Cut Marks (9)
Cut Marks (9)
Han Jae-jung couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
‘Oh, shit....’
For someone who’d said he’d be away for a while, this was an absurdly fast reappearance. He hadn’t even finished completing Ursa Major yet.
There was another problem. Namely, the fact that Yoon Seol-hwa was right beside him.
‘Contradiction’s in disguise right now. To an ordinary person without starlight, you can’t really make out his form. Even if he had a cactus growing out of his head, he’d just look like some guy with a forgettable face.’
His reaction just now had been suspicious to anyone watching. The way he’d sucked in his breath, like he’d just seen something he wasn’t supposed to. It could easily be mistaken for the response of someone who had just recognized his disguise.
He glanced sideways, checking Yoon Seol-hwa’s expression.
Fortunately, there was no suspicion or doubt in her eyes. It was just....
“...What is this?”
She was glaring with a ferocity beyond anything he’d imagined. The target was that repulsive cactus-headed man. She was sending him a look overflowing with murderous intent, as if the man before her had personally killed her parents. Given that reaction, it was clear she hadn’t even noticed what kind of face Han Jae-jung was making.
“You. Do you have any idea where you are...?”
“A restaurant.”
Contradiction replied nonchalantly. Then he raised his index finger to where his mouth would be. Since he had no discernible facial features, it was impossible to tell for sure, but it was positioned where most people’s mouths were.
“A rather crowded restaurant, at that.”
His voice was unhurried. He smiled faintly and glanced around. Indeed, they weren’t the only customers. There was a decent, bustling crowd gathered.
“How nostalgic. Back when I used to come here, this was just a tiny place on the verge of closing... I wonder when it got so big.”
“Oh, Sun-ah, that you? Long time no see! What’ve you been up to?”
“Yes, it’s been a while. I was away on a trip for a bit.”
“Want your usual?”
“Yes, I’d be much obliged.”
After greeting the owner warmly, he casually pulled up a chair and sat down between them. Feeling their eyes on him, Contradiction offered an awkward explanation.
“It runs counter to the concept of balance for only the ever-popular restaurants to have customers, don’t you think? Failing establishments need patrons, too, for the balance of money to be properly upheld. So I make a point of frequenting shabby little places. This was one of them, back in the day, but....”
Contradiction looked around again and gave a small laugh.
“I suppose it’s time I stopped coming. It can no longer be called shabby, after all.”
“What do you want?!”
Bang. Yoon Seol-hwa slammed the table and raised her voice. For a moment, all eyes turned toward them, but soon everyone returned to their own conversations.
The sudden convergence of attention made Han Jae-jung and Yoon Seol-hwa flinch. Both of them had an aversion to being the center of attention.
In Yoon Seol-hwa’s case especially, she wanted to make sure Han Jae-jung didn’t suffer any fallout from her fame. Perhaps thanks to the cap she’d pulled down, or perhaps because Contradiction’s features were too indistinct to register, no crowd formed around them this time.
Normally, people would have been snapping photos without permission. She shook her head as if utterly fed up. It infuriated her.
The fact that there were so many interruptions during her precious time with Han Jae-jung.
“Oh dear, it seems someone’s quite angry about having her date interrupted. My apologies. Still, I’d ask you to refrain from such behavior. It goes against public decorum, doesn’t it?”
Contradiction continued without the slightest concern.
“There are other patrons here, so we should refrain from making a scene.”
A statement that anyone who didn’t know his identity would take as a simple caution. But the moment you assigned him the identity of a monster, those words transformed in an instant.
A threat.
There are other customers here. Do you really think you can run wild? A simple threat, using the lives of others as bargaining material.
Yoon Seol-hwa ground her teeth. The closest person to him right now was Han Jae-jung. The man she loved.
‘I can’t put Jae-jung in danger again.’
She wanted to transform right then and there and shove a block of ice down his throat, but her patience, born from love, held her back.
Contrary to Yoon Seol-hwa’s worry, Han Jae-jung was concerned about a different kind of danger.
‘Contradiction is an incredibly powerful monster... Seol-hwa’s also saddled with a severe penalty that forces her to consider civilian evacuation. I can’t guarantee she’ll come out unscathed if we fight. Plus....’
Han Jae-jung’s fists trembled beneath the table.
‘I have no idea what kind of bullshit this bastard’s going to spout.’
His identity could be exposed.
He had to strike first. As soon as the thought solidified, Han Jae-jung curled his lips upward and opened his mouth.
“Well, it’s been a while. Didn’t you say you were going on a trip? You’re back awfully soon.”
He’d politely delivered the gist of: ‘Why the hell are you back already, you son of a bitch?’
“Ah, this is... Yoon Seol-hwa... my... my....”
“...Hello. I’m Jae-jung’s girlfriend... ah, no, his friend, Yoon Seol-hwa. You already know me, I presume?”
Yoon Seol-hwa quickly followed Han Jae-jung’s lead and introduced herself.
‘I can’t start a fight here. This monster bastard. How did he even get close to Jae-jung? What’s their relationship? Jae-jung, please figure it out. That monster is the same Scutum monster who kidnapped you before!’
She felt like her insides were about to burst from sheer frustration.
“We’re not really on such friendly terms that I’d expect such a warm greeting... I’m sorry, but would you mind getting up and leaving?”
He’d gently said, ‘Shut your goddam mouth, what the hell do you want, just get lost.’
“Ha ha, it seems I’m quite thoroughly loathed. Yes, I suppose that’s only natural. I understand. Please don’t worry too much. I was merely saying hello out of a sense of pleasant surprise. I’ll state my business briefly and be on my way.”
Contradiction chuckled and nodded.
“I can assure you that what you’re currently worried about will not come to pass. I only returned to Korea today because I had a brief matter to attend to. I’ll be heading back overseas immediately after.”
“Here’s your wine. Oh, and the pasta you two ordered is almost ready.”
Just then, the owner came by to serve them personally. Han Jae-jung and Yoon Seol-hwa forced their lips upward into sociable smiles. Contradiction observed them both and picked up the wine bottle.
“Thank you. Ah. The pasta here has a sterling reputation, so I think you can look forward to it.”
“You’ve never even had any.”
“Ha ha, it’s just that my constitution doesn’t agree with noodles.”
“Then why do you even come to a pasta place?”
“To drink wine.”
He uncorked the bottle with practiced ease and poured an equal amount into the three glasses.
“Now, let’s all have a glass.”
“I’m abstaining from alcohol, sorry. I think that head of yours... I mean, I think you should just drink it all yourself.”
“I’m also not much for drinking at lunchtime.”
Contradiction shrugged as if disappointed.
‘Come to think of it, the guy doesn’t even have a mouth. How’s he planning to drink that?’
Han Jae-jung’s question was quickly answered.
Contradiction poured the wine, glug-glug, into the cactus pot on top of his head, like watering a plant.
“....”
Watching the spectacle, Han Jae-jung could only stare, mouth agape. He couldn’t decide if it was grotesque or utterly ridiculous. There was even a strange hint of modern art about it.
“Hmm, as expected, you still use cheap wine here. Despite the high prices. I truly must stop coming here.”
Having emptied the contents over his head, Contradiction set the empty glass down and began to gaze directly at Han Jae-jung.
Feeling threatened, Yoon Seol-hwa quickly moved her chair closer to Han Jae-jung and linked her arm through his.
“...What’s your objective?”
This time, he turned his head to look at Yoon Seol-hwa. The eyeless gaze was chilling and inorganic, more than enough to trigger instinctive revulsion.
After observing them silently for a moment, Contradiction picked up the glass of wine Han Jae-jung had refused. Once again, he lifted its contents over his head and poured them into the pot.
Contradiction nodded with satisfaction and placed the empty glass on the table.
“...It seems everyone has grown remarkably strong. I’m very relieved.”
Han Jae-jung’s face twisted into a deep scowl. He was already launching into needlessly cryptic remarks.
‘Don’t you dare plant pointless suspicion in Seol-hwa’s mind.’
‘Don’t you dare stare at Jae-jung with that filthy head of yours.’
Fortunately, Yoon Seol-hwa listened to his words without letting them sow doubt about the man she loved. The thoughts dominating her mind were murderous intent and a protective instinct.
She sharpened her senses so she could respond to any attack from him at a moment’s notice.
“It is a relief. Didn’t I mention just now that I’d been overseas? I visited America. Or to be more precise, I should say New York. It was quite dreadful. Monsters were running even more rampant than here in Korea, and what’s more, the magical girls were chronically overworked due to a manpower shortage... There was no balance.”
Contradiction continued speaking as he poured the last remaining glass—the one he’d offered to Yoon Seol-hwa—over his head.
“So I lent them a hand. I dealt with the riffraff appropriately, and suggested to a few individuals that they might consider joining Dilemma. I told them there exists a being in a certain Eastern nation who just might grant their wishes, and that seemed to pique their interest.”
It was a topic of conversation that showed not the slightest intention of concealing his identity. Contradiction set down the empty glass.
“...Jae-jung.”
Yoon Seol-hwa, who was gripping Han Jae-jung’s hand tightly, whispered quietly.
“When I give the signal, you need to run right away. Got it?”
The tension in her voice was obvious. A single bead of sweat traced a beautiful line down the nape of her neck like a raindrop. Her hand was slick with sweat, another testament to her nerves.
Seeming embarrassed by it, she tried to pull her hand away. Han Jae-jung held on tight and didn’t let her withdraw it.
“Got it.”
He met her eyes briefly and gave a faint smile. A flush of color rose instantly to Yoon Seol-hwa’s cheeks and ears, and she whipped her gaze away.
She was appalled at herself for feeling her heart flutter in such a dire situation, but she couldn’t suppress a swell of emotion at his beauty.
Contradiction was still in the middle of saying his piece.
“What I mean to say is that the Aquila monster and the Puppis monster have taken an interest in this country. Ah, that’s right. There’s also Carina and Vela. Ha ha, I nearly forgot. It’s discourteous to forget the names of the people you’re discussing, after all.”
The meaning of his words was simple.
More S-rank monsters were scheduled to enter the country.
‘The ones already here are hard enough to deal with, and now there’s more?’
His heart was heavy. The problems kept multiplying endlessly, like the compounding interest on a debt.
Contradiction nonchalantly poured himself another glass of wine.
“That is the reason I arrived today.”
In contrast to his nonchalance, Han Jae-jung and Yoon Seol-hwa grew progressively more agitated. The content of his light words was far too heavy.
“I was their guide. They have already arrived.”
Multiple S-rank monsters from America had crossed over. They were already here, right now.
“They’ll likely reveal themselves in the near future. Perhaps even today. Or... ha ha, who knows? They’re such thoroughly unruly characters.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Hmm, so you’ve dropped the formal speech now. It’s quite all right. In truth, I find this more familiar.”
Contradiction laughed and refilled his glass.
“Why do you think I’m telling you this? There’s only one reason, of course. Surely you already know my intent.”
He wanted them to grow stronger. He wanted them to become a shield capable of blocking the ultimate spear. That was his sole desire. This incident was no different.
Contradiction did not want the monsters from America to achieve their goals. Rather, he hoped they would be thwarted. He hoped they would be consumed as fodder for someone’s growth.
A sinister intent concealed beneath sociable words.
Han Jae-jung glanced at Yoon Seol-hwa.
‘Seol-hwa doesn’t know I’m Watcher... Why is he spouting this crap in front of her?!’
He’d been vague, but the clues were more than enough to raise suspicion. The mere fact that Han Jae-jung had any connection to a monster was suspicious in the extreme. How was he supposed to answer if she started interrogating him?
He turned his head with that anxiety in his heart, and his eyes met hers perfectly.
‘Goddammit.’
His breath nearly stopped. His palms were clammy. Han Jae-jung’s own tension was contributing to that moisture. Their hands were pressed together without the slightest gap, and it was impossible to tell whose sweat was whose anymore. Their bodily fluids mingled together in a sticky tangle.
He put a little more strength into their clasped hands. He couldn’t control his trembling pupils.
Yoon Seol-hwa smiled softly. Then she murmured.
“It’s okay. I’ll definitely protect you.”
In that instant, all the tension drained out of him. Not a single shadow of suspicion or doubt could be found in Yoon Seol-hwa’s eyes.
There was only the pure desire to protect Han Jae-jung, and an unwavering faith and love.
“Here’s the cream pasta and vongole pasta you ordered.”
A server arrived with their orders. Contradiction finally rose from his seat.
“Well then, I shall take my leave.”
Miraculously, the possibility of a conflict breaking out in this restaurant was fading. Of course, future conflicts still remained, but those could be prepared for.
’...My date with Jae-jung.’
Even though Contradiction was backing down without a fight, Yoon Seol-hwa was deeply displeased. It was obvious that after this lunch, she’d have to go to Magical Girl Headquarters, share the intel she’d gotten from him, and devise countermeasures. She’d already planned to be with him for dinner and into the night, and now everything was ruined.
‘I swear, that bastard of all people....’
She was plotting her revenge internally when it happened.
“Good afternoon! Is there a table available?”
“Don’t slam the door open!”
“I swear, going anywhere with you is so embarrassing.”
The door slammed open and three girls walked in. One familiar face and two who were both unfamiliar and oddly familiar.
It was White Dabih, Red Vega, and Orange Altair.
“Ha ha, oh dear.”
“Oh?”
The moment she entered, White Dabih spotted Contradiction, who was already standing.
“...What the hell is this motherfucker doing here while people are trying to eat? Looks like he’s already stuffed himself on dirty looks instead of food! Everyone, get ready~”
“Huh? H-hold on.”
“Sounds good to me!”
“Dress Up!”
“I said hold on! At least evacuate the....”
“Dress Up.”
[Dress up your star!]
“Actualization.”
[Reveal the truth.]
It was the moment the peace that had almost existed was thoroughly shattered.