Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World

The Management Department of the Association was a coveted position among heroes. Only those ranked B or higher could enter, and all heroes active in the field belong to this department.

 

However, a staff who worked in the Management Department always said this:

 

– Why would anyone want to work here when you can’t even leave by 6 PM?

 

In fact, that staff came to work today without taking any of his accumulated leave. The issuance of the SH unit’s exclusive cards was delayed, overlapping with the original person in charge’s vacation. Indeed, everything was first-come, first-served.

 

His only consolation was that the assigned task was merely issuing ID cards.

 

It wasn’t something that required working overtime.

 

“Hello~”

 

…Meeting this man here was no consolation at all.

 

Moreover, it was bad luck at this point. Why did this guy show up wherever he went?

 

Working in the Management Department didn’t mean they got to meet all heroes; if anything, office work was their main focus, so there were fewer opportunities for such encounters. But why did he keep getting entangled with this man?

 

Yeah, he was talking about that glib man at the door.

 

“Are you here for ID card issuance?”

 

Hwashin smiled brightly as soon as he spotted Cheongwon, as if pleased. Of course, that smile had no effect on their relationship. Ha Cheongwon still clicked his mouse with an expressionless face.

 

“I asked if you’re here for card issuance.”

 

“Yes, I’m here for that. …But Cheongwon, you’re everywhere I go. Do you have like 10 bodies or something? Or are you following me?”

 

Cheongwon’s face naturally crumpled.

 

No, who in their right mind would do that?

 

Yoo Hwaseon was already quite a celebrity within the association. The man who went from F-rank to S-rank. The man who made everyone vomit just by touching them. They said that if you fought alongside him, you’d lose your memory like Go Youngwoo.

 

Well, most of these were playful rumors made to tease Go Youngwoo.

 

‘The fact that such rumors exist is important nonetheless.’

 

Moreover, he even joined the same unit as Cha Jaeha.

 

‘It’s like a den of goblins. Ugh.’

 

They looked fine from afar, but up close, they all seemed a bit off. He felt the same. No, he disliked this man even before those rumors started.

 

“Are you really following me?”

 

“I wish that were the case. At least then I could predict when it would happen. ….Please give me the issuance number.”

 

“64521.”

 

“Confirmed. Please wait a moment.”

 

Inside the drawer he unlocked and opened, ID cards were piled up like a mountain. Ha Cheongwon skillfully found one card and handed it over with a new case.

 

“Here’s your ID card. In the case of the SH unit, it also serves as a security area access pass, so never lose it. If you do lose it, you may receive a warning. Be careful, three or more accumulated warnings will result in disciplinary action.”

 

Hwashin held the shiny ID card high.

Hmm, look at that quality

. Encased in glass and gleaming, it looked quite valuable. Hwashin smirked in satisfaction.

 

Thinking that his sly smile didn’t look very heroic at all, Cheongwon locked the drawer.

 

“Can I use this card starting today?”

 

There was a place Hwashin wanted to enter right away. It was better to be familiar during the training period, after all.

 

“Yes. It should work since it’s already been approved. If not, please contact us here.”

 

Hwashin’s eyes curved again. Right.

 

Ah, it’s an unsettling smile. Is that guy going to cause trouble?

 

***

 

The basement of the Association building contained various spaces. In particular, most of the Level 1 security zones were underground because it was safer and easier to control the temperature than on the surface.

 

Hwashin’s business among them was information about a group called Freak.

 

– Confirmed.

 

When he held up his ID card, the automatic door opened with a beep.

 

“Wow.”

 

His jaw dropped at the sight of the endless data cards. When would he ever get through all this? No, he just needed to find the information on Freak, so he had to pick appropriately.

 

“Fr….eak….. Fr….”

 

Ah, found it. He pulled out a data card with an English label and headed to the reading laptop.

 

[ Welcome. Hello, You. ]

 

[ Reading data. Please wait a moment. ]

 

[ The data you will view is F, R, E, A, K Basic Information I. ]

 

Freak was the name of an ‘illegal awakened group’.

 

In <Your Hero is Here>, the awakened ones had to work as heroes belonging to the state.

 

Of course, there were those who rejected such a coercive career choice. However, those who refused were restricted from using their abilities in daily life.

 

Most accepted this, but some did not take kindly to it. These people gathered to form a group. Initially, it was just a nameless gang of thugs, but gradually, it grew in size and structure.

 

The group’s name became Freak. They would cause a ruckus wherever a gate opened, and even without a gate, they would destroy buildings used by heroes out of spite.

 

Their actions were no different from the black mages from his previous life.

 

‘Back then, I used to beat them all up.’

 

Playing with troublemaking black mages was surprisingly fun. For example, making them run around the village naked for 100 laps and then kicking them away, or making them eat as many insects as the number of people they killed, and finally throwing them into a pit full of flesh-eating insects. Since one had to kill over 100 people to become a black mage, this level of punishment was considered light.

 

‘Even Cha Jaeha gritted his teeth when dealing with Freak. So I guess it’s okay for me to do the same.’

 

He scrolled down, quickly skimming through information he already knew. Since the SH unit was newly established, there might not be much information yet.

 

‘It seems some small fry have already been caught and imprisoned.’

 

The Freaks who were caught were extremists. Those with multiple previous offenses were caught due to their long tails.

 

…Indeed, the apocalypse might be related to these guys. He should investigate this.

 

But these guys who got caught in this early stage.

 

“…Probably aren’t important ones.”

 

“Who? Who isn’t?”

 

Someone suddenly appeared behind him and asked, her long hair brushing against his shoulder. The red hair he glimpsed from the corner of his eye was iconic within the Association.

 

Hwashin quickly pressed the X button to close the window and turned around. She observed his smiling face and said.

 

“You’re not surprised?”

 

She shrugged her shoulders, and Hwashin replied,

 

“I don’t show it easily when I’m surprised.”

 

She brushed her long hair back and slightly leaned her head back. Hwashin naturally closed the laptop.

 

“You’re Yoo Hwashin, right? I saw you on the news.”

 

“Have I already become that famous? Haha.”

 

“Playing coy, huh? But why are you suddenly investigating Freak? They’ve been quiet lately.”

 

“Well, as a hero, it’s something worth looking into at least once.”

 

She crossed her arms and tilted her head as if she didn’t understand. Even standing on one leg, she was taller than Hwashin. With her heels, she looked well over 180cm.

 

“But there must be a reason you came all the way to the security area to look for that. For a group of Freak’s size, it might be better to search the internet, you know? I work here originally because I’m in charge of the security area.”

 

She showed him her security card between her fingers and smiled. Long hair, security zone staff.

 

The badge around her neck said S-rank, San Ihyeong.

 

“Should I say I came here to foster camaraderie among SH unit members?”

 

She was an S-rank hero belonging to Unit 2, which meant she would be Ha Cheongwon’s superior.

 

“Oh. You already know I’m part of SH2 Unit. Well, it was posted on the bulletin board, so I guess you’d remember.”

 

“It’s good to remember in advance.”

 

Hwashin smiled.

 

Now, what to do?

 

Except for Unit 1, the proper appearance of the remaining unit members didn’t happen until the middle of the novel.

 

‘That’s when gates start changing into dungeon forms.’

 

Dungeon.

 

Alternate spaces that occured inside gates. From the middle of <Your Hero is Here>, the gate only closed when certain conditions in that space were resolved.  It was a separate entity from high-risk gates. Red Gates.

 

Fortunately, monsters didn’t come out to the outside while solving the dungeon.

 

Anyway, after the appearance of Red Gates, the importance of Units 2 and 3 increased. Unit 3, which was dispatched overseas, also returned at that timing.

 

‘Moreover, ‘that’ ability of San Ihyeong will be helpful later on.’

 

Although there was no need to get involved with her now, he had no reason to get on her bad side either, so let’s keep things friendly here.

 

“So, did you find everything you wanted? All done?”

 

It was San Ihyeong who first created the atmosphere to wrap things up. Hwashin also matched the mood and placed the used data card on the return shelf.

 

There wasn’t much more to find out about Freak right now anyway.

 

“Yes, for now. I was about to go back up for training anyway.”

 

“Oh my, so soon? Then come visit again next time. Unit 2 isn’t on field duty, so we’ve been quite bored lately.”

 

“Haha, I will.”

 

“Hahaha, put some soul into it.”

 

Originally, Unit 2 existed to investigate gates and assist field-duty heroes. Moreover, San Ihyeong was currently the only support-type S-rank, so she was alone in Unit 2, but later Ha Cheongwon also became part of Unit 2.

 

“San Ihyeong and Ha Cheongwon, huh.”

 

Jiing. As Hwashin exited through the automatic door, he imagined the two he’d read about. Despite appearances, San Ihyeong didn’t particularly like rules.

 

Her tendency appeared occasionally in the descriptions.

 

– San Ihyeong is not in her seat. …How am I supposed to know that?

 

– She got disciplined again. It’s the 10th time she’s broken the rules! A new record among S-ranks!

 

– I told you, she’s not here right now. Huh? She’s over there? …Why? Why suddenly go to Busan? Gate investigation? But without any travel documents–!

 

Moreover, she dyed her hair red despite being a civil servant. No one could criticize her because she was an S-rank.

 

To think that those two would be on the same team. It was quite intriguing. They made a pretty fun combo, so maybe he’d visit with the others next time.

 

Hwashin chuckled and headed back to the training ground.

 

Zing—

 

As soon as he arrived, the atmosphere of the B-rank heroes who had just regained consciousness changed instantly.

 

“Oh, everyone woke up early?”

 

Yes… Yoo Hwashin had returned.

 

Even those who usually lacked camaraderie now instinctively held hands and jumped in unison. Their bodies were still covered in bruises left by Hwashin. And not just bruises, but a lot of humiliation too.

 

The B-ranks communicated their thoughts with their eyes, unable to speak aloud.

 

‘Let’s run away, let’s run away.’

 

‘…We’re scheduled for training, so we have to finish our work here.’

 

Perhaps because of the urgent situation they could feel each other’s emotions better, the reading was almost at a telepathic level.

 

‘…Wouldn’t sparring with Cha Jaeha hurt less?’

 

Cha Jaeha wouldn’t go easy either.

 

As that thought crossed their minds, one of the B-ranks slightly turned his head towards Cha Jaeha. He immediately locked eyes with someone sitting at the far end who seemed dazed.

 

Ha, damn it.

 

The B-class member despaired and bit his lip.

 

‘Wherever we go, it’s only hell……’

 

He squeezed his eyes shut.

 

Honestly, when he was assigned to this training, he was happy. It was a sparring with S-ranks.

 

Sparring with S-rank heroes of the SH unit, wasn’t it like going to see celebrities? Plus, since it was sparring, they didn’t have to fight for their lives!

 

But reality was always more terrifying than imagination.

 

– Fight me like you’re prepared to die.

 

At first, watching the neighboring team spar with Cha Jaeha, he thought,

wow, so this is why people talk about Cha Jaeha

. Who sparred that intensely?

 

Did they think we didn’t want to save people too? We became heroes to save lives.

 

‘Compared to that, I’m lucky.’

 

The hero who was recently promoted from F-rank to S-rank. They said he had manipulation and mental abilities, but nothing specific was revealed. So heroes knew little about him.

 

All they saw was his thin frame, and they heard he vomited blood at a recent press conference. …So, wasn’t he weak in a spar?

 

Seeing his frail body compared to Yoo Jian, he didn’t seem strong. If he had a gravity manipulation ability like Jeong Mueum, that thin body could exert force and feel threatening, but.

 

‘Since it’s this guy.’

 

Their confidence surged. They thought maybe they could try to beat an S-rank hero this time. Then they’d become a Unit 1 member too.

 

“Argh!”

 

“Gaaah.”

 

“….Guh.”

 

Amidst such expectations, what unfolded was.

 

– Move your hands and feet out of sync. It’s harder to dodge that way.

 

It was hell.

 

When they sent a kick, Hwashin would easily dodge and grab their ankle, twisting their knee in the opposite direction of the joint.

 

– If you kick this slowly, it’s too easy to catch. You all know that movements that are easy to read are worse than not doing them at all, right? Okay, next.

 

No, Cha Jaeha at least gave teachings about being heroic or having a sense of duty, but this guy had none of that. He only told them how their movements were easy to read and useless.

 

– Look, see how quickly it breaks because it’s so easy to read? See how tattered your wrist has become? And, even with just one arm injured like this, people easily lose balance and fall.

 

No, how did this person read all of that? Did he have some hidden ability? Were all S-ranks like this?

 

Anyway, among the ten heroes who were knocked out, about six of them regained consciousness over time, while a few pretended to still be unconscious.

 

And those who opened their eyes faced Hwashin again.

 

“Are we starting training again?”

 

Hwashin smiled brightly.

 

The B-ranks clasped hands and had the same thought.

 

‘Hey, you guys who pretend to be unconscious, get up.’

 

‘I can’t die alone.’

 

It was a splendid teamwork.