I Became The Villain The Hero Is Obsessed With chapter 342

342 – Her Turmoil

After Egoistic retired.

Stardust didn’t seem different on the surface.

…Yeah, only on the surface.

“…Die.”

“Kuh…!”

Kwagagagagagagagagwang-.

In the middle of Seoul.

Another villain appeared causing terror.

Stardust, who was dispatched to the scene, grabbed the villain’s neck in an instant after a standoff and smashed him into a building.

The straight-on-charge that followed.

“Cough… ugh.”

The villain, whose body was split by the impact on the building, lost consciousness on the spot.

“Tsk…”

She looked down at the villain with a cold expression and then threw him to the ground.

Having defeated the villain, she emotionlessly contacted the association.

“S-class villain, Annoying Monkey, has been dealt with. Please come and handle the aftermath.”

[Yes, yes! Understood!]

Click.

Thus, having finished the communication, she…

Once again, she soared into the sky, briefly sweeping her gaze over the chaotic urban landscape before flying with a stern face.

Yes.

Stardust remained unchanged, at least on the surface.

However.

Somehow, her way of dealing with villains had become more merciless and aggressive than before.

And the reason for that…

Stardust herself didn’t know, but the reason she had become colder towards the villains who unknowingly caused terror was quite simple.

‘…No, it’s not you guys.’

When she heard that a villain had caused terror,

An unwittingly rising, slight sense of anticipation within her.

And when she heard the name of a villain unrelated to Egoistic,

The bitterness, anger, and despair that came with the thought, “I knew it would be like this.”

All these stresses became more pronounced when dealing with villains other than Egoistic.

“…..”

Not even Egoistic, but

Why steal my time?

If other villains had seen Stardust’s dead-eyed flight through the sky, they would have been so surprised they would have run away…

Anyway, having returned to the association like that, she was seated emotionlessly at her office desk, her laptop on.

Her seemingly numb appearance belied the whirlwind of emotions churning inside her.

Of course, most of them were related to Egoistic.

‘If I hadn’t spoken coldly at the end, would Egoistic not have left?’

Self-loathing and regret.

‘…That’s too much. How could they leave in an instant like that…’

Resentment towards Egoistic.

‘Egoistic… *sniff*. I can’t cry in the office.’

Sadness.

‘Still, Egoistic must still be thinking about me. If I were to put on some kind of show like jumping off a building, wouldn’t they come? Ah… I won’t die after all.’

And bargaining.

‘…That’s right. It’s good for me that an S-rank villain retired. After all, I didn’t care about Egoistic at all… These emotions are temporary, right…’

In the end, it was a mental victory.

This had been her state of mind lately.

Countless emotions swirled like a storm in her chest, seemingly settling on one, only to be reset the next day.

In any case, it seemed to end with a mental victory today.

…Of course, she was the type of person who claimed not to care about Egoistic, but she immediately searched for it on the internet as soon as she turned on her laptop…

As she went through her usual routine, she suddenly froze.

“Uh…?”

For a moment, she saw a post that made her body stiffen.

*

[Breaking News] Egoistic starts terror with a new overseas hero! Was it just a farewell to Stardust, not retirement?

*

Her mind went blank at the sight of it.

What’s this all about?

Egoistic wouldn’t do that. It just couldn’t…

Despite her thoughts, she clicked on the post with a trembling hand.

As soon as she entered the post, she saw a picture of a robot with a cold expression.

*

[Breaking News] Egoistic starts terror with a new overseas hero! Was it just a farewell to Stardust, not retirement?

(A picture of a white robot with its hand on its head)

We’ve analyzed your interests and preferences through big data and came up with the most click-worthy title.

hahahaha, you’ve been hooked!

=[Comments]=

[Damn this]

[Where do you live, for real? I’ll send you a gift, give me your address]

[Just saw the title and rushed in, lol]

[Stardust dislikes this post]

[Why are there so many likes on this? Are you all crazy?]

ㄴ[Well… I can’t be the only one fooled…]

[But honestly, Egoistic never said they won’t terrorize, just that they won’t get along with Stardust, so it’s kind of plausible, hahahaha]

*

“…..Ugh.”

Crash!

“Mr. Stardust, what’s going on!”

“…Ah. Nothing, don’t come in!”

In a moment of anger after reading the message, Stardust slammed down on the desk. Hearing an employee’s question from outside the hallway, he hastily replied like that.

“Ha… Those jerks. Even if they want to deceive me, why with something like this…”

Stardust mumbled under his breath, tilting his head back on the chair and covering his slightly reddened eyes with his arm.

For a moment, he thought that Egoistic had abandoned him to play with another female hero. This thought made his insides twist with anger.

He couldn’t be sure how he would react if something like that were to actually happen…

“Egoistic…”

Murmuring his name like that.

Stardust once again surrendered himself to the storm of emotions.

He had only just realized that he had feelings for him.

Why was it at this moment that they had to be apart?

If only he had been more honest with himself.

If only…

As Stardust wallowed in regret and self-loathing, he was unaware.

…That it had only been three weeks since Egoistic retired.

And that the three-month limit for life without Egoistic, which his body remembered, hadn’t even arrived yet…

Alone, digging his own grave, Stardust sighed and thought to himself.

‘…Right. I shouldn’t wallow in self-pity like this.’

Maybe he should consult his friends.

Looking at his contacts, he thought of Shadow Walker, Kim Jihyun, who recently decided to marry his girlfriend.

It had been a long time since they last talked.

‘…Maybe I should meet up with Seolah after a long time.’

Stardust fiddled with his phone, thinking like that.

As someone who’s getting married, perhaps he could help with his own… love advice.

A house.

In there, a man with thick black hair was sitting, holding a glass of beer.

His name was Kim Ja-hyun.

In other words, he was an A-class hero of South Korea and the guardian of the night, Shadow Walker.

He was watching the news and drinking beer with a troubled heart.

[It’s already been over a month since Egoistic retired. After declaring retirement, he has not been seen even once. Since his retirement, the terrorism rate in South Korea has…]

“Egoistic…”

Quietly, bitterly, he muttered like that.

While the news reported Egoistic’s retirement like a common gossip,

Shadow Walker. He knew the truth.

“…hahahaha, no one knows but me.”

About the real reason why Egoistic, the S-class villain who shook South Korea, retired.

“Egoistic… was a true hero.”

Yes.

He was a hero who hid in the shadows behind a mask, protecting South Korea.

The only person who knew that he was actually pretending to be a villain and was doing so to save the world was himself.

And…

There was only one reason for him to retire.

“Egoistic… because he’s on borrowed time.”

Shadow Walker calmly muttered the truth he believed in.

The truth that no one in the world knows but him.

That the dark hero Egoistic was, in fact, on borrowed time.

Yes. Shadow Walker had seen it once before.

The sight of Egoistic vomiting blood and hiding it.

And at that time, through various logical deductions, Shadow Walker reached the truth…?

Ah, Egoistic doesn’t have much time left to live.

He’s trying to burn everything he has and dedicate it to the country before he dies.

Since then, Shadow Walker has respected Egoistic.

It was only natural that Kim Ja-hyun’s head would nod as he heard more and more about Egoistic’s exploits as the days went by.

He had resolved several times to follow his example and stop grumbling, and to fulfill his destiny as a hero.

But finally.

It seems the time has come.

Seeing that he’s retiring…

‘…Maybe, he doesn’t have many days left to live.’

“Sigh…”

Even the sky is cruel. How can it take away such a righteous person so soon?

But don’t worry, Egoistic.

After you leave, I will take responsibility and reveal all the truth to restore your honor in the world.

That’s the least I can do out of duty.

Shadowalker, who was making such a firm resolution.

… flinched unknowingly when his phone rang.

‘…Ugh, is it Sookhee?’

His girlfriend had sternly told him not to drink for a while just yesterday.

…But he had been drinking beer today, which made him feel guilty.

Picking up his phone in a hurry, he unknowingly sighed in relief when he saw the caller.

“What is it… Stardust?”

It’s been a while.

I wonder how he’s doing.

With that thought, Shadowalker answered the call.

When asked what was going on, Stardust wanted to meet to discuss some concerns.

After briefly asking how he was, Kim Jahyun nodded in response to Stardust’s request to meet.

While they were on the phone.

Shadowalker, Kim Jahyun, quietly thought.

‘…Come to think of it, it would be good to let Stardust know the truth about Egoistic before it’s too late, as he was also an arch-enemy of Egoistic.’

Egoistic, who is living on borrowed time.

That sad truth…