Chapter 18: Voyeur

—

[Summary of the Hero Association’s Official Announcement]

1. Traced the IP address of the posts titled [One down for now] and [All Set], which had stirred up various social media platforms, and identified their point of origin.

2. Based on the obtained location data, a raid was carried out on-site, resulting in the discovery of seven villain corpses. They were those who had stolen the augmented alloy.

3. Dream Caster is missing.

4. The augmented alloy has disappeared.

Based on these four points, we believe the posts we saw yesterday were yet another achievement created by Villain Hunter…

5. But the Hero Association made an additional announcement: the person who uploaded those posts is not Villain Hunter.

They declared that the uploader is simply another villain committing copycat crimes while idolizing Villain Hunter.

6. As proof, they presented a report. According to the report, Villain Hunter had been injected with poison and would’ve died within half a day at most.

(The poison allegedly causes the entire body to decay slowly.)

7. The Association has not yet found Villain Hunter’s body.

They are currently asking for citizen cooperation on the matter.

8. So, the insults aimed at the Vice President of the Hero Association written by the impersonator have been confirmed as mere low-grade trolling.

(Photos)

(Photos)

After reading the report, I couldn’t believe it was real, so I discreetly texted a friend who works at the Association…

(Photo)

They confirmed it…

They said Villain Hunter really did die.

But they also said he was the only villain who ever succeeded in escaping from Mobia.

The Association is condemning Villain Hunter, saying he harmed heroes and was nothing more than a law-breaking criminal…

But to me, Villain Hunter was just another kind of hero…

Feels like my childhood dreams just got shattered…

[Comments]

-: This is more shocking than finding out Santa was actually my parents…

-: Villain Hunter’s dead??

ㄴ : Yeah…

-: This fake news is spreading like crazy lol. Mods, why aren’t you banning this guy already?

ㄴ (OP): I wish it was fake news…

ㄴ : Say it’s fake, you bastard, just say it’s all a lie!!

ㄴ (OP): Turn on the news right now…

-: I unsubscribed from the Hero Association after seeing this.

ㄴ : Me too

ㄴ : Same here

ㄴ : I saw this coming and never subscribed in the first place

ㄴ : If you never subscribed, then nothing changed, dumbass lol

-: So what, this new Villain Hunter killed all seven villains involved in the port terror attack and even kidnapped the remaining one?

ㄴ : Yup

ㄴ : The will of Villain Hunter lives on.

—

“?”

While I was looking through the Villain Forum for the post I had written about the Vice President of the Hero Association,

I came across something I hadn’t expected. A post claiming that I was dead.

So it was poison.

I pushed aside the revelation that the shot I had received at Hero University that day had been a poison injection.

“What the hell is with number 8?”

“What about number 8?”

“They’re saying the recent incident was carried out by a fake Villain Hunter. It’s just… odd that the content of those posts is being dismissed as simple bait.”

Even if I really had been a fake Villain Hunter,

It felt unjust that my post was being brushed off as mere trolling.

Who in the world would murder seven villains and kidnap another just to stir up drama?

“Don’t you think so?”

That’s why I said that this was a little strange, and looked down at Seo-yoon who was lying on my lap.

“Mmm…”

At the moment, I was sitting on the bed in her room, looking at my phone, trying to comfort Seo-yoon who was starting to cry because she hadn’t been able to contact me all day.

“I don’t really get it!”

“Right. It’s better for kids not to understand politics anyway.”

“I’m all grown up! I’m an adult!”

“You’re only twenty. Still a rookie. You even use those baby wipes made for infants. Got it?”

“Th-That’s because they’re gentle on my skin…”

“Exactly.”

“Ughhh! I am a grown adult, okay??”

Still, if I had told her the truth. That I couldn’t contact her because I’d been kidnapped—

It would’ve been as good as confessing, “I’m actually Villain Hunter.”

So this was the method I chose. I was trying my best to shift her attention elsewhere.

Fortunately, just being with me seemed enough for Seo-yoon, and she didn’t ask any more questions that would put me in a difficult position.

Should I target the Hero Association building for the next attack?

Now that things had come to this, I thought about blowing up the Hero Association in my next act of terrorism.

But I also knew that breaking into the most secure facility in all of Korea would require a lot of preparation.

So I decided to take my time, look into things more carefully, and carry out the attack only after I was ready.

On top of that—

I should probably let them know that Villain Hunter is still alive.

There was no doubt that the news of the return of Villain Hunter who had once drawn massive public attention would stir up even more interest this time around.

I made up my mind to use that buzz to put pressure on the vice president of the Hero Association once again.

“Oppa! What do you want for lunch?”

“Is there anything you feel like eating?”

“Hmm… uuuummm… Oppa?”

“Hmm?”

“Hehe, never mind.”

Anyway…

“I’m going to run to the bathroom for a second.”

“Uweh… Let me come with you!”

“…Why would you come with me to the bathroom?”

“But…”

“No buts, seriously. I’m not going to run away, so let go already.”

Ever since I hadn’t been able to contact her all day yesterday…

It felt like Seo-yoon had become a little more clingy.

“Oh, right. Seo-yoon.”

“Yes?”

“Change your house’s door code.”

“Why?”

“I shouldn’t know the code to your place.”

“I only gave it to you so you could come in comfortably!”

“I said change it. What if I end up doing something bad?”

“…It’s okay though.”

“I’m not okay. Who knows what might happen?”

“No, I mean… if it’s you doing something bad… it’s okay…”

Maybe because she’d just been scolded, Seo-yoon’s last words came out in such a small voice that I could barely hear them.

But it didn’t seem like anything important, so I just went into the bathroom.

…

We really were together all day.

Every time I tried to put a little distance between us, Seo-yoon would cling to me tightly and make it clear she didn’t want to be apart.

In the end, I had no choice but to stay by her side until late at night.

Did she fall asleep?

I had already more or less figured it out.

The man who saved her when she was a child.

The man who saved a regular customer.

Those two events alone were more than enough to create a fantasy in her mind.

Because of that, Seo-yoon likely felt something for me that went beyond simple affection.

Man… this isn’t right.

I understood it in my head.

A girl from a well-off family who was pretty, kind, smart, and well-liked by everyone around her.

And she liked someone like me, who was basically nothing, just because of her still-young heart.

A guy with no proper job, and once you dig deeper, possibly the worst kind of villain…. that kind of man being by her side…

It could only end up ruining Seo-yoon’s life.

I hope a good guy shows up for her soon.

But…

Even though I understood all of that in my head, my body wouldn’t move.

Even though I knew dozens, hundreds of ways to make her disappointed in me…

I was too afraid of being hated by her to go through with any of them.

…Yeah, I really am a villain.

If ruining someone else’s life doesn’t make me a villain, then what does?

“Haa…”

I let out a deep sigh I couldn’t hold back.

I slowly got up from beside the sleeping Seo-yoon and started getting things ready so I could leave this place. Then, I walked outside.

It’d be better if I just ran into a villain or something.

My head was a mess.

In moments like this, I wanted to clear away these tangled thoughts by beating down some annoying villain who showed up to bother me.

Since Seo-yoon’s apartment didn’t have an elevator,

I was walking down the stairs, trying to gather my thoughts, when—

“…When did she even put this in here?”

Inside my coat, I found the envelope of money I’d secretly slipped into Seo-yoon’s bag the other day still untouched.

“The money’s still here…”

She’d been stuck to me all day except for when she went to the bathroom.

When did she even have a chance to slip it into my coat?

“Are you some kind of ability user or what?”

I let out a dry chuckle at the ridiculous thought. After reaching the first floor, I turned around and started heading back up toward Seo-yoon’s place.

I didn’t know the door code, but I figured I could use the milk slot in her front door to sneak the envelope back inside.

“…Hmm?”

Something felt off, so I went back down to the first floor and started climbing slowly up to the fifth.

…It’s not on the first floor, not the second… not the third or fourth either… but it’s only here in the fifth-floor hallway?

After checking each floor one by one,

I saw that only Seo-yoon’s front door had a fire alarm installed above it.

…

—

– Oppa! What is this?!

-Ugh! I went through all that trouble to put it there!! Take it back!

—

I let out a small chuckle at Seo-yoon’s text, telling me once again to take the envelope of cash back, along with the photo of it sitting in the hallway outside her front door.

As I sat on the stairs leading up to the rooftop, just killing some time—

Beep—

“Hm hm hm~.”

I heard Seo-yoon humming to herself as she came outside. She sounded like she was in a good mood.

Looks like she’s heading to her lecture now.

Silently cheering her on as she left early in the morning for class, I continued waiting, hoping the person I was looking for would eventually show up.

About thirty minutes passed after Seo-yoon left her place.

Is that Seo-yoon?

I heard someone coming up the stairs.

It hadn’t been that long since her lecture started, so I wondered if maybe she had just popped out to a nearby convenience store.

“Hoo…”

Clack… clack…

I heard the sound of someone on the fifth floor fiddling with something metallic.

I leaned my head out just a little and looked down the stairs…

Creak—creak—creak—

There was a man climbing a metal ladder. He then reached up and opened the fire alarm with his hand.

Got him. The hidden camera creep.

Just as I had suspected.

I could clearly see that someone had actually planted a surveillance camera in front of Seo-yoon’s door.

I stood up right then and started heading down the stairs.

“…Huh?”

The moment the man saw me, he froze in place.

“V-Villain… hunter…?”

I grabbed the guy right off the ladder.

“W-Wait, wait a second…! Wh-Why… why are you doing this…? Wh-What did I even…?!”

I lifted him up like a sack of luggage and slowly made my way down the stairs.

“Not just any villain. This right here is a villain.”

I didn’t have any grand plans for him.

I just intended to bring him down to the first floor, scare him a little, maybe break a couple of his fingers, and make sure he’d never try something like this again…

“…Huh?”

But as soon as I reached the building’s entrance—

I saw Hero Mobia sitting midair at the doorway, like she’d been waiting for someone.

“!! P-Please! Please, save me…!!!”

“?”

***

Two days earlier.

There wasn’t a fire alarm there before.

I noticed a newly installed fire alarm in the hallway right outside my apartment, and immediately realized the culprit would be back to retrieve the hidden camera.

So—

When’s he going to show up?

I disguised myself as Hero Mobia and suppressed my presence with telekinesis while I waited on the first floor. Then I saw a man who didn’t live in the building climb up a makeshift ladder.

I was convinced he was the voyeur and planned to catch him red-handed with the evidence once he came back down.

Finally, there he is—

When the man returned to the first floor…

He was dangling in the arms of the villain hunter…or rather Min-hyuk oppa like a piece of luggage.

“!! P-Please! Please, save me…!!!”

“?”