BXBX NOVEL Chapter 9 - Preparation against terrorism (1)
All the monsters that had crossed the gate had been defeated. Now, all that remained was to seal the gate.
"My magic power has certainly increased."
After heeding Shin Hye-Rim\'s advice on mana, Jung Ha-Yeon decided to test her newfound strength by battling beasts later that afternoon. The results were more than satisfactory.
She found herself effortlessly defeating stronger beasts that would have normally posed a challenge.
"There was a reason why Ms. Hye-Rim is so strong."
She wondered why she was so strong, even though they were both magical girls. She could see why just a little bit.
Her understanding of mana and magic was fundamentally better, so no wonder. She was grateful once again to Shin Hye-Rim for being so open with her advice.
"I don\'t understand why the other heroes are so afraid of her."
Initially apprehensive when meeting Shin Hye-Rim, Jung Ha-Yeon\'s impression of her had drastically changed. Contrary to the horror stories she had heard from fellow heroes, Shin Hye-Rim had been kind, patient, and willing to offer valuable advice to the concerns of a stranger despite feeling uncomfortable.
Moreover, there was nothing unkind or violent about the way she talked to her.
In fact, she was kinder than anyone else.
"Just as Hye-Rim said, circulating mana from the abdomen feels much better."
Jung Ha-Yeon compared it to the feeling of wearing clothes that fit perfectly. The sensation of mana coursing through her body was now immensely comfortable.
Recalling their encounter at the café, Jung Ha-Yeon couldn\'t help but think about the softness of Shin Hye-Rim\'s hand as she read her mana and poked her stomach.
"...Her hand was so soft."
The touch was so comfortable that she couldn\'t stop thinking about it.
"Ms. Jung Ha-Yeon, thank you for your work."
Lost in thought, Jung Ha-Yeon was interrupted by a B-ranked Hero who had joined her in defeating the beasts.
"These beasts were much stronger than the ones we usually face, and you took them down in no time at all. You\'re definitely not an A-ranked Hero for nothing; you\'re amazing!"
"Ah... Is that so? Thank you."
Jung Ha-Yeon smiled awkwardly and lowered her head.
Normally, it would have been difficult for her to do so. However, thanks to Shin Hye-Rim\'s help, she was able to deal with the beasts so easily.
\'You should be thanking her, not me.\'
Jung Ha-Yeon thought it was a pity that the other heroes were afraid of Shin Hye-Rim. They haven\'t seen her true self.
As they successfully sealed the gate, Jung Ha-Yeon returned to the Hero Association to report the results of the monster extermination.
"Hmm? He is...?"
As she walked through the Hero Association, she noticed a familiar face—a handsome man with black hair. It took her a moment to recall where she had seen him before.
"Ah."
Suddenly, it clicked. She had seen his picture in Shin Hye-Rim\'s fan cafe. He was the same man that Shin Hye-Rim had caught on her patrol, the one who had touched Baek Shin-Hwa\'s chest in the middle of the street.
"He\'s a hero?"
She has never seen that man\'s face in all her years of being a hero. That means he had just recently become one.
Normally, Jung Ha-Yeon wouldn\'t have paid attention to a stranger, but knowing his past actions made it difficult for her to regard him favorably.
"......"
Jung Ha-Yeon walked past Shin Chul-Min with a slightly disapproving expression on her face. Unbeknownst to Shin Hye-Rim, the original plot of the manga had begun to change a little.
Three weeks had passed since I met Jung Ha-Yeon, and I had settled into a comfortable routine with little excitement. The villains remained elusive, allowing me to simply go about my daily life—work, waste some time, and then go back home. Today was no different; I had bought some beer on my way home and was in the midst of opening one.
Taking a shower followed by enjoying a can of beer while watching TV—this was life! I felt great at that moment.
"Hmm, now that I think about it, it\'s about time."
Munching on snacks and flipping through channels, I turned to the news. The broadcast unfolded just as I had anticipated.
[This afternoon, A-ranked hero Jung Ha-Yeon and rookie hero Shin Chul-Min sealed the dangerous A-ranked gate-]
"So, it\'s that time already."
I smiled with satisfaction as the news reported on the heroic duo sealing the dangerous A-ranked gate, just like in the manga.
Jung Ha-Yeon and Shin Chul-Min\'s first joint activity mirrored their fictional counterparts, with Jung Ha-Yeon starting to notice Shin Chul-Min\'s unexpectedly strong abilities and gradually developing feelings for him.
"My Ha-Yeon, I\'ll cheer for you. Don\'t lose to the other heroines; win your love."
The main heroine, my waifu, was the perfect match for the protagonist. While the other heroines were appealing, none compared to Ha-Yeon.
[In particular, Jung Ha-Yeon\'s role in the defense of the gate was very important. She defeated more than 10 monsters at once-]
Haha. My Ha-Yeon, it looks like she listened to my advice. She\'s the main heroine, after all. She\'ll grow on her own with a little guidance.
As I watched the news with a smile, Shin Chul-Min\'s interview appeared. I always found this scene endearing in the manga—Ha-Yeon looking at Shin Chul-Min with a concerned gaze from behind while he smiled cheerfully.
"...Hmm?"
However, Ha-Yeon\'s expression on TV seemed different from what I knew. While she did look at Shin Chul-Min during the interview, something about her expression seemed off.
"That doesn\'t look like a concerned expression; rather, she looks displeased?"
The way Ha-Yeon regarded Shin Chul-Min didn\'t look good at all. What had happened? Did something happen between them?
"...Well, I\'m sure it\'s fine. It\'s still following the flow of the original story."
What mattered more was what would happen next. The day when Lames Jane unleashed a wave of monster terrorism in Seoul was approaching.
"Even I can\'t let that incident go unnoticed."
While the protagonist duo would inevitably defeat Lames Jane, they couldn\'t protect everyone from the onslaught of monsters alone. It was my turn to take action.
"Time for a little monster hunting."
Even though I joined the Awakened Crime Division for an easy life, my duty is to protect people. I can\'t just sit back and pretend to be unconcerned when citizens are at risk of being killed by monsters.
Fortunately, I know all the locations where Lames Jane is terrorizing, and I already have a plan to stop them. The most devastating attack is set to occur at an amusement park bustling with people.
The first step is to head to the amusement park and remove the monster lure devices that Lames Jane has set up. After securing the device, I should report to the chief and convene a counterterrorism meeting, but...
"What would they say if I went to the amusement park by myself and found such a device?"
I could already envision the conversation with the chief if I showed up with a monster lure device.
\'So, Hye-Rim, this is the device the Monster Association plans to use for terrorism? You did a great job finding this, but... you went to an amusement park alone on the weekend and found this?\'
...Alone? Really? Don\'t you have any friends to go with?
I can already see the chief looking at me sadly. There\'s no way I\'m going to be pitied for not having friends.
"Let\'s buy two tickets to the amusement park first."
I\'ll just go to the amusement park with one of my team members.
Yes, that\'s a good plan. The boss is going to look at me favorably because I\'m going with a coworker, even though I\'ve been going to the amusement park. This is how I can score points for my social standing.
It\'s not because I don\'t have any friends that I\'m taking a coworker. Seriously.
...I\'m serious!
The next day, after I arrived at work, I casually asked my teammates.
"Hey, do you guys like amusement parks?"
"What?"
"Amusement parks?"
So-Young, who was eating ice cream, and Park Oh-Jin, who was looking at his phone, echoed.
"Yes, amusement parks. I just thought you guys might like things like that."
"Of course I like it. I often go to amusement parks with my girlfriend."
Shin Yu-Sung replied. Oh yeah, this guy likes to go to places like that with his girlfriend.
Park Oh-Jin and Lee So-Young said similar things.
"I don\'t hate it."
"I love it! Who doesn\'t like amusement parks? But why do you ask?"
I was relieved that everyone liked it. Now I could go with any of them.
"Ah, I actually just happened to win two tickets to the amusement park. If you guys don\'t mind, do you want to go with m-"
"Oh, I\'m sorry. I have a girlfriend, so I don\'t think it would be proper to go to an amusement park with another woman."
"I plan to go to my parents\' house this weekend."
Okay, so Shin Yu-Sung and Park Oh-Jin won\'t be able to make it. Their reasons make sense, so there\'s not much I can do.
...But aren\'t you guys answering too fast, or am I mistaken?
Since Park Oh-Jin and Shin Yu-Sung couldn\'t make it, my gaze naturally turned to Lee So-Young.
"Oh, I, uh, you know. I think this weekend might be difficult."
"Why?"
"Well, it\'s because... right, I have to feed my goldfish!"
"..."
An icy silence descended on the office. Not only me but also Park Oh-Jin and Shin Yu-Sung looked at Lee So-Young with incredulous expressions.
"Do you feed your goldfish all day during the weekend?"
"My Wilson needs my affection; he needs me to take care of him!"
"...Yeah?"
I sighed as she paled and tried to make up some ridiculous excuse.
It would\'ve been less hurtful if you\'d just come clean. Is it so hard to say you don\'t want to go with me?
Park Oh-Jin and Shin Yu-Sung must have felt the same way as So-Young. They said no as soon as I asked them.
There\'s no point in being a team. They\'re all uncomfortable with me. Yeah, I guess being with their boss is uncomfortable.
Dammit. I just wasted money on this ticket.
"Okay, I get it. You guys are uncomfortable with me."
"N-no. That\'s not it..."
"Haha, what do you mean? As deputy team leader, I have a lot of respect for you. But I can\'t help it; I have to go home this weekend. It\'s not wrong to see my family once in a while, is it? It\'s just a shame because I could have spent some quality time with you."
"I\'m embarrassed to say this, but my girlfriend loves me so much. Even though my team leader and I have a simple boss-subordinate relationship, I can\'t imagine what she would say if I spent time alone with another woman. She\'s the type to be very jealous."
"I don\'t remember you guys talking this much normally?"
"...."
"...."
I got up from my seat and left the office without saying a word. I\'m normally not one to walk on eggshells around my teammates, but their reactions hurt a little.
Haha, well, people are alone in life and in death, so I\'ll just go to the amusement park by myself.
As I\'m sipping my coffee in the cafeteria with a bitter taste in my mouth, someone comes up behind me.
"Hello, Hye-Rim. Good morning."
"Ah, Team Leader 1."
Team Leader 1 leaned toward me with a bright smile.
"It\'s good to see you here this morning. Why don\'t you just join our team?"
"Even if I wanted to, I don\'t think the director would let me."
"Hehe, that\'s true."
Smiling bitterly, the team leader nodded. Looking at the team leader, I suddenly had a thought.
Wait a minute; I don\'t have to go to the amusement park with my teammates. Why don\'t I go with the team leader?
Since she\'s close to me, she\'ll be happy to go with me.
"Hey, Team Leader 1. Are you free this weekend?"
"What? This weekend? I\'m free, why?"
"Do you want to go to the amusement park with me?"
"......?"
Team Leader 1 stiffened.
"Go to an amusement park?"
"Yes."
"Just you and me, Hye-Rim?"
"Yes, just the two of us."
"Really? Just the two of us?"
Weird stuttering and an awkward expression.
That\'s a similar reaction from my team members. I wonder if Team Leader 1 doesn\'t want to go alone with me.
...I thought we were pretty close, but this really hurts my feelings.
"It\'s okay to say no if you don\'t want to; it was just a suggestion."
"N-no! What do you mean I don\'t want to? Of course I want to!"
"No, you don\'t have to force yourse-"
"I\'m not forcing it. Absolutely not. It\'s fine. So let\'s go together. Okay?"
Team Leader 1\'s words cut me off so clearly that I felt a little relieved.
I realized that I didn\'t buy two tickets for nothing. I almost wasted my money.
"Then why don\'t we go together on Saturday?"
"Okay. I\'ll meet you then, and we\'ll go together."
The smiling Team 1 leader turned and pumped her fist in the air.
"Nice."
I wonder if she likes amusement parks that much. I\'m glad I talked to Team Leader 1.