Is This A Fairy Tale?

"Don't blame yourself. It's not just your fault that things have escalated to this point; it's mine too," Hee-won gazed up at Haru, who stood beside her. She understood that he felt the same way as she did, but his thoughts seemed to differ.

"No, it's not your fault. I'm the one who complicated things for you," Hee-won shook her head. Haru was the leader of their group, not the entire station. He did what was expected of him as a leader, considering the welfare of his group.

This was also why he rejected those who wanted to join them, as they would only serve as a burden and bring more problems that could endanger the group.

"There's no need to worry. Your failure is my failure, and your success is undoubtedly... my success," Haru said with a sly smile.

"You're going to be worse than my last boss," Hee-won looked at Haru with a faint smile on her lips.

"That is for you to find out. Are you in?" Haru smiled slightly.

[The constellations of the Pure Good and Absolute Evil Alliance are ecstatic.]

[900 coins have been sponsored.]

[The Constellation of the Absolute Evil Alliance is somewhat disappointed with the low quality of the villain.]

[200 coins have been sponsored.]

Hee-won observed the conversation unfolding before her and realized that everything she had experienced until now was nothing more than a game to these constellations.

Haru's group were the heroes, while In-ho's group were the villains. As the hero, Haru had initially confronted In-ho to stop his nefarious actions, but without sufficient evidence, they were unable to bring him down.

However, as the villain was about to commit heinous deeds, the heroes could not stand idly by and brought the evil-doers to justice, just like in the stories.

But was it really that simple? Just because the evildoers were killed did not mean that those who had suffered would be okay.

The people who were killed, those who had lost their families, and Do-ah, who had almost robbed of her innocence and lost her partner – these people would not simply be okay now that In-ho was gone.

But in the eyes of the constellations, it was all just a game. In plays, when the hero defeats the bad guys, it's the end – there is a happy ending for everyone.

Unfortunately, things were different in reality. Here they still had a long way to go before they can think about something like a happy ending for everyone.

"Don't ask the obvious. Leave it to me," Hee-won closed her eyes for a moment before taking Haru's hand and pulling herself up.

"What's wrong?" Hee-won asked, noticing the awkward expression on Haru's face.

"You know, when I extended my hand, I was actually asking for the katana," Haru said, trying to make a joke.

"..." Hee-won's expression became void of emotion.

"I will seek out another group," Hee-won stated indifferently.

"Hey, you gave up even more quickly this time. How can you leave a leader like me so heartlessly?" Haru shouted in disbelief as Hee-won did not even grace him with a response.

'Yep, still the same,' Dok-ja, Sang-ah, Hyun-sung, Nam-woon, Gil-young, the other survivors, and all of the constellations who were watching thought the same.

"Thank you for everything you've done," Do-ah said, her eyes welling up with tears as she bid farewell to Haru's group, who were departing from the station.

And she was not alone. Many people were grateful for the assistance that Haru and his group had provided.

'Is it just me, or are there more women than men here?' Dok-ja shook his head, wondering if he was imagining it.

Dok-ja had been informed that Haru and the group were planning to leave the next day. They had waited for him in case he returned, and now that he had arrived, they would be departing from the station following the recent events.

"Please be careful as well," Hee-won said to the crowd of about 60 people who had come to see them off.

After saying this, Haru's group left the station with their flashlights on, traveling along the tracks. Haru and Hee-won were at the front, with Dok-ja just behind them, Sang-ah on the left and right of Queresha and Gil-young, and Hyun-sung and Nam-woon guarding the rear.

'Haru-ssi knows how to lead the group. He has effectively secured our defenses,' Dok-ja could only nod in agreement as he saw how everyone was able to fight so proficiently without needing to be instructed.

SWOOSH* SPLASH*

"Phew* is it just me, or has the number of rats significantly increased?" Hee-won said after dispatching her fourth rat.

"It might be because they are ravenous after a long period of hunger," Haru concluded.

'That is right. In the novel, many people tried to escape from Geum-ho station to find a safe haven with more food supplies, but this resulted in their demise. However, because Haru provided an ample supply of food, no one had the inclination to leave the station.' Dok-ja knew that the only person who ventured into the tunnels and didn't return was Jung-hyeok, who was anything but deceased.

So they were the first humans to traverse this part of the tunnel, and the famished rats attack them en masse.

"Alright then, let us continue forward," Haru said as no one seemed to be out of breath at the moment, and everyone agreed as they resumed walking.

"Haru, is it really feasible for you to be carrying the bags?" Dok-ja asked the question that had been gnawing at him.

"I can manage," Haru replied as he had four bags in one hand, which contained the food items they kept as provisions.

'Of course you can, you've killed 10 rats with just one arm,' Dok-ja could only smile wryly as Haru had single-handedly dispatched every rat with one hand, and he didn't even break a sweat.

"Haha, he can be quite dependable at times," Hee-won said as she chuckled.

"What do you mean by sometimes?" Haru pouted unhappily, causing the others to chuckle.

"KIIEK*

Suddenly, a rat leaped out at Sang-ah from behind.

"Sang-ah, Look out!" Hyun-sung shouted as he noticed the rat. But he wasn't the only one who noticed it.

WHOOSH* CLANK*

'Sang-ah...' Dok-ja's thoughts paused as he saw Sang-ah swiftly turn around and strike the rat with the crowbar in her hands.

'...What happened to you?' Dok-ja blinked, as he didn't expect Sang-ah to respond so adeptly to a surprise attack.

"That was close," Sang-ah sighed.

The rat scurried back and retreated.

"Sang-ah, you should be more cautious in the future," Haru warned her.

"I'll pay more attention next time," Sang-ah nodded and resolved to work on her situational awareness. She hadn't encountered such a situation before, as she had always had clear visibility in the open spaces she was accustomed to, unlike the dimly lit tunnels.

"There is a burrow here," Hee-won pointed to the deep hole that had been dug into the corner of the tunnel, smoke rising from within.

"There is a shoe here," Gil-young called attention to the object on the right side of the hole.

"Could someone have been dragged into this burrow?" Hyun-sung speculated, as that seemed to be the case.

'Who else has come through here besides Jung-hyeok?' Dok-ja can't envision that guy being dragged into this hole and leaving a shoe behind. He's not exactly a princess.

'Wait, no, scratch that. He's a total diva,' Dok-ja thought, setting aside the jokes.

He knew it was impossible for that shoe to belong to Jung-hyeok, as he wouldn't be concerned about ground rats.

"That is Myung-oh's shoe," Haru declared as he picked it up.

"How do you remember that?" Hee-won asked incredulously.

"Oh, there is a name tag on the sole inside," Haru showed it to everyone.

"There really is a label inside," Sang-ah marveled.

"I saw that he had labels on all of his shoes during the company trip to Tokyo," Haru tapped his chin as he recollected the trip he took to negotiate with a distributor in Tokyo, where Myung-oh had been included on the team, despite not being relevant to the discussions.

"He was listed as extra baggage," Queresha said, seeming somewhat annoyed with Myung-oh.

'It seems that Myung-oh caused some trouble on the trip. No, to be called extra baggage, he must have caused quite a stir,' Dok-ja thought, making sure not to get on the bad side of Queresha, whose words can make anyone cough up blood, Chinese or not.

'He tried to tag along when Haru and I were about to go on a date during our free time,' Queresha was feeling unhappy thinking about that day.

"Why do you look unhappy, Hee-won?" Haru asked, noticing that Hee-won looked a bit discontent.