Chapter 4. My popularity!? (3)
Chapter 4. My popularity!? (3)
Honestly speaking, I let my guard down.
I just thought that if I were a pretty girl, popularity would naturally follow.
Appearance is, after all, a person's first impression.
When you're sitting face-to-face and haven't said a word, the only way to judge the other person is by their appearance. In that sense, good-looking people have a head start on making a good impression from the moment they meet someone.
Whenever celebrities on TV say things like, "What's the problem with dating? Just have some courage and go talk to them," it sounds like such bullshit.
I mean, if a good-looking person goes up and talks to you, you're already predisposed to like them, aren't you?
Well, anyway.
Maybe because I spent my past life unpopular, when I realized I was born with this appearance in this life, I couldn't help but be conceited.
If I just talk to them, they'll basically view me favorably, right? If I ask for a favor, they'll probably do it, right?
You know, they say there's nothing more terrifying than someone who knows they're pretty or handsome and knows how to use it.
"Lua-ya, hi?"
"Uh, uh, ah, hi...?"
But you know what?
Thinking about it now, being an insider required a lot more effort than I thought.
Since I had a narrow social circle in my past life, I didn't really need to memorize people's faces. I didn't even know the names of half the people I met at work. If they called me, I answered; if they told me to do something, I did it. The only people I needed to remember were those I had to address by name, like my juniors.
Maybe it's because I lived like that for about 10 years. My way of thinking got so ingrained that I completely forgot how to figure out someone's name without making them feel bad when they acted like they knew me!
Even if Soi sits in front of me in a position that looks like she's protecting me, she can't protect me every single moment.
Soi is always a popular kid. She's a natural-born insider, I guess.
If someone talks to her from the front, she answers them diligently, and if her attention gets stolen like that, naturally, I'm left sitting behind her with nothing to do.
But Soi's friends don't just leave a quiet person alone. For some reason, they have this mindset of "a friend's friend is my friend" or "if we're in the same class, we're all friends," so if I'm sitting there blankly while they're talking, they seem to feel a bit sorry for me.
So, they kindly talk to me so I don't feel left out.
"Did you see ———— yesterday?"
"Huh? Uh?"
The kids far away burst into laughter in the middle of the sentence, so I couldn't hear what the word was.
"Ah, I saw it, I saw it. It was amazing."
Another kid who had joined our conversation by now said with a bright face.
Did I hear it? How? No, did I just judge it by context because I knew what they were watching in the first place?
Seeing as the following conversation was about who looked cool and who talked interestingly, it must have been some kind of broadcast, but I don't know if it was terrestrial TV or an internet stream.
"Right?"
As they say that, both of their gazes turn to me.
"Uh? Uh? Uh-huh, uh, it was cool. Yeah."
Yesterday, I was just goofing off watching funny short-form videos on my smartphone, but I answer like that for now.
With a somewhat awkward smile on my lips. Anyway, I'm pretty, so wouldn't they not think badly of me even if I do this?
They're kids whose names I still haven't memorized.
They had name tags on their school uniform chests, but it's a bit weird to keep looking at their chests during a conversation, right? Maybe if I were in elementary school, it'd be fine. But now that I'm in middle school, it's just... a bit weird.
......Come to think of it, it was a problem since elementary school. Back then, we didn't wear name tags on our chests. Is this the result of me just following Soi around without thinking, thinking I'd memorize them later?
"Oh, what's up, what were you guys talking about?"
That's when Soi suddenly cuts into our conversation. Did she finally finish talking to her friend in front?
It felt like there was a halo behind Soi's head, even if just for a brief moment.
"Yeah, well, there was that Meteor Hero-nim talk show yesterday."
Ah.
"Ah, the one where my mom was on TV?"
Soi lifts her chin and puffs out her chest, and the kids giggle. It's not really showing off, but an intentional pose that "looks like showing off."
In terms of behavior, it's a paper-thin difference, but I don't know how she distinguishes it so naturally.
Actually, could that be Soi's superpower? Something a bit different from what appeared in the novel.
......Though there's no way that's true.
"Well, my mom is always cool. Isn't that obvious?"
The kids laugh again at that. I also laugh along, a bit late. "Haha."
Dammit.
If it's a talk show with Yujin-ajumma, I should have watched it. No, did I hear about it? But I think I forgot.
What are Yujin-ajumma's abilities, how did she meet Dohyun-ajussi, etc.
Such stories are being exchanged.
Then Soi's story came up a little, and soon, my story too.
"I heard Jilpung-nim was even saved by Lua once!"
"H-huh?"
I was relieved because Soi was capturing the kids' attention, but suddenly my story pops up.
"He was once hit hard by a Villain, and young Lua protected him with her ability. They said if it weren't for that, he wouldn't have been able to appear on that talk show."
"Right, right. She's amazing, as expected. Should I say she's the daughter of that family?"
"Uh, uh-huh......."
It seems they didn't specifically mention that the place where I acted like that was an orphanage.
No, in the first place, those two would never bring that up first. Unlike Chaeyi, who was often exposed to Blue Phosphor's broadcast activities, Yujin-ajumma and Dohyun-ajussi didn't take Soi or me on broadcasts.
The broadcasting station must have obtained the information first. They probably found out while covering another Hero.
My heart pounded loudly. Goosebumps rose on my back for no reason, and my fingers nervously fiddled with the hem of my school uniform jacket.
Somehow, hearing things like that keeps making me remember that time. And for some reason, it feels like people keep placing expectations on me.
"Plus, when she was in elementary school...... Ah, did you hear this story?"
"Yeah?"
When friends gather, their friends gather too. And even if there are many kids from the same elementary school because it's nearby, there are always kids who haven't heard it.
"They say she already defeated a Villain when she was in elementary school."
"Right, right. It was chaos back then. Reporters even came to the school."
Now my forehead is a bit damp. A little sweat has formed.
I didn't do anything back then. I could have just run away with Soi and Chaeyi, but I stayed behind trying to do something for no reason.
The kids think I suppressed it with my ability, but that's not true at all, is it? At most, I swung a rock, and it didn't even land properly.
If the Hero hadn't arrived in time, I would have died on the spot. And only left trauma for Soi and Chaeyi.
"Ah, by the way."
Soi cut in again in the middle of the story.
"I saw on my way to school today that the place under construction is finished."
The kids' gazes shift to Soi at the sudden, random topic.
"It looks like a pretty cafe opened. Who wants to go together after school?"
It was a very blatant change of subject, but the kids looked at each other and soon nodded.
"Sounds good."
"Let's go together."
And soon the conversation shifted to that cafe. Everyone started fiddling with their smartphones, searching to see if the cafe had been updated on the map or if they could see the menu in advance.
And I secretly let out a breath.
The overwhelming breath eases a little. The goosebumps that were crawling up my spine also calm down.
It's not like Yujin-ajumma and Dohyun-ajussi left me alone after that incident.
It was an experience where an elementary school student almost died at the hands of someone else. Of course, I received counseling.
However, because people see me as an elementary student, while my mind is an adult's...
Even with counseling, I didn't get completely better.
Moreover, what I fear most is not simply encountering a Villain.
The subtle expectations of people directed at me.
Admiration for the courage I showed in my childhood, saving one Hero's life and not backing down in front of a Villain.
The delusion that like parent, like daughter, I will become an outstanding Hero in the distant future.
Plus, Soi still hasn't awakened her superpower, and perhaps that's why the gaze is more focused on me.
I tried to train my superpower after that, too. But my skills haven't improved at all since elementary school.
What if nothing works out?
If I go to the Academy and can't stand out, and don't become a Hero.
Wouldn't that be smearing Yujin-ajumma and Dohyun-ajussi's names?
That's why I get anxious for no reason whenever stories like this come up.
Even though I know it's best not to think about such things.
Knowing from the novel that I won't grow any further anyway.
"......."
So, I was grateful to Soi for changing the subject.
Even though I ended up relying on her again.