Chapter 22 – Uncomfortable Cohabitation  

“…What do you mean by that?”

His words were more of a threat. Yet what he said was closer to the truth.

It meant that if I died, Yoo Hayeon, who’d become an S-Rank hero in the future, would walk the path of a villain.

Shin Haeil wore an expression which implied he understood it all, then he spoke to me.

“You‘re already aware. The meaning behind my words. Don’t turn a blind eye.”

“……”

It was as he said.

I could remember the route where Hayeon turned into a villain in V. AGE.

She had lost her parents and fought by herself.

The path of an S-Rank hero was never smooth, and loneliness was always by her side.  

Fortitude.

The total figure of a person’s fortitude was fixed.

Each individual had a different value, and such was expressed in the fortitude stat.

From what I recall, Hayeon’s fortitude was 6. 

When she followed the original flow of the scenario, she always lived in pain. She lived with the inseparable loneliness and solitude.

Then one day, a gate spawned in the middle of Daegu.

A gate with a numerical rank of S.

Monsters and strange structures, which they had never seen before, had poured out from there and attacked the people.

The deterioration of the gate.

Mana streamed out from the high-ranking gate, even transforming the surrounding environment.

In the blink of an eye, Hayeon saw the peaceful area turn into hell.

The reward she got for suffering through the pain yet diligently trying her best was the death of the people.

As she saw people perish from the devastation and watched the heroes, that was when the thought occurred to her that the world was messed up. It was the same time she chose the path of a villain.

That turning point was the event which would arise if I, as the player, didn’t do anything about the S-Rank gate in Daegu. 

The Villain Yoo Hayeon was one who could not even cry or laugh, destroying many cities while losing her mind.

So long as that appearance of hers was clearly vivid within my memories, I couldn’t easily leave Hayeon behind and opt for death.

High talent with low fortitude to compare with.

Such was the reason why Hayeon’s spirit couldn’t bear the weight thus turning into a villain.

“How can you be so arrogant when you’re still stricken with anxiety?”

The anophthalmic Shin Haeil said.

It seemed like he could perceive how anxious I was about her change to villainhood.

He was a very difficult opponent for someone like me who held memories of the future.

The old man proposed an offer that I could not reject.

“Then how about this? Just one time. Follow the Black Dawn members and head to the place we want you to go to. If you do that one thing, we’ll let you loose.”

It was usually the norm to not accept a villain’s offer. There was no use negotiating with villains since they habitually lied and stabbed people in the back time and time again.

However, Villain Shin Haeil was an exception among the playerbase.

–Guys. If you bring what Shin Haeil wants, he says he’ll give you an A-Rank weapon. Should we do it?

–Why ask? Shut up and take the quest. Leader Haeil doesn’t lie. Trust him and do the quest gogo

Among the villains in the game, Haeil was referred to as an angel.

He didn’t give quests which players couldn’t accomplish. Unlike other villains who lied about the quest rewards, Haeil went as far to give them bonuses.

That didn’t mean you should accept all the quests he gave you otherwise half of the world would belong to the Black Dawn. You needed to walk a fine line when dealing with him.

I decided to ask questions pertaining to his “offer.”

“When will I be heading to that place? I’d like to know the exact date.”

“When the time comes you’ll know. Rest assured and wait. It’ll be very soon, I’ll allow you some freedom until then.”

It was an offer that guaranteed my freedom to some degree, and that I’ll soon be let out.

They were going to prevent my planned death no matter what.

It was a situation which compelled my cooperation.

With my deflated pride, I decided to yield for Hayeon’s sake, who would be in big trouble with me gone.

“…”

Once I got my mind straightened out, Haeil immediately said to me, “Do not forget that we have been very considerate of you. As far as kidnapping goes, we treated you well, so behave appropriately.”

The way he spoke was like a kind grandfather.

Someone could mistake him as a good man if they met him for the first time, and end up lowering their guard.

But for me, who knew about his character, I never did.

He’s someone who is as cunning as a fox on the inside, while constantly dreaming about the world’s demise.

Behind his visage was just a villain with twisted thoughts about how people had no need for their lives.

Implicit trust in him didn’t exist for me.

I got up from my seat, dragging the chains, and told them, “I don’t trust any of you. So, don’t trust me either.”

Just because I was going to live with them didn’t mean I’ll drop my hostility. So I responded hoping they would never speak to me again.

The first person to react was Yoowol.

“You sure have a peculiar personality. I almost want to bite your mouth off so you can’t speak.”

The Black Dawn members, who had been blankly staring at me, had diverse reactions.

”The fuck.”

“Psychopath.”

“I’m going back.”

”…“

“What does trust mean? Is it an English word?”

That was how my uncomfortable cohabitation with Black Dawn, one of V. AGE’s worst villain organizations began.

 ***

A place where you can see the white ceiling when you lie on a bed.

The hospital.

The academy had prepared a single room for the unconscious student who had been caught up in a huge incident. 

The student laid there listening to the news on the TV.

–The organization that launched an attack on the academy is called the “Black Dawn.” The exact reason behind their attack is unclear, and unfortunately, a male student was said to have been kidnapped as well.

His name was Han Sijoon.

He was a cadet at the academy and the childhood friend of the female student who was currently watching the TV attentively.

Why did he get swept away by this incident?

No one knew why, and the news did not disclose it either.

The only thing Yoo Hayeon knew was that Sijoon was acquainted with the villain, Han Yoowol of Black Dawn.

Hayeon looked at her anguished self while not forgetting the gleeful smile on Yoowol’s face.

“Sijoon…is alive…right? He’s gonna be alive… Then, he’ll come back and smile.”

She couldn’t stop thinking about Sijoon shutting his eyes as the fangs sunk into him.

That sight of him appeared in Hayeon’s dreams, hindering her recovery process, and acting as a type of trigger which revived the memory of her loss.

–The Hero Association has currently released a statement saying that they will negotiate with the villains to get him back. They are also seeking cooperation from renowned guilds.

News about the raid on the academy kept coming out.

A “guild” was an organization formed by heroes with the same mindset. If they cooperate, they could be able to find the abducted Sijoon using their expertise in search and investigation.

Hayeon didn’t feel too reassured though.

“I thought I was number one… But I don’t even come close to it…”

Yoo Hayeon had always been first place.

She was mourning how helpless she was in the face of a powerful organization called the Black Dawn.

Why didn’t I work hard?

Han Sijoon was the reason why.

It had been an inevitable choice to make if she wanted to walk the same pace as him.

Hayeon always scores 100%~ But my son…

Unlike Hayeon, who effortlessly maintained her high score, Han Sijoon did not possess any talent worth boasting about.

“Why do you hang out with him? He’s handsome, sure, but he’s nothing special.”

They say that but they didn’t know how warm-hearted Han Sijoon was.

The students raised a fuss without knowing a single thing.

It wasn’t just them who were thinking that, but mostly everyone was trying to assess the relationship between her and Sijoon.

“Hey, he won’t do you any good! You’re wasting your talent.”

People kept on reproaching Sijoon.

Was it because of that?

He didn’t attend elementary school, and his introverted self began to avoid people even more. Except for her, he didn’t try to form relationships with others.

He didn’t do anything, but why won’t people leave him alone?

Hayeon couldn’t let Sijoon continue to get hurt.

If I go back to being ordinary, he will be comfortable too.

1st year in middle school was when Hayeon gave up being “extraordinary” and tried playing “ordinary”.

Sensing she’ll get a full score on the exam, she put down the wrong answer.

Even when she knew the answer to a class question, she pretended she didn’t.

Then, the arrows headed Sijoon’s way, which compared them, began to gradually die down.

In order to be by his ordinary side, she had to hide her exceptionalism.

It did feel frustrating, but so long as she could be with him without problems, she was fine with anything.

Still, I can’t slack on the exams. Other people are trying their best. I’ll be duping them otherwise.

Sijoon would of course not like me doing that.

He was fine with how other people perceived him, so he told her to do as she pleased.

He was honest but stubborn, a guy who was dead without his pride.

Yoo Hayeon liked Han Sijoon immensely.

Giving up first place at the academy, she settled for the ordinary post of class president.

She was very content with just that.

There was nothing she couldn’t do if she just put in the effort. But she had been too complacent with the ordinary.

Hayeon, who had placed full trust in her own talents, did not put in the effort. Thus she was completely taken off guard in the abrupt raid.

An inept sword technique.

An inept physical strength.

That was the cold spot Hayeon was in after living a life having full faith in her abilities.

How long had it been since she fell into a state of helplessness, unable to do a thing?

After her family had fallen in a fire making their way to heaven, she had been too complacent.

–Will we ever get this young boy back? Everyone’s attention is on this case as dissatisfaction toward the Hero Academy escalates…

Press.

Hayeon pressed the power button on the remote control to turn off the TV.

She couldn’t listen to it any more.

She couldn’t stay still any longer.

“I’m not going to walk at your pace anymore…”

I’m going ahead first.

It’s okay for Sijoon to come slowly.

It’s okay if you lag behind. 

”I’ll pull you forward from the front.”

You won’t leave me then if I do that.

The weight of protecting someone precious.

This marked the moment which hardened her resolve to protect people after losing someone dear to her.