Meeting a Supporting Character
The remaining class time turned into a debate between Eun Seol and me over whether Kid G was a heinous psycho villain or a Dark Knight who punished those who slipped through the blind spots of the law.
In truth it was barely a debate. Most of it was Eun Seol passionately tearing into Kid G while I only occasionally tossed out a counterpoint.
Once he had heard us out, the professor wrapped up the discussion at a suitable moment.
"I enjoyed both of your thoughtful takes. Even if a hero and a villain are the same person, from another perspective they can become opposites. Establishing that standard for yourself is an important part of this course."
"While we're on the subject, how about we make this your first assignment? From among the many heroes and villains out there, each of you will pick one and research their track record."
"Then analyze why each is treated as a hero or a villain, share your own thoughts on them, and explain why you think that way. You have two weeks."
When we left the lecture hall, Eun Seol glared at me with a vicious look on her face.
I just grinned as if to ask what the problem was, which only made her angrier. She crossed her arms, tapping her fingers, and snapped,
"Ha, a Dark Knight who punishes those in the law's blind spots? Your self-aggrandizement is a real spectacle, Kid G."
"My name is Lee Yechan, actually."
"Same difference. Aren't you embarrassed, shamelessly whitewashing yourself like that? You're still just a villain."
"The professor just said heroes and villains can flip depending on perspective. Miss Eun Seol, you should pay more attention in class."
"Perspective this, perspective that—you're a thief, plain and simple!"
"Well, there might be people who think otherwise."
"Ha? Do you actually think people welcome a villain like you?"
"It seems Miss Eun needs to broaden her narrow worldview."
Instead of answering, Eun Seol flipped me the middle finger.
The stubborn, justice-obsessed Valkyrie still had that kind of personality.
Corrupting a girl like this into Dark Valkyrie was exactly why so many fans dropped off in the original work.
I wonder if she has any idea how hard I'm working, body and soul, to make sure she takes as little shock and damage as possible from everything that's coming.
I checked the time on my phone and jerked my chin toward the student cafeteria.
"It's lunchtime. Shall we grab lunch together?"
Seoul Hero Academy was a university, but unlike ordinary colleges, subjects and class times were fixed by group the way they were in high school.
Being placed in the same group meant Eun Seol and I shared every schedule on campus.
When I suggested a meal, she looked at me like she had bitten into something foul.
"What? Why would I have lunch with a guy like—"
"You don't have any friends anyway, do you? Back in high school you spent all the time you could have been hanging out with classmates hiding your identity and operating as Valkyrie."
"...!"
More than the no-friends remark itself, she was stunned that I knew even about her high school life. Suspicion flooded her face.
"You... how much do you know?"
"Who knows? Maybe more than you think. So—lunch, yes or no?"
"...... If I take my eyes off a guy like you, who knows where you'll sneak off to do something weird. I'll keep watch."
With no good excuse to duck out and needing to eat regardless, Eun Seol ended up joining me for lunch in a thoroughly foul mood.
As we headed for the student cafeteria, I could feel the male students' gazes sweeping over Eun Seol one by one.
Hero work had left her living a half-involuntary loner life, but her natural looks were simply that outstanding.
Having secured an excuse to eat with a girl like her left me feeling a little satisfied as I followed behind her, loaded my tray, and sat down.
When I brought my lunch over and took my seat, I saw Eun Seol, already seated, hurriedly hide something.
Thinking she hadn't been caught, she deliberately leaned forward a bit the moment I sat across from her and suddenly called out,
"Hey, Kid G."
She'd been calling me "hey" or "you" the whole time, yet she suddenly used the codename without realizing how weird that sounded. She really was an idiot.
Seeing Eun Seol still refusing to give up, I snorted a laugh as I sat.
"My name is Lee Yechan."
"You're also Kid G."
"No, I'm not?"
Crack.
I saw the corner of her eye twitch hard.
Deciding further attempts were useless, she pulled out the recorder she'd secretly switched on while I was getting my meal, turned it off, and grumbled,
"Ugh, you're such an irritating bastard."
"Did you think someone who's never deceived anyone and can't even lie would pull that off without it showing? Sorry, but you're just not cut out for that kind of thing."
"Fine, for once you're right. I'll just catch you at a crime scene myself and make sure you rot in prison."
"Looking forward to it. Hero Valkyrie's tenacity, never giving up even after letting me slip every time so far! Very impressive."
Eun Seol flipped me off again.
We had been eating in that rather cold, frosty atmosphere for less than three minutes when someone walked up with a tray and slid into the seat next to Eun Seol as naturally as could be.
"Excuse me for a moment during your meal."
At the sudden intrusion, Eun Seol's eyes went round as she looked up—and her face immediately twisted in disgust.
"Eugh..."
"Oh my? That doesn't sound like the right kind of greeting for a person."
Unlike Eun Seol's slightly husky voice, hers was quite high-pitched.
Layered-perm brown hair, a figure and beauty that didn't lose much even to Eun Seol, and that distinctive beauty mark near her mouth.
What set her most apart from Eun Seol was her outfit.
While Eun Seol looked like she had thrown on whatever she found at home, this girl was armed head to toe in high-end clothes and accessories that reeked of luxury, her expression overflowing with ease.
In the original comic she was famous for always sporting that smug, triumphant look, and while it wasn't as exaggerated in real life, that unique smug expression was still very much intact.
Kim Sejin.
Daughter of a seriously wealthy family, and one of the few people who currently knew Eun Seol was the hero Valkyrie.
She had abilities herself and was affiliated with the Hero Union, but she barely did any actual hero work and was weirdly friendly toward villains—an odd person.
She had her own reasons, but to justice-obsessed Eun Seol she just looked like a lunatic who was in the Hero Union yet went around praising villains.
So Eun Seol didn't like Kim Sejin much and didn't want to get involved with her.
Kim Sejin, for her part, didn't care at all.
Having sat down next to Eun Seol like it was nothing, Kim Sejin looked at me across the table, smiled, and held out her hand.
"You there—Lee Yechan, was it? I'm Kim Sejin. Nice to meet you."
"Yeah, nice to meet you too."
I greeted Kim Sejin casually, dropping the formal speech.
This girl wasn't the type to care about that kind of thing.
"I caught the debate at the end of the lecture earlier. You've got some real clear-cut opinions, huh? Saying Kid G shouldn't just be treated as a villain—honestly, I think the same! I feel like you and I are gonna get along great!"
Watching Kim Sejin act so friendly toward me, Eun Seol snorted.
"Ha, go on, play nice. Do you even know what kind of guy this is?"
"What kind?"
"......"
Eun Seol's words died in her throat.
She had finally learned that without clear proof I was actually Kid G, trying to pin it on me here would only make her look like a fool again.
In the end she couldn't outright say I was Kid G and instead tore into me indirectly.
"A criminal villain with delusions of grandeur and a messiah complex who believes he's some other kind of justice... a low-IQ idiot with no concept of good and evil who can't tell right from wrong..."
"Aren't those words a bit harsh?"
Kim Sejin smiled brightly at Eun Seol and jabbed her in the side with her elbow.
"Well, a passionate follower of Valkyrie... like you might not get it, but I think I do? Honestly, it's cool, right? A dark hero who punishes the privileged that regular heroes can't touch! A villain who's actually kind-hearted and popular with everyone—a Dark Knight! I like that kind of thing."
"Yeah, yeah, of course you do. Birds of a feather. You've been going on about the allure of the underworld forever—must be nice having an idol now, huh?"
"Hey, Lee Yechan! After we eat, want to talk more about Kid G? Every time I say stuff like this, kids like Eun Seol scold me, so I never had anyone to talk to about it. Feels like I finally found a comrade!"
After that, Kim Sejin chattered away about Kid G for the entire meal.
That was how I first met Kim Sejin—the nuisance supporting character from the original work.