Leave the Hero's Ex-Girlfriend Alone! - Chapter 18

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Leave the hero’s ex-girlfriend alone!
EP18
The rain showed no sign of letting up, pouring down without end.
The water dripping through the gaps in the leaves felt like a waterfall.
The dirt path turned slick in no time, and the water pooled in every crevice of the rocks, rising up to my ankles.
I wrestled my way through the muck, gasping for breath.
“This way.”
Zero pushed aside the tall grass and pointed ahead.
Beyond it, under a large boulder, was a hollow space carved into the earth.
It was a little too small to call a cave, but right now it felt like paradise.
“Go on in. Be careful, your footing’s slippery.”
I eased my body inside, slowly.
Still, it was roomy enough for two people.
Well, I shouldn’t complain. At least it’s a place to get out of the rain.
I caught my breath and carefully leaned my back against the inner wall.
The moment my soaked clothes touched the stone, a chill seeped through my skin.
As I was slowly drawing in a breath, I sensed someone moving toward me from the front.
Zero came closer and crouched down in front of me.
In the darkness between the rocks, the moment our eyes met at the same level, a strange tension spread through the air.
“…Are you okay with your knee?”
At his low voice, I nodded.
“The bleeding’s stopped. It’s just a scrape.”
That’s what I said, but in truth, I hadn’t been able to put any real weight on it the entire walk.
I thought I’d been acting like nothing was wrong, but it seemed he’d already caught on.
“Wounds can get infected, you know.”
Zero glanced around for a moment, then let out a sigh and pulled off his shirt.
His expression was indifferent, but his movements were bold.
“What are you doing?”
“Of the cloth we have on hand, this is the least dirty. Or… do you prefer leaves?”
“….”
Faced with such an earnest question, I was momentarily at a loss for words.
Did he actually think leaves could serve as a substitute?
But what else could I do?
We were on a deserted island with nothing at all. Whether it made sense or not, I had no choice but to bear with it.
Zero tore off the hem of his shirt, then gently drew my knee toward him.
He pressed down on the wound for a moment, then wrapped the cloth around it to secure it, his hands moving without hesitation.
Once the bloodied area was covered, I felt a little better.
“If I tie it too tight, it’ll hurt… so this should be fine.”
Zero said as he tied off the knot.
“You’ve had quite a bit of first-aid experience, haven’t you?”
“Nope. I learned it from dramas.”
“….”
“What? There’s a lot you can learn from dramas, you know.”
I stared at Zero with a bewildered look once again.
With a faint smirk tugging at his lips, Zero straightened the end of the shirt he’d wrapped around my knee in place of a bandage, and said,
“There. How does that feel?”
“It’s… fine, I think.”
I nodded in reply to Zero’s words.
Suddenly, I realized his hand was still resting on my knee.
The treatment should’ve been finished by now, right…?
“Um… your hand.”
“Hm?”
“You can let go now, I think.”
I furrowed my brows as I said it, and Zero glanced down.
Then, looking awkward, he cleared his throat and pulled his hand away.
“Ah. I was just focused…”
“Only touch me when you’re treating me, please.”
“No, that’s not what I meant at all!”
“See, this is exactly why people get the wrong idea. ‘So this is how all villains are~'”
“Good grief! Do I have to worry about my reputation even on a deserted island?”
Zero threw both hands up, as if to say he’d been wronged.
His expression seemed to shout, ‘I’ve been wronged, haven’t I? I’m the victim here!’
I was so exasperated that I burst out laughing.
He wasn’t as frightening or as difficult as I’d imagined.
The Villain I’d pictured—that overwhelming, unidentified presence—didn’t match the man standing in front of me.
Or maybe I’d never seen Zero that way to begin with.
Outside, the rain was still pouring down in sheets.
Still, the air inside the hideout had softened a little.
I cradled my injured knee and fiddled with the hem of my half-dried shirt for no real reason.
A face floated up in my mind.
I hope he’s all right…
I could still see Alpha in my mind, racing through the surf toward me.
He’d come running until he was gasping for breath, and even in the face of those towering waves, he’d been the first to shield me…
‘Go. Save the people first.’
I shouldn’t have said that.
It had been nothing more than a shove, a way of pushing him away.
If only I’d stayed with him…
I’d sent him off pretending to be calm, but in truth, I’d been terrified.
Now, sitting in this unfamiliar darkness, that scene kept replaying in my head.
I quietly hugged my knees to my chest.
Listening to the rain that refused to let up, my eyelids gradually grew heavy.
I must have closed my eyes for some time.
* * *
The beach had soon filled with nothing but the quiet sound of waves.
The Villain who’d caused the incident had been taken into custody thanks to Alpha, and the area was in chaos as rescue crews worked to pull people out.
Yet Alpha stood motionless at the far end of the shoreline.
The sand was gouged and battered in patches, a total wreck.
The spot where Haesoo had last been standing.
Now not a single trace of her remained.
“Alpha… are you all right? Please, let’s get you inside.”
A PR Team staffer ventured the words carefully.
But at that, Alpha let out a dry laugh.
I couldn’t tell whether it was exhaustion or mockery written across his face.
“All right? Me?”
His voice came out low and cracked.
The PR Team staffer fell silent under the weight of it, and someone behind him forced a smile and chimed in.
“Well, at least that’s a relief. The others are safe, so…”
Alpha’s shoulders trembled, just slightly.
He slowly turned his head and fixed his gaze on the staffer who had spoken.
“…So?”
The single word came out so icy that the air seemed to freeze solid.
The PR Team members glanced at one another and backed away.
“You needn’t worry too much. The rescue team is already on the move.”
Team Leader Ahn Gyeong-un said as he approached, holding a blanket.
He tried to drape it over Alpha’s still-soaked shoulders, but before it could even touch him, Alpha knocked it aside and walked away.
The gaze they’d exchanged just before he was swept off by the waves.
Even as the current dragged him away, he hadn’t once looked away from her.
Alpha kept replaying that instant over and over.
“Please, be somewhere, anywhere. Please…”
He kept murmuring it like a prayer.
It’s always like this.
Just getting involved with me is enough to put people in danger.
A Hero who couldn’t save anyone was worth nothing at all.
The Response Headquarters, hastily assembled, was as sloppy as could be.
“The search of the northeast shore will be switching shifts soon.”
“They say visibility over there is poor, so for now—”
“It’ll be dark soon. For now, let’s withdraw and resume at sunrise…”
The rescue teams hurried about, passing messages back and forth over their radios.
“Search at sunrise? ”
The words were low, and at once the air around them turned frigid.
Head bowed, Alpha raked his fingers roughly through his hair.
His seething breath echoed inside his ears.
His eyes were shining with a terrifying brilliance.
Slowly lifting his head, Alpha muttered with a sneer.
“And what if they’re already dead by then?”
The Rescue Team agents exchanged uneasy glances.
Not one of them dared to step forward in front of Alpha.
Under normal circumstances.
In situations like this, Alpha always acted the way a ‘proper Hero’ should.
Calm, systematic, following orders.
He had to be a Hero who saved people.
He had promised as much.
But now.
Now.
All of it was losing its meaning.
“Enough. I’ll go look for them myself.”
Alpha tried to rip the Device off his wrist, as if tearing it away.
The sound of people nervously swallowing could be heard from all around.
“Alpha, wait a moment. This is an unauthorized solo action and a violation of orders.”
“Take your hand off your wrist! We cannot allow this.”
“Report to the Association headquarters first—”
“Shut up.”
At that short, razor-sharp snap, the air around them seemed to tear apart.
Just then, a sound burst from the communication radio.
As everyone stood frozen, exchanging nervous looks and merely swallowing, the agent closest to the radio cautiously picked up the transmission.
“Ah, yes. Yes. Understood.”
The Association agent kept nodding and then handed the radio over to Alpha.
“—…Alpha, this is headquarters.”
At the voice coming through the radio, Alpha shut his eyes for a moment.
His left temple throbbed painfully, thump, thump.
“Return immediately. Solo action is not permitted.”
Alpha let out a long breath.
“Return immediately…”
Muttering, Alpha raised his head.
His eyes were a mixture of emptiness and rage.
The Association agents in front of him all flinched at once.
The fingers he had pressed against the radio trembled slightly.
Yet his voice was astonishingly clear.
“I’ve heard everything you said so far.”
A hollow laugh slipped into his words.
“I’ve lost count of how many years I’ve lived as the obedient dog you wanted me to be.”
The agents swallowed hard.
“Not this time.”
In that instant, the very air shook.
The furniture around them began to rattle all at once.
That power, which he had never once wielded carelessly, rippled outward from Alpha’s body like rings across water.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————