I’m Not That Villain

92 – Transformation (2)

“M-me… a queen…?”

“Why? Do you dislike the idea?”

“Ugh… it’s not that… But w-why are you being so good to me all of a sudden… It’s infuriating…”

Baek So-yeon waved her hands wildly. Desperately hiding her face, she took a deep breath, then subtly rose from her spot.

Her hand, as if it were the most natural thing, took mine, pulling me towards the sofa. Somewhat bewildered, I sat in the now-empty space, and she leaned her head gently onto my shoulder.

“…Explain it exactly. What does it mean?”

“Um. Well, it’s like…”

I began to speak the words I’d been formulating in my mind.

As the story unfolded, Baek So-yeon’s expression changed. Starting with bashfulness, it gradually crumbled, until she was left with a completely furrowed brow.

“…That’s… possible? Is it real?”

“Yes.”

“No. But this is… Just a moment… It’s so different from anything I knew… Wow… Seriously… It’s unbelievable… That that’s possible? Really?”

“I’m telling you it is. Theoretically, it’s feasible.”

“In reality?”

“We’ll only know if we try. After all, you won’t get results if you don’t take a chance. But the probability of success is close to 90%.”

“That high? How?”

“Because I’ll be the overall director.”

“……..”

A gaze like one beholding a monster.

I pressed firmly on Baek So-yeon’s cheek.

“Trust me.”

“…Don’t come too close, though…I, I’ll trust you, okay! Well, it’s a partner workshop, after all…you have to trust your partner…I really am going to do it, but…I’ll definitely get a return on my investment, right?”

“Definitely. I swear.”

“Ugh…it’ll be a pretty big loss if I don’t…still…”

Baek So-yeon leaned her head against my shoulder again with a soft thump.

“I’m trusting you because it’s you…understand?”

“Thank you, So-yeon.”

“…D-Don’t just call me by my name all willy-nilly…idiot…”

“Then what should I call you? Boss?”

“If you call me Boss, I’ll kill you.”

What am I supposed to do?

Regardless, thankfully, I’d overcome the biggest hurdle. Under her complete trust, I checked the internet to find a craftsman who could be of help.

Several communities and SNS sites, though in a terrible state, seemed to be somewhat restored. The Black Market, which had been down once, was also back up.

But instead of being fully restored, many of its features were still broken. It seemed that a hacking war was still raging.

Personal seller channels were going down in real-time. My account, too. But even so, there was something I could salvage.

The contact information of craftsmen who were doing quite well. I checked them all and began making calls.

Among them was a familiar name. A craftsman I’d once worked for, part-time.

Seo Ji-soo.

He paused, fingers hesitating, remembering her, but then started moving them again.

It wasn’t her personal issues that had led to the end of her part-time work. On the contrary, she had always treated me well.

Besides, the bodyguard who had been the cause was later dealt with, eradicated completely… so there should be little awkwardness between us.

She’d mentioned starting her own workshop before, and it seemed she had, though it appeared to be a one-person operation at this point. Only her name was on the registry.

Skill.

Her skill alone was top-tier in the underground, wasn’t it? Let’s send her a message first.

And ideally, I’d like to find about ten more artisans as skilled as her…but I couldn’t say for sure if that would be possible…

I sent a message to all the artisans who seemed promising at first glance.

With a note that there would be an additional interview.

. . .

“Seo Ji-soo-ssi.”

-Click.

A cup of tea is placed beside her. Seo Ji-soo stopped her frantically moving hands.

The female bodyguard who had offered the warm tea sighed.

“Take it easy. What if you catch a fever doing this?”

“…Business is slow, so I have to work hard on whatever comes in. Can’t afford to lose customers.”

“Is there really that little business? There seem to be a lot of things coming and going…”

“Lots of things, but not much profit.”

Seo Ji-soo scraped her chair back. With the tea in her hand, she slumped onto the sofa.

Ah. I hate this. I hate working.

“A craftsman, see, shines brightest when creating their own work, ultimately.”

But what is this now?

Not shining at all, just fiddling with someone else’s piece.

“…The income’s similar…but with the workshop registration, the money going out is more… I did this for nothing…”

“What about increasing your workforce?”

“Workforce?”

“I’ve heard that to even be called a workshop, you need at least a few, and at most, dozens of people…but Ms. Seo Jisu, you’re a solo operation, right?”

“…It’s not like I hadn’t considered it…”

Pointlessly, she grips the cup tighter.

“Because of that son of a b*tch…!”

“Son of a b*tch?”

“The one I mentioned before. The guy who worked before Ms. Kim Ara.”

“…Ah. Mr. Lee Minho?”

Seo Jisu’s personal bodyguard, Kim Ara, gave an awkward smile.

“I vaguely heard about it before…but Ms. Seo Jisu never really told me the details, so…”

“Did I not? I guess I’ve been so out of it lately I’m forgetting what I’ve even said…Going crazy…”

“I know that Mr. Lee Minho maintained a rather poor reputation even as a senior in the industry. He…well… contacted me a bit too much on a personal level… It was difficult to deal with, shall we say…”

“That skirt-chasing b*stard. Shit. Seriously. So? What happened?”

“The contact stopped. I didn’t want him contacting me again, so I thought it was a good thing.”

“Must’ve caught a knife somewhere. Well, he deserved it. Honestly… I worked with him out of loyalty since I was a nobody… but he always crossed the line. I mean. What kind of bodyguard hits on their employer? He was truly a crazy b*stard. Makes my teeth grind.”

“…Seems like you’ve had a rough time.”

“It’s not just the work… Ah! Seriously! That son of a b*tch made me lose someone important!”

-Thump!

The table shook as she set down her glass with force.

Kim Ara glanced at her cautiously.

“Someone important?”

“You see. Originally, I was going to officially register as a workshop and drastically increase the number of people I employed, right? Make it huge, really huge. Even if the initial costs were a bit high, I had saved up enough money to invest. I was going to! But…”

“……..”

“My standards… my standards… haa…”

“S-Standards?”

Seo Ji-soo rubbed her forehead.

“…My standards have just become too high.”

“Pardon?”

“My standards are really too high now. After only observing those perfect people, turning my head after losing them, I realize there are only…trash left. If I work with those b*stards who say my business will be a hit if they do this or that with me, that’s all I can think. Ah… If it were Lee Seo-joon… If it were Lee Seo-joon, I’d have done a little better here…”

“L…Lee Seo-joon?”

“…I had someone working as a temporary, short-term hire for a month. Good social skills, maintained a proper distance, and above all, his skills were excellent. My expectations were incredibly high. He was perceptive, had a great sense. But then. That Lee Min-ho b*stard, blinded by jealousy, caused an incident, you see? No one got hurt or anything, but…it was as if that incident made me completely lose affection for this place, and he just left.”

“……”

“You know. I’m really not the type to be particularly attached to anyone, right? But, this person was different. I had this feeling that if I worked with this person, I could create truly exceptional work? That feeling was incredibly strong. But. That son of a b*tch ruined everything and left, and he doesn’t even answer my calls…it says the number doesn’t exist when I call.”

“…He must have been quite talented?”

“A gem! He was a gem through and through. To be honest…it felt like he would be better than me the moment he picked up a tool? He mainly assisted me, but I sensed genius in every one of his touches. And he gave careful, polite advice on parts that seemed unnecessary… he didn’t have any of that useless pride…and he took care of all sorts of errands while boosting my morale, you know?”

“…Hmph…”

“Ever since I worked with him, really…reaaally…no one else even catches my eye. I thought maybe I could improve others if I taught them…but how can I force myself to have the will to do it? Ah. I’m doomed. I’m really doomed. I should have held onto him somehow…No. I should have just asked him to work with me as an equal later on…Where else am I going to meet such a master craftsman who perfectly complements my lacking parts…Haaa…”

Kim Ara covered her mouth and chuckled.

“It’s kind of like watching a woman with unrequited love.”

“Unrequited love? Ah. Yes. I guess it is unrequited love…If I’m this obsessed, it probably is unrequited love…Honestly, I only saw the face covered by the mask, but…still, his eyes were quite handsome…Yeah. His jawline must have been pretty too. Lee Min-ho, you useless b*stard…No help. No helppp…!”

But alas.

Even with all this lamenting, a ship that’s sailed can never be caught.

Seo Ji-soo pulled herself up from where she was sprawled on the sofa. After a sigh, she returned to her workbench.

Since that time with him, she’d made several dedicated tools…

But the results were always frustratingly inadequate. Even things that she once would have called masterpieces now seemed lacking.

Ah.

It feels like if only he was there, if only he was by my side, I could create something even better.

Where did he really go? I was wrong. I know it’s my fault for not managing people well enough. Please…?

Come back. Please.

“…Haaa…”

Seo Ji-soo, letting out the longest sigh in the world, picked up her tools again and worked on the device she was repairing.

But then.

Suddenly, an alarm sounded from her phone.

“Seo Ji-soo-ssi. Looks like you got a text. Should I bring it over?”

“Ah, no. I’m a little busy. Just read it to me, Kim Ara-ssi. Is it urgent?”

“Uhm… well… that is… first, the sender is…”

Kim Ara stammered, reading from her phone.

“…Lee Seo-joon… it says?”

“What?”