The Hero Who Was Hiding
“Listen up! Nobody move!”
“Don’t even think about twitching if you don’t want to turn into a honeycomb!”
“Eek?! Mommy...”
“I-it’s okay... everything will be fine...”
It wasn’t just the sound of gunfire; the silence was so heavy it seemed to swallow even the sound of breathing.
The bank, currently occupied by a masked gang armed with rifles, was deathly still, as if submerged in freezing air.
In one corner of the first-floor lobby, about fifty hostages were lined up against the wall, their wrists bound with zip ties.
They were tethered together like a human chain, helpless, while the gazes of the masked gang members pierced them like needles.
The reason the police outside couldn’t make a reckless move was precisely because of that sight.
“...Tch.”
Amidst those suffocating hostages, there was one woman who, despite the tension, was strangely inconspicuous.
With her hat pulled low and sunglasses covering half her face, she looked like just another terrified hostage at a glance.
Though her hands and feet were bound with zip ties, in reality, she was a big-shot existence currently “pretending to be ordinary.”
She had only come to take care of some business... but at that exact moment, the masked gang had occupied the bank like a scene from a movie.
Thanks to that, the moment she stepped out of the restroom, she had been dropped right into the middle of a crime scene.
She wasn’t a sidekick or a civilian; she was a officially registered hero.
She was ‘Shin Yura,’ the super rookie currently drawing the most attention in the South Korean hero scene, active under the alias ‘Taeguk Girl,’ known for her dazzling blonde hair.
...Of course, right now, she was just sweating bullets in the corner.
‘Damn it... If I had just subdued them the moment they burst in, it would have been over! Why, of all times, did I have to be in the bathroom at that exact moment!!’
Yura furrowed her brows.
The masked gang had subdued the citizens in an instant and were holding them hostage, and Yura had effectively been “caught along with them” with no other choice.
If she fought with all her might, it was obvious the civilians would get caught in the crossfire.
Moreover, the opponents were that notorious masked gang that even the Korean branch of the Hero Association was currently losing sleep over.
Everyone was armed with rifles, and they were holding hostages. At this point, even if she were a hero, if she moved rashly, the word “tragedy” would be splashed across the news.
There was one saving grace. Because her face was so well-known, Yura usually wore a hat and sunglasses when going out, and she happened to be dressed that way this time, too.
Thanks to that disguise, the masked gang hadn’t realized who she was yet.
‘For now, I’m buried among the hostages. As soon as there’s an opening, I’ll strike.’
Shin Yura exhaled quietly to herself and lowered her posture even further.
To keep her identity from being discovered. And to wait, and wait, until the opportunity came.
If there was one thing to be thankful for, it was that this was South Korea.
Wasn’t it a country that prided itself on being a “hero powerhouse” among the best in the world?
The response speed of public authority, the association’s deployment system—on paper, everything was perfect.
Surely, somewhere, someone was moving.
Someone would burst in soon and overturn the situation! ...That’s what she wanted to believe.
It had already been three hours since she started holding out with that belief.
The situation was getting more tangled by the minute.
“Hey, did you hear? A group of heroes approached the back entrance!”
“Really?”
“Yeah. But... they got absolutely beaten to a pulp by our big sisters!”
“Pfft... Heh-heh-heh. That’s a good look for them!”
Clench.
Yura instinctively clenched her fists.
Heroes... lost?
Even the police special forces had been subdued the moment they entered and were now hostages, and thanks to that, right next to Yura, special forces officers in handcuffs were cosplaying as civilians.
They couldn’t even lift their heads due to their pride, but in reality, facing the combat power of modern villains, “special forces becoming hostages” was a common occurrence.
But the story that not only the heroes but even the sidekick kids had been wiped out in one go—no matter how she thought about it, this was serious.
‘Ha... damn it, this is really not right.’
Shin Yura sighed without realizing it.
That was the moment.
“Huh? Hey, who are you?”
“Y-yes?!”
“We just heard you sighing, didn’t we? What is it? Do you think we’re easy?”
“...Huh?”
“But wait, doesn’t this face look familiar?”
“True... it’s strangely recognizable?”
She was screwed.
Yura was literally frozen.
Just because she sighed wrong, their gazes had gathered.
She hadn’t even breathed that loudly... but at that exact timing!
The problem was that she wasn’t just a simple hostage.
A super rookie of the Korean hero scene. A hot star hero who had mastered everything from broadcasting and commercials to variety shows.
Her face had been plastered all over the internet for ages, so even an average person would recognize her on the street.
But the moment her identity was revealed?
It was over.
Forget rescue; even the only chance to counterattack would fly away.
Yura kept her silence and bowed her head.
She tried to summon all her “awareness” to pull off a “I’m just an ordinary person” pose.
However.
“Oh? Are you resisting?”
Grab!
“Waaaaah, Mommy!!”
“N-no!”
“...!”
One of the masked gang members, perhaps not liking Yura’s attitude, lifted a little girl from the hostage mother-daughter pair and aimed his muzzle at her head.
“Stop it!”
“...What?”
“Who are you giving orders to, you bitch?”
“I’ll be the hostage instead.”
“Ha? You’re just another hostage either way.”
“No, I am...”
Bang!
At that moment, the door behind them swung open violently.
Red, blue, green.
Three executives wearing masks painted in different colors stood tall.
“Ah, big sisters, you’ve arrived!”
“...!”
It was the worst.
The armed masked gang inside the lobby was already a handful, and now the executives who had crushed the association’s dispatched heroes had appeared.
Shin Yura’s eyes met those of the executives.
At that moment, she realized it.
That it was truly the end.
To think she’d end up as the hostage representative while being a hero.
No matter how she thought about it... this really wasn’t right.
‘If I only had a little, just a little more strength...!’
Just as she was about to bite her lip again, crushed by the helpless reality.
“When I was young.”
“...Yeah?”
“Big sisters?”
“My dream... was to become a bride.”
...
......Suddenly?!
The Red Masked Big Sister, who had suddenly gathered her subordinates in one place, began to talk about her childhood dream like an elementary school presentation.
“I... wanted to grow up and become the wife of a man taller than me.”
Murmur, murmur.
“Why is she acting like that all of a sudden?”
“True... I heard she stopped watching adult videos and started no-fap lately, but did that break her brain?”
“And besides, the Red Big Sister is 168cm tall, where on earth is there a man over 160cm in this world?”
At her speech, staring into the distance, not only the subordinates but even the hostages tied up in the lobby looked at her with eyes asking where a man over 160cm could be found.
“My dream... was to ride a roller coaster with a man.”
The Blue Masked Big Sister appeared, following her.
“...Huh?”
“No, even the Blue Masked Big Sister? She doesn’t even do no-fap...”
“That’s what I’m saying. No, before that, a roller coaster with a man... is she trying to kill her boyfriend with a heart attack? As expected of the Blue Masked Big Sister, she’s cruel... that’s why she’s cool!”
Listening to the Blue Masked one’s dream, the subordinates’ eyes sparkled as if she were amazing, while the hostages and Shin Yura clicked their tongues with hollow laughter.
And finally...
“I actually... wanted to be born as a man.”
The Green Masked Big Sister, who said she didn’t want to date a man, but wanted to become the man himself.
At those words, there was a universal truth that every woman in this world would nod to.
Even the hostages and the masked gang nodded simultaneously, and even Shin Yura quietly conceded.
That feeling of having something... heavy to “grab” between the legs.
Honestly, if you were a woman, it was a forbidden romance you’d imagined at least once!
...But the problem was, why were they saying this the moment they walked in?
Just as she was watching the situation in bewilderment.
Click, click.
“...Huh?”
While all the masked gang’s gazes were focused on the three big sisters.
A mysterious figure, crawling forward on his belly, was untying the hostages’ zip ties one by one.
“Please stay quiet. I’m a sidekick.”
“Ah, a sidekick...!”
The figure moving with his head bowed.
Seeing the broad shoulders and sturdy forearms, Shin Yura’s eyes widened.
To think all of this was a plan!
Whisper, whisper.
“It’s amazing... When the colored masked gang came in, I thought it was all over. Did you manage to recruit them?”
“No. Those people are police officers from the start. They were undercover.”
“My goodness... To think such talent remained on the police side.”
In this world, being a police officer was, honestly speaking, an alternative career path for those who couldn’t become heroes.
They had a sense of justice, but lacked the ability—in a word, extras.
The fact that such police and a sidekick, who wasn’t even a formal hero, were joining hands to carry out such a rescue operation surprised Shin Yura.
But then, the face that entered Yura’s eyes as she lifted her head.
A solid jawline that no strong woman could ever imitate, the kind that only appeared in cartoons.
The eyes filled with a determination unique to a male.
“A, a man?!”
Click.
At that moment, Yura’s zip ties were undone.
She was so surprised that she blurted out a single word.
At that short remark, the gazes of all the masked gang members turned toward the hostages.
“T-this!”
“Since when?!”
“Forget it! We only need half the hostages anyway! Turn the ones who got loose into a honeycomb first!”
Muzzles aimed at the hostages all at once.
Shin Yura realized it.
Even if she could block them, some of the hostages would definitely not be able to dodge the bullets.
“No...!”
Just as she was about to move.
“No!”
Before that, someone stepped in front of the hostage group, spreading both arms wide.
“...Huh?”
“M... an...?”
The masked gang murmured, their pupils shaking.
A male?
Could it be, there was a man in this hostage group?
...No, wait. Then are we crazy for taking a man as a hostage right now?!
Furthermore, after seeing those broad shoulders, that dignified back, and those beast-like eyes, they realized.
We... truly, committed a great sin.
So... let’s die!
Click.
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
“...Huh?”
The masked gang underlings all put their muzzles into their own mouths at once.
The moment they placed their fingers on the triggers.
A happy ending?
...Is a load of crap!
“We owe you a lot!”
“We’re sorry! We’ll die!”
“N-no! Don’t die!!”
As if such a death were an honor, all the freed hostages, starting with Hyunwoo, ran toward them to stop them.
“We’ll go out while spraying fountains in a pathetic way!”
“No, if that fountain is a blood fountain, the genre changes!!”