I Became a Villain’s Hero

I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.

"Did you put something strange in it? No? How can you...?"

I was about to retort, incredulous, but then I remembered, I'm a villain.

...She's quite perceptive, isn't she?

But I hadn't done anything to Song Soo-yeon's food.

If I added anything, it was purely sincerity.

"...You didn't add anything?"

She asked, her expression softened.

"I didn't. And what would I add, anyway? If you think there's a problem, call a hero. They'll arrive quickly. I'll even keep the door open."

I actually stood up and opened the restaurant's front door wide.

The cool autumn air flowed in freely.

Feeling the breeze, she spoke with a look of guilt.

"...You were laughing like the devil...I thought you might have done something..."

She muttered to herself, too embarrassed to admit her mistake.

"...The devil...?"

"....."

Soon, she awkwardly picked up the chopsticks she'd dropped, placed them carefully on the table, and began eating her black bean noodles again with new utensils.

I, too, found myself laughing incredulously after hearing her excuse.

"...Hahaha."

"...Don't laugh in a way that's upsetting."

"..."

"...It's frightening...no..annoying."

It seemed she had suppressed the guilt she'd shown earlier, giving me another warning.

I calmed my laughter.

Didn't want her to choke on her food.

"...Sorry."

I apologized lightly.

A part of me felt sad.

How had she lived to trust people so little?

I wasn't that extreme.

Maybe it's because of this distrust in others that she flourished as a villain.

"....."

I watched Song Soo-yeon continue her meal.

At least, having someone to talk to alleviated the boredom.

I wasn't too bothered being suspected as a pervert or a bad guy.

It was far better than being alone.

Ah.

How fortunate to have a second life.

I never imagined I'd experience such subtle joy in my previous life.

The beautiful world that Solace showed me.

"....."

I felt like laughing, but since Song Soo-yeon asked me not to, I forcibly held it back.

But Song Soo-yeon didn't thank me today either.

I really had put effort into that.

---

---

Home and school.

That was Song Soo-yeon's entire world.

To her, that was everything.

But both were hellish for her.

Such a disgustingly filthy world.

First, home.

Unlike other homes where children are nurtured with love and attention, to Song Soo-yeon, home was merely a place to sleep without freezing to death.

It had been too long since she stopped expecting anything from her parents.

Her father was addicted to gambling, her mother to alcohol.

She couldn't even recall when they were normal.

It seemed they had always been that way.

She had tried.

Tried to change them back to normal.

She started trying when she was very young.

From around the age of 10, the sound of things breaking in the house never stopped.

Two addicts together created a hell beyond compare.

Song Soo-yeon, who naively believed they could get better, tried everything to mend her parents' relationship, but her efforts were painfully inadequate.

No response came from them, even when she performed songs and dances, gave them gifts she made with care, or wrote heartfelt letters.

The battle with her parents' addictions seemed endless.

One day, out of desperation, she called a hero.

"Please help!! Please, I beg you!!"

A hero arrived, responding to her cries.

Tearfully, Song Soo-yeon begged in front of him.

"My parents fight too much... Please, stop them..."

But even he couldn't be her savior.

"Where's the villain...?"

"...Pardon?"

"Where's the villain, kid?"

"There's no... villain... It's just my parents fighting too much... Please... help..."

She couldn't forget the hero's sigh that followed.

"...Haa..."

His expression seemed to show annoyance.

He quickly masked it with an awkward smile and said,

"You see, kid. This isn't a job for heroes. It's a matter for the police. We're only called when villains appear."

Song Soo-yeon couldn't accept his words.

"...On TV, heroes help with any kind of trouble..."

"There are people in more danger than you. If we get busy solving minor issues like this, we can't help them."

And then, the hero vanished in the blink of an eye.

Listening to the continuous yelling of her parents in the background, young Song Soo-yeon had to process this shock.

She sank into a feeling of helplessness.

Soon, whether the hero had contacted the police or not, the police stormed into their home, but Song Soo-yeon was too shocked to react, standing there like a doll with its string cut.

Her illusion of the shining heroes on TV shattered.

'Just a minor issue' he had said.

Just a minor issue.

To her, there was no problem more serious.

She feared nothing more than her family falling apart.

How could she escape this reality when even heroes wouldn't help?

Was she 12 or 13 then?

She couldn't even remember her exact age at that time, but that was when Song Soo-yeon accepted her inescapable reality and gave up on two things deep inside her heart.

She lost her affection for her parents and her admiration for heroes.

She realized there was nothing she could do about her parents, despite all her efforts.

She was already exhausted at that young age.

That day, her parents died in her heart.

And heroes...

There were no heroes in this world.

Contrary to their claims of risking their lives to save others, they were only interested in beating villains and seeking glory, nothing more than state-sanctioned thugs.

A real hero would have saved her, helped her when she was crying and pleading.

But instead, she only received an annoyed sigh.

She still couldn't understand how a hero could leave her crying and walk away.

Her second world, the school, was even worse than home.

The school was filled with malice.

After mentally letting go of her parents, she began to focus on her studies to escape, but she was overwhelmed by the malice.

First came the jealousy of the girls.

As Song Soo-yeon grew more beautiful, the girls couldn't leave her alone.

Looks turned into nudges, nudges into whispers, whispers into backbiting, and then into bullying.

Tearing her books, spilling on them, scribbling on them.

Dirtying her desk, hiding it, breaking it.

Facing blatant bullying, she was powerless.

Even the teachers didn't help.

The female teachers were too busy being jealous of her beauty.

She was that beautiful.

But the bullying from the girls was relatively bearable compared to the lustful gazes of the boys.

In front, they ogled her appearance, scanning every part of her body.

Behind her back, they made lewd comments, treating her horribly.

Seeing them pretend to be nice only to try something later made her sick to her stomach.

How could they be so contradictory?

Treating her like a trophy.

She had received countless confessions, and all the men were the same.

Always that lustful glint in their eyes, desiring to do something to her.

Juniors, classmates, seniors, teachers... this fact remained constant with men.

Many boys with strong supernatural powers approached her in school, and handsome ones continuously challenged her.

But to Song Soo-yeon, their gazes always made her feel disgusted.

So much so that she couldn't even stand to be friends with them.

Song Soo-yeon often wondered if she had a power, would it be a psychic one?

Sometimes she felt like she could read their minds.

Thoughts of touching her, trying something, making her theirs to boast about... such thoughts seemed to echo to her.

Of course, she wasn't sure if she was really hearing those things or going insane.

If it were a power, she should have been able to read minds at will, but that wasn't the case.

Even so, these voices might have been why she didn't want to get close to anyone, regardless of gender.

Even if she was going crazy, those voices were too clear to ignore.

In such a situation, it was almost inevitable that she became a loner.

Her second world, too, was like hell.

Yet, it was ironic that she couldn't escape either place.

She needed a home to sleep, so she couldn't leave.

She needed food, so she couldn't leave school.

She still wanted to live like a human, which was why she hadnt given up on getting a diploma.

After all, even getting a diploma through the GED required money.

She just wanted to live a normal life.

So, she kept enduring.

Being a loner was bearable.

Loneliness wasn't new to her.

Having always been alone at home, being alone wasnt difficult.

She had always thought the world was like this.

So, she was just waiting for the day she became an adult.

Longing for the day she would be free from both school and family.

She vaguely hoped something would change once she escaped.

Now, there were only 5 months left.

---

---

Working part-time jobs, Song Soo-yeon saved money.

She was saving up for the security deposit to rent an apartment as soon as she became an adult.

Her goal was 5 million won.

She was almost there.

The inconveniences of not being an adult were numerous.

She couldnt find proper part-time jobs.

Being a minor, she needed a consent form from a parent or guardian to work, but she didnt want to ask her parents, who she didnt even speak to.

They wouldnt have helped anyway.

Therefore, she could only do jobs that didnt require a labor contract.

Mostly, she distributed flyers.

Sometimes, she worked as a traffic controller.

It was good to be paid in cash after finishing the job.

She worked mostly after school or concentrated her work on the weekends.

...Of course, saving money wasnt as easy as it sounded.

Since she couldnt live under her parents' protection, she had to solve everything by herself.

She had to buy everything she needed for school with her own money.

School uniforms, bags, stationery... etc.

There was also a sporty jacket she bought long ago.

It was out of fashion now, but she couldnt afford to throw it away.

She also had to buy her own dinners and pay for haircuts.

Even the smartphone was essential in modern life, so she paid the bill with her own money.

Because of this, there were times she had to go hungry.

Like that day.

Song Soo-yeon had not eaten all weekend, but now the end of her suffering was nearing.

Monday's lunchtime was approaching.

"Hey Song Soo-yeon, come here."

But the girls who envied her wouldn't leave her alone.

Seemingly eager to unleash their pent-up frustrations from the weekend, they naturally led Song Soo-yeon behind the school.

After enduring a vicious round of bullying that left her shaking, and fending off the advances of boys who circled her like hyenas, by the time Song Soo-yeon entered the cafeteria, lunchtime was almost over.

She could have begged the teacher on lunch duty, apologizing for being late and promising to eat quickly, to get some food... but Song Soo-yeon couldn't bring herself to do it.

Pride was the last thing she had left.

It was all she possessed.

That's why she hadnt succumbed to the bullies or relied on any boys.

She hadn't strayed onto a wrong path, all because of that meager pride.

She didn't want to admit defeat to anyone.

Moreover, the lunch duty teacher was a male math teacher who ogled her, rolling his eyes and wetting his lips.

Sometimes, she felt like she could hear his thoughts.

'Nice figure.'

Or

'Wish I could touch those thighs.'

Though she clearly heard these words, she still couldn't shake off the suspicion that she was going crazy.

Either way, it was impossible for her to beg such a repulsive teacher for food.

Her pride simply wouldn't allow it.

Song Soo-yeon had no choice but to turn away, though her feet refused to move.

---

---

After school, Song Soo-yeon aimlessly wandered the streets.

She didn't want to go home.

She checked her phone dozens of times for any flyer distribution jobs, but there was nothing.

Her phone battery was also dying.

Her stomach kept growling endlessly, now starting to hurt.

She had filled up on water countless times, but now she was at the point of feeling nauseous.

Eventually, she found herself drawn to a Korean Soup restaurant.

She seemed to have been lured in by the smell.

From the dark street, Song Soo-yeon looked inside the brightly lit restaurant.

Everyone was eating and laughing with friends.

...For some reason, seeing that made her heart ache.

She never wanted to admit that she was lonely or struggling... but sometimes.

...Sometimes, she had strange thoughts.

They were hard to describe.

She wondered what it would have been like to live an ordinary life among them.

As she gazed at them, swallowing her saliva, someone came out of the restaurant.

He was alone too.

Just like her.

He was a man with an ordinary look.

Black hair, a bit tall.

A face without any apparent worries.

He seemed so enviable, walking out after finishing his meal.

As she found herself unintentionally fixated on him, she heard his thoughts.

".....Ah."

Thoughts warmer than she had ever heard from anyone else.

'The world is beautiful.'

'I should feed people who are hungry for free.'

She couldn't be sure if these were actually his thoughts or just a fantasy conjured up by her own hunger, like the Little Match Girl*.

But her hungry stomach drove her to act.

If he really thought that way.

If he truly wanted to feed someone.

Song Soo-yeon, seeing him alone just like her, approached him and said,

"...Mister, I'm so hungry, could you please buy me a meal?

Unaware of how this would change her life.