Money and Power Are the Best!
"Ajusshi! I have a favor to ask!"
"If it's a request from our cute little devil, how can I say no? What's up?"
"My friend wants to become a hero. Can you pull some strings for her?"
"Hm? For something like that, she can just apply officially and join, right?"
"She's the same age as me, but she didn't go to school. So she doesn't qualify."
Hwang Yerang had come to the private office of Kim Youngho, an executive at the Hero Association. Heroes ultimately belonged to the Association, so they often felt intimidated by the higher-ups, but Hwang Yerang was particularly fond of Kim Youngho. And Kim Youngho couldn't help but dote on the girl who was younger than his own daughter yet persevered as a hero.
"Hm... Putting her in as a trainee wouldn't be too hard, but it's surprising you'd ask for something like this."
"She's got some really amazing powers. If she becomes a hero, she'll definitely save a ton of people!"
"Amazing powers, huh? What kind?"
"Hehe. Don't freak out. Seung-ah can actually befriend monsters!"
"...Is that for real?"
"Yeah! If Seung-ah becomes a hero, fewer people will die to monsters. So, please use your influence!"
Kim Youngho quietly swallowed his shock after hearing Hwang Yerang's story. As an Association executive, he knew a great deal about ability users from various angles. Even he had never heard of a power like the one she'd described.
Monsters were living beings with intelligence, will, and emotions. A power that could interfere with their minds and befriend them—it was utterly alien, absurd, and dangerously risky. If used for humanity as Hwang Yerang said, it could be a sturdy shield. But if turned into a blade threatening humanity, it would be a catastrophic disaster.
"Got it for now. But is this Seung-ah kid someone you can really trust?"
"Of course! Why else would I come begging like this?"
"Fair enough. If you say so, then it must be. Alright. Time to show the power of authority after all this time."
"Hehe. Money and power really are the best!"
"A kid saying that already? Not cute."
"You started it, ajusshi."
"I'm not a kid."
Regardless of Hwang Yerang's request, Kim Youngho believed it was right to bring someone with that level of power under the Association's supervision. And so, Baek Seung-ah smoothly became a trainee at the Hero Association.
Thanks to Hwang Yerang's help, Baek Seung-ah entered the Association, but her ability was so unique and special that she was treated differently from regular trainees. Since it wasn't in the Association's database, they prioritized thoroughly analyzing it, subjecting her to all sorts of tests.
"How's it feel being in the Association? Manageable?"
"Manageable? All I do is sit around blankly after weird tests all day."
"Well, your power's just that incredible, so no helping it. I hope you graduate trainee status and debut soon. Then we can team up and work together."
"Think I can pull it off?"
When Baek Seung-ah showed a lack of confidence, Hwang Yerang approached and slung an arm around her neck.
"What's with the uncharacteristic gloom? Hang in there a bit longer, and everyone will look up to you. And someday, we'll both be White Knights together!"
"Must be nice always being so optimistic."
"The world's truly beautiful. I want you to realize how wonderful the world we live in is, too."
"Will that day ever come?"
"It will. No doubt. I'll make it happen."
To Baek Seung-ah, the world was cruel and terrifying, but with Hwang Yerang by her side, she felt like she could one day see it as beautiful, just like her friend said.
"Oh, sorry, but I might not be able to see you for a while."
"What? Why?"
"I'm heading to the Pollution Zone this time."
"Pollution Zone? Isn't that only for White Knights?"
"Senior heroes can apply and get selected after review. So I did."
"Can't you skip it?"
Thrown into an unfamiliar environment, Baek Seung-ah felt deeply anxious, but Hwang Yerang's presence made it bearable. Now, without her for a while, she wasn't sure she could hold on.
"Sorry it's at this timing, but if not now, who knows when the next chance'll be. I'll be back soon, so don't get too lonely."
"Tch. Work's more important than me, huh?"
"I'm really sorry! I'll bring souvenirs, so forgive me!"
"Souvenirs from the Pollution Zone? Whatever, just don't die out there."
"Worrying's a luxury. Why would I die?"
Though she didn't tell Baek Seung-ah, the real reason Hwang Yerang applied for the Pollution Zone was to grow stronger. Lately, she'd felt her growth stagnating. Partial transformations were possible, but no matter how hard she tried, full-body shifts eluded her.
Before long, Baek Seung-ah would surely become an extraordinary ability user. To stand by her side without falling behind, and to protect more people, Hwang Yerang wanted to get stronger. She believed venturing into that strictly restricted place—off-limits except to White Knights and a few senior heroes—would provide the key to the next level.
Plus, since getting close to her, Baek Seung-ah had grown overly dependent, which wasn't healthy. She needed some distance to bond more with others. A short break was necessary.
Soon after, Hwang Yerang headed to the Pollution Zone with Midnight and the other White Knights.
Left alone again, Baek Seung-ah felt uneasy but resolved to toughen up and not embarrass her proud friend.
As usual, while undergoing various tests at the Association, a man in a white coat who looked like a researcher approached Baek Seung-ah. To her question of how long these tests would go on, he replied there was still much to verify.
"Your ability is a first for us, so we can't judge hastily. Measurements here have limits, so honestly, there's been no real progress yet. That's why—how about moving to a more advanced facility?"
"Another facility?"
"Yes. You'll have to stay there for tests a while, but we'll provide full support to keep you comfortable."
"Will the tests end sooner there?"
"Better equipment, so at least faster than staying here."
Staying confined sounded unappealing. She worried about Happy left alone. But Happy could manage independently, and she wanted these boring tests over quick, so after some thought, Baek Seung-ah accepted.
A few days later, she arrived at one of the Association's research facilities in a nearby city. No familiar faces, just strangers, making her deeply anxious, but she pep-talked herself not to cower.
...But what happened there wasn't ordinary testing. It was horrific human experimentation that disregarded all human dignity, treating people as mere lab rats.
At first, she thought it was just intense checks, but the intensity ramped up to outright torture. To grasp how her ability affected monsters, they inflicted endless pain on Baek Seung-ah.
Sometimes force-feeding drugs to induce happy hallucinations, other times locking her in empty rooms for extreme isolation. No matter how she begged for release, the researchers treated her as less than human. Their eyes saw not an equal, but experimental material. Her mind crumbled swiftly.
From pleas for freedom, she devolved to mumbling Hwang Yerang's name blankly, and finally repeating only "kill me."
And time passed until Hwang Yerang returned from the Pollution Zone.
"I miss Seung-ah."
"I like you visiting often, but it'll interfere with work if you keep hanging around."
"Ugh, when the heck can I see her!?"
"Just wait a bit more. The lab says they still need to check things. Her ability's such a special case; it takes time."
"'Wait' for months already. What if the lab's doing something shady?"
"You've watched too many dramas, kid."
Kim Youngho calmly soothed the grumbling Hwang Yerang, but he too suspected something off at the lab, just as she said. He understood delays for such a unique case, especially one tied to monsters—exposing it prematurely without control could cause issues. But there were limits, and now the year had changed since she entered. Visits were impossible, of course.
Letters from Baek Seung-ah arrived occasionally: something like "I'm getting training and education here, so hang on a bit longer."
It was classified Association business, so not unbelievable, but it felt oddly unsettling. After Hwang Yerang left for the Pollution Zone, Kim Youngho had been swamped too, unable to check on her properly. Executives weren't idle.
With urgent matters cleared and some breathing room, he decided to check her status for Hwang Yerang's sake.
That day, he asked Ashstone, the lab head and senior hero. Just "more time needed." Test records looked clean, with progress noted. But Kim Youngho felt an inexplicable dread—his gut from years at the Association, battles weathered.
So he secretly investigated the lab and uncovered the truth of its horrors.
It wasn't mere testing or ability development. It was rampant inhuman experimentation—acts unbelievable between humans.
"Wh-what the hell is this..."
Kim Youngho's face twisted in rage as he scanned the report. He immediately called Ashstone and berated him.
"Are you insane? What the hell are you doing to a trainee?!"
"..."
"This won't slide! Brace yourself!"
"This wasn't my solo decision. It's approved by other executives—official Association business."
"...What?"
"Blaming me's pointless. I just followed orders from above."
Kim Youngho thought Ashstone was lying to dodge blame, but it checked out. Several executives had approved and supported it. They'd kept it from him knowing he'd oppose. He tried raising it at an executive meeting to halt the inhuman tests, but it would take too long, and more supported it than expected. If pushed by majority under "for humanity," it might even get endorsed.
In a world where monsters ravaged, cities fell, and human value plummeted, "for humanity" was the strongest justification.
Kim Youngho couldn't sleep that night. Nursing old liquor in his office, lost in thought. As dawn broke, he made his decision.