The Guy Next Door to the Heroine

5 – Cheong’s Mother

BANG!!

She closed her eyes tightly against the explosion bursting before her eyes and braced for the shock, but the expected impact never came.

What she felt was not pain but buoyancy.

Realizing that her body had been blown away, she corrected her posture in mid-air and landed.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but…!”

C-rank hero, Narae, threw her fist with all her might, although she was bewildered.

Her awakened ability was a martial arts amplification ability, making her mostly engage in close combat. Every day she was deployed, she returned home covered in bruises from all over due to being unable to use her ability fully.

But today was different.

“What is it! What kind of ability is this…!”

BANG BANG BANG!

Her opponent, unphased by her attacks, fought back with vicious counterattacks that approached lethally, contrary to her frail appearance.

BANG!!

“Ugh!”

Using her explosive ability to create the biggest blast possible, she sent her opponent flying and took a moment to catch her breath.

“What are you doing against a C-rank? If you’re hungry, just eat first and think later!”

“Brother! That’s not it! This girl is strange! My ability doesn’t work!”

“If the ability doesn’t work, hit them with your fist or stab them with a knife!”

“That’s what I’m saying, that doesn’t work either!!”

In the brief respite, taking advantage of their conversation, she attempted a surprise attack, but

BOOM!

Blown away by the explosion from a punch to the abdomen, Narae took a moment to catch her breath.

“C-rank, what are you doing?”

BOOM!!

A golden figure abruptly intervened, appearing in front of Narae.

“Golden Fist…!”

A-rank villain, Golden Fist, a villain who enhances his body and knuckles to fight. His body and knuckles, strengthened by his ability, shone gold, hence the name, Golden Fist. His fighting style might be straightforward for an A-rank villain, but his threat could not be ignored.

“If the attack doesn’t work, blow them away, or pin them somewhere. Think! Is your head just a decoration? Use it!!”

Golden Fist, yelling as if angry, swung his fist towards Narae. Reflexively raising her hands to block the punch, Narae found herself buried in the ground.

“Move quickly, there’s no time!”

“Yes, yes!!”

Leaving Narae, buried in the ground with only her head exposed, the villains departed.

Amidst the sounds of ongoing fighting nearby, Narae stared into the void, wordless.

“…I’m sorry to be this kind of mom…”

Facing death and stuck in the cold ground, she could only regret the past.

What happens now?

She had tried to struggle free long ago, but even as an awakened one, being just C-rank made it difficult to forcefully escape, and

“Ah!!”

With no proper shock to amplify, she couldn’t escape on her own. If she was discovered by a hero, she could be rescued, but whether proper rescue would occur in this situation was doubtful. If discovered by a villain…

“Ugh…!”

With the resolve that such a future absolutely cannot happen, she violently twisted her body.

“Ah!!”

Using her ability to its fullest and struggling for a minute.

“……”

My energy is depleted. I try to justify to myself, having never fully utilized my abilities, I never had the chance to be mindful of my stamina.

In any case, the conclusion is: I, Narae, am a C-rank hero. My future looks bleak.

“Ugh…!”

Narae, who continuously attempts to escape, was in a problematic situation where many men approached her at the hero headquarters due to her unusually age-defying looks, even though she was of considerable age and had children.

Yes, Narae was a woman who was well aware of her appearance.

“I wish I were less appealing.”

That way, she could just wait for rescue without unnecessary worries. Even if discovered by villains, she would have been able to have the mindset of… ‘it’s all the same if I die.’

“I don’t know when this ability will disappear…”

The origin of her ability to withstand B and A-rank opponents, this mysterious shock nullification ability, was now increasing her anxiety as it could disappear at any moment.

“……”

Whether it was from exerting too much force or imagining strange things, Narae’s face gradually reddened. Before she knew it, she was gradually being drawn into her imagination.

“Can someone help me…”

Anyone is welcome, except villains…

…

“Here must be the drug factory.”

Although she received the news quite late, the sound of heroes and villains fighting was still loudly ringing.

Gunshots, fire, water, sparks, and the sound of melee weapons colliding, along with screams, turned the place into a small battlefield.

And heroes who surrounded the battlefield had set up barricades and were blocking the surroundings.

Hmm, now I’ve come here to end this war by entering into the midst of it. Is this how I should put it?

As she stepped into the battlefield, pondering whether this would make her a one-armed hero, she was stopped just before she could enter.

“This area is off-limits.”

“You can tell just by looking.”

“Could you please turn back?”

A low-ranking hero, who seemed to be a rookie, stopped her saying it’s blocked off, but…

“I have something to do in there. Oh, do you have a mask?”

She had covered her face, but not fully. She had just wrapped a cloth around it. So, it would be nice to have a proper mask or something.

“This is inconvenient if you do this here…”

Well, there’s no way she could borrow one. But it feels like she’s becoming a convenience store nuisance. It’s kind of fun, in a way.

Well, just joking.

She took out a cigarette she had just opened from her pocket.

“Ah, this kid is a lightweight smoker.”

Such a naive guy. Smoke something that matches your size… but she learned that cigarettes are not to be chosen lightly.

Click, she lit the cigarette with a lighter, put it in her mouth, and looked at the hero.

“Hu, it’s mild. Mild. Hero uncle? Auntie?”

“Who’s an auntie! I’m an uncle!!”

Is this the kind hero from before? His voice does sound quite young, now that she thinks about it.

“Ah, okay, I’ll call you a student.”

It’s been a while since she’s seen someone so purely naive. Ah, except for Cheong. He’s a bit, pure? Beyond naive.

She was dealing with the person, but spending more time seemed pointless.

“Student, move aside.”

“Like I said! You can’t do this here! I’m an uncle!!”

“I admit I’m an uncle, but you, student, need to kill your personality a bit.”

If you act like that to just anyone, you’ll really get hit. Seriously.

“What are you doing now…?!”

She stretched her palm towards the scene surrounded by barricades. Centered around her slowly extending palm, a gigantic compression of air exploded out.

Kwaahh!!

“Uh…?”

“You know, student, if you’re going to work part-time, you should start learning to deal with nuisances with a smile.”

At my level, in the era of major villains, I’m extremely kind.

Well, if he’s that low-ranking, he’s probably a part-timer from some hero academy. He’ll learn on his own.

From inside, the commotion grew louder. The already intense battle sounds became even more violent.

-“What’s happening now!”

“Uh, a civilian! A civilian? Is breaking through the barricade and entering!”

-“A civilian?! What are you talking about right now!”

Ignoring the breaking voice of the part-timer behind her, she intervened in the nearest battle.

“Flame!!!”

“Ice Queen!!”

Watching the two shouting desperately, engaging in a soulful face-off,

she couldn’t tell which one was the villain, so she directly asked the parties involved.

“Can someone tell me who’s the villain and who’s the hero?”

With their pre-battle pose frozen, the two stared at her.