The Producer
Eventually, the girl stayed by my side.
As if supporting my opinion out of a sense of distance.
“Hah. You losers should just get along well together. Live at the bottom of the barrel your whole lives like that.”
The man spat out insults.
He slunk away shamefully, like a beast that couldn’t touch the sin it was cursing.
Haah. I want to properly look into the upper echelons of Black Wolf, but—
The Black Wolf’s subordinate disappeared into the distance.
I sighed with a tired face.
My old workplace kept sticking to me, making me miserable.
“......Um, excuse me.”
The girl spoke to me.
The first time I heard the girl’s delicate voice.
“T-thank you for helping me......!”
The girl bowed her head to me.
It was a small, kitten-like gesture.
As if I had rescued a girl who was about to be kidnapped.
“Ahaha...... I didn’t really do anything worth being thanked for.”
I cooled my burning cheeks, feeling embarrassed.
Stopping Black Wolf’s evil deeds felt satisfying.
But I wasn’t purely out of good will.
There was something I wanted to propose to this girl.
“But you saved me from a bad person!”
The girl’s eyes sparkled excessively.
Like facing a hero she idolizes.
Her innocent, dazzling eyes made my conscience sting.
Like the hunter who protected the red cloak from the wolf.
“And you said you would make someone like me a hunter too......”
The girl looked at me with a face full of hope.
Ah, right.
I had said that after arguing with a Black Wolf’s child.
“Regarding that part, I wanted to talk to you. Is the time okay?”
“I’m fine with any time!”
The girl nodded vigorously.
Eager to follow me completely, like a tamed animal.
I headed to a cafe with the girl.
The girl tried to refuse vehemently, but I paid.
Eventually, the drinks each ordered arrived.
I ordered a caramel macchiato. The girl ordered espresso.
“......Can you really drink that? Espresso is going to taste really bitter.”
I asked cautiously.
Coffee must always be sweet.
Life can be bitter, but coffee should be sweet.
It’s a famous quote from some light novel.
“B-but it’s okay! I drink it often. After all, life is tough and bitter.”
The girl gulped down the espresso.
Then, with a grimacing face at the bitterness, she pouted.
She looked like someone who had swallowed a bad medicine.
“Gu-huk!”
The side effect of the espresso shot. Named “tastelessness”.
The girl spat out the coffee like a fountain.
It was like the reaction of a historical drama actor who had drunk poison.
“Here, tissues.”
“Ah......! T-thank you!”
The girl answered with a pitifully blushing face.
Something under the beanie also twitched.
“May I know your name?”
“Yes, yes! My name is Jin Myoa! And please call me casually. It’s much easier that way.”
“Ah, is that okay......?”
“Of course! Please treat me comfortably!”
After the introduction, Myoa stared at me intently.
She was eagerly waiting for my introduction.
The eyes of a student meeting a private tutor for the first time.
If I had a business card here, it would be cool.
I had discarded all business cards from my Black Wolf days.
“I am Seol Siha.”
“Ah, can I call you Siha-unnie?”
“Wh-what!?”
I reflexively exclaimed.
Unnie. A title I can never use to refer to myself.
“Can’t I?”
“Wait! It’s good, but there should be something even better......, uuu~!”
I desperately thought of replacement words.
But nothing suitable came to mind.
Then, suddenly, a flash of creativity.
“......Will you call me Producer?”
I blurted it out impulsively.
An opinion that I should have kept to myself came out.
“Yes, Producer-nim!”
But there was no time to correct it.
Myoa immediately accepted the change.
This was definitely not an idol casting.
Still, up close, she’s cute. It’s not an appearance that wouldn’t make sense for an idol scout.
If it was an idol training game, Myoa’s scenario would feel like a growth type.
The story of a small, timid Myoa who lacks self-esteem becoming the confident main character on stage.
She won’t dig a hole with a shovel and die from embarrassment. ......Ah, is this too old a meme.
I really felt like I had become a producer.
I thought I should change the title but couldn’t.
It was all because of the romance of subculture.
Twitch. Something inside the beanie moved again.
“Hey, there’s one thing I want to ask.”
“Yes, Producer-nim. Ask me anything.”
“I was bothered by the twitching inside the hat from earlier.”
Myoa jumped in surprise.
Like a kid who got caught sneaking a cat into the house.
“......Do you want to see?”
“U-um.”
Myoa’s face turned bright red.
A face hiding embarrassment.
But I couldn’t hold back. Curiosity overwhelmed me.
“Then, can you come with me to the bathroom for a moment!? It’s hard to show it here......”
This time, I avoided eye contact, feeling embarrassed.
Bringing a girl to the women’s bathroom is impossible.
Since becoming a woman, I have become a ninja in the bathroom.
I finish my business when no one is around with a whoosh.
I can’t enter the bathroom with another woman.
“Ahaha. T-that’s for next time......”
“As long as it’s just touching, it’s okay here too!”
“Myoa, your voice is too loud!”
Because I was flustered, heat reached my ears.
It wasn’t committing an indecent act.
Depending on the situation, the head could become a lewd part?
I should test it on Sehyun later.
Whether touching the head arouses sexually.
“I’ll show you. T-touch it.”
Myoa slightly lifted the beanie.
A gap to allow intrusion into my hand.
A feeling of committing an indecent prank.
My heart started thumping for no reason.
“C-can I touch it?”
“It’s okay. Showing it is embarrassing, but as long as it’s just touching, Producer-nim can allow it!”
I felt guilty, but curiosity came first.
I slowly put my hand inside the hat.
Soft. A fluffy, wool-like sensation in my hand.
Twitch. Something moving like a living thing.
“My ear.”
Myoa said shyly.
But human ears don’t attach to the head.
“......If I say it’s a cat ear, will you understand?”
“Ah.”
Only then did the feeling hit me.
I wanted to touch it more.
“Kyaa!?”
Myoa’s shrill scream, I pulled my hand back.
“S-sorry! I was so surprised I stopped without realizing!”
“No, it’s okay. I was just startled.”
Now I understood.
Myoa wearing the beanie was to hide the cat ears.
The curious gazes of others would be painful for Myoa.
Like offering chocolate to a cat.
“Anyway, it’s the price of awakening.”
“Yes. As expected, Producer-nim knows.”
“......I experienced it too.”
“Producer-nim also said that!?”
Shared suffering, Myoa looked at me with a face full of empathy.
It was good to tell her this opportunity.
That my gender was male.
“Actually, I was originally a man. I also changed gender due to the price of awakening.”
“......Ah.”
Myoa let out a small exclamation.
Her wide-eyed face scrutinized me thoroughly.
“Producer-nim.”
The voice that came from Myoa’s mouth eventually.
“May I touch it too?”
Her face was full of heightened curiosity.
Like a beastman who had met a new colleague in another world.
“W-wait! I was a man!”
“But you’re so small and cute, and you claim to be a man, so I want to pet you!”
Myoa was already fiddling with my hand.
No, pet? What a nonsensical thought.
“Th-that? Doesn’t it feel gross?”
“I’m the benefactor who helped you. Even though you’re so cute, you were a man back then. Hehehe.”
Myoa giggled like a cat drunk on dogwood berries.
Well, nothing I can do.
I entrusted my body to Myoa’s touch.
We became a pair who stroked each other’s heads.
This is what skinship between girls is like.
I don’t know. It feels a bit embarrassing somewhere.
“Hah. Anyway, let’s get to the main point. Will you help me?”
“What? Help Producer-nim?”
Myoa’s expression became bewildered.
Perhaps my explanation was a bit lacking.
We should complement each other.
I started explaining in detail to Myoa.
“Will this be enough for understanding?”
“Yes, Producer-nim has the ability to assist others’ growth, and wants to use that ability on me? We’re preparing for the qualification test together.”
Myoa nodded after hearing my explanation.
“Yeah, as long as you’re okay with it, I want to use the ability on you.”
I glanced at Myoa’s reaction.
Would she believe me? Maybe she might reject it.
“I like it. Please take care of me from now on.”
But Myoa accepted the proposal cheerfully.
The previous worries felt in vain.
“I haven’t been relied upon by anyone before. I fail the test every time, and the results don’t come out as I wish. So I was happy. The words you said to me back then.”
A declaration to make Myoa a hunter.
It seemed like I was the first person to put faith in her.
“I’m ready anytime! I can handle the schedule right now!”
With an enthusiastic face, Myoa declared grandly.
“The schedule starts tomorrow. There’s one more person I need to introduce to you.”
Just then, the cafe’s vibrating bell rang.
I handed the secretly ordered drink to Myoa.
“Eh, this is......”
“Affogato, a menu.”
Espresso with vanilla ice cream as a dessert.
The sweet ice cream neutralizes the espresso.
With this, the bitterness disappears in the flavor of vanilla.
“I’ll buy it as a souvenir. I think life shouldn’t be as bitter as espresso or as bitter.”
Although life is something that doesn’t go as planned,
Coffee at least can be chosen as you like.
“Producer-nim......!”
Myoa grabbed my hand with an impressed face.
That was Jin Myoa’s first meeting with me.