Looking Forward to Seeing You Again
One hour before the blood-soaked crime scene.
Baek Seoha let out a long, weary sigh in front of Exit 8 at Euljiro 3-ga Station.
"Haa... what am I even doing at twenty-four..."
She felt ridiculous. Flying off the handle over some post on an internet forum and actually coming out here to settle it face-to-face — what was wrong with her?
"Ugh..."
She rested a hand on the door of the Star Cafe and hesitated. But as a hero who had encountered Mesath firsthand, she couldn't just sit back and let netizens keep thinking that way.
That's right. This is a hero's duty too.
Maintaining social order. Setting the people who defended the Mains back on the proper path!
And more than anything else...
She would rather die than put on a strip show in front of the forces of evil!
Baek Seoha clenched her fist.
"I'm going to smash that guy's logic to pieces."
If it came down to it, she could always transform. People trusted what a hero had to say. Steeling herself, she pushed the door open and walked inside.
The bell above the door chimed.
"Welcome to Star Cafe."
Baek Seoha headed for the counter — and in that moment, a young man who looked like an engineering major brushed past her.
"Hm...?"
She pushed up her round glasses and lifted her head. That man just now. She could have sworn she'd seen him somewhere...
"What can I get started for you?"
The barista's question set the thought aside. The order came first.
"Uh... a Vanilla Cream Frappuccino..."
She trailed off, and the barista's eyes lit up.
"Yes, yes! A Vanilla Cream Frappuccino, coming right up?"
"No. Add two pumps of caramel syrup, two pumps of hazelnut syrup, whipped cream with caramel drizzle, and blend in some java chips too. Two shots of espresso, and go easy on the ice."
"Ah... yes..."
The barista's shoulders looked unusually heavy today.
Order placed, Baek Seoha glanced back. The engineering-looking young man was walking toward a table.
That woman with him... his girlfriend, maybe?
A man and a woman sat together at the table.
Whoa... his girlfriend is actually gorgeous.
Long, straight reddish-brown hair. The woman was feeding him his drink from right beside him.
"Ah... here you are, dear brother."
"Hmm..."
Such a sweet young couple. It had to be her imagination, then. She couldn't say why, but for a split second, looking at that young man had made her think of Mesath.
Yeah. I'm imagining things. There's no way a woman that pretty would be hanging around that insane scientist, right?
More than anything, you couldn't hide Mesath's madness. You knew it the second you laid eyes on him.
"Haa... maybe it's because that time of the month is coming."
Maybe she was just being sensitive. That said...
Baek Seoha looked around. Couples sat scattered throughout the cafe. She hung her head.
Ugh... this is so embarrassing.
She'd taken two years off, sure, but she was still a college junior... and she'd never even been in a situationship, let alone an actual relationship.
It's because hero work keeps me too busy, that's all...
She was sinking into the gloom when she gave her head a sharp shake.
No! Get your head on straight, Baek Seoha! You're a hero — a champion of the people! If you're jealous, you lose!
A noble mission had no need for romance. That was what it meant to be a hero!!
The engineering-student couple stood up first. Baek Seoha snuck a sidelong glance at them, sucking on the drink that had just come out.
Where are they headed now?
It was evening — they might grab a drink. And after that...
Oh my god! I must be losing my mind! Seriously!!
Baek Seoha buried her face, cheeks burning red, then took off her glasses and checked herself in a compact mirror.
"If I... put in a little effort... I wouldn't look half bad, right...?"
You couldn't judge your own looks. That was something other people decided. But still.
Haa... what's the point of dressing up when I don't even have a boyfriend.
She shook her head and stood. A glance at her phone: 6:56 p.m. Almost time.
Right. I've got too much free time, that's why my mind keeps wandering.
Let's go save the world again today!
Baek Seoha left the Star Cafe and headed for the back alley. The place they'd agreed to meet for the IRL showdown: a grilled-pork restaurant. But the person she was supposed to throw down with was nowhere in sight.
One minute to go...
"Coward. I knew it."
An antisocial Main-sympathizer who hid behind a screen and a fake name, cheering on the Mains from the safety of a keyboard.
"I'd been planning to give them a real piece of my mind if they actually showed..."
Baek Seoha glanced down at the hero costume tucked inside her tote bag.
"Guess I won't be deploying today...?"
She felt a little disappointed, and yet a smile tugged at her lips. If a hero wasn't needed, that meant the world was at peace.
"That day will come eventually, right? Hehe."
Seven o'clock on the dot. She was just about to turn and leave when Baek Seoha froze, eyes flying wide. A chill ran down her spine.
What was that?
Goosebumps erupted across her entire body. She turned slowly toward the darkened alley. Was she really just being sensitive?
"Well... it couldn't hurt to check."
Patrolling the alley would cost her about ten minutes, but if nothing was wrong, that was a blessing in itself. Baek Seoha drew a breath and started walking.
She stopped dead just short of the corner.
"Please — I'll do anything if you just let me live! So please! My life, at least!!"
A man's desperate voice spilled around the bend. And right on its heels, a laugh thick with madness struck her ears.
"Kishishishit! Why all the shouting? Someone passing by might think I was chopping you into pieces and killing you!"
Wait. That voice...?!
Baek Seoha didn't even have time to change into her costume. She tore around the corner.
"Hhk—?!"
The moment the scene hit her, the air locked in her throat. The alley floor was painted entirely in blood. Severed limbs and scraps of flesh lay scattered before her eyes, and the thick, metallic stench was enough to turn her stomach. Across the walls, someone's blood had been splattered in every direction, completing a grotesque graffiti.
"Urgh..."
Her gut twisted. Bile climbed her throat. And at the center of it all stood a mad scientist in a gas mask. At his side was a ghostly woman, her entire body soaked in blood — crushing a dismembered homeless man beneath the heel of her shoe.
"N-no. J-just kill me! Kill me right now!!"
The homeless man wailed, tears of blood streaming down his face.
...He's still alive!
If he got emergency treatment right now, he might still make it! Baek Seoha forced the words out as if to crush the unspeakable horror back down her throat.
"Gift... Release..."
Baekho
Her hair flooded platinum-blonde in a single breath, throwing off a soft, luminous sheen. She tore off her glasses, crushed them in her fist —
Crrrk—
— and hurled her rage straight at him.
"That's far enough! Mesath!!"
The Doctor of Madness, Mesath, turned his gas-masked face toward her.
"Ooooh! Who do we have here?! My hero! My hope! If it isn't Baekho?!"
A spotless white lab coat, without a single drop of blood on it, flared as he moved.
"What a coincidence! Ah! No, no — that's not right at all!!"
Mesath threw both arms high and laughed.
"The probability of randomly encountering one specific person among South Korea's fifty million is 0.000002%! Therefore, Baekho and I meeting is not 'coincidence' — it is destiny!! Kishishishishishishit!!"
What the hell was this maniac even talking about?! Baek Seoha's teeth ground together.
"Well? Baekho! Have you given any thought to my proposal from last time?"
Mesath wriggled his fingers, utterly oblivious to her mood, his voice dripping with laughter.
"I've just collected some excellent data, you see! It's the perfect Good timing to up-grade your combat power by a qua-qua-quadruple factor! You so lucky girl!!"
Baekho couldn't take another word. She shattered the pavement and charged.
"Shut your damn mouth!!"
She closed the distance in a single second. Using the acceleration, she spun her body and whipped a roundhouse kick — the heel of her boot screaming toward his temple.
But the kick aimed at Mesath's temple was stopped cold by the blood-soaked woman who stepped into its path. She kicked Baekho's calf upward and threw the entire trajectory off.
Whap!
"What—?!"
The high heel came down like a spike, driving straight for Baekho's face.
Whoooosh—!
"That's bad—!!"
Baekho crossed both arms and blocked.
Crrrack!
"Ghk—!"
Her back slammed into the ground. Baekho coughed up blood.
"Uegh!"
Both arms trembled violently. The blood-soaked wraith before her readjusted her grip on a sword flashing with plasma, poised to bring it down — and in that instant, Mesath flicked a hand and waved her off.
"Hiyohhohhot! That's quite enough, Hongryeon!"
That woman's name... Hongryeon?
"However... this one has most assuredly bared killing intent toward Lord Mesath."
Mesath wagged his index finger left and right, smiling.
"Non, no, no. Let's use our words correctly. A mere B-Class hero killing an S-Class Main? Kishishishit! Is that some kind of wordplay? I haven't heard a joke that funny in ages! Kihihihihihihihit!!"
Baek Seoha bit down on her lip until it bled.
"Kh..."
Both arms shook. The radius was probably fractured. Mesath crouched in front of her and tapped the ground with his index finger.
"Baekho. Listen. Very. Care. Fully. From this moment on."
Tap. Tap. Tap—
A pause.
Tap. Tap. Tap—
The scrape of his mechanical gauntlet against the floor repeated in a steady rhythm.
"That gaze of the weak, always looking up from below. This is the difference in eye level between you and me. Doesn't it burn? Don't you just want to hit me? Aren't you furious? Kishishishit!"
He gave her forehead a gentle push.
"But you can't do a thing, can you? Kihihihit!!"
Baek Seoha clenched her teeth.
"The weak? Hmph! Don't make me laugh. I'm a hero. I will never yield, no matter how strong the opponent!!"
Tap. Tap. Tap—
A pause.
Tap. Tap. Tap—
"How truly foolish you are, Baekho! Kishishit! That's precisely why I've taken a liking to you!"
Mesath grabbed both of her cheeks in one hand.
"Hahk—!"
"That unbending conviction! Is it not just like the Pulse of my own heart? Do you still not understand what I'm saying, Baekho!!"
Tap. Tap. Tap—
A pause.
Tap. Tap. Tap—
Baek Seoha scowled at the maddening noise and glared up at him.
"Hmph! As if I could ever understand a word a psychopathic killer says! You insane scientist!!"
She slowly pushed back against Hongryeon's high heel, which was grinding down on her, with both trembling arms.
"Nngh...! I'll take you down... and this time, I swear it! I'm going to save that civilian!!"
Hongryeon merely tilted her head once — then crushed Baekho back down without a flicker of expression.
Thud!
"Ghk—!"
"A creed that lives only upon the tongue is nothing but a phantom. To prattle of justice with skill inferior to a worm's... it is simply laughable."
"Nngh..."
Mesath sighed and rose to his feet.
"I had taken you for someone reasonably clever... but today you've rather disappointed me, Baekho. Ksssss."
His white coat flared as he turned his back. He seized the dismembered homeless man by the hair.
"GRAAAAGH!"
The man's abdomen flopped and twitched. Mesath dragged him along without a glance. Baek Seoha screamed, the veins standing out in her throat.
"Stop right there! Let that man go!!"
Mesath, already walking into the dark, paused for a moment. Then he turned, white coat sweeping behind him.
"Kiheet! A person? Kishishishishit! What an amusing thing to say. I'm afraid this is my test subject."
He cocked his head, considering for a beat.
"Hmm... very well. Then how about this."
He raised his index finger and added one last thing.
"Should you pass the gates I have prepared in one piece, I shall present our hardworking little Baekho with a Good Hero Award! Hiyohhohhohhohhot!!"
White coat streaming, Mesath dragged the homeless man away into the dark. Baek Seoha screamed after him.
"Get back here! Mesath!! Stop—!!"
But Hongryeon's fist drove into her solar plexus, and the rest of the words never made it out.
"Ghk—!"
Her vision blurred, fading by degrees.
"W... wait..."
Far ahead, Mesath walked with his hands folded behind his back, Hongryeon at his side, the two of them strolling unhurried into the darkness.