That morning was the same as every other morning.
In order to feel a daily life, the clone had gone to work and the protector was in the middle of washing dishes. And Yu Jitae prepared himself by only wearing some clean clothes. If not for Kaeul, today would have been the same peaceful day as any other.
Sitting down in the living room in front of Kaeul, Bom showed off her skills. After tapping a few creams on the skin, she used an eyeliner, mascara, shadower, curler and tens of other tools and messed around for almost one full hour.
Since her actions all seemed so natural, he asked and it seemed that she had learnt it back in Europe.
“Smile. Cheese.”
“…Cheese.”
A pink blush was added on Kaeul’s cheeks and soon after that, a deeper colour was added to her lips. Gyeoul glanced back and forth between Kaeul’s face and the cosmetics, as if she found it intriguing.
“Phew. Finished. Would you like to have a look and tell us how it is, ahjussi?”
“Alright.”
Bom removed her hands that had been blocking Kaeul’s face. Slowly, the baby chicken opened her eyes.
The atmosphere around her was different. Usually, she had an innocent, bright appearance albeit looking slightly foolish but after the makeup was over, she looked surprisingly calm.
“Uwah… is this really me?”
“Un. Does it look okay?”
“Unni! How about you become the owner of a cosmetics shop?”
But the look of surprise on her face as she looked at the mirror, was undoubtedly Kaeul’s.
Yu Jitae took all of them outside and today, even Yeorum who would stay holed up in her room, followed them wearing sweats.
They headed for the venue where the declaration audition will be held.
On the way to the academy campus via taxi after leaving the residential area, Kaeul’s eyes still remained on the script.
The taxi slid by as it headed for the venue.
A weekday morning. Despite currently being the school holidays, there were lots of people commuting to work and the surroundings were bustling with people. But since the audition itself would not be broadcasted, silence welcomed them inside the actual venue.
There was a small stage inside that place.
They did come ten minutes earlier, but it seemed that they were comparatively late. When they opened the door, dozens of gazes pierced through them. There were contestants – the cadets, people belonging in the same households or study groups as the cadets and their guardians but it was obvious that their gazes weren’t friendly.
“What are you looking at? Are you here for sightseeing?”
In response to Yeorum’s words, some of them avoided eye contact while some formed frowns.
“Yeorum.”
Bom restricted her words.
After they sat themselves down in a corner, cadets each formed small groups of their own and started chattering. They talked about how they practised as well as who they received support from. It appeared so natural to the point that they all seemed to be acquaintances.
Yu Jitae’s hazy eyes that had been blankly looking at that scene suddenly regained its focus. Near the seats allocated for guardians, Wei Yan was looking at him.
“The participating cadet, please come this way and that way for guardians please!”
Leaving the words, “I’ll do my best”, Kaeul left alone with a worried expression while Yu Jitae rose up from his seat and headed to the guardians’ seats.
His seat just happened to be right next to Wei Yan’s. Wearing an amicable smile, he welcomed Yu Jitae.
“It’s been a while, Mister Yu Jitae. Have you been well?”
“It’s been a while.”
“I was slightly surprised because I hadn’t seen you in the first audition. Let’s watch how our cadets perform together.”
Wei Yan reached his hand out and Yu Jitae grabbed it without saying a word. For an instant, he had the urge to put strength into his hand and crush Wei Yan’s hand but it was bearable. He naturally let go of the hand and interlocked his hands together.
“Meeting at a place like this has to be some kind of fate as well. How about you also greet other guardians over here?”
After saying that, he suddenly turned his head around to the other guardians and introduced Yu Jitae by saying, “Everyone. This here is Mister Yu Jitae, the guardian.”
“Ah, yes.”
“We’ve been hearing lots about you.”
In general, their eyes were hostile, most likely because Kaeul suddenly entered the final audition. One of the guardians who was laughing to himself sat back down in embarrassment when someone tapped his shoulders. They might have heard something about himself.
However, he did not care too much about it. More importantly, there were only nine guardians here, instead of thirteen which should have been the case.
The atmosphere arounds the cadets was the same as the guardians.
“Hey.”
An Asian female cadet with a black hair called out to Kaeul. The ends of her eyes were raised high but the expression on her face was amiable. It was a face Yu Jitae knew of – Gong Juhee.
“Nn. Hi.”
“Yeah. Who are you? I didn’t see anyone like you during the first audition.”
“I’m called Yu Kaeul. And you?”
“No, what I asked isn’t your name, but how you ended up here.”
“Ah, the producer suggested that I try the audition so…”
“Producer? Who.”
Kaeul shared Ha Junsoo’s name.
“That’s strange. Your house must be quite wealthy or something?”
Were they? Kaeul thought but soon gave a ‘hehe’ smile.
“I don’t know.”
The amiable expression crumbled slightly.
“Well, that’s how it looks at least. Look at your skin. You seem to have painted some money on the face as well. Tell me if there’s a decent shop nearby.”
“Nn? What’s that?”
“Huh? Everyone will know which one you used anyways.”
“Mhmm…… I don’t know.”
When Kaeul once again gave a ‘hehe’ smile, faint annoyance appeared on Gong Juhee’s face with an expression that seemed to be questioning the sort of person in front of her. She scoffed before soon continuing her sentence.
“Well, whatever. More than that, you look innocent but you seem quite thick-skinned.”
“…Nn?”
“Everyone here other than you all took the first audition and made it through.”
“Ah, nn.”
“And it seems that you don’t even feel apologetic to them?”
“…..?”
In an instant, the friendly look on her face was flipped around. Her expression resembled a sharp blade and even the cadets standing behind her were wearing similar looks.
“If I were you, I would be feeling super sorry. Some of them would have taken lessons and pulled all nighters to prepare for the first audition, and take the test in nervousness to stand here but someone here is relying solely on their face and is saying carefree words like ‘The producer told me to~’, right?”
“Ah…”
“Well, I’m fine with it, but others might hate that you know?”
Confusion appeared on Kaeul’s face and pushed into a corner, the baby chicken spoke in awkwardness.
“Umm, uh, sorry…”
“No? It’s nothing. I’m not particularly saying this to make you say sorry. Maybe you are just the type of person that doesn’t feel sorry in situations like this, right?”
“……?”
“Well, that might be a bit different from common sense and I was just saying that because you weren’t saying anything. I’m okay.”
Then, she smiled as if she was truly feeling okay. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Kaeul had no idea what to do.
She was completely pushed back in the fight of nerves.
“Ah, and…”
It was when Gong Juhee was about to continue her sentence with those words.
“Oi.”
“…?”
Hearing a rough voice, Gong Juhee turned her head around and found a girl wearing blue sweats.
An unusual thing was perhaps the fact that her hair was bright red like burning flames and that she came to the participants’ section, despite not being a candidate, abruptly from the family seats.
“What is it?”
“Come outside a little.”
“Why should I? And more importantly, who are you?”
“Come outside.”
“Are your ears okay? What are you?”
“You’re not coming?”
Then, her hand immediately reached forth as she tried to grab Gong Juhee by her hair. Right before her quick hands could reach Gong Juhee’s hair, Yu Jitae, who appeared before anyone could realise, held onto Yeorum’s wrist.
“…!”
Yu Jitae, who had been planning to observe the situation, stood up the moment he found Yeorum standing up. He then watched the situation unfold before intervening.
There were eyes of surprise stabbing him from the sides but Yu Jitae nonetheless opened his mouth.
“Guys. Let’s go outside and see Team Leader Yong for a bit.”
“Ah, Team Leader Yong? Uwah!”
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, Kaeul nodded her head and pulled Yeorum out.
“L, let’s go, unni.”
Yeorum, who regained her rationality, got rid of her aura. She then faced a bright smile at Gong Juhee.
“Hoh? Oh my, sorry. That was a mistake just then. Black-haired unni. I was just trying to touch your hair because it was so pretty. You understand right?”
“You, you…!”
Having previously read the killing intent oozing out of her, Gong Juhee scowled and returned a rather fierce aura herself. She screamed from the bottom of her lungs.
“Don’t lie. Do you think I didn’t see your hand tensing up just then?!”
“That’s a misunderstanding, okay. I was just chasing a mosquito away.”
“…!”
Then, Yeorum made a nasal sound going ‘uuing’ to imitate a mosquito. Her expression appeared tremendously annoying.
Deciding that he couldn’t watch on any further, Yu Jitae opened his mouth.
“Yu Yeorum.”
“Aigoo. Yes. Our ahjussi is calling us. Shall we go, my dear sister?”
“Ah, nn. Team Leader might be waiting for us.”
Yu Jitae took the two outside and on the way out, he found Gong Juhee’s guardian glaring at himself with discomfort but there wasn’t anything particular apart from that.
It appeared that he had blocked it at the appropriate time.
“Fucking bitch. A bitch with a snake instead of a tongue. I just want to crush her damn head.”
The moment they walked outside, Yeorum let out profanities before walking somewhere else while fuming with her nose.
He looked at Kaeul.
“Are you alright.”
“Yes. Thank you ahjussi. Phew… I was a bit surprised because this is the first time something like this happened.”
“If you can’t handle it, we can stop and go back home.”
“No we can’t! I practised so much just for today.”
Her expression that appeared as if she had been pushed into a corner had vanished before long, as Kaeul made a bright smile.
“I can do it well.”
*
Until the actual start of the audition, Yu Jitae stood next to Kaeul and waited together. Despite throwing glances at them with displease, other contestants didn’t approach them as if there was an invisible wall in the middle.
Gong Juhee’s guardian likewise stood next to Yu Jitae and would sometimes observe him with a glance of discomfort.
– The declaration audition will now begin.
Along with the words of one of the staff members, the audition began.
There were three seats for judges. On the left side, there was the person in charge of member selections and the far right belonged to a bigshot from Lair’s education department.
And lastly, Producer Ha Junsoo was sitting down in the middle.
With a stubborn expression and a messy beard, Ha Junsoo stared at the contestants as if he didn’t like any of the ones present.
Soon, the first cadet walked up and started the declaration.
While the declaration continued, Yu Jitae had an odd feeling. It felt as if the scent of the abyss was seeping into his nose and the back of his neck felt cold.
It was a sense based on his instincts.
[Eyes of Equilibrium (SS)]
His eyes discerned good and evil.
There was no-one problematic amongst the staff members. Although the person in charge of member selections was a slight evil, that was within the standards of average people. Even Ha Junsoo slightly leaned towards evil.
The issue was the person that came after those two – the third person sitting down as one of the judges.
Oh Minsung, a high-ranking teaching staff member from Lair. His nature hanging on the Eyes of Equilibrium was absolute evil.
Despite the long years, the standards of good and evil weren’t yet clear. Very rarely there were some within humans that were more evil than demons. Even he, himself, would appear to be absolute evil when looking through a mirror.
But in situations like this, it was highly probable that the opponent was a demon.
Around that point in time, the first cadet’s declaration met its end and the judges started sharing their opinions on the declaration.
While thoughtlessly listening to the words that left their mouths, Yu Jitae turned his gaze away. Feeling his gaze, Wei Yan returned a faint smile before looking back at the stage.
That teaching staff from Lair, was most likely related to Wei Yan, and his organisation ‘Undetectables’. That was the Regressor’s instinct.
After roughly understanding the situation, he felt his heart start faintly burning up within.
It was an anxiety that remained in a corner of his heart despite being carried around by daily life.
The questions, ‘Is it okay to be this complacent’ and ‘There are so many things that must be crushed to death right now, so in the midst of the daily lives, shouldn’t those that should be killed, be killed at least’ floated within his head in the form of anxiety.
Those resurfaced inside his head yet again.
Currently, there were two existences before him that seemed to be demons and watching them made a certain emotion boil up in his heart. What if I call them outside and pull their chins out? Then, he could slash their eyes like sashimi and give them two opportunities. To name the members of Undetectables and the names of demons being currently nurtured.
His rationality told him that it would be impossible as demons were more stubborn than one might think. However, the anxiety rising up from his lower stomach, that filthy rage was urging him to be emotional.
Thus, if his eyes hadn’t met Gyeoul’s, who was in Bom’s embrace, there was a low possibility of him losing to that urge.
Perhaps she had been watching him for a long time, but the moment their eyes met, Gyeoul formed a bright smile.
‘You have to look forward.’
He gestured with his mouth.
When he did, she made a sullen look and turned her head away after a few nods.
Only then did Yu Jitae heave out a deep sigh. Although the hot feeling remained burning inside his heart, it felt like he could withstand the urge now for some reason.
And while the Regressor was in the middle of containing his rash actions, Gong Juhee who had been the fifth in line finished her declaration as resonating claps echoed in response.
“Uwahhh!”
“Iya! You did well!”
From his side, Wei Yan also rose up from his seat and clapped. It was a reaction miles different from other candidates.
– Wah, as expected, it was good. Even better than the first audition.
– Mhmm…
– That’s the best with no questions asked. I would like to give that cadet 10 out of 10.
He could hear the voices of the judges.
Of all things, Kaeul was next in line and Yu Jitae left his seat to walk up to her.
“Yu Kaeul.”
“…”
Despite him calling her, there was no response.
Quietly and slowly, her golden eyes turned and met his eyes. That was the expression he saw on her face when he told Kaeul about his memories of the second regression for the first time.
Why was she like this again?
He thought but soon realised something.
Kaeul’s expression, was the spitting image of his previous self.
He who had to submit before enormous strength;
He who had to kill his loved one with his own hands;
He who cursed his own powerlessness more than the world – the expression of that young Yu Jitae was embedded in Kaeul’s face.
– Sixth contestant, Cadet Yu Kaeul. Please come up the stage.
Slowly, Kaeul raised herself up.