Bang. The button was pressed with a rough punch, and in an instant, the emergency bell rang throughout the entire building, alerting everyone of the warning.

The sound relentlessly pounded on their eardrums, causing everyone on the first floor lobby to freeze in their tracks.

“What’s going on?”

“I heard a bomb exploded in a nearby building. Could it be… here too…?”

“Let’s get out first, everyone!”

Normally, people would have thought it was a false alarm due to their usual lack of safety awareness, but the recent increase in terrorist attacks in the city had made everyone sensitive.

Na Eun blankly watched people frantically make their way to the exit amidst the chaotic atmosphere.

Across the lobby, the crowd had already dispersed.

Only her poor friend remained sprawled on the floor with a piece of metal lodged in her shoulder.

The man who had been lingering nearby, trying to lift Seung Joo’s hat, had also fled.

Na Eun turned her head again in a daze and looked at the person standing in front of her.

The man who had run ahead of her and pressed the emergency bell was panting, his face grave as he worriedly glanced at Seung Joo lying in the center of the lobby.

“Seok Hoon oppa…”

“……”

At the sound of his name being called, Seok Hoon slowly turned his head to face Na Eun.

As their eyes met, Na Eun closed her mouth.

His complicated gaze held all the answers, filled with anguish and heartache.

For a moment, Na Eun felt like crying.

It had been worthwhile to keep the earpiece-shaped communicator even after withdrawing her personal security detail.

Fortunately, Na Eun was able to contact Hee Won and inform him of Seung Joo’s current condition and location. Upon hearing the news, he had rushed to pick up his team member.

As Hee Won silently gazed at her while holding the bleeding Seung Joo in his arms, Na Eun shook her head.

“No need for any explanations. Just go.”

She could feel Hee Won’s gaze on her from between his black hat and mask.

But she forced a smile, trying to lift the corners of her mouth that refused to rise.

As a civilian, there was nothing more she could do for him and his friend other than to ease their worries a little.

“Hurry up and go. You’re busy, aren’t you?”

She’s badly hurt. You need to get her treated quickly.

Na Eun stared at Seung Joo, who was unconscious in Hee Won’s arms, her eyes brimming with tears.

Hee Won simply nodded in farewell and soon turned around, disappearing from the scene.

The empty hospital lobby on the first floor was left with only the red blood spilled by Seung Joo, drenching the floor.

With both her unconscious friend and Hee Won gone, the remaining space was filled with a desolate wind.

She stood there, rooted to the spot, slowly closing and opening her eyes.

She needed to prepare herself, and it took some time before she could turn around.

Seok Hoon was still standing at a distance. Na Eun quietly raised her gaze to meet his eyes.

Seok Hoon didn’t avoid her gaze either.

A suffocating silence wedged between them, but neither of them could easily break it first.

Thus, they remained in their spots for quite a long time.

Because they both knew.

They needed to talk.

Near the university hospital was a fairly large park.

Usually, it was a bustling place filled with many people on picnics, but today, due to the terrorist attack that had occurred nearby, it was quiet for now.

Sitting next to Seok Hoon on a bench on the left side of the park, Na Eun was earnestly pondering what to say first to make it less awkward.

But no matter how much she thought about it, there was no clear answer, and just as she was hesitating, Seok Hoon spoke first.

“I heard a bomb exploded in a nearby building. Are you hurt?”

It was a kind question befitting his character. Feeling slightly less tense, she shook her head with an awkward smile.

“I was only in the hospital… Are you okay?”

“I’m fine too. I was only in the hospital building.”

“But what were you doing at the hospital…?”

She asked cautiously. Are you not feeling well? In response to her concern, Seok Hoon smiled with a good-natured expression.

“No. My uncle works here. I came to see him and… ended up witnessing it.”

The atmosphere became awkward again with his subsequent words.

Na Eun lowered her head, staring at the ground and the tips of her sneakers. Seok Hoon also remained silent for a moment.

This time, she mustered up the courage to break the silence first.

“Since when did you know?”

Lacking the skill to beat around the bush, she went straight to the point. Seok Hoon calmly answered her straightforward question without surprise.

“About a month ago.”

“……”

“There wasn’t any particular trigger. I just found out while being by your side.”

Na Eun nodded deeply in agreement with his vague explanation.

It had been the same for her.

In her first year of high school, when she became friends with Sun Jin and Seung Joo, there was no significant event that made her aware of their identities.

When you spend a lot of time together, you naturally start to notice things.

Whenever something happened on the news, they couldn’t be reached, and sometimes when news of a terrorist attack broke out, they would show up injured the next day. They seemed to have no specific job, yet they were incredibly busy.

When you cherish someone, including all those abnormalities, you eventually figure it out.

Ah, my precious person is a hero.

…One who doesn’t know how to cherish themselves.

“…I thought you might have known too.”

You said you were old friends. At Seok Hoon’s words, Na Eun bit her lip. There was no hint of accusation in his tone.

He showed no resentment towards his girlfriend and junior who had deceived him.

But strangely, she felt the need to apologize and clumsily expressed her regret.

“I’m sorry.”

To her surprise, Seok Hoon widened his eyes as if he had heard something completely unexpected and then laughed.

“There’s no need to apologize, yet you’re saying sorry. You too, and Seung Joo as well.”

“……”

“I guess you’re alike because you’re friends.”

You resemble her.

At Seok Hoon’s words, what Seung Joo had muttered a few times in passing came to mind instead.

Na Eun now acknowledged it. Seok Hoon indeed had many similarities to her.

“Na Eun, can I ask you for one favor?”

Seok Hoon asked her as she struggled to find the right words to say.

Na Eun felt genuinely sorry towards Seok Hoon, but she couldn’t bring herself to promise that she would do anything he asked.

In reality, there was hardly anything she could do for him regarding Seung Joo at the moment.

However, she didn’t think Seok Hoon was the type to make unreasonable requests, so she waited patiently for him to continue.

After a moment’s hesitation, Seok Hoon spoke.

“Can you keep it a secret from Seung Joo that I know?”

“……”

“I don’t want to make her worry. Especially not now.”

Although she didn’t know the details, it was impossible not to realize that the situation she was in was very bad, with heroes being cursed by the entire nation.

Seok Hoon had to forcibly learn what it felt like to have his heart drop to the floor when he saw his girlfriend bleeding miserably today.

It was difficult to endure the helplessness of not being able to do anything for her in that situation.

Yet he had to endure it because, at the very least, his girlfriend was bearing a heavier reality than him right now.

In response to Seok Hoon’s request, Na Eun made a sad face for a moment before speaking.

“Seung Joo… Seung Joo is worried that you’ll hate her.”

“You should at least contact Seok Hoon oppa even if you can’t with me.”

The last time they met their friends at the hideout Ji Hwan had taken them to, Na Eun had scolded Seung Joo like that.

But Seung Joo had avoided her reprimand by talking in circles. Given Seung Joo’s honest personality, there was only one reason for that.

She was afraid.

“It’s true that she’s really busy right now and gets injured often like you saw today, so she can’t contact you. But she’s also afraid that you’ll hate her.”

At Na Eun’s words, Seok Hoon’s expression hardened a little.

“You know, right? All the news and everything else is just cursing Seung Joo and the others. I think Seung Joo is scared that you might do the same.”

“……”

“I think she doesn’t have the confidence to bear it if she meets you and hears you curse her without knowing her identity.”

As an old friend, Na Eun knew why Seung Joo wasn’t contacting Seok Hoon more.

So she couldn’t help but meddle out of pity.

“She cares about you that much, so if she knew that you were aware of everything and still waiting for her, wouldn’t Seung Joo feel a little less anxious?”

“…If that’s really the case, then it’s my fault.”

Seok Hoon, who had been quietly listening to Na Eun’s story, let out a low scoff.

“It’s my fault for making her feel that my heart is that shallow.”

“……”

“I must not have shown enough conviction to make her believe that I would curse the people who saved her just because of what others say.”

His self-deprecating tone startled her.

No, that’s not what she meant… As she denied it in confusion, Seok Hoon said to her.

“Na Eun, everyone around me is on the heroes’ side.”

“……”

“I don’t know what the atmosphere is like in other places, but anyway, that’s how it is. My uncle who works at this hospital was saved by them during the subway fire last time, and my mother was on the first floor of the department store where the bomb exploded, but she barely survived. Thanks to someone who shielded her from the falling debris.”

At Seok Hoon’s words, Na Eun closed her mouth. She suddenly looked around at the actual people around her.

Of course, many had changed their attitudes as if turning their hands, but among them, there were still a few who maintained their trust in those who had saved them.

A minority, but they definitely existed. Including her. And including Seok Hoon.

“My mother said that at least those who have had their lives directly saved wouldn’t be able to think it was staged. Who would risk their own life for a staged act? No matter how superhuman they are, the fear of death is the same for everyone.”

“……”

“Make sure to tell Seung Joo this. There are definitely people who believe in you, so don’t waver.”

Seok Hoon revealed his feelings towards her without hiding them, saying that at least he wasn’t wavering.

Na Eun remained in a dazed state for a moment, moving her lips before asking.

“…Will you really pretend not to know in front of Seung Joo?”

“At least until Seung Joo gains confidence about me and tells me directly, I’ll act as if I don’t know.”

So please cooperate, Seok Hoon requested, and Na Eun asked again.

“What if Seung Joo never tells you?”

“……”

“If she keeps lying and deceiving you, keeps getting hurt, and never tells you the truth, then what?”

Why was she asking these questions? Was there an answer she wanted to hear?

Na Eun questioned herself as to why she was asking such things, but it was already after she had spoken.

Unintentionally, it had turned into a somewhat confrontational question from a rude junior, but Seok Hoon didn’t get angry.

Instead, with a somewhat resigned face, he spoke with a smile.

“Na Eun, I really like Seung Joo.”