Ch.25Catharsis 1

I opened the door to the inn.

Today, Moment feels like it’s been a long time, even though I’ve only rested for two days.

Jiwook was already in the kitchen.

He was singing along to a song playing on the television.

Come to think of it, that song has been playing a lot on the streets lately.

Even in this anarchic era overrun by monsters, idols still exist, I suppose.

Well, there are customers who idolize psychopathic killers, so what’s the big deal about idols?

I’ve come to accept it now.

“Siho, you’re here?”

He turns off the television, seemingly embarrassed that I caught him humming along to the song.

Then he greets me with an awkward smile.

“The song is nice. You can keep it on.”

I smile gently as I take off my windbreaker.

“You think so?”

He turns the power back on, responding to my expression.

I hum along to the upbeat song.

Slowly tying the apron around my waist.

Jiwook watches me intently.

Then he says something out of the blue.

“You seem different today than usual.”

“Me?”

My senior looks me up and down, then gives me a subtle smile.

“How should I put it… Before, your body was stiff, and you had a gloomy feel…”

He puts his hand to his mouth, carefully selecting his words.

“Now you seem softer, and your eyes have become gentler?”

I stare at him blankly.

“I didn’t mean anything by it. Just that your gestures have become more delicate, like you finally resemble girls these days.”

He laughs awkwardly as if it’s really nothing.

“…”

But his words shocked me considerably.

I could have accepted being called softer and gentler.

That could happen.

I’m gradually getting used to this body after all.

But delicate gestures, like girls these days?

That doesn’t sit well with me.

Am I really becoming more like a girl?

I look down at my body pensively.

The curves of my body are clearly visible.

I rub my arms, feeling goosebumps.

“Stop saying weird things. Is there anything to eat in the store?”

“Didn’t you eat lunch?”

“Someone ate it all…”

I shrug at his question.

I recall a certain woman who scraped the plate clean.

“So Siho is living with someone.”

He nods with a smirk.

He seems to be guessing that my recent softening is thanks to a roommate.

My face flushes hot at his words.

I stammer and cut him off.

“No, it’s not like that…”

I turn my head away, not wanting to show Jiwook my reddened face.

Then I mutter.

“I just shared some food with a stray cat.”

“A stray cat…?”

My senior repeats as he brings out freshly baked bread from the kitchen.

He tilts his head as if he doesn’t understand what I’m saying.

That’s understandable.

What kind of cat would devour an entire bowl of fried rice?

Maybe I should have said leopard or Bengal.

I check the alcohol that came in today while munching on the bread he gave me.

As I’m carefully examining the bottles, Jiwook approaches me with an apologetic expression.

He clasps his hands together as if he has something urgent to say.

“Um, you know… could I leave an hour early today?”

“Did something come up?”

I ask while tearing off small pieces of bread.

A pleasant warmth rises from the bread Jiwook baked.

“Actually, it’s my girlfriend’s birthday today, and I promised to celebrate with her…”

So senior has a girlfriend too.

Well, with such a clean-cut appearance, it’s only natural.

“Sure, the number of customers has decreased lately anyway, so I’ll handle it alone.”

“Are you sure? If something strange happens again like before…”

He has reason to worry.

Anna’s massacre scene was horrific.

If Jiwook had seen that gruesome scene directly, he would certainly have fainted.

“It’s fine. Anna promised not to do such things in front of me anymore.”

I smile wryly, waving the bread at him.

Then I realize that what I just said was a slip of the tongue.

“You even made a promise with her?”

Jiwook scratches his head, seemingly amazed that I have that kind of relationship with Anna where such conversations are possible.

“She’s a friend with a story, that’s all.”

I murmured quietly.

Suddenly, as her name comes up, I recall what happened this morning.

The moments of being held in Anna’s arms…

Why did I bite her finger then!

My body trembles.

I feel like my body has become more sensitive since then.

Just as Jiwook said, my eyes and body seem to have become rounder and softer.

I held my breath and tensed my body to erase those thoughts.

I’m a man who’s even served in the military.

I really need to pull myself together.

“—.”

By the time the store’s playlist had repeated about ten times,

it had become late evening.

Moment is quiet during the late hours.

Even the people who had been visiting because of rumors about Anna have grown tired and left after a month of her not showing up.

Besides, the terrible Black Velvet cocktail I made for her performance was truly awful.

No one would drink such a distasteful cocktail twice.

I polish the glasses with a bitter feeling.

“Still, it’s a bit disappointing that customers have dropped off so much.”

There’s about an hour left until closing time.

I was planning to space out and listen to music until then.

But that plan was soon shattered.

The front door burst open.

A woman wearing a hat walks in with her hands in her pockets.

Her steps are light, as if she’s moving to a rhythm.

It feels like watching an excited young girl.

Yes, exactly like someone who just turned adult and came to a bar with a fluttering heart.

“Excuse me-.”

The girl sits down abruptly at the counter table and calls out to me.

I respond to her call while calmly wiping my hands with a towel.

“Yes, welcome.”

She thrusts her face close to mine.

Then, covering her mouth with one hand, she asks very secretively.

“Is this the bar where ‘Lady Anna’ comes?”

My eyes droop automatically at this question I hear so often.

Of course, what else.

“Anna hasn’t been here for over a month.”

I answer indifferently.

The girl raises the corners of her mouth at my unfriendly attitude.

“That’s okay, you never know. She might come today.”

That’s asking for trouble.

Does she want to see another knife dance at the inn?

My neck feels chilly at her ignorant words.

I habitually stroked my neck.

“I’ll wait. Is that okay?”

“You can stay until closing time.”

“Alright, I’ll leave by then!”

The girl winks as if to show she’s considerate.

But she completely misunderstands the meaning of my words.

I meant I wish she would leave since closing time is near…

The girl swings her legs while sitting on the high chair.

I slowly look her over.

The short checkered skirt catches my eye first.

Are such short skirts in fashion these days?

Sehee was the same—too defenseless.

But soon I notice black leggings beneath the skirt.

That’s a relief at least.

Her top is even more outrageous.

It’s nearly 5 degrees outside, yet she’s wearing a long-sleeved shirt that exposes her midriff.

Thankfully she’s wearing a fleece jacket over it, but just looking at her makes me feel cold.

She must be someone who likes to dress up.

“Why are you staring at me so intently, unnie?”

The girl asks me with her chin resting on both hands.

The way she looks up at me reminds me of a cat.

“You just look cold.”

“Are you worried about me? That’s kind.”

The girl smiles brightly.

I feel like my energy is being drained with each word she speaks.

It feels like being forced to appear on a TV show I have no interest in.

My nose itches.

I feel like some strong fragrance has been rising from this girl.

Is it perfume?

No.

It’s not that artificial feeling, more like a body scent.

The kind of scent that gets stronger the closer you are, making your mind hazy.

I ask the girl to shake off that feeling.

“Would you like some milk while you wait?”

“What milk? This is a bar, isn’t it? Give me alcohol.”

She smiles brightly while looking at the display shelf.

Then she points at a bottle of liquor as if choosing a pretty doll.

“We don’t sell alcohol to minors.”

When I avoid her gaze, the girl chuckles and waves her hands dismissively.

“I’m an adult, unnie.”

“Then, could you show me your ID?”

“Ah.”

The girl’s enthusiasm drops at my sudden question.

I knew it.

Students trying to get alcohol usually freeze at this question.

“Well… I left it in my manager’s car…”

“Then you can go get it from the car.”

I say confidently with my arms crossed.

The girl fiddles with her hands and mumbles.

“The car has already left.”

“Then there’s nothing I can do. I’ll get you some milk-.”

I pull out milk from the refrigerator with a thud.

It suits her cat-like appearance perfectly.

“Unnie… my one wish is to have a drink here. In the place where Lady Anna was…”

The girl whines with a nasal voice, twisting her body.

She pinches the front of my apron and looks up at me intently.

The strange body scent gets stronger as the child gets closer to me.

I shake my head desperately.

“Absolutely- not.”

The girl sighs deeply as her aegyo, which she probably considered her ultimate move, doesn’t work.

Her face seems a bit redder than before.

“Then I have no choice.”

Yes, please just leave.

I close my eyes slightly and wait for her to leave.

But no matter how long I wait, I don’t hear the sound of the girl getting up from her chair.

Instead, she says to me.

“Now do you believe I’m an adult?”

That makes me increasingly uneasy.

What is she trying to do now…

I open my eyes wide and look at the counter table.

The girl who has removed her hat is smiling broadly at me.

Black long hair.

Even glitter under her eyes.

Yes, I get that she’s pretty.

She’s very pretty for an ordinary minor.

But what am I supposed to do about it?

My face automatically scrunches up at her continued antics.

Is she on something?

Now that I look closer, her eyes do seem a bit off.

“What…?”

When I show my incomprehension, the girl’s confident eyes waver.

She seems quite taken aback.

“Unnie, don’t you know me?”

She suddenly stands up with both hands on the table.

Then she thrusts her face closer, telling me to look carefully.

“I don’t know…”

I answer while pulling up my slipping apron.

The girl, seemingly hurt in her pride, leaves her chair and goes to the wide hallway.

Then she starts doing a strange dance.

“Even now? You must have seen me on TV. There are so many channels showing us these days…”

I calmly shake my head.

She sighs deeply and looks at me with pity.

“Give me your phone.”

“Why my phone?”

“Because I left mine in the car.”

You left quite a lot in that car.

I calmly take out my phone and hand it to her.

The girl opens YouTube with skillful hand movements.

Soon, a song plays through the speaker.

She immediately shows me the music video.

“Can you see me here?”

My eyes widen.

I look back and forth between the idol in the video and the girl.

Satisfied with my reaction, the girl smiles broadly and crosses her arms.

A-mer, an idol group composed only of A-rank or higher hunters.

Jaehee, the youngest and a dancer among them.

The girl standing before me is claiming to be that Jaehee.

Now I could understand her flashy fashion.

“Now are we good?”

“What’s good about this? It clearly says you’re nineteen years old.”

My eyes become hollow as if all my energy has been drained by her.

It seems she prepared this as her trump card, but all she’s done is confess her own age.

You’re still a kid.

I’m an adult.

Since I’m not impressed even by her claim of being an idol, she clenches her fists.

Then she sighs with a much lower voice than the nasal tone she’s been using until now.

“This isn’t working-. I tried to be nice about it.”

She asks me again with her husky voice.

“Did you read my ability when you looked at my profile earlier?”

Ability?

A chill runs down my spine at those words.

Come to think of it, she was listed as an A-rank hunter too…

Is she trying to threaten me with her ability?

I swallow once and scan through her personal information.

Then I stop abruptly at the ability section.

Pheromone?

The moment I read that, Jaehee grabs my wrist.

I didn’t expect such strong grip strength from someone who’s about my height.

Then a pink light flashes in the idol’s eyes.

“Huh…?”

I stare blankly at that light.

I feel my body getting hot.