Chapter 16: Feel compassion.
Thud, thud.
Surrounded by numerous bodyguards, the American Angel walked weakly.
The girl stopped right in front of me.
Then, the girl simply rolled her eyes and silently looked down at me.
Her unique gaze combined with her expressionless face sent a bone-chilling shiver down my spine.
It was an atmosphere that made it impossible to believe we had the same appearance.
Eventually, finding the gaze too much, I subtly hid behind Lee Hyejin, and then,
“Hey! Who told you to copy the youngest one however you please!?”
Suddenly, the Japanese Angel stepped forward and shouted at the American Angel.
‘… What is she suddenly talking about?’
A remark that was hard to understand.
Puzzled, I tilted my head slightly, wondering what she meant.
“Still… noisy… you damn brat…”
A somewhat rough remark poured out from the American Angel’s lips.
It was a statement that truly didn’t fit her outwardly calm demeanor.
Thanks to that, I watched the situation, a little flustered, and their war of words began.
“What! Brat!? You look like a corpse yourself!”
But… we all look the same…
“It’s annoying… don’t talk to me… don’t follow me…”
Wow… that look, as if seeing an insect…
“No way! I’m going to follow you! Do you think I’d let you do something I couldn’t?”
What is the Japanese Angel talking about since before…?
“Tsk… noisy kid…”
H-Her words got even worse…
“What…? Do you really want to die?”
The Japanese Angel’s expression, which had been heated from exchanging words like a game of ping-pong, instantly turned cold.
Watching the fight and adding my own thoughts as if it were someone else’s business, I felt a bad premonition from that.
That was when it happened.
Crack— Riiip—
‘Huh?’
Suddenly, the ground shook slightly as if there was an earthquake, and then cracks began to spread rapidly, centering around the Japanese Angel.
‘Th-This is…!’
At that sight, I instantly realized what the Japanese Angel was about to do.
“W-Wait a minute!”
So, startled, I quickly ran out from behind Lee Hyejin to stop her.
Crunch!
Suddenly, a sound like bones being chewed was heard.
Along with that, the Japanese Angel’s ‘upper body’ vanished completely.
‘Huh…?’
No, to be more precise, it had ‘vanished.’
Because even though I had only blinked once, the Japanese Angel’s complete form was visible again.
‘Wh-What was that…?’
Of course, even so, what I saw was definitely not an illusion.
The abundant blood on the floor alone was more than enough evidence.
Because of that, I felt my heart sink, and the Japanese Angel snarled, filled with rage.
“Ah! You just attacked me!!!”
“Ah… if you died… that would be nice…”
“You btch! You’re gonna die!!!”
Whoosh!
A massive piece of ground, about 5 meters in size, rose and rushed towards the American Angel.
It was a force that would surely cause instant death if it hit a human.
The American Angel, staring blankly, took it head-on without moving.
Thud!
Of course, despite that, the girl stood perfectly fine in her place.
Not even a tiny scratch was visible.
‘Th-This is…’
Thanks to that, I was able to properly remind myself for the first time that angels were not human.
What I had just witnessed was on a completely different dimension than simple reasons like “they have wings” or “they have halos.”
I felt vague fear at the sight of the two of them.
My small heart, like my body, was already pounding madly.
In this situation, being an angel meant nothing.
Why, aren’t there cases where even humans are afraid of each other?
This was the same.
Even as an angel myself, I was scared of those angels.
But I didn’t stop my steps towards the Japanese Angel.
All the muscles in my body were stiff and refusing to move, but I didn’t stop.
Because if I left them alone like this, someone would surely get hurt.
“Pl-Please stop… okay…?”
Thus, with a trembling body, I approached the Japanese Angel and firmly clasped her white hand.
Fearing that it might not be effective enough, I didn’t hesitate to even hug her.
Then, a flinch of surprise was transmitted through her body.
Thump! Thump!
Following that, the ground pieces that had floated defying the laws of nature.
The sound of them returning to their places echoed one by one.
Hug.
After that, I also felt the Japanese Angel hugging me back.
As I subtly raised my head at that sensation, the girl was looking at me with a very satisfied expression.
“Since the youngest asked, I guess I’ll let it slide just this once!”
Honestly, I wondered if this would work, but it was a very fortunate answer.
This time, I subtly glanced at the American Angel’s reaction.
Now that I looked, the American Angel was already staring intently at me.
Her gaze was as if an abyss was looking into me.
‘S-Scary…’
Because of that, I subtly averted my gaze, and then, a single question naturally came to mind.
‘What on earth is that person thinking…?’
Vroooom—
The first destination for the American Angel was the Folk Village.
Numerous vehicles began to move together towards that place.
Since there were many people from various countries, the number of vehicles also greatly increased.
And among those many vehicles, the main one.
Three angels and one American caretaker rode in a large RV.
In one of the black sedans, Lee Hyejin, Park Gyutae, and Choi Eunju.
These three were moving together.
Inside that sedan, Lee Hyejin muttered with a pale face.
“But seriously, what do we do about this? Is it okay to arrive like this?”
“How can human power stop a natural disaster? There’s nothing we can do.”
Choi Eunju shrugged her shoulders and replied.
What they were talking about right now was the angels, and they were facing a very big problem.
What that was, was…
The American Angel must eat the food the Korean Angel ate.
The Japanese Angel must unconditionally do whatever the American Angel intends to do first.
However, this must be done in front of both angels.No one must ever eat food in front of the American Angel.
These problems were like a chain reaction.
Because they were faced with a hopeless situation that made their heads throb just from imagining it.
“No… to feel jealous because someone eats what the Angel ate…”
Lee Hyejin muttered softly, unable to understand it at all.
This time, Park Gyutae asked Choi Eunju.
“By the way, what happened to the people in the Folk Village?”
“Today, unfortunately, it’s closed. Of course, there will be many people so the atmosphere isn’t different. Naturally, they are all actors, so there’s no chance of them touching the food.”
“Ah, is that so? That’s a relief.”
Park Gyutae nodded slightly with relief.
Then, he suddenly wondered, ‘No, is this really a relief?’
Choi Eunju added,
“Anyway, everyone will try their best to avoid the angels discreetly. But if any problems seem to arise, please act according to your judgment then.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Ugh… yes…”
Park Gyutae’s voice, mixed with tension and determination.
Lee Hyejin’s disharmony, mixed with gloom and fear, simultaneously echoed in the car.
Vroooom—
All three of us angels traveled in the same RV.
The destination was said to be all the travel routes I had taken before, including the Folk Village.
Thanks to that, I couldn’t help but wonder:
Why do I have to go to a place I just visited a few days ago…?
Can’t they just go without me…?
Things like that.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t quite understand.
Not a single person had explained the reason either.
So, while being hugged by the Japanese Angel and looking out the window with mixed feelings…
‘So, so much pressure… scary…’
Even that was a situation where I couldn’t easily concentrate.
Because the American Angel was staring intensely at me from the side.
Even if I tried to ignore her, her reflection kept appearing in the window, making me flinch.
Eventually, I swallowed hard and subtly glanced at the American Angel.
But the girl showed no reaction even when our eyes met.
It seemed she didn’t have anything specific to say.
‘Then, why is she staring, exactly…?’
Feeling bewildered, I subtly averted my gaze again.
Then, this time, the Japanese Angel suddenly shouted at the American Angel.
“Hey! Stop staring! She’s mine, you know?”
That was an utterly unexpected remark.
‘Huh…?’
Wait a minute… ‘mine’?
But I’m no one’s…
Thanks to that, I reacted more noticeably than the American Angel.
The American Angel, instead, merely snorted softly and completely ignored the remark.
Squeeze.
At that sight, I felt the Japanese Angel’s arm, which was hugging me, tighten.
Her physical strength wasn’t strong enough to hurt me, but I could feel the atmosphere becoming unusual again.
Anyway, the American Angel reached out her hand towards the snacks piled up nearby.
But suddenly, the Japanese Angel snatched them away, and then,
Crunch!
In an instant, her arm disappeared, and blood dripped onto the floor.
Drip, drip.
A continuous series of horrifying sounds that made goosebumps erupt all over my body.
Startled, I widened my eyes and alternately looked at the floor and the Japanese Angel’s arm.
However, this time, too, her arm was perfectly intact.
“Ah, sht!”
Naturally, the Japanese Angel was filled with rage.
Feeling the car swaying, I urgently had to calm the Japanese Angel down.
And then, I belatedly noticed something.
The American Angel’s caretaker, who was sweating profusely and trembling.
‘… That person must be having a tough time too…’
Why did they have to be in this car, of all places…?
Somehow, I felt extremely pitiful at that sight.