Living as a Villain (1)
Two days had passed since the Red Scarf commotion.
I'd bolted immediately, hiding out toward Gangwon Province before stealing some clothes from a rural market and hopping a taxi back home.
Just return as Dokkaebi?
Returning home as Dokkaebi? One day, I might wake up to a missile slamming into our Banpo Jjaye apartment. That's just how this neighborhood rolls.
After Red Scarf's head exploded.
Once I'd dealt with him, I immediately went into hiding to dodge the guys charging in from afar.
Snow White didn't chase me. She seemed utterly shocked that a villain had been "killed," and I didn't have time to worry about her.
"See you next time. Sorry, but no time for chit-chat right now."
"Dokkaebi's over there!! Grab him!!"
Those guys rushing in from the distance were the government's "Execution Squad" ability users.
Unlike me—a villain who locks up or kills other villains—the government had formed its own special unit to eliminate villains.
[Plea bargain! Bring in the villain executor Dokkaebi, and we'll grant you parole. In exchange, you'll follow orders from above.]
[What? I get out of prison, can kill on orders, and best of all, get to nab that bastard Dokkaebi myself? Get the stamp!]
Villains I'd thrown in prison. They called it "resocialization," but these were the government's true dogs.
And these government dogs routinely staged scenes, covered up messes, and manipulated situations to favor the state.
Just like the headline plastered everywhere.
In a deserted café, I exchanged greetings with the woman I'd met.
"Chairman. Don't you think it's too much? Treating villains like this, just blasting them away."
"That's what it means to live as a villain. If you wanna fight back properly, you gotta show your face. Become a Vtube star, build a fanbase."
This petite blonde—tiny enough to look like a child, a good 20cm shorter than me—was the leader of our evil organization, "Imae Mangnyang."
"How about it, Manager Do? Wanna debut as an idol? Villain idol. If you become one of those male idols girls obsess over, the so-called superfans will shield you even when you kill villains."
"No thanks. Imagine the backlash if my transformation drops... Ugh."
I waved off the Chairman's suggestion.
"You're strong right now, aren't you? Honestly, being a villain executor has its fans too. Among folks who lost family to villains."
"They'd change their minds if they saw me untransformed."
I get insanely strong as Dokkaebi. The secret to a mere villain like me becoming this powerful post-possession? Desperate training to survive.
The old Dokkaebi was just Executive A under the four executives. Now? Top 6 in Imae Mangnyang for real. Top 1 through 5 are obviously the Chairman and her "Four Heavenly Kings."
"The penalty for transforming back is ending up naked. Who'd like that?"
"That's why you're building your body? To avoid social suicide?"
"Ugh."
The Chairman's gaze drifted to my body.
Post-possession, I'd worked my ass off on it. So if the transformation ever dropped, it'd be "Holy shit, look at that guy's body..." instead of "Lol, check out that loser's bod."
"Dokkaebi in a slick suit turns out to be a potbellied balding old man? Popularity crash. But a body like a bodybuilder? And then..."
Her eyes went lower, and she lightly stroked her iced tea cup up and down.
"The Dokkaebi Bat..."
"Chairman. That's sexual harassment."
"You can be proud, Manager Do. You hide your Dokkaebi Bat so well."
"Harassment, I said."
This woman. If she weren't a minor, I'd have dealt with her already—but she's a minor, so I hold back.
Well, being a minor is why she runs an evil organization dreaming of world conquest.
A genius with an IQ way past 200, unmeasurable by standard tests, using that brain to run an evil group.
"It's so shitty, I'll rule the world myself."
"After agonizing over world peace, she concluded ruling it herself was the surest, fastest way—and founded the evil society Imae Mangnyang."
Thanks to her, I live well as a villain. And thanks to her, I could shake off this murder frame-up.
"Fine, fine. We'll table the idol project for Manager Do. For now, let's talk Red Scarf. Actually, the situation's not as bad as I thought. Because of this."
The Chairman pulled out a tablet and played a video.
"Manager Do, you're so lucky. Good thing that nearby CCTV was still working. Hehe."
"It's getting deleted from Vtube right now, isn't it?"
"Once it spreads on Vtube, everyone's already seen it. Ta-da."
It was grainy footage—the Gyeongbu Expressway CCTV. Front and center: a white-haired ability user.
Red Scarf collapsed, wings torn off. Snow White using ice magic to restrain me. Me approaching her with a bat slung over my shoulder like a thug.
Then, from over 20 meters away, Red Scarf's head suddenly explodes.
"No sound due to distance, but anyone watching would think you're picking a fight."
"I was just going to warn her—she was interfering with Red Scarf's takedown."
Reality was different. I'd thanked her for cooperating, but insisted it was my solo act. Without sound, though, the video makes it look like I'm attacking Red Scarf and then going for Snow White.
"See here? You bend down close? I thought you were kissing. Eek...!"
"Kissing? With the Dokkaebi mask on?"
"Kissing through the mask, whispering 'Next time, for real'?"
"No."
"Bummer."
The Chairman pouted.
"Do it next time. Gotta shake Snow White's heart, pull her to our side."
"...Sigh. You serious?"
"Yes. I'm always serious."
The Chairman straightened up earnestly.
"I want Snow White on our team."
That's why I subdued Red Scarf instead of killing him.
Snow White, S-rank hero recruitment.
If I had to liken the Chairman to a character, it'd be "tiny brat." She's got insane talent lust.
That's why she came all the way to Seoul to meet me in person.
Reason? In half a year, I'd risen to an executive under her direct management!
"Rising from the ranks like our talented Manager Do is great, but scouting known talents is good too. Especially those mistreated by the government."
"Quite right."
"Government heroes are all, knowingly or not, under state influence. Red Scarf didn't call them 'government dogs' for nothing. Sure, some are real attack dogs, but most are leashed to the nation."
The Chairman openly grimaced.
"Family. Money. Patriotism. Friends. Religion. Land. They find any leash possible to control heroes. And the biggest leash...?"
"Sejong Island?"
"Exactly! What ability users crave most. The source of power... mana-boosting land itself. Just living in a house on the East Sea boosts mana, so they can't leave carelessly."
The Chairman shook her head.
"Mana is ability user power. Boosting it is their goal. That's why they even touch horrors like this."
She swiped the tablet screen.
"Foreigners call it 'Devil's Eyes.' Devil Eyes. Ma-an. Name doesn't matter. What matters is it's a forbidden drug that instantly amps an ability user's mana."
I knew it. That's the root of every incident in this world.
"The government's making it. Probably at... 'Sejong Island.'"
Far off. Ulleungdo, southwest, fifty ri by sea.
"Sejong Academy, ability user training ground. High chance they're researching devil powers there. So."
A massive island looms. Over ten times Yeouido's size.
"Manager Do?"
"Yes, Chairman."
"You'll have to infiltrate the academy."
"......"
In the end, it comes to this.