The Monster Aspires to Be a Hero!

The Ability Response Team took Insoo away.
As a witness, I accompanied them, where I encountered that man again.
His name was certainly Lee Eunchul… wasn’t it?
Lee Eunchul, the chief of the Armed Ability Response Team, furrowed his brow slightly upon seeing me.
A look that seemed to say, ‘Why are you here?’
“Uh… you’re Jinwoo, correct?”
“Yes.”
“We keep crossing paths.”
“Haha…”
Beginning with Lee Eunchul’s quip, an investigation into what had transpired commenced.
I had responded to the dispatch request on my smartphone and subdued the student named Insoo.
Those were the basics.
“He was a bodily enhancement ability user. He also caused an assault incident.”
“Yes, I’m aware.”
“To prevent civilian harm, you led him to a construction site and apprehended him there before emerging onto the road. Why did you do that?”
Perhaps due to working in the Armed Division, his voice carried an intimidating weight.

A laughably insignificant attempt at intimidation.
Exactly, it wasn’t enough to cow me.

I subdued him, but other heroes kept attacking, so…
“He was an assault perpetrator caught in the act. There’s no telling what could happen before he loses full consciousness.”
“…”
Ah, this team leader harbored quite negative feelings toward me.
The interrogation gave that impression.
My history of abusing power likely didn’t sit well with him.
“As I tried subduing him, his torn clothes revealed injuries.”
“Well, of course they would…”
“Bruises, scrapes, pinch marks… those don’t form overnight, do they?”
“…”
“At first I thought he had been injured while fleeing. His posture was hunched and movements impaired. But no. He was disabled.”
His attacks had been rudimentary too, merely flailing his arms after turning his back.
“The ‘Monster Slaying Game’ has become a recent trend at schools, hasn’t it…?”
“…Ahem.”
“That child was a victim of school violence. Then his newly-manifested abilities went uncontrolled, leading to that rampage. That’s why I did what I did.”
They would uncover the truth through investigation anyway.
The Ability Response Team employed professionals.
Psychometry users would certainly be among them.
Stating that, I fell silent.
I didn’t consider my actions to have been wrong.
In the end, unable to say anything further, he simply told me to leave.

You’ve been frequenting police stations quite often lately.
Indeed.

As I’ve said, serving the masses is worthless. Go independent!
You’re right.

Hmm?
Like Insoo, if a perpetrator caught in the act attempts to flee, lethal orders can potentially be issued in worst cases.
The police and Ability Response Teams tend to prioritize protocols over public image.
If deemed a threat to civilians, lethal measures are commonly taken.
No matter how much they offer, that path is closed to us.

The objective has been determined, regardless of reason. That’s what matters.
I sensed a hint of eagerness from Greed.
Come to think of it, working for a national institution risks exposing our identities, so we must be cautious.
Before leaving, I wanted to see Insoo’s face once more, but the atmosphere suggested that would be difficult.
Having used abilities in a crime, they would likely be under strict surveillance.
With a somewhat gloomy feeling, I returned home.
After showering and lying on my bed, drowsiness washed over me.
The stress from recent events seemed to be catching up as a rebound.
The vibrating smartphone I had set on the table forcibly roused me from slumber with its tap-dancing.
So noisy!
Greed, who had been on the computer, flung my smartphone toward my face.
…The stinging impact certainly jolted me awake.
“You rascal…”
From now on, not a single almond for this fiend.
Rubbing my eyes, I checked the caller ID – it was my mother.
Ah, this was bound to happen eventually.
After my face had been so publicly exposed, her initial uncertainty would have turned to conviction.
“Hello.”

Son!
Oof.
My mother’s shouting heralded exactly the concerns I had anticipated.
Hadn’t we agreed you would find a good company job?
Why was her son suddenly on TV?
With a badge on his chest too – when did he take the hero exam?
What about the studies until now?
Why did he suddenly do this without a word?
Did his father know?
Those were the gists, though expressed through various reprimands.
But her core message was singular:
Why pursue something so dangerous?
All that emerged from my mouth was a broken-record “I’m sorry.”
After an extended scolding, my mother seemed to have vented enough to sigh heavily.

I knew you wanted to become a hero from childhood… but you should have told us. Do you know how shocked your mother was?
“I’m sorry.”

When the news about that villain or monster first aired, the footage was shaky so I couldn’t tell, but that was you too?
“Yes…”

Sigh…
With a brief sigh, she demanded I quickly explain what had happened.
After recounting everything, another cycle of scolding was unavoidable.
Once it concluded, she asked if I had been deeply troubled by the incident.
“The high school student I apprehended this time… because of me…”
Though I had said it wasn’t my fault, I still felt responsible for what happened to that child.
How a victim of the human-disguised monster commotion had become a perpetrator – it pained and distressed me.
My mother told me to rest easily while repeatedly cautioning me to be careful, first and foremost.
It seemed she didn’t intend to stop my hero activities after all.
As the call ended, Greed snickered derisively.

Is a mere mother really so frightening? More so than a human capable of piercing steel barehanded?
“It’s only natural for parents to worry. Ah, my apologies…”
You wouldn’t understand, having no parents.

A pity remark now? Kuhuhuh.
“Haha!”
Sharing that laugh with Greed left me feeling oddly refreshed.

It’s because I gave you a little kick.
“You deranged…”

Just joking.
An incorrigible rascal.
Greed snatched my phone, tapped the screen a few times, and tossed it back.
This time, I caught it with my hand instead of my face.
The screen Greed had pulled up showed the scene of me consoling and calming that child.

Seems the reactions are rather divided.
As Greed said, the footage of me seemed to elicit mixed responses.
He was an assault perpetrator caught in the act.
A violent felony involving abilities, no less.
Supporters argued he was still a high school student and the incident was accidental, so it could happen.
Detractors insisted protocols should have been followed for a violent crime involving abilities.
Being an online community, the anonymity led to quite crass comments that made my head spin.
“The internet is a hazard.”

The one who watched that footage 237 times has no right to say that.
You’re still keeping count?

I’ve watched it more recently too, so precisely 248 times now.
“Haah…”
I don’t recall ever recording it, yet his memory is so precise. Why?
Verbal spats against Greed were futile losses.
No, come to think of it, I’m uncertain if anyone around me could even win such a battle of wits.
Grumbling, I turned on the TV to find coverage of the day’s incident.
The perpetrator: 18-year-old Kim Insoo.
A 2nd-year high school student who committed assault using abilities before fleeing the scene.
He was surrounded and subdued by the responding heroes.
The news showed the scene of me shouting for him to calm down.
Strangely, however, no additional details about Insoo were provided.
Enough time should have passed to gather information about why he had committed the violent act and fled.
Instead, the news simply reported his sudden loss of ability control leading to injuring classmates before momentarily panicking and fleeing.

A peculiar situation.
“…”
Two students critically injured, one with minor injuries.
Only the superficial reasons were being addressed.
…The Ability Response Team undoubtedly employed various ability users too.
Psychometry and telepathy users would certainly be among them.
Yet the actual circumstances remained unconfirmed at this hour?
Reporters tended to hound any potential story lead, did they not…?
This peculiar feeling prompted me to turn off the TV and begin preparing a meal.
As I did so, my phone began ringing.
The callers were people I normally knew, including Jieun, checking on me after the news reports.
I replied to them all that I was uninjured and appreciated their concern.
After an extended text conversation, my meal preparations concluded.
Even while eating, my mind kept returning to that news report.
“The 9 PM news will likely differ, at least.”
Yes, incidents and accidents involving abilities weren’t exactly rare occurrences.
Invisibility for theft, acceleration for sexual assault – such cases occurred frequently.
So the Ability Response Team personnel could have simply been preoccupied.
Though he had caused a violent incident, being underage and occurring over the weekend could have prolonged the questioning process.
However, even the 9 PM news that night and the next provided no coverage delving into Insoo’s circumstances.
It was simply glossed over as yet another villain incident before moving on.
Rather, I had become the greater focus.
The man who had initially apprehended a human-disguised monster = the man who subdued an ability rampager, overreacting emotionally and endangering civilians.
The narrative gradually shifted in that peculiar direction.
As if someone were deliberately steering it that way…
Perhaps it wasn’t merely my imagination that people seemed to be whispering about me.
However, their gazes didn’t particularly concern me.
The student named Insoo occupied my thoughts.
As Hyunsung Ajeossi had said, simply apprehending monsters and villains didn’t make one a hero.
One had to become an iconic figure inspiring awe in others.
Though I had calmed the frenzied, violent Insoo, had I truly saved him?
In such cases, emotional sentiments tended to take precedence over rational ones.
He had used abilities in an assault incident, but had only recently awakened them.
Originally, no accident should have occurred, but his abilities manifested unconsciously amid the bullying.
So it could be argued as justifiable self-defense, forming an emotionally sympathetic public opinion.
Yet Insoo’s case was buried beneath myriad other news, while I was criticized for making a misjudgment as a hero.

Is this the kind of hero you wished to become?
Of course not.

Quite peculiar. To my eyes, humans themselves appear as human-disguised monsters.
There were those aware of the reasons behind the incident, yet seeking to bury it.
The one I had apprehended was a disabled high school loner who had endured bullying with no one to help him.
Not a single voice raised in his defense.
Perhaps even his homeroom teacher hadn’t known about the bullying and school violence he faced?
The odd gazes people directed at me.
As Greed said, humans felt disconcertingly unfamiliar.
Human-disguised monsters.
Could that be…?