Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World

[From Victim of the Hongdae Gate Incident to Now an S-Rank Hero. Who is Yoo Hwashin? Reporter: Kangsan]

 

Yoo Hwashin, the sole survivor of the Hongdae Gate incident, has re-emerged as an S-Rank hero. After the first gate appeared in the city center, all subsequent gates mainly occurred in relatively less populated areas.

 

However, as gates have begun to appear in urban areas again, the former victim has now emerged as an S-class hero in front of the public.

 

At the recent SH1 Unit press conference, he demonstrated his abilities by fighting six monsters in front of journalists.

 

What are the abilities Yoo Hwashin gained from the gate, and why is he willing to take risks by joining the SH1 Unit without hiding his powers?

 

We took an in-depth look at these questions.

 

(This article is a special follow-up to the SH1 Unit press conference, part 2. For interviews with Cha Jaeha, Yoo Jian, and Jeong Mueum, please refer to the previous edition.)

  

Yoo Hwashin: I don’t remember it well.

  

Yoo Hwashin: It’s similar to that. It feels like partially controlling the flow of mana, but it’s difficult to explain clearly. I’ll let you know when I understand it better (laughs).

  

Yoo Hwashin: Yes, because my body is weak.

 

Q: Then why did you join the SH Unit? If your original ability was E-rank, you could have lived a normal life. Is it for fame?

 

Yoo Hwashin: It’s more like I just wanted to do it. The reason? Well, I’ll leave it to your imagination (laughs).

  

Yoo Hwashin: I don’t remember well. Is this what it feels like to be reborn?

 

Q: What do you think of the people in SH1 Unit?

 

Yoo Hwashin: They’re exactly as I imagined, which makes it even better. I want to become friends with them. If I start running social media, I’d like to post lots of photos, but I’m not sure if that will happen as planned. I was originally a passionate fan of other SH1 Unit heroes, so I am happy.

  

Yoo Hwashin: Just because you risk your life in a gate doesn’t mean you’ll become an S-rank like me, so good kids shouldn’t try to imitate me. Even we can’t save everyone.

 

Yoo Hwashin was smiling throughout the interview. In the mock battle with monsters, he showed his ability to support other heroes, even to the point of coughing up blood. From now on, he is expected to complete certain training at the education center like other S-rank heroes and then work as part of the SH Unit.

 

What is a hero? Isn’t a hero someone who is willing to risk their own life to save others, beyond mere strength? Yoo Hwashin will become such a hero.

 

Going forward, Hero Today plans to focus on Yoo Hwashin and the SH1 Unit he has joined.

 

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#Hero #S-rank #SHUnit

 

***

 

It was an article overwhelmingly focused on Hwashin compared to other articles.

 

Hwashin himself didn’t even properly read the interview.

 

In the training ground of the education center, a place structurally very different from the press conference venue, Hwashin was busily scrolling through articles. He savored each interview question that appeared in the various news articles.

 

Since it was impossible to publish photos of the inside of the center, most interviews consisted of photos and questions from the public press conference. Because the articles following the press conference were not properly depicted in the novel, Hwashin eagerly scrutinized the articles.

 

He didn’t forget to hit the like button either.

 

Occasionally, he reported nasty comments such as:

 

– ㅋㅋㅋ Do people really treat these kinds of guys as heroes? What a joke, you sheep-like citizens~~

 

– If such weaklings are S-rank, then I must be an awakened one too.

 

– That bastard Cha Jaeha’s face always looks so annoying

 

He replied to each one individually since reporting didn’t lead to immediate removal. Pii, who had been constantly with him since the conference, also expressed anger beside him.

 

“Pii! Pii!”

 

“Pii, you’re angry too?”

 

Hwashin didn’t bring Pii to the conference hall, so it might feel upset about it, but lately, Pii tried to stay with Hwashin constantly, it even hid to do so. It was, of course, adorable.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Mueum, who had just finished a mock battle, sat down next to Hwashin.

 

“Reading interviews.”

 

“Oh, those. They were so embarrassing.”

 

“Really? Your photo came out well, though.”

 

“Did it?”

 

Mueum frowned and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel.

 

Although the SH1 Unit had already finished their regular training and were active on the field, thanks to Hwashin, they now trained together when they were not assigned to incidents.

 

With heroes divided into the SH unit (Special Hero) and GH unit (General Hero), the S-rank heroes’ involvement in high-risk gates (S-rank, A-rank) became more systematic. Yoo Jian even lamented that she had become less busy.

 

“Of course, Mueum look better in person than in the photos. Haha.”

 

Hwashin turned his gaze back to the training ground, turning off the article with the nasty comments.

 

The SH unit’s training didn’t involve sparring with instructors.

 

So, who did they train with? They sparred with other heroes, starting with B-rank heroes who were capable of sparring, carefully selected for training.

 

The training ground rules were extremely simple. Knock out your opponent with your abilities or make them declare defeat to end the spar. It was similar to the selection tournament but with less desperation.

 

In that sense.

 

“Haha, I surrender! I surrender!”

 

Surrenders came quickly. Most of the desperate cries for surrender came from those sparring with Cha Jaeha.

 

‘I don’t want to do this. I want to go home.’

 

‘Mom…’

 

‘You go first.’

 

‘You crazy idiot, you go first. I didn’t even volunteer for this.’

 

‘Damn it, who in their right mind would volunteer to spar with Cha Jaeha?’

 

The hero admired by heroes. The heroes’ hero. While Cha Jaeha had such nicknames and was an object of admiration, that didn’t mean people wanted to be close to him. After all, there was a saying that admiration was best kept at a distance.

 

A hero, already battered with one arm and leg hanging limply, struggled to stand. Cha Jaeha looked at him slowly before speaking.

 

“Your speed is good, but you lack strength in your legs. If you don’t improve that, trying to kick a monster will only get you killed first. It’s a wonder you’ve survived this long. If a hero like you goes to a scene, it might be easier to assume everyone there is already dead.”

 

Cha Jaeha continued with even harsher words in an indifferent tone. He said that a thousand maggots would be more helpful than this hero, and that he shouldn’t even take such a salary if he was going to work like that.

 

At first, the sparring partner was huffing and puffing with anger, but by the end of the final words, he left the training ground in tears.

 

‘Ah, I don’t want to go next.’

 

The next opponent was already smiling brightly as if they had resigned to it. Giving up before the match started wasn’t allowed.

 

‘Hahaha. I want to quit being a hero.’

 

***

 

Regardless of the expression on the face of the hero about to spar with Cha Jaeha, Hwashin wore a very pleased expression as he was filming the scene. The fight was recorded as a video, while the preparation for the match was captured in photos.

 

Hmm, the live photo feature here was truly amazing.

 

“…If you get caught taking those, won’t Cha Jaeha kill you later?”

 

Contrary to Mueum’s worry, Hwashin leisurely pressed the capture button several more times as he answered.

 

“It’s fine because I’m not taking these secretly. Look, he’s glaring fiercely every now and then.”

 

“…And knowing that, you’re still taking pictures?”

 

“Hahaha, if he really hated it, he’d come over here and smash my phone. So, I guess this much is okay.”

 

In the original story, Cha Jaeha was quite ruthless to heroes and other awakened ones, except for those he intended to save. He even became an instructor at the education center at one point, saying if awakened ones couldn’t endure this much, how could they save people?

 

Those who trained under Cha Jaeha indeed saw rapid improvement in their skills in a short period, but their mental states often deteriorated significantly afterward.

 

‘That place, it’s a point of no return. …What? I didn’t return. I was just reborn.’

 

‘What if we can’t save people on site? Then Cha Jaeha will kill us. Dying while trying to save people would be a more honorable death.’

 

Ah, our dear Jaeha.

Not everyone could endure pain just because they were not being burned to death. Cha Jaeha thought everything was fine as long as he was careful with fire.

 

For that reason, Hwashin had absolutely no intention of receiving training from or sparring with Cha Jaeha. It seemed that, for now at least, there were no sparring matches between SH Unit members.

 

The camera that had been focused on Cha Jaeha suddenly turned its lens toward Yoo Jian. Jian quickly noticed and flashed a V-sign at the camera.

 

“Ack—!”

 

At the same time, a hero was sent flying into the air, his left leg soaring up to a 60-degree angle after being struck by Jian’s kick, before thudding to the ground. Although the cushioned floor prevented serious injuries, he likely lost a front tooth.

 

‘I shouldn’t spar with our Jian either.’

 

Healing from a kick like that would be tough, even with strong karma. She seemed stronger than most monsters. Just how strong she was?

 

“By the way, have you finished your sparring, hyung? You have to win against 10 B-rank heroes, right?”

 

“Yeah, I’m done.”

 

Hwashin smiled and roughly pointed his thumb toward a corner of the arena. When Mueum turned his eyes to where Hwashin was pointing, he saw heroes already ‘dead’ there. Of course, they weren’t really dead.

 

“…Wow. Are you the same guy who was coughing up blood last time?”

 

“Yes. This old man is only top-notch when it comes to being weak.”

 

“You?”

 

…Look at the mountain of heroes piled up. Even though it was a match between S-rank and B-rank, they were still B-rank heroes.

 

He did that to them?

 

“Ah, right.”

 

While Mueum was blankly staring at the mountain of ‘corpses’, Hwashin got up as if he just remembered something.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Today’s the day we get our SH Unit ID cards.”

 

“Ah, you mean the employee ID?”

 

“Yeah. They said we could come to get them after the spar. Should I get yours too?”

 

“No need. New employee IDs can only be collected by the person themselves. Go ahead, I’ll stay here and watch a bit more.”

 

“Too bad.”

 

It would’ve been nice if they could go together.

 

Hwashin left with a bright smile. There was a reason why he was so eager to get his hands on the freshly issued employee ID.

 

Among the benefits given to SH Unit members, there was one that could provide a hint related to the ending of this world.

 

‘There’s something that’s been bothering me.’

 

In <Your Hero is Here>, Cha Jaeha tried to save everyone by sacrificing himself.

 

Wasn’t that what heroes do? Knights risked their lives to save princesses, and heroes sacrificed themselves to save the world.

 

Something like that.

 

In most cases, the ending was happy, but not in this novel. The world ended, and everything Jaeha tried to protect ultimately came to an end.

 

The world itself ceased to exist.

 

Why?

 

Cha Jaeha’s method wasn’t wrong. He filled the last gate opened in Korea with purgatory, trapping himself in a fiery hell and endlessly burning monsters.

 

In a situation where no monsters could emerge, why?

 

Why did the world perish? In such cases, anyone would naturally think like this.

 

Yes. Someone wanted this world to end.

 

A mastermind unknown even to Cha Jaeha, the protagonist, and the SH1 unit.

 

‘Then my job is set.’

 

With a gentle smile, Hwashin finally opened the door.