And a few days later.
The incident was quickly forgotten by the public.
With disciplinary action taken against the B-rank heroes who had been on the scene but did not act, the incident was officially closed within the association.
“Haah. If Egotistic hadn’t shown up back then, we would have been in real trouble. The guy’s like a mad dog. A mad dog biting us is trouble, but when it charges at the enemy, there’s no better ally! Haha.”
Leaving the association president’s jovial laughter behind, she stepped out of the office.
“Sigh…”
Having completed all her reports, she stepped outside the building and let out a sigh as she looked up at the sky.
It was supposed to be a good thing.
So why was her mind so cluttered?
As she walked down the street, she checked the school community on her phone.
She typed into the search bar, one character at a time.
[Egotistic]
Posts that hardly made an appearance.
Puzzled, she decided to try a different search.
[Mangostick]
Then, a deluge of posts appeared.
[Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick!]
[I’ve been really craving Mangostick today]
[The baby Mang fan has joined the Mango gang… can we hit trending?]
[Lately it seems Mangostick is doing better than most heroes, for real lol]
[Mangostick seems to be from our university (evidence included)]
[I got a one-month suspension for praising Mangostick before, saying I was supporting villains, and now why isn’t everyone doing it? lol]
[Mangostick’s next month terror prediction…real fact]
All the numerous posts were filled with nothing but praise for Egotistic.
As she continued to scroll through the posts with a heavy heart, one in particular caught her eye.
[If South Korea continues like this with everyone glorifying Mangostick mindlessly…]
Yes, there was someone who, like her, had identified the problems in today’s society.
She clicked on the post with anticipation.
But the content that appeared was…
***
[Poster] Anonymous
[Title] Everyone is senselessly praising villains these days with Mangostick, if South Korea keeps up like this…
Rider
(A meme of Kamen Rider reaching out his hand)
[Anonymous1] Thumbs up if prediction succeeded
ㄴ[Anonymous2] Thumbs up, and no begging here, let’s go
***
“Ah, shit.”
She just hit the back button.
With no fruitful outcomes, she turned off her phone, propped her chin on her hand and looked out the window.
…Everyone but her likes Egotistic.
Where did it all go wrong?
‘…Did that guy at least not cause any casualties? Plus, crime rates have dropped because Egotistic has been hunting other villains lately. We should just leave him be for now. He’s hard to catch anyway given his teleportation ability…’
‘What? What if he causes another terror attack? Ha, then when that time comes, you can stop him again, can’t you? I trust you. The association trusts you.”
Her head was swirling with the words of the association president.
If the head of the Korean Superpower Association said that, maybe Egotistic really is harmless.
However, judging by his actions so far, he’s an unpredictable incarnation of chaos.
In fact, if she hadn’t intervened, those people on the ship and the ones tied on the tracks would have died.
Would people have still praised him if someone had died because of Egotistic?
“…”
No, they wouldn’t have.
She rested her head against the window and closed her eyes.
Egotistic, how did he find out she was considering revealing her face?
Did he read her mind? Like a heart reader?
No, that can’t be. He can’t have that ability.
Then how did he know? Did he know she was at the festival site?
How? Does he know her personal details too? That she is Shin Haru?
“…”
Right, that’s not what’s important.
What’s important is Egotistic is a definite villain, and she will capture him, just like any other villain.
She reaffirmed her resolve.
But unbeknownst to her, a seed had been planted in her heart.
Maybe everyone else was right, and she was wrong. A seed of doubt.
***
“…Subin unnie, has oppa still not woken up?”
“Yeah. But his vital signs have improved a lot. I think he’ll wake up soon.”
“Haah… Really, this foolish brother, what does he trust to throw his body around so recklessly…”
Egotistic. Staring at Dain, who was laying in the hospital bed, Han Seo-eun’s thoughts were on him.
What on earth does he trust to recklessly plunge into danger without any strategy?
…It must be because of Stardust, that woman.
“…..”
Han Seo-eun felt an uncomfortable feeling well up when she thought of Stardust.
Dain had never said it straight out, but she instinctively guessed it.
Up until now, and even this time.
Dain would jump into the fire for Stardust, no matter what.
What’s so great about Stardust anyway?
But before she could fully gather her thoughts.
“Cough, cough.”
“Oppa!”
Just as she was thinking, Dain awoke.
It had been three days since he’d collapsed.
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧
