Transformation or Death

Get On Board (2)

“Wh-what?! A motel?! Are you crazy? We’re not kids anymore, we’re grown adults, so what the hell kind of funny business are you trying to pull, just the two of us….”

“Funny business?”

Ha, exhaling a small sigh, Han Jae-jung sneered.

“We’re not even close enough for funny business… More importantly, what could a sick girl and a sick guy do together? Don’t think weird things.”

“Then why did you bring me to a motel….”

Joo Ah-yoon stopped mid-sentence and held her head. There were still traces of fever lingering in her body. Loud noises led to headaches.

“Ugh….”

“See? That’s what happens when you start yelling first thing in the morning.”

As she rubbed her head, Joo Ah-yoon soon realized that not only her head hurt, but her throat as well. On top of that, her legs and arms were sore from muscle pain. She was then able to examine her own

body.

Her clothes were greatly disheveled. Moreover, the hoodie she had worn yesterday was completely removed, leaving her upper body in just underwear.

“Y-you bastard!”

Joo Ah-yoon pulled the blanket up to the edge of her shoulders and shouted.

“So much for not doing any funny business… Y-you pervert! You scoundrel!”

“This is really driving me crazy….”

Han Jae-jung also held his head.

“Don’t shout… You’re not the only one who’s hurting….”

“…?! Y-you were hurting? What did I do… W-was I that violent…?”

“You really don’t remember anything. How sick were you?”

Muttering in a weak voice, Han Jae-jung tossed his phone.

A video was playing on the screen.

-Joo Ah-yoon…? Oh wait, where are you going. Oh, oh, what’s wrong with her.

Han Jae-jung, who was operating the camera, looked somewhere and ran out urgently. Soon, Joo Ah-yoon was in the camera frame, in the shower. Thankfully, she was wearing clothes. And this was the problem.

Shaaaaa.

In the video, Joo Ah-yoon was showering with her clothes on.

-Uuuugh….

-Ah shit, really… Hey! Hey! What are you doing, you idiot!

After roughly placing the phone on a shelf, Han Jae-jung hurriedly approached Joo Ah-yoon. By now the screen had turned black, and only sounds could be heard.

The sound of rushing water could still be heard, along with Han Jae-jung’s screaming in disgust.

-Need to shower… Sweat….

-What nonsense, really…!

-Brother, I need the bathroom….

-Oh my god, shit, hey, at least take off your pants. Hey!

Joo Ah-yoon, who had gradually caught on to the whole story, held her head for a different reason than before.

“…You understand?”

Whew, Han Jae-jung exhaled deeply and stopped the video.

“I wanted to leave a video in case you misunderstood, and thank goodness I did.”

While feeling a throbbing headache, she tried her best to think about what she had done last night. But she couldn’t recall anything at all.

“Ah… I was like that…? That’s a lie….”

“How foolish to deny what you’ve seen with your own eyes and heard with your own ears.”

Han Jae-jung clicked his tongue. Joo Ah-yoon had nothing to say. She pulled the blanket up to the top of her head. Before being covered by the blanket, her face was red.

“Th-then! Why did you bring me to a motel?”

“By the time I could properly get up, it was already evening, you know? All the hospitals were closed, and even if we went, we’d only get a few pills from the pharmacy… And going to the emergency room, it would have already been packed with people today.”

Lightning, downpour, not many people would have been safe moving through that. Even though the attack happened on the outskirts of the city, there were still quite a few victims.

The emergency room would be full by now. It was obvious that a fever wouldn’t be considered an emergency.

“Going to your house from there was too far, and I didn’t know your door passcode, and my place has really bad security and hygiene. It was also much farther away. So… I brought you to a nearby motel so you could at least get a good sleep….”

Han Jae-jung recounted how they ended up at the motel, smacking his lips as if embarrassed.

“And this is how it turned out. Are you feeling better now?”

“I still hurt.”

“You’ll probably hurt a lot until today. I do too.”

Joo Ah-yoon slightly lifted the blanket, peeking out just her eyes. His clothes were dirty, and there were traces of fatigue all around his eyes.

“…I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? Being sick is hard enough, you don’t need to be sorry on top of that.”

Ah, letting out a small exclamation, Han Jae-jung grinned mischievously.

“Come to think of it, now we’ve seen each other naked.”

“Aaaack! This is so embarrassing, dammit!!!!”

“Hahaha! We’ve truly become like family now.”

“Don’t put spaces between those words, you jerk!”

Joo Ah-yoon pulled the blanket over her head again. Han Jae-jung’s laughter drowned out the chirping of morning birds and spread widely. His smile lasted as long as Joo Ah-yoon’s blush.

When Han Jae-jung’s laughter stopped, Joo Ah-yoon asked in a whining voice from under the blanket

“I want to get dressed.”

“Okay.”

“Bring me my hoodie.”

“Got it.”

He brought the clothes as requested. Suddenly, rustling sounds could be heard from her as she snatched the clothes from inside the blanket.

“Phew.”

Having finished dressing, Joo Ah-yoon finally emerged from under the blanket. Whether it was from being under the blanket or not having completely shaken off her embarrassment, her face was still as red as a flamingo. Unable to look Han Jae-jung in the eye, she turned her head away and murmured desolately.

“…Sorry.”

Han Jae-jung chuckled.

“I told you, you don’t need to say that. It’s not your fault for being sick….”

“It could be my fault. I chose it myself….”

Joo Ah-yoon stopped mid-sentence and closed her mouth. Then she looked at the steel ball. The cold, inanimate object that had become almost like her mascot.

[What are you looking at?]

“Heh, right.”

Despite its cold appearance, it had such a fiery personality.

“Brother.”

“What?”

“Aren’t you mad at me?”

Han Jae-jung was not unaware of the compressed meaning behind those words. Joo Ah-yoon had regained the power of the star. And not in the form of a magical girl, but in the form of a villain.

For Han Jae-jung, who had avoided her fighting, it was not a welcome development.

Han Jae-jung raised his hand towards Joo Ah-yoon, who was looking at him anxiously. Thinking he might flick her forehead, Joo Ah-yoon tensed and tightly closed her eyes. But making such tension seem pointless, a gentle touch landed on her head.

“Why would I be mad?”

Han Jae-jung gently stroked her head as if soothing a child.

Head patting had a bad reputation as an action women dislike, but Joo Ah-yoon accepted the touch with unusual docility. Like a purring cat showing a bit of affection, she closed her eyes and gently pressed her lips together.

“I told you, didn’t I? That if this was your choice, I would respect it. If my Joo Ah-yoon, whom I like, wants to do this, why would I stop her?”

‘My Joo Ah-yoon, whom I like’ was a wordplay Han Jae-jung often enjoyed. It was a phrase he had devised to approach Joo Ah-yoon, who often tensed up whenever they met, in a friendly way. It had eventually stuck to his tongue, and he continued using it even now that she had become an adult.

Joo Ah-yoon didn’t dislike those words. If someone had used her name to tease her, her reaction would have been different. But in Han Jae-jung’s words, what mattered more than the play on her name was the ‘whom I like’ part.

It had always been like that. He always called her name with affection. From when she was a little kid being bullied to now when she had become a proper adult.

And as always, Joo Ah-yoon was happy to hear it.

It was the same now.

She even nuzzled and clung to Han Jae-jung’s hand that was patting her head.

“Hm? What’s up with you?”

“If you’re not mad, then praise me.”

If not a scolding, then a reward. It was a simple proposal.

“Ha… I don’t think you’re in a position to call me shameless either.”

Han Jae-jung laughed softly and ruffled Joo Ah-yoon’s hair more roughly.

“Alright, thank you. For saving me. For looking out for me. If it weren’t for you, I really would have died. When did our little Ah-yoon, who used to cry all the time, grow up to be so mature?”

His touch had become rougher, almost to the point of grabbing and shaking.

“Now you’re the one leading me, it’s cool. You’ve really grown up well.”

“Aaagh, stop it!”

“Well, you asked for it.”

“G-gently! You know what I mean, right?”

“I like it rough.”

“Oh my god. Ow, it really hurts. Hey, hey!”

“Hey?”

“Brother, be more gentle!”

“That’s right.”

After an exchange of rough touches and warm curses, Han Jae-jung took his hand off her head. Joo Ah-yoon straightened out her tousled hair.

“Ugh…”

“It was messy to begin with.”

Han Jae-jung retorted glibly, avoiding Joo Ah-yoon’s sharp glare. But soon enough, he met her eyes again.

“…What?”

Joo Ah-yoon frowned and asked why he was staring so intently all of a sudden.

“No, I was just… Wondering if this is really the Joo Ah-yoon I knew?”

“Are you picking a fight?”

“That’s not what I mean. Like I said earlier, I’m just so proud of you.”

Tsk, Han Jae-jung clicked his tongue and repeated his words.

“I’m just so proud…”

Han Jae-jung soon rubbed his face with his hands a couple of times. It was a dry face wash mixed with irritation and discontent.

“Ah-yoon.”

He opened his lips in a serious tone.

“From now on, you won’t be welcomed by people anymore. We, who are neither human nor magical girl nor villain, will be doubted and threatened by all these beings. So…”

Pfft, Joo Ah-yoon laughed.

“Don’t get hurt? I know. Brother, I’ve been insulted a lot.”

“No, let’s not hurt each other.”

Han Jae-jung intertwined his right and left index fingers to form a ring-like shape.

“Let’s unite as much as possible among us who know each other’s identities and pasts. Let’s cherish each other. Let’s not doubt, not threaten, and always be on the same side. That’s what I wanted to say.”

“…”

“We’re basically in the same boat now, one we can’t get off of.”

A community of fate. That would be the right way to put it.

Two people who have belts that can transform them into villains.

Two people who can belong to both human society and villain society, while also being excluded from both.

Water already spilled cannot be returned. Even more so if the owner of the cup spilled it themselves.

Joo Ah-yoon’s transformation was her own decision.

She wanted to gain power, and so she did.

That’s why Han Jae-jung didn’t reproach her, but expressed his intention to unite.

Beyond simple senior-junior or sibling relationship, it was the moment their true bond was being formed.

Han Jae-jung placed his hand over Joo Ah-yoon’s.

“Ah-yoon. Where do you think we should open our cafe?”

He had clearly been indifferent about opening a cafe until yesterday, but now he approached the topic with an active attitude.

“I have a few candidates… Want to go check them out right after we’re discharged?”

“Get better first, then we’ll talk.”

“Why~ I’m totally fine now. Oh, but let’s exclude that place from yesterday as a candidate.”

“That’s a good idea. If we hear bird chirps or thunder there, we might get traumatized.”

“Right?”

Until right before leaving the room, the two of them chatted away on the bed for a long time.

***

Ippotranslation 

***

“Fuck… fuck….”

In a shabby village of run-down houses, someone was running urgently down the street from early morning. His breathing and gait seemed extremely hurried.

“H-help! Please save me!”

He called out for someone to help him, but no one came forward. Only the heartless sounds of window curtains closing and doors being locked echoed through the air.

“You fucking… Are you even human?! Why isn’t anyone helping?! We’re all people! As fellow humans…!”

“Ho ho, what a thing to say.”

As he ran out of breath and his pace gradually slowed, three figures walked leisurely behind him.

They had human forms, but their heads were not human. They had an eerie appearance, as if heads

had been taken from some statue and placed atop their necks.

“It’s because they’re human that they don’t help. Who would step into a situation where they might die? The world is so dangerous these days. Help the wrong person and you might end up dead yourself.”

The one in the center stretched.

“Whew, I can’t get used to this time difference. Why is it morning already?”

“Elder brother, what can we do?”

“What do you mean, what can we do.”

He sneered lightly and then approached the running man. The man pulled out a piece of metal from inside his clothes. A shape any modern person would recognize, a gun.

“D-don’t come closer! Stay away!”

“Oh my, mister. What are you doing? How do you expect to kill a villain with that thing?”

“I said don’t come closer!!!”

Bang-!

A merciless gunshot rang out, and a person fell.

It wasn’t the one who was shot.

The man holding the gun lay sprawled on the roadside with his head burst open, while the statue-headed man casually brushed off the blood on his shirt and got up.

“Ugh, filthy. Let’s go, boys.”

“Yes, brother.”

“Understood, brother.”

And they continued on their way.

They were the three villains, Stern, Sail, and Carina.

“We need to find our youngest.”

Villains walking over corpses.   

It was such an everyday scene in the slums that no one questioned or objected to it.

T/N: Hi @everyone, sorry to say this but this novel will be dropped due to lack of support, It has been through a lot of mess wherein the subscription platform refunded the supporters their funds and closed the support page and that is why the Illustration page is no longer working. Basically that means there is literally a big loss of funds for this novel and I can not carry on like this as the cost for this novel is too much. Some chapters are still left but that will end in time. Just to note, I am not dropping this novel voluntarily as I prefer completing a translation, but this situation has forced my hands, anyways have a day.

https://ko-fi.com/ippostranslations