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Translated by BiasNil
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"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH"
Shin Haru hurled the remote control toward the TV.
Of course, if she put all her strength into it, her new UHD TV would be smashed, so she kept that in mind and threw it as gently as possible.
Naturally—BUMP! It hit the wall.
"Haa… haa…"
She wheezed.
After calming herself down, she sat on the sofa and took a moment to think.
How many years has she been a hero under the name of Stardust?
She probably awakened around middle or high school, so she's been a hero for quite a long time.
She was determined to become a hero who could haul villains off to prison and avenge her late parents.
But even then, she had never imagined this. Dating a villain?
"Haa…"
Shin Haru sighed and headed to the refrigerator.
She needed something sweet; she was so frustrated.
She naturally took out a cold juice box and drank. When she checked the label, she frowned.
[Minute Maid Mango]
Mango. Now, mango reminds her of that Egostic bastard.
Egostic's supporters call him Mangostic, right?
Ugh. She felt like her mind was becoming corrupted.
Her favorite thing is mango.
Honestly, she hates actual mangoes, but she likes mango-flavored things—mango juice, mango frappes, mango shaved ice.
But now, she can never see mango the way she did before.
Every time she sees the word "mango," she'll think of that Mangostic.
"My mind… my mind is corrupted…"
She was slightly depressed. People's perceptions change with time, sure—but she never thought hers would change like this.
"Haa…"
She decided to get some fresh air by the window.
She opened it and leaned out.
A cool spring breeze blew by.
Sunlight sparkled across her blonde hair, giving it a dreamy twinkle. Men passing on the street glanced up, dazed by the sight, but she didn't notice.
She had a lot on her mind. And at the center of it was definitely that Egostic guy.
Egostic. She used to think it was a funny name. Egostic—doesn't it make you think of a weak old man walking with a stick? Of course, she'd once said that to a close senior and got a pitiful look in return, so she'd decided to keep that thought to herself ever since.
She surprised herself by thinking "Egoistic" would even be a better name than "Egostic." Why on earth was she workshopping a villain's name? She shook the thought away.
Still, she couldn't help feeling unsettled whenever she thought of him.
Something she couldn't put into words.
Complex emotions bubbled up, coalesced into a lump of thoughts that couldn't be suppressed, then rose and dissolved again.
And she found it strange.
Obviously, when you think of an evil villain, you should feel hatred and disgust.
But why were these complicated emotions what came to mind?
Among them, there were certainly things that weren't hatred or disgust.
Egostic. He's all over the internet right now.
No—he's famous offline, too.
Even her close friend Chae-hyun said she joined the Mango Union last time.
In her department's group chat, people sometimes brought up Mangostic—and the talk was all positive.
She asked how they could be like that after watching the livestream of the train incident.
At first, they defended Egostic by saying there were zero casualties in both attacks.
Later, when it came out that the people tied to the tracks were all scumbags who'd gotten off with a slap on the wrist, people started praising Egostic blindly again.
Some even joked that Stardust didn't need to stop the train.
Honestly, Koreans' enthusiasm for Egostic has already reached fanatic levels. For people who've been eating nothing but "sweet potatoes"* so far, Egostic's cathartic antics are so refreshing that there's even a catchphrase: "If you're Korean, please support Egostic." *TN: "Sweet potatoes" refers to frustrating situations/people.
And then there was the love scandal she saw earlier.
"Ugh."
She could feel her face burning.
The blood letters, the terror acts—everything he's done so far.
All because he likes her?
"What nonsense!"
She shouted despite herself.
Why on earth would he like her?
Because of her face? Yeah, probably. There's no other explanation!
As expected, Egostic must be one of those people who are only into her looks.
But one thing was certain.
She looked down at her hand and clenched her fist.
She had definitely built more muscle.
After stopping the train, she was definitely stronger.
It's good to be stronger—it's what she's always aimed for.
"I don't know…"
Not knowing why she felt so confused, she let out another sigh.
One good thing, though: her haters vanished after this incident.
Honestly, she cared more than anyone—while pretending not to—about public opinion, so she was relieved that the public was warming up to her again.
Honestly, her favorability dropped because of Egostic—but thanks to Egostic, it went up again.
It feels like Egostic is shaking up her life.
Which isn't wrong, since she'd been officially assigned to deal with him.
"Haa…"
As she was stewing, her phone rang.
The caller: Kim Chae-hyun.
A senior she's close with at university.
"Hello?"
[Oh, Haru! Want to hang out? The weather's great.]
"Hang out?"
Hang out.
Come to think of it, she doesn't hang out with friends much.
Studying and hero work. There wasn't time for both and leisure.
But her friend asked to hang out.
Hmm.
Usually, she'd reject it.
She had no time to relax, juggling study and hero duties.
In the beginning she was so busy she could barely sit in the Association office for long—even though she liked that seat when the sun came through.
But lately, she'd been worried about Egostic.
Suddenly, the invite sounded tempting.
"Oh… sure! When should we go?"
[Today! What do you think? There's a festival! I've always wanted to go!]
"Oh, a festival sounds good. Today… I do have time! See you later, then. But what festival is it?"
[Ice Cream Festival! Sounds fun, right?]
"Uh, yeah."
There's an ice cream festival in this world?
She mulled it over.
***
Seoul—crowded buildings, cars weaving, people rushing.
Far from all that, our underground base.
Egostic, the villain who terrorizes all of Korea.
Han Seo-eun, a genius hacker who could wreck the country's network with a single finger.
Lee Su-bin, an all-around assistant—hacking, housework, driving.
The place where the three of us gather is called the Ego-base.
Though it's deep underground, LED lighting makes it cozy enough to replace the sun.
Sometimes, I just like staying home.
Haven't I been living too busily lately?
It's not easy for a former ordinary citizen to act like a villain.
I was a little nervous with thousands watching my last broadcast. Every word I say ends up in the news… I mean, they already wrote articles about me accidentally yelling "Yes!" when Stardust stopped the train. Mostly about that love scandal…
Those trash reporters.
They're quick on the uptake…
Anyway, there's nothing good about dragging aggro too often.
These days, I'm resting at home, idle.
I mostly play with Seo-eun.
She's a senior in middle school with no friends.
She must be bored out of her mind.
Su-bin joins in and we play board games or Switch.
She grumbles that it's kid stuff, but it's cute seeing her have fun in our living room.
Yeah, kids should play like kids! Too much screen time isn't great, either.
Anyway, it was another day of staying in and resting.
While watching TV and eating the apple Su-bin peeled, Seo-eun—who'd been doing something in her room—rushed over.
She shoved something at me and asked me to go out with her.
"Ice cream festival?"
"Yeah, I told you last time. That's today! We have to go!"
Seo-eun's eyes were sparkling.
Su-bin, next to her, clearly wanted to go, too.
Right, I think I did hear about it.
The 13th International Ice Cream Festival… I've never heard of anything like this in the original comic…
Seo-eun explained it's their first time holding it in Korea and there's a lot to see.
It felt strange—I'd never heard of an ice cream festival in my life.
Seo-eun likes staying home as much as I do, but she was the one to ask first, so she must really want to go… Do you like ice cream that much?
"Alright, let's go! Get changed."
I jumped to my feet and shouted.
Well… nothing's going to happen, right?[1]
[1] BN: HE GOT TO STOP JINXING