The Hero

Chapter 1

“…….You’re a hero with a very quiet personality, but I get the feeling we’ll be seeing each other a lot from now on. Well, today was a very grand day for these heroes, yet a sad day for the deceased. I am the hero reporter Mi Yeon Lee, reporting to you on scene.”

That’s how the broadcast finished.

The sudden interview was just 2 hours ago, but for it to be all over the internet already…

Haneul was reading through each and every one of the articles with a blank face.

‘THE SILVER HERO IN QUESTION!! SAVES OTHER HEROES!!’

‘THE GOVERNMENT’S MISTAKES. A LIE IN THE EARTHQUAKE LEVEL.’

In the middle of all these articles popping up, the netizens were just as busy leaving comments. The majority of these comments had nothing to do with the government and the incorrect earthquake level, but about a Hero in Silver who appeared out of nowhere.

– “He looks so cool. Does anybody know who that hero is?”

-“I don’t think he’s in the Hero list.”

– “Please tell me who he is.”

Haneul walked away from the computer, and the moment he did, another person took his spot.

A cone like structure, raised up like a tent, was set up as a relief facility and everyone who had to deal with the sudden disaster was in it.

Everything just felt and looked unreal to Haneul.

‘How exactly did all of this happen? Am I the only one that thinks this is weird? Am I the only one that thinks this situation is surreal?’

A hero reporter that appeared out of nowhere after the fight, came with sparkling eyes and asked many questions.

– What is your name? Your hero name.

Haneul wasn’t able to answer to any of the questions that were asked, as he stayed quiet until the end of the interview, and then disappeared as if running away from something. He then got rid of his armor in a secluded area, and blended in with the refugees.

The situation seemed to have calmed down, but it seemed like the military were still keeping the civilians inside this oddly shaped relief facility.

‘I don’t think it’s because it’s dangerous outside.’

Haneul looked around him.

The people were getting a proficient amount of food to eat, while listening to the directions of the military personnel. Even with everything being chaotic, with the efforts of the military, the refugees were able to adapt to the situation as if it was normal.

No, It felt like this situation was normal.

One can tell just by looking at the news articles getting populated that the existence of heroes was an everyday norm, and the only one that felt out of place was Haneul.

At that moment, Haneul was able to see several soldiers divulging in a conversation.

As soon as the instructions were given, the soldiers that were blocking the refugees from leaving the camp, walked outside.

“It seems like it’s finally over.”, muttered a weak person, sitting on the side.

Suddenly, one of the soldiers picked up the mic and said, “The last wave from the earthquake seems to have been confirmed as being finished. Several buses will come to take everyone to their respective neighborhoods, so please follow our instructions and make way towards the correct bus.”

People got up one after the other and started moving to their respective spots, as Haneul followed behind them.

There was still no reception on his Smartphone.

As the line progressed down towards the outskirts of the city, dozens of military buses could be seen. Each and every one of them were peculiar, thought Haneul.

“Is this something that happens frequently?”, Haneul asked the person next to him, and a lady next to that person stared at him as if he was crazy.

After looking at her expression, Haneul realized that asking anymore questions would be unwise.

Something must have happened.

Either the world flipped over or Haneul was going crazy.

The bus took them from Seoul to the North side of Kyung-gi Do, and from there it went straight down towards the South side. Haneul’s house was just in front of his nose, and that’s exactly when his Smartphone started to get reception. (TN – Kyung-gi Do is a populous province surrounding Seoul.)

As soon as Haneul got off the bus, he called his father, and after the phone rang 3 times, his father picked up.

“h.e.l.lo?”

Haneul frowned. What should have been the voice of man, came the voice of a woman through the phone.

“I’m sorry, I think I got the wrong number.”

Haneul hung up and looked at his father’s number again. It was correct. There was no doubt about it that the call he placed just now was correct. Since the call was made through his contact book, there was no way that the number was wrong.

‘Is this an effect that’s still being caused by that earthquake?’

Haneul felt that thing’s should have been fine, so he called the number again.

After the phone rang twice, someone picked up the call.

< p="">

“………”

Haneul blinked.

“Um, excuse me……..Is this not the number of Sung Shik Kang’s cell phone?”

The name of my father that pa.s.sed away 9 years ago?

“M………om?”

Haneul’s face went awry.

*     *     *     *

Haneul returned back to his home.

The three of them used to live here in the past, but now he was alone and the scenery inside the house didn’t feel too different from before.

Haneul’s head was hurting and everything just felt like a dream.

He was sure that once he slept and woke back up, everything would be back in place.

Haneul fell asleep as if he fainted and by the time he opened his eyes and awoke, the sky outside was dark. Monsters, transforming, heroes, and…….his mother.

It was too hard to say that everything was a dream, because this “dream” was too vivid with details.

Haneul turned his computer on to search for news articles.

The Hero in Silver……..

It wasn’t a dream.

Haneul tried to pull the ring off his middle finger again, but as usual, the ring didn’t budge. If only it had a will of its own……

Flutter.

A bright silver light flew out from the ring and enclosed itself around Haneul.

His head ached.

Haneul searched online, meticulously, regarding heroes and earthquakes.

Each search came with quick results.

The first earthquake phenomenon happened in the early 70s, where it simultaneously sprung up all over the world. At first, it turned out to be a strange anomaly but as time pa.s.sed by, monsters started to appear. This was also around the time when humans with special powers started to awaken. These people were so strong, that they were unable to be compared with normal human beings. The government recruited them, and they were later known to be called as heroes.

All of this info was something very new to Haneul, but for the rest of the world, not knowing these details was even weirder.

Haneul looked at his ring.

“Yeah, it must be this ring. Everything seems to have changed after I put it on. I knew there was something different about it.”

The fact that the ring didn’t come off, and with the incidents that happened at the terminal, the more Haneul thought about it, he realized that the world flipped upside down after he got hit with the strange dizzy feeling.

Would everything change back to what it was once I take the ring off?

That’s when Haneul’s messenger rang.

Minah Choi.

His eyes grew round as he saw the name and picture of the person who messaged him.

“Minah? What for……”

The messenger continues to ring.

– Hey, Silver Hero!

– n.o.body else can recognize you, but I can! Why didn’t you tell me?

– Why aren’t you responding back? Are you busy?

“…….”

With a blank expression, Haneul looked at his log book and saw that Minah was part of his contacts.

Another situation that was different from his “other world”. Minah was just someone who he said Hi to every now and then, not someone he messaged on the phone. He didn’t even have her number to begin with.

– I see that your reading my messages, but you’re not responding. If you continue to ignore me, I’m going to call you instead.

Call?

They were close enough to be on a calling level?

– Oh, sorry. Is there something wrong?

– I guess now you decide to respond back to my text huh? What do you mean is there something wrong? You’re trying to hide this even from me? I’m just texting you to congratulate you on your awakening.

– Awakening?

– Stop trying to play with me. That Silver Armor. You used to always show off saying that when you awaken, you were going to look like that. What did you say again, Silver Knight? Yeah, that’s right, Silver Knight. You seemed to have had a spectacular debut yesterday morning, in Central South, without even telling me.

She told him as if it was a matter of fact, but it was something that Haneul knew nothing about.

Minah seems to be someone who’s really close to Haneul in this world.

– Even if you’re someone who likes getting attention, I’m sure there are a lot of people who wouldn’t like it if they knew you didn’t properly register with the organization, yet still went out and fought like you did yesterday. Well, I don’t know what you had in mind when you did that, but feel free to tell me everything. I’m right around the corner from your house, so come out right now.

– What??

– Don’t make me wait. I’m going to get mad.

As Haneul looked at the time, it was past 7 P.M.

Minah came here just to meet him?

With a frustrated expression, Haneul threw on some clothes and walked out.

There were a lot of things running through his mind.

What type of relation did he have with Minah in this world?

‘And awakening?……Does that mean that the Haneul in this world originally didn’t have the ability to transform?’

That meant that n.o.body in this world knew the type of powers that Haneul had in his hands.

Haneul walked with a complicated face, and decided to take things one step at a time.

“It’s okay. I’m not going crazy. There’s nothing wrong with me.”, muttered Haneul, as if he was rea.s.suring himself.

The place where Haneul was supposed to meet Minah at was a cafe known for its cheap prices.

Haneul was pacing back and forth outside the cafe. Minah, the girl he always looked at secretly,  was meeting him one on one. His head felt like it was going to explode with so many questions, yet his heart was beating fast regardless.

As Haneul was pacing back and forth outside of the cafe, he glimpsed inside to see a girl sitting there alone.

‘Minah…….’

It really was that Minah. A slender face with big eyes, she was even fashionable and super popular with all the guys. Even now, all the guys inside the cafe were secretly staring at her and admiring her.

With a firm decision, Haneul walked into the cafe.

As soon as he did, Minah lifted her head and with a smiling face, she waved her hand. All the guys that were staring at her in secret, now looked at Haneul with envy and jealousy.

Haneul walked up to her with a disbelieving face.

“What are you doing? Sit.”

“………..”

Haneul sat in front of her.

“Are you going to drink anything?”

“Ah, no, I’m okay.”

“Really? Alright. Now, can you start telling me the details. Why were you hiding the fact that you awakened? No, Isn’t it normal to have at least told me about it?”

Awakening…..

The existences known as heroes always go through an awakening phase, which only half of those who hold magic will go through. When the internal magic blooms and opens a path to special powers, that’s when it’s called an awakening.

“What, why aren’t you talking? You’re being weird today. With your face expression from earlier as well, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well? Is it because of your awakening?”

Minah extended her hand and placed it on top of Haneul’s forehead. A shocked expression could be seen.

“Wow!! Haneul, the amount of magic in your body has skyrocketed.”, said Minah with an excited face, but Haneul didn’t hear her at all.

It was because of her action just now, that his heart was beating fast.

“I’m sorry to ask this out of nowhere but……what exactly is our relationship?”

“What?”

Minah’s face became cold.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Ah, nothing, there’s no meaning behind it. It’s just……..I’m not in the right mind right now. There are a couple of things I can’t seem to remember. I, I hit my head on the scene yesterday, as I was fighting.”

“What? If that’s true, you should go to the hospital. Have you gone? You should have gotten a hero examination at least. That reminds me, it’s been told that there have been situations of people being anxious after awakening. Since it’s late tonight, let’s go get it checked tomorrow.”

Haneul was sure of it now. He and Minah weren’t normal friends and could be something closer to being girlfriend/boyfriend status. Her face expression from before proved it all.

“Hey Minah.”

“Don’t call me like that. It sounds like we’re complete strangers. You really can’t tell who I am? Can you not recognize me at all? Should we try going to the hospital right now? No, we should definitely go. Let’s go.”

With an anxious face, Minah grabbed Haneul by the arm and tried to get him to stand up. But he didn’t budge.

Going to the hospital wasn’t a good idea.

If he told them that he came from a world without heroes and magic, he was sure that they would think he was crazy.

‘Let’s tell her the truth. If the ‘me’ from this world has a special relationship with her, it’s better off letting her know everything.’

“I have something to tell you. It’s something you need to know if we are in a serious relationship.”

Chapter 1 – End.