The Monster Aspires to Be a Hero!

Training rooms and gyms for ability users are more expensive than ordinary facilities.
It’s because they require higher maintenance costs due to needing greater durability.
The cheaper way is to pass the hero ability certification exam and obtain a license.
Since I need to move anyway, I’ll have to postpone that for now.
I want to test the limits of my body, but this is a time to wait.
So for now, I decided to look into moving first.
Following Jieun’s suggestion, I headed to a real estate agency to find a studio apartment relatively near the university.
Jieun went out of her way to take the weekend off to help me with this.
Considering Jieun’s attentiveness, it would be much better to accept her help.

“Hello.”
As I entered, there was a woman who appeared to be in her early 40s.
“Welcome.”
Seeing the rather close distance between Jieun and me, she briefly made a meaningful expression.
“I’m looking for a studio apartment.”
“A place for you two to live together?”
I expected this kind of question would come up.
“No. A place just for me. Please recommend options with anti-Clairvoyance measures or earthquake-resistant design.”
“What is your budget range?”
“Around this much.”
After I stated my target budget and deposit amount, she began searching seriously.
“With those conditions, there are four available listings.”
The woman handed us vitamin drinks as she said that.
Pointing at the wall map, she showed us images on her smartphone of the locations and what they were like.
As expected, buildings using anti-Clairvoyance materials and earthquake-resistant design were quite expensive.
With monsters appearing, there’s always a risk of buildings collapsing.
So that burden gets passed onto tenants, resulting in high prices.
Deposits over 5 million won were burdensome, but under 5 million had exorbitant monthly rents I couldn’t afford.
I said I would look into it further and left my contact information in case better options became available.
Jieun had a rather complicated expression.
“I’m sorry, sunbae.”
“What are you sorry about? Expensive housing prices can’t be helped.”
Jieun said the place she currently lives was prepared by her parents.
So it seems she didn’t really know much about real estate matters.
While I did wonder why she came along in that case, I couldn’t criticize someone showing goodwill.
Haah… The reality of becoming a hero has higher walls than I expected.

A kind, neighborhood hero, huh?
This bastard?
In that regard, I wished it resembled Iron Man more than Spider-Man.

After that conversation, I returned home and went about my usual routine.
Then my smartphone rang – it was a call from the real estate agency I had visited around lunchtime.

“Ah, is this Jinwoo’s number?”
“Yes, this is Jinwoo.”
“This is the real estate agency you visited earlier. We have an attractive listing that just came up.”
“What are the details?”
“Well, you see…”

The conditions proposed by the realtor were quite exceptional.
The deposit was lower than my current rooftop room, and the monthly rent was so low it made me wonder if this was some dubious listing.
When I hesitated, the realtor assured me it wasn’t a scam and to come judge for myself in person.
I said I understood and hung up.

The next day.
When I revisited the realty agency, I was able to confirm the listing she had mentioned.
It was a studio apartment that seemed the most expensive in this area.
For such a nice place to have lower rent and deposit than my rooftop room?

“Why is it so cheap?”
Did someone die there or something? Was there a security issue?
Many suspicions arose, but the realtor simply shook her head, insisting it was not the case.
Sensing there was some reason, I kept pressing her, and she opened her mouth with an awkward expression.
“Well… I’m the mother of the child who was on that bus.”
“…Pardon?”
She said since I was her child’s lifesaver, this was the least she could do.
Korea is a small world.
Seoul is especially small.
But is this kind of coincidence a good thing?
It wasn’t an act I did expecting any rewards, so is it okay to accept such a kindness?
Many thoughts arose.
I need to take the hero ability certification exam and register a hero name.
I also need to prepare a hero suit and register at a training room or gym.
It will require a considerable amount of money.
I recalled my father, who is quite old yet still hasn’t retired.
In the end, I decided to accept her kindness.
It was too attractive an offer to refuse.

A hero defeated by capitalism.
Shut it.

Having been defeated by capitalism, the 23-year-old loner Jinwoo hurriedly prepared to move.
The club MT was scheduled for the third week of March.
Honestly, as a 4th-year student, I felt like I didn’t need to attend, but everyone else seemed to expect me to, so it was hard to skip.
The hero ability certification exam was also scheduled for late March.
So I had to hurry with the move preparations.
But moving isn’t that simple a matter.
First, I needed to receive the deposit refund, and if the landlord was using that money elsewhere, it would take time to retrieve it.
But strangely, as soon as the landlord said they would vacate the property, they deposited the money, allowing me to move smoothly.
Ever since this invader presence entered my body, things have been oddly going well.

Kuhuhuhuh.
…Tch.

As I organized my belongings, I found I had more books than expected.
The books and notebooks I had used for studying certifications and the NCS amounted to a pile reaching my chest.
I would have to discard all of those.
After removing all those books, there was almost nothing left to move.
Packing my belongings and completing the move took around 3 hours in total.
It was to the point where it felt strange to even call it “moving.”

As I was organizing my things, the neighboring apartment was strangely noisy.
It felt like someone was moving out, just like me.
Come to think of it, there was a moving truck parked outside – was someone moving in?
Anyway, for the time being, I likely don’t need to worry about being watched anymore.
Just who was it?

You should be free now.
The monster that had been constantly watching over me seemed to have gained some breathing room, forming that ragged eye and mouth on my right hand.
I don’t know why it insists on revealing its presence like that.
For now, I contacted an internet service provider to request installation and lay down on the bed.
As I was mindlessly flipping through videos on my smartphone, something caught my eye.
A two-headed snake.
Come to think of it, my dad had mentioned snake charming being good for the body or something…
These algorithms are just…
With that thought, I played the video.
In games, comics, and novels of subcultures, multi-headed beings are often depicted as named monsters.
Stronger and smarter than regular individuals, used to highlight the protagonist.
But the YouTube video was 180 degrees different from that.
There was a mouse, and instead of attacking as it scurried around, the snake slowly slithered away to avoid it.
When rounding a corner, one of its heads scraped the wall, shedding scales.
If the caretaker didn’t directly place food in its mouth, it couldn’t eat, and one head just dragged along like dead weight.
Ah, I see.
It made sense.
There is someone cohabiting in my body with completely different tastes than me.
If I’m not in too much of a hurry, I absolutely never jaywalk.
But the other presence living in my body is always rushed, frequently jaywalking.
With only one body, problems are inevitable.
While I can eat just about anything, the other presence can’t eat seafood.
Even in such situations, issues arise.
So situations are bound to occur where one side takes control over the other.
Like me… and this presence.
…
Currently docile due to the threat to its life, but if I were this presence, wouldn’t I be pondering how to seize control of the body?
To begin with, I don’t even know what monsters are thinking or where they come from.
Monsters simply appear from somewhere, and there are heroes to eliminate them.
And in those cracks, villains commit crimes using superpowers.
It’s already been 20 years since the world became like this, yet nothing has been revealed.
It was… a complicated feeling.

For 4th-year university students, it’s a time to spend just barely scraping by, like a dead mouse.
So the MT should also be spent just barely scraping by, I thought.
But unexpectedly, there wasn’t much negative reaction to 4th-years attending.
Putting aside specs, the fact that they joined a volunteer club suggested they were basically good-natured people.
“I can drive the van, and Taeil can take his SUV?”
“Sure.”
Renting a van and taking Taeil’s SUV would allow us to transport everyone attending the MT.
“Now let’s decide what to buy.”
Despite being 4th-years, those of us serious about the MT listed out the supplies we would need.
Having attended MTs so many times that we could do it with our eyes closed, we finished the list before the ink could even dry on the paper.
We sent a text saying “Bring around 2/3 of a paper cup filled with white rice (no mixed grains)” to the confirmed attendees and immediately headed to the mart.
“Honestly, I don’t know if this is why they tell 4th-years to attend.”
Pushing the shopping cart, Taeil let out a sigh.
“Want a girlfriend? Do your best.”
“Kkosam. My pepper may be long, but I have to show it on the main broadcast for girls to fall for me, you know?”
“But you can’t access the main broadcast.”
Jungheok, who had brought over some vegetables nearby, responded to Taeil’s words.
Taeil sighed, saying that was the problem.
“I wish I was at least a Kkosam.”
“But I’m a loner?”
“Tch. Haah…”
Taeil clicked his tongue with a regretful expression.

After finishing the shopping and heading near the university, the groups attending the MT had already gathered in full.
“Hello!”
The new students greeted us perfectly in sync, as if they had practiced.
We welcomed them in return and immediately headed to the MT venue.
Having vehicles, everyone felt reasonably satisfied.
The atmosphere in the vehicles… had that heavy vibe of being seated with complete strangers.
It was only natural since we didn’t know who was sitting around us.
Most just fiddled with their smartphones until getting carsick, then blankly stared outside.
Occasional conversation was only among friends who had joined together.
Even if I, a 4th-year, tried to talk, it would only add more tension to those already feeling anxious.
Traditionally, MTs are situations where tongues loosen with some alcohol intake.
But Jieun seemed to find the air a bit stifling, so she connected her smartphone to play music in the vehicle.
As reasonably decent recent songs played, everyone seemed to loosen up a bit.
Humming along to the music, before we knew it, our vehicle had arrived at the reserved pension.