Chapter 2: Hero

“Hahahaha! To think that ‘Smile’ will be coming to our school tomorrow, to give a speech before the students…!”

Junghak-hyun, a first-generation hero who had long since retired from active duty, yet still ranked among the more seasoned veterans of his era.

The news that Smile, whom he hadn’t seen in years, would be visiting the school to give a speech this coming Monday, right after the weekend.

Despite having already passed fifty, his heart fluttered with an almost childlike excitement he could barely contain.

Even though he was significantly senior to Smile and had even been his teacher for a brief, albeit crucial, month.

He deeply respected the man known as ‘Smile,’ both as a hero and as a human being.

“Huhu, the reason I can sit here so comfortably and at ease. It’s all thanks to Dohyul actively working on the front lines.”

Junghak-hyun still vividly remembered the horrific state of Korea from his childhood, when he was still in elementary school and people’s supernatural abilities were just beginning to manifest.

…The early villains who had lived at the bottom of society, like gangsters or swindlers.

They suddenly gained powers beyond their station and sought to crush others, ruling like kings.

There were also the pitiable ordinary citizens, consumed by their own abilities, unable to control the side effects, and rampaging like monsters.

Even the scum who, after being sentenced to life imprisonment for serial murder, awakened absurd powers, broke out of prison, and massacred people.

In a Korea once known for its high public safety, it was a terrible era where even military units failed to function properly, and people died like flies.

To the young Junghak-hyun, who began his hero activities at nineteen, it seemed like an unending hell.

Corroded by the violent atmosphere of that era, more and more people lost their morality, transforming into villains intent on fulfilling their desires.

In an age where cunning individuals sought to profit from the chaos.

Only a scant few, like him, strove to uphold unwavering justice and protect the vulnerable.

…At that time, first-generation heroes like himself were suffering from a severe and undeniable shortage of manpower.

Even as they sought out individuals with righteous hearts and potent ‘supernatural abilities’ to train as disciples, and as vigilante groups active across the nation established institutions to nurture ethical superhumans.

Even as his senior heroes, many of whom had since passed away prematurely due to lingering injuries from their battles, personally invested their own funds.

They built this training institute, now known as a ‘school’ and where he served as principal, striving relentlessly to increase the number of strong, justice-minded heroes.

Despite all these efforts, the number of heroes was always too small to stop the endless emergence of villains.

In that chaotic period, where anyone with even a slightly malicious intent could gain significant advantage.

The prevailing perception was that being a hero was a dangerous and harsh profession; no matter how much money one was offered, there was no telling when a terrible villain might capture them and take their life.

…But then, a hero emerged like a comet.

In this training institute, built by his seniors to thoroughly educate their juniors for at least five years before deploying them to the front lines, in preparation for the cruel villains who tortured captured heroes for information.

His first disciple, who, after just ‘one month,’ surpassed all the seniors who had been training for years before him, demonstrating such overwhelming control over his supernatural abilities that he simply could not be kept idle in the institute, was dispatched to the field.

With heroics shining even brighter than his brilliant talent, he illuminated a world shrouded in darkness.

He brought an end to what seemed like an unending ‘period of chaos,’ ushering in the current era of stability in just five years.

…Even in that harsh period, when the nation was even discussing conscripting child soldiers.

Both he and his seniors were filled with guilt and anxiety at the prospect of sending a mere fifteen-year-old boy to the front lines.

However, due to the dire urgency of the situation, they had no choice but to trust the boy’s talent and deploy him into the operation.

Their prayers that this young boy would not meet an early end in this brutal field, where even his seniors were perishing, proved futile.

In just five years of activity, he achieved the miracle of apprehending 90 percent of the S-rank villains residing in Seoul, where the most villains were concentrated, and indeed across the entire nation.

It was truly overwhelming power, coupled with a noble heart like that of a hero from the animated films he loved as a child, a hero who saved the world.

Before the miraculous actions displayed by young Smile, who should have still been under someone’s protection.

No veteran hero beside him could help but feel awe.

He appeared as nothing less than a ray of divine salvation sent to confront the devils who had plunged humanity into this brutal hell.

Thus, this training institute, where the miraculous hero ‘Smile’ had briefly stayed for just ‘one month,’ was now known as the ‘Seoul Hero Training School,’ becoming Korea’s most prominent hero cultivation institution.

Each year, it received immense support from the government, producing outstanding new-generation heroes who carried on his spirit.

“Huhu, seven years ago, this very place, Smile’s alma mater, was attacked by seven S-rank villains and forty A-rank villains who had been hiding all over the country.”

However, Junghak-hyun could only recount this tale with a smile because all 47 villains involved in the incident.

Every single one of them was ‘captured alive’ by Smile, who happened to be nearby at the time.

And crucially, not a single casualty occurred at the school.

Junghak-hyun, who was the vice-principal at the time, still felt a shiver run down his spine at the sight of his first disciple, who had rushed to the scene the moment the incident broke out.

He, who had once fought on the front lines as a professional hero, watched as Smile moved with a speed he couldn’t even track.

He saw him protect every student in the vast school while systematically defeating each of those high-risk villains.

Even as he endured dozens of supernatural abilities, fatal even to the world’s top-tier heroes, to shield the students…

His heroic spirit never faltered, never losing his smile.

“…And yet, he ‘captured alive’ all the villains for whom no official kill order had been issued. He did it solely out of a stubborn conviction that, as a hero bound to uphold the law, he would never do anything shameful.”

Junghak-hyun still remembered the words Smile had spoken while looking at the news drone sent by the broadcasting station.

When a reporter asked why he stubbornly adhered to his principles even in such a desperate moment.

Smile, with his usual upright demeanor, replied.

‘I am merely a hero, not a judge who renders verdicts in a court of law, nor a minister of the Supernatural Ability Management Department who grants temporary extra-legal authority to heroes.’

‘If a hero, who already possesses considerable authority in the field, were to abuse their power too much, it would be no different from the villains who advocate ‘superhuman’ supremacy and commit acts of terror.’

‘Those with great power must always be careful not to be swayed by it.’

‘Whether a legal professional, a hero, or a police officer, anyone who upholds the law and the safety of citizens must never cross the line given to them.’

…He spoke these words, utterly characteristic of Smile.

And like his hero name, ‘Smile,’ he flashed a bright smile towards the camera.

At that moment, Junghak-hyun, considering Smile as the #1 S-rank hero targeted by countless villains.

When a reporter suggested that ‘Smile’ should be granted stronger field authority.

He silently recited the words Smile had spoken into the camera.

‘My duty, just like that of any other hero, is solely to protect the safety of citizens. Therefore, there is no reason for such authority to be granted only to me.’

“Kuh-huh! You’re truly amazing, Dohyul! Even as a man, I’m practically falling for you!”

Thus, Junghak-hyun, driven half by his own desire to see Smile and half by his dedication to the students, had requested Smile to deliver the entrance ceremony speech again this year.

And to his utterly unexpected success, he managed to invite Smile to the school for a mere ten minutes.

He carefully took out a limited-edition Smile figurine, kept safely in a bookshelf drawer, and felt a swell of satisfaction at the thought of soon getting it signed right there.

…This limited-edition figurine, which he had bought for twenty times its original price online.

Its value was further elevated by the fact that Smile, true to his nature, had donated the entire 10 percent of the profits that should have gone to the hero model, to an orphanage.

“Hahahaha! He truly is the epitome of a hero! Though still young, having been active since such an early age, he surely has no thoughts of retirement and will only continue to protect the citizens.”

So, Junghak-hyun eagerly anticipated what kind of speech Smile would deliver to the students next Monday.

He envisioned his admirable junior, whose mind, even now, could surely only be filled with noble concerns like ‘world peace’ or ‘the happiness of all humanity.’

****

…However, the remarkable junior whom Junghak-hyun so deeply respected.

Having just managed to snatch some time for a meal, he stood before a snack bar, ordering the cheapest kimbap roll with nothing but rice inside.

His mind was entirely preoccupied with whether or not to add a 2,000-won Pikachu donkatsu.

He had absolutely no time for such grand deliberations.

“Ugh…! No, perhaps I should add oden instead? Yes…! If I just order one skewer of oden, I can get unlimited refills of the warm broth!”

*Squeeze!*

[Heroes do not engage in such petty behavior as getting unlimited broth refills with a single skewer of oden.]

“Ugh…! My, my heart…!”