Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Ripples of the Broadcast
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📰 Breaking News No.1 Hero Min Seola defeats downtown monster! Who is the mysterious helper? 📢 Official Association Statement The man in the video is not a lover but a 'special mana resonator'... Personal details withheld for protection. 'Withheld?'
I clicked on the article.
Photos and videos from the scene loaded one after another, but my face was mosaiced out in all of them.
'They really blurred my face in every single article?'
But I wasn't sure if this even mattered.
It had been broadcast live anyway, so anyone who wanted to see it already had. And someone out there must have screenshotted it right away, as if it were obvious. There was no stopping it from spreading online.
Still.
'Not a single one?'
There wasn't a single record of my face uncensored anywhere.
Not on YouTube, online communities, SNS—nowhere. Not even a single crappy account.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Seo Jubin must have pulled some strings.
She couldn't erase the memories of everyone who saw it live, but at least the videos and screenshots floating around online were being deleted in real time.
'This should keep me from getting rocks thrown at me on the street.'
But it was too early to relax completely.
The article described my ability in rough terms.
📰 Feature Article Rare ability 'Mana Resonator' that heals through contact sparks calls for national-level protection. Mana Resonator.
It was a plausible name Seo Jubin had cooked up, but it hit the nail on the head.
Touch me, and you heal.
Now that this was public, villains and other factions wouldn't leave me alone. It was plain as day.
'At least it doesn't say anything about enhancement. Small mercies.'
I was thinking that when.
"What are you looking at so seriously?"
Min Seola, freshly awake, was gazing up at me with sleepy eyes.
She wrapped her arms around my waist under the covers and nuzzled her face against my chest.
"I saw the articles. Luckily, my face is blurred out."
"Tch. I wanted to make it all public."
Min Seola pouted her lips.
"If I just stamped my claim on you, no one could touch you. I'm holding back because you hate it, Seonghwa."
"Thanks. For protecting my normal life."
"Normal life?"
She smirked and playfully flicked the tip of my cock hidden in my pants with her finger.
"It's already too late for that. You're rolling around with me like this."
"...Fair point."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Same time, Sunday afternoon.
Choi Yura sat cross-legged on the sofa, glaring at her tablet PC screen.
"Deleting them won't help now. Too late."
The mosaiced man in the article.
But the original footage from yesterday's live broadcast was vividly etched in her mind.
"I saw it clear as day with my own two eyes."
Min Seola must have moved fast to cover for her boyfriend, but no dice.
He was definitely Kim Seonghwa, the perennial assistant manager who used to crack under her every day.
"Not in a relationship?"
Choi Yura scoffed as she read the Hero Association's official statement in the article.
"Give me a break. What was that look in her eyes if not lovers? Sex buddies or something?"
Soon, her gaze lingered not on their relationship, but on his ability.
'Mana Resonator? Heals through contact?'
Choi Yura's eyes gleamed.
She remembered the blue wings sprouting from Min Seola's back yesterday.
'Just healing?'
It was clearly enhancement.
If it was Min Seola unleashing some hidden power, it didn't explain why she'd been pushed back by the villain at first.
"It exploded right after kissing Kim Seonghwa... No doubt."
Choi Yura muttered.
"If I'm right. And if that ability works on me too?"
She unconsciously pressed her temple.
'This damn migraine too...'
Back when she became a C-rank Awakener, she'd been thrilled at the thought of becoming a hero.
But using mana triggered migraines—mana buildup, the side effect that came with it.
'I can't hero it up, but if I could just use my ability a bit...'
She pretended to prefer office life over hero work, but deep down, she still clung to the power she craved.
'Could he push past that and enhance me too...?'
Maybe even to B-rank. No, A-rank.
Her heart pounded.
"I need to check."
Choi Yura tapped the mosaiced man in the article with her finger.
"Kim Seonghwa. Whether you're my lifeline or not."
A sly smile spread across her lips.
It wasn't the face of her usual strict boss. It was a woman harboring desire.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Sunday night.
Iron Heart's house.
"Sis. Be honest."
Lee Yerin sat across the dining table, grilling her sister relentlessly.
"The guy in the news is that Kim Seonghwa you mentioned, right?"
"...No, it's not. Just someone who looks like him."
Iron Heart averted her eyes and poked at her food.
But her ears were red, and she flinched every time 'Kim Seonghwa' came up.
"Liar."
Yerin narrowed her eyes.
"How could someone look alike and have the same name?"
"H-how do you even know the name's the same...?"
"You said he just looked like the guy who saved you. And the guy who saved you was Kim Seonghwa."
"...Huh? So what."
Lee Yerin didn't miss Iron Heart's uneasy expression.
"I saw him clearly on the news before the mosaic. The man Min Seola was holding—it was definitely my classmate Kim Seonghwa."
"...!"
Iron Heart's eyes widened slightly, then she sighed in defeat.
"Fine, yeah. It's Kim Seonghwa."
"Knew it!"
"But you need to stay out of it. He's dangerous. And..."
Iron Heart flushed and trailed off.
"He already has plenty of women..."
"Women?"
"You saw it! Min Seola's even got dibs! Anyway! Stay out of it. He's not normal. It'll just tire you out."
Her sister bolted from the table.
Her retreating figure into the room looked suspiciously like fleeing.
Alone in the living room, Yerin's eyes sparkled.
Dangerous. Not normal. Already has women.
Her sister's warnings only fueled Yerin's curiosity.
"What kind of power makes even Min Seola and my sister act like that?"
Her instincts whispered.
'Not just a simple healer. There's more.'
Her sister had come back from the kidnapping more vibrant than before. Definitely beyond healing.
'And Min Seola... those blue wings...'
Both changes she'd witnessed couldn't be boxed as mere healing.
She opened her phone contacts.
The name she hadn't dared message yet. Kim Seonghwa.
'What should I say to sound natural...'
She'd never messaged a guy first in her life. This was a huge dilemma.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Monday morning.
Company lobby.
I headed to work as usual.
Thankfully, no reporters were camped at the entrance.
'Seo Jubin's media control seems to have worked.'
But the moment I opened the office door, the air felt different.
"...Oh, Assistant Manager Kim, you're here?"
"Kim's here?"
Coworkers glanced over and greeted me.
"Seonghwa, you made it? First time in a week, haha..."
Park, who usually bantered with me casually while sucking up to superiors, was awkwardly formal.
At my desk, a warm Americano sat waiting—someone must have brought it.
"Who's this...?"
"Oh, me! Figured you might be tired...!"
The newbie shot up and answered.
His eyes brimmed with awe and curiosity.
'They all know...'
Of course. Even if it was officially secret, rumors would spread among those around me. Especially since it wasn't censored at the time.
'At least it'll fade from normal people's memories over time... That's something.'
I mentally consoled myself and gave an awkward smile.
"Thanks, I'll enjoy it. No need next time."
"Ah! If I overstepped...!"
"No, that's not what I meant..."
I rubbed my forehead and sat down.
This attention was seriously uncomfortable.
Then, a whiff of perfume hit me from behind.
And at the same time.
"Kim Seonghwa."
Team Leader Choi Yura's voice rang out.
'Here it comes.'
I tensed and turned around.
She'd surely grill me over the vacation days or the news.
But.
"You made it in? How's your body holding up?"
Choi Yura's voice was oddly soft.
No, sticky sweet.
'What?'
She perched on the corner of my desk, hip against the edge.
Her tight H-line skirt rode up her thigh just a bit.
Her black-stockinged leg dangled right in my view, swinging lightly.
"Ah, yes. Body's the same as always."
"Good. Heard you had some busy stuff. All sorted?"
She leaned forward, meeting my eyes.
A glimpse of pale cleavage peeked from her blouse.
The button she usually buttoned primly seemed one looser today.
"Yeah, uh... all wrapped up."
"So you can focus on work now?"
Choi Yura smiled.
But it wasn't a boss's smile.
A woman's.
'Seriously, what's this?'
Her gaze trailed down my face, neck, chest—like appraising merchandise.
"But Seonghwa."
She reached out, fiddling with my tie.
"Your cologne smells nice today. Familiar, even."
"Ah, this..."
"Tell me later when you have time. I like that scent too."
She brushed my shoulder lightly, then clicked back to her seat in her heels.
I stared blankly at her retreating figure.
Her walk emphasized her slim waist and hips.
Standard office look, but today it felt deliberately styled.
'Did she have bad breakfast or something?'
Not pity from the news. Choi Yura wasn't the soft-on-the-weak type.
She hated anyone riding Min Seola's coattails the most.
'Weird.'
It wasn't just kinder. Her whole vibe was seductive.
Time passed to 3 p.m.
After lunch, as the office quieted.
A company messenger notification popped up.
[Choi Yura Team Leader]
- Kim Seonghwa-ssi. Can you come to the meeting room for a sec? - Got something urgent to check. Something to check?
Finally time to chew me out over the vacation?
If so, why not right when I arrived?
She's not one to savor it.
'Feels like she's been waiting to call me out.'
I stood, tense.
I opened the meeting room door, and Choi Yura, standing behind it, quickly locked it.
Click.
Then she lowered the blinds, blocking the view from outside.
"...?"