Chapter 54: Greedy (2)
TL/Editor: Raei
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"...Everything seems somewhat settled now."
Shake, having finished his interview with the journalists, entered the tent where six heroes were gathered.
The top-ranked hero, Shake.
As the de facto leader of the heroes returned, all eyes were drawn to him.
Yet, Shake silently took his seat without expressing a word.
There was no announcement, just a moment of catching his breath, hand pressed against his forehead.
Solace quietly observed him.
She, too, had nothing particular to say.
Silence flowed through the tent.
Sirens blared in the distance.
Everyone knew it.
They had been defeated by the villains.
There were many casualties, and the villains had not been captured.
The problem was the unexpected arrival of the villain 'Stingshot'.
Knowing this was not the end, a darker mood lingered.
It wouldn't be surprising if various villains joined hands in the future.
After a long pause, Shake spoke softly.
"Rest for today. Everyone did well."
Everyone nodded and began to stand up.
They exchanged greetings with each other.
Inside the tent, the next highest-ranked after Shake was Solace.
Currently ranked 15th.
But being the junior in terms of experience, she bowed to the other heroes as she greeted them.
"Good work, everyone."
Matching the mood, a smile faded from Solace's face as she finished greeting and was about to leave the tent when Shake called out to her.
"...Solace."
Solace turned towards him.
"Yes, senior?"
"You really worked hard today."
"...Thank you."
After the brief exchange, Solace resumed her walk.
As soon as she stepped out of the tent, a barrage of camera shutters from the journalists ensued.
Seeing them, Solace bowed deeply in apology.
"...I'm sorry. I will do better."
Solace entered the luxury hotel prepared by the Hero Association.
After exchanging greetings with the numerous heroes guarding the building, she followed an attendant's guidance and boarded the elevator.
During the elevator ride, Solace asked.
"Did you remove all the electronic devices from my room?"
"Yes, we did!"
To the tense attendant, Solace offered a gentle smile.
"Don't be so nervous. There's no need to be."
Her words softened the attendant's expression, seemingly touched by the kindness.
"...Yes."
To her, Solace said.
"Since we've met, do you have any questions? I'll answer if I can."
The startled attendant burst into an awkward laugh, then after a moment of silence, hesitantly asked.
"Do you, by any chance, have a boyfriend?"
"Ahaha, no, I don't. Never had one, really."
Even to a personal question, Solace responds, making the attendant more relaxed.
She continued to ask.
"...Then, Solace, why did you want all electronics removed from your room?"
Solace shrugged her shoulders.
"Because someone might be eavesdropping or secretly filming."
"Ah."
The attendant nodded in understanding but Solace added another reason.
"...Also, sometimes I unintentionally emit electromagnetic waves, and that can damage electronics."
"...That must be inconvenient for you."
"Very much so. Like right now."
".....?"
"...If electromagnetic waves burst out from my body, this elevator might break down too, right? Including the safety mechanisms."
".......What?"
The attendant looked up at Solace.
"..."
Solace was already gazing back at the attendant, her face devoid of any smile.
They exchange glances.
A heavy and awkward silence suddenly fills the space.
The elevator continued to ascend.
The attendant's expression tensed in the silence.
Her eyes anxiously checked the rising floor numbers.
"...So...Solace?"
"..."
The elevator had already surpassed the 40th floor.
Solace remained silent.
"...Solace, I...I'm scared."
The attendant confessed with difficulty.
-Ding!
The elevator reached its destination.
52nd floor.
The doors opened.
Soft music played.
Solace tapped the attendant's nose and smiled broadly.
"It's just a joke."
Only then did the attendant let out a huge sigh of relief and managed a smile with Solace.
Solace, naturally linking arms with her, says,
"An elevator wouldn't crash just because of a circuit failure due to electromagnetic waves, right? And if something happens, I would rescue you, so no need to worry."
"Yes...Yes, of course."
The attendant was overwhelmed by the physical contact with the famous hero.
She felt dizzy by the thrilling experience of feeling like she had become friends with Solace.
The tension from before was gone.
At the door to Solace's room, the attendant carefully unlinked their arms and bowed in farewell.
"Have a good night, Solace."
Solace bowed in return.
"Thank you. Next time you see me, feel free to say hello."
After receiving the card key and opening the door,
Solace waved until the very end, her smile never fading.
-Thud. Click.
The door closed.
Solace was left alone.
Her expression and atmosphere quickly turned cold.
".....Ha."
She slowly entered the room.
It was a spacious and tidy room, with a variety of fruits, luxurious wine, and a welcome card for her.
Solace briefly read the card, then set it aside.
-Tick.
She then looked around the room.
Extending her hand, she began emitting electromagnetic waves.
This was to damage any potential eavesdropping or filming devices.
Then, she drew the curtains to cover the windows.
Finally, Solace could sigh and remove her mask.
She reverted back to Min-Bom.
"...Sigh."
Min-Bom carefully picked up her luggage placed it in a corner of the room.
From inside, she found a cigarette.
It was a lightly scented one.
After setting the cigarette on the desk, she stripped off her hero costume and tossed it aside.
She didn't bother to change into other clothes.
Barely clothed, she picked up the cigarette pack and moved again.
Thus, in her underwear, she lay down on the bed.
She felt the cold, stiff touch of the hotel's bedspread.
Opening the cigarette pack, she took one out, put it in her mouth, and lit it with her finger.
Then, she deeply inhaled the smoke.
"...Hoo..."
Dense grey smoke billowed out from her mouth.
With her eyes tightly shut, she reminisced about the day's events.
The eyes of the many people she couldn't save stared back at her.
"...Hoo."
The more she thought about it, the more she lost herself in the scent of the cigarette.
The cold touch of the bedspread helped calm her down.
Flicking off the cigarette ash with one hand, she continued to smoke.
After smoking three in a row, she headed to the bathroom.
She dumped the ash and butts into the toilet and flushed it.
Turning on the bathroom's ventilation fan, she stripped and took a shower.
After washing herself, she wrapped a bathrobe around her and lay back down on the bed, turning on her phone.
She checked numerous articles.
And the comments below them.
She smiled at the praises directed towards her.
Not the warm smile she showed others, but a cold one, pulling up just one corner of her lips.
For a moment, she basked in the feeling of superiority, acknowledging the love directed at her.
After all, this was why she did all this.
Even enduring the guilt over the people she couldn't save.
"..."
In the silence, a child came to mind.
The child swept away into the sea by the torrent created by Liquid.
A surge of emotion welled up, but she quickly shook her head.
She couldn't cry.
She was Solace, after all.
"...No."
She muttered.
She wasn't Solace right now. She was Min-Bom.
Maybe it was okay to cry.
Slowly, that boundary was fading.
She was losing herself as Min-Bom.
Solace, who had to hide her pain, became more natural, while Min-Bom felt increasingly awkward.
She found herself looking at Jung-gyeom's number.
She didn't even remember when she had switched from the articles to the contact list.
She was just pondering whether to touch the green call button or not.
...It wasn't that she felt an overwhelming need for him.
It's not that she couldn't live without him.
She just wanted to talk to him casually.
Not as Solace, but as Min-Bom.
Initially, her closeness with him was out of mere curiosity.
At that time, Min-Bom was rotting from the inside.
Overwhelmed by various stresses, she felt herself losing her identity.
Minbom was fading away, replaced by Solace.
She couldn't show weakness.
She couldn't show fear.
Nor could she appear whiny or overwhelmed.
Such was the life of a hero.
But she had no one to share this truth with.
People loved the image of Solace even more.
Even her parents were the same.
Her parents were constantly proud of her shining persona, always offering their support.
She couldn't possibly reveal to them her darker moments as Min-Bom, like not being able to save a child today.
She hesitated even to start.
Revealing Min-Bom to anyone felt like risking all the reputation she had built as Solace.
Even when she removed her hero mask, Min-Bom had been living as Solace for so long.
That's when Jung-gyeom appeared.
From the moment she saw him, she felt a strange attraction.
It wasn't love at first sight, but she couldn't take her eyes off him.
It could be considered dj vu.
She first saw him at the Hero Association, but it felt like meeting an old acquaintance.
He then caused an unprecedented incident at the Association.
He confronted Shake, showing his anger.
Min-Bom knew.
She knew Shake was exerting an unseen pressure on him.
Shake looked down on him from above, emitting a menacing aura with a hardened expression.
But Jung-gyeom didn't back down.
This fact too, piqued her curiosity.
For days afterward, the incident lingered in her mind.
Burdened with the stress of hero duties, Min-Bom had become numb to almost everything.
Managing stress was overwhelming enough.
Yet, she found herself curious about this man, both as Solace and as Min-Bom.
Eventually, she took action.
She formally requested the Association.
She wanted to take up the request made by the man who had recently caused a stir.
She expressed her desire to help a bullied student.
Thus, she was dispatched to the school and met Song Soo-yeon.
...Min-Bom quickly formed an opinion about Song Soo-yeon.
An unpleasant girl.
Observing her, it was not hard to understand why girls bullied her and boys tried to approach her, but Min-Bom didn't want to understand.
It wasn't Soo-yeon she was curious about when she decided to go to the school.
Rather, Soo-yeon's situation made her more curious about the man named Jung-gyeom.
Would he embrace even such an unpleasant character?
Shouting at even Shake?
What was the familiarity she felt towards him?
Why was her interest in him growing?
She felt she needed to meet him to know.
In the end, Min-Bom achieved her goal.
She got to know Jung-gyeom.
He was more than she had imagined.
She just knew it.
He was fundamentally different from her, who was just acting.
A true adult.
He was genuinely doing all these good deeds because he wanted to.
She could tell just by looking at his restaurant that he wanted to help others.
It was palpable.
...A desire stirred within her, an impulse she hadn't recognized in herself before.
She wanted to get to know him better.
She wanted to become closer to him.
She wanted to lean on him gently.
She wanted to show him her vulnerable side, her true self as Min-Bom.
She just wanted to breathe a little.
The fact that he was a loner played a part in this.
She felt that even if she revealed her true self to him, he wouldn't go around talking about it.
He didn't seem like he could even if he wanted to.
As far as she knew, his only acquaintance was Song Soo-yeon.
She, like Jung-gyeom, was also a loner.
Thus, Min-Bom approached Jung-gyeom.
It was with a light heart.
The thought of being able to rest by his side, to put down her Solace persona, made her act more impulsively.
The day a girl exploded and died in front of her, Min-Bom broke down in front of him.
But he just silently held her, endlessly patting her back.
He didn't judge her for showing weakness.
He wasn't disappointed.
He only returned the same affection as before.
And that, to Min-Bom, was an unexpectedly great comfort.
The relief she felt when she cried in his arms that day surprised even herself.
She fell into the sense of security he provided.
Gradually, like clothes soaked by a drizzle.
The only one who called her 'Bom' with such tenderness was Jung-gyeom.
The rest only knew her as Solace.
Before she knew it, she was only looking at her phone when she was Min-Bom.
Waiting only for her role as 'Solace' to end.
To talk to Jung-gyeom.
In the end, for her, living two lives as a hero and a civilian, the balance brought by Jung-gyeom fit too well.
"..."
Min-Bom looked at Jung-gyeom's number and sighed.
She eventually put her phone away.
She decided not to call him today.
The stability he provided was good, but she decided not to rely on it too much.
Today was bearable.
She didn't want to cling to Jung-gyeom unnecessarily.
She wasn't that dependent on him.
Who was she?
Solace.
The superior Solace, above others.
There was no need to lean on such a loner man.
With her decision made not to call him, Min-Bom craved a cigarette.
She decided to smoke just one more.
"....Huuuh."
Having lit the cigarette, she sprawled out on the wide bed, enjoying the privilege this position afforded her.
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