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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Han River Dive
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"It's snowing."
Time flowed by quickly.
After the last bridge terror incident, there was still quite a bit of time left until the Behemoth's Han River dive, or 'Han River Kkolbak' as we called it for short.
Since it was roughly scheduled to happen around March, I just played until then. Well, playing is good. Playing is the best.
Actually, I did consider causing another terror incident before the Han River Kkolbak.
But the more I thought about it, the less necessary it seemed. Stardust was already as strong as they were three years into the original timeline, and most importantly, it was winter and it was cold. Mapo Bridge in December was cold enough, so how much colder would it be now? Terror attacks are best carried out when the weather is warm, for both villains and heroes.
So, I stayed cooped up at home.
Time to catch up on my games.
Even though I was stuck at home, there were so many people around that I never got bored. In the large mansion nestled in the mountains, there was me, Seoeun, Ms. Soobin, and the Hayul siblings. A total of five of us.
The siblings had barely started school when winter break arrived, bringing them right back home. Huh? What was all that for...?
I had pressured Seoeun to quickly get them into school, manipulating administrative records and causing a fuss. Sorry, Seoeun.
Anyway, Cha Yoon, Hayul's younger brother, who had finally gotten a taste of school life, was studying even harder. No, why is a kid who's just entering middle school studying so hard? Weren't middle schoolers supposed to just play around?
As a result of Cha Yoon's diligent studying, Hayul, who had been watching him, also started studying. No, you have healing abilities anyway, you don't need to study, do you?
Well, Hayul is in her final year of high school now, so maybe it makes sense for her to study? Seeing Hayul belatedly open her books and study for the Suneung (CSAT) makes me think that Korean high schoolers, whether in their past lives or this one, are destined to study. Poor things...
For Hayul, who had forgotten almost everything she learned after high school, having spent her time wandering the streets, Ms. Soobin tutored her one-on-one. Right, I'd forgotten, Ms. Soobin is from Seoul National University. That means she knows the most about Suneung preparation among us.
Wait a minute, now that I think about it, isn't Ms. Soobin too busy these days? Even if household chores are rotated, she's also assisting Seoeun and tutoring both kids. No, she's practically raising the Hayul siblings on her own. Anyone would think she's their mother.
While everyone else was living so busily, I was... uh...
Well, I've worked hard enough until now, haven't I? It's okay to play.
Of course, I didn't *just* play. I periodically planned the recruitment of 'human disasters,' i.e., villains, and kept a diary...
Though, the time Seoeun and I spent lying around playing games together was overwhelmingly greater. We've cleared dozens of games together, sitting on the living room sofa. Some difficult games were impossible to beat unless we played together.
"Oppa! Parry quickly! Parry and save me!"
"Okay. There! Saved you."
"Whew. If we just beat this one, we're clear, right?"
That's how we idled away our time.
We didn't just play indoors; on snowy days, we went outside for snowball fights. I dragged Hayul's siblings and Ms. Soobin out too. It's not good for people to stay cooped up inside all the time; they need to go out and play.
"Agh! Oppa! Come here!"
"No way? Hehehehe."
"No! Teleporting is cheating!"
"Hoohoohoo... *Gasp*!"
"Ms. Soobin, don't just stand there, play with us! Take that!"
"Dayin-ssi... you're dead..."
That day, I learned that Ms. Soobin is scary when she's angry.
Lesson of the day: Don't throw a snowball at Ms. Soobin's face when she's just standing there.
The siblings were rolling snow into balls, making a snowman. It really snows a lot here, being in the mountains.
The snowy mountain valley had its own charm. It was a good decision to move here. This place feels a hundred times better than the underground base. Since it's deep in the mountains and we've set up devices around, people don't come near, so we can freely spend time outside.
Of course, there's the issue of having to use the teleportation device every time we want to go to the city, but that much effort is perfectly acceptable.
Christmas came and went like flowing water, and to change the mood, we even put up a Christmas tree twice my height.
January and February passed, and time flowed idly by.
...No, time passes too quickly when you're just playing, doesn't it?
Time flowed by like water.
Being stuck deep in the mountain valley made me feel a bit detached from the outside world. It was nice.
Occasionally, watching Stardust fight various villains while munching on popcorn was one of the few events. Unlike Seoeun, the Hayul siblings secretly enjoyed watching fights, so we watched together. They seemed to be watching Stardust less like heroes and more like an action movie... No, maybe they just liked the popcorn?
While I was spending such peaceful time, my Mango Stick crew seemed to be going through a tough period.
My reputation was being slandered from all sides, and I wasn't even active.
Sorry, guys...! But a day of light will come soon, just wait a little longer!
Doing this and that, March finally arrived.
Cha Yoon entered middle school, and Hayul went up to her third year at her original high school.
I was a little worried if the kids would adapt well, but it was a relief to see that they were all making friends and getting along fine.
Both were assigned to a girls' high school and a co-ed middle school near the house with the underground base, and they were doing quite well.
Come to think of it, Seoeun is also high school age now.
I subtly asked her, "Don't you want to go to school?" and she replied, asking why she would go there. She said she didn't even have time to tinker with computer networks.
...Well, I didn't expect her to, anyway. In fact, it would be a bit troublesome if Seoeun went to school. Without Seoeun, all my plans would have flaws.
After living together for three months, everyone had grown much closer. Even Hayul and Seoeun, who were a bit awkward at first, had now become close, calling each other 'unnie' and 'dongsaeng.' Time really is a remedy.
Anyway, March slowly passed.
Right.
It was about time.
The alpha and omega of Han-Eun Group's ambitious world domination project. The day a colossal worm-like entity, the size of the 63 Building, would emerge was approaching.
The day when that monster, which in the original story destroyed all cities north of Seoul and even flattened North Korea, would fall into the water and die in vain, all because of one bridge I destroyed under the guise of a terror attack.
This would probably be the biggest twist I'd put on the original story.
The day the fate of South Korea, which was heading towards a bleak future, would change.
So, I spent each day waiting for that day.
And finally, one day.
It appeared.
***
Seoul, daytime.
The city center overlooking the Han River.
Various people were gathered, each going about their own business, and the place seemed as ordinary as ever.
Yes, until then.
"…?"
A sudden tremor shook the quiet city.
As the ground rumbled, growing stronger and stronger as if an earthquake had struck, people fell into chaos.
The tremor continued, shaking the ground for tens of minutes.
And then, *thump*. It suddenly stopped.
And then.
Suddenly.
From beneath the ground of the Han-Eun Group building, which faced the Han River.
Smashing through the building,
something black burst out.
It was like a black tower.
A black calamity made of countless tentacles.
*KWA-A-A-A-A-A-ANG-!*
This black something, which had instantly surged from the ground, slammed its body down onto the surface with a *thud*.
It resembled a colossal earthworm, enlarged to the size of a building, its sheer bulk looking capable of obliterating an entire city.
As people screamed and scattered in panic from the sudden disaster.
It suddenly began to emit a terrifying sound.
*Kuh... Kiiiiiieeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk... Kiiiiiiik...*
Like fingernails scraping a blackboard.
Like hundreds of babies crying out together.
A horrifying, piercing shriek that conveyed primal malice.
So loud it could be heard throughout Seoul, its sound alone shattering all nearby glass, emitting a frequency so monstrously large that no living creature should be able to produce it.
It looked like the apocalypse descended upon the present world, like an unstoppable disaster sent to judge humanity itself.
Had the end of South Korea truly arrived so suddenly?
After a brief lull, it finally began to move.
Forward, forward.
Like a runaway locomotive, its countless tentacles writhing.
As if it knew nothing of going sideways or backward.
Tearing up the roads, it began to advance straight ahead.
From a distance, it looked like a black tidal wave.
Visible to the naked eye even from several kilometers away, it moved straight, as if to destroy everything in its path.
And what stood in the path of this creature, which only moved straight forward, was none other than the Han River.
There was a bridge directly in its way.
No, there *had been* a bridge. Now there was none.
But it had recently been destroyed by a certain terrorist, leaving only an empty void where the river flowed.
So, the terrifying monster, which seemed poised to destroy Korea and which no hero could possibly stop, charged straight into the Han River.
And plunged directly into the water.
"KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!"
It suddenly let out a horrifying scream, and the water began to dissolve it as if it were an acid.
And.
And.
It was over.
".....?"
Peace returned abruptly.
The great calamity, which just moments ago had emitted a terrible noise audible to tens of millions in Seoul and looked like a god of destruction.
It disappeared just as absurdly and suddenly as it had appeared, as if nothing had happened.
Only the shattered building where it emerged, the torn-up ground, and the Han River stained black proved that something had been there just moments before.
The disaster that had suddenly appeared vanished just as suddenly after five minutes.
Case closed. Problem solved!
"Wow, that was easy."
Lying on the sofa, munching popcorn and watching the scene on TV, that's all I said.
Hmm, it's nice being in the mountain countryside, can't even hear the noise.
Won't property values in the countryside go up from now on? Seoul is so dangerous, everyone!
Only Seoeun, who was eating popcorn with me, stared at the TV screen with her mouth agape, forgetting to chew her popcorn.
"No, no. Wait a minute, Oppa. Wasn't that almost a huge disaster just now?"
Well, its aura was quite immense, I admit.
But still, in the original story, apart from destroying Seoul north of the Han River, Gyeonggi Province, and North Korea, the rest of the areas were fine.
Ah. That *was* a huge disaster.
"Well, it was stopped, so it's fine."
I merely shrugged.
A building was destroyed, but it was suppressed quickly.
People wouldn't have been too surprised, right?
***
[WTF was that just nowㆍㅡㄷㄱㅂㄷ]
No, seriously, I thought I was gonna die
I live in Jongno, that thing ㅅㅂ if it had come hereㆍ Was I not just gonna die?
My hands and feet are still ㄱㆍtrembling, what do I do
The sound ㅅㅂ I thought the earth was gonna 멸ㄱㅈend.
=[Comments]=
[Thank Mango Stick for saving you. If he hadn't destroyed the bridge, you'd be dead already.]
ㄴ[Is this for real?]
***
Honestly, I just wished everyone would move on as if nothing happened.
And stop involving me.
"Uh, Oppa. Ego Stick just entered the real-time trends at number 10. Above it are all 'monster,' 'Mapo Bridge,' 'Han-Eun Group,' and stuff like that."
Hmm, of course that wouldn't be the case, would it?
Hahahahaha.