Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World

“What are you doing?”

 

“Huh? How did you know I was here?”

 

Even though she noticed Hwashin’s arrival, she lay there without batting an eye. At this point, it was hard to tell if she was surprised or just pretending to be.

 

“I didn’t. Pii just likes to play here.”

 

“Pii!”

 

From Hwashin’s chest, something round wriggled and popped out. Pii, twitching its little nose, reached out both its paws forward.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Play as much as you want. I often brought Pii here when I have no cases.”

 

Pii liked this kind of open space.

 

Pii scampered into the training ground on all fours. As Pii started running in circles, wagging its tail, Yoo Jian rolled over and asked with an enchanted expression.

 

“…It’s really too cute. Can I keep it?”

 

“You’ll have to ask Pii about that.”

 

“I’ll save that for next time.”

 

It probably wouldn’t come to her anyway.

 

Hwashin lay down next to Yoo Jian, who was now sprawled out looking at the ceiling again.

 

Jian, who had been lying still, soon blurted out a question.

 

“Hey. I’m weaker than Cha Jaeha, aren’t I?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Wow, that was a quick answer.”

 

Hwashin laughed out loud.

 

“I knew you’d ask.”

 

“Was it that obvious?”

 

“You wear your heart on your sleeve.”

 

It was a question with a clear answer anyway. Now that Cha Jaeha wouldn’t hesitate to use fire even when people are around, he’d firmly take on the protagonist role. The difference in their abilities would only grow.

 

“Sigh.”

 

Hwashin roughly understood the meaning behind Jian’s sigh. Even in the novel, Jian was a character who endlessly pondered how to become stronger and kept evolving.

 

He was even teaching her to use the axe as a weapon earlier than in the novel, so her growth rate should be faster.

 

“Inferiority complex?”

 

Hwashin asked, tilting his head slightly. Yoo Jian met his eyes and answered.

 

“Jealousy.”

 

Her voice was bold for someone lamenting her own abilities.

 

“And jealousy is my strength!”

 

She ended with a cheeky grin and then sprang up on her legs using just her core strength. Clenching her fists, she spoke as if making a resolution.

 

“Ah, I can’t stand it anymore! Wait a moment, I’m just going to run 10 laps.”

 

Jian started running alongside Pii, who was already energetically circling the training ground. Watching them race, Hwashin couldn’t help but smile like a proud parent.

 

“Well, that’s Yoo Jian for you.”

 

After the hospital gate incident, Hwashin had a lot to think about.

 

Events occurred at points where the novel had changed.

 

When Hwashin intervened in the vine monster incident, a small crack in the dimension appeared, and Pii came out from there. That was the proof.

 

The more the original flow was disrupted, the more such troubles arose.

 

Then naturally, something would change, big or small, at this point where a character who should have died had survived.

 

He secretly went to the hospital with Pii late at night, but fortunately, there was no open ‘crack’.

 

‘Then it could unfold differently in other ways.’

 

The more the original deviated, the less predictable the future would be.

 

For Hwashin, who moved to avoid destruction, this could be good news. Anyway, something had to go wrong for the well-functioning gears to stop. Since he couldn’t figure out the reason for the destruction, it might be better if anything changed now.

 

But since he couldn’t know which direction it would take, Hwashin felt uneasy too.

 

‘I should start preparing for the gate’s dungeon transformation soon.’

 

Moreover, one thing was certain from this incident.

 

‘It’s impossible to use my abilities like before.’

 

From his silver hair to his physical condition. His whole body was telling him so.

 

This creaky body was ultimately incompatible with his ability.

 

Hwashin pouted.

 

‘But being this tired means I’m adapting, doesn’t it? It’s unclear. Am I temporarily weakened as I grow with this body, or am I dying?’

 

Huh.

 

‘I guess… I’ll have to use it a bit more to know for sure.’

 

Hwashin slowly clenched and unclenched his hand.

 

Could he endure it? He needed to see Cha Jaeha, Jian, and Mueum survive to the end in this world with his own eyes.

 

It would be too unfair to die early. He also wanted to try SNS, show off their selfies. And–

 

“Peek-a-boo! …Huh, you’re not surprised. What were you thinking about so deeply?”

 

Before he knew it, Jian was crouching in front him. Pii, who had been running with her, peeked its face from her shoulder.

 

“Already done with 10 laps? That’s more surprising, Jian.”

 

Hwashin handed her the lukewarm water bottle from next to him. Yoo Jian replied with a ‘Thanks~’ and opened the cap with a satisfied look. Her face looked refreshed, as if all her previous worries had disappeared.

 

“Ah, running without thinking is the best.”

 

“Are all your worries resolved?”

 

“Did I have any worries?”

 

“You were envious of Cha Jaeha’s abilities. Running can’t solve that.”

 

Placing the empty water bottle on the ground, Jian plopped down. She stretched backward and spoke.

 

“Ah, that. Well, it is what it is. If I had that kind of ability, I could wipe out monsters in one go too.”

 

Yoo Jian extended her fist with a bright smile. Now that he thought about it, there wasn’t much mention of Yoo Jian’s story in the novel. As mentioned before, <YHH> was a plot strictly centered around Cha Jaeha. Naturally, the backgrounds of the surrounding characters didn’t appear much.

 

Then why did Yoo Jian become a hero?

 

Suddenly, Hwashin became curious about her reason for becoming a hero. Surely, she didn’t become a hero just because she wanted to hit monsters, right?

 

“Jian.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

Hwashin asked.

 

“Did you become a hero because you wanted to wipe out monsters in one go?”

 

“What? Who would become a hero for such a crazy reason?”

 

“You?”

 

“I am going to kill you.”

 

Despite the harsh reply, Jian burst into laughter.

 

“So, is that how I looked to you?”

 

Jian quickly adjusted her posture and looked Hwashin straight in the eyes, raising three fingers.

 

“Alright! I’ll tell you just once. Listen carefully.”

 

Hwashin also sat facing her.

 

“Humans are made up of basic desires. You know, like the 7 basic needs. And among the desires that make up my body, the strongest ones are desire for possessions, desire for power, and desire for honor.”

 

“…Huh?”

 

A desire for possessions, power, and honor.

 

Jian nodded vigorously as she said this.

 

“Becoming a hero was the fastest way to fulfill those desires. It’s a well-paying, highly respected job where you save people.”

 

Yoo Jian, who had been speaking with a serious expression, then grinned broadly.

 

“Crucially so.”

 

It was cool. Incredibly cool.

 

Yoo Jian turned her head abruptly, looking up at the ceiling with a contemplative face.

 

“Other than that, there’s no special reason or event that made me become a hero. I don’t have a tragic backstory or anything like that. My parents are ordinary office workers who have never seen a gate. Well, thinking about it, I’m not a character in a novel, so I don’t need to have a dramatic past. Although some people do expect such dramatic elements.”

 

Heroes were national heroes and pillars of the society, but they were also products.

 

The public decided which product was the most attractive. Of course, S-rank heroes get a lot of push, but Yoo Jian always heard things like:

 

– Miss Yoo Jian’s family environment is too harmonious, so there’s not much to write about

 

– Do you have any sad stories or experiences, even small ones? We need something to put on TV… I’m really sorry

 

Does the public want my misfortune? Do they not like me just because I’m strong and cool?

The more complicated her thoughts got, the more Jian fought.

 

If she didn’t have a background, she could prove it with her ability. Plus, it was cooler that way.

 

In response to Jian’s answer, Hwashin said.

 

“I didn’t know you thought that way.”

 

Yoo Jian had parents. It was an obvious fact, yet it felt new to Hwashin. He had never heard, or rather read, about her parents before.

 

This was inside a novel, but it also contained behind-the-scenes of that story.

 

“What about you?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Why did you become a hero?”

 

Why did I?

 

Because of a dead friend, he got possessed, and while living in this world, he wanted to meet the protagonists he liked and prevent the ending of destruction that he knew was coming.

 

…But he couldn’t say that.

 

“I’m similar to you.”

 

Because it was cool.

 

‘Besides, when I was a mage, the dragon always scolded me for being useless.’

 

Hwashin smiled.

 

“That’s all.”

 

Would there ever come a day when all those reasons were revealed? If that day came, could he tell Jian, who believed she was living her life, that she was actually a character in a novel?

 

“Then we’re on the same side. We’re people who became heroes without any pride. Cha Jaeha would hate this if he heard.”

 

“If Cha Jaeha heard, huh? Hahaha. Well, maybe.”

 

But Cha Jaeha wouldn’t hate it that much. He was not the type to criticize others as long as they did their job.

 

“He’s not going to pick a fight with us, is he?”

 

Yoo Jian made a punching motion.

 

“Think you could win?”

 

“No way. You just fight first. You don’t calculate wins and losses when fighting.”

 

“As expected of my cherished Yoo Jian.”

 

“We’re the same age, stop talking like an old man.”

 

In the middle of their conversation, the training room door opened with a ding.

 

“Jian noo–… Oh, you’re both here?”

 

As soon as the door opened, Jeong Mueum ran inside.

 

Mueum’s expression, unlike usual, looked urgent.

 

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

 

Yoo Jian, who was lying on the floor with her neck craned, roughly tilted her head to look at Mueum. Mueum took a deep breath, then approached them and showed her the phone screen.

 

He didn’t say much, just one concise remark.

 

“It’s Freak.”

 

Yoo Jian’s eyes changed as she read the article on the screen. Flames of anger flared in her black pupils.

 

‘Freak.’ The familiar word made Hwashin’s lazy afternoon start moving rapidly again.

 

Because.

 

At this point in the original story,

 

There was no reason for Freak to appear.