Phantom Luna

“Ma, Maker..!! Please wake up!!”

“Kuluk! Kuluk!!”

Maker coughed up blood.

Phantom Luna’s face turned deathly pale.

Why? For what reason? What for?

All sorts of unspoken words jumbled in her mind.

But these thoughts couldn’t continue, as she immediately had to consider what to do next.

“[..Ahem. Ah~ Oh no. To miss such an important attack~]”

“[Well, it doesn’t matter. We just need to hit properly next time.]”

From the men’s conversation, which expressed disappointment, she knew that another attack would come soon.

“Griffin!!”

-Piyooo!!

Phantom Luna squeezed out what little magic power she had left to summon Griffin.

Then she placed Maker on Griffin’s back and fled.

“[Where do you think you’re going!]”

“[Scatter shot.]”

But these weren’t villains who would simply let them escape unharmed.

They began attacking Griffin carrying her and Maker, and in the process, Griffin was severely injured near its wings.

-Piyooo..

“You did well, Griffin. Go back and rest now.”

In the end, Griffin couldn’t take its master very far before reluctantly being recalled.

Phantom Luna began moving Maker by supporting him.

She didn’t go far.

Since this was the slums, the nearest hospital was quite distant, and if she happened to run into those men from before while trying to move even one more step, it would be disastrous.

It seemed better to hide in a corner of an alley, concealing themselves while waiting for the time when she could summon Griffin again.

Of course…

“Kuluk..!! Haa..haa..”

She was worried whether he could hold out properly.

Phantom Luna’s eyes were filled with tears that seemed ready to fall at any moment.

Maker smiled at her appearance.

“..Fortunately, I avoided a fatal wound.”

“……”

“It’s true. As you saw when I wrapped the bandage just now, the blood isn’t flowing heavily, and it’s just a graze.”

Phantom Luna swallowed the tears that were about to burst, and looked closely at his condition.

It certainly seemed like he was right.

“Haah..”

As soon as she realized this fact before her eyes, an inexplicable relief spread throughout her body.

“..Now, Ms. Phantom Luna, let me see your arm too. You weren’t hurt eith-“

“Why..”

Phantom Luna, in an uncontrollable feeling of relief, slipped into his arms.

“Why did you do that!!”

Thump. Thump.

And with the burst of anger, Phantom Luna hit Maker near his chest.

“Why did you save me! Whyyy!!”

“..Well, should I not have saved you?”

No, that’s not it.

It’s because you. Because you got hurt.

It was closer to Phantom Luna’s tantrum as a way to vent.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

“Why do you help me to the point of getting hurt..”

You’re a villain.

But why, why did you risk getting hurt to save me?

“……”

Heroes couldn’t receive help.

They existed to protect others, not to be protected.

And Phantom Luna, Tsukino Chise’s life was the same.

Having lost her parents at a young age, all that remained were her sick and frail younger siblings.

Chise had been a hero since then.

‘Sister!’

‘Big sis!’

A hero to her siblings, her only family.

‘Always help others, my daughter. Our daughter is kind and strong..’

A hero carrying on her parents’ pride.

No matter what storms came, she was a hero who sacrificed herself to protect her family.

Even if it was a tiring and arduous life.

Even if there was no one to lean on.

And now that she was a hero protecting not only her family but others as well, it was even more so.

‘..But why.’

However, the more she became involved with the connections she made in Korea, the more she changed somehow.

‘If you’re worried, please come back later to repay me. Understood?’

‘I have no intention of doing anything bad to someone who was lost and crying on the street.’

When she was first in trouble, Kang Yi-an showed her kindness without reason.

A foolish, kind person.

His actions, telling her to repay him later to avoid burdening her, moved her so much that even she, who rarely accepted help from others, found herself nodding in agreement without realizing it.

‘Hello, Hero. Nice to meet you.’

‘I’m a villain named Maker.’

And Maker.

A villain who often engaged in eccentric behavior.

His actions often reflected aspects reminiscent of cafe owner Kang Yi-an.

Especially on the first day of the terrorist attack.

‘I didn’t help you. I merely educated an ill-mannered villain.’

Since the time he saved her while pretending not to.

Back then, she dismissed Maker’s eccentricity as just that, but today, after seeing him hurt because of her, she naturally realized.

That when she almost got hurt that day, Maker saving her wasn’t a coincidence.

Perhaps because she had vaguely realized this point before, she didn’t strongly antagonize Maker.

And because of that hidden aspect, he overlapped with Kang Yi-an in her mind.

“Keup…”

Naturally becoming entangled with him, Phantom Luna found herself wanting to lean on him at some point.

“Why did you get hurt..stupid..!!”

But that wish couldn’t be fulfilled.

The wish was naturally cut off at Maker’s discretion.

“..Who knows.”

Blood dripping through Maker’s clothes.

Wondering if she had hit him too hard, she loosened her strength a bit.

“..So annoying.”

Thump. Thump.

Phantom Luna hated Maker.

And she was frustrated with herself for not being able to do anything while he ended up like this.

“..This is ridiculous.”

Thump..

After showing so clearly that she disliked him.

Why would this man, who treated other women with gentle smiles, risk getting hurt for her sake?

She felt stupid for feeling a moment of relief when he took the attack in her place.

“I hate you..”

Thump..

In that confused heart, she hated herself.

For feeling both touched and relieved that he had sacrificed himself.

She hated herself so much that she couldn’t bear it.

“Sob..sniff…huuung..”

Her delicate tears falling drop by drop.

Maker gently pulled her head into his arms, so that her face was hidden in his embrace.

Phantom Luna’s face was soon hidden in his arms.

She spoke in a gruff tone.

“..Who asked for your help?”

If you’re a villain, just take care of your own life like a villain, instead of meddling unnecessarily.

“Hmm..aren’t you grateful? I’m the savior of your life after all.”

“..Not grateful at all.”

She just felt insanely sorry.

She wanted to lean on him.

She wanted his approval.

But she never wanted to create this kind of situation.

“..Haha.”

“What’s so funny..!!”

Maker let out a chuckle at Phantom Luna’s behavior.

Phantom Luna snapped at him again with her trembling body.

At that moment.

“You’re really not honest..oop, kuluk kuluk!! Kheup!!”

“Ma, Maker!!”

Thud!

Along with a violent cough, something was heard falling.

What fell was none other than Maker’s mask.

“..Ah.”

Maker’s bare face was revealed right before Phantom Luna’s eyes.

Phantom Luna’s pupils dilated widely.

THUMP THUMP THUMP-!!

As her heart moved violently, the cutting wind cooled the heat on her cheeks.

It was firmly impressed upon her mind that this was no dream.

“..Manager?”

“Ah, oh dear..”

At those words, Maker suddenly touched around his face.

With an expression of unexpected revelation, Phantom Luna called him again.

“Manager Kang Yi-an..? Why..”

Maker, no, Kang Yi-an opened his mouth with an awkward smile.

“..Just because my identity was revealed, how could you disclose your own identity so casually, Ms. Chise?”

Not denial, but a clear confession.

Hearing those words, Phantom Luna found herself already grabbing his collar.

Phantom Luna shouted.

“..What exactly are you? Why do you keep helping me?”

It wasn’t an action stemming from anger or betrayal.

Just a subconscious action born from confusion and not knowing what to do.

Maker knew this well, so he quietly observed her actions without any particular restraint.

“You said I was pathetic.”

As Maker he did, as Kang Yi-an he didn’t.

“Arrogant, that I was mentally ill..”

Maker was always busy pushing her away, while Kang Yi-an treated her with infinite kindness as if he felt sorry for those actions.

“Why, why on earth..”

She had constantly wished that Maker and Kang Yi-an were the same person, but now that it was confirmed, she was confused by the contrast in their behaviors.

Kang Yi-an who always treated her well, and Maker who always clashed with her through terrorism.

Kind Kang Yi-an and Maker who mercilessly killed villains.

And Kang Yi-an who consistently showed her kindness, and Maker who was injured trying to protect her.

The actions of the two figures seemed different at a glance, but ultimately, they had one common purpose.

“Why do you make me want to lean on you more and more..”

Namely, that he had no intention of harming Phantom Luna.

Realizing this, the strength naturally left her hands, and she let go of his collar.

‘You’re a villain. I’m a hero. You should hate me.’

“Why are you doing this..”

..This isn’t what I want to say.

“How am I supposed to treat you..”

Phantom Luna’s mind was still full of confusion.

Maker, as if he understood her feelings, smiled and stroked her head.

Then he said.

“If you want to lean on me, you can.”

“..What?”

In response to Phantom Luna’s questioning, Maker nodded.

“Originally, I would have preferred if other people played that role, but well.”

If there’s really no one around who can do that for you, I’ll be that person.

Rustle. Rustle.

As the thick male hand gently caressed her head, she felt an inexplicable sense of stability.

“If it’s hard, you can rest.”

Rest? Can I rest?

To Phantom Luna, who had lived thinking she couldn’t stop, it seemed too distant a story.

“Haven’t you already finished all the urgent matters?”

At Maker’s words, Phantom Luna thought deeply.

..That was certainly true.

Her original purpose, her sick family, had been treated long ago, years back.

She had become stronger, and seemed to have received the recognition she wanted to some extent.

And that villain she wanted to capture…

“……”

She didn’t know.

How they had ended up like this.

Now, instead of anxiety, only a sense of stability was blossoming.

“Resting is not a bad thing. It’s not stopping, it’s not giving up.”

It’s just catching your breath to move forward further.

With those continued words, Maker embraced Phantom Luna.

“Hreuk..!”

Her pupils dilated widely once again, and she involuntarily caught her breath.

The sound of her pounding heart was so loud that she worried Maker might hear it.

“If you want to act spoiled, you can freely do so like this.”

Maker, smiling with Kang Yi-an’s face and affection.

His embrace was warm.

“Ah…”

Warm enough to make her body heat up involuntarily.

Woong..

And so she felt as if something lacking in her was being filled.