Villain wants to live as a commoner chapter 5

Today’s luck wasn’t great, and the workload was overwhelming.

From the morning, tasks piled up, and my hopes of leaving work early were gone. Of course, I had been desperately wishing to leave work early since the beginning of the day.

As I was walking along, exhausted, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around with a frown, half-expecting to be caught up in something strange again.

But to my surprise, a strangely familiar woman’s face appeared.

“Hey… is that you, Heewon?”

“Uh… Teacher?”

“Oh my, it really is Heewon!”

I smiled widely with relief and joy.

The person was my tutor from high school.

Among my friends, the only one I had any connection with was the eccentric Baek Gunho, and this teacher was someone I had spent quite a bit of time with.

It had been a while since we lost touch, so running into her here felt like a twist of fate.

“What have you been up to lately?”

“Oh, I’m working at a company now.”

“Wow, time really flies. Heewon’s already working at a company.”

The teacher’s eyes sparkled with excitement as if she was genuinely happy to see me.

Hmm, she hasn’t changed much in that regard.

Even though I was just a tutoring student, she taught with such enthusiasm that it motivated me to study harder.

“Is your company near here?”

“Yes, it’s just over there.”

“What kind of company is it?”

“It’s a company that makes items.”

“Oh, I’m with SR.”

There’s a huge gap between our small, cute company and the giant SR… but instead of saying that, I just laughed and said, “Oh, let’s not stand here chatting. How about we sit down and talk?”

“Um… sure.”

It was a bit sudden and a bit intimidating to chat with someone I hadn’t seen in a long time, but since I was genuinely glad to see her, I didn’t want to refuse.

Well, sometimes these things happen.

Besides, there was no Baek Gunho around to nag me about coming home late today.

We moved to a nearby place and talked about everything under the sun.

Stories about my uncle, Baek Gunho, the company, the teacher’s friend’s cat, and even yesterday’s lunch menu.

At first, it felt a bit awkward, but as we continued, we became deeply engrossed in conversation, chatting away happily. We talked so much that I had to order another drink because my mouth was dry.

It felt refreshing to have a long conversation with someone sane for a change, instead of the usual nonsense talk with Baek Gunho. Normal conversations were undeniably enjoyable.

“Shall we get going?”

“Yeah, let’s do that. Should we meet again?”

“Yes, that sounds good.”

“I’m really happy to see you after so long… Hmm, how about meeting again on Saturday?”

I thought the offer to meet again was just a polite formality, but the teacher mentioned a specific date, and quite soon.

When I didn’t respond immediately, the teacher awkwardly smiled.

“Oh, sorry. I got carried away with my excitement…”

“No, it’s fine. Let’s meet on Saturday.”

Seeing the teacher look so uncomfortable, I couldn’t help but agree, as I couldn’t stand leaving her feeling awkward.

Anyway, I had nothing to do on Saturday, so it worked out well.

I nodded enthusiastically, and the teacher smiled brightly, clearly delighted.

✧✧✧

Saturday morning. I woke up to the loud ringing of my phone.

I checked who was calling and saw ‘Somang Guild Vice-Leader’ displayed on the screen.

I wanted to ignore it and go back to sleep, but I forced myself to answer.

As soon as I picked up, Jung Eunji immediately made a suggestion without listening to me.

─ Want to come to the guild today?

“I have plans.”

I heard a scoff from the other end of the line.

─ Don’t make up excuses just because you’re lazy.

“I’m not making excuses.”

─ Who are you meeting?

The tone implied that I had no one to meet except Baek Gunho.

Normally, that would be true, but…

“It’s just my old tutor from high school.”

Jung Eunji was silent for a moment after hearing that. Then, she asked in a sly, teasing tone.

─ Hmm… is it a woman?

“Yes? What does that matter?”

─ Oh, it’s a woman.

Jung Eunji’s voice was filled with laughter, clearly intending to tease me.

“Please don’t make fun of me.”

“Yeah, have a good date.”

Before I could say anything, Jung Eunji, who had made that annoying comment, abruptly hung up the phone.

Honestly, it was ridiculous. I wasn’t some high-maintenance person who’d be scheming against my former tutor.

I finished getting ready and waited at home.

The teacher, who had asked, “Are you still living there?” simply said, “I’ll drive over there,” and set a meeting place.

“Today’s fortune says… Expect bad things, so refrain from going out and stay home quietly.”

Out of habit, I checked my daily fortune.

Of all days, it had to be on the day of our appointment. But there was nothing I could do.

While waiting at home, playing games on my phone, I got a call from the teacher.

Her car was already waiting in front of my house.

I bowed and got into the car.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Heewon. Have you had lunch?”

“No, not yet.”

Since the timing was awkward, I had been holding off on eating, thinking we might have lunch together. The teacher said they hadn’t eaten either and asked me.

“What do you want for lunch?”

“What do you like, teacher?”

I thought it would be better to eat what the senior likes, so I asked, and the teacher smiled.

“Well… I do have something I’d like to eat.”

“What is it?”

“I know a place that has amazing baeksuk. I’d like to have that after a long time.”

I’m not fond of baeksuk.

“Then shall we have baeksuk?”

My inner self and my social self were giving different responses.

Of course, what came out of my mouth was the social self’s response.

“Is it okay that it’s a bit far?”

“It’s not like we have to take a boat or a plane, right?”

“No, it’s about an hour and a half by car.”

It was a bit far. I was hungry, but since it was the teacher’s suggestion, I nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes, let’s go.”

“Great.”

The teacher, smiling, hummed a tune, entered the address into the GPS, and started driving.

I imagined a hidden gem located on a mountain trail or by a valley, but the car pulled into an area with several pensions nearby.

We parked in front of the baeksuk restaurant and went inside.

The restaurant was entirely on the floor seating. We naturally took off our shoes and sat down.

Soon, a woman and a man in their forties approached us with kind smiles.

“Yeoeun-nim, you’ve arrived. And you brought a handsome friend along.”

“Hello, Jooyoung-nim. Jicheol-nim. This is my former student, Seo Heewon.”

I gave a polite bow. The response from them was enthusiastic.

“Oh, Yeoeun-nim’s student.”

“You look so bright, maybe because you resemble Yeoeun-nim.”

“Ah, yes……”

“I’m Park Jicheol.”

“I’m Seo Jooyoung. We have the same surname.”

Seeing the two greet warmly, I felt a bit… confused. It seemed a bit odd for a conversation in a baeksuk restaurant.

Something felt off. A chill ran down my spine.

Instead of joining the conversation between the three who were exchanging pleasantries, I glanced around the place.

I noticed a framed sentence with an appearance of being old-fashioned and religious artifacts. The issue was that these artifacts had a rather… different vibe compared to major religions. It felt almost like a cult.

After the two who greeted us took our orders, I quietly asked the teacher.

“Why are they calling you Yeoeun-nim?”

“Huh?”

“No, I mean, it’s unusual to use ‘nim’ with people outside of work.”

“Oh, it’s because we follow the same religion. Among the followers, we use ‘-nim’ for each other.”

“Ah……”

Seeing my sigh, the teacher kindly smiled.

“We’re just fellow believers, and this place operates completely independently from the religion. This place is known for its delicious baeksuk. It’ll be tasty.”

“Really……”

I should have refused when they offered food I didn’t like.

What good was there in eating baeksuk, which I didn’t even enjoy, in what seemed like a cult’s hideout?

……The baeksuk was indeed delicious.

Even I, who didn’t like it, had to admit its taste.

There was no chicken smell, and the meat was tender enough to melt in your mouth.

But the atmosphere was so unbearably uncomfortable it felt like it would weigh me down.

“What religion do you follow, teacher?”

“Interested?”

“Yes, well…… the decoration is quite impressive.”

“Really? I follow the Baekmyeon Sect.”

“Baekmyeon Sect…?”

Of all the cults, this one was particularly evil. It was a newly emerged cult with a short history since the system had only recently appeared… Perhaps due to the many awakened individuals among its members, it was not only well-funded but also had a lot of powerful people.

The teacher who betrayed my naive trust wore a smile as sweet as a poisoned apple but was dangerously deceitful.

“Do you believe in the System’s grace, Heewon?”

Of course, I do.

“No, I don’t really understand such things…”

“Right, ordinary people don’t. Are you perhaps interested?”

As if I would be.

Die, cult!

…But saying that was impossible because not only the teacher but also Jooyoung and Jicheol were watching me intently from a distance.

If only this were Seoul, I would have left immediately, but of all places, it was right in the middle of the countryside.