scientific? And what was her original world like? I was curious about all of it.

"Hmm~…."

She wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth and made a thoughtful sound. The sound stretched on, and after a moment she spoke.

"I don't really know either…."

"Huh."

That was unexpected. Cecilia continued.

"Yeah~. Yeah. I don't know. I've only ever heard of other worlds — this is my first time actually experiencing one…."

"That's a bit of a surprise. I figured maybe it was a world ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠where otherworld travel was freely possible, or something like that…."

"Not even close. No. Magic can barely observe other worlds, let alone travel to them."

Cecilia shook her head with a look that said the idea was absurd.

But magic exists, then. It still didn't feel real, but a little spark of wonder rose in me as I nodded.

"So how did you end up here, then?"

"…I don't know. By the time I came to, I was already here…."

"Came to? …Ah."

With those words, I remembered the first time I'd met Cecilia. On my way home from work at night, under the bridge — she'd been….

"…Completely wasted."

"…."

No wonder she didn't remember.

I nodded with a touch of disappointment and popped the remaining scrap of bread into my mouth. Still, hearing that magic existed meant the conversation hadn't been a total loss.

"Then I guess you wouldn't know what other kinds of races have shown up here either…."

It was still a shame, though. My personal curiosity had a lot more questions lined up. But asking about things she didn't know would only put her on the spot, so I should stop.

I'd muttered that last part mostly to myself —

"…Huh?"

— but surprisingly, Cecilia reacted.

"What do you mean? …'What other kinds of races have shown up here'?"

"Ah, right — you wouldn't know. Besides you, a whole bunch of other otherworlders? Other races? Suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and it's been chaos."

"I didn't know…."

"The police yesterday were related to that, too. I should have told you sooner… it just never crossed my mind."

I suddenly felt how careless I'd been.

The other-race situation was a major event. In modern society, the appearance of a new intelligent species beyond humanity was an enormous development. Yesterday's police visit alone made that clear. This world — or at least this country — was already pressing for legal and social changes and responses.

And the girl sitting right in front of me was one of the people at the center of it. Looking at her casually, aside from her appearance she seemed almost ordinary — but in reality she was someone of tremendous significance.

Of course there would be all kinds of complications ahead. And to deal with those… information was something we absolutely needed.

"From now on, we should share information promptly. …Or rather, I should start learning some myself first."

"…?"

Cecilia chewed her toast and looked at me with a puzzled expression. I answered with a wry smile. Looking at her like this, she really didn't seem like anyone extraordinary.

"It's nothing. Done eating?"

"Mhm."

"Alright."

I stood up and cleared the tray. Pouring her a glass of milk while she still had her mouth full was a little extra service.

"Pwah…."

Glancing at Cecilia as she made a cool, satisfied sound, I picked up the remote. I realized I hadn't been watching the news much lately. There were plenty of ways to gather information, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the most universal was still the news.

Beep — I turned on the TV.

"This is a variety show, and this… is also a variety show. Where's the news channel again? I never watch it…."

"What's this, Eunhyuk? A moving picture…?"

"It's called a TV. The broadcasting stations send out information… uh, hang on."

Mid-explanation, a buzzing vibration came from my pocket. A phone notification. I pulled it out and found a text waiting.

The problem was who had sent it.

"…The police station??"

A bad feeling settled over me. I tapped in and checked the details.

"An attendance summons… for real? Seriously…?"

It was a type of text I'd never seen before in my life. A summons to appear at the police station. I half-suspected a scam, but the name listed below wiped that thought clean away.

"Officer in charge: Officer Park Wunho…."

"What's going on, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Eunhyuk…?"

As I kept staring with a stiff expression, Cecilia asked in an anxious voice. I answered her with tension of my own in my voice.

"…They want us to come to the police station. You and me, both."

When I turned, I saw Cecilia's ears gone rigid with tension. Her face looked just as uneasy.

Nice weather or not — of all places, we were headed to a police station instead of on a picnic. It was a strange feeling.

"Ugh…."

"That's a big building."

And so we arrived in front of the police station. Not the little precinct three minutes from home — a larger, more substantial station farther out.

Her outfit was the same oversized black hoodie from last time. Baggy, but perfect for hiding Cecilia's ears and tail.

"…It's okay, right?"

"It's fine. Stick close to me, and don't go anywhere else."

If what Wunho had said last time held true, there shouldn't be any major problems. Probably… personal information collection, a simple Q&A, something along those lines. After all, Cecilia was an other-race being. Even if management was left to me, the police would need some information of their own.

But if that wasn't the case….

….

"Let's go."

"…Okay."

With a knot of tension, we stepped onto the police station grounds.

Surprisingly, there weren't many people around. Most seemed to be inside the building; outside, aside from someone who looked like security, there was almost no one.

"They said to come to the small building next to the main one…. Is this it?"

Following the directions in the text, I turned toward a slightly out-of-the-way spot. And there, finally, were people.

One adult man. And one somewhat small figure in a black hoodie, just like Cecilia. Two people total.

"Excuse me, are you…."

Whether they were police or not, being here at least meant they probably knew the way. The text had been so vague I couldn't tell exactly where to go. I approached the two of them to ask for directions — and that was the moment.

"Hmm~?"

A lively woman's voice rang out. It belonged to one of the two already there — the one in the hoodie.

"Oh my~? Well, well."

"Wait. Hey, calm down…!"

What happened next was over in an instant.

The man with the hooded girl looked thoroughly alarmed and reached toward her. But she slipped free of his grasp in a flash and lunged straight at Cecilia.

"Wh-what…?!"

"Huh?!"

I didn't even have time to react. Moving like the wind, the hooded ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠girl threw her arms around Cecilia right over the hoodie and squeezed tight.

Cecilia frozen solid, the man pressing a hand to his forehead. And right in front of my tense gaze, the hooded girl spoke in a voice full of mischief.

"A beastkin~? Nice to meet you♪"

From beneath that hoodie, unnaturally red skin and a pair of fangs peeked into view.