Secret Struggle (2)
I got ready to head out early.
Kang Jiye, who had been preparing breakfast, asked with a puzzled look.
"Little one. Where are you going?"
I answered while pulling on my shoes.
"I'm going to look around the factory a bit. Check on the people nearby while I'm at it."
"…You heard something from the Director, didn't you."
"Something like that. It'll take a while today, so if you need to go out, take Eldrisa with you."
"Come here a second."
"…?"
When I did as I was told and stepped closer, Kang Jiye pinched my cheek.
"Hweuh?"
"Is it okay to treat a family member living under the same roof like a security guard?"
"No, it's not."
"If I need to ask for something, I'll do it carefully. We haven't been living together that long yet. So don't treat your big sister so casually either."
"Understood. Unnieee— sorry!"
I grinned and apologized. Eldrisa, who'd been watching TV, shuddered with full-body goosebumps.
"Can you not make me do that sister act? Landlord."
Kang Jiye ignored her completely and said,
"Little one, off you go—! Don't cause any trouble."
"……"
For the record, I still hadn't brought up the attack. The Director would give Kang Jiye a separate heads-up when the time came anyway.
Of course, I planned to get things moving before that.
When I visited the general store after a long stretch away, the owner greeted me warmly.
"Oh, young lady. You should come by more often! We've got some good stock these days."
I looked around the shop, then asked,
"Mister, do you have insurance on this place?"
"Insurance? What insurance."
"Just, you know. If you get caught up in a Gate Break or a terrorist attack or something—can you get compensation?"
The owner nodded vigorously.
"Oh, of course I've got that covered!"
"Hehe. Great."
"…?"
Relieved by his answer, I cleaned out every product in the store made from high-grade mana wood.
The owner was delighted by a deal worth hundreds of millions—and yet, on the other hand, he kept asking why I'd brought up insurance.
I didn't bother answering.
The future was already set, after all.
"Whoa! Purple Bunny unnie! What are you doing here?"
"Mm. I'm here to move you out!"
"What?"
I asked Han Hye-yeon to vacate her home as well.
The general store was fine so long as only the owner's building got destroyed, but this was an apartment complex—neighbors could get hurt.
Han Hye-yeon, however, rejected the request as if it were absurd.
"I'm sorry, but even if it's a request from unnie, this is a no."
"Why?"
"Do you know how hard I worked to find this place? Between the kids' commute and the rent, there's nothing like this anywhere in Korea. I'm sorry."
"I'll help get everyone enrolled at the Academy for school."
"What kind of nonsense is that… What's going on that you're doing this?"
I confessed in a slightly apologetic tone.
"Because of me… you're going to get caught up in something bad soon."
Han Hye-yeon sighed and crossed her arms.
"…Did you mess with some organization boss or something?"
"Something like that. Anyway, I'll explain later. First, let's go."
Han Hye-yeon asked in shock.
"Right now?"
"Yeah."
"What are you talking about. Where are six of us supposed to go."
At that, I smiled and opened a Gate.
"It's fine. There are plenty of houses here."
"…?"
A dark space shimmering with blue light appeared. Han Hye-yeon was speechless. She looked at the Gate, then at me.
Then she froze with her neck craned forward.
"Huh?"
The other kids seemed to have noticed the Gate too—they went suddenly quiet. The Legos and cosmetics they'd been holding rolled across the floor.
Not a single one thought to report it to the Gate Administration or grab a weapon. They all just turned into stone statues on the spot.
Han Hye-yeon pointed at the Gate with a trembling hand.
"Wh-what is this? Unnie?"
"This is a house."
"What?"
I grabbed Han Hye-yeon's arm and pulled.
"Come on, hurry. I've already taken three others into custody. I'll cover the Gate side effects for your siblings."
Han Hye-yeon stammered as if she'd been turned to ice.
"C-c-custody? What kind of crazy person would go in there. Who even are you, unnie."
"You don't have to look at me like I'm some kind of monster. Have I ever hurt you guys, or made unreasonable requests?"
At that moment, a girl who looked about middle-school age shouted desperately.
"This is plenty unreasonable! Everyone, snap out of it! We need to report this!"
Then the remaining five siblings all turned on their smartphones at once.
Tch.
I had no choice but to freeze them with hypnosis, then called the Party Bears to dump them into the Gate.
I was going to knock them out briefly and handle other things, but… unexpectedly, Han Hye-yeon desperately resisted the hypnosis, and things went sideways.
Damage will be inflicted on the target's brain.
Continue?
As expected. The power of a head of household is truly great.
"Cancel."
Inside the Gate, chaos reigned.
Five kids were drooling and staring into empty space, while Han Hye-yeon gripped their shoulders and shook them hard, desperately shouting "Snap out of it."
The Party Bears tried to approach to calm things down, but… every single one got kicked by Han Hye-yeon's foot and went flying several meters.
As expected, even a D-class hunter was far beyond the ordinary person category.
I approached, removing my mask.
"Shaking them like that won't help."
She froze—
Han Hye-yeon glared at me.
"You… what the hell are you. Are you really a monster?"
"No?"
"Then what is this space?"
"……"
I was briefly at a loss for words and clicked my tongue.
"A G-Gate."
"Ha."
I waved both hands to calm her down.
"Don't be so wary. Nothing bad will happen to you. Look—everyone's physically fine right now."
I desperately explained to the bristling, alley-cat-tense Han Hye-yeon that this place was safe. Fun rides and abundant food. And places to sleep. A paradise that had everything.
But Han Hye-yeon didn't even glance at the surroundings and asked,
"Why did you drag us here?"
The return of formal speech meant she'd calmed down a bit.
"I told you. To protect you, because you're connected to me."
"So why exactly. How close are we even. Unnie, you barely even interacted with me."
"You used to promote me on SNS saying you were my fan!"
Han Hye-yeon frowned.
"You're not saying that's why we're connected, right?"
"That's exactly it?"
"That doesn't make any se—"
"We're connected. Fully. And because of that, I have to go catch one more person."
It's not like I enjoy going around doing this.
If I start flexing my power, the cult will grab kids like these first, torture them, and kill them.
Han Hye-yeon tilted her head.
"Who else are you catching? You don't seem like someone with a lot of friends."
"…That's a little insulting, but I'll let it slide. Anyway, among the famous Safety Keepers, there's one called Joker. Yoo Hanbaek."
"Whaat?"
For some reason, Han Hye-yeon's eyes went wide.
"Why him?"
"He's similar to you. He runs around wearing a rabbit mask like mine, which is basically advertising 'please kill me.'"
Han Hye-yeon nodded.
"Ah…. I know. He's the president of unnie's fan club."
I flinched slightly.
"Fan club? He made a fan club too?"
"Yes. But when I met him once, it gave me the creeps a bit."
Whoosh—!
I opened a Gate and slipped outside.
"I'll take the lead! My Queen!"
Yoo Hanbaek followed me like a puppy without any need for persuasion.
Checking his status window, he was completely under the Seduction skill. He wouldn't refuse anything I said, and even when I confessed I was a monster, he didn't flinch.
He only twitched slightly when I opened the Gate.
When we returned to the amusement park, the general store couple and their son, plus Han Hye-yeon, were all waiting with their arms crossed.
"Unnie!"
"Yeah?"
"You really don't intend to harm us, right?"
I answered with a bright expression.
"Of course not. Once safety is confirmed, I'll send you back in about two weeks. Three weeks at most."
"……"
Then the general store owner's son shouted.
"Does that make sense? The world is like this because of trash monsters like you! Open the Gate right now!"
I blinked, then asked the owner.
"How many lives does your son have, by any chance? He's got some impressive courage in this situation."
The owner couple clamped their hands over their son's mouth and hurriedly dragged him back. I'm pretty sure he nearly died in a Gate before… that family must have it rough.
First time I've seen a nutjob worse than Kang Jihun.
I was inwardly impressed when Han Hye-yeon spoke with a resolute expression.
"Unnie."
"Yeah?"
"Let me ask again. You said you have no intention of harming us, and that you actually respect us. Correct?"
I nodded.
"We're equal beings with equal dignity."
"Good. Then you need to send us back right now. Even if our lives are in danger."
"Whyyy?"
"Because we should decide our own lives. In two days the kids have school, and I need to earn money at Gates. If things go wrong, all our scheduled appointments will get canceled. And more than anything….. I'm scared."
…She still doesn't properly understand the situation. She doesn't think she could actually die.
I logically persuaded Han Hye-yeon.
"So what if some appointments get canceled…."
"What?"
"You're just D-class anyway….. whatever you earn is just enough to scrape by. Work under me and I'll take better care of you."
"What are you talking about. What would I even do under you."
"You talked well last time. Working at our shop and doing some PR seems like a good fit? Here. Advance pay."
I happened to need a permanent clerk for the Academy shop. I even prepared pocket money so she wouldn't be scared.
But Han Hye-yeon stared at the wad of cash I held out with a blank expression.
"Unnie, do you have any idea how this looks right now….?"
"What now?"
"……"
Suddenly, Han Hye-yeon's shoulders—which had been rigid with tension—went slack.
She muttered with a half-enlightened expression.
"…Really. I should have realized earlier. The way you talk is just, somehow. Completely different from normal people. Ha."
"Huh?"
"Yeah, it was weird from the start. The magic spells I'd never seen before were one thing, but the way you talk kept slightly missing the point. It felt less like talking to a person and more like talking to a golem?"
I said, bewildered,
"No, so what did I—what did I do?"
I asked the Toy Soldier next to me, but the guy just smirked and refused to answer.
Seeing this, Han Hye-yeon's eyes blazed as she said,
"This unnie really has no idea. Let me ask while we're at it. Do you remember that interview? With reporter Cha Seoyun?"
"Of course I remember."
"……Back then the reporter asked what you resembled. And you answered a sloth?"
"Diid… I?"
Come to think of it, I might have.
But is it a crime to say something looks like what it looks like. I don't know.
When I tilted my head, Han Hye-yeon shouted in frustration.
"Why would you bring up a sloth there!"
"Heyy, why are you yelling."
"Because I'm pissed off! Do you know how much I sweated trying to salvage the atmosphere and put in a good word with Hunter Kang Jiye? And this is how you repay me?"
"Repay you like this. I'm trying so hard too—that's harsh."
At this point, my pride was a little hurt and I stuck out my lip.
Han Hye-yeon blinked in disbelief.
"Why is unnie sulking……?"
"Because you keep rejecting my requests."
"…If this is a strategy to eliminate my fear, it's a huge success."
"Ooh, is our Queen sulking?"
Suddenly, Yoo Hanbaek stroked me with a butter-scented smile.
…!
Goosebumps shot through my entire body and I punched him in the philtrum.
Thwack!
Yoo Hanbaek collapsed, pouring blood from his nose.
Hot.
This is bad! I promised I wouldn't harm anyone.
I hurriedly made excuses.
"Th-this is self-defense. You saw it too, Hye-yeon."
"What? Ah, um……"
Han Hye-yeon opened and closed her mouth for a moment, then slowly nodded.
Somehow a strange sense of camaraderie had formed between us, and we wrapped up the atmosphere. Fortunately, we were able to have a deeper conversation at a nearby café.
That evening.
"You can make jjajangmyeon too?"
"Yes. We need various other Eastern dishes as well."
Kang Jiye blinked and asked,
"Why?"
"They say Western food is too greasy and they can't eat it for long."
"So who."
"The people who got kidnapped to the amusement park."
"…..?"