The Beast's Tail (1)
The Beast’s Tail (1)
Jo Ah-yoon did her best to stay idle.
She resolved not to spend more mental energy or emotion than necessary on everything complicated that had happened yesterday.
Of course, she failed.
“...Why hasn’t he called?”
She stared endlessly at her phone. Even when the sun climbed to the center of the sky, there was no sign of contact. She’d definitely given him her number—had he lost it?
Or had he run into some kind of trouble and couldn’t reach her?
The suicide counseling, the memory loss, the Big Dipper Monster, and the words he’d left behind. Every single one of them scraped at her nerves. Each was exhausting and draining.
She lay still on the hotel bed, trying hard to think about nothing. She didn’t want to go home. She hated the thought of Han Jae-jung’s traces still lingering there. She knew she’d just fall into pointless regret.
I should’ve asked more. I should’ve dug deeper. I should’ve just told him to stay home. Petty little regrets like that.
Besides, she’d never really liked her place much to begin with.
Jo Ah-yoon often rented a hotel room like this.
When something exhausting happened, or when it seemed like things were about to get exhausting.
She liked places that were unfamiliar and private.
Because she could have truly solitary time, without anyone to bother her.
The internet was probably a mess by now. Apparently someone had filmed her cursing during the evacuation yesterday.
Once again, the issue of her attitude would blow up, with people asking if a hero should act that way.
It was something Pink Deneb was exceedingly used to.
With her abysmal win rate and consistently poor attitude, positive public opinion was hard to come by.
For a few people, that poor attitude looked like rebellion against society and gave off a refreshingly blunt vibe, but Jo Ah-yoon had absolutely zero intention of that.
“Confidence coming from a small frame”—who were they trying to kid?
They say fans of a celebrity with many antis develop stronger internal solidarity. Pink Deneb’s fans were the same.
A comment she’d made in an old interview about dreaming of being a singer when she was young got distorted, and Pink Deneb became “a dream-filled, praiseworthy girl who swallows her singer dream but still doesn’t give up her magical girl work.”
In fact, the Magical Girl Association pushed image marketing based on that, and an album even came out. It was upbeat rock music.
It was absurd. What Pink Deneb actually liked were calm, indie-feeling songs.
She’d only put up rock posters at home because they seemed cool. She didn’t really like the music.
The many piercings, the heavy makeup, the rough language, the uninhibited manner, the hip image—all of it was nothing more than a defense mechanism.
It started from a twisted desire to give people a reason to dislike her on her own terms, since they’d look down on her and dislike her no matter what she did. She’d adorned herself with these strong images hoping it would at least be a little better that way.
Not her real self, but a reproduction of an ideal.
Closer to reenacting a version she wanted to become.
She’d rather not have people swear at her on a whim or praise her on a whim.
She just wanted to live without anyone paying attention.
Jo Ah-yoon tossed her phone anywhere on the bed and tried to sever all the distractions. Brooding and worrying did no good. Especially because they never led to solutions. She should pursue peace of mind.
Naturally, she failed. She stared blankly at the ceiling.
The unlit luxury fixture caught the sunlight and glowed along its contours.
She’d already half given up on monitoring internet opinion anyway, ever since the Blue Sirius dating incident. Truthfully, she didn’t even check the internet that often. At most, she watched a few cute animal videos.
Suddenly, she recalled what Virgo had said yesterday.
‘She’s doing this work against her will...?’
A scoff slipped out.
‘She’s stating the obvious. Who likes a job where you could drop dead at any moment and get cursed out no matter what you do? Unless you’re a crazy bitch, there’s no way....’
Realizing that there were quite a lot of crazy bitches, Jo Ah-yoon flipped over and buried her face in the pillow.
“What’s so great about this crap....”
Jo Ah-yoon genuinely couldn’t understand.
Reading articles about our retirement or death several times a year, knowing that we’re all so young—why would anyone want to become a magical girl?
Why enroll in a magical girl academy, hoping against hope even though you know it’s a scam?
Why admire us? Why envy us?
What’s so great about withering away while helping people?
Buzz.
Her phone vibrated. Usually she’d ignore it halfheartedly, but remembering that she’d given Han Jae-jung her number yesterday, she swiftly sat up and looked at the screen.
A text had come from an unknown number. Normally she would’ve assumed it was a malicious fan who’d dug up her number, but today was different.
The first line of the message displayed an unforgettable three-character name. Han Jae-jung.
Jo Ah-yoon pulled up the corners of her mouth and laughed, a little giddy.
“Why’d it take you this long to call....”
The message was composed in a surprisingly formal style.
For all the fancy language, the content was nothing special.
It went on and on with conventional phrases: I was happy we could have a long talk after so long. I’m sorry I haven’t shown my face. Let’s meet again next time.
“Oh, this guy, seriously...!”
The corners of her mouth had already dropped. None of the content she wanted was there. Tell her about the amnesia, explain the cause and effect of getting tangled up with a monster, or set a concrete date to meet again, or at the very least call her.
Irritated, she once again tossed her phone carelessly onto the bed.
The monster’s words surfaced again, throwing her mind into confusion.
“You crazy dick-fucker... bastard. Not even a philosopher but he talks in goddamn circles... ‘Han Jae-jung isn’t here’? ‘My goal is to save you’? What kind of bullshit is that!! Aagh, fuck, can’t you just say it straight, whyyy!!!”
Thump, thump! She pounded the blanket to vent her frustration.
She knew too little, so it was hard even to speculate casually.
Hard, and frightening.
What if he really was a monster? Even if he wasn’t a monster, he was clearly deeply connected, and what if that connection meant he was aiding monster activity? Would she have to punish him?
Ignorance was frightening.
Sometimes, knowing was even more frightening than ignorance.
She wanted to draw closer to satisfy her curiosity and intellectual desire, but she was scared of whatever consequences might lie beyond the truth.
Then her phone vibrated again. Not a short buzz, but a sustained vibration. The signal of an incoming call.
Jo Ah-yoon swiftly reached for the phone and brought it to her ear.
“Ah, finally felt like getting in touch?”
“Ah-yoon... huh?”
“Uh-heh?! S-senior....”
It wasn’t Han Jae-jung. It was Yoon Seol-hwa. She’d already had a string of curses ready. A chill ran down her spine at the thought that she’d nearly committed a grave discourtesy.
She already had things she was hiding from her. A corner of her heart grew heavy with needless guilt.
“Oh, no, what I just said wasn’t meant for you....”
“Ah-ha, you thought it was a prank call? It’s fine. It’s me. Yoon Seol-hwa.”
“R-right...?”
“You get those a ton, don’t you? Prank calls. People you can’t tell are a fan or an anti... I thought they’d decreased lately, but I guess they’ve started up again?”
Yoon Seol-hwa actually sounded worried as she asked. Her manner pricked Jo Ah-yoon’s conscience even more.
“Seriously, how about you finally change your number...?”
She’d heard that often. Being a magical girl, it wasn’t rare for sasaeng fans and their ilk to get hold of her number.
But Jo Ah-yoon hadn’t changed her number despite years of those vicious calls. In case he might try to reach her someday. It was because she’d clung to that kind of faith.
“Ah... sorry! That’s not why I called... anyway, Deneb, are you free this evening?”
“Y-yeah! Of course I am! Why, what’s up?”
“No, it’s nothing much... I was thinking we could grab a drink together. It’s been a while.”
“Drinking is out.”
She cut her off firmly.
“Why, whyyy! It’s fine! I haven’t touched a drop since that last time, right? You know that~ Just one glass! Huh? It’s been a while since we drank together!”
She could picture Yoon Seol-hwa’s pout on the other end of the line. Jo Ah-yoon relaxed, a small laugh escaping. No matter what she was hiding, she always felt at ease in front of this person.
“Fine. One glass only! Got it? You know?”
“Of course! Just trust your senior!”
**
“One glass my ass....”
“Jae-jung... I’m sorry... come back to me... no... you don’t have to come back... hic! Just be happy....”
Jo Ah-yoon walked down the street, supporting a woman considerably larger than herself in many ways.
Obviously, it was Blue Sirius, Yoon Seol-hwa.
With her tiny frame just shy of 150cm, lugging a woman over 170cm was rough.
“Hey, senior... hey! Senior! Snap out of it!”
“Sniff... Ah-yoon... I’m so grateful to at least have you... thank you....”
Yoon Seol-hwa hugged and was hugged by that small body, conveying her alcohol-laced sorrow and gratitude over and over.
“...Grateful, my foot. I’m the one who’s grateful. No, I’m not grateful right now. Walk on your own, you idiot, seriously! Some senior you are!”
She responded indifferently. To Jo Ah-yoon, those words “thank you” always felt awkward.
She thought back to the past.
When she was very young, when her body was even smaller, and she’d been bullied because of how tiny she was.
Back when she was ostracized for the pettiest reasons, there were people who saved her.
“To think this is what passes for our country’s best... the world’s really gone to hell. A society that leans entirely on an alcoholic, truly the darkness is deep. Right, senior?”
“I’m... not an alcoholic, hic!...Ah-yoon’s cute but your mouth isn’t cute at all....”
“Yeah, at least you realize I’m talking about you. Guess your brain’s not totally pickled yet?”
The woman now draped over her shoulder, and the man who rested upon her heart.
Pink Deneb’s hero work was nothing more than a faint imitation of what those two had been back then. Jo Ah-yoon could state that plainly.
She hated this job with every fiber of her being, but when she thought that there were people in the world trembling in fear just like she once had, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and step forward.
Jo Ah-yoon sat Yoon Seol-hwa down for a moment and took out her phone to call a taxi. There were a few abusive texts and missed calls from unknown numbers, but she blocked them all. She’d already saved Han Jae-jung’s number.
“Ah-yoon... do you... not hate me...? Everything fell apart because of me...?”
Yoon Seol-hwa was still rambling in her drunkenness. Self-deprecation to a severe degree. She’d been like this ever since Han Jae-jung disappeared. She probably held it in normally—this, revealed now by alcohol, was her true state.
Holding back a sigh, Jo Ah-yoon held up her phone. She didn’t bother replying to that remark. In Yoon Seol-hwa’s mind, the verdict that she alone was the sinner was already final. She wouldn’t listen no matter what anyone said.
Jo Ah-yoon’s hand, which had been navigating the screen, stopped.
-Grrrk.
A sound out of place in the city came from nearby. A beast growling.
-Grrrrk.
-Grrrrrr.
Not just one. It sounded from multiple places at once.
“Oh, shit...!”
A pack of monsters.
Foreseeing a very long night ahead with no proper rest, Jo Ah-yoon grabbed her mascot.
The swan-shaped mascot instantly transformed into a ribbon. She swung it through the air and murmured.
“Dress Up.”
[Dress up your star!]
**
“Transform.”
The suspicious figure in front of him murmured the word, mimicking the act of fastening a belt around his waist.
“Ha ha ha, of course I can’t do it. There’s no possibility I’d ever wear this, you see.”
The Boötes Monster. Boötes.
“If you want to play games, do it with the little lambs you love so much. I’m busy.”
He murmured back, swallowing his ragged breath.
He’d come all this way without a moment’s rest. He’d arrived here after slaughtering every monster that had surged at him like a wave.
Watcher’s body was covered in blood, filth, and scratches.
“Yeah, of course not.”
The Boötes Monster laughed and rose from her spot. Swinging the belt she’d been holding to her waist, she sauntered over to him.
“I told you before, didn’t I? I’ll give you this. But there’s a condition! You just have to answer one quiz I give you! And that is....”
“Magical Girl Green Arcturus.”
Watcher extended a hand.
“Hand over the belt, now, and recite every piece of information you know.”
He looked extremely impatient.
“What did I do here?”