The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

Chapter 159 : She's Dead! She's Gone for Good!

She's Dead! She's Gone for Good!The massive rift incident that broke out at Hand.

Thanks to the hunters stationed there at the time and Hand's forces, most people made it out alive.

On top of that, the rift didn't stay open for long, so the damage was minimal.

People even said that if it had been a C-rank or B-rank gate, it would have been cleared and calmed down in the blink of an eye.

However... unfortunately, there were casualties.

And so, all kinds of posts memorializing the victims were being uploaded to SNS.

There were only three deaths, but not a single person dismissed it as insignificant.

Two of the victims were an unknown mother and child, but the third... she was the reason for all the memorial posts.

A girl who moved people simply through her singing voice.

A girl who, even wearing an absurd mask, managed to silence people with just a song.

ㄴRest in peace.

ㄴHow could she meet such a horrible end?

ㄴAn innocent girl who knew nothing was eaten alive by a monster. Is this really reality?

ㄴThe world is so heartless. How could this happen to a girl like her...

ㄴI hope you find happiness in heaven.

ㄴRIP

ㄴAt least the perpetrator was punished, so I'm relieved.

The Sura guild, who orchestrated this incident, couldn't avoid punishment.

It's been reported that the Guildmaster, Jay Hoon, personally went to apologize on his knees.

Thanks to that, the Sura guild avoided dissolution, but instead, it's scheduled for a complete takeover by The World.

Fortunately, the guild itself wasn't erased, but all the corruption that had been hidden within was seized.

And Ai Hoon, the one who had infuriated netizens, was officially declared deceased.

At the same time, everyone expressed a sense of satisfaction and catharsis.

"This is so strange..."

A high-end apartment where many celebrities resided.

Kim Seonghun, who had risen quickly to fame as a celebrity MC in Korea, was looking at reactions on social media on his phone.

He frowned at the fact that the majority of memorial posts were for Underwear Mask.

"Wishing for the deceased to rest in peace... What kind of nonsense is this?"

Kim Seonghun couldn't understand all the memorial posts.

After all, underwear Mask herself was still alive and well.

****

It was true that Underwear Mask became famous from just one song.

But even without her singing, she would have become notorious for another reason.

The reason? The underwear she wore as a mask instead of an actual mask.

And people were especially interested in the phrase written on those panties.

[2-6 MSJ]

The 2 and 6 looked like a class designation.

And the capitalized letters in front seemed to be someone's initials.

Based on that, people began to speculate.

A student named MSJ, enrolled in Class 6 of the 2nd grade somewhere.

They argued that student had to be related to Underwear Mask.

Meanwhile, the real MSJ.

I let out a deep sigh.

Ever since the rift incident, classmates had bombarded me with questions.

"Hey Seongjin, are you Underwear Mask by any chance?"

"Look at this, isn't MSJ exactly your initials?"

"And it's 2-6, too. This is basically undeniable, right?"

The more I fielded their questions, the more it felt like my head would explode.

Their line of questioning sounded plausible, but it was full of holes.

I raised my head and said to them,

"Wasn't that pervert mask-wearer a girl?"

"..."

"And you think that was me?"

Even if there was some evidence, it was nothing but wild speculation.

For one thing, the voice and gender were totally different—what on earth do I have in common with her?

And most importantly...

"Besides, didn't that person die?"

Officially, it was announced that Underwear Mask was killed by Ai Hoon.

Especially since there was a video showing her being eaten alive by a monster.

"She's been dead for a while, so why are you all still trying to find her? Are you grave robbers or something?"

It's not like they're necromancers or anything. Just how do they plan to find someone already dead?

'Well... it's just that people only think she's dead.'

The reason all this attention was on me was simple.

The Underwear Mask was wearing my underwear.

'Thank goodness I only wrote my initials, not my full name.'

I was lucky I'd written only the initials.

If I'd printed my full name, who knows what would have happened by now.

I don't even want to imagine it.

But even now, people kept thinking the same thing.

That I must have some connection to that perverted mask-wearer.

****

Of course, I didn't just sit around doing nothing.

Recently, I was able to meet Amelda and Borg after quite a while.

Just as Vern was the chairman of Hand, those two held significant positions on Earth as well.

With their help, I was thoroughly controlling rumors related to me.

But it was never easy.

The videos of Underwear Mask—whether you called her Underwear Mask or Pervert Mask—simply couldn't be erased, no matter how much I wanted to.

The video had reached a hundred million views in just a week.

If I tried to forcibly take it down, there'd only be more backlash from the public.

Change my name?

Switch classes?

Useless. If people dug up old records, it would all come out anyway.

This is a world where tracking someone's records in a day was easy.

Most of all, I had no intention of changing my information over something so trivial.

'Let's just wait until things die down.'

There was only one answer.

For now, I was having all posts related to me restricted.

Soon, people's interest in me would fade as well.

Of course, until then I'd have to deal with visitors.

Like right now.

"Are you MSJ... Ma Seongjin, by any chance?"

"..."

A man in sunglasses came up to me.

The moment I saw him up close, I realized it was none other than national MC Kim Seonghun.

"Are you acquainted with Underwear Mask by any chance?"

The expected question, yet again.

By now, even hearing the word "mask" made me cringe, so I replied firmly,

"I don't know her."

As I turned my head away, Kim Seonghun changed the subject.

"Then, do you know a red-haired girl with horns?"

His words startled me.

He seemed to know who the mask-wearer really was.

.

.

I took Kim Seonghun to a café near the school.

I needed a place with as few people as possible, so I asked the Hand chairman to clear out the café.

I also called in Sang-ah into the now chilly café.

The reason Kim Seonghun had come to find me was none other than Sang-ah.

"Ah, hello."

"Yeah, good to see you again after last time."

Sang-ah greeted him shyly, and Kim Seonghun responded with a bright smile.

To my surprise, Kim Seonghun already knew that Sang-ah was Underwear Mask.

The reason was: Sang-ah had saved him once.

"If it hadn't been for you, I would've been monster food that day."

"Yes... I'm glad you're safe."

"That's how I learned that you were Underwear Mask."

Kim Younghoon said he'd witnessed Underwear Mask being eaten by a phantom spirit.

That scene even appeared in the video where Ai Hoon's identity was revealed.

While fleeing, Kim Younghoon had also been caught by the phantom spirit and was about to be eaten.

But then—

"I'll never forget seeing you burn up that monster's stomach and save me inside. That was seriously awesome."

"It was really that impressive? I don't think you need to praise me so much..."

Sang-ah shrank back modestly.

But to someone who had been saved, it would clearly look that way.

She had set a monster's insides ablaze, burst out, and then saved the other people around by swiftly taking down more monsters.

No wonder people saw her as a hero.

"At the same time, it really shocked me. To see that the girl who sang so powerfully on stage also had that kind of strength."

Who would've thought the girl swallowed by a monster could escape using her own power?

It was enough to make one doubt whether she was the same girl who sang on stage.

Now she was believed to have died, but thanks to this, we knew the truth: that girl was alive and well.

That's why he'd come. To say that.

"Anyway, really, thank you. You saved my life."

"Yes..."

At Kim Seonghun's gratitude, Sang-ah blushed.

Unlike when fighting, Sang-ah was shy in daily life, and it showed.

"And at the time, there were other celebrities there too, right?"

"Yes."

"I'm not the only one who came to thank you."

As soon as those words left his mouth, the previously quiet café's door opened.

People came in, faces hidden by hats and glasses.

Anyone could tell by looking—they dressed just like famous people trying to avoid attention.

Sang-ah realized it too.

"Are those...?"

"They're the ones you saved that day."

One by one, they removed their disguises.

At that moment, I saw celebrities I'd only ever watched on TV.

"Thank you so much. If it hadn't been for you that day, I'm sure..."

We'd have been killed by Ai Hoon.

One female celebrity spoke to Sang-ah with those words.

I realized who she was—it was the singer who'd witnessed Sang-ah and Kim Seonghun being eaten in that infamous video, and who had screamed.

The other stars said much the same.

"Everyone..."

Seeing them like that, Sang-ah almost burst into tears.

She'd never even gotten a single word of praise from anyone in her family except her mother.

For someone who'd never been rewarded for anything, their gratitude was overwhelming.

"Thank you so much."

"There's nothing for a student like you to thank us for. We're the ones who should be grateful."

"You must all be so busy with your schedules, and just for me..."

"'Just for me'? Don't say that! That's nonsense."

A young singer cut off Sang-ah's words.

She was Cha Eunju, who'd once been the leader of Unity Girls.

"If it hadn't been for you, I probably would've died of asphyxiation back there. And then all my busy schedules would have become meaningless, don't you think?"

"..."

"So it's far more important for me to come thank you than to keep up with work."

Did I just mishear that?

She sounded more like a saint than a singer.

If only I could say something to my dad, who used to be a huge Unity Girls fan.

'Dad, take back what you said about her being washed up.'

As the warm atmosphere settled in, one memory came to my mind.

It was back when I'd been summoned to Mewzealand, a few months after arriving.

I hadn't yet adjusted to that world, and I ended up helping a human girl.

After defeating the monsters surrounding her, the girl thanked me.

But the knights guarding her, the moment they saw me, let loose a volley of arrows my way.

'Just because I had horns on my head.'

And they'd arrived late, too... It was truly absurd.

When you compare then and now, the difference is like heaven and earth.

Discrimination? There was absolutely none here.

There was only pure gratitude and kindness.

It was the kind of attitude all humans should have, and it warmed my heart.

"But, Sang-ah."

"Yes?"

"Have you ever considered becoming a singer with us?"

But suddenly, the brightness disappeared from Sang-ah's face.

She shut her mouth tightly, and the stars earnestly asked again.

"Yeah. It'd be a waste for your talent not to shine."

"How can you sing better than someone who's been a singer for over 10 years?"

"You'd be a sensation as soon as you debuted!"

It may have started as a word of gratitude, but now their real objective was clear.

They wanted to recruit Sang-ah, whose singing ability was second to none.

"How about it? After all, we owe you a big debt. We can give you our full support."

Being scouted by famous singers and an MC.

If she'd been a singer wannabe, she'd have jumped for joy at such an offer.

But unfortunately, being a singer wasn't Sang-ah's dream.

"I'm sorry, but..."

Sang-ah spoke with a pitying expression.

"Underwear Mask is dead."

"Eh?"

"I'll say it again."

—Underwear Mask is dead.

At her words, the celebrities were all left stunned.

It was true that she'd been officially declared dead.

But would it really be so bad to fake her death and turn down such fortune?

"Dead? But you're standing right here."

"Can't you reconsider?"

"Yeah! You're our hero even as a singer. Heroes never die—"

At that moment, Sang-ah suddenly leapt up from her chair and cried out,

"Please! Just let me be dead!!"

"..."

Faced with Sang-ah's desperate reaction, the celebrities had nothing more to say.

Since she was being so firm, they had no choice but to give up.

They all sighed in disappointment.

"But, by the way, why did you wear those panties on your head back then?"

Cha Eunju asked, curiosity plain in her voice.

And it wasn't just her.

"Yeah, I'd like to know too. What was the reason?"

Smiling, I placed my hand on Sang-ah's shoulder.

How she answered would determine what would happen next.