Chapter 11

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Kim Hana

Phew!

Swallowing the hot Americano, she looked at the woman sitting opposite her.

Kim Seo-yeon.

The long hair I remembered had already been cut short.

Wearing a pink off-shoulder dress, her beauty had blossomed with all the effort she put into her appearance.

A woman so beautiful that any man would turn his head at least once.

She looked so young that it was hard to believe she was 29.

If she had a boyfriend, his shoulders would naturally rise, and he would feel proud.

-You're a good person, but... I'm sorry. I can't keep seeing someone with no future. I'm at the age where I have to think about marriage.

-All my friends are dating or marrying people who work at famous large companies. You... sigh. It's fine. Let's just end it.

The words she said when they broke up echoed in her ears.

Five years. A long time, or a short time, depending on how you look at it.

After breaking up, Kim Seo-yeon immediately blocked her number.

Whenever she wanted to break up so abruptly.

"Why did you suddenly want to see me?"

"Just because. I saw your place while passing by. How have you been?"

What could a person living in Jamsil have to do in Eunpyeong-gu?

She had no job or any connection to the area.

'How have you been?'

Of course, she hadn't been well.

But something strange happened.

She thought she would tremble and feel nostalgic when she saw her again, but she didn't.

Instead, her heart was as calm as a paper boat on a still lake.

'Maybe it's because of Randolph...'

Even without using the fragments of the Broken Golden Rule, everything Randolph had done had left a deep impression.

Was that why?

This sudden situation didn't make her feel flustered at all.

"Alright, I've been okay. How about you?"

"I'm the same, always. Work, home, work, home. I'm about to die."

A monotonous life that was tiring.

But she already knew that she didn't come to see her because she was tired of her daily routine.

She had a rough idea of the reason.

The profile picture she changed right after they broke up. The couple photo with a handsome businessman that was now taken down.

Honestly, it was ridiculous.

She had broken up with me and moved on, but now that there was a problem, she came back to see me.

Should she call it shameless, or did she really think I was that gullible?

'I was gullible, I guess.'

It was a relationship where she seemed willing to give everything, even her liver and gallbladder.

She did it because she loved me so much, but now, with no relationship, she had no intention of repeating the past.

Deciding to remain silent to see what she would say, Kim Seo-yeon spoke up.

"Didn't you worry about me first when that thing happened recently?"

"That thing?"

"I mean 'Dimension War.' The day monsters from another dimension attacked Earth! I thought they were filming a Marvel movie?"

She was talking about the day the giant mantis appeared.

Monsters from Pangea appeared in reality, and people summoned to Pangea used the 'Fragments of the Broken Golden Rule' to defeat the monsters in reality.

After that day, people began to call them 'Dimension Warriors' and praise them.

Warriors from another dimension.

They were said to possess the spirits of ancient warriors to fight the monsters.

The Dimension Warriors warned of future dangers and quickly became stars.

Surprisingly, few people directly mentioned Pangea.

'Well, an attack from another dimension sounds more plausible than a game becoming reality.'

Monsters from the unknown were naturally more terrifying than a game becoming reality.

"You don't seem interested?"

"Can I get up now?"

"··· Huh?"

Kim Seo-yeon's relaxed expression turned to confusion.

"Seeing your face was enough. We're not close enough to chat."

With that, she got up.

If it were the old her, she might have tried to hold her and ask to meet again.

Their five-year relationship had been clearly one-sided. She might have begged and pleaded, not wanting to end it with any lingering feelings.

But not now.

She had a lot to do.

She didn't have time to be dragged around by others.

"······ Is it because of what I said last time?"

"It's not that. Does your current boyfriend know you're meeting me?"

Did she think I wouldn't notice just by taking down the profile picture?

The photos on Kim Seo-yeon's social media account were still up.

In other words, she was playing the field.

She was testing the waters between her and the man.

Or, after fighting with her boyfriend, she was meeting me to boost her self-esteem.

Either way, it was the worst.

Kim Seo-yeon's expression hardened like a rock at her blunt words, as if she hadn't expected her to say it outright.

"Um... That's..."

"Hey! Really! Stop following me!"

"Miss Hana, I'm not a bad person, okay?"

At that moment,

A woman ran into the cafe, screaming, followed closely by a middle-aged man.

"This is clearly stalking. I'm going to report you to the police."

"Please! Please, just meet me once."

"I really don't want to!"

Everyone in the cafe turned to look at the two.

She did too, but for a different reason.

A familiar face, as if she had seen it somewhere before.

Where had she seen him?

Suddenly, the stalker's expression changed completely. The pitiful man who had been begging started to frown and his face turned red.

"Damn bitch, this is because you've been pampered...!"

"Ah!"

The stalker grabbed the woman's hair.

As the woman screamed, the stalker sneered.

"Wouldn't it be better if you just accepted it? Do you have to make it this bad?"

He looked like he had lost his mind.

The stalker looked around and shouted.

"What are you looking at, you bastards! Is this entertainment for you?"

Everyone who made eye contact turned away.

"Bro. Don't get involved. Things are already tense... The police will come."

Kim Seo-yeon was right.

Someone must have called the police. They would arrive in a few minutes and handle the stalker, so there was no need to get involved and cause trouble.

Suddenly, she made eye contact with the woman whose hair was being pulled.

Her eyes were pleading, as if begging for help.

"Bro?"

...She couldn't just stand by.

She remembered who the woman was.

The woman who had saved a child when the giant mantis appeared.

"What, you?"

"Stop it."

"Brat, what? Stop it? I'm not letting go?"

She grabbed his shoulder, and the stalker's expression twisted even more.

His eyes flashed with madness, spreading a murderous aura.

"Smiling?"

But even that murderous aura seemed cute to her now.

She had crossed the line of life and death several times recently, engaging in battles.

She had faced places where swords and spears flew and corpses lay everywhere without a hint of fear.

She had survived the impossible and even instilled fear in soldiers.

How could she be afraid of a stalker who only had a murderous look in his eyes?

Guaaaah!

"Aah!"

As she tightened her grip on his shoulder, the stalker screamed.

She felt like she could crush his shoulder right now.

Even without using the Fragments of the Broken Golden Rule.

"Stop! Stop! Ow!"

The stalker writhed.

'What kind of strength does this guy have...!'

The stalker's body trembled. He looked frail, but once grabbed, he couldn't move.

The pain was so intense that his muscles felt like they were tearing and his bones were turning to dust.

This was not human strength.

"Are you going to stop?"

"Y-Yes! I'll stop!"

She clicked her tongue. If you listen the first time, it would be better.

"Keh!"

She let go, and the stalker lost his balance and fell to the ground in a heap.

The woman, who had been watching the fallen stalker, bowed to her.

"T-Thank you."

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes... Ah! Behind you!"

She turned her head to see the man with a Swiss Army knife, blade drawn, charging at her.

"Die!"

But she already knew.

She slightly turned her body and tripped the charging stalker.

Kung!

The stalker hit his head on the ground and immediately fainted.

*

It took about five more minutes for the police to arrive after the situation was resolved.

"You'll have to come with us to the station."

When the police, who had roughly assessed the situation, tried to take her in, Kim Hana stepped in.

"This person only helped. I'm the one who reported the stalking."

"Still, a violent incident occurred, so you'll have to come to the station."

"But it's a violent incident? The other person had a knife, so are you saying I should have just watched?"

"Principally, we can't help it."

"······ I'm Kim Hana, a reporter for CK Broadcasting. May I ask your name and rank?"

Handing over her business card, the police's eyes finally showed annoyance.

CK was a major broadcasting company. If a reporter from one of the top five media outlets in the country made a mistake, it could affect their livelihood.

"Then as a witness...?"

"If I get entangled as a witness, what then? I'll go and handle it myself, so don't involve innocent people."

The stalker was a well-known plastic surgeon.

With a high-priced lawyer, he could turn a minor incident into a major one.

She couldn't risk harming the person she had helped.

The police blinked at Kim Hana's bold action.

'She looks like an anchor, not a reporter...'

'She's got a great personality.'

Normally, someone in this situation would be scared and crying, but Kim Hana was defending a stranger she had just met.

It was an unusual sight for the police.

Soon, the area around Kim Hana started to buzz.

"Isn't that person the one from YouTube a while ago...?"

"Yeah. The one who saved a child from a monster? I think he was on TV too."

"Didn't he receive an award?"

"Kim Hana. The name is the same. It's him!"

The recent incident that had made waves on YouTube and TV, the Dimension War.

When monsters from another dimension attacked various parts of the world, not only the Dimension Warriors but also righteous people who acted like warriors emerged.

Kim Hana was one of them.

He had been captured by a monster while trying to save a child and later rushed to the scene to save the child and the child's mother.

The video went viral, reaching five million views, and Kim Hana was officially hired by CK and received a commendation for his bravery.

"··· Alright. The reporter will go."

If something happened with such a person, it could escalate.

The police had no choice but to follow Kim Hana's suggestion.

Before leaving, Kim Hana took out another business card.

"Thank you so much today. Here's my card."

"It's fine."

"······ Ah, is the person with you your girlfriend?"

The question about the woman with her.

She smiled and immediately shook her head.

"Not at all, we're not related. I don't have a separate card."

"Can you give me your number then?"

Taking out a pen and paper from her bag, Kim Hana handed it to her.

She wrote down her number without hesitation.

Not Randolph... but also her real name, Park Hyun-myeong.

"Park Hyun-myeong? Nice name. I'm Kim Hana."

"Yes, I know from your card."

"I'll call you. If you're free tomorrow, let's have coffee. Or dinner is fine too. I'll treat you."

"I won't refuse."

"Great. See you!"

With a nod, Kim Hana left the cafe with the police who were taking the stalker away.

...She was a storm.

"Wow, amazing. She's even better in person."

"She could be an actress, not a reporter."

"She has a bit of Seul-yoon's vibe. No wonder the stalker was after her."

Listening to the amazed comments, she slowly turned around.

"······"

Then, Kim Seo-yeon, with a face colder than the north wind, quietly looked at her.