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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Kiss
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Seo Jayoung.
She was, fundamentally, someone who lived solely in pursuit of fun. So much so that she spent every day lying around, believing that simply lounging at home consistently yielded the most stable kind of fun.
In other words, she was quite serious about fun. Jayoung pursued fun to such an extent that she would even follow a villain she'd never met before to their hideout and live there.
Which meant that her decision to follow Egoistic and cause terror with him against Shadow Walker was also entirely for fun.
And currently, she was having quite a bit of fun.
"Haah, huff..."
Perhaps because she had moved so strenuously, her purple hair was soaked with sweat and clung to her neck. She gasped for breath, glaring at the man in front of her.
He was already shrouded in shadows, almost shapeless.
She barely managed to block the shadows rushing toward her by creating a wall of fire.
"Whew. Now, it feels a bit... dangerous."
But even that was reaching its limit.
Having fought and moved her body for quite some time, she felt herself growing increasingly overwhelmed.
She had hoped to win, but perhaps it was impossible to defeat an active A-rank hero with just a little training. Maybe she should have trained harder with Dahin, like Seehee said.
Thinking that, Jayoung waved her hand, generating another flame.
And it was immediately caught and vanished by the encroaching shadows.
...Hmm. It really seems dangerous now.
Gasping for breath, with all the strength drained from her body, she stared blankly at the shadows rushing toward her.
Just then, someone suddenly pulled her from behind, and the scenery before her eyes changed in an instant.
The shadows were gone, replaced by a wide-open night sky before her.
Having escaped danger, she calmly said to the man who was embracing her from behind,
"Haah, haah... You came?"
"Yes. Sorry I'm late."
The man, Dahin—or rather, Egoistic—smiled slightly as he replied to her.
Watching him, Jayoung felt a slight sense of relief.
Well, at least he wasn't too late.
While she was still blankly held in Egoistic's arms, heroes began to arrive one after another before them. Shadow Walker, who was panting as heavily as she was, and Stardust...?
'Hmm... So she really came?'
This was the first time she had seen the famous A-rank hero Stardust, whom she'd only heard about.
So Jayoung felt a slight surge of interest. She had heard that Egoistic and Stardust's connection was surprisingly long.
The two approached, but perhaps because Egoistic had set up some kind of device, they didn't attack them separately.
And Egoistic, still embracing her from behind, opened his mouth and spoke to the heroes and the cameras.
"Unfortunately, the fight ends here! It seems the time has come for us to part ways."
He said, his voice bright, as if delivering a notice.
"...Egoistic."
"Yes, Mr. Shadow Walker. You're quite strong. We'll have to come more prepared next time."
While the two men were talking, Jayoung secretly observed Stardust.
And.
....Hmm?
She noticed something quite interesting.
She was still held in Egoistic's arms.
In truth, neither Egoistic nor she paid it much mind.
But Stardust's expression, watching them, didn't look pleased.
More precisely, it wasn't displeasure at seeing a villain. As Jayoung felt it, was it at seeing *him* embracing *her*...?
'Wait. Is this, perhaps...?'
Something flashed in Jayoung's mind.
It was a widely known fact that Egoistic only focused on and targeted Stardust.
And living with him, she knew even more. For example, how devoted he was to Stardust, to the point of running a fan cafe for her.
So, of course, she had always thought it was just Egoistic.
But seeing it now, she suddenly wondered if that wasn't the case.
It might just be her feeling it as another woman, but Stardust's displeased expression was clearly...
'No matter how I look at it, it seems a bit like... jealousy?'
More accurately, it seemed like an emotion Stardust felt without even realizing it herself.
Of course, she wasn't a physiognomist who could tell just by looking at a face, but she felt it instinctively.
Why a hero would be jealous of a villain, she wasn't quite sure.
'Whatever it is, it's fun?'
Yes.
Everything else aside, it was fun. This whole situation.
Of course, it was highly likely to be a ridiculous guess on her part.
...Well, couldn't she just confirm it herself?
If she showed that kind of expression just from seeing them embrace, then she could give a stronger stimulus.
"Thank you for enjoying Ego Stream's show so far!"
Seo Jayoung fundamentally pursued fun.
Which meant she could do anything for fun.
Just as Egoistic was bidding farewell, Jayoung, who was leaning slightly against him, turned her head and kissed his cheek.
"You worked hard, honey."
And smiling, she said just that.
"....."
"....?"
At that moment, Egoistic's body stiffened slightly, and he looked down at her with a very flustered expression.
And Jayoung, after confirming Stardust's completely frozen face, smiled faintly and thought.
See?
I was right.
***
Shin Haru.
She had been waiting for Egoistic's terror attacks for a long time. She had so many questions she wanted to ask him directly.
Why did he stop Latis?
What exactly was his goal?
Why was he acting like a villain?
...And why did he cough blood?
While Shin Haru was waiting for Egoistic's terror attacks, news broke that Egoistic had caused one.
At night. And bringing a new woman.
"Mr. Shadow Walker has already been deployed, so there's no need..."
Of course, the association's mistaken judgment, thinking Shadow Walker could handle it without unnecessarily provoking Egoistic, briefly delayed her deployment. But when she confirmed Shadow Walker was struggling, she finally rushed to the scene.
...If she missed this chance, she didn't know when she'd get another opportunity to talk to Egoistic.
With that judgment, she quickly flew to the scene and finally met him.
"Greetings, Ms. Stardust. You came, as expected."
"...Egoistic."
He stood on the night sky, where faint stars shimmered, his cape fluttering as he greeted her.
"It's good to see you again after so long. Have you been well?"
Watching him smile and greet her, Shin Haru was silent for a moment.
"As expected," he said... Did he know she would come?
Why?
"Well, of course, because Mr. Shadow Walker couldn't handle it, you came yourself, right?"
"...Yes. That's right..."
Watching Egoistic answer as if her question were obvious, Shin Haru assented, hiding her true feelings.
...Luckily, he didn't seem to realize she came because she wanted to meet and talk to him.
"Oh, right. And as always, you know I brought a detonator, right? If you attack me, I'll press it immediately, so please be careful."
And watching Egoistic pull out a detonator from his pocket and wave it, as if to deter her from rushing him, Shin Haru simply assented. Well... even if he said that, if it was the Egoistic she knew, he wouldn't press it anyway. By now, she knew at least that much.
So, watching Egoistic stare blankly at her, as if he had finished what he wanted to say, Shin Haru didn't miss the opportunity and immediately asked what she had always been curious about.
There was a brief moment of confusion, but this was what she wanted to know.
"Latis. I asked why you stopped their terror attack, why you did such a thing."
Yes.
Why, exactly, did Egoistic stop that terror attack?
...He was a villain, clearly a villain, and yet.
Why?
He seemed slightly flustered, as if he hadn't expected her to say that.
Soon, he began to give a long answer.
"I only told you what my goal was, did you perhaps forget? My goal is to create the largest villain alliance in South Korea and confront the Association. But if those small fry steal all the public's attention, my position becomes a bit awkward. So, yes, it's true I exerted a little influence. To maintain Ego Stream's exclusive status. It wasn't for South Korea, of course."
To summarize, he basically said he did it for himself.
The part about telling only her was nice, but that wasn't the important thing.
The important thing was that her intuition told her.
No matter how she looked at it, his words seemed like a lie.
"...You expect me to believe that?"
"No, I'm only telling the truth, *cough*. I'm in trouble if you react like that."
Just as she was about to press him, Shin Haru unconsciously paused, seeing Egoistic cough as if his throat hurt.
...Right. There was something more important.
So she finally asked the most important question.
And in fact, the one she had wanted to ask him most when she met him.
"...Anyway, that's enough. You... coughed blood last time, didn't you?"
"...Um, blood?"
"Yes. Blood. You can't fool my eyes. Didn't you cough blood during the last attack? Is there something wrong with your body?"
...She wasn't asking because she was worried about him. Just, just... in case. She was just asking because it would be troublesome if he suddenly died a violent death. Yeah.
"That was just a moment of difficulty, my body is perfectly fine, so you don't need to worry. I'll never stop and will continue to cause terror until right before I die, so please look forward to it."
And at his smiling reply, she unconsciously felt a slight sense of relief. Right... he'll keep doing terror attacks.
...Wait, why am I relieved to hear that? Am I crazy?
Just as Shin Haru was reproaching herself and about to ask her next question,
"Anyway! It was a pleasure talking. Well then, I'll go save my colleague now!"
"Huh? Hey, wait..."
Egoistic suddenly vanished from in front of her, as if time was up.
...She still had questions.
Still, he said he'd keep causing terror, so maybe there'll be plenty of chances to ask anyway.
Convincing herself of that, Shin Haru moved to where Egoistic had gone.
...Now that I think about it, Shadow Walker and that woman had been fighting next to us all this time. I was so focused on Egoistic I didn't even notice.
Thinking that, Shin Haru approached and saw Egoistic affectionately embracing some unfamiliar woman from behind.
"....."
For some reason, seeing that sight, her head unconsciously cooled.
Ha. So physical contact with women is just, normal for him...
...Well, he said himself that his colleagues are like family, so it's probably not *that* kind of relationship.
Still, for some reason, she felt bad.
Thinking that, Shin Haru, who had been listening to Egoistic's final words with a displeased expression, hadn't known until then.
—*Smack.*
That she would see such a sight.
'...Wait.'
Right now, what did I just see?
***
[This Time, It's for Real! Real-time search, trending tags, and top-ranking video! #1 The identity of the cheek kiss that makes my heart flutter just watching it?! Find out tonight on Entertainment Tonight!]
The next day. South Korea was once again covered in Egoistic's dating rumors.
It was already his third dating rumor.