Chapter 26
“…Shut up. You rotten-smelling bitch.”
“You’re the one who smells rotten.”
“Get lost. Ugh, acting all high and mighty when you’d cry your eyes out if someone hit you. I should just—!”
Just as the shaggy-haired guy raised his hand during their disgusting exchange, it happened before Nina could even flinch.
In an instant, Messi stepped in front of her—then crack—a sound like a breaking tree branch echoed in the air.
“Messi?”
Nina hurriedly got up and rushed toward him—only to see the shaggy-haired thug lying at Messi’s feet.
It wasn’t a branch that had snapped.
The thug’s arm was bent in a completely unnatural direction.
“U-Uwaaaaah!”
The thug shrieked in pain.
Meanwhile, Messi’s voice remained calm as ever.
“You stink, he said.”
“Aaaargh!”
The other delinquents, aside from the writhing thug, momentarily froze in cognitive dissonance.
It had all happened in the blink of an eye.
“W-Who the hell are you?! What trick did you pull?!”
Someone finally yelled—but was ignored.
Messi turned to Nina, asking with concern, “Are you okay?”
Nina nodded blankly, still half in shock.
The guy groaning on the ground had been clearly bigger and older than Messi.
And yet…
“You little—!”
“Hey!!!”
A sharp shout cut through the tension just as the other boys were about to charge at Messi.
The girl who had just entered marched toward them without hesitation.
Nina couldn’t believe her eyes.
It was that girl from the general store—the one who had acted like she was helping but had stirred up trouble instead. It was definitely Katya Dozer.
‘Do they know each other?’
Katya stopped in front of the stunned delinquents and put her hands on her hips, glaring at them.
“Are you trying to die today or what?”
“W-We didn’t do anything! They attacked Günther first—!”
“Cut the crap. Are your eyes just for decoration? Or did you breathe in smog and lose your brain cells?”
“Hey, now…”
“I don’t care if you idiots get yourselves killed, but I told you—don’t drag me into your mess. Don’t you see what that girl is wearing? Are you trying to get us all exterminated?”
Katya suddenly pointed at Nina, and Nina frowned.
It was only then that the delinquents seemed to notice the jacket Nina was wearing.
They all paled instantly.
“Ah, crap… It was too dark! We really didn’t see it!”
“What do we do? What do we do? Doug, are you insane?!”
“I-I didn’t know either! Timi said nothing would happen!”
All their earlier bravado vanished, and they started blaming each other.
Katya yelled again, “You morons! If you get it now, grab that pig and get the hell out of here!”
The thug, still crying and hoarse, was dragged away, and soon the delinquents scattered from the playground.
Only three kids were left behind.
A strange stillness fell over the place.
While Nina stared at Katya with a confused look, Katya kept watching where the boys had disappeared.
Finally, Messi broke the silence.
“You’re wise.”
Katya flinched and turned to him, then looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.
“What’s your deal? You look younger than me—”
“Who were they just now?”
Nina suddenly asked.
Katya blinked rapidly at her, then averted her eyes and muttered,
“Just some local kids… and my cousins.”
A vague answer.
Nina recalled what the boys had been saying earlier.
They were clearly trying to take her and Messi somewhere, though their exact intent was unclear.
It was also unclear why Katya had stopped them.
Just as Nina was about to ask—
“They’re just dumbasses who mistook you for someone else. I came because I didn’t want the neighborhood getting noisy, that’s all.”
“…Well, thanks anyway.”
Regardless of her motives, if it hadn’t been for Katya, those boys would’ve likely jumped Messi in a group.
As Nina tried to shake off the horrific mental image, Katya finally looked her straight in the eye.
She seemed oddly surprised.
“…What?”
“Thanks for helping us. By the way, where’s your neighborhood?”
Nina asked purely out of curiosity.
Katya opened her mouth slightly, glanced at Messi, then sighed deeply.
“You really don’t know anything, huh? I had a feeling when you started talking to me like that…”
“Huh? Why are you saying that all of a sudden? Want to fight again?”
She really was unpredictable—Nina was sure of it now.
Preparing herself for another argument, Nina was caught off guard when Katya suddenly flushed red and waved her hands.
“What are you talking about?! And that wasn’t a fight—if anything, you beat me without losing a single word!”
“You’re the one who picked a fight first! And you falsely accused me!”
“That was… sorry.”
Nina was surprised at how easily Katya apologized.
Still red in the face, Katya mumbled,
“I’m sorry about that. But we don’t have time for this. Something big might happen. Not that anyone would believe me anyway—”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Even if I explain it here, it won’t matter. We need to tell an adult.”
“Let us decide that—just tell us first.”
Messi, who had been quietly observing the two girls, finally spoke up.
Despite his delicate, noble appearance, his presence had a weight to it.
Katya hesitated, then began to explain.
“…I don’t know the full story. But I know my uncle’s been sneaking into the Gold District since last month. I think he overheard something there. Maybe today—”
“You mean someone’s planning to mess with the deal today?” Messi quickly summarized. “Any idea what?”
Katya shook her head blankly.
“I don’t know any more than that.”
“Alright, then for now… Nina? What’s wrong?”
Messi stopped mid-sentence and looked at Nina in concern.
Nina stood there, frozen, staring blankly into space.
“What’s with her all of a sudden? Hey, you okay?”
Katya waved a hand in front of her face, but Nina didn’t respond.
She was busy digging through a sudden memory that had surfaced.
Gold District.
A deal.
Someone’s interference.
Each word sparked a strange sense of déjà vu.
‘Could it be… that incident is happening now?’
The event from her dream.
An explosion at a casino—resulting in numerous casualties.
‘But that shouldn’t happen for a while yet…’
Still, it was the only major event she could recall linked to the Gold District.
And in this altered reality, there was no guarantee it would happen exactly the same way.
“…Did Mira unnie hit someone at the casino today?”
“Mira?”
Messi blinked in surprise, then nodded.
“That’s what I heard. But how did you know?”
So it really was that incident.
Nina’s heart began to pound.
If her memory was right, Ravian would survive—but Mira was going to die.
And who knew about the others?
“It’s the wristwatch.”
“Huh?”
Messi and Katya both looked startled.
Nina swallowed hard and continued.
“We have to find the man wearing a pink wristwatch.”
“How do you know that?”
Katya asked, still suspicious, just as the sound of a bell rang in the distance—Ding—
It came from the hotel’s clock tower.
Looking up from where they stood, the tower’s face showed exactly 8 o’clock.
“Sorry, no time to explain. We have to—”
“Nina, wait. We get it. But calm down and tell us clearly. Do you know exactly who that man with the pink watch is?”
Nina looked up at Messi with anxious eyes.
Did he have a plan?
