Even in the Sunshine, There is Shade (2)
Meeting over.
Lee Se-yeon had reverted to her usual dry, dead-fish eyes, as if she'd never flushed in the first place.
I couldn't shake the sticky unease, so I just gave a curt nod and left the office.
Fuck, that crazy bitch.
I'd thought Min Seo-yu was the weird one, but this woman had a whole different level of dank creepiness. If a B-grade was like this, what the hell would an A-grade be like?
"Hoo…."
I fumbled in my pocket. The cool plastic of the card key and the square USB drive.
And then there's how much that bitch actually knows.
Motel? Sure, she might've seen us leave together. But she couldn't know what went down inside that room.
That much was certain.
If she did, she wouldn't have danced around asking for 'detailed records' like before. She'd have straight-up blackmailed me for the footage.
At least it's not the worst-case scenario.
Just suspicion. And the voyeuristic curiosity of some peeping tom desperate to turn it into certainty.
That was all.
"Oh, Counselor Jeong, you're out?"
Back at the office, the glasses-wearing Kim glanced at me and spoke up.
"Quite the long chat with the team leader, huh? Must be some good news?"
"Just a work report."
"Huh, a work report with the door shut all the way in her office…."
As he opened his mouth to yap more, a voice echoed from down the hall. Lee Se-yeon.
"Attention, everyone, please."
The noisy office fell silent in an instant.
"I have an announcement."
"What is it, Team Leader?"
"About the night shifts. We're changing the rotation for efficiency."
Lee Se-yeon's gaze swept the room coolly before locking right on me.
"From now on, the top three daytime performers are exempt from night duty. This time, it's Counselors Jeong Ji-un, Park Sung-woo, and Choi Mi-na."
"…Yes?"
Glasses guy's jaw dropped.
"Team Leader, what do you—"
"Exactly what I said. If you're handling that many patients during the day, staying up all night would tank your efficiency. We reward the good performers and make the slackers cover."
She drove the nail in with her icy tone.
"Got a problem? Improve your numbers. Dismissed."
Lee Se-yeon slipped back into her office. Silence blanketed the room.
And that silence soon turned into envious, jealous glares aimed at me. My performance was overwhelmingly number one—no one needed the official metrics announced to know it.
"Ha, what the hell."
"Talk about favoritism. Like doing good work is all that matters?"
"It kinda is…."
Open complaints erupted here and there. Especially from the guy right next to me, his face beet-red and trembling.
Yeah, makes sense. His numbers were scraping the bottom. He'd be pulling night shifts nonstop from here on out.
What a pain—drawing all this attention.
I ignored the stares pouring in and sat down.
It was a perk that felt a bit burdensome, but at this point, I didn't give a shit.
These extras weren't helping my life in any way.
No reason to get chummy.
Quitting time.
As the other counselors grumbled about prepping for night shifts, I leisurely took off my gown.
"Heading out first. Good luck, everyone."
"……."
No response. I shrugged it off lightly and left the health center.
But I didn't go home. I circled the parking lot and headed to the back staff door.
Check CCTV spots.
Blind spot. No need to sneak with the master key from Lee Se-yeon, but caution never hurt.
Beep—.
The card key on the reader, and the locked staff door slid open smoothly.
The second floor of my health center was split into east and west wings by a locked door—long hallways lined with rooms on either side.
I'd entered the west side, where supply closets and important meds were stored.
This way.
I padded silently down the hall.
[Pharmaceutical Storage (Authorized Personnel Only)]
What Lee Se-yeon probably pictured: me using this key to unlock an empty counseling room, summon Min Seo-yu for a secret rendezvous. Or maybe some dim storage closet.
But when she handed me that master key, my thoughts were 180 degrees opposite.
Beep, ding.
Key again. Heavy lock clunked open.
"Let's see…."
Shelves everywhere. Lined with magical girl-specific meds.
Stuff no regular pharmacy carried: mana restoratives, corruption neutralizers, body enhancement ampoules….
Found it.
[Mana-Responsive Analgesic] [Caution: Narcotics Classification]
I picked up a small glass vial with a red label.
Regular painkillers don't cut it.
For magical girls or mana-sensitives like me, pain often rides the mana circuits, not nerves. Especially absorbing poison qi—that searing agony laughs at a hundred Tylenols.
But this? Temporarily paralyzes the mana circuits to block pain signals.
With this… I can probably absorb Lee Se-yeon's poison qi too.
B-grade. Hell, even higher. Essential for handling them. Channeling detection used to mean bones melting in agony—this'll let me endure.
How do they manage inventory?
Flipped through the logbook. Handwritten and digital mixed—sloppy management, given the chaos.
I tweaked the quantity listed, pocketed two ampoules.
"Perfect."
First objective complete.
The walk home was like skating on thin ice.
Every jingle from the ampoules in my pocket made my heart drop. No one watching, but yeah—thief's guilty feet.
Hooo.
Didn't show it, but my poison qi capacity was sloshing at the limit. A whole week holding it. Concentrated B-grade essence. Sounds weird saying it like that, but….
Anyway, carrying dense B-grade poison qi day in, day out wasn't fun. Just having it inside felt like my organs melting.
Alright, let's do this.
Pulled out the disposable syringe I'd brought. Popped the ampoule cap, jabbed the needle in.
Sluuuurp.
Semitransparent liquid filled the barrel. Tapped out air bubbles, swabbed my left arm with alcohol.
Deep breath. No hesitation—plunged it in.
Pfook!
"Ngh…."
Sharp sting, then icy liquid flooding my veins.
Hiss… Like pouring ice water into my blood. Heart thudding slower: thump, thump, thump.
"Ugh…."
Head spun. Not like regular opioids numbing nerves—this froze the mana circuits themselves.
Spread from the jab through every circuit, dulling senses, blurring reality.
Good to go.
Now even B-grade poison qi rampage wouldn't shock me dead.
Leaned against the bed headboard, grabbed my smartphone. Fingers felt alien touching the screen.
Tapped confirm.
Vrrr—!
"Gaaargh!"
A scream ripped out. Even with the analgesic? This intense?
Too concentrated…!
Like a bomb detonating inside. Veins ballooning like party balloons. Cold analgesic clashing with scorching poison qi, turning my body into a battlefield.
"Aaaagh! Hngh, heuk…!"
Ripped the bedsheet. Nails near-breaking.
"Uguuugh…!"
Body curled shrimp-like. Joints screaming.
Crack, snap!
Felt like a massive press crushing me. Without the painkiller, I'd have blacked out or gone into shock already.
Hold on.
Gotta digest this. Bit down on a pillow, silent screams. Gums bleeding.
How long? A minute? An hour? Eternal agony dragged on.
Pain waves finally ebbed. Boiling poison qi seeped into me, converting to cool power.
"Hah… heuk… hoo…."
Collapsed spread-eagle on the sweat-soaked bed. Ceiling spinning.
I survived.
Eyes open—dry heaves hit first.
"Urk… blegh…!"
Nose-stinging stench. Like opening a manhole and pulling out week-rotted food waste.
"Haa… haa… fuck, what is this smell…."
Head throbbed. Painkiller long worn off—joints creaking. But priority: source of this foul reek.
Scowled, sat up.
Squelch.
Back and ass peeling from the sheet with a sticky sound.
"……?"
Bed was a disaster zone. White sheets gone, soaked in black filth seeping into the mattress. My body covered in sticky black goo, like I'd rolled in mudflats.
Felt like deep-body waste purged out.
"Ha, digest the poison qi… and out comes other poison."
Swallowed nausea, crawled to the bathroom.
"Ugh… the smell…."
Shower on. Hot water washed black slime off. Filthy runoff swirled down the drain.
Scrubbed raw. Three soapings before skin showed.
"Hoo…."
Wiped the mirror, cleared steam with my palm.
Then stood there, blank.
Something subtly different.
Taller?
Sink felt lower. Shoulders broader—cramped bathroom even tighter.
Face most changed. Dry, flaky skin now smooth. Jawline sharply defined, nose bridge subtly higher.
Handsome, basically.
But the vibe was….
More feral?
Already had sharp eyes—people told me to soften my glare.
Poison qi source was masochism. Body evolved toward the dominating side?
Glanced down. Naked lower half exposed.
"Hm…."
Changes here too.
Length? A bit longer, maybe. Barely noticeable.
Shape stood out more.
Ferocious.
Glans unnaturally swollen, mushroom-like flare at the tip. Veins thick as worms snaking up the shaft.
"Can't exactly brag about this."
Bitter smile, blow-dried hair. Strands thicker, fuller.
Amid the whir, clenched and released my fist.
Crack.
Grip stronger. Used to be soft—now I could crush an apple barehanded.
Power of a B-grade magical girl's poison qi.
Physically, maybe rival a D or C-grade. 'Course, no magic. Still, beats dog meat odds.
Out of the bathroom, eyed the wrecked bed.
"Haa… when to clean that mess."
Sheets unsalvageable—trash 'em.
Grabbed clothes. Usual shirt tight at shoulders, buttons straining.
"Gotta buy new threads. Broke as hell."
Grumbling, but lips curled up. Mirror me reeked more 'stud' now.
Now for the second gift.
I figured both from Lee Se-yeon had purpose.
Master key, as I said: carve out a secret spot in the health center, skip motel hassles. This site ID probably….
Lure me to post Min Seo-yu records, feed her creepy urges.
Didn't compute, though.
She thinks tossing a site and mumbling 'helps your performance' would make me upload that shit?
The Counseling. International magical girl treatment/consultation database.
Typed the address she gave into the bar.
Enter.
Screen shifted. Black background, lone geometric logo—minimalist site.
[Login]
Entered ID and password from the memo.
[Grade: Guest]
Logged in—forum list scrolled up.
Korean translation too.
Let's check it out.
Moved the mouse, clicked 'Free Board'.
Click.
Page loaded—latest posts.
Titles seemed normal. Industry gripes, info shares, job postings. Matched what Lee Se-yeon said—sharing clinical cases.
But.
No way she gave me this just for vanilla shit.
Something's here. Definitely.