I Woke Up as the Villain

Early next morning, Choi Yu-Seong received a call from Choi Woo-Jae and then headed immediately toward the family home in Yeonhui-dong.

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As always, Choi Woo-Jae was sitting in the office with his back to the window. When Woo-Jae looked at Yu-Seong, Yu-Seong could feel the suffocatingly cold vibe but it was not as bad as before.

‘Is it because of this unique smell of wood? Or is it because this place is where Father has stayed for a long time?’

It was a question of whether places could start to take after people or people could take after places.

While Choi Yu-Seong was questioning such a vibe, Choi Woo-Jae gestured to the sofa with his chin as he said, "Have a seat.”

"Yes, sir."

"It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of the guild business is on next week’s match.”

"...I am aware of it." Choi Yu-Seong nodded slowly at the abrupt conversation starter.

"Chairman Yoo, that sly old man is not an easy one. There must be a reason why he chose Orc Village as the place for the match," said Woo-Jae.

"I see.”

"He will do everything he can. He may have prepared a special Ancient Relic or dug a trap that only applies to you.”

While Choi Woo-Jae continued speaking, Choi Yu-Seong contemplated even further.

‘Why’s he telling me all this?’

Choi Woo-Jae was not a person who would invite people over to chat about nonsense, so Yu-Seong was trying to uncover the real intention behind this conversation.

Woo-Jae smiled at Yu-Seong’s worried expression and leaned forward slightly. “Again, I won’t accept any defeat. It’s not just because of my greed. If you lose, the guild business that the second oldest had been dragged into managing would be completely overthrown.”

“...”

“From the third to the fifth, all of your siblings are secretly paying attention to you, Yu-Seong. Also, the second oldest would never look back on something that has once failed.” Speaking in such a way, it was obvious that Choi Woo-Jae had already sensed the relationship between Choi Yu-Seong and Choi Mi-Na.

Rather than trying to deny it, Yu-Seong admitted to the truth and nodded. He said, "So I must win at all costs.”

"Finally, you're agreeing with me." Choi Woo-Jae smiled as if satisfied. Then, he lifted two fingers and said, "There are two options."

Choi Yu-Seong intuitively felt that this was the point of the whole conversation. He met Choi Woo-Jae’s gaze.

‘Look at this guy.’

Woo-Jae thought Yu-Seong making direct eye contact was a great improvement. He recalled that his son hadn’t been able to do so when he first came here. Choi Woo-Jae smiled inwardly, but he continued to speak with a stiff face.

"Ask me for help. I'll give you all the information, equipment, and support you need. If that side does anything by any means, then we can do the same thing. I'll make it so that you cannot lose."

"If you say that, then I can predict the second option without having to hear it," said Yu-Seong. The second option would be for him to solve the situation alone without any help from Woo-Jae.

"That’s only if you are confident in winning. Whatever you choose, it's up to you,” said Woo-Jae while folding his arms.

Looking at Woo-Jae, who was waiting for his decision, Choi Yu-Seong had a rather strange smile on his face. Then, he scratched his cheek. Had he adapted to the human named Choi Woo-Jae? Without further thought, he could tell that both options weren’t the answer that Woo-Jae wanted.

He asked, "If I win this game alone, what do I get?"

Looking at Choi Yu-Seong, who naturally showed his greed, Choi Woo-Jae smiled. That was the answer he wanted.

If Yu-Seong had chosen the first option, Woo-Jae would have laughed and called him a coward. If he had chosen the second option, Woo-Jae would have cursed him as a prideful fool. Anyone who would lead a company should think about the profit they could earn first, no matter what they eventually chose.

Choi Woo-Jae found Choi Yu-Seong more and more favorable.

"What do you want?" asked Woo-Jae.

"There are two things that I want to have," answered Yu-Seong.

"I'll give them to you," said Woo-Jae without overthinking it. Perhaps his response would have been the same if Yu-Seong wanted three, not two, things.

‘This is the first local battle against Cheon-Ji Group.’ 

Yu-Seong immediately thought of ‘war’ once he heard that Cheon-Ji Group Chairman Yoo would do anything to win. The declaration of war had already been announced, and the winner of the first local battle would increase morale and invade the opponent's territory at once. In other words, it was not just the guild business that was at stake. It was a big war where the fate of the two groups may be at stake.

Clearly, upon winning the battle, Choi Woo-Jae intended to overturn the Korean business hierarchy itself.

‘If I had chosen the first suggestion, he might have to wait even longer to do so, but…’

By choosing the second option, Choi Woo-Jae was able to save his strength and seek the opportunity to completely neutralize the Cheon-Ji Group with one critical hit. Yu-Seong had announced that he would make such a contribution, so what would it matter how many rewards he wanted?

Nevertheless, the reason why Choi Yu-Seong only asked for two rewards was simple.

‘He’ll have at least one gift in mind to reward me with himself.’

No beloved child would unconditionally ask for everything he or she could possibly ask for.

Choi Woo-Jae enjoyed witnessing Choi Yu-Seong’s greed, but he wouldn’t want his children to covet his things carelessly. In fact, that was the true nature of a greedy human being. Even if he could pass everything down someday, Woo-Jae would clutch it in his hands while he was alive.

However, if Yu-Seong tried to carelessly take things away from Choi Woo-Jae, even if it was a favorable action to take, it would still make Woo-Jae uncomfortable. Therefore, Yu-Seong thought it was better to be moderately greedy when receiving things from Choi Woo-Jae.

‘Since he would take care of his lovely child himself.’

Whether Choi Yu-Seong's thoughts had got it exactly right or whether he had guessed Yu-Seong’s inner thoughts, Woo-Jae revealed an unexpected smile. He asked, "You are aware of the risk you might have to take on, right?"

“‘You're not going to kill me, are you?” asked Yu-Seong.

“I can make you penniless and kick you out of Korea.”

That was good enough. If he could live, Choi Yu-Seong was confident of starting over wherever he went. He had been an orphan before getting possessed by the novel. Thus, now that he had the ability as a hunter, his position would be more advantageous than before if he had to start over.

"I wouldn’t say that if I wasn’t determined."

The punishment really didn’t matter to Yu-Seong as long as he could stay alive. Looking at how calm he was, Choi Woo-Jae finally nodded. He said, "I’ll trust you. You may leave."

***

Choi Yu-Seong's day was a busy one. He had to go see Choi Woo-Jae after he received a sudden morning call from him. He also had an appointment that had been arranged in advance the other day.

At 2 p.m. on a quiet weekday, Choi Yu-Seong sat on the second floor of the cafe located in Itaewon's commercial district. He waved at his opponent, Kim Do-Jin, who arrived a little later than him. "Here."

Kim Do-Jin approached with a rather cold face as always and sat across from Yu-Seong. He commented, "Well, this is surprising.”

"What?"

"Since you contacted me and asked to see me first.”

"Umm..."

Come to think of it, Yu-Seong had a tendency to somewhat ignore Do-Jin’s contact. Anyway, this was unsurprising, since he thought there was no good reason to be close to Kim Do-Jin.

‘Come to think of it, this guy has been pretty patient with me regardless of that.' 

Kim Do-Jin was the original novel’s main character with an extreme personality. He always overturned the game whenever it became unfavorable to him. Thinking of that, he had been pretty patient regarding this situation. There were two possible reasons.

'Whether he has found an alternative answer, or he hasn’t found a reason to discard me…’

This was the most desirable situation for Yu-Seong since it was closer to the best possible conclusion. He could avoid his fate of death naturally.

‘Or he has rated me high enough to take this much time.’

Among the original novels, this was the only case when Kim Do-Jin did not give up and was trying to befriend Yu-Seong with extreme patience.

‘This is obviously not the case.’

After some thought, Yu-Seong laughed without realizing it.

"Why are you laughing?" asked Do-Jin.

"Oh, I just had a lot on my mind for a moment," responded Yu-Seong.

"Hmm... How did you feel after watching the video?"

"What video? Oh, that dungeon of the dead..." As his voice trailed off, Choi Yu-Seong's eyes sparkled when he briefly recalled the video. He asked, "Oh, right. Why did you suddenly use magic…!"

Yu-Seong never completed his sentence, but whatever Kim Do-Jin heard was enough for his gaze to change. The vibe around him also fluctuated.

'...I made a mistake.' 

Yu-Seong did well most of the time but made a mistake once in a while. Unfortunately, most of these mistakes were made in front of Kim Do-Jin, of all men. For this particular situation, it might have been due to Yu-Seong zoning out momentarily.

"...Magical movement, you fought like a wizard," continued Yu-Seong.

"...Since when did you know?" asked Do-Jin.

Yu-Seong tried to correct himself as quickly as possible, but he knew that he was too clumsy to have Do-Jin not doubt him at all.

Yet, surprisingly, Kim Do-Jin simply said, "I’ve always known that you are hiding many things. Yet, you continue to exceed my expectations. You even know how to distinguish magic?"

"...What?"

"You can stop pretending to be a fool in front of me now. I already know that you have very good insight, a deep mind, and plenty of wisdom,” said Do-Jin.

Yu-Seong never thought that he was competent enough for Kim Do-Jin, the returnee, to praise him. Listening to what Do-Jin had to say, he naturally shook his head from side to side.

"You can't fool me even if you choose to be modest. Aren’t you getting close to me because you want my help when you settle down in the Comet Group someday?" asked Do-Jin.

‘Not at all.’

At that time, Choi Yu-Seong, the villain, had simply wanted to make use of the privilege from Do-Jin’s reputation and name. But now, the Choi Yu-Seong today thought it best to have a civil and friendly relationship with Do-Jin.

As Yu-Seong continued to contemplate, he became speechless at the unexpected situation.

"I’m thinking that, aside from myself, you would spend time making careful preparations. However, do not think that you can use me easily," said Do-Jin.

"No, that's...."

"However, you can change my mind. It depends on how you act," said Do-Jin before Yu-Seong could clarify anything.

Then, there was silence in the cafe where a few people were dining inside.

‘What kind of an enormous misunderstanding is this guy having?’ 

For some reason, Kim Do-Jin seemed to see Choi Yu-Seong as a great person.

‘I recognized your magic only because I was a reader of the novel…’

It was not because of something incredible, or any insight and wisdom. Choi Yu-Seong thought that Do-Jin was naive, not smart.

‘That's why I made such a mistake just now.’ 

Though, Yu-Seong was only confused for a moment.

'No way, this guy. Is he feeling me out?’

Choi Yu-Seong had many thoughts regarding Kim Do-Jin's sudden excessive praise. Having read the original novel, he knew that Do-Jin was stingier at giving praises than anyone else.

‘Is he trying to see if I noticed his revenge?’

After thinking that much, Choi Yu-Seong became cool as a cucumber.