Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

Han Seo-hyeon was looking back on old memories.

‘Is this a dream?’

It must be a dream. Ever since his brother ended up like that, Han Seo-hyeon’s dreams had always been revisiting the past.

It was right after Han Seo-hyeon had finished awakening. Hearing that his brother had awakened her ability, Han Jo-hee asked with an excited face:

“Seo-hyeon, what’s your ability?”

“It’s the ability to move dead animals…”

After saying that, Han Seo-hyeon unconsciously glanced at Han Jo-hee’s reaction. Because he knew how Han Jo-hee felt about his interest in insect and animal corpses since childhood.

As expected, Han Jo-hee’s expression wasn’t very good. Han Jo-hee’s expression suddenly brightened only after hearing Han Seo-hyeon’s grade.

After that, Han Jo-hee continued to show interest in Han Seo-hyeon’s talent occasionally. But he couldn’t carelessly use the ability to move corpses.

Perhaps because of Han Seo-hyeon’s ability, Han Jo-hee would freak out even when crime-related things came on TV, saying you must never become such a bad person.

Though you have an ability people avoid and possess black magic power, you’re a good kid, he said. A kind kid, he said. That’s what’s important, he said.

“What ability you have isn’t important. What’s important is how you use that ability.”

Han Jo-hee who said that put his hand on Han Seo-hyeon’s shoulder and said with a serious face:

“So let’s go to hunter academy.”

It was words to make his heart flutter, but Han Seo-hyeon immediately shook his head.

“The academy won’t accept me.”

“Is Babel the only hunter academy?”

After learning that Han Seo-hyeon had awakened a talent with A-grade potential, Han Jo-hee immediately headed to Babel Academy with Han Seo-hyeon. They thought admission would be possible of course, but the answer was rejection. Something about not being able to accept an awakener who uses dangerous black magic power. Han Seo-hyeon was greatly disappointed at those words, but soon shook off his lingering attachments.

But Han Jo-hee couldn’t do that, it seems.

“You know how expensive private hunter academies are.”

The tuition for private hunter academies was too expensive for Han Jo-hee, who had just become an adult, to afford.

“I’ll just go to a regular high school.”

“You’re going to waste a talent with A-grade potential just like that? When others all become hunters and enter guilds, do you want to do manual labor like me?”

“What’s wrong with working like you?”

“You! You can’t become like me.”

Han Jo-hee who was always kind to Han Seo-hyeon got very angry at Han Seo-hyeon’s words that day. Until Han Seo-hyeon said crying that he would attend hunter academy.

So Han Seo-hyeon decided to attend hunter academy. The young Han Seo-hyeon didn’t know what Han Jo-hee had done and sacrificed in that process. After all, Han Seo-hyeon was only fourteen years old at the time.

One thing for certain is that from then on, fatigue clung to Han Jo-hee’s face and didn’t disappear.

A narrow single room, with mold growing here and there, so old and worn out it looked like it would collapse at any moment. Han Seo-hyeon and Han Jo-hee were lying down covered by the same blanket in that narrow room.

“Seo-hyeon, you need to do well when you go to the academy tomorrow.”

“I said I’ll do well, why do you keep saying that.”

Han Seo-hyeon frowned at Han Jo-hee’s worry. Han Jo-hee chuckled seeing Han Seo-hyeon’s pouty face.

“I know you’ll do well. I’m just worried because I worry a lot.”

“Geez. Worrying must be your fate.”

At Han Seo-hyeon’s words, Han Jo-hee shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s right, worrying is my fate. They say I was originally born to worry a lot.”

“Who says?”

“Mom. She had my fortune told long ago and it said that. That I have a fate of worrying a lot throughout my life.”

Though his insides churned at hearing the word ‘mom’ after so long, Han Seo-hyeon opened his mouth in a deliberately grumpy tone:

“Come on, isn’t that a quack? What kind of fortune telling gives that kind of interpretation? They should only say good things.”

At Han Seo-hyeon’s words, Han Jo-hee said:

“Still, it’s not a completely bad story. Some people are told they’ll get divorced five times.”

“If you get divorced five times, that means you got married five times too. That’s pretty impressive?”

“What on earth are you saying!”

Han Seo-hyeon burst out laughing at Han Jo-hee’s horrified voice. His innocent brother who was strangely naive always freaked out at jokes like this.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll do well so you don’t have to worry.”

Han Seo-hyeon told Han Jo-hee confidently. That he would do so well that his brother wouldn’t have to worry about him.

At this time, Han Seo-hyeon had no idea about his future. How he, born with black magic power and the talent of necromancy, would be treated at hunter academy.

“You just need to comfortably wait believing I’ll succeed.”

So he said such immature words. Because he really thought he would succeed.

“Haha, am I going to benefit from my little brother?”

“Yeah. So don’t work too much. You should go on dates with someone you like and enjoy life a bit.”

“Oh my, our Seo-hyeon has such deep thoughts. I feel like I’m going to cry.”

“Ah, come on! When someone talks seriously you should listen seriously.”

Han Seo-hyeon and Han Jo-hee chattered all night long, bumping into each other in the narrow blanket. Until Han Jo-hee looked at the clock and said with a stern face ‘It’s really time to sleep now’.

And suddenly Han Seo-hyeon was back in the hospital room of that day.

It was the last day he saw Han Jo-hee alive.

After sending away Detective Do Chae-hee who was asking various questions, Han Seo-hyeon turned his head back.

Looking at his brother lying in bed with a pale face, Han Seo-hyeon felt a deep fatigue.

It was tiring that the brother he had been searching for desperately for days had ended up like this, and the police with their needless suspicions too. Everything was just exhausting. But what was hardest for Han Seo-hyeon was Han Jo-hee stubbornly refusing to receive treatment.

“Let’s discharge right now. Do you know how much the hospital bills here are?”

“I know, but how long can you last if you leave here? A day? Two days?”

Han Seo-hyeon didn’t have the courage to let go of Han Jo-hee yet. He had never imagined a life without Han Jo-hee. Why should I live if my brother is gone? How can you tell me to live the rest of my life with such irresponsible words?

Forcibly suppressing the sharp words rising from inside, Han Seo-hyeon continued speaking to Han Jo-hee’s question:

“Crimson Hound Guild gave some compensation money. For now just focus on recovering your body.”

Most of it was a lie, but he didn’t feel guilty. Because the most important thing now was saving Han Jo-hee.

“If you have that kind of money you should spend it on yourself. For the academy…”

At those words, Han Seo-hyeon exploded.

“If it wasn’t for the damn academy’s practical training fees in the first place, you wouldn’t have ended up like this!”

At the time he didn’t know. He was just angry. Because he couldn’t understand his brother who was still hung up on the academy even in this situation. Because he hated his brother who could so easily give up his own life but still forced the academy on him.

So Han Seo-hyeon didn’t even think to look at what kind of expression Han Jo-hee was making then, what kind of thoughts he was having.

Looking at his past self leaving the hospital room without hesitation, Han Seo-hyeon said:

“Don’t do that. Stay by your brother’s side.”

But that voice didn’t reach his past self. Han Seo-hyeon left the hospital room without hesitation.

Unlike his past self who left his brother heartlessly, Han Seo-hyeon slowly approached Han Jo-hee. But Han Jo-hee lying in bed couldn’t recognize Han Seo-hyeon right in front of him and was just blankly staring at his past self who had already left.

Han Seo-hyeon was greatly surprised when he examined Han Jo-hee’s face.

Han Jo-hee was crying. Looking at Han Seo-hyeon’s back, he was silently shedding tears without even making a sound.

“Why are you crying like that.”

What on earth did my brother do wrong to be crying? I’m the bad one for making my brother cry. I’m the one who made my brother upset. How could you say such things after all the effort to raise me? You should have gotten angry instead.

Words he couldn’t bring himself to say piled up.

Before Han Seo-hyeon could comfort him, the Han Jo-hee before his eyes disappeared like an illusion.

“Ah.”

Instead, the already dead Han Jo-hee appeared before his eyes.

“Brother…”

Twisted arms and legs, a face contorted in pain, a body turned to rags. It was exactly the appearance he had confirmed in the morgue.

It was such a horrible sight that some would scream, but Han Seo-hyeon calmly looked at Han Jo-hee like that.

“I’m sorry.”

And then he said the words he couldn’t bring hiself to say:

“What you were worried about was my future, right? ‘You can’t live a bottom-of-the-barrel life like me.’ You always said that.”

That’s probably why he brought up the academy even while dying.

What Han Jo-hee worried about until the end in that hospital room that day was Han Seo-hyeon’s future. Because he wanted Han Seo-hyeon not to live a bottom-of-the-barrel life like himself, because he wanted Han Seo-hyeon to live a wonderful life unlike himself.

Because he loved his younger brother in that way.

“I didn’t know. Back then… I just hated you.”

If I had known it would be the last time, I wouldn’t have said such things.

Instead, I would have said:

Thank you, brother.

And I’m sorry. For not understanding your feelings. That day, I shouldn’t have said those things.

That wasn’t the end of what he needed to apologize for.

“There’s something else I’m sorry for.”

For ultimately not living the life you wanted for me, for ultimately choosing revenge. For ultimately becoming the villain you told me so much not to become, saying I would take revenge just for myself.

Every night, Han Seo-hyeon conveyed apologies that would never reach his brother.

“But you know. I just couldn’t become a wonderful hunter graduating from the academy like you wanted.”

The moment he faced Han Jo-hee who had returned in tatters, without a single part intact, the foolish younger brother abandoned even his brother’s last wish. He threw the years of sacrifice his brother had made into the trash.

“You said that even if I was born with this kind of ability, I just needed to live kindly, but I’m actually not such a good person.”

I wasn’t such a good person to begin with. I just pretended to be a good person because I didn’t want to disappoint you.

Han Seo-hyeon poured out the words he couldn’t say to him brother until now.

“So I’m sorry.”

His eyes grew hot. Han Seo-hyeon lowered his head. His tears fell drip drip onto his feet.

There were too many things to be sorry to his brother for.

Sorry for ignoring your sacrifices.

Sorry for ignoring your wishes and saying I would take revenge.

And finally…

“Sorry for not regretting it.”

For doing everything you told me not to do, and yet… for daring to not even regret it. For making the same choice a hundred times even if I went back to that day, I’m sorry for that.

At that moment, a white skeleton appeared before his eyes.

“Brother?”

It was the very skeleton Han Seo-hyeon had first summoned.

Without him giving any orders, that skeleton walked steadily towards him. Then it stood crookedly and glared at him. As if very displeased with Han Seo-hyeon’s words.

“What is it.”

Han Seo-hyeon frowned.

“You’re not my brother.”

He wanted to see his brother again. If this was just a dream anyway, he wanted to see his brother who he could never see again. Even if it was that final appearance that made his heart ache just to look at.

It was much better than this bag of bones.

“Disappear.”

But no matter how much he ordered inwardly, the skeleton didn’t disappear.

The skeleton that approached him steadily raised its hand.

“What are you doing?”

Han Seo-hyeon tried to control the skeleton, but the skeleton didn’t listen. And thud. With the sensation of the skeleton striking his head, Han Seo-hyeon opened his eyes.

“Huk, huk…”

Han Seo-hyeon blinked. His blurry vision gradually became clear. What came into his eyes was the white skeleton.

“What is it…”

Hadn’t he woken up from the dream?

No, this isn’t a dream. Han Seo-hyeon took a breath. The sand that had been firmly restraining his body scattered the moment Han Seo-hyeon came to his senses. And Han Seo-hyeon collapsed face down on the ground.

“Ugh!”

Leaving Han Seo-hyeon who had collapsed behind, the skeleton moved its steps. Han Seo-hyeon followed the skeleton with his gaze.

“Where are you going…”

Like in the ‘dream’, the skeleton didn’t listen to Han Seo-hyeon’s orders. The skeleton unhesitatingly detached its left arm bone. Han Seo-hyeon’s mouth fell open at that sight.

The skeleton waved the detached left arm bone held in its right hand. The blunt bone instantly became a sharp sword.

The skeleton holding the sword struck down at something writhing on the ground. Those mechanical movements devoid of any emotion continued several times.

How much time passed like that?

「You have passed the ‘Deceiver’s’ trial.」

System windows popped up incessantly before his eyes. Through that, he realized. Though he didn’t know what had happened, this skeleton had just saved him.

The skeleton walked over slowly. Thud, the skeleton that had tapped his head pointed at someone with its one remaining hand.

It was Kang Yi-sin lying collapsed covered in blood.