I Can Fish All Day Long
Of course my face soured. An A-class Superhuman... yeah. That was a level I could handle. At least they still fell under the broad category of living creatures.
But an S-class? That wasn't even a living being anymore. I had no idea what they'd been like at birth, but by now they were nothing short of a natural disaster wearing human skin.
And they wanted me to subjugate something like that? I'd have a better shot at surviving a fall off a rooftop. Hell, a round of tug-of-war with the ceiling would hurt less.
"What's with that face?"
"W-well... you see..."
I laid out the situation I was in. Of course, I left out what would happen if I failed. Something about that felt ominous.
"You're going to turn Jung Sujin into... your personal breeding bitch?"
"Yeah..."
"You've lost your mind."
The scolding came as no surprise. From their perspective, I was so drunk on lust that I was about to poke a being that should never be touched.
"Surviving in Jung Sujin's nest is easy enough once you're an A-class Superhuman. But laying a hand on that bitch herself? That's a completely different story. You could have a dozen lives and it still wouldn't be enough."
"Then..."
"I'd love to tell you to give it up."
Kim Yerin's words were firm. This wasn't about her not wanting to die. She was far more worried about me getting killed.
I was terrified, but I couldn't back out now. Die this way or die that way — it was all the same. If I was going to die anyway, I might as well go down trying something.
"I'm sorry. But I have no intention of changing my mind. So please, find me a way."
"Haaah, I guess there's no helping it. You idiot! Where the hell does this sex drive even come from? Are we not enough for you? Huh?!"
"Ahaha..."
No. Honestly, I already had more than I could handle. But this Status Window bastard kept throwing quests at me telling me to go devour more women.
You like it, though.
...I didn't exactly hate it. Honestly, it was kind of fun.
"Fine... I'll think of a plan. But in exchange, you give me the cards you're holding."
I roughly filled her in on a few of the skills I had. Of course, I didn't tell her everything. I didn't think she'd ever betray me, but you still take out insurance, right?
"If that's what you've got... yeah. This is doable."
"Really?!"
I was genuinely shocked. Come to think of it, Kim Yerin was usually the one cooking up these kinds of schemes. I guess that's what you get from a former professor.
"First things first... I think we're going to have to debut as idols."
"Excuse me?"
Hold on. Has this woman lost her mind?
We spent the night at a nearby inn, then headed back to the Class 1 Zone. This time there were five of us, not four.
"I'm only just realizing this, but an S-class Superhuman's zone is... weird."
"The surprising part is that you're only realizing that now."
"No, no. That's not what I mean. It's strangely huge."
The Class 1 Zone was located in Daejeon's dome stadium. It used to be where the local baseball team played, but they'd been naturally pushed out once Jung Sujin started holding concerts there. As if to advertise her unstable mental state, the spatial rules here were far more bizarre than anything resembling normal physics. From the outside, the restricted zone looked about the size of a single baseball stadium. From the inside, it was closer to five soccer fields.
"Stay close. If you're not careful, you can get lost. Anyone who goes missing in here is never found. We're lucky we already carved out a route."
The spectator seating alone was so vast you could easily lose your way. I followed behind, wound tight with nerves, clinging to Han Yuri's tail for dear life.
"Looks like we made it through without getting lost today."
There was a waiting room at the far end of the concert hall — the place where Dugun Dugun Heart Attack practiced their dancing and singing. With three active A-class heroes among us, we walked into the practice area without anyone trying to stop us.
And I... used my disguise skill to change my identity. Specifically, into a trainer.
"Is this plan actually going to work...?"
"We'll find out when we try."
"Mmmngh..."
This was Kim Yerin's plan. I'd disguise myself as a trainer, teach Dugun Dugun Heart Attack how to dance, and gradually close the distance. But was this actually going to work? I could barely breathe. I was absolutely terrible at teaching anyone how to dance or sing.
I did roughly practice some dances I found online... but can I actually pull this off?
One slip-up and there would be no going back. S-class Superhumans were unpredictable by nature.
"Looks like today's concert is at dawn."
"How do you know that? I thought the schedule was always random."
"The idiots upstairs might not have noticed, but the song patterns are always fixed. I figured it out. Just a little while ago, actually."
How the hell did a single woman figure out something even the Hero Association — supposedly packed with elites — couldn't crack?
"Look. The songs they're performing at today's concert are Signature and I'll Make Your Heart Race."
"And that means...?"
"Normally they sing their signature hits like Gogu Gogu Sweet Potato. When they do that, they hold the concert in the afternoon. This has never happened before. Well, nothing else changes except the time slot, so I guess the higher-ups don't bother distinguishing."
I see. Still, shouldn't they be scrutinizing every little detail like this? Then again, Jung Sujin wasn't the only S-class Superhuman they couldn't control. I supposed it made sense.
We headed straight for the waiting room. Staff members tried to stop us along the way, but one look at Victoria and Baek Hanyoung's faces was enough to make them step aside. Waved through like that, we reached the waiting room in no time.
I let out a long breath. My heart was hammering. This was where an S-class Superhuman — Jung Sujin — ate and slept. It might have looked ordinary, but this was a monster's den.
I steeled myself and threw the door open. Blinding lights burst forth, the glare excessive — but since I was disguised as a trainer, I was wearing sunglasses, so I adapted quickly.
"Hmm? Who are you? It's not concert time yet."
The waiting room looked as ordinary as I'd heard. The kind of scene you'd occasionally catch on TV. I cleared my throat and looked at Jung Sujin, who was sitting on the sofa.
"Pleasure to meet you. I'm the trainer who'll be teaching Dugun Dugun Heart Attack their dancing and singing. Baek... Baek Seongyeon."
"Excuse me? This is the first I've heard about a change in personnel."
"Then I suppose... this is also the first you've heard that the members have changed."
At those words, Jung Sujin looked over at the original members of Dugun Dugun Heart Attack sitting on the sofa. A brief silence passed. Then she smiled brightly.
"Ah! Is that so! Then the people next to you must be the new members."
"W-wait! Something's wro—"
BOOOOM! The original members of Dugun Dugun Heart Attack had their heads explode. I didn't feel particularly sorry for them. They'd committed murder, terrorism, that sort of thing, and had personally chosen this as their alternative military service. They were people who deserved to die. Still, the grotesque sight was a bit hard to look at.
"Wonderful! Trainer! But I was under the impression we still had some time before a new song comes out. What's going on?"
"Ahem, ahem. The last album was so well-received that the higher-ups decided to shorten the release interval. That's why I was dispatched on such short notice."
"That's great! I'm so glad the last song was received so well!"
Honestly, I had no idea whether the reception was good or bad. Dugun Dugun Heart Attack's numbers were always excellent. The entire country was throwing its full weight behind them, after all.
"Okay! What are everyone's stage names?"
"I'm Puppet."
"I am Orca."
"...Ice Cream."
The three of them gave the stage names they'd thought up in advance. Named after their own abilities, I supposed. Then what about Han Yuri?
"Bahamut."
"..."
"W-woooow... that's a really unique name."
Hearing those words come out of someone who looked mentally unstable was a rare occurrence indeed. Han Yuri's face turned red as she belatedly realized how embarrassing the name she'd just blurted out was. But what could she do? There was no taking it back.
"Dugun Dugun Heart Attack, new members! Waaaah! This is so exciting! Trainer? Looking forward to working with you!"
"Yes. Speaking of which, Miss Jung Sujin. I'd like to discuss the song's concept."
"Euum?! What is it!"
Good. This was where it started. They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
"Up until now, you've gone with an innocent, cute image, right?"
"Of course! Dugun Dugun Heart Attack is the nation's little sister!"
"...This time, we're changing the concept to sexy."
"W-wait? That's..."
"Surely you're not going to tell me you can't do it. Miss Jung Sujin?"
I came on a little strong, but I figured it would land somehow. As long as I followed the rules, I was safe.
"Weeell... yes! Of course! There's no concept I can't pull off!"
Good. I'd cast the bait, and the fish had taken it.
Now all I had to do was reel her in.