I’m Not That Villain

84 – Missing (4)

We travelled together by public transport.

Standing, as there were no seats, she pulled her hat down further.

“Your advice was right. It’s definitely lessened the attention.”

“Not one for basking in the spotlight, then?”

“I try to carry myself with confidence as much as possible. Beauty is an asset, after all. I used to dislike it, but now I like it. This beauty is helpful in many ways.”

Fidgeting with the brim of her hat, she winked at me.

“Is it working on you?”

She is, undeniably, pretty.

But that’s where it ends.

“Yes, yes. It’s working.”

“Doesn’t seem to be. What a shame.”

“Even if it *were* working on me, what would you gain?”

“I could squeeze more money out of you, perhaps?”

“Is that the aim?”

“If that were the case, wouldn’t I have demanded money from you, under the pretext of tracking her, back when we went to see the informant?”

“What’s a body to do.”

I continued to move via public transport. Finally, I arrived at Seol Yewon’s place.

She glanced at the narrow room, empty of furniture, then stepped inside.

“Pardon the intrusion.”

“Take your shoes off.”

“Forgot myself there.”

The moment she was inside, she began rifling through the meager furnishings. Her movements were decisive, without a trace of hesitation.

“Don’t you think you’re acting a bit *too* much like this is your own home?”

“You said we need to find the missing person, didn’t you? This is a necessary procedure. And… more than anything, this doesn’t seem like a simple outing.”

“Huh?”

“Take a look inside the refrigerator.”

She opened the refrigerator. Inside was a sandwich, well past its expiration date.

“Looks like she bought this intending to eat it later… judging from the fact that this is the only food inside, she seems like the type who only buys what she needs for that moment.”

“……..”

“She bought food intending to eat it, but didn’t. It’s definite that this wasn’t a simple outing. Since the situation might be urgent, wouldn’t it be right to search everything thoroughly?”

“…Please.”

“You stay put. If you start poking around with me, I might miss something I would have otherwise seen.”

I heeded her words.

Her intuition, allowing her to discern a crucial fact within a minute of entering, seemed superior to my own, after all.

Rummage, rummage.

She rummaged through the wardrobe. A quick count of the meager underwear within.

I hastily averted my eyes. Not proper, peering at a girl’s underthings.

“Doesn’t this child have family?”

“Well… something like that? I can’t really say too much. It’s another’s story, after all.”

“A good choice. I believe there is no one as foolish as those who readily blather about others. I, too, loathe those who gossip about me behind my back.”

I heard the rustling as she poked around the underwear drawer.

“Some of these are quite worn. Seems like the type who doesn’t spend much on herself, wouldn’t you say?”

“…How would I know?”

“Still, there are some new ones. The important thing is, each has a distinct purpose. This one, you can tell at a glance…bought for show. Does she have a boyfriend?”

“I… wouldn’t know? I suppose she’d have told me if she did…”

“If there’s no boyfriend, perhaps it’s a hobby. For self-gratification. But this one is different.”

The sound of underwear being lifted.

“Utterly functional…rather expensive undergarments.”

“I really don’t want to see. Sneaking peeks and all…”

“I didn’t say to look. I only wish to explain its function. Seol Yewon, was it? What is her profession?”

“Profession… if she has one…”

I recalled my conversations with her.

“I heard she does some…part-time work. But I never asked for details.”

“Doesn’t seem like simple part-time work. This is combat-ready. Underwear designed for those with abilities, unyielding even during strenuous movement.”

“Pardon?”

“Ordinary, plain ability-wielders don’t buy underwear like this. They’d move just enough so normal underwear doesn’t rip. But the fact she bothered to buy something like this… means she’s doing some side hustle she hasn’t told you about. Look at the stuff next to the washing machine.”

I checked beside the washing machine.

“…Hydrogen peroxide?”

“It’s effective for removing blood stains. If there was just one bottle, maybe… but there’s quite a lot. I saw two more on the ceiling earlier, too.”

“……..”

Seol Yewon was doing something that would get blood on her?

“She wouldn’t… she’s not a child…”

“Who knows? We’ll have to see. Everyone lives wearing a mask, after all.”

She continued searching the house.

Under the bed. A place I hadn’t thought to look, a bag was dragged out.

“……”

“……”

Her gaze seemed to tacitly ask if she could open it. I nodded.

The bag was opened.

*Chwareureuk*.

Bundles of banknotes spilled out.

All fifty-thousand won bills. Solidly bound, the weight of them cascading out would easily surpass a hundred million won just in value alone.

“Whatever this ‘part-time job’ is, it’s definitely not normal.”

“……..”

…Seol Yewon.

“Just where have you been, doing what?”

“Let’s just put it back for now.”

“You don’t want it?”

“Why would I take a child’s sticky-fingered money? I’m not some robber.”

“There’s quite a bit.”

“So what if there is? Even a hundred billion won wouldn’t tempt me. I’m not some madman for money, you know.”

“…Hmph.”

She stuffed the money back into the bag.

Then suddenly, she plucked free a luxury brand certificate, hidden from view deep inside.

“This, though, I’ll need.”

“A luxury certificate?”

“Because this isn’t exactly the sort of bag one keeps valuables in, is it? Storing money in a travel trunk, not even a safe… It’s strange, don’t you think? She must have brought this too. If we go to the store that issued this certificate, perhaps we can find traces of Seol Yewon-ssi.”

“……..”

She extended her hand.

Pointing forward.

“Don’t think about digging in the dark. Follow what you can see. What’s important now is her life or death. Isn’t it?”

. . .

“Isn’t it strange?”

“What is?”

“To carry around the certificate for a luxury item she bought, so deliberately, so pointedly.”

She opened her hand.

The subway car lurched. Darkness streamed past beyond the glass.

“If you get rid of the certificates of authenticity, it becomes difficult to prove it’s the real thing. These days there are so many imitations… what we call *jjaktung* in Korean, knock-offs, you know?”

“Well, perhaps.”

“Even though knowing it yourself should be enough, to intentionally carry around the certificate of authenticity in a place where it isn’t easily seen, just to boast…”

She breathed on the subway window.

Drew a bear in the condensation with a swish.

“It’s so transparent, I don’t care for it. The original owner of this bag. They must have been obsessed with what’s immediately visible.”

“…Well, there are all kinds of people in the world, aren’t there.”

“What about you? The type to boast to those around you if you buy something expensive? Do you care about how others perceive you?”

“…I’ve never bought anything expensive to begin with.”

“If you did, though?”

“If I did…”

I wracked my brain.

She breathed on the window beside the bear she’d drawn. Without thinking, she drew a rabbit.

“I’d get rid of it and use it.”

“Why?”

“It’s just a bother to carry around.”

“Pffft.”

Her graffiti deepened. *Swish, swish,* the lines drawn over the condensation encroached upon my rabbit.

“Swallowing you whole~.”

“That’s crossing the line.”

“Crossing the line~.”

“Oh, you.”

I couldn’t let it be, blowing harder to create an even bigger rabbit.

She giggled, a sound like windchimes.

“Thankfully, you’re not completely wilted, are you? I thought you might be a little more… flustered.”

“I was. But not anymore. Fretting won’t change anything. I’m trying to act as usual. If at least I keep my wits about me, we can face this distorted situation head-on.”

“Wise. Very wise.”

“Just trying to be. Truth is, I’m a little… on edge.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Stop it.”

“I’m serious, though.”

Leaving the subway, I searched for the shop listed on the luxury goods certificate.

Pinpointing the location was easy. A quick search revealed it.

But the problem was, darkness had already fallen. By the time I found it, it’d be closed. I’d have to visit tomorrow, it seemed.

I looked for cheap lodging.

I tried to reserve two rooms, but she refused.

“Save the cash. We don’t know what might happen.”

“What if I turn into a beast?”

“If you wanted to become a beast, you would have already. Wouldn’t you?”

It wasn’t wrong.

Even so, for each other, they’d booked a twin bedroom. After a quick wash, she scrolled through delivery apps.

Now more than ever, eating well and sleeping well was key.

She fought to steady a heart threatening to waver. To forget everything and rush headlong would be to ruin things at the decisive moment.

“Anything you fancy?”

“What are you thinking of ordering?”

Clean and fresh, she’d wrapped a towel around her dripping hair and sprawled on the bed.

Fleeting glimpses of bare skin. He averted his eyes, scrolling down, down, down through the delivery app.

“I asked you first.”

“The one ordering should decide. I eat pretty much anything. Except one thing.”

“What can’t you eat?”

“Bread. It’s not that I can’t eat it at all, but I ate so much of it as a kid, I’m completely sick of it. Come to think of it, I haven’t really had proper Korean food here…”

She smiled with her eyes.

“Want to order chicken?”

“Is that Korean food?”

“I heard the chicken here is different from other countries. Super crispy, apparently.”

“Well, let’s order it then.”

He ordered without much thought. After they’d devoured the half-and-half chicken that arrived swiftly, they made sure to brush their teeth.

Before bed, she wanted one more wash and slipped into the tub. She closed her eyes for a moment, listening to the TV murmuring from outside.

Steam rising.

Warmth enveloping the whole being.

Yet, within it, the heart kept sinking, a cold stone.

Seol Yewon. Just what mischief had she been up to? The question wouldn’t leave his head.

Surely, nothing normal. But that child is fragile. Impossibly fragile…

Could she have been forced into something unpleasant?

The thought struck him.

“You’ve been in there a while.”

A voice came from beyond the frosted window pane.

He answered casually.

“Go ahead and sleep. I won’t do anything untoward.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“…Oh, just thinking about a vanished acquaintance.”

“They must have been quite precious to you.”

“Weren’t they?”

“You haven’t done anything strange, have you?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Just asking. Between a man and a woman. Even if it’s like a younger sister and older brother, a man and a woman are still a man and a woman, aren’t they? One could harbor romantic feelings.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“…Is that so.”

And the conversation ended there.

I dried myself and went out to the room. She was staring blankly at the turned-off television, then turned to me.

A beautiful face, despite lacking any trace of makeup. Long eyebrows, so blatantly seductive, whispered to me.

“Do you prefer it completely dark when you sleep?”

“…Yes, I suppose? It doesn’t hurt my eyes that way.”

“Would you mind if I used a nightlight? I like having a little bit of light.”

Did she, too, have a situation similar to Baek So-yeon’s?

After drying my hair, I asked.

“Are you afraid of the dark?”

“That’s not it. It’s just…better for staying up all night.”

“…Pardon?”

“If I fall asleep at this hour, I’ll wake up at four in the morning. Almost guaranteed. So, I prefer to hold out until at least four. To keep pushing until I’m about to pass out, then collapse into sleep and wake up at seven. If I wake up at four in the morning, the entire day is ruined.”

“But that means you only get three hours of sleep? Is it some kind of jinx? Or a sleep habit?”

“Hmm…if I had to explain it…”

She smiled brightly.

“Every three days, someone used to wave their hand over my head at four in the morning. A long time ago.”