No Bus to Shin Seoul
"Wow. How come there's no bus to Seoul?"
I picked up a crumpled newspaper from the terminal rooftop and scanned it. It was packed with all sorts of news, but especially full of info on monsters and heroes.
I need to get my hands on a smartphone ASAP.
In an information society, nothing leaves you more out of touch than getting cut off from the digital world. In this 21st-century modern era, the world can flip overnight in the span of a single year, right?
"But this place..."
I glanced around. It had the typical look of a developed modern city overall, but battle scars dotted the landscape here and there. The city was dying.
If a major metropolis right next to Seoul was in this state, I could only imagine the smaller cities.
Even the City Hall has monsters nesting there.
Incheon was doing better than most, at least, with the Hero Association's heroes stationed at City Hall as a base. Of course, by the time the original story kicks off, even Incheon falls and becomes monster territory.
About five years left?
The newspaper's date was April 3, 2020. Assuming this was today's paper, that left roughly five years until the original story began.
Tighter timeline than I thought.
It wasn't the worst-case scenario—where the story had already started—but five years wasn't as long as it sounded.
The original begins in spring 2025 for sure, unless something crazy happens.
I need to recover all the Cube fragments, and figure out how to survive myself.
The protagonist's prowess was downright astonishing in hindsight. Over the course of the story's one-year span—really about ten months—they snag wealth, power, love, and oh yeah, save the world on the side.
If I could, I'd just let it play out like the original...
But even for the protagonist, this world's foundation is a visual novel. You need the right choices and the proper route to hit the true ending.
I could play as the protagonist in the game, but now? I'm not the hero—I'm Villain Lackey A, cannon fodder for the protagonist.
Worst case, I might have to raise the protagonist myself.
Princess—no, Hero Maker mode.
I neatly folded the newspaper and stood from the chair.
"...?"
Suddenly, a shadow fell over my head.
"Miss? Weren't you looking for the bus to Shin Seoul?"
A sleazy-looking blond guy flashed a friendly grin out of nowhere. His skin had a slight tan, like he'd been sunbathing at the beach.
What the hell's this guy's deal?
I tried to ignore him and walk past, but changed my mind and responded.
"Yeah. I have business in Shin Seoul..."
"Got your number ticket? Let me see. Oof, 5000s? No chance. Even if you're lucky, it's a three-month wait."
"For real?"
I already knew, but played dumb and asked back. He slapped my shoulder and beamed.
Should I just chop him up?
"Yeah! Thousands apply to head to Shin Seoul every day. You saw it yourself, right? That lady earlier was bawling her eyes out after getting kicked off."
He lowered his voice.
"So here's the thing. We've got vehicles to help folks like that get to Shin Seoul..."
"Isn't that illegal?"
I cut him off, and his eyebrow twitched. But he just shrugged.
"If the country's rules say so, sure. But you gonna shoot refugees fleeing monsters? We're all the same Korean folk, right?"
Fair point. They won't shoot. Guns, anyway.
"If you're some good little rule-follower from the new Korea, I won't push. But miss, among all the folks running illicit rides to Shin Seoul around here, who do you think gives the best price?"
He rubbed his thumb and forefinger with a cheeky grin. It was so ridiculous, I nearly snickered inwardly. Outwardly, I acted all wary.
"...You're actually taking people to Shin Seoul, right?"
"Yup! Just need a tiny bit of cash. So, miss, how much you got on you right now?"
I pulled out the bills stuffed in my pocket—two King Sejong notes Old Man Park had given me for bus fare.
"This is all..."
"Ah, that's a problem. Way short, no dice."
The young man eyed me up and down slyly. I considered gouging out those eyes, then startled myself with my own viciousness and reined it in.
Daring to ogle my lovely angel bluebird with those filthy eyes.
"Uh, isn't there some way?"
"There might be, miss. Got parents? Or a guardian?"
"...I have a cousin sister in Shin Seoul. Parents are gone."
I sniffled pitifully, and he made a sympathetic face. But those sunken eyes gleamed with lust.
He scratched his head like it pained him, then grabbed my wrist and tugged.
"Can't be helped. Come on, I'll pull some strings and—"
"By the way."
I gripped his hand in reverse and smiled.
"Who said you could touch me?"
"Huh?"
He blinked in stupid confusion. I just gave a soft smile—then thwack! I yanked his hand off my wrist and kicked upward.
Crunch.
With the sound of something precious shattering, he collapsed without even screaming.
"Seokpil!"
"You crazy bitch?!"
Men hiding behind the door rushed out one by one, foaming at the mouth as they supported the writhing blond.
'How'd she notice?!'
'From the start.'
'How?! The plan was perfect!'
I could practically hear the conversation already. Sighing inwardly, I just gave the blond a pitying look.
Blond with tanned skin? Hitomi route 100%.
Don't get me wrong—this world's core isn't open-world RPG or post-apocalypse. It's a full-on 19+ visual novel. Not pure love, either—tags everywhere.
Roll those eyeballs hard or die.
"I'd rather wait than follow sketchy guys who might do who-knows-what to a broke high school girl. I'm calling the cops."
Alright. Time to unleash the flames of justice (public authority) on these thugs who dared eye Phoenix-nim's sacred form—
"Hey, you psycho! If you're broke, just call that cousin and ask her to send money!"
"Huh?"
One of his buddies propping up the unconscious blond looked downright aggrieved.
"Wh-what happened...?"
A woman appeared from downstairs, clutching a bundle. It was the lady from earlier who'd been forcibly kicked off the bus.
"S-sis, hold on. Seokpil's..."
"Gasp?! Hang in there!"
In the terminal hallway, one guy lay on a bench, silently screaming. I could only stand there awkwardly, saying nothing.
"Th-that's not... what I..."
I fidgeted with my fingers and looked up at the sky. Clear as could be, not a cloud in sight.
* * *
"Nice to meet you, miss. I'm Kim Sang-ah."
The middle-aged woman who introduced herself pulled a business card from her wallet out of habit and handed it over. Gold-embossed letters read Raon Law Firm, Attorney Kim Sang-ah.
"You're a lawyer? But..."
At my surprised question, Kim Sang-ah gave a wry smile.
"Saw something unsightly, huh? Sorry. This is my real treasure."
She pulled an album from her bundle.
"My ex-husband and daughter. After the divorce, he went back to his hometown in Busan. Daughter's with her dad now."
"So you're heading to Shin Seoul because...?"
She nodded.
"Yeah. Before the Pyongyang blast, her dad took her to Busan for a visit. She's been staying there ever since."
Her hand stroking the photo was callused—hard to believe it belonged to a lawyer.
"...Incheon doesn't look safe anymore, so we're going down. Shameless of me, leaning on my ex."
"I see."
Shin Seoul might be different, but in a place where monsters rampage day and night, lawyering like before wouldn't pay the bills. Her shabby clothes suggested she'd been doing odd jobs for nearly a year. Now broke, heading to her ex.
"Wh-what about you, miss? Why Shin Seoul? Evacuating too?"
At Kim Sang-ah's question, I recited my prepped backstory.
"My cousin works in Shin Seoul."
"Parents?"
"......"
"...Sorry. I spoke out of turn."
Playing the tragic backstory card worked like a charm—they assumed the rest. Power of the uniform, I guess.
"Your hair color's so unique. A hero, maybe?"
Kim Sang-ah smiled brightly, trying to keep the chat going. Makes sense—she was alone in a dingy office straight out of a gangster flick. Probably chattering to ease her nerves, with me as the buffer.
"Dye job."
"Ah, got it. Eyebrows match too, so I thought you'd awakened as a hero. Seolhwa Gongju's hair is white like snow, right?"
"Yeah."
It was common knowledge that heroes' awakening changed their hair and eye color to match their powers. My blue hair stood out a bit, but not freakishly.
"Hero awakening, huh."
Old Man Park had mistaken me for one too. For a second, I considered registering as a hero and going for it.
"Ah, wanna be a hero yourself, miss?"
"...Power's handy in this mad world."
Kim Sang-ah sipped her green tea and nodded.
"True. Money doesn't solve everything anymore. Korea's a mess, but know how heroes are treated in America or Europe?"
"Government-managed human executioners?"
I parroted the original protagonist's choice line verbatim.
She wagged her finger with a look like I was naive.
"Idols. Superstars. Idols. Beyond all that—true saviors of humanity, heroes. You need more sensitivity, miss."
What's her deal, picking on a stranger? I held back a retort.
"Yeah, sensitivity."
"Exactly. In this harsh world, we need more humanity between people..."
"Excuse me. One question."
I cut her off on purpose. She looked annoyed, but I ignored it and asked anyway.
"How do you survive as a person in this brutal world?"
"...Quite the random question."
As she pondered, I made it specific.
"Like, say you have nothing but the clothes on your back, and the world's too harsh. Attorney, how would you survive this madness?"
"Hmm... Feels personal."
She hugged her bundle self-deprecatingly.
"I'd do whatever it takes. By any means, get to Shin Seoul, then Busan. To my daughter."
"...Hrm."
"Don't misunderstand—strictly legal means. Think I'd break the law? I'm a lawyer."
"I see."
I turned to the window and shut my mouth. She fidgeted, trying to restart the talk, but I kept staring out.
'By any means.' Does that include inhuman crimes?
I wanted to ask outright but held back.
She'll find out soon enough.
Kim Sang-ah and I waited silently in the office the youths had led us to. Were they real brokers to Shin Seoul, or the first glimpse of this rotten world's dark underbelly?
Doesn't matter either way.
"If they screw us over, just kill 'em all."
"Pardon?"
"Ah, just mumbling. Don't mind me."
I waved reassuringly at startled Kim Sang-ah. She scooted away on the sofa, putting distance between us.
"Y-you're an ability user, right...?"
Bang.
The office door flew open. I shot Kim Sang-ah a side-eye, then smiled softly at the incoming youths.
"I've been waiting."
For real.