The Masochist Girlfriends Who All Know Yet Still Get Fooled
Right after the hypnosis ended, Juwon and Hyeon vanished.
Even though all four of them had been staring wide-eyed at the two, they disappeared with a sharp pop as if they had never been there from the start—something hard to believe even after witnessing it—yet no one panicked. Instead Cash narrowed her eyes, checked the lock on the club room door, and the instant she realized it was unlocked she gave a small nod and took her seat.
"They stopped time again. Still, for a guy, he must have been pretty good if she carried him off like that."
"Hyeon's been training regularly. It's her hobby, after all."
Harin's brief reply was the last word spoken; a short silence settled over the club room.
Everyone sat as if on pins and needles, even their breathing hushed. Some crossed their arms or propped their chins, openly advertising their discomfort, until Cash rose again, pulled glasses and a bottle of wine from a box left in the corner, and brought them over.
"Drinking's banned in the club room, though…"
"Shut up. I'll give you money—just go buy some snacks from the convenience store."
"Hwing…"
Euna tightly wrapped her coat around herself and sniffled her way outside. Even after that the girlfriends stayed silent. Aside from Cash's angry voice yelling into the phone at Euna's tearful tone—"Don't ask about every little thing, just buy a decent variety of stuff~!"—the room remained quiet.
—Beep.
"…Hwingiiing."
"Honestly, you're not a child. Asking for permission every single time—your self-esteem is way too low, isn't it?"
"But other people's money is scary… it makes me tense, you know…"
"I'm not some loan shark. I wouldn't scold a friend over it. Really."
Even while grumbling complaints at Euna, who returned with a black bag stuffed full, Cash stood up and helped carry everything, proving they weren't on such bad terms. The fact that this kind of nagging was a regular occurrence seemed to relax Yuna and Harin, who had kept their mouths shut; as they slowly reached for the snacks and wine spread across the long table in front of the sofa and began snacking, the club room finally filled with the sounds of people living.
Crunch crunch, crunch crunch. The wine Cash had brought was cheap stuff meant for occasions like this, so no one felt any burden. Reaching out, crunching, gulping down a glass—the alcohol slowly kicked in and loosened their tongues. When Cash opened her mouth again it became the cue that opened the door to conversation.
"That personality and way of speaking show no signs of improving… Well, that's not something to blame you for, but how about your family? I heard Master hasn't laid a hand on them since he tore into them that one time, but are they at it again?"
"They were quiet for a while, but since Juwon hasn't shown his face, gradually… Last time they even probed if we'd broken up…"
"Is that so… Ha, those human scum are still the same. It's not our place to say, but I'm painfully realizing that people can't be fixed."
"It's an addiction… can't help it…"
"That's exactly why it's a problem when you keep covering for them like that. Oh, I heard you increased your part-time jobs too—they're not touching your money again, are they?"
"It's fine… I'm being thorough… I moved to a small goshiwon, and if things get bad there's the club room, so it's fine…"
Quiet, heavy, realistic words were exchanged, and Cash, unlike before, pouted her lips gently.
"I told you you could live with us as a freeloader. Just doing some simple housework would let you earn more comfortably than now, and if needed I could even cover tuition…"
"…That's a matter of my pride."
"…………"
"We're friends… arguing over money… I hate that more than the practical difficulties…"
"…Euna, you're stubborn in the weirdest places."
Cash shook her head, realizing it was something she shouldn't say, and at that Harin and Yuna's eyes narrowed.
"With my ability I could solve it?"
"I told you last time too—I don't want to use hypnosis on my family… Even if they're like that, they're still family…"
"Yuna, you try persuading her too. She's taking the long way around when there's an easy path!"
"On this matter I'm on Euna's side~! As someone who's caused Darling a lot of trouble with family issues myself, I don't like the idea of solving it with hypnosis~! My idiot older brother is a total blockhead who doesn't lose to those guys, but using hypnosis on him still gives me the creeps~!"
"But still… Cash and I…"
"That's right—Harin and I cleaned things up neatly by using our abilities on our families~!"
"You guys only did that because no amount of persuasion would get them to accept the relationship with Darling, right~? Harin, your parents were forcing med school and scheming to make you break up with Juwon, so you had no choice~! Right, Cash, you had a fiancé separately too! I know Master couldn't do anything about that so you handled it, I know, but our cases are different~! …We can end it with persuasion. We can somehow manage by persuading them, so laying hands on family still feels icky, and Euna and I want to pass on that."
"…Mmm."
"Yeah… I understand that feeling, but… as friends I just want to clean it up right away for you… I know it's unnecessary meddling, okay?"
"Yeah yeah~! I get what you mean. I do. So I'm grateful every time. But this lifestyle is fun in its own way, you know? Watching my idiot older brother flinch and turn around every time he sees Juwon's face is fucking hilarious."
"Yuna, you really…"
"Euna, I know you're being stubborn too, but if your living situation gets dangerous, tell me. I cursed you out as a stalker or whatever earlier, but still—you're a friend and a hole-sister-in-law."
"There probably won't be any such thing… I'm the weakest in position here… so I have to put in this much effort to become equal…"
"…You don't have to worry about standing or whatever."
"That's right. Euna, you worry too much. You could impose a little, but you pull back so much it's actually troublesome."
"Yeah…"
With that conversation finished, everyone seemed to feel relieved and let out a breath.
They each appeared to have their own circumstances, and now they were finally ready to touch on the parts they hadn't been able to broach earlier due to the atmosphere.
"…Then let's leave the family talk there and move on to Juwon."
"Yeah…"
"Yes, good."
"Spill it~☆"
The one who started the conversation first was Harin, who had been treated as the official girlfriend outwardly. She leaned her shoulders against the backrest, crossed her legs, and acted nonchalant, but with the alcohol in everyone's systems the atmosphere wasn't as heavy as at the start.
"Then I'll cut to the chase. Including Hyeon who's not here right now, can we assume that four out of the five of us here each took one of Juwon's precious things?"
"We can think that way. The motive is, as Harin said earlier, fear of being abandoned… right?"
"I think so too…"
"There's no other answer anyway~! Oh, and as Hyeon said, there's also the possibility it's Juwon's own self-staged act, so include that in the possibilities~!"
In the end everyone agreed.
From the atmosphere a few seemed to have already figured it out and were putting on an act of not revealing what they had.
"So… um… what do you plan to do by bringing this up…?"
"At first I was going to ask them to give it back."
"At first?"
"Yeah, at first. But after talking with everyone after so long, I just can't get angry… Realizing that we're all worrying about the same things… So for now I just want to drive a nail in. Even if we don't know who the culprit is, and considering the possibility that one person took multiple, keeping that in mind."
"You talk as if you're not the culprit yourself… I'd like to pick at that, but in the end we're all the same. Harin, you and the rest are all accomplices fretting that Master might leave because of your own fetishes."
"…So?"
"So, I'll give a warning."
Harin declared.
"The three that were taken… the eyes, the arm, the leg—up to there, I can forgive. I'll think of it as something you had no choice but to do out of worry for the person you love, and let it slide with the friend card. But if… truly… if there's someone among us who's living with the memories, please give them back."
"…………"
"…Yeah."
"Memories are problematic."
"Those memories are a precious treasure box filled with the recollections we all shared together here. Hogging that, even as friends, is unforgivable. If you were really worried, taking a body part would have been enough, so give the memories back."
It was essentially a plea.
With those words Harin caught her breath, and everyone glanced around before nibbling on snacks.
"Maybe one person took multiple~? Especially since only the left arm and leg were taken~!"
"That would just make her an incredibly tactless bitch. Master's suffering too, so it'd be nice if they returned them moderately."
"…Won't they give them back someday? Like Harin said, as long as Juwon doesn't leave."
Everyone spoke gently, but worry seeped into the ends of their words.
Whether that was worry as the culprit or as a friend, they didn't make clear.
"It's a bit much for me to say since I asked, but let's stop mentioning it now. The atmosphere's already like this, and I don't want to put any more burden on the culprit. As long as the memories are returned, I'll forgive without any hard feelings no matter who it is, so keep that in mind."
"…I agree. Even if we went a bit off the path for a moment, I don't want us friends resenting each other."
"Yeah… me too…"
"I don't know when we'll get them back, but until then I hope Juwon doesn't have too hard a time~☆"
With Yuna's kyahaha laughter as the finale, the atmosphere completely lightened and short laughs were exchanged. Even as things resolved nicely in the "we're friends so let's not resent each other" way, as the alcohol rose another notch everyone here suddenly thought of one person.
"We brought it up since Hyeon's not here, but where is she and what is she doing right now?"
"Hyeon? She's hard to pin down, but… home, probably. She declared she wouldn't use the full week, but there must have been things building up, and she had a face that was piled up in its own way."
"I saw her face before the hypnosis earlier too… her snorts were intense…"
"…Is it restraint after all?"
At those words everyone turned their gazes.
"Restraint, huh…"
"It's probably not just that. She's got that thing on her back too, so she might show it off thinking the timing's perfect…"
"Hyeon, dangerous in a different direction from Yuna, right~?"
"Don't compare me to her~?! What the hell! If similar, then similar, but! I like holding back for a bit, while that one's a crazy bitch who pushes herself to the absolute limit!! The directionality is different, I said directionality~!"
"…Says the woman who likes getting her head shaved and beaten."
"Yeah, no persuasiveness."
"Uuuuiiiiiiiiii~?!"
While Yuna trembled, Cash pulled out a laptop.
"Well, since the topic came up, shall we all have a drink and watch the video Yuna uploaded? I want to see what comments were left and engrave the play content in my mind."
"Good… sounds fun…"
"What kind of maso play did Yuna do this time~?"
"Ah, ah, ah, wait—other people are one thing, but you guys watching is embarrassing~!! Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!"
Despite Yuna's scream the video started playing, and the other three cackled with laughter. The screams of Yuna bursting out from within the video mixed with the screams coming from outside, creating a horror-like scene. Being hit, shaved, tightened… even among masochists the video reminded them that tendencies differ, and everyone left various comments.
In the midst of that subtle yet good atmosphere Yuna calmed down and recounted the events of that time, telling them "this part was good," and amid that one unpleasant comment in the corner of the comment window flashed by.
Nested among countless comments, a video that probably no one noticed.
It was a foreshadowing of the incident that would unfold later, but no one noticed it, and they all just watched the scene of Yuna's neck being pierced with envy.