Chapter 53. A Warm Seafood Stew with a Shot of Soju (1)
Clack-clack. Clack.
The bright red shell of the crustacean transformed by the heat
crumbled in my mouth, and the hidden flavors burst in.
The broth seeped in, adding a spicy sensation to the juicy meat.
Furthermore, the white flesh brought together the tastes of different seafood,
deepening my flavor experience.
“Crabs are meant to be eaten by the meat,”
Clack. Clack.
“Forget about it. If it’s not this much, you won’t even feel the chewiness.”
Though I could still feel the undercooked bits and the sticky texture like glutinous paste,
life is unfair.
Setting aside life’s complaints, I turned my gaze toward the bubbling broth on the plastic table.
A mound of seafood dripping with red chili paste.
Seafood piled high enough to overflow from the pot.
You can hardly find a seafood feast like this unless you’re at the coast.
I then popped a shrimp into my mouth and downed my brought-in Soviet distilled liquor.
The spicy, seasoned juiciness mixed with the sharp sensation of alcohol slid down my throat.
The strong flavor, which I would never normally get to feel, wrapped around my throat.
“Ahh, yes, this is the taste.”
With the warm, salty stimulation and alcohol, what is there to fear?
If only I had a cigarette, I might have struck a charming middle-aged man’s pose somewhere,
but since I’m currently on a no-smoking streak, that delightful sight has vanished from my possessions years ago.
Though I still crave nicotine these days.
…I mean, I won’t even get drunk, so wouldn’t it just be fine to drink cheap soju?
“If you’re feeling wronged, take it up with my body. If it’s not this much, the effects won’t even kick in.”
Is it really that strange for me to chug soju straight from the bottle?
“By the way, it’s unexpected.”
“What do you mean?”
Hyunseok removed the meat from the clam with chopsticks and placed it onto his spoon.
He then ladled up some broth, downing it with the soju in one gulp.
“Ugh. I thought it would be a more expensive place, so it’s surprising to be led here.”
“I told you we were just going for something warm to eat.”
I also like steak or high-class Chinese food.
Thick cuts of meat are nice, and greasy Chinese food is delightful too.
But not for the same reasons I’d prefer them now.
Also, this place probably isn’t cheap either.
How many seafood places have seafood overflowing the pot like this?
A massive crab has disappeared straight into my mouth.
“Is it weird to come to a place like this alone? With this appearance, I’d struggle even to eat out.”
I could just lay a steel plate over my face to eat alone, but
how could a little girl like me cause a scene demanding liquor and hot food?
I’d instantly become an internet star, registered on a video site,
and my embarrassment would come as a bonus.
“That’s rich coming from a hero with a steel plate for a face who doesn’t pay debts.”
Hmm. If you put it that way, I don’t really have a comeback.
Hiding my blushing lips with the bottle of soju, I picked the right words in my mind.
As time passed, when the clear liquor began to fog up the bottle,
“I do have an emotion called embarrassment, you know?”
“Is that so?”
Though this conversation with the somewhat inarticulate Hyunseok was unusual,
for some reason, the words flowed smoothly.
“Honestly, these kinds of things are meant to be shared while drinking with others, but how many people do I have to do that with?”
“If you came with old heroes, wouldn’t there be no problem?”
Oh, that odd group is familiar enough.
Watching Prohibition getting tipsy on soda makes me feel a bit tipsy too.
Cheonha Ilgyeom can barely drown himself in one beer while self-deprecating.
And the drunken antics of Infinite Architect could swallow a village whole, making me a bit scared.
But the cost is different. What should I say?
“I feel like they’re more like family or siblings since I’ve been around them so much. Is that the difference?”
Relationships work like that.
When you become too accustomed to someone, it becomes harder to share moments like this.
Hiding your true feelings to some extent, your true self can only be shown to close friends.
“I think I kind of understand.”
“Right. You’ll realize it painfully if you end up looking like me. Be grateful you aren’t in this state.”
Once our chat wrapped up, we indulged in the seafood.
The clams and octopuses that had been inside the pot had disappeared, and now our mouths were filled with ocean creatures.
A brief moment of silence ensued.
Feeling eyes on me as I cracked the shell and scooped out the meat with my spoon.
“Is there something you want to say?”
Hyunseok, with a filled shot glass of soju, stirred it in the air while looking at me.
His slightly darkened face seemed to suggest he might say something serious.
“How about re-emerging on the front lines?”
The front lines.
He probably isn’t talking about me directly.
He refers to what the old heroes want. Speaking of those heroes who hid their existence and erased their records.
Mentioning Cheonha Ilgyeom leading the Won Federation, only participants of the old war or high officials in the Association would know.
As I looked at Hyunseok with a stiff face, he seemed unable to hold back and took another sip before continuing.
“I know many illicit and unethical acts were committed to establish the Association. But that was unavoidable given the situation at the time. Personally, I think I’ve done my time for 15 years protecting humanity from behind.”
Hyunseok blurted those words out in one go, and as if his throat was parched, he gulped down more soju. Not waiting for me to refill, he poured the liquor into his own cup.
“Haram. I see your progression of events as some kind of omen. Perhaps from now on, the invasion of the Otherworld will come even stronger. If so, we need a hero to lead the heroes. Someone like you…”
A reckoning for the sins committed. Who knows. Have we truly repaid those sins for the last 15 years? Or have we rather stacked them even higher?
That’s why everyone is getting broken. Everyone.
“If that’s the case, a conclusion has already been reached in the internal meeting.”
Regrettably.
…Is that the sort of answer that might make me feel happy?
“Just like usual. Information suppression, relationship extermination, perception manipulation. Same old, same old. We don’t take power, and we don’t step forward. According to Macbeth, the videos of our fights will be deleted from the records, and the relationships formed during this war will be reset through what lies dormant under the Association.”
“Bunch of obstinate fools.”
For the first time, Hyunseok’s face dimpled, and he scratched his head.
His neatly organized hair tousled up seemed to directly show his mixed feelings.
“Obstinate? Who would do this for 30 years? No one would.”
“That’s true.”
He said that as he tilted the soju bottle up to his lips. Without passing it through a glass, the clear liquid poured directly down his throat.
“Are you not going to work tomorrow?”
“Don’t underestimate me, Haram. There’s no way this much liquor could affect me.”
With smiles on our faces, we looked at each other.
In that heartwarming atmosphere.
-Next news. The Association…
Hissssssssss. The Association…
Sizzling bouuuup.
While the old TV dutifully did its job, it poured out a loud noise.
Is it broken?
It’s annoying; should I tell the owner to turn it off…
Hsssssssss. Click.
The noise quickly stopped, and the TV returned to a clear screen.
The television itself was old, so it didn’t have great quality, but what was on the screen was something enough to raise doubt in my eyes.
A girl with black pigtails.
With a confident expression, she opened her mouth from beyond the screen.
-All heroes are corrupt.
Yumil.
Dressed in a black gown and holding a red hammer.
-Witness how they handled this situation. The old heroes could have dealt with it much faster than now.
What the hell is that?
“Hyunseok, am I dreaming right now?”
“Unfortunately, it’s reality.”
I wish he had told me it was a dream.
I’d have jumped into the sea with a spear to wake myself up!
-This is all the Association’s fault for making the heroes too weak.
She spoke in a strangely bold tone, making her reality feel utterly unreal.
What is this? What in the world is happening?
Did I order something like that?
Is there a split personality I don’t know about?
Did some other side of me give those orders?
-The hero endures hardships, makes choices, and grows. The current heroes are like flowers in a greenhouse…
Zzzzzt. Shhh.
As more noise poured out, I was left speechless, staring blankly at the screen, and soon the noise faded, replaced by a clear image.
-About the earlier broadcast incident…
What in the world is that?
“Hyunseok, this has to be a dream, right?”
“It’s reality. The Black Marauder has been hijacking the broadcasts since the last war and spreading those images.”
In contrast to Hyunseok, who calmly drank his soju, I felt a weird disconnect.
As if it was just another day for him.
“I lost consciousness for about two weeks, didn’t I?”
“Thirteen days to be precise.”
“And the Association still hasn’t caught him? What are they doing?”
No, at least they should be able to prevent the hijacking, right?
“He’s so elusive, there’s no way. There was a record of Baek Sihyeon charging in, trying to catch him, but ended up destroying a broadcasting tower.”
Our pig-headed student couldn’t contain himself and caused an accident, huh? Blowing up a broadcasting tower—what a strong move.
The pig-headed student causing accidents.
Even Yumil has caused troubles.
Now it’s really just Han Abin who’s left.
“Abin didn’t do anything strange, did she?”
“I happened to see her running with Oxymoron, carrying strange medical tools. However, there haven’t been any reports of particular damages.”
Abin!!!
As despair hit me, I rested my head on the table, feeling a warm heat spread.
The warmth of the seafood stew.
Let’s just drink and forget.
“Hyunseok, let’s drink.”
I poured soju into Hyunseok’s empty glass, and then filled my stainless steel bowl with my Soviet distilled liquor.
The liquor swayed in the bowl, and
Hyunseok also understood my intentions and raised his soju glass.
“For humanity.”
Clink.
“Cheers.”
Wouldn’t it be nice if this invasion of the Otherworld could let me get drunk and forget everything?
“You’re pretty strong with liquor, right?”
“There’s a limit to it… I’ll-”
“If you throw up, I swear I’ll kill you.”
I’d throw him around like a beach ball in the ocean.
That’s what I’m thinking as I supported the large guy’s body.
Isn’t it embarrassing for them to be helped by someone much smaller than themselves?
“Does a branch manager like you not have a driver?”
“I told him to take a break and go on vacation.”
Well done, our Korean branch manager.
“What about sleeping? If he drives drunk, I’ll just have to toss him into the sea until he wakes up.”
“Just call someone.”
“Are you saying I should drive you there?”
I might not know where his house is, but I can navigate my way with a GPS.
Thinking that, I turned to look at Hyunseok’s face, and he opened his eyes wide and started speaking in a clear voice.
“Are you hoping I’ll destroy my car?”
Why does he think everything I drive will end up wrecked?
About 80% of the vehicles I’ve driven went directly to the junkyard, but it’s not half my fault.
To begin with, the safety standards are too lenient.
It’s ridiculous for a car to break down just from crashing into a monster.
In today’s world, you should be ready to run over even a monster crossing your path and send it to the Otherworld.
“If you leave me behind, I’ll call someone. You first go to your accommodation…”
“I can’t, it’s way too dark.”
Emotion seeped into my voice.
A vague fear and prickly feelings.
Did Hyunseok read the original cost from my voice? His face, once flushed from the alcohol, quickly returned to its normal color.
…That was a slip of the tongue.
Sitting up straight and checking his posture, he continued speaking.
“I’ll call people, so please keep an eye on me for a moment.”
“Sure thing.”
Supporting Hyunseok’s body, I slowly started moving towards the exit.
His sobriety didn’t last long; after just a little walking, his steps became shaky, and he started swaying.
Opening the car door that I took out from my suit pocket, I tossed him into the back seat.
“Hey, wake up. Call someone and sleep.”
Half-drunk and half-asleep, Hyunseok took out his phone to contact someone.
As soon as the call ended, he promptly closed his eyes, but it seemed he had said all the necessary content.
I closed the door and leaned against the car.
In the dark night.
Who knows who might be after him.
I’d rather not lose another friend.
Focusing my attention, I waited for the Association’s staff to arrive. Until then.
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