Aftermath (2)
I decided to save my impressions of the camper parked in the settlement's eastern lot for later. All I wanted was to get inside, wash up, and collapse into bed. But when I opened the door, what greeted me was...
Hyunseok, looking as though he had just stepped out of the shower. The hair he normally kept tied back now hung loose, just long enough to brush the nape of his neck, wet and flattened so that it clung to his skin.
Because of that, his sharp, masculine features were half-hidden by the strands, yet the cheeks flushed red from the hot water only drew my eyes more strongly to him.
His slightly lowered gaze gave him a gentle air, but the long lashes framing his eyes made the look both soft and keen at once.
Overall, an irony lived in his face—mostly gentle, yet with sudden sharp edges that cut a striking impression.
He was still toweling his hair dry, apparently unaware I had arrived, and he wore a shirt with the buttons undone. Through the fabric, slightly damp and translucent, I could see a body of firm abs and smooth skin.
I knew I ought to announce myself at once... yet I could not tear my eyes away.
As if sensing my silent stare, he lowered the towel and smiled softly.
"You're back?"
That single word set my heart racing without end.
"Uh... uh?! Yeah—you were washing up? Where's Yeonseo?"
I whipped my head left and right, pretending to search for Yeonseo so I could escape his eyes.
I still do not know why. All I knew was that I could no longer keep looking at him. The moment I tried to slip past—
Hyunseok's hand closed around my wrist. My body jerked to a halt; the rebound tipped me backward until my back rested against him.
Thump, thump. I fretted he might hear the frantic beat of my heart, yet the tension draining from me left my body languid. His warmth only made it worse. Just as the thought rose that I wanted to stay like this forever, free of my own control—
A sharp click and the whirring of something printing snapped me upright. I spun around.
Between the curtains, only a face and a hand poked out: Yeonseo, wearing a look of pure satisfaction I had never seen on her before.
"Wow~ Our little vixen. You're loving this to death, aren't you? Hmm?"
"Ah... th-that... I mean... this is..."
Caught by the one person who must never see, heat flooded my head and scrambled every thought. All that left my mouth were the same broken words over and over.
While I floundered, unable to invent a single excuse, Hyunseok's voice reached my ear.
"Yeonseo looks finished too, so Charlotte, you can go wash. Uncle did a good job dividing the space with curtains—no one else will see you. Don't worry."
"Y...yes...!"
I moved like a creaking robot toward the spot where Yeonseo had shown her face.
Inside, Yeonseo stood in her underwear, watching me through the mirror with a sly grin.
"Hmm~ Our little vixen, completely conquered, aren't you?"
"Ah... no way?! Conquered? What on earth are you talking about..."
I fanned my burning face with one hand as I answered, only for her next words to land:
"Really? For someone saying that, you sure watched for a long time. The look of a, hmm, how should I put it... yes—a starving female, drooling at the mouth?"
"A... a female? How vulgar...!? Ugh... ah...! Anyway, I'm washing, so close the curtain properly and get out!!"
I shouted at Yeonseo, who had somehow already dressed, yanked simple sleep clothes and underwear from my bag with a whoosh, and fled straight for the shower.
Opening the door revealed a sink and shower side by side. A partition with a handle kept water from splashing, so I set my clothes on the sink, slid the partition into place, and let cold water pour over me. I rested my forehead against the wall and simply stood there.
As the chill cooled my overheated body, the thoughts that had frozen began to move again.
Recalling Yeonseo's words, I still could not understand how she could say such things.
A female... how can a girl speak so vulgarly like that...
Yet at the same time, the image of Hyunseok I had just seen refused to leave my mind. The heartbeat that had quieted began to pound hard once more.
"Ah... no... I...! My body may be a woman's, but my mind is still... a man's..."
If I stayed still any longer, strange feelings would surely rise and I might do something I never expected. I scrubbed myself clean with shampoo and body wash as fast as I could.
Come to think of it, why was the cloth I wore for my period wet...? Nah—just stained from blood and sweat. Yeah, that has to be it.
Hot water washed away the sticky sweat and blood; a clean, refreshed feeling settled over me, and the odd thoughts from earlier seemed to fade.
I dried off, pulled on underwear, then a thin navy short-sleeved shirt and gray dolphin shorts. When I stepped out, Hyunseok and Yeonseo were setting food on the table and looking my way.
"All done? On the way here I got some food from the aunties. There's quite a lot, but we can finish it for breakfast tomorrow."
Hyunseok spoke while grilling seasoned meat in the kitchen. Yeonseo sat on the sofa beside the table, fiddling with a device.
"Hurry up and sit. I was starving waiting for you."
At that, my own stomach gave a loud gurgle. Embarrassing, but I was just as hungry, so I dropped onto the sofa next to her and leaned back.
"Yeah—we didn't even eat and ran around all day."
I stretched, replaying the day's events, while Hyunseok finished cooking, set bowls of meat and side dishes on the table, and sat across from us with chopsticks in hand.
"Shall we eat?"
"Sounds good!"
The moment I reached for chopsticks, Yeonseo slapped my hand away. I glared at her.
"Let's take a photo first, then eat."
Yeah, photos are fine. But you're the one who said you were hungry first...!
With a click she printed a Polaroid, looked satisfied at me and Hyunseok, then snatched a piece of meat faster than anyone.
"Hey! What kind of behavior is that!?"
"I took the photo, so of course I get to eat now, right? You hurry up too—you said you were starving."
"Fine, let's eat... sigh..."
Hyunseok's soft pfft of laughter pulled a smile from me as well. Yeonseo laughed loudly, and the three of us began to eat with real joy.
"Nom, chomp, munch—so when are you two leaving?"
I asked between bites. Yeonseo, sipping doenjang soup, answered,
"Slurp—haah, I'm alive again. Hmm? Us? Well... Hyunseok, when should we go?"
She turned the question on him and went back to her food.
"Well? Originally I thought we'd leave right away, but after hearing the talk earlier, there's the work of restoring the shantytown, and he mentioned wanting to visit Paris Park once. I figured we could help with that a bit before we go."
I pointed my chopsticks at him.
"You're such a pushover! You know that? Do you have any idea how long that'll take, saying you'll help? You said you have to go back and report soon."
Yeonseo's relaxed, food-happy face scrunched up at once as she snapped at him.
"Haha, sorry. But during the restoration there might be more raids, so I think we should help."
I sipped my soup, eyes narrowed on Hyunseok.
As expected, the kid is kind. That's what I really like about him.
"Charlotte? Are you going to stay here like this?"
Hyunseok asked with a small smile. My heart seemed to skip a little faster again.
"Me?! I, um... honestly I'd like to stay a long time, but I think it'd be good to go with you. Is that okay?"
"Hmm~ So you want to come along that badly? Hmm? Tell me~"
"Tsk, cut it out."
Yeonseo snickered at me. I avoided her gaze and shot a sidelong glance at Hyunseok, gauging his reaction.
"If you come with us, we'd like that. But is there a reason?"
I set down my chopsticks, stood, and pulled a single pill from the clothes I had discarded.
"Because of this."
At the sight of the pill, Yeonseo's sly grin vanished and Hyunseok's easy expression turned serious; both fixed their full attention on me.
"This isn't just an ordinary pill... right? What on earth is it?"
Yeonseo, as expected, caught on fast and demanded the answer.
"It's the pill that was right in front of Ara when I went to rescue her. The effect is... well, from what I saw, it seems to enhance physical abilities."
"Physical abilities? Do you know how much?"
Hyunseok crossed his arms and tapped his index finger against them as he asked.
"Hmm, come to think of it—do you guys have ranks too? Uncle Dusik said he's B-rank or something."
"Ranks? Aah~ that thing? We have them, but nobody really cares. It's only the people who can't even use their abilities properly who get hung up on ranks.
Ah—I'm not talking about the bandit uncle. That uncle's a good man in every other way, so he's an exception."
Yeonseo's remark surprised me. Usually when talk of Returners or Awakened came up, ranks were everything. To dismiss them as meaningless left me oddly disappointed.
"Th...that so? Ahem. A bit disappointing."
"What~ Vixen, is it because if your rank measures high, so-and-so will look at you favorably? Hmm?"
"Ah... no way?! More than that—then how should I put it...
Hmm, yeah—if we judge by monsters, Lower Grade becoming Medium Grade? I think it raises you almost a full rank."
"Hmm, a full rank? Is that so!? So during today's raid, those guys suddenly...!"
Hyunseok shot to his feet, eyes gleaming as he stared at me.
"Then what those guys ate back then..!"
"Yeah, I think it was this. And something I felt while fighting—if an Awakened eats it..."
"They gain another ability besides the one they already had, right? No wonder there was a guy who suddenly smashed my ice barrier—so that's what it was?"
"So I thought about taking this to that Cheongwadae place. That's why I want to move with you two. Is that okay? Uncle Dusik said the way back heads in that direction."
Yeonseo and Hyunseok looked at each other, nodded, then turned to me.
"I don't mind. Being with our little vixen means lots of fun things will happen—that's good enough for me."
"I'm fine too. Safer for Charlotte to travel with us than alone."
"Hyunseok, why are you trying so hard to protect me... I don't dislike it, but..."
"Hmm? Well, you're my little sister who's one year younger. And what else did I say?"
"Ah... no?! More than that—what? I'm your little sister? Weren't we the same age..? I thought so because Yeonseo speaks so casually!"
"Ah~ Is that so? No—I'm twenty-three and Yeonseo is twenty-two, so I'm one year older. She just talks that way."
It was not as sharp as what Ara had felt, yet hearing that Hyunseok was a year older still gave me a small jolt.
Well, of course if I add my previous life I'm older, but even if I said it they wouldn't believe me...
"So Charlotte can call me 'oppa' if you want."
Hyunseok smiled softly as he spoke, and my thoughts simply stopped.
What?! Call him what?! O... oppa?! What is that supposed to mean?! Well, if you go by age it's correct, but...!
"Tha...at, let's just have Yeonseo call him that. Yeah—speaking the way we do now is fine anyway, right? Right?"
But the dejected look that immediately settled on Hyunseok's face made my heart twist with guilt.
Ah... even so, 'oppa' is a bit... it feels like crossing a line somehow... sorry, but...
"Th...that, even so I feel a bit of resistance... so so...sorry...!"
I spun around and fled for the bedroom. Behind me came Yeonseo's bright ahahahat of laughter and the listless sound of dishes being cleared.