110 – Summer Vacation (5)
109
“……”
“……”
A subtle silence settled in.
Soyeon tightly shut her small, plump lips.
With her head slightly lowered, she maintained an incomprehensible silence.
Her lips twitched a few times, as if hesitating about what to say, and she seemed unsure.
But that lasted only for a moment.
Soyeon slowly moved her head, looked straight into my eyes, and then opened her tightly sealed lips.
“There.”
Her lips made a cautious, rustling sound.
“I know better than anyone else how difficult it was for you when your parents passed away. I watched over you more than anyone else.”
At the time of my parents’ passing, Soyeon and her mother provided me with a lot of support.
They always boosted my morale, allowing me to find strength.
If I hadn’t received proper help at that time, I might have gone astray.
Even before I regained memories from my past life.
No, even after I regained memories from my past life, it was the same.
The feeling of being in a game or a similar world was so strong that I sometimes felt like a stranger, floating without a sense of reality. But, unquestionably, they were my parents.
They cared for me, raised me, and loved me…
I never had such memories of being loved even in my past life.
Ah, damn it.
Just thinking about it makes me emotional.
Phew, calm down, calm down. Convincing Soyeon is the priority for now.
“So, I understand why Jinhak wants to capture those guys, I really do.”
So-yeon discreetly glanced at me before continuing to speak.
“They’re dangerous enough to openly infiltrate the Union. Not to mention, they’re not individuals but a whole group.”
“Yeah.”
“But seriously, you, just a hero trainee, wanting to fight those villains is too risky. Your late grandma and uncle wouldn’t want you exposed to unnecessary danger.”
Well, she’s right.
Honestly, I don’t want to get involved with those guys.
But it’s not like I can just leave them be. Knowing what future awaits if I do.
“Of course, leaving them be is not an option. We can seek help from the police or the Hero Association…”
“But you probably can’t. How would you explain it? You can’t reveal your precognitive abilities publicly. Even if you do, no one would believe. And revealing it would just put me in danger.”
Especially on the day they decide to verify precognitive abilities. It would be a disaster.
If being a precog gets exposed, scavengers like hyenas would come rushing in.
That’s how invaluable precognition is.
All kinds of groups, organizations, corporations, everyone would target me?
…Well, of course, I’m not a precog.
What I’m saying is, you don’t have to risk so much chasing them from the beginning. Build up your strength, become an official hero, and then pursue them. It’s not too late.
“I said before, you don’t have to go to such lengths chasing them in such a dangerous way. Strengthen yourself a bit more, become a proper hero, and it won’t be too late to chase them.”
“I told you. Leaving them alone would mess up Korea. And I value my life. I don’t plan on openly fighting them, and I don’t plan on fighting alone either. I’ve already asked for help from some people, including Yuseol-hyun, Rok San-neu, Baek Yoo-rin, Lee Si-woon, Kang Dae-han, and others.”
Fighting them would be suicidal.
Therefore, I needed the help of people like Yuseol-hyun, Rok San-neu, Baek Yoo-rin, Lee Si-woon, Kang Dae-han, and, of course, So-yeon. After all, she’s the key.
You are the main character of the Romance Hero Academy and the one and only hero who will save South Korea from the evil.
Your talent and ideals will become sharp daggers that pierce through the heart of evil.
For sure.
“Jinhyuk… sigh.”
Soyeon let out a deep sigh and shook her head as if in pain.
“Ugh… really. It seems pointless to say anything now.”
“That’s how it is.”
“What does it matter? Ugh, really… If I can’t even say…”
Soyeon bit her lower lip slightly and spoke with a resigned voice.
“Okay, well… you asked for help, right? Okay, I’ll help.”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. After all, your parents were important to me too. Once I heard about their deaths, I couldn’t just sit still.”
Well, you also owe a lot to our parents.
“Anyway, Jinhyuk can help you, but… don’t go risking yourself by confronting them directly at the scene. Got it?”
“I’ll try to avoid that.”
“To be honest, even that girl with the white hair… most heroes wouldn’t be able to handle her. I don’t know how much stronger the villains in that organization could be… sigh.”
It seems she’s worried about this and that.
“So, they’re showing up at the auction in ten days? Is there anyone else who can help? We’re not thinking of going there on our own, right? Oh, right. Didn’t you ask for help from Roxanne earlier?”
“This time, I decided to seek Yoo Seol-hyun’s help.”
“Yoo Seol-hyun?”
Soyeon’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.
“Why Yoo Seol-hyun? She doesn’t seem like the type to help with this kind of thing.”
“Well, she has something to gain.”
“Something to gain?”
“Well, you know…”
In truth, Soyeon wanted to seek Rock Sanu’s help rather than Yoo Seol-hyun, but there were a few complications, so she had no choice but to give up.
But not Yoo Seol-hyun.
Even if what I was planning wasn’t entirely legal, she would silently accept it if there was something to gain.
Unlike Rock Sanu.
Soyeon wouldn’t like it once she knew the details.
So, for now, it was necessary to change the subject.
“Anyway, for a while, I think I need to focus on those guys, so I don’t plan on dating.”
“It seems like you suddenly changed the subject.”
“It’s a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding.”
Soyeon stared at me for a moment and then brushed her hair aside.
“Yeah, I probably don’t have the time to date right now.”
“You don’t have to wait eagerly. You should try a proper relationship too. What about Lee Si-woon or Kang Dae-han?”
“Ha.”
She snorted as if disgusted by the suggestion and glared at me.
“Do you keep saying that?”
“No, but just waiting blindly would only make it hard for you.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. And if Jinhyeok says this to you and then goes out with someone else… I’m going to be mad, you know?”
“Hmm.”
Should I tell them that I don’t have anyone I like?
The reason I lied about having someone I like is because of the male protagonists.
I was trying to distance myself from Soyeon and the guys to avoid unnecessary restrictions and harassment.
But now, I don’t need to care about such things too much.
“…Esiwoon and Kangdaehan in the game were not that great.”
It’s because they were the ones who tormented me in the game for a long time.
Of course, Esiwoon didn’t directly torment me, but it was mostly his followers who harassed me. However, that doesn’t mean Esiwoon was innocent.
He must have noticed to some extent that I was being ostracized because of him, but he didn’t stop it.
But a lot has changed now.
I act differently from the original, I grow stronger, and I build relationships, so the relationships with Esiwoon, Kangdaehan, and other anti-idol members have changed a lot.
“…If I hadn’t regained the memories of my past life, would things have gone as in the original?”
If I think like that, it’s nothing short of being the enemy of heaven.
But apart from that, I don’t have such negative feelings towards Esiwoon and Kangdaehan now.
After all, the original is something I didn’t directly experience, right?
Of course, I know that I might experience it in the future, but perhaps because I haven’t directly suffered harassment, it doesn’t really hit me.
If I had returned after suffering torment for a long time, it might have been different, but I’m just living an ordinary life and remembered the game from my past life.
I am now watching Lee Siwoon and Kang Daehan, and the only strong impression I get is, “Ah, these are the guys who bullied NPC Lee Jinhyuk in the game.”
It’s a bit awkward and uncomfortable, but that’s about it, if I were to put it in a different way.
In the first place, it’s not them who directly killed me, but Rebellion.
And they haven’t really harmed me in my current state.
Besides, I don’t have a particularly bad relationship with Lee Siwoon and Kang Daehan. Lee Siwoon even cooperated with me to drive away the stalkers, fought against villains, and saved Soyeoni. As for Kang Daehan, after the ranking match with Baek Yurin, he seems to just acknowledge me.
At this point, there’s no need to hold a grudge against them, and it could be something that I could benefit from in the future.
Well… It’s a bit strange to treat the current Lee Siwoon and Kang Daehan as the same as the ones in the game.
As I mentioned earlier, so many things have changed.
Personality, abilities, relationships, future, everything.
“Come to think of it, not only them, but Soyeoni has also changed a lot.”
If it were the original, she would have still been hanging out with the guys without a second thought, corrupting herself.
She would have been getting along well with the male leads.
“But after I thought I died and realized my feelings, I even confessed.”
In the game, because I really died, Soyeoni’s mental state collapsed, and she became obsessed with the Rebellion members who killed me.
“Come to think of it, what was Soyeoni thinking when she fought against the Rebellion members?”
In the typical reverse harem game for women, after I died, she teamed up with the male leads to fight against a great evil, but I don’t really know what Soyeoni was thinking at the time.
It’s no wonder, because despite being a playable character, there was a lack of soliloquy or internal portrayal.
So I had to guess Soyeoni’s feelings through her words and actions.
Of course, from the outward portrayal, she managed to hold onto her collapsed mental state, received comfort from the male leads, formed good relationships, received various support, and managed to defeat Yoo Dahee’s group together…
“Hmm.”
“What’s up? Why the long face?”
“Soyeon, it’s about you.”
To lighten the tense atmosphere, I casually threw out one question as a joke.
“If I were to die, would you quickly move on to another guy?”
“What? What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden?”
“Well, it just crossed my mind.”
“You said you’d confront the villains who made our parents suffer. But now you’re talking about dying and being weak?”
Soyeon furrowed her brows and shot me a piercing look.
“Don’t talk nonsense, seriously… If you were going to think like that from the start, you shouldn’t have bothered.”
“Well, I… uh…”
“And what? Move on to another guy right away? Hey, isn’t it too much to say that to a childhood friend who even confessed to liking you?”
“No, you’re popular, aren’t you? You could easily find a good match.”
“Ugh, Jinhyeok… I’ve told you several times before.”
After letting out a deep sigh, Soyeon glanced at me and slowly pursed her lips.
“…I’m not really interested in guys or dating.”
Then, she hesitated for a moment before blurting out, “Except for you.”
“Yeah?”
“I heard you! Why pretend you didn’t? Seriously… Ugh…”
Soyeon, who couldn’t brush away the embarrassment or regret of her recent words, caused a commotion.
She seemed utterly embarrassed.
“Ah, I don’t know! I shouldn’t have said anything, really!”
“….”
I looked at Soyeon, who was making excuses.
In the game, how did Soyeon, after my death, manage to defeat the villain called Rebellion with what feelings and thoughts?
Suddenly, I was curious.
***
“…Alex, did you say you were going to steal everything at the auction tomorrow?”
“But why?”
“Well, the atmosphere has been off lately. Just be careful.”
“I’ll manage.”
In response to Yudahee’s words, Alex just shrugged.
He was a notorious thief.
So far, there was almost nothing he couldn’t steal.
If there’s something he wants, he takes it; if there’s something he wants to steal, he steals it.
He had lived that way until now, and he would continue to live that way in the future.
Even if it meant he would die because of it.
Forever.
