51 – Growth (1)
“Why on earth is Haru coming here?!”
I quickly picked up my clothes, put them on, and pulled the sheet back to its original place.
Could it be that she caught me doing something in the car?
The sweat that trickled down while thinking such thoughts pierced me coldly.
If, by chance, she finds out what I think about Ilia in a day,
It was clear that it wouldn’t end with just getting angry.
“I’ve checked the device in my hand.
It seems to have tracked the location of the vehicle Taehyuk borrowed.”
“…Oh my. Did I reply saying I was busy?”
“Yes. That’s right.
It seems Taehyuk-nim is currently receiving ‘love.'”
“Not fun, huh?”
– Knock, knock, knock.
At the sound of glass being tapped again, I immediately pulled up my pants, zipped up, and hastily tucked the belt under my clothes.
I threw the unbuttoned jacket to the back seat, and after fixing the crumpled clothes bit by bit, I looked at Ilia.
“Are you all dressed?”
“Yes.”
“…It might be better to hide that necklace.
For now.”
Is it because I’m paying attention?
Or maybe the sparkling chrome heart suits her that much.
If Haru sees Ilia, immediately –
“What’s that thing?”
Necklace?
Just a simple colleague, you say. Did you lie to me just now?
Taehyuk, look over here. Did you lie…?!
Ah,
Even imagining it felt like my stomach was turning inside out.
During this time, which should be spent surely and pleasantly with Ilia,
Why on earth is someone barging in today of all days?
“Is no one here…?”
A slightly trembling voice.
As if having cried, the voice that exuded moisture was visibly strained.
“…What on earth have you been up to… Huk, Hweg…”
The sounds from outside, not just tapping on the door but now slumping down as if starting to cry.
Noisily sniffing, with his back against the door, Haru seemed to have completely sunken, quite unlike his usual self.
“Kkh, Kkuhuk, Ugh…”
The sound coming from the adjacent seat where he sat seemed somewhat rugged.
I thought he was just a rampaging fierce Chihuahua, but there’s this side to him too…
“Hey, Miss.”
A voice from someone else reached me as I was lost in thought.
The sound of scraping metal echoed through the floor.
“Why are you crying so mournfully? Did you get dumped by your boyfriend or something – “
“Get lost. f*ck.”
…Yeah. There was a reason I called her Chihuahua.
The small crying girl, wherever she went, could immediately be imagined baring her teeth and growling without even looking at her.
“Heh, look at this girl. Hey, you, blabbering about who I am – “
“Do you really know who I am, you bastard?”
The profanity, not heard for quite some time, still cut sharply through the air.
Being able to hold my ground at the Manticoare for a long time was partly due to my unique skills,
but I also had a stake in the dominance over filtering out and trampling down those rough mercenaries.
Starting from a rough mouth,
“You little brat acting tough just because I’m watching – do you get that?!”
…If I set my mind to it, I could easily break and beat up almost anything with a cruel intent.
Swiftly diving in using my small stature, throwing punches, and charging forward –
But a dog was a dog.
Especially of a very dirty breed.
“As if I’m not already losing it…
Do you find me amusing? Huh? Is it funny?
Yeah, I’m short. So what? What’s it to you!!!”
“Stop, stop!”
If that fist landed, the man who took it would undoubtedly not be in good shape.
In the end, pretending not to notice seemed to be the wiser choice.
“…Taehyuk, sir?”
“Ah, it’s a mess.”
The man, spewing vomit from his dying mouth, as if the ship hit him squarely, was lying on the floor.
Pushing the ground with his knees like a bug, he struggled against the pain, but his pathetic collapse was quite…
Haro, standing in front of that gruesome sight, no matter how tightly he clenched his fist, at least the output was quite high, as evidenced by the groaning sound.
If he hadn’t intervened, it might have ended up making a bloody mess, this.
“Taehyuk, sir?”
“Yeah, it’s been a while.
And, I remember telling you there’s no need to hit someone who can’t even get up -“
As soon as I got out of the car and closed the door, a little guy who was shorter than Dayeon and had run over slammed his head into my spine.
The dull sound against the steel –
“Cough?!”
It wasn’t much different from the man who had been hit in the stomach.
“I missed you so much, really, truly… No, really…”
“Oh, my… Is the stomach…”
“Is the stomach important? Without answering, avoiding me saying I thought I was hated, I…!”
As if complaining, the head wriggled once more, pressing harder on the stomach.
In the midst of the commotion, the fallen man subtly threatened that my future might become like his.
“One day, trembling, trembling…”
“I don’t want to. Don’t let go. If we part ways this time, you won’t contact me for a while, right?
I won’t look at you this time.”
I tried to hold the flowers with only one hand,
But my arm became heavy due to the Chihuahua trying to slip through my hand and a young flower bud.
I only wanted one thing. I remember not giving a chance to the others and the rest –
What on earth is this situation?
“Whether you look or not, you’re pressing on my stomach…!”
“Think of it as a punishment for leaving a pretty girl alone.”
Geez.
The girl must be Goya-yeon.
It’s funny how a Japanese woman who has eaten enough calls herself a girl –
“Hey, stop it, seriously, it doesn’t feel good inside!”
“I laughed just now. Inside my heart.”
No, why did the atmosphere suddenly improve.
What on earth makes her suddenly sharp and independent like her own personality?
“I didn’t – “
“It shows all over your face.”
Suddenly, with a chilling face and voice, I snapped back to reality.
Her prosthetic arm, embracing me along with my arm, suddenly made a sound and began to tighten.
“You thought I was being annoying, right? I know everything I’ve been avoiding.
I don’t particularly like how I am right now. Do you?”
“What is this about—”
“Look at this. Not even an apology for not contacting me all this time.
You already knew how I felt. Did you think we could just brush it off?
I’m not a fool.”
His eyes were dangerously sparkling.
His lips twisted unnaturally, creating something eerie, not laughter, not tears, not anger.
“During this time, how many messages did I send?
How many times did I ask about your well-being?
How many times did I express that I missed you?”
“Hey, one day, you—oops?!”
The strength as he pushed against the car with both arms was anything but ordinary.
Of course, it wouldn’t be normal; it wasn’t human hands.
Even if they resembled human hands—
Haru, who had taken care of all the mercenaries with these hands…
“You were in the car.
You heard me crying in the car, right?
I knocked, why didn’t you answer immediately? Huh?
From Noble mtl dot com
What were you doing in the car, exactly?”
Did you ignore me?
Or did something worth ignoring happen?”
As if trying to pierce me with those eyes, they raised their heel as if ready to step forward.
Naturally, pulling my head back created some distance –
“I told you to answer.”
Apply force immediately and those eyes met mine.
In front of me.
“…You crossed the line, Haru. This is about the Manticores – “
“Try it. I couldn’t care less.
What I’m pissed about right now is
why you’ve been reading my messages and ignoring them.”
I wasn’t in my right mind.
To the point that Haru looked more messed up than Godayeon and Illya,
something was seriously wrong with Haru.
So, not replying led to this?
Really?
“I told you, I was busy – ugh – “
“It seems a busy person is wandering around everywhere.
Why did you go to the hotel?”
Did they even check the car records?
Jegiral, I wasn’t the one driving this car…!
“Well, did you have a little rendezvous with someone else? Leave me out of it?”
“I don’t see any reason why I should tell you that. And, let go of me. Did you come here to threaten me after using the Manticores data without my permission?”
“Everyone does that kind of thing secretly, you know.”
“Just seeing it and coming here like this to threaten me is very different – cough -“
The pain from the guy’s hand gripping my injured wrist was beyond imagination.
I had to somehow separate myself from this guy who was relentlessly trying to break me again.
“Let go, Jegiral, let go…!”
“We’ve come this far, Taehyuk.
Seems like you got all excited after gaining popularity as a gunman.
Who made your reputation as a gunman?
No thanks, and you even sleep with some other woman?”
“Damn it, let go!”
I finally managed to push him back by lifting my foot.
Fortunately, the power of the prosthetic helped me to shake off that damn woman, but…
“Hah, you didn’t even let me know that you had surgery.”
“What, do I have to be your boyfriend or something?
Damn it, what the hell are you doing?”
“Answer me.
What year is it?
What, the service droid on the street?
Or Changnyeon?
I don’t think so.
You were with that woman.
With a woman named Iria.”
It was uncertain whether it would be helpful to prevent another crazy day.
I really hated those eyes that glared at me, twitching their fingers.
“There are people who complain about the Manticore.
You know what will happen.”
“I know. But what angers me more than being fired is Tae-hyuk’s reaction right now, you know?
I guess I thought I was just a woman who could be used and discarded as I pleased.”
“You and I are business partners,
We’re not in that kind of relationship.
And my body is mine.
Do you think you owe me something?”
“You’ve given me several cocktails so far, so why are you saying that kind of thing?
You’ve made my tongue happy, made money easy for me, taken care of everything from mileage benefits to various things.
How can you say that?”
“Did I give away that I like you? I should’ve been more discreet, damn it. What is this all about?”
I didn’t expect the aftermath of not receiving a text to come like this.
My throbbing wrist felt swollen again.
Did the broken part break again?
“There’s a limit to pretending and enduring.
I’ve been giving in little by little, but you keep taking more away,
and now you’re blatantly ignoring me,
I really can’t stand it.”
“You were the one who threatened first while talking about work,
let’s make that clear.
When I said I wasn’t interested, you threatened to give me disadvantages.”
“…Ha, so that’s it.
You’re openly talking about how you used me, what is it?
Are you telling me to just leave because I’ve been enjoying myself so far?
Are you telling me to watch as that damn robot takes everything away from me?
I can’t tolerate that.”
Instead of the sound of cracking bones, my fingers twitched,
I tried to bring my hand to my waist, clutching my fist.
But, is my swollen wrist deliberate?
“If you simply follow, I won’t hurt you.
So, -“
Contemplating whether to kick the slowly approaching figure seriously,
he subtly strengthened his legs.
At that moment, eyeing the damn Chihuahua that began to lower its stance,
as if aware of it.
“I won’t tolerate it either, Tanaka Haru.”
– Click.
The chamber of the revolver smoothly rotated,
and the beautiful sound of bullets in the chamber resonated in the dim room.
“So, you’re that robot chick?”
“If you cause any harm beyond this point, I’ll shoot without mercy.”
Companion Edition, Ilia with a black revolver.