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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Ice Mango
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Desolate streets.
Toppled buildings.
'No... please... no... more...'
'...Bro... big brother!... Wake... up!... Quick... try...'
'...I can't... do anything... with my... strength....'
And, noises from somewhere.
And.
'Cough... Sor...ry....'
'...rab... third... line.... definitely....'
Mumbling, and then, the sound of sobbing again.
'Don't... die... you're not... dying, are you?... H-h-huk....'
'....'
'...Sorry...'
'...Can't... give up.... Can't let... you go....'
*Screeeech!*
"Aaaargh!"
*Gasp, gasp.*
I woke up in the middle of the night, startled from my sleep.
...Wait, damn it. What time is it?
"...It's 3 AM."
I mumbled with my eyes still closed.
When I came to my senses, my back was soaked with sweat.
...I don't remember it, but it seems I had a nightmare.
To wake up startled from a nightmare at my age...
"Haaah..."
I let out a sigh without realizing it.
...Am I unconsciously feeling some kind of anxiety deep down? Why am I having dreams like this?
Now that I think about it, lately, I've occasionally flinched even when just sitting still. Like a sudden chill.
Am I really feeling run down? Or did a ghost attach itself to me?
If this keeps happening, I'll have to go see that witch again and get an exorcism. This world truly has almost everything imaginable, so a real ghost could actually be clinging to my body.
*Sigh.* Well, either way, my sleep's completely gone.
I lifted my head and looked at the window on the wall of my room.
My room, illuminated only by the bright moon shining between the dark mountains.
...Somehow, it feels like a night for early morning melancholia. 3 AM, the time when men are most sentimental.
Everyone else is probably asleep at this hour, except for me.
...Right, since I'm already up, can't sleep, and no one's around.
Maybe I should start writing that down bit by bit.
I got out of bed, turned on the light, and sat down at my desk.
Then, I pulled out one of the books from my bookshelf.
This book, a seemingly ordinary diary with metaphysical shapes drawn in light green.
Right. It's the notebook I received from that green witch last time, the one that can't be opened without my permission.
The one that can only be opened if I die.
"...Hmm..."
And there, I began to write down, one by one, the major events likely to happen in the future, and things that could become the seeds of destruction if not stopped.
And important settings too. Like an event where time rewinds later on, or methods of resurrection after death...
It's good to write all this down in advance. You never know what might happen in life, after all. A top-tier villain always prepares everything in advance!
I guess the book's title could roughly be "Ego Stream Emergency Manual."
I stayed up all night writing like that, then dozed off while eating breakfast the next morning and got scolded by Soobin.
...I stayed up late working, so it felt really unfair...
***
[The government has approved redevelopment for areas in Busan that were bombed during the last terrorist attack. Residents are in an excited mood as regulations have been lifted for the first time in ten years.]
A peaceful morning.
In the living room, where only the sound of the TV could be faintly heard from afar, I lay idly on the sofa.
"Dain. What are you doing?"
"Oh. ...I'm sunbathing..."
Lying on the sofa, bathed in the warm sunlight streaming through the window, I felt like I was recharging.
I've always liked just quietly basking in the sun since I was little. You have to get your Vitamin D, after all.
"Here, have some fruit."
"Oh. Thank you."
In the midst of that, Soobin handed me a plate of fruit.
I picked up a Korean melon from it and took a bite.
Crunchy and delicious.
"Oh. Soobin. Is Seoeun still downstairs, by the way?"
"Yes. Sehee went down with her too, it seems."
"Really? What on earth are they doing down there..."
Lately, the two of them have been whispering to each other and holed up in the basement every day.
It seems Seoeun is making something, and Choi Sehee is helping her out a bit... *Sigh.* Well, as long as they don't make anything weird.
Anyway...
I turned my head and looked out the window beside me.
A window that was a sheer glass wall on one side of the living room. The surrounding scenery, visible below, was refreshing just to look at. It was also what I liked most about this house when I first moved in.
So, I lay there idly, watching TV and waiting for a call.
The news on TV was abuzz with the commotion that Icicle and I had caused. One peculiar thing was that the news anchor was passionately explaining how amazing and capable Icicle was, and that she was by no means inferior to Stardust.
...Has Lee Seol-ah already taken over the broadcasting station?
Just as I was idly thinking that, the phone finally started ringing.
I looked at my phone and saw the three characters 'Lee Seol-ah' clearly displayed on the screen.
I saw it and immediately answered the call.
[Hello?]
"Oh, right. Hello?"
[Haaah, I finally have time now. I'm sorry. The Association and reporters have been harassing me, so I've been constantly busy. There are also things I need to push forward right on schedule...]
"Right, right. I get it. Of course, I know you're busy. Anyway, quickly tell me about it. Stardust, I mean Shin Haru, suddenly showed up at the end yesterday. What happened?"
[...Haaah, Haru. Don't even get me started. I was so nervous, thinking our relationship had been exposed.]
"It wasn't exposed, right?"
[Thankfully, no. She saw us both laughing, but it seems she doesn't know anything more detailed. I managed to talk my way out of that too.]
"Well, that's a relief at least. But seriously, how did she even get there?"
[How else? She sent Shadow.]
"...No, I mean, why did she come? There wasn't any particular reason for her to, was there?"
As I said that, I heard her let out a soft 'hmm' and a chuckle from the other end of the line.
[...Well? You should think about that yourself. I don't really know either.]
"...No, hey."
[Anyway, isn't that not important? Let's talk about the future. What are you going to do next?]
Lee Seol-ah then naturally changed the subject and asked me about my future plans.
...Something feels off, but maybe I'll just let it slide this once.
I simply answered her obediently.
"What else? Now's the time to strengthen my villain alliance. I'll focus on continuously adding new villains to Ego Stream, one by one."
[...Good. While you're doing that, I'll quickly proceed with taking over the political sphere.]
"....I don't think you necessarily need to do that quickly."
[What are you talking about? If I do it in advance, unexpected situations like the President launching missiles at you last time won't happen. It's all for your sake.]
For my sake, my foot. It's for her own ambition.
I merely snickered at her transparent remark. Well, I don't dislike such transparent words, though. That's part of Lee Seol-ah's charm too.
We chatted for a bit like that. We talked a little more about trivial things, like her saying she'd visit my house someday, and only ended the call after some time had passed.
And just before hanging up, Lee Seol-ah casually dropped a remark to me.
[....And you, it would probably be best if you focus your terror activities on Stardust for the time being, if possible.]
"Huh? Well, I was planning to focus on Stardust for a while anyway... but why?"
[...Just because. I think it'll be better for you, somehow. I'm hanging up now.]
Lee Seol-ah said that much, then hung up the phone.
...What was that? So anticlimactic.
After the call ended, I got up from my spot.
And I went out onto the balcony by the window.
"Hmm..."
In the original story, Stardust would always open her window and lean out like this to think whenever she had something on her mind.
...So, I decided to try it too.
Feeling the clear mountain air and wind.
I leaned my arms on the railing and thought about my plans.
"From now on..."
Diverse, powerful villains will keep appearing relentlessly.
And things will continue to deteriorate. Enemies with various abilities, too much for Stardust to handle alone, will keep emerging.
Of course, the situation has changed a bit now.
Since I'm here, I'll either recruit some of those villains into Ego Stream before they turn corrupt, or eliminate them, so the situation will be much better than in the original story. Just like the Lepis Group, who were key players in this recent terror attack.
And notably, Stardust has also grown much stronger.
Since her abilities were enhanced much earlier than in the original story, she'll be able to hold her own against most villains.
Well, things should work out.
But anyway.
I stood still, pondering deeply.
Why did Stardust suddenly rush to Busan?
Honestly, I hadn't given it much thought, assuming Lee Seol-ah would tell me the reason, but now it's something to consider.
"Hmm..."
I thought for a moment, then quickly came to a conclusion.
Well. She must have felt that I was that threatening.
There's no other particular reason.
"That's good news!"
I concluded that.
The more she sees me as a threat, the better. Only if she considers me her archenemy will she take me on with genuine seriousness and put all her effort into it.
With that lightened feeling, I closed the balcony door and returned to the living room.
As I returned to the living room, I saw Seoeun sitting on the sofa. Looks like she's back from the basement?
As soon as Seoeun saw me, she made a peculiar expression and said to me:
"Oppa. Do you know you've got a new nickname?"
"What now..."
"Look at this."
Seoeun handed me the phone she was looking at.
On the screen was one of the posts from my fan cafe.
*
[Egostar? Egotra?]
Get lost, all of you, LOLㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
<> is here to stay!!!
(Photo of Icicle and Egoistic fighting while laughing at each other)
(GIF of Egoistic praising Icicle)
=[Comments]=
[LOL, they really suit each otherㅋㅋㅋ]
[From today, I'm mindlessly supporting Ice Mango]
[Ice Mango, LOL, the name sounds so catchyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Hey Egoistic, stop messing around in Seoul and come down to Busan]
[Mangostick, Busan suits you better than Seoul!]
[If you think Stardust <<< Icicle, hit likeㅋㅋㅋ]
[What are you all talking about? Egoistic's rival is Stardust. Isn't it obvious that he should be left to Stardust, the Egoistic expert? I don't think it's right to ship him with a random hero.]
ㄴ[@newday313 why are they getting so riled up?]
ㄴ[Egostar shippers resisting with tears LOLㅋㅋㅋ]
ㄴ[Busted at Stardust's house]
ㄴ[Checked their profile, they're a diligent member, so they were an Egostar shipper! First time seeing them comment LOLㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
ㄴ[They're losing their mind over the blue-haired tanned delinquent LOLwwww]
[Ice Mango, LOLㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ This is my snack for today]
*
"Oppa, wanna have Ice Mango for a snack today?"
Seeing Seoeun snicker as she spoke, I pressed my hand to my forehead.
...Somehow, it feels like the number of nicknames keeps growing.