Chapter 10 - Underground Base

"Guh... Guaaaaaah."

"Hyung, stop making weird noises."

"You bastard. When your oppa is suffering like this, you could at least comfort me instead."

"...Don't call yourself oppa. Anyway, you'd feel better if you just stayed lying down there. Why are you being such a baby?"

Seo-eun's pitying gaze made me want to cry. No, seriously, I'm actually in pain, okay?

This was somewhere deep underground in Seoul.

It was the underground base of Han Seo-eun, a genius hacker and genius scientist who could make anything. Of course, she was still just a third-year middle schooler.

Right after thwarting the terror attack caused by followers impersonating me, I'd teleported here and collapsed again. Continuous teleportation is killing me. Especially since this place is so deep underground...

Still, this time I was inside a Fatigue Recovery Capsule that Seo-eun had made, so it definitely hurt less. Wait, if you had this, you could've told me yesterday. Yesterday I was knocked out the entire day.

What's more, this time I hadn't just teleported myself—I'd dragged another person along with me, so it was twice as exhausting.

Thank goodness Seo-eun had made this Fatigue Recovery Capsule or whatever it was, otherwise I really would've passed out.

"Ugh, so. Why did you tell me to bring her here?"

I pointed at the woman sitting in a chair.

She flinched with a hiccup as attention turned to her.

With long black hair hanging down, sitting there timidly like a scared mouse—it was kind of pitiful.

And with her looks to boot, she somehow gave off the vibe of a tragic heroine.

Out of the eight followers, she was the only one I'd spared.

Seo-eun had said that if she became our ally, she could be a great help, so I'd just brought her along.

"Ah."

Seo-eun, who'd been busy doing something on her computer screen, turned her chair to face us.

Looking at the woman, Seo-eun asked.

"Unnie... no, Nuna. Nuna, you're Lee Subin, right?"

"Uh, yeah. But, how did you know?"

"I know everything."

Seo-eun said coolly. But if you look closely, doesn't she seem a bit more haughty than before?

The way such a tiny thing says that is just cute. I couldn't help but smile like a proud dad.

Anyway, that aside, I decided to ask what I'd been curious about.

"So, Seo-eun? Care to explain why we had to bring Ms. Lee Subin, who claims to be my follower?"

As I spoke, she flinched again.

Wait, if you're this timid, how on earth did you manage to commit terrorism?

Tears were already welling up in her eyes, which was extremely flustering.

"Ah, I'm going to ask her to help me."

That was all Seo-eun said to me.

Right. She'll help... wait, help? You?

At Seo-eun's words, not just me but Lee Subin herself looked quite flustered. What is this all of a sudden?

"No... Seo-eun. I'm having trouble understanding, you see? So you suddenly kidnapped a terrorist you met for the first time today and now you're going to make her help you? Uh... well... wouldn't it be faster for her to stab you in your sleep?"

I thought I heard her say 'I won't stab you...' from behind, but I cleanly ignored it. This is Ego-Base, cold and ruthless. Those with quiet voices don't survive.

"Haah, it's not like that."

"What do you mean it's not like that? Seo-eun, maybe it's because you're still in third year of middle school, but you don't seem to know how the world works. This isn't a world where you can just kidnap someone and make them work and they'll quietly comply. Won't she hold a grudge? She'll either steal all your information and run, or get revenge on you. One of the two. I don't even know how she's supposed to help you in the first place."

From behind, I felt someone shaking her head vigorously saying 'I won't betray you...' Not just a feeling—she actually said it.

At my lengthy speech, Seo-eun just sighed. What's with this kid? This won't do, I need to give her some stern fatherly discipline.

Just as I was about to start another speech, Seo-eun spoke.

"Unnie. Lee Subin Unnie."

"Y-yes?"

"Unnie, both your parents were researchers at Haneun Group, weren't they?"

At that moment, the color began draining from Lee Subin's face.

Her face turned deathly pale in an instant.

'N-no, no...' she began to deny, but seeing this, Seo-eun only smiled bitterly.

"Unnie, don't you want revenge too? Against Haneun Group, those bastards."

"Huh...?"

"Your parents too, didn't they die in that disaster?"

At Seo-eun's words, Lee Subin's face stiffened slightly.

I'd been about to scold Seo-eun for dropping her concept and calling her "unnie," but when Haneun Group and the disaster were mentioned, I began listening seriously too.

"I saw the posts you wrote on the deep web, Unnie. You hate Haneun Group too. You said you wanted to kill them all."

"H-how, how..."

"How do I know? Your blocking program had quite a few loopholes, Unnie. I'll have to make you a new one."

Seo-eun, who had stood up at some point, approached Lee Subin and firmly grasped her hands.

It was a bit funny that Lee Subin sitting in the chair was taller than Seo-eun standing, but this seemed to be a very serious moment, so I decided not to say anything.

"I'm looking for Haneun Group's leadership. Those bastards ruined my life. I'm going to find them, find them and kill them all. I think that's the only way I'll be able to let go of my resentment."

Unnie, will you help me?

As Seo-eun's words ended, Lee Subin burst into tears and clasped Seo-eun's hands in return.

"Yes, I'll, I'll help you!"

"Thank you, Unnie."

And with that, the two embraced each other.

Uh...

Well, Seo-eun with her white hair and Lee Subin with her black hair embracing each other does look like a painting of black and white harmonizing, but...

Am I... am I the only one who can't follow the emotional thread here?

What on earth are these two suddenly doing...? They exchanged a few words and suddenly got emotional and hugged each other...?

Watching the two women embrace, I, the only man here, just lay there feeling extremely awkward.

What even is this...

***

Lee Subin.

Currently enrolled in Seoul National University's Computer Engineering Department.

Around my age.

Both her parents died when she was young, so she lives alone on subsidies.

Since middle school, she's been holed up at home like a hikikomori, studying computers, so her computer skills are top-notch.

How top-notch? She can understand everything Seo-eun says.

I can't understand any of it.

She mainly operates on the deep web, making a living by carrying out cyber terror for hire.

The reason she came out to this terror attack claiming to be my follower is...

"What? You just went along with it?"

"Yes... Originally, I joined that chatroom to find work, but they said I just needed to fill the numbers and leave right away... They even suspected me of being a spy, so I had no choice..."

"....."

Wait. So in conclusion, she's not even my follower? Seo-eun, didn't you say she was a fan? Did you lie to me?

I watched her squirm in her seat.

Lee Subin. Unlike her name, which sounded kind and gentle, she actually looked a bit intimidating in person.

With her long, straight black hair and tall stature, when she kept a blank expression, she reminded me of those tough delinquents from school days.

...But somehow, contrary to her appearance, she was...

"You don't have a single friend?"

"Yes... I only stayed at home and barely attended enough school to graduate..."

"...."

Why do I feel like I'm about to burst into tears just hearing this?

Well, overall she seemed harmless.

Of course, there were still some suspicious points.

First of all, she had never appeared once in the [Stardus!] manga of this world I'd possessed.

Not appearing doesn't really make much of an impact, to be honest.

It just means she was a run-of-the-mill extra. Just like me.

"Understood. Ms. Lee Subin, welcome to our crew."

"Y-yes!"

I shook hands with her.

Let's pretend I didn't notice her face turning red after she bit her tongue while speaking.

"...Since when did we have a crew?"

I also decided to ignore Seo-eun's muttering from behind.

Now there are three of us—that's enough to be a crew, right?

***

Ms. Lee Subin moved her belongings to the underground base and decided to live here.

Something about living next to Seo-eun to learn and collaborate together, or whatever.

According to Seo-eun's explanation, coming and going frequently might draw attention, so this was better.

....But honestly, I'm anxious.

If only she were a character from the original work, someone I knew.

Putting someone whose true personality and intentions I don't know next to our Seo-eun? What if something happens?

That's why I also moved my home to this underground base.

I gave Seo-eun a different reason, but honestly, she seemed to roughly understand my concerns.

But why is she doing this?

Does she already know Subin?

And so, deep underground, the cohabitation of three people began: me, Han Seo-eun, and Lee Subin.

One guy living with two girls—the picture is a bit strange.

Seo-eun is a middle schooler and Subin is... well, she's definitely beautiful, but. No big deal.

Besides, my heart has always been with Stardus, with Shin Haru. When I came to this world, I vowed to live this life for Haru.

Of course, the day she and I get together will never come. Haha.

And so, I began living here.

Living with multiple people is more lively and fun than living alone.

"Hey, you know you left the refrigerator door open, right? The ice cream's all going to melt!"

"Me? Hey, I never opened the fridge!"

"S-Seo-eun. I think I left it open. S-sorry...."

"Ah! Oh...it's okay, unnie! People make mistakes. Hehe."

"...Wow, when you thought it was me, you were going on and on."

"....."

How unfair. So unfair.