Lunch Invitation at L City Tower
L City Tower. Korea's landmark, and the spot I'd marked for my next act of terror. The Hero Association had so generously slapped an S-rank villain title on me, so I figured the debut event deserved some real flair, right? The location called for thorough on-site reconnaissance, and while I was at it, I thought I'd let Makina get some fresh air—purely out of the goodness of my heart, of course. So why the hell was this happening?
My hands and feet were trembling faintly, my back slick with cold sweat, my eyes darting wildly without focus. Makina, clutching my hand tight, wasn't faring much better. Her face had gone pale as a ghost, stiff with shock. She'd been with me on the "stalking"—er, intel-gathering—mission, so of course she knew Nova's real face. I wanted nothing more than to warp out of here right then, but with her gripping my sleeve and eyes everywhere, any funny business would be suicide. Nova might be a pushover B-rank hero out of uniform, but she could take down a non-combatant like me and Makina in three seconds flat.
...Hoo. Calm down, Kang Jinwoo. No clue why Nova was here, but at least she hadn't clocked my identity. If she knew I was Sigma, she'd have yelled, "You! Sigma! Surrender your collar now!" and pummeled me already.
"Uh, so, um..."
But seeing her fluster like that, stumbling over her words, yeah—she had no idea who we were. Hope wasn't lost yet. No idea why she'd grabbed me, but our soft-hearted Nova could be talked around with a little smooth talking. Hell, I'd recruited Makina as a teammate; bullshitting was my specialty.
"So, what's the problem?"
I tried to play it cool, like a normal civilian—wait, I was a normal civilian right now. Anyway, right as I was about to probe why she'd approached me...
"Do you two know each other, Seoha?"
Flare's voice hit from behind, like she'd rushed to catch up. A massive crack just split my perfect escape plan.
"Well, this citizen is, um..."
Nova glanced between me and Flare—cute even in this mess, but no time for that.
"Hmmm—"
Flare narrowed her eyes, frowning as she bored into me. Her stare was terrifying on every level. N-no way she'd figured it out, right? Mask, face-obscuring tech—I'd covered my bases. Even an S-rank shouldn't...
"Feels like I've seen you somewhere before. You look kinda familiar."
She's straight-up suspicious!! I might've sweet-talked Nova, but Flare? That viper? No chance! Damn it, I'd hoped they'd be good partners, but we'd split just days ago, and here they were shopping like besties. Nova had my hand, Flare's eyes were burning holes. I turned to Makina to dodge that glare—and locked eyes with her.
We'd only lived together two months, but sharing meals, pulling all-nighters—we could communicate with just a look.
Emergency! Emergency! Got a natural way outta this?
Like I'd know, idiot!
Hey, you're the genius inventor girl from the future! Figure something out!!
What's a 'gongsoon'? It's Meister!
Same difference.
Grrr...!
She wasn't denying the "genius beauty" part, huh. Sneaky narcissist.
"You two, what're you doing?"
Flare eyed us suspiciously after our prolonged stare-down.
"Ah, haha. It's a thing."
I waved it off with a grin, but her face darkened.
"Criminal... villain... Should I report you?"
"W-what? What'd I even do to get reported?!"
"Ahem, that grin looks shady. Like you're that kind."
...Okay, my face is rough, but judging a smile like that? Sure, I'm a villain plotting terror recon, but you can't judge by looks!
"Pfft...!"
Hey, Makina! You laughed, right? At Flare's words?! We're one step from jail, and you're cracking up?!
Argh, damn it. Even a flickering candle like me won't take looks-bashing lying down. Worst case, sic the minions on 'em outside.
"Hey, you can't just say that about someone you've never—"
"That's too much, Jua!"
Nova cut me off, scolding Flare.
"I get it—his face is scarier than most villains, so the misunderstanding's fair!"
"Hey? Excuse me?"
"But he's still a kind-hearted, good citizen!"
Shield or attack? Either way, Nova was defending me to Flare. For me. Sniff—how's she so great? Our Nova standing up to Flare like that! Good girl! My chosen protagonist! I'll make you grow like a storm, give you fame nationwide with an epic terror—just wait!
"Eek!?"
"W-what? What's wrong?"
"No, just a sudden chill..."
Nova shuddered briefly, then turned back to Flare.
"Anyway, you were wrong this time, Jua! You can't judge by looks!"
"True, but you're worse at it than me..."
"Jua!"
"Okay, okay. Sorry. I was rude for a first meeting."
Flare actually bowed and apologized—felt weird. They'd donut-holed each other, yet here we were, me and Makina awkward too.
"W-whatever, apology accepted."
But that's that. Unexpectedly, Nova had handed me an out. Wait, she started this by grabbing me. Gave the sickness, then the cure, huh? Still, why'd she grab me? Nearly gave me a heart attack. Later for that—escape first.
"Well, we'll be going then."
"Ah, yeah. Sorry for grabbing you."
Flare let us go easy. Phew. Decade aged in minutes. Recon done-ish, but I'd planned more time with Makina, hit a theme park to unwind. Heroes ruined it—home for chicken instead. Sorry, Makina. You look beat too—
"W-wait!"
Three steps out, Nova snagged my sleeve again. Argh, Nova! Why?! I wanna leave!
"What now?"
"Um..."
"Nothing else? We're busy."
With Flare watching and Makina here, I wanted out fast. Sensing my panic, Nova squeezed her eyes shut.
"W-would you like to grab a meal together?"
She squeaked it out—a lunch invite. 2 PM was odd timing, but we'd skipped lunch wandering, so yeah, hungry. Still, couldn't bite—not as hidden villains with heroes. Strangers don't just eat together. World's rough. A cute girl like Nova approaching a guy like me? Only spy or hitman from high school Earth Science Kim Chulsoo.
...Alone without Flare and Makina, maybe I'd play along. But now? Polite no.
"No thanks. We already ate..."
Life never goes your way. As I prepped the rejection, a rumble shattered the quiet.
Groooowl—
"Hic...!"
Like a starving beast in her gut. Makina's stomach clock blared loud, announcing itself to everyone.
"Ah, no... it's..."
She clutched her belly, face red—too late. Spilled the beans? Spilled the sound.
"...Pfft."
Flare couldn't hold it, snorting. Suspicion gone, now pitying a poor kid.
"Looks like your sister's starving. We were about to grab a late lunch—join us if you want. Gotta properly apologize for earlier too."
With Flare joining in, things twisted weirdly. Nova's eyes begged please, Makina fiddled my hem, head down in shame. Refusing now'd look more suspicious.
I scratched my head, surrendering.
"...Haa, fine. If you insist."
Would I eat through nose or mouth? My gut already ached.