chapter 15
15. Shadow of the Hero Association
15. Shadow of the Hero Society
After some time passed, the two memories were mixed, and my mind entered a period of stabilization.
Si-Jun Han in the game and Si-Jun Han in real life.
The awkwardness and awkwardness between them disappeared, and only the stronger mind remained.
Often referred to as the process of synchronization.
If I ask which one of them is, the answer is no.
But if I can say one thing clearly.
‘I’m just, Si-Jun Han.’
The same man and family to my childhood friend Yoo Ha-yeon.
Immutable law.
My memory is not a lie, this is a true space.
V. The fact that we are in a world called AGE.
That fact has never changed.
“Hey! Si-Jun Han!”
As I was thinking about it, I was sitting still and looking out the window, and Yoo Ha-yeon approached me.
“What are you doing, idiot. Aren’t you eating lunch?”
“..that time has passed already?”
“Listen to class a little. Can the vice-captain do it?”
Yoo Ha-yeon looked at me with a displeased expression.
It was true that I didn’t take the class properly, but I didn’t need it.
‘I’m telling you everything I already know, so would it be fun?’
The classes at the Hero Academy explain combat methods and countermeasures according to magical beasts in actual combat.
However, I have cleared V. AGE countless times, and the memory of enjoying it remains.
They’re already in my head.
Tutorial-like explanations.
The class could not be boring.
I got up from my seat and followed Yoo Ha-yeon to the restaurant.
On the way, there were several students, and there was a student figure identical to the illustration I saw in the game.
It’s real, but hard in the game.
Yoo Ha-yeon asked me playfully.
“Aren’t you interested in students?”
“…No. We didn’t talk much in the first place.”
“Huh? You haven’t even talked about it?”
Yoo Ha-yeon’s eyes widened in surprise.
Every time I saw her, she was chatting with the girls, so I couldn’t empathize with her.
I decided to tell her the uncomfortable truth.
“No one talks to me. Avoid eye contact.”
“Ah… that…”
She had a subtle expression on her face, as if she had guessed something.
As I chatted with several students, my topic must have come up as well.
Rumors spread all over the place.
She was also caught up in my rumors, so she seemed to recognize it.
She started explaining with a confident expression on her face.
“So..Rumors are rumors! Misunderstandings are quickly resolved by talking! I’m telling my classmates that they’re lying too! How’s it going, did I do well?”
“..Yes, thank you.”
I’m not ticklish today.
When I went to another school, I had only Yoo Ha-yeon, so she seemed to care quite a bit.
Then, walking while talking about the rumors, we arrived at the restaurant of the Hero Academy, which had a fragrant smell.
This is my favorite space since I fell into a different world, and all of the various foods had a medium taste.
I picked the curry at the kiosk and waited for the food to come out.
Most of the academy students came to the cafeteria, so the cafeteria was quite crowded regardless of grade level.
‘There is no Nayuna today.’
I always check her every time I come, but I’ve never seen Nayuna in a restaurant.
I’ll have to bring them back later and feed them tteokbokki.
The gift that raises Nayuna’s liking in V. AGE is ironically cheesy tteokbokki.
Her taste was closer to that of the common people.
Tyring.
I heard that the curry I had requested was served.
I took the curry and settled back in my seat.
“It’s curry again? Isn’t it boring?”
“The curry here is delicious, would you like to try it?”
“I don’t like it.. it’s spicy..”
A jerk who can’t eat spicy food.
Yoo Ha-yeon, who is close to spicy, shook her head and refused the curry.
If there is a slight spicy taste, what happened to her tongue, which she can’t even put in her mouth?
She was sassy enough to be the subject of a study.
Yoo Ha-yeon eats Seolleongtang, a white soup that is not spicy at all.
Looking at her, Yoo Ha-yeon, who felt the gaze, said with an uncomfortable look.
“What… look at it. Don’t you know that you don’t even touch the dog when eating?”
“No, I was just curious.”
While eating curry, I suddenly became curious.
Asking if there’s a girl you’re interested in.
If so, does it mean that Ha-yeon Yoo has a male student who is interested?
In my memory, according to the description in the game, Yoo Ha-yeon was close to a mother-in-law solo.
“Are you interested in a man?”
“Pooh..!! Call.. Rock..”
Were you confused by the surprise question?
Yoo Ha-yeon seemed to have heard the story.
She interrupted the words one beat at a time and answered.
“Ha.. Han Si-jun..! You.. that.. that.. Kolok..! Why suddenly water… uh…!!”
“Just curious.”
In fact, it was a question that was close to a joke, but it was unexpected to show such a funny response.
After holding her breath for about 30 seconds, Yoo Ha-yeon found her composure again and answered me.
“I’m just like you. I don’t have either.”
“Ummm…”
“..what’s the reaction? You want me to be?”
No, that’s not it.
I seemed to understand why no one was interested in each other.
“Twitter, you can’t get married.”
“Why are you suddenly arguing. Do you want to die Han Si-joon?”
Yoo Ha-yeon clenched her fists and looked at me.
If I hit that, I will die?
Calm down.
There is only one reason why they are not interested in each other.
Because the standards of love have been raised due to the time we grew up together.
I got used to Yoo Ha-yeon’s appearance, and I didn’t think she was pretty when I looked at other girls.
It must be the same reason for Yoo Ha-yeon.
Or not
Thinking like that, I looked at Yoo Ha-yeon, and this time she counterattacked.
“You won’t be able to get married either? There’s no one who will accept your personality. Probably not in this world. You fool.”
“..I’m brutally beaten with facts. Then, if I don’t get married, you take me with you.”
“Uh… what are you talking about…”
The money that future S-class Yoo Ha-yeon earns.
Having all the bad fates, I live happily at home.
Isn’t this the life everyone dreams of?
Yoo Ha-yeon said as if embarrassed by the unexpected proposal.
“You…if you say that, I’ll think about it…”
“It’s a joke.
“..Really, I’m going to kill you.”
“Look just once.”
Yoo Ha-yeon’s face turned red.
If I’m still alive by then, I want you to take me with you.
So we joked around and continued eating.
Will happy days continue to unfold for us?
With some doubts about it.
***
Whoa.
An office in the Heroes’ Association.
Inside, a middle-aged man was smoking a cigarette and looking at several documents alternately.
Without extinguishing the cigarette, he dropped it into the ashtray and said uncomfortablely.
“I don’t like it.”
He held one of the many papers in his hand.
The name written there is Yoo Ha-yeon.
He was a student who had outstanding unique abilities from an early age, and is currently getting good grades by entering the Hero Academy.
He said to his secretary in front of him.
“It takes time to build performance and grow to S-class. How long do you think it will take?”
“Given the current growth rate, roughly, three years. Or maybe four years.”
“…too late.”
He did not like Yoo Ha-yeon’s talent.
He had extraordinary talents from an early age, but there were many factors that hindered his growth.
He even tried to remove those obstacles once.
But unfortunately, she found a new home.
“Effort. Effort. Why, despite having such a talent, do not settle for the present and do not try.”
There is a shortage of manpower right now, so how do you wait for 3 or 4 years?
Time is not enough
He put the papers back into the wad of paper and asked the secretary again.
“Isn’t there any good way? I hope she gets to S-Class within two years.”
He knew how Yoo Ha-yeon was making an effort.
However, he didn’t want to say it with his own mouth.
If put into words, it becomes ‘responsibility’, and he was such a person.
The secretary reluctantly opened her mouth.
“…one way, there is a way.”
“Yeah. Let me tell you.”
A middle-aged man sitting cross-legged checked the documents the secretary was handing out.
In the photo, a thin-looking but smooth-looking man was staring straight ahead with an expressionless expression.
My name is Si-Jun Han.
He was a student at the Hero Academy and was Ha-yeon Yoo’s childhood friend.
The secretary explains the ‘how’ to a middle-aged man.
“Perhaps, if you use a villain to get rid of this boy, it might work.”
The most precious childhood friend who lost his life to a villain.
It makes the villain hate, and makes Yoo Ha-yeon grow up.
It was a way to make the association’s own hero, who wants the sprout to grow.
A hero without a tragic past does not exist.
A hero has always risen from the bottom up.
“…this kid.”
Such a student named Si-Jun Han remained in the memory of a middle-aged man.
A long time ago, a child called the miracle boy.
A person who accomplished an unsolvable case with his unique abilities, but disappeared far into the past.
A student named Si-Jun Han, kept as a first-class secret.
The middle-aged man asked the secretary for confirmation with a serious expression.
“I heard you lost your power.”
“..I heard that your body has weakened a lot. You are currently enrolled in the academy.”
He was in trouble for a moment.
According to the ‘prophecy’, he was told that he was a savior.
A prophecy of being a hero who illuminates the light of the world.
However, the middle-aged man did not believe in prophecies.
What. how. when. where.
Promise word. It’s a completely useless language.
He was a person who valued the present.
A middle-aged man gave the secretary the papers and whispered them.
“I leave this matter to you. Take care of it.”
“..Okay. I’ll put the quest.”
At the secretary’s words, he stroked his fiery hair and exhaled cigarette smoke.
“..If it gets in the way, clear it. We’ve just done what’s right for the world.”
Whoa.
The smoke in the office is thick.
It shines in his eyes for a moment, then loses its shape and disappears.
The only goal of a middle-aged man is peace in the world. If anything bothers you, remove it.
Hero Association.
They slowly began to appear.