Chapter 67

Step by step, I approach Eve.

And step by step, Eve retreats from me.

“That’s right, you were watching me, weren’t you?”

At my calm voice, Eve shakes her head vigorously.

“No, no… It was all for you…!”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

I thought something was off.

Keru returned today during the day, and only Dusik, Sohee, Kabe, and the minions knew about it. How did Eve know?

When I told Aquamarine that I already knew her weakness, only Aquamarine and I were there. Did Aquamarine tell Eve? No way.

And about having a boyfriend? Yeah, now I get why she brought that up. She must have been talking about Chilho. Given the circumstances, that makes sense.

Then that day, when I went to buy chicken, she must have been watching me then too.

“Tell me the truth.”

With a menacing aura, I take a step forward, and Eve hesitantly takes a step back.

Eve’s face is already pale with fear.

“You weren’t just watching me, were you? That’s right, isn’t it?”

“Well, well…”

“You planted your subordinate right next to me, didn’t you? Right?”

“Yoon-Woo, let me explain…”

Even though I’ve already figured it out, Eve still tries to make excuses.

I glare at her.

Eve avoids my gaze and trembles.

Black anger surges within me.

I trusted you.

What happened to you in the past 10 years?

What did you go through, what did you endure, to become someone who could do something like this without hesitation?

Who made you like this?

Or were you always like this?

I remember you as a good friend, not perfect, but someone who wouldn’t do bad things.

What happened in the past 10 years?

“Tell me the truth!”

“Don’t yell at me!”

Eve’s hand grips a spear.

The Fanatic Spear, was it?

A golden aura emanates from the spear, pointing at me.

“I did it for you! If you don’t do things right, disaster will strike the world! I had to make sure you were doing things right, that you weren’t making any mistakes!”

“For me?”

For me.

I take a big step forward.

Eve, blocked by the wall, can’t retreat any further. The Fanatic Spear in her hand is now close enough to touch me.

“How is that for me? How is that for my sake? Isn’t it all for your own satisfaction?! If you really cared, you could have just come to see me every day and stayed by my side!”

“I couldn’t do that!”

“Shut up! What did you do right?!”

I take another step forward. The Fanatic Spear now touches my chest, sending a sharp pain through me.

The holy aura from the spear touches my skin, emitting a burning smell.

“Sorry, sorry, Yoon-Woo. I lost my mind for a moment.”

Perhaps realizing what she’s done, Eve quickly pulls the spear back.

But the burn mark on my chest remains.

Even my trust in you has left a mark.

A burn mark that will never fade, making it impossible to return to how we were before.

“Whoever you are, come out. You’re still around me, right? Come out now.”

As soon as I finish speaking, a girl in a ninja outfit appears like a shadow.

“Baekhwa, at your service.”

I stare down at the girl bowing before me.

Surprisingly, no thoughts come to mind.

Is this girl at fault? Probably not. Just by her outfit, I can tell what her specialty is, and she must have been following Eve’s orders.

So there’s no need to blame her.

“Baekhwa, I’m not your superior, but I have some questions.”

Baekhwa glances at Eve, who is drenched in cold sweat, and then nods slightly.

“Ask away.”

“First, how long have you been following me? Second, how far have you followed me? Third, what made you think I had a boyfriend or not? Tell me.”

“Yoon-Woo, it’s a misunderstanding—”

The anger that had subsided slightly rises again.

“I’m not asking you!”

Tsk.

A sudden thirst.

“Dusik, bring me some water. A lot.”

After gulping down a full beer glass of cold water, my mind finally clears.

“Eve.”

“Yes, Yoon-Woo. It’s really all a misunderstanding. I can explain—”

“Stop babbling and sit down.”

My head hurts.

A sharp headache feels like it’s tearing through my mind.

The black anger that had been burning is now cooling, leaving only ashes scattered in its wake.

Only the sharp pain in my chest continues to torment me.

Eve and Baekhwa cautiously sit across from me.

“I can’t forgive you easily. This isn’t something that can just be overlooked. Eve.”

“Uh, uh…”

“I’ll get straight to the point.”

“What…?”

“Are all magical girls like you just crazy from the start? Is being crazy a requirement to become a magical girl? Or do you just go crazy after becoming one?”

No answer comes.

Eve just lowers her gaze and listens to my scolding.

“After I became the Mother-Body, the first magical girl I met was Priqu, then Prabel, then Prilly, and even Aquamarine—none of them had a sane bone in their bodies. I thought you, being the head of the association, might be sane, but now I see you’re a stalker. And what are you planning to do by stalking another woman?”

Sigh.

Really, my mind is a mess, and my words are all over the place. I even feel pathetic as I speak.

“And, a boyfriend? A boyfriiiend? Yeah, right. What does it matter to you if I date a man or not?!”

“But you don’t have much experience dating! If you meet some weirdo and get hurt, it’ll be a big problem…!”

“That’s ridiculous!”

I don’t have much experience dating?

Huh. That’s really absurd. I’ve been in sales for years; I’ve met more people than you, Eve.

“I’ve met more people than you, Eve!”

“Fine, maybe you have! But the people around you, none of them were normal! They all tormented you, played with you, didn’t they?”

That’s true.

Suddenly being hit with the truth leaves me speechless.

I’ve dealt with a lot of crazy people in sales, some who called me out in the early hours to make me pay for drinks, some who made me drive them around.

There were even those who toyed with me about placing orders.

“And look at this! How can you say you don’t have a boyfriend when you’re clearly kissing someone here?!”

Eve pulls out a photo from thin air and shows it to me.

“This… Chilho’s place.”

It looks like when I brought chicken home and called Chilho.

The photo, taken from behind, does look like Chilho and I are kissing.

“We weren’t kissing.”

“Anyone who sees this would think it’s a kiss… …right?”

“No. I was just wiping something off his face.”

“Really?”

Eve’s face brightens instantly.

We’re not done talking yet; it’s not time to relax.

“That aside. Eve, don’t smile. I haven’t forgiven you yet.”

“…”

“And who I date is none of your business. It has nothing to do with you. Stop meddling. Whether I kiss someone or bump lips or whatever.”

Eve’s bright face quickly darkens as she sits back on the sofa.

Do I look like I’m about to say something nice?

“Show me the rest of the photos.”

As Eve nervously hands over the photos, I can’t help but feel exasperated.

“Baekhwa, you were practically living in my house, weren’t you?”

“I’m ashamed.”

But I don’t blame Baekhwa. She was just following orders.

I briefly thought that if she knew the orders were wrong, she should have resisted, but I let it go.

I’ve worked in a company too; you just do as you’re told.

Even so, the photos Eve took are something else.

“Throw all these away. And what’s this? Why did you take a picture of me crying at the chicken shop?”

“Well, that’s…”

It was when I was holding the chicken shop owner’s baby and reminiscing about my time at the orphanage, and I started crying without realizing it.

Why would you take such an embarrassing photo?

“Do you have bad memories about babies…?”

Eve asks, watching my reaction.

It’s because of my childhood memories, but I don’t need to go into detail about that.

“Don’t pry into that.”

“Sorry.”

Ignoring Eve, who looks like she’s feeling guilty, I gather all the photos Eve handed over and tear them to shreds.

I tear them into tiny pieces so they can’t be restored.

Honestly, as I go through them one by one, my anger subsides quite a bit.

Seeing Eve fidgeting in front of me, it seems like she’s reflecting, and I start to think she might not do it again…

But I can’t let it end like this.

I’m the victim here, and Eve is the perpetrator. It’s only natural that Eve is squirming in front of me.

“Destroy all the data about me. Write a pledge to ensure this doesn’t happen again. And by now, you must have written a report about me, right? Did you write one?”

“A report…?”

Eve looks at me with a puzzled expression.

Did I say something strange?

“Yeah. If you’ve been observing me this much, it’s only natural to keep records, right? Did you just take photos and that’s it?”

Eve stares at me blankly.

“A report? What are you…”

“If you didn’t write one, forget it. You don’t even have the basics of observation down. Baekhwa, don’t do this kind of thing again. You were just following orders, but still. Eve, don’t ever do this again. Got it?”

“Got it… I’m sorry. Really sorry. I won’t do it again.”

“Good. Don’t.”

Getting angry is important, but knowing when to stop and when to let go is just as important.

At least, that’s what my experience tells me. So, where should I stop being angry?

Now is the time.

Cut it off here, instill a sense of debt in Eve, and then take a step back to get what I want.

Honestly, I’m still very disappointed in Eve, and part of me wants to flip everything over, shout that I don’t need her help, and tell her never to come back.

But no.

I just have to endure.

If I endure, everything will be fine.

Then my children can continue to live in this good environment.

Besides, if I lose my temper and cut ties with Eve, my kids will have to run around looking for a new house in the middle of winter.

That can’t happen.

“Alright then. Write the pledge and send it to me by email. Got it?”

Eve nods silently, then disappears with Baekhwa.

Come to think of it, Baekhwa’s specialty is investigating people… I should have asked her who the gallery owner is.

Maybe I could get some royalties…

I’ll make sure to ask next time I see her.

---