“Just goes to show you, it feels like something straight out of a spy movie, doesn’t it? A location tracker can be naturally slipped onto someone just by bumping into them on the street, you know.”
[…First off, that guy doesn’t even walk the streets since he teleports everywhere, and doing something like that in public would only attract unwanted attention from surveillance cameras, so please, follow this method. It’s the most reliable. I’ve researched and mapped his daily routines and movements. This guy also teleports out of his house, and his destinations are unpredictable, so it’s best to remove him like this.]
“But even so, there must be a better method than attaching a movement tracker…”
[There are more reasons I haven’t told you about, so please, just do it my way. Ugh.]
I deflated at Seo Eun’s condescending tone. How insolent… I’m almost a decade older than you, kid…
“……Okay. Got it…”
My voice was tinged with defeat, and I sensed Seo Eun’s momentary confusion.
[Hey, brother. What’s gotten into you? Don’t get all gloomy all of a sudden. We’ve already discussed something similar, and you’re doing this again…]
In the middle of Seo Eun speaking, a murmuring noise from the side interrupted her. It seemed Soobin had interjected with her thoughts.
A quiet “Yes, yes…” could be heard before Seo Eun continued speaking to me.
[…Sorry about that. Now, let’s stop wasting time and get going, brother!]
“Yeah, I understand.”
I wanted to ask her to please decide on calling me either ‘hyung’ or ‘oppa’ consistently since switching between the two was confusing, but it didn’t seem like the right moment. And if I asked her to choose, I felt she would keep calling me ‘hyung’. Considering the situation she showed me on the day we first met, it seemed she might have a slight phobia of men and deliberately referred to herself as male and me as ‘hyung’. Could it be related to her past experiences with male researchers in the lab?
Fortunately, she seemed to be getting somewhat better after a few months. Maybe she’s opening up because she realized I’m harmless. Even without knowing the original story, it’s clear she’s a woman… I guess she thinks she looks like a guy with her short haircut. That’s kind of cute.
The best approach would actually be to sneak in at night and get the job done, but because of that guy, it’s not an option.
‘Shadow Walker’, one of the few A-class heroes in South Korea besides Stardust, makes it impossible.
Any nighttime mischief is quickly thwarted because of his abilities.
Almost every terrorist act in Korea occurs during the day because of him.
Damn guy. If it weren’t for him, I could easily and quietly get rid of villains. But as a hero, it goes against my conscience to just kill him off. And if I dealt with him directly, the situation would only get worse. So I operate only during the day.
Oh, thinking of all these random things as if I were about to test something. It feels similar to my school days when I’d get distracted the moment I sat at my desk.
I fiddled with the mask that half-covered my face.
Right, it’s time to take action.
[You haven’t forgotten the plan, have you?]
“Yeah.”
I teleport nearby, into his living room.
If he’s not there, conduct a quiet search and then eliminate him on the spot.
And if he notices me? Well, I’ve already scattered tracking devices, so Plan B it is.
“Here goes.”
I took a deep breath and prepared to teleport.
And—begin.
***
I teleported into the living room of the teleporter’s house.
As soon as I did, what did I see?
Someone’s face?
“Ah, crap!”
“Whoa!”
[Hyung, shoot!]
Both startled, I immediately fired the gun in my right hand and tossed the movement tracker with my left.
-Bang!
After firing, the target was already out of sight.
I can’t tell if I hit him.
Crap, why was he even in the living room? He’s already made a run for it.
Plan B it is, then.
“Seo Eun! Did the tracker stick?”
[Yes! Soobin, location, please!]
[Sure! He’s…500 meters to the east now!]
[You hear that? Hyung, let’s move quickly!]
“Hey, if I keep teleporting like this, I’m gonna get teleportation sickness…”
[Hurry up!]
“Alright, alright.”
I moved hastily.
***
I estimated about 500 meters ahead, and when I got there…
Wait, this is the city center?
“Scream!”
“What the—?”
Suddenly appearing in a busy area after teleporting out of nowhere, I was taken aback.
Isn’t this the main street?
People started to freak out when a man wrapped in a black robe and wearing a mask just popped into existence.
“Hey, what’s with that guy?”
“Oppa, isn’t that Egotistic?”
“Really? It is!”
Citizens began to recognize me.
Just as I started to break into a sweat, I heard Seo Eun’s voice in my ear.
[Hyung! To your right!]
To the right?
I turned and saw in the distance.
A man clutching his stomach and dripping blood staggered into view.
So, that’s where you were?
And you’ve already been shot?
A triumphant smile crept onto my face without realizing it.
Right. Sometimes things just need to go smoothly.
As I raised my gun to teleport towards him, the man caught sight of me and staggered before disappearing again.
“Okay, let’s do this, shall we?”
And thus, began an unexpected teleportation chase in broad daylight through downtown Seoul.
***
“…Yes, this is the Korea Hero Association. How may I help you?”
“What? Egotistic appeared in the middle of downtown?”
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧
