The Inevitable Phantom Deal
An untimely members' meeting was called first thing in the morning. The agenda was Phantom activities. Honestly, I had to wonder if this was even an appropriate topic to discuss in an idol trainee dorm, but there was no point in questioning it at this stage. The whole situation just made me sigh.
“There are often superhumans like you. Cases where a destructive ego awakens through the awakening process.”
“...What the hell are you even saying?”
“Denying it is pointless now. The fact that someone your age has reached this level of martial prowess means your temperament is far from ordinary. If you keep suppressing it, it will eventually explode. It would be better for you to release it at an appropriate level.”
“So the target is villains?”
“You must feel it too. That there is a limit to how much you can hold back.”
I see... so that's what she thinks. No wonder she seemed overly confident. This was her calculation all along. There are people like this sometimes. Those whose very nature is combative. In wuxia terms, they'd be something like a Heavenly Killing Star. It could be talent, or it could be something beyond talent, but because their very seed is different, they grow strong easily and eventually unleash their power without restraint. The truly dangerous part is when people like this become villains. They're so strong that it's almost impossible to stop them.
It seemed Tasha had noticed I didn't have any special history through any particular route. Yet because I was stronger than common sense allowed, she'd judged me as one of these special cases. As mentioned before, those born this way easily fall toward the villain path if things go wrong. To prevent that and help them maintain a normal life, it's important to let them release steam appropriately. She was offering to help me do exactly that. And if I was going to use my strength anyway, I might as well use it to beat up villains.
I'd taken on people like this before and often mentored them. In fact, I'd met a junior who came to the Special Task Force for similar reasons. A guy as hot and fierce as fire. The type who seemed like he'd burn himself up if no one held him back. If I hadn't occasionally beaten some sense into him, he would have caused a major incident. It looked like Tasha had encountered people like that too. Which meant this girl was definitely connected to the Ryitser side. It was a judgment she couldn't have made without real field experience.
It was certainly more reasonable than Yu Hana suddenly asking if I was a former child soldier. But this girl was seriously misunderstanding something. In my case, I was closer to ashes than fire.
The last mission I'd taken before dying was to carry special equipment made by Professor G, cross over the dimensional rift, and detonate a superpowered nuclear fusion bomb at the center of the other dimension. Just hearing it probably gives you the idea. It was a suicide mission with zero chance of returning alive. But I'd volunteered for it. Why? Because after ten years with the Special Task Force, I was completely burned out. Honestly, I hadn't really wanted to live anymore.
At this point, I could fully understand the psychiatrist's diagnosis of burnout. So when she started talking about fire this and that, I had no idea how to respond. It wasn't like I could explain that after over ten years of active duty and retiring through death, I was finally trying to live like a normal person.
“It seems there's been a misunderstanding. I don't particularly enjoy fighting. I just want to live an ordinary life. Can't you and Seong Jiyeong handle it between yourselves?”
“Hmm. I see. This is... troublesome.”
“What's so troublesome about it?”
“The problem is that all the members now know about the situation.”
“...That's because you went and blabbed about it.”
“That is correct. However, I never expected you to refuse.”
“You should have accounted for that variable at least.”
“To think you felt nothing after sharing such heated breaths together. I'm actually the one who's more flustered.”
What was with this hot-blooded idiot? Had she really charged in like that without even considering the possibility that I'd refuse?
“Hey, Sasha. Is that it? This is too anticlimactic~”
“Disappointing.”
“Ha, you. With just that much...”
As Tasha's expression turned to dismay and confusion at her failed persuasion, hollow laughter erupted from various spots around the room. Everyone seemed to be wondering what the hell this was all about. The most dramatic reaction came from Seong Jiyeong. She looked like someone whose own axe had struck her foot—the face of someone whose trusted plan had backfired. It seemed she'd been completely confident that Tasha could convince me. Since Tasha had been so assertive, Seong Jiyeong had believed in her too.
But here's the thing. This wasn't exactly a welcome situation for me either. After all, the outcome of this fight had been decided from the start.
“Hm?”
Suddenly Tasha pulled out her phone from her pocket and checked something. After pondering with a serious expression for a moment, the look in her eyes when she turned back to me was filled with conviction. It was the reaction of someone who'd obtained a new weapon.
“The truth is, neither I nor Seong Jiyeong have much interest in being idols.”
“...Yeah, I figured.”
“So how about this? If you cooperate with our work, we will also sincerely commit to idol activities after debut.”
“A give-and-take arrangement?”
“What do you think? Isn't it a fairly fair deal?”
Yes. This was the problem. The reason the outcome of this fight had been decided from the beginning was exactly this. Seong Jiyeong, who clearly looked rich, and Tasha, who had begun receiving her support. It was perfectly normal for these two to have little interest in idol activities. For them, it was only natural to be more serious about Phantom activities than idol work.
In that sense, I was the one in a more urgent position. I had to debut as an idol somehow and produce some results. Both financially and from a novelistic perspective. So if a deal came in using this as leverage, I had no choice but to take some losses.
But could I abandon these two and walk away? There was no way. We had more than a few things tying us together too. Honestly, we needed to help them in every way possible so they wouldn't get caught. Besides, just by standing there, Tasha and Seong Jiyeong drew attention like crazy. It would be too much of a waste to let big fish like these slip away.
If the fact that I was Rabbit Moon hadn't been discovered, the situation might have been a little different. But now that my identity as Rabbit Moon had been exposed and Tasha had completely revealed their own identities, the conclusion of this negotiation had already been set in stone. Tasha's first attack had been so absurd that the mood had gotten weird, but in the end, it would resolve with each side obtaining what they wanted.
The reason I'd said she'd beaten me like a dog before I could even start was because I'd predicted this kind of ending. Seriously, starting an idol life seemed ridiculously difficult.
But for Tasha, who'd only been making clumsy mistakes until now, to catch onto this so perfectly... something felt off. Moreover, the phone message that had flown in at just the right moment... I could bet my right arm that the pathetic human who'd subtly informed Tasha of this fact and guided her to set up a new board was our insane squinty-eyed character. The one currently standing beside me with that annoying bright smile on her face.
“...Fine. Let's do it that way. Of course we'll need to negotiate the details, but we'll set the foundation like this.”
“It was resolved this easily... As expected, it seems all our members are quite capable.”
“I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. I have a pretty good idea what you really mean.”
But I didn't want to drag out a discussion whose conclusion was already set anyway. Just having this meeting felt like it was draining my stamina gauge at an alarming rate.
Once we reached a moderate agreement to cooperate with each other, an achievement greeted me. These achievement windows really had a knack for popping up right when I was about to forget about them. After the debut group selection, the next one had been "Badass Sister." Since that was the achievement I'd gotten for saving Ji Seoeun, this "Comrade You Can Trust With Your Back" was probably related to Tasha.
Come to think of it, the person who'd been with me the longest was Yu Hana, yet she hadn't triggered any achievements. It was funny. Just what did she think of me? This achievement wasn't anything particularly amazing, but it made me realize once again that Yu Hana was no ordinary person.
The result of the members' meeting was a resolution that the five of us in the debut group would diligently pursue idol activities while sincerely supporting Seong Jiyeong's Phantom activities. Keeping each other's secrets was a given, and we agreed to support one another if the members deemed it necessary after discussion. In my case, I'd declared that I would avoid getting involved in Phantom activities as much as possible, but Tasha expressed considerable dissatisfaction about this part. What was it she said? That she felt most at ease when I was behind her?
Between the achievement and the way she spoke, it seemed my supporting that day had left quite an impression on Tasha. Well, I guess I did go pretty hard. Where else would you find a backup agent as reliable as me? Regardless of the fact that I didn't want to do Phantom activities, having my abilities acknowledged was always a good feeling. So I didn't feel bad about it.
Since girls like Tasha couldn't say empty words, it meant I'd genuinely been good. But that good mood only lasted until I saw Yu Hana teasing Tasha, saying she couldn't live without her Yeri. My stomach practically flipped over. Even if I expressed it... When I pushed her away saying I couldn't live with her around either and to please get lost, she cleanly ignored it. As always, that squinty-eyed wench was beyond saving.
Even after my declaration to minimize activities, Seong Jiyeong didn't seem particularly bothered. She appeared satisfied enough that her identity had been revealed but the situation smoothed over. It seemed the one who had actively wanted me wasn't Seong Jiyeong but Tasha. Honestly, it was reassuring that at least one of them was willing to leave me alone. After all, the main force behind Phantom activities was Seong Jiyeong rather than Tasha, no matter what anyone said.
And so, after Tasha's Black Yaksha commotion—which had been noisy enough to reach all the way to a members' meeting—was settled, a week passed by.