ALL NOVEL Vol. 1 Chapter 7
I agreed but didn’t want to say it out loud.
“Not something I’d ever want to say to his face.”
The field agent laughed and added.
“They say 4K is amazing, and I guess it’s famous because of monsters like him. Honestly, we suspect he knew beforehand and came here.”
“That’s unlikely.”
“Really? He guessed this place? Does that make sense?”
“He found the paramedic who wasn’t even Heartless by instinct.”
“…”
I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself. But I can’t forget how he scanned the people. His eyes, freezing everyone and picking out the enemy, weren’t human. I’ve never faced a wild beast, but a predator’s eyes must look like that. Freezing prey with a gaze, making them too scared to move, knowing they’ll die.
“Does he have superpowers?”
The field agent muttered and turned away. Superpowers. Maybe. Now I understood the staff’s reaction when I mentioned superpowers in his office. But I’d never bring this up to him. I didn’t want to say anything that could be a compliment.
“What the… Are you kidding?! This is beyond a joke!”
The commander shouted, shaking a paper. The paper looked familiar.
“Might as well ask for a whole store! Where in the world is this meal cost?”
Of course. The densely filled page felt familiar.
“Don’t show your ignorance.”
“Ignorance? This list is more ignorant.”
Even the commander’s exasperated paper-shaking felt familiar.
“Not knowing everything and believing your experience is the world’s entirety is ignorance. If such a meal cost exists elsewhere, would you accept it? Would you do it because others do? Ignorance lacks principles.”
“Watch your mouth. Even if this absurdity exists, I’d say the same. This is nonsense. Demanding over a billion for meal costs, are you insane?”
How much? I looked at Yangsimless in disbelief. He, who had never been sane, replied.
“No one is sane. Everyone’s a bit crazy. You too. You call someone keeping their word nonsense. At least I do what I say. But you? You don’t care about your words. Are you more normal than me?”
“Damn, this is driving me crazy.”
The commander cursed, barely holding back his anger.
“Who said I wouldn’t keep the bet? I will. But you’re being unreasonable…”
“You can’t even do math.”
Yangsimless pulled out his phone and played a recording on speaker.
‘If I’m right, you all owe me a meal. Everyone, including those outside.’
‘If we’re right, you owe us all a meal?’
‘Yes.’
‘Fine. If a Heartless appears in your predicted area, we’ll buy you a meal. But you keep your promise. We eat big, so prepare your wallet. Don’t cry over one meal.’
‘One Heartless, one meal. Two Heartless?’
‘Two? Fine, double.’
‘Three?’
‘Damn you…’
‘Square the number of people.’
It was from our morning encounter. He recorded it.
“There were 23 here, but including those outside, 52 in total. Sixteen Heartless appeared. 52 to the 16th power means you’d owe me meals until the world ends. But I’m generous, so I’ll just multiply. You owe me 832 meals. Only 278 days’ worth. Is that unreasonable? Should I make you pay for my meals until the sun explodes?”
Are you asking for immortality to pay for your meals? I wanted to reply for the speechless commander. Suddenly responsible for Yangsimless’s 278 days of meals, the commander seemed lost for words. Yangsimless taunted him.
“By the way, I eat big. I’ll eat something so expensive it’ll make you cry. Prepare your wallet.”
“You’re worse than Heartless.”
“But I handled the Heartless you couldn’t touch. Better to be worse than Heartless than to ignore others’ opinions and risk thousands of lives.”
“…”
“Why? Upset? Thousands didn’t die.”
“I…”
“But next time, you’ll kill thousands. A commander with poor judgment and pride. When you do, I’ll say you’re worse than Heartless.”
The commander’s eyes wavered. No one could predict today. Yangsimless was just lucky. No expert would think Heartless would disguise as fake soldiers and come here. There wasn’t enough information. The commander wasn’t at fault, but Yangsimless’s arrogant gaze blamed him. You’re an idiot. Yangsimless’s low voice sealed it.
“Die before that, bastard.”
I frowned.
“Commander, don’t listen to him.”
Someone stepped forward, taking the paper from the commander’s hand and handing it to Yangsimless.
“We can’t pay this. There was no contract, and we won’t spend over a billion on a bet.”
“Then think about it.”
“Look, it’s fortunate you solved this case. But such unreasonable demands make it seem like you just want to boast about what you did. We’re willing to thank you. We’re actually somewhat grateful.”
“Ten billion isn’t enough. Let’s make it twenty billion.”
“I told you, we’re not obligated to pay. Insisting won’t…”
“Thirty billion.”
“This is really unreasonable…”
“Forty billion. Keep going. The more you do, the more you’ll feel this mistake.”
“…”
“Even if thousands die, you’d say the same. We’re not obligated to save everyone. We’re not obligated to catch Heartless. Thousands died due to our poor judgment, but we’re willing to apologize. We’re actually somewhat sorry.”
The area fell silent. Even those cleaning up the bodies stopped and watched. Yangsimless scanned them. Finally, he snatched the paper from his subordinate and tossed it at the commander. It hit his chest and fell to the ground.
“Forty billion. Get it approved by the Special Chief and deposited by the end of the week.”
Yangsimless finished speaking and crossed the road. He was a strange person. He kept his word and did well, but why was he so annoying? I felt sorry for the commander. How did he end up dealing with him? Compared to him, I was lucky to get away with a few months’ salary. No, not lucky. Because of him, I was dragged into this mess…
“Fxxk! Fxxk! Fxxxxxg Axxxxxe!”
Suddenly, American curses rang out. Having experienced it once, I calmly watched Yangsimless. There he goes again. Unlike me, others frowned at his swearing. His pronunciation was perfect, hinting he’d lived in the US.
“Fxxk! Fxxxxxg xxxt! Fxxx!”
Yangsimless, face twisted with anger, walked to the middle of the road.
“Fxxx! Damn! What the Fxxk is that?! Huh?! Damn, who did this?!”
What now?
“Damn, who vomited?!”
Vomit? Who didn’t vomit? It was because of you, with your axe and the bodies. Why is he upset about vomit he caused? Did he step in it? Everyone, including me, was too stunned to respond.
“Come out now. The one who vomited in my car, come out now!”
It wasn’t his shoes but his car. Anyone else would be annoyed and get a car wash, but Yangsimless held grudges. He ordered the commander.
“You, call the forensics team. Damn, get DNA samples and find the culprit, now!”
The commander’s cheek twitched. I understood his feelings. Realizing the person who made him feel worthless over meal costs was a lunatic added to his frustration. Why did I feel humiliated because of him? The commander gritted his teeth and called a subordinate.
“Team Leader Shin.”
“Yes.”
“Call the water tank and clean up the mess. Now.”
The commander held grudges too. Yangsimless’s fiery eyes turned to him.
“You’ll regret this.”
“Team Leader Shin, start with the black Hummer at the end.”
The commander provoked Yangsimless. Wow, even if the commander goes bankrupt, he’ll piss off Yangsimless. So the black Hummer is Yangsimless’s car? At the end… the car I vomited on.
“Was it you? Did you vomit in my car?”
Yangsimless asked the commander. I stepped back.
“I didn’t vomit. Want me to do it on you?”
“If you think you can cover for your subordinate, you’re mistaken.”
“What? Cover?”
“I’ll find the culprit.”
I stepped back again. My knees shook, so I couldn’t go further. Unlike me, Yangsimless advanced and grabbed the commander’s shoulder. Others rushed, but the commander signaled he was fine.
“Want to fight? Fine. If you… wait, what are you doing?!”
The commander tried to step back, but it was too late. Yangsimless’s demonic hand didn’t let go. His other hand was busy.
“Ugh.”
Yangsimless made a sound as he put his fingers in his mouth. The commander’s face paled.
“Hey! You crazy…”
“Ugh—!”
“Ah!”
A scene more horrifying than the bodies unfolded. Screams and curses echoed over the blood-soaked ground. I was the only one who turned away. I ran with all my might.
To Siwoo, he was a demon.
‘Why do I have to work with a mere liaison?’
‘Your job is to clean up after me. Just explain to those idiots for me.’
‘You fell while talking to me? Why is your body so weak?’
CEO Na’s sudden partner. Jealous of CEO Na, he took Siwoo and tormented him all day. He knew tormenting Siwoo meant tormenting CEO Na. He took Siwoo to expensive restaurants and insisted on splitting the bill, eating food worth three months of Siwoo’s salary.
‘Pay for your own food. You’re not an official employee. Why should I pay for you?’
Siwoo, who followed without thinking, was shocked. The demon mocked him, ensuring he couldn’t seek CEO Na’s help.
‘Run to CEO Na and whine. Tell him you can’t pay for your food.’
Siwoo barely held back tears. But in the company restroom, he cried. He realized he could never like this person.
Working with Yangsimless had one perk. CEO Na gave him a week to resolve this case, with the condition that if he finished early, the remaining time was his free time. As expected, the job was done in less than a day. This meant I had the rest of the week as free time too.
Of course, I had to write a field report for the Special Disaster Prevention Agency, but that wouldn’t take long. So I dedicated most of my time to writing. The appearance of a villain ignited my creative drive like a sauna furnace. Over a few days, I vented my frustrations by reincarnating Yangsimless in my novel.
Without a name, referred to only as Director Kook, he was called a conscienceless scoundrel, a shameless bastard, a miserable wretch. I wrote ten episodes in a few days. I didn’t go out, just wrote. Like a genius artist, I burned with artistic passion, eating only three meals a day. My electricity bill also burned up.
I could have written more, but I had to write the report for the Special Disaster Prevention Agency. After several sleepless nights typing, my arms were sore, my eyes bloodshot, but I felt refreshed. Exposing Yangsimless’s misdeeds to the world—well, to my few hundred readers—felt liberating.
Haha, now my readers will punish you with nasty comments. I was tired from the mental labor, but I couldn’t stop smiling, anticipating my readers’ reactions as I headed to the agency. But no happiness could withstand writing the report. After completing dozens of pages of reports and questionnaires, there was an interview. It took two to three hours of repeating the same things before I was free.