That Face Is the Problem - vanish into fiction

Da-sol’s monster spoke. Jae-gyeong froze in shock at the words. Of course, he had known. He had known, but hearing it in Da-sol’s face and voice made his heart throb painfully.

“Don’t speak carelessly…”

Jae-gyeong spoke each word deliberately.

[Seo Da-sol usually speaks carelessly. So I speak that way too. Seo Da-sol also dislikes Yoon Yi-hyeon. He tolerates him only because Yi-hyeon has no ulterior motives and shows nothing but respect. But Yi-hyeon is ordinary, so he will probably fall for Seo Da-sol quickly. You know how Seo Da-sol has that strange charm.]

Da-sol’s monster crossed over to the left side of Jae-gyeong’s mirror. Jae-gyeong turned both Divine Shield and his new weapon, the Paladin’s Shield, to the left. Da-sol’s monster raised both hands to show it had no intention to attack.

[I won’t, I won’t. They already know I’m a monster. If I provoke further here, only I will die.]

“Then why are you still here?”

[To understand your heart better?]

Da-sol’s monster asked in a sly voice. If it were the real Da-sol, he would never speak in that tone or manner, yet Jae-gyeong’s ears felt like they were burning.

[Did you like Seo Da-sol’s face too? So beautiful you could not tell if he was a man or woman? But because of his foul personality, you wanted him more? You know, men have twisted desires to possess.]

The mirror Da-sol now seemed like someone merely wearing Da-sol’s shell. Apart from the slightly rude personality, the real Da-sol would never speak like this. Thinking that, Jae-gyeong’s heart calmed down. He slightly lowered the Paladin’s Shield and answered.

“I don’t think of Da-sol as more than a teammate…”

[Liar. When you lie, it shows. Didn’t know that? Maybe we know more about you than you know about yourself.]

Jae-gyeong bit his lip. He was gradually feeling fear toward this monster. But his instincts told him not to let it show.

[Think Seo Da-sol only hates men? He hates women too. He just hates humans. He has never dated anyone, and has no intention to. You will never get along with Seo Da-sol.]

“I know…! And that’s fine… I don’t like Da-sol in that way…”

[Hahaha, lie! You don’t even believe what you just said~]

“You are nothing like Da-sol… now disappear.”

Jae-gyeong fired his handgun straight ahead. Crash, the mirror shattered, scattering fragments, and the mirror Da-sol vanished.

Then,

[What? Jae-gyeong Hunter?]

From behind, he heard Da-sol’s voice again. Jae-gyeong immediately raised his shield and aimed his handgun. But this time, Yi-hyeon was behind Da-sol.

[Jae-gyeong Hunter! Hello! Wow, it’s been a few days, right?]

Yi-hyeon, looking dirtier than before, waved his arm enthusiastically. Da-sol rolled his eyes as if annoyed by Yi-hyeon’s voice and walked toward Jae-gyeong.

What is this? Real this time? Or a more precisely copied fake?

Jae-gyeong hesitated, and Da-sol first brushed his hair back. Yi-hyeon used their prearranged signal, tugging his left earlobe. The signal was now meaningless, yet Jae-gyeong still displayed his signal.

The three approached each other slowly. Standing at a slight distance, it was impossible to tell who was inside the mirror and who was outside.

“I just encountered a monster shaped like Da-sol… Now it seems even harder to distinguish the monsters from the real ones… How can I be sure that the Da-sol in front of me is not a monster?”

[They’re just copies. You can tell the real one immediately, right? The copies always seem slightly off.]

Da-sol said indifferently. Yi-hyeon, standing behind, nodded.

[Exactly! Earlier, we saw a monster that looked exactly like Jae-gyeong Hunter. We had no idea if it was real or fake. Good thing the older one told us to attack first, otherwise we would have been in trouble.]

“Wait… you said I should attack first…? Da-sol told me to…?”

[…Yep. Can’t help it here.]

Da-sol avoided the question, looking away and speaking tersely. That behavior was very much like Da-sol, but Jae-gyeong did not hesitate and fired straight ahead. Simultaneously, Yi-hyeon’s fire hit Jae-gyeong. The timing was about 0.1 seconds faster than his.

“Ugh!”

The fireball struck Divine Shield, sending Jae-gyeong flying back several meters. Crash, the mirror behind him shattered, and sharp glass cut through his bare skin beneath his battle suit.