The Emotional Dumpster
As you could see on my business card, I work in the same field as you.
Seeing you drinking alone while looking so drained, I just couldn’t help myself and felt the urge to talk to you.
……
I knew quite a bit about Baekyeou, the A-class hero in front of me.
Yet the person I was facing had absolutely no idea who I was, so it was only natural that her eyes were filled with suspicion and caution as she stared at me.
That was why I continued speaking in the friendliest tone and expression I could manage.
Look at the bottom of my card. It says Welfare Bureau, right? I’m not officially employed there, but… I only do it because I wanted to help.
Drinking alone is boring, and no one wants to hear endless self-talk, right? Talking to someone else feels way better, doesn’t it?
Why are you so tired? Why don’t you tell me just this once?
……
……
……
……
Hehe…
…It felt a little embarrassing, sure.
But I still thought I’d come up with a pretty decent suggestion.
No matter what Baekyeou, an A-class hero, was thinking, it would be simple enough just to listen quietly.
It wouldn’t cost me anything, and I couldn’t imagine it wouldn’t help her at least a tiny bit.
I wasn’t offering to actually do anything for her — I was only going to listen.
……
……
“Dump the feelings.”
“Yeah, just use me like an emotional dumpster and pour it all out comfortably.”
“……That sounds way too weird.”
“Oh. Does it? Well, anyway, that’s basically what counselors do, right? Just relax and unload everything. Even if you’re not a hero of Baekyeou’s level… I’ve been dealing with heroes for a long time.”
……
Actually, this had been my job for about two years now.
There was no reason it should be hard.
What I did was listen, give advice, and help however I could… but that was it.
“So what are you going to do?”
Nothing special, really.
I slid my beer glass toward her and asked.
Luckily, Baekyeou matched her glass to mine and accepted my offer.
An A-class hero was wondering what kind of trouble would make her drink alone like that, and how dangerous or serious it had to be.
I had been secretly worrying about it ever since last time.
Her gaze still held caution, but she started talking anyway.
“It’s exhausting.”
“What exactly?”
“Don’t answer. Just listen.”
“……Yes.”
……Even though my immediate reply was cut off.
Anyway.
“Every time I get a dispatch request lately, I just don’t want to go anymore. I’ll go when I have to, but the moment I finish, I want to suppress the threat, hand it over, and head straight back home.”
……Overwork?
“But when you’re an A-class hero, there are so many people who ignore dispatch requests that if I don’t go… there are cases where even normal incidents go unresolved… I can’t even rest properly, and then I have to jump straight into the next one. And after it’s over I still have to handle that incident too….”
It was overwork.
“Still, there are weekends and a day or two of rest. But the moment I actually try to take time off, I have to do ads or something else… Haa……”
Overwork was confirmed.
I hadn’t listened to her story for very long yet.
Just a few sentences, but I could already tell her condition was pretty obvious.
Overwork burnout.
Common.
Or, to put it simply, something every modern person carried inside them.
……
Well, I was a little surprised because she was an A-class hero, someone people treated like a superhuman, but I had met so many heroes by now that it wasn’t that shocking.
I knew very well that even those called superhumans, awakened, or heroes were still just ordinary people in the end.
So I just nodded, ate my food, drank my beer, and listened.
“Haa……”
Finally she let out the deepest sigh imaginable, as if the ground itself was cracking.
Baekyeou had told a story that was far more ordinary than I expected.
“Haa……”
Normally, when you drink, you say “ahh” or “ohh” — not sigh.
She must have been in really bad shape.
Of course, right now I was acting as her emotional dumpster, so she wasn’t opening up easily, but I took my time thinking about how I could help her.
……
It wasn’t work time at all.
It wasn’t a favor for Saran or anyone else.
I really didn’t understand why I was thinking of a solution, but when a troubled person sits in front of me, helping them was only natural.
I decided not to overthink it.
“……Well, even just talking makes you feel a little better.”
“Hehe, really?”
“……Yeah.”
“Oh, can I order another side dish? I’ve already finished the chicken skewers.”
“……Are you planning to stay here?”
I told you I’m going to be your emotional dumpster, remember?
……
It wasn’t that hard, I was only listening, after all.
It wasn’t difficult, and it would actually help her… I could eat some tasty side dishes and listen to her stories.
“Why are you saying it like you’re being charitable?”
“It’s not wrong, is it?”
……
While listening and chatting like this, I gradually understood the situation.
Normally, an A-class hero can simply ignore requests from the Association if they’re not extremely serious…
And in reality there were people who ignored dispatch requests.
Because of that, one person ends up handling all the overtime, and the whole structure that creates that situation might also be problematic… but at the very least, Baekyeou herself had a small share of responsibility.
“Sigh… I don’t know what I’m even saying to a complete stranger…”
……If I had said that to the Association or to other A-class heroes, they would have just gotten angry and it would have ended there.
Among A-class heroes, someone who was socially respected and even hugely popular.
Someone who worked so hard and honestly… yet here she was complaining that she was exhausted to death and snapping at people.
Everyone would probably understand.
I realized the problem was that she kept holding everything inside.
During our conversation, she never once mentioned asking the Association for help or demanding they solve the situation.
“Haaah……”
“……Hmph.”
A little bit of karma.
Right now I was getting angry at work too, and I complained to Team Leader, the very foundation of this world.
It was unbelievable that an A-class hero was so quiet.
“Uuuu……”
“Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something you’re dissatisfied with? I already placed the order.”
“Oh, it’s not because of the side dish. It’s just… no. Today my role is only to keep listening to you.”
I deliberately spoke that way.
People had two things they did to get angry for centuries, and one of them was interrupting someone’s words. The other was…
“……What is it?”
“No. I don’t want to be the one who messes things up, so I’ll stay quiet.”
“……Just say it. It’s fine.”
“Uhm… really?”
As expected, the nine-tailed fox fell for my bait.
She really had a flexible side, even though she was an A-class hero.
Just looking at her current situation and how overworked she was, she had clearly chosen this herself.
Of course it was natural.
“Ah… by the way, can I ask how I usually call you?”
“Yes?”
I kept calling her by the name she hated, right? Her hair color was already too distinctive, but she hides her ears and tail too, so she probably didn’t want her true identity revealed.
I asked that before getting to the main topic.
Calling her Baekyeou, you, or hero-nim would be incredibly uncomfortable.
It was better to clarify that right away.
“……That’s right. My name… my identity… is tiring.”
“How should I call you?”
“Baek Eun-hwa. My name is Baek Eun-hwa. Just call me by my name and relax.”
“Oh, so I can call you Miss Baek Eun-hwa?”
“……Just casually.”
“Yes.”
Baek Eun-hwa…
I had somehow gotten her real name as an A-class hero, but instead of feeling surprised, I realized it was simply a name that perfectly suited her appearance and abilities.
“Baek” itself gave a white impression, and her hair was pure white.
I didn’t know much about hanja, but the “Hwa” at the end clearly meant “flower,” and her beauty was undeniably floral.
Even if her name didn’t live up to her beauty in a serious way, it was still perfect.
“In my opinion, Miss Baek Eun-hwa, you should just take a proper break and feel much better.”
Of course.
“……Yes, that’s obvious.”
It was obvious.
But so many people who were struggling with that very obvious thing never understood it properly.
Everyone knew that rest solved everything when you were tired, yet sometimes you didn’t realize your own exhaustion… or you were too stubborn to take time off for multiple reasons.
And the situation of the pure-white nine-tailed fox in front of me clearly fell into the latter category.
She had told me how tired she was earlier, yet she never once thought of taking vacation or even resting a little.
“Why is that?”
……
“So if I take a rest, who’s going to protect the city?”
This wasn’t being serious. Was she really a fool?
“Uhm……”
At this rate, I had a strong feeling that this conversation wouldn’t end in a day or two.
Actually, my intuition was screaming it.
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Emotional Dumpster Activated