New Seoul was packed with high-rises.
With so little land compared to other countries, Korea had developed a long tradition of building upward—and using height to flaunt power.
In one of those buildings, a blue-haired girl lounged in a bath.
Hard as it was to believe, this girl—who looked no older than her late teens—owned the entire building.
[Lady Yuna. I've completed the investigation into the Cheong-Am Center.]
"Hmm~?"
She examined a holographic display floating above the massive bath, which was practically a swimming pool in its own right.
Her gaze stopped on a surveillance image of Alice.
"...I don't like her. How dare she get more attention than me!"
A burst of heat from her anger instantly vaporized every drop of water in the bath.
Amid the billowing steam, Yuna gave her AI assistant an order.
"Looks like I'll have to visit that cesspit they call Old Seoul... Rearrange my schedule."
[But your existing appointments—]
By then, the bathwater had condensed into rain and was pouring back down over her.
"Cancel them all."
Legend says that when she finally stepped out, scorch marks remained on the floor, spreading outward from where she had been sitting...
***
That night, Alice, Kim Ga-Eun, and Yi Rang gathered in the women's sleeping quarters at the Cheong-Am Center.
Ga-Eun had suggested that they try having something like a pajama party.
And whenever three women gathered in one place, the conversation was bound to drift toward badmouthing someone.
"Seriously, that bastard Yu-Han! Doesn't he beat the hell out of us way too much and call it training? Then he has the nerve to say, 'You are a combatant before you are a woman'. Pfft."
Wearing a slightly stretched-out tank top and dolphin shorts, Yi Rang poured out her complaints about their superior.
"Exactly! Yu-Han C has zero sensitivity DNA!"
Ga-Eun, wearing a perfectly ordinary set of pajamas for a girl her age, eagerly agreed.
"...Still, he isn't wrong. The fights ahead are only going to get tougher."
Alice, dressed in a loose sleep shirt, answered matter-of-factly.
Yi Rang had nothing to say for herself.
As if she had been waiting for that silence, Kim Ga-Eun spoke up.
"Since we're already talking about Yu-Han C, there's something important I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
Ga-Eun paused for several seconds before making her shocking confession.
"I... I like Yu-Han C!!"
Silence fell over the room.
But Alice and Yi Rang's reactions were nothing like what Ga-Eun had expected.
Alice answered flatly.
"Who doesn't know that?"
"What? How did you...?"
Yi Rang cut in with the air of someone stating the obvious.
"You make it so obvious even an idiot could tell! More importantly, what the hell do you see in a lunatic like that? Did he brainwash you? Gaslight you? Or are ya just not in your right mind?"
"Yes, I know other people would wonder why I could possibly like such a lunatic... But Yu-Han C is practically my savior!"
Alice and Yi Rang were both thinking the same thing.
'She's not denying that he's a lunatic.'
Ga-Eun pretended to wipe away a tear as she began setting up the next part of her scheme.
"But... Yu-Han C would probably prefer someone cool and confident like Alice C or Yi Rang C over someone like me... Even if it looks like you two are giving him a hard time, but you must also... Sniff!"
"No, no, no, no. We don't need a guy like that."
"Ga-Eun, could you please take him off instead? For the sake of the world?"
Seeing their vehement reactions, Ga-Eun cheered inwardly.
"To think you support our love this much... Then you'll help me, right?"
***
After getting an unexpected call on his day off, Yu-Han arrived at the Cheong-Am Center and could hardly believe his eyes.
Kim Ga-Eun usually threw on a denim jacket and jeans without much thought. Today, however, she was wearing the unusual combination of a flat cap, a knit top, and a pleated skirt.
"...What, did you get a boyfriend? Congratulations."
"Of course not, Yu-Han C. I just wanted to spend my day off with you."
Ga-Eun looked shyly up at him and smiled, leaving Yu-Han thoroughly confused.
That was when her two accomplices made their entrance.
Yi Rang and Alice swaggered over, putting on suspiciously exaggerated airs.
"Well, well, Deputy Director. Ya got game, huh? How'd ya make Ga-Eun fall this hard for ya?"
"Come on, how long are you going to keep a young girl waiting? Hurry up and get going!"
As the two suspiciously shoved him forward, the "social simulation" in Yu-Han's mind kicked in, reconstructing what must have happened the previous night.
'That damn mutt. Looks like she already won these two over. Women...'
Yu-Han decided to play along for the time being.
"All right. You want to go for a walk or something? Should I throw you a Frisbee while we're at it?"
"Enough with the lame jokes! I already planned our date, so just follow me!"
Ga-Eun grabbed Yu-Han by the scruff of the neck with her monstrous strength and dragged him away.
Yi Rang watched them go, then turned to Alice.
"Think this is gonna work? With that morally bankrupt asshole?"
Alice's eyes sparkled.
"We'll make it work! With the power of love, we'll purify that man's twisted mind!"
"...Ain't ya been watchin' too much manga or anime?"
Alice responded with a "calm and collected" silence.
***
First Stop: Café
"Yu-Han C! Here comes the dessert! Say 'ahh'!"
"Why would anyone pay several times what this coffee costs to make? And you know I don't like sweets—mmph."
The moment Yu-Han opened his mouth to complain, Ga-Eun flicked the dessert straight into it.
"You talk so much that I didn't even have to tell you to open wide! Hehe."
Yu-Han folded his arms and chewed with a deeply disgruntled expression.
***
Second Stop: Amusement Park
"Seriously, what a bunch of masochists. What's so fun about getting strapped to a chair and hauled up and down?"
Yu-Han continued grumbling even after taking his seat on the Gyro Drop.
"Yu-Han C! This one should at least be thrilling!"
"Hmph. I've already fallen from heights like this—"
"No, look closely."
The sign bore a rather alarming description.
The Gyro Drop used the latest magic technology to let its passengers experience terminal velocity. According to the sign, it was completely reliable and perfectly safe.
"Wait. Maybe we should go ride the carousel inste—"
Before Yu-Han could finish, the Gyro Drop rocketed upward and plunged back down.
While Yu-Han groaned under the crushing force, Ga-Eun threw both hands into the air and cheered.
***
Third Stop: Zoo
"That's Yi Rang. Did she get a part-time job here too?"
"Yu-Han C. That is an actual tiger."
Yu-Han and Ga-Eun stood in front of the tiger enclosure. Meanwhile, a suspicious figure was watching them from hiding.
It was Alice, following the pair with her face hidden behind sunglasses, a hat, and a mask.
[That bastard Yu-Han! Why's he draggin' me into this even there!?]
Yi Rang was lounging on the Center sofa, watching through the visual feed Alice was sharing with her.
"This isn't going to work. That guy just isn't built for a relationship. And isn't Ga-Eun coming on a little too strong...?"
Meanwhile, Yu-Han had moved on to the bird enclosure and was spouting more nonsense.
"Yu Seo-Yeon Gwajang! When did you change jobs? How's the pay? Do they give you birdseed as stock options?"
All three women sighed in unison.
***
Fourth Stop: A Secluded Observation Deck
"When two people come somewhere this secluded, it's usually because they're planning to quietly dispose of someone."
Even through her rose-colored glasses, Ga-Eun was beginning to get irritated. Still, she forced herself to remain patient, impressing even Alice as she continued tailing them.
"Yu-Han C. I know you're acting flippant on purpose, but let's talk seriously now."
"...What is it?"
"Please accept my love!"
The smile vanished from Yu-Han's face.
He had finally become serious, but his eyes were cold.
"Kim Ga-Eun. I've already given you my answer more than once. I don't love anyone."
"But..."
"And I still don't trust you completely. If I decide you're dangerous, I'll have no choice but to dispose of you immediately. So don't expect any warmth or affection from me."
Alice was taken aback by the sheer cruelty of his words.
More disturbing, however, was Ga-Eun's expression.
Her eyes burned with a murderous rage Alice had never seen before, and veins stood out across her face. Alice could hardly believe this was the same Kim Ga-Eun she knew.
"Yu-Han C... After everything I've done for you, isn't that a little too cruel?"
"Ha! What's with that look? You've been going around telling everyone that I'm your savior, haven't you? What, do you feel like killing your own savior now?"
Rather than showing fear, Yu-Han sneered at her as though to say, 'This is exactly why it could never work.'
"To begin with, I told you that you weren't cut out to be a sanctioner and that you should walk away, didn't I? If you're going to ignore my warning, then I have no choice but to keep using your monster powers. If you want to play human, try somewhere else."
"...Let's just move on."
Ga-Eun's voice had gone completely flat.
Alice was now too afraid to look at her face.
Yu-Han and Ga-Eun walked off side by side without looking at each other.
Alice was certain things couldn't possibly get any worse.
That belief didn't last long.
"Hello! Are you Kim Ga-Eun, Deputy Director of the Cheong-Am Center? There's so much I'd like to ask you about the Center!"
Two spotlights cut through the darkness, revealing a blue-haired girl with twin tails.
She was breathtakingly beautiful—the sort of flawless beauty even other women had no choice but to acknowledge.
But she appeared to have no idea that the Center's actual Deputy Director was the man standing right beside Ga-Eun.
On paper, Kim Ga-Eun—not Yu-Han—was still the Center's deputy director.
"Come on, we're live. Why don't you say something?"
"Who the hell are you?"
Ga-Eun shot back, her eyes dead.
The blue-haired girl slapped a hand to her forehead in disbelief.
"Good grief. Have you been living in some mountain backwater? I have plenty of titles, but 'Yuna, the undisputed top influencer in the country' should be introduction enough, don't you think?"
"Not interested. Get lost."
Ga-Eun continued walking beside Yu-Han, leaving Yuna dumbfounded.
"You've got some nerve. And what's that thing beside you—your boyfriend? If I felt like it, I could steal him from you right now. Hmm?"
"Kim Ga-Eun. Ignore her."
Yu-Han gave the order, but Ga-Eun's patience had already run out.
"Keep talking if you want to die, you cyber whore."
Yuna froze for a moment as the insult sank in, then erupted in fury.
"How dare you call Lady Yuna a whore!? Aren't you the one who wants to die...!?"
Yuna swung her fist, and Ga-Eun caught it squarely.
Amazingly, neither side gave an inch.
Their locked arms trembled under the strain. Veins bulged across both girls' foreheads as ominous cracking and grinding sounds echoed through the air.
Both struggled to overpower the other, and both looked equally stunned that they couldn't.
"Why, you... Let go!"
"You're leaving an arm behind... I'm in a really bad mood right now...!"
Unable to watch any longer, Yu-Han shouted.
"Kim Ga-Eun!! I told you not to do anything unnecessary!"
With obvious reluctance, Ga-Eun released Yuna's arm with a violent shove.
Yuna glared furiously at Yu-Han.
"You rat-faced bastard! The most lovable Lady Yuna is in trouble, and you're not even going to step in and help her like a man!? Huh!?"
"Love? What the hell are you talking about? I have no reason to love you."
Yu-Han's words made Yuna's pupils dilate.
By sheer chance, he had echoed the words at the heart of one of her deepest traumas.
"How dare you... How dare you say there's no reason to love me...? How dare you!? How dare you!!"
Even the mana around her began to ripple.
Yuna barely managed to steady her breathing.
"You two have made a very big mistake. Do you understand!?"
She stumbled into her self-driving car and started to leave.
"Then I'll just make sure it wasn't a mistake..."
Ga-Eun began transforming her hand, preparing to kill Yuna, but Yu-Han seized her wrist.
"...Didn't you hear her? She said we're live. This will turn into a huge mess."
Ga-Eun clicked her tongue.
Watching from hiding, Alice screamed internally.
'What sort of troublesome mess have we gotten ourselves into this time!?'