Chapter 333 - Cold City Woman

[Egostic <<<< Just being a god deserves an upvote lolololol]

(Photo of a giant sea monster attacking the city)

(Photo of Egostic looking down from the sky at the fallen monster with a hole in its head)

Guardian Deity of the Republic of Korea

SSS-Class Hero

Just can't imagine the Republic of Korea without this person anymore lololololol

The eternal, never-changing GOAT of GOATs of the Republic of Korea

The Great E-go-stic

=[Comments]=

[Egostic<<<Should just be a lifetime villain lolololol]

ㄴ[For real lol]

ㄴ[What's a lifetime villain anyway lololololol]

ㄴ[Egostic and the Republic of Korea are one. An attack on Egostic is considered an attack on the Republic of Korea. Egostic my light. Egostic my salvation. Egostic, my mango.]

[Whenever a huge crisis hits the Republic of Korea, he's always the first to appear... just brilliant brilliant brilliant brilliant]

[Info) The monster Egostic defeated is a species not even discovered overseas yet. In other words, we don't know how dangerous it could have been]

ㄴ[Seeing Stardust struggling, it looked pretty tough]

ㄴ[For real, if that thing had come ashore and marched on Seoul, we'd have been seriously screwed]

ㄴ[The size alone is just ridiculous lololol]

[Egostic is the king of mangos~]

*

*

[Angel-stic <<<< Just overwhelmingly the official one lolololol]

(GIF of an angel calling Egostic "master")

(Front view of an angel flying through the sky)

(Scene of shooting a beam to defeat a monster)

Star mango? Ice mango? All of you get lost

The trend is <<>> now lolololololol

=[Comments]=

[This is it lololololol]

[This is something even Team Stardust acknowledges]

ㄴ[Who acknowledged it?]

ㄴ[Beep boop Stardust spy detected]

[Star mango, hacker mango, ice mango, electric mango, moonlight mango, Japan mango, angel mango, why are there so many mangos? Is this a mango restaurant?]

ㄴ[They prepared everything because they didn't know what you'd like~]

ㄴ[Where are shadow mango and death mango?ㅠㅠ]

ㄴ[Gay gay...]

ㄴ[Dude.]

[Killing with one laser shot was really insane. Honestly, until then I slightly suspected that angel thing was fake, but after seeing the giant monster one-shot, I realized it's a real angel lol]

ㄴ[For real lol angel death beam is ridiculous]

[No matter what anyone says, the reason Egostic is committing terrorism from the beginning was because of Stardust~ The original Star mango is still going strong]

ㄴ[Fact) This time when catching the sea monster, he left without saying a word except for saving Stardust]

[Honestly, I can't imagine life without Egostic now... I mean, he keeps giving us new mango gossip every time?]

ㄴ[For real boss, this mango tastes good too]

*

"Sigh..."

Korea Hero Association, Stardust's office.

There, mindlessly scrolling through Egostic's fan cafe, Shin Ha-ru suddenly sighed at a thought that crossed her mind.

'In the end...'

Yesterday too.

She ended up not really talking with Egostic.

...And honestly, while she was annoyed that Egostic kept adding more women, she knew she wasn't in a position to say anything since they weren't that close personally... but still, it bothered her, sigh...

As she was lost in these scattered thoughts.

Just then, Lee Seol-ah mentioned she was curious about what happened between her and Egostic yesterday, so she headed to Yu-seong Group headquarters to meet her again.

Several hours later.

At the CEO's office on the top floor of Yu-seong Group headquarters.

Sitting on the sofa there, with the night view behind her through the window, Lee Seol-ah was drinking tea while listening to Stardust's story.

"...What?"

After hearing Stardust's words, she put down her cup with a thud in disbelief and asked her again.

"So. You couldn't say anything to Egostic in the end?"

"...Yeah."

"Wait, hold on. Why not?"

"Why, you ask..."

...Well, it's embarrassing...

Looking at Shin Ha-ru, who was blushing, turning her eyes away and slightly twirling her golden hair as she said that.

Lee Seol-ah felt unbearably frustrated.

'...No, Ha-ru. Please...!'

There's not much time left...!

From what she heard, Egostic was very close to retirement.

If he quit being a villain, his chances of meeting Stardust would clearly decrease, so it would be better for them to connect firmly before that. Honestly, if Ha-ru just sincerely confessed, Egostic would immediately say okay, right?

...But, why on earth...!

'These frustrating two, why are they like this...'

Ha-ru... this is not the time to be shy...

Looking at her friend sitting across from her, Lee Seol-ah felt complicated emotions.

...Honestly, seeing that she didn't do it this time either, it seemed unlikely she would ever confess. Does Ha-ru even properly know her own feelings?

As she was suffering from her friend's frustrating behavior.

Eventually, after much anguish, she ended up thinking:

'...Right. Maybe shock therapy would be better.'

Judging by what Ha-ru was doing now, it was clear that at this pace, things would remain stagnant even after a month or a year.

Rather than this, perhaps giving her a strong stimulus to wake Ha-ru up wouldn't be a bad idea. Egostic would announce his retirement anyway, so that would be a big shock.

As she continued with this line of thought.

Eventually, she changed her mind and thought of Plan B.

A way to connect Egostic and Stardust.

First, she needed to make Egostic look back at Stardust.

...The current problem actually stemmed from Egostic avoiding Stardust and trying to retire.

But thinking about it, it was strange from the beginning that Da-in, who used to be so devoted to Stardust, was avoiding her. In fact, all problems originated from here.

Since Egostic wouldn't talk about Stardust-related matters, she couldn't know the exact circumstances, but wait. Could it be...

'Is he tired of our Ha-ru?'

As she continued to worry and think.

Lee Seol-ah came to the absurd conclusion that maybe Egostic was now tired of Stardust.

...For a moment she thought, is it good that a powerful competitor is gone? But immediately shook her head internally at the thought, realizing she could never abandon Ha-ru, her closest friend. No, I should still go with our Ha-ru. There are other Ego-stream members anyway...

So, she needed to make Da-in look back at Stardust again.

'Hmm...'

After thinking hard with her brain in full gear.

Eventually, she suggested one method to Stardust.

"Ha-ru, how about this?"

"What if you treat Egostic coldly, like you used to?"

"...Huh?"

And so.

Lee Seol-ah's advice began.

She suggested trying the currently popular "bad girl" style.

"In relationships, it's all about push and pull. If you only pull, interest fades quickly."

"...Right. I think I've heard that before."

"So now, treat him like you did when you first met Egostic. Speak sharply, like you're dealing with a real villain. Like, 'You trash,' something like that."

As she listened to Lee Seol-ah seriously explaining her self-devised strategy.

Stardust quietly thought to herself.

'...That's right. Come to think of it.'

The point when Egostic started avoiding her was after she had been aggressively pursuing him in prison.

Thinking about it that way, it seemed somewhat convincing.

-That's what Stardust seriously thought.

...In reality, Egostic had already lost those memories, and the reason he avoided her was because his heart raced whenever he saw her, but she didn't know that.

"Maybe Egostic was attracted to your former self. How about going back to basics?"

...That was the advice of the self-proclaimed relationship expert, Lee Seol-ah.

The reason Egostic was avoiding her was because he had lost interest in Stardust! If she became cold again like before, wouldn't it rekindle his interest?

And.

"...I think that's a good idea. Cold, yeah..."

Shin Ha-ru readily accepted this.

She wasn't sure if it was right, but since it was Seol-ah's advice, it must be correct.

It even explained why Egostic had been avoiding her all this time... Perhaps, since he always emphasized being a hero, he didn't like that she was soft only toward him?

Cold, cold. Like before...

'...Can I do it?'

As she thought about it, she suddenly felt doubtful.

Unlike before, Egostic now felt different to her. Could she really speak to him so harshly?

...She wasn't sure.

Still, she had to try her best.

She thought she heard someone saying "Don't try your best at that...!" from somewhere, but it must have been her imagination.

And so.

That night, at the top floor of Yu-seong Group.

The conclusion of the anti-Egostic strategy meeting was reached.

And.

The problem with this entire strategy meeting was.

'...Well. I hope it works out?'

From the beginning, even Lee Seol-ah, who gave the advice, was a dating novice who had never been in a relationship before...

And so the two women's blundering continued late into the night.

...It was still summer.

***

'...What is this ominous feeling?'

At that same time.

Feeling something foreboding, I shuddered while planning my next terrorist attack.

A feeling like I was about to be cursed at a lot, an uneasy feeling.

...No, why do I have to feel this way right before retirement?

Thinking that, I brushed it off lightly.

Well, my mental fortitude is strong now. It won't matter.

Probably.