Ch.49Chapter 49. Chaos (2)

The back gate wall.

Jake was tapping the ground with his shoes, arms crossed.

Shadows under his eyes revealed his fatigue.

‘Damn it. I couldn’t even sleep properly because I was so curious…’

He couldn’t stop wondering about the mysterious girl, Cuss, whom he’d met that day.

Was she a woman? If so, what was that soft sensation he felt under her skirt?

Or a man? If male, why dress that way?

Or perhaps a sexual minority…?

It was an incredibly rude question, but he couldn’t help but call her out to ask.

Despite trying to forget during the holiday, his curiosity had driven him nearly mad.

It was just a simple question, after all.

If she found it offensive, she could refuse to answer.

He had nothing to lose.

“Contestant, enter.”

“…?”

Just then, with a tap of footsteps, a figure appeared from around the corner.

A girl with confident strides.

It was Cuss.

“J-J… um, what was it again?”

“Jake. Jake Prime.”

“I knew that. Jake Prime.”

“Right.”

She seemed to have become even more awkward after the holiday.

Meanwhile, two cute heads were peeking from behind the corner…

He decided to ignore them.

If he spoke quietly, they wouldn’t hear anyway.

“Miss Kim. The reason I called you here is…”

“A duel. I know.”

“What?”

“A one-round match.”

“No, no! Wait! I just wanted to ask you something!”

“…”

Cuss, who had been taking a stance, deflated with disappointment.

She had seemed confrontational from their first meeting, but he hadn’t realized she was this combative.

Still, her fighting spirit seemed to have diminished, so Jake continued with a sigh of relief.

“This might be a really rude question… but I’m curious about your gender. Would you mind telling me?”

“I am a human female.”

“No, not that. Your real gender.”

“…!”

Cuss’s pupils dilated.

Got her.

She took the bait.

While the mouth might lie, expressions and bodily reactions aren’t as skilled at deception.

At the very least, it was clear she had some kind of secret.

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. But if you do tell me, I could help make your school life easier…”

“Fight me! If you want an answer!”

“…What?”

Jake was dumbfounded.

Cuss had stepped back again, clenching her fists and taking a fighting stance.

He wondered if she had even been listening to what he’d said.

“No, I’m saying I’ll help you adjust to school if you tell me.”

“If you want to know, earn it yourself. Defeat me!”

What was she saying?

She was spouting lines that belonged in a pro wrestling introduction, but Cuss’s expression was dead serious.

Was she for real?

Would he really get an answer if he defeated her?

But Tom and that little girl were watching from behind…

“Fine. Let’s fight.”

He planned to play along, then apply a light joint lock that would make her scream and surrender.

That way there would be no injuries or bruises, and to onlookers it would just look like overacting.

As Jake approached the fight with this casual mindset—

“Hah!”

“Ugh?!”

He barely dodged a sudden punch by jerking his head backward.

Wait, she had a wrestling stance but threw a punch?

Isn’t that cheating?

“Hey, hey. Wait a second. Why are you so serious—Whoa!”

“Stop dodging! Come at me!”

Her attacks were heavier than expected, but not so fast that he couldn’t dodge them.

Now it was time to counterattack.

“Yah.”

After dodging lightly, Jake moved forward and grabbed Cuss’s wrist.

As he tried to twist her arm behind her back…

“AAAAARGH!”

He felt an excruciating pain as his hand was bitten.

The pain was enough to bring tears to his eyes, forcing him to release her wrist.

In that moment, Cuss dove inside his guard and rammed her shoulder into his chest.

It didn’t hurt much, and Jake was wondering what she was doing when—

“Huh? WHOA?”

His arm was suddenly pulled forward, and his feet left the ground.

Jake’s body was being lifted over Cuss’s back.

In that brief moment, Jake realized what was happening.

A shoulder throw.

Cuss had learned the technique, stance, and application of force in detail after being thrown by Jinsoo multiple times.

THUD!

“GUHK!”

Jake let out a groan as his back slammed hard against the bare ground.

His whole body seemed to vibrate.

He thought his spine might have shattered.

“Nngh… Hey. Hey, wait. Time out.”

When he opened his eyes, groaning in pain, Jake was horrified.

Cuss was stretching, folding her arms.

The visual seemed familiar, and Jake’s face turned pale with terror.

But his back felt like it might break, and he couldn’t get up.

“Finishing move.”

“AAAAHH!!!”

With her elbow pointed downward, Cuss launched herself into the air.

From four feet up, Cuss’s elbow came crashing down into Jake’s abdomen.

She was following Jinsoo’s teaching to hit the stomach rather than the more visible face.

As a result, Jake foamed at the mouth and rolled his eyes back.

“Villain defeated.”

“Hey! What villain? What did you do to my brother!”

Tom emerged from around the corner with a tearful face.

This was strange, though.

On television, villains never went down this easily with one hit.

This Jake-whatever must be much weaker than them.

She still had many techniques prepared.

It was a shame she couldn’t use them all.

‘Or should I? Should I just use them all on him now?’

She considered unleashing more moves on the unconscious Jake but decided against it.

It seemed too cruel to do to a weak civilian.

She had thought he might be strong when he challenged her to a duel, but he was clearly no match for her flying kick.

*Click click*

She didn’t forget to take pictures with her phone camera.

This would permanently record her victory.

“Hey! I’m telling the teacher! You knocked my brother out!”

“It was a fair duel. Ask him when he wakes up.”

“I saw you throw the first punch! What are you—”

“Sigh… Tom.”

From his chattering, it seemed Tom still didn’t understand the situation.

Cuss smiled leisurely, bent down in front of Tom, and looked him in the eyes.

“Go ahead, spread rumors. Tell everyone in the neighborhood that your mother’s other child, who’s bigger than me, lost to me.”

“W-what…?”

“Of course, if you do that, I won’t accept a revenge match. Your mother’s other child…”

“Cuss. They’re brothers, brothers.”

“Would you deny your brother a chance for revenge? Then go ahead and spread rumors all you want.”

“…”

Tom could only chew his lips without saying anything more.

Good. If he wanted revenge, he wouldn’t dare spread rumors.

She had won.

Having defeated both brothers, Jinsoo would be pleased.

But wait…

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Cuss?”

“…”

This one behind her.

She needed to silence Alice too.

Cuss immediately turned around and put her arm around Alice’s shoulder.

“Alice.”

“Y-yes…”

“Forget what happened today. If you don’t forget…”

“If I don’t?”

“That thing under my skirt. I’ll make you unable to breathe with it.”

“Eeeek!”

The threat to strangle her with tentacles…

‘Suffocation with underwear? How would that even work? I can’t even imagine!’

…came across to Alice as a mysterious terror.

***

‘What on earth is going on…’

Behind a bench.

Watching from a distance, Juliane experienced a sudden moment of clarity.

What’s wrong with Kim Jinsoo talking to his superior?

What’s wrong with meeting alone in a park far from the office during lunch hour on a workday?

Sitting side by side on a bench, laughing and chatting…

‘What are they doing, seriously…’

No.

That can’t happen.

Well, maybe Kim Jinsoo could be forgiven, but his superior shouldn’t be acting this way.

She shouldn’t be flirting while knowing full well that I’m playing the role of his lover.

What is she trying to do?

Is she feeling lonely after being divorced for a few years?

Even so, she shouldn’t be eyeing someone else’s man.

‘I can’t just keep standing here!’

With her anger gauge maxed out, Juliane began to move.

Lurking behind them like this made her feel like a pervert.

She couldn’t hear them clearly anyway.

If she’d known this would happen, she would have secretly planted a listening device in the lining of Jinsoo’s suit.

“Ahem, AHEM!”

“…?”

Juliane cleared her throat and firmly placed her hand on the bench.

The reaction of the two people turning around was quite a sight.

Neither of them showed any sign of surprise or embarrassment—they just stared blankly at her.

Juliane couldn’t help but let out a laugh of disbelief.

“Juliane. What brings you here?”

“Ha! What brings me here? Are you really asking me that while meeting another woman behind my back?”

“Why are you so angry today?”

“Yes, Juliane. This doesn’t seem like the right time to be angry.”

Her superior brushed back her hair and looked her straight in the eyes.

Wait a minute.

Showing that they know each other…

“Ah! Ahhh! I misunderstood!”

I see.

She approached him as a Justice Department official.

I thought she was after Jinsoo.

Juliane quickly calmed down and gave an awkward smile.

“So you two know each other.”

“Of course. She’s my cute junior colleague.”

“Hahaha… Right. Senior. So what were you two talking about?”

“We were setting up a date.”

“…”

Crack.

A sound that shouldn’t come from a wooden bench was heard.

Juliane’s eyes were now filled with an unfathomable emptiness.