Chapter 58

EP.58 Counseling

"Can you believe that I, Shin Haru, actually believed in the Apple Mango conspiracy theory... Wow!"

Her friend, Lee Seol-a, covered her mouth and said this. When Shin Haru glared at her with a pout, Seol-a finally lowered her hand and laughed sheepishly.

"Hehe, just kidding, kidding. Don't be mad."

"I'm serious."

"Oh, is our little Haru upset? What should we do~"

Seol-a, who had been teasing her with a smile, cleared her throat and returned to her usual expression before speaking.

"Right. Well, it does sound pretty strange at first. A villain who commits terrorism but doesn't want people to die..."

Seol-a, lost in thought for a moment, twirled her sky-blue hair with her fingers and continued.

"...Isn't it possible? Kind of like an entertainer, someone who enjoys drawing attention? I guess. ...Yeah, something like that."

After a moment of choosing her words, she clapped her hands and said,

"Think of it as a villain who wants to commit terrorism but doesn't want to kill civilians. The fact that he contacted someone to save the people who were about to die in his terrorist attacks suggests that."

Seol-a, as if solving a problem, crossed her arms and nodded. Then she took a sip of her green tea to soothe her throat.

Shin Haru, who had been listening quietly until then, finally spoke.

"Then, do you think he's harmless?"

"Huh? Not exactly harmless... He does destroy buildings and planes, so he is a villain. But he just doesn't like killing civilians. Could that be considered harmless? Better than a villain who tries to kill everyone, right."

"And considering his hacking skills and the money he's been distributing, he must have something up his sleeve. But hearing you, I feel a bit more at ease. If he had that kind of ability and wanted to kill people, it would be even more terrifying."

Seol-a took another sip of her tea and, seeing Haru still looking troubled, smiled and said,

"Haru, did you come to me because you were worried about this? Curious if Ego Stick is a villain or not?"

"Who's 'you'? ...No, it's just that something feels off..."

"What's off? There are all kinds of villains in the world. There are villains who want to dismember five people for a ritual, and there can be villains who don't like killing people. There's no need to worry. He'll only cause terrorism that you can prevent from harming civilians. Killing villains is... well, it's like private justice, but not to the point of killing civilians."

Seol-a, who seemed to be saying that not killing in terrorism is actually a good thing, made Haru feel a bit strange.

Right. Logically, Seol-a's words make sense. Just a villain who wants to cause terrorism without harming civilians. Ego Stick. Defining him like that should be enough.

The reason for his terrorism can be seen as a simple pleasure, like other villains.

That's probably the normal interpretation of Ego Stick.

But she still had a lingering doubt. She couldn't explain it in words, but a strong 'intuition' she felt inside.

The idea that his terrorism isn't just for his own pleasure, but for some other reason.

When she saw him causing terrorism, it seemed like he was aiming for something more than just enjoying it.

The thought that he was causing terrorism with some other intention.

What could it be? Not knowing that made her thoughts still seem like delusions.

Seeing Haru's troubled face again, Seol-a laughed.

"Haru, I thought it was a huge problem when you called me, but it was just about a villain? How can a kid be so workaholic?"

Shaking her head, she continued,

"Haru, we're human. When we're not working, we need to clear our minds and rest. Right? If you're a college student, you should go to some events. That way, you can make friends."

"....I have friends."

"Oh, the senior you mentioned? That's not a friend. It's a senior! Anyway, try to rest when you can. And maybe get a boyfriend?"

"You've never had a boyfriend either."

Seol-a's face turned slightly red at Shin Haru's cutting remark.

"Well, I have to control my private life as part of the group... But if it weren't for the surveillance, I would have."

"Sure, sure. I get it."

Smiling, Haru's words made Seol-a grumble, but she eventually laughed too.

Thus, the conversation about Ego Stick was brushed aside, and they started talking about recent events.

Seol-a brought up her recent troubles.

"Ugh, having my every move reported in the media is incredibly stressful."

Seol-a, her friend and an A-class hero responsible for Busan with ice powers, is also the daughter of the chairman of one of South Korea's major conglomerates, Yuseong Corporation. She is often referred to as a third-generation chaebol.

"Well, being a hero is fun, and it has a positive impact on the company, so that's good... But why is everyone so interested in what clothes I wear?"

She stretched her hand toward the table and sighed.

Seeing her, Haru could only say, "It must be tough."

"At least they don't interfere as much as before since I started this. I guess they think I have a positive impact on the company's image."

"You're having a hard time too..."

"Yeah. At least there's less terrorism in Busan compared to the capital. If it were as much as in your area, it would be a real problem."

Seol-a, after saying this, stuck out her tongue and took out her phone. After reading an article, she frowned.

Haru, curious, asked,

"What's wrong?"

"Well, we have a competitor, Han-eun Group. There's a guy named Kim Seon-woo, a former technical advisor there, who has been released. He was caught doing human experiments, so how did he get out? Must have lobbied a lot."

"Kim Seon-woo..."

"Sigh. Nothing's going well these days."

Seol-a clicked her tongue and put her phone back on the table.

They continued talking, and before they knew it, it was late at night.

The rain was drizzling outside.

"Shall we go?"

"Sure."

They decided to part ways there.

As they stepped out of the cafe, there were bodyguards in suits and sunglasses standing in front.

"Miss, please get in."

"Hey, Haru, do you want a ride? It's raining."

"No, I'll walk a bit. You go ahead."

"Okay... Got it. Do you have an umbrella? Uncle, can we have one more?"

Haru received an umbrella from the suited men and thanked them.

"Haru, I'm leaving now. If you have any more problems, call me, okay?"

"Sure. Be careful."

She waved goodbye to her friend, who left in a black limousine.

Once the car was out of sight, she started walking home.

The raindrops hitting her umbrella.

In the night street, where only the sound of raindrops could be heard, she walked on, relying on her umbrella.

It was nice to meet her friend after a long time.

Seol-a was the only friend she could talk openly with.

As she walked slowly, she looked up at the sky.

It was almost dawn, and the sky was dark.

Looking at the lonely moon in the sky, she fell into thought again.

In the end, Seol-a only advised her not to worry too much about Ego Stick.

Just a villain who doesn't like hurting people, nothing more, nothing less.

But Haru was still concerned about him.

She felt like both Seol-a and she were missing something.

The intuition that his actions were part of a bigger picture.

And the thought that he might not be as bad as she thought, baseless and absurd, but it kept lingering in her mind.

In this way, Stardust, without realizing it, was trying to use her extrasensory perception to see through Ego Stick's true nature.

Of course, not knowing his true identity, she was just feeling uneasy and concerned about him.

"Ah..."

Looking at the dark night sky, she could only sigh.

While she was troubled by Ego Stick,

He was probably lying in his bed, living comfortably.

***

"Cough, cough."

"Ah!!! Big brother, what's wrong!!! Shouldn't we go to the hospital? Let's go to the hospital!"

"Seona, how can I go to the hospital, cough, it'll be fine in a bit, cough."

"What's fine when you're coughing up so much blood!!"

"Big brother can't die... Hic."

Inside a large mansion deep in the mountains.

I was lying there, coughing up a lot of blood.

People in the mansion were gathered around me, worried.

I could see Hae-yul standing by the door, pale and looking at me.

Damn.

Did I push myself too hard with my leg?

"Cough."

I coughed up more blood.

I feel so wronged. How much strength did I use to suddenly end up like this?

What a terrible ability...

I collapsed as soon as I got home after destroying my leg and woke up three days later.

As soon as I woke up, I started coughing up blood.

I feel like I'm dying.

Will there ever be a day when Stardust finds out I'm doing this for her?

No, probably not.

Ouch...

"Cough, cough."

"Ah!!!"

And Seona, stop screaming...