As time passed, the boy grew into a young man, and even after entering university, Kim Deok-Sung’s fan heart never wavered.
In fact, it only grew stronger.
Kim Deok-Sung even engaged in keyboard battles with internet haters who belittled “The Weakest Hero,” filled out the tree wiki, and waited all night in front of COEX in Seoul to meet the author, RIN, during the light novel festival.
He shopped directly from Japanese online stores with the money he earned from part-time jobs, adorning his room entirely with “The Weakest Hero” merchandise.
As graduation approached, while Kim Deok-Sung was watching the newly airing anime of the third quarter of 2020, “The Weakest Hero: Final Season,” a phone call came in.
“Dad?”
Kim Deok-Sung’s face stiffened as he checked his vibrating smartphone screen.
He answered the call.
[Hey, what are you doing right now?!]
An urgent voice came through the receiver.
“I’m watching anime. If there’s nothing important, I’ll hang up.”
[Your mom collapsed. Come to the ER right now.]
Thunk.
Kim Deok-Sung dropped the phone.
Haru, who was lost in her fantasy, instinctively realized.
At this very moment──
It was a pivotal point in his life.
A super cute and super cool
hospital.
Kim Deok-Sung’s face turned pale.
“Doctor, my mom is going to be okay, right?”
“I think we need to see how the surgery goes, but unfortunately······.”
The doctor trailed off.
“It’s stomach cancer.”
“We performed the surgery urgently, but the chance of a full recovery is······.”
“You may need to prepare yourself mentally.”
The doctor’s words pierced through Kim Deok-Sung’s chest like a dagger.
He wasn’t particularly an outstanding son.
In high school, he didn’t study much and got caught with light novels after his homeroom teacher confiscated them, leading to a big fight with his mom. Even in university, he wasn’t diligent in his studies.
But the moment he heard a diagnosis that sounded like something out of a drama, he felt the darkness enveloping him right there.
Smoking area of the hospital.
“Deok-Sung.”
Puff.
Kim Deok-Sung’s father exhaled a cloud of smoke.
“I feel really bad saying this to you, but your dad is nearing retirement soon…”
“I have some retirement money, but it might be tough to keep up with the hospital bills.”
“You’ll need to help support the family a bit.”
Hearing his father’s words, Kim Deok-Sung’s face froze.
That was the first time.
The always stoic father had apologized with tears in his eyes, saying sorry to his son.
From that day on, Kim Deok-Sung’s daily life collapsed entirely.
To support his crumbling family, he worked unloading in the daytime and took on various part-time jobs at night to pay the hospital bills.
But part-time work was only a temporary measure.
“I have to get a job.”
To properly support the family and take on the role of breadwinner in place of his father, getting a job was urgent.
To properly support my family and take on the role of the breadwinner in place of my father, getting a job was my top priority.
Therefore, after finishing my exhausting part-time job, Kim Deok-Sung dedicated himself to job hunting, even cutting back on sleep.
“How pathetic…”
Even Haru, watching the video, couldn’t help but mutter how pitiful it was that Kim Deok-Sung was living such a fierce life.
Living like a machine, the only sanctuary for him in his fallen everyday life was ironically the light novel “The Weakest Hero.”
Whenever things got tough, he recharged his spirit by reading the light novel he had collected and watching anime.
Now, “The Weakest Hero” had become more than just a work for him; it had transformed into a life he had shared in joy, anger, and sorrow.
And then it happened.
[Hello. This is SH Industrial Co., Ltd.]
[You have passed the document screening at our headquarters; therefore, we are sending you this message.]
[Recruitment: Business Support]
[Date: 2021.04.12.]
[······.]
[Congratulations on passing the document screening. If you have any inquiries regarding the interview schedule, please respond to this number.]
That night, after receiving the acceptance message for the mid-sized company’s recruitment documents he had long desired, he decided to indulge himself a little. He bought an old fried chicken from the market and, while tearing into it, stumbled upon a shocking statement from RIN, the author of “The Weakest Hero,” which made Kim Deok-Sung excessively furious.
[My novel is being copied by Koreans and Chinese, how primitive www]
[Not just Koreans and Chinese, but the Japanese readers’ literacy levels are also primitive ww]
[Today, I splurge with the money of primitive readers www]
[Those with low literacy shouldn’t meddle in my masterpiece, just shut your mouths ww]
[(Photo) Tired of dealing with the fan letters that come every day; they’re all garbage ww Garbage goes in the trash bin ww]
“What the hell? That guy’s such a jerk.”
RIN’s blatant comments were enough to make even Haru frown while watching the video.
“Damn it.”
Swearing under his breath, Kim Deok-Sung pounded on the keyboard, sending a 5,700-character message translated by a translator to the author’s social media account before blocking him.
At that moment.
Fizz fizz fizz.
Noise interrupted the video.
“What’s going on?”
Just as Haru was puzzled, the noise cleared up.
What unfolded next was not a story from that other world but one from this side of the world.
Kim Deok-Sung woke up in the body of ‘Kim Deok-Sung,’ the only Korean extra in “The Weakest Hero,” who was also a hero candidate.
From there—and until the moment he came to rescue himself—every single story of Kim Deok-Sung was inscribed in Haru’s mind without fail.
Acquiring Durandal, dueling with Olivia, forging a friendship with his brother Yuji, finding the baptismal crown, facing a villain at the cherry blossom festival, turning Nishizawa Eri into a slave, in Kyoto, Okinawa, Seoul.
All the battles he fought unfolded before Haru’s eyes.
She empathized.
The pain he had experienced in the real world.
The hopelessness he felt after being thrown into a strange world.
Haru understood.
His determination to return to reality.
Even if it were her, she wouldn’t have been able to settle in this world.
“······Deok-Sung Oppa is super kind.”
A smile crept onto Haru’s lips.
For him, this place was merely the world from a novel, and the people around him were just characters.
But Kim Deok-Sung didn’t treat those around him as mere characters or NPCs.
Even though it didn’t matter, even though no one could say anything, he didn’t do that.
Haru knew.
He had erected such walls to avoid forming attachments, yet he had eventually become someone who cared deeply for those around him, revealing his true kindness.
So, in the end, despite grasping the key to the long-desired return, he concocted that absurd plan to open a two-way gate for the sake of this world.
Even though I grasped the clue to the long-desired return, the absurd plan of opening a two-way gate for this world was set.
Unlike the Messiah, who babbled about mad beliefs under the guise of salvation, I truly carried the heart of a genuine savior determined to save both worlds from his insane plan.
“My brother’s heart in saving me was super sincere.”
Haru closed her eyes.
She realized that Kim Deok-Sung’s intention to save her was genuine.
She knew because she could read his thoughts and feelings.
He truly tried to save her.
Instead of her brother.
Thump.
Haru’s heart raced.
It was an overwhelmingly violent kindness for a girl who had been trapped for over ten years.
Haru’s face turned red.
“Well, since he saved me…”
It’s okay to like him.
No, it’s only natural.
Despite experiencing sadness, pain, and the bizarre phenomenon of falling into a strange world.
His unwavering kindness and pursuit of everyone’s happiness as a savior.
But secretly, fearing that if the fact that she was a reincarnation came to light, their relationship might shatter.
It’s all good.
I can understand.
It felt painfully good enough to tighten her heart.
She, Kurosawa Haru, had fallen for all of him, Kim Deok-Sung.
From head to toe, from the past to the present and future.
Her body, heart, and soul, all of it.
She was entranced by every aspect of him.
“…Anyone would fall for such a sight. Deok-Sung oppa… Ugh…”
Thump.
Haru’s heart raced.
The only savior who saved her after ten years of confinement.
Knowing his secret.
Understanding all of him.
“It’s just me.”
The moment Haru realized her feelings.
Sparks flew, and the surrounding scenery crumbled.
She felt the thick air at the tip of her nose.
The air of the real world, not the fantasy world.
The sensation of the reality she had longed for was felt through all five senses.
‘I’m back.’
Finally, she had returned.
She regained control of her body.
Haru’s eyes opened.
His figure appeared before her.
Kim Deok-Sung.
“Are you awake?”
She heard Kim Deok-Sung’s blunt voice.
Haru knew.
That his rough tone was a psychological defense mechanism to avoid getting attached to this world.
Yet, he was kind enough to eventually grow attached.
‘Super cute.’
A small smile spread across Haru’s face.
“…Oppa.”
Oppa.
The moment Haru uttered that word, her face flushed crimson.
“What?”
Kim Deok-Sung looked bewildered.
Seeing his expression, Haru swallowed hard.
Images of the cool older sisters she secretly admired from gyaru magazines during her childhood flashed through her mind.
She recalled the love comments from those magazines.
‘Supposedly, guys like proactive girls, right?’
Haru’s heart raced.
Having read his memories, she knew.
There were many older girls who were already by his side before her.
‘I can’t lose.’
She didn’t want to lose.
So, just like those beautiful older sisters in the magazines, she would actively appeal to him.
Making up her mind, the playful smile from her mischievous childhood appeared on Haru’s face.
*
How absurd to wake up in the fantasy world and hear “oppa” right away!
What kind of ridiculous situation is this?
It’s ridiculous.
As she lifted her head, Haru saw him.
With black two-toned hair tinged red at the tips and striking red eyes, she was a beautiful gyaru girl with a dazzling smile.
“Suddenly, ‘oppa’? When did we see each other…?”
“Suddenly, what did you say about oppa…?”
Just as I was about to say something.
A tight grip.
Haru, who was on top of me, wraps her arms around my waist.
“Nishishishi…”
She lets out a laugh that sounds like it came straight from a Japanese manga, making a tantalizing expression.
Haru whispers softly in my ear.
“Oppa, you’ve been struggling all alone in the world of ‘The Weakest Hero is the Savior of the World,’ haven’t you?”
I froze at her words.
I never thought I would hear that combination of words again after possessing this body.
What kind of metafiction is this? Can you just ignore the fourth wall like that?
I’m honestly flustered.
I was possessed into a light novel world, and now a character from that novel is mentioning the title?
What kind of deep-sea parody setup is this?
“What…”
At least the Black Prince is in his physical form right now, so he can’t hear Haru’s words, right?
Is that something to be thankful for?
“Haru, unintentionally… oppa’s memories… I’ve seen them all.”
Haru smiles faintly with a flushed face.
She saw my memories? No way.
A scene from the 12th volume of the original story flashes through my mind.
The moment when the protagonist Yuji, who defeated the Golden Magic in the form of the Messiah, took Haru’s hand as she turned transparent.
That was when Haru’s Gift of Transmutation was forcibly used, allowing her to read the protagonist’s memories.
There was a scene where she empathized with how oppa had lived.
According to the setting book, Haru’s Gift only works on transcendental weapons and relics, but because of the special environment called the subconscious world, it also affected souls.
It was likely a narrative device to dramatically portray the reunion of siblings who had been apart for so long.
‘Did she read not Kim Deok-Sung’s memories existing in this world but The memories of my possession?’
By reading my memories, she discovered that this world is a fictional one.
All the pieces of the puzzle fit together in my mind.
With that realization, the blood in my body runs cold.
What if Haru revealed that I was a possessor to everyone else?
What if Haru, realizing that she’s a character in a story, began acting strangely?
Countless thoughts rushed through my mind in a short time.
But the important thing right now is that this fact has to remain a secret.
I looked at Haru and said.
“You…this is something else…”
“I’ll keep it a secret. I will never tell anyone, no matter what happens.”
Shh.
She puts her finger to my lips, giving a mischievous smile.
“It’s a secret just between oppa and Haru. Haru knows what our super cute and super cool Deok-Sung oppa is afraid of. And…”
A line appears at the corner of Haru’s mouth.
She tickles my cheek with her finger.
“I don’t want to share the super cute side of Deok-Sung oppa that only I know with anyone else.”
Nishishishi.
Haru chuckles.
If she says it that way, I suppose I’ll keep the secret.
But still, what the heck?
Super cute? Where the heck did she learn such nonsense?
What part of me is cute?
“So, super cute Deok-Sung oppa. If you’re ever in trouble, you can rely on Haru anytime. It’s a free unlimited pass that I’ve never given to Yuji oppa!”
She presses against my chest, whispering sweetly in my ear.
“Because the only one who knows everything about Deok-Sung oppa in this world is me, Kurosawa Haru. Nishishishi.”
Haru covers her mouth with a grin.
I’m confused by this unexpected situation.
