Epilogue Chapter 56 - Interlude - I’m a Hero

“A-Ahem! Wh-What I said earlier was... umm... a-an accident! You’d better forget about it! Got it?!” shouted Kim Si-Ah, her face as red as a tomato.

Oh Kang-Hyun wondered how one could use formal speech to a friend the same age as them but decided not to ask because Si-Ah looked like she would burst from the slightest touch.

“I got it, so stop pulling on my clothes. You’re gonna stretch them out.”

“It’s because you keep grinning!”

“I’m not grinning.”

“Liar! You’re grinning right now!”

He couldn’t help but smile when he saw Si-Ah stomping her feet with bright red cheeks.

“Let’s spar!”

“Huh?”

“You promised to train with me again, didn’t you? Let’s train right now!”

Si-Ah glared at Kang-Hyun, determined to drag him to the training room and beat him senseless. Kang-Hyun smiled awkwardly as cold sweats trickled down his back.

“Mmm... Maybe not today.”

“Hah, why not? Are you treating our training like some yo-yo diet?”

“No, that’s not—”

“Then come with me to the training room right now!” Si-Ah shouted as she gritted her teeth.

‘I think I’d get hit all day if I follow her to the training room.’

Leaving their overwhelming difference in skill aside, Kang-Hyun was not in optimal condition right now. Even if he had achieved an overwhelming victory against Jeon Yeong-Woong, it had only been a few hours since he had gone all out.

‘But I doubt she would listen even if I told her that.’

Hence, he gave another reason.

“It’s a waste to train when you’re dressed so beautifully, isn’t it?” he said as he pointed at Si-Ah’s white blouse.

“H-Huh? Wh-What did you just say?” Si-Ah stuttered, wide-eyed.

“I said, it's a waste to train when you’re dressed so beautifully.”

“Ngh...!”

Si-Ah’s face turned bright red again, steam coming off of her face. She panted heavily as she approached Kang-Hyun and pinched his flank hard.

“Oh Kang-Hyun, you...!”

“Ouch! What’s up with you all of a sudden?!”

“Wh-Why do you keep saying stuff like that?! Huh? What’s your play?!”

“Wh-What do you mean, play?”

“Argh! I hate that face you make as if you have no idea!” Si-Ah sighed deeply as she pinched Kang-Hyun's side with all her might. “Haaa. Alright, fine. Let’s start training tomorrow.”

“Th-Thank you very much...”

“In exchange, hang out with me today.”

“Huh? Hang out?”

Kang-Hyun stared at Si-Ah in confusion. Seeing that, Si-Ah frowned and crossed her arms.

“You weren’t going to just have lunch and call it a day after calling out a girl, were you?”

“Huh?”

‘That was the plan.’

“Were you?”

“O-Of course not! It would be unreal to call it a day after only having lunch! Is there somewhere you want to go?”

“Anywhere is fine.”

“...”

‘Dammit. There she goes again with that answer.’

Kang-Hyun expressed sorrow as he racked his brain for a place they could go. He could think of many different places at the resort since it was filled with various facilities but his mind was as white as a sheet right now.

“Uhhh... W-Well...”

He then recalled his classmates asking him if he wanted to go to an arcade.

“How about an arcade?”

“Arcade?”

“Yeah. Have you been?”

“No, never.” Si-Ah shook her head, her eyes gleaming with interest.

“Alright, let’s give it a shot.”

***

The arcade located next to the station, much larger than one would normally see in Korea, was filled with various claw machines, punching machines, rhythm games, and gun games.

“Wow, so this is what an arcade looks like.”

Si-Ah looked around the arcade like a countryside girl who had just moved to the city. The place was filled with noise and bright colors. The dim lights made it feel like they were in outer space.

“Have you been to the arcade a lot, Kang-Hyun?” Si-Ah asked.

“Not much. I’ve just been dragged here a few times by my friends.”

“Dragged... by friends?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Y-You had friends, Kang-Hyun?!”

“What?”

Kang-Hyun was about to say what the big deal with having friends was but stopped himself.

“Rather than friends... I would call them guys I hang out with.”

“That’s what you call friends.”

“We don’t hang out that often. I even refused when they asked if I wanted to hang out with them today.”

“Hmm... is that so?”

Si-Ah pouted in dissatisfaction, seemingly shocked that Kang-Hyun had friends. However, only for a moment. She looked around with great interest at the various machines and approached one with two guns attached to it.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“Oh, you use these guns to shoot zombies that come at you on this screen.”

“Hmm. Really?”

“Want to try?”

“Yeah.”

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Kang-Hyun converted his money to coins and inserted four coins worth five hundred won each.

“Alright. You press here to shoot and use this to reload.”

“I got the gist of it. How do you move?”

“Your character moves on its own so all you have to do is shoot.”

“Simple enough.”

Si-Ah grabbed the gun enthusiastically.

Blam! Blam! Blam!

Si-Ah wiped out the zombies with insane reflexes, as expected of the Martial God’s daughter. Kang-Hyun also did his best to shoot the zombies coming at him on the screen,

“Hehe, is that all you’ve got?” Si-Ah taunted.

“Kurgh... how are your reflexes so fast?!”

“Hoho. Have you forgotten whose daughter I am? This is a piece of cake!”

They easily cleared the first and second stages and entered a thick forest map.

Vwee—! Krrrk!

“KYAAAAAAAAHHH!!”

A giant mosquito flew toward them through the thicket and landed on the screen, covering about half of the screen.

“WH-WHAT THE HELL?!! WHY ARE THERE BUGS IN A ZOMBIE GAME?!”

“Urpp! Urgh! W-Wait, Si-Ah... I-I can't breathe...!”

“KYAAAAAAHHH!!”

More bugs stuck to the screen because they weren’t shooting, which made Si-Ah scream even more and hug Kang-Hyun tightly. The words

GAME OVER

appeared on the screen, leaving the two of them stuck to each other.

“Oh... Kang-Hyun?” someone called, their voice shaking.

It was his classmates, staring at Kang-Hyun in shock.

“Ah...” Kang-Hyun slapped his forehead.

‘You stupid idiot.’

He had been stupid enough to not think his classmates might be here as well.

“Uhh, guys...”

“O-Oh Kang-Hyun, you son of a bitch!”

“Was this the reason why you ditched us on our offer?!”

“Boo!”

Kang-Hyun was showered with criticisms. He racked his brain for a good excuse as he sweat bullets.

‘Dammit.’

However, no excuse could explain why he was being embraced by a girl at the arcade. He could only stutter as he stared at his friends.

“Who are you guys?”

Si-Ah, in Kang-Hyun’s arms, turned around and glared at the friends. Her terrified self was nowhere to be seen and she returned to her normal cold demeanor.

“Huh? K-Kim Si-Ah?”

“For real?”

The boys couldn’t tell who the girl hugging Kang-Hyun was because she had her back turned to them, but they expressed shock with their mouths agape after noticing who she was. Si-Ah swept her silky black hair behind her ear and narrowed her eyes.

“Yes, I’m Kim Si-Ah. Is there a problem?”

“N-No, there’s no problem...”

“If not, then could you please go away? You’re staring at us like we’re some monkeys in a zoo, and it’s highly irritating.”

“O-Oh, w-we’re sorry.”

“Please excuse us!”

Kang-Hyun’s friends, intimidated by Si-Ah’s chilling aura, nodded dumbfoundedly and ran out of the arcade.

“...”

“What? Let’s play some more.”

Si-Ah snorted and pulled the blank-faced Kang-Hyun by his hand.

Kang-Hyun mumbled quietly, “I’m screwed...”

He had a feeling that the rest of his school life would be filled with chaos.

***

As Kang-Hyun expected, news that Kim Si-Ah and Oh Kang-Hyun were dating had spread throughout the school the next day. Adults would think there was no such thing as a relationship between elementary schoolers but that was because they did not know what children were like these days.

Children of this day and age experienced the world much quicker because of the highly developed internet and social media. Hence, stories of love between the Martial God’s daughter and the school’s biggest honor student spread throughout the school in an instant, to the point that even the upperclassmen were talking about it.

“Kim Si-Ah and Oh Kang-Hyun... are dating?”

However, one boy was ice-cold instead of fired up from the news.

“Hah... Haha! Hahahaha!” He burst into laughter with one hand covering his face. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!”

The boy swore in a way that did not fit his age.

“AAAAAAHHH! AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!” the boy screamed as he threw everything he saw.

He had thought he was the protagonist of the world. He thought he was a hero as his name suggested[1]. It was only natural since the boy was born with much more than others his age. Exceptional talent, a well-off household, and a height and build that one wouldn’t expect from an elementary schooler— everyone looked at him with envy and jealousy from a depth that he could barely see from how high up he was.

“Oh... Kang-Hyun...! OH KANG-HYUUUUUUUN—!”

However, it was the first time he was looking up at someone. Yeong-Woong thought about the demon who stole all the glory that belonged to him and screamed, drowning in inferiority.

[Let’s see. Your name is... Jeon Yeong-Woong, correct?]

A star descended on the miserable boy.

1. Yeong-Woong means hero in Korean. ☜