I Picked Up the Greatest Villain in the Story

73.

Jian’s head was spinning as he faced Sehun, who no longer tried to hide his obsession, and Yoonjae, who seemed to have a dark snake inside him.

If only Hyunsu and Hyunwoo were here, he could ask them to handle Sehun… Looking at Sehun’s face now, Jian doubted he would allow him to speak with Yoonjae alone.

“Let’s go up for now.”

Since they couldn’t stay in the parking lot forever, Jian led the two men to the elevator. It had been a while since he’d been to the guild building.

It had been nearly three months, as he hadn’t visited for some time even before being confined. He pressed the button for the 3rd floor where the conference room was and waited.

When the elevator stopped at the first floor, people about to enter smiled brightly upon seeing Jian, then hesitated.

“Jian, it’s been a while. But why is the Director here…?”

Darknet Guild was an information guild. The people working there immediately recognized the face of the Hunter Management Bureau Director. It wasn’t Hyunwoo, but seeing Jian with him caused alarm in everyone’s eyes.

“He came with me. We have something important to discuss.”

“Ah, I see. Then please go up first. We’ll take the next one.”

“Thank you.”

Thanks to the employee’s consideration, the elevator doors closed quickly. Upon reaching the 3rd floor, a chaotic atmosphere greeted Jian.

Perhaps due to the sudden appearance of the Tower, phone rings were loudly sounding throughout the office. Almost no hunters were visible, only office workers bustling about.

Amidst this, the employees were taken aback by Jian’s group’s appearance. They all recognized Yoonjae’s face. Everyone seemed puzzled as to why Yoonjae, who should be at the site, had appeared here.

Jian approached the most familiar-looking office worker with an awkward smile. The employee who had been organizing documents reflexively put on a business smile when their eyes met with Jian’s.

Their rolling eyes seemed to be trying to grasp the current situation. Jian anticipated that the Darknet’s internal messenger would soon be on fire.

“Haemin, I’m sorry, but could we use one of the conference rooms?”

“Ah, yes. Only Conference Room 1 is available now. Everyone’s in emergency meetings because of the Tower. Should I mark it as in use?”

“Yes, please.”

With the employee’s help, they secured an empty conference room. Even while walking to the conference room, whispers followed them.

“Let’s all go in for now.”

Feeling burdened by the excessive attention and stares, Jian quickly ushered the two men into the conference room. Only after the door closed with a thud could he breathe a sigh of relief.

Yoonjae, the actual cause of the commotion, leisurely looked around the conference room.

A large rectangular table that could seat dozens of people was placed in the center of the spacious conference room. Up to this point, it was no different from other conference rooms.

“There’s an aquarium.”

“Yes. The Guild Master likes fish.”

The unique feature was the huge aquarium placed on the inside. Numerous ornamental fish were swimming, showing off their colorful fins in the aquarium that occupied one wall.

After briefly admiring the fish, Yoonjae turned to Jian and grinned.

“Shall we get straight to the point? Although I’m acting leisurely, I can’t spare much time.”

Yoonjae showed his left wrist. Numerous alerts were popping up in real-time on the round screen. It seemed to be set on silent as only light flashed occasionally.

“However, I’d like to talk with Hunter Lee Jian alone. It’s rather confidential information.”

No, why choose words like that…

Jian couldn’t hide his sour expression as he glanced at Sehun. As expected, his calm, sunken eyes were directed at Yoonjae.

He felt a chill, wondering if Sehun might use his ability on Yoonjae. Given Sehun’s personality as he knew it, it was entirely possible.

“I don’t know what kind of talk it is, but I don’t hide anything from my brother.”

A desperate voice came out before he knew it. Since childhood, Sehun was a boy who would get jealous even if Jian just shook hands with someone else. He had even been confined after lying about having kissed someone.

He had just managed to soothe him, and he didn’t want Sehun’s jealousy to explode because of some stranger.

“Is that really true? How long has it been since Hunter Lee Jian adapted to this world? By my estimate, it’s been about 10 years. Am I right?”

However, Jian’s eyes shook greatly at Yoonjae’s next words. The expression ‘this world’ sounded exactly like he knew the secret Jian was hiding.

The fact of his possession was the biggest piece of the secret Jian was keeping. He had no intention of ever telling this part to Sehun or Hyunwoo.

He didn’t have the confidence to convince them that he had possessed a character in a novel, and above all, the original novel’s story was about Sehun and Hyunsu.

Even if he didn’t talk about the novel’s content, it would be difficult to make them understand that he had come from living in another world.

If he spoke honestly, wouldn’t everyone treat him as a crazy person?

The color drained from Jian’s face. It was due to the anxiety that this person seemed to know something about him, about the body he had possessed.

“Are you now considering talking alone?”

“…”

He certainly was. Jian clenched and unclenched his fist. Then he looked up at Sehun, who had approached his side, sensing the strange atmosphere.

“Sehun, I’m really sorry, but could you wait outside?”

“…Why.”

“Please.”

His voice trembled slightly at the end. Though he was trying to appear calm, his heart was beating wildly.

“…Alright. Call me immediately if anything happens. I’ll be right outside.”

“Okay. I will.”

Jian answered readily, thinking that since this was inside the Darknet Guild, Yoonjae wouldn’t harm him.

After Sehun left the conference room, Jian turned to face Yoonjae. Yoonjae was sitting on the table, fiddling with a colorful cube that he had produced from somewhere.

“Just in case, I’ll use a sound-blocking artifact. Is that okay?”

Yoonjae pointed at the cube in his hand as his eyes met Jian’s.

“This is a sound-blocking artifact. It can be used quite a few times, so I use it often.”

“Go ahead.”

Jian didn’t want their conversation leaking out either. When Yoonjae turned the cube clockwise, it emitted a blue light.

The light flowing from the cube created a translucent membrane around Yoonjae and Jian. Jian moistened his throat with dry saliva before speaking first.

“May I ask what you meant by what you just said?”

His voice was cautious, not knowing how much Yoonjae knew. Yoonjae placed the cube on the table and stroked its surface with his fingertip.

“You mean that you might not be the real Lee Jian?”

“…You’re talking nonsense.”

A great shock hit him as if his head had been struck by a hammer. Jian barely managed to refute with trembling lips.

He reflected on the past years. It wasn’t just a day or two, but a full 10 years. Since he had entered this body.

During that time, no one had come looking for this body, no one had contacted him. Even if the soul was different, he had already become one with this body.

Occasionally, he did feel guilty about the original owner of the body.

Even though he had the same appearance, name, age, and even the same deceased parents’ appearances, the fact remained that a different soul was living in this body since he had possessed a character in a novel.

There were memories that came to mind, but they were fragmentary, so he couldn’t know where the body owner’s soul had gone. He had just lived thinking of it as a new opportunity.

It wasn’t like he was doing anything bad, and moreover, he hadn’t entered this body by choice. He had simply died in his original world and woke up in this body, equally clueless about the situation.

If there was anything wrong, it was that he had taken in and raised Sehun, who would have grown up to be the worst villain. That he had become deeply involved with Sehun, who should have been with Hyunsu originally. As a result, the original story had been completely shattered.

“You must have been curious at least once. The reason why you, an S-rank hunter, could live quietly. Didn’t the Darknet Guild Master tell you? That I was the one watching your back.”

He did. That’s why Jian tried to recall any memories of Yoonjae in this body. But nothing came to mind.

Why did he come looking for him only after the Tower appeared? Did he really come because he needed his ability? Or did he know where the original soul of this body was and was trying to bring it back?

His mind became tangled with numerous thoughts. Just in case, he quietly activated his skill window.

“Don’t be too scared. I didn’t come to harm you, Lee Jian. It’s just… I think it’s time to tell you. The reason why I left you alone.”

What exactly was the emotion flickering in his eyes towards him? The emotions surfacing in Shin Yoonjae’s eyes were as complex as those in his own mind right now.

Guilt. Sympathy. Disappointment. And… longing.

Left alone together, he showed his hidden emotions unfiltered. Cold sweat gathered in Jian’s palms. His breath caught, wondering what kind of relationship he had with this body to give such a look.

The man who had been gazing into the distance as if reminiscing about the past, moved his lips.

“You’re curious how I noticed, right? It’s simple. Originally, that body should have died 10 years ago.”

“What on earth does that mean…”