Chapter 5. Nah, no way. (6)
Chapter 5. Nah, no way. (6)
Back when I was a teenager, I was already attending cram schools in middle school.
In this world, Soi and I don't attend any cram schools or anything like that.
Hearing the other kids talk, it seems like quite a lot of them do attend them, so it doesn't seem like the culture is different just because this world is different from the one I lived in. Perhaps it's just that Yujin-ajumma and Dohyun-ajeossi have a different way of thinking.
Anyway, thanks to that, we weren't tied down anywhere after school and could go play here and there. Although, in elementary school, we often came straight home, but since becoming middle schoolers, we've been wandering around after school more often than coming straight home.
"Let's be careful for a while."
So, the fact that Yujin-ajumma dropped us off and said that must mean the situation is that difficult.
As soon as we got home, Yujin-ajumma sat Soi and me down on the living room sofa, wearing a serious expression I rarely ever saw.
Yujin-ajumma didn't usually make serious faces in front of us. Rather, she always tried to treat Soi and me with a bright smile. Should I call her a friend-like mom? She seems to like that kind of atmosphere.
So, it's been a very long time since I've seen her look this serious.
The first time since I got caught up in that incident back in the 4th grade of elementary school.
Dohyun-ajeossi, who had already arrived home, was also standing a little distance away from us, listening to the conversation.
Because of my attitude that wouldn't improve no matter how much counseling I received, Dohyun-ajeossi is still cautious when dealing with me. It goes without saying that we don't make physical contact, and he even chooses his words carefully when we talk. Even though there's no need to go that far.
Perhaps that's why I feel like a sinner in front of him for no reason, making my voice trail off, and then ajeossi misunderstands again... and the result of that repetition is where we are now.
I only feel sorry, but is it because I'm that much of a coward? No matter how hard I try, there's no sign of improvement.
"Is it very serious?"
Soi asked.
"Hmm..."
Yujin-ajumma hesitated for a moment.
I noticed immediately that her gaze lingered on me for just a brief moment.
She seemed to be worrying about how scared I would be if she answered that it was serious, and how she should explain it without hurting me.
"It's just better to be careful."
Yujin-ajumma answered like that.
And after looking a bit more troubled, she finally let out a small sigh and explained slowly.
"People called Villains... often have different behavioral patterns compared to other criminals."
"Different behavioral patterns?"
"Yeah. Well... there are quite a lot of people in this category who want to harm Heroes."
Yujin-ajumma examined my face again.
Let's stay calm.
As nonchalant as possible.
I nodded to show I was fine, but my head didn't move smoothly.
Right. I know. Haven't I already experienced it? That Villain I met when I was in elementary school.
Of course, that Villain's ability might have been useful for secretly following someone, but couldn't actually hurt anyone with the ability itself, but for young me, that was already enough.
"Actually, Villains and Heroes aren't that different. Those people, and us, we're just people with Superpowers. There might be a difference in the Superpowers, but that's it."
If you do good deeds with that Superpower, you're a Hero, and if you do evil deeds, you're a Villain.
While there are people who, as soon as they get super strength, think, 'Ah, with this, I can save people at a fire scene!', there are also those who think, 'Huh, can't I rob a bank with this power?'
Of course, there are also many people who don't choose either.
"It's actually less dangerous if their goal is clear. A Villain who wants money only moves for money, so they're sensitive about their own safety. If revenge is the goal, they only move to harm a specific target. But if they are drunk on their own power, the story changes a lot."
People who possess power they didn't have before, falling into the delusion that they can truly do anything.
And such people—
"Want to become 'Heroes' in their own way."
"In their own way?"
"In other words, they want to become famous. Actually, Heroes are like that too. There are many who became Heroes simply because they like helping people, but they also want to become famous and get praised while they're at it, right? Since they're doing this kind of work, it feels good to hear nice things. Murderers are the same. There are many who just want their own pleasure and commit crimes secretly, but some also feel pleasure in seeing their murder cases on the news."
"So that method is..."
"Harming a famous person."
It's not the case now, but I heard there were such Villains in the past. I didn't see it in a novel; it's a story I learned after coming to this world.
Like the Korean Superhuman Association, they form organizations among themselves and try to oppose Heroes.
Come to think of it, if a Superhuman is an armed person, then a group where those people gather can literally be called an armed group.
It wouldn't be unreasonable to think they really want to take over a corner and play king.
...And that was also a 'future' event.
The Academy where Superhumans gather.
Because if no special incidents occur at the Academy where the protagonist is, the story can't progress.
So, in that near future, Villains will definitely gather. And they will oppose Heroes, and sometimes even attack the Academy where children who haven't become Heroes yet are gathered...
"...Ah."
I thought too deeply.
The fingers resting on my knees tremble slightly. I deliberately clenched my fist tight to pretend that the trembling wasn't from fear, but just from clenching my hand hard.
"Nah, don't worry too much!"
Yujin-ajumma said that quickly.
"This ajumma will protect you. I'm Meteor, for crying out loud! Most Villains aren't even worth a single punch!"
Saying that, she flexes her arm like a bodybuilder. You can't see muscles popping out, but Yujin-ajumma's ability is definitely much stronger than it looks on the outside.
The strongest Hero in this country.
...In the original work, it said that after losing the person she loved, she devoted herself more to work and training, becoming somewhat indifferent to the children, but because of that, she became much stronger than in her prime.
How is it here? I think there were Villains in the original work who could fight on par with 'Meteor'. How about the current Yujin-ajumma?
Of course, I don't want that situation. Even if it's necessary to fight Villains, I hate for something to happen that would destroy a family.
Besides, I loved being in this house. It's happy. I feel sorry for the children and teachers at the orphanage, but... I don't want to go back there again.
In the end, I nodded.
*
"Nah, don't worry too much!"
Just like Yujin-ajumma's daughter, Soi's face as she shouted that looked very much like Yujin-ajumma's.
"This unni will protect you!"
"Uh, yeah."
I nodded in a daze, but.
How?
Of course, future Soi awakens. After Seo Lua's redemption arc, I read it loosely and skimmed through it, but in the scenes where she cooperates with the protagonist, she awakens to the point where she can almost be called Meteor herself.
However, not now. At the point where she hasn't awakened, she's no different from an ordinary person.
"Now, now. So let's go to sleep early today. If you're worried about something for no reason, the best thing is to sleep well and wake up."
Soi said that and pushed me toward the bed.
And she carefully laid me down, then lay down next to me.
When we were young, it was a bed wide enough that even if we both lay side by side, there was plenty of room, but now, if we lie side by side like this, it's completely full.
Yet, how is it that Soi doesn't even say it's uncomfortable? ...Well, in the first place, sleeping like this is what Soi wants anyway.
As we lay down under the same blanket, Soi's hand wiggled a little inside the blanket, then held my hand tightly.
It's warm.
The hand that touched, the arm. Even if we start sleeping like this, I'm sure when we wake up in the morning, I'll be pressed against the wall and Soi will be pressed against me. Neither of us has very good sleeping habits.
However, that's why there's no time to be scared. No time to tremble from scary thoughts either.
"Come on, let's go night-night."
"I, I'm not a kid..."
"Yeah, yeah."
Soi turned to face me and patted my stomach.
My face turned red, but I didn't know what to answer, so I squeezed my eyes shut.
How pathetic.
That Soi, who is only a middle schooler now, said those words, and I found them so reliable.
I fell asleep quickly.
*
*
*
"Was that... a message for Lua?"
Dohyun asked quietly.
His face is full of worry.
"If it's a message for Lua, is there any reason to ask where she is?"
"...I don't know. But if my guess is right, they would think the world revolves around them in the first place."
"...So, are you saying they even hope for Lua to come find them personally?"
Like a mother looking for her daughter in the same house.
"Isn't that strange? Even if that were true, Lua wouldn't have known anything."
"There's no way she could know."
"But..."
"If it really is that person, expecting logic in the first place would be strange."
Yujin sighed deeply and put down the file.
On top of the paper densely filled with investigation results about the case, a few photos were clipped.
Excluding the horrific murder scene, there was just one photo of a woman.
It was a photo of a beautiful woman, smiling brightly.
Black hair and skin as white as porcelain.
And eyes as black as if looking into an abyss.