Facing Reality (3)
"Choi Eunho, that’s enough of your little joke."
Ha Yujeong got to her feet as if she’d heard all she could stand, then strode into the bedroom.
The moment she stepped inside and saw the traces of sex, she muttered under her breath, Well, of course.
Damn it. Since when had I been close enough to you for us to joke around? We were the sort of relationship that couldn’t have been more businesslike if we tried.
"Do I look that free to you? Free enough to play pranks on you?"
"There aren't many Hunters as idle as Choi Eunho."
"...Is that so."
Unless it was one of the Association’s requests, I mostly had nothing to do.
Unlike the early days of the invasion, awakened numbers had risen and the Association’s system had stabilized, so the death rate on commissions had dropped a great deal as well.
As people began to think of it as just a somewhat dangerous line of work, high-rank Hunters stopped getting called unless something was truly serious. They were expensive, after all.
From my perspective, too, money was already piling up until it was rotting over the top, so rather than waste time on petty jobs, I preferred to be deployed only where I could actually solve something.
Did other Hunters really go around patrolling and dealing with things even when they weren’t designated commissions? What, were they all stealing one another’s work that hard?
If you’ve got so much, shouldn’t you share the jobs around a little?
Even after searching the bedroom, Ha Yujeong started going through the whole house, opening closets and checking everywhere she could.
Not that the vanished Choi Eunho was going to pop out of nowhere.
I was sitting on the kitchen chair—rather than the living room sofa, which was too filthy to bother with—watching her futile efforts with open mockery.
She must have found my phone on the living room floor, because after calling me a few times and hearing it ring there, she let out a sigh and covered her face with one hand.
It was ridiculous.
"Go ahead and search all you want. There’s nobody in this house but me right now."
"...Choi Eunho wouldn’t run away just because I came by. And she even left her phone behind."
"Obviously. Why would I move just because someone like you showed up?"
"Ah... just where the hell is that person when I need them, and what are they even doing?"
Need?
Well, she’d have to be in some kind of a hurry to come all the way here.
"What is it?"
"It has nothing to do with you."
"Don’t be so damn irritating and just say it. I’m busy too."
"Then I’ll be going."
"I’m telling you, this is my house."
"Ugh, seriously, stop spouting bullshit..."
"Hey."
—KWA-ANG!
I’d been patient long enough, so I tore the dining table free from where it had been fixed to the wall and hurled it beside Ha Yujeong.
With a deafening crash, the table flew from my hand, punched through the wallpaper, and rammed into the concrete wall.
Dust exploded through the living room, and the automatic air purifier let out a beep before kicking into gear at once.
Ha Yujeong, her body frozen stiff in shock as the wooden table shot past her left side, stared toward the wall.
"I’m getting annoyed, so sit down."
"..."
Without a word, Ha Yujeong walked over and sat down across from me. Her face had gone a little pale, but honestly, what was I supposed to do about that?
If she’d listened from the start, none of this would’ve happened.
"So. What’s the emergency?"
"A Gate has appeared. It was initially measured at roughly B-class scale, but due to additional erosion the size expanded. A prior dismantlement team went in, and then contact was lost."
"Gate dismantlement, and if possible, support for rescuing the dismantlement team."
"...Yes. That’s right."
Not an ordinary matter.
The erosion of the otherworldly into this world had begun long ago, and the procedures for responding to it had been written in blood.
Even the hazard assessments for Gates were things written in even more blood, and their accuracy was correspondingly high.
Problematic. It wouldn’t be possible to avoid casualties.
I’d long since gotten past the point of whining every time I saw a corpse, but the aftertaste still turned bitter.
No helping it.
"I’ll handle it."
"It isn’t that simple. I know you’re a pretty powerful awakened, but this isn’t something just anyone can do."
"It’s fine. I’ve done it before."
"...Are you a Hunter? I already know the list of S-class Hunters, but I’ve never seen a Hunter like you."
Well, I’m Choi Eunho.
She wasn’t going to listen anyway, so I just got to my feet.
"Enough. Where is it?"
"..."
Ha Yujeong still seemed hesitant, unable to get the words out easily.
Well, if she brought some strange Hunter instead of Choi Eunho and they failed to solve the situation, the number of victims would only increase, and she’d be responsible for that too.
Of course she’d be conflicted and uncertain. I understood that much, but the Choi Eunho she was looking for wasn’t here for the time being.
What Ha Yujeong had to accept was that the woman standing in front of her could only be trusted if she bet on the idea that this person could replace Choi Eunho.
Since Choi Eunho was missing, Ha Yujeong, as the assigned manager, couldn’t dodge responsibility anyway.
Whether she liked it or not, we were in the same boat now.
"In return, I need something out of this too."
"What do you want?"
"First, I’m not planning to make everyone believe I’m 'Choi Eunho.' But I do need an ally inside the Association. So if I solve this, you have to think of me as Choi Eunho."
"...You’re really Choi Eunho?"
Ha Yujeong’s gaze swept over me.
Just from the legs alone, I was an odd silver-haired woman with a strange sheen, as if I’d been soaked in something sticky and let it dry.
Even if she pictured the trained, athletic man with cropped hair, it would never quite match.
"Are you confident?"
"I’ve done it once or twice. You can even sleep with both legs stretched out."
"...Understood. I’ll take you there first, and... I should ask Jaecheol where Choi Eunho is."
"Sure. That’d be faster."
Shin Jaecheol.
We weren’t personally acquainted, but I’d heard of him.
He wasn’t a Hunter, but among the mages cooperating with the Association from the outside, he was said to be the best in the country.
Finding one person would be nothing for him, and if Shin Jaecheol said, "Choi Eunho has disappeared," then she’d have no choice but to follow my story.
If things really went well and Shin Jaecheol certified, "That woman is Choi Eunho," then the proof would be over and done with.
And if I could get the Association’s help, then I could meet that man and discuss a way to get my body back.
"On the way there, pick me up a decent weapon. I can’t bring out mine."
My oversized greatsword was being kept by the Association.
I had no intention of keeping that heavy thing that only took up space in my house anyway.
As long as I still couldn’t prove I was Choi Eunho, there was no way they’d let me take it out.
I could fight barehanded, but it was inefficient.
"As for equipment..."
"Armor? Don’t need it. Have you ever seen Choi Eunho wear armor?"
"At least he was wearing clothes."
"...Right. I just don’t have anything that fits me right now. Bring me your track pants too."
"What!?"
"If you don’t like it, buy me something else. Just get something that looks about my size."
Ha Yujeong must really have been in a hurry, because after nodding she got to her feet at once.
I started to follow her out, but she stopped me immediately.
"You’re going out like that? Just... wait here and wipe yourself off first. I’ll bring the weapon and clothes back with me."
"..."
It was hard to answer with a simple yes.
Because... if I were left alone, what if that instinct started whispering to me again?
Right now I was still relatively sane because there was someone in front of me to deal with and my head had something to focus on.
The moment I was alone again, I might turn back into some deranged bitch with nothing in her skull but masturbation.
No. I’d be fine.
Sex wasn’t on my mind at all.
I just wanted to get to the scene and tear something apart already.
I wasn’t rotten enough to leave people’s lives hanging and waste time crushing tits or whatever.
With a gesture that meant I understood and she should get the hell out already, I sent Ha Yujeong on her way.
Then I turned around, and the wreck of the living room came into view.
Fuck.
What the hell did that bitch do to my place?
I hastily threw my outerwear onto the floor and went back into the bedroom.
The house had gone quiet. I was thinking I needed to wash up and get out fast when...
...gulp.
What was that?
I wasn’t hungry.
So why was I salivating?
Had I ever been hungry after gaining the Blessing in the first place?
Until today, what it had given me had truly been exactly that: a blessing.
It made me invulnerable without costing me a damn thing.
No weakness, not in terms of damage, nor in terms of consumption or energy.
And yet.
What was this?
This sweet smell was...
"...The bed?"
No.
The blanket.
What the hell.
Why was there...
Such a sweet smell coming from that filthy blanket...
I’d already forgotten all about washing up, and walked toward the end of that scent.
There was a strange stain on the blanket.
Thick. Sticky.
And sweet like syrup.
Ah.
I wanted to get it on my face.
I wanted to lick it.
I wanted to taste it.
Lick. Lick.
In the end, I couldn’t hold back any longer and put my tongue to the stain.
I sucked on it.
Wanting to eat it somehow, no matter what.
My saliva worked at the hardened mess, trying to melt it away.
The smell was already gone.
The taste had nearly vanished too.
But if I kept dissolving it like this, if I kept at it...
It had hardened, but I could still eat it.
Ah, aah...
So, so sweet...
"Semen...♡"
...Se-men?
"Fuck!"
Cough, cough.
Ptuh! Ptuh!
I hurriedly gathered a mouthful of saliva and spat it toward the blanket.
Dammit, I knew it! The second I was left alone, this body started acting up again!
I slapped my own cheeks three times, then went straight into the shower stall.
Jesus, this was fucked.
The mirror mounted in the shower stall showed my whole body at once.
The woman reflected there had flushed cheeks, was trembling with excitement, and had a tiny trace of semen melted onto the tip of her tongue.
And she was dripping arousal between her legs as though someone had opened a faucet there.
Heh heh.
—CRASH!
I swung my fist and shattered the mirror on the spot.
But as the broken fragments split apart...
The monster reflected in them only multiplied.
As if my "daughters" had multiplied.
My mind was tangled.
I needed some work to do, something that would make me forget this reality for a moment.
.
Ha Yujeong came back quickly.
Fortunately, the instinct went quiet as soon as she returned.
Guess it figured there’d be no seed to get from jumping Ha Yujeong anyway.
Ha. Let’s think about that later.
For now, I pulled out the track pants she’d brought. Black spandex track pants.
Well, not bad.
"You don’t have underwear?"
"I only just ended up like this not long ago."
"...Understood, for now."
The panties only slid all the way down beneath me.
I put on the pants bare, then pulled on a white short-sleeve T-shirt...
"Hng..."
"What is it?"
"Don’t worry about it."
It rubbed. Since they weren’t inverted, it was more annoying than I’d expected.
Was my nipple huge for no reason because my tits were so large? Was it always this sensitive?
...No, probably not. Not with this body.
I threw the black jersey over the T-shirt and pulled the zipper up...
Clink.
"Hey."
"What else was I supposed to do? These are off-the-rack!"
Damn it.
I told you to come with me.
You said you’d get it yourself, and this is what you brought back?
The zipper only came up to my navel because it was sized around my waist.
"Ha, whatever. This is better than nothing. Fine. Let’s go."
"Th-that's the thing."
"What now?"
"Do you really have to keep standing that way?"
"Do you think I want to be standing this way? It’s rubbing—what the hell am I supposed to do about it?"
If you’d brought the right jersey size, this wouldn’t be a problem, you asshole.
There wasn’t time for this.
I shoved Ha Yujeong in the back and dragged her outside.
Your embarrassment isn’t important right now.
Inside that Gate, someone is dying this very second.
Ha Yujeong must have understood that too, because she headed for the underground parking garage at a slightly faster pace.
The moment I got into Ha Yujeong’s car, I turned toward the trunk and checked the weapon she’d brought.
She really did bring something pathetic.
What the hell was I supposed to do with a knife this small? Go butcher a person?
The only thing remotely usable was a single-edged sword about five feet long.
As for the spear... ah. I’m not really into spears.
"Hey. You should’ve brought something heavier."
"Those are more than large enough weapons."
"Don’t you know what I used to carry?"
"...What Choi Eunho swung around was less a weapon and more a hunk of metal shaped like a tombstone. And how exactly am I supposed to fit something like that in a car?"
"That’s why I told you to switch to a truck or something ages ago. My manager rides around in something that can’t even haul my weapon? Forget it. I’ll make do with this."
After tapping the single-edged sword a few times, which looked at least somewhat usable, I dropped myself straight into the passenger seat.
Ha Yujeong immediately turned on the siren and took off, ignoring the traffic lights.
She’d said it was nearby, so by car it would still take thirty minutes or so. ...Maybe I should’ve run instead?
Then again, if she was going to complain about broken pavement, was that really more important than human lives?
Grumbling to myself, I watched the people passing by outside the window.
Ah.
Come to think of it.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
"After you drop me off, call a contractor to my house."
"For what?"
"You got my dining table embedded in the wall. Fix it."
"...Because of me?"
Well, obviously.
If you’d just listened properly, would it have ended up like that?