VILLAIN 9

I felt that the creator had truly nailed the character concepts. If the intention was to make every action look detestable, I felt like applauding their grand success.

I wondered what the reason for all of this was. I might have ended up possessed by chance, but surely you weren’t born wanting to be a villain. To my eyes, Lee Sera was just as hateful, but strangely, I felt a sense of pity for her.

However, being annoying was a different matter. I didn’t even consider helping her with the heavy-looking shopping bags and simply ignored her as I passed by. Honestly, I didn’t even have the strength in this body to carry them.

“Porridge isn’t enough to fill me up.”

“I see. I’ll have them make you something simple.”

“No. I’ll tell them myself, so please rest, Mother.”

I thought your setting—shopping while your son is lying in bed sick—was truly impressive too.

I gave a brief nod of greeting and headed for the kitchen. Finding no one at the dining table, I thought it was for the best as I opened the fridge to look inside. Fortunately, there was a bit of food.

Fruit should be fine. Glancing around to make sure I wasn’t being watched, I grabbed a plate, some fruit, and a fruit knife, then turned to head toward Seo Kangsan’s room.

If I get caught by Lee Sera… I’ll just make an excuse that I didn’t know how to use the knife and came to ask Hyung for help.

Knock, knock—

When I reached Seo Kangsan’s room, the barrier-like thing that had been blocking me all along was gone.

Marveling slightly, I looked at the door and locked eyes with Seo Kangsan as he came out. It was a prickly gaze that asked why I was here.

“I don’t know how to peel fruit. Do it for me.”

Saying that, I pushed past Seo Kangsan recklessly and entered the room.

It was a lavish, spacious room, not unlike my own. Perhaps he had come out in a hurry at the sound of the knock, as a book was sticking out from between the blankets.

Come to think of it, there’s no bookshelf or desk here. There isn’t even a single comic book, which is common for someone his age.

‘Was that a workbook he hid?’

I slid the protruding book back in. Seo Kangsan, sitting down on the floor and looking at me with dissatisfied eyes, snatched the plate away from me.

Fine, you do it. Once I handed him the fruit knife and sat comfortably on the floor, Seo Kangsan jumped up, shuffled over with a blanket, and tossed it to me nonchalantly.

What’s this… is it this kind of atmosphere again? ⊙△⊙ꐦ

Thinking he grabbed the knife with confidence, I watched Seo Kangsan peel the apple in a way that made the observer nervous, so I reached out.

“I’ll just do it, so give it here.”

“What? You said you didn’t know how!”

How can we make their relationship worse? Hmm? Let’s see =_=…

Ah! Let’s tear up Seo Kangsan’s workbook! >0</

So it was a workbook after all.

Even as the system window appeared before my eyes, I pretended not to see it and waved my hand to signal him to hand it over.

“Forget it, move. Are you going to throw a fit again if you cut your skin with the knife?”

“I won’t, so give it. It looks like you’re going to cut your whole hand off, not just get a nick.”

“Wh—what makes you say such harsh things?!”

The way you’ve been speaking pricklily to me all this time is worse.

I considered pointing that out but decided to let Seo Kangsan handle it while I leaned comfortably against the bed. Then, while Seo Kangsan was focused on the fruit, I peeked under the bed. I saw even more workbooks and books beneath it.

Or should we tattle on those books to Lee Sera?

Ah, that would be good!

I’m doing neither. No matter what you order, I won’t do it, so go ahead and make me vomit blood again if you want.

After finishing the clumsy peeling and placing it on the plate, Seo Kangsan sat back down and shoved it toward me indifferently.

“You eat it, Hyung. I suddenly don’t want to eat.”

“Are you kidding me…?”

“Eat.”

Seo Kangsan glanced at me. Despite his suspicious eyes, he slowly picked up a piece of apple and began to eat. After confirming that, I scanned the room. I doubted the lavish furniture and wallpaper were to Seo Kangsan’s taste.

Hmm…, sitting in the ensuing silence without speaking, I felt like I was going to fall asleep. Since I couldn’t exactly fall asleep in the room of a kid who hated me, I moved to set the blanket aside to wake myself up, but Seo Kangsan reached out and gripped me tightly to prevent me from doing so.

“Don’t catch another cold and go all sickly; just keep it over you, okay?”

Sure, sure. It’s true that it’s a problem if I get sick… so for now, I should hold out and not fall asleep. I’ll hold out by pinching my thigh or something, and once he finishes the fruit, I’ll head back to my room quickly.

۶ৎ

And incidents always explode in the most unexpected places.

While sleeping quietly in my room, I heard a commotion outside the door, so I opened it and looked down the stairs.

What? What’s going on?

Confused, I walked down the stairs and locked eyes with Lee Sera; her cold gaze instantly turned soft. In the living room, books were piled up, and I saw Seo Kangsan kneeling in front of them.

‘What the….’

“My child, are you awake? You woke up early today.”

…I have a bad feeling. Isn’t this exactly that kind of situation?

If it’s because Lee Sera found the books and is scolding him right after I visited his room yesterday….

Seo Kangsan, who had his head bowed low, slowly lifted his face and glared at me with a murderous look in his eyes.

‘Ah, shit….’

ㅇㅅ<

“Mother, what… is this situation?”

I was so dumbfounded that I spoke in my usual low voice. At that, Lee Sera let out a deep sigh, pressed her hand to her forehead, and shook her head.

“It’s not something for you to worry about, my child. If only the new person hadn’t told me he was hiding books, I might have just let it slide.”

Why on earth is reading a book…? Is it because she’s afraid he’ll become smarter than her own son?

If Seo Jun ever finds out that Seo Kangsan is his biological son, I’ll definitely have nothing in this house, so I don’t know where this woman gets the confidence to treat the kid like this.

The situation is really crap, but won’t a miracle occur where Seo Jun or Grandfather arrives at this timing?

“It’s obvious where you got them from…. Do you think receiving that person’s love will make you something in this house?”

“I have no idea what kind of bullshit you’re talking about, seriously.”

As Seo Kangsan spoke with a hollow laugh, Lee Sera’s eyes flashed, and she raised her hand high.

“Mother!”

Startled, I shouted and called out to Lee Sera, and her chilling gaze landed on me.

I reached out, gripped her sleeve tightly, and pulled her toward me, hanging onto her.

“Mother, don’t be like this, come with me….”

“My child, go to your room for now.”

Shaking off my hand, Lee Sera picked up a book and began to rip it apart, page by page.

This time, I threw my arms around Lee Sera’s waist.

“Mother! Can’t you just stay with me?”

“My child, right now…!”

“I hate it because it feels like I’m losing Mother to Hyung!”

Oh, a classic villain’s line! Good, good!

Seriously… I want to give everyone a hard flick on the forehead. Both the system window and Lee Sera. At my voice, Seo Kangsan’s body flinched, and he bit his lip hard. His eyes were filled with anger and resentment directed at me.

Ah, this is driving me crazy. Part of me wanted to just flip out, but I held it in, grabbed Lee Sera’s arm, and pulled her recklessly.

“Is a mere book more important than me? Is it?”

“That’s not it, but my child….”

Apparently unable to win against my stubbornness, Lee Sera sighed and took my hand to walk up the stairs.

“Burn all these books.”

I pushed Lee Sera’s back so she wouldn’t look back, but as I looked at the books, I locked eyes with the fidgeting Mister and looked forward again.

‘In the end, I couldn’t save the books.’

Back in the room, I acted like a child, smiling brightly in front of Lee Sera. Let’s do this, let’s do that. I spent time drawing and doing various things until I pretended to be sleepy and lay down on the bed.

After hearing the sound of Lee Sera’s footsteps as she left after putting me to sleep, I snapped my eyes open and checked the time.

Five minutes, ten minutes. After waiting until fifteen minutes had passed, I jumped up and left the room. Staying low, I looked down to see that the books were all gone and no one was around.

Faintly smelling something burning, I crept down the stairs, checking my surroundings, and went out through the kitchen back door. In the garden at the back of the house, I found the housekeeper sitting still and sighing deeply with the books piled up but not yet set on fire. I ran over and grabbed her arm.

Ding!

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The housekeeper who has worked in this house the longest.