While Nameless (4)
Compared to the sickly Yoon Seol-hwa, Han Jae-jung was a man with a healthy physique.
He rarely even caught colds. When Yoon Seol-hwa collapsed, saying he needed to carry and move her, he never skipped a day of bodyweight exercises, resulting in excellent strength and stamina. Perhaps thanks to that, his muscles are well-defined throughout his body, making him look remarkably healthy even on the outside.
Joo Ah-yoon was more confident in Han Jae-jung’s body than he himself was. One decisive moment that ended her bullying was when he physically taught a lesson to the group that had been tormenting her.
Before awakening as a magical girl, when running away from villains, Han Jae-jung would carry Joo Ah-yoon and run. His speed was comparable to that of a track athlete.
“What do you mean by that…?”
Terminal illness for such a Han Jae-jung? It’s hard to even imagine.
“Brother…?”
Joo Ah-yoon asked back with a trembling voice.
“Ahem, hem!”“Terminal illness…? That’s the first time I’m hearing about this….”
The Archer awkwardly cleared his throat repeatedly, and Jason also looked bewildered.
“I didn’t know you hadn’t told them yet….”
Despite trying to use Han Jae-jung’s terminal illness as leverage for blackmail, the Archer calmly spoke lies.
“Ah, I’m out of here! Let’s go, comrade!”
“Ah, no, wait, I want an explanation too… Uwaaak!”
Like when they arrived, the Archer grabbed Jason’s neck and shot a line to the building, escaping the scene. Joo Ah-yoon didn’t even glance at them, continuing to stare only at Han Jae-jung.
“Answer me, I said?!”
Finally unable to hold back, Joo Ah-yoon shouted. An echo rang through the quiet night. Her characteristic high-pitched voice seemed to pierce Han Jae-jung’s ears.
“…Ah-yoon.”
If he could, Han Jae-jung would have liked to flee with those villain groups. But morally, he couldn’t do that.
‘Why did that bastard suddenly spill everything…!’
He had made up his mind from the beginning. Although the order was slightly wrong, the result hadn’t changed.
“No, that… Ah. Y-yeah. Those bastards were all lying, right? Right? Hm?”
“Ah-yoon.”
“It’s a lie. Right? It’s just lies to confuse us… Right, isn’t it? Isn’t it…!”
“Ah-yoon.”
He firmly cut off Joo Ah-yoon’s words as she began to rationalize in confusion.
A moment of silence. Han Jae-jung released his transformation. Accordingly, Joo Ah-yoon also released her transformation.
“I’m sorry.”
The first thing he said was an apology. The sentiment of apology conveyed to her only prompted more confusion.
“What do you mean you’re sorry?”
Joo Ah-yoon approached him and grabbed his collar.
“Why are you saying such things!”
“Ah-yoon.”
“When you say that, it sounds real….”
The words the villain had spat out earlier seemed to be true. Joo Ah-yoon tried to deny it.
“Yes, it’s true.”
However, Han Jae-jung cut it off coldly and decisively.
“My lifespan is shorter than others.”
Joo Ah-yoon swallowed her breath. Her hand gripping Han Jae-jung’s collar tightened.
“As you probably know, the exact effects of starlight on humans haven’t been properly researched yet. It brings benefits but also harm. But we don’t know exactly to what extent. Starlight is too precious a resource, and with limited people who can handle it, experiments are difficult.”
Only magical girls and villains can use starlight. Magical girls wouldn’t naturally tolerate unethical acts that would follow experiments. The only ways humans can research starlight are by capturing weak villains or harvesting starlight dispersed in the air from battle effects.
villain experiments are inconvenient in many ways as human weapons don’t work on villains, and the amount of starlight dispersed in the air is too minimal.
Of course, there’s also the method of observing those addicted to stardust drugs, but it’s not recommended. This drug is such a high-end item that most users are either all social elites or people with connections to villains.
It’s difficult to mess with them and come out unscathed.
Stardust drug users, commonly known as ‘Light Seekers,’ are more rumored about than actually arrested.
Therefore, progress in starlight research has been slow. Especially regarding its effects on the human body, questions only continue to grow.
“And in the case of magical girls, since they use starlight purified as magical power… The path to resolving this question seems even further away. What happens when humans are exposed to strong starlight for a long period?”
Han Jae-jung smiled bitterly. The answer was proven through this body.
“It’s natural that great power comes with great cost. The need for purification as magical power… Means it was too dangerous to use without purification.”
“….”
“Ah-yoon.”
This side effect cannot be discovered by modern medicine, and can’t even be guessed at the time of death.
“My life won’t be long. I might die tomorrow, or maybe I’ll easily make it through this year. But I’ll never grow old. My life will experience decay before aging.”
Han Jae-jung spoke calmly.
“…Why?”
Joo Ah-yoon asked back. She couldn’t understand. It was too shocking to accept in an instant.
The first thing in Joo Ah-yoon’s hands was a bird. Then it was a butterfly, and now what she was holding was either a mayfly or a moth.
“Why… Why….”
Sweat on her hands made the collar she was holding slip. She dropped her arms down as if letting go.
What filled her head were questions, and simultaneously pain. Asking why wouldn’t change anything. The result was already determined, and that was the pain.
From the start, she couldn’t even answer what she was curious about herself.
If she was curious about why this happened, that made sense, and if she was asking why he hadn’t said anything despite this happening, that also made sense.
It was also a question to herself. About why she hadn’t realized this when she had been the closest to him all this time.
Above all, why did it have to be him? It was also a fatalistic and fundamental question.
It was highly ambiguous. Even the speaker herself couldn’t properly determine its meaning.
“…I’m sorry.”
No answer came. Only empty apologies were repeated.
Han Jae-jung’s lips closed after saying sorry, and again a suffocating silence spread. Joo Ah-yoon felt discomfort in breathing. It took a long time from inhaling to exhaling. Her entire body was stiff, making even movement difficult.
Her lips were dry, and conversely, cold sweat ran down her hands and back. An unpleasant dampness wrapped her entire body. It felt like her whole body was sinking into a swamp.
[Guar, Guardian. Ask something. There are things to do. Fi, first we need to understand the situation….]
“Parrot.”
Joo Ah-yoon barely opened her lips. When she called her mascot, it closed it’s mouth and flew over to become her transformation tool.
“…It’s, it’s late at night….”
As if entranced, she brought it close to her waist, and from the buckle, metal wires spread out to wrap around her waist and fix it firmly.
Her emotions were elevated, and her body was also agitated following her emotions. All sorts of negative emotions seemed to flow through her blood vessels.
Joo Ah-yoon absolutely didn’t have the confidence to continue the conversation. She was afraid to ask, and even more afraid to hear the answers. It seemed she wouldn’t be able to react properly to anything she heard, and more than that, she was scared of criticizing Han Jae-jung.
Blaming the victim should be avoided. The person having the hardest time here would be him, not herself.
Rather than adding another wound to him, it’s better for her to endure one wound herself.
Actually, it’s not even endurance. It’s escape. She’s running away because she can’t handle it.
“Let’s talk tomorrow.”
Tomorrow, huh. Would such a thing even come for him? Erasing such anxiety from her head, Joo Ah-yoon flew her butterfly.
Han Jae-jung usually keeps his promises. He would probably keep a promise to meet tomorrow. His life wouldn’t end today.
The promise containing anxiety paradoxically brought her reassurance.
‘I’m really selfish until the end. Crazy bitch. Who’s having the hardest time here…!’
Even while ruminating on self-hatred, Joo Ah-yoon left. She didn’t hear the answer to the promise.
Han Jae-jung watched the place where she had left. His lips moved several times but finally closed. There was no point in speaking when it wouldn’t reach her anyway.
[Are you okay, Guardian?]
“I’m fine. Ah-yoon is the problem.”
[It’s funny hearing someone with a terminal illness say they’re fine.]
“This bastard keeps talking back…?”
Tsk, Han Jae-jung lightly punched the belt.
[That aside, are you okay?]
“I just said I’m fine.”
[That’s not what I mean.]
The night air was chilly, making him sniffle. The thin sleepwear was all he had on. Goosebumps gradually started rising on his skin beyond the thin fabric. He hadn’t prepared for going out. In a way, it was a natural result.
She used to be so afraid of going home alone at night. He smiled lonely while looking at the sky where she had disappeared.
On the other hand, he thought it was fortunate that she had learned to take time to control her emotions. If it had been in the past, she would have surely confronted him right away.
It was such a mature response that he almost regretted being prepared for his stomach to be pierced by a villain’s punch. He felt oddly proud of her growth.
[What about the villains behind you? Are you going to repel them?]
No sooner had the belt finished speaking than the wind blew. I’ll catch a cold at this rate. Han Jae-jung grumbled as he turned around.
“Shoot more quietly. The wind is blowing.”
“What can I do if my arrows are too fierce. Splitting the air is just my normal attack.”
At the end of the wind was an arrow, and at the end of the arrow, just like before, shadows were bound. When moonlight illuminated the shadows, a familiar, rust-red colored villain appeared from within.
“Hadn’t you gone back?”
“I was watching from afar.”
“…You’re alone?”
Han Jae-jung looked around him. Jason, who had become close to him for unknown reasons, was gone now though he had been there before.
“He kept chattering noisily. So I left him behind for a while. What, got a problem with that, shit?”
[Are you going to repel them? I think it would be fine.]
“No.”
It was an answer to both the belt and the Archer simultaneously.
‘There’s only the belt’s suggestion, but no quest for repelling appeared….’
It means they won’t harm civilians and magical girls for now. Sometimes useful information comes from what villains like that say.
There was no rush, and Han Jae-jung thought about listening to his story.
“So why are you so interested? Didn’t I answer everything earlier?”
“Yeah, you definitely said it. That finding a purpose requires appropriate clues….”
Click, the archer pointed at him with his finger.
“That’s why I came back.”
“…Me?”
“Yeah, you bastard. Since fighting with you, these concerns started. In other words, my purpose is closely related to you.”
“Surprisingly, you know how to think?”
“What did you say, you bastard?”
Han Jae-jung was amazed.
“…There’s a saying.”
The Archer grabbed an arrow and broke it.
“Breaking one arrow is easy, but….”
Then he grabbed a bundle.
“When many are bundled together, it’s not an easy task.”
The bundle of arrows broke simply like breaking reeds.
“See? Sometimes there’s a need to unite.”
“Seems like it broke pretty easily though.”
“It was harder than one.”
“That’s true.”
Isn’t it educationally correct? Han Jae-jung agreed.
“I can’t fucking speak indirectly. So I’ll propose directly.”
“Okay.”
“Help us find our purpose.”
“…Hmm.”
“In return, we’ll think of ways to extend your lifespan. You get villain collaborators. Think how useful that would be. Isn’t that right, shit?”
Han Jae-jung thought for a moment and then nodded.
“Alright.”
“…?! What, easier than expected….”
“But. There’s a condition.”
He had thought about many things. Ways to make his life longer. If impossible, ways to pave the road for magical girls to be active until his death.
“Don’t attack civilians and magical girls.”
“Hmm? Then what about you.”
“I don’t care about myself.”
The former might not be possible, but the latter is feasible. Just eliminate the villains that would be troublesome for magical girls to deal with beforehand.
They say good insecticide doesn’t just kill visible insects, but uses infected insects as carriers to eliminate all insects in the nest.
Han Jae-jung planned to use the one before him in that way.
To finish what needs to be done before dying.
“I’ll win anyway.”
Han Jae-jung smiled arrogantly.
“Is this bastard obsessed with the concept… Did your transformation personality rub off on you?”
“Is there any concept in stating facts?”
“Ha shit…. Fine then!”
The Archer proudly beat his chest.
“Welcome to our Hell Comrades!”
“Why is the name like that. And I’m not joining anyway.”
“Why the fuck are you also complaining about the name?”
“Would we be comrades? Why would I accept someone who tried to kill me as a comrade?”
“Then what about magical girls….”
“Forget it, we’re nothing to each other. Just collaborating.”
“Hey shit, you know what you’re saying is really weird, right?”
“A little bit.”
The Archer bowed his head slightly in thought, then beat his chest again.
“Welcome to our Hell Nameless Comrade!”
“You know what you’re saying is contradictory, right?”
They decided to make this collaboration their first step.
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