Chapter 87

<Episode 88> Even Assholes Can Be the Main Character If They Last 90 Episodes

“Wh-what the heck?”

Young-hee couldn’t understand herself right now.

She had just bumped into someone, that’s all.

He hadn’t done anything suspicious or threatening.

If anything, he’d been kind and caring.

So why was she trembling like this?

“Are you hurt?”

Ah, y-yes…

Young-hee struggled to speak. She knew she should say something, but she didn’t know what.

Before she could stutter out a reply, Chul-soo took off his jacket and placed it over her head.

“Where did that bastard Yu-jin Kim go?”

“Aah, he went to fight monsters…”

“Tch! It’s dangerous here. You need to hide somewhere safe.”

With that, he grabbed his sword and dashed off again.

Far in the distance stood a monstrous creature larger and more grotesque than the others.

Was he really going to fight THAT thing?

She couldn’t look away from his retreating back.

“It hurts…”

Suddenly, something began poking at her heart.

Even though she had no memories, even though she didn’t know who this person was…

Her chest ached.

A tear rolled down her cheek.

“I don’t get it…”

She didn’t understand why her heart felt so painful.

Why she wanted to stop him.

Why she was so worried about Chul-soo.

No matter how hard she tried, the memories wouldn’t come.

Though she knew nothing, her heart felt like it was being torn apart.

Her mind was getting more and more jumbled by the second.

“Do you know why I’ve been nice to you?”

“Huh?”

Rime suddenly spoke up.

“It’s because I empathize with you.”

“Empathy…?”

“In my old country, I wouldn’t have cared if someone like you lived or died, whether you lost your memory or not.”

This was an unvarnished truth.

Even now, Rime was only staying put under the pretense of protecting Young-hee.

Slimes—monsters—had no reason to help humans.

Yet Rime made an exception for Young-hee.

“But now, I have someone precious to me. Someone I want to see smile and stay by my side forever.”

“Oh…”

It was obvious without saying that this person was Yu-jin.

The affection Rime felt for Yu-jin was palpable just from looking at her eyes.

That feeling was so sweet it made onlookers happy too.

“For you, it must have been Chul-soo, right? That’s why I couldn’t just stand by.”

Chul-soo was precious to her like that?

Did she feel such grand emotions for him?

Is that why it hurt so much now?

“Before, I told you—you didn’t lose your memories. You’re just refusing to remember them.”

Rime nodded as she watched Chul-soo fiercely battle far away.

“But unfortunately, I can’t coddle you anymore. Decide now. Once you choose, there’s no second chance.”

“……”

“Do you, Young-hee, want to recover your memories? Or do you want to live forgetting them forever?”

*

The girl running hard turned her head back.

There it was—another monster flying toward them.

Without realizing it, she tightly gripped her younger sister’s hand.

If they stopped even for a moment, that monster would rip them to shreds.

“Sis, I’m tired…”

“Don’t talk! Use that energy to run!”

Though she said it, Jee-yeon had reached her limit too.

Her breath came in short gasps, her heart felt like it would explode, and her weak legs trembled as if they would collapse any second.

But she couldn’t stop.

Because she saw the inevitable outcome even at her young age.

“God…”

Meanwhile, the monster’s speed didn’t slow down one bit.

If anything, it was getting closer.

Of course, it made sense.

Her little sister was only five years old after all.

Weak, and now exhausted, her running speed slowed more and more.

There was no way they could escape like this.

-Let go of your sister’s hand.

-You’ll survive if you run alone.

-You both know we’ll die if we keep going like this, right?

Suddenly, Jee-yeon shook off the tempting whispers in her head.

As if resisting them, she gripped her sister’s hand even tighter.

I’d rather die than leave this kid behind!

“Look out, sis!”

“Huh?”

Had she blinked for a moment? She belatedly noticed another monster jumping out from the alley ahead.

She barely managed to stop in time.

The momentum almost made her fall over.

Her legs, pushed to their limits, screamed in protest.

But she had no time to care about that.

“Behind us!”

Behind them, the earlier monster continued its pursuit.

It seemed to realize there was no escape route left.

Its steps were slower, more leisurely than before.

There was no way out to either side.

Front and back were completely blocked.

Despair.

Even at her young age, she fully understood that emotion.

“Sis…”

“It’s okay. We’ll be fine…”

Jee-yeon’s voice trembled just as much as her sister’s.

The monsters drew closer.

Jee-yeon positioned her sister to crouch against the wall while she stood in front.

As if trying to shield her younger sibling with her own body.

But everyone knew how fragile that shield was.

It would crumble with just one step.

Knowing this, Jee-yeon still stretched out her arms wide to protect her sister.

The monsters grew nearer.

“Sniff… Sis… Are we gonna die?”

“No way! Who says we’re dying?! We’ll be fine. Everything will be fine…”

“Wah…”

Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes.

Of course Jee-yeon was scared.

What wrong had they done?

All she wanted was to let her little sister taste the ice cream sold only in the city.

She had painstakingly saved her allowance to bring her here.

Her sister had come full of excitement.

Why did this have to happen to such a young child?!

God, I don’t care about myself. I’ve sinned. But please, save my sister at least!

The sky gave no answer.

The monster nearby raised its hand.

Jee-yeon could only watch helplessly.

Ah, that monstrous arm would surely split her in two.

Then it would kill her sister next.

Somehow, she had to stop that.

But she had no power.

All she could do was become a shield to protect her sister.

“No!”

Feeling a mixture of fear and powerlessness,

Jee-yeon hugged her sister tightly.

She hoped the unintelligent monsters would see their corpses together and think they were one.

Of course, it was an absurd hope.

But couldn’t miracles happen sometimes?

“Sis!”

“It’s okay! I’ll definitely protect you!”

As death approached, Jee-yeon squeezed her eyes shut.

“…?”

But no matter how much time passed, nothing happened.

The horrifying sound of the monster that had been ringing clearly in her ears had stopped.

Am I dead? So quickly I didn’t even feel pain…

But the warmth of her sister’s body was still vividly present.

“…?”

Jee-yeon cautiously opened her eyes.

And saw it.

A miracle had descended.

“Are you alright?”

In front of her stood a man.

Tall, with black hair, handsome features.

The man in black gloves held the monstrous arm with his bare hands.

The strength was so great that the monster’s arm groaned and bent.

“Who… are you?”

Jee-yeon asked without thinking.

Thinking back later, it was a silly question.

But right now, that’s all she wanted to know.

The man looked slightly flustered before answering seriously.

“A hero… well, not quite, but someone who does hero work as a hobby?”

Ah, a hero.

That made sense.

A hero saving them, a hero being so strong—it all made sense now.

“Sorry for being late. You’re safe now.”

The man smiled kindly.

“Younger kids these days are amazing, trying to protect your sister. Thanks to your endurance, I wasn’t too late. Thank you.”

An unusual situation where the rescuer thanked them.

His words were so warm and kind…

Jee-yeon unconsciously burst into tears.

But then she shouted in alarm.

“Behind! Behind you!”

“Kiyaahhh!”

Another monster had rushed in from behind.

Without panic, the man swung the monster he was holding like a bat.

KABOOM!

With a loud noise, the tangled monsters were thrown away.

Especially the one that was thrown had its arm twisted like a pretzel.

“Kiyaahhh!”

Despite everything, the monster charged again.

The man flew forward and kicked it.

He needed to create some distance between the monsters and the children.

Then he tackled the monsters like in American football and threw them away.

With overwhelming force, the monsters tumbled across the ground again.

They got up immediately, seemingly unfazed.

Shaking his head, the man clenched his fist.

“Damn, is it okay to do this in front of kids?”

He doesn’t seem to consider the monsters a real threat at all.

It’s like he thinks catching mosquitoes would dirty his hands.

While he’d prefer to handle things cleanly, it seems adjusting his strength is the problem.

“Hmm, guess I have no choice…”

The man shrugged regretfully.

Meanwhile, the monsters charged again.

“Kiyaahhh!”

He simply punched straight ahead.

And that was it.

Everything ended right there.

“Ah…”

The ground trembled, the air rippled.

Literally, the girls’ hair fluttered from the wind pressure.

The bodies of the monsters that faced the punch exploded instantly.

Chunks of meat rained down.

Blood splattered like raindrops on the ground.

Surprisingly, the blood wasn’t red.

Perhaps to shield the grotesque scene from the children, the man deliberately moved closer to them.

“Are you alright? Any injuries?”

“Yes…”

Jee-yeon nodded blankly.

She still couldn’t believe what just happened.

The man in front of her had crushed those monsters like toys.

“So THIS is what a hero looks like…”

Heroes spewing fire and breaking rocks she’d seen on TV.

Such people were actually right in front of her.

That fact was enough to make the girl forget her fear and feel excited.

“Um, thank you!”

“Thank you!”

The sisters bowed deeply with tears in their eyes.

The man looked at them as if tilting his ear.

“Probably no more monsters will come here. Still, just in case, go follow the police officers over there.”

“Ah, yes! Thank you! Um, could you tell us your name?”

“Yu-jin Kim. I attend the nearby Academy.”

After saying that, the man ran off.

Probably going to save someone else like himself right now.

She quietly watched his back.

“Mr. Yu-jin Kim…”

The girl engraved the name of the hero who saved her and her sister in her heart.

It was only later that she learned this hero was the infamous successor of Hwagcheon.

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