We're Villains Too
The monster's appearance was incredibly sudden. It wasn't like it popped out from somewhere—it just materialized out of thin air with a thud. Outwardly, it resembled a bird, but it was enormous, making humans look tiny by comparison, and it had six eyes. Its feathers were so pitch-black that it blended seamlessly into the darkness, hard to make out. That wasn't why we hadn't noticed it, though; it must have been hiding with some kind of stealth ability.
"Right on time."
Hwang Yerang approached the monster as if it were an old friend, grabbing onto its leg. The creature let out a bizarre cry and slowly began flapping its wings.
"Well then, Oppa, if you change your mind, give me a call. A date invitation works too."
The monster took off into the air with Hwang Yerang in tow, then vanished completely just as abruptly as it had appeared—its form blurring until no trace remained. A faint presence lingered for a moment, but even that faded away into silence.
I was stunned by how Hwang Yerang had treated the monster like an ally. Had the Villain Alliance joined forces with monsters too? They were far more outrageous and dangerous than I'd imagined.
Once the presence was completely gone, I released my transformation and picked up my clothes to get dressed. In the end, I hadn't killed Hwang Yerang, and nothing was resolved. Still, there were gains. Werewolves could learn to speak with practice. And from her words about calling if I changed my mind, it seemed the Villain Alliance had no immediate plans to do anything to me.
Did they really think I'd join them? Who knows. At least it wasn't the worst-case scenario I'd feared, so that was a relief.
"How'd it go?"
"Failure. No matter how much I flirted, he wouldn't bite."
The woman sitting on the luxurious-looking sofa took a sip of coffee from the cup in her hand. Hwang Yerang, covered head to toe in dust, flopped down on the empty sofa opposite her.
"Hey! Go wash up before you sit! You're gonna dirty the sofa!"
"Eek. I'm too wiped out right now."
"Wash up and come back!"
Grumbling at the woman's nagging, Hwang Yerang finally dragged herself up and headed to the shower. A short while later, freshly showered, she threw herself back onto the sofa.
"Haaah~ All that effort for nothing."
"If you liked him that much, you should've gone all out from the start instead of holding back. You could've won if you'd fought seriously, right?"
"I didn't know he'd be that strong. He didn't seem that experienced, but damn, he was tough."
Hwang Yerang buried her face in the sofa, rubbing it wearily. After a full day of dating and an intense fight, fatigue had piled up more than expected. The soft, plush texture against her face felt soothing.
"Oh, Chaerim, speaking of—how's the Alliance situation?"
At Hwang Yerang's question, the woman called Chaerim looked up from her book, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
"Not good. Looks like internal strife's breaking out over there too."
"Internal strife?"
"That last terror attack? Turns out it was pulled off unilaterally by some radicals in the Alliance. Now that it's drawn the Hero Association's attention, their factions are clashing."
"Why's that bad for us? Isn't it good?"
"Those idiots pulled all the aggro, and now innocent folks like us are catching heat too."
"Ugh. Such a pain. Guess we gotta lay low for a bit."
"If only it were that easy."
Chaerim sighed deeply, muttering under her breath.
"Wonder if that oppas okay. He killed an Alliance villain, so they'll be gunning for him, and the Association seemed pretty pissed too."
"What, you actually like that werewolf for real?"
"Nah, but he seems decent. It'd be better if he joined us. We could hook Ann up with a boyfriend too."
"Oh yeah, Ann said she's never made friends with her own kind."
"She's the type who gets lonely easy, so a same-species friend would've been nice."
"Hmph. I don't like that Jeong Yuseong werewolf anyway. Cocky and annoying."
Hwang Yerang thought, You calling someone else cocky? but kept it to herself. If she said it out loud, Chaerim would flip out and throw a fit, and she was too exhausted to deal with that.
"Anyway, you be careful too. Those unilateral terrorists could try anything."
"The Alliance is full of screw-ups anyway."
"You think proper people become villains?"
"We're villains too?"
"We have our reasons!"
"Pfft. That's hilarious."
"I'm serious. Those guys won't stay quiet. Feels like they'll stir up more trouble soon. Don't get involved and risk them mistaking us for allies."
"I know. No point pissing off the Association."
Staying low-key was the goal of their organization—Jamryong—so avoiding needless trouble was the smart play. Hwang Yerang's eyes grew heavy with sleep, and she started dozing off on the sofa. Soon, her steady breathing filled the quiet room.
"Haa… Still, we need to keep tabs on how things unfold."
Chaerim closed her book and murmured softly. Against her hopes, with the Villain Alliance on the move, quietly hiding out wouldn't be so easy.
"Heroes shaking in their boots from villains? What a load of crap. We hand it to 'em on a platter, and these idiots won't even take it."
"Enough. We never expected them to listen anyway. We'll do things our way."
In some dark corridor, one man spat curses in frustration while another calmly soothed him.
"What's the plan for the next terror attack?"
"Hm… Make it as flashy as possible. Stir up something so big the public can't ignore us, and those moderates will have no choice but to follow."
"Oh, and that werewolf who killed Bomberman?"
"Anything on him?"
"Nope. Zero info. Even checked with the wild moonless night folks—they say he's not one of theirs. Who the hell is this guy, jumping in out of nowhere? Tsk."
"Doesn't matter if he's playing hero or holds a grudge. Luring him out won't be hard either way."
"How?"
"Simple. Launch a terror attack at night when werewolves are active. Whether he's a grudge-holder or a wannabe hero, he'll show if we're causing chaos."
"Got it. Say we lure him—what then?"
"Kill him. Doesn't matter whose side he's on. We need to show what happens when you mess with the Alliance."
"Idiot move, making enemies of the Alliance."
"Whatever. Show or no show, we stick to the plan."
"Yes, sir."
The man thought to himself: The werewolf was a threat worth watching, but if he interfered, just kill him. More importantly, when and where to strike. The Hero Association protected people; the Villain Alliance aimed to dismantle it. They held the advantage. The more civilian casualties, the more trust in the Association would plummet. It was a fight they couldn't lose. If they pushed aggressively, even the coward moderates would have to follow.
"Ah, screwed."
A major problem had arisen. Living expenses were almost tapped out. Forget the Hero Association or Villain Alliance—for all I knew, I'd be starving soon.
Idiotically quit my convenience store job after my identity got too dicey, and I still hadn't found new work. Thinking about job hunting just depressed me more.
Today, I opened my laptop and scrolled job sites again when a unique gig caught my eye: Supporters Recruitment.
Curious, I read the details. With rising monster appearances and Villain Alliance terror attacks overwhelming heroes and police, they were recruiting civilians to form patrol squads. No direct fighting—just patrol streets, report anomalies to heroes for quick response, and support from there.
Basically, walk routes for set times. But the pay was killer. Reason? Hazard pay included. Patrolling meant higher odds of encountering monsters or villains; even without fighting, it was risky, so the compensation was fat.
With my enhanced physique and transformation as backup, it seemed like easy money. I went to apply… but the competition was insane. Simple work, high pay—tons of applicants. Plus, rigorous vetting for reliability.
No way I'd make it. About to give up, a brilliant idea hit. I pulled out my phone and dialed.
Ring… ring… Whoever it was must be swamped—no answer, just endless ringing.
Figured as much. Waited a bit more, ready to hang up, when it finally connected.
"Hello?"