Cheese and the Mousetrap

My stance on the sweet 5-million-won gig with the cheese and the mousetrap was ultimately decided. The moment I saw the crumpled bill shoved under my rundown one-room apartment door, my resolve wavered. Just do it.

If it's a trap, so what? Poverty scares me more.

If it's a trap, I'll smash it. I'm a villain too. If it's a trap, I fight my way through and that's that.

Enemies need to be eliminated anyway. For the sake of a peaceful daily life, it was right to weed out any villains hostile to me.

A peaceful life. Honestly, that's all I wanted. Sure, I liked this story, but I had no intention of tap-dancing frantically in front of the massive wheels of the main plot.

Heroes and villains drop like flies in droves. If a lowly B-Rank Wanted Villain like me poked around those places, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd get my back split open in the whale fight.

The correct answer was to live quietly, like I was there but not really there.

Blank doesn't even have any real screen time anyway.

The story reads just fine without Blank showing up. Otherwise, why would his total appearances be a measly 12 panels? Blank wasn't an indispensable character. I could live however I wanted without any issues.

Once my stance was set, the next steps were obvious. To protect my peaceful daily life, I needed to cull the villains hostile to me. Villain society ran on the law of strength anyway. All I had to do was etch into their minds that messing with villain Blank was off-limits.

If today's job turned out to be a trap, that was fine too. Perfect for making an example.

Though I'd prefer if it wasn't a trap. That was honestly my top wish. Easy money is the best.

After deciding, I called Yongpal and told him I'd take the job.

"Blank. Knew you'd bite! Uhahaha!"

Yongpal's excited tone buzzed in my ear. Ugh. My ears hurt.

"This gig's got huge commissions! We both get to make bank! Uhihihihack!"

Even Yongpal stood to make a fat cut. That's why he'd been nagging me nonstop to take it.

"No chance it's a trap? Why not do some digging?"

"Huh? Nah, nothing like that! If it seemed off, I'd have blocked it myself. It's not some police dragnet, or a trap dug by someone with a grudge against you... probably."

Hey. You're trailing off there.

"If it is a trap..."

Kill him? Nah. But his jobs are always quality.

"Uhahaha! What're you so worried about? I checked—the client ain't some big shot. No organization behind it. Just a personal request. Even if it's a trap, it won't be a real threat to you. Relax!"

Easy for you to say—it's not your ass on the line.

"A guy with an 58-million-won bounty calling someone else a punk? Everything in this business is risky. Tasty cheese always comes with a mousetrap nearby. Great metaphor for the villain world, right?"

I was about to let Yongpal's irresponsible chatter slide when something I couldn't ignore slipped out.

"Hold up. Bounty of 58 million won?"

It went up? When I first possessed this body and checked Blank's bounty, it was 42 million.

"You didn't know? Villain like you not keeping tabs? Yeah, it climbed. It's been buzzing in our circles. Even got an assigned hero now."

While chatting with Yongpal, my trembling hands logged into the darknet.

My breath caught. Flash had personally named me as her target villain.

"Flash called dibs on catching you herself. You're a big deal now. Uhahaha! Feels good seeing a buddy climb the ranks."

Yongpal laughed like it was someone else's business.

"... "

I'd only bumped into him by chance while fighting Steel Skin, and now Flash had claimed me as his personal mark.

I didn't even do anything special. Never put on any memorable show against Flash. Just bolted the second I saw him—maybe that pissed him off enough to request me?

Steel Skin... that bastard... Things went sideways because of him.

"Congrats on the promotion. Become a real heavyweight."

"...Shut up."

Why's this guy so thrilled?

"Anyway, you're my best client, so I'll poke around for anything fishy on this job. Client's super shady, though—might come up empty."

"Do it."

The dice were already rolling. Time to go.

I donned the black mask proving my identity as Blank, threw on a black raincoat, and eyed the corner of the room. True to a villain's pad, weapons were scattered everywhere: baseball bat, tomahawk, military knife.

Grabbed the bat, tomahawk, and knife, then headed out. Better safe than sorry.

The warehouse was in District 19, a ways from my District 23 in New Seoul. No residential zones—just industrial parks and logistics hubs. Home to a major courier company's mega-hub too.

Districts 20-23, villain central, wrapped around 19 like a crescent, making it a hotbed for villain traffic.

The spot from the request was a bland paint factory building. Looked abandoned from neglect. But the containers inside were brand new.

The iron gate at the entrance. A guy standing there greeted me, pistol on his hip.

"Blank, huh. Whoa, in the flesh."

He grinned and jerked his chin.

"Job's simple. That blue container over there? Guard it for 24 hours. Green truck shows up after. Load it up, and you're done. Easy, right?"

Sounds like standard escort duty.

"Heard the client specifically named me."

"Ah, yeah. You're on the rise lately. Boss loves hopping on hot streaks. Picked you himself."

Fits, but still reeks.

Villain instinct? Animal gut feeling. The whole warehouse reeked of killing intent.

"It's 5 million. How about upfront payment first?"

Besides the bloodlust, another strong hunch: scam alert.

"Hey, you get paid before the work? Come on."

He looked incredulous.

"Bad vibes. Gotta trust you first."

"Don't trust? Piss off."

Hardass, as expected.

"...Fine."

Turned to leave. Key was whether he'd grab me or not.

"Hey hey! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Okay!! Lemme talk to the boss!!"

He latched onto my arm and backed down.

Muttering curses, the guy headed inside. Back in five minutes.

"2.5 million upfront. Rest on completion. Deal?"

"Yeah."

We bumped phones. 2.5 million in crypto confirmed. Villains mostly ditched banks for crypto or barter. Annoying at first, but routine now.

"Work hard then."

He unlocked the gate. Clunk.

Gate shut. Headed to the container.

Dunno what's inside. Definitely illegal. Decided not to peek.

No signs of life. Eerily quiet factory. Industrial zones usually buzzed with robots—none here.

Patrol around the container?

[Karls Industries]

The name froze me solid.

Fuck...

What the hell? Why here?

Karls Industries. Major defense contractor in this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Korea, skyrocketing stock. Famous for hero gear and combat aids.

Classic shady corp from hero comics—upstanding on the surface, filthy underneath. Psychopaths worse than most villains.

Why's their container here?

Trap or not, felt like I'd taken a job I shouldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have. Didn't wanna tangle with Karls.

Okay. Bounce clean and quick. Already pocketed 2.5 mil—profit.

Turned to go. That's when a group rushed me. Six of 'em. No presence till suddenly there.

Weapons that'd hurt bad. Surrounded me.

"... "

Knew it.

That night at 11 PM, A-Rank Hero Flash, Seohayun, got an emergency dispatch.

"Flash. This request is critical. From Karls Industries. Their prototype weapon got stolen by a villain group. Recover it at all costs."

"... "

Seohayun soared through the sky, listening to the in-ear report. Her face was its usual stiff mask, but more rigid tonight. Disgust.

Seohayun loathed shady gigs.

"...Spot the container, signal us. If combat damages it and contents spill... pretend you saw nothing. Top secret."

"...Understood."

"You know what 'top secret' means, Flash."

Seohayun bit her lip at the operator's words over the comms.

Top secret. Anyone touching it gets eliminated. Civilian or not.

"I know. Quiet and quick."

She cut the comms. If civilian witnesses popped up, she'd have to do unheroic things.

To prevent that, Seohayun had to recover the container fast. As possible.