063. Promise
063. Promise
The dinner engagement with the neighbors was set for 7 p.m.
And the current time, having just arrived back home, was 3:30 p.m.
That left me with about three hours to spare.
So the plan was to rest up a bit at home before heading over to the neighbors' later.
"Wakyapya! Your house is huge!"
Bubblegum stepped out of the car, her mouth dropping open in awe.
The admiration didn't let up the whole way into the yard.
"Wakyapya! It's even more majestic in person! A straight-up mansion!"
"Bubblegum."
"Wakyapya?"
"Why're you suddenly talking like you do in chat?"
"Ah! Gyejipsa asked me to use this manner of speech earlier!"
"...Aren't you embarrassed doing that in real life?"
"Warkyarpya! Our Gyejipsa requested it, so this much embarrassment is nothing!"
It was one thing seeing it in chat.
Hearing that manner of speech out loud in real life was genuinely cringey.
【Gyejipsa】─Wakyapya!
【Reformed Guburi】─Wakyapya!
【Reverse-Rape Maniac】─Wakyapya!
【Drift AI】─I shall Wakyapya!
"What're they all so happily copying it for...?"
I checked the chat window and saw that the viewers, too, had somehow already gotten infected by Bubblegum.
It seemed Bubblegum had gone and unleashed her poison into my stream.
"Wakyapya!"
"Knock it off, you nutjob."
I lightly pressed my palm down on Bubblegum's head.
Part of me wanted to give her a knuckle rap, but her youthful appearance forced me to be cautious about even minor violence.
"Okay, I won't use that way of talking. Hehe."
"Don't laugh like an idiot, either."
"Okay. Haha."
After that, we crossed the yard and went inside to the first floor.
***
I sat Bubblegum down on the sofa on the first floor.
Handing her the camera, I told her,
"Don't even think about coming up to the second floor. Gyejipsa's social phobia is so severe that seeing you could trigger a seizure or make them faint."
"Okay, okay! It's a shame, but it can't be helped!"
Bubblegum had been looking for Gyejipsa the moment she walked into the house.
Saying she wanted to meet them in person.
But I couldn't just casually introduce them.
Because Gyejipsa isn't human—they're a yokai.
"Don't go wandering around on your own. Sit tight right here and wait. Chat with the viewers."
"Okay, okay! Got it!"
"Your answer, short and sharp. Once."
"Gah!"
After that firm warning to Bubblegum,
I headed upstairs to the second floor, making for the sub-bedroom where Gyejipsa was.
*
*
*
After stepping into the sub-bedroom,
I handed Gomdori the case of cola I'd bought on the way.
"Here. Catch."
[Oh! Cola!]
Gomdori hopped down from the chair.
Then, practically glowing with excitement, they started tearing open the package.
[New cola! Looks tasty!]
"You that happy about it?"
[Happy!]
For the record, there was still plenty of cola left in the fridge.
I'd only bought this because Gomdori kept insisting they wanted to try various brands of cola, and I had no choice.
Today's cola was a no-brand generic cola.
[Smells good, too!]
Gomdori chugged the cola down in big gulps.
I watched the sight with deep satisfaction and said,
"Good?"
[Good!]
"Glad to hear it. Anyway, Gomdori. I'm going to head back out, so try not to leave the room today, okay? Bubblegum's down on the first floor right now."
[Understood! But I want to meet Bubblegum!]
"You said you didn't want people finding out you're a yokai."
[True. A shame...]
After giving Gomdori that warning, I slipped back out of the room.
***
Once I was in the main bedroom, I immediately punched Plum Blossom's number into my phone.
I'd gotten the number via whisper message.
The ringtone buzzed for just a moment, and then
[Hello?]
a woman's voice came through from the other end of the smartphone.
"Hello. Is this Plum Blossom's number?"
[No, it's not.]
"Ah, my apologies. I must've mixed up the number. Well, first thing, Plum Blossom's getting a one-year blacklist..."
[Huh? Ah! I am Plum Blossom! Sorry!]
"Fuckin' die."
[Sorry...]
The nutjob was playing a painfully unfunny prank on me.
[So why'd you call? Don't tell me you fell for me back then and...]
"I wanted to ask about yokai."
[...Yokai?]
Before any more useless words could tumble out of Plum Blossom's mouth, I cut to the point.
I hadn't called to shoot the breeze.
So I launched into it.
A man had gone missing in my neighborhood at lunchtime.
And in the middle of eating, everyone except me had lost all memory of him.
From that story, I moved on to all my questions.
In my judgment, this was almost certainly the work of a yokai.
I knew that if a soul was devoured by a yokai, that person's existence was erased.
I'd heard that only yokai or exorcists could remember a person who'd disappeared.
So why had my memory not been erased?
I was curious about that.
Plum Blossom answered each of my questions with genuine sincerity.
[From what you've told me, it does sound like the work of a yokai.]
[Huh? Only yokai and exorcists remember? Who told you that? You only know half the story. An ordinary human doesn't necessarily lose their memory. If they've slept with a yokai or lived in close contact with one for a long time, they don't lose it.]
[You remember that Gomdori you took from the abandoned house back then? Why do you think I passed it over without performing an exorcism?]
Just as I'd suspected.
Plum Blossom had apparently known from the start that Gyejipsa's true identity was Gomdori.
Plum Blossom kept talking.
[Part of it was that you were fond of that Gomdori and it seemed like a yokai harmless to humans... but honestly, the biggest reason was for a situation exactly like this. By cohabitating with that Gomdori, I figured that you, Se-hun, wouldn't end up forgetting the existence of humans whose souls got eaten by yokai. I judged that this would keep you safer. If you don't lose your memory, you can stay alert to yokai in your vicinity, right?]
[Senior. Please stop making stuff up. You weren't thinking any of that back then.]
[You, get lost. Don't butt in while I'm on the phone.]
Another voice sounded from beside her, but I paid it no mind.
Anyway.
Aside from that, Plum Blossom set me straight on a number of facts I'd had wrong.
As expected of an active exorcist, she was sharply well-versed in all things yokai.
‘There was a surprising amount that Gomdori had wrong. Maybe because they picked it all up secondhand?’
With that, all my questions were resolved.
Including the reason I hadn't lost my memory.
I'd entertained the thought that maybe I had some special constitution, but it turned out it was simply because I'd been living with Gomdori.
"Thanks, Plum Blossom. You've got to be busy, so I appreciate you making time."
[No problem. I'm not busy right now.]
[This person hasn't been doing any work lately!]
[Shut your trap, will you!]
Someone had butted in from beside her again.
Listening to the voice more closely, it sounded like Catgirl, the one who'd been next to Plum Blossom before.
"...Anyway, serious thanks. I'll buy you a meal sometime."
[Really? When? I'll set a date...]
"Right, I'm hanging up. See you on the stream."
Click.
With that, I ended the call.
***
5:20 p.m.
While Gye Se-hun was working out in the training room,
Bubblegum was still sitting on the first-floor sofa, interacting with the viewers.
【Reformed Guburi】─The moment he gets home, Gye Bastard-hun abandons us again. -_-
【Yoho】─T_T
【Hottie Licker】─lol It's the daily routine now. *lick.*
"Hehe."
【Reformed Guburi】─What're you grinning at, you dumb bitch.
【Gyejipsa】─Wakyapya! Bubblegum is cute!
"Thanks. Hehe."
【Min-ji】─Hey there. Instead of just laughing, how about telling us a fun story or something? The stream's boring, you know. -_-
【Reverse-Rape Maniac】─For real lol. In chat she's flying all over the place, but in reality, she's just a mute who swallowed honey.
"A fun story? Hmm. Then I'll tell you a story from when I was little..."
【Min-ji】─Forget it. Don't bother. Probably won't be fun even if you do. heh
【Se-hun Defense Force】─lolol you crazy bitch.
"...Why's Min-ji so spiteful today?"
【Qkrnfl892】─It's in its Dark-state Min-ji mode. lol.
【Reformed Guburi】─Min-ji. Quit the attention-whoring.
【Yoho】─Min-ji, that's an ugly look on you.
【Min-ji】─k
【BigGirl】─Speaking of which, the chat's gotten noticeably quieter than before.
【Semen Thief】─Think a few people are lurking since the streamer isn't here lol.
At present,
the viewers who'd gone silent in the chat were exactly three:
Plum Tree.
Dick Lover.
Drift AI.
And right now,
those three women had arrived in the neighborhood where Gye Se-hun lived.
***
Inside a vehicle parked a short distance away from Gye Se-hun's house,
two women were lying in wait, keeping watch on his home.
"Senior... isn't this stalking?"
"...Stalking, my ass. I'm just verifying something. In case Se-hun lied about eating with the neighbors and is actually eating with another viewer."
"But you said you're also bringing that Bubble... whatever? viewer along, right? If he's eating with another viewer, he'd tell us."
"I only believe what I see with my own eyes."
"Spinning it round and round with all this suspicion... You wouldn't happen to be just forcibly making up an excuse to stalk him, would you?"
"..."
"Looks like I'm right. To think this person is my senior..."
It was the exorcist, Plum Tree, and her junior.
*
On the mountain behind the neighborhood where Gye Se-hun lived,
a blonde woman in a black suit was aiming a sniper rifle at a vehicle while talking to someone over a wireless earpiece.
[Hey. Where are you right now? I'm tracking your location, and it's showing you're in xxx, Gyeonggi-do?]
"That's right."
[What? What's gotten into you to go there all of a sudden?]
"I'm going to provide security for Se-hun."
[Se-hun? You mean that good-looking broadcaster? Security for what?]
"Some asshole named Plum Blossom was brazen enough to type in chat earlier that they were going to stalk him. If they try any funny moves, I can shoot them."
[No, seriously, are you an actual lunatic? I've told you, don't kill civilians unless absolutely necessary!]
"Don't interfere. I won't kill them as long as they don't try to rape him. More importantly, keep digging up that intel on that kid I asked about earlier."
[Look at your tone? Are you ordering me around now?]
"Dig it up for me."
[...Sigh. I already found out. You remember that commission that came in recently?]
"Which commission? There's more than just one or two."
[You know, the one to sweep that bio-experiment research lab.]
"Ah, that one? What about it?"
[That kid in the photo you sent me is one of the test subjects created in that lab. I also obtained intel that they were the most dangerous test subject, so they had no choice but to guarantee its freedom.]
"...A test subject? Was the test subject on the elimination list as well?"
[The commission was to kill everyone involved, so of course, the test subjects were also on the elimination list.]
"...Got it, for now."
It was the hitwoman, Dick Lover.
*
Bzzzzzz-
Near the blue-roofed house where the mother-and-daughter neighbors lived,
a micro-drone beyond the capability of modern technology hovered in the air, intently observing the interior of the house.
[...I speak. I report that there are five persons inside.]
It was a drone sent by Drift AI.
***
6:20 p.m.
It was about time to head to the neighbors', so I brought Bubblegum outside with me.
"Se-hun, aren't we taking the car?"
"No. We'll just walk."
We might end up drinking, so I'd decided not to drive.
The neighbors' place wasn't that far anyway.
"How long does it take on foot?"
"If we walk slowly, probably about thirty minutes."
"That's close!"
We set off for the neighbors' house, walking along the quiet country road.
With a light heart.