The Morning After
Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!!!
Mina had drunk last night, but she had been perfectly lucid. When she finally shook off the lingering drowsiness, the memories she had briefly forgotten came flooding back in a vivid panorama. Scenes filled with bare skin and far too much embarrassment played over and over in her mind, and she frantically pressed both hands to her burning cheeks in a desperate attempt to cool them.
What on earth did I say to Seok-jun?!
Even so, the images refused to fade. Some of them were so mortifying that she could hardly believe she had been the one to do them. Mina found it impossible to calm her face.
Still… it felt good…
“Agh! Seriously!!”
Just as she gave up trying to endure the embarrassment and started pounding the innocent bed with her fists, a voice called from the bathroom.
“Mina, I think we should head out now.”
“Y-yes! Let’s do that!”
Startled by the sight of Seok-jun stepping out fully dressed, she answered in a rush and tried to stand. Her body, however, refused to cooperate.
“Nngh?”
She remained frozen on the edge of the bed. Seok-jun approached.
“Can’t get up?”
“My back… it hurts.”
Her mana should have returned the moment she left his body, yet the pain in her lower back showed no sign of easing.
“Ugh, wasn’t that a bit much?”
“If it’s that uncomfortable, how about this?”
“Wait a second!?”
The cause was obvious to anyone. She shot him a glare, but he simply slid one arm behind her back and the other beneath her knees, lifting her effortlessly. The moment he touched her, her mana vanished again. A wave of exhaustion washed over her and the pain in her back sharpened, but she had no time to dwell on it.
Those memories are coming back again!!
The solid warmth of his chest against her face made last night’s scenes replay in her mind. Afraid he would notice how red her cheeks had become, she buried her face against him.
After they left the room, Seok-jun went to settle the bill at the front desk. Mina could feel the receptionist’s gaze on them—equal parts envy and jealousy, sharp enough to prick.
Mwaaang!
Fortunately, his car was parked nearby. By the time he carried her to it, only a few people had seen them.
“Uuu, that receptionist has probably already gotten married.”
“Is there someone else besides me?”
“That’s not what I meant!!”
She shouted at his shameless remark just as the engine started. The navigation screen lit up, and when Mina checked the time, her eyes widened.
“One in the afternoon?!”
Morning had vanished without a trace; they had already crossed into the afternoon.
“S-Seok-jun. What time did we actually fall asleep last night?”
“I don’t remember clearly, but I think the sky was starting to brighten when I dozed off.”
Of course you don’t remember—that’s normal!
Mina finally understood why her back still hurt so badly. The fact that she had endured it without mana was impressive in itself.
She leaned back against the seat, idly fidgeting with her fingers, until Seok-jun spoke.
“How about sandwiches for lunch?”
“Sandwiches?”
“We skipped breakfast, and it’s already too late for a proper lunch. Something light seems best.”
“That sounds good to me.”
After a moment’s thought, Mina agreed. The cushioned seat had helped a little, but her back still twinged with every movement. Walking into a restaurant in this state would mean being carried again.
The place they arrived at was one Mina knew well—a sandwich shop where you could choose your own ingredients.
“Do you come here often, Seok-jun?”
“It’s convenient when I need a quick meal.”
She had eaten here a few times herself, so the familiarity was oddly comforting.
“What would you like, Mina?”
While they waited in the drive-thru, she was about to order her usual when a mischievous idea struck.
“I’ll just have whatever you’re having.”
He ordered without hesitation. When they reached their next destination—a quiet park—he parked nearby and carried the food to a bench.
“Munch munch. You like your food pretty mild, don’t you?”
She asked while eating the sandwich he had chosen. The restaurant they had visited yesterday had also tasted clean and light, and this sandwich gave off the same impression.
“What did you do for the sauce?”
“Just salt, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil. Stronger sauces overpower the vegetables and ham.”
“Hmm. I might order it like this next time.”
Mina didn’t particularly like heavy sauces either, but eating it this way brought out a subtle nuttiness and freshness she enjoyed.
“Phew. I think I’m feeling a bit better now.”
After finishing the sandwich and sipping the coffee they had ordered together, the pain in her back had eased enough for yesterday’s events to resurface in her mind.
“Seok-jun, what’s going to happen to Su-ji and Na-young?”
Yesterday, Su-ji had pretended to be part of the illegal private agency chasing Mina, but in truth she had no connection to them. She had simply been tailing Mina in her car for personal reasons and ended up mixed in with the others. Only Na-young, the Awakener who had first attacked them with sound, had actually been working with her. In the end, Su-ji’s mana had worn off and she had confessed everything, clearing up Na-young’s misunderstanding about Mina.
“Neither of them will escape punishment. Su-ji’s sentence will likely be heavier, though.”
“Why…?”
“She was never registered as an Awakener.”
“Eh, really?”
Registration was mandatory upon awakening. Because the nature of mana made many crimes difficult to trace, unregistered Awakeners who committed offenses faced heavier penalties. Most people registered to avoid that risk.
“She claimed she was afraid people would ostracize her if they knew the truth, but I suspect she simply found it more convenient to use her mana without anyone knowing.”
Su-ji’s ability produced no visible effects and didn’t even require direct contact, so it would have been nearly impossible to detect without registration.
“…Does that mean she won’t be able to use the internet at all?”
Su-ji’s ability had activated simply by commenting on a target’s post—an extremely simple condition that could be proven at the police station. Once the comments she had posted were captured and deleted, even if Seok-jun untied her, her mana wouldn’t activate again.
She seemed fine just now, but just you wait! If you ever show up again, it won’t be like last time. I’ll make sure you can’t even lift your head!!
The venomous look in Su-ji’s eyes as she screamed from behind mana-suppressing cuffs had been terrifying enough to haunt Mina’s dreams. With that kind of obsession, she might spend the rest of her life monitoring Mina’s posts.
“You don’t need to worry about that either. The results of her mana analysis came in around lunchtime.”
“That quickly?”
Normally, determining the exact nature of an ability required lengthy observation and testing.
“There happened to be a mana appraiser with some free time.”
Mina had heard of mana appraisers before. They were Awakeners whose own abilities were specialized in analyzing and identifying the properties of other people’s mana.
“Her ability is called Abusing. It lets her steal the advantages of anyone she targets.”
“Advantages…”
For Su-ji, that had meant beauty and charm.
“According to the report, she has to be within at least seven hundred meters of the target for the effect to work. That’s not a very large range, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Fortunately, the distance was shorter than she had feared. That explained why Su-ji had followed them by car.
“Still, I guess she won’t be able to become a Bubble Star or anything.”
It was a relief that she had never been interested in that world to begin with. Just as Mina felt a small sense of peace, Seok-jun continued.
“There’s something else rather interesting.”
“Interesting?”
“Her ability steals advantages from others, but it only works if the target already possesses the potential for those advantages. If they don’t, the ability has no effect.”
Mina tilted her head, puzzled, until the implication sank in.
“…So it was working normally on Su-ji?”
“Yes. If she had simply lost the weight on her own, that figure might have been her real appearance.”
“Does she know that?”
“Given her criminal record, the authorities will suppress the information rather than share it.”
Of course. Revealing such a thing could lead to unpredictable consequences if she ever grew stronger or committed further crimes.
“In the end, if you want to achieve something, you have to develop your own potential instead of relying on others as a whetstone. Otherwise, it means nothing.”
Seok-jun gathered their trash and tossed it into the bag in the car.
“Shall we go? I’ll take you home.”
He drove her to the front of her building. By then the pain in her back had faded enough that she could stand on her own.
“I should head back as well.”
“Ah, wait! There’s something I want to ask.”
Mina caught the hem of his coat as he turned to leave, her lips moving uncertainly.
“What… exactly are we to each other now?”
After everything that had happened yesterday, she couldn’t help wondering. Her heart pounded as she waited for his answer. When he remained silent, tension coiled tighter in her chest.
“It would be good if you came to work starting tomorrow.”
“R-right. Of course.”
Just as she was sinking into the belief that she had been the only one hoping for more, his quiet voice reached her ear on a small breeze.
“Office romances are allowed.”
“Huh?”
By the time she looked up in shock, he had already taken a step back and was gazing down at her.
“U-uh, uwaaaah!!”
In the end, Mina fled into her building as if running for her life.