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Chapter 15: The Food of God’s

“Ugh…”

Ajin let out a rough burp after scratching her belly.

It might have been bad manners in public, but since it was already late morning, there was no one around to see. So she felt completely unbothered, a so-called free spirit.

As she stepped out the front door, Ajin took a deep breath of the outdoor air and stretched her arms wide.

“Ahhh!”

With spring in April moving towards May, it felt incredibly warm, reminiscent of when she went camping. The breeze blowing between the skies was so ticklish and refreshing… It was a day so sunny that if she laid out a blanket on the ground, she could easily fall into a deep sleep, causing a big grin to spread across her face.

“Ugh… It’s so comfy.”

She tried to cover it up as stretching, but in the end, she continued with trivial, lightweight movements for only five seconds. Leaving her wobbly weak willpower behind, Ajin slowly began to stroll around the yard. Both hands held trash bags filled with snack wrappers, swinging lightly with each step.

After tossing the trash in the designated place outside the gate, Ajin dusted off her palms and looked around. She anxiously pulled her hoodie over her head as if worried someone might see her.

“Right now, my sister isn’t even broadcasting…”

It wouldn’t be necessary to care for a live broadcast. Managing the bulletin board wouldn’t cause a huge crisis just because she skipped a few minutes.

Ajin casually turned her head to glance at the familiar building, ‘Hero House.’

The place right in front of her where her sister Sehee, Yoori, Ji-hye, and even herself lived together… there was some oddly unfamiliar feeling that didn’t let her look away.

Well, of course, it felt strange. Ever since moving into this house, she had been holed up inside.

Everything was covered by delivery, and all the labor was done by her clones, while she indulged in a lifestyle of carefree leisure. After such a long time, it was natural to feel this way seeing the building’s exterior.

Unless it’s a situation involving camp-like work tied to editing, the people here rarely forced her outside for any reason.

Thinking about it, it was almost like neglect on a level that could make one vulnerable. She knew Sehee’s kindness well, but there was little to no involvement, enough to make her wonder if it was really okay for it to be like this. That’s why Ajin felt a strange sense of crisis about this lifestyle. It was as if she had an ominous premonition that if she stayed like this, she would truly turn into a pig.

“Ugh…”

That little bit of extra around her belly.

Ajin frowned at the lump of fat she never dreamed she’d have when she was a Hero.

This was truly a manifestation of crisis, the so-called ‘disaster.’

“This world is unfair.”

Sehee lounged around the house broadcasting, too. Looking at what her sister eats, it seems like she actually consumes quite a lot of carbs.

Not to mention that since Yoori joined, they’ve had a variety of delicious and nutritious meals.

Feeling strangely envious, her cheeks puffed out in irritation. She couldn’t even propose a diet together. No matter how much she was her sister, it would be a little embarrassing. And Ji-hye’s nature would definitely make things uncomfortable. Yoori was simply out of the question.

‘I absolutely dislike Park Da-young.’

It was embarrassing to still be flaunting the fact that she met her sister first. What? The First Hero? As if she were some chosen one or something.

From the very beginning, she had a bad impression acting like a Demon King’s minion. Though it had softened over time, she still remembered how incredibly wary she was when they first met.

If someone were to ask if she personally disliked her…

‘Not exactly…’

It was neither purely good nor purely bad; there was a strange ambivalence that prevented them from being honest with one another.

And so, she found herself alone outside like this.

Of course, her sister’s plan to begin jogging for her diet had already hit a snag from the start.

She had expected that would happen, but she never thought it would be this cumbersome without any way to deal with it.

The further Ajin walked away from her sister’s home, the more that blessing diminished, and before long, she would become simply Azin.

‘No way I can give up like this!’

But, would she just take it lying down? If she were indeed a hero… she must overcome whatever trial faced her.

The goal was to start from right in front of her house and run in a loop to the park 15 minutes away. Adding in the jogging course established in the park, it would take at least an hour round trip.

Ajin shouted, “Huff, alright! I will not turn into a pig!”

She would return to being a true… Hero.

With a timid shout barely audible to her own ears, she started to run.

Thus, despite her resolute determination, she couldn’t help but turn a blind eye to the reality of her diet, which consisted of five bags of snacks and 1.5 liters of cola consumed like water every day.

* * *

“Mom, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, dear. Aren’t you supposed to go to work soon?”

“I’m not. I decided to take off early today to bring you home. Don’t worry.”

As Dayoung helped her mother inside the front door, she felt overwhelmed with emotion. How long had she wished for this moment?

After finishing her duties as a Hero and returning to Earth, Dayoung was burdened with the misfortune of the Demon King’s curse. The most shocking of them all was undoubtedly the family misfortunes. When her mother first collapsed, she remembered how dark her world felt.

If it weren’t for the spiteful, skinny Sehee who occasionally visited, she couldn’t imagine how rotten and decayed it would have been, left alone in her lonely house.

Perhaps the Demon King’s curse had trailed and found her, a decay of the Hero.

‘What a relief.’

The broadcasts were doing well, profits were increasing, and thanks to that, hospital bills were manageable. Her mother’s health was well resolved, and she could finally return home after being discharged. Could this be what they called everything going smoothly? A pleasant smile crept onto her face with that thought.

“How’s your broadcasting going lately?”

“I have a lot of worries. Mom, I might look like this, but I’m doing great! So I managed to cover all the expensive hospital and surgery fees without a hitch. You don’t need to worry about anything. Just focus on your health! Got it?”

“Alright. Thank you, my daughter. You’ve been taking care of the house and, well, taking care of me too.”

“Of course. I’m a Hero after all.”

“She’s calling herself a Hero now that she’s back home.”

“So, I’m not a Hero?”

“Yes. My Dayoung is a proud Hero of her mother. Got it?”

“Yup!”

As her mother’s hand stroked her head, a big smile blossomed on Dayoung’s face.

‘The strength hasn’t fully returned yet.’

Ever since being with her sister, she felt her strength coming back little by little.

But the progress was so slow that she feared she would turn into a grandma by the time her strength actually returned.

However, she decided not to dwell on it too much. What could be the problem? The world was peaceful, good relationships have formed, and most importantly, she had family by her side.

Just then, her mom’s eyes sparkled as she asked in a childlike, curious tone.

“Oh, who is this Sehee person? I was surprised to see a foreigner on your broadcast.”

“My sister? Well, um…”

Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t mentioned anything about her sister.

A little hesitantly, Dayoung decided not to overthink. Her sister wasn’t a bad person, and it would be fine to just tell the truth.

“She’s really a really close person. A trustworthy one.”

“You didn’t say that even about the singer you liked back then. But I mean, she is pretty.”

“Right? Thanks to her, broadcasts are doing really well, and she’s helped out in various ways.”

Ah, suddenly remembering her sister’s proposition of moving in, the thought darted through her mind like lightning.

Why was she thinking about that out of nowhere at this timing?

‘Should I mention it?’

It was an extravagant penthouse in Gangnam, known for its high property prices.

It wasn’t common for people to move into expensive houses as if booking a motel room, so she wanted her mom to be able to live in such a nice place.

Yet, if she were to point out the reasons for her hesitation…

‘This house… still holds memories of my late father.’

That made it hard to bring up moving. Even if her mother was discharged, she had to stay close, not knowing when something might happen.

‘If mom decides to stay…’

It would eliminate the meaning of her moving alone. Even if it was the proposal from her dearly respected sister, this time she just couldn’t.

“Why, is something wrong?”

Oh, did it show on her face that she was deep in thought? Realizing it, Dayoung quickly waved her hand in denial.

“No, nothing at all.”

“Nothing at all? What is it? Speak comfortably.”

“It’s really nothing.”

“Is it because of that Sehee person? Is there a problem?”

“Um, well… that is…”

Yeah, might as well just spill everything.

Dayoung decided to lay it all out there.

Sehee was the owner of an ultra-luxury limited edition super penthouse in Gangnam, and she was offering a discount for her close acquaintances to live there for just 36,900 won—a remarkable gesture.

And she was one of those acquaintances who received the offer.

“But with mom still in the hospital, it was clear I’d have to decline, so I just kept it all to myself.”

“Why did you think that?”

Her mother’s tone was oddly cold, but Dayoung, who was trying to be careful, didn’t realize that and laid everything out bluntly.

“This house, Dad worked hard to get it, right?”

“So, you turned down that Sehee person’s offer for the penthouse in Gangnam?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“The penthouse that was featured in the extravagantly luxurious broadcast you mentioned?”

“Yeah. That’s correct.”

“Wow! You little rascal!”

—Smack!

“Ouch!”

With a powerful slap that one wouldn’t expect of a recently discharged patient, the sharp sensation spread throughout Dayoung’s entire back.

Watching Ajin shrink back from the shock, her mother said with a serious expression.

“What are you waiting for? Get packed and let’s go now! Hurry!”

“Huh?”