chapter 97
Sister Invasion
A truly special year in my life has passed by in an instant, and the new year has arrived safely and without incident.
Still, there were a few things that had changed compared to last year.
The first is that the surveillance of secret agents has become greatly relaxed.
It was thanks to the fact that Jang Se-hee, the leader of the Strategic Crisis Response Team, lived right next door, and that she had obtained special gloves that could seal Ruina’s abilities.
The second is that his reach as a hero has expanded.
Until last year, the Hero Handler was just a ghost hero in name only, but this year, I was occasionally called out to the actual field as an assistant to professional heroes I had met.
My ability to completely neutralize a villain who has already been subdued is nothing more than that.
And the third one is… … .
[Are you not coming down for Lunar New Year this year?]
“I just don’t have time… … I’m sorry, Mom.”
While working as a civil servant at the Hero Bureau, which is my original occupation, I was at the building’s emergency exit with my phone pressed to my ear to answer an unexpected call.
Beyond the sign language barrier, I could hear my mother at home letting out a long sigh.
[You’ve been doing some dangerous things lately. Your dad is worried, so do it moderately. Do you really want to be a hero that much? … ]
“Ahem… … .”
The third thing that changed this year is that my family found out about my hero activities.
It was thanks to the video that went viral around Christmas last year.
No matter what ExMachina could do about the video data that was uploaded to the server and could be managed and viewed, it was ultimately unable to stop it from being broadcast live on site.
And the result was the national debut of Hero Handler. Furthermore, my family at home found out about my side job.
[Are you getting along well with that pretty girl?]
“Oh, yeah, what… … .”
Of course, I was talking about Ruina, who was always with me in the video.
I’ve been saying that we just happened to know each other, but I’ll have to talk about our relationship someday. Of course, excluding the fact that she used to be a SSS-class super-dangerous villain.
“Anyway, I’m really sorry. I can’t come down this year either.”
[Yeah, yeah. Oh, right. And Seong-Hoon. Speaking of Seong-Ah.]
“Seong-ah? Why him?”
Seong-ah. Jo Seong-ah.
My mom suddenly mentioned the name of my younger sister, who is a senior in high school this year.
[You are a test taker this year.]
“Right?”
[And you said you couldn’t come down on New Year’s Day.]
“Isn’t that so?”
[That’s why. Seong-ah wanted to see Seoul before she started studying.]
“……yes.”
[Since the Lunar New Year holiday is coming up soon, please let me stay at your house for a few days.]
“…………under?”
You want me to let my little brother sleep at your house?
No. Wait. Why. How come. Without even consulting me?
What’s worse, there’s someone else living in my house besides me!?
“Oh, Mom? Did Seong-ah leave home already?”
[We set off a long time ago. We’ll arrive soon, right? I know the password to the villa entrance, so let’s go inside first──.]
“Got teeeeeeeeeem!!!”
Immediately after hearing those words.
I ran into the office, determined to get a half-day off in the afternoon by begging the manager until my limbs were worn out.
* * *
“Gasp! Gasp! Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!”
Beep beep beep!!
Without even a moment to catch my breath, I unlocked the front door at lightning speed and swung the door open.
“Ruina! Is there anyone in my house─!!”
It was the moment when I hastily took off my shoes and ran into the living room.
“Hey, honey!? You’re done already… Huh… …?”
“That. Handler. There. This.”
My girlfriend in her cute bunny pajamas and a woman in a maid outfit were crouching in the middle of the living room, looking up at me.
And among them, there are some who are extremely embarrassed.
“Huh, huh?”
My younger sister, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, was lying down straight with a blank expression.
“Oh, don’t worry! Don’t worry, Handler! Nothing untoward will happen!”
“Yeah, yeah honey! Just fainted! Just fainted! Yeah!”
“What the hell!?”
What on earth did you do to make the kid faint!?
While holding their heads in a state of dizziness, the two women opened their mouths and confessed the situation.
Ruina was rolling around on the living room sofa like any other day.
And Team Leader Jang Se-hee, who was cleaning the house like a maid.
While they were going about their peaceful daily lives, the front door lock started making a creaking noise of its own accord.
[Huh? Why is there a woman’s smell─.]
The moment a woman’s voice was heard from beyond the open front door.
[Sigh!]
Team leader Jang Se-hee rushed in like a snake and instantly subdued the woman with a slipper hold.
And after confirming the identity later.
[Oh my, what should I do!? The handler’s younger sibling…!]
[Hey, there’s still time before he gets off work, so try to wake him up somehow! He’s a secret agent, right!?]
[Even if you’re a secret agent, you don’t have the skill to wake up someone who’s passed out!?]
They say that they were butting heads for a long time, with my younger sister in the middle, who had been knocked unconscious, muttering to each other.
I had a bad feeling that something was wrong, and as expected, my prediction was right.
“It’s really just a slight hit to the carotid artery that knocked you out. You might feel a little dizzy and have tinnitus, but you’ll be fine. Really.”
Team leader Jang Se-hee waves his hands in the air while explaining Seong-ah’s condition.
I loosened my tie and raised my thumb toward the front door.
“For now, Team Leader, please go back to room 401. Ruina is already living with us, and if there’s someone wearing a maid outfit, things will get difficult in many ways.”
“yes…….”
“And I won’t tell Inspector Itaewon about this, so just handle it as you wish.”
“Yes… … . I’m sorry… … .”
The intention to subdue the intruder was good, but the result was almost putting my own blood relatives at risk.
So that was all I could say to her.
After Team Leader Jang Se-hee exited, the front door was carefully closed with a click.
I quickly lifted my sagging younger sister up.
“What, what are you trying to do, honey…?”
“I can’t just leave you lying on the hard floor forever.”
Now that the thing has happened, I guess I should at least put him somewhere soft and comfortable until he gets up on his own.
The place I, holding my little sister in my arms, and Ruina, following me with an apologetic expression on her face, headed together to was the bedroom we shared.
* * *
Jo Seong-ah had a strange dream.
A hero otaku who has been living alone in Seoul for over two years away from home. He was planning to stay at his older brother Jo Seong-hoon’s house for a while.
But the moment she entered her brother’s house, Seong-ah felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
A woman’s scent that only women know.
It was a very alluring scent that slightly tickled the bridge of my nose.
And at that moment, when she felt a white shadow approaching her quickly like a snake, Seong-ah’s world went dark.
What a truly unpleasant dream.
And it was a dream where I couldn’t figure out what the subject was.
If I open my eyes, will I have arrived at Seoul Station by now?
If you wake up while the train is running, it’s hard to go back to sleep.
Still, I guess I should wake up little by little.
“Umm… … .”
Seong-ah woke up from her dark dream and opened her eyes dimly.
The first thing that came into view was not the interior view of the train, but an unfamiliar ceiling.
And next to the ceiling.
The worried face of her pretty sister, dressed in a pink bunny-patterned nightgown, stared down at her.
“oh…….”
A woman I met for the first time suddenly lit up with color.
“Are you awake?”
A woman holding Seong-ah’s hand tightly with tears in her eyes.
Who the hell is this guy and where am I? Wasn’t I already on the train to my brother’s house?
“to…….”
A weak, groaning voice came out of Seong-ah’s mouth.
“How are you feeling? Huh? Huh?”
“My physical condition isn’t particularly bad… … but.”
Still holding her hand tightly, the woman mutters, brushing her chest and saying, “Whew, thank goodness.”
Looking at that sight, Seong-ah felt like saying something that tickled her throat right away.
I have no idea what kind of situation you’re in right now, but I’m sure you’ll regret it if you don’t say this.
Seong-ah slightly tightened her eyes, which had been open, and rounded out her crooked lips.
And then he raised his voice to say a word to the woman who was still looking down at him with concern.
“But who are you?”
“Huh? Oh, amnesia?”
“… … … … … .”
A completely unexpected answer came back.
Amnesia? Wasn’t she the type of woman who didn’t have any memories in the first place?
“… … Ugh.”
While she was feeling bewildered, a scent that seemed to have come from a dream tickled Seong-ah’s nose.
It’s an unfamiliar scent, but it’s a captivating scent that I’ve definitely smelled before.
A womanly fragrance was rising from the pretty girl in front of me.
So is this still a dream?
Well, you can’t smell the same smell in your dreams in real life, right?
At that moment, I was about to close my eyes again.
“Seong-ah!? You’re finally awake!!”
“Oh… … Dad?”
The surprised voice of a man that soon reached Seong-ah’s ears was clearly the voice of her older brother, Jo Seong-hun.