Chapter 53

*Glance.*

When our eyes met, Narin quickly looked away.

“Yeah, seems like you’re involved too, huh? Didn’t even tell me?”

I smiled brightly.

“Miss Narin?”

“Why, why are you calling me, Oppa…?”

“So, what’s this Maker Challenge about?”

Tell me, huh?

“…Well…”

Narin was sweating bullets as she spoke.

To summarize her situation, it went like this.

At first, when this challenge started, it was just a fun little game among fans.

-“Isn’t this kinda like the tentacles Maker makes?”

-“I tried recreating Oppa Maker’s tentacles!”

It was just something that ability users in the fan cafe and Maker Gallery did out of boredom.

The fans in the always-lacking-in-content cafe and gallery reacted positively.

But, only a few people had the ability to replicate it, and even though the reaction was good, it was just a topic circulating within the gallery and cafe, so it seemed like it would disappear soon.

“So, because it was a shame, they pushed it as a competition by adding ‘various ways to recreate’ to make it easier for others to participate, right?”

“Uh-huh…”

“……”

I pinched Narin’s cheek and pulled.

“Oww!! Owwww!!”

Startled by my sudden action, Narin flailed her arms.

“The intention is good.”

“Owwww!!”

“The intention is good, but…”

Why did you do something I didn’t even ask for??

*Pinch pinch.*

“What do you mean even villains are using tentacles now?”

“Oww… th-this is also the grace of the great Maker…”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

I let go of her cheek.

“Sniff…”

Then, Narin rubbed her cheek with a pouty look.

“How are the non-fans reacting?”

“W-well, people are having fun and playing along…”

“What about the heroes? Has the Association made any moves?”

“…There’s talk that they might regulate the Maker Challenge soon, but it doesn’t seem like they’ve made any moves yet.”

That’s a relief.

I let out a sigh of relief.

‘Too much attention has been drawn.’

Ordinary citizens imitating me.

That alone is enough for the Association to be on guard, and now even villains are copying me?

‘It’s a miracle I haven’t been marked for execution or lynched by the Association…’

It’s good that Maker’s popularity is rising.

But in this situation, more popularity is poison.

It’s true that Eclipse is strong, but honestly, it’s impossible to withstand a concentrated attack from the Hero Association.

They might even sell me out to make a deal.

‘Even if I’m a high-ranking member, there’s a line. The Chief might even be in danger.’

And I haven’t even met the members who handle the actual combat among the executives.

Even if Astra and the Training Room cover for me, if the other executives are serious, I’ll be delivered straight to the Hero Association.

“Phew…”

In the end, it’s just too early.

For now.

“Sigh… I might just end up being an A+ rank based on popularity alone.”

“Oh, sweet.”

“You haven’t been scolded enough yet.”

“No, honestly, isn’t that great? Being measured as A+ rank just based on popularity? That’s cool, right?”

Well, for a regular villain, becoming A+ rank just based on popularity is an achievement they couldn’t even dream of.

I chuckled and took a sip of coffee.

Narin frowned as she looked at me.

“Really, I’m so upset… I’m working so hard for you, Oppa, and all I get is scolded…”

*Thud.*

Narin stood up and walked over to me.

Then, she pulled a chair and sat next to me.

“I have to manage the Maker Gallery, deal with the mafia, work for Eclipse, and personally handle your requests~”

Grumbling, she glanced at me.

“Really, I’m so busy, so busy~”

She then started whining and naturally tried to cling to me.

It was a quick, surprise move, but.

*Tap.*

I lightly blocked her by pushing her head away.

“Eeeek! Why are you blocking me?!”

“…What are you doing, acting like a kid all of a sudden?”

Why is she suddenly like this?

After her surprise attack failed, Narin puffed up her cheeks and tried to cling to me.

“I’m a baby too! Waaah!”

“……”

“…Even I get hurt by that kind of expression, you know?”

You’re the one who made me make this face…

After a brief struggle, Narin gave up on hugging me.

“Sigh…”

Narin stretched her arm and grabbed her drink from her seat.

“You hug Gayeon so easily, but why not me…”

“Miss Gayeon is still young.”

Narin took a sip of her drink.

Then, she looked at me with a disbelieving expression.

“Come on, Oppa. If she were in school, she’d be in middle school, right?”

“Middle schoolers are still young, aren’t they?”

“But they know everything at that age, don’t they?”

“Her mental age is still young.”

Looking at how Gayeon acts, you can tell she’s more childish than kids her age.

Probably because she didn’t receive proper education when she was younger.

“She’ll grow up in no time? In two years, she’ll be in high school. In five years, she’ll be an adult.”

“But she’s still young now.”

“Then treat me like a kid too! Waaah!”

“A high schooler?”

“I’m not that much older than Gayeon, so I’m still a kid too!”

Why is she so desperate to be hugged?

Honestly, I could hug her if she really wanted, but seeing Narin’s desperate look made me want to tease her.

“You’re a high schooler now, so act more mature.”

“Mean.”

Frustrated that I wouldn’t hug her, Narin puffed up her cheeks again.

Then, as if she had a good idea, her eyes sparkled and she smiled slyly.

“Or maybe, unlike baby Gayeon, hugging me would make you feel weird? Like, you’d start having all these romantic feelings, huh?”

Saying that, she covered her mouth and giggled.

She stood up with her empty drink and shook her head with a smile.

“Well~ I can’t help it if I can shake Oppa’s heart, right?”

“Is that so?”

I chuckled at her confidence.

This is getting competitive.

More accurately, I felt like teasing her a bit more.

*Squeak!*

“…Who said hugging someone would make their heart flutter?”

I grabbed Narin’s wrist and made her lose her balance.

Then, I quickly caught her waist and sat her on my lap.

“……”

“Huh? Wanna say that again?”

As I pulled her closer, Narin gasped for breath.

Facing her, I could hear her heart pounding and her breathing getting heavier.

“Ah, ah… well, um…”

Her face was turning red, and she was stumbling over her words, not understanding the situation.

I lightly pressed her red lips with my finger.

“Eek!”

She froze in surprise.

The sudden change in atmosphere was startling, but she didn’t seem to dislike it, as she didn’t pull away from my touch.

“Who said their feelings would get all mixed up?”

“Uhh, uhh…”

“Looks like it’s you who’s turning red, Miss Narin.”

“Oppa…”

I kept stroking her lips with my thumb while caressing her cheek with my other hand.

“But I can see why you’re so confident.”

Narin is objectively beautiful.

Her high confidence probably comes from that.

“But when it comes down to it, you react like this…”

Well, it’s kinda cute.

Like a kid who doesn’t know anything but acts all cocky.

“!!”

I chuckled and pulled Narin even closer.

As if I was about to kiss her.

“O-oppa…?”

Her face turned even redder, and her body stiffened.

‘Fan service, coming right up.’

I gently stroked the back of Narin’s neck as I slowly got closer.

Little by little. Little by little.

Until only I was in her eyes.

Until our breaths brushed against each other’s skin.

We were now at a distance where only a finger or two could fit between us.

At that moment, as the gap between us was about to close.

*Ding!*

“Mr. Sajan! I’m here…!!”

“Ah.”

“…Huh?”

The timing of the customer today is just too perfect…

“……”

An awkward silence filled the cafe.

Narin, frozen in shock by the new customer, and Chise, equally stunned by the affectionate scene in front of her.

And me, feeling awkward in the middle.

‘Well…’

“…You’re here, Miss Tsukino?”

“Y-yes… I am…”

I greeted Chise, who was standing at the door with a dumbfounded expression.

***

“I hate Doryeong.”

Later that night.

Seeing Uchi grumbling behind his mask, I shrugged.

“You have someone to nurse your ‘injured comrade,’ right?”

“Comrade my foot! It’s just a chore!”

“You’re injured, so you need someone to take care of you. And conveniently, there’s someone who needs close surveillance, so it’s killing two birds with one stone.”

It’s not like I didn’t want to deal with that drug dealer.

“So, did you get any new info from the drug dealer besides what we heard yesterday?”

Anyway, we didn’t gather here just to talk about this, right?

Did you get any additional information?

“…Sigh. I did hear a few more things.”

Uchi took a deep breath as he looked at me.

He continued in a more serious tone.

“It seems like the people selling this drug… aren’t just doing it for money. They’re trying to experiment with something.”

And they’re doing it in this slum.

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