4. Hero of Flames, Blaze
4. Hero of Flames, Blaze
I went straight into the workshop to make the clothes Mama Butcherer ordered.
'Let's see, she asked for a pitch-black matte finish that completely absorbs light.'
I muttered to myself while picking out the fabric.
I planned to mix in a new type of metal fiber for the lining—something that doesn't exist in the real world, but is openly sold in this hero universe where superhumans run rampant.
'With this, even if she takes a shotgun blast at point-blank range, it won't penetrate; it'll just bounce right off.'
Just before sewing the dark red skull mark in the center of the chest, I fell into a moment of contemplation.
It would be fine to just put the skull, but I had a professional urge to mix in the symbol of the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group, DEVGRU—the special forces unit she was part of in the past—to make the design much cooler.
However, that thought was immediately dismissed.
'Are you crazy, Kang Jin-woo? She'd shove a shotgun barrel into the roof of your mouth immediately, asking how a mere neighborhood laundry shop owner knows her past affiliation, which is classified as top-secret national intelligence. I mean, it's obvious she's ex-special forces, but... knowing the specific unit is a different issue.'
Just imagining it made my spine chill.
I quietly gave up on the unnecessary detail and compromised by sewing on a plain, clunky dark red skull mark.
"Whew, this is perfect."
The completed tactical suit boasted a silhouette so perfect that even I was impressed.
It was a design true to the original comics, but I also mixed in the cool refined design from the movie version.
'Personally, it was such a shame that the Mama Butcherer movie adaptations kept failing. It would have been great if they had just properly pulled off a hard-boiled murder action flick featuring a large Black lady, but external issues kept popping up...'
Still, well, even if the live-action films where she was the protagonist mostly flopped, she was someone who shone brightest when appearing as a supporting character.
Her chemistry with the Battle Koala-slash-lawyer who worked in the same neighborhood was pretty good, too.
I carefully folded and packed the clothes, then stored them safely inside the counter.
Looking at the wall clock, it was already pointing to 10 PM.
Usually, this would be the time I'd have arrived at work early, left around 9 or 10 PM, and gone straight home to pass out.
But today, because I'd gone through the horrific incident of Mama Butcherer's visit, I didn't think I could possibly fall asleep quietly while sober.
"I need a drink tonight."
I locked the laundry shop door tight and headed not home, but to a small pub around the corner.
<Old English Pub> was the name, a pub run by an elderly man from England.
The walls were covered in Manchester United jerseys, and the old TV always played EPL match footage.
It was one of the few places on American soil where I could talk about the EPL to my heart's content, so I always liked it here.
(Of course, if you get caught rooting for Man City during the Manchester Derby like me, you might get kicked out on the spot. You have to keep that in mind.)
Jingle.
"Oh, Kang! What brings you here at this hour?"
"I had a pretty tough customer today. Give me a cold draft beer, please."
Customers sitting at the bar greeted me.
Since my family, starting with my parents and now me, had been living in this neighborhood and running the laundry shop for over 40 years, I had built quite a strong rapport with the local residents.
The shop was packed with people washing away the weariness of the day, and I barely managed to squeeze my butt into an empty seat in the corner of the bar.
Gulp, gulp-
"Ahhh-!"
As I downed the cold draft beer, I felt the alcohol flowing through my veins, and my tightly strung nerves began to loosen little by little.
Feeling moderately tipsy, I took my smartphone out of my pocket.
And, out of habit, I went to a news portal and started looking up articles and videos about my favorite A-class hero, Blaze.
On the screen, she was wrapping her hands in flames and blowing away villains in a satisfying manner.
With her flame-clad punches, the lizard monster rampaging in the middle of the city became half-charred and tattered, eventually fainting, collapsing to the ground, and getting arrested.
'Wow, that hearty action. She really is my favorite.'
Watching her exhilarating performance, it felt like the stress I'd built up all day was completely blown away.
That was when it happened.
A blonde woman wearing a hoodie pulled low approached the only empty seat next to me and sat down quietly.
"Bartender, one tequila, please."
The voice was somewhat familiar, but I was so focused on the screen that I didn't pay her much mind.
It was just when I was blankly staring at a scene where Blaze was laughing heartily in an interview, letting out exclamations of admiration in my head.
"Hehehe-hm."
Right next to me, a very small, pleasant humming sound was heard.
I turned my head without thinking and froze on the spot.
It was because the woman in the hoodie sitting next to me was leaning over slightly and blatantly peeking at my smartphone screen.
She had been watching her own performance on the screen with the corners of her mouth rising to the sky, but when she made eye contact with me, she was startled and whipped her head away.
The blonde hair shimmering inside the hoodie, the refreshing features, the pretty eyes.
It was the very same face that had been smiling brightly on my smartphone screen just a moment ago.
'Holy crap, it's Blaze herself!'
As I stared with surprised eyes, she hurriedly turned her head toward me and brought her index finger to her lips.
Since a top-star-level hero belonging to a major agency had snuck into this back-alley pub in disguise, it was clear that if her identity were exposed, it would be a pretty tiresome situation.
She sent me a desperate look as if begging me to pretend not to know, and I suppressed the cheer about to burst out of me and silently nodded.
"One bee- no, give me a tequila, too."
Having downed the first glass, I ordered tequila for the second.
For a while, I drank and kept watching Blaze's performance on my phone, and Blaze, sitting next to me, quietly peered at my phone, occasionally letting out a cute "hehe-hm" sound during scenes where she played a big part.
Drinking that second glass, I felt that it was time to go.
If I drink any more here, I won't be able to go to work tomorrow.
"Boss, check please."
"I'm busy right now, just put it on your tab. Pay it all at once next time."
"Then I'll do that."
I quietly got up from my seat and left the pub.
As I tried to head home in a good mood, breathing in the cool night air, I heard light footsteps—tap, tap, tap—behind me.
"Hey, you!"
When I turned around, Blaze was following me out, her hoodie slightly pulled back, wearing her signature healthy smile.
"Thanks for being sensible and pretending not to know. You're my fan, right?"
"...Ah, wow-! I am, really. I've been a fan for a long time, but this is my first time seeing you in person."
"You kept replaying the video with a smile on your face, thanks for liking me that much. Want me to sign something for you?"
My favorite hero approaching me to offer an autograph—this was the first stroke of luck I'd experienced since falling into this world.
I suppressed my overflowing fanboy heart and nodded, pretending to be calm.
"Then, could you please sign here on my back?"
"Haha, with pleasure! What's your name?"
"It's Jin-woo. You can just write 'J'."
"To my sensible and handsome fan J- There you go!"
She patted my back with a thwack, thwack and laughed happily, then took a permanent marker from her pocket and scribbled her autograph on the back of my jacket in a bold, sweeping handwriting.
"Thanks a lot, J. Well, I'll be going now!"
It was the moment she said goodbye and turned to leave.
"Boss! What are you doing here?"
A familiar silhouette jumped lightly from the top of the dark alley wall and greeted me.
It was Spark, the Street Hero I had made a bulletproof suit for a few days ago.
"You're the one who—what are you doing here at this late hour..."
Before I could even finish my sentence, Spark, who had been approaching happily, spotted the blonde woman standing next to me and stopped dead in her tracks.
Her eyes went wide.
"Huh? Blaze eonni?"
"Huh, this voice is... Spark? Why are you in a back alley like this?"
Blaze also blinked, asking back at the appearance of the junior hero.
There was a strange, heavy sense of wariness in Spark's voice.
"You're the one who's supposed to be in the downtown area. What are you doing here? And why are you with our boss..."
Spark's gaze darted between Blaze and me.
Blaze looked puzzled for a moment at Spark's sharp reaction, then glanced at me.
Then, she suddenly curled the corners of her mouth up playfully and grabbed my arm tightly.
"I was signing an autograph for my fan, so what?"
At that moment, bright blue static electricity crackled violently from Spark's fingertips.
The streetlamp on the ceiling flickered precariously with a crackling sound.