11 Virtues A Hero's Civilian Friend Must Uphold (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 2
The word “ordinary” can be interpreted in many ways, but Na Eun readily admits that while she herself is thoroughly ordinary, she is also, in some ways, quite extraordinary.
Compared to the exceptionalness of her friends—who had stuck by her side all throughout high school—it might not seem like much, but growing up in a household that was not just relatively, but extremely wealthy compared to others was, after all, fairly unusual.
Even now, recalling the expressions on Seung Joo’s and Seon Jin’s faces when she confessed she’d never once taken the subway or a bus in her entire life made her cringe—and that was exactly why, starting from the summer vacation of her second year of high school, she stubbornly insisted on going out using public transportation once or twice a week.
Just remembering how she’d once wandered from car to car, worrying, “Where could my reserved seat be?” after falling for a friend’s mischievous lie about designated subway seats still makes her want to kick off her blanket in embarrassment even in her sleep.
To top it off, there were her two friends behind her, doubled over with laughter but trying hard to hold it in.
Of course, that was all in the past.
Now, Na Eun could comfortably check routes on her app beforehand and ride the subway naturally, and she climbed the stairs leading out of the station with familiar ease.
At the top, she beamed at the figure waiting for her as if on cue.
“Jae Kyung!”
“Take it slow. Don’t run.”
Jae Kyung, who had been fiddling with his phone, chuckled and stopped Na Eun as she dashed up the stairs toward him.
Knowing she wouldn’t listen anyway, Jae Kyung had already stepped down a few stairs to meet her halfway and smoothly took the bag hanging from her arm.
Na Eun, just as naturally, handed over her bag and happily linked her arm through Jae Kyung’s.
“Did you miss me?”
“Of course I did.”
Na Eun’s cheeks flushed red at her boyfriend’s gentle reply.
Even though they’d been dating for nearly a year, Jae Kyung had remained consistently kind.
Avoiding his gaze out of shyness, Na Eun distractedly fiddled with her phone to change the subject.
“What time was our movie again?”
But Jae Kyung wasn’t about to let her off that easily.
“What about you?”
“Huh?”
“Did you miss me?”
“…….”
With their arms linked and both slightly bowing their heads toward each other, their faces were now so close that if they moved just a little nearer, her cheek would brush his lips.
Under Jae Kyung’s teasing interrogation, Na Eun lasted only three seconds.
One. Two. Three.
“……I missed you.”
Jae Kyung burst into an affectionate laugh at Na Eun’s embarrassed confession, her face buried deep in her chest.
Annoyed by his reaction, Na Eun yanked her arm free as if shaking off his hold.
As she tried to storm ahead of him, Jae Kyung grabbed her arm gently and asked soothingly,
“What’s wrong?”
“Ugh, never mind! I hate you.”
“Don’t say that. We haven’t seen each other in a whole week. Please love me.”
“I don’t know!”
Jae Kyung laughed softly as he pulled the pouting Na Eun into a hug from behind.
“Sorry, sorry.”
Let’s get popcorn. Your favorite flavor.
Knowing full well how easily she gave in to food, her boyfriend’s tactic worked instantly. Na Eun narrowed her eyes playfully and tilted her head up to meet Jae Kyung’s gaze—his eyes much higher than hers.
“Get me nachos too.”
“Yes, yes.”
We’ll be late for the movie. Let’s hurry.
Though they were the same age, Jae Kyung was remarkably skilled at soothing Na Eun like an older brother, and he effortlessly guided her toward the theater as naturally as flowing water.
[This is the timeline separator]“You’re dating? You?!” That was the typical reaction from most people when she mentioned having a boyfriend.
It was understandable—Na Eun had been the so-called “top student” at school since middle school, obsessively focused on her grades to the point that no one imagined her paying attention to anything beyond academics.
But her first love had swept in unexpectedly, shaking her heart in an instant, and before she knew it, she already had a boyfriend.
Though they didn’t attend the same school and couldn’t see each other daily, they had steady dates every weekend, and Jae Kyung sometimes even came to her school just to see her—so she rarely felt lonely during their relationship.
From what her friends observed, it was clear Jae Kyung was far more mature than others his age.
They’d never had any major fights, and whenever they argued, he would always be the first to yield and apologize—an impressively mature boyfriend who became the envy of her friends who were dating.
Seung Joo and Seon Jin, who’d never had boyfriends themselves, simply watched Na Eun’s love story from the sidelines, sticking to their stance that she was “having too much fun.”
Either way, from Na Eun’s perspective, Jae Kyung was always the boyfriend she could lean on.
After the movie, at the dessert café they stopped by, Na Eun stared blankly as Jae Kyung unwrapped the cake box meant for her share.
Noticing her gaze, Jae Kyung tilted his head.
“What?”
“Nothing. I just… love you.”
He chuckled at her silly remark and asked,
“Was the movie fun?”
“Yeah. But I cried. The ending was just so….”
Na Eun’s expression turned gloomy, recalling the heartbreaking finale of the recently released superhero film.
“Why do heroes always have to be so pitiful? It’s so sad.”
“They chose that path themselves, didn’t they?”
“How is that a choice? They took it on out of duty.”
As a passionate fan intimately familiar with the lore of every superhero universe—including those from M Corp. and D Corp.—Na Eun shook her head firmly, deeply immersed in the story.
Jae Kyung just laughed, amused by her reaction.
“You really pity the protagonist that much?”
“Yeah. Just thinking about it makes me tear up.”
Don’t you? When she asked him this, Jae Kyung simply shrugged.
“Not really.”
“You have no blood or tears in you.”
“Haha.”
Faced with his girlfriend’s baseless accusation, Jae Kyung neither confirmed nor denied it, saying instead,
“Well… real-life heroes in our country really are pitiful.”
Did you see the news the other day? A bridge collapsed this time. It had already been the talk of her school yesterday, so there was no way Jae Kyung hadn’t heard.
Na Eun nodded as she chewed the bite of cake Jae Kyung had fed her with his fork.
“Yeah. I saw it.”
“He was amazing—lifting a car out from under the collapsed bridge with his bare hands.”
“……Amazing, indeed.”
That’s why Seon Jin was writing with her left hand yesterday—she said her shoulder was hurting.
Remembering how she’d copied her notes for Seon Jin after seeing her messy handwriting, Na Eun quietly swallowed a sigh.
Oblivious to her strange reaction, Jae Kyung continued,
“The ones who showed up yesterday… were K and El, right?”
“How would anyone tell who’s who when they’re completely covered from head to toe in black?”
“Their builds are slightly different. People who care can tell them apart.”
“Seriously, there are way too many people with nothing better to do.”
Na Eun snapped sharply.
Why bother so hard to identify people who clearly wore hoods to hide their identities? She knew that fan clubs for certain heroes existed, some with tens of thousands of members—but Na Eun remained quite skeptical of that culture.
For those who didn’t want their identities revealed, attention itself brought no benefit.
Moreover, her closest friends happened to be right at the center of that attention, and all she felt was a strong urge to protect them.
“What? I’m a fan too. Heroes are cool, aren’t they?”
I should ask for a handshake if I ever meet them. Na Eun just gave an awkward smile at Jae Kyung’s uncharacteristically cheerful remark.
If you really knew who they were, you wouldn’t say that.
She remembered just yesterday during break time—Seung Joo playing music in class, copying the singer’s dance moves, then suddenly collapsing onto the floor, crying out that her back hurt; and Seon Jin right beside her, mimicking Seung Joo’s writhing with bizarre, lizard-like gestures.
And it fell to Na Eun to look down in exasperation as Seon Jin, having forgotten her earlier pain, clutched her right shoulder and rolled dramatically onto the floor too.
“Ah! Sh—… I forgot my shoulder was dislocated… geez.”
“You should be more careful. Are you trying to show everyone how dumb you are?”
“Don’t provoke me! You’re the one with the bad back!”
“You two be careful. Should I play this one next?”
Of course, it was Na Eun herself who’d played the song on her phone like a conductor in front of them.
Truly, “birds of a feather flock together” was an apt old saying.
Although her parents were open-minded and didn’t strongly oppose their high school daughter dating, they weren’t indifferent enough to let her come home late on weekend evenings unchecked.
Sure enough, the moment it passed 11 p.m., her phone rang as if on cue.
After checking the message from Driver Yoon, who was nearby, Na Eun stepped out of the café and turned to Jae Kyung.
“I should go now. Driver Yoon’s here.”
“It’s already 11?”
Having dated Na Eun for over a year, Jae Kyung knew her curfew well and looked disappointed.
“I wish we could stay together longer.”
“Then should we meet again tomorrow?”
“Would that be possible?”
“Yeah. After my tutoring ends, I’m supposed to take a baking class with Mom, but once that’s over…”
Though her schedule wasn’t completely free, Na Eun was mentally reviewing tomorrow’s plans, curling her fingers as she tried to carve out time for a date with her boyfriend.
CRASH—! Suddenly, a loud noise rang out—and Na Eun’s body lurched backward.
More precisely, Jae Kyung, who’d been standing right in front of her, had wrapped his arms around her and yanked her away.
“KYAAAAAH!”
A scream—not her own—echoed from somewhere nearby.
Safely cradled in Jae Kyung’s arms as they rolled across the ground, Na Eun felt no major pain and quickly darted her eyes around to understand what was happening.
What? What’s going on?
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
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Wow! Finally a glimpse of the Center Directors scolding >.<