Leave the Hero's Ex-Girlfriend Alone! - Chapter 8
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Leave the Hero’s ex-girlfriend alone!
EP08
“Alright, that’s enough. Let’s get up.”
As Alpha rose from his chair, Eunho slid off his seat, the empty cup still clutched tightly in one hand.
We made another loop around the second floor, then rode the escalator up to the third.
The third floor stretched out into a living goods zone, a children’s clothing store, and a kids’ café.
We were taking our time, peering into every corner, when a murmur rose from one side of the walkway.
Turning my head, I saw a VR game on a huge screen, where a player was going head-to-head with zombies.
People wearing headsets flailed their arms at the empty air, either screaming or laughing.
“Wow! I want to try that one!”
Eunho’s eyes lit up.
I suppose it’s only natural for boys his age to love games.
But.
“No. Not now—”
Before I could even finish, that guy snorted beside me.
“Are you scared or something?”
“Scared? Please. I’d beat you easily.”
“All talk, huh?”
He stood with his arms crossed, looking down at me.
The mocking look in his eyes left me no choice but to push back.
“Ha! You only get to act big because you’re a Power User. Think that makes you hot stuff in games, too?”
“Then let’s make a bet. Loser does whatever the winner says.”
“Fine! And don’t you dare go back on it after you lose.”
“Sis, what about me…?”
Eunho cut in halfway, sounding bewildered, but by then the two of us were too busy glaring at each other to care.
“Hold on, we’re talking.”
“Yeah, just a sec.”
Our replies came out at the exact same time.
Eunho let out a small sigh and slowly shook his head.
We went straight up to the VR booth.
The game is set in a ruined city overrun by zombies, where the mission is to reach a target point before time runs out.
The whole way there, it’s a contest over who can take down more zombies.
“If you’re scared, you can quit anytime.”
Alpha said as he strapped on the gear.
“Very funny. I’ll hand that right back to you.”
The moment I put on the headset, a desolate street and a dark alley reeking of blood spread out before me.
This… is more intense than I expected.
I swallowed hard.
On the right side of the screen, I could make out a figure that looked like Alpha’s character.
He loaded the virtual gun in his hand with practiced ease.
The game started, and the first zombie suddenly lurched up.
It looked so real that I jolted and stumbled backward, and a warm sensation pressed against my waist.
Alpha’s palm firmly caught my back, steadying me.
“Be careful.”
That offhand remark pulled my focus from the screen straight to him in an instant.
“…”
The guy himself looked perfectly calm.
‘Is he doing this on purpose?’
A sophisticated strategy to scatter the opponent’s focus and snatch victory…
I shook off the hand at my waist and forced myself back into the game.
Three zombies burst out of the narrow alley at once.
“You take the right!”
“Are you giving me orders?”
“Or do you want the left?”
The words we tossed back and forth, each glancing sideways, strangely caught fire.
Just as we both reached to take down the same one, the backs of our hands brushed together.
I was startled and pulled the trigger late, and in that gap a zombie closed in right on the screen.
“Focus.”
He gave my shoulder a quick tap along with his low voice, which only threw my focus off even more.
“I am focused… okay?”
I gritted my teeth and pulled the trigger.
The gunshot rang out, and virtual blood sprayed across the screen.
At the final corner, we both charged in, firing wildly.
The words ‘Target Reached’ flashed on the screen.
So… what’s the score?!
I tore off my helmet and checked the screen at once.
The moment I saw the numbers, the corners of my mouth lifted on their own.
“See? I won!”
I looked at that guy with bright, triumphant eyes and wore a smug grin.
But then.
“Yeah, you won.”
Alpha nodded and answered calmly.
What, that’s it? That’s all the reaction I get?
I’d just fought like the lead in some war movie, and he’s going to concede it that easily…
Suddenly I felt like I’d been acting like a little kid.
Great… now only I look childish?!
I set down the gear in my hands, and the corners of my mouth slowly drooped.
I had clearly won, yet somehow it didn’t feel like a win.
“Stop zoning out and let’s go.”
At his one remark, I followed after him.
The three of us walked past the Living Zone on the third floor of the shopping complex and took the passage toward the Central Garden.
Eunho stopped in front of a photo booth set up midway along the passage.
“Can’t we try that?”
“A photo booth…?”
I glanced at Alpha, looking flustered.
“Well? …Want to?”
He seemed to think for a moment, then went into the booth first.
Somehow it was funny, the three of us squeezed into such a tiny space.
Eunho sat in the middle, I took the right side, and he took the left.
We inserted the card and finished the settings.
Just as I sat back down and got ready to pose, Eunho pressed the button.
Click-
The first shutter went off in an instant.
“Hey, I’m not ready yet!”
I flailed and tried to stop Eunho’s hand, but—
“Second one!”
Eunho said it in a cheerful voice, clearly having fun, and pressed the button again.
“No! Eunho, wait a sec-”
Click-
As I frantically tried to fix my pose and the camera caught me, Alpha chuckled quietly beside me.
Then, as if it were nothing, he pulled my shoulder sharply toward him and said,
“Hold still. If you keep moving, it’ll come out even funnier.”
“W-what? All of a sudden!”
“Don’t move. Okay, smile. Smile.”
The moment Alpha calmly held my shoulder and stared straight ahead, the shutter went off again.
Click-
And just like that, we wasted six shots.
He looked at the printed photos and laughed for a long while.
“This is seriously amazing. It came out so ridiculous.”
With tears welling up from laughing, he waved the photo in front of my face.
“Hazuma…”
I bit my lip hard and warned him, but Alpha still couldn’t stop laughing, busy teasing me, calling it a masterpiece, a magnum opus, and whatnot.
“You keep that photo close, you hear? Let’s go, Eunho.”
I took Eunho’s hand and turned around first.
Ignoring the guy behind me calling out in a voice full of laughter, ‘Wait up~,’ I walked as fast as I could.
We left the building and stopped by a café near the Central Garden on the third floor, buying an Iced Americano and a peach iced tea.
As soon as I picked up my drink, he went straight for my cup holder, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
It’s a familiar habit.
“You still drink your coffee without syrup?”
Alpha asked me, carrying his drink over to the table.
“Yeah. You?”
“I put some in. How do you even drink it plain? It’s bitter.”
“Seriously, you have such a sweet tooth.”
And so we sat facing each other in a corner of the café.
Eunho was sipping his peach iced tea, gazing up at the ornaments decorating the ceiling.
Maybe the mall had put them up for the season, because the glass decorations glittering overhead were quite a sight.
“I said I’d pay.”
The guy grumbled and snapped his wallet shut.
“Nope. I’m not taking the Association card.”
“That’s my card, though.”
“Isn’t that card ultimately issued by the Association anyway?”
I took a sip of my iced Americano.
There was a time when sitting like this with this guy was just part of my everyday life.
Though that was ages ago, back when I liked him so much more than I do now.
I glanced around, half hoping Eunho’s mother might be somewhere nearby.
Just then, Alpha’s phone buzzed.
He glanced at the caller ID and his face soured.
“It’s the Association calling. I’ll be right back.”
I nodded, and he stepped away from the table, phone pressed to his ear.
With only Eunho and me left at the table, it went quiet.
I stirred the leftover coffee and let my gaze drift away.
Sunlight poured dazzlingly toward the garden.
Just then, Eunho, who had been drinking his peach iced tea, quietly spoke up.
“Why are you helping me, Sis?”
“…Well.”
I tried to answer, then swallowed a mouthful of coffee instead.
My throat kept catching.
“Some days are like that, you know. You just want to be good to someone… want to do something kind…”
I couldn’t quite finish the sentence.
Eunho said nothing, just kept looking at me.
Even I didn’t fully understand it myself.
Normally, I’d have taken him to the Lost Children’s Shelter and gotten on with my business…
But when he said he wanted to see his mom, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.
I shook my head firmly.
He’s just a kid. Helping a child is an adult’s responsibility, isn’t it?
“Why all the questions? I want to help, so I’m helping. That’s all there is to it.”
I ruffled Eunho’s hair as I said it.
Still, the question lingering in my mind refused to go away.
Just then, the area around us erupted into commotion.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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