OMH Chapter 73

Oh My Hero – Episode 73

73. Guide (18)

For a while, Woojin sat crouched down with his head deeply bowed.

Woojin’s red ears betrayed his condition.

Shy Woojin was always cute, but seeing him struggling to even lift his head made him look a little pitiful.

I squatted down next to Woojin.

‘If I gently stroke Woojin’s back, he’ll calm down quickly, right?’

I placed my hand on Woojin’s broad back.

Woojin flinched at my touch.

Then, he turned his head and looked at me. His white face, flushed red, resembled a magnolia flower. A magnolia’s petals are a vibrant color on the outside but white on the inside, which seems a lot like the gentle and pure Woojin.

I wiped Woojin’s reddened eyes. Dew-like moisture clung to my fingers.

“Woojin, were you crying?”

I asked Woojin directly about my deduced conclusion.

“……No, I wasn’t. Don’t, don’t touch me without permission!”

Startled by my question, Woojin pushed my hand away.

Even though Woojin pushed me away, I didn’t want to be separated from him. I moved closer to Woojin, took his hand, and met his eyes.

“Woojin. Are you angry with me? Because I didn’t understand you? I’m sorry. I’ll do better in the future.”

I rubbed Woojin’s hand against my cheek, looking up at him.

Now, Woojin’s face was dyed an even brighter rose-red.

‘It could get even redder than that. He’s still cute and handsome, but that wasn’t what I intended.’

I just wanted to sit next to him to help Woojin calm down.

I was ignoring the vibration from my smartwatch and focusing on Woojin when someone approached us.

“Hey, Gang Hana! What are you doing in the corner! You haven’t even responded to the call for the briefing.”

It was Song Jooha who found me, someone I hadn’t seen in as long as Cheon Yuha. No, wait, I met him at the Martial Arts Tournament, so it hasn’t been that long, has it?

Anyway, thanks to Song Jooha, my sense of reality returned.

A message was ringing on my Smartwatch, telling me to attend the briefing.

*

I entered the makeshift outdoor conference area with Jooha and Woojin.

Kim Heewon, the team leader of our Great Monster Extermination Team, glared at us with a frown.

She only had one eye, but her gaze was three times as intense as anyone else’s.

Feeling unnecessarily intimidated, I took Woojin to a corner seat.

But the team leader stopped me.

“Search Team Member Esper Gang Hana. Come this way with your companion.”

I tried not to stand out, but the team leader specifically called me and Woojin to the front.

With a reluctant expression, I moved to the front.

I was about to sit down when the team leader stopped me again.

“Proud members of the Great Monster Extermination Team! We must be proud of the great work we always do, protecting humanity from the front lines! We have a duty to accept the Association’s requests to protect humanity, and today we have new temporary personnel joining us at the request of the Association. Let’s all give them a warm welcome.”

As soon as the team leader finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted.

Woojin stood awkwardly beside me, receiving the applause directed at him.

For some reason, Woojin looked exhausted in many ways today.

And the mission had only just begun.

*

The monster that appeared this time was a giant centipede, estimated to be over 500m long.

The location of its appearance was also quite bad. It appeared only 500m away from the D Control Center in the residential area.

It felt even worse because it was close to the place where Woojin had recently experienced something bad.

Furthermore, the base camp was near the underground railroad where I had wandered around looking for Woojin last time.

What if something else happens to Woojin? I wanted to stay by Woojin’s side right away, but I was sad that I couldn’t because of the mission.

I stood at the waiting point, staring blankly at the sight of the huge centipede wriggling.

-Chirp

A voice came from the radio attached to the harness on my chest. I immediately answered the radio.

“Yes. Search Team Member Gang Hana. I’m listening.”

“It hasn’t moved yet, but its head is facing the Association.”

“I’ll try. Should I go now?”

This time, I faithfully waited for the team leader’s instructions.

Because this monster appeared too close to the general [Civilian House/Area], it was better to proceed carefully under the careful judgment of the entire team rather than making arbitrary decisions.

We might be able to buy some time because there is a magnetic field barrier surrounding the residential area, but it was better to be careful because the monster was so huge.

Of course, our top priority is to protect the [Civilian House/Area], so team leaders and Psychokinetics like Song Jooha are focusing on placing barriers around the residential area rather than attacking the monster.

We need to prepare for the possibility that the monster might suddenly change and attack the [Civilian House/Area].

So I’m waiting for the barrier to be completed.

As soon as the barrier is completed, I will immediately draw the monster’s attention and attack.

I waited for the team leader’s order to be issued.

The team leader’s order was issued, and I used my power on my leg muscles.

Feeling my leg muscles tighten, I used that power to leap towards the monster.

The fierce sound of the winter wind struck my ears.

Soon, my hand reached the gap in the monster’s hard shell.

Successfully clinging to the monster’s body, I balanced myself and climbed onto it.

Since it used its legs to crawl, it didn’t writhe using longitudinal waves like a caterpillar, so it was easy to maintain balance.

After stably climbing onto the monster, I ran towards the monster’s head.

However, I wasn’t planning on recklessly smashing the monster’s head.

Because a monster writhing in pain could easily damage the [Civilian House/Area] with its long body.

‘I have to get as far away from the [Civilian House/Area] as possible.’

With a sense of duty, I headed towards the head in the direction opposite the [Civilian House/Area].

Unlike its black body, the giant fangs of the monster with a bright red head soon appeared.

‘First, I have to give it the feeling of a nuisance prey. I have to make it seem like a gnat that can be caught if it chases after it quickly.’

I memorized the role I had to play in my head and lunged at the monster’s fangs.

*

Clinging to the monster’s fangs, I swallowed a scream.

Because dozens of eyeballs the size of my face were staring at me.

‘Wait, aren’t centipedes supposed to have eyes on the front of their faces, right behind their antennae? And aren’t those eyes supposed to be black and look like they have a few holes punched in them?’

I complained inwardly, recalling my knowledge of centipedes.

Because I was exposed to dozens of eyeballs with clear blue pupils in their white scleras.

The eyeballs, the size of basketballs, were so focused on me that they rolled their pupils following my every move.

‘Wow, this is really gross.’

I wanted to see the real centipede’s eyeballs, where I couldn’t even guess where it was looking.

‘No. If I think about it again, it’s a better condition for me. I need to know where that bastard is focusing.’

Besides, that monster is concentrating on me to the point where it’s following my every little movement with its eyes.

It’s the perfect opportunity to achieve my goal.

‘But how do I get that bastard to chase me? I guess I’ll have to inflict a small wound, right?’

I stabbed the nearest eyeball with my finger so that the monster could focus on me even more.

*

“Wow… she succeeded. I honestly didn’t expect much.”

“She’s definitely good at drawing aggro. It’s her calling.”

“Still, I was terrified when the monster was writhing. I was afraid the damage would come this way. She caused an accident like that last time.”

“It can’t be helped when you’re working. We S-grades have to clean up after her.”

Cha Woojin remained at the base camp, listening to people’s stories and looking at the back of the monster that was moving away.

In the base camp where he remained, people called non-combat personnel and S-grade Psychokinetics who were maintaining the barrier were guarding the area.

Cha Woojin, a D-grade Guide, was classified as a non-combat personnel and remained at the camp under the direction of a middle-aged woman with an eye patch, who was the team leader there.

There was nothing he could do there.

He could only stare at the monster, hoping that Gang Hana, who had gone to lure the monster, would succeed.

He desperately hoped that the monster, which was bigger than a skyscraper, would not approach this way.

Cha Woojin recalled the image of Gang Hana fighting the monster alone last time.

How miserable she looked with her eyebrows and hair melted off, and how she covered her face with dirty, rotting pieces of cloth because she didn’t want to show it to anyone, came to his mind again.

Does she even know how pitiful she looked at that time?

He didn’t even want to imagine how messy she would look after fighting a monster several times bigger than that one.

He clearly knew that he was going to become the team leader for combat, so why did he have to watch so helplessly?

In the base camp where everyone was admiring Gang Hana, Cha Woojin felt pity for Gang Hana alone.

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