11 Virtues A Hero's Civilian Friend Must Uphold - Chapter 42

“…’I’m not curious’.”

Jae Kyung softly muttered, as if repeating the core of what Na Eun had just said.

The suffocating silence that had fallen between the two broke, and Jae Kyung smiled as if he had never been flustered.

“Don’t provoke me like that, Na Eun.”

If you keep doing that, I might want to make you think only of me for the rest of your life.

At that low warning, Na Eun clenched her left hand that was resting on the table.

After secretly sweeping his eyes over her clenched pinky finger, he stood up, holding the Americano Na Eun had left unfinished.

“Don’t study too hard. You know? Don’t overwork yourself and collapse like before.”

Han Jae Kyung, who could always become infinitely affectionate if he wished, pretended to be that perfect lover from three years ago and rattled off words of concern.

Na Eun, feeling no inclination to respond to that detestable act, remained silent, and Jae Kyung left first with a smirk.

Is this what it feels like after a storm has passed?

While the surroundings were still peaceful and bustling, Na Eun felt as if only her seat had been hit by a bomb.

She took a slow breath, releasing her tension only after Jae Kyung had completely left the cafe.

Belatedly, she felt cold sweat running down the back of her neck.

After barely calming her trembling shoulders, she finally gave up on studying and lay her body down on the table.

She needed some time to compose herself until it was time to go to her tutoring job.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Yoon Na Eun has been acting really strange lately.”

“Right?”

As usual, while out on a mission, Hee Won restrained his team members who were gossiping behind him, just like always.

“K, L. Stop chatting and focus on the target.”

“Yessir.”

“Yessir.”

Those two, who had been under his leadership for years, at least pretended to listen when it came to work, and quieted down to focus on the job as Hee Won said.

Today’s task was a bit different from their usual terrorist suppression or civilian rescue operations.

Standing side by side with Sun Jin and lightly stretching, Seung Joo muttered to herself.

“I can’t believe I’m even doing theft since joining the Center.”

“It’s not just theft. It’s righteous theft, righteous.”

“When you put it that way, we sound like some kind of cult.”

Enough. When Hee Won restrained them again in a low voice, the chatter immediately stopped. As Seung Joo had muttered, the goal of the three today was theft.

More precisely, their objective was to intercept military supplies being diverted from a specific defense industry company in the middle of the process.

“Is that it?”

Seung Joo, whose eyesight was several times better than ordinary people even in the darkness, pointed with her chin towards the desolate center where containers were lined up.

Hee Won nodded while checking the state of the communication device in his ear.

“Soon, those guys will transfer the goods to a cargo truck over there. We just need to take them all down and recover the entire truck.”

“Why bother with an unnecessary fight? L, can’t you just pick up the whole container and leave now?”

Seung Joo nonchalantly asked, looking at Sun Jin. Sun Jin smiled brightly and raised her middle finger.

“Am I Harry? You think I’m a wizard?”

“You do something similar, don’t you? Last time you even lifted a broken bridge.”

“I thought I was really going to die doing that, you know? If you’re not doing it yourself, shut up.”

Sun Jin snapped in irritation, even showing a vein on her forehead.

Seung Joo shrugged, saying she understood, and in the meantime, instructions came from Hee Won, who had been watching the front.

“They’re here. Stand by.”

Sun Jin and Seung Joo both closed their mouths and assumed combat positions.

The organization they faced in every terrorist incident was much larger than expected, and the range of weapons they used was beyond imagination.

This was why they often struggled against the Center’s heroes, despite having ordinary human bodies without special abilities.

Whenever they encountered and clashed one-on-one, strangely, the enemies had dozens of times the normal level of stamina and strength, and all the weapons they used were cutting-edge, making them inevitably troublesome opponents for the heroes who faced them almost barehanded in every battle.

After years of fierce fighting, the Center finally deduced that the problematic organization had full connections with several military supply companies.

Otherwise, they couldn’t have procured and wasted countless firearms and bombs that were difficult to obtain directly in our country every time.

While there are typical routes for criminals to obtain weapons, this organization didn’t seem to be connected to foreign crime syndicates, and although they operated independently, their trail was strangely difficult to catch.

If that’s the case, it means they’re obtaining weapons domestically, and Hee Won still wondered about the identity of these guys who were accomplishing something nearly impossible in Korea.

Moreover, comprehensive research was needed on the organization members with bizarre strength who could stand against heroes without being born with special abilities.

After securing a few routes through which military supplies were being transported to these guys, both abroad and domestically, and tracking the whereabouts of weapons being diverted through number games, they had finally arrived at this place.

Eventually, several large cargo trucks entered near the port, and the three people silently prepared to move, catching sight of a few black figures emerging from there and secretly entering the containers.

No matter how much the opponents had done to their bodies to become stronger than ordinary people, the possibility of them winning against the three who were born with superpowers was slim.

After silently watching the guys move weapons to the cargo trucks for a while, Hee Won suddenly furrowed his brow, recalling something from the documents he had received before the mission.

He also recalled the whispers of his team members as they flipped through those documents beside him.

‘Oh, isn’t this Na Eun’s company?’

‘It really is.’

While there were many companies involved in the domestic defense industry, the original owner of the military supplies they were about to seize today happened to be a company that both he and his team members knew.

Or rather, it was a famous company that most citizens would know, but it had a different meaning for him and his team members.

It must be a coincidence. It’s not even Na Eun’s anymore. It belongs to someone else now.

Seung Joo had spoken as if she didn’t care much, and Sun Jin had also treated it as a simple coincidence, but Hee Won somehow couldn’t shake off an uneasy feeling about the series of recent events.

It’s just one among many affiliates. Why do I feel so dirty about this? The intuition he had developed over years of hero work and team leadership was strangely anxious.

Moreover, when he thought of Na Eun, who had been excessively sensitive and unable to control her emotions recently, his mind became complicated.

He cleared his thoughts by readjusting the mask he was wearing.

For now, he decided to focus on the given mission, and revisiting all the questions that had arisen from the beginning would have to be done later.

[This is the timeline separator]

Na Eun, who had recently been unable to sleep at night whether by choice or not, was now quite accustomed to staying awake past 3 AM.

With the mindset of studying since she couldn’t sleep anyway, Na Eun was looking at her major textbook in the corner of her room when she suddenly glanced at her phone ringing on the desk.

There shouldn’t be anyone contacting me at this hour. When she unlocked the screen and checked, there was a message from Hee Won.

[Are you available to talk now?]

Thinking that he wouldn’t contact her at this hour for an ordinary matter, and feeling sorry for having hurt him with unnecessary words recently, Na Eun chose to reply promptly.

[Yeah. I was awake. What’s the matter?] [Can you come out in front of your house?]

The immediate reply and the question itself about coming out in front of her house were different from usual. She quickly pressed the call button.

“What’s going on? Are you in front of our house right now?”

[I’m sorry. My thoughts became urgent and I acted first. If it’s difficult for you, we can talk tomorrow.]

Hee Won’s voice was calm, not sounding like he had urgent business.

However, the fact that he contacted her at this hour and came to meet her was unusual in itself, so Na Eun said she would go out.

She wasn’t bothered at all about meeting Hee Won suddenly, as she had been unable to sleep and was just studying anyway.

After dressing hastily and opening the iron gate outside, Na Eun approached Hee Won, who was standing at a distance.

The dawn of late autumn heading towards winter was quite cold.

She placed a hand warmer she had brought from home into Hee Won’s hand.

Accepting it and briefly showing a complex expression, Hee Won was asked by Na Eun.

“What’s the matter? Did something happen to Seung Joo or Sun Jin?”

Having barely been in contact with her friends recently, she first thought that maybe there had been an accident and they were injured.

Hee Won shook his head at her anxious eyes.

“Those guys are healthy to the point of excess every day, so don’t worry.”

“Then why? At this hour…”

“…”

Hee Won silently looked at her, then let out a low sigh. After seemingly pondering and choosing his words several times, he finally opened his mouth.

“Everything I’m about to say is just speculation. There’s no evidence.”

After quickly reviewing the recent events in his mind following the end of the mission, he regretted his own simplicity in attributing Na Eun’s recent strange state merely to exam period stress.

At least if one was in charge of personal security, they should have been sensitive to all aspects of the subject’s personal life and condition.

He slowly began to speak to Na Eun, who was calmly waiting.

“…I’m sorry to ask about something you might not want to remember, but three years ago, when your company’s stock suddenly fell and your mother had a hard time…”

“…Did that happen?”

Na Eun just tilted her head slightly but didn’t deny it outright.

When their circumstances suddenly worsened and they were busy moving, Na Eun was not in a normal psychological state, so all such external problems were entirely her mother Soo Hyun’s responsibility.

Hee Won asked with a hardened expression.

“I thought it was a bit strange then too… Losing management rights, let’s put that aside. Actually, that too… No. Let’s focus on what’s important first. But why did all those real estate properties and cash assets suddenly disappear?”