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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Half-Baked Hero, Lee Ha-yoon (2)
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"Me? I'm on my part-time shift. Can't you tell?"
Lee Ha-yoon spoke while slouching in a posture that was awfully arrogant for a part-timer.
Even with a customer right in front of her, it was hard to fathom with any common sense how she was sitting there with her legs crossed, but I let it slide for the moment.
It wasn't that I thought I was being some old fogey or anything. No, the thing with Lee Ha-yoon was that she was the type of woman whose intimacy level could flip-flop wildly based on:
1. Talking to her.
2. Not.
So, her acting that way in front of me probably meant she saw me as a 'close underclassman' and was letting loose.
...Yeah. I could accept that much.
But if the part-timer at this convenience store was Lee Ha-yoon, then there was one thing that defied clear explanation, right?
"...Want some discarded stuff? Why are you just standing there all spaced out?"
"..."
"You like tuna mayo? Or... Ah. There's Jeonju bibimbap too."
...Robbery.
How the hell had she heard that?
"What time do you work until?"
"11. One hour left."
Since there was time to kill anyway, I plopped down in the convenience store for a bit and chatted with Lee Ha-yoon.
She went on about cosmetics or how tough training was, and at first, it was hard to keep the conversation going, but food talk was manageable enough.
Lee Ha-yoon's food preferences were useful info for me, after all.
"I'm fine with any bread... yeah."
"I like... red bean bread! Red bean with fresh cream!"
"...?"
"You don't know it? It's good."
"...I'll try it next time."
During our talk, she brought up this unheard-of 'fresh cream red bean bread,' so I filed it away in my head for now.
Her guard was already way down, and stacking up goodwill would open up more options down the line.
I glanced down at Lee Ha-yoon's bright smile as she grinned about having 59 minutes left, then quickly looked away before she could question it.
Outside the convenience store, things were boringly dead quiet.
The store near my one-room was usually steady with a customer or two even at this hour.
But here, surprisingly, there hadn't been a soul passing by for about 20 minutes. And this was a store sandwiched between residential areas, no less.
Shouldn't there at least be someone coming for smokes? Was this neighborhood full of early-sleeping non-smokers, grannies and grandpas?
I pondered for a sec and asked Lee Ha-yoon.
"Is it always this dead here?"
"Hmm... mostly? Around this time, yeah?"
Lee Ha-yoon stretched with a groan, ripping open a carton of smokes and neatly stocking the shelves as she replied.
"Been here half a year now, and weirdly, it always empties out around this time. No idea why."
"..."
"Once, not a single customer for a whole week? From 10 to 11. Exactly this window."
Lee Ha-yoon hummed some tuneless song under her breath as she tidied up.
...Was it because I'd seen her soaked T-shirt clinging to her body a few hours ago?
Baggy hoodie. Even with the extra layer of convenience store uniform on top, I could kinda picture what was underneath.
This wasn't the time.
Quietly, so Lee Ha-yoon wouldn't hear, I swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth.
"Noona."
"Yeah."
"Guess I'll head out. Came here after my workout."
"...Weren't you here to buy something? Just browsing?"
"Ah..."
Come to think of it, I hadn't planned on buying anything.
If the part-timer hadn't been Lee Ha-yoon, I'd have just looked around and bounced.
I hesitated a moment, then grabbed a throat candy from right under the counter.
Beep, beep. The register chimed.
Before I could pull out my card, one shot out of Lee Ha-yoon's wallet first.
It had some weird animal drawing on it... anyway, memorable card.
"Here. Pay for hanging out with me."
Lee Ha-yoon flashed her usual crooked grin, all cheeky.
Remembering how she always brought up money stuff, I thanked her and left the store.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I jogged lightly for about 200 meters, like heading home.
Any gazes on me?
Any presences lurking nearby?
I scanned roughly, turned a few corners, waited 3 seconds.
Then whipped around 180 degrees and headed back to the convenience store.
About a minute. Long enough for any perp staking out the store to make their move.
Waiting forever gets you nowhere. Strike when the chance hits.
So if a criminal was hiding nearby, they'd be crossing the auto-door by now.
Worried if it was a knife-wielding robber... but an Evolution-type Transcendent like Lee Ha-yoon wouldn't be in real danger from some normie's slash.
Still, if the robber was another Transcendent, that'd be a problem.
I could heal her, but I didn't want her smelling like someone else.
As I neared the store again, I killed my footsteps to avoid screwing things up.
From afar, the store lights still gleamed unchanged.
Good thing the residential streets were packed with parked cars. I slipped between them, stealthily positioning myself where I could see the store clearly and hunkered down.
...Unfortunately. Nothing yet.
All I saw was Lee Ha-yoon double-checking the cash drawer before shift change.
Hmm. Maybe the perp couldn't act with me inside earlier? Or was that just paranoia?
Or maybe they'd given up since I'd lingered so long.
I popped the gifted throat candy in my mouth and scanned the surroundings idly.
Alleys on both sides.
Diagonal alley too.
No presences anywhere. Eerily like a ghost might pop out.
"..."
Roughly 50 minutes left.
I'll stick till her shift ends. If it's someone else, even getting stabbed by a robber wouldn't bother me much.
I pulled my neck warmer higher and melted the candy while watching the alleys.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
10 minutes passed.
Rustle. A small footstep from nearby.
Stalking Lee Ha-yoon's alley like her obsessed fan ended here.
I snapped my gaze to the sound.
A woman who looked a bit tense was picking her way carefully through the alley.
About 170 cm? Tall for a woman.
Other than that, her glasses were pretty thick.
Average build. No gym-toned vibe, but not skinny or fat either.
If she'd been walking normally, or even smoking while strolling, I wouldn't have cared.
But her chest heaving with deep breaths, constantly glancing back—suspicious as hell. My thoughts skewed one way.
That's the one. The robber.
But, how to put it.
She's a woman, and her face looks too soft for bold robbery. Throwing me off.
I watched a bit longer. She was walking straight, then her toes pivoted.
Toward the convenience store.
Ting-a-ling. The door opened, and she went in.
Unlike when I entered, a chipper "Welcome!" rang out clear.
Nothing off yet. She wasn't yanking a knife from her pocket; just slipped into the middle aisle like shopping.
Maybe I'd judged too quick by looks.
As I revised my take on her—
She shrugged her shoulders big, like she'd made up her mind, and pocketed her glasses.
Some Transcendents are like that.
The type who need certain conditions met to activate powers.
Or ones who self-restrict normally.
Bad vibes. I crept out from the shadows cautiously.
Should've gotten closer.
At 15m away, by the time she grabbed a snack and hit the counter, she was way faster than me.
The woman stared straight at Lee Ha-yoon's face, tension plain for anyone to see.
While Lee Ha-yoon scanned the barcode.
While taking her card to help pay.
While handing the card back post-checkout.
Even when Lee Ha-yoon tilted her head at the staring weirdo.
Stare.
She kept staring at Lee Ha-yoon's face.
...Well, if she was a diehard fan of Hero hopeful Lee Ha-yoon, maybe.
—Ting-a-ling.
"Hey."
"...?"
After locking eyes for a while, Lee Ha-yoon flopped over like she'd dozed off.
Looks like not a fan.
"Misunder—"
Thud.
Heads don't shatter easy, but they make a surprisingly clear sound otherwise.
I grabbed the woman's head and slammed it into the convenience store floor. Seeing her twitch like a bug, I headed to Lee Ha-yoon.
She just looked asleep for now.
But Magic-type powers are tricky—you can't know the full deal till you check the whole hand.
Could be something nastier, like eternal sleep till the caster releases it.
Or hypnosis as the real power, sleep just a side effect.
Anyway.
This chick didn't come just for one snack.
Probably to rob the register.
Or harvest organs from the girl asleep here.
Something like that.
I laid Lee Ha-yoon comfy on the floor for now and approached the subdued woman.
Still twitching. A bit of blood from her head bouncing off the floor, maybe cracked, but comms possible? No biggie.
"F...fuck..."
"Undo the magic first."
"Can't... undo..., you shit... past 1... gotta wait..."
She flailed her hands wildly, drool spilling from her mouth with hacking coughs.
I gripped her hair tight and yanked her up to my eye level.
She scratched at my arms and hands like crazy, begging to be let down, but that was it.
Her toes strained pitifully for ground.
"For real?"
"Why the fu...ck would I lie to you..."
I wasn't frontline muscle, but I'd picked up bits peeking over villains' shoulders. Especially Yojora's.
People get honest easier than you think.
Especially when their life hangs on it.
So I did.
Thud.
Slammed her head into the floor again.
Louder this time, feet off-ground.
"Hoo..."
Hadn't used force in ages. Got hot.
I ditched the neck warmer on the counter, placed my hand on her head, and rapidly healed the wound.
Mana churned through her, quieting the gross hacking.
But what came back was one pissed glare.
Fuming, vowing to kill me somehow.
Not honest yet.
Thud.
Blood and some mystery fluid splattered from the impact spot.
Nose busted this time, wrong angle.
I sighed and healed her wounds again.
The hacking faded, and this time a different look hit me.
Dazed, lifeless—like fish left out too long.
Finally up for talking, huh.
"Magic. Undo."
"..."
Brief silence.
Then she shakily fished out her glasses—those thick ones—and put them on.
Right after, Lee Ha-yoon's eyes fluttered open.
"...Hm?"
Her sparkling emerald eyes blinked behind lids, clashing with the brutal scene.
"...Huh?"
She rustled up, trudging over hesitantly.
She alternated looks between me standing fine and the woman kneeling, trembling on the floor.
"...Customer? Did you fall?"
"..."
Peak Lee Ha-yoon reaction.
But why the sigh?
"Ugh...? Why's my head throbbing...? Woo-jin, why're you here again?"
"Noona. Call first."
"Call? Suddenly? Who?"
"112. And where do you check CCTV?"
"112? Uh, yeah, there's a computer in the back room that looks like a warehouse..."