I'll Handle This
This morning, when Hayeon opened her eyes, her state of mind was truly complicated.
No, to be honest, she felt like she wanted to just go out and die.
"Aaaah! What kind of insane thing did I do yesterday?!"
Yesterday, no matter how good the atmosphere had been, she had tried to subtly show her crotch to Hyunwoo, who had always been like a younger brother to her.
On top of that, after going that far, she hadn't even finished the job—she’d just fainted in the middle, leaving everything in an awkward mess.
This was simply... a dark history, a moment that would haunt her for the rest of her life.
So, as soon as morning broke, Hayeon jumped up and ran to Hyunwoo as if to apologize.
She had to get there before he could look at her with contempt and say something like, "Noona, you were a pervert..."
"Hyun, Hyunwoo-ya!!"
But her dash to Hyunwoo's room was short-lived.
"Yes, yes! My dear husband, that’s how you swing it."
"Li, like this...?"
...What is that woman?
On the playground in front of the orphanage, a beauty with white hair was stuck right next to her precious younger brother, whispering and calling him "husband."
Furthermore, that sly smile of hers—it was obvious to anyone that she was up to no good.
At those words, Hayeon's patience shattered instantly.
With her eyes burning with rage, she marched straight up to the woman clinging to Hyunwoo's arm and shouted.
"Hey! Who are you!"
"Oh, Hayeon Noona."
"Ugh... another new female has approached...!"
Seeing Hayeon Noona, who had fainted after getting hit on the head by Ego yesterday, return, Hyunwoo waved his hand happily without a second thought.
But in Ego's eyes, killing intent was already rising.
First, it was the 'mentor' in the morning, and now another female was clinging to her husband under the guise of being a 'noona.'
Ego looked at Hayeon, keeping her mouth shut with a strange, sour expression on her face.
Then, without a word, as if she had made up her mind, she used the excuse of training and smoothly clung back onto Hyunwoo's arm with a *thud*.
"E, Ego...?"
When a flustered Hyunwoo asked, Ego wrapped her soft breasts around his forearm and shot a seductive yet spiteful smile toward Hayeon, whose face had turned bright red.
"Heh. I wondered who it was, but isn't it the 'fox' who fainted while trying to seduce my husband the day before yesterday?"
"Ugh, ugh, ugh... Can you take those vulgar tits off him right now?! And why are you calling my younger brother 'husband' as you please!"
Hayeon tried to pull Ego off immediately.
However, Ego was the mother of all Soul Weapons.
She wasn't so weak that an orphanage nun could just peel her off.
"Wow, Hayeon Noona is the strongest in our orphanage... Ego, you're surprisingly strong, aren't you?"
"?!"
The moment she heard that, electricity flashed through Ego's brain!
That's right, I'm currently a 'low-tier' Soul Weapon!
I'm supposed to be acting weak and pitiful!?
As soon as Hyunwoo finished speaking, Ego elegantly collapsed to the floor with a *thump*.
"Huh?"
"Sob... she pushed me so hard that I couldn't help but... collapse, husband..."
"Ego, are you okay?"
As Hyunwoo approached and sat down, Ego waited for the moment to burrow into his arms.
And from within them, she quietly raised the corners of her mouth.
Her own sly, cunning smile of victory.
Seeing that, Hayeon felt something literally snap inside her!
Feeling something boiling over, she had no choice but to admit it.
She didn't know where this woman named Ego had popped out from, but she was a being she could never, ever get along with.
And just then.
"Hyunwoo! My student~."
"Ah, Mentor!"
"Tsk."
"Ugh."
Ego and Hayeon, the two females, clicked their tongues in unison for once.
At the end of their gaze stood the old hag... no, the lead hero Baek Seungha, who had walked up and put her arm around Hyunwoo's shoulder as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
She was stuck to Hyunwoo quite naturally, and she didn't care at all about the intense glares she was receiving from Ego and Hayeon.
Because.
At this very moment, the stage for her student to step up had finally been set.
"Hyunwoo, there's an incident!"
"An incident...?"
"An incident?"
"What kind of incident?"
"Hehehe. A five-man gang of robbers has just stormed the bank right in front of us."
"...Excuse me?"
South Korea, a country where possession of firearms is illegal.
Yet, a masked gang armed with machine guns had invaded a bank, taken hostages, and was blatantly causing havoc.
And yet, Baek Seungha was saying it as casually as if she were asking, "Should we go to Burger King for lunch today?"
Truly, as if to say, "In America, this is just a daily routine~."
A newly emerging criminal group that had been growing rapidly, centered in Seoul.
The Masked Gang.
They were the result of young women who had become 'blackened' after growing tired of an aging society, youth unemployment, loan scams, and various evil laws.
They were dangerous enough to attract the attention of not just the police, but the Hero Association as well.
Their rank was a staggering D-.
In a country where even owning a gun was illegal, that rank was by no means common.
"Aaaah! You are already surrounded! If you surrender now, there will be no use of force!"
"Come out right now!"
"Shut up! We just wanted to be full-time employees!"
"That's right! But what has this rotten society ever done for us?!"
"I don't even have fingers, but I was classified as Grade 2 physical ability and dragged into the military! And when I got a herniated disc there, they just kicked me out!!"
Currently, the front of the bank was completely sealed off by dozens of police cars.
Everyone was tense with live ammunition loaded, but no one could pull the trigger easily because of the hostages.
Truly, unfortunately, at this point, a special task force should have been deployed to carry out a hostage rescue operation.
...At least, that was until they saw the D-rank hero in charge of this area and their sidekicks get beaten to a pulp and dragged out by the Masked Gang after boldly charging in, shouting, "Trust me!"
"Damn it... what are we supposed to do if even the heroes can't handle them?"
"Is support still not here?"
"We requested it from the Hero Association... why is it so late?"
It was right then.
"Hmm~ I guess this is the place."
"...Who are you?"
"Excuse me! This is a restricted area for civilians! It's dangerous, so get back right now...!"
Even though it was obvious how serious the situation was, the police officers, seeing a woman walking leisurely in a suit and sunglasses, thought she was just a civilian and tried to stop her in unison.
...Until Baek Seungha pulled out a flashing hero badge.
It was an official American-style hero license with a gold border and a shimmering hologram, something rarely seen in Korea.
"Whoa, whoa~ I came to help, so why are you so prickly? Even if I look like this, I'm an orthodox hero who’s eaten some American food~."
"A, a hero?!"
"But your outfit is... you look too much like a regular person? Usually, if you're a hero, you have a dedicated costume...?"
"Oh my~ we gave all that up in America. You know, sometimes even 'porn' feels like a 'documentary' when you get tired of it. It's the same thing~."
It was a strange analogy.
It was definitely strange, but at the same time, it was an analogy that somehow made sense.
So, just as the police officers were nodding, thinking, "Huh...?",
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
"!?"
Gunshots rang out from inside the bank again. The police turned their heads in a panic, tense.
And at the same time, they instinctively began to rely on Baek Seungha.
If she really was a hero from the American mainland... she would solve something!
"Hero! It's a good thing you really came!"
"There are 50 hostages inside the bank! And masked criminals armed with machine guns are holding out inside! We... we can't do anything more!"
Baek Seungha shrugged and scanned the situation.
"Hmm~ so you were all standing in front of the door with your arms wide open, praying? That’s almost a martyr concept, isn't it?"
"Th, that is... Yes! That's right!"
The police captain shouted with desperate eyes.
"Please... Hero, I beg you!"
"While we draw their attention, you can sneak in and take out the Masked Gang...!"
It was then.
Baek Seungha casually raised her hand to cut the police officer off.
"Hyunwoo."
"...Yes, Mentor."
A clear, low voice echoed from behind.
It was just one word, but the entire scene held its breath at that moment.
"...?"
"...What is that man?"
"Ma... le?"
At that moment, a chill like a cold shiver ran down the spines of all the police officers.
Instinctively, they realized that this existence shouldn't be here.
Legally, biologically, and by the common sense of this world, men were not beings who stood on the battlefield.
They were objects of protection, 'biological top-priority assets' at the national level.
If they accidentally set foot in a place like this, they would usually be wrapped in a bulletproof blanket and an emergency evacuation order would be issued.
But such a man—and not just any man, but one over 180cm tall, with a sculpted physique without a single ounce of fat.
The solid chest line subtly revealed under his thin shirt, the naturally angular collarbones, and the moment the sunlight spilled over his forehead, the way his cheeks were softly moistened—the scene was breathtaking.
It was incredibly hot.
And that man had just set foot in this dangerous space.
"He, hey! You! This place is dangerous!"
"If you stay here, something big will happen! You might go 'ouchie' and end up crying!"
"Th, that body... it's such a waste...!"
In an instant, the police surrounded Hyunwoo.
Their words were meant to stop him, but their hands were constantly lingering near his forearms or back muscles.
If left like this, he would be loaded into a police car and sent home under escort.
It was then.
Baek Seungha's one word brought the scene to a halt.
"Hey, what are you doing to my sidekick?"
"...Yes?"
"What did you just say?"
"This operation. My sidekick, Kang Hyunwoo, will be deployed. Hyunwoo, can you... no, will you do it?"
"Of course, Mentor."
...???
At that moment, something snapped in the brains of the police officers.
The words 'a man performs a mission.'
It was a scene they couldn't even imagine, much like the phrase 'a man voluntarily takes a woman.'
And to think that such a precious man with a sculpted body like that would directly take on a task of sweeping out a robbery gang?
It was just a sexy lie.
Or, it was so alluring that it felt more like an erotic delusion.
However.
"I'll do it."
The moment Hyunwoo said that quietly and tapped his solid chest.
"......Yes."
"Please take care of it...♥"
All the police officers were swayed.
Their reason was no longer functioning.
At the intersection of their maternal instinct to protect even one arm of this man and their sexual instinct, they had no choice but to nod.