After the Play
After the Play
'Is Team Leader-nim going to be alright??'
An unknown Anomaly with zero intel.
He was Special Suppression Team 1's leader, Kang Wan, whose height and bulk brought a brown bear to mind, but.
The Anomaly he confronted possessed an eeriness that surpassed even Kang Wan's intimidating presence.
'...He'll be fine.'
He had seen Kang Wan charge like a brown bear and beat Anomalies into the ground countless times.
On top of that, that Anomaly bastard had already been knocked down once by Team Leader-nim.
This time as well, Team Leader-nim would win without a hitch.
Even so, why was it?
The sight of Team Leader-nim, who was like a brown bear, facing that Anomaly,
felt inexplicably and overwhelmingly precarious today.
"It's Team Leader-nim. You know how he is."
A voice came from beside him.
Did it show on his face?
As his senior added words as if telling him not to worry, only then did he realize his head was hanging low.
As he raised his head to apologize—.
"......."
Seeing his senior's frozen expression, which was probably just like his own a moment ago, he realized.
The words spoken just now hadn't been aimed solely at him.
"...Let's do our job."
"Yes, sir."
Though short, the implied message was clear.
Just standing around wouldn't help.
If Team Leader-nim really loses to that Anomaly—.
'No, let's not think about that.'
—Then they would have no choice but to somehow make use of the time Team Leader-nim bought for them.
Regardless of his will, his intuition honed through field experience predicted a certain outcome.
Kung—!
"...!"
At that moment, the ground shook.
He wanted to ask if there was something like this among the gear Team Leader-nim used, but.
A drop of sweat trickled down his cheek.
Glancing up slightly from the ground, he saw his senior's hands moving even faster.
Seeing that, he gave up on asking.
Before long, the work was finished.
The place where Team Leader-nim and the Anomaly were fighting.
He turned back to look where the blackout curtain had been set up—.
"...!"
The curtain had vanished like a lie.
And collapsed in an unsightly posture, kneeling with his face shoved into the dirt, was Team Leader-nim.
The moment he saw it, he found it utterly impossible to accept the outcome he thought he had already come to terms with.
"T-Team Leader-nim!"
A scream-like cry burst from his mouth without him even realizing it.
###
"T-Team Leader-nim!"
Ah. I thought he seemed like he'd rolled around in this field for a while, and it turns out this teddy bear was a team leader?
In that case, that overbearing attitude makes sense.
He has quite the bulk and the rank of team leader to boot, so it probably wasn't easy for subordinates to stop him.
:: D o n ' t w o r r y . ::
:: B e c a u s e I d i d n ' t k i l l h i m . ::
And I also understood the bewilderment displayed by the toy in front of me.
Suddenly, some kind of curtain was put up, and once it cleared, his colleague was lying unconscious on the ground.
On top of that, although Bell's blackout curtain seemed to have contained it.
The protruding biscuits and the cracks running here and there.
It clearly showed that it hadn't completely blocked the aftermath of me stepping firmly upon the ground.
For fragile, easily breakable toys, it must be utterly terrifying.
:: Y o u k n o w i t t o o . H e c a m e a t m e f i r s t . ::
:: I t w a s u n a v o i d a b l e . ::
First, I calmly explained the situation.
Even if both sides were involved, it ended up becoming an assault incident anyway.
I saw the need to clarify where the liability lay.
:: D o n ' t w o r r y . I ' m f r i e n d l y . ::
:: I a c t u a l l y l i k e t o y s , y o u k n o w ? ::
Also, according to Bell, this is a kind of disease.
Since she said it was contagious too, this teddy bear might not be the only one getting absorbed in his role and charging in.
Surprising as it may seem, I am a pacifist.
Knocking down the teddy bear just now was merely a last resort because there was no other way.
That's why, with my poor conversational skills, I smoothed over the situation where the toy might charge at me again.
:: I ' l l l e a v e h i m h e r e . ::
:: W h e n h e w a k e s u p l a t e r , t e l l h i m i t w a s f u n . ::
But as I kept talking, an odd annoyance reared its head again.
I just came to watch a show.
Even if it was for Bell's sake, the pretext was for a change of pace for myself, and
as for the initial cause, only because it didn't hurt, I let him hit me enough to vent his anger.
Why do I have to keep bowing and backing down?
It makes me angry.
It feels just like when toys get delivered instead of piñatas due to a nonexistent supplier's mistake.
The same anxiety of being on edge in such a situation pricks at my heart.
My voice deepened at a memory that felt like it had happened once, yet guaranteed never could have existed.
:: Y o u ' d b e t t e r k e e p a g o o d e y e o n h i m . ::
:: T h e r e w o n ' t b e a s e c o n d t i m e , y o u k n o w ? ::
By toys' standards, that teddy bear probably belongs to the fairly strong bunch.
Trusting in that, it seems he usually threw his weight around, but.
The world is wide.
I petty-mindedly vented my anger in the form of imparting a lesson that attacking just anyone will leave you sorely bruised.
"Ah, er. Yes... I'll keep that in mind."
:: Good. ::
Then I have no more business here.
As I turned my back, various sounds reached my ears.
A sigh of relief, the metallic clatter of something clicking, a voice dissuading that, and
Leaving all those sounds behind, I headed home with Bell.
###
On the way home.
By chance, I ran into the brat and the middle-aged woman.
" Oh my, hello. "
" What the, store clerk. Why are you in a place like this? "
The middle-aged woman greeted me while covering her mouth, and the brat wore a surprised expression.
It looked like candy powder was smeared around their mouths—did they just eat out somewhere else?
Still, since no eatery surpasses our shop, I don't doubt for a second that they'll be back soon.
After exchanging brief greetings, by the time we returned to the clerk quarters inside the shop, the night was already deep.
The gramophone music was still playing.
As a perk of being a clerk, it's possible to take snacks that haven't sold by closing time.
Although she isn't a clerk, borrowing my perk, Bell tossed a handful of unsold popcorn into her mouth.
:: You want a bite too? ::
" No. I'm good. You know I'm fasting. "
Fairytale land is truly mystical, so going without food for days on end causes no issues.
Inwardly curious about how long one could fast, I haven't eaten a single meal so far.
There's the minor issue of not being able to taste the candy, but can't one roughly tell by smell?
Seeing that most customers gave rave reviews, there must not have been any problem.
Saying "Suit yourself," Bell visibly pouted over having her offer rejected and tossed the rest of the popcorn into her mouth.
:: By the way, so how was it? The performance? ::
" Well, yeah. It was fun. "
:: ...Doesn't sound like it? ::
Bell and I have known each other for quite a long time.
And right now, I could read the tenacity wriggling in Bell's eyes.
There are people like that sometimes. People who, if someone doesn't agree with them, try to push their opinion through no matter what.
I get the feeling that if I give a half-hearted answer, she'll keep grilling me.
But why was it?
Even if my mouth were torn to shreds, I simply couldn't bring myself to say that this performance was good.
Should I say that deep down in my chest, it was resolutely rejecting that very answer?
Maybe it was a vague fear that if I said it was fine, I might get dragged to such an awful show once again later on.
" You saw it too. At the end, that doll suddenly got overexcited, lost its mind, and charged at me. "
Thus, the method I chose was to sneakily change the subject.
Anyone could sympathize with the fact that the experience couldn't have been very pleasant.
She'd probably offer a reasonable amount of sympathy with a reply like, 'Ah. Right. That was truly awful.'
Yet the words that came out of Bell's mouth were a bit different from what I had expected.
:: Speaking of that teddy bear doll. ::
:: Did you recognize who it was by any chance? ::
No. It was very different.
Because I hadn't expected this kind of question at all.
Recognize him?
:: Or maybe someone who comes to mind? ::
:: Anyone is fine. ::
Well.
If I had to pick, there is a former coworker, but...
'There was a guy who used clumsy dialect, but when he got excited, his persona broke and he reverted to standard speech.'
He was a Seoul native, but claimed it made him look tough?
Although we were on different teams and didn't have many chances to interact, I remember a few things.
In both good ways and bad, he was like a gangster straight out of a mob movie.
He did his job well enough, but he was so severe about enforcing unnecessary discipline that seniors praised him while juniors resented him bitterly.
His name... I don't remember well.
He was an ex-coworker after all.
It's like an alumnus who graduated from the same alma mater long ago, but whom you only interacted with during school events,
so you only remember their face and a memorable episode.
'Though now that I compare them, I don't even remember his face properly.'
I wonder how he's doing now.
As I said, we weren't very close, nor did I harbor particularly fond feelings toward him, but
now that he comes to mind, I oddly feel a bit of nostalgia.
:: Hmm. I see. You weren't close enough. ::
:: Then this alone is a bit ambiguous. ::
:: But it's surprising that you say you feel a bit nostalgic even though you weren't very close? ::
:: ...Could it be. ::
:: Do you miss your previous workplace? ::
" Come on. Why would I miss people who haven't contacted me even once since I quit? "
Isn't that proof that our relationship was strictly business?
It's definitely not that my feelings were hurt over that!
Hearing my answer, Bell let out a soft nasal hum, "Hmm."
:: Then next question. ::
:: Earlier, you got angry saying they were playing with food. ::
:: Then what if someone threw green peas at you? ::
:: Or loaded them into something like a BB gun and shot them like fireworks? Would you be okay with that? ::
What a bizarre hypothesis. Plus, it's out of context.
Should I say that while it's connected to this street play, it feels somewhat forced together?
Therefore, there is only one reason I can guess for her asking.
" I definitely wouldn't let them off. "
She's planning on doing it herself.
She's testing the waters in case she gets scolded.
Trying to pull such a nasty prank on me.
" All food is sacred. If someone does something like that, I'll teach them a harsh lesson. "
As I answered, I pictured the situation in my mind.
The image of a youthful-looking girl around middle or high school age trembling as she points a BB gun at me comes to mind with uncanny clarity.
To think I could visualize it so vividly when it's supposedly something that never happened.
Inwardly admiring my own rich imagination, I continued the hypothesis,
'Wouldn't I just let it slide?'
That was the conclusion I reached.
Even within the food industry, every business is different.
Our shop doesn't sell green peas.
Even if we sell chocolates that look like little beans.
Then is there any need to care about the former?
Generally speaking, a sushi master doesn't act strict about steak doneness or how well pasta is rolled, do they?
However, even if it's a BB gun, aiming a muzzle at a person is unacceptable.
Considering that I'd issue a stern warning, my answer wasn't entirely a lie either.
:: Hmm. I see. ::
:: It really seems genuine. ::
At any rate, I thought Bell would get sulky at my answer.
Since I had read one step ahead and warned her that if she pulled a prank, I'd teach her a lesson.
:: Really? ::
And my expectation was off the mark once again.
What was she so happy about?
Having heard my untrue, yet not entirely false answer, only then did Bell give a bright smile.
:: I see. ::
A look that seemed genuinely satisfied.
Because there was no particular reason for that, I merely felt puzzled as I reflected on the answers I had given so far.
:: Yeah, now I get it. ::
:: Then I don't think there's any need to use any more powder. ::