Chapter 131

〈 Episode 131 〉 Side Story 1: The Melancholy of Hero P

# Hero P’s Depression

The hamster wheel of daily life spins on. School, academy, home. School, library, home. Wearing the same uniform every day and walking the same path—how much longer will this monotonous life continue?

“Yuna, are you okay?”

Seoyun cautiously asked while pulling up a chair. The usual vitality was nowhere to be found, with dark circles heavily under her eyes.

“Goodness! Did you stay up all night?”

“While watching <Last Love>…”

Seoyun lit up and clapped her hands together, clearly understanding.

“Hahaha, so you finally watched it too! That forbidden final episode!”

“I’m going to kill the author…”

Yuna slammed her forehead onto the handout spread out before her. Her brown short hair cascaded down over her ears. Seoyun patted Yuna’s back sympathetically, fully understanding her plight.

“Hang in there. Both the male and female leads left, completely changing the story, right? Didn’t you see the leaked original script? It’s better not to look if you’re worried about getting hurt.”

“Wouldn’t it have been better if it had just stayed melodramatic until the end?”

“Hmm… But Oppa Seung-hyung has retired, I heard he proposed to Cheon Ga-eul. They really hit it off.”

The gossip among the middle school girls never ceased. Despite her fatigue, Yuna continued the conversation, and soon it was time for their scheduled activities.

Ding Dong—

Before the broadcast even ended, students scrambled to gather their bags and hurriedly left the classroom. Seoyun also said her goodbyes quickly and exited the classroom, leaving Yuna alone in the empty room.

“There’s no one at home anyway when I go back.”

The bright face she showed earlier while dealing with friends was gone, replaced by a melancholic expression as Yuna slowly packed away the handout into her bag. Just as she was about to put it in, Yuna picked it up again and smirked.

“These days, who actually does homework like this….”

With summer vacation approaching, they were tasked to compile their true career aspirations into a portfolio. Wasn’t it quite an excessive assignment for just a middle school student? However, fortunately, doing only this meant avoiding other tedious tasks.

“Career aspirations…”

If I submit a blank sheet, would the homeroom teacher call my parents? Yuna sighed deeply and shoved the handout into her bag. She didn’t want to burden her already busy parents by calling them in.

“Maybe I should just write something generic like ‘Hero’ or ‘Streamer’…”

What else could there be besides those two popular choices? It wasn’t meaningful anyway since everyone else would likely write similar things. Yuna trudged out of school, heading home.

Jingle jingle. Yuna pushed open the glass door and entered the convenience store. There was bound to be only cold leftovers waiting at home today. Let’s just get by with three-gimbap again. Yuna picked up a triangle rice ball and a strawberry milk.

“Ah.”

The girl standing right next to her let out a dejected sound. A girl with a snapback hat and mask covering her face reached out, her finger accidentally brushing against Yuna’s strawberry milk. Yuna handed the milk over.

“…Do you want it?”

Nodding slightly, the girl took the strawberry milk. Seeing the girl’s delighted expression as if receiving a long-desired gift, Yuna couldn’t help but smile fondly.

Yuna picked up the last remaining melon juice milk beside her and approached the cash register. The young man in the Yu-Sung convenience store uniform scanned the strawberry milk first from the girl who had been standing ahead.

“It’s one thousand won.”

As the girl raised her wrist, she flinched. Instead of a smartwatch, a keychain that looked like it belonged in a bathhouse hung from her wrist.

“Ah…”

The girl’s shoulders slumped. Yuna subtly extended her own item and wrist.

“Can we pay together?”

“Yes.”

Without hesitation, the young man scanned Yuna’s items and her smartwatch. The payment was promptly deducted from Yuna’s account, and she handed the strawberry milk to the girl.

“It’s the sauna nearby. Enjoy it on your way.”

The girl received the strawberry milk with both hands and bowed deeply. As she opened the top of the milk pack, the sweet aroma of strawberries tickled Yuna’s nose.

“♪♬♩”

Just as the girl began humming a tune and was about to lower her mask, the window shattered, and a bulky man rolled in, smashing the shelves. The shelf toppled over, throwing the strawberry milk the girl was holding to the ground.

“……”

“H-Hiiik?!”

The clerk pressed the emergency button in shock while Yuna wrapped her arms around the girl and leapt away.

“???”

“It’s dangerous! We need to evade-”

“Ha ha ha! You useless hero!”

A woman in prisoner’s clothing scattered dirt around. The dust flew through the air and exploded. Realizing the identity of the woman, Yuna gasped.

“A ritual master?! I thought she was captured after escaping!”

“Ha ha ha, there are always ways. Sorry kids, but it’s embarrassing to be arrested like this, so I have to kill at least one person before I go!”

Yuna held the girl tighter as the deranged ritual master continued her rampage. Shaking with fear but ensuring the girl remained unharmed, Yuna hugged her tightly.

“…This kid can’t even clean up after himself properly?”

Did I hear that correctly? Startled by the voice coming from her embrace, Yuna hesitated for a moment as the girl’s body transformed into flames and slipped out of her hold.

“Eh, wha?!”

Just before falling forward, a hand caught her, and Yuna gently sank to the ground. The girl kicked the man lying on the shelf who was coughing.

“Hey. What are you doing? Get up. If I saved you, you owe me a meal.”

“Ah… Um…”

Yuna stretched out her hand toward the girl who was treating the fallen hero so casually, then jumped in surprise. The hero lying on the shelf was none other than Seung-hyung Lee, the male lead from the drama Yuna binge-watched all night.

Bang Bang! The ritual master kicked the window and rushed into the convenience store.

“You must be eager to die! Let’s die together then!”

“What.”

The girl standing behind Yuna raised her fist towards the ritual master. The ritual master wildly threw dirt around, indiscriminately blowing up the surroundings.

“Die already!”

The ritual master hurled a lump of mud at the girl. The clump bubbled and was about to explode. With the imminent explosion, Yuna squeezed her eyes shut.

Whoosh. The darkness behind her eyelids turned blue. Surprised by the blue light seeping through her closed eyes, Yuna involuntarily opened them.

“Beautiful…”

There stood a hero with wings of blue flame.

* * *

The next day.

“Yuna! Are you okay?! I heard you were the one attacked at the convenience store on your way home yesterday?!”

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine.”

Calming down the frantic Seoyun, Yuna forced a bright smile. Not just Seoyun, but other friends were equally concerned.

“Come on. How can a captured villain escape from a transport vehicle?”

“My point exactly! And once her makeup was removed, she looked totally ugly, right?”

“Yuna, was the hero who saved you really Fire Bear Seung-hyung? How did you manage to beat up an A-rank villain so thoroughly? How did you end up there?”

“Eh? Uh… I don’t know the details either.”

Bang Bang Bang! The homeroom teacher suddenly appeared at the classroom door, knocking with the attendance book to calm the students. After briefly explaining yesterday’s incident to the students, the teacher took Yuna to the counseling room for a private session.

“Yuna, I’m sorry to ask this…”

The homeroom teacher awkwardly explained the situation. When asked to testify that the hero who saved her was ‘Fire Bear Seung-hyng,’ Yuna became angry.

“What about the person who actually saved me?! That’s unfair!”

“……Yuna. The person who saved you is Seung-hyng. …Can’t you just do it this way?”

The teacher was practically begging. Sensing something, Yuna soon realized the reason and bit her lip in frustration.

“Is it because the person who saved me is C-rank? So you’re trying to hide that a C-rank hero saved someone when an A-rank failed?”

“Y-Yuna?!”

The teacher startled and glanced around. Fortunately, no one was listening. Yuna huffed and lowered her head.

“…I’m sorry.”

“No, I understand. So, Yuna, can you do it this way?”

The teacher guiltily handed Yuna a notice.

“I think you need to go to the association for an interview.”

Yuna felt dizzy.

* * *

In the end, Yuna accepted the interview. Following the given script, she laughed and praised Seung-hyng’s heroic actions. Seung-hyng followed the script as well, elaborating on his heroic deeds with flair but never making eye contact with Yuna.

During the break, Yuna headed to the restroom with the help of security personnel. Coincidentally, the blue-haired girl was standing between the men’s and women’s restrooms, deep in thought.

“Excuse me!”

“……? Oh, that student.”

The girl bowed slightly. In her hand, she held a take-out strawberry drink from Yu-Sung franchise café. The security guard tried to stop Yuna, but the impulsive second-year middle school student, navigating the tumultuous storm of adolescence, wouldn’t be deterred.

“Isn’t it unfair?!”

“What is?”

“You know what!”

Yuna glanced at the security guard. The girl noticed and tapped Yuna’s shoulder lightly.

“What’s unfair? You were saved, weren’t you? Are you hurt anywhere? Your name is…”

The girl paused. While Yuna momentarily wondered why, the girl cleared her throat and continued.

“…Since I saved Yuna, I’m satisfied with that. I’m a hero, after all.”

“…….”

Smiling faintly, the girl walked past Yuna towards the end of the corridor. Staring blankly at the disappearing figure, Yuna lost herself in thought. The girl waved her hand over her shoulder.

That evening, Yuna’s chosen future aspiration on her portfolio was “Hero.”

* * *

“Please… Please!”

Clasping her hands together, Yuna prayed earnestly. If anyone listened to her wishes, she’d even convert to worship extraterrestrial spirits. Yuna prayed fervently.

“……What are you doing so early in the morning?

Her roommate, Su Ri, kicked the chair where Yuna sat from her lying position. Su Ri’s eyes were bloodshot as if she hadn’t slept all night. Yuna handed Su Ri a tracksuit she was wearing, which was adorned with phoenix patterns.

“It’s cold. You’ll catch a cold if you don’t wear it.”

“D-rank worrying about C-rank? Hey, just give up. You’re failing from the start anyway.”

While Su Ri got dressed in the tracksuit, she teased Yuna. Ignoring the taunts, Yuna repeatedly refreshed and closed the screen countless times. Su Ri wrapped her arm around Yuna’s neck and shook her.

“It’s not possible~ Come with me instead~ Our team leader fully supports you~”

“Nope. No way. It’s under the pine tree organization. I’m not going.”

“Yuna. We don’t have a choice, do we? Right? Uncle Jipseong is actually a nice person if you get to know him-”

“Ah. It’s here.”

12 o’clock. Yuna swiftly refreshed the screen. As she was about to click on the passing page, she hesitated mid-air.

“I’m too scared to click.”

“Let me check.”

Thud. Without permission, Su Ri pressed the result confirmation button, and Yuna held her breath.

“…Uh, sorry. …Sorry.”

“……I kind of expected it.”

Yuna sighed deeply. Failure. Depressed, Yuna’s mood made Su Ri even angrier.

“What is that guy thinking?! You even did an interview with Fire Bear when you were little! He even came as an interviewer and smiled kindly at you, right?!”

“So maybe that’s why I failed. He seemed to recognize me, remember? I told you about it last time?”

“…Hey, come on! I’ll treat you to lunch today. I’m splurging big-time with my card.”

“Set with grilled chicken.”

“……Regular set.”

They changed into uniforms and quietly left the room. Cheers erupted from the neighboring rooms, and Yuna forcibly swallowed the tears threatening to fall.

* * *

Yuna rested her head on the desk. The only friend she had, Su Ri, had departed to her team’s hunting grounds, leaving Yuna alone in the lecture hall. Although some students remained, Yuna’s situation was different.

An outcast who failed to join any team. An insignificant D-rank healer. These were the derogatory terms Yuna had heard countless times over the past two weeks. Despite forcing a positive smile, inside, she was burning with frustration.

“Someone worse than a potion, what team would take you?”

“Probably aiming for guided growth, huh? Wanting to latch onto any commander to boost your magic power, right?”

“Poor thing, though. Barely awakened, and only managed to become a D-rank healer, right? Heard your compatibility rate is single digits?”

“……Sniff.”

She choked back tears but bit her lips to suppress them. Miraculously, she awakened her special ability, but compared to other heroes, hers was pitifully weak and insignificant.

‘No. Still, I can’t give up.’

She chose the path of a hero, giving up her admission to Seoul National University despite qualifying. Over the past year, Yuna’s compatibility rate had stagnated at a mere ’11’, across all seven attributes.

-Ding Dong. Personnel of 2-C, please proceed to the auditorium. The next class will be a joint session with first-year students conducted by an external guest instructor…

Creak. Pulling her chair, Yuna stood up. Though her wobbly steps were unstable, she still had to attend the lecture.

Buzz buzz. The expressions of the newly admitted first-year personnel were extraordinarily cheerful.

‘Last year, I was like them too.’

Hiding her sadness, Yuna sat on a separate chair prepared at the back of the auditorium. Other second-year personnel avoided sitting near her. Conversations among the freshmen drifted into her ears.

“Who’s teaching today? Is it the Administrator?”

“Fire Bear might come along too. Isn’t he legendary? He was directly recruited from an academy lecture.”

“Who are those seniors at the back? Aren’t they attending the special lecture?”

Soon, the lecture time arrived. The chatter among the personnel died down, and soon the spotlight illuminated the podium. As no one appeared, murmurs arose among the personnel. Yuna discreetly brought up the screen to check who was scheduled to lecture today.

“…It’s Seung-hyung again.”

For some reason, irritation welled up. From the first impression to now, nothing about him appealed to her. They say hate the sin, not the sinner, but after applying to his team and being rejected, Yuna harbored resentment.

‘…It’s because I’m not good enough. Pull yourself together, Yuna.’

Deep down, knowing the reason for rejection was clearly due to her own lack of ability made her feel even more disheartened.

“Ah, microphone. One, two, three.”

The assistant lecturer hastily stepped up to test the microphone, visibly sweating but also somewhat relieved. A subtle excitement lingered in the air. Excitement? Yuna tilted her head in confusion.

“To inform all personnel, today’s ‘Mindset of a Hero’ lecture, originally scheduled to be led by Hero Fire Bear Seung-hyeng, cannot proceed due to unforeseen circumstances—”

Complaints erupted instantly among the first-year personnel. The assistant lecturer, anticipating this, immediately imbued his voice with magical power.

“Today, a visiting hero from the academy will take over the lecture. Please give them a warm welcome.”

Receiving the microphone from the assistant lecturer, a girl with blue hair timidly stepped to the center of the podium.

“Uh… Hello everyone?”

There was no applause. Instead, an eerie silence descended. The girl momentarily frowned before introducing herself with a tense expression.

“I was hanging out when suddenly… During the gap, the lecture fell through, and now I’ve ended up with the microphone. Haha… Nice to meet you, aspiring heroes. I am Phoenix, an SS-ranked hero under the Korea branch of the Hero Association.”

Thunderous cheers erupted throughout the auditorium. Yuna joined in clapping enthusiastically.

* * *

The lecture went on for quite some time. Midway, it shifted from a lecture to recounting tales of her glorious battles, yet the freshmen reacted enthusiastically to each anecdote. Phoenix sipped from her tumbler containing the beverage inside.

“…Recently, I’ve had this thought. What if I had strayed from the path? If I had taken the route of a villain instead of a hero… Now, it’s a rather meaningless story, isn’t it?”

The joke didn’t land well. The audience stiffened, prompting Phoenix to quickly wrap up her intended message.

“Anyway, someone asked earlier, right? Why am I here at the academy today? It’s nothing major. I’m just forming a new team this time around…”

Phoenix grinned mischievously. Only then did the audience realize her ulterior motive for grabbing the microphone.

“One spot is open, and I plan to fill it with a newcomer. Someone brimming with talent but hasn’t yet shone brightly.”

Phoenix descended from the podium. The aspiring heroes looked at her expectantly, but when she passed by, they wore expressions as if they’d lost the world.

Thud, thud.

Amidst the aspiring heroes watching like meerkats, Phoenix confidently strode across the center of the auditorium toward the wall.

Thud. Her steps halted. Phoenix extended her hand toward the aspiring hero right in front of her.

“I’m here to repay the cost of the strawberry milk, including interest. Would that be alright?”

“……Yes!”

March 3rd.

Sunlight finally broke through the gloomy clouds of Yuna’s life.

Announcement to middle school students. The villain emergence warning issued today has been lifted as of this moment. Students are advised to contact their parents for safe return home…