Ch.3131. Jung Euisuk and Lee Rua’s Date

“Wow. What a mess.”

Lu-a looked around and shared her impression.

Suwon Station.

The exact place where Pegasus had fallen.

“Since the damage radius is quite wide, it’s all cordoned off. Isn’t it nice that it’s quiet with nobody around?”

“Yeah. I like it too.”

Lu-a had secretly entered the former battlefield with Jung Ui-seok. She also felt uncomfortable in crowded places, so she liked it here.

Traces of battle remained, but conversely, the sky was perfectly clear. If it weren’t for the cold weather that made their breath visible, it was the kind of bright sunshine that made her want to bask in it.

“Still, looking at the traces, those monster fighters seem quite skilled. Not something Vengeance members could handle easily. Later, for the selection process… Huh?”

Lu-a lightly punched Jung Ui-seok’s chest as he muttered.

“Today’s our day off, remember?”

“Right.”

“I’ve never seen you take a break. How many days has it been?”

“Hmm. Even though Dragon King Sentai occasionally took breaks, since that day, I’ve been hunting villains even on holidays… Since the latter half of the Dark Kingdom battle, so about 5 months.”

“Geez, you’re not an idiot. Today, don’t think about anything else but having fun. Got it? Until we go back and fall asleep.”

“Mmm.”

“Promise me.”

“Alright.”

When Jung Ui-seok reluctantly nodded, Lu-a couldn’t help but smile.

“Then will you guide me? I don’t know what places are even when I see the signs.”

“Sure. First, let’s look around the shopping center. I think you’ll like it, given your age.”

Jung Ui-seok walked ahead. Lu-a followed behind him.

His arms swung in rhythm with his stride. The fingers occasionally visible through his sleeves looked pitiful to her.

Without realizing it, she reached out toward those rough fingers. After extending her hand a few times, she finally lowered it again.

The two entered the department store. Though the electricity was cut off, the dome-shaped structure made the interior bright.

“How is it? Pretty, isn’t it?”

All sorts of clothes, bags, perfumes, and accessories displayed in showcases.

She had briefly seen such things with Emma too. Lu-a tilted her head and asked:

“Is it pretty?”

“I don’t really know either.”

“Why did you bring me here if you don’t know?”

“Women usually like these things.”

“Really? I’m not sure about that.”

“Hmm.”

“But I’m having fun walking around with you.”

Only their footsteps echoed through the vast space. Eventually, Lu-a found something that caught her interest.

It was a claw machine.

“There’s a mountain of dolls. Must be heaven.”

After Jung Ui-seok explained how it worked, Lu-a exchanged some coins with sparkling eyes. But when the claw grabbed nothing but air on her first try, her expression soured.

After two, three, more than ten attempts, Lu-a finally punched through the glass of the machine and grabbed a handful of dolls.

“You can’t do that. That’s cheating.”

“It wouldn’t grab anything. The person who made it cheated first. Now I’ve won.”

Lu-a chuckled.

“You’re more competitive than I thought. Shall we go play some games then?”

“Yes! Compete with me!”

The first place Jung Ui-seok took Lu-a was a pool hall.

“Ah, we have this at the hideout too. I’ve seen the subordinates playing it.”

“Since it’s your first time, I’ll give you a big handicap. I’ll spot you 500 points.”

Jung Ui-seok picked up a cue stick.

Click!

The white ball traced a beautiful trajectory, hitting the red balls in succession.

As the game progressed, Lu-a found herself on the defensive and rolled up her sleeves, but she couldn’t stop Jung Ui-seok’s advancing score, and finally…

Click! Whoosh— Clack!

He moved the yellow ball with dark matter and hit all the targets.

“That’s cheating.”

“Why?”

“You used your powers.”

“My powers are part of my skill. If hand sensitivity, dynamic vision, and calculation ability count as skill, shouldn’t powers be included too?”

“…It’s still cheating.”

Lu-a pouted.

Next, they went to a bowling alley.

Whirr— Crash!

“That’s a strike, right?”

“Dark matter. Cheating.”

They also went to a mahjong parlor.

“Baak-baak-baak-baak, pure straight, double points.”

“You just scraped off the surface of the tiles with dark matter. That’s cheating.”

The final score was 7 wins by Lu-a’s “cheating” and 0 losses.

After the games, they went up to the rooftop for lunch. It was a packed lunch from Emma. Lu-a stuffed her mouth with sandwiches and fried food.

“Delicious.”

“Emma’s cooking is precise down to the second. She probably calculated the time we’d be eating too.”

“What game should we play after eating?”

“Lu-a, don’t you ever get tired?”

“It’s fun because I’m winning.”

“Hmm… I’m glad you’re having fun, but when you play with my subordinates, follow the rules. If you summon Shooting Blazer Dragon without synchro summoning, there’ll be a coup even if it’s you.”

“Got it.”

Lu-a slurped the fish cake soup. Her heart felt warm.

“Hey, Geo.”

“Hmm.”

“When’s your birthday?”

“I’m not sure. Sometime in summer, I think.”

“Why don’t you know?”

“Because it doesn’t really matter.”

“But then people around you can’t give you gifts.”

“I did receive some last summer, though…”

Jung Ui-seok trailed off.

Lu-a didn’t like that. She wanted to give him another gift soon, but summer was too far away.

“Why do you ask?”

“I want to give you a gift.”

“Again?”

“Yeah. Giving gifts is fun.”

It was more of an indescribable happiness than fun, but Lu-a felt too shy to express it that way.

“It’s shameless to only receive. Next time, I’ll give you one.”

“Really? I’ve never received a gift before.”

“…I see.”

Lu-a’s heart was pounding. She now knew the joy of giving gifts.

She wanted to know the feeling of receiving one as soon as possible. She was glad it would be from Jung Ui-seok. No, it had to be from him.

“Lu-a, when’s your birthday?”

“I don’t have one.”

“Shall we decide on one?”

“Is that allowed?”

“There’s no reason why not.”

“Is your speech pattern always like this?”

“…It is.”

“Ah, you just lied.”

“It might be the influence of aiming to be the lord of evil. This feels more natural to me now. It feels like I left a lot behind with my previous body in the ruins of the Dark Kingdom.”

“What kind of person were you originally?”

“No one has an ‘original self.’ Every version of yourself is you. Enduring, complaining, persevering, giving up. They just change according to time and place.”

“You mean you have weak moments too?”

“That’s right.”

“And you complain sometimes.”

“Yes.”

Seeing Jung Ui-seok admit it so readily, Lu-a hesitated a bit.

Should I ask?

Emma said it takes a long time and a different kind of trust.

Clearly that trust was still lacking, but she had anxieties.

The anxiety of not knowing when or where she might die.

The anxiety that even this moment could end in an instant.

It was an inevitable way of thinking because her whole life had been like that.

And above all, the anxiety from the secret she was hiding.

Lu-a didn’t want to miss this moment.

“…Can’t you show me that side of yourself?”

Jung Ui-seok turned to Lu-a, smiled slightly, and roughly ruffled her hair.

“What?”

“You’re still young. Worry about others later. First, make your own legs strong.”

Lu-a didn’t like that attitude from Jung Ui-seok.

“I heard there was someone you showed it to.”

“There was.”

“Did you love them?”

“Yes.”

Jung Ui-seok admitted it readily. Though his answer was brief, Lu-a felt as if all the blood vessels in her body were constricting.

“What kind of person were they?”

“Someone someone like me should never have met.”

Jung Ui-seok didn’t continue. Lu-a didn’t ask further.

A moment of silence followed.

After packing up the empty lunch boxes, Lu-a spoke.

“I’ll make it January 1st.”

“What?”

“My birthday.”

Jung Ui-seok looked puzzled.

“That’s still 6 days away. Didn’t you want to receive a gift quickly? Tomorrow or the day after would be fine too.”

“Yeah. I can wait a little.”

“Alright.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Lu-a dusted off her bottom and stood up.

◈ ◈ ◈

“Hey. My ears must be clogged. Answer me straight again.”

The Association President felt the situation was truly serious when he saw Ji Se-hwa’s expression.

When angry, Se-hwa usually frowns and curses first. The fact that she was pressuring him with an expressionless face and calm voice made it impossible not to be scared.

Level 0 security conference room. A place completely isolated from the outside. Only the four Dragon King Sentai members and himself were here.

There was no one to help him.

The Association President tried to defuse the situation with the brightest tone possible.

“Everyone, calm down. Jung Ui-seok’s survival was unexpected. I really didn’t know. I’ve already spread materials refuting that doctor’s claims. We have the advantage since there’s no official statement from their side. Look, public opinion still supports Dragon King Sentai by over 80 percent. It’s just a handful, really.”

That was the reality of public opinion. Truth isn’t advantageous. Public opinion favors the side that has been exposed with time and money invested.

Naturally, people don’t care that much about others’ affairs.

“In other words, over 10 percent support Red Dragon.”

Shin Yukyong pointed out sharply. Though the broadcast was brief, the appearance of Red Dragon and Dr. Hyun had made quite an impact.

“Hey. Is that what I asked you?”

Ji Se-hwa’s voice touched the Association President’s nape like a blade.

“I asked if you lied about Jung Ui-seok becoming an SSS-class villain.”

The Association President gulped.

“Now, stay calm. You all know Jung Ui-seok’s personality best, right? There was a real risk, and while I might have exaggerated a bit…”

Beep. Kang Yerin pressed play on a portable recorder.

“That bastard Jung Ui-seok went too far! His performance was so strong that the Washington Association wanted to promote him to SS-class! I can’t control anything from SS-class up with my authority! Then whose would this association become? It’s obvious it would fall into his hands!”

Crash!

Ji Se-hwa immediately stood up, climbed onto the table, and lunged at the Association President. She flew through the air and kicked him in the face.

“Aaack! Aaaack!”

Ji Se-hwa began beating the Association President like crazy. She didn’t say a word.

“That’s enough. He’s a civilian. He’ll die soon.”

Shin Yukyong grabbed Ji Se-hwa. The Association President made wheezing sounds as if his lungs had been punctured.

“Kang Yerin. Why didn’t you say anything when you knew?”

“There was nothing that would change even if I told you. After talking about him like that, and now…”

Ji Se-hwa couldn’t argue back.

“Nothing will change for us anyway. Jung Ui-seok won’t meet with us, and he’s lost his power so he won’t be of help. I think we need to speed up equipment adjustments and switch development. Yerin, do you agree?”

Shin Yukyong’s opinion.

Kang Yerin was agonizing.

“You unnies are working hard.”

Choi Minseo stood up. The three women’s gazes turned to her.

“What?”

“I can meet him. Ui-seok oppa.”

Choi Minseo chuckled. Ji Se-hwa approached her.

“Do you want to die? You’re not part of Dragon King Sentai.”

“No matter how much I train with you unnies, I can’t even beat one executive. I’ll go out with you when it’s time to deploy. But being here normally… seems like a waste of time.”

Choi Minseo smiled brightly.

“So I’ll excuse myself first? Ui-seok oppa is… the only one who acknowledges me…”

Choi Minseo left the conference room with unfocused eyes.

After the door closed, only silence remained.