NOVEL NEXT Episode 24 – Public Enemy (5)
“Really, nothing happened?”
“That guy’s wish is just childish games.”
“Then, what do you intend to gain by hanging out with them?”
“Things we can’t get stuck here?”
It was late evening. Kim Soo-jung, who had perched next to me while looking at her phone, couldn’t seem to shake her dark expression.
Every time I saw her like this, I couldn’t help but draw a line. It wasn’t my business to worry since we were just friends, but her dependency was a different story.
“Sleep well…”
In the end, she quietly climbed up to the upper bunk with a defeated voice.
Is it that she understands in her head but not in her heart? I clicked my tongue and used my magic to help her sleep soundly once she nodded off.
“If I get deeply involved with you, both of us will get tired.”
“Is that really the reason? You just want to play delinquent games… sniff.”
“Do you really think I would play such childish games?”
I grabbed Ren, who was spewing nonsense, and squeezed them tightly. To begin with, Park Tae-jun and his group of punks saw me as nothing but an inferior being.
I was merely a trophy for Park Tae-jun and a tool to be used at his convenience.
Kids’ tricks, but today’s youth can be terrifying. They might be politically savvy and cunning, even more than some old fools trying to act like they have power without any capability.
“Not like it costs me anything. Just hang out a bit, and then I’ll break it one day.”
Crossing the line was certain. It was merely a question of when and how.
That night passed quietly.
I didn’t bother transforming to go outside. Time flew by while I was on my phone, and after provoking them yesterday, I didn’t want to show my face again.
“What’s this?”
“A gift?”
The next day at school, as soon as I entered the classroom where the kids were still trickling in, Park Tae-jun approached me with a smirk after making eye contact.
Gift? What he handed me was a bracelet. The problem was, this bracelet was not a kid’s toy but a genuinely expensive item.
In an instant, I recalled the background of this guy that I had brushed off earlier. But seriously, no matter how much money his family has, he’s still a kid.
“Looks expensive?”
“I bought it a long time ago, and I got it as a gift in the first place. Just giving it to someone I can vibe with.”
“Fine, thanks.”
I smiled lightly as I took the bracelet. There was no real reason to refuse when he was practically offering me money.
I knew the significance of this gift, meant to chain me, but I didn’t care about that. He seemed surprised that I accepted such an expensive item without hesitation.
“Do you like it?”
“Jewelry is just jewelry. It should be evaluated just for its own beauty. It’s pretty.”
“Huh…?”
“But you.”
Wearing the bracelet right there, I smiled at him as he momentarily looked puzzled by what I said.
‘Where did he go to pick up such a dark and wicked vibe?’
“Forget it. It’s nothing.”
I swallowed my last remark. However, something that plain humans couldn’t perceive latched onto my shadow, unnoticed by Park Tae-jun or the other kids.
A spirit.
Ordinary humans would definitely call this thing a demon. What had been clinging to Park Tae-jun was now dragged into my shadow.
“I also prepared what you asked for.”
“Oh, really?”
“You wanted beer, right? I just grabbed something from my dad’s display. He said it was good.”
Maybe he was back to his senses; he pointed outside with a smile. I had to admit his drive and capability.
To be precise, I didn’t particularly want to drink; I just longed for the buzz of alcohol after a long while. I never really enjoyed drinking even as a human.
“…Where to?”
“You might think it’s strange.”
I just slowly passed by him, heading toward the window.
“I think it’s better to be cautious for a while.”
I clicked my tongue as I looked outside. The fog-like beings that had just been pulled into my shadow? They were now roving through the sky in swarms.
“No way. Emergency! Emergeeenncy!!”
That was when Ren suddenly started going crazy. I grabbed the idiot who was tugging at my hair and threw them against the wall.
“You, are you alright…?”
“Ugh, just sit down now.”
I gave Park Tae-jun a serious glare, and he froze up and cautiously returned to his seat, while I retrieved the trembling Ren from the floor.
[Why is this suddenly happening?]
“Mamute the monster. News of its appearance has been shared among the Fairy Companies.”
During class, I kept my eyes on the blackboard while conversing with Ren.
[What kind of nonsense is that?]
“It’s an SS-class catastrophic monster. Its ability is to command demons that corrupt humans. The one you just dispatched was a demon.”
[Are there really all kinds of weirdos?]
“…Creatures like Mamute are the remnants of our failure to care for the world.”
Ren muttered in a dark voice.
It was said that the battle between fairies and primal monsters led to the origin of Magical Girls.
When the monsters fled from the fairies to another world, the fairies transformed pure girls with local potential into warriors by converting their potential into real power.
“Anyway, it’s strong. Not just strong, but also troublesome. All Magical Girls in this area will be on high alert until it shows its true form!”
[So?]
“You should be on guard too. It’s a crazy monster that enjoys capturing and torturing Magical Girls!”
Ren was trembling in fear, but I felt no emotional response at all. Hearing this made it seem like it was a job I didn’t need to take up.
“What do you mean?! If our company’s strongest doesn’t step up…”
[Think of my image. No one will welcome me, and no one will expect help from me. Wouldn’t they be trying to eliminate me from the get-go? Sometimes, it’s better to stay quiet.]
I had already piled up enough results, and I wasn’t interested.
Ren seemed to be at a loss for words; my reasoning made too much sense. Right now, being active could backfire.
I had hoped for that to happen.
“…Then, make sure to be careful. Demons target those with darkness in their hearts or those with many wounds. They provoke desires and dig into wounds to drive a person mad with pleasure.”
[Why are all the people around me such cases?]
I quietly clicked my tongue. Wounds, loneliness, desires, etc.
I felt a bit uneasy. I thought I might be partially included in that description. Especially regarding desire. I hope it doesn’t latch onto me, does it?
*
“…”
“Tae-jun seems to be head over heels for Lee Jin-ah, doesn’t he?”
“Did you see Kim Soo-han’s face? Totally terrifying.”
During break time, Kim Soo-jung’s friends gathered around her again. Naturally, they brought up Lee Jin-ah as the topic of conversation.
Kim Soo-jung couldn’t find the words to say. Throughout class, Lee Jin-ah had been frowning, and as soon as break started, she left the classroom with Park Tae-jun.
‘There’s definitely something she’s after. She’s doing it on purpose.’
She steeled herself. After school, she could talk one-on-one with Lee Jin-ah again.
Even when sleeping, they were together.
‘But what if that’s not the case?’
Her expression soon turned pale. The image of Lee Jin-ah, smiling with the bracelet given by Park Tae-jun, flashed in her mind.
“Ugh…”
Her heart ached. This feeling was far too familiar to her.
When her mother passed away, when she was abused by her father, during elementary school when she was bullied, and when she was abused by her runaway gang, etc.
The fear and horror of being alone. At that moment, something like black smoke that crawled toward her began to seep into her body.
Without anyone around her noticing.
“Soo-jung, are you alright…”
“Ahhh! Blood! It’s blood!”
“Hey, Kim Chan-sung!”
A friend, startled to see her pale face, asked about her just as the sound of a piercing scream echoed down the hall.
“What’s going on?”
“Let’s go check it out!”
“I-I’m scared…”
Opinions were divided among her friends. But Soo-jung shot up and, with a few other friends, rushed out into the hallway.
The hallway was already bustling with people.
“Shit… shit, that monster… how dare it…”
She took in the scene, seeing people scrambling.
A second-year male student lay collapsed, white school uniform splattered in blood.
The assailant was a third-year senior. With a face so red it looked like it could burst and veins popping out, he was trembling with a cutter knife in hand.
‘Senior. Kang Jin-soo.’
Kim Soo-jung squinted as she recognized the face of the fallen victim.
It was Kang Jin-soo, the senior from the same facility she had commuted with that morning.
She flinched when she first saw the horn sprouting from Kang Jin-soo’s forehead.
“Hey! Are you crazy?!”
Just then, someone forcefully pushed through the crowd, rushing in. It was Hong Soo-young, also from the same facility.
With gloved hands, her sharp nails protruded as she seized the assailant’s hand and slammed it to the ground.
“What is going on! How dare you in our sacred school…”
At that moment, the Student Council Head, jiggling his belly, strolled in calmly.
“Ahhh!”
“Ugh!”
But at that moment, Hong Soo-young’s body soared into the air, crashing through the window and landing in the classroom across the hall.
The assailant flung Hong Soo-young away with one hand, straightening up wildly.
From his mouth, something invisible to them spewed out black mist, and his eyes were bloodshot and rolled back.
“Kill… kill… kill. Kill. Kill…”
The way he frothingly grinded his teeth was reminiscent of watching a zombie from a horror film.
The Student Council Head abandoned ship, while the assembled students only then grasped the gravity of the situation and began to back away.
“What are you doing! Hurry up! Why is Jongsu-hyung acting like this all of a sudden…”
Among them were Park Tae-jun and Lee Jin-ah passing by that very spot.
Caught off guard, Park Tae-jun pulled Lee Jin-ah’s hand, but when he felt her resistance, he panicked and let go.
“…You spilled it all. We haven’t even had a bite yet.”
Lee Jin-ah frowned at the bread that had fallen on the floor.