Chapter 67

We decided to avoid prying into each other’s identities. After all, everyone has at least one secret. If you’re really curious, I told them to clean up the situation first and ask later. It was to prevent another mess from happening. I was already on the verge of losing my mind, so adding more chaos here was out of the question.

“This dead yokai… It seems this yokai lent its power nearby, allowing parasitic yokai to transform their shells. Just by looking at the corpse, it’s clear this is a Great Yokai, and among them, it seems to be a top-tier individual…”

Maehwa examined the yokai’s corpse while speaking. It seemed she could gauge its level just by looking at the body.

“Wow, it was a bit strong! But it was so bloated with fat that it couldn’t move properly! If it had been faster, I might have lost!”

Balloon Gum chuckled as she spoke. Maehwa made a subtle expression while looking at her.

“Senior, that kid is scary…”

The Cat-eared Woman also seemed frightened by Balloon Gum. Only Jujijoa stood calmly. It was just a guess, but she seemed to know something about Balloon Gum’s identity.

‘She muttered something about being an experiment earlier.’

As mentioned before, we promised not to pry into each other’s identities, so even if I was curious, I decided to hold back. I could calm my mind and ask later when we got home.

“Anyway, I’ll handle this corpse and the one in the living room, so you guys go ahead.”

Maehwa, crouched in front of the corpse, told us to leave. So, leaving Maehwa behind, the rest of us, including me, went up from the basement to the hallway.

As we walked down the hallway to leave the house, Balloon Gum suddenly stopped and shouted.

“Oh right! I left my phone in the living room!”

We had no choice but to go back to the living room.

***

“Hey, oppa?”

The Cat-eared Woman called me, using the term “oppa” out of nowhere. Well, titles like that didn’t matter, so I answered without concern.

“Yes?”

“Did you eat any of the food on the dining table?”

“No. Balloon Gum went to the bathroom, so I didn’t touch it.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Why?”

“This is human flesh.”

“Human flesh…?”

I was a bit surprised, but it wasn’t shocking. I had already guessed it wasn’t normal food. That’s why I felt reluctant to eat it.

“Human flesh?”

Hearing the Cat-eared Woman’s words, Jujijoa picked up a fork and stabbed the meat. She brought it close to her face and observed it carefully.

“Hmm… Up close, it definitely doesn’t look like normal meat. It seems like some kind of drug was sprinkled on it… A sleeping pill, maybe?”

“Well, there might be sleeping pills too. That would make it easier to subdue me. Those yokai were strangely weak.”

“Se-hoon, aren’t you bothered? You almost ate human flesh, why are you so calm?”

“I was surprised too. But I just feel uncomfortable, not enough to make a fuss. I already knew yokai eat humans.”

“…You’re really not normal. Regardless of gender, anyone would be shocked in this situation.”

“And you’re not bothered either?”

“Well, I…”

Jujijoa trailed off. It seemed she didn’t want to answer again. Was she afraid her identity would be revealed? The more I saw, the more secrets she seemed to have.

“Ah! I found my phone! It was under the dining table!”

Anyway, since Balloon Gum found her phone, we decided to leave the house. There was no more business here.

“But shouldn’t we deal with that food too?”

“Senior will handle it. You don’t need to worry about it.”

Jujijoa and the Cat-eared Woman talked as they entered the hallway, and Balloon Gum and I followed.

***

Before opening the front door, Jujijoa glanced back and asked.

“By the way, Se-hoon, what are you going to tell the viewers?”

“What explanation?”

“Even if we keep what happened here under wraps, you’ll have to explain why Maehwa and I are here. Look.”

Jujijoa showed me her phone screen.

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】─Gyesekkihoon, come back and explain!

【Min Ji】─Explain! Pfft!!!

【Semen Thief】─Explain! Explain!

【Maid】─Wow! Gyesekkihoon! Explain! Pfft!

【Handsome Licker】─If you come, I’ll suck you dry.

【Se-hoon Defense Team】─I should’ve gone too.

【Yoho】─Why are Jujijoa and Maehwa there… I’m so worried, my head is spinning…

【Qkrnfl892】─When is Se-hoon coming? I’m really curious why those guys are there.

【Big Girl】─They have their reasons. Stop spamming and wait calmly.

【Reverse Rape Mania】─I can’t believe the drifting story.

It was chaos. It seemed they knew Maehwa and Jujijoa were here.

I asked Jujijoa.

“Did you come through the front gate?”

“I don’t know about Maehwa, but I came through the front gate.”

“Senior and I also came through the front gate!”

As Jujijoa answered, the Cat-eared Woman answered on Maehwa’s behalf.

“No. There’s a back door, a side door, and you could’ve climbed over the wall. Why did you come through the front gate? Do you want to die?”

When I scolded them, they looked at me with bewildered expressions.

“Don’t people usually come through the front gate…?”

“That’s right…”

Jujijoa and the Cat-eared Woman spoke in hushed voices.

“You damn idiots. Since when do illegal intruders come through the front gate so boldly? It’s normal to climb over the wall. And I’m not saying anything to Cat Lady, so don’t worry.”

“…Sorry.”

“If you know you’re wrong, that’s enough.”

“Wow, Se-hoon is so kind.”

Honestly, it wasn’t something to get angry about. It just suddenly occurred to me that they had been stalking, and I got annoyed and cursed at them. Anyway, I decided to forgive them after that. After venting, I felt refreshed.

“So, how are you going to explain?”

As I was about to open the front door, Jujijoa asked again.

“Just say I invited you.”

I answered nonchalantly and opened the front door wide, heading toward the gate.

***

I picked up the camera in front of the gate and explained that Maehwa and Jujijoa were personally invited by me. I said I had sent them an email to come if they were nearby.

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】─Gyesekkihoon, you bastard! Explain properly! How did you know they were nearby?

【Qkrnfl892】─Obviously a lie. LOL.

【Se-hoon Defense Team】─It seems like a lie that they were nearby, but the dinner invitation email might be real.

【Reverse Rape Mania】─What? So they’re invited girls.

【Min Ji】─Why did you invite only them? ㅡㅡ

【Yoho】─Room Master, if you keep doing this, I won’t stay quiet.

【Handsome Licker】─LOL, what are you gonna do? You’re so cute when you talk. *lick*

【Yoho】─You promised to meet me first for a fan meeting or something, I’m really mad.

“Stop whining. I’ll invite you guys later.”

【Yoho】─When? ㅡㅡ

【Min Ji】─Set a date! ㅡㅡ!

“I’ll set a date later. But I won’t invite those who spam in the chat, so keep that in mind.”

【Yoho】─Set the date whenever it’s convenient for you. ㅎㅎ

【Min Ji】─I’m free anytime, so let me know when it’s convenient for you! ㅎㅎ!

【Handsome Licker】─Idiots. LOL.

【Reverse Rape Mania】─Why did you act up when you were just gonna back down? LOL.

【Qkrnfl892】─LOL, calming a riot is easy.

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】─By the way, is that disgusting cat-eared kid Maehwa Tree?

Seeing Guburi’s chat, I glanced at the Cat-eared Woman beside me and said.

“This person is Maehwa’s colleague. She’s not a viewer, just a civilian.”

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】─Sorry.

【Handsome Licker】─LOL, Guburi is cute. *lick*

【Qkrnfl892】─As soon as he found out it wasn’t Maehwa, he apologized. LOL.

Meanwhile, the Cat-eared Woman leaned close to me and whispered.

“Oppa, can you tilt the camera a bit? The house behind us shouldn’t be visible.”

I didn’t know why she was asking, but I naturally moved and adjusted the camera’s angle.

And the moment I saw the house…

*Crackle crackle crackle.*

The building’s walls were splitting, and the roof was collapsing.

‘So that’s why.’

I let out a small sigh as I watched the scene. Countless Maehwa trees were growing everywhere, rapidly consuming the entire house.

***

The parasitic yokai, Lee Yoo-na. She had survived thanks to Balloon Gum’s mercy and had escaped the house through the back door.

“Gasp, gasp…!”

Yoo-na kept running. She had to get away quickly before Balloon Gum changed her mind.

“Gasp, gasp…! What kind of monster is that…?”

After entering the mountain, Yoo-na eventually ran out of stamina and collapsed.

“Gasp, gasp…! Damn this rotten body…!”

As she leaned against a tree to catch her breath…

“Gasp, gasp…! But this is an opportunity… Now I can eat humans freely and grow stronger without being controlled…”

*Thud.*

“…Huh?”

A mysterious iron ball fell from the sky. It rolled and stopped in front of her feet.

[I will speak. I say goodbye.]

And as an unknown voice was heard…

*BOOM!*

The iron ball emitted a red light and exploded.

The parasitic yokai didn’t even realize what was happening. Before she could comprehend that she had been caught in the explosion, her body was torn to pieces, ending her life.