Title: “I Became The Villain The Hero Is Obsessed With”
“You’re saying the fatigue recovery machine works well?”
I plopped down next to Seo Eun.
Subin, who was sitting next to me just like Seo Eun, was peeling an apple while watching TV.
“Dain, Dain! You’re on the TV again!”
Subin pointed at the screen with sparkling eyes.
After living together for about two weeks, Subin and I had become quite close.
Yes! She had realized it. Just how harmless a person I am.
Although our first meeting wasn’t great, thanks to my persistent… no, not gaslighting! Thanks to my persistent kindness, she had opened her heart towards me.
It made sense for her to call me by name comfortably. Calling someone ‘Egostick’ when you live in the same house would be ridiculous.
Dain. That’s my name. It has absolutely nothing to do with Egostick. Now, the only people who know this name in this world are Seo Eun and Subin. Of course, these days I’m more famous as Egostick than Dain.
Ever since we started to call each other by our first names, Subin had become much more lively. Cooking, laundry, dishes—she took care of it all! So Seo Eun and I didn’t have to lift a finger and lived comfortably. It’s not that we were bad people. We had no choice but to let her do these things when she would say, ‘I should at least do this…’ with teary eyes, pleadingly. Really.
In conclusion, Subin no longer fears me. That’s a good thing. It would be awkward if she were still afraid of me, now that we live under the same roof.
Anyway, I took a look at the TV she was pointing at.
There was a political debate-like segment playing at the tail end of the news. The topic displayed at the bottom was:
[Egostick, Becoming a New Icon for the MZ Generation?]
“…Seriously?”
I never imagined I would come across the term MZ generation in this world, too.
I slapped my forehead and let out a sigh.
The MZ generation refers to people in their 20s and 30s.
So what they were saying is that I have become an icon for the younger crowd.
“Hey, oppa. Got popular, have you?”
Seo Eun teased me with a smirk.
Yeah, I suppose I have gained popularity. Even in a good way.
I continued to munch on the apple Subin had peeled, watching the TV. Let’s hear what they’re actually saying.
Subin, like me, was absorbed in watching the TV. No, it seemed she was even more focused. What’s with you… could you please play with your smartphone like Seo Eun sitting next to you instead of making me feel embarrassed?
“The MZ generation zealously following a villain is a bit problematic. This is the main news on the portal right now, look at the comments – it’s overwhelmingly defensive of Egostick. This is unprecedented. It’s well-known that the MZ generation doesn’t like the traditional heroes. They’re lucky to have gained powers and then benefited from that, there’s that image. People say the heroes don’t work or react late to disasters that occur.”]
A middle-aged man on the panel said this much and then swallowed his saliva. After asking for a moment, he began to drink water. Next to him, Subin started to take notes while listening. Subin… what are you doing…
On the TV, the panelist continued his speech.
“But now, this villain called Egostick has perfectly scratched where the citizens itch. Weren’t there many complaints about heroes not killing villains but merely suppressing them? They would say that the villains who should be executed are just imprisoned; the punishments are too light. But when this villain called Egostick performs immediate executions? There are people who find it refreshing.”
“But this villain also caused a terror incident on a cruise ship, didn’t he?”
The moderator questioned, to which the panelist replied.
“That has been largely mitigated by him preventing the terror carried out by his followers last time. Actually, that incident didn’t even have any casualties.”]
“Yeah!”
I jumped up and cried out loud, startling Seo Eun and Subin who were next to me.
“Geez! What’s with you?”
“We can’t let this continue.
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧
