Chapter 274

EP.274 The Last Hero #2

Flesh-colored stockings, black leather hot pants,

High heels that cover the ankles,

A choker wrapped around one thigh,

A tight-fitting white round-neck tee and a leather jacket.

The combination of white, light pink, and black surprisingly matched well.

I nodded slightly as I admired Silvia coming out of the dressing room.

A very, very satisfied expression.

Silvia, with a boiling expression, approached me and said,

“Are you out of your mind…? You want me to wear this…? I’d rather die…”

She wanted to yell, but with employees and customers around, she lowered her voice, which was amusing.

“You’re already wearing it.”

“This…!”

Silvia, about to explode in anger, sat down next to me, seemingly uncomfortable with the attention.

Then she whispered,

“I don’t want to walk around wearing this…! It looks so cheap. What is this? People are staring…!”

“Maybe they’re looking because it’s pretty…”

“Change it to something else. At least cover up to the thighs with a coat…”

“Just up to the thighs? Is it okay if it goes down to the knees?”

“That’s not what I meant…”

“Got it. Then let’s finish it like that.”

“Hey, wait…”

Taking advantage of Silvia’s confusion, I quickly bought a black coat from the store.

After finishing the payment for the clothes she was wearing, I smirked at Silvia, who was glaring at me with annoyance.

“Payment’s done. You can throw it away if you want.”

“Ugh… I’m really going crazy… seriously…”

She stomped her feet but eventually gave up and put on the coat I handed her.

It’s a shame it’s all covered up, but… it’s fine since I can look as much as I want when we’re alone.

Later, I can just tear the middle of the pants.

As we left the store, Silvia kept grumbling, her hands in the coat pockets.

“The coat’s too thin…! I’ll get cold…”

“We’re inside a department store, what’s there to be cold about?”

“What if we go outside! Even if the top is okay, the bottom… it’s too much to endure with just stockings…! The wind will come up from below…”

“Anyway, we’ll only be indoors, so it won’t be cold. Why are you so dissatisfied…”

At my dismissive tone, Silvia raised her eyebrows and lightly kicked my butt.

Then she sighed, checking the inside of the coat.

“Ugh… so annoying… I look like a twenty-year-old girl going to a Hongdae club…”

“You’ve adapted well to Earth. You even know about that kind of fashion.”

“What’s with this choker on my thigh…? If Dr. Cash sees this, she’ll lose her mind and scold me… I’m going crazy…”

She wanted to take it off immediately, but since I liked it, she stayed still, which made me incredibly happy.

“Want one for your neck too? Should I go buy it?”

“Shut up. I’m really going to die?”

I let the curse slide and grabbed Silvia’s hand.

At the action, as if treating her like a lover, her lips pursed.

Her cheeks started to flush with a light pink, matching her hair color.

She only behaves when treated like this.

I held Silvia’s hand affectionately and headed to the parking lot.

**

In the car, Silvia fiddled with her newly bought red mobile phone.

She saved my number first and smiled brightly.

A smile that lit up the dimly lit car.

Especially when she smiled, the shallow wrinkles above her nose were truly beautiful.

“Adel hasn’t bought a phone yet, right?”

“Yes.”

“What did Adel say?”

“About what?”

“About the fight we had… that…”

“I told you. She said she wants to make up.”

“That’s it? Tell me in detail.”

At Silvia’s urging, I switched the car to autopilot mode and turned to look at her.

“We didn’t have a long conversation. It felt like she was deliberately avoiding talking about you.”

“…. Really…? Maybe Adel… that…”

I brought up what Silvia was trying to say.

“Are you asking if she noticed something between us? No. There was no sign of that.”

“…. Okay…”

“Why are you asking?”

“I… made a mistake when I argued with Adel… actually… Adel called me cheap, and I got so mad… I said if I’m cheap, then Jihyuk must be cheap too…? Because he has feelings for me…”

I knew.

I heard it through the device.

I was so worried Adel might bring it up… I’m really glad it was brushed off.

She probably thought Silvia was lying to provoke her.

“I see.”

At my calm tone, Silvia’s head lifted.

“You’re not mad…?”

“Why would I be mad? It’s true that I have feelings for you, Silvia.”

“…..”

At my words, Silvia’s expression brightened and she quickly said,

“Ah, I’ll be more careful from now on…”

Shouldn’t it be the opposite?

You should be more confident, try to take me away from Adel.

The relationship with Adel, and with me.

Trying to catch both rabbits would be a disaster… but I’m fine with it.

I placed my hand on Silvia’s thigh, feeling the soft texture of the stockings.

Then Silvia only verbally stopped me.

“Get off… stop touching…”

“You didn’t like it before, but you’ve adapted, huh? Okay. I’ll touch as much as I want later.”

“Later…?”

“Yes, later.”

“…. Do, do as you please…”

I giggled at her shy tone, enjoying the drive with Silvia until we arrived at the art center where Boyoung was performing.

We ate around there, watched a movie, and before we knew it, it was time for the performance.

**

The hall had 3,000 seats.

Considering Chae Boyoung’s fame, it was quite modest.

We were in the corner of the venue.

The cheapest seats.

But the stage was clearly visible due to the small size, and there was a large screen, so there was no problem seeing Stella.

After sitting down and tossing the LED light stick distributed at the entrance into the corner, I turned my head at Silvia’s grumbling.

“You said you had a hard time getting tickets, and this is the seat you got…?”

“What kind of seat did you expect?”

“The front row, or maybe the area next to the stage where the staff is…? You said you’re close with the agency’s CEO?”

“I only got information in advance, there’s no VIP seats or anything.”

“Just a sucker… a sucker.”

Silvia was unusually prickly today.

The outrageous fashion hidden under the coat must be really bothering her.

She soon showed interest by waving the light stick or examining it closely.

Then, as the hall lights dimmed and blue light shone on the stage curtain, her eyes sparkled.

Soon after, the curtain opened to the sides,

Waaaaah-!

A thunderous cheer echoed through the hall.

Chae Boyoung, wearing a pure white dress that caught everyone’s attention, smiled beautifully at the audience and soon started singing.

“She’s starting right away without a greeting?”

“Chae Boyoung always greets through the lyrics of the opening song at her concerts.”

“Really…?”

Chae Boyoung, with her dreamy and clear voice, conveyed the emotions in the lyrics.

Her simple choreography with the backup dancers was also quite cool.

Silvia seemed deeply immersed in Boyoung’s music, her mouth slightly open as she enjoyed the opening.

She even started waving the light stick with the person sitting next to her from the second song.

I thought she wouldn’t like this kind of cultural activity, but it was unexpected.

Was it because of the well-equipped sound system in the hall?

Whatever it was, it’s good to forget the troubled mind from the fight with Adel for a while.

I silently listened to the song and observed the stage.

According to Boyoung, Stella’s younger brother would be wearing a fluorescent vest right below the stage.

‘That’s him.’

A foreigner mixed among the staff below the stage.

Bright brown hair, short like mine.

Average build. Focusing my vision, I could make out the contours of his face.

Handsome, like a man should be.

His expression was full of confidence and ease.

As expected, if the sister is beautiful, the brother is handsome too. Blessed genes.

But to my eyes, he’s just a sacrifice, prey for Stella’s corruption.

What was his name… Alex, right?

‘Enjoy the rest of your life.’

Do everything you want to do while you’re alive.

I clearly imprinted his appearance in my mind and enjoyed the performance with Silvia.

After about an hour, the first part ended.

As soon as the stage ended, Boyoung came down to do fan service.

Silvia, watching her, sighed.

“It would’ve been nice if Adel came…”

Then she flinched and corrected herself, looking at me.

“Ah, coming with you is also really nice… I hope you don’t misunderstand.”

“I’m not misunderstanding. Next concert, I’ll make sure both of you come.”

“Okay… wait, I need to go to the bathroom…”

“Do it here?”

Silvia looked at me with a pitiful expression, shook her head, and got up from her seat.

Why not the bathroom…

As Silvia returned, the second part began.

The originally planned performance time was 2 hours, but Boyoung sang for a full 3 hours.

She even took a fan’s phone to take a selfie in the middle.

A pro is a pro. With excellent skills and good fan service, it’s no wonder she’s so popular.

After singing 35 songs and finishing the final encore, Boyoung sat quietly on the stage as the audience requested an encore and adjusted her headset mic.

Then she delivered surprising news.

-The final encore will be sung by someone else, not me.

A murmur rose from the audience.

Someone else singing the encore at Boyoung’s concert?

Silvia also looked at me in confusion.

“What’s this about?”

“I don’t know either.”

Then Boyoung waited for the commotion to die down, raised the corner of her mouth, and pointed to her side.

Simultaneously, the floor in that empty area opened in a wide rectangle, and someone rose on a lift to the stage.

The person who came up was a woman.

The last hero I had been waiting for.

Long, wavy hair swept to one side.

Blue eyes under neatly trimmed eyebrows.

Her eye shape was sharp, unlike a Westerner.

A cute and pretty appearance that Asians love.

A white dress with sky-blue floral embroidery enhanced her overall purity.

With a guitar strapped on, she made a very nervous expression, bowed, and greeted the audience.

-Ah, hello… I’m Stella Hailey. It’s an honor to meet you all here. I’ll do my best, thank you!

Her self-introduction with a voice like a nightingale was truly beautiful.

She must have studied Korean hard, as she was quite fluent.

As the audience gasped at her beauty on the large screen, Boyoung smiled brightly and said.

-Let me introduce you. Stella Hailey, a new trainee at our agency, and my student.

The word ‘student’ caused a stir in the audience.

Boyoung is raising a student? It was enough to turn the entertainment industry upside down.

The momentarily confused audience soon cheered for Stella.

Some even started heated discussions, saying this must be why Boyoung disappeared for a while…

After bowing several times, Stella sat in the seat Boyoung prepared and placed her hand on the guitar strings.

As the audience quieted down, she strummed the strings once and began singing the song Boyoung had used to calm the atmosphere.

A lovely and clear voice.

The audience was soon captivated by Stella’s voice, not even breathing.

Silvia also had a dazed expression as she listened to Stella’s song.

Then she suddenly trembled in shock.

Whoooosh-!

A clear sound came from her handbag.

‘Aiter is resonating.’

As if reacting to Stella’s voice, Aiter made noise in rhythm with the song.

A very faint sound that could only be heard with focused hearing.

I cheered internally but kept my composure, watching only the stage.

Silvia, slightly opening the handbag zipper, alternated between looking inside and at Stella, then suddenly pulled my wrist and led me out of the hall into the corridor.

“What’s wrong? I was enjoying it… why are you doing this?”

I frowned and grumbled, but she frantically hit my arm.

“Jihyuk…! First…”

She looked around, and even though there was no one in the corridor, she seemed uneasy and took me to the restroom.

“Now? The performance is about to end, can’t you wait a bit?”

Ignoring my joke, she rummaged through her handbag and pulled out a small hexagonal object.

It was the Aiter storage box.

“Okay, enough joking, look at this…!”

“Suddenly, what…”

I was about to scold Silvia, but when I saw the storage box glowing, I shut my mouth.

The last Aiter, having found its owner, was shining pure white.

Pure white was the symbolic color of Stella Hailey, stage name Rose, with her elegant white hair and whip.

‘It will return to rainbow colors once it calms down.’

Finally, all Aiters were activated and gathered in one place.

From Sehwa to Adel, in order: sky blue, light green, pure white, light pink, and gold.

However, Sehwa and Yuria’s had already turned corrupt purple, and Silvia and Adel would soon follow.

The pure white Aiter struggling alone among the ominous purple crystals.

I could see it gradually being eroded and dyed.

Since it’s activated, the goal is achieved.

“Th, this is…!”

I was speechless, mouth agape, as Silvia spoke.

“That Stella person, since she started singing, the Aiter that had no reaction until now started making noise and even glowed. She’s definitely the suitable one…!”

“What nonsense… there are so many people there…”

“I can tell. I can tell that Stella Hailey is the suitable one for the last Aiter.”

“Are you a shaman? How do you know?”

“Ah, seriously…! I’m going crazy… you said it! That Aiter and the suitable one are destined to be drawn to each other…! It happened with Sehwa and Yuria too! It’s hard to explain, but it really happened…!”

I know. Calm down.

I’m about to burst out laughing.

It’s hard to act like this.

I put on a serious face and looked at the glowing Aiter.

“Then… let’s go back in and check.”

“Ah, okay…”

Though I spoke seriously, Silvia’s expression was very bright.

She seemed incredibly happy to have met a new comrade.

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