I’m Not That Villain

83 – Missing (3)

He had attracted a strange one.

Not just a metaphor, but a genuinely peculiar individual.

“I’ll help you.”

A woman whose name I didn’t know now offered to roll up her sleeves and help, but I felt no joy at all.

No. In this situation, who could possibly help whom?

“What makes you think you know what to do? Why would you help me?”

“Me? I’m capable. Very. At the very least, you can consider me far more knowledgeable about this underworld than you are.”

She changed her clothes in a suitable place, cleansed herself, and left the hospital as it was. No additional tests were taken.

“Are you sure you’re alright, first of all?”

“Yes. I’m fine. Exceptionally. I’m the type who heals quickly, to begin with.”

“Then, let’s each go our separate ways now.”

She gave a short, dry laugh.

I tilted my head, puzzled.

“Strange…was ‘stalker’ always a word that could be shaken off so easily? I don’t think so.”

“I told you, I’m busy. I’m not kidding, go away.”

“I told you, I’ll be helpful. I don’t intend to be a hindrance. I’m genuinely planning to help. Just consider it a gamble and give me a try.”

She suddenly thrust her face closer.

“Do you need to earn money? Or an important appointment? Business? Or perhaps…are you looking for someone specifically?”

I could simply ignore her and go on my way.

But among the words she’d spoken, the phrase ‘knowledgeable about the underworld’ lingered in my mind.

Perhaps…just maybe…

If she could be of assistance…

“…This is the last time.”

Was it so bad to believe, even just a little?

“The person you’re looking for?”

My mind raced. I had to find all the missing acquaintances, but…

If I had to choose the one most vulnerable when left alone, who would it be?

Renata Lyudmila? An adult. A human who had managed her own affairs long before she even met me. Clumsy, perhaps, but she lived with enough diligence to cover it. There were aspects that weren’t entirely trustworthy, but she was an adult. A definite adult, capable of taking care of herself.

Lily Bennetwater? Outwardly, a strong individual. To be honest, if I had to pick the one I was least worried about, it would be her. A veteran who seemed like she could be dropped anywhere and return unscathed. Hadn’t I learned through her that appearances weren’t everything?

Joo Hwa-rin? Honestly, I was starting to wonder if worrying about her was even the right call. She lied a lot and there were somewhat clumsy parts, but that didn’t mean she was incompetent. Even during battle, as a contract killer, I could feel that she was certainly among the upper ranks.

…But.

But still.

Seol Yewon was different.

She was unstable. Seemed mentally fragile, and before she met me, wasn’t she a mess who couldn’t even properly control her power?

She had social anxiety and was awkward when talking to people. The closer we got, the more she seemed like a child left out on the beach.

Beyond whether she had abilities or not.

Just, humanly, the one who felt most like a child.

That person was Seol Yewon.

“…I’m trying to find a young woman.”

“How young? High school? Middle school?”

“She’s an adult.”

“That’s not so young, is it?”

“Young. By my standards, anyway.”

“Hmph…”

She gave a small, amused snort.

“An ex… or something, no? Cut off after a breakup, now you’re scrambling to get her back?”

“If I was looking for her for that reason, I’d be utter trash. Just… one day, the contact stopped. I went to her place, but there wasn’t a single trace of her.”

“Long time gone from home, then? Not visiting family or friends, perhaps?”

“Didn’t seem like she had anyone but me.”

“What kind of relationship was it?”

“Older brother, younger sister type of thing, I guess?”

“Saw each other often, I imagine. You’ve checked all the places you went together?”

“I looked… didn’t really find anyone who’d seen her, though.”

She spoke, sharp and decisive.

“Kidnapped or dead. One of the two. A person just vanishing overnight in Seoul, it’s only one of those. Unless there was some terribly urgent matter, a reason she couldn’t tell anyone, to leave.”

“She doesn’t have any family. Even if she had to go, she would’ve told me, at least.”

“Then let’s look. Together.”

“You have a way?”

“I told you, I know the underbelly. And you don’t seem to know much about the other side of Seoul…”

She smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

“I’ll be your guide. Come along.”

I didn’t have much of a clever solution of my own, so I just nodded.

I followed her.

Toward what they called the underside of Seoul, a place unknowable.

. . .

The underside of Seoul.

The so-called back world.

One could argue Seoul itself *was* the back world, but there existed a darker, more hidden interior.

Known as the slums, the city’s most vulnerable point…

A region where even the colossal gangs of each district had entirely washed their hands, a no-go zone for law and order.

The ‘back alleys.’

“There’s information you can only get outside the internet,”

Teresa said, dragging the man into a place she often frequented here.

Finding a person. That was, surprisingly, an easy task.

CCTV.

Here, within Seoul, it was like an obsolete relic of a bygone era. With the law gone, most surveillance cameras had been shattered by criminals.

But in Seoul, a different kind of surveillance camera, one that had not vanished, still walked.

People.

In this overpopulated city, the walking masses themselves were like CCTV.

Clunk.

Teresa, deep inside the slums, made contact with her connection. The informant who had helped locate Lily Bennettwater recognized her face.

His complexion immediately darkened to one resembling death.

“…Sister. Didn’t you say that last time was the end?”

His face held a disinterest bordering on aversion. Teresa offered him a bright smile.

“This time really feels like the last, so, will you help?”

“…Seems I don’t have a choice. You might as well just threaten me…damn it…”

With a shudder, the iron gate creaked open.

Teresa slowly descended into the impossibly cramped basement.

A scattered mess met her eyes. A cockroach crawled from atop a pile of discarded pizza boxes. The informant nonchalantly crushed it underfoot before casting a glance at the man who accompanied her.

“Boyfriend… perhaps?”

“Something like that.”

“What’s ‘something like that’?”

Teresa reached out and touched the grumbling man’s face. She carefully adjusted his slightly crooked mask.

“Don’t let your face be seen carelessly. That one over there might just sell your face to someone else, you know.”

“Surely I wouldn’t pull such a crazy stunt on my Sister’s acquaintance. I still want to live a bit longer. I’m not stupid, you know.”

“That’s a relief. Quite a few people forget what they’ve learned, so I was just testing you, to see if you might be one of them.”

“Please refrain from testing me a second time. It’s genuinely frightening.”

The informant patted down the sofa, scattering dust. He slumped onto the spot where the fabric had been patched multiple times, letting out a deep sigh.

“So, what are you looking for this time… a thing? Or a person? I hope you’re not going to ask me to rob another corporation like last time… some of my boys died, you know.”

“Fortunately, it’s just a regular person this time. Other than having a special ability, they’re a completely ordinary citizen with no criminal record.”

“Got a picture, too.”

The man held up his phone. The informant stole a glance at the woman’s face in the photo, then appraised the man.

“Family?”

“No. Just…the girl next door, like a little sister?”

“Couldn’t you give her to me? I’d take good care of her, I promise.”

“What kind of bullshit is that?”

“Never mind then. Just saying, she’s pretty. The kind of face you don’t see often. Ex-idol? Famous on SNS? At least tell me her name. Maybe I’ll recognize it.”

“Seol Yewon.”

“The possibility of an alias?”

“Doesn’t exist. Probably.”

“Seol Yewon…send me the photo files then. No need to worry, I have no intention of misusing them. I’m not brazen enough to do something like that to your sister’s acquaintance.”

The man sent the photo to his phone. The informant, checking the text, powered on his computer.

“It might take some time. But one thing’s for sure, whether she’s a corpse or kidnapped somewhere, I’ll find her. But Sister, with this, I hope you don’t come looking again. Truly.”

“I promise.”

“Good. And, separately from that…”

The informant lowered his voice.

“Just in case, I’m telling you this. Sister. There was someone looking for you.”

“For me?”

“Yes. For the record, I didn’t sell a single piece of information about you. I know I’d be dead the moment I did. But among other informants you might have visited, there could be someone who sold your information for money.”

“…Hmm. Who was trying to buy my information?”

“All I know is that they were a duo of women. Even after investigating separately, they seemed to have sprung out of nowhere. Their trail vanished without a trace.”

“Descriptions?”

“Here it is.”

The information broker handed over a photograph.

Theresa examined it alone.

A woman with pink hair…

And a woman with black hair.

If there was a common thread, it was that both possessed a striking allure. But Theresa, beyond that, couldn’t conjure any other distinguishing features.

Utterly unfamiliar faces.

Individuals with no point of contact whatsoever.

If they were seeking her out, surely there was something they desired…

Followers of the Bad Sector, perhaps interested in the Noise. Theresa tucked the photo into her breast pocket.

“A wise decision. Even if something should happen to me, I promise I won’t be coming to find you.”

“My judgment was sound, then. That’s a relief. In that case, sister. I’ll contact you separately later. Farewell.”

Theresa and the man emerged from the underground once more. The man, who had been silent, cautiously opened his mouth.

“So, this is… the end?”

“It’s the end, but also, aren’t they important enough to find quickly?”

“…Y-yes, of course?”

“If that’s the case, we should also be searching separately while they do. Let’s go back to the woman named Seol Yewon’s house first. The information we want might be hidden inside?”

Theresa pulled the hat she’d purchased along with her clothes low over her eyes. She walked ahead, then spun around to face him.

“It’ll be a delightful tracking date, don’t you think?”

“I don’t think there’s a word less suited to ‘date’ than ‘tracking’.”

“Isn’t it a date if a man and woman are together?”

“Let’s say it isn’t.”

“That little bit of playing hard to get is rather endearing.”

“What’s with you. Seriously.”