Haven't I Seen You Somewhere? - 5
There are people who claim to like certain things. Among them, three types I simply cannot understand. The ones who say studying is incredibly fun. The ones who insist mint chocolate is the absolute best. And the ones who say they enjoy working out.
“Huff, huff…”
My combat skills rise automatically with every clash. My stamina, however, only climbs as far as my body’s natural limit. Push past that, and I’d probably collapse. Which means I have to keep conducting examinations while separately training my endurance.
Thanks to that, exercising after work has become a mandatory routine.
“Ugh, huff. Haah…”
How long have I been running? Close to an hour? It feels like my heart is about to burst. There’s a metallic taste of blood rising in my throat. I’ve never run this long before. Maybe starting exercise recently made me overdo it.
I pull off my cap, sweep a hand through my hair, and steady my breathing.
Shit… If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve exercised beforehand.
It was a regret, but who could have predicted things would turn out like this? I thought I’d just keep doing my civil servant job, live that way, and die again. I never dreamed I’d get dragged into such an absurd situation.
I take another deep breath and slowly straighten my hunched back. Still, as an ability user, my physical condition is better than a normal person’s. My breathing had already returned to normal, after all.
I don’t think I’ll ever come to like exercising. But it seems I have no choice if I want to survive. Ability users are, broadly speaking, a body-reliant profession. Neglecting physical maintenance in that line of work is no different from asking to die.
Thirty more minutes. Just thirty more minutes and then I’ll head back.
After a light stretch, I turn the corner and prepare to accelerate again when—
Thud—
“Kyaa!”
“Oof!”
Something slams into my chest and bounces backward. The impact isn’t light for me either; my cap flies off. For a split second I think Villain?! but there’s no stinging sensation on my skin. And if it really had been a villain, I would’ve already had a knife in my gut.
It seems we simply hadn’t seen each other while rounding the corner. My much larger frame had sent the other person tumbling onto their rear.
“I-I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
“Ah… Yes, I’m fine. Are you alright?”
“Yes. It looks like I turned without checking. I’m really sorry.”
“No, I did the exact same thing.”
Even with the hood up, I could tell immediately the other person was a woman. From her build, from those slender limbs. …But why did her voice sound so strange? It was as if she were deliberately modulating it so no one would recognize her real one.
“Oh.”
We’d apologized, confirmed neither was hurt, so I was about to continue on my way when she suddenly shouted.
“Wait! By any chance… It’s you, right? It is!”
“Pardon?”
“The man who took a photo with Irina-nim during the Gate incident!”
“Uh. Um… That’s…”
“And the one who recently went on a rampage against those villains!”
I had fought one against many, but it was hardly a rampage. I only remembered taking out one or two appropriately. In the end, it wasn’t me but Kim Suhyun who had cut down the final villain. Of course, the reporters didn’t care about any of that. They were too busy churning out sensational, flashy articles.
“It is you, right? Yes?”
“Well… yeah, it is, but.”
“Really? Wow! Um, if it’s not too rude, could I take a quick photo with you?”
I had been exercising. This sudden development left me bewildered. A photo? Wasn’t that something celebrities did? It’s not like I was a streamer, so why— Wait. Thinking about it, it made sense.
In this world, ability users are essentially heroes. And heroes enjoy popularity far beyond ordinary celebrities. Why heroes all of a sudden? When you think about it, it’s obvious. They fight monsters to save people and defeat villains to protect peace. Calling them real-life heroes wasn’t wrong at all.
And if I considered my recent actions, they matched both categories perfectly. I still saw myself as nothing more than a civil servant or examiner, but to the average person I was apparently a rising star.
“One, two, three! Yap!”
She took the selfie with slightly exaggerated gestures, checked the result, then bowed deeply.
“It must have been incredibly rude of me. I’m so sorry. And thank you so much!”
“It’s nothing.”
I hadn’t found the request difficult or rude at all. My face had already been spread everywhere because of various incidents anyway.
While she examined the photo from every angle, the woman suddenly burst into bright laughter.
“It came out great! You look even better in person than in photos!”
That line never seems to change no matter who it’s aimed at. Of course, my face isn’t so tragic that compliments feel awkward. Out of everything about possessing Baek Seojin, the only part I genuinely liked was the appearance.
“You are Baek Seojin-nim, right?”
“Yes, but the ‘nim’ feels a little strange.”
“Why? You fought monsters during the Gate outbreak and battled villains! Of course you’re a ‘nim’! I heard you already have quite a few fans. Didn’t you know?”
“Fans? Uh, that’s completely new to me.”
“Yes! And people are even saying civil servants look different now thanks to you, Baek Seojin-nim!”
That… was actually welcome news. Yes, very welcome. We always just got cursed at, accused of doing nothing and told our salaries should be cut. But civil servants have real work too. Especially lower ranks. Just the main duties? That would be lucky. There’s endless miscellaneous labor on top of it—carrying and stacking supplies, extra work whenever it rains or snows. Short-staffed? You surrender your weekends. It’s miserable. Sometimes the nasty comments make you want to throw a punch.
“That’s nice. I’ve been feeling bad lately about how terrible the treatment of civil servants has become.”
“Right? That’s exactly why you should be called Baek Seojin-nim!”
I studied her for a moment, then asked without thinking.
“By any chance… are you a streamer?”
“Y-yes? Uh. N-no?! I’m not! Why would you suddenly ask that…”
“Your way of speaking has a bouncy, lively quality. That’s how streamers usually talk.”
“Do I? I do hear that sometimes!”
But she firmly denied being a broadcaster. The woman wore an extremely awkward smile.
“Well, I’ll be going now. Please take care in the future, Baek Seojin-nim!”
“Huh?”
“Ah, I mean, keep up the good work! Don’t get hurt, beat up the bad villains, hunt lots of monsters and earn tons of money! Fighting!! And keep exercising hard!”
Really, this was the first time I’d met someone so relentlessly bubbly. Was she really not a streamer? That speech pattern was exactly like one. Though since I barely watch streams, I had no idea who she might be.
“Thank you. You keep exercising hard too.”
After a simple farewell, I turned away. It had been sudden, but the encounter didn’t feel bad. If anything, it left me feeling… fulfilled, I suppose. Maybe this is why ability users fight so fiercely—not simply for money or fame, but for something else. At first I hadn’t understood it, but now I think I’m starting to.
I should live a little more diligently.
I put strength back into my legs that had begun to slacken. And I made a resolution. To work harder than I had been. Since things had come to this, I might as well do it properly. The examinations I’m responsible for, the exercise I’m doing now, and…
I’ll head home, play just one game, then sleep.
Tap tap tap—!
Pulling her hood up in a hurry, Seo Eunsol sprinted at full speed. Running into Baek Seojin had been shocking enough, but then he asked if she was a streamer?
What the hell? Does he know me? Is he one of my viewers?
She ran and ran until her breath reached her throat, and only then did Seo Eunsol—also known as Mad Cat—finally stop.
“Haah, haah…”
It hurt. Her chest felt like it would explode. She hadn’t meant to run like a lunatic. She wasn’t even sure why she had.
…
After catching her breath for a while, she carefully pulled out her phone. She sneaked another look at the selfie she had taken moments ago.
The real thing is way better.
The photo was cool enough. Cool, but something was missing. Seeing him with her own eyes earlier had been far cooler.
A hero. A real hero.
In the past, when she had nearly died to a monster, ability users had saved her. That was when she realized they were the great heroes who would save the world. The heroes she had only seen in movies had truly appeared in reality.
And the hero she met today was exactly like someone from a movie. Not arrogant, kind, possessing a sense of normalcy, yet genuinely cool.
“The photo came out well. I can talk about this on stream today.”
Of course, she had no intention of actually showing the picture. There was the portrait rights issue, but more than that, she wanted to keep it for herself. Uploading it anywhere would only invite the trash reporters to snatch it up immediately, and that would be the greatest disrespect.
With remarkably light steps, Seo Eunsol entered her house. After loosening up her body a little, she turned the game back on.
Today, no matter what, I’m reaching Silver!
She worried that streaming would break her concentration, so today she decided to challenge the promotion matches with the broadcast off. Her current record was one win and two losses. One more loss and she would drop again. She had to win. She needed to reach two wins and two losses. The final match would have to be shown on tomorrow’s stream.
Please, just once, let my team have actual people instead of burdens!
Seo Eunsol offered a desperate prayer toward the heavens. However, there was one fact she had overlooked.
- LOSS -
No matter how good her teammates were and how many real players were on her side, the enemy team could still have an existence that even they couldn’t handle.
It was the ID of the person who had once again blown up the game: PlsSilver.