“What if I really call the police?”
Late at night, Arna and I arrived at a nearby conveyor belt sushi restaurant.
There had been a police investigation mid-way, which caused the filming to end even later.
I could still feel the chill of the handcuffs on my wrist.
“You shouldn’t have stormed the set like that. How did you even find the alternate location?”
“Didn’t I say before? I know more about you, Arna, than anyone else.”
“Should I call the police again?”
We decided to just eat the sushi and keep quiet. Since handcuffs were far more terrifying than any monster’s claws.
“Mm.”
Arna also started eating the sushi. Given how famished she looked, her chopstick speed was extraordinary.
“Hm.”
Arna’s face was the picture of happiness. She even let out some odd moans.
It was basically food porn.
“Want some of mine?”
I placed a piece of sushi on Arna’s plate. It was seabream sushi, perfectly greased. Watching her enjoy it so much made me want to share.
“…”
However, instead of saying thank you, Arna glared at me with her mouth shut tight.
“What’s wrong? Are you worried I’m joking again?”
“The person who quietly gives out sushi is not trustworthy.”
She flipped the sushi and lifted the fish part, as if searching for hidden wasabi.
“Huh…?”
“I haven’t done anything. Just eat it without worrying.”
Is it really okay to eat? Arna hesitated for a moment before finally putting the sushi in her mouth.
“Hm… so delicious….”
Arna’s face lit up immediately.
It’s like she had a bottomless stomach. She looked as if she had the happiness of the world after just one piece of sushi.
I reckon someone like Arna could even find military food appetizing. I should treat her to fried pickled mustard greens sometime later.
“Have this one too.”
After the seabream sushi, I offered her a fattened sushi roll.
A super-sized seaweed roll filled with tuna, salmon, sea bream, fried shrimp, rolled omelet, tofu skin, and cucumber. It was also this restaurant’s signature menu.
“Hm… are you really giving this to me as well?”
Arna’s eyes sparkled like she was about to receive precious treasure. For the record, Arna had her first course as a thick sushi roll.
“I dislike food with cucumber in it. Take it.”
“Disliking cucumber, and missing out on such delicious food… you do have a peculiar eating habit.”
In one bite, Arna shoved the thick sushi roll into her mouth.
Gulp. Just imagining the crunchy cucumber being chewed in her mouth made my stomach churn.
Cucumber truly is the devil’s vegetable.
Slurp.
Non-stop, Arna kept moving her mouth and even drank some udon as a palate cleanser.
“It would be good to eat moderately. You wouldn’t want to show up to class tomorrow morning with a swollen face, would you?”
“Uh… what’s it to you if my face swells or not?”
“Why should I care? I’m your manager.”
“Should I really call the police?”
Tump.
While we were dining, a few people approached our table.
For no reason, they were all smiling.
“Excuse me… are you Arna? The one who attends Han-yul Military Academy?”
They already had pens and paper in hand. There was no need to guess why they were approaching.
“Ah, yes, that’s me.”
Arna immediately wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin and gave the people a gentle smile.
It was the face everyone recognized from TV.
“Oh my, I’m really a fan! I always support you! Last time, you took down Decarabia with one move, right? I saw it on the news!”
“Hehe, thank you for your support.”
“Uhm… if it’s not too much trouble… could you give me a signature? Mine, and also my parents’, my younger sister’s, and my friends’. About 10 sheets please!”
“Alright, that’s fine. Give them to me.”
Even though the request was ridiculous, Arna extended her hand without any sign of inconvenience.
Seriously, is she planning to sign for everyone here?
Unable to bear it anymore, I interjected.
“I’m sorry, but signing autographs is going to be difficult. She is having dinner right now.”
“Huh…?”
The person blinked their eyelids as if they didn’t understand what I was saying.
Seriously, whose kids are these? How was their education messed up like this? I decided to be a little stricter.
“If you want an autograph, wait until we’re done eating. It’s rude to just approach someone while they’re eating and ask for one.”
I then extended the bowl of udon.
“Because of you, my udon got cold. What do you plan to do about it?”
“Ah….”
The person looked dumbfounded, flicking their eyes around aimlessly.
Arna gasped in surprise.
“No, no! I’m fine! Give me the paper! I’ll sign them!”
Arna understood that if she made the sacrifice, the current situation would calm down.
But I did not approve. There are times you need to be assertive.
I stopped her hand from extending.
“Absolutely not possible. Come back after the meal is finished, or after the check has been settled.”
“A… yes… I’m sorry….”
Eventually, the people gave up on the autographs and returned to their tables.
“…”
“…”
The shop fell silent, as if someone had poured cold water over it. No one’s voices could be heard. Only the soft tunes of the songs playing in the shop reached our ears.
“What… what are you doing! What are you doing to other people…!”
Arna spoke as low as possible, addressing me.
I acted like nothing was wrong and continued eating the cold udon.
“Those kinds of people aren’t worth responding to. Once you give them one thing, they’ll just keep asking for more.”
“But they are people who support us! How could you just turn them away? You could have spoken more gently!”
“Real fans wouldn’t have approached in the first place. It’s obviously a meal time. You don’t need to be nice about it. They’re just nuisances.”
“You’re the one causing much more trouble!”
Hmm. Too factual to argue.
But we know each other. In such situations, that can happen. The others are complete strangers, after all.
The vibe when they’re approaching is different.
“To be honest, don’t you find it tiring? Dealing with so many people one by one.”
“That…”
Arna lowered her gaze upon hearing my words.
“Honestly… I can’t say it’s completely untrue… because I’m human too….”
Then Arna clenched both fists.
“But there’s nothing I can do about it. Professor Han Se-yeong said earlier not to do anything that might cause problems….”
“That kind of situation today, you could have voiced your opinion.”
“No, still not!”
Arna’s eyes shot towards me from being downcast. But her amethyst-colored eyes looked as if they could break down at any moment.
“I’m… I’m the hero who must give hope to people… that responsibility is surely…”
“Obviously something you have to bear?”
“…”
It’s truly lamentable. This girl named Arna Kristin Dotir.
She just wanted to protect everyone from this rotten world, she merely wanted to give people hope.
But the girl had to sacrifice more. She had to act as the perfect hero. Even knowing it was overwhelming, she had to endure.
Because that was the weight a hero had to carry.
“Arna. We are just Awakened Ones. We just need to stop the ‘Break’ and beat the monsters. As heroes, there’s no need to recklessly hand out things to everyone.”
“…”
“I somewhat understand how you feel. You can’t help it, can you? People’s expectations never end.”
The public wants more. They want Arna to soar higher.
And with those expectations, Arna ceaselessly flaps her wings.
She can now act as the perfect hero. She can still fly higher. Her wings are still in perfect condition.
But…
Eventually, she will hit her limits. Wings can’t flap forever. Surely, a day will come when she’s exhausted and collapses.
At the moment her wings fold, everything she’s built up until now could potentially crumble.
Can Arna endure such a fall?
“For your own sake, and for everyone else, you need to relieve some of the burden you’re carrying.”
“Will it really be that easy?”
“At least when you’re with me, isn’t it possible?”
“Huh?”
Arna stared curiously at me.
I put down the spoon I was using to drink the udon broth.
“What I mean is, when you’re with me, you can also throw a temper tantrum like a regular person, without reading too much into things around you. You can swing your fists, stomp, spit, or whatever.”
“Hold on! There’s fabricated stuff in there! I haven’t done stomping or spitting!”
“Anyway, that’s what I’m saying.”
When I’m around, Arna doesn’t need to act like a hero. She can just be herself.
If there’s something piling up in your heart, feel free to express it toward me. Even if it comes as a punch.
I’m fully prepared to receive it. As a C-list villain, I am merely staying true to my role. It doesn’t matter how ridiculous it looks.
The reason I’m so fixated on Arna is simple.
Because Arna is the only hero who can protect this world, and also the sole protagonist I have.
“Seriously… sometimes I really get confused… you….”
Arna tapped on her water cup with a pouted lip. That delicate expression seemed unusually cute today.
Perhaps because it wasn’t the usual sturdy Arna we see.
Click─!
At that moment, a camera shutter sound rang out.
It was from someone at another table. Naturally, the camera lens was pointed at Arna.
Looks like since getting a signature failed, they are at least trying to salvage a photo.
“This way, we can’t eat peacefully, huh.”
I lifted the spoon and activated the enlargement function. It grew big enough to shield at least one person.
Then, I positioned the spoon head near Arna’s side.
This way, she won’t be photographed anymore.
“Here we go. Now you can eat in peace.”
“Hmph.”
Arna smirked slightly at the spoon serving as a partition.
“You actually have some talent as a manager.”
Then Arna boldly discarded the chopsticks she was using and started eating the sushi with her bare hands.
