Alpha (3)

Just because my identity was revealed, my life didn’t change overnight.

[Breaking news! S-class hero Alpha’s identity revealed!]

[Citizens excited about his unexpected identity?]

I wasn’t a villain, and my achievements and reputation I had built up weren’t going anywhere.

“Alpha-nim!! Thank you for always protecting us!”

“He’s handsome!”

In fact, at first, the majority of people cheered when they saw me.

Not much had changed.

“Ah, Alpha.. you’re here?”

“Oh my, we have a guest~”

“Wow! It’s uncle, uncle!”

“[Where have you been? It’s Jisoo’s birthday today, you know?]”

“I’ve prepared a seat for you, brother!”

The people around me hadn’t changed.

They treated me calmly.

“Honey, you were a hero?”

“..I’m sorry for lying that I was going to work all this time. If you want, I’ll prepare for divorce with my money-“

“Oh my! Why didn’t you tell me until now! How much you must have suffered alone..”

My love still embraced me warmly.

It was still quite a good daily life so far.

Ordinary daily life passed by.

“Hehehe uncle~!”

“Yes.”

“Look at this~ Jisoo’s dolls~ They move on their own~!”

My friend’s daughter, who seemed like a newborn just the other day, had already turned 5 years old.

“Alpha..”

“..? What?”

“W-Well.. um, never mind..”

Her father, who was my friend, flinched inexplicably whenever he met me, but still maintained a normal relationship.

[Currently, an S-class villain’s terrorism occurring in D District! S-class hero Alpha, please dispatch immediately..]

“Brother, let’s depart quickly!”

“Alright!”

It was one day when I was saving people and defeating villains as usual.

“Did you send the people to the hospital?”

“Of course, brother! The five fatalities.. I handled them properly! And I definitely sent the rest of the injured to the hospital!”

“Well done, Hwangchil.”

“Keu! Our brother! I wonder if this will make another great article-“

“……”

“Brother?”

It was a day when I noticed a person arguing with staff in front of the association.

A man who was shouting while trying to resist being dragged away by the security team.

“……”

It wasn’t just simple interest.

In the gaze we happened to meet, he was showing clear hostility towards me.

“..Hwangchil. You go ahead and rest first.”

“Huh? Brother, wait..”

I approached him at a not too slow pace.

And asked.

“Is something wrong? If you need my help-“

“Bring my brother back to life, you son of a bitch!!!”

However, the man cut off my words and screamed at me as if wailing.

My open mouth closed automatically.

“Why did you save everyone else but couldn’t save my brother!!”

“..Ah.”

Not jealousy or envy, but clear anger solely due to my mistake.

Because it was a situation I had never experienced before, I stood there bewildered, unable to say anything.

The man continued to cry out.

“You’re supposed to be the best hero! They said you were strong!!”

“……”

“Then you should have saved my brother too!! My brother!! Bring my brother back to life, you bastard!!!”

“..Excuse us, Alpha-nim. This citizen is not in a good mental state right now.. Hey, what are you doing!! Quickly move this citizen somewhere else!!”

Even at the security team’s words, I didn’t give any particular answer.

I just watched the man being dragged away, not knowing what to say.

The busy movements of people that day dizzyingly confused my gaze.

I felt a little suffocated.

Click.

And a small shutter sound that echoed from somewhere in the noisy surroundings.

Misfortune slowly but surely began to erode me.

---

After that day, I could acutely feel the harmful effects of being a hero whose identity was revealed.

[Statement from the bereaved families of victims Alpha couldn’t save.]

[The tragic deaths of five people who couldn’t be saved, is Alpha to blame?]

Articles that spread based on the story of the man who caused a disturbance at the association.

Journalists who got a scoop twisted the content subtly to criticize me and spread the articles around.

It was different from when I was ‘Hero’ Alpha.

Police are bound as police themselves.

Firefighters are bound as firefighters themselves.

People like or hate or resent those groups, but they don’t criticize the diligent individuals belonging to those professions.

Heroes were no different.

Although they had stronger individual colors than police or firefighters, they barely fell into the category of a group. And no one would criticize heroes who worked hard.

“……”

At least until the correlation reversed for Alpha.

Now all people began to see ‘Hero’ Alpha as an ‘individual’.

People began to frown at each of his individual actions.

[What was Alpha doing until the terrorism occurred?]

[Many injured victims complain, ‘If only he had saved us a little earlier..’ Criticism towards Alpha.]

All people began to expect perfection from an ‘individual’ that they didn’t even expect from ‘heroes’.

[Injured victims approaching 3000, citizens’ anger boils over.]

[‘Safely saving citizens is a hero’s duty’ Professor from famous university’s statement causes controversy.]

Not only his actions as a hero.

[“How can you eat when you couldn’t properly save people?” Alpha’s private life controversy on the night of the terrorism.]

Even just ordinary daily life scenes.

The public eye followed everything, and this led to evaluations directed at him.

Many people no longer thought about the people he had saved.

Because that was ‘natural’.

Even if he saved tens of thousands of people, if he couldn’t save the remaining dozens, it was ‘natural’ to be criticized.

“..Ha.”

I might not have felt it then, but I may have been slowly feeling something like inflammation.

“Honey..”

“..You’re having a hard time because of me, aren’t you?”

“……”

“..I’m sorry. Really, really..”

“Mmm! It’s okay! I’m fine!.. You’re the best hero no matter what anyone says.”

“……”

“..Don’t cry. I’m most proud of my husband in the whole world.”

But despite that, what made me endure was my wife.

And the child in her womb who was due to be born soon.

“I love you.”

My innocent wife.

Even though she was being criticized because of her stupid husband.

“For life.”

Bang!

Even though someone kicked our front door once a day.

“..Forever.”

Because you comforted me with trembling hands while being afraid of such situations, I was able to endure.

I was sorry.

For seeming to hold onto you because of my greed.

“It’s okay.. Let’s rest by my side for a while today.”

Yet I couldn’t let you go at all.

Because I could forget everything and rest comfortably when I was in your arms.

At the same time, because I felt like I would die if I let you go.

“……”

Self-loathing ate away at me.

Ku-ung!!

I kept thinking that if I had let you go then, wouldn’t you be living a happy life?

---

My wife died.

It was a futile death for someone who had the best hero as her husband.

“Honey..”

“……”

“Phew.. Can you live well without me and our little one..?”

Just a terrorism on a rainy day.

I, who had saved hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of people,

Couldn’t even save the life of my most beloved wife in the world.

Because I had to save other people.

When I rushed over throwing everything aside, it was already too late.

She was on her way back from grocery shopping alone with her full-term body.

Just to cook my favorite dish.

With her heavy body, imagining how happy I would be, smiling brightly as I scolded her for being dangerous, saying let’s go together next time, with our child to be born, let’s go out together.

“……”

You must have been like that.

Click.

And a clear shutter sound was heard.

A common terrorism on a rainy day.

“Keuuu..”

The villain was already in a state of barely breathing, alive but unable to die, and most civilians were being rescued without major injuries.

It was quite a big accident, but my presence in the meantime would have drawn much more attention.

“What? Why is Alpha like that?”

“It’s really fucking annoying to see him playing around wasting our taxes.”

“Isn’t she already dead? What are you doing holding a corpse?”

“He should save even one more person instead of wasting time like that.”

“Ah, can’t you quickly grab me and take me out?”

People were looking at me with dissatisfied expressions.

To them, I looked like I was ‘playing around’.

Because to them, it was very natural for me to work and save people.

“..Ha.”

They demanded responsibility from me as a hero, but didn’t think about the circumstances of a single individual.

An individual who is forced to take responsibility and duty, and naturally exploited.

Click.

That was me.

“Let’s tell people about this!”

“We need to realize justice!!”

Click.

Click. Click.

“……”

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.

In an instant.

My head turned completely white.

---

[Indiscriminate violence against citizens.]

[S-class hero Alpha, controversy over rude remarks ‘I shouldn’t have saved the likes of you.’]

That day, for the first time, I beat civilians to death.

So that they could never say such things about my wife again.

I twisted their arms and legs backwards and destroyed their phones.

And I was punished by the association for assaulting civilians.

People didn’t care much about why I got angry.

Just because they wanted to criticize.

“Cool your head in prison for a while, Alpha. We’re ending it here because it’s you.”

The association also didn’t protect me from the citizens’ criticism.

In fact, they had already given up on taking care of me long ago.

The negative public opinion towards me was boiling, and once personal information was leaked, there was nothing they could do about it.

They also eventually started using me as a scapegoat.

A desperate situation where everyone was criticizing me.

[Flood of national petitions against hero Alpha!]

Nevertheless, I didn’t stop my hero activities.

Ignoring those who criticized, I worked frantically to forget my loss.

‘..You’re the best hero no matter what anyone says.’

I am.

The best hero.