A Soft Heart
"You are…?"
"Who might you be?"
David wore a look of pure astonishment, while Cheon Seo-ah regarded the man before her with the genuine blankness of someone who had never seen him in her life.
At her reaction, David leaned in and whispered,
"He's the face of Team Steel Balloon — a Rank 3 hero known as Steel Muscle."
That the scrawny man in front of them was a Rank 3 hero — and that his hero name was Steel Muscle, of all things — made Seo-ah's eyes go wide.
Come to think of it…
"For someone so slight, the muscles in that arm are abnormally huge."
The right arm with which Steel Muscle was holding David's leg had swollen to a grotesque bulk that had no business belonging to a frame so thin. From that alone, Seo-ah could tell his ability was one of those utterly ordinary body-enhancement types, not so different from David's own physical transformation.
Steel Muscle released David's leg and spoke.
"I don't know what this villain did, but you can't just kill him. Even the most vicious villain still has a life worth protecting."
…
At those words, David said nothing. More than that — he started watching Seo-ah's face for cues. If she so much as pointed at the villain and said kill him, David would swing his leg again without a second's hesitation, this time at a speed even the hero in front of him could not stop.
But instead—
"Of course. A person's life is a precious thing. Even if that person happens to be a villain who's little better than a blight on society."
Seo-ah smiled sweetly as she said it, and Steel Muscle let out a quiet breath of relief. For all that he was a Rank 3 hero, he was not at all confident he could cleanly stop another of David's attacks. His right arm, which had just caught the kick, was still trembling faintly.
Even if he wasn't going all out…
The same was true of the other side. Which meant the foreigner in front of him was, like him, a Rank 3 ability user.
And yet—
I don't know any hero with that face.
A Rank 3 was the kind of powerhouse who got treated with respect wherever they went. In a small hero team they would be the star; even working alone, lower-ranked heroes would line up begging to be their sidekick. And still Steel Muscle had never once laid eyes on David.
There was only one conclusion.
He's not a hero.
Which only deepened the question. What could possibly make a man like this play bodyguard for a little girl? Some debt of gratitude he could never repay? Or something else entirely?
Steel Muscle watched the two of them with heavy, wary eyes — until Seo-ah spoke.
"Well then, we'll be on our way."
"Understood, young lady."
With that, Seo-ah and David turned and walked off. They had not gone far when Seo-ah suddenly let out a soft little Ah! and looked back. Steel Muscle was in the middle of restraining the villain.
"Come to think of it, there is one thing I wanted to ask."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Is there a McDonald's nearby, by any chance?"
…?
The question was so completely out of nowhere that Steel Muscle's face went blank for a beat. Seo-ah, seeing his reaction, looked startled herself.
"Um… surely you know what McDonald's is?"
"No, I know. I know, it's just—"
Was she seriously asking him for directions to a McDonald's? She could have found one in seconds on any map app. For a moment Steel Muscle thought she was mocking him — then he saw the earnest look on her face and realized the question was genuine. He exhaled a sigh that carried several different meanings.
"Go straight about three blocks. There's one there."
"Ah, thank you very much."
Seo-ah dipped her head politely and set off again.
"Is it good?"
"It's been so long since I had one — it really is delicious."
Munch, munch. Watching Seo-ah diligently work her way through a burger with her little hamster-like mouth, David found himself smiling without meaning to. At the same time, he thought he was beginning to understand why his master took such an interest in this girl. Harmless, pure, and somehow charming just to look at — she had a way of tickling something soft in a corner of the heart.
Still.
"Where do you intend to go next?"
"Hmm."
Seo-ah set down her half-eaten burger, chewed thoughtfully on a fry, and answered.
"Good question. Shall we head toward Guro District for now?"
"Guro District… Understood."
The McDonald's they were sitting in was in Gangnam District, one of Seoul's twenty-five districts. Getting to Guro by subway would take at least forty minutes.
A taxi would be better, David thought. Or he could simply pick her up and leap from building to building — though that would draw every eye on the street. Taxi it was, then.
But—
"Actually, I'd like to ride the subway. It's been a while."
"The… subway, young lady?"
David's expression stiffened slightly. Of all the packed, tangled places full of people, the subway was the one he most wanted to avoid. But she had already said she wanted to ride it, and his master — the Proxy — had ordered him to follow Seo-ah's wishes as much as possible. He nodded, resigned.
"Understood. In that case… would you wait here a moment?"
"Hm? Where are you going?"
"If we're taking the subway, it'll be more convenient to have a transit card. I'll pick one up at a convenience store nearby."
"Ah—! A transit card! Yes, that does make things easier. Go ahead."
"Then I'll be right back."
The moment her permission fell, David rose and stepped out of the McDonald's.
And in that same instant—
They're moving.
Two men who had been blending into the busy crowd as ordinary customers exchanged a glance and rose from their seats. With movements so natural they barely registered, they closed in on Seo-ah at once.
"Jumper—!"
"I know—!"
One man clamped a hand over Seo-ah's mouth and held her fast. The one called Jumper activated his ability.
Kiiiiing—!
A strange whine filled the air as space itself warped around Seo-ah, the man holding her, and Jumper.
"Young lady—!"
David, who had only just stepped outside, screamed and charged back toward her. His legs had already twisted into something monstrous—
"Hey, friend. You're a failure as a bodyguard."
The man pinning Seo-ah's mouth smirked at him. Then the warped space snapped back into place, and they were gone without a trace. David slammed down alone into the spot where she had been sitting with a heavy crash.
Grit—!
"You dare…!"
David ground his teeth. But the rage lasted only a moment before a deeper, heavier worry settled over him. He had known there were insects trailing them. He had left them alone out of sheer confidence that he could react to anything they tried. That confidence had been arrogance — and a mistake. He had never imagined one of them could teleport.
In the middle of the suddenly chaotic McDonald's, David stood alone and thought hard.
"First I report to Master. And then…"
If he was ordered to take his own life for this failure, David was fully prepared to do so.
"These worm bastards dare—!"
KRAAAANG—!
Hyeolrangje's roar of fury shook the room. He had already transformed into his half-man, half-wolf form, and a blood-red aura rolled off him along with a crushing wave of killing intent.
He was not the only one enraged. All nine of the Illuminati's villains — who had been waiting for Seo-ah's return from her outing — seethed at the news David brought. They simply weren't showing it as openly as Hyeolrangje.
When the Blood Wolf Emperor finally managed to rein himself in, the Proxy spoke.
"So. Have you finished locating these insects?"
"Yes, Master."
"Speak."
The Proxy's voice was ice-cold. The subordinate on the other end of the line swallowed hard and continued.
"They're a two-man villain duo — Rank 8 Jumper and Rank 5 Shadow Hunter."
"Jumper and Shadow Hunter? I've never heard those names."
The Proxy's brow furrowed. When David first reported the kidnapping, he had assumed it was the work of heroes who had figured out who — and what — Seo-ah was, or of some villain organization that stood against the Illuminati. The other eight had assumed the same.
And yet here they were, talking about a random Rank 8 and Rank 5 duo.
"Well… as it turns out, they're a rather well-known pair. They specialize in kidnapping famous civilians without abilities — celebrities and the like — collecting ransoms of hundreds of millions of won, then releasing them. The Hero Association even put out a bounty of one billion won for anyone who brings the duo in alive."
Crack—.
The floor under the Proxy's feet split with a hideous fracture the instant the report ended. So, to summarize—
"You're telling me Lady Cheon Seo-ah was kidnapped by a pair of no-name trash villains?"
"Th-that is correct."
There was no emotion left in the Proxy's voice at all. The subordinate swallowed again.
"Haa… Why on earth would Lady Seo-ah let herself be taken."
"Her heart is soft — far too soft. Though, well."
That's probably why we were able to receive her help in the first place.
As the Proxy muttered through a long sigh, Maraseung pressed his palms together and spoke. He wasn't wrong. Given the strength they all knew Seo-ah possessed, she could easily have escaped even a sudden teleport-assisted abduction. That she hadn't meant her gentle heart had chosen to go along with it on purpose — out of consideration for her attackers.
No. This was not the time for a debate on how softhearted she was.
Right now—
"So. Who's going?"
Who among them would be the one to rescue the kidnapped Lady Cheon Seo-ah. That was what needed deciding.
At the Proxy's words, laden with that intent, all nine villains — himself included — lit up with a fierce gleam in their eyes.