The Hero is Hunting me!

Chapter 136: Maria’s Food

At the South Korean Hero Association Branch.

Inside Park Hyun-Woo’s office.

Hyun-Woo sat behind his desk, buried beneath countless stacks of paperwork.

He wore his glasses to help him read through the documents.

His tired eyes showed clear signs of exhaustion.

"Ah... When are these documents ever going to end? This is seriously exhausting..."

he muttered irritably as he looked at the mountain of files.

Just then, the phone beside him rang.

It was a call from Jinhoo.

"Hmm? It’s pretty rare for him to call me like this."

He picked up his phone and answered.

"Hello, Hyung. What’s up?"

Jinhoo’s voice came through the speaker.

[Hyun-Woo, I need to ask you for a favor.]

Hyun-Woo looked slightly confused.

---

Meanwhile...

Jinhoo was driving while talking on the phone.

Elvera sat beside him in the passenger seat.

In the back were So-ah, Min-seo, Gae-in, Mira, and Donghyun.

[A favor? What is it?]

Hyun-Woo’s voice came from the phone.

"I can’t handle this myself because I’m busy right now."

"I want you to send some Heroes to the forest near Goesan. There’s a large warehouse there. I need you to inspect it."

[Huh? What’s there?]

"I’m not entirely sure either."

"But I suspect that’s where the recent child kidnappings have been taking place."

[Then... shouldn’t this be handled by the police?]

"That was my original intention."

"But there’s someone there who appears to possess superpowers."

"Just to be safe, I’d rather ask for your help."

[Hmm... I don’t really mind, but why ask me?]

Jinhoo smiled faintly.

"Huh... Because you’re the only Hero who’s allied with me."

"The other Heroes obviously wouldn’t listen to me."

"They’d probably start hunting me instead."

[...You have a point.]

"If possible, bring Lightnova with you."

[Of course! There’s no way I’d go there alone. I’ll bring at least ten Heroes with me.]

Hearing that, Jinhoo chuckled softly.

"Yeah... That’s exactly like you."

"Alright then. I’ll hang up."

He ended the call and slipped his phone back into the pocket of his blue jacket.

Elvera turned toward him.

"What happened?"

"Just like you heard."

"I asked Hyun-Woo to investigate the child kidnappers’ hideout."

"It turns out one of the kidnappers has superpowers."

"Oh? Really?"

"Isn’t that dangerous?"

"It is."

"But someone like me—a villain—can’t exactly deal with something like this."

"This should be handled by the proper authorities."

Elvera smiled faintly.

"You always hide behind the word villain."

"But deep down... you’re actually a good person, aren’t you?"

"Huh?"

"Oppa? A good person?"

"Hahaha, that’s hilarious!"

So-ah suddenly joined the conversation.

"Just look at his face."

"He might be handsome..."

"But he gives off such a dark aura!"

Jinhoo simply smiled.

"Oh, come on."

"You complimented and insulted me at the same time."

"Isn’t that a little cruel?"

Everyone inside the car burst into laughter.

---

Meanwhile...

Back at the Hero Association.

Hyun-Woo walked toward Ji-hye’s private office.

He knocked before entering.

"Come in."

Ji-hye’s voice came from inside.

Hyun-Woo opened the door and stepped inside before quietly closing it.

Ji-hye was dressed in a black business suit, looking exactly like an office executive.

Pinned to the left side of her chest was a golden badge engraved with the letter S, symbolizing her status as an S-Rank Hero.

She looked up at him.

"Hyun-Woo?"

"What is it?"

"I received a report from... a civilian."

"They said they found a suspicious warehouse."

"They believe it might be connected to the child kidnapping case that’s been making headlines recently."

Ji-hye frowned slightly.

"Huh?"

"Shouldn’t that be reported to the police?"

"That was the plan."

"But according to the report, there’s someone there who appears to have superpowers."

"So they contacted us instead."

"Hmm... I see."

"Alright."

"I’ll discuss this with the Director first."

Ji-hye stood up from her chair.

She closed the laptop sitting on her desk.

"By the way..."

"What were you doing?"

"Hmm?"

"Ah..."

"Nothing."

"I was just browsing the internet."

There’s no way I can tell him I was browsing Indigo’s fan website...

Ji-hye desperately tried to keep herself from blushing.

Hyun-Woo looked at her with slight confusion but didn’t think much of it.

---

Meanwhile...

Jinhoo and the others finally arrived at the newly opened restaurant.

He stopped in front of the entrance and looked up at the sign.

Maria’s Food.

"...That’s a strange name."

"Well... I don’t really care."

"Hyung!"

"What are you waiting for?"

"Come on in!"

Donghyun called from the entrance.

Jinhoo walked inside.

His eyes carefully observed every corner of the restaurant.

Hmm... Looking at it now... this place feels more like a fast-food restaurant than a proper restaurant.

Not far away, Mira was already sitting with the others.

She waved enthusiastically at Jinhoo and Donghyun.

Jinhoo walked over and took the empty seat.

"This place feels more like a fast-food restaurant."

"Really?"

"I guess the seating arrangement makes it look that way."

"But the food here is more like something from a high-end restaurant!"

Donghyun replied excitedly.

A waitress approached their table with a notepad.

She handed everyone a menu.

"Welcome to Maria’s Food!"

"What would you like to order?.

Jinhoo picked up one of the menus.

"Oh."

"You’re right."

"The food does look like something from a fancy restaurant."

After looking through the menu, Elvera spoke to the waitress.

"Hmm..."

"I’m interested in this Sticky Chump."

"What exactly is it?"

The waitress smiled politely.

"Oh!"

"It’s meat covered in a thick peanut-based sauce."

"The sauce has a soft texture that resembles processed meat, which is why it’s called Sticky Chump."

"Oh!"

"That sounds interesting."

"I’ll order that!"

"Certainly."

"One Sticky Chump."

"Anything else?"

"So then, I’ll have this one!"

So-ah said while pointing at another dish.

"Of course."

One by one, the waitress wrote down everyone’s order.

After finishing, she left.

Jinhoo couldn’t shake the strange feeling in his chest.

Ever since I walked into this place... something feels... off.

His eyes wandered around the restaurant.

Watching the customers.

’Everyone was eating enthusiastically.’

’They’re eating with incredible appetite...’

’Maybe the food really is that delicious...’

’But... the way they’re eating...

It doesn’t feel normal.’

’They’re... too eager.’

His gaze continued scanning the room.

Then—

He smelled something.

’...Blood?’

’This isn’t animal blood...’

’It’s human blood!’

His head turned in every direction.

"Hyungnim?"

"Is something wrong?"

"You’ve been acting really strange."

Donghyun looked at him with concern.

Jinhoo turned toward him.

Then he glanced at everyone else.

’...Hmm?’

’They can’t smell it?’

’The scent is incredibly strong.’

’They should all be able to notice it...’

’Or... am I just imagining things...?’

"Ah..."

"It’s nothing."

"I just feel a little dizzy."

---

A few minutes later...

Their meals arrived.

One plate after another was placed on the table.

Jinhoo stared silently at the food in front of him.

’...It looks perfectly normal.’

Just then—

His phone rang.

He took it out of his jacket pocket.

It was Hyun-Woo.

"Hmm?"

"Sorry."

"I need to take this."

"You guys go ahead and eat."

"Okay!"

Jinhoo stepped outside the restaurant before answering.

"Hello?"

"Hyun-Woo?"

[Hyungnim! This is bad!!]

"We’ve already arrested several criminals here..."

"But there’s no sign of the superpowered person you mentioned."

"Hmm?"

"Isn’t that a good thing?"

"What’s the bad news?"

[We’ve searched the warehouse.]

[You were right. There really were kidnapped children here!]

"Uh..."

"Isn’t that good news?"

[Not at all!!]

[You think we found them alive?]

[No.]

[They’re all dead.]

[Their bodies were butchered... like livestock.]

[We also found where the bodies were being sent.]

The moment Jinhoo heard those words—

His eyes widened in disbelief.

"...W-Where?"

he asked, his voice trembling.

[Maria’s Food!]

The moment he heard that name—

Jinhoo froze.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

He couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

Yet...

It was the truth.

For a brief moment—

It felt as though his heart had stopped beating.