-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: A Trip to Busan
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Alright, let's go!"
We piled into the SUV I'd bought some time ago and left the house. Our destination was Busan. Seo-eun had never seen the ocean before, so we decided to take this opportunity to show it to her.
"Oppa, can't we just take the KTX now?"
Seo-eun grumbled from the back seat.
"Seo-eun, do you see the bags in the trunk? Those are all guns and stuff. How do you expect us to take those on a train?"
"Honestly... How much stuff do we even need? It's only a two-night, three-day trip, what did you pack so much for?"
Seo-eun turned her head and started rummaging through the bags in the back. What was she doing, dangerously distracting herself while I was driving?
"Oppa, what's this mask? I've never seen it before?"
Seo-eun pulled a mask out of a bag. It wasn't the half-face mask I usually wore, but one that covered the entire face.
"You never know what might happen there. Just in case, it's good to have something to cover your face."
At my words, Soo-bin, who was in the passenger seat, asked curiously.
"Didn't you use perception dampening?"
"Oh, I didn't. Seo-eun and I haven't had our faces exposed to the public yet."
"Ah..."
Soo-bin trailed off. Wait, now that I thought about it, Soo-bin was the only one who had used perception dampening for this trip. And I was the one who had broadcast her face to the public. Hmm. Let's not talk about this anymore. I feel bad...
Seo-eun, in the back, was just casually playing on her phone, completely oblivious. Must be nice to have no worries.
And so, we drove to Busan. Five hours of driving was incredibly tiring...
***
"The ocean!"
We arrived at Haeundae. It made me happy to see Seo-eun so excited.
I told her to run off and play, while I spread out a mat and sat under a parasol. Even standing was hard. I needed to sit for a bit.
Soo-bin came and sat next to me, handing me one of two drinks she had bought.
The sun was bright, and there weren't many people on the beach, which was nice. This is why you should always travel on weekdays.
Soo-bin, sitting beside me, took a sip of her drink through a straw, then brushed her hair behind her ear and spoke to me.
"This is the first time I've seen the ocean since I was very little, too."
"Me too. It's been a long time."
I think it was the first time since I fell into this world. Of course, the ocean is just the ocean, but there's something about seeing it that makes you feel completely refreshed.
In this world, I've dealt with four villains. I've caused three terror incidents. I've lived too busy a life.
Chaos is good, but sometimes, a proper rest like this is also necessary.
"...I'm always grateful to you, Dain."
As I was looking at the ocean... what should I call it? Ocean-gazing? Water-gazing? Soo-bin quietly spoke to me from beside me.
"Grateful? For what?"
"Just... for everything. Thank you for not killing me and saving me at first... and for treating me well..."
"Haha, what are you talking about? If anything, I have more to be grateful for. You always take care of the housework and even assist Seo-eun."
"Thank you for saying that."
Soo-bin smiled softly as she said that. What was this atmosphere? Was this some kind of flag? In comics, people who say things like this usually die or betray someone in the next volume. I'm scared!
Before I could ask why she was suddenly saying that, Seo-eun, who had run off by herself to look at the ocean, came back.
"Already back? Did you see everything?"
"Yeah. I mean, after looking at it for a bit, it's not much different from the ocean I've seen in games. It just feels familiar."
Goodness.
To say the ocean she saw for the first time felt familiar because she'd seen it a lot in games. Was this a positive or negative effect of games? I wasn't sure, but I probably needed to regulate her game time when we got back.
"Still, walking barefoot on the sand was fresh. About 3 out of 5 stars?"
...This was the first time I'd met someone who rated a beach trip. And it was stingy! She should have given at least 4 points!
"Shall we go eat then?"
Let's do it.
***
We came to a Gukbap restaurant. When in Busan, you have to have Gukbap.
"Oppa, it says here to pour the kkakdugi juice into the Gukbap. Is that real?"
"Hmm... If you want to eat it like that, go ahead."
I don't want to.
Seo-eun insisted on pouring the kkakdugi juice into her Gukbap. Why would she do such a thing?
"It's edible."
Surprisingly, Seo-eun's reaction was that it was edible. Really? Is it a matter of taste?
Well, it's good to see her eating well. Rather than just eating home-cooked meals every day, it's good to occasionally eat something like this, blowing on a hot bowl of Gukbap. This Gukbap has a lot of meat too, nice.
On the TV hanging on the wall of the Gukbap restaurant, the news was playing.
[The Association has released a statement condemning A-rank villain Egoistic, stating, 'We are doing our best to apprehend him.' However, due to the perpetrator's ability to teleport and his proficiency in manipulating information and communication networks, the investigation is facing difficulties. Netizens have responded with comments such as 'Egoistic is scary,' and 'Did you see the Stardust VS Egoistic fight? It was legendary...']
Of all things, they just had to be talking about me. But the news here seemed a bit strange...? As I chewed on my kkakdugi and watched my face on the screen, Seo-eun, who was eating in front of me, asked.
"Oppa, why did you name yourself Egoistic?"
For a moment, I almost snorted kkakdugi out of my nose. What was she talking about so loudly in a crowded place?!
I quickly darted my eyes around to the people nearby. Fortunately, no one seemed to be paying much attention to us.
As I stared at Seo-eun with a bewildered expression, she looked at me as if to say, "What are you looking at?" then said "Ah!" and pulled something out of her pocket.
"Don't worry. Oppa, you said something about it last time, so I made a sound dampener and brought it."
What she placed on the table looked like a small walkie-talkie.
"What is this?"
I asked carefully, and Seo-eun shrugged.
"It makes it so that what we say to each other can't be heard by other people."
"Oh? When did you make something like this?"
"Last time, you told me not to talk about your identity in crowded places, so I looked through the blueprints at home and found it. The Han-eun Group guys really have everything."
"That's amazing."
"So, Oppa, why did you name yourself Egoistic?"
Seo-eun asked me with a mischievous grin. Didn't she ask me this last time?
"It's from 'Egoistic,' meaning selfish. I mean, doesn't it just come to mind when you hear it?"
"No, it just sounds like you added 'Stick'... But why did you remove the 'i' in the middle?"
"Why did I remove it? I just... removed it?"
Stardust was also shortened to Stardus. Why couldn't Egoistic be shortened to Ego Stick?
"And Stardus... Honestly, I don't know why they removed the 't' from the end of Stardust either... Why didn't you just remove 'stic' and go by Egois? That sounds much better."
"It's a shame I wasn't there when you decided on the name. I could've helped you come up with something better."
Soo-bin, who had been quietly eating her meal beside us, added her two cents.
"...If you two keep this up, I'll change my name to Mangostick. During the next terror attack, I'll say 'Welcome to Mangostick's Mango Show' in front of the cameras."
"That sounds cute! I'm all for it!"
Seo-eun said with a bright smile, and my heart shattered. It's a joke... It's a joke, I tell you...
The news on the TV ended its segment about me and moved on to the next report.
[Breaking news. A-rank hero Shadow Walker has reportedly collapsed. The Association stated that 'excessive use of his abilities during the day for special operations' was the cause, and announced that treatment would be completed promptly. Netizens have responded with comments such as 'The Association's incompetence is terrifying,' 'Is he faking it?' and 'The Association President should take responsibility for the security vacuum and resign.']
"Why did he suddenly collapse?"
I stared blankly at the TV. Surely, it wasn't because I made Stardust fly back and forth to Jeju Island, was it? If it was because of that, I'd feel a little bad...
[Stardust's fan cafe, 'Star Dust Brigade,' is seeing a rapid increase in members. This cafe, founded after the recent plane incident, surpassed 100,000 members in just a few days. It is extremely rare for a hero fan cafe to be established in South Korea.]
"Oh!"
I stopped eating and focused on the TV. Yes, I knew it! All my hard work has finally paid off!
"...You're even happier than when your own fan cafe was created, Oppa. Honestly. Anyone would think you're Stardust's dad."
Seo-eun, who was eating in front of me, grumbled. Hmm, did I show my excitement too much?
[Another breaking news report. Experts have released their analysis of Egoistic's recent plane incident, stating that 'it appears the bomb did not detonate,' causing a stir. While the aircraft has now sunk into the ocean and cannot be precisely inspected, experts say that based on the last photo evidence, no traces of an explosion can be confirmed. The sunken plane is currently being salvaged, and as soon as more detailed results are available...]
"No, seriously, how did they figure that out?"
The world's really out to get me.
"Oppa, just give up now. The number one real-time trend is '#Mangostick_I_Knew_It,' you know?"
Seo-eun showed me the horrible truth on her phone. No, this can't be real...
"Wait a minute. Whether the bomb exploded or not, I did crash the plane, but there are still people covering for me?"
"These people say you must have had a grand plan, you know? They're arguing that there were no civilian casualties this time either. The Mango Brigade's support is incredible!"
"No, how does that make sense? After what I did?"
"I find it amazing too. Did everyone collectively take some kind of drug? This is an abnormal level of support! Look at this."
"What is it?"
I took the phone from Seo-eun.
===
[Mangostick <--- Upvote if you knew it all alongㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Me first, lolㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Upvote]1355 [Downvote]32
[Seriouslyㅋㅋㅋㅋ No one still doubts him, right?]
[Why wouldn't he use the bomb? He did it to save everyoneㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Grand plan acknowledged]
===
"Seo-eun... Where on earth did you find posts like these..."
"Dain, look at this. It's a post from my school's community."
"What's that now...?"
===
[Author] Anonymous
[Title] Plane Passengers Interview Released!!
(Reporter) How was it?
(Passenger 1) Oh, it was scary. It was scary, but after I got off, I thought it was a meaningful experience. Like it reminded me of the preciousness of life? Kind of like riding a really scary roller coaster?
(Passenger 2) It was pretty fun, actually. The moment it plunged was thrilling. But hey, we eventually arrived in Jeju normally, so I had a good time and came home.
Rollerㅋㅋㅋㅋcoasterㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Anonymous 1] The passengers are all so braveㄷㄷ
[Anonymous 2] The land of tough guys, South Korea
[Anonymous 3] Seriously lol. You can't get scared and tremble on a roller coasterㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ[Anonymous 4] Rollercoaster lolololㅋㅋㅋ
===
My thoughts were simple.
"The world has truly gone insane."
It's the end of times.
*
After finishing our meal, we explored various places. We visited the International Market and stopped by other famous restaurants.
Time flew by as we had fun, and soon it was night.
"Seo-eun, did you book our hotel?"
"Of course! I booked a 5-star hotel."
"Oh, what's its name?"
"They call it Signature Hotel."
"Really? I think I've heard of it before..."
"It's the biggest, most famous, and most expensive hotel in Busan! It was hard to get a reservation."
"Alright, good job. Let's go and rest quickly."
I'm utterly wiped out. Ah, I need to go there, get some good rest, and sleep.
Still, it's nice to finally get some proper rest after always causing terror incidents. Nothing will happen for a while, right?
***
A dark space.
Heavily armed men stood in uniform rows.
The one who appeared to be their leader, standing in front of them, opened his mouth.
"Tonight. We will assault Busan. Understood?"
""YES!!!" "
"Where did I say our unit would assault?!"
""Busan Signature Hotel, SIRRR!!!!""
The soldiers' shouts filled the space.
***
Hmm.
Nothing will happen, right?
"I have a bad feeling about this..."
"Oppa, stop muttering to yourself and hurry up."
"Alright..."
Yeah. Even if something were to happen, it wouldn't be today, right?