I Became a Villainous Character with a Limited Lifespan - Episode 105

Episode 105

“We confirmed that he moved out of the house he originally lived in… but it seems he’s not living in that house recently either.”

Secretary Kang brought news about Seung-hyun a few days later. Contrary to the expectation that it wouldn’t be a difficult task, his whereabouts were abruptly cut off from a certain point.

“Since it almost coincides with the timing of the article, maybe he was afraid of the aftermath…”

“There’s no way.”

Tae-sung denied Secretary Kang’s words before he could even finish. If Seung-hyun was afraid of the aftermath, he wouldn’t have caused this mess in the first place. Seung-hyun wasn’t the type to run away from the mess he created.

“If it seems he’s not living in that house recently, does that mean he went abroad or something?”

“There’s no record of him leaving the country, so it doesn’t seem like he went abroad. But it’s a bit concerning that his whereabouts can’t be tracked at all. I’m a bit worried that he might be preparing for something else.”

Secretary Kang spoke in a cautious tone. Although they couldn’t search inside the house, Seung-hyun’s owned cars were parked as they were, and the garden that seemed to have been left unattended for a while gave off a strange atmosphere.

“We’re trying our best to track his movements…”

“If he’s in the country, his tail will be caught before long. He’s not the type to run away, so he may show up first.”

“If he shows up first… it probably won’t be for a good reason.”

“Since the workload has decreased, it would be good to prepare thoroughly this time.”

“Haah, in the end, my work doesn’t decrease.”

Secretary Kang sighed deeply and nodded. He was someone he had hoped he would never encounter in his lifetime, but now that he’s not seen, he becomes anxious. Anyway, he was someone he couldn’t like.

“I’ll report as soon as it’s confirmed.”

And they weren’t the only ones looking for Seung-hyun. Nearly a month after Seung-hyun disappeared, there was someone who lingered in front of his house several times.

After that day, for about a week, he really made up his mind to stop and tried not to think about Seung-hyun. After all, the time he spent with Seung-hyun wasn’t that long, and he thought he could just return to his original daily life.

But it didn’t go as he wanted. Even during that one week, it wasn’t that he didn’t think of Seung-hyun, but he had just forcibly suppressed the thoughts that came to him from time to time.

Even though they hadn’t known each other for a long time, even a small coincidence reminded him of Seung-hyun.

He turned on the TV to try not to think of Seung-hyun, but the actor who appeared was an actor from a movie they had watched together. The food they ate together was shown. And one morning, when he opened the curtains, he was reminded of Seung-hyun, who had been as delighted as a child.

No matter how hard he tried to forget, the memories that came to him in a moment of inattention didn’t easily let go of Jae-young. It was pathetic, but he couldn’t help it.

On the day he walked a considerable distance under the pretext of taking a walk and arrived in front of Seung-hyun’s house, how many times did he circle around the house with the lights off?

‘He’s been coming home strangely often these days.’

‘You told him to come often before.’

‘He said not to call him if there’s no business, did he hide something at home?’

Ignoring his family’s suspicions, he practically lived at the main house and went for long walks several times. But there wasn’t a single day when the lights inside the house were on.

On the day he couldn’t stand it and went inside the house, Jae-young was startled by the air in the house that lacked not only the presence of people but even traces.

‘Did he go on a trip or something?’

Did he go on a trip somewhere like when they first met? Thinking that, he waited a few more days.

“Egmoney! Thief…”

“No, it’s not.”

Then one day, he encountered a housekeeper who was cleaning the house. Jae-young managed to calm her down as she thought he was a thief and tried to run away, and he asked,

“…Then, do you have contact with Madam…?”

“For me, it’s my job to get paid and manage the house. I got my salary, so I came. There’s hardly any need to contact each other.”

“……”

“It seems it’s been a while since he came home, but the house still needs to be managed.”

The housekeeper answered with suspicion that hadn’t completely disappeared. Jae-young asked again, grasping at straws.

“Did you feel anything strange? Anything, even if it’s trivial…”

“I did call him once recently.”

The housekeeper clapped her hands as if she remembered something. Although she didn’t have a close relationship with the homeowner, she occasionally met him and had exchanged phone calls, so she knew his face and voice to some extent.

“Last week, I think, I called because I had something to ask, but someone else answered. It seemed to be a young man…”

“What did he say?”

“I can’t tell you the details of the conversation. Anyway, if I had to point out something different from usual, that was it. He said I don’t need to contact him and just keep managing the house consistently.”

The housekeeper said that and looked at Jae-young with eyes asking if he was going to stay. Jae-young bowed his head, apologizing, and left the house.

A young man who could answer Seung-hyun’s phone and be involved in managing the house. It might not be, but one strong candidate came to mind.

‘It must be… Secretary Lee.’

Is he really thinking of returning to the company? No, even if he doesn’t return, he must be planning something.

‘Was I completely mistaken about Han Seung-hyun?’

He thought he wasn’t that kind of person. He scoffed at the words of his family and friends, saying that even if he was deceived, he was thoroughly deceived, and that a moment of realization would surely come someday, thinking it was foolish.

But now, he couldn’t hide his bitter smile at the situation that had become not strange to be ridiculed or sympathized with by the people he had scoffed at.

He knew that waiting wouldn’t bring an answer. But he didn’t know how to act to get an answer or if there was even an answer to this situation.

Jae-young unconsciously opened Seung-hyun’s contact in his phone and pondered whether to press the call button or not. If he called, would Seok-hyung answer this call? Or would Seung-hyun answer the phone with a tired voice, spew only harsh words, and hang up?

“……”

While he was contemplating, the phone screen turned off. Jae-young let out a long sigh and went back home.

“Do you have a secret lover hidden in this neighborhood or something?”

It seemed that Jae-young’s family, who found his frequent visits to the main house and excessively long outings suspicious, had come to an absurd but somewhat plausible conclusion. His parents, older brother, sister who heard the rumor and came, and even his younger brother were all waiting for Jae-young with expectant faces.

“Indeed. He’s at the right age for that now.”

“No, it’s a bit late. We had two kids at that age.”

“Well, there’s no need to marry off Jae-young quickly… But don’t people usually get married around that age?”

“No, forget it. So, are you seeing someone? Is that why you’re like this…?”

A month ago, could he have laughed off those words with ease? But now he was so sensitive that he couldn’t even take his family’s affectionate words lightly.

“If not, then it’s not. Why are you being so serious?”

“Yeah. Don’t embarrass Mom.”

“No. We decided to leave your marriage up to your will anyway. More than that…”

It was certainly about time for that, but she already had several grandchildren, and she had no intention of burdening her youngest son with management or succession, so she didn’t care about such things. She could wait anytime until he met a decent omega and dated.

What she wanted to ask her son was something else.

“Director Han hasn’t been heard from since then, do you still keep in touch with him these days?”

“…No.”

“Why? You seemed to be getting along well for a while.”

“I heard about that long after too. How did you get close with Director Han? I tried talking to him a few times because I wanted to have some connection, but… he was completely unresponsive.”

Jae-young’s sister grumbled and leaned back completely on the sofa. How could she talk so easily about Seung-hyun without even knowing him well? After looking at his sister for a moment, Jae-young sighed.

“…Who knows? I thought I knew him to some extent… but I guess it was a misconception. Now I don’t know either.”

At Jae-young’s strange mood, which was usually bright even when grumbling, his family belatedly realized that something had happened between the two.

‘I told you he was originally that kind of person, is he shocked again? Well, Jae-young grew up without being interested in things like politics or management, so this must be the first time for him.’

“Director Han was originally that kind of person, so just forget him. It must have been a momentary whim. Well, you don’t know much about Y Group… but I was worried that he might try to drop something on this side too, but it’s fortunate that it ended without any issues…”

“How can you be so sure that you know him well?”

Jae-young’s older brother, who tried to comfort him, flinched at the cold words that came back. Jae-young, seeing his surprised brother, sighed and went up to his room.

“If not, then it’s not. Why is he being so sensitive again? He’s not a twenty-year-old kid.”

“Leave him be. He must be heartbroken in his own way. More than that, when did Dad say he’s coming back?”

“I don’t know exactly, but he won’t return this month. Well, when was he ever at home quietly?”

His sister covered for him and changed the subject. The topic of the family moved on to something else, but inside the room, Jae-young mulled over those words all night.

‘Without even knowing him well. But do I know him well either?’

The question that troubled Jae-young all night didn’t leave his mind even after the sun rose the next day and even after several more days passed.