59 – Living Suit (7)
Flash passed the hero test at the age of 22 and was a hero entering his fourth year this year.
People loved him because he was a hero on the front line and had a good personality.
However, that interest and affection was shattered at once.
“Then… I should have rushed at it, whether it was bad compatibility or dangerous. People wanted a hero like that.”
Flash was unfair.
I felt that the past years of doing my best for people were in vain.
The cheers people gave when someone was rescued from a dangerous fire.
That cheer has made Flash stand in the position of a hero so far.
However, it took less than a year for the cheers to turn into mockery.
If you hadn’t been called that day, wouldn’t it have been like this?
Flash felt sick to his stomach as he kept thinking about it.
‘A hero can’t just ignore a call….’
Flash shook his head to clear the thoughts from his head.
“This is delicious. What did you say about this?”
“Mimosa. It’s a cocktail that women quite like.”
“Mimosa… Miss Sarah….”
For some reason, it tasted like orange juice, so Flash drank the drink.
The first time Flash drank a cocktail, he drank a lot without knowing that he had already consumed a considerable amount of alcohol.
I thought that the reason why my emotions were shaken and my heart was overflowing was because of this man’s atmosphere.
The man in the suit sitting next to Flash listened to his complaint as if he understood Flash’s heart very well.
When Flash got angry, he got angry with him, and when Flash sniffed, he was sad with him.
Even though he was meeting him for the first time, Flash gave his heart to the man.
He was a man who understood him as well as a friend from his hometown whom he had known for a long time.
For Flash, who has lived only by reading posts criticizing him and ridiculing comments, he has become like the first rain of a drought.
“The people of the world are really too much. A hero who ran to save people from such a dangerous fire scene couldn’t be a coward.”
“….”
Flash felt his shoulders twitch at the man’s words.
Yes, I am Flash.
I went to the scene of a fire to save people, and I even saved a person who was about to get into a car accident.
There is also a record of nearly 90% arrest rate for pickpockets and s*xual molesters.
At one point, he even received attention as a rising hero.
But does it make sense to be a coward?
Flash thought so and nodded slightly.
“Haa…. Superpowers are not omnipotent. Loading everywhere, a corporation with the right place, de….”
Flash let out a rough breath and said that.
If only he had abilities like body strengthening or hardening….
If that were the case, he would have been able to face the monster like a hero named Brave.
“I’m so sorry. If Flash had been a coward, he couldn’t have arrived on the scene sooner than anyone else.”
“So, yo….”
“Forcing things beyond one’s ability, expecting and being disappointed… They are very selfish people.”
Flash nodded involuntarily.
The words he wanted to hear, the words he wanted to say, and the things he usually thought about were all spewed out of his mouth.
Are there people with the same way of thinking?
“It wouldn’t hurt to relax your shoulders once in a while. While sharing a drink with someone I don’t know at a bar like this.”
“hahahaha… okay.”
Yes. You’ve worked so hard so far.
I was obsessed with the hero rankings, obsessed with the monthly salary, and struggled for performance money.
But was it really necessary?
Isn’t it enough to make a living now?
At first, he became a hero out of admiration, but isn’t it a means to make a living now?
If it’s just a job to make a living, wouldn’t it be necessary to work so hard?
Flash put down the heavy burden and decided to think about it.
***
Flash called the office and applied for leave.
For the first time, Flash, who had been taking minimal vacations, saying that hero activities are healing, took a vacation for herself.
However, the office readily accepted Flash’s leave because it was aware of public opinion on the Internet.
The words of encouragement to come after resting comfortably were a bonus.
Flash hung up, grabbed his hat, and left the house, leaving his badge on his desk.
It has already been confirmed the other day that no one recognizes him when he walks down the street with his hat on.
In the first place, it’s not that noticeable, so it might be a fuss.
Flash quietly walked down the street.
The world was as usual even without him, and unlike when he was wearing a hero suit, no one recognized him.
For some reason, he felt that people in the world were so savage.
So, without realizing it, he moved his steps to the place where the most splendid moment resided.
“Ah.”
And it wasn’t until he arrived that he realized his shallowness.
Fire scene.
The scene of the fire, where sparks were created from the accumulated dust and the fire was said to have started at the outlet.
Now that probation is over, I ended up visiting the place where a new building is going up.
The place where the incident happened a year ago that brought the fairly unknown Flash to where he is now.
Flash laughed at his shallowness and went into a cafe near him.
He made his coffee there and sat down to take out his smart phone.
News still came up every minute.
There was no mention of Flash in the news.
Flash was happy about it, but also bitter about it.
“Uh… flash?”
“Yes?”
“Flash, right?”
Who knows who you are?
Flash raised his head thinking about that.
And there he found a familiar face somewhere.
“I… Dong-wook, whom Flash saved from the fire that day, is my father.”
“Ah… Ah, how is Dong-wook?”
“Of course! Ah… Thank you so much.”
Anyway, the cafe that Flash stopped by seemed to be a restaurant run by the parents of a child rescued from the scene of the fire.
Flash scratched his back and lowered his head in embarrassment.
“I was originally an office worker. However, I thought that such an incident occurred while working at a company with a child, so I couldn’t get my hands on work at the company.”
The man said he started his own business with the idea that he should work close to home for his children.
“I heard that the child wants to become a cool hero like Flash… Could you please give me your autograph?”
“A sign?”
“Yes. Looks like you’re on vacation… Would it be okay?”
Flash wondered if he would be okay with signing an autograph for him now.
Does the current self who is being criticized by people deserve it?
However, his personality was not too harsh to refuse the request of a person who still supported him.
Flash wholeheartedly signed the paper he held out.
“My child will like it. Thanks, Flash!”
The man smiled and held out his hand to Flash.
Ah… How long is this
Flash smiled brightly and shook hands, remembering that he had never been greeted so warmly since that incident.
“Thank you so much!”
Flash felt confident again.
ㅡ Flash?
ㅡ Ah, that?
ㅡ Kheuheup.
But Flash felt as if his face was burning red at the sound he heard so softly.
So I quickly drank coffee and got up.
“Huh? Are you leaving already?”
As Flash stood up, the man who was organizing the inventory came out and talked to Flash.
“Yes. Your coffee was good.”
“Then work hard!”
The man once again thanked Flash and said good-bye to him, but Flash couldn’t hear it.
Flash started to trudge again.
Every time I walk down the street, I see people.
A family of four full of laughter.
A couple walking hand in hand with a happy expression.
Students joking with each other.
These are ordinary people you can see everywhere.
However, Flash felt that the stories they were laughing at were mocking him.
Even though I knew it was an illusion, my eyes grew darker and I felt my stomach churn.
Flash ran away from the spot.
The place where the flash arrived was the same bar they had been to yesterday.
No one recognizes him here.
From noble mtl dot com
Now I just feel like I’m drunk and don’t want to think about anything.
Going inside, the bar was the same as yesterday.
It was a feeling that the quiet, yet somehow atmospheric, subtle darkness soothed his sinking heart.
He trudged to the counter where he had sat the other day.
“A glass of mojito, please.”
This time, unlike the last time, I learned about cocktails that beginners often order on the Internet.
Even without the man I met yesterday, I now know the basics of what cocktails to order.
I found out… It wasn’t very enjoyable.
“Haa….”
“What happened?”
When the bartender who was preparing the cocktail asked, Flash raised his head and nodded slightly.
The bartender placed a cocktail in front of him and played a softer song, perhaps to soothe him.
As I drank while listening to the song mixed with the noise typical of a record, I felt as if something in his heart was bursting out.
“Oops. I didn’t expect to see you here again.”
Just as he was about to lament his situation with the bartender, the man started talking to him again.
“Uh… that yesterday?”
“Hey, nice to meet you. Flash!”
It was the same man who offered me a gin and tonic yesterday as I was thinking about a cocktail because it was my first time at a bar.
“Would you mind sitting here?”
The man asked politely, and Flash nodded his head as if it were natural.
She sat down in a suit today, as if the man was okay with this hot summer weather.
“What else happened?”
The man asked Flash what had happened, and Flash gave her a small nod.
Flash quenched his thirst with a mojito and slowly told the story of the day.
The man calmly listened to the story, then covered her eyes with his right hand.
Tears flowed through the cracks in her man’s covered hands.
“Ah….”
Flash forgot his words the moment he saw the scene.
This person is so sincerely saddened by the pain I went through.
Those tears can’t be fake.
Couldn’t that image of him biting his lip to stop the sobs trying to leak out of his mouth be fake?
Flash felt as if something he had stored inside was exploding.
Flash let out the emotions he had been holding back.
I did what I could as a hero.
I did my best to the extent of my ability.
I saved someone’s family, and I became a target for someone.
There may be people who get hurt when you take a break.
With that in mind, I did my best while taking minimal vacations.
But why do I have to go through this pain?
Is supernatural power the problem?
Would it be different if he had a stronger power?
Flash cried while saying that.
The man I was drinking with just quietly listened to Flash’s cries.
As if she knew the feeling well, she didn’t bother to speak and just stayed there quietly.
Flash was just so thankful for that.
No matter how ugly and unsightly you tell him, he will listen.
The honest story of me, Flash.
With that thought in mind, Flash confided all the stories he had stored.
I want to become stronger.
I want to get more attention.
I want to be a dazzling and shining being, not an ugly and miserable being.
If there is a stronger power… !
He shouted.
“You can be too, Flash.”
Flash blankly raised his head and looked at the man.
The man who had just been shedding tears was smiling brightly as if she had never done that before.