Chapter 173
Chapter 173
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: Episode 57. When the Shrinking Bud Blooms (1)
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― Miiiister Cthuuulhuuuuu~~~~~~ Cthulhuuuu~!!
Amid the pouring cheers.
The man in the squid mask, Mr. Cthulhu, stepped into the octagon.
Having survived the Great War, he knew exactly how humans turned into the most grotesque corpses when they died.
For instance, those killed by succubi had their bones melted away into a gooey mess, and succubi with refined tastes would stretch out the corpse's arms and tie them into a knot.
He planned to do the same to the chick-masked punk in front of him.
Crush both arms into a pulp, then tie them behind that ridiculous chick mask. Everyone would love that.
But the gong rang. One minute later.
He lay sprawled on the ground, not even sure what had happened.
'……?'
His chest was pinned under the man's foot.
The immense force and pressure choked off his breath.
Turning his head, he saw the stunned gazes of the crowd.
And belatedly, the drunken referee sauntered over with hands behind his back to check if he was dead.
"You dead? Cthulhu?"
Dead my ass, you damn old geezer.
Mr. Cthulhu thought.
What the hell just happened?
He'd charged in for a ground technique. Slammed his shoulder right into the guy's gut.
As a world top-300 ranker, with his body clad in "Iron Body" and mana-loaded impact, it hit harder than a dump truck at full speed.
But the guy took it without flinching and shoved him back.
That got his blood boiling a bit.
He channeled mana to unleash his blessing.
Closed the distance with a footwork skill, intent on killing.
And then?
Nothing after that.
At some point, he was rolling on the floor.
"Do you concede defeat? Cthulhu?"
The drunken referee chuckled.
Furious, Cthulhu grabbed the ref's collar from the ground and flung him away.
The old man flew into the ceiling with a whoosh and died on impact.
The cheers rattled his ears.
Mr. Cthulhu conceded defeat, and the chick mask immediately lifted his foot.
On his way out, he beat another Fight Club staffer blocking his path to death. Unable to contain his rage, he picked up a speeding car and hurled it. He bashed in a passing thug's skull.
The more he thought, the more it fueled his emotions.
He recalled leaving the arena. The cheers that had been for him were now directed at the chick mask. The males' envy and females' longing had turned to mockery.
Normally, he wouldn't care about such things.
But now, he was Mr. Cthulhu.
A middle-aged man who staked his life on his hobby.
In some back alley, he could no longer hold back and made a call.
"Yeah, it's me."
Few in the Federation knew of Mr. Cthulhu's secret hobby.
He called the most powerful among them—his little brother.
"Need you to rough up some punk for me. Yeah. Yeah, that one. Lost to him in the 14th defense match."
He gave a quick rundown, and a pathetic sigh came from the other end.
― Hyung-nim. Isn't it time to quit? You're turning fifty in three days. Fifty.
It scraped at his pride.
But Mr. Cthulhu figured if that chick mask got beaten to death while looking down on him, a little dented pride was fine.
"Damn it. So what if I'm fifty? You want me to swing a damn golf club like everyone else, bored out of my mind?"
― Jeez. That'd be better. You've lived your life swinging a pen. Why pick up a bat at fifty and go swinging it around?
"Just help me out, you punk."
― If word gets to the Federation brass, you're done for. You know that, right?
He was the vice-captain of the World Superhuman Federation (WOO)'s Vanguard: Fill the Grey, a covert strike force.
World ranking 271, an ultra-high ranker.
The shadow human 'Oh Seung-o'.
― Tsk. So, what level superhuman do you need? You're a has-been, so maybe around 2000th? Alang? Pyo? Hisquia?
"Has-been my ass. I'm stronger than those guys."
― Sure, sure.
Mr. Cthulhu thought it over.
He still considered himself active.
He hadn't gone all out, but to suppress him in one go, no half-baked ranker could do it.
"Seung-o, my brother……."
― Hyung-nim, no. That's not happening.
Oh Seung-o rejected it, realizing something.
"Come on, bro. I know your ops board inside out. Things have been quiet lately, no heads rolling. Life's boring, right? Too peaceful?"
― You're calling me out over some small fry?
"A blade dulls if unused. Come sharpen it up."
― You think you know everything…….
The dismissive tone made him want to flip out, but he held back.
Still, Oh Seung-o was a powerhouse.
This guy could smash the chick mask no problem.
So Mr. Cthulhu vented his hobby-fueled rage with that thought.
― So, who is it?
"I'm pregnant."
Bom said.
Yoo Ji-tae peered into Bom's eyes. Her gaze met his through round glasses. Her words contained one that took time to process.
"...What?"
"Is there a softer way to say that?"
Bom stifled a laugh, seeing his expression.
Bom was writing a novel right now.
"That shocking, huh?"
"...Dunno. It's already soft enough."
"Saying 'I'm pregnant' is too direct."
"Can't do that?"
"It lacks... feeling."
"So how do you add feeling?"
"Beats me. That's what I'm pondering."
'Hmm~.' Bom toyed with her lower lip. Ji-tae thought for a moment and suggested alternatives.
"Got a bun in the oven."
"Not great."
"We're having a baby."
"Not great."
"It's not singular anymore."
"??"
"My belly's swelling."
"Not......"
"No idea."
"Hmm......"
Then Yeoreum, sitting beside Ji-tae, spoke up.
"Told you not to do it inside."
"That's a bit......"
"Yeah? Hm. ...Our love has borne fruit?"
"Huh?"
Bom's eyes widened. Then she giggled.
"What was that? Did I hear wrong?"
Yeoreum stared off at distant mountains, no reply.
"Hm. But unni, isn't what you're writing horror?"
"Yeah."
"Don't you ever write anything else?"
"Like what?"
"Anything. Mystery novels. Romance. That sort."
"Nah."
"Why?"
"Why...?"
"Just. Try it sometime."
"Hm......"
Bom tilted her head. Doubt flickered in Gyeoul's eyes too, sitting silently beside Ji-tae.
It wasn't like Yeoreum to say that.
"Maybe when I have time."
"Yeah. If anything, try romance or something."
She scratched her nape awkwardly after saying it. Bom eyed her slyly but nodded reluctantly.
It was that kind of day.
No different from any ordinary one.
"I'm back!"
Afternoon classes over, Gaeul returned to the dorm. Ji-tae called her to the study. He had something to tell her privately.
"Huh? Why?"
Thankfully, she'd grown comfortable being alone with him lately. Gaeul plopped casually on his bed.
"Got something for you."
"What?"
Ji-tae handed her a small ticket. Printed boldly: 'Superhuman Academy Lair Promotion Office.' On the back: 'For Chick Mask'.
Gaeul turned the ticket over silently, her golden eyes widening.
"Huh? Wh-what is this?!"
Actually, before visiting the Promotion Office with her yesterday.
He'd inquired about the Masked Song Festival via Team Leader Yong Do-hee.
She'd asked if Gaeul could sing well. He said yes. Delighted, she used her authority to secure a spot. She liked Gaeul that much.
But Ji-tae couldn't rush into it blindly.
Yoo Gaeul was the most delicate. The one needing the gentlest handling.
Gaeul had to take it lightly.
Not get too excited if it worked out. Not despair if it didn't. So he'd taken her for a test run.
'You want me to act like it's rejected? Oh, to surprise Gaeul? Sure.'
Team Leader Yong had cheerfully agreed.
On the way back disappointed, Gaeul had only been mildly bummed.
She'd passed his test.
"Let's go do it. Sing."
Now, mentioning the prior events, life returned to Gaeul's dazed eyes.
"Woooow—! You're the best, ajusshi!"
She lunged for a hug but hesitated midway.
"Ah... Uh! Anyway, this is awesome! Wooow!"
Soon Gaeul bounced out to the living room clutching the ticket, bragging to her unnis and Gyeoul. 'Isn't this huge?!' They marveled and congratulated her.
Ji-tae followed, calming her down.
"Gaeul-ah. Sit first. Got a question."
"Okay, sure!"
There was one odd thing during the process.
The day Gaeul brought up the Masked Song Festival, registration was already closed.
Seemed minor. But he decided to check.
"Huh? Really?"
"Yeah. You didn't know?"
"No. Weird? Yurang said registration was still open? I told you right away."
'Jeong Yu-ran' was the name of Gaeul's friend she mentioned often.
"Ah... But lately, Yurang's been acting kinda off."
"Off how?"
"Yeah. Something's... off, you know? Sometimes she chats like we're close. But when others are around, she barely responds...... I don't get why."
Bom asked.
"That's weird. Obvious?"
"Yeah. Alone, she's nice......"
"Talked to anyone else about it?"
"No? Asked another friend once. She didn't know."
"Hm......"
"What if she's just a crazy bitch?"
"No...! She's always inviting me to karaoke. She's a good friend basically."
Gaeul scratched her head.
"...Just weird sometimes."
Seemed like some subtle girl drama Ji-tae didn't know about. Bom, Yeoreum, and Gaeul chattered about it. Yeoreum bashed the friend; Gaeul defended her. Listening, Bom shook her head.
"Feels shady. She's jealous of you."
"Huh? Jealous of me? Why?"
"Who knows? Her alone."
"To me, she's a psycho."
At Yeoreum's blunt words, Gaeul scowled.
"Unni! My friend!"
But Yeoreum frowned irritably too.
"Friend my ass. Listen, dummy. She sings lessons, right? Drags kids along and makes you sing."
"Yeah, but...!"
"Setting you up to compare. Using you like an insole to boost her ego. Psycho bitch."
"No...?"
"No shit, why are you defending her?"
Yeoreum's words clarified the picture. In Gaeul's 'Travel Club', Cadet Jeong Yu-ran was subtly pitting her as a rival for some reason.
Listening, Ji-tae asked curiously.
"She takes singing lessons?"
Gaeul nodded, a bit downcast.
"Yeah. Used to be a trainee idol in Korea."
"When did she start pushing you to sing?"
"Hm... A while ago."
Recently, Yong Do-hee had said:
'But really anonymous only? No prizes or rankings, but it's one of the big media events at the fireworks festival. Seven out of ten ditch the mask to get exposure.'
In this era, superhumans were soldiers and heroes.
For success, with money and fame, name value mattered more than raw power.
"Hm...... Yeah."
He thought.
Kids jealous or competing—any special reason?
This was Gaeul's school life. Her daily life. But as her guardian, hearing it didn't sit well.
"Got it. Anyway, focus on your singing for now."
At Ji-tae's words, silent Gyeoul clapped.
An exclamation mark popped over Gaeul's head.
"Right! Need to send Team Leader Yong a singing video, yeah?"
"Yep. She asked."
"Then I'll record Gaeul singing."
Bom fiddled with her watch.
Yeoreum asked.
"But you got songs you can sing?"
By then, Gaeul was stiffening up.
"Huh? Uh, yeah......"
Now that it was real, she rolled her eyes shyly.
Yeoreum grinned slyly, recalling something.
"Hey."
"Yeah...?"
"What's her number 18."
"Her? Yurang? Why...?"
"Karaoke fave, right."
"Ah, yeah. Got one...?"
"What?"
"'Some Time or Other'... Kinda sad song. Yurang always sang it......"
"Perfect. Do that. You remember it?"
Yeoreum's meaningful smile made Gaeul uneasy.
But the stage was set. Bom started recording with her watch. The guardian dimmed the lights subtly.
"Ugh...... Gonna do it? For real...?"
Many eyes watched, but no answer came.
Flustered, Gaeul closed her eyes.
Recalling the voice and melody from karaoke.
Then Ji-tae wondered.
Luna, pop queen of the 1st round.
Baby Yellow, Billboard goddess of the 4th.
One of Gaeul's destined futures.
Voices that shook the world, countless hearts. Did such unparalleled talent exist purely, without practice? The regressor was curious.
"......"
Gaeul's lips parted, face flushed with embarrassment.
The song began.