episode_0236

I consistently aimed to avoid revealing my abilities as much as possible.

It wasn’t because I was obsessed with some chuunibyou-like hidden power fantasy.

Nor was I playing Dark Knight.

It was solely for my own safety.

I didn’t know what troublesome things might happen or what disadvantages I might face.

If my abilities became known, I could become an object of envy.

Conversely, I could become an object of caution and ostracism.

I was conscious of the latter.

Taking lessons from what I experienced over there, I had been careful with my actions.

Even here, I didn’t need to look far.

Even if only skin color, eye color, or hair color were different, people would look down on others and ignore them.

Even people with exceptionally good minds, geniuses, were treated as oddities.

The weaker the opponent, the more extreme it became.

If the opponent was strong, they were ostracized.

What people commonly called bullying.

Regardless of gender, age, nationality, or dimension, it was subtle, malicious, and utterly infuriating.

A famous movie about mutants.

In the movie, one could fully feel that aspect of humanity.

In my case, what should I say.

Fortunately, I had met good people and was accepted kindly.

That’s why I revealed my power only to my family members.

But not to others.

“Are you hurt?”

“……”

“You… you jumped down from up there…”

It seemed he had seen everything.

‘Should I silence him?’

The man made me have serious thoughts.

The person who appeared from around the corner of the building was the man who introduced himself as Kim Hyunwoo.

With slightly drooping eye corners and a pale, small face.

Perhaps because of the bangs covering his forehead, he looked young and naive.

His gently wavering eyes were full of earnestness.

‘…Have I seen him somewhere?’

The feeling of being somewhat familiar seemed to be just my imagination.

But that wasn’t important right now.

“Did you see?”

“Y-yes?”

“Did you see it?”

“Uh… what?”

Question marks were clearly visible in the man’s blinking eyes as he asked.

If this was acting, he would be incredibly talented, but it didn’t feel like acting.

“Ah! Are you asking if I saw you fighting the monster? Yes! I did! You’re truly! Truly amazing!”

The man who kept marveling, giving a thumbs up, was, well.

‘…Why is he so bright and innocent?’

He wasn’t just bright; the man himself felt utterly harmless.

Even though I had erased my expression, he seemed unfazed.

“Ah.”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

That was it.

A handsome boy overflowing with puppy-like charm, like those in dramas or shojo manga.

If you put dog ears on his head, he’d look exactly like a large dog.

‘…Is this the same human?’

The proactive figure who held a gun up on the third floor, trying to seize life, was nowhere to be found; instead, a cheerful human appeared.

First, I should ask why he’s here…

“I went back to help you, but then I saw you leap down whoosh! and I chased after you. But I was really surprised to see it was already over.”

…He just spilled everything on his own.

It seemed he hadn’t seen everything, at least.

Once the man started talking, he babbled on incessantly.

“People were saying we should get out of here quickly and asked me to go with them, but I couldn’t, so I ran straight back.”

“……”

“But it was over before I could even help. Heh heh.”

I stared blankly at his innocent demeanor, which left me speechless.

“…The others?”

“Ah! They all ran away. How petty, not even knowing the grace of being saved!”

I asked the man who was grumbling quietly in indignation.

“Why did you come back?”

“Huh? I just wanted to help you—”

“Your life is in danger, though?”

The man answered without hesitation to my flat question.

“You saved me, didn’t you?”

The man’s eyes changed instantly.

“You’re my savior, the one who saved me when I was about to die.”

“……”

“I couldn’t abandon the person who helped me and just leave. That’s all.”

His rapidly changing expression was seriousness itself.

His facial expressions changed so quickly, it was like a face-changing performance.

“…That’s all?”

“Yes.”

“Hah.”

“Is it… strange?”

Morally, it was correct, but generally, well.

“My senior at the company taught me. He said that if you receive kindness, you should repay it, and you should cherish your benefactors.”

The fact that a company instilled such ethics was quite unusual.

The senior who said that seemed like a proper adult, rare to find in a world like this.

This person, who followed it so literally, was quite…

“…I don’t have parents, so my senior took care of me a lot. He’s like a big brother to me.”

“……”

…At this point, I had nothing to say.

This man, smiling gently and casually confessing his family history.

I didn’t know what to do with this bright and innocent man.

I, who had thought of silencing him before even speaking, was just laughable.

He truly was a harmless human.

As I sighed with a feeling of futility.

“Ah!”

Someone flashed through my mind.

“What’s wrong?”

“No. It’s nothing.”

‘He’s just like Dong-woo, isn’t he?’

The ‘face value’ displayed on their faces was so different that it wasn’t easy to match them, but he was so similar to Dong-woo.

His casually harmless nature.

His rare manners and ethics.

The sorrow of having lost parents.

“Heh heh.”

“……”

Even his awkward smile was similar, seeing it again.

The only difference from Dong-woo was that he was unnecessarily handsome.

Just in case, I cautiously asked.

“How old are you?”

“I’m 22. I just turned 23. What about you, Hyung-nim? Ah! You are Hyung-nim, right?”

“……”

He was even the same age as Dong-woo.

‘What should I do….’

At this point, it became awkward to casually deal with him.

After talking with him, it seemed he wasn’t lying.

I could feel the emotions mixed in his words, at least a little of his sincerity.

This man, full of puppy-like charm.

It really seemed he had turned back to help me, left alone.

Even though he clearly knew it was dangerous.

No matter who I was, messing with someone like this was a bit…

“Are you troubled about something?”

“…Why do you think that?”

“Your expression clearly shows you’re troubled.”

“……”

I’m debating whether or not to mess you up.

After a moment of serious contemplation, I spoke calmly.

“Will you make a promise with me?”

“Yes! Just say the word.”

Ah… I wonder if this will be alright.

“Whatever you saw, erase everything about me from your memory today.”

“Uh…”

“That will be good for you too. In many ways.”

I brought up the words I had spoken when I first met Dong-woo.

At my serious words, the man nodded firmly.

“I promise.”

“You must not tell anyone either. Can you do that?”

“Yes! I’m good at keeping secrets. I’m good at keeping promises.”

“……”

“At the company, they even praised me for keeping confidentiality agreements well.”

“…What?”

What kind of damn company is that?

Hearing words that were hard to just ignore, I instinctively asked again.

I glared at the naive man from head to toe, then immediately asked.

“What kind of person are you?”

“Me?”

“You seem to have worked out quite a bit?”

“Oh? How did you know? All my muscles are gone now!”

“What does your company do?”

A man who worked out a lot and a company that makes confidentiality agreements.

The combination was overtly suspicious.

As I stared with cold, unamused eyes.

“I’m an actor!”

“…?”

“Hello! I’m actor Kim Hyunwoo! Please take care of me!”

A bow-

The man shouted with an idol-like greeting, bending at the waist.

“…You’re an actor?”

Slightly dumbfounded, I couldn’t process it for a moment.

“Yes. It’s true. I worked out for a drama shoot, but I couldn’t even use it. Thanks to it, though, I could escape from the zombies. Hehe~”

“…So the company is…”

“An agency.”

“Hah…”

…My tension just deflated.

He seemed to truly be a harmless man.

I decided it would be fine to quietly send him back.

Then, the man started saying something that was hard to just dismiss.

“Have you ever heard of JS Entertainment? My company is really famous.”

“JS?”

“Yup.”

‘No way…’

“…The one with Kim Jihyuk?”

“Ah~ So you know my senior! Hehe~ That’s the one.”

This time, I blinked.

“Could it be that the senior you mentioned is…?”

“It’s Jihyuk Sunbae-nim. He’s my mentor too.”

…It was a series of words hard to believe.

“Is that true?”

“Of course. Do you not know me? I’m a bit famous too…”

I asked something else to the man looking at me with hopeful eyes.

“Then, do you also know who actor Kim Jihyuk’s manager is?”

“Are you perhaps Young-cheol Manager-nim’s acquaintance?”

‘…Is it real?’

A human who suddenly popped out is a member of Hyung-nim’s company?

And someone who was trapped at *this* base, not some random shelter?

They say the world is wide yet small, but this is a bit too much…

“You’re worried something troublesome might happen, right? Don’t worry. I’ll keep your secret sealed! Until I die!”

“……”

…Even the way he promised felt similar to Dong-woo.

I stared intently at Kim Hyunwoo, who was showing such serious determination in front of me.

It seemed he had a special relationship with Hyung-nim, but I didn’t know.

The shelter residents rarely brought up stories about family or friends.

Conversely, they didn’t ask much either.

Because it would only be like picking at each other’s painful wounds.

What Kim Hyunwoo was saying could be true.

But what if he was someone trying to sell out Hyung-nim and the company?

“Do you have somewhere to go?”

“…No…”

“Will you come with me?”

“?! R-really?”

“Yes.”

“Whoa!! Thank you so much! Thank you!”

Watching Kim Hyunwoo jump up and down, I thought.

‘Hold that thought for now.’

Whether it was true or not, I’d find out by taking him with me and checking.

If it was true, it would be a good deed, and everyone would be happy.

If not… the answer was set.

‘He’s going to beg me to kill him.’

With my face hidden by my neck warmer, I coldly twisted the corners of my lips.

At that moment, Kim Hyunwoo, who had been jumping around, flinched.

“U-um…”

“?”

A slightly frightened Kim Hyunwoo asked very cautiously.

“A-are you… angry… perhaps?”

“…Huh?”

“O-oh, no… Your expression right now is extremely… scary…”

“……”

“I-I was too noisy, wasn’t I? I’m sorry.”

The man named Kim Hyunwoo clamped his mouth shut, watching my expression.

He was truly amazing at reading people’s expressions.

I relaxed my expression, led Kim Hyunwoo, and left the spot.

Kim Hyunwoo, matching my pace and following closely, carefully asked.

“U-um, Hyung-nim. Are you going home now?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Huh? But isn’t it dangerous here? There are so many corpses too…”

“There’s still work to do.”

Kim Hyunwoo clearly wanted to leave this place immediately, but that wouldn’t do.

I walked towards the main gate where a fierce battle had taken place.

My goal of extracting information here had failed, but there was still something left to do.

If one has done work, one must be paid.

‘Shall I begin?’

A delightful settlement time for anyone.

In the gruesome scene littered with corpses, I subtly smiled.

“W-why are you smiling in a place like this?”

“……”

“Y-you’re okay… right?”

Seeing Kim Hyunwoo trembling in fear, I couldn’t help but let out a little laugh.