“Is it that great?”

On the way back to her house, Kasha held the precious sign Daril had given her close to her chest and climbed the stairs with excitement. Seo Hee Won looked up at her from behind with a strange expression as she walked with a bounce in her step, unable to hide her excitement.

“Yes! I’m going to keep this as a family heirloom.”

After all, it was the actual signature of a hero. The very first one to appear, at that.

She was sincere about all hero narratives, including the M Company Universe, but the weight of heroes existing in reality was different.

By chance, her friends had become heroes, shattering her fantasy, so she rarely had a chance to express her fandom outwardly, but she truly respected and loved all the alphabetical heroes that existed in reality.

And this was the very first alphabet.

The situation was serious, so she tried to hold back, but she really couldn’t.

She had no regrets, as she had gained this treasure by honestly expressing herself despite the embarrassment.

On the other hand, at Kasha’s words about keeping his ill-tempered uncle’s signature as a family heirloom, Seo Hee Won shook his head.

It was a reaction that came from genuine incomprehension.

“He’s just an uncle.”

“Just an uncle? How could that be? How can just an uncle be so handsome?”

At her words, Seo Hee Won’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Handsome?”

“Yes! He’s so cool. He’s just like a movie protagonist!”

“Then what about me?”

At Seo Hee Won’s question, Kasha hesitated for a moment before laughing.

“You… You’re handsome too!”

If it had been a long time ago, she would have raised her middle finger and scolded him, saying that looks don’t matter and that personality comes first. If it had been a little while ago, she would have joked that even if he was handsome, he wasn’t her type.

However, just like their recently rapidly changing relationship, Kasha was at a loss for a moment as to how to answer.

In the end, she chose an answer that wouldn’t go against his mood too much. Seo Hee Won laughed at her.

“Then what’s the point? It’s completely useless to you.”

“……”

Kasha was taken aback by his all-too-natural words. This had been happening frequently these days, but it was really hard to get used to.

While not hiding his feelings for her, Seo Hee Won’s sincerity, which he revealed fully without forcing her, was heavy.

As she averted her gaze, Seo Hee Won laughed softly and changed the subject for her sake, knowing she would be at a loss.

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Of what?”

Kasha blinked as she asked back to Seo Hee Won’s question.

Seo Hee Won remained silent, and she quickly understood the words contained in that silence.

He was asking if she wasn’t afraid of all the situations she was currently facing.

It was a reality where a criminal organization was openly targeting her and her mother’s lives.

For an ordinary person, it would be normal to be fearful and anxious every day.

Kasha tilted her head and pondered for a while to give a sincere answer to Seo Hee Won’s question.

I’m in a really dangerous situation right now, so should I keep being scared? Is that the right thing to do?

The pondering ended in a few seconds.

Holding the signature paper close to her chest, she smiled brightly and said,

“It’s okay. Justice always prevails!”

“……”

“No?”

He was faced with unwavering trust directed towards him.

Seo Hee Won smiled, deciding to gladly bear that pressure.

“……Yes.”

He never thought that good always wins, and rather, he often had a cynical view of the world, but he decided not to reveal it and simply agreed.

“You’re right.”

Justice must always prevail.

If that’s what you want.

Public opinion is like a boiling pot.

Sitting in a chair in the waiting room of a university hospital, Kasha stared blankly at the TV on the wall and thought so.

The titles that had been full of praise for the heroes until recently had somehow turned into a tone used for potential criminals.

The news only showed breaking news related to the corruption of opposition politicians, and footage of the recent terrorist attacks in the city was constantly being played.

The reason for deliberately showing the horrific scenes where people were dying was clear.

It must mean to inform again that all these tragedies were the self-produced dramas of the so-called ‘fraudsters’ who were called heroes, and to be angry.

Kasha thought it was really too much.

Many people don’t know, but she already knows the hidden side of heroes.

Although they were born with extraordinary abilities that others didn’t have, that was it. They were just people.

When they were hungry, their stomachs growled. When they were hurt, they were in pain. When they couldn’t sleep, they were tired. Just people.

They said they did it like it was their job, but if it was a job, no one would want to do it.

When a terrorist attack occurred, they had to rush day and night to save people, so there was no such thing as a personal life.

They had to jump into life-threatening situations every time.

Sometimes, when they failed to save people, they even received criticism from the bereaved families that they shouldn’t have received.

Even if their physical and mental labor were calculated in money, billions of won in annual salary wouldn’t be enough, but it didn’t seem like they were working with such treatment.

So all the heroes she knew were great people who contributed to social justice with a complete sense of responsibility and spirit of sacrifice.

She knew that Sun Jin, who loved music and entered a related department, had been held back last semester due to frequent absences.

She knew about Seung Joo, who, despite her mother’s nagging and scolding to retake the exam, had stubbornly applied to a school far from home and was juggling her personal life and hero activities.

At the age of twenty, when they wanted to do the most, Jae Won had decided to give up all the things he enjoyed and use his future to save others.

Even ‘that’ Seo Hee Won could inherit his family’s business and live an enviable life if he quit his hero activities, but he wasn’t doing that.

They were dedicated even when no one appreciated it, and they didn’t even think it was dedication.

Then, shouldn’t at least the public who were saved by them not criticize them?

Kasha was sure that at least one of those who wrote malicious comments on the Internet had the experience of being saved by her friends.

That’s how much they were saving others every day to the point where it felt like there weren’t enough hours in a day.

Everything was a tragedy caused by misunderstanding, but knowing the whole situation, she couldn’t hide her distressed feelings.

She deliberately took out her cell phone and fiddled with the messenger to avoid looking at the TV screen.

The warning that they would be busy was accurate, and she didn’t wait for her friends or Seo Hee Won to contact her.

She just desperately stared at their profiles that popped up on the messenger like a talisman.

Wishing they wouldn’t get hurt. Praying that no matter what happened, they would be okay.

She finished the counseling session safely and came out.

Rather than really needing mental health treatment, Kasha deliberately exaggerated her condition a little to the doctor in charge because she just needed an excuse to go down to Jeju Island.

She was sorry for lying, but she decided to give herself absolution because she had no choice for a more important matter.

After settling the medical expenses at the place where she paid after the interview, Kasha carefully took the receipt, which was important evidence.

She was going to take this and go to her mother tomorrow to tell her the seriousness of her condition.

If she whined that she wanted to rest because she was having a hard time, her mother Soo Hyun was the kind of person who would drop everything and go with her to Jeju Island or even abroad for her sake.

The confidence was easy because she was overflowing with love she received from her mother.

As she put her wallet and receipt in her bag and was about to head to the hospital exit, she stopped when she saw people gathered in the lobby.

It was a university hospital that was usually crowded with people, but the chaotic atmosphere wasn’t ordinary.

In the spacious first-floor lobby, a crowd of dozens of people was gathered around something.

Kasha, who carefully listened to the murmuring sounds, squeezed through the people who had gathered with a pale expression and went inside.

And she had to cover her mouth with both hands to keep from screaming at the sight that caught her eye.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know. Some person in black clothes threw it there and left.”

“It looks badly injured… Why can’t it move?”

“Well, I don’t know about that. But shouldn’t we treat it? That’s why they left it here. It’s a hospital.”

“Treatment? Those aren’t the kind of people who need that. Besides, who knows if that’s a show too.”

It was Seung Joo. A black hat and a black mask.

Even if she was dressed in all black from head to toe, she could recognize her now.

The problem was the long metal pipe stuck in her shoulder.

Even though she was wearing black clothes, the area around the wound, which was soaked in red liquid, was clearly visible.

Terrible colored blood dripped onto the white marble floor of the hospital.

Someone nearby muttered that there had been a terrorist attack nearby, and it seemed that she had ended up like this while dealing with it.

Kasha was sure in an instant that whoever had thrown her friend into this hospital lobby and left was not a hero.

If they were really on the same team, they would have taken her to their own ward where they could secretly treat her.

Throwing Seung Joo in the middle of this university hospital where the public frequents was definitely malicious.

Currently, they had become nationwide fraudsters and could never expect goodwill from the public.

The proof was that none of the many people surrounding the unconscious Seung Joo showed any intention of helping.

Kasha looked around with a pale expression.

She had to help her somehow, but she didn’t know what would be the wisest way to do it.

She hurriedly touched her earrings, but as the center director Daril had said about the ‘manpower shortage,’ Seo Hee Won was so insanely busy that he couldn’t give her any response.

To make matters worse, one of the people closest to Seung Joo was slowly approaching the unconscious girl.

It wasn’t to help.

What the man was cautiously and stealthily trying to peek at was Seung Joo’s face, which was hidden by her hat and black hair.

Previously, the majority had tried to protect their anonymity out of moral obligation, but now the situation was the opposite.

Kasha was about to run over and stop him, but accepted that she alone could not fend off the hostility of the crowd.

Kasha suddenly remembered the location of the fire hydrant near the emergency exit stairs on the first floor lobby.

Next to it was an emergency bell that would loudly ring throughout the building when pressed in case of an emergency.

Without even looking, Kasha broke through the crowd and ran out.

Forgetting that she was out of breath, she ran frantically towards the emergency exit. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man who had approached right in front of Seung Joo bend his knees.

It was only a matter of seconds before a curious hand took off her friend’s hat.

Faster. Faster. Faster. She arrived at the fire hydrant, frantically repeating it in her mind and blaming herself for not running fast enough.

However, at the sight that greeted her, Kasha was so surprised that she stood still and couldn’t do anything.