The Guy Next Door to the Heroine

3 – Night Drink

Although it hasn’t fully healed yet, from where did Cheong, who possesses the dignity befitting the main heroine, get her appearance?

It was clear. She inherited it straight from her mother. The power of genetics…

Cheong’s mother’s appearance is just an expanded version of Cheong. A little more curved, fleshier, and with added mature beauty. Even their heights are similar, so from the side, they could look like sisters.

As for paternal genetics… I hadn’t seen Cheong’s father. He probably wasn’t of this world, so I couldn’t know about the paternal genetics. But if the daughter takes after the mother, that’s enough.

Anyway, enough praising genetics, I wait for Cheong’s mother to come home.

Heroes get a good salary, but it’s also tough. More work than that, it’s like a 3D job in a webtoon world. They get home late. It’s fortunate if they don’t have to work overtime.

But Kim Cheong is no pushover either. Perhaps because she loves to play, it’s past 10 o’clock and the neighboring house is still quiet.

She comes home this late and sleeps, how does she wake up so early?

… Why am I caring about the neighbor’s business?

I’ve been paying too much attention to the next-door neighbors since realizing this world is a webtoon.

While doing that, I hear the elevator. Whether it’s Cheong or Cheong’s mother, I’ll go out and see.

“Cheong’s place?”

“…? What’s with that disappointed

reaction…!”

“It’s not that, I was waiting because I have something to say to your mother.”

“Umm, Mom might look young, but I oppose this marriage…!”

Kim Cheong strongly objects with a flustered fuss.

“What are you imagining to say that?”

What is she thinking? Honestly, Cheong’s mother does look quite young and is quite beautiful, but we aren’t even familiar enough to have those emotions.

“Your mother is pretty, I admit, but I really have something to talk to her about.”

“Hmm.”

With a ‘hmm’, Cheong’s eyes gradually narrow. It’s not quite the same as some rabbit detective, but she has a comparable talent.

It’s not like that.

“Open your eyes properly. Stop with the shrimp eyes.”

With that, her eyes round again.

“Mister.”

“What.”

Hey, why is she suddenly on guard? Does she think I’m a thief here to steal her mom…

“If you’re really not trying to seduce Mom with your young and fresh looks…?”

“Not at all! Plus, where did you learn to talk like that…”

Young and fresh looks… it’s not like I’m dating a daughter of a conglomerate and got called in. How does she know the situation between her mom and me?

“I’ll be inside, so tell Mom to come to our house when she gets back.”

“Okay… but if you try anything weird with Mom, I’ll never forgive you!”

“And where’s this coming from all of a sudden?”

It seems like I’ll have to be careful of the daughter while dealing with the mother.

—

“Well, then, it’s settled.”

“……”

What a headache. He wasn’t supposed to be this type of person.

“Where’s that little kid who was obedient and kind until this morning?”

“I’m not a little kid!”

“There’s over a 10-year age difference between you and me. We’re practically of the same zodiac year, kid.”

“But you’re also of the same zodiac year as my mom!”

“That can’t be true? She said she was 38 last time.”

So she must have married early and had a child early, I thought?

Moreover, when you reach this age, even a large age gap is acceptable. If the appearance is good, it’s good. That kind of feeling.

And age doesn’t matter much to me.

“Huh?”

But something shocked him, and he froze.

And Cheongi, cold and rigid, moved mechanically and went into his house.

“He should be past puberty…”

Looking at Cheongi’s quiet house after he went inside, he closes the door and sits on the sofa.

“I knew the hero was 3D, but they should let them off work.”

From what I’ve experienced over the past week, the daily life of Cheongi’s family went like this:

Cheongi wakes up around 8 o’clock, leaves around 9 o’clock, and generally comes back around 8 o’clock. Today he came back quite late, but… well, moving suddenly means his friends live far away. Going there and back must take time.

Cheongi’s mother wakes up at 7 o’clock, leaves for work at 8 o’clock, and generally finishes work around 9 o’clock. This is when there’s no overtime. If there’s overtime, it was a miserable job that didn’t allow her to finish work until 1 o’clock.

But these facts were thought of before knowing that she was a hero.

“I don’t know why you’d want to be a hero.”

Somehow, she would change the subject when I asked her what she does.

Ding-dong, he opens the door and catches the elevator.

The 13th floor. Not a very high floor, but after all, I’m an ordinary person.

I haven’t taken any awakening test. It’s not a matter of ‘How can you hide the awakening…!’ It’s not a collapse of common sense. There are surprisingly many people who hide the fact that they’ve awakened while pretending to be ordinary.

But usually, it doesn’t happen. Whether becoming a hunter, a villain, or a hero… anyway, if your rank increases, you stand above the ordinary people. The race value literally changes.

There are more facilities labeled ‘for ability users only’ than there were when the old world adopted a ‘women’s priority’ policy.

So, there’s no need to hide your abilities.

I just wanted to live an ordinary life. That’s what I thought.

“Oh, mister?”

Cheongi popped out as the door next to him opened.

‘A wild Cheongi has popped out.’

Fight, pet monster, bag, run away.

“… This feels unpleasant.”

“It’s nothing.”

“It doesn’t seem like nothing!”

Even so, his mood will lighten in about 3 seconds. Because Cheongi is simple.

“But why did you come out?”

“Oh! I heard the door opening… Where are you going, mister?”

“Well, maybe to the convenience store.”

Take a stroll around the neighborhood, and if there’s no problem, go to the convenience store.

“If you see my mom, don’t do anything weird and please bring her home!”

“Weird stuff… what exactly do you think of me?”

I’m not a woman-crazy guy, and why would I mess with a married woman? She does seem to be without a husband though.

“hehehehe…”

“Go inside. If I meet her, I’ll bring her back gracefully.”

“I trust…! Uh…? It’s nighttime now?!”

Leaving behind Cheongi, who seems to have recalled something and is agape, I take the elevator that arrived with a ding and head down.

“Don’t wander around at night and stay quietly at home.”

“Mister! Mister!”

Well, considering that it’s Incheon where it’s apocalypse difficulty for ordinary people to wander around, I understand why Cheongi is worried. But I’m not an ordinary person.

I’m more worried about Cheongi’s mother awakening.

Even if she’s fighting a villain and getting hit, she won’t be hurt. If threatened, anything is possible.

In general, like examining the face and checking the person’s background, or kidnapping a single daughter.

Originally, there might have been more possibilities. If it weren’t for me, would Cheongi’s mother, well, be alive?

Whether she lived or died, wouldn’t she have been victimized? I had such a prediction.

But I’m here. No way, damn! Damn!!

Unfortunately, I can’t protect the clothes… but she is a hero after all, she will protect herself.

But actually, imagining all this when it’s not confirmed that she’s fighting a villain is embarrassing.

It was just overtime. If that’s the case, how much needless worry did I go through?

“A typical Incheon night.”

Indeed, whether it should be called demonic Incheon, it was an Incheon night where not even the common street cats wandered.

“How long has it been since I wandered around at night.”

Answers might come out if I wander around the villain hideouts and take a look around Incheon.

The nearest hideout is… a construction site.

Was it a year ago? Construction was ongoing when a villain organization moved in, halting the work.

It’s been said that it was left unattended because it couldn’t be dealt with by ordinary heroes or hunters. That’s what I heard.

“A lot has changed in half a year.”

Moreover, they’ve built a hideout in a construction site and even hung a large gate. But strangely, there’s no one guarding it.

Bang, bang! After banging on the gate and waiting for a moment, surprisingly normal-looking guys came out when the door opened.

“Which dumbass?!!”

Ah, not one.

After emerging and swaggering, the guy who got hit in the back of the head and fell to the floor is glanced at before shifting the gaze.

“I apologize! We will train him better!”

“Do as you please.”

Educate or kill among yourselves. I don’t care.

“But what brings you here…”

“I’m looking for a woman. But she’s not here.”

“A woman… are you perhaps looking for a hero?”

“Do you know?”

Just saying it’s a woman and asking if it’s a hero seems like they know something. Was there a fight or something?

“We received support requests because heroes stormed in from Dong-gu.”

“Why would a hero go to Dong-gu?”

Looking at the fact that even if they blatantly build a hideout in a construction site they are left alone, heroes are not interested in small villains. To be precise, they tend to prepare for major threats.

Among the nationwide villains, there were guys like Pollen Villain who, once active, had the potential for mass destruction.

A villain with the ability to produce special pollen. The efficacy of that pollen ranged from beneficial effects such as physical awakening, doping, and detoxification to harmful effects like drugs

, nerve toxins, sleep, and paralysis.

There, where was it. They were holed up somewhere making drugs in a factory.

Anyway, Demonic Incheon, while it is shunned by saying Demonic Incheon, actually, there are only small fries here. Incheon is relatively a clean area.

Thus, the heroes in this area are all A-class at most. Because of this, there is no manpower support and the manpower shortage is even more severe.

“That… I only heard rumors that a drug factory had moved in.”

“Drugs? They’re running a drug factory in Incheon?”

“Yes, that’s what they say!”

I came to find Cheongi’s mother and found something else.

“Ah. If you have a cigarette, give me one.”

My cigarettes have run out.