Shin Jimin suddenly turned her head back.
She immediately knew who had just spewed nonsense.
It was a fan whose hair was so tightly curled and puffed up it looked like cotton candy, giving her a crooked smile as if to say, “What are you looking at?”
“Hah.”
A warm steam rose from the top of her head after a long time.
Except for the moments when she was hit with a sudden surge of feelings about Roy or when she faced internet factions spreading malicious comments or slander about him, Shin Jimin had been living relatively happy days.
No matter how angry she got, the sight of Roy filling the entire screen would cool her temper instantly.
“I don’t get why they’re cheering as if Hwang Roy himself is holding a solo concert. Don’t they feel embarrassed?”
But now, it was different.
At a glance, it seemed like a muttering to herself, but the curly-haired fan’s gaze was firmly fixed on Shin Jimin. Moreover, she even mentioned Roy, whom Shin Jimin had been cheering loudly for.
A smile, as if painted on, spread across Shin Jimin’s lips.
The other Heoseongdan members sitting beside her felt the chill creeping up their arms and discreetly shifted their seats.
“Hello?”
Shin Jimin deliberately greeted in a bright voice while quickly scanning the fan who had provoked her from head to toe, dressed in nothing but luxury brands.
In contrast, her own outfit today looked like that of a jobless person if encountered on the street nine times out of ten.
Of course, since this was Kkoribyul’s debut stage she had been waiting for with bated breath, Shin Jimin had intended to wear her best clothes and even stop by the shop for hair and makeup.
‘But I ended up clicking on the fancam compilation video last night.’
She had already watched those videos dozens of times.
Some were even shot by Shin Jimin herself, so there was no need to say more.
What was fresh, however, was that someone had collected every single fancam video of Roy uploaded on SNS and edited them into one seamless piece.
‘Definitely the work of a skilled professional.’
Judging by the editing alone, it was on another level compared to her own attempts.
Fallen completely under the sweet trap, Shin Jimin stayed up all night and even missed her alarm after briefly dozing off.
Awakening with a start and an uneasy feeling, she realized she didn’t have time to stop by the shop.
She quickly grabbed whatever clothes were at hand, got dressed, and rushed to the Radio Broadcast Station just in time.
‘Do they really think I’m just some insignificant fan number one based on how I look right now?’
They probably chose the most approachable person around when looking for someone to pick a fight with.
Of the people glancing back, she was likely the target.
To hide her rough appearance, Shin Jimin even wore a mask.
With the lower half of her face covered, she looked much younger than her actual age, making her an easy target.
‘Still, it wouldn’t be polite to avoid a confrontation if it’s initiated first.’
After all, she had once been called the crazy girl of Ssangmun-dong during her school days.
She earned the nickname because she charged headfirst like an angry rhinoceros at anyone who tried to extort others.
Thanks to that, Shin Jimin was more confident than anyone else in a fight.
And the fan who provoked her had hair so fluffy and curly, like a poodle’s, it was perfect to grab hold of.
‘Might as well warm up my hands after a long time.’
Following Kkoribyul, the next group took the stage, but Shin Jimin was a hardcore fan.
She was a true devotee who only supported Hwang Roy and Kkoribyul.
Under normal circumstances, she would have shown proper respect and cheered wholeheartedly for the other groups.
The problem was that her composure was barely holding on by a thread.
The curly-haired fan would have surely picked another Heoseongdan member as a scapegoat if Shin Jimin hadn’t been there.
While she welcomed these kinds of confrontations, knowing them all too well, she worried about the more fragile Heoseongdan members becoming victims…
“Shall we step outside and talk?”
Unable to resist the urge to grab the curly-haired fan immediately, Shin Jimin nodded towards the exit.
If they went outside even once, it was unlikely they would return.
Though focusing on the stage might make it hard to see the audience seats, this behavior could disturb the performance.
The security guards, sensing something off, narrowed their eyes.
This could easily escalate to being banned from the broadcast station.
As Shin Jimin tried to calm her rising anger, “I—”
“…What?”
Suddenly, the curly-haired fan started acting strangely.
Her eyes rolled back, turning completely white, and eerie groans escaped her wide-open lips.
The unsettling sound made the fans sitting on either side flinch.
“Guuuh…”
The grotesque noises didn’t stop with just one.
Shin Jimin raised her magical energy, sensing a chilling aura coming from the fan who had provoked her.
‘…Please don’t tell me it’s a hidden camera prank.’
That was impossible.
A Hunter Idol group was giving their all on the stage right now.
The strange phenomenon hadn’t gone beyond the eyes rolling back, but only those around the fan had noticed it.
“Are you… a Hunter?”
The person sitting beside Shin Jimin cautiously held onto her sleeve, their round glasses trembling with fear.
“You too?”
“Y-Yeah… but I only recently awakened as a Hunter, and my level is just 20.”
She must have instinctively sensed that something was seriously wrong.
“Don’t worry.”
Shin Jimin pulled out a suitable dagger and shield from her inventory.
Though her job was a buffer, she knew the basics of weapon use.
She wasn’t to be underestimated since she had a decent amount of experience after awakening as a Hunter.
“Graaah… aaah…”
As soon as Shin Jimin finished preparing for battle, the situation worsened.
The person, as if infected by the Zombie Virus, shook violently and screamed louder than before.
“Wh-what is this?”
“Kyaaah!”
“Why is there a monster here?”
Chaos erupted in an instant.
The singing on stage abruptly stopped.
The MR track continued through the speakers, but the Hunter Idols performing on stage froze at the screams.
“Wow, so it’s not the Zombie Virus, but the Mud Virus.”
Mud Virus.
An unfamiliar term, but Shin Jimin couldn’t think of a better name for what was unfolding before her eyes.
“Guh, guh… krrrk…”
From every orifice on the face, mud oozed out in thick wriggling worms.
It was a grotesque sight too horrible to watch with open eyes.
Fortunately, Shin Jimin was someone who could tolerate gore quite well, having watched many horror films.
“Mom…”
“P-Please do something here!”
The problem was that most people had almost no immunity to such horrific sights.
Among the fans, there were many students who hadn’t reached adulthood yet.
As people scattered to avoid the transforming fan, some were pushed and injured in the chaotic rush.
“Shin Jimin!”
“…Roy?”
Just as Shin Jimin was about to attack the monster to save the people, a voice she’d been hearing even in her dreams flew to her ears.
“Are you okay?”
“What do we do here…?”
Kkoribyul’s stage was already over.
As far as she knew, after the debut stage, they were heading soon to the Radio Broadcast Station.
It was confirmed from the official SNS schedule.
Yet Roy appeared right before Shin Jimin, still in his elaborate stage makeup and costume.
“There’s still some time left, so I was about to leave. I heard there was trouble here, so I came.”
After finishing the stage, Roy scanned the faces of the fans who had come to cheer for him and his members. Although he couldn’t call out names directly, Shin Jimin was beyond happy to be noticed.
{…Contractor, it looks like the mutation is complete.}
Serious Earth’s voice echoed inside Roy’s mind.
“Poreureu!” (Contractor, I sense a very evil aura!)
Arra circled the Mud Monster, wagging her tail. Each time, shimmering droplets blossomed in the air.
‘Aqua, don’t kill it yet. Try to capture it.’
If it were a monster that came from a Dungeon, Roy would have ordered it to be killed without hesitation. The problem was that the Mud Monster’s face was melting away, and it was one of the fans who had come here.
Even if not a fan of Kkoribyul, they were still precious.
“Everyone, please move this way slowly. Running will cause injuries!”
Not only Roy but also Kkoribyul’s other members and the groups performing on stage quickly moved to control the fans.
Some security guards in their uniforms were evacuating people safely, while most gathered around the Mud Monster.
“Grrr…”
The creature was no longer a curly-haired person but a mass of mud with barely any human features left.
Both arms were raised, and even the clothes were turning into mud seeping from the skin.
“Let’s restrain it first!”
One of the guards rushed first at the Mud Monster, holding a rope the thickness of a finger.
It was a binding rope infused with magic.
Even low-level monsters would lose their combat ability the moment their bodies touched the rope.
“Ugh…!”
However, the Mud Monster was stronger than expected.
The guard who threw a loop over the monster’s head was dragged forward by the pulling force of the rope.
The monster’s jaws opened wide — far too large for a human mouth, more resembling a crocodile’s.
The terrifying ferocity oozing from the Mud Monster was enough to crush a person’s head in an instant.
“Ris!”
“Piiiit!” (Understood, Contractor!)
Roy called Ris’s name. As Ris roamed nearby, she moved the wind to rescue the guard.
Shhaaak-
A slicing sound rang out, and the Mud Monster’s head, made entirely of mud without any facial features, began to tilt.
“Guuuh…”
The severed head rolled onto the floor.
The creature seemed confused, not even understanding that its neck had been cut.
“Is anyone hurt?”
A worried voice came along with the arrival of Kim Taejin, whose hair was now dyed a bright blue, quite different from the last time they met.
Kim Taejin lightly swung his sword, wiping off the mud stains.
His sword was a legendary-grade weapon.
No matter what stuck to the blade, a simple wipe restored its dazzling shine.
Before the cast of Hunter Idol groups all acquired legendary-grade weapons, Kim Taejin was one of the few to possess one.
Among them, he was always mentioned first.
“Senior Kim Taejin! Be careful!”
Roy shouted a warning to him. Aqua and Ris immediately activated their abilities following Roy’s glance.
The mud on Kim Taejin’s blade suddenly shifted direction, attacking the back of his neck.
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