Even the Villain Has a Story

‘I’d rather die.’

Sayun’s life and death were decided by the system. Time would turn back, his wounds would be healed, and he would be revived anyway. So, if he hit himself in the head with the pliers he was holding and died, wouldn’t he be able to reset this situation?

After contemplating for a moment on whether or not to execute his idea, Sayun immediately gave up on that thought.

Time never turned back outside of the ‘compulsory execution’. Besides, the system would be a mess if it turned back time every time Sayun died. 

It was a perfect idea if he wanted to be portrayed as a lunatic by Han Geonjoo, who was flailing around like a newborn fawn.

Think about it. If the person who kidnapped you smashed their head open with a pair of pliers, wouldn’t you think ‘Well, that person is into suicide’? They would just look insane.

In addition, if the system forcefully healed Sayun and resurrected him, Geonjoo would watch the person who died right in front of his eyes come back to life. Sayun didn’t know what kind of person Han Geonjoo was, or if he watched horror movies, but he was confident that the scene would look more realistic than any horror movie he had ever seen.

The problem was that Sayun shouldn’t do that.

The more he thought about it, the worse the outcome was. It was enough that Geonjoo was so alert, and their relationship didn’t seem to improve, so there were no useful ideas that came to mind after he dropped that one.

As Sayun shook his head violently, Geonjoo narrowed his eyes. He looked suspicious, but also hostile. Before he catalogued Sayun as a kidnapper, he thought that he should say something, so he opened his mouth.

“Pretty one.”

“…?”

Geonjoo raised his eyebrows because of the sudden pet name. Sayun thought that he could see a question mark raised above Geonjoo’s black hair, and only then did he realise the problem with the pet name.

This time, his mouth was the problem.

Since Sayun had been calling him ‘pretty one’ for the past three months, the words came out without him realising it. Fortunately, after a long time of calling him ‘bastard’ or ‘son of a bitch’, calling him ‘pretty one’ was a better choice.

‘Aren’t Han Geonjoo’s eyes harbouring a feeling that I haven’t seen before? They look perverted.’

Sayun examined Geonjoo’s face, contemplating whether he should’ve explained the pet name or not. Geonjoo’s face, which he couldn’t analyse properly since he was so focused on his alignments, caught Sayun’s eyes.

Looking at him, the pet name ‘pretty’ didn’t seem so wrong. Sayun didn’t even need to see him from up close to tell that he had pretty features.

Even though his eyes looked vigilant, the ends of his long eyelashes were raised, giving off a subtle friendly feeling.

Maybe it was because of his wet hair or Jongsik’s rough handling, but his forehead could clearly be seen through his bangs, giving him an innocent look. His sharp jawline, however, made him look more handsome than innocent. Because he was kidnapped, he had an air of a nervous beauty.

Sayun decided that ‘pretty’ seriously matched him because of his clean face. And so, Geonjoo’s nickname became ‘pretty’.

The nickname was set without the consent of the other person.

Sayun thought it was better than calling him by his name in the first place. If he were to suddenly call him ‘Geonjoo’, he would suspect Sayun of looking at his personal information. It wasn’t pleasant to be a mistaken for a thief, kidnapper or murderer. Sayun would rather wear the image of a perverted man calling another man ‘pretty’.

How did he end up in this situation?

It was a funny sight, seeing himself anxious because of just one label, so he chose his next words carefully. It was good that he managed to shift Geonjoo’s attention, but what was he supposed to do in case he was branded as a pervert instead?

As he pondered for a while, since anything he would do would come off as strange, Geonjoo’s eyes began to harbour faint distrust once more.

‘Looks like someone’s patience didn’t even last 10 minutes.’

Furthermore, villains would wait until a hero’s transformation was over, but Geonjoo didn’t even give him enough time to think.

Sayun wasn’t in a hurry.

He muttered to himself, saying how he was just a simple, modern man, and moved the pliers he was holding in his hand. It was a normal action he did when he was engrossed in something. 

Seeing it as a threat while he was tied to a chair, Geonjoo flinched. Sayun, who had better dynamic vision than others, couldn’t miss his reaction.

That must’ve been a mistake.

If they were playing a game of favorability or something similar, that reaction certainly would have cost him -10 favorability. Due to such an ominous premonition, Sayun made the quest window appear with a flick of his hand.

‘Current Relationship: Hostile and Vigilant’

Unsurprisingly, one more boundary was attached to the line indicating Sayun’s relationship with the guy.

At that rate, more negative words such as suspicion and fear were bound to be added.

How the hell was Sayun supposed to get closer to him?

What Sayun was used to was forcing and subduing through intimidation, not soothing, conciliating, and building a relationship.

Sayun ruffled his own hair, wondering what was so difficult, and then patted it down in a gentle manner.

The prerequisite was to face each other in the torture house, but no matter what he said now, it didnt seem like it would make the situation any better.

There was no such thing as an instruction manual anyway, so he could just do as he liked.

Fortunately, Sayun knew what to say in a situation like this.

The words that he would always utter whenever he found someone useful in the torture house.

“I want you to work under me.”

“…”

“If you don’t like it, you can die.”

“B-brother!”

Jongsik was even more embarrassed by his relentless remarks. Sayun raised his eyes, waiting for Geonjoo’s reaction.

Half of the Night Rats Guild’s members were recruited like that. After all, if it was kidnapping then it was kidnapping, and if it was confinement then it was confinement.

It was better to show the most natural appearance he had than to be suspected. If everything was already ruined, shouldn’t he take the initiative?

Blackmail and intimidation.

Those two were enough. Originally, when faced with multiple difficulties, people usually did what they do best to overcome such situations.

That wasn’t it.

Didn’t they usually come up with new things?

Sayun couldn’t figure out how ordinary people thought and lived, because he never had a normal life to begin with. As he was waiting for Geonjoo’s answer, thinking of what it might’ve been, he realised that his mouth was covered, so he couldn’t give an answer in the first place.

“Ungag him.”

“…Yes.”

Jongsik, who was watching Sayun with questionable eyes, removed the tape that had covered Geonjoo’s mouth. When he pulled it off, Geonjoo took a deep breath.

“Ha…”

A wet and musty basement. In the quiet chamber, only Geonjoo’s breath could be heard. Sayun moved the pliers in his hand once more. This time, it was intentional.

More as a demand.

Geonjoo didn’t seem like he had enough patience, so it was better to warn him before he made a move.

Of course, Sayun wasn’t going to harm him, but it would be easier to talk if he gave a warning like that.

Whether he was naive or sensitive, Geonjoo turned his eyes towards the pliers.

The confrontation continued briefly while they faced each other. Geonjoo’s silence didn’t last very long.

“…Please, untie these first.”

His voice was calmer than Sayun had expected. What would be appropriate for someone of Geonjoo’s age was to curse a little and ask who their captor was, but the words that came out of his lips were unexpectedly gentle. It was nice to hear as well, due to his unshaking voice.

‘He’s strong.’

Well, that was better than being stupid. Sayun, deeply satisfied, shook his head towards Jongsik. With a deep sigh, Jongsik walked towards Geonjoo and then looked back at Sayun.

‘Brother, are you sure this is okay?’

‘I don’t know, you bastard.’

They exchanged words through their eyes, and he swallowed his anxiety while trying to maintain a calm appearance.

He was pretending to be calm and cold, but he was actually rather impatient. He could hear the annoying ding at any point, saying ‘Failed to win the favour of the alignment holder. Resistance will be permanently disabled’. He was worried that the blue window would appear.

Of course, this wasn’t his last chance. There were two people who possessed the alignments he needed. 

If this one failed, he just had to find the other one.

Had it not taken him three months to find the alignment holder, he would’ve taken the situation a little lighter.

It had been three months since he left the guild business behind and searched for this guy until he fainted. After spending nearly 92 days looking for the alignment holder, Sayun finally found him, and looking for the other one would be too risky.

Jongsik shouldn’t have brought him to the villa.

Even if he had put the piece in the wrong place, he only put it wrong. But right now, he had actually put it in the last place.

An arrow of resentment shot straight at Jongsik. His hands quickened as soon as Sayun gave him a signal to hurry up with removing the rope and tape that bound Geonjoo to the chair.

Han Geonjoo was able to get out of the ropes that had tied his wrists and ankles to the chair only after another minute. It was tied so tightly that marks were left behind.

Would that also deduce some points?

All of a sudden, the favorability game popped into Sayun’s mind.

This time, it would be around -7 points.

As he was grading his actions, Geonjoo, who was rubbing his wrists, let out a low groan. The pained sound brought Sayun back and broke the silence.

“Since I let you go, you should answer me, pretty one.”

As he spoke with his own type of kindness, his black eyes locked on the man. Geonjoo, who looked around the chamber as if he was looking for a way to escape, finally landed on Sayun. His eyes seemed to be searching for something, and he soon narrowed them.

At the same time, the letters in the quest window changed.

‘Current Relationship: Hostile and Interested’

‘…Interested?’

Sayun tilted his head.

All that changed from when it was ‘hostile and vigilant’ was that he had asked him threateningly if he wanted to talk after releasing him. It would’ve been more normal for ordinary people to feel fear or suspicion.

Interest, however…

Let’s think back to what he might’ve done. As Sayun was contemplating several things, a possibility suddenly crossed his mind. 

Among the Night Rats Guild’s members, there was one madman who used to get aroused whenever he would hear a curse word. Some said it was okay if they were to be hit, and some even moaned when insulted. Since it was a gathering of crazy people, those with such sexual preferences had also come in.

His eyes narrowed because of some reasonable doubts based on the experience he had accumulated, having the guild members as reference.

Maybe this bastard…

Was a pervert?