The Replaced (2)
"It's the sea! The sea!"
...Does that mean you can't dunk me in the water just because you're excited?
Yoo Hwa, in her swimsuit, was bouncing around on the sandy beach in delight. A ton of people stared, but her overwhelming beauty kept anyone from approaching.
But why the beach all of a sudden?
Vacation.
My head was a mess, and I had nothing to do, so I figured screw it, time for a break. It was summer anyway, perfect for the seaside.
"Uh, isn't this a bit too revealing...?"
"Nah~, it's fine!"
The problem was my swimsuit's level of exposure seemed a tad high. Well, it was pretty standard, but I'm not used to it. Yoo Hwa was wearing the same style, just a different color. Was I overreacting...?
Should've worn a rash guard.
Feeling awkward, I rubbed my arms and glanced around self-consciously.
"Let's try that! You know, from that anime, where they rub in sunscreen!"
"Sunscreen?"
Yoo Hwa beamed, holding up the sunscreen bottle. Time to burst her bubble.
"You think UV rays can even penetrate our skin?"
I could chug the sun itself and be fine.
"Oh."
Yoo Hwa dropped the sunscreen with a glum look. What a waste of money.
The phone I was holding was scorching—way hotter than usual from the sun. It was barely lukewarm to me, so I hadn't noticed.
Frame was great and all, but being stuck in a phone meant she was more fragile than a regular human. That was her downside.
Slurp.
I cooled it down by infusing some demonic energy into the phone. Then I slipped it into a waterproof ziplock bag for water play. The ocean should chill it out.
"Here, Yoo Hwa. Hang this."
I looped the bag around Yoo Hwa's neck.
"Alright, launch."
"Wheeee!"
With that, Yoo Hwa bolted and dove into the sea.
"Easy on the splashes—hit someone wrong and they're dead."
"Aw~, no way."
"Dead serious."
Don't underestimate 3rd Grade power. A splash could straight-up kill.
"Liar! Take this!"
Suddenly, Yoo Hwa flung water at me with her hand.
"Gah!"
It nailed me right in the face, and I went down.
"...Seol-ah?"
Shocked by the impact, she called out cautiously.
You're dead.
"No one's around anymore."
"Wonder why?"
Thanks to our intense water fight, the area around us was deserted. Get caught in that, and it's bruises at best, knockout at worst. I was holding back—if not, it'd be a tsunami.
"Sun's setting already."
The sky was turning orange; time for people to clear out.
"Now let's get seafood! Seafood!"
"We were gonna do watermelon smashing."
"Should've done that in the morning... We missed the timing, so tomorrow!"
Yoo Hwa rationalized it in record time.
Frame.
"You good?"
Frame had survived the splash zone unscathed. If it got dicey, she'd have jumped to another phone. The upgrade from the founder was beyond expectations.
"Seafood!"
"Fine, got it. Let's head to the hotel, change, and go eat."
I calmed her down and headed out of the water.
"Hm?"
Something like a white thread was stuck to my leg.
"Eek! Is that a bug?!"
"It's on you too."
"Kyaa!"
Same on Yoo Hwa.
What the hell?
Super thin white bug. Parasite...?
Gross.
I flicked them off with my fingers.
"Let's go."
"Okay~."
Yoo Hwa shook hers off too and exited the water. The bugs wriggled on the surface before diving back under.
"This is sashimi! So good!"
"Right?"
Yoo Hwa grinned, chowing down on sashimi and soda. Normally you'd pair it with booze, but our bodies were too tough for alcohol—it did nothing.
"This fish is yummy too!"
Eight fish already in her belly, FYI.
"..."
Now the ninth hit our table. The server bringing it looked stunned.
"Tried all the sashimi here! Next, I wanna do crab!"
"Eat this, then we switch spots."
I grabbed some sashimi and said it casually. Seafood joints everywhere near the beach—and I'd picked this spot for her food obsession.
Bam!
"What the—?"
Something shattered behind us.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Some guy was slamming his head into a table. Hard—the bangs echoed loud.
What's his deal?
Blood streaming from his forehead, face blank. Creepy as hell. Monster?
I charged demonic energy into my fist, gauging the vibe. Ready to smash if needed.
"Ah."
Suddenly, he snapped out of it and stopped.
"Oh, sorry. I get like that sometimes... How should I apologize...?"
Just like that, back to normal.
The server politely asked him to go—damage to the place and all.
"Of course, my bad. Here..."
He pulled out about 200,000 won from his wallet, handed it over, and bolted.
"..."
What the fuck? I tilted my head, sighed, and said,
"Frame."
Frame, mid-sashimi on my phone screen, replied.
"Hack that guy's phone who just left."
"Camera and mic. Stream to us."
Frame pondered briefly.
"Perfect. Do that."
No one beats Frame for intel, combat aside.
"What can I do?"
"Keep eating."
Sadly, Yoo Hwa wasn't helpful here. I confirmed she was ordering more food and eyed the phone.
Pop! CCTV feed and mic audio streamed in.
"Grrk, grrrk, gkgk."
The guy stood in an alley, twisting his head unnaturally. Gurgles from his throat.
Thud, thud!
"Assimilation complete."
He smacked his cheeks with a relieved look and muttered nonsense.
He hurried off-screen; Frame switched feeds to track.
Static, static.
"Good enough."
He'd headed to a dead zone with no cams. 100% monster. If not, I'd hole up in the Demon Realm again.
Hmm...
Too suspicious. Past monsters (Frame aside) showed clear killing intent toward humans. Never acted this indifferent.
Watch and wait...
Wanna tail him now and squeeze info, but bad timing. He's heading somewhere specific. Interrupt, and without torture, we'd never know. Even torture might not faze Head-Bang Blankface.
So, standby.
"Frame, just track his location."
Swoosh. Frame pulled up a virtual tracker from somewhere and vanished off-screen.
Tap, tap.
"..."
What principle even is that? Virtual tracker pulling real GPS.
"Good work."
I gave up understanding and praised her. If I could get it, it wouldn't be monster shit.
"Fuel up."
Like a treat, I plugged in a power bank. Watching Frame cheer, I turned back to Yoo Hwa.
Rumble!
"Whoa?!"
A stack of plates tumbled right at my head.
What the hell's my luck today?
"A-Are you okay?!"
Yoo Hwa yanked tissues and wiped my face frantically.
"I licked the scraps clean. Nothing to wipe."
"Oh, right..."
She scratched her head sheepishly.
"I'll cover the plates. Sorry for the mess."
I sent the flustered server away and told Yoo Hwa,
"Eat slower from now on."
"Y-Yes..."
She mumbled, deflated after the light scolding.
She was always a klutz, but extra today. I glanced at my phone, thinking.
Three hours.
Wait three hours, then go.