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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The New Recruit
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"Ugh... Guh-aaaaah!"
"Bro, stop making those weird noises."
"You rotten jerk. Your Oppa is suffering like this, and you can't even offer a word of comfort."
"...Don't call me Oppa. Anyway, you'd feel better if you just lay there, why are you being such a drama queen?"
Seo-eun's disdainful gaze made me feel like crying. No, I swear, I really am in pain!
This place was deep underground, somewhere in Seoul.
It was the underground base of Han Seo-eun, the genius hacker and brilliant scientist who could create anything. Though, she was still just a kid, only in her third year of middle school.
As soon as I teleported here after thwarting the terror attack caused by my impersonating followers, I collapsed again. Consecutive teleportation was killing me. Especially since this place was so deep underground...
Still, this time, perhaps because I was in the fatigue recovery capsule Seo-eun made, it definitely hurt less. Seriously, if she had something like this, why didn't she tell me yesterday? I was unconscious for an entire day yesterday.
What's more, this time I didn't just move myself; I dragged another person along, making it twice as hard.
Fortunately, though, Seo-eun had made this 'fatigue recovery capsule' or whatever it was, otherwise I really would have collapsed.
"Ugh, so. Why did you tell me to bring this person?"
As I spoke, I pointed at the woman sitting in the chair.
She gasped in surprise when she realized she was the focus of attention.
With her long, straight black hair hanging down, she sat there, watching cautiously as if a mouse, which was a bit pathetic.
Even her beauty contributed to the impression, making her seem like a tragic heroine.
She was the only one I'd spared among the eight followers.
Seo-eun had said she could be a great help if she became our ally, so I'd just brought her along.
"Ah."
Seo-eun, who had been busy doing something on her computer screen, spun her chair around to face us.
Seo-eun looked at the woman and asked,
"Unnie... no, *Noona*. Noona, you're Lee Su-bin, right?"
"Uh, uh. H-how did you know?"
"I know everything."
Seo-eun said coolly. But if you looked closely, her nose seemed a little higher than usual, didn't it?
It was just cute to hear such a little thing speak like that. I felt an involuntary 'dad' smile creep onto my face.
Anyway, that aside, I decided to ask something I'd been curious about for a while.
"Alright, so Seo-eun? Can you explain why we had to bring Lee Su-bin here, the one who *claims* to be my follower?"
As I opened my mouth, she flinched again.
Seriously, how did someone this timid manage to commit terrorism?
Tears were already welling up in her eyes, which was incredibly perplexing.
"Ah, I wanted to ask her for some help."
Seo-eun merely said that to me.
Right. She'll help... Wait, help *you*?
Not only I, but Lee Su-bin herself seemed quite flustered by Seo-eun's words. What was this sudden talk?
"No... Seo-eun, I don't quite understand. So you're suddenly kidnapping a terrorist you just met today and immediately making her help you? Uh... hmm... Wouldn't it be quicker for her to stab you in your sleep first?"
I thought I heard her mumble from behind, "I... wouldn't stab youuu..." but I cleanly ignored it. This was the cold, ruthless Ego-Base. Those with quiet voices wouldn't survive.
"Haa, it's not like that."
"What do you mean 'it's not like that'? Seo-eun, you're still only in your third year of middle school, so I guess you don't know how the world works. This isn't a world where you can just kidnap someone and tell them to work, and they'll quietly comply. Wouldn't she hold a grudge? She'd either steal all your information and run, or take revenge on you. I don't even know how she's supposed to help you in the first place."
I felt like someone behind me was shaking their head wildly, saying, "I... won't betray youuu..." Though it wasn't just a feeling, she actually said it.
Seo-eun merely sighed at my long-winded speech. What, this kid? No, this won't do. I need to give her some stern discipline, from a father's heart.
Just as I was about to begin my lecture, Seo-eun spoke.
"Unnie. Lee Su-bin Unnie."
"U-uh, yeah?"
"Unnie, both your parents, they were Han-eun Group researchers, weren't they?"
At that moment, the color began to drain from Lee Su-bin's face.
Her face instantly turned pale.
She began to deny it, muttering, "N-no, no..." but Seo-eun merely offered a bitter smile at her reaction.
"Unnie, don't *you* want revenge too? On the Han-eun Group, on *those bastards*."
"Huh...?"
"Weren't your parents also killed in that incident back then?"
At Seo-eun's words, Lee Su-bin's face subtly stiffened.
Even I, who was about to scold Seo-eun for breaking character and calling her 'Unnie,' began to listen seriously when the Han-eun Group and the incident were mentioned.
"I saw the posts you wrote on the deep web, Unnie. You hate the Han-eun Group too, don't you? You said you wanted to kill them all."
"H-how, how did you..."
"How did I know? Your blocking program had quite a few loopholes, Unnie. I'll have to make a new one."
Seo-eun, who had somehow gotten up from her seat, approached Lee Su-bin and tightly clasped her hand.
It was a bit funny that Lee Su-bin, sitting in the chair, was taller than Seo-eun, who was standing, but it seemed like a very serious moment, so I decided not to say anything.
"I'm looking for the Han-eun Group's top brass. My life was ruined because of those bastards. I'm going to find them, find them and kill them all. Only then will I feel at peace."
"Unnie, will you help me?"
As Seo-eun's words ended, Lee Su-bin burst into tears and gripped Seo-eun's hand in return.
"Yes, I, I'll help you!"
"Thank you, Unnie."
And with that, the two embraced.
Uh...
Well, with white-haired Seo-eun and black-haired Lee Su-bin hugging each other, it did look like a black-and-white painting, a picture of harmony, but...
Was it just me... was I the only one who couldn't follow this emotional shift?
What in the world were these two suddenly doing...? They exchanged a few words, then got emotional and hugged each other...?
Watching the two women embrace, I, the lone man, simply lay there, feeling incredibly awkward.
What even is this...?
***
Lee Su-bin.
Currently enrolled in Seoul National University, Computer Science Department.
Age similar to mine.
Both her parents passed away when she was young, so she lived alone on subsidies.
Since middle school, she'd been holed up at home like a hikikomori, researching only computers, so her computer skills were top-notch.
Her skills were so top-notch, in fact, that she could understand everything Seo-eun said.
I couldn't understand a single thing.
Her main activity was performing cyber-terrorism on the deep web for a fee, making a living that way.
The reason she showed up at the terror attack, claiming to be my follower, was...
"What? By accident?"
"Yes... It was originally a chatroom I joined to find work, but they said I just needed to go out and make up the numbers... I even got suspected of being a spy, so I had no choice but to..."
"..."
What the heck. So, in conclusion, she's not even my follower? Seo-eun, you said she was a fan. Were you lying to me?
I watched her fidgeting in her seat.
Lee Su-bin. Unlike her seemingly kind name, she actually looked a little intimidating in person.
With her long, straight black hair and tall stature, she gave off the vibe of a tough school bully from my student days when she wore a blank expression.
...But somehow, despite her appearance, how could she...
"You don't have any friends?"
"Yes... I mostly stayed at home and only attended enough classes to graduate..."
"..."
Why did I feel like bursting into tears just listening to her?
Well, she seemed harmless overall.
Of course, there were still some suspicious points.
Firstly, she had never appeared in [Stardust!], the comic world I was transmigrated into.
Her not appearing meant that, in truth, she didn't have much of an impact.
She was just an extra, like me.
"Alright. Lee Su-bin, welcome to our crew."
"Y-yes!"
I shook her hand.
Let's pretend I didn't notice her face redden because she bit her tongue while speaking.
"...Since when did we have a crew?"
I decided to ignore Seo-eun's mumbled remark from behind.
Now there are three of us. That's a crew, alright.
***
Lee Su-bin moved her belongings to the underground base and decided to live here.
She said she'd live alongside Seo-eun, learning from her and collaborating.
Seo-eun explained that it was better this way, as coming and going frequently might draw attention.
...But honestly, I felt uneasy.
If she were a character from the original work, someone I knew, then maybe. But...
Putting someone whose true personality and intentions I didn't know next to our Seo-eun? Who knew what might happen?
For that reason, I outright moved my home to this underground base too.
I gave Seo-eun a different reason, but honestly, she seemed to roughly know my concerns.
But why was she doing this?
Did she already know Su-bin?
And so, in this deep underground place, the cohabitation of three people – me, Han Seo-eun, and Lee Su-bin – began.
It was one man and two women living together, which made for a slightly strange picture.
Seo-eun was a middle schooler, and Su-bin... well, she was certainly a beauty. But there was no real problem.
My heart, from the beginning, was always with Stardust, with Shin Ha-ru. When I came to this world, I vowed to live this life for Ha-ru.
Of course, a day when she and I would be together would never come. Haha.
And so, I began to live here.
Living with others was certainly more lively and fun than living alone.
"Bro, do you know you left the fridge door open? All the ice cream will melt!"
"Me? Hey, I didn't open the fridge door!"
"S-Seo-eun. I think I was the one who left it open. S-sorry..."
"Oh! Ah... It's okay, Unnie! People make mistakes, hehe."
"...Wow, when she thought *I* did it, she was going on and on."
"..."
How unfair, how utterly unfair.