Chapter 352:
I told all of my colleagues the other day.
We're taking a break now, but we're going to have to work nonstop from now on, because we're about to hit another fork in the road.
That fork in the road is Phase 4, the final phase of the original four-part story…and the final act, which ended with the destruction of humanity, the culmination of the destruction.
In fact, if you think about the original, there was no break. I'd say the plot is tight. There was no time to breathe, and events were constantly happening.
In the case of Part 3, the first half was spent dealing with the gate opened by the Moonlight Church and the second half consisted of Seo-Eun's great escape and the Wish Granter boss battle. The middle was filled with miscellaneous villains and events.
And as soon as it ended, the fourth part started.
‘But it's different now.’
As you can see, there were no big issues. It's just a peaceful state of affairs in Korea.
And the reason is, the gate for the first half of Phase 3 was handled by me at the end of Phase 2.
I blocked the all-important second half of the Great Escape and killed the Wish granter in advance.
In other words, I've done all the work ahead of time, so I have a bit more time than in the original.
…In fact, this is probably the only time I'll be free before the final battle.
And I've already told everyone that.
Anyway, the bottom line is that…
If Seo Ja-young asked me to hang out with her one day, I wouldn't have any reason to refuse.
…Of course, I still have to prepare for that crazy villain next week. Well…Tomorrow I'll do it, yeah.
Anyway, for that reason, I was standing in the street with Seo Ja-young.
"Come on. Let's go."
"Where are we going?"
"The comic shop. I've always wanted to go there."
I decided that since I was hanging out with Seo Ja-young today, I would do whatever she wanted.
But a comic shop… I haven't heard that in a long time. Is there still one there?
I wondered if there was any point in going out since Seo-eun built a comic shop in our hideout, but I couldn't help but nod when she said they sold food there.
…It's kind of weird to go to a comic shop while the world is on the brink of destruction, but what the heck. It's now or never anyway.
Anyway, to get there, the two of us were walking down the street.
I was walking down the street, and I thought…
‘…everyone's looking in our direction?’
It turns out that people often glanced in the direction of Seo Ja-young as they walked.
At first, I thought it was because her purple short hair stood out, but when I realized that it was all men looking at her, I realized there was another reason.
…Well, in the original story, it was mentioned that she had a secret admirer when she was a villain.
Even though she's walking around with her hands in her hood, there's something mysterious about her languid demeanor….
"Ouch… My legs hurt."
She didn't seem to notice at all with a blank stare.
As I watched her walking, I silently thought to myself.
‘…So… she likes me, right?’
At least, that's what Soobin said.
…Honestly, I still couldn't believe it, especially not from anyone else, but from Seo Ja-young.
She's always been a prankster, but does she like me?
Maybe. If she didn't like me, she wouldn't have come into my bed and asked me to play with her…
I was walking with Seo Ja-young when I thought about that.
"Kaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"…?"
Suddenly, a scream echoed from the street.
I looked over to see what was going on.
BANG-!
There was smoke, and something was going on near the building over there.
It was a man in a black jumpsuit, pool glasses, and a hat, with a flamethrower behind him, spraying fire, and from around him, people were running away at breakneck speed.
In the face of such untimely terror from the villain, I grabbed Seo Ja-young's hand and dragged her along, and we stood behind the alleyway in a panic, watching the scene.
"Oh. Something funny happened?"
Seo Ja-young suddenly asked me with a flush of color as she opened her half-closed eyes.
And I, too, stood still, watching the scene.
…Now that I see the situation, I realize once again how accustomed the citizens of this world are to this kind of terrorism.
As soon as he appeared, everyone fled at full speed in an orderly fashion, with not a single person in the vicinity.
I think they're used to this kind of villain now, and there was no one around, no one screaming, no one taking pictures with cell phones, no one…There was just no one.
It's a strange sight to see people walking down the street, about three crosswalks over, with no one paying attention.
…To the busy modern man, a villain is just an obstacle to get around.
"Heh, heh, heh, they all ran away in fear of me, how funny!"
Anyway, I continued to hide behind the alleyway, watching the bastard get all excited while setting fire to the street by himself. …I'd be in trouble if he suddenly set a building on fire. Though I'm pretty sure they've all fled anyway…
"Because we didn't?"
Ja-young says, summoning purple fire from his hands.
"Uh. Wait…"
I stopped her and watched the situation for now.
After all, the hero would be here soon and everything would be fine…
Wait.
‘No way, is Stardus coming?’
I thought, and felt my heart leap into my throat.
…Oh no. I didn't expect to see her so suddenly.
…Let's stay calm. I'll just have to see what the atmosphere is like from a distance.
Seo Ja-young looked up at me as I took a deep breath.
"Hmph?"
She gave me a knowing smile and said in a languid voice, as if she had noticed something.
"Why are you thinking about another girl when I'm right next to you…?"
As she said that, she tickled my hand, which she was still holding, with her own fingers.
"I won't."
Hmph.
After that, I don't know how many minutes I waited with Seo Ja-young, who kept poking me.
Soon enough, a hero rushed over.
"You. Hahahahaha!"
…Unfortunately, it wasn't Stardus.
It was probably some other B- or C-class hero. Maybe it's because this villain was just spewing fire without any abilities, but if that flamethrower was a little less powerful, the police could have taken him down.
Anyway, I was about to leave when I realized that I had been spotted by a blue-haired, white-coated hero.
"Wait…"
Isn't that our Yuseong Group logo?
Confirming it, I glanced at him again.
…I don't recognize it, so I'm guessing it's the fourth-generation talents we've been training since I left.
The Yuseong Squad is a group of people with B-class or lower abilities who defend our country. He seemed to be a member of the Ego Squad. It seems that they were protecting the country like this all over the country even when I wasn't paying attention.
‘…Come to think of it, it's been a while since I've seen the Ego Squad kids.’
I'll have to look for them next time.
With that thought, I dragged Seo Ja-young, who was still pressing the back of my hand, out of the alley.
"Let's go."
"Hmph. I guess you were disappointed Stardus didn't come?"
"…."
***
At the comic shop, I felt puzzled and said.
"…Is this how comic shops used to be?"
"Hmmm. All the newer manga cafes are like this."
Instead of reading in an open area, there were rooms, and you rented comics at the counter and took them to your room to read.
…The problem was that the room was too small.
So I said, "Maybe we should sit separately.”
"What do you mean…? We can sit like this."
So Ja-young sat me down first, and then she sat on top of me.
"Read with me."
In response, she grabbed one of the comic books she had brought with her, squirmed in my arms, and began to read. Her mental world is something I still don't understand…
I couldn't help but sigh behind her and read the comic with her.
I felt a little weird when she put my hands in her hoodie pockets because my arms were getting in the way, and I felt like I was hugging her, but halfway through, the comic book was more interesting than I thought, so I didn't really notice. It's like hugging an attachment doll, only softer.
"Mmm…"
…Actually, Seo Ja-young was more shy from the middle. Whenever I moved my hand, her ears were slightly reddened and she flinched, purring occasionally, as if she was hugging a large cat.
"Are you uncomfortable, do you want me to move away?"
"No, I'm comfortable right now."
"Really?"
"Yep. Oh, and I like it."
"Huh?"
"I like it."
She suddenly turns her head, looks me in the eye, and says it.
I'm momentarily stunned to hear her say that, with her back against my chest, within breathing distance.
"This position."
"….."
At her next words, I relaxed.
"Why, what were you thinking?"
Seeing the look on my face, she smirked and replied, "I don't know.”
…Ugh.
"Eh."
"No. Wait! Hehe. Pshhhh, no, I was just kidding, seriously!"
I moved my hand inside her hood to tickle her in frustration, and she gasped.
"Ha, ha, ha."
After gasping for breath, Seo Ja-young turned her head forward again and spoke in a low voice.
"…Well, and I like you too."
"….."
"Hmph. You'll be embarrassed if you say that again."
After saying that, Seo Ja-young started to focus on the manga again.
I hugged her and read along with her from behind….with a slight sense of guilt.
For the record, after returning home, I was scolded by Choi Se-hee for hanging out with just Ja-young…
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