“Master, why do you look like you’re dying! Are you okay? Did you lose recently? You look like you got brutally rejected by a lover or something.”

“Shut up….”

<<Hero and Villain’s Holiday>>

The heroes and villains of Meteor City have holiday. In the modern society, being a hero or a villain is practically a job title

Some people thought it was strange to apply the concept of holidays to villains, but if villains didn’t have holidays, then heroes wouldn’t have them either. It means that if villains were spotted, whether they were resting or eating, heroes had to rush in to fight them.

After years of constantly clashing without any concept of a holiday, the heroes and the evil organization reached a dramatic agreement one day. They decided not to interfere with each other when they were in “off” mode, meaning that whenever they met, they wouldn’t initiate a fight. Instead, they would agree to wait for another day when they would fight for real and capture each other again.

After all, both the hero and the villain would eventually reveal their true colors and fight. So, they decided that they would fight and capture each other when that day comes.

The agreement of not to fight while on a holiday was established after a few challenging situations, and it has been working smoothly to this day.

“This is madness….”

“What bad luck….”

That was the reason why Seo and Belze didn’t target each other when they ran into each other in the late-night cinema.

*

“It’s been a while since we’ve hung out.”

“Yeah. I feel relieved after buying everything I wanted. The café was so beautiful! I wanted to go there ever since I saw it on Instagram. The red velvet cake was delicious, right?

“The red velvet cake was especially good. But the café mocha was not that great. Next time, I’ll also order a juice.”

Wonha, Belze’s direct subordinate and secretary, stretched her arm and mumbled contently. Belze smiled happily as she looked at the pretty desserts captured in the photos.

It had been a long time since she’d had a holiday outside.

Even though they had an unspoken agreement of non-interference, it was not a good position to wander around the city freely. Besides, villains often had to deal with tasks more intense than heroes, so it was challenging to enjoy their holidays fully.

Also, with frequent engagements in villainous activities, it was difficult to enjoy a holiday unless they achieved a significant victory. This time, thanks to Seo’s defeat, Belze received a bonus and a vacation.

The victory she obtained wasn’t something she could proudly boast about at first, but once she went on vacation, it felt more relaxing than she expected.

They spent three days at a quiet pension on the southern coast and two days traveling abroad. Now, after touring the downtown area and watching a late-night movie today, they would rest in their rooms tomorrow, ending their memorable long holiday splendidly.

As Belze entered the nearly empty theater with Wonha for their late-night movie, she unexpectedly found herself facing Seo in front of their designated seats. Even though she had her hair tied up and wore colored lenses, she was unmistakable to anyone who knew her.

The same could be said for Seo’s appearance. Belze recognized him even with thick-framed glasses.

Although no fists were raised when they realized they were on a holiday, it was not a pleasant encounter either, especially considering what had happened between them.

The atmosphere was tense and felt as if it could explode at any moment. It was only due to the presence of a third person, who knew their true identities, that broke the tension.

“Ugh! Let’s get out of here quickly. Right now. We have to leave.”

Wonha grabbed Belze’s arm as if holding onto it for dear life, hiding her smaller figure behind Belze’s larger one. The way she clung to Belze seemed like a small animal seeking shelter.

Belze, realizing that Wonha was intimidated by Seo, had a somewhat embarrassed expression.

“Shh, quiet down, you make it sound like we’re running away.”

“We are running away. Let’s quickly get out of here. I don’t want to get involved with him. What chance do we have against him?”

“We have a truce on holidays.”

“Do you think that antisocial will keep that promise…?”

“The promise… He’ll keep it…!”

Belze said with uncertainty, her voice lowered to a whisper, but they were too close. Seo heard every word they said without missing a single one.

Chewing on his popcorn, Seo shot a wary glance at Wonha, who was sticking to Belze and appeared ready to attack.

“Whispering in a movie theater, what kind of manner is that?”

Wonha widened his eyes and curled herself closer to Belze. Belze wrapped her arm around Wonha’s back and straightened her posture, puffing up her chest.

“Why are you picking on me all of a sudden?”

“You were rude first. Well…… I guess I might be uncomfortable to be around, so why don’t you just get your as$ out of here.”

“You’re right. Let’s go. We can watch the movie at the DVD store, or we can watch it later through a link.”

Wonha grabbed Belze’s arm, pulling her along. Belze glanced briefly at Seo but couldn’t help but follow Wonha’s lead.

Seo grew impatient as Belze began to turn away. He hadn’t truly meant to tell her to get out of the way, it was a deliberate attempt to make her stay. Although they both knew it would lead to an argument, they were still sensitive to words that scratched their pride, and even in unfavorable situations, they couldn’t help but react.

But then, one of Belze’s subordinates got involved and the tension subsided. Seo crossed his arms and sneered at the back of Belze’s head.

“Yeah, running away is the best option for you. Did you enjoy your week?”

“I was on a vacation.”

Belze growled.

“Oh, Ms. Belze. Why bother dealing with him? Let’s go.”

“Fine.”

Just as Belze was about to take the bait, Wonha once again grabbed her and pulled her along. Surprisingly, Belze obediently followed her subordinate’s request. Whether she was just a subordinate or had a closer relationship with Belze, their overly affectionate touch felt intrusive, almost like a family member clinging too closely.

Seo spurred himself to a subtle protest. He raised his voice to make sure Belze could hear and took his seat.

“Just to clarify, I wasn’t following you on purpose or with any intention. We just happened to run into each other. But if you still want to run away from me, well, I can’t help it.”

“I’m… running away?”

“You are running away. Cause why don’t you just sit down? You’re not in town much. If there’s a movie you want to watch, I can disappear so you don’t have to be bothered.”

The underlying sarcasm in his words was evident. Even though it might not have been intentional, Belze perceived it that way. Seo was provoking her by questioning why she was uncomfortable and running away.

Belze halted in her tracks and turn around, her high ponytail twirling.

“Who. Who was bothered by whom?”

Her intimidating and glaring gaze shot directly at Seo.

Though she had often crumbled before Seo, Belze was someone who was used to standing above others.

Still, the sharp gaze did not intimidate him in the slightest. Even though Belze’s attitude usually crushed others, Seo was used to it happening repeatedly. Under normal circumstances, Seo would have shrugged it off. But this time, her words left him speechless.

“……”

Seo couldn’t bring himself to mention what had happened, it was not the right occasion for that. Belze hadn’t shown her face for a whole week, and Seo couldn’t forget her disappointed expression.

One week. It might have been short, but it felt long enough to consider various possibilities during her absence.

He wondered if she was so frightened that she didn’t want to see him anymore, if she’d run away to hide her face, if she was burning for revenge as fiercely as he was, or if she was just as brazen and tough as ever.

Seo’s imagination often leaned towards the worst scenario, so every word from Belze was nerve-wracking. That’s why Seo didn’t want to provoke her any further, even if he had already done so.

As Seo fell silent, Belze’s gaze became intense. It wasn’t difficult for her to guess the reason why Seo avoided eye contact.

“Why are you shutting up all of a sudden? Ah, I see. You find it hard to speak in front of us with your hero persona, right? Fine, then. But I’m not going. You can leave if you want.”

“Let’s just go!”

Wonha, recognizing the signs of an impending argument, grabbed Belze’s shoulders with both hands and shook her. Belze forcefully pushed Wonha away and pointed at Seo.

“No! This is getting annoying! I hate it when he suddenly acts all nice and conscientious! Am I supposed to be scared of someone like him? He’s not even good at anything! He doesn’t even have a shred of feelings!”

As she vented her frustration about Seo’s nighttime activities, his face crumpled like a piece of paper. He clenched his teeth as if he was angry, but he didn’t argue back or respond with mockery.

He simply showed a glimpse of it before trying to suppress it by sipping his straw.

Belze quickly realized that something was off about Seo today.

Seo is originally a character who has no interest in the rights or circumstances of villains. When he receives a blow, he never regretted retaliating twice as hard, nor does he have any regrets about wrecking someone else’s hideout.

If someone argued with him, he would raise his voice just as much, and if someone mocked him, he never fail to return with equally or high-level mockery.

So, the fact that Seo had only started a few arguments and was quietly enduring her taunts meant that something was bothering him deep down.

Though she didn’t know why, she couldn’t let the opportunity slip by. Belze handed the shopping bags she was holding to Wonha and returned to her designated seats.

“If you don’t want to be with him, you can leave first. I’m not going anywhere.”

Upon hearing that, a startled Wonha rushed over and whispered.

“Why are you doing this? Don’t get provoked for no reason. What if that person strikes back again? It wouldn’t be great to get into trouble here.”

Seo couldn’t help but react.

“You worry about the most pointless things… Seriously, I’m not the type to be concerned about villains for now. Just go away.”

Being misunderstood as a troublemaker in a late-night movie theater during a holiday was not something Seo wanted as a hero. Although there might be reasonable explanations for it, Seo didn’t see it that way and didn’t want to be involved in such misunderstandings.

When Seo responded to Wonha’s whisper, she looked unsure of how to respond and shook her head.

“But still, even though you’re not as bad as Ms. Belze, your personality is like a recycled trash…”

The fact that Seo made such remarks not as criticism but as an apologetic statement hurt Belze deeply. Belze, who was caught up in a situation with Seo, clenched her fist in frustration.

“Wonha, just leave my personal affair alone and go, okay? I’ll join you in the morning, let’s have breakfast at 1 o’clock.”

“But….”

Despite being frightened by Seo’s intimidating presence, Wonha couldn’t help but be concerned about Belze, who seemed uneasy. Seo’s eyes, visible over Belze’s shoulder was more intense and fierce than usual.

In the end, Wonha couldn’t bear the uncomfortable atmosphere and left the theater.

“I put a tracking device on her, so there’s no point in kidnapping her.”

“That’s…!”

It was frustrating that the unpleasant misunderstanding hadn’t been cleared up, but Seo’s anger soon subsided. Belze inserted the popcorn and drinks into the cup holders and sat down in the designated seat, precisely next to Seo.