Torn Clothes and Hidden Devices
The torn clothes, and the device.
“Gaaaaah….”
A terrible sound spilled from my mouth first thing in the morning. I lifted the collar of the shirt where I’d been hit—yeah, just as I thought. I dragged my heavy body upright, slipped the mask I’d taken off back over my face, and shuffled toward the refrigerator. I stuffed the ice pack that had come with a delivery into a plastic bag and pressed it against the wound. The pain eased a little. My sleepiness vanished completely, though.
“…Still, she did a good job hanging the laundry.”
Had she felt guilty about never doing any housework? At first she’d turned the place into an absolute pigsty. So her promise to treat me like family hadn’t been empty words after all. Or maybe the way she treated family wasn’t exactly what I had in mind? Whatever.
“But where are my clothes….”
It made sense that I shouldn’t look at Bianca’s underwear, but I couldn’t find any of my outerwear either. Not the ones she’d given me yesterday, not even the zip-up hoodie. …Had she put off the laundry because there was too much?
“Let’s see…”
I still needed something to wear, so I scratched my head and started toward the veranda—only for the sound of a door opening to come from behind me.
“What are you doing over there?”
“Pfft.”
Her black-and-white hair was a complete mess, sticking out in every direction. It was hilarious. Had a bird built a nest on her head? It looked ready to launch into the sky.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just… your hair.”
Only then did she seem to notice. She frowned and ruffled it wildly with both hands. After I finished laughing, the original problem came back to mind. I tried heading for the veranda again, but suddenly my wrist was seized.
“Ahem. I asked what you were doing.”
“My clothes. You haven’t washed them yet?”
“Ah, ahhh. Your clothes? Well, you see…”
What? She forgot? Of course she did. She offered to help with the laundry and only took care of her own things?
“If you didn’t do it, just say so. I’ll handle it right now.”
“No, no, I said I’d do it. Are you in a hurry or something?”
“Yeah, I am. I’ll be going out a lot from now on. It’s inconvenient without proper activewear.”
Not to mention I mostly moved at night to avoid attention. What was it called again? On the internet, snipers cover themselves with camouflage netting because… Right. It breaks up the human silhouette so it’s harder to recognize.
“Hmm… How about getting new ones while we’re at it?”
“New ones?”
“I’ll introduce you to a supplier who deals in weapons and body armor. I’ll even pay—”
Look at her. She won’t give me the clothes I asked for and keeps changing the subject.
“Did you do something to my clothes?”
“…W-what do you mean, I didn’t. No. I just—”
When I tried to step into the room, Bianca blocked the entire doorway with both arms. Forcing my way through would mean brushing against those sweat-slicked, glistening curves of muscle.
“What did you do?”
“Why do you need to know?”
“Because they’re my clothes?”
“That’s why I said I’d buy you new ones. Including the hoodie.”
“The hoodie too?”
“Ah.”
She’d taken not only my villain outfit—no, my activewear—but the zip-up hoodie as well? That’s why I couldn’t find any of it?
“What the hell did you do to the clothes that you’re trying so hard to hide it from me….”
“I ripped them!”
Could she stop screaming at the top of her lungs? It hurts my ears.
“I ripped them, ripped them, tore them to shreds! I hated the way you kept flirting with that bitch, so I beat her up and ripped your clothes instead! Happy now?!”
Then she suddenly stormed into the room and hurled a few rags at me.
…Wait a second. Rags… cleaning cloths… No, these are my clothes.
“I hit her once and she looked like she was going to die, so I did that! What are you gonna do about it!”
“…You’re awfully proud of yourself, aren’t you?”
“If you’re not going to do anything, then shut up. I’m an Alpha. You’re the one who told me to become one!”
“You’re using it like this?!”
What am I supposed to do with this stubborn, troublesome puppy? She’s not just an accident-prone kid—she literally tore someone’s clothes to pieces… Haah.
“I said I’d buy you new ones.”
“When you apologize, you’re supposed to say ‘I’m sorry.’”
“…Hey.”
She’s getting mad again because I called her a dog. She’s the one who acted like a dog first, biting and tearing at clothes—no, she said she ripped them. Now I’m really starting to think of her as a dog.
“In the end, I’ll have to throw these away. I won’t be able to go outside until I get new clothes.”
“What do you mean you can’t?”
“I need to go back and forth to Seosang City, but thanks to you that’s completely ruined now.”
“Then we can just buy them today, right?”
“It takes time for clothes to arrive.”
“No, I’m saying we can go buy them right now?”
Leaving me standing there with my head tilted, Bianca suddenly pulled out her phone and dialed somewhere. While I leaned against the wall, I tried to touch the clothes again, but this time she blocked the way with her long leg. Damn it.
“Yeah. It’s me. Get the car ready. Make it a nice one. Yeah.”
The short call ended. She gathered the clothes scattered on the floor and carried them straight into her room. I was staring blankly after her when she suddenly jerked her chin at me.
“What are you doing? I said we’re going to buy clothes.”
“…In Seosang City?”
“No. So—ah, go wash up first. I’ll take you. Throw on whatever and come out.”
She’s the one who caused the problem, so why is she getting annoyed with me? Maybe I should take a cold shower and cool my head.
“…Hss, huuup.”
But she’s sniffing my clothes again… Ah. It’s probably better to just give up trying to understand.
“Get in.”
I’d told her to pick a nice one, but a sturdy SUV was waiting in front of us.
“Should I sit in the passenger seat?”
“You want to drive?”
Not really. I quietly climbed into the passenger side and buckled my seatbelt. The car began to move smoothly.
…I expected her to drive like a maniac. Surprisingly, her smooth braking wasn’t bad at all.
“You looked like you didn’t like the car.”
“No. It’s just…”
“What? Were you expecting a sports car or something?”
I gently pushed away the elbow that poked my side. Ridiculous.
“I could buy one, but you couldn’t drive it around. There aren’t many of those high-end cars, so the police would track you down in no time.”
“True.”
“Well, I heard that in Russia or China, the really powerful ones drive them in broad daylight, right out in the open—but that’s impossible in Korea right now.”
When I thought about the police cars surrounding a truck and the growing number of officers filling the streets… yeah, definitely. Taking care of that issue is my final goal, but… if the police get replaced by heroes, will it get even worse? They might not just surround the cars—they might crush them entirely.
“We’re here. Get out.”
“Already?”
“It’s quick by car.”
There hadn’t been any roughness, and I hadn’t even felt my body shifting. When my feet touched the ground as lightly as cotton fluff, I was genuinely surprised.
She twirled the car key around her finger, then caught it with a snap.
“How was it? Not bad, right?”
“It was amazing.”
“That’s how I’ve been living. Driving myself without a chauffeur, getting into fights, sleeping in the car…”
Are those really memories worth reminiscing about? Why is she making that dreamy face?
“Anyway. We came to buy clothes, so stick close.”
“Stick close?”
“I said stick right next to me.”
Her arm grabbed mine roughly and linked it with hers.
…Her skin was surprisingly soft. I thought it would be all muscle.
“There are a lot of pickpockets. Keep your head on straight.”
“Ah.”
So that’s why. Still, did she have to hold on this tightly? I was wondering why she was gripping me like she was choking my neck when—
“E-excuse me… just a coin—”
A kid suddenly shot out from an alley, looking filthy.
“Get lost.”
Before she even finished speaking, she roughly shoved the child aside and—
“Ugh!? Hey!”
She grabbed my butt. Hard enough that it hurt.
“What the hell are you—”
“Behind.”
When I turned my head, I saw two kids with deathly pale faces stammering before they vanished back into the alley.
“I told you. There are lots of pickpockets.”
“…I see.”
“They don’t know who I am. Most kids around here should recognize my face by now.”
“Does this happen often?”
I’d wandered through the back alleys looking for Bianca. Maybe it was because I’d been staying in the heart of a villain organization? These kinds of kids were a first for me. Especially ones trying to commit crimes.
“Kids these days are even more cunning. I’ve seen them handed guns.”
“…Guns?”
“Yeah. Kids are harder to punish. They threaten them into pulling the trigger. Of course, it’s not something a human should do, so they get cursed out like crazy.”
I didn’t remember the original work having that many dark parts, but hearing it from a villain’s mouth was… surprisingly fresh. Still.
“Thanks for stopping the pickpocket.”
“You should be thankful.”
“But when are you going to let go of my ass?”
I didn’t need any more fresh sensations from my now-numb backside. I never wanted to experience a woman’s hand groping a man’s butt.
“Eek. Ah, ahem, hm.”
“Even if I’m part of your organization, I never said my body belongs to you.”
“…Shut up. You can just pull away.”
“Just pull away? Hey, this is sexual harass—”
“I said shut up.”
She’s raising her fist again. …It hurts, so I’ll endure it. My arm is still tingling.
“Here. We’ve arrived.”
After walking a bit longer, the store that appeared was quite… shabby. The exterior wasn’t even painted properly, and—[O Store]. Where did the “h” go? “O Store”? Is that an exclamation?
And the inside was even worse. I couldn’t tell if the fluorescent lights were on, trying to turn on, or about to go out. The constant pop… crackle… sound of a failing fuse was also unpleasant. But.
“The store’s about to go out of busine… Huh? Bianca?”
The owner was even a hunched old lady. The fabrics she was selling as clothes gave off the strong impression that they’d be polka-dotted. What the hell.
“It’s been a while.”
Yet Bianca waved at the old woman and greeted her warmly. She approached like they were familiar, even lowering herself to eye level.
“You’re still alive. Those bastards were tormenting you, telling you to drop dead.”
“You think I’d die just because of that?”
“Bullshit. It’s the guy next to you, right? The one who saved you.”
Even their conversation was far from ordinary. She seemed to know the inner workings of the organization and even recognized me. The way her eyes scanned me wasn’t normal either…
“With a body like that, can he even use his strength? What a waste for you to keep as a lover.”
“Shut up. Lover, my ass…!”
“Aigo. Since when do you walk around with a man glued to your side? Stop talking nonsense and if you’re here to buy clothes, buy them and get out. I need to close the shutter.”
The old woman grumbled, flung the door open, and disappeared into the back. Bianca gave a small, amused smile at her retreating figure, then beckoned to me.
“What is this?”
“What do you mean, what? She’s the clothing store grandma.”
Something felt off about calling her a clothing store grandma. And sure enough, when she dragged me into the back of the shop…
“So. Whose clothes are we buying?”
“Hah.”
Rows of proper clothes were lined up. From stylish women’s crop tops that didn’t match her age at all, to suits similar to what Horn had been wearing. In one corner hung body armor and all kinds of military gear.
“We’re here to buy clothes for this dumbass.”
“While we’re at it, I’m buying some for myself too.”
“Really? Why? Trying to look good for the guy next to you?”
“Ugh, seriously…!”
The way she effortlessly teased Bianca—something even I couldn’t do—showed she was no ordinary person. And now that I was looking closely…
“What? As a man, are you curious about the guns?”
“N-no.”
The revolver holstered at her waist. The silver barrel and black grip were striking… So this is the back-alley grandma.
“Anyway. Instead of worrying about guns, you should be more curious about the girls you’re trying to seduce. I wondered who would take a girl with that shitty personality.”
“Are you going to keep this up!?”
“I’m going to die soon anyway. What do I have to be afraid of? I can say whatever I want.”
Her verbal agility left me dizzy. Around that time, she brought out a measuring tape and wrapped it around my body in an instant. She then slid the glasses hanging from her neck onto her nose, looked me up and down, and—
“But what’s that thing on this guy’s face? It looked so ghostly pale I thought something was off.”
“He doesn’t want to show his face.”
“Aigo. What a character. Well, with your personality, you wouldn’t pick an ordinary guy anyway.”
“I told you that’s not it!”
One round of teasing. One round of measuring. After scanning Bianca as well, the old woman nodded.
“Did your chest get bigger again?”
“Ah, seriously!!”
“Stop cursing and tell me what style you want. I’ll make it for you.”
At this point, I wasn’t worried about the old lady… What’s there to worry about from a grandma holding a gun?
“You. You’re the one talking, you. Hurry up and speak. I’m getting old and don’t have much strength left.”
“Um, something like a black robe that can cover my whole body…”
“A grim reaper? You want to walk around in a black robe? With that pale face, you really are trying to take an old man away…”
Should I laugh or cry? Maybe I should’ve just bought clothes online. But then again, where else could I witness this nonstop tongue-lashing ability?
“Stop talking nonsense and just look at the clothes, quickly.”
“Is that all? Nothing else?”
“One zip-up hoodie with a hood… so my face isn’t visible.”
“Why? Did you mess up your face somewhere? No confidence in your looks?”
Even as she said that, she spun around and pulled out several garments. They were all hoodies.
“Go try them on in the back. They’ll all fit, so don’t worry. I’ll sketch the robe you mentioned in the meantime.”
“Y-yes.”
“A man answering so weakly. Tsk. That girl’s taste in men is truly unique.”
By now Bianca seemed to have run out of energy to protest and was looking at the clothes on the mannequins one by one. Yeah. I’d do the same if I were her.
“Then.”
Let’s see… There really aren’t any polka dots. Every piece was a slightly altered design from real-world brands. Even the logos looked familiar but had been changed to different names. As expected, she’s amazing, this grandma.
…I need to look at Bianca again too.
“Let’s see. These days you can buy men’s clothes online. Why did you drag him all the way here?”
“You handle ballistic fiber, right? I want some put in.”
“Even this old lady knows you can just order ballistic fiber. Speak quickly. Stop beating around the bush.”
“…I want a device installed.”
“Aigo, this girl’s taste is really—”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“What? Wiretapping? G…P…S? Both?”
“Both.”
“Aigo. If you get caught, how are you going to handle the consequences?”
“That’s why I’m paying the expensive price to have it made here.”
“True. If you want to keep a clumsy guy like this tightly under control, this is the way. Fine. It’ll take two to three days. Also.”
“….”
“I know you’re not here to look at clothes. I’ve been taking you as a customer for years now. What do you need?”
“Trendy women’s clothes…”
“Oh my.”