I Became a Villainous Character with a Limited Lifespan - Episode 118

Episode 118

Seok-hyung, who had returned, entered inside a bit hastily due to the excessive silence. Fortunately, Seung-hyun was just sleeping.

“……”

Seok-hyung stared down at him for a moment. Without saying a word, just closing his eyes and gasping for breath, but that face was unfamiliar.

It was clearly the same face. Even now, when he wasn’t talking or making any expression, the change in his impression was clearly visible.

Even though he thought it was just his mood, he kept noticing different parts. No, in the first place, if it was “Han Seung-hyun”, he wouldn’t have shown himself sleeping defenseless in front of him.

Every time he discovered little by little a different appearance from the one he knew, every time that appearance felt unfamiliar, Seok-hyung felt strange. Seok-hyung, who had been quietly looking at him a little longer, placed the items he brought on the table and left the room.

“Haa…”

Seok-hyung, who had returned to his room, hung his head with a long sigh. While being with Seung-hyun, he was also changing little by little.

Since starting to serve “Han Seung-hyun”, his director, he had learned to hide his emotions. In order to live without being swayed by his own emotions or the emotions of others. To not be shaken by trivial matters and not show any gaps, he had erased his expressions and suppressed his emotions.

But what about himself these days? He was too emotional and often gripped by impulsive thoughts. It wasn’t just Seung-hyun who had changed.

He had no choice but to admit that something inside him was gradually crumbling. His face crumpling at trivial things, his easily escaping sighs. They were clearly far from his normal self.

He had vowed to stay by Seung-hyun’s side no matter what. Even now, that thought hadn’t changed, but as time passed, he wondered if the person he was guarding was really Seung-hyun.

Was his belief this ridiculous? Even as self-deprecating laughter came out, every time Seung-hyun felt unfamiliar, he came to rationalize his own actions.

At the end of running forward like that, what remained was not relief or a sense of achievement, but only self-loathing. He was by Seung-hyun’s side for his own greed, but what was the reason he felt lonely every time he saw that face? Perhaps he knew best himself.

It was just that he didn’t want to acknowledge it, he wanted to delay the end of the two of them even a little, so he was turning a blind eye.

“……”

However, that didn’t last long either. It was an undeniable fact that the end was approaching.

Seok-hyung, who had been thinking that he didn’t want to end it with his own hands, that he wished everything would end without having time to do anything, raised his head.

‘It’s a weak thought. To grovel as if staying by his side is for him, how ridiculous.’

He knew best that it wasn’t for Seung-hyun, but his own stubborn persistence. Because he had never imagined a life without that person, he had erased the option of leaving on his own and was just being stubborn.

But it was precarious. The feeling of running on thin ice that seemed like it would break at any moment. The uneasiness that Seok-hyung had never felt even once while staying by Seung-hyun’s side was slowly eating away at him.

“…There’s not much time left.”

Seok-hyung washed his face and got up from his seat. There was no need to complain, and it would be enough to focus on what he could do. Seok-hyung went out to prepare a meal.

In the meantime, Seung-hyun must have woken up, as movement was heard from inside the room, but Seok-hyung didn’t bother to open the door and just prepared dinner. It was the same when it was time to eat.

“Please eat as much as possible even if you don’t have an appetite. However, there’s no need to force yourself if your stomach is upset. If you don’t think you can finish it, just leave it. I’ll clean it up.”

Conveying only his business without properly making eye contact, Seok-hyung entered his room again and waited for Seung-hyun to finish his meal. The bizarre cohabitation of living in the same house and sensitively checking his physical condition, but not having any trivial conversations, continued like that.

***

“Just give up. I hate to say this, but… there’s no one in this field who doesn’t know what kind of existence Secretary Lee is to Director Han. Every word and action of Secretary Lee. They are practically Director Han’s will.”

“……”

“If that’s what he told you, then just… it’s right to give up. No, I don’t want to say this either, but…”

Jaeseong, who had barged into Jae-young’s house, muttered in a greatly shrunken voice, unlike the momentum with which he had kicked the door open. Although he came all this way, putting work aside with the thought that he had to say what needed to be said, when he actually saw Jae-young’s face, he couldn’t help but be wary.

Surely Jaeseong wasn’t the only one who couldn’t understand that blind faith, as if possessed by something.

‘He won’t even let me talk about it.’

As an older brother, he was keeping his mouth shut for the sake of family peace, but it was too heavy of a matter to know and handle alone. The moment it became known, his family would surely pour out criticism asking why he was the only one who knew.

But the matter at hand took precedence over that criticism. Jaeseong let out a long sigh, looking at Jae-young who was tapping his fingers without answering.

“There are so many good people in the world. It’s an old-fashioned thing to say, but… he’s not even an omega, not someone with a good reputation. It’s not because you’re family, but you’re too good for…”

“Have you ever talked to him?”

“Huh?”

Jaeseong blinked in surprise at Jae-young’s first words, who had only silently stared at his face even when he barged in. Is it about that again? Soon sighing deeply, he answered,

“You thinking you know that person best. That’s a misunderstanding, I’m telling you. With just a few months of experience…”

“No, I’m just curious what kind of person he was that I don’t know about.”

He wasn’t being sarcastic or expressing his own opinion, he was genuinely curious. Jae-young had only heard a few rumors about Seung-hyun at best.

At least Jaeseong must have met him while working, and they must have had conversations. Wouldn’t he know Seung-hyun a bit better than the rumors?

He had been living thinking there was no need to pay attention to him, that he was different from the rumors each time, but he had never seriously dug into Seung-hyun’s past.

What kind of person was he that everyone who spoke of him frowned and dissuaded him? Jae-young tapped the armrest of the sofa, waiting for an answer.

“…Well, I’m not very close with him either. But I have met him and talked to him a few times.”

It wasn’t a very wide field, and he was such a famous and influential person that he naturally left a strong impression.

“He never caused any problems in front of me. The business Director Han was in charge of was different from ours, so there was no reason to get involved, and lightly exchanging greetings and regards was all, so there was no reason for that.”

“……”

“Yeah, honestly, there’s a lot about the rumors that I don’t know well either. But it’s not like you have to know deeply to judge, right?”

Jaeseong recalled Seung-hyun in his memory. Although there were no special conversations, he was a person who left a particularly deep impression.

“It’s a bit, should I say, spine-chilling?”

He clearly had a polite and pitiful impression on the outside. So much so that it was hard to believe the ominous rumors related to his schemes.

A likable appearance, a decent attire. Speech and behavior that were neither too light nor too heavy. Clearly, the first impression was perfect enough to make one forget the rumors, but while having a conversation, one could tell.

The thoroughly calculated actions that gave goosebumps, the awkwardness that was felt even when he was smiling, that kind of person.

“Just looking at his outward actions, there were no problems at all. Since we had no reason to get publicly involved with him, there was no reason to have ill feelings, so there was no reason for the relationship to be bad.”

“……”

“It might have felt that way because his humanity wasn’t felt. Should I say his acting to appear perfect was obvious?… Anyway. It’s hard to express in words, but it was like that.”

Jaeseong said, ruffling his hair. To think it was prejudice, he also had a businessman’s intuition.

‘I hope you don’t take it as me saying nonsense because I dislike him.’

Thinking that, Jaeseong waited for Jae-young’s answer. Jae-young, who looked lost in thought, was gradually increasing the frequency of tapping the armrest.

It didn’t seem like he didn’t believe what Jaeseong said. Then what could he be thinking about? Unable to endure the silence, Jaeseong said,

“Or should I find someone who knows Director Han a bit better? I don’t know the details, but among my friends, surely…”

“I’m sure I thought the same way when I first saw him too.”

Jae-young muttered in a low voice. Surely, the Seung-hyun that Jae-young had first properly faced, the one he met at Seon-hu’s wedding, was the kind of person Jaeseong described.

A person who smiled softly and dealt with people, but whose twisted inside was clearly visible unlike his calm face. That was his first impression too, which he had completely forgotten.

“…Is it because he’s not someone who acts so perfectly?”

However, if there was one thing that hadn’t changed, it was that both then and now, Seung-hyun was ultimately a person whose inside was clearly visible. That’s why he couldn’t give up even more. He couldn’t believe that the Seung-hyun he knew wasn’t his real self.

“No, I think I just like him too much.”

Perhaps it didn’t matter at all. Even if he heard harsh words for seeing and believing what he wanted, he couldn’t say anything because his head was so full of thoughts of Seung-hyun. Jae-young smiled bitterly.

Memes From Aida