"Where the hell have you been all this time?! You abandoned me!" Yuna cried.
[My child, I never abandoned you. Not even for a moment.
I kept searching for you, even entering into contracts with different summoners along the way.]
In her dragon form, Yuna burst into a tremendous wail.
Her tears poured down like a waterfall, drenching Yuhan and Alice.
Looking like a drowned rat, Alice turned to Yuhan.
"Dragon tears. Aren't those supposed to be some legendary magic ingredient?"
"No. They're just filthy bodily fluids," Yuhan replied.
When Alice analyzed the tears, she found that they were perfectly ordinary bodily fluids made up of water, electrolytes, and trace impurities.
She was glad she had learned cleaning and drying magic in advance.
Alice turned to the Phoenix.
"Phoenix! You could've told me there was a whole story behind this!"
[Whenever you summoned me, it was never exactly the right time for that kind of conversation.]
"...Now that you mention it, fair point," Alice admitted.
[Shall we move somewhere more suitable for a private conversation?]
No one objected to the Phoenix's suggestion.
Just then, a disgruntled voice came from beneath Yuna's foot.
"...When are you gonna get this stinking foot off me?" Ga-eun muttered.
"Oh my~ So there was something under my perfectly odorless foot?" Yuna cooed.
Yuna deliberately leaned more of her weight onto it, pressing Kim Ga-eun into the ground with almost loving care.
Having finally reached her limit, Ga-eun mutated part of her body into spikes.
Only after feeling a sharp prick did Yuna reluctantly lift her foot.
---
Since Yuna operated exclusively in New Seoul and had nowhere familiar to go in Old Seoul, they naturally ended up at Cheongam Center.
"Ugh... I need to calm down by petting a cat," Yuna sighed.
Yi Rang knelt beside the sofa, letting Yuna pet her.
"I'm a tiger, though..."
"Tiger, cat. What's the difference?" Yuna replied.
To a dragon some twenty meters long, there probably wasn't much of one.
Trembling with tears in her eyes, Yi Rang looked desperately toward Alice.
Alice gave her an encouraging thumbs-up.
[I suppose I should tell you about my past with this child. Long ago, we—]
"Hold it, birdbrain! Don't hijack my flashback!" Yuna cut in.
Yuna cleared her throat.
From somewhere, a mournful violin melody began to play.
"Once upon a time, there lived a boy who 'accidentally' summoned a baby dragon.
Apparently, the idiot had no idea how to send me home.
Still, I guess he was a kind idiot. He took good care of me and kept me warm..."
"What about the Phoenix?" Alice asked.
Yuna snapped at the interruption.
"Don't cut me off! I was just getting to that!
Anyway, while the boy was searching for a way to send me back to my world, he apparently 'accidentally' summoned that birdbrain over there...
So, yeah. The birdbrain ended up helping him take care of me too."
[Birdbrain? How cruel. There's no need to be embarrassed, my child. You may call me Mama as you did before.]
"Silence!!
Anyway, I actually believed those happy days would last forever...
But then that damn summoner abandoned both me and the birdbrain!
And eventually, she abandoned me too!"
[My child, I did not abandon you. The summoner's mana was cut off, so I had no choice but to—]
"How is that any different from abandoning me?!" Yuna shouted.
As Alice listened to Yuna's story, she couldn't help wondering how that damn boy had managed to summon so many things "by accident."
Kim Ga-eun, who had been watching from the side, finally spoke up.
"So, now that you've gone on and on about your tragic past, what's the point? What exactly do you expect us to do about it?"
"You wretched little mongrel...!" Yuna snarled.
Yuna's grip on Yi Rang's head tightened, stretching the tiger girl's face upward.
Annoyed, Yuhan glared at Ga-eun.
"Shut up, Kim Ga-eun. Stop making this worse."
"Yes~ Anything you say, Yuhan C!" Ga-eun chirped.
Yuna nearly gagged at Ga-eun's sickeningly sweet voice, but forced herself to continue.
"Anyway, hand that birdbrain over to me!"
"The Phoenix isn't my property. We only have a contract," Yuhan replied.
"Then let me make a contract with her too!"
At Yuna's demand, the Phoenix shook her head.
[No, my child. We may once have been like family, but you fall far short of what is required of a contractor. A contract is no game.]
"See?! This birdbrain is abandoning me again! After all that acting like my mother!"
Clearly fed up with Yuna's tantrum, Ga-eun pointed outside.
"This isn't the time to be whining. What are you gonna do about that?"
Yuna poked her head out the window.
Like sharks drawn by the scent of blood, a mob of reporters had gathered outside.
"Lady Yuna! Is it true that you're really a dragon?!"
"What exactly is your relationship with the Divine Beast Phoenix?! Why were you calling her Mama like a little kid?!"
Yuna immediately pulled her head back in, slammed the window shut, and sighed.
"I forgot about those flies... After making a scene that big, how am I supposed to live this down?"
At that moment, a clever gleam flashed in the Phoenix's wise eyes.
[My child, I have an idea...
A masterstroke that will restore your image, allow you to see me more often, and benefit these people as well.]
---
There had once been a man named Lee Shin-je, revered almost as a saint in Korea.
He left behind a single prophecy.
One day, someone who commanded both the Azure Dragon and the Vermilion Bird would appear and deliver Korea from its suffering.
The day after meeting Yuna, Yuhan grumbled as he and Alice headed to Yuna's building.
"I never thought that damn Buldak would use the prophecy like this."
Yuna had readily accepted the Phoenix's proposal.
Becoming the prophesied savior's companion would get her through the current crisis, and it was obvious that her viewership would skyrocket.
She was surprisingly shrewd when it came to this sort of calculation.
"A savior, huh? Could I really be one? I'm a robot now," Alice said.
"Alice, replacing incompetent humans with robots is the trend these days! Saviors are no exception!
This is where the legend of the Messiah Bot begins. Yang Su-hyeon C can be one of the Magi."
"I don't think the doctor would agree to that, Yuhan," Alice replied.
Still grumbling, the two stepped out of the elevator.
Yuna greeted Alice enthusiastically.
"You're here! Alice! Hurry up and make the contrac— Wait. Why'd you bring this piece of trash with you again?"
"Our capricious Lady Dragon might suddenly attack Alice. I couldn't exactly send her in alone," Yuhan replied.
"Who the hell are you saying has intermittent explosive disorder?!"
Yuhan and Alice both had the exact same thought. 'Obviously.'
Alice decided to placate the foul-tempered dragon for now.
"Don't worry. Once we finish the contract for appearances' sake, I won't bother you," Alice said.
"Ugh~ I wouldn't even have to do this if I'd never gotten mixed up with people like you," Yuna complained.
Yuhan was fairly certain that Yuna had been the one who started the whole mess, but he chose not to point it out.
If he did, the argument would obviously drag on forever.
A short while later, in one of the rooms inside the building, Alice summoned the Phoenix.
The Phoenix examined the magic circle drawn on the floor for the ritual and nodded in satisfaction.
[You drew it exactly as I instructed. Shall we begin the ritual?]
"Yeah, hurry it up. I've got a schedule to keep," Yuna said.
Yuhan silently grumbled that apparently only her time mattered.
Still, he had no intention of opening his mouth and subjecting himself to another round of teenage dragon tantrums.
[Yuna, read this exactly as written.]
"Fine...
Article One: I shall not harm the contractor.
Article Two: I shall heed the summoner's requests, but retain the right to refuse any unreasonable demand...
Article Three... Why the hell are there so many of these?"
Grumbling the entire time, Yuna read the contract to the end.
The magic circle on the floor began to hum and glow.
"Oh... Okay, that's actually pretty cool. So what now?" Yuna asked.
A sharp glint flashed in the Phoenix's wise eyes.
She channeled magic into one wing, struck Yuhan in the back, and shoved him bodily into the circle.
Lost in thought, Yuhan was caught completely off guard and sent stumbling forward.
"Wh-What the hell?!"
A pillar of light swallowed Yuhan and Yuna.
When the light vanished, they both stared ahead with the same dumbfounded expression.
Yuna turned to the Phoenix.
"...What the hell was that, birdbrain?
Was dumping garbage into the circle part of the ritual too?"
[No, my child. The contract is complete...
This boy is now your contractor.]
Alice stared at the Phoenix in bewilderment.
Yuna's face flushed crimson in an instant.
Yuhan seemed just as furious at the unexpected turn of events.
"You damn Buldak... What kind of stunt are you pulling now?!" Yuhan demanded.
[This contract will help you both grow, boy.]
"Grow, my ass... Who the hell would want to grow alongside this piece of trash?
If he dies, this stupid contract is over, right?!"
Yuna raised her magic wand and tried to smash it down on Yuhan's head.
Her body froze with the wand still held above her.
"Wh-Why the hell can't I move?!"
[Have you already forgotten the clause saying that you would not harm your contractor?]
Even while frozen in place, Yuna strained with all her might to hit him.
Yuhan suddenly seemed to have an idea.
"What good is a contract with a bitch like this? Does she even follow orders?
Hey! Call me Master!"
"Yes, Master— Wait, why is my mouth moving on its own?!"
"Why don't you put that club down while you're at it?" Yuhan ordered.
"No! Never!"
Yuna poured her immense mana into resisting Yuhan's command.
Watching the two of them make fools of themselves, Alice confronted the Phoenix.
"Why would you pull something like this without talking to me first?!
Those two are one thing, but what about me?!"
[...You must resent me.
But one day, you will understand everything.
Alice, my contractor.]
"I'll deal with that damn birdbrain first!!" Yuna shouted.
Yuna decided that beating Yuhan to death could wait and hurled her magic wand at the Phoenix instead.
The Phoenix simply shifted into spirit form, allowing the wand to pass harmlessly through her.
[I hope spending time among humans will teach you some manners, my child.]
The Phoenix delivered the taunt with saintly warmth, then returned to her own world.
The furious roar of a dragon echoed throughout the building.
Alice learned a valuable lesson that day.
A summoned creature could be too intelligent to control.
---
[Everyone, I have finally realized my mission as the savior's companion!
I have formed a contract with Director Alice!
Behold the mark upon the back of my hand!]
Yuna made the declaration confidently at the press conference.
The contract mark gleamed brilliantly, etched into the back of her hand.
Everyone would assume that it represented her contract with Alice.
Of course, Yuna was repeating fuck over and over again in her head.
That night, she lay in bed, smoking a cigar as she stared at the mark on her hand.
Yuhan had told her:
I don't want anything to do with you either.
Make sure we never have to see each other again.>
"How dare he... say he wants nothing to do with me...
Me—the top influencer and the most exalted dragon alive?!
That bastard... I'll kill him someday!!"
Elsewhere, there was another girl who couldn't sleep.
It was Kim Ga-eun, who had heard the news about Yuhan and Yuna.
"That damn bitch... I hated her from the moment I saw her, and now she's become Yuhan C's pet and started wagging her tail at him?!
I'll tear her to shreds until there isn't a single cell left!!"
A clash between the two bloodthirsty girls seemed inevitable.