Taming Villains (2)
Han Sua. Hero name: Psyche. And the heiress of Hwaryeon Group, currently the number one corporation in South Korea. She's grouped with Snow White and Yuha as the top three promising heroes of this class. For now, at least.
Before my regression, I'd only heard her name in passing, but I never imagined she'd look like that. Her sharp, prickly features screamed standoffish, and the haughty, arrogant aura she exuded was palpable even from a distance. A perfect fit for a chaebol heiress. Most people probably couldn't even strike up a conversation with her.
Even the cliché sight of her lingering alone in the classroom after hours, glued to her smartphone, felt like a painting come to life. But why were her fingers flying across the screen like that? Was she working on something?
Maybe I can catch a glimpse...
Just then, a cloud drifting across the sky blocked the sunlight pouring into the classroom. On her illuminated screen, I saw Han Sua's expressionless face pressing down hard on the 'Post' button in the top right corner.
...Huh?
"Woojin?"
The voice snapped me back to reality. I glanced sideways. Yuha had paused, looking up at me with a smile.
A sudden chill prickled my skin. Must be the spring breeze still carrying winter's bite.
"What's up?"
"...Nothing."
She shook her head dismissively and hurried on. What was that about? Kinda anticlimactic. Her steps seemed twice as fast as usual. I quickened my pace to catch up and match hers.
The empty classroom scene vanished behind us in an instant.
"That's Han Sua, right? Psyche from Hwaryeon. The one they're lumping you with as top three."
"...Yeah."
Yuha nodded slightly after a brief pause. Why did she suddenly seem deflated? Just my imagination?
Man, something felt off today.
"You two not close?"
I played dumb and kept probing. Han Sua was a key player in the upcoming incident—and one of the central figures in my plans. I needed every scrap of info I could get right now.
"Eh...? Not really..."
She shook her head, pressing even closer to my arm than before. Her mood felt heavier. And how long was she planning to cling like this? Didn't we settle that punishment already? Even if it was my fault, this every day was wearing me down a bit...
"We just say hi sometimes...? Sua's kinda cold personality-wise...and she's always got a crowd around her..."
"Hmm."
Makes sense. So she's the type who travels with a entourage of attendants. Very heiress-like, I guess. Approaching her solo wouldn't be easy. Especially since I didn't know her from before like Yuha did.
Was that shade she just threw...? Nah, no way Yuha would badmouth her.
"Hmm..."
Yuha seemed lost in thought before tossing out a casual question.
"Sua's pretty, right?"
"Huh?"
"Just... She's super popular with the guys. Pretty face, chaebol heiress... Wondering if you're into her too, that's why you asked..."
"What are you talking about?"
I shot back, baffled.
"Absolutely not my type. Not even that pretty, honestly? Now that you mention it, her personality seems iffy too. Not someone I'd wanna get chummy with."
Screw the chaebol heiress bit—I preferred someone warmer and friendlier. That preference held strong even before regression, but now it felt even more ironclad. Maybe because I'd spent my last life tormented by a psycho who kept me chained up until I died.
Plus, considering Han Sua's true identity...
"Hey, when did I say she was iffy? Can't use words like that."
Yuha poked my nose lightly, calling me out. Huh, come to think of it, I never actually said that. Sharp as ever—hero material.
"Hehe."
She tightened her arm around mine, flashing her signature sparkling smile. Definitely just saw wrong earlier.
We chatted about trivial stuff as we wandered down the hall. But one thought clung stubbornly to my mind.
That thing Han Sua was doing on her phone earlier. Looked a lot like DCInside in dark mode...?
After that, I walked Yuha to her patrol assignment. Nothing major should happen there for a while, so she should be fine. Back home, I checked my phone notifications.
April 9th: Yoram Field Training Assault Incident
A new major event had popped up. About a month away.
The Yoram Field Training Assault. Yoram students dispatched to Hero Management Bureau branches for training were hit simultaneously by organized villains—a massive incident. It shattered the fresh start of the semester.
In the grand scheme, it marked the beginning of the worst year ever.
Thanks to the heroes' efforts, most survived with injuries, but one Yoram student died—the only fatality. Han Sua, the one I'd just seen. Top three of the first-years and C-rank hero Psyche.
Her top grades had landed her at an A-rank hero's branch, but that meant facing several times the firepower of the others.
Then the investigation team's reveal flipped the mourning tide: Psyche, the promising hero, was outed as a villain spy. She'd shown her true colors amid the chaos and got taken out by the heroes' counterattack.
Her father, Hwaryeon Chairman Han Yucheon, even issued a rare public apology. Public outrage boiled for a bit, but it faded quietly amid the string of other incidents.
Now it just looks like a scapegoat play.
No helping it. Hwaryeon Chairman Han Yucheon—Han Sua's dad—was one of the great evils that doomed the world. Hwaryeon Group was a front for laundering villain operations, only exposed right before the end.
They're probably still up to all sorts of illegal crap under the heroes' noses. Even the yellow journalism smearing heroes? Theirs too.
Why Han Sua's info and this event dropped together.
Probably because her spy intel on Yoram's schedules and routes enabled the assault. So, killing her off beforehand would cancel the attack?
"...No."
Unlikely. Yoram Academy: elite superhuman training ground, cradle of next-gen heroes. From the villains' view? A massive thorn.
Even without her, something similar would happen. Better to let it play out and contain the damage after. The Bureau still had some pull back then. Casualties were only at her branch anyway.
"But that's not the only issue."
Zoom out. Han Sua—Psyche—was just a disposable tail. Hwaryeon was infiltrating society with its corporate clout, hiding its villain heart. They played no small part in the world's collapse.
Hwaryeon had to fall. But killing street-level villains was worlds apart from toppling a mega-corp with millions of members. I'd fail before I even started.
Change tack. Don't destroy from outside—infiltrate from within. With an inside helper.
Helper. Perfect candidate: the one I bumped into earlier. Han Sua.
How to get her cooperation? Especially as a villain-side player.
"Cooperation? Pfft."
I burst out laughing. Why bother? I had a faster, easier way.
Subjugation. No mercy for a mere villain.
One catch, though. My Authority, hypnosis, wasn't invincible. I'd felt its limits clashing with Flame Mist by accident.
Psyche was another pre-enrollment prospective hero powerhouse. At my current skill, no dice.
Success rate increases if target opens heart to user or has close relationship.
Success rate increases if target is physically/mentally weakened or shaken.
Once successful, sustained Authority projection possible on target.
Oh yeah, conditions like that. Nail it once, and it's smooth sailing...but even that was tricky. No closeness like with Yuha, and her personality/identity meant no crumbling in front of me.
Then it hit me again: Han Sua alone in the classroom, stealthily browsing Hero Minor Gallery in dark mode.
Hero Minor Gallery: where active heroes and even villains lurked like it was home. Prospective heroes could browse too, no rules against it.
I opened my phone and checked Hero Minor Gallery. Same peaceful chaos as always. Pre- or post-regression, this place never changed. If only it stayed this way forever.
I scrolled down. And there it was—the post I'd been hunting.
The usual persistent thread popping up every Hero Minor Gallery visit. Saw it so often pre-regression, I had the IPs memorized. Whoever it was, hardcore Psyche stan. Yoram IP meant probably a student.
That's what I thought until now.
I checked the post time. Matched it roughly to when Yuha and I walked the hall. And when Han Sua hit 'Post'.
"...No way?"
A spark. Maybe a way to approach her.
Next day. I headed to the Hero Course earlier than Yuha's dismissal. Didn't want her catching me in my shady scheme.
Above all, avoid that.
I bypassed Hero Course A Building for B. A had Yuha; B had Han Sua's empty classroom.
Early arrival meant the room buzzed. I zeroed in on the loudest, most crowded spot.
At the center: the black-haired, red-eyed girl from yesterday, legs casually crossed.
Students fawned over Han Sua like royalty.
Heads turned at the unfamiliar presence. I strode past them and planted myself in front of her, beaming.
"Hey."
Time to test my hunch.