That’s How They Became Villains

#51. Return Broadcast -3-

A person’s laughter can hold many different meanings.

Sometimes one laughs simply out of happiness.

Sometimes one puts on a smile to make a good impression on others.

And sometimes one forces a smile when wanting to be happy but unable to be so.

That’s why Chae Yu-ha always smiled.

Because she was always smiling, no one except Chae Yu-ha herself could understand what meaning was contained in her smile. *

(User “PleaseFollowMeBack” has donated 1000 won)

Who kidnapped you? How were you rescued?

When Chae Yu-ha first turned on her broadcast with a smile, viewers thought:

I’m so angry, why can’t you be more serious?

A week of silence and certain forces stirring up trouble.

Even if you don’t want to hear it, the Net AI keeps sending notifications saying, “I’ve brought posts that might interest you!”

Since it’s impossible to live in the city without using the internet, viewers were already in a situation where stress had piled up.

And that was the direction those forces wanted. They couldn’t just let it happen.

“Now, now. If you all ask at once, it’s hard to answer, so please ask one by one.”

Chae Yu-ha talked about the circumstances of her kidnapping as if it were nothing. Around this time, the viewers’ thoughts changed a bit.

‘Is that something you can talk about while smiling…?’

Viewers could no longer understand the meaning behind Chae Yu-ha’s smile.

In reverse, that also meant they wanted to understand.

-Who kidnapped you?

-Was it revenge from Cheongang?

-Spinning nonsense lies, you slut (User has been blocked)

-Aren’t you Yeongwol’s underling? Didn’t you record a video with your phone on the train?

-Come to think of it, what happened with the train story?

As meaningless insults gradually subsided, more constructive questions began to pour in.

“You’re asking who kidnapped me? To give you the conclusion first, I was kidnapped by a person called First from the Villain Union Maker.”

Her tone was as light as if she had just gone to the convenience store in front of her home but the content was not light at all and the viewers’ confusion intensified.

-????? -Why is Maker suddenly involved??

-Did you do something to make them hold a grudge??

-Sister, what exactly do you do in your daily life

Ahahaha…Chae Yu-ha laughed awkwardly.

“And you asked who rescued me…”

(User “PleaseFollowMeBack” has donated 1000 won)

Athena and Last, right?

“Huh? How did you know?”

When Chae Yu-ha responded with surprise, one community erupted in commotion.

[(Real-time) Master Detective Confirmed] [58]

[The situation is really crazy wtf]

[Don’t you watch the news?] [1]

[Wait wtf was it real that Athena, Last, Maker, and Red Witch had a life-or-death battle?] [3]

[Couldn’t they stop the two Villain Union members from fighting because of the hostage?] [5]

“Ahahaha…It’s kind of embarrassing to have what I was about to say taken away. Anyway, as you all expected, Athena…”

Chae Yu-ha trailed off, looking somewhere with unfocused eyes.

“…Athena and Last, along with everyone at the detective agency, rescued me.”

No one in the chat found her behavior strange.

Only Jin Hyun and Yu-jin, who were watching the broadcast, were mulling over what had happened.

-wow

-It’s you again…

-Just how many times is this now

-At this point shouldn’t you at least be given an S-class minor rank

-Not quite at that level yet

-Does S-class look like garbage to you?

-Stop exaggerating

-I bet Athena just carried you along

The overheated atmosphere seemed to be calming down. But with so many people gathered, it couldn’t last.

-Wait, what’s going on? Am I the only one who can’t follow the story?

-Why are they all just accepting this and moving on

-Where’s the proof?

-These troublemakers are starting up again wtf

-Your mom

-So wtf why did you participate in the airship lobby and then keep your mouth shut

Soon, invisible forces began to kindle flames in the chat again.

Chae Yu-ha must have been aware of this, as she glanced briefly in Jin Hyun’s direction.

(User “Montblanc” has donated 1000 won)

But why do you keep looking to the side? What’s over there?

Chae Yu-ha, caught off guard, hesitated, her lips quivering, before finally standing up.

“Ah… umm… Come to think of it, we have a guest on today’s broadcast.”

Then she removed the chroma key that had been serving no purpose until now.

What was revealed was a sign saying “We’ll Do It” and framed photos on the wall.

The chat was flooded with question marks.

“First, I should explain where I am right now…”

-What’s there to explain, it’s written right there

– We’ll Do It?

-Isn’t that where Last belongs?

-Is the guest perhaps Last?

“Wow, how are you all so quick to catch on? Amazing.”

Giggling, Chae Yu-ha threw a glance outside the camera’s view.

Then Jin Hyun, who had been watching the broadcast from the side, entered the camera frame and bowed politely.

“Today’s guest is A-class hero Last. Please send a round of applause in the chat.”

-Damn, it’s Last again

-These days he seems to be involved in every incident

-That just means he’s diligent

-Where’s Athena?

-She probably went back to Unhwa since she was active during her disciplinary period

There were so many messages that even Jin Hyun’s eyes could barely keep up as they appeared and disappeared.

But Jin-hyun sat down in the seat Chae Yu-ha had prepared for him without showing any signs of nervousness.

Just until recently, Jin-hyun had been uncomfortable with people’s attention.

Normally, he would have been nervous and breaking out in a cold sweat but Chae Yu-ha, who should be suffering the most, was acting so composed so he couldn’t mess this up.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Last, a hero active in Cheongang. From now on, please direct questions related to the kidnapping incident through me. I will answer them sincerely.”

-This isn’t a guest, it’s a witness

-What were you thinking when you pressed your button during the airship kidnapping incident?

-Is it true that you stopped the train by crashing into it with your bare body?

-How did it feel to be confined in the research facility?

-What’s your relationship?

-Why do you defend each other?

When Jin Hyun appeared, the chat began to be flooded with questions completely unrelated to Chae Yu-ha.

Jin Hyun didn’t understand why, but Chae Yu-ha, watching him from the side, knew.

Current live broadcast viewers: about 62,000.

Among them, how many were truly curious about what had happened?

More than half were either part of certain forces or bubble viewers who had joined out of simple curiosity.

There was a need to filter through the questions. But would Jin-hyun know about that?

“…I will answer miscellaneous questions later. For now, please ask questions relevant to the situation.”

-What’s your relationship

-Is everything my sister said true? Was she really kidnapped?

-I saw online that you and Athena fought against Maker and Red Witch, can we get a fact check

-What was in the airship lobby, can you tell us about what you saw with your own eyes

If you looked carefully, there were some plausible questions. Fortunately, Jin Hyun was good at gathering such questions and began to answer them.

“You asked if everything Yu-ha-ssi said is true. Yes, it is true. We were heading to the outskirts of Cheongang after receiving a request, and during that time, we learned that Yu-ha-ssi had been kidnapped.”

The resulting shockwave was significant.

-That’s right, fuck

-Thank you, thank you

-Are you trolls coming to your senses??????????

-Yeah, but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s a slut~ (User has been blocked)

-Please get a life~ Don’t spend all day staring at the internet and being malicious~

-So why did they kidnap her

Jin Hyun was bewildered by the rapidly changing atmosphere in the chat.

‘Someone was kidnapped, why are they so happy about it?’

It was because none other than Last had proven Chae Yu-ha’s innocence. Chae Yu-ha had previously been guilty of going silent without notice or sporadically posting.

In contrast, Last had built an image of integrity over time.

To put it bluntly, how could you doubt the words of someone who would let high-voltage electricity course through their body to save a criminal? It must have felt like a clogged drain finally being unclogged.

(User “AthenaStrapDetailsFaceSmashed” has donated 1000 won)

Please explain in detail what happened

-Ugh fuck look at that username

-How is that person not blocked?

-Get out

“Yes, AthenaStrapDetailsFaceSmashed-nim. I’ll explain what happened in detail.”

“Pfft…”

“…? Why are you laughing?”

Jin Hyun turned his head toward Chae Yu-ha and asked.

In response, Chae Yu-ha lowered her head and tried to suppress her laughter.

-Why did you read that out loud

-He’s saying it so seriously lolololol

-Is this the first time we’ve seen the saint laugh like this?

-First time (correct) because she’s not a broadcaster

-So you like that kind of thing lol

The atmosphere in the chat improved along with it.

“…??”

The only one who didn’t understand the situation was Jin Hyun.

“Anyway, to continue…”

And so, the consistently serious scholar Jin Hyun’s story continued for about 30 minutes.

There were some twists and turns due to people with strange usernames asking questions during the broadcast.

But excluding the story about Athena, he was able to tell all the important parts.

The reactions were varied.

[So the real culprit behind the Unknown Enhanced Human Rampage was First?] [5]

[These Cheongang bastards said there were no problems with nanomachines, but there are fucking problems wtf] [6]

[Was the technology leaked or what?] [2]

[Isn’t it like an ability user who can control electricity?]

-This means we can’t trust safety nanomachines

-Safety << Not at all lol

-Don’t we need stronger regulations?

-It’s because you regulate in the first place that these crazy bastards went nuts, you mentally ill fuckers

What was certain was that the five-letters name “First” had been clearly engraved in everyone’s minds.

Chae Yu-ha slightly raised her gaze to look at the window floating in front of her.

[Risk Level: B -> A]

The broadcast was not over yet.