Chapter 5

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 5

Chapter Title: An Unjust Start (5)

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After arriving home.

"......Hoo......"

I set my phone down in front of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me and let out a deep breath as I cautiously checked the messages.

And...

I was faced with a contract termination.

"...Haa..."

In a way, it was the natural progression, so I thought I'd prepared my heart for it. But now that it was here, the feeling was strangely off.

After pouring every moment of my day and night into them, all I got was a contract termination.

On the flip side, maybe it was because I'd done exactly that—held back so much—that it ended with just this.

If I'd really done something wrong, I might not have felt so wronged.

Plop—

I flopped onto the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought.

How could I unravel this stifling feeling in my chest?

What I really wanted was to catch the person who slandered me and clear up the misunderstanding right away. But I had no way to find the culprit.

I didn't even know how they made that video. How was I supposed to track down the creator?

Asking acquaintances for advice was tricky too, since I didn't want baseless rumors to spread...

In the end, I'd have to figure it out on my own.

"Hoo..."

With a heavy sigh, I closed my eyes for a moment before abruptly sitting up and heading straight to the bathroom.

Then, to soothe my stuffy heart, I grabbed a chilled can of beer from the fridge and settled at the kitchen table.

My side dish? The contract termination agreement from Cheonhwa Guild.

Slide— slide—

I skimmed through the contents, signed with a flourish, then chugged the beer while eyeing the penalty fee I'd receive from Cheonhwa Guild.

'6.5 billion...'

Just like in reality, 6.5 billion was no small sum in this world either.

No—in light of Queens' status, it could even be seen as a modest amount.

Added to the money I'd saved up so far, it was probably enough to live off forever without lifting a finger.

As long as the world didn't go completely to hell like in the original story's ending.

'A happy ending is basically guaranteed anyway.'

Seol Ju-hee's current rank was Ex-rank.

Stronger than the final boss of the original story Strongest Powerhouse, the otherworldly demon king.

With Hong Yu-ra and Im A-rin fully grown as well, there shouldn't be any major obstacles unless some massive variable popped up.

The three of them would navigate the future just fine.

Even without me.

Just fine.

"......"

Was it the alcohol?

My mood sank for no reason.

After finishing the signatures and tucking the papers away, I grabbed another beer and collapsed onto the living room sofa.

"Puhah..."

In the video Seol Ju-hee had brought, "I" claimed to have approached the three of them solely to use them.

At first, I'd thought it was utter nonsense...

But thinking back now, it wasn't entirely wrong.

Fifteen years ago.

Back then, I wanted to protect this world alongside Seol Ju-hee.

Not hanging back like now, but standing shoulder-to-shoulder as a proper comrade, fighting together.

So I boldly used my ability to grow, earning the title of once-in-a-generation prodigy and high expectations.

At the time, I really felt like the protagonist of this world.

My secret ability, manifested as simple swordsmanship; the expectations from those around me; and my fateful connection to Seol Ju-hee, who seemed like the perfect heroine—it was like looking at a novel protagonist.

If I hadn't gotten hurt back then, I might be running with some male hunter team by now.

"......"

But reality is harsh.

During training with Im A-rin, I suffered a major injury, got ruled permanently unfit for combat, and failed to become the protagonist.

That said, I didn't resent Im A-rin.

It wasn't intentional on her part, and afterward, she took care of me excessively.

Of course I'd have regrets, but even those were dulling over time.

Unable to become the protagonist myself, I poured everything into making Seol Ju-hee the perfect one. I convinced the three of them to form a team and pushed them through grueling daily training for growth.

They thought I was driven by pure passion to help them grow...

But that wasn't it.

I was just forcing my dream on them.

To become an even more perfect protagonist in my stead, leading this hopeless world to peace.

"......"

The "me" in the video used the three for his own greed.

And I used the three to fulfill my dream.

At this rate...

Who was real and who was fake? It was impossible to tell.

The next afternoon.

After the contract with Cheonhwa Guild was officially terminated.

Vrrr— vrrr—

My phone started ringing nonstop.

The news that I'd left Queens had spread.

Among the callers were several acquaintances...

A few rival teams to Queens were mixed in as well.

Particularly from Sejin Guild of the current No. 2 ranked 'Black Rose', the guild leader herself had sent a long personal message...

In short, they wanted to scout me and suggested catching up over a meal.

"Sejin Guild..."

I actually had some history with Sejin Guild.

More precisely, with the current leader, Lee Hye-ri.

Back when we were at the academy, as we formed Queens and shattered records left and right, we got contract offers from both Sejin Guild and Cheonhwa Guild.

Lee Hye-ri, who was vice leader at the time, had pushed hard on me with promises of massive support and a hefty contract...

But for some reason, all three of Queens refused to sign with Sejin Guild, leaving us no choice but to go with Cheonhwa.

'Did they hate Lee Hye-ri that much?'

"......"

As old memories suddenly resurfaced, I stared blankly at my incessantly buzzing phone, lost ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in thought.

What if.

If we'd contracted with Sejin Guild instead of Cheonhwa...

"Ugh..."

Shaking off the pointless what-ifs, I reached out and simply turned off the phone.

I had no intention of rushing into a new team right away anyway.

Not out of loyalty to Queens or anything...

I just needed some time to rest.

Setting aside all that talk of world peace and whatever nonsense.

I just wanted to regain some peace of mind.

That night.

"Puhah..."

I drowned myself in booze again, spending the time with movies and novels I'd been putting off.

Though I was so plastered that nothing sank in, it felt like if I didn't do something, I'd collapse entirely.

How much time passed as I endlessly poured drinks down my throat...

"Ah."

In the end, I'd run out of alcohol.

'Should I buy more...'

The convenience store was about three minutes away.

A hassle, but not too far to bother.

"...Up we go..."

Groaning dramatically, I hauled my sluggish body up, threw on a cap haphazardly, and headed out.

Time had slipped to 1 AM already.

Had my sense of time been drowned in booze too? I hadn't even realized it was this late.

'No wonder it felt so dark...'

Dragging my wobbly body past the apartment entrance, I made for the 24-hour convenience store right across the street.

"Welcome!"

I brushed past the clerk's greeting from the back, where they were stocking shelves, and habitually scanned the aisles on my way to the liquor section.

'Just a little more.'

I picked out a bottle of wine, a bottle of soju, and two cans of beer, setting them down one by one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the empty counter.

"Ah, one sec!"

The clerk rushed back from stocking to ring me up...

"Huh?!"

But suddenly froze, reacting oddly.

'...?'

As I pulled out my card, I instinctively looked up at the clerk.

"...Huh?"

I was slightly startled by the unexpected face.

Bright golden straight hair and a slender build that stood out.

It was Bang Han-na.

"Hello! We met at the interview, right?"

Amazed inwardly at her upbeat energy even at this hour, I struck up a casual chat.

"Didn't know you worked here. Part-time?"

"Yes! Started last week!"

"I see..."

As I absentmindedly listened and reached for my card again.

'...Huh?'

A small question popped into my head.

'Isn't today a weekday?'

As far as I knew, Bang Han-na was still in school.

No break yet, and I hadn't heard about a leave of absence...

How was she working?

Beep— beep—

Standing there dazed as the barcodes scanned, I couldn't hold back my curiosity and asked carefully.

"Excuse me... Can I ask you something?"

"Of course! What is it?"

Bang Han-na flashed a pure, innocent smile, like anything was fine.

Feeling an odd sense of relief at her demeanor, I asked what days she worked part-time.

And she casually dropped a bombshell.

"Five days a week, every weekday!"

"...Pardon? What about classes?"

"Oh, I attend those too!"

I blanked out for a second at her matter-of-fact reply, then bluntly asked despite the rudeness.

"So you do night shifts and still go to classes?"

"Yes! It's a bit tiring, but more manageable than I thought!"

"Sleep... Do you even sleep?"

"I get four hours, you know!"

'Good lord.'

I stared at her in shock as she boasted about her four hours like Napoleon himself, blinking dumbly at her bright smile.

'Is she that hard up for money? No, even so, night shifts plus classes seems too much.'

Of course, everyone has their circumstances.

No matter that this was a novel world, it was still real life.

Bang Han-na had her reasons, and there must be something driving her to burn the midnight oil.

We weren't close enough for me to pry.

"......"

That's what I thought...

But maybe it was the booze—I couldn't just let it slide.

"Um... It's not my place, but... Do you need living expenses that badly?"

Bang Han-na was destined to become A-rank.

She'd make more money than she could spend soon enough. Risking her health for pocket change now was a bad deal any way you sliced it.

"Well... It's not that I'm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠short on money..."

She blushed slightly in embarrassment, then gave an unexpected answer.

"I just hate asking my parents for handouts..."

"...Pardon?"

"Truth is, I came up from the countryside alone. My parents always send me living expenses... but it makes me feel bad..."

Bang Han-na had an even more upright personality than I'd imagined.

Working nights because she didn't want to rely on her parents.

Where do they make kids this admirable?

"...Impressive. Really cool of you."

She waved off the praise, even more embarrassed, then said something else unexpected.

"N-no, it's not cool. I'm just doing what I can..."

And in that moment.

"...!"

Her words struck me right in the chest.

'Doing what I can.'

It was like a lightbulb went off.

'...What I can do...'

Such an obvious thing—why hadn't I thought of it until now?

"Want me to bag them?"

"Ah."

Bang Han-na's question snapped me back—she'd finished scanning. I glanced at the drinks on the counter, then looked up at her steadily.

"That's a really cool thing to say."

"Huh?"

"Sorry, but could you cancel this? I'll put them back."

I picked up the drinks from the counter and asked her to void the transaction.

"Oh, uh... I'll do it!"

She tried to take them to do it herself...

"It's fine."

Recalling her words sinking deep into my heart, I smiled faintly.

"It's something I can do."

"...?"

She seemed not to get what I meant.

"Sorry for bothering you at work. Just think of me as some drunk troublemaker."

After neatly returning the drinks, I left a light apology and a quick greeting.

"No, it was fun for me too!"

Bang Han-na accepted it with a genuine smile, curling her lips up.

I bowed my head politely to her and left the store.

"See you around."

"Yes! Take care!"

Was it the alcohol?

For some reason, I started thinking my encounter with Bang Han-na might be fate.