Orphanage 2

Han Su-ho is basically a kind-hearted younger sister.

Honest and purely righteous.

In other words, she’s a sucker.

Someone who couldn’t possibly dislike children.

“What’s the new big sister’s name?”

“Su-ho. I’m Han Su-ho.”

“I’m Aria! Nice to meet you!”

“Yeah. Nice to meet you too, Aria.”

Even though they just met today.

Han Su-ho became as familiar with the children as in the original work.

“It’s almost lunchtime, is there any menu you want?”

“Aria wants to eat that! The one with bright red soup and curly noodles!”

“What about everyone else?”

“Ramen is enough for us too.”

“Alright. Then, I’ll do my best to make it!”

That was a kind of talent.

She was the very embodiment of an ‘insider’, shining just by existing.

Even Han Seoyeon.

Even Michaela.

Even Baek Da-eun who wasn’t here.

Even Lee Ha-ryul, the student council president, couldn’t compare.

“Here, it’s done!”

“Thank you for the meal!”

Above all.

“It’s delicious…!”

Not to mention her cooking skills.

“H-how did you do this?”

“It’s nothing special. Just chop some blue garlic, then stir-fry it with red pepper powder and gochujang…”

“Big sis! Can I have another bowl?”

“Sure. I made plenty, so eat as much as you want.”

Her gentle and kind tone.

“Did you all eat well?”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

“Then rest now. I’ll be back soon after doing the dishes.”

“Ah, no! We’ll do the dishes!”

“No. Today, I came to volunteer for you. You understand, right?”

“…Just receiving like this…”

“It’s okay. If you’re Seoyeon’s siblings, you’re my siblings too, right? It’s natural for an older sister to do something for her younger siblings.”

Her all-around household skills.

She was overflowing with talent as an ideal wife and wise mother.

Should we call her the depressing protagonist of the original work?

In the original work, Han Su-ho’s position was closer to uke than seme.

Of course!

This was irrelevant to Han Seoyeon, the munchkin protagonist!

“I’m sorry. It feels like I made you do all sorts of chores.”

“You don’t need to worry. I actually like it. It’s what I wanted to do myself.”

Anyway, it was fortunate.

The children seemed to be doing well.

“By the way.”

Han Su-ho whispered softly.

Her gaze turned to Michaela, who was quietly by Han Seoyeon’s side.

“Looks like things are going well. With the senior.”

“…Well. A little. Yeah.”

It was an undeniable statement.

They had actually become that kind of relationship.

“I’m glad. That you’ve found your own happiness, sis.”

Han Su-ho smiled.

Calmly.

Pretending to be calm.

“…But, I guess it’s a little regrettable after all.”

“What is?”

“Nothing!”

Han Su-ho had no right.

She had made her sister unhappy once.

She shouldn’t show it.

If she showed it, her sister would surely worry and move away from happiness.

This much was just enough.

She didn’t wish for more than this.

She couldn’t wish for more.

As long as she felt sticky gazes of obsession and jealousy on her skin even while having such trivial conversations.

“What do you want to do in the afternoon?”

So Han Su-ho changed the subject.

“In the afternoon…”

The children at the orphanage were doing well.

Han Seoyeon had achieved her primary goal.

And, the next thing to do was.

“…Since we volunteered at the Firefly Group Orphanage in the morning, let’s go volunteer at the Baekhwa Foundation Orphanage in the afternoon! The volunteer hours get duplicated!”

Finding the flow of the original work.

To the orphanage that the original protagonist visited.

This is a side story.

An episode that runs well even without the protagonist.

It’s an episode that showcases the world setting and character conflicts in an ensemble drama form, where the protagonist doesn’t directly intervene as an observer.

Originally.

The original work has been twisted.

Han Seoyeon had a duty to intervene directly when necessary and lead to a happy ending.

“Sis, in front!”

“In front…?”

As she was momentarily distracted like that, she bumps into a passerby.

“Ah…!”

The girl says.

“I’m sorry! I was lost in thought for a moment…! Are you hurt anywhere?”

“It’s okay, little one. Are you hurt anywhere yourself?”

Strictly speaking, she’s not a girl.

She has the appearance of a girl, but her age is already in her late twenties.

“…I’m not a little one. Students.”

“Oh.”

The so-called legal loli.

A term referring to a character who clearly looks young but is legally of age.

Of course, the source was Na■■ Wiki.

The official headquarters of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces is located in Daejeon.

This implies two things.

One is that Daejeon is the area where the 3.6 Catastrophe occurred.

Daejeon suffered more damage from the Gates than any other region, so it was deemed to desperately need military support for civilians.

The other is the hero’s intention.

The newly rebuilt Daejeon is a peaceful rear area, where guns and swords are unnecessary.

The reason for establishing the headquarters there was clear.

Purge.

Or exile.

It was a gentle message that soldiers are unnecessary in this benevolent new era.

There were no facilities related to the ROK Armed Forces in any other area except Daejeon.

They are just civil servants, and their mission is solely to support civilians.

Those who spoke of anything more had long since been disposed of on charges of attempted coup or had fallen to become terrorists.

That being said.

Nevertheless, in a place that’s clearly the military headquarters.

“What do you mean by that!”

With red straight hair reaching her shoulders and half-closed black eyes.

The young woman’s cry echoed in the VIP room.

She had a small build closer to a girl than an adult.

The black suit she wore looked almost like a school uniform.

Even if its external treatment was close to that of a war criminal, it was still strictly a military base.

Where solemn charisma resided.

“You know how important this is, how significant this matter is, Major General! But, but how can you say such a thing…!”

“Hmm. You seem to be misunderstanding something, Miss Han Yu-seol.”

The man opposite Han Yu-seol had three stars.

This indicates the highest rank a Korean soldier can currently hold.

Also, few people don’t know the man’s name.

The man was the only general who had achieved military merit in the ruined Korean army.

“As a soldier, as a proud soldier of the Republic of Korea, I am resolutely opposed to any inhumane acts.”

“Then…!”

“However.”

Kim Wan-seung, the current Chief of Staff.

He cut off Han Yu-seol’s excited words in one stroke.

“In the end, there’s no concrete evidence, is there?”

“…That’s!”

“Miss Han Yu-seol. You’re an adult now. It’s different from back then. If you’re an adult, act like one.”

It’s different from back then.

Now there are no innocent girls and rookie lieutenants supporting them.

“The ROK Armed Forces have no connection with the traces of human experimentation recently discovered near the slums. …That’s all there is to it.”

There are only cunning adults.

Kim Wan-seung declared.

“If you understand, you may leave now.”

“…Why, Major General.”

“I said leave. Han Yu-seol, Team Leader of the Guild Support Team, Hunter Management Bureau.”

A harsh order to leave.

Han Yu-seol trudged out of the headquarters.

Soon, she made contact through a secret line.

[…So in the end, you couldn’t get their cooperation.]

“Yes. I’m sorry, Director.”

[There’s no need to apologize. You did everything you could, Team Leader.]

The voice on the other end was her comrade and this country’s hero.

[By the way, I never imagined the military could be involved in such an immoral and terrible experiment.]

“…”

Han Yu-seol was silent for a moment.

It was a very accidental discovery.

The recent 11th Monster Wave that occurred in the slums has not been disclosed to the public yet.

There were several reasons.

A scene with not a single victim.

Unable to grasp the full picture of who defeated it.

Uncertain information always goes through journalists’ machinations to make citizens anxious.

So, the information itself was erased.

That doesn’t mean the Management Bureau was indifferent to this.

Rather, the Bureau has been closely observing the slums since this incident.

To prepare for any possibility.

It was a discovery close to pure coincidence.

While observing the slums, Han Yu-seol witnessed it.

[…To think that Chairman Han Jun-hyeok of the Firefly Group would even cooperate with this.]

By chance, some unnatural devices.

Traces that shouldn’t be in the slums.

By chance, some people with strange appearances.

People who were taking children and disappearing somewhere.

By chance, by chance, by chance.

By chance.

Even the circumstantial evidence that the military was involved in this.

[It’s truly a regrettable situation.]

“…Yes.”

Han Yu-seol couldn’t even guess what expression the person on the other end of the call was making.

[Truly, it is.]

“What should we do from now on?”

Her expression was just full of concern.

[Well…]

It’s been long known that the Firefly Group has been conducting some kind of human experiments in the slums.

The Management Bureau is ready to arrest them in the name of justice at any time.

The issue was about wiping them out all at once.

Whether the military was really involved in this incident.

There was no definitive proof.

There were only mentions of the military in some recorded conversations.

The military’s external image had already plummeted due to terrorists impersonating soldiers.

All government agencies were almost suspicious of the military.

That’s why they requested cooperation to prove their innocence.

The answer was a refusal.

It was inevitable to feel suspicious.

Even if the conflict between the Management Bureau and the military wasn’t a recent thing, it was suspicious to refuse even some level of cooperation.

[For now, just wait. Don’t forget to rest a bit, you’ve worked hard.]

“…But!”

They can’t take definitive action right away.

For a more certain justice and result.

“During that time, the children in the slums…”

[…You really haven’t changed at all. You.]

Han Yu-seol was worried about the children who might be sacrificed in the meantime.

[This is an order. Don’t go anywhere near the slums and rest, Team Leader Han Yu-seol.]

“Yes…”

An order was an order.

There was nothing more Han Yu-seol could do either.

“…”

She can’t do anything.

Just like back then.

Like when Behemoth, that monster, was rampaging.

Like when Lily died.

“I…”

She just walked aimlessly.

That was a mistake.

“Ah…!”

Thud.

Her small build, no bigger than an elementary school student’s, bumps into someone and falls.

“I’m sorry! I was lost in thought for a moment…! Are you hurt anywhere?”

“It’s okay, little one. Are you hurt anywhere yourself?”

And.

The words she heard were.

“…I’m not a little one. Students.”

“Oh.”

The words of a girl with silver hair – upon closer inspection, obviously a wig – and red eyes.

“Is this what they call a legal loli or something?”

“Who’s a loli!”

It was a statement that triggered her complex.