VILLAIN 13

By the way… now that I’ve gotten Seo Kangsan to attend school, the real problem starts from here. I need to find a way to naturally send Seo Kangsan to Grandfather’s side.

If Seo Kangsan goes to Grandfather, the entire story would have to change, so the production side probably won’t tolerate it. This time, it won’t end with just a broken finger.

True. They won’t kill me; they’ll just make another part of my body dysfunctional. That’s even more painful for me.

I’d rather they just finished me off quickly, but that seems like a tall order. It’s hard enough ending my own life, yet here I am meeting this kid who keeps weighing on my mind….

So, Seo Kangsan, I’ll hang in there until you meet the protagonist. Since they say you’ll become happy once you meet them, I’ll stick it out until then.

Really? ㅇㅅㅇ

‘You always have to rain on my parade, you absolute villain.’

W-why are you being so mean!!! ㅠ_ㅠ!!

Seo Kangsan, who had been touching his hair and staring blankly at the apple the housekeeper brought, quickly snatched both forks away as if afraid I might take one.

I had reached out thinking I’d have at least one slice of apple, and I blinked slowly as the fork was snatched away.

Spearing a piece of apple with the fork he took, Seo Kangsan held it to my mouth and tilted his head as if telling me to eat.

“Aren’t you going to take it?”

…Aha, is he afraid I might self-harm with the fork?

Even so, would anyone really self-harm with a tiny fork like this?

I considered telling him that, but eventually opened my mouth and accepted the apple. Fine, I’ll just let you do whatever you want.

By the way… now that his hair is cut, he looks even more handsome, so I stared at him. Seo Kangsan, if you grow up like this, you’re going to be breaking a lot of hearts.

“What are you looking at?”

“Because you’re handsome.”

“Wha-what…!”

Stammering, Seo Kangsan shot up from his seat, his face turning beet red as he sputtered.

He’s going to hear that he’s handsome until he’s sick of it in the future, yet he reacts like this. Chuckling, I waved my hand for him to come closer so I could tidy up his slightly messy hair.

“Hyung, your hair.”

“W-why?”

“I’m just going to fix it for you.”

“What the, ha, seriously.” He muttered, yet he obediently lowered his head toward me.

A baby beast that’s been tamed. I felt like laughing because of that impression, but I felt like he’d run away the moment I let out a sound. I suppressed the urge to call him cute, kept my mouth shut, and smoothed his hair into place.

Then, with a ding, the space above Seo Kangsan’s head flashed noisily.

Looking up, I saw his favorability rising again.

Cute, how cute.

۶ৎ

I feel like I’m going to get indigestion, so how did things end up like this?

After spending time studying in the room with Seo Kangsan, the day to go to school finally arrived. I waved him off at the front door and was about to go back to my room when Grandfather paid a sudden visit. His eyes were still cold, but this time they were tinged with curiosity, as if he were observing me. So, for now, I was sitting at the dining table eating a meal with him. Of all times, he had to come when Seo Jun and Lee Sera were out….

I heard that Lee Sera was rushing home after hearing Grandfather had arrived, but since he suggested we eat first, I was sitting quietly in my chair.

‘I have nothing to say since Seo Kangsan isn’t here.’

It’s not like I have any reason to score points by talking, so I just scooped up rice and worked hard at putting it in my mouth.

I feel like I’m going to choke. I can’t even tell what it tastes like.

Score points… why is there no reason to do that…? You frustration!

‘You do it then.’

Why should I bother scoring points with someone who hates me?

Because he’s the one with the real power in this household! Oh my god! So frustrating!! >wㅠꐦ

So what. It’s not like I’m greedy for an inheritance, nor am I starved for affection.

Let Seo Kangsan have it all. I have absolutely no interest in inheriting things or running a company.

I’m going to die at fifteen anyway, so what use would any of that be?

That’s because things won’t just go according to your wishes!

What?

I was about to ask what that meant when Grandfather, who had been staring at me, finally opened his mouth.

“You seem to have changed a bit lately.”

I had been scowling at the system window, so I reacted a bit late and looked at Grandfather.

As he watched me while drinking water after finishing his meal, his eyes felt like they were trying to pick me apart piece by piece, which made me let out a small, hollow laugh. It almost felt like he was thinking, “You’re pulling some kind of trick right now, aren’t you?” I can understand why he’d think that given what the original Seo Hosu has done, but do you really have to be like this to a child? Instead of doing this to me, you should spend that effort and attention on Seo Kangsan.

Yeah, well… a lot of shitty things happen in life. Especially because of Lee Sera—my mom.

…I probably shouldn’t say that, right?

…Are you crazy…? ⊙_⊙

“Is that so?”

I couldn’t even be bothered to smile, so I just gave a half-hearted answer and put the dessert pudding into my mouth.

It’s delicious.

“You’re going to send Kangsan-hyung to middle school and high school too, right?”

I blurted it out casually while focusing on eating the pudding.

You sent him to elementary school, so shouldn’t you take responsibility for what comes after? I added that nuance.

At that, “Haha!” Grandfather laughed out loud for the first time and held out his pinky finger to me.

“Right, I promise. Shall we even hook fingers?”

“Yes.”

There was nothing to lose. He wouldn’t back out later after making a pinky promise with a child.

Because you’re that kind of person.

‘…Huh?’

What did I just think….

Mr. Seo Hosu! What on earth are you doing? You should be bullying him, and yet!

Frowning, I looked at Grandfather’s hand, then suddenly snapped out of it and hooked my finger with his.

“What about a dormitory?”

“Hmm?”

“A dormitory.”

If you aren’t going to send him to a dormitory, then take him with you. Stop letting him get hurt any more.

As I looked at him with somewhat sunken eyes, he stared back at me with that same smiling face.

“I have decided to follow Kangsan’s wishes. I told him he can do as he likes until he becomes an adult.”

When the kid is being abused?

Ah, thank goodness. My inner thoughts didn’t slip out.

If he were a normal adult, he would have taken the kid away by force immediately. I find that frustrating too, but it’s not like characters in this world can just do as they please. Since everything is just turning insane, I can’t even bring myself to say anything.

Grandfather cherishes and values Seo Kangsan, yet he just leaves him to be abused…. Isn’t this a lack of plausibility in itself? It seems like he knows exactly what’s happening in this house through intuition.

It’s as if the world is pushing Seo Kangsan toward a cliff, openly telling him to be miserable. Even the people who think of and cherish him.

‘Truly a disgusting and shitty world.’

“So, whose side are you on?”

“I’m on my side.”

The answer to this question came surprisingly easily.

Scraping up the last of the pudding, I chewed away and looked at Grandfather. His slightly surprised eyes seemed to say he had heard an unexpected answer.

Why, did you think I’d say I’m on Seo Kangsan’s side?

“What about you, Grandfather?”

“I am on my side as well.”

“Haha!” He laughed as he looked at me, his eyes making it seem like he had discovered something truly interesting.

“Then please come visit often. When Kangsan-hyung is here. He only has you right now, Grandfather.”

Wouldn’t he crave the touch of adults more than mine? You, rather than me. Your single word of influence rather than my thousand helping hands. It would be even better if you took him to your house.

Grandfather, who had been watching me, nudged the pudding placed in front of him over to me.

“Thank you.”

I didn’t bother refusing and put the pudding into my mouth.

“You really have changed a lot.”

Because the soul has changed. Though I don’t know where this child’s real soul went.

After finishing the pudding, I let out a small sigh and started tidying up my spot, when the housekeeper quickly came over, tapped my shoulder with a smile, and shook her head.

Ah, I must have done it unconsciously because I’ve been helping Seo Kangsan clear the table lately.

Thinking the housekeeper might get scolded if I did that in front of Grandfather, I lowered my hands and just drank some water.

Since the pudding was gone and there was nothing left to talk about, I was looking at my spoon and about to ask if I could leave, when I heard the sound of hurried footsteps—dadadada—from a distance.

‘It looks like Seo Kangsan is back.’