Chapter 10: Choi Min-seo addicted to drugs.

Choi Minseo entered the room as if in a trance, slowly looking around her surroundings. The gentle aroma spreading through the air relaxed her body, putting her at ease.

“Oh my, Ms. Green Nature?”

Choi Minseo turned her head. It was a famous actress, recognizable by anyone who had watched even a bit of drama.

“Oh, hello!”

“I didn’t expect to see you here. I enjoyed your commercial.”

Choi Minseo’s heart pounded. This actress was so well-loved that she was nicknamed the “Nation’s Mom,” known for her kind and approachable image.

Could someone like her really be using drugs?

“Judging by that expression, is this your first time in this room?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Fufu. Don’t worry. Everything here is premium and non-addictive. It gives you happy dreams, so I use it every time I come. Agent, if you would.”

The actress gave instructions to her personal agent, who began preparing something. Sitting gracefully on a nearby sofa, the actress deeply inhaled from a device that looked like an electronic cigarette before closing her eyes.

Her eyebrows twitched lightly, and a smile spread across her face.

Choi Minseo became increasingly intrigued. So, this is the kind of culture celebrities enjoy.

If I can’t adapt, I’ll look like some ignorant country bumpkin, right?

Watching the actress visibly relax, as if all her worries had melted away, Choi Minseo began to feel reassured.

‘Yeah, sure. It’s called a drug, but there’s no way celebrities would use anything truly dangerous. It’s probably just something like aromatherapy.’

Choi Minseo glanced at Lee Rua.

“Could I try it too? Something mild, since it’s my first time…”

Lee Rua smiled faintly.

“Of course.”

She guided Choi Minseo to a plush sofa. Choi Minseo leaned back comfortably.

“Relax and take in the scent first.”

Lee Rua gently massaged Choi Minseo’s shoulders, loosening her tense muscles. A strange device that emitted a faintly sharp aroma was brought close to her nose.

“Next, inhale deeply through the straw, as if you’re swallowing with your nose.”

Following the instructions, Choi Minseo took a sniff, inhaling through the connected straw. A pinkish powder rushed into her system in an instant.

“…Ah?”

A soft moan escaped her lips unconsciously, and her pupils dilated.

“This drug is called ‘Cherry Blossom Cloud.’ It shows you the happiest moments of your life, and when you wake up, all that remains is a good feeling.”

Lee Rua’s voice seemed to reverberate. Choi Minseo’s consciousness grew hazy.

“This drug’s main ingredient is…”

Everything became distant and blurred. Was someone pushing the sofa? When did it get wheels? Where is the agent going? Who’s pushing me? It doesn’t matter. I feel good. But I can’t quite hear what they’re saying.

“Pestam.”

Thud.

Darkness.

It was black here.

On the left, too, it was black—or was it? The left is the hand I use to eat. I ate tomorrow. Tomorrow was a rainy day. If it rained, I felt good. Feeling good doesn’t mean you need to get hit. If it rains…

It rains. I told you it rains. Why are you angry? I said it rains. I’m not doubting you. You’re the one doubting. Are you going to hit me again? If it rains, the kids don’t go outside. If they go outside, they get hit. When they get hit, it turns red.

I don’t like red.

“Hey, you freak! You monster!”

It was a rainy day.

Usually, on rainy days, I wasn’t dragged out to get beaten up. The bullies who tormented me hated getting wet.

“Kill it! Why is this monster in Hero Academy?”

But that day, they seemed angrier than usual. I didn’t know the details. They just needed someone to use as a punching bag, and as always, that someone was me.

“Argh!”

“Monster! It’s a monster!”

The abuse was worse than usual. Five of them, three boys and two girls. They always hit me, but they rarely harassed me sexually.

But that day, my clothes were torn. My underwear was ripped. I was punched in the chest and hit in the groin. They choked me and forced my legs apart, yet I couldn’t resist due to the fear carved into my body.

“Pathetic. Bullying and gang rape? Is this what happens at Hero Academy?”

A figure appeared in front of me.

“You idiots don’t even know the difference in power, the nature of abilities, or whether someone is a hero, a monster, or a villain, and yet you call yourselves hero trainees? This education system is beyond repair!”

The figure beat the bullies to a pulp. Then, looking at me, they turned their head away in embarrassment before quickly fetching a blanket and throwing it over me.

“Cadet Choi Minseo. I came to see you for a reason, but first, we need to get you to a hospital. And, um… I didn’t see anything.”

That day, Choi Minseo’s life changed forever.

She was scouted by Red Dragon, an S-rank hero.

An ordinary cadet at the Academy, unnoticed by anyone, went on to become an S-rank hero through rigorous training.

Choi Minseo respected Jeong Uiseok.

He had pulled her out of hell, recognized her talent, and shown a sense of propriety, averting his gaze from her bruised and battered body—the same body that had just moments earlier been treated as a plaything, on the verge of being violated. His care left a deep impression on her.

Respect and gratitude.

The sense of accomplishment she gained through training under his guidance.

The camaraderie formed with her newfound allies.

For the first time in her life, she reveled in positive emotions she had never experienced before.

“I’m happy.”

“I’m so, so happy.”

“I’m the happiest person in the world right now!”

She wished for this happiness to last forever.

But that happiness began to twist and distort as the battle against the Dark Kingdom commenced.

The Dark Kingdom was merciless. Many heroes and civilians alike lost their lives.

To minimize the casualties, the Dragon King Squadron had no choice but to defeat as many enemies as quickly as possible.

At first, it was manageable. The squad encouraged and supported each other, pushing through the relentless battles.

But as the days turned to weeks, and the weeks to months, fighting without a single day of rest took its toll on their spirits.

When did it all begin?

The arguments between Jeong Uiseok, Ji Sehwa, and Shin Yookyung became more frequent.

When did her admiration and gratitude toward Jeong Uiseok transform into jealousy and resentment?

From her position in the rear, Choi Minseo fought the same grueling battles, teetering on the edge of life and death.

But no one ever looked at her. No one acknowledged her.

It felt as if she were slipping back to the life she had left behind.

Ah, it was that moment.

She realized it during a conversation while they ate amidst the battlefield, using the corpses of enemies as makeshift chairs.

“What do you mean Uiseok oppa and Somi unnie are dating?”

“What do you mean? They’ve been together for ages. Since the early days of the Dark Kingdom battles, you idiot,” Ji Sehwa snapped.

Clang!

For some reason, Kang Yerin, who was eating next to her, dropped her meal and wore a despairing expression. But Choi Minseo didn’t care—they weren’t close anyway.

“W-What? Shouldn’t we be focusing on fighting the Dark Kingdom now?”

“I agree,” Shin Yookyung chimed in. “Jeong Uiseok is getting more reckless. At this rate, we’ll burn out long before we even reach Dark Arthur.”

Choi Minseo’s gaze drifted to Jeong Uiseok and Han Somi, sitting together, eating.

Why is it that only you get to have everything?

Did you save me just for your own gain?

Your own ambitions.

Your own life.

Your money, fame, and love—everything you’ve achieved is just for yourself.

Am I just a tool to you?

Here I am, enduring this nightmare you dragged me into, and yet you can’t even share a single part of it with me.

–Crackle.–

That’s where the jealousy began.

So, when Han Somi died, Choi Minseo felt a sense of relief.

At least Jeong Uiseok couldn’t have everything.

But something was wrong. Jeong Uiseok only seemed to grow stronger—both physically and mentally—accelerating the campaign to obliterate the Dark Kingdom.

It was as though he had become a machine that knew nothing but battle.

“That can’t be. How could someone stay sane after losing their lover?”

When Choi Minseo overheard the association president’s words, she searched Jeong Uiseok’s house and found the stash of drugs hidden in his basement.

And finally, she felt reassured.

Ah, so Jeong Uiseok was human after all.

He had a weakness, a glaring flaw.

Just an ordinary, insignificant person.

So that’s what he used to keep himself going.

So, when that insignificant Jeong Uiseok died, she felt—

Happiness.

Happiness.

Happiness.

“I should’ve felt happy…”

“I should’ve felt happy, I should’ve felt happy, I should’ve felt happy!!!”

“Ah, ahhh, ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!”

The darkness returned. Choi Minseo screamed, black blood pouring from her vocal cords. She couldn’t tell whether it was inside her throat or outside her body.

“You think stealing Uiseok oppa’s honor would make you happy? You think bringing him to his knees would make you happy? No! This is jealousy! How could anyone be happy while consumed by jealousy!!”

At last, she confronted the truth she had avoided all this time.

Fame, attention, recognition—all of it had been false goals.

These were nothing more than psychological compensations for the emotions she had lost, the ones that had been the very source of her happiness.

“I, I…”

Choi Minseo dug her nails under her dilated pupils, clawing down with all her strength. Black blood flowed from the wounds, then floated upward into the sky.

“I needed someone to respect.”

Chasing his back,
Receiving his encouragement,
Feeling gratitude toward him,
Spending time together—

That alone had been happiness.

“Uiseok oppa. What… what have I done?”

Thud!

Suddenly, Jeong Uiseok’s face appeared right in front of her.

A face, pale and lifeless, with hollow eyes.

“What do you mean, ‘what’?

You killed me.”

Jeong Uiseok’s mouth opened, spilling black blood that splattered across Choi Minseo’s face. Yet, inexplicably, her vision remained clear.

“No, no, nooo! That’s not true! It’s not true!!”

The nightmare was just beginning.

“Ah.”

Choi Minseo opened her eyes. She stretched with a satisfied groan, her body relaxed.

“Did you have a good dream?”

Lee Rua asked with a cheerful smile.

Choi Minseo returned a gentle smile of her own.

“Yes. I don’t remember it clearly, but I was really, really happy. Thank you, Agent.”

Tears streamed down her face as she spoke.

“Is it even working? She seems to be enjoying herself too much,” Lee Rua muttered skeptically.

“That’s the terrifying thing about Cherry Blossom Mist. It lets the brain experience extreme highs and lows simultaneously, but only the highs remain in memory.”

“Hmm. But will one dose be enough?”

“It’s more than enough.”

I was confident. Smuggling Lee Rua into that high-security party venue hadn’t been easy.

The event didn’t allow dangerous drugs like Festam, making the process of getting it inside equally complex.

But it had been worth the effort.

“Cherry Blossom Mist, made from Festam, has a 100% addiction rate. It doesn’t cause physical dependency.”

“Psychological addiction, then?”

“More than that—it’s subconscious. Not even Quetzalcoatl can cure it because it doesn’t physically harm the body. That’s what makes it so dangerous.”

“Terrifying,” Lee Rua said, shivering slightly as she rubbed her arms.

“But if she’s just happy, doesn’t that make for a weak revenge?”

“Haha. You’ll see soon enough. You won’t want to miss Choi Minseo’s expression when the time comes.”

“When the time comes?”

“The ultimate goal of approaching Choi Minseo is to get our hands on her Festam stockpile. She’s storing over 20 tons of it. It’s essential for our fight against the Galactic Empire.”

When the time is right, Choi Minseo will bring me the Festam with her own hands.

Suddenly, Lee Rua stopped in her tracks. She turned and stared into the distance, her gaze fixed on something in the sky.

“Hm?”

I followed her line of sight to the night sky.

A sharp crescent moon hung there, but next to it was something larger—a bright white oval.

It was still much farther away than the moon, but its sheer size was incomprehensible.

“Zeo, what is that?”

“They got here quickly. It’s the Galactic Empire’s Laniakein.”

[Notification: The scenario “The Last Duel Song Beyond the Galaxy” has begun.]