Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Pink Witch
Inside the classroom of the Ability Academy.
Two people sat side by side.
“Yuri, you need to focus.”
Even with the hint of scolding in it, the voice was soft.
Yuri pressed a hand against her chest, trying to calm the warm, fluffy feeling swelling inside her, and smiled faintly before lowering her head to the notebook Marie was pointing at.
That cool winter scent drifting from the seat beside her.
Yuri liked Marie herself.
Truly.
Hero Rank No.1, Jo Marie.
And because of that, Yuri had one secret that absolutely could never be discovered.
“Stop right there, Pink Witch!”
Marie’s voice rang out across the city night, washed in the pale blue light of dawn.
The woman standing lightly at the edge of the rooftop slowly turned around.
A black lace umbrella and the hem of her gothic black dress fluttered pleasantly in the night breeze, and her bright pink bob-cut hair gleamed under the moonlight, impossible to hide even beneath her extravagant lace blindfold.
“If it were you, unni, would you stop?”
Yuri curled her lips into a bright smile.
The S-rank villain who stirred up the city every night.
Pink Witch.
That was Yuri’s other name.
And the S-rank hero who chased after her every night for her own reasons.
That was Marie.
Yuri lightly hopped across the gaps between buildings, her movements playful and effortless. Marie kicked off the rooftop floor and chased right after her without losing any ground.
“Ahh, unni, you’re too fast.”
Yuri let out a dramatic little scream, placing both hands on her cheeks before lifting the umbrella hanging from her arm and swinging it up toward the sky.
At that moment, pink powder like cherry blossom petals scattered through the night air like a blizzard.
Beautiful and dazzling to look at.
But the moment it touched someone, it wrapped around them tightly and locked them in place.
“Don’t! Don’t use your ability!”
Marie shouted urgently as she tried to leap away from the glittering storm.
But the shining powder spread across the night sky like a swamp, instantly wrapping itself around both her legs.
Her body, which had been about to launch into the air, collapsed and was dragged back down onto the rooftop floor.
“Ah, so pretty. Even the way unni struggles like that is cute.”
From the rooftop of the opposite building, having secured a safe distance, Yuri hummed to herself and quickly pulled out her phone from her dress pocket.
With practiced hands, she zoomed in all the way.
Marie’s face, caught in the pink glitter and frowning in frustration as she glared over, filled the lens completely.
Even through the flickering static of the screen, Yuri could only see her.
Click. Click.
The shutter rang out one after another like tiny bells.
Checking the results, Yuri puffed out her lips slightly.
“Hmm, it’s nighttime, so the image quality’s kind of bad because of the noise… but you can still make out unni’s eyes.”
So what if the picture was a little blurry and shaky?
As long as she could capture the lovely image of unni running toward her, breathing hard because of her, in both her eyes and her photographs—
That was enough.
“Unni!”
Yuri hopped her way over toward Marie, who was staring down at her silently.
“Don’t come closer.”
“I don’t want to.”
The same calm voice as always, pushing her away.
Yuri stepped closer anyway and carefully smoothed out the wrinkled sleeve of Marie’s crumpled suit blazer, straightening every crease one by one.
Marie’s hands were free.
She could have pushed her away at any moment.
But instead, she only looked down at Yuri’s hands fiddling with her sleeve and stood completely still.
That quiet, obedient look—like a gentle puppy—made a smile bloom on Yuri’s face without her even realizing it.
Letting go of the sleeve, Yuri smiled sweetly at her.
As her pink eyes narrowed into crescents, Marie quietly looked away and tugged at the end of the sleeve Yuri had just touched.
Then she slowly covered the back of her hand—the spot Yuri’s fingers had brushed—with her other hand.
“Stop touching me.”
“I only brushed against you.”
Seeing the faint flush on Marie’s face made Yuri’s smile widen even more.
She hadn’t even tried to avoid it, and yet she was saying not to touch her.
Unni was unexpectedly cute.
“I have to go home now, unni. See you next time.”
Not next time.
She would see her tomorrow at the academy anyway.
Yuri took one last look at Marie’s face, then lightly tapped the ground with the tip of her black umbrella.
At once, a pool of pitch-black liquid bubbled up beneath her feet, rising as if to swallow her whole.
Just before her vision was completely swallowed by darkness, she heard Marie mutter in disbelief.
“You really do whatever you want.”