The Other Side 1

Being the second time, it wasn’t entirely unfamiliar.

The familiar scent of disinfectant tickled her nose.

The hospital bed still felt hard.

When she opened her eyes, she would see a pure white ceiling.

However, Han Seoyeon didn’t want to open her eyes.

She felt a bit embarrassed.

For priding herself on being a munchkin.

For the fact that she almost failed to protect an innocent child with her own strength.

“Are you feeling better?”

There was no option to keep her eyes closed.

Her kind senior was worried about her.

“…Yeah. I’m okay now.”

Turning her head slightly, she looked at Michaela’s face.

Han Seoyeon could see the concern hidden behind her expressionless face.

“Thanks for worrying about me, senior.”

Michaela’s face didn’t brighten.

Even though Han Seoyeon had regained her physical health.

“Senior. There’s something I want to ask…”

The reason was simple.

It was because Han Seoyeon’s face looked miserable.

“What day is it today?”

“It’s April 28th.”

That date indicated one thing.

“So, the Complete Victory Festival ends today.”

“…That’s right.”

The third day of the Complete Victory Festival.

The last day of midterm exams.

“Ah, I see…”

It was the day Han Seoyeon had been eagerly waiting for.

“…It’s a bit disappointing.”

Now it had become meaningless.

“I was looking forward to it.”

“…”

She couldn’t blame anyone.

In the end, it was because Han Seoyeon was weak.

If she had been stronger.

If she had truly been a munchkin protagonist, this wouldn’t have happened.

It was frustrating.

So very frustrating.

The reason Lee Ha-yul was driven to the brink of death, and the fact that her promise with her senior had been shattered, were all results of Han Seoyeon’s weakness.

“Ah…”

She had tried so hard not to do this.

She had intended to laugh it off without showing weakness.

Tears fell drop by drop.

Covering her eyes with her arm was useless.

The sound of sobbing echoed.

“…We can go out together anytime.”

The comfort was gentle.

Even with that gentle comfort, Han Seoyeon couldn’t be consoled.

“So don’t cry. Seeing you shed tears, it hurts my heart.”

“…Okay.”

She could only stop her tears.

So that her senior wouldn’t feel heartache.

Save the world.

In the style of Japanese light novels, she would make sure everyone reaches a happy ending.

That’s right.

Just crying wouldn’t change anything.

At this point, a quarter through the first year.

Originally, villains exceeding level 70 wouldn’t appear.

But the original story had twisted.

Lee Yeon had already taken an interest in her.

Kim Il-soo had also made his move.

In the midst of all this, just crying pathetically wouldn’t protect anything.

That wasn’t what a munchkin protagonist would do.

Han Seoyeon would persevere.

Using this incident as a stepping stone for the cider she would eventually unleash.

“I have something I want to ask too.”

Michaela said.

“Did you know the terrorist attack would happen?”

“─.”

“Did you know Lee Ha-yul would be harmed?”

It was an unexpected question she hadn’t anticipated.

So she was caught off guard.

“…How did you know?”

“So you did.”

Han Seoyeon had made a slip of the tongue.

The answer should have been a brazen denial, not a question in return.

“How did I know, you ask? You should have told me long ago.”

Michaela answered as if it were obvious.

“I can tell by looking at your expression. That’s all there is to it.”

“…That’s amazing.”

Han Seoyeon was impressed.

Clearly, she was the one with the unrequited love, yet she didn’t have that level of skill.

“Could it be that you have feelings for me too, senior?”

“I won’t deny it.”

A serious answer came to what was meant as a joke.

“…If I didn’t have any affection for you, I wouldn’t be worrying about you like this.”

Michaela clearly had affection for Han Seoyeon.

But only as a friend, of course.

Probably.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have come to visit her in the hospital.

She was interested in Han Seoyeon enough to read her emotions from her expressions.

“Senior, are you trying to hit on me right now? Is that it?”

“…Judging by those words, it seems you’ve definitely regained your health.”

“Of course! Fully revived, perfect Han Seoyeon here!”

It was only natural.

A gloomy Han Seoyeon wasn’t Han Seoyeon.

A munchkin protagonist doesn’t shed tears.

Because Han Seoyeon was a munchkin protagonist.

“Is the reason you knew about the terrorists related to your secret?”

“…Well, I suppose it is.”

She affirmed it readily.

Though she had no intention of saying anything more.

“Are you curious?”

“No. If you don’t want to tell me, I have no intention of listening.”

Michaela shook her head.

She wasn’t someone who could rightfully pry into others’ secrets.

“Then what if I said this world was inside a novel, and I was a reader of that novel but when I opened my eyes I was born into the world of the novel, so I can know the future. If that was my secret, what would you think?”

Listing it out like that, how should I put it?

It sounded like nonsense that only a chuunibyou patient would spout.

Even in a world where common sense had crumbled with the appearance of Gates and monsters, this was going too far.

“Let me ask you in return.”

Michaela was no less than Han Seoyeon.

“What if I said I was born in a world where magic, not science, exists, and I defeated the Demon King with a hero, but in the end I betrayed the hero by killing a comrade, and I have memories of that past life? What would you do?”

Had she picked up some web novel from somewhere?

An empty laugh escaped.

“…What’s that about?”

Han Seoyeon just smiled.

Without prying into anything more.

“If senior was such a traitor.”

Han Seoyeon just muttered nonsense.

“You must have had your reasons. Or there was a misunderstanding.”

Isn’t that how those regret-ridden exile stories usually go?

“…I see.”

The hospital visits continued.

Pink hair and sapphire-colored eyes.

It was Baek Da-eun.

“Really, you!”

More precisely, it was a somewhat angry Baek Da-eun.

“Why, even though I said so much…!”

Truly, a woman’s heart is difficult to understand.

Han Seoyeon couldn’t understand why Baek Da-eun was angry.

“…Uh, sorry?”

She apologized first.

Though she didn’t know what for, there must have been something she did wrong for her to be angry, right?

“You don’t need to apologize…!”

It backfired.

It was probably along the lines of “What did I do wrong?” that people often say.

“You, you…!”

Han Seoyeon made another mistake.

“You should value yourself more, yourself…!”

If it wasn’t a mistake, why would Baek Da-eun be sniffling with tears?

“Are you angry?”

“How could I be angry! At you…”

It was a strange sight.

“It’s just, though it might be presumptuous…”

The girl she had only thought of as a tsundere heroine was now, somehow, shedding tears for her sake.

“If something like this happens again, please don’t try to shoulder it alone next time.”

It seemed that Han Seoyeon and Baek Da-eun were quite close friends after all.

“I don’t want you to be in danger.”

That wasn’t simply concern for a benefactor.

They were tears that could only flow for a friend.

“Can you promise…?”

Ah, this won’t do.

A girl’s tears were unfair.

“I’ll try.”

Still, she couldn’t readily agree.

But she couldn’t bring herself to refuse either.

So she gave an answer that was neither here nor there.

Even if it was an admirable sentiment for a friend, when it came to a matter of life and death, she couldn’t easily accept it.

Because they were friends, she wanted them to be safe all the more.

“Is that a promise? You really mean it?”

“…Yeah, yeah.”

An active approach.

Come to think of it, for Baek Da-eun, Han Seoyeon might be the first proper friend she’s ever had.

That might be why she cherished her so much more.

Time passes and Baek Da-eun leaves.

The sun was setting.

Han Suho, her brother, didn’t come.

Had something happened?

Han Seoyeon wondered if her brother might have been injured in the aftermath of the terrorist attack without her knowing, but she decided to set aside that possibility.

If there had been any problem with Han Suho, at least Baek Da-eun would have said something.

After all, he was the object of her unrequited love.

…She thought she had suffered enough.

So, she hoped her brother would walk only on flower paths from now on.

It was fine if he didn’t come to visit his useless sister in the hospital.

The post-Gate era brought many changes.

Similar yet completely different from the existing modern society.

Culture changed.

The real-life existence of high power erased the word equality from the humanities.

It was natural for the weak to be weeded out.

It was the law of nature for the strong to survive.

The order was reorganized.

The existing power structure was overturned.

What a society that had once returned to savagery needed was not intangible assets but tangible power.

The positions of those in power changed accordingly.

Today, Hunters are at the pinnacle of cultural order.

The glamorous and strong hunters defeat monsters and save the weak.

In return, they enjoy a status befitting that.

Thus, it was not strange that a serene mansion straight out of a fairy tale existed in reality, nor that the owner of that mansion was a single hunter.

[Next news. Amid the controversy over the government’s response to the recent terrorist attack at the Hunter Academy…]

The owner of the mansion, Han Joon-hyuk, watched the flowing news.

Unable to hide his sneer.

They say the government’s response is controversial.

Only the government’s.

Not the Hunter Management Bureau’s.

It was truly a brazen act of cutting off the tail.

Two consecutive terrorist acts.

Even Lee Yeon couldn’t cover it all up.

Though it wasn’t difficult to shift the blame.

[…It seems student Han Seoyeon played a big role this time as well.]

Creating a pleasing hero to divert the attention of the masses was a bonus.

“Huh.”

A dragon rising from a small stream, propaganda emphasizing popularity.

Truly a level of agitation befitting the citizens of this country.

Even the word ‘citizens’ was laughable.

They were Lee Yeon’s subjects after all.

“If luck is a skill, then it’s a skill. It seems that incompetent one has risen quite high.”

Han Joon-hyuk turned his head.

He turned to face his only child.

“It’s truly regrettable that my proud daughter, the winner of this Complete Victory Festival, isn’t getting attention.”

The corners of his mouth were raised to the point of madness.

“…Yes.”

Even though there was a terrorist attack, the Complete Victory Festival continued.

Canceling Korea’s monumental event because of a terrorist attack would be tantamount to surrendering to the terrorists, wouldn’t it?

“Congratulations on your victory, Suho.”

Lee Ha-yul and Han Seoyeon were taken to the hospital.

When Baek Da-eun and Michaela heard that Han Seoyeon had woken up, they forfeited the competition midway.

It was an easy burglary of an empty house.

Han Suho easily won the competition.

Unlike Michaela or Baek Da-eun, without visiting the hospital even once.

“Keep doing this from now on. Achieve excellent grades and become an excellent hunter.”

Only for the sake of grades.

Even though her kind sister was injured and hospitalized.

“…Oh, by the way, there’s an arranged marriage meeting coming up soon.”

Like this, unable to go against the very person who had driven away her sister.

“I hear it’s a man that even Lee Yeon is paying attention to. Try to do well.”

“Yes… Fa, ther.”

Sister.

Do I have the right?

I was late again.

I couldn’t protect you again.

I’m not even comforting my injured sister.

Is it okay for such a worthless and insignificant younger sibling to be by your side?

‘I hate it.’

The answer was already there.

She just didn’t want to admit it.

‘I hate it, I hate it…!’

Not wanting to admit it, she held her breath and burst into tears.

“Sister, please don’t hate me…!”

Like in the old days, the sister who always approached first and reached out to the timid Han Suho is no longer by her side.

That’s because long ago, Han Suho herself had turned away.