Chapter 58
Chapter 58
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: The Truth in the File
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dressed more beautifully than usual today, the dazzling Nova smiled until his eyes crinkled.
“Hello, darling.”
“Welcome, Nova. You look even prettier today!”
“...?”
Caught off guard by Haon’s unexpected welcome, Nova couldn’t hide his surprise.
“Darling. What's with that look on your face?”
“Sit down. I'll get you something to drink.”
Haon was genuinely glad to see him.
Someone who knew she was a different person from ‘Eun Haon’.
The one person who knew she hadn’t deceived Juyeol, found a fake culprit, and forced a false confession.
That person was Nova.
Haon came rushing over precariously, holding a cup of coffee.
Nova stared at the coffee that had sloshed and spilled a little, then tilted his head and asked.
“Have you decided to stop cheating on me with Ghost?”
“What? It wasn’t cheating…”
With Juyeol's sudden appearance in the conversation, Haon faltered and trailed off.
Taking the coffee and sipping it, Nova gave a wry smile and asked probingly.
“What's with that reaction? Darling. Did something good happen with Ghost?”
“Good…?”
In that moment, what flashed through Haon’s mind were their lips meeting under the fierce downpour, a breath like a lifeline.
As if mesmerized, Haon traced her lips with her fingertips before snapping back to her senses.
*What am I doing…?! Aaaargh!*
She barely swallowed an internal scream and shook her head frantically.
“W-What do you mean, did something happen! N-Nothing!”
Why did that scene have to pop into her head right now? Her face, rapidly turning crimson, felt hot.
*Crunch—.*
Suddenly, the cup in Nova’s hand crumbled. Not into pieces, but into something closer to dust.
Blood dripped from his fist.
“Nova! Your hand…?”
Startled, Haon looked at him and froze. His expression was incredibly cold.
“So something good did happen?”
His voice was gentle, but his eyes were coated in a thin layer of ice.
“N-Nova? What’s wrong?”
“I see. Something very good happened.”
Muttering with a cold face, Nova’s expression suddenly relaxed as if nothing had happened, and he stood up.
“Are you leaving? Didn’t you come here because you had something to say?”
“I did. But I just remembered something I need to wrap up, so I have to go.”
“Ah… But your hand needs to be treated…”
Nova smiled gently at Haon’s reaction.
“It’s strange, you being sad to see me go.”
Then he leaned down and brushed a kiss against Haon’s cheek.
“...!”
As the startled Haon recoiled, cupping her cheek, he continued in a low voice.
“Don’t worry, darling. We’ll meet again soon. As a much closer pair.”
* * *
Hero Headquarters in the Central District.
Hunter sat perched on the office windowsill, a thoughtful expression on her face.
*Halo…*
Hunter looked down at Halo’s photo in the file.
Many things had changed since Halo began to reign as the ‘Order of the Villains’.
Before her, everywhere you looked was no different from the criminal underworld.
Villains formed factions, each wanting to make their own gang the top dog.
They stopped at nothing to swallow up other factions, committing heinous crimes without hesitation to flaunt their money and cruelty.
Even Hero Headquarters struggled to stop their chaotic rampages.
Then one day, Halo made her grand entrance.
She single-handedly crushed a gang second to none in cruelty and even took the boss’s life.
The brutal competition that had been rampant among the villains gradually began to die down from that point on.
The human trafficking prevalent in the Old District was the first to disappear, along with crimes that used children as bait.
Halo had an order.
She stopped villains from harming children and causing problems on the level of terrorism.
To achieve this, she sometimes committed minor illegal acts, but Hero Headquarters had decided to tolerate that much.
There was even a time they tried to pull Halo over to the heroes’ side.
The overzealous director at the time had pushed too hard, causing her to disappear for about a year.
Having experienced just how quickly the villains reverted to their basest forms during that time, messing with Halo became an unspoken taboo.
Despite their positions as adversaries, the two didn’t particularly hate each other.
If it weren’t for her, Hunter wouldn’t be where she was today, and the same was true for Halo.
*…Has the time come to deal with her?*
Hunter picked up the report.
Potions had spread to civilians, and just as feared, people acting as vigilantes had begun to appear.
It wasn't just that she was involved; Halo was the creator of those temporary Awakening agents.
*I don't know what happened with Dr. Eun, but the nullification patch was definitely effective…*
It seemed true that Eun Haon had changed, yet in the span of a few months, she had caused the deaths of forty-five people somewhere.
She might have already come to her senses and started plotting something cruel.
Hunter thought about how nothing ever went smoothly and turned her gaze to the monitor displaying the list of heroes.
Next to Juyeol’s photo was a long list of his disciplinary actions.
A delinquent kid who survived by wandering the streets of the Old District.
A kid who already had the number 2 appearing on the back of his hand back then.
A kid who accepted the offer to become a hero with a look of utter reluctance.
And yet, despite being on suspension, he was the kind of kid who wore his hero uniform when he went to take on Halo.
*He became a hero to catch the culprit, so he must have wanted to finish the job as a hero.*
The list of disciplinary actions next to Juyeol’s photo was updated.
「End of 3-Month Suspension」
And not even a minute later, the office door burst open.
“Ghost, of Hero Headquarters. I've returned to duty.”
Juyeol, dressed in his hero uniform, appeared with an even sharper expression.
“Can I go in now? To the First Archive.”
Hunter stared intently at her subordinate before getting up from the windowsill.
“Unfortunately, you haven’t been granted permission.”
“…”
“They said it was out of the question for someone who hasn’t even been at Headquarters for ten years.”
With a look of disbelief, Juyeol was about to put down the Headquarters access pass he had just picked up from the first floor.
“However, I did get you permission to view the file on your sister.”
He paused, looking at the file folder Hunter was holding out.
“You can look at it here, but you leave empty-handed.”
Juyeol’s trembling eyes were fixed on the name ‘Woo Hyeseong’ written on the folder.
The fact that his sister existed in the Hero Headquarters database felt incredibly out of place.
And that it was a file under his sister’s name, not the arson case from that day.
He hesitated for a moment before opening the thin folder.
*Finally…*
「Woo Hyeseong: Sister of Ghost (Woo Juyeol), affiliated with Headquarters.」
「Presumed deceased in a fire in the year 20XX.」
*Do they keep records of all the heroes’ family members?*
Juyeol traced Hyeseong’s face with his fingertip. The photo was blurry, but the mole by her left eye was perfectly clear.
Below it were a few short lines from a news article stating she had died ten years ago in a house fire caused by her own mistake.
On the next page was a recently added article stating ‘True culprit Gowon confessed to arson,’ and below that…
A surge of heat made Juyeol almost crumple the folder, but he managed to relax his grip.
What were the chances that a new article with Halo’s name in it would be added here?
Gritting his teeth, Juyeol started reading the next page and froze.
「Test Subject No. C-31」
「Victim of the infant and toddler kidnapping case. Identity unknown.」
「Rescued from the Awakening Sphere human testing lab, estimated to be 10 months old at the time of rescue.」
「Went missing during transport to an orphanage.」
*What is all this…*
「Belatedly confirmed to have been adopted by a civilian (Woo Minseok) in Old District, Sector 3.」
「1-year observation: no issues.」
「2-year observation: no issues.」
「3-year observation: no issues.」
⁝
「10-year observation: no issues.」
*What is this bullshit?*
「Observation concluded as no anomalies were found.」
「Lead of the responsible rescue team: Hunter.」
* * *
At the same time, on the outskirts of the Old District.
Nova stood leaning against the railing of a building’s rooftop.
In Nova’s braided hair, styled with much more care than usual, were flower-shaped jewels.
He wore red eye makeup and had even put on cologne, and when the clouds parted to reveal the moonlight, his unparalleled beauty stood out even more.
*I’ve been far too lenient.*
He had gone to see her, having put great effort into his appearance, after noticing that Ghost, who had been hovering around Eun Haon, was gone.
*I was thinking of letting it slide a bit longer since she called me pretty… but no. I can’t.*
Nova was fickle and not particularly patient.
The reason he had tried to approach her cautiously, so as not to frighten her, was because he had grown quite fond of the new Eun Haon.
Her hunched shoulders, or her eyes that looked like they could spill tears at any moment.
The way her mouth formed a small circle when she called out, ‘Nova!’
The sight of her holding out her pinky with a serious face.
He found those things so endearing that he’d let her dote on another man, but now it was getting on his last nerve.
He thought he had really, truly been more than lenient enough.
*Creeeak—.*
A rusty door opened, and a crowd of people dressed in black appeared.