Chapter 99: Arch-enemy (2)
TL/Editor: Raei
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Min-Bom was reminiscing about the events of yesterday in her private room at the association.
He was an ability user with two abilities.
One was flight, and the other was shadow movement.
Naturally, there was only one villain that came to mind for her.
The villain referred to as 'A,' who had caused the dissolution of the Villain Alliance.
He was the person responsible for all the recent changes.
Among the four abilities he possessed, shadow movement was definitely one of them.
He didn't have the ability to fly... but in reality, nothing was known about A.
It was possible that he might have another ability, flight.
"..."
She closed her eyes.
The battle had unfolded without her knowing he was A... but it was more manageable than expected.
He wasn't as powerful as everyone had feared.
Of course, all these assumptions were based on the premise that the villain she saw yesterday was indeed A.
He didn't use heat vision, telekinesis, or ice, but she couldn't shake off the thought that it was manageable.
Maybe it was because she didn't sense any killing intent from him.
...Whatever the case, Min-Bom knew that she had to capture him somehow if he showed up again.
Until now, she hadn't wanted to fight him, but now it was different.
Min-Bom picked up the coat that A had left behind.
"..."
And slowly, she began to bury her face in it and sniff its scent.
"Ssss...Hooo..."
How could she not know?
This was the scent of Jung-gyeom.
The masked ability user had claimed that he didn't know about Jung-gyeom... but that was an easy lie to tell.
The coat proved it.
If they had nothing to do with each other, why would he have a coat that smelled like him?
Min-Bom sniffed the scent of the coat for a while and then slowly furrowed her brow.
His scent was so close, yet she had no idea where Jung-gyeom had gone.
Worry for him kept welling up inside her.
Especially since she had filed a missing person report for Jung-gyeom right after the battle last night.
She had no intention of interrogating Song Soo-yeon again.
It was unlikely she would open her mouth, and she didn't want to see her again.
Seeing her face would only make her furious.
It was time to cut ties with that b*tch.
It was only because of Jung-gyeom that she had interacted with her this long; otherwise, their relationship wouldn't have lasted till now.
-Knock knock.
There was a knock at the door.
'Solace?'
"Come in," Solace answered.
She didn't put away the coat.
She didn't want to. She still held it under her nose.
Having found a new outlet for stress relief, Solace began to cling to the coat.
In truth, no one could understand the stress she had to bear.
The title of the number one hero was by no means light.
She was in a position where she had to face both personal pressure and the strict standards of society at the same time.
There was no time for her to find herself, no place to take a breath, or to laugh.
"Ssss..."
So, while her actions might seem strange to others, they were essential for her.
"...Eh."
As expected, the employee hesitated for a moment upon seeing Solace sniffing the coat.
The hesitation over such a trivial action was likely due to the image Solace had built up over time.
Soon, the adapted employee spoke.
"...There's a meeting. You are needed there, Solace..."
"I'll be right there. Hooo..."
Then the door closed again.
Solace, smelling Jung-gyeom's scent, was lost in memories.
She had suspected it, but in his absence, only now had she realized how deeply Jung-gyeom had entered her heart.
---
---
"The news is that Liquid has been captured by A."
At that announcement, Shake let out a disheartened sigh.
"...I can't believe it."
Everyone agreed with Shake's words.
They knew A's power was strong, but they hadn't thought he would dismantle the Villain Alliance this quickly.
Shake asked,
"...Aren't we going to cut A some slack? He's a full-fledged hero, just without a license."
The presenter interrupted him,
"Ah... A few days ago, someone presumed to be A broke into the police station and stole handcuffs designed for ability users..."
"...That's something we can overlook. Obviously, he needs handcuffs to catch Liquid-"
The Chairman of the Association cut off Shake's words.
"Shake. That's not acceptable."
".............."
Instead of responding, Shake let out a frustrated sigh.
"No matter if he's dismantling the Villain Alliance, personal sanctions can't be overlooked. You know we can't make an exception just for A. If we do, everyone will question why they're not getting the same treatment. We mustn't forget the reason laws and rules exist."
".....Laws and rules are there to make life livable........huh?"
As Shake expressed his doubt, chaos engulfed the meeting room.
-Crash!!
The meeting room's glass window broke, and someone invaded.
A refreshing breeze filled the stuffy space, along with screams and alarm sounds echoing.
Solace, Shake, and the other heroes were about to rush towards the intruder, but they hesitated at the gesture of a man standing straight on the meeting table.
A familiar dice fell in front of Solace.
The number showing was 3.
"...Calm down."
His voice was laced with a mechanical tone.
"I've come to talk."
Solace's brows furrowed.
She whispered in disbelief at the unbelievable scene.
"...You...!"
It was the masked man she had seen yesterday.
The difference might be the device at the corner of his mouth.
This caused his voice to mix with mechanical sounds.
Ignoring Solace's words, the man who had briefly met her gaze now turned his head away, disregarding her.
Then, he dropped something he was holding onto the table.
-Thud.
It didn't take long to figure out what it was.
It was Stingshot.
His body was scorched red, possibly from burns, with blisters and scabs scattered all over.
"Stingshot...!"
Shake heightened his alertness upon seeing Stingshot bound in handcuffs.
It was unbelievable to him that his enemy had been captured so helplessly.
The masked man spoke.
"...As part of the negotiation, I'll hand over Stingshot."
"...Negotiation...?"
The Chairman, who was the first to regain his composure, asked the masked man.
All the high-ranking officials gradually calmed down and caught their breath.
Only Solace was still restless.
She shouted.
"Where is Jung-gyeom!"
The masked man flinched again.
After a long silence, he looked at the Chairman and said,
"...Is it possible to have the meeting without Solace?"
"You...!"
She was about to activate her powers and charge at him, but the Chairman and Shake held her back.
The others present at the meeting did the same.
The Chairman said to the man,
"...Solace needs to be here. Besides, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"
The man glanced over his shoulder at Solace, then closed his eyes tightly.
Then, he said,
"...I'm Dice. You must have heard about me already. I'm after the Villain Alliance."
He kicked the downed Stingshot with his foot.
"This should be sufficient evidence, right? He's critically injured, so have Hera on standby to ensure he doesn't die. I'll hand him over after the negotiation."
The Chairman frowned even more upon hearing the name of the healing specialist hero, 'Hera', from Dice's mouth.
"...How do you know Hera?"
"...That's not important."
Dice said.
The Chairman and Dice had a lengthy stare-down.
For a long time, neither spoke.
The first to concede was the Chairman.
He sighed and asked,
"So. What is this negotiation about?"
"..."
Dice also paused at the question, seemingly organizing his thoughts.
Yet, no one moved or took their eyes off him.
His presence weighed heavily in the meeting room.
"...The Villain Alliance. I'll take it down."
Dice said, his voice tinged with a mechanical sound.
"I'll capture them one by one, starting with Stingshot here."
"...In exchange?"
The Chairman asked.
Dice lowered his head again.
After a long deliberation, he said,
"..........In exchange........let Luna go."
-Bang!!
Solace slammed her fist on the table.
She could not accept this negotiation.
Luna was off-limits.
Luna's threat still echoed in her head.
After threatening to kill Jung-gyeom, he disappeared.
And it was impossible for Dice in front of her to be unrelated to the matter.
She couldn't bury all this and accept Dice's negotiation.
Doing so might mean never finding out where Jung-gyeom is, possibly forever.
"Bullsh*t...! Bring back Gyeom oppa....!"
Solace gritted her teeth as she spoke.
Everyone was watching her and Dice cautiously.
Dice swallowed, then turned his head.
Looking into Solace's eyes, he said,
".........Wait, and he'll come back."
Solace charged at him upon hearing that.
Before he claimed no connection, now he says such a thing?
He clearly knew something about Jung-gyeom.
She couldn't hold back her desperation to find Jung-gyeom any longer.
-Whoosh..
But Dice disappeared in an instant.
And then he reappeared behind the Chairman.
"....Stop it. I came here to talk."
His hand was on the Chairman's neck.
The message was clear: he would twist it if things went south.
Dice said,
"What's it going to be? Will you accept my offer?"
"I'm absolutely against it...!"
Solace declared to everyone.
But in this meeting room, she was the only one opposing Dice's proposal.
Everyone else glanced around and slowly nodded.
Catching the flow, Solace yelled at the Chairman.
"Chairman...! You said it yourself!! Personal sanctions are not allowed...! We can't let happen...! Are you thinking of changing your stance now? This cannot happen!"
The Chairman shook his head at Solace's words.
And while still being grasped by the neck, he quietly asked Dice,
"...Then what about you?"
"..."
"If we pardon Luna in exchange for capturing Tryno, Stingshot, Liquid, Riem. Then what about you?"
Dice said,
"...Leave me out of this."
".........Hmm. That's unfortunate."
"...What?"
"Luna is too notorious a villain. We can't just pardon her that easily."
The Chairman was not easily swayed even while his neck was being gripped.
Dice's grip tightened, yet the Chairman remained steadfast.
"Do you not want to capture the Villain Alliance?"
"You've crippled them already. It should be easier to capture them than before."
"I could turn against you as well."
"We're not exactly allies right now, are we? Then.....! Ack...! Ack...!"
The Chairman gasped, clutching at Dice's hand on his neck.
Everyone in the meeting room flinched.
Dice's eyes turned towards the Chairman.
"It would be wise to accept the offer now...! I'm being very lenient...!"
Despite Dice claiming to be lenient, it was clear to everyone who was more desperate.
The Chairman raised one hand.
Finally, Dice loosened his grip.
Taking a breath, the Chairman said,
"...Hooo... Hooo... Turn yourself in after all this is over. Then we'll pardon Luna."
"................."
"...That's the least we can do, to save face. Solace, you should be okay with this too."
Solace's fist clenched tightly.
As if that wasn't enough for her.
As if she must capture Dice right now.
On the other hand, Dice's hand began to tremble.
Accordingly, the Chairman, whose neck was being gripped, also started to shake slightly.
It was clear to everyone that he was conflicted.
To the others, such an unfair deal was unthinkable.
Yet, Dice was conflicted.
It was an offer the Chairman could make given the Association's monopoly regarding villains.
"....."
Finally, Dice nodded slightly and whispered,
"...If you don't keep your word... I promise."
"..."
"You'll regret it."
---
---
Song Soo-yeon had been at a PC cafe since morning, searching for articles.
Since she now knew that Dice was Jung-gyeom, she couldn't just sit still.
When there were no clues, she could only collapse in despair... but not anymore.
She felt like she could find Jung-gyeom.
And if she could just see him, Song Soo-yeon was willing to do anything.
"..................."
But no matter how much she searched, there were no articles about 'Dice'.
Was the Association hiding him, just like they did for her?
Despite fighting with Solace yesterday, he wasn't mentioned anywhere.
-Tap... Tap...
Song Soo-yeon bit her thumbnail as she scrolled down.
No matter which site she searched on, his name didn't appear.
The frustration only grew.
It was as if yesterday's events were just a dream.
But that couldn't be.
The warmth of Jung-gyeom's hand still lingered on her cheek.
The blood he had wiped off her was still vivid in her memory.
She also remembered his concern for her.
Even though he left and didn't come back... even though she had betrayed him, the memories they shared seemed to still be there.
The turmoil in her heart was momentarily set aside by desperation.
The fact that he was an ability user, that he had the power to defeat everyone, didn't matter.
That could wait until after meeting him.
Song Soo-yeon just needed him by her side, regardless of his condition. Nothing else mattered.
Song Soo-yeon cooked herself a bowl of ramen at the PC cafe.
Ever since Jung-gyeom left, all food had turned bland to her.
But after catching a lead on Jung-gyeom, she began to gather her strength.
She had to stay alive to meet him again.
So, no matter how tasteless, she forced herself to eat.
She gagged because it had been so long, but she filled her stomach regardless.
"......Huh?"
Then, breaking news began to flood in.
With each page refresh, new articles spawned one after another.
'Hero Association Attacked'
'Intrusion at the Top Floors of the Hero Association'
'Villain's Attack on the Chairman'
Photos and videos of the incident spread like wildfire everywhere.
Song Soo-yeon realized, as she watched the video, that Dice had infiltrated the Association building, though his name wasn't mentioned.
Her worry for him rose.
It felt as though she was being sucked into the computer screen.
She couldn't take her eyes off the articles that kept coming.
How long had she been like that?
She must have refreshed the page hundreds of times, wanting to know his recent activities.
The man who had invaded the Association was seen leaving the building.
Solace followed after him.
Song Soo-yeon's brows naturally furrowed.
She had no choice but to see how he had changed because of her.
She disliked Solace, but... she could only imagine how painful it must have been for him to fight Solace.
It was all because of her.
She wanted to give him happiness, but instead, she had brought him nothing but pain.
Her stomach churned with guilt.
Hours passed in that state.
The Association released an official statement.
Due to many witnesses, the situation regarding Dice was also clarified.
The villain ranking was updated.
Villain Dice, ranked number 1.
"....................."
Song Soo-yeon stared blankly at the screen.
Only then did she realize.
In her desire to meet him, she had been oblivious to even the simplest fact.
-Thud.
The strength drained from Song Soo-yeon's hand.
Jung-gyeom had become a criminal.
Because of her.
The one who used to volunteer and share laughter, who was pure.
The one who was overjoyed by a simple wish bracelet had become a villain.
-Brrr... Brrr...
Her phone rang. It was a new phone, with only the number transferred over.
In this chaotic situation, Song Soo-yeon looked at her phone.
It was an unknown number.
Normally, she wouldn't have answered, but she felt a strange intuition.
She felt she had to answer it.
Song Soo-yeon picked up the phone.
"...Hello?"
"...."
"...Hello...?"
For some reason, tears started to form. She felt like she knew who was on the other side.
"....Soo-yeon."
The voice came through.
Tears began to flow from Song Soo-yeon's eyes.
Her heart tightened at that warm address she hadn't heard in so long.
How desperately she had wished to hear it.
"Huk.....Ah... Mister...."
"...I'm on a payphone now. I don't have much time, so listen carefully."
She got angry at him for not memorizing her number some time ago.
Did he memorized it then?
As that memory resurfaced, she was reminded of all the things she hadn't repayed him for.
Song Soo-yeon pleaded desperately.
"Where are you? I'll come to you...! Mister, it's my fault...! Mist-"
"-Don't use your powers from now on."
Jung-gyeom, seemingly pressed for time, cut her off.
"Huk....!"
Song Soo-yeon stood up, gripping the phone with both hands.
Although all eyes were on her, she had no capacity to care about that at the moment.
"...Mister...are...are you being chased...?"
"Live on without me now."
He spoke coldly.
Song Soo-yeon's heart sank.
Tears continued to flow from her empty eyes.
"Don't skip meals. If you do, there's no point in what I'm doing..."
"I'll come to you. Where are you, Mister-"
"-I'm still angry."
Jung-gyeom responded coldly.
Song Soo-yeon's body shuddered.
As she tightly closed her eyes, tears streamed down her face.
"...I don't want to see you."
Song Soo-yeon sat back down. She bent over, covering her mouth with her hands.
"...So..."
"...I...I'm sorry...I was wrong..."
"...So, Soo-yeon. From now on-"
-Bang!!
-Click.
The call abruptly ended with a loud noise.
Song Soo-yeon looked at her phone in confusion.
Like a fool, she shook the small device, speaking into the disconnected phone.
"Mister? Ah, Mister...?"
But the call didn't reconnect.
She couldn't call back either.
".......Ah...ah...."
Song Soo-yeon clutched her hair tightly with both hands.
The peaceful everyday life had now become a thing of the past.
The peaceful days of cooking with Jung-gyeom would never return.
She had thrown it all away with her own hands.
For a long while, she just sat there, crying.
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