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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Half-Assed Hero, Lee Ha-yoon
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"...Thank you. It feels like the boulder weighing on my head has finally been lifted."
"No problem. It's my job, after all."
The treatment was over.
Lee Ji-yoon, who had stayed perfectly still from the moment I grabbed her head, finally bowed repeatedly in gratitude.
Judging by how profusely she was apologizing, the stress from her chronic headaches must have been no small thing.
Good thing I racked up some points this time...
...or so I thought.
"..."
But the moment the treatment ended, she hopped off the bed and scurried straight to Lee Ha-yoon. Looked like she still hadn't fully opened her heart to me.
Well, a little disappointing, sure. But I hadn't expected to fill up on the first sip anyway.
A small bit of gratitude toward me.
That was enough for now.
"By the way, Ji-yoon. Why are you talking all polite and awkward with her? You call me casually whenever you're bored..."
"...Shut up. Just close your mouth and get out. It's embarrassing."
"Sis is embarrassed?!"
"Yeah. Mortified."
Lee Ha-yoon clutched her mouth with both hands like in some drama, her face crumpling in distress.
Used to her reactions by now, Lee Ji-yoon poked mercilessly at her defenseless little sister's waist with her fingers.
Even crumpling the T-shirt inside her loosely worn uniform. Poke, poke.
Lee Ha-yoon just squealed in response... though that had to hurt.
At least she was a bit taller than her sister, which was a relief. If she'd been shorter too, who knows what kind of treatment she'd get.
"Out. I said out now. You going?"
"Stop, stop...! Fine, I'm going!"
I would've liked to stick around longer, of course. But she clearly hated being in the same space as a stranger for too long.
Still, she bowed politely on her way out. Guess I should be grateful for that...
"Thank you, sir. Oh, wait."
"Call me whatever's comfortable. I'm a bit confused myself."
"...Got it. I'll head out first then."
"Come back if anything hurts again. I'll treat you anytime."
Painful spots.
Ones that'll show up soon enough.
"..."
But she just bowed once more without a word.
I returned her thanks with a light smile, and with a soft whoosh, the heavy door closed, bringing silence back to the room.
The health office, dyed in the deepening sunset glow, grew dimmer. My upturned lips slowly settled back.
The sister: outgoing with everyone, wagging her tail like an energetic country pup.
The little sister: walls up against the world, fur bristled, hard to approach.
I pulled out my phone and checked the date again.
February 19th. Ten days until the first-year entrance ceremony in March.
I'd see Lee Ha-yoon easily enough in that time, but whether Lee Ji-yoon would return to the academy was anyone's guess.
So, while dealing with Lee Ha-yoon during her remedial classes...
Better to prepare some things for the next time I meet Lee Ji-yoon.
Stuff she'd like... or whatever.
Just then, the health office door slid open again.
Did she forget something? I tapped out the screen on my phone, where I'd been jotting notes about Lee Ji-yoon.
"...Who is it?"
"Huh? Oh, uh. Baek Ji-ho, third-year Class A."
But it was a guy.
"..."
"Saw a door here I hadn't noticed before. Got curious and... sorry for barging in."
Third-year meant student, not teacher.
The massive sword sheath on his back screamed evolution-type or mutation-type.
And that weird teddy bear keychain dangling from the end...?
Girlfriend? Or his taste?
...Whatever.
Heroes don't just have women, after all.
But no need to remember him.
Guy.
"So this is the health office, huh."
"Yep. As you can see."
"Then you're..."
"Right."
It was getting pretty late.
I pocketed my phone in my puffer jacket, heading home, and flashed the same smile I'd given Lee Ji-yoon earlier.
"Health teach..."
"Health committee member."
"...Not the teacher?"
"..."
This is tricky.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Dinner was tonkotsu curry ramen.
Not quite villain-level indulgence, but the academy's promised salary was hefty enough for a little splurge.
Money doesn't come with "too much of a good thing." Just the more, the better.
Still, having grown up poor, I never went overboard no matter how much I made.
I sorted the dishes for recycling and sat at my desk, fiddling with the computer some more.
The new "Lee Ji-yoon" folder next to the "Puppy" wallpaper got hidden behind the Chrome window.
Return after death,
Back to the past,
Time-manipulating transcendent.
No one on the internet seriously discussed stuff like that.
Posts claiming future events were all clickbait nonsense.
Bust. Total bust.
No point digging further. Exhausted from searching, a sudden thought hit me, and I reclined my chair with a creak, lost in contemplation.
Was the future I knew even accurate anymore?
"Hmm..."
The company—back in my villain days—had pulled off bolder crimes thanks to me, right?
Without me, they'd probably stick to petty stuff now.
So, of course the future would change.
I retraced past events to keep thinking.
Sure, my company wasn't the only villain group.
Not the top dog either.
From no-name small-timers I'd barely heard of, to the Most Wanted crew packed with blacklisted single-digit villains.
Ours was somewhat infamous thanks to that nutjob Hato Yojora.
Still tame compared to the daily terrorist headlines from Most Wanted, though.
Hm.
Come to think of it, didn't she rampage freely because of me too?
Lost in thought.
Bzzzzt. My phone vibrated suddenly on the desk.
"...Huh?"
Almost no one had my number.
A few active villains, and the principal I'd met today.
And the name on the screen:
[Yojora Sunbae]
"Fuck..."
Not out of respect, mind you.
I'd change it to [Psycho Bitch] later, but at this point, I had no idea she'd turn out that crazy.
Just thrilled to meet in person the infamous villain from internet pics who'd handed me her number herself, saying call if needed.
Her personality? Clueless...
...But in my memory, she never contacted me this early.
Took half a year before she drunkenly demanded I clear out my "girl at home" for treatment after a bar fight.
"...Ah."
Answer? Or not?
Pondering too long, the vibration stopped.
1 second.
2 seconds.
3 seconds.
Black screen with calendar and clock.
Red call icon blinks prettily.
Then.
[Yojora Sunbae] lit up green again.
"..."
If only I hadn't put my real address on that damn job app...
Fuck it.
"...Hello?"
"Heeey... Woo-jin-aa..."
Her voice reeked of booze.
A soft, languid tone like Lee Ha-yoon's, but even more slurred.
"Yes, sunbae."
"Pfft, sunbae? What're you saying, Woo-jin... Heard you bolted."
"..."
"Namho asked me to snag you."
So that's what happened.
I sighed into the phone.
"I've decided to live straight starting today."
"Nawww. So much free booze on the line..."
"You get smashed off one bottle and you love it."
"Love getting smashed... Head goes all floaty..."
"Plus, a sunbae like you, a few bottles are pocket change."
"Free booze hits different...? Kid's only twenty, no clue..."
Was I really taking drinking advice from a woman just two years older?
Past timeline? She'd be eight years ahead.
Sensing annoyance brewing, I snorted softly.
"So. Honey trap?"
"...Maybe~?"
"Sorry. You're not my type."
"Ouch. Hurts... Didn't even confess and I'm dumped...?"
Is it the big tits making her seem dumb?
Or hair down to her ass looking messy?
Maybe only 160cm tall?
160's too short after all. Guys say they don't care about height, liars. Small's cute, tall's slender. Strict with me only.
I let the drunk's endless questions flow in one ear and out the other, then carefully cut in.
"Yeah. Won't help no matter how much you try."
"Butt... My Hibiki 30-year..."
Crash. Something collapsing over the speaker.
Then a tiny groan.
Tripped over her own feet, probably.
Not surprised. Common for her.
New iPhone color every week.
"...Woo-jin-aa."
"..."
"Woo-jin. You there...?"
"..."
"Hmm... Screen's busted too... Oh well..."
"..."
Click.
Call ended.
00:43 stared blankly back.
Felt like five minutes. Guess not.
"Hoo..."
Changed [Yojora Sunbae] back to [Psycho Bitch], grabbed my neck warmer off the wall, and stood.
With the company up in the air, time to check other villain groups like Most Wanted.
Conveniently remembered a minor incident around my contract date. Start there.
Robbery? Theft? Some punk threatening a clerk for the register and bolting. Not sure.
Definitely at a convenience store a ways off.
Cops went nuts with sirens.
Petty crime. Just verify if it happens.
Not my business.
Might as well jog on the way out.
Ground slick from afternoon rain—gotta scout the roads to avoid Yojora-style wipeouts.
3km route to warm up.
Avoided bars and roads where I might run into her.
Residential, convenience stores.
Pull up the warmer, and even if I bump into someone, no face recognition.
Mapped the route mentally and headed out.
"What? You live around here? Never seen you."
Didn't expect to run into Lee Ha-yoon blowing bubblegum at the convenience store.
"Bored anyway, perfect. Gum? Soda flavor."
Baggy hoodie, tapping her phone: tok, tok.
That star piercing missing for some reason.
Draped in an ill-fitting store uniform.
She popped the bubble, gum on her lips, and let out a grossed-out screech.