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Translated by BiasNil
· · ────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ────── · ·
"A… Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Hyung, stop making weird noises."
"You bad punk. Oppa is working so hard and you can't even give me comfort."
"…Don't you 'oppa' with me. Anyway, it will be better if you just lie there. Why are you being a crybaby?"
I thought my tears were coming out as Seo-eun looked at me pitifully. Gosh, it really hurts.
This place is deep underground somewhere in Seoul.
It was the underground base of Han Seo-eun, a genius hacker and a genius scientist who can make anything. Of course, she is still a kid who is only in 9th grade.
As soon as I dealt with the terrorism caused by my followers impersonating me, I teleported here and fainted again. Teleporting continuously is killing me. Even to a deep underground…
Still, it certainly didn't hurt that much since Seo-eun made me a fatigue recovery capsule. She should have told me she had something like this yesterday. I was completely knocked out all day yesterday.
It was twice as hard because I wasn't moving alone; I dragged another person with me this time.
Fortunately, Seo-eun made this fatigue recovery capsule, or else I would have actually fainted.
"Urg. So… why did you tell me to bring her here?"
I pointed to the woman sitting on the chair.
As she realized she was being noticed, the woman hiccuped and flinched.
A woman with long, straight black hair and dead-looking eyes. Somehow I feel bad just looking at her.
She's even pretty—like the heroine of a tragic love story.
She is the only one I saved among the eight followers.
Honestly, I saved her to hand over to the Hero Association and Stardust as a gift. But I brought her back after listening to Seo-eun.
"Oh."
Seo-eun, busy with something on her computer screen, turned her chair and looked at us.
Seo-eun looked at her and asked,
"Unnie… I mean noona. Noona, are you Lee Su-bin?" TN: Noona means "older sister." The term is used when a man addresses an older woman, related or not.
"Huh? Oh. How did you know?"
"I know everything."
Seo-eun said it all chic. But if you look closely, her nose bridge seems to get higher.
This kiddo is so cute trying to talk like that. I feel like a father smiling at his daughter.
So that person's name was Lee Su-bin. Come to think of it, I didn't even know her name yet. Lee Su-bin. A very common name.
"So, Seo-eun? Can you explain why I had to bring Lee Su-bin here? She self-proclaimed as my follower."
She shuddered again when I spoke.
I mean, she's so timid—how did she cause that terrorism?
She already started to tear up. She must be very scared.
"Oh. I would like to ask you a favor."
Seo-eun said casually.
Wait, ask for a favor? You?
Not only me but Lee Su-bin also seemed quite confused by Seo-eun's words. What does this mean all of a sudden?
"No… Hmm, Seo-eun. I don't understand. You told me to kidnap a terrorist I just met for the first time to help you? Oh… Hmm… Before that, wouldn't it be faster for you to get stabbed with a bread knife by that person while you sleep?"
The woman behind muttered, "I'm not… I'm letting go of the bread knife," or something, but I ignored her. This place is a cold and heartless Ego-base. The one with a tiny voice cannot survive.
"Haa. It's not like that."
"What do you mean 'it's not like that,' Seo-eun? I think you don't know the world yet because you're still in 9th grade. This world is not a place where people would actually work quietly for the people who kidnap them and tell them to work. Don't you think she'd hold a grudge? Either she's going to steal all your information and run away or get back at you. Even though I don't know why you need her help."
I felt like someone behind me shook her head, like she wanted to say, "I will not betray you." Well, it wasn't a feeling—she actually said it.
Seo-eun only sighed at my speech. Seriously, this brat? That's it. I have to discipline her as a father.
As I was about to begin my lecture, Seo-eun spoke up.
"Hey, Lee Su-bin."
"H-Huh?"
"Your parents were researchers at Han-Eun Group, right?"
At that moment, the blood drained from Lee Su-bin's face.
Her face turned pale in an instant.
'N-N-No…,' she began to deny. Seeing that, Seo-eun only smiled bitterly.
"Unnie, don't you want to get revenge, too? On those bastards—Han-Eun Group."
"What…?"
"Didn't your parents die in that 'accident'?"
Lee Su-bin's face stiffened slightly at Seo-eun's words.
I was about to scold Seo-eun for dropping her act and calling that woman "Unnie," but when she mentioned an "accident" with the Han-Eun Group, I shut up and listened carefully.
"I saw your posts on the deep web. You don't like the Han-Eun Group either. You said you wanted to kill them all."
"H-H-How do you…"
"How do I know? Your firewall software has too many weaknesses. You should make a new one."
Getting up from her seat, Seo-eun approached Lee Su-bin and held her hands tightly.
It was a little funny that Su-bin, sitting in the chair, was taller than Seo-eun, who was standing. But I decided to say nothing because the moment seemed serious.
"I'm looking for the head of the Han-Eun Group. They ruined my life. I'm going to find them, search for them, and kill them all. I think only then I can feel relieved.
Su-bin, will you help me, please?"
When Seo-eun finished, Lee Su-bin burst into tears and squeezed Seo-eun's hands.
"Yes, let me—let me help you!"
"Thank you, Su-bin."
Then the two of them hugged.
Hmm…
Seo-eun with white hair and Lee Su-bin with black hair hugging each other. It looks like a black-and-white photo.
Am I the only one who can't keep up with the emotions?
What the hell are these two doing all of a sudden? They said a few words and then hugged each other.
Watching them like that, a man like me feels left out, so I just lay there awkwardly.
What the hell is happening…
***
Lee Su-bin.
Graduated from Seoul National University with a computer engineering degree.
She is the same age as me, 25 years old.
Her parents died when she was young, so she lived by herself on a subsidy.
Since middle school, she has been studying computers like a hikikomori, and her computer skills are excellent.
Her level is high enough to understand every word Seo-eun says.
While I understand nothing.
She works in cyber-terrorism and makes a living on the deep web.
The reason she came out as my follower last time was…
"What? Out of nowhere?"
"Yeah… They were talking about supporting Egostic or something… and I only wanted to be part of it, so…"
"..."
What the. So in conclusion, she wasn't even my follower?
I looked at her shifting in her seat.
Lee Su-bin. Unlike her name, which sounds gentle, she looks a little scary in person.
She's tall with long black hair. When she's expressionless, she reminds me of those bullies from my school days.
…But how can she be so different from how she looks…?
"You don't have any friends?"
"Yes… I stayed at home all the time, and I only attended class enough to graduate…"
"…"
Why do I feel like crying while listening to this?
Well, she seems harmless in general.
Of course, she still has some suspicious points.
For now, I have never seen her in the [Stardust!] comic—the world I fell into.
The fact that she never appeared in the comic means she had no big impact.
She was just an extra character. Just like me.
"I see. Lee Su-bin, welcome to our crew."
"Ye-Yes!"
I shook her hand.
I could see her blushing as she chewed her tongue while speaking, but I pretended not to notice.
"…Since when did we have a crew?"
I decided to ignore the murmuring Seo-eun behind me.
We have three people now, so this is a crew!
***
But honestly, I'm a little nervous.
I wish she were an original character—someone I know.
I know nothing about her true personality or what she has in mind. How can I let her stay beside Seo-eun? What if something happens?
Also, I moved from a comfortable home to this underground base.
I told Seo-eun a different reason, but honestly, she seemed to grasp roughly what I was worried about.
But why is she being like that?
Does she know Su-bin in advance?
In this deep underground basement, Han Seo-eun, Lee Su-bin, and I—the three of us—started living together.
A man and two women living together… the picture looks a little weird.
Seo-eun is in middle school, and Su-bin—she is certainly a pretty woman. But there is no particular problem.
My heart is already with Stardust—Shin Haru—in the first place. When I fell into this world, I made up my mind to live for her for the rest of my life.
Well, even though the day she and I will be together will never come. Haha.
So I started living in this place.
Living with other people is more chaotic than living alone.
"Hyung, did you realize you left the refrigerator door open? The ice cream will melt!"
"Me? Hey, I never opened the refrigerator!"
"S-Seo-eun. I think I left it open. I-I'm sorry…"
"Oh! Oh… It's okay! People can make mistakes. Hehe."
"…Wow, you made a fuss when you thought I did it."
"..."
Life is unfair, unfair.