Kim Geun-cheol's Bizarre Adventure # 7
Kim Geun-cheol's Bizarre Adventure # 7
So while I was blabbering, I let Si-hoo in on part of my secret.
"Uh, it was a while ago. I ran into her one time when I went outside way back."
"When?"
"Sometime around the start of the semester? I don't remember the exact date. Anyway, I was out and bumped into her, and looking back, it was definitely intentional. She approached me first."
I kept talking, emphasizing that I absolutely had not colluded with a monsterkin.
"She spotted the uniform and knew I was a hero cadet. A hundred percent."
"Hm."
Si-hoo listened with arms crossed.
"So anyway, I figured, hey, I became a hero, now a girl like that comes asking for my number. I was into it. She talked to me first, so we chatted a little."
"What kind of chat?"
"Just normal stuff. I mean, come on. I didn't know she wasn't human. We just had a normal conversation. Actually, we got pretty comfortable."
Up to that point, everything was true.
"Geun-cheol."
"Yeah?"
"You're telling the truth?"
Their eyes were serious.
"Yeah. It's the truth. Keep listening. So after we'd gotten familiar like that, we ran into each other outside a few more times and got to know each other a bit better... and I thought she had the hots for me, you know?"
"What?"
"No, I mean, that's how it looked. And blowing her off cold would've been harsh, so I just kept talking to her... and then she suddenly started dropping some really loaded remarks?"
"What kind of remarks?"
"She asked who I thought she was. I thought she was just messing around at first. We parted after that... and then I didn't see her again, so I completely forgot about her. And today she suddenly opened a gate and showed up. Scared the shit out of me."
That explanation seemed safe enough.
"..."
Si-hoo listened, thought for a moment—
"You actual lunatic!"
"What!"
"What were you thinking, letting a monsterkin get attached to you, you maniac Kim Geun-cheol!"
"It's not like I did it on purpose! She put on an act and approached me!"
"Haah! This is driving me insane, seriously! Geun-cheol! From what I'm hearing, it really does sound like that monsterkin approached you intentionally!"
Thank goodness.
Si-hoo trusts my story one hundred percent.
"R-right?"
"Yeah! And if this gets out, Geun-cheol, you're getting hauled off to Namsan! That's the end of you, Geun-cheol!"
"The end?"
Getting investigated probably would be the genuine end for me, but given the version I told Si-hoo, there honestly isn't much ammunition to screw me over in Namsan.
"You'd face brutal interrogators and end up a wreck, or worst case, they'd use you to catch that gate-using monsterkin somehow! Like bait!"
"What! Would they really do that to a cadet?"
"Of course they would! It's a monsterkin that uses gates! And she literally made a gate right before your eyes!"
Si-hoo shouted like I was too dumb to see it!
"It's way too dangerous. If Geun-cheol got dragged to Namsan, you would definitely end up a wreck."
I was prepared for this, but it's still terrifying!
"Geun-cheol."
—Slide.
Si-hoo got up and moved next to me. Then Si-hoo grabbed my shoulders, looked me right in the eye, and spoke.
"No matter what, you have to hide this. The moment it gets out, you're done. If you're lucky, you might just suffer for a few years and be done with it... but I don't think the Sovereign Commander would let you off that easy. You'd be dragged along for a very long time."
—Trickle.
Cold sweat ran down my back.
"We hide it, Geun-cheol. We absolutely have to hide it. I can't watch my friend get dragged off and put through hell in a place like that."
Si-hoo was sweating too. That's how anxious this whole thing was. God, fuck! That I can't tell Si-hoo the whole truth when you're honestly this worried about me...!
This is a tragedy!
"Hoo, yeah. Si-hoo, thank you. I'll hide it no matter what. Thanks for helping me. But seriously, what do we actually do?"
"I don't know, Geun-cheol. It's too difficult. Asking an adult for help... honestly, I trust Instructor Lee So-ra. I think that'd be okay."
Instructor Lee So-ra's trust rating was high. Even in this mess, Si-hoo was telling me that if we told Instructor Lee So-ra, she'd figure something out.
I trusted the instructor too, obviously, but this secret had to stay between a very small number of people.
"If we tell her the truth, she might protect you. Although that would mean forcing Instructor Lee So-ra to keep a secret too, so we'd be imposing on her a bit."
"No, Si-hoo. Let's not ask for help. The way I see it, she does seem favorably inclined toward me, at least."
"So? You wanna appeal to a monsterkin's mercy?"
"That's not it. Think about it simply... she threatened me. If I tell anyone, she said she'd come find me."
"Huh! That means!"
"Yeah."
I nodded once as I spoke.
"You know what I thought when I saw her gate into my room? I thought I was totally fucked. If I tell anyone about this, she could show up and take my life. She could straight-up kidnap me, too."
"That's...!"
Si-hoo covered their mouth with both hands.
"Yeah. She really could use a gate to come and grab you, Geun-cheol."
Si-hoo exhaled, like there was no telling what to do.
Honestly, it really was checkmate.
Because there was nothing I could do.
"Si-hoo. I think that woman is probably pretending to be friendly so she can extract information from me later, or something like that."
"I think so too. But Geun-cheol? She's already been spotted by me. What do we do about that?"
"I don't know either. In any case, Si-hoo. Thanks for keeping the secret."
"Hmm."
Si-hoo stood up and scratched their head.
Then Si-hoo looked at me straight and said,
"Geun-cheol. Let's stick together for the time being."
"What?"
"That monsterkin. She could make another gate and intrude while you're alone, Geun-cheol. That makes staying alone dangerous. We're in the same dormitory anyway. Starting now, I'll sleep here."
"What! Are you sure?!"
"Of course it can't always be like this. Even for me, I can't protect you forever, Geun-cheol."
That was true enough.
No one can protect a single person forever.
"Still, since we're in the dorms, it's doable to some extent. If I have to be away, I can ask someone else before I go. Geun-cheol, let's make a plan together for now. Right this moment... I can't think of anything either. It's just too hard a problem."
"Sniff...!"
But seriously, why was I tearing up? Listening to Si-hoo, no kidding, it was seriously getting me choked up.
"Fuck...! Seriously, thank you...!"
"Thank me? We're friends. I can do this much. And Geun-cheol. From today on, eliminate being alone as much as you can. You have to be with someone, no matter what. Got it?"
"Got it!"
"Then I'll go grab some stuff from my room... no. Let's just move together starting right now, Geun-cheol. Come with me."
"Okay!"
I jumped up instantly and followed Si-hoo. Even while moving, Si-hoo kept glancing at me and keeping an eye on our surroundings.
"Seriously, how on earth did you get tangled up with a monsterkin like that? Unbelievable. As if using gates wasn't bad enough... that monsterkin. She looked like a woman, didn't she?"
"Yeah. Are Humanoid Monsters rare?"
"Almost nonexistent. And most of those are mimicry or transformation."
"Transformation, huh. Like that Doppelganger Slime back then?"
"Ah! Y-yeah! Anyway! Generally speaking, there's no monsterkin that looks completely identical to a human except the Void Princess."
"Huk."
And there was the real culprit.
—Freeze.
Si-hoo suddenly stopped walking.
"W-wait. Geun-cheol?"
"What?"
"That woman. Blonde, and she used gates, didn't she?"
"Yeah."
"Then don't tell me."
Si-hoo's pupils dilated.
"Could she be... the same species as the Void Princess?"
"Uh."
"She wouldn't be, right? The same species as that dangerous S-rank monsterkin? And one with a similar ability, at that...!"
My pupils dilated too.
"This is a critical threat! Aaah, shit! But we can't tell anyone about this!"
Si-hoo clutched their head.
Watching that, my heart burned. You little genius detective. Except the truth wasn't actually all that dangerous. I'd already become the kind of man who could spank Kitty's ass, after all.
Of course, it's a fact that those Void Sisters are dangerous. But I, personally, wasn't in that much danger.
This really wasn't something Si-hoo needed to worry about this much.
Still, seeing Si-hoo worry like this made my heart burn. Crazy Kitty. Just how much were you planning to toy with my heart?
* * *
—Ssshhh.
Showering in Kim Geun-cheol's room, I think.
'I have to protect Geun-cheol.'
My gut says that blonde female-form monsterkin who was on top of Geun-cheol earlier is connected to the Void Princess. On top of a monster like that targeting Geun-cheol, if the fact leaks out, Geun-cheol is headed to Namsan.
Heroes are, in every sense of the word, heroes.
Revered by the public, serving as society's leaders and protectors, and eliminating enemies.
Which is exactly why.
They are utterly resolute and merciless toward beings who threaten society's safety. If Geun-cheol gets dragged to Namsan... he would certainly end up in a state where he couldn't live a normal life. Either broken by brutal interrogators, or used as bait to capture that monsterkin, being endlessly exploited.
'I have to keep this secret. Just like... the secret I carry.'
I've ended up sharing Geun-cheol's secret.
Today, I learned and became a sharer of a secret that nobody must ever know. Thinking about it that way made me feel strange.
Because I, too, have a secret I must hide.
"Hoo."
After finishing the shower, I very skillfully bound down my breasts, tightly compressing them with bandages. Once my chest was hidden, I put on a large top and shorts, then looked in the mirror.
—Squeak.
Wiping the mirror once, I looked at my reflection and thought.
'Living together with Geun-cheol, huh... Well, why not? It's not like we haven't slept over a couple of times before. Geun-cheol's an idiot, so there's no risk of getting caught. And this is to protect Geun-cheol, anyway. I'm absolutely not harboring any weird intentions.'
—Thump thump.
My heart is pounding.
'Still, how the hell did that lunatic Kim Geun-cheol manage to charm a monsterkin woman? Truly an unpredictable bastard...'
* * *
[Geun-cheol's Angel]
Lying on the sofa, casually playing a mobile game, I keep thinking about earlier.
"Hmph! Ridiculous, honestly!"
My face heats up a little.
"T-to sneak a peek at my butt...! What are you even trying to do, Kim Geun-cheol!"
Fine, maybe I sat on the desk without thinking, but to stare at my butt from there! Leona was so embarrassed she couldn't stand it. Just what is that guy Kim Geun-cheol trying to pull?
—Clunk.
Leona set her phone down, and her gaze drifted up to the ceiling.
"..."
Then, as if something had occurred to her, she got up from the sofa and went to stand in front of the full-length mirror.
"Hm."
Standing in front of the mirror like that, Leona—
"Is he really into this?"
—strikes a simple pose that emphasizes her butt while checking herself out in the mirror.
"Could he not be into it?! It's pretty! Even I think it's pretty! So that guy Kim Geun-cheol must have known it was pretty and looked! Hmph!"
Well, you can't really blame the kid!
"Now that I think about it, this is my fault for being this pretty!"
Leona laughed.
