POSSESSED 3

Does that, you know, mean the villains? Bad guys? Villains? Like Jang Taeyeon?

Perhaps because I possessed this body at an earlier point than expected, no villains other than myself have revealed their existence yet. If things flow according to the original work, the other villains in the novel will probably start appearing once the main “Su” makes his debut and begins hanging around Baek Joomyeong.

There were a total of four villains in the novel <Devil Double>, and Jang Taeyeon was the third in line.

Even among villains, there was a certain level of difficulty. If the fourth villain to appear was considered the strongest, Jang Taeyeon was the one right before that. Because he had mental-type abilities, he wasn’t physically overwhelming, but he was incredibly tricky to deal with. If you let your guard down, you’d find yourself mentally dominated or your memories manipulated in no time.

Furthermore, Jang Taeyeon wasn’t a character who just popped up after the first two villains disappeared. As you can see, isn’t he currently a teacher at a daycare center where a large number of Hunters’ children are gathered? Thus, from the beginning of the novel until he was revealed as a villain, he occupied small chunks of screentime and gave the readers a sense of familiarity, only to deliver a massive plot twist later. So, third place was quite fitting.

Will the last villain take over the third spot now? Since I’ve dropped out of the villain ranks, the four will become three. That shouldn’t matter, right?

I finished getting ready for work while buying into all sorts of worries. This month, I wasn’t in charge of drop-offs and pick-ups, so I didn’t need to go in early, which left me mentally relaxed.

Arriving at the Eden Daycare Center in a leisurely manner, I first changed into my work attire. Even so, it was just an apron with cute drawings of rabbits, puppies, tigers, or dinosaurs that the kids like. No matter what I wore under the apron, the dress code was free as long as it didn’t cross the line.

While waiting for the cute children to arrive, I swept and mopped the Rainbow Class—my assigned room. After checking if the teaching aids and toys were in their places, I even checked the bathroom. Even though I hadn’t done much, I felt proud of myself, making a show of wiping my forehead with the back of my hand.

Compared to before the possession when things were at their worst, life now was definitely sweet. The Americano with five extra shots that I used to chug the moment I got to work, the relentless storm of calls from clients, the project proposals that were rejected every single time….

The biggest problem was that no matter how much I worked until I coughed up blood, I never received any reward. The important credit was always snatched away by my obnoxious boss. Once, I couldn’t hold it back and confronted him, only for it to be reflected in my performance review, causing my promotion to be delayed. When all my peers were being promoted, I had to swallow my tears and congratulate them.

Is there no way to go back to my original world with Jang Taeyeon’s body? If I could just go back, I’d really… that son of a bitch, Manager Park…!

It was while I was filled with rage. A teacher passing by in the hallway poked her head into the Rainbow Class and informed me.

“Teacher, the shuttle bus is here.”

“Ah, yes.”

Shaking off my distracting thoughts, I ran to the shuttle bus in a single bound. As soon as I saw the faces of the small, cute children, I smiled brightly and waved my hand. Then, calling each of them by name, I helped the children standing on the shuttle bus steps down one by one.

“Hello, Hayul. Hello to you too, Jion.”

Now, who should I help down this time? Extending my hand playfully, I spotted a child with asymmetrically tied pigtails, snow-white skin, and two red cheeks, and my eyes widened immediately.

“Huh? Yeonji! Why are you here…!”

Why are you coming out of here? Why did you come to school on the shuttle bus? I thought that at the very least, an acquaintance of Baek Joomyeong—no, another Hunter—would drop you off?

I looked at Yeonji, who was staring at me with frightened eyes before dropping her head low, and I leaned down to match her eye level. I brightened my blank expression into a radiant one and apologized.

“I’m sorry. Was teacher’s voice too loud? It’s just because teacher was so happy to see Yeonji like this.”

“Shall teacher pick our Yeonji up—heave-ho—to bring her down? Or would you like to hold teacher’s hand while getting off? Teacher will do whatever Yeonji wants.”

I waited for the child while speaking softly. Then, Yeonji gradually raised her head and reached out her two arms. It meant she wanted to be carried down.

Yeonji was quite cute in this way. Although she seemed generally quiet and shy, she didn’t really hold back when it came to actions she found interesting.

Barely holding back the laughter that was about to burst out, I lifted Yeonji high. Without putting her down, I carried her into the center. After dropping the child off in the classroom, I looked for the teacher who had been in charge of the morning shuttle.

“About Yeonji taking the shuttle today. Was she alone?”

“Yeonji? No. Hunter Baek Joomyeong was there, you know?”

This was unexpected news.

Hunter Baek Joomyeong was there? Did he return after finishing the gate battle?

“He looked like a mess. You heard about the gate this time too, right, Teacher? It seemed like he had just returned because he was completely out of it.”

“He was out of it?”

“Yes! He looked incredibly tired. His eyes were half-closed, looking like he was ready to fall asleep at any moment. He was just standing there blankly and even forgot to give me Yeonji’s bag, so he had to run back to the bus after saying goodbye…. But even so, he was still handsome, you know?”

Was he that tired after the gate battle? I guess even an S-rank can’t put up a fight against exhaustion.

I understand that he wasn’t in a situation to drop Yeonji off himself. However, I felt a lingering sense of disappointment. What if a culprit targeting Yeonji had appeared? What if they had ambushed the shuttle bus?

Even if I’ve quit being a villain, the other villains haven’t.

“……”

Am I overthinking this? Since I’ve read the novel, I know the dangers that will befall Yeonji…. But the person who causes those dangers….

“Was me…?”

Since I’ve become Jang Taeyeon, does that mean Yeonji won’t be in danger?

If so, that’s a relief. I’ve never felt so relieved to be Jang Taeyeon.

Leaving behind the teacher who was looking at me strangely, I entered the classroom. From early morning, the children were preparing to run around the daycare playground. Yeonji was standing alone in front of the mirror, fumbling with her own hair.

Let’s go. Let’s go and burn some of that morning energy, kids.

🍥

I sat on the playground floor and looked up at the sky. The sky was high and clear. It was the height of autumn.

Come to think of it, the main “Su,” Lee Kangseo, won’t appear until next spring. If I vaguely remember the description, it was something about when the flowers bloom. Even though it feels like it’s far away, thinking that he’ll appear as soon as winter passes makes it feel like it’s just around the corner.

I returned my head to its original position at the sound of approaching “patter-patter” footsteps. Two little boys approached me. One child sat on my lap as he pleased, and the other clung to my shoulder and asked.

“Teacher! My daddy is the strongest, right?!”

“Mm-hmm, Taeyun’s father is very strong.”

“No! Shiho’s mommy is stronger! She’s more powerful!”

“Stupid! No, she’s not! My daddy is the strongest!”

Just what kind of debate are you two having. Won’t you explain it in detail to teacher? If you just suddenly say your parents are strong, what is teacher supposed to do?

“Actually, teacher has a secret.”

After lining Taeyun and Shiho up in front of me, I pretended to look around the surroundings. The children, hooked by the word ‘secret’, each looked at me intently with nervous faces.

“Teacher is actually the strongest in the world?”

Even though teacher is hiding his abilities because he wants to live peacefully, once I unleash them, they’re truly enormous, you know?

“Eyyy….”

The children lost interest as soon as I spoke. Taeyun ran toward the slide, and Shiho dashed toward the swings. Left all alone, I scratched my cheek and stood up.