· · ────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ────── · ·
Translated by BiasNil
· · ────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ────── · ·
"Let's go!"
Riding the SUV we bought before, we left the house.
The destination is Busan.
Seo-eun said she had never seen the sea, so we decided to take this opportunity to see it.
"Da-in, can't we just take the KTX[1]?"
Seo-eun in the back seat grumbled.
"Seo-eun, can you see the bag in the trunk? That's all guns and stuff—how can we get on a train with that?"
"I'm so… How long are we going to be there? Why did you pack that much for three days and two nights?"
Seo-eun turned her head and was looking at the things in the bag behind her.
I'm driving, and she's doing something dangerous.
"Da-in, what is this mask? It's my first time seeing it."
Seo-eun took the mask out of the bag.
It's not a mask that covers only half my face, but a mask that covers the entire face.
"You don't know what's going to happen there. Just in case, I'll take something to cover my face."
Su-bin, who was in the passenger seat next to me, asked curiously.
"Didn't you come wearing a recognition interference device?"
"Oh, I didn't. Seo-eun and I haven't been exposed to the public yet."
"Oh…"
Su-bin trailed off at the end of her sentence.
Wait, now that I think about it, Su-bin is the only one who came on this trip with a recognition interference device.
And I was the one who showed Su-bin's face live.
Hmm.
Let's stop talking about this. I'm sorry.
In the back, only Seo-eun was playing on her phone without a care. I hope she doesn't have any thoughts.
So we went to Busan.
It's exhausting to drive for five hours.
***
"It's the sea!"
We came to Haeundae.
I'm glad that Seo-eun likes it.
The kid ran and played, and I laid out a mat and sat under the parasol.
It's hard to even stand. I need to sit down.
Su-bin, who sat next to me, bought two drinks and handed me one.
It's nice that the sun is bright and there aren't many people on the beach.
This is why you have to travel on weekdays.
Su-bin, sitting next to me, took a sip through a straw and, sweeping her hair behind her ear, said,
"It's also… been a while since I last saw the beach—since I was young."
"It's been a while since I saw it, too."
It's the first time I've seen it since I fell into this world.
Of course, it's the sea. It's just the sea, but… still, there's something bothering me inside.
In this world—
I eliminated four villains.
I committed three terrorist acts.
I have been so busy.
Being busy is good, but it's also necessary to take a good rest like this sometimes.
"…I'm always grateful to you, Da-in."
I was staring out at the sea… what should I call it? "Sea blanking?" "Water blanking?"
Su-bin spoke quietly from the side.
"Grateful? For what?"
"It's just… everything. Thank you for not killing me and saving me at the beginning. I'm thankful that you treat me well…"
"Haha, what are you talking about? There are more things that I'm thankful for. You always take care of the house and even support Seo-eun."
"Thank you for saying that."
Su-bin smiled quietly.
What's up with this atmosphere?
Is this some kind of flag?
In the comic, the person who says this always dies or betrays in the next episode.
I'm scared!
Before I could ask why, Seo-eun came back from running alone to look at the sea.
"You're back already? Did you see it all?"
"Yeah, it's not that different from the sea I saw in the game. It just feels familiar."
Oh, my God.
She feels familiar because of the sea she saw in a game.
Is this… is it the net's influence or a bad influence of the game?
I don't know, but I think I should adjust how often she plays once we go back.
"But stepping barefoot on the beach was refreshing. About three out of five stars?"
…I have never seen a kid who rates a beach with stars.
But it's even salty! She should give it four points!
"Shall we grab something to eat then?"
Let's do that.
***
We came to a gukbap[2] restaurant.
Busan is famous for gukbap.
"Oppa, it says to pour the radish kimchi water into the gukbap. Is that true?"
"Well, if you want to eat like that, then eat it like that."
I don't like it.
Seo-eun poured radish kimchi water into the gukbap. Why would people do that?
"It tastes fine."
Surprisingly, Seo-eun said it tasted fine.
Is that so? Is it just a difference in taste?
Well, it's nice to see her eat well.
Rather than always eating home-cooked meals at home, you should sometimes go eat out, blowing on the hot earthen pot like this.
There's a lot of meat in the gukbap here, too. Good.
News was coming out on the TV on the wall of the gukbap restaurant.
[The Association issued a statement condemning the A-class villain Egostic, saying, "We are doing our best to catch him." However, the investigation is disrupted by the fact that the criminal can teleport and is good at manipulating the network. Netizens say, "Egostic is scary," "Did you see the Stardust vs. Egostic fight? It's legendary," and more reactions.]
It happened to be talking about me. But the news seems a bit strange…
While I was watching my face on the screen and munching on radish kimchi, Seo-eun, who was eating in front of me, asked,
"Why did you name yourself Egostic?"
For a moment, the radish kimchi almost came out of my nose.
Why is she speaking in such a loud voice about that in a crowded place?
I looked at the people around me in a hurry; luckily, everyone seemed not very interested.
When I looked at Seo-eun with a very embarrassed face, she noticed what I was looking at, went "Ah!" and took something out of her pocket.
"Don't worry. Last time when you were grumbling too much, I made a noise-canceling device and brought it."
And then on the desk, there was something that looked like a small walkie-talkie.
"What is this?"
I asked carefully. Seo-eun shrugged her shoulders and said,
"It makes what we say among ourselves silent to others."
"Oh? When did you make this again?"
"Last time, you told me not to talk about identities in a crowded place, so I looked through the designs at home and it came out. HanEun Group has everything."
"That's fascinating."
"So, Da-in, why did you name yourself Egostic?"
Seo-eun asked me with a mischievous smile. Didn't she ask this before?
"It's derived from egoistic, which means selfish. Doesn't it remind you of that?"
"No, I can only think of a stick… But why did you take out the middle?"
"Why did I take it out? I just… took it out."
Stardust reduced her name to "Stardust."
So what's the problem with reducing "Egoistic" to "Egostic"?
"Stardust again… Honestly, I don't know why 'Stardus' took off the back. Why didn't you just go with 'Egois' without the '-tic'? That's much better."
"I think I could have made it better if I were with you when you were deciding your name. I feel sorry for you."
Su-bin, who was quietly eating next to us, also spoke up.
"…If you keep doing this, I will change my name to Mangostic. 'Welcome to Mangostic's Mango Show in front of the camera during the next terrorist attack.' I'm going to be like this."
"I think that's cute. I agree!"
My heart broke when Seo-eun said that with a bright smile.
I'm just kidding… I'm just kidding…
The news on TV ended my story and moved on to the following.
[Breaking news. A-class hero Shadow Walker has currently passed out. The Association said, "The cause is overusing his ability during the day for special activities," and said they would complete treatment as soon as possible. Netizens responded, "I'm afraid of the Association's incompetence," "Isn't it a mischievous disease?" and "The president of the Association should take responsibility for the security vacuum and resign."]
"No, why did he suddenly pass out?"
I watched TV in a hurry. Don't tell me that's because Stardust was going back and forth to Jeju Island? I'd feel so sorry for him if it's because of that.
[Stardust's fan cafe, "Stardust Team," is increasing rapidly in membership. The cafe, which was founded after the last airplane incident, quickly surpassed 100,000 members in just a few days. It's very unusual for a hero's fan cafe to be opened in Korea.]
"Oh!"
I focused on the TV instead of eating.
Yeah, I believed in you! As expected, my rolling-around-like-a-dog plan works!
"…You look happier than when you opened the fan cafe. Oh, my. People might think you're Stardust's dad."
Seo-eun, who was eating in front of me, grumbled at me. Well, did I like it too much?
[Breaking news. Experts are causing a stir by announcing their analysis of Egostic's last plane crash: "It doesn't look like a bomb exploded." Experts say the aircraft is currently sunk in the sea and cannot be accurately identified, but based on the last photograph taken, no trace of an explosion can be identified. We're raising the sunken plane and as soon as the results come out…]
"How did you know that?"
The world is killing me.
"Oppa, just give up now. I heard that #1 on the real-time trend is '#Mangostic.'"
Seo-eun showed me the terrible truth on her phone.
No, this can't be real.
"No, wait. Whether it was a bomb or not, I did crash it, yet there are people defending me?"
"These people say that you must have drawn a big picture. In the end, they claim that there was no civilian damage this time. Mangodan's support is amazing."
"No, does that make sense? I did something—"
"It's weird to me, too. Did they all take medicine? That's abnormal support. Look at this."
"What is it?"
I got the phone from Seo-eun.
[Mangostic <— If you believed in me, it's super upvote. Hahahaha]
I will go first LOL
[Upvote] 1355. [Downvote] 32
[Really? There's no one who didn't believe it, right?]
[Why didn't he use the bomb? He did it to save everyone. Hahaha]
[I agree with the big picture. Hahaha]
"Seo-eun… Where the hell did you get these comments?"
"Da-in, look at this. It was posted on my school community."
"What's that?"
[Writer]
Anonymous
[Title]
The interview with the passengers on the plane is up!
How was it?
(Passenger 1) It was scary. I was scared, but when I thought about it after getting off, it was still a meaningful experience. It reminded me of the importance of life. It felt like I was on a scary roller coaster.
(Passenger 2) I think it was kind of fun. I was dizzy when we fell at the end. But I arrived in Jeju Island normally, so I had fun and came back home.
Roller hahahaha. Coaster hahahaha.
[Anonymous 1] All the passengers are brave.
[Anonymous 2] Korea, the land of manly men
[Anonymous 3] You can't get scared on the roller coaster hahaha.
[Anonymous 4] Roller coaster! Fuck hahahaha
My expression was flat.
"The world is going crazy."
It's the end of the world.
*
After we finished eating, we went around looking around.
I went to the International Market and visited other famous restaurants.
After having fun, at night—
"Seo-eun, did you reserve our hotel?"
"Of course! I have a reservation for a five-star hotel."
"Oh, what's the name?"
"I think it's called The Signature Hotel."
"Really? I think I've heard of it…"
"It's the biggest, most famous, and most expensive hotel in Busan! It was hard to make a reservation."
"Yes, you did a good job. Let's hurry up and get some rest."
I'm so tired. Gosh.
Ha, I'm going to go get some rest and sleep.
But it's nice to take a good rest after a long time of going around terrorizing all the time.
Everything's gonna be okay for a while, right?
***
A dark space.
Heavily armed men lined up in unison.
Standing in front of them, a man who appeared to be a colonel spoke.
"Tonight. We're going to air-raid. Do you understand?"
"Yes!!!"
"Where did I say our unit is attacking?"
"You said Busan's Signature Hotel!!!!"
The shouts of the soldiers filled the place.
***
Well.
Everything will be fine, right?
"I somehow feel worried…"
"Da-in, stop muttering to yourself. Hurry up and come."
"Okay…"
Yeah, whatever happens, at least it's not today.
[1] TN: Korean Express Train
[2] TN: Hot soup with rice