Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Smells Nice
Ah, right. Ji-eun.
Yuri picked up her phone and opened the chat window of her beloved younger sister.
Tap. Tap.
[Ji-eun, do you want any snacks? Marie unni bought me some just now, so I’ll ask her to buy yours too when I go home.]
[What are you even talking about? Why is Marie unni buying you snacks? Get me chocolate and something savory.]
[I’m watching a variety show on the rooftop with unni right now.]
[?? Why are you watching a variety show together? I need to study, so tell me about it when you get back. And don’t get hurt.]
[Okay~ I’ll bring snacks.]
Crunch. Crunch.
Tap. Tap.
Yuri was munching on snacks while typing when she felt someone’s gaze brushing against her cheek.
She turned her head.
And met Marie’s eyes directly.
“What? Aren’t you watching the show you said you wanted to see? Why do you keep looking at me?”
“…I’m monitoring you. In case villains are plotting something together.”
Marie gave a forced excuse and turned her head back toward the screen.
With that villain sitting right beside her, she couldn’t focus on the program at all.
It felt like she had been caught in some powerful charm spell.
Her eyes kept drifting back.
That pink bob shimmering brightly even in the dark.
Those soft cheeks moving as she chewed, like peaches so tender they still looked like they’d have baby fuzz on them.
Wait.
Cheeks?
What am I even thinking?
Jo Marie, get a grip. That’s a villain.
No… is she even really a villain?
No, that’s not the point—
Marie shook her head hard, throwing away the thoughts, then narrowed her eyes and asked in a low voice,
“Do you have some kind of charm skill? Mental-type abilities. Like forcing people to like you or pulling their attention toward you.”
Making them unable to stop noticing you.
Marie swallowed the rest of that thought.
“No way. I don’t have anything like that. I just use sticky stuff and glitter powder, and sometimes balloons… and missiles too? It feels like my magic doesn’t really have limits, but mental abilities? None at all.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Yuri answered without hesitation.
Marie rubbed her face with dry hands and screamed internally.
So it wasn’t her ability?
That meant all of this wasn’t because of some supernatural effect.
It meant she was just staring at her on her own.
For a brief moment, Marie considered whether she should be suspicious of that pink hair.
But she quickly dismissed the thought and pressed a hand to her forehead.
There was no way this villain had charm abilities.
She wasn’t the kind of person who could use something like that to manipulate people.
Honestly—
Was there anyone in the world more pure and foolish than this girl?
Just look at her now.
She was openly using her phone with the screen visible.
Right in front of her.
Seriously.
Of course, Yuri was so used to pulling out her phone only in front of Marie that she probably hadn’t even thought about it.
It had already been a long time since Marie had gone to the Association President and stubbornly insisted she would quit hero work unless they let her personally handle Pink Witch.
Marie let out a small sigh.
Then she pulled out a small flower-shaped jelly from her pocket and casually held it out to Yuri.
Yuri tilted her head at the jelly appearing in front of her.
But without the slightest suspicion, she accepted it and popped it into her mouth.
“Wow, it’s good.”
The smile spreading across those red lips looked softer and brighter than anything in the world.
Marie quietly took in that smile.
Then looked away.
At some point, the variety show had ended.
Only commercial jingles echoed inside the tent now.
Under the bluish light from the screen, Yuri moved her lips a few times before speaking carefully.
“Unni.”
“What is it, villain?”
“Can you buy me chocolate snacks and something savory too?”
“…More? What about the bag you just opened?”
Marie’s eyes moved toward the snack bag on the floor.
She’d eaten what—four?
No, maybe five.
The bag was practically untouched.
“…I ate dinner before coming, so I’m full. I’m taking it home to eat with my sister.”
“No, seriously… Fine. Don’t go anywhere. Stay right here.”
Marie let out a long sigh and stood up like she couldn’t win.
She was the top-ranked S-class hero.
And yet here she was, offering snack tributes to a villain.
Ridiculous.
But what could she do?
Her feet were already heading toward the convenience store.
Yuri watched Marie’s back as she walked away, her loosely tied hair swaying.
Then with a simple wave of her hand, Yuri dismissed the curtain and the mat.
“She really went to buy them without complaining after I asked. Seriously, unni’s such an idiot.”
Sigh.
What if someone took advantage of her like this?
What hero in the world willingly became a villain’s snack errand runner?
With a heart that soft, how was she supposed to survive in this rough world?
Yuri let out a sigh just as heavy as Marie’s had been earlier.
She was seriously worried.
Walking over, Yuri leaned against the rooftop railing where the cool night breeze blew.
Below her, the city glowed with neon lights and storefronts sparkling brightly.
Rustle.
“Here. Got them. Picked up a few other snacks too while I was there.”
“Huh? This many?”
“If I only bought a little, you might steal more later.”
The plastic bag handed to her was stuffed full.
Even if Marie had money, she shouldn’t waste it like this.
Yuri’s lips drooped a little in disappointment.
Seeing that, Marie waved her hand casually.
“It’s just snack money for a pitiful villain. I can afford it.”
Marie stepped beside Yuri.
She rested her arms against the railing next to Yuri’s thin wrists and looked out at the same cityscape.
A line of night wind passed between them.
After a long silence of simply watching the lights, Marie brushed the hair tickling her cheek behind her ear and asked calmly,
“When are you leaving?”
“Not sure yet.”
Silence settled again.
Then Yuri asked carefully,
“Do you look at the night view often, unni?”
“Sometimes.”
“I look at it a lot. Alone.”
A sudden gust of wind swept through.
Yuri’s pink hair and gothic dress fluttered softly in the air.
For a moment, she looked like a scene from a photoshoot.
Beautiful enough to steal Marie’s eyes without permission.
“Ah…!”
Yuri suddenly gasped as if she had just remembered something.
She hurriedly pulled out her phone.
“Wait, unni. Stay like that for a second.”
“What now? Stop doing weird things.”
The moment Yuri pointed her phone camera at her, Marie reflexively stepped back.
Her words were blunt.
But Marie knew exactly what Yuri was trying to do.
A few months ago, when Kim Da-in from the Association’s care team had shown her the monitor in a panic—
Marie still remembered the dreadful shock.
[50,000 won per photo! Ultra-rare close-up shots of S-rank milky-skinned hero goddess Jo Marie for sale]
Various close-up photos of herself.
Photos she had no idea when they’d been taken.
And worse—
They had professional-level editing filters on them.
“Da-in… what exactly is this?”
“I think the seller is your obsessive fan! Oh! And the account level is pretty high too! Do you know who this person—”
“I’ll buy them.”
“…What?”
“Buy them before anyone else sees.”
Because of Marie’s request, Da-in had ended up buying them without even understanding why.
That day alone, Marie had spent her own money buying dozens of photos.
And Yuri—
Completely unaware of all that—
Was standing here now, slightly flushed, tapping her phone screen while adjusting the focus.
“Have you ever thought that taking hero photos openly like that might get you tracked down and caught?”
Marie lowered her voice like she was warning her.
She swallowed the rest.
If you sell them online, that’s how you’ll get caught.
“No way, it’s fine! I won’t get caught, so don’t worry.”
Click. Click.
Watching Yuri press the shutter so carelessly, Marie laughed in disbelief.
Had she really never felt anything strange about the fact that those sold photos sometimes got used openly for Association promotional materials?
Marie realized she’d have to buy those photos again too.
In the end, she turned her gaze toward the clustered buildings and muttered quietly,
“You know my left side photographs better. My face looks prettier from the left.”
“Come on. You look good from every angle.”
Yuri separated her shots carefully like a professional.
Some for keeping.
Some for selling.
Then she quietly stared at Marie’s black eyes, reflecting the night city.
Moistening her dry lips with the tip of her tongue, Yuri slowly slipped her phone back into her dress pocket, heavy reluctance in her movements.
Then she picked up her umbrella.
“I should get going now. If I’m any later, I’ll seriously get scolded.”
“Hearing an S-rank villain say she’ll get scolded for coming home late is still something I can’t get used to. Just how badly do they scold you?”
“There’s a terrifying villain at my house.”
Yuri smiled softly as she remembered Ji-eun’s face, holding a ladle and firing endless scoldings.
She waved.
“I’m really going now, unni.”
At once, a dark puddle rose beneath her and swallowed her body whole.
A gust of wind passed through after her.
And with it came that fresh, sweet scent.
Standing alone on the rooftop, Marie unconsciously murmured,
“Smells nice.”