I’m Not That Villain

16 – The First Guest (2)

“Hello.”

The voice is thin. But, you see, its build is relatively different.

How should I put it? You know, the kind of build that naturally feels imposing when you look up at it.

I’m quite tall myself. I do reach the early 180s…

Yet, I have to look up. At that height itself.

Two meters? No, it seems much more than that.

Two meters… fifty? Is it around that?

How should I put it? It feels like seeing a real giant. But if you ask whether it resembles a humanI could shake my head and say no.

This, so this…

Is different.

Completely different from an ordinary human.

Was it because I was at a loss for words? I racked my brain. I looked at the person in front of me again and organized my thoughts.

First of all, the… the most noticeable thing is the deeply pressed hood. The hood, pressed so deeply that the face is almost invisible, is excessively large, undoubtedly custom-made.

But clothes are, well, clothes. Can’t one wear a big hood?

The problem was inside.

The face visible inside the hood had a very long snout. A wolf? It feels like a wolf’s face is attached to the head.

I thought I might have seen it wrong, so I looked again. But I was right.

A werewolf. That’s exactly how it feels. You can see a bit of fur peeking out between the gloves and the wrists, and although the whole body is completely wrapped in clothes, it can’t hide the smell of a beast.

A look that seems to come straight out of a fairy tale.

Curiosity rose before fear. But before that, there was something I had to keep.

One principle I set for myself. Something I must keep to avoid being detected.

That is to separate Heukgyeong (Black Whale) from myself.

If someone with a similar personality and similar traits were to be detected, it would be easy to be counter-detected. So, when acting as Heukgyeong, I must behave in the exact opposite way of my usual personality.

…To be honest, this is my true self.

An orphan, you see, is not someone others welcome. Yet, to blend into the surroundings, one must wear the mask of ‘cheerfulness’.

So this side is closer to my true self. Rather, it might be more accurate to say that I am taking off the mask.

“Sit.”

He said it cleanly.

She flinched.

“…Yes.”

The person with the hood pulled deeply over their head sat down.

Nickname ‘FurryLover’.

“I heard you have something you want.”

“…Yes. Um, can the special equipment be made to control abilities?”

Judging by the thin and delicate voice, it must be a woman. I stared at her blankly.

Is that altered appearance due to the ability factor? If it’s that severe, daily life must have been impossible.

“It is possible, but…”

I hesitated.

Because I wasn’t sure.

Changing abilities, you see, can’t always be altered to the desired picture.

There are limits to changes. Therefore, it is correct to say there are limits to control. Not knowing exactly what the opponent’s ability is and how it works, saying I can do everything right now would be a lie.

“What exactly do you want?”

I roughly guessed she wanted to be turned back into a human.

But what came out of her mouth was completely different from my expectations.

“Can you make me stronger and bigger?”

“……?”

“Because I like my appearance…”

She panted.

“I wish my reflection in the mirror was bigger and cooler.”

Did I get the wrong first customer…

. . .

She, who revealed her name as Seol Yewon, sipped her drink.

Noticing the atmosphere, she awkwardly brought up a topic, unable to endure the silence.

“…The drink is expensive.”

I totally agree.

How can a cup of coffee cost over fifty thousand won?

She also seemed restless, as if this was her first time making such a deal. She even lowered her voice.

“Really… it’s a million won, right?”

“That’s right.”

I lightly summarized her request.

“Wanting to control your abilities means you want a bigger and stronger form than you have now…”

“Yes.”

“And you want that simply because you like it?”

“Y-yes.”

She nodded vigorously. I tilted my head in slight confusion.

No. For someone who likes their appearance…

Isn’t she wearing her hood too deeply?

I set aside the trivial doubts for now. It’s only natural to fulfill the customer’s wishes.

“We need to draw blood.”

“My blood?”

“We’ll extract the ability factor from the drawn blood. Leave the rest to me. I’ll send you the progress.”

“Okay.”

She closed her eyes and extended her arm.

Conscious of the surrounding gazes, I asked again.

“What are you doing?”

“You said you’d draw blood…”

Could I really stick a syringe in here within the red mark? If it’s considered an act of aggression, I’m truly screwed.

I sighed at her innocent action.

“Go to the bathroom and draw it separately.”

“…By myself?”

“Aren’t you a woman?”

“I am… but…”

She glanced down at the syringe I handed her. Hesitating, she spoke.

“How am I supposed to draw my own blood…?”

Ah.

That’s a good question.

“Stick it in the vein and extract it as it is.”

“P-put the needle in my vein? What if it fails?”

“Find it again and stab.”

“…I-I’m scared.”

What a big guy to be scared.

I sighed. After sipping my drink, I gestured to her.

“Let’s move.”

We went to a slightly brighter place. A nearby park.

Of course, we didn’t go to a shady place. I couldn’t predict what she might do.

As we walked, she followed me, glancing around nervously. Her back was hunched, and her waist was slightly bent as if she was conscious of others’ gazes.

Completely opposite to her usual self, who loves to grow bigger. I settled in a suitable open space and extended my hand to Seol Yewon.

She timidly extended her furry hand and held mine. Wow. She even has paw pads. Amazing.

No, this isn’t right.

“Roll up your sleeve.”

“…Ah. Yes!”

She rolled up her sleeve. I placed the prepared syringe against her arm.

clang.

I think I heard a sound I shouldn’t have.

I lifted the syringe. The needle was bent at the tip.

…This is a special blood collection device for those with abilities, and it broke?

How strong is her body durability?

“I-is that expensive?!”

“Fifty thousand won each.”

“…….!”

I put the blood collection device away. It seems like I’ll have to take her to my workshop to collect blood…

But that would be putting the cart before the horse. I can’t use that method.

“Can’t you draw blood yourself?”

“…I’m scared.”

“Then let’s forget about it.”

It’s a waste of money, but there’s no other choice. I can’t take unnecessary risks.

I turned around neatly. But she immediately grabbed me.

“Wa, wait a moment!”

“Why?”

“Are, are you really going to leave like this?”

“You don’t like this, you don’t like that, so is there any reason for me to stay?”

“I, I really need that equipment!”

“I need money too. But since there’s no way, I just give up.”

She closed her eyes tightly. She whispered softly to me.

“Th, there’s my house nearby.”

“……?”

“If, if you don’t mind… would you come with me to my house?”

She hesitated and covered her ears.

“If it’s there… I can return to my original form…”

What kind of suspicious proposal is this?

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re asking me to follow you to an unknown place? In this Seoul?”

“I, I really don’t mean any harm. Really. So please…”

I don’t understand.

But the huge hand holding my sleeve was trembling for some reason.

“Please help me… just a little…”

Expecting kindness in such a lawless city.

Isn’t it really foolish? But the trembling of that hand made it hard to refuse.

It doesn’t seem to be just a hobby…

I fiddled with the gun hidden inside my coat. My body, which even the special blood collection device for ability holders couldn’t penetrate. Needless to say, a bullet wouldn’t either.

Still, should I follow her?

To be honest, I was also curious.

It’s rare to see an ability holder with such a twisted appearance.

I wonder what kind of ability genes this person has.

“Lead the way.”

“Re, really?”

“Okay.”

I glanced back slightly. Lily was probably following from a distance.

The proof was the alert flashing on my burner phone.

[Are you crazy?]

I sent a short reply.

[It’s a rare case.]

[Hey, you…!]

[I trust you.]

I didn’t bother to look at the last sentence.

It was obviously a curse. But what could I do?

Curiosity is poison, but it’s a sweet poison that you can’t help but taste.

Alright. Let’s see where this leads.

To the lair of the pseudo-werewolf.

. . .

I passed a few buildings. The old buildings started to appear gradually.

I went a bit further down the narrow alley. The unfamiliar shantytown that began to appear meant I had come deep into the suburbs.

I made eye contact with a group sitting under the wall. Despite wearing school uniforms, they had cigarettes in their mouths and bottles of alcohol beside them.

I could feel Seol Yewon flinch. For some reason, she seemed even more intimidated and hurried her steps.

“This, this way.”

I glanced up at the old apartment. The entrance was already damaged, giving a bad feeling.

Junk was piled up haphazardly around the first-floor hallway. There was even a slight smell…

It didn’t seem like a place fit for living.

“Dirty, isn’t it…?”

“No, not really.”

I shook my head. It wasn’t fit for living, but still.

Honestly, when I worked at the Black Chain Workshop, I stayed in a similar place.

There was, of course, no elevator. I had to take the stairs up to the fifth floor.

Finally, I stood in front of the door. Unlike other houses, the front door was covered with graffiti.

Things like “hairy” and “monster.”

There were also curses that couldn’t be spoken. She fumbled with the door, trying to get in quickly.

“Wh-why won’t this open…”

Eventually, the door opened.

I glanced inside the room.