Villain wants to live as a commoner chapter 17

I felt uneasy because of that damn Baek Gunho. I couldn’t stand the sight of him.

Yet here I was at Baek Gunho’s guild.

Of course, I wasn’t here to see him; I had an appointment with someone else.

I tagged my pass next to the massive door in the basement and went in.

The place I arrived at was the training room of the Somang Guild.

Normally, only guild members could use it, but my pass allowed me to go anywhere within the guild.

“Heewon, you’re here?”

“Hello.”

“Yes, hello.”

The person I was meeting today was Jang Hayul, my shooting instructor.

Since I used firearms for self-defense, practice was essential.

In actual combat, I just shot roughly and finished things off with telekinesis, but the lessons were indispensable for maintaining appearances.

For additional information, even though Jang Hayul was from the Somang Guild, he was introduced to me by Lee Shinhae, not Baek Gunho.

My lesson fee was the privilege of being the first to test Lee Shinhae’s firearms.

It wasn’t a high price to pay for having such a high-level instructor teach me.

As soon as I took the gun out of my inventory, Jang Hayul’s face lit up with delight.

“Soul is beautiful as always… so cute.”

The stiff, formal tone he used when greeting me melted away the moment he saw my gun.

Usually a reserved person, he was a gun enthusiast.

To Jang Hayul, this gun, crafted by Lee Shinhae and named Soul, was a truly marvelous item.

Well, it was a unique weapon.

A pretty gun that used bullets made from small, round mana stones.

For someone like Jang Hayul, it must have been a rare and fascinating item.

I took out some bullets from my inventory, reloaded, and stood in front of the target.

Unlike someone skilled like Jang Hayul, I had to focus and shoot carefully.

Bang!

My bullet missed the center slightly.

Swallowing my disappointment, I fired again.

This time, it veered a bit to the left.

After several shots, the target was in tatters.

I lowered my gun, and Jang Hayul sighed softly.

“I heard you did well in actual combat recently, Heewon.”

He said, observing my unchanged skills.

Though my shooting was better than that of an average person, it wasn’t exactly great.

Hitting stationary targets was one thing; my accuracy dropped significantly with moving ones.

“You seem to perform better in real situations, Heewon.”

“Haha…”

Unfortunately, I wasn’t particularly good in actual combat either.

I just relied on telekinesis each time.

Unable to reveal the truth, I simply laughed it off.

“It’s fine. You have Soul and the guild leader on your side, Heewon.”

“…The latter isn’t much help, though?”

“Not much help? The guild leader practically adores you.”

My face crumpled at that.

Goosebumps ran down my arms as I scratched them vigorously.

Jang Hayul looked at me fondly.

“You two look good together.”

“Not at all…”

“You’re just shy, Heewon.”

Why did everyone around me think there was some sort of romantic tension between Baek Gunho and me?

It was impossible.

“Let’s just start the lesson.”

“You’re shy.”

Jang Hayul made one last comment before starting the lesson.

Despite the odd jokes at the beginning, he was a competent teacher.

After correcting my posture and demonstrating, we trained together for about an hour.

“Good job today.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

After the lesson, Jang Hayul said goodbye and left the training room.

Feeling a bit exercised, I headed to the shower room for a quick wash.

As soon as I got home, I planned to jump straight into bed.

I didn’t even want to take the bus; I wished someone could just carry me home.

I was dragging myself up to the first floor when I ran into Jung Eunji.

“Heewon.”

“Oh, noona.”

I wanted to greet her warmly, but Jung Eunji didn’t look so good.

Her usually neat short bob was frizzy and messy, suggesting she was under a lot of stress.

“Is something wrong, noona?”

“There is…”

Her listless response conveyed her mental exhaustion.

With Baek Gunho detained, Jung Eunji, as the Vice-Leader, had a lot more work to do.

“Want me to buy you a coffee?”

“It’s nighttime.”

“Then let’s get something else.”

Jung Eunji led me to a café on the first floor of the building.

Once our drinks arrived and we were seated, she lowered her voice and looked at me seriously.

“I heard you’re dating Kwon Sahyeok.”

“I’m not.”

“But I heard it.”

Where did she hear such nonsense… obviously from Baek Gunho.

“No, Baek Gunho misunderstood…”

“Misunderstood?”

“Yes, misunderstood.”

I answered firmly, and Jung Eunji sighed deeply, scratching her head.

“Why does he go crazy without even verifying things? He was totally pissed off.”

“Baek Gunho?”

“Yeah, he was saying all kinds of nonsense about not raising you to be taken advantage of.”

“…What did he say?”

“I can’t really say.”

Whatever Baek Gunho said, it was probably some nonsense about me being taken advantage of or being pitiful.

It couldn’t have been anything good.

Jung Eunji looked at me seriously for a while before speaking.

“Can’t you two just date?”

I nearly spit out my coffee.

I glared at Jung Eunji.

“Does that make sense?”

“Baek Gunho only follows you around. You’re the only one he cares about like that.”

That’s true.

Sometimes I wonder why he’s so persistent despite not liking me.

“If you date him, there won’t be any scandals, and things will be peaceful.”

Jung Eunji was dreaming.

“Would it really be peaceful?”

“It’d be better than now… A mad dog needs someone to keep it in check.”

“I don’t want to leash a mad dog. I’d get bitten.”

“Would he really bite you?”

Jung Eunji spoke casually like a street thug trying to make a deal.

“Think about it. Baek Gunho has good conditions. He has a lot of money.”

“I don’t want to sell myself for money.”

“How much would it take, Heewon?”

Jung Eunji grinned like a perverted old man. She enjoyed my disgust.

“Aren’t you going back in, noona?”

“Are you kicking me out?”

“Yes.”

“Heewon, you’re so cold…”

Despite saying that, Jung Eunji checked her watch.

“I should get going. Oh, Baek Gunho’s coming to the guild. Go home with him.”

“I’m fine. I can go alone.”

“I won’t let you go alone. Would you rather go with me, who looks like I’ll die from overwork, or our useless guild leader who’s free because he’s on probation?”

“I’ll go with Baek Gunho.”

Long-winded. Honestly, I didn’t want either, but I had no choice. Jung Eunji smiled satisfactorily.

“Good. Do you want to wait upstairs?”

“I’ll rest here.”

“Okay, be careful getting home.”

“Yes, don’t overwork yourself, noona.”

“For my peace, you should just date him.”

I glared at Jung Eunji. She laughed and left the café.

The closing time was approaching, but when was Baek Gunho coming?

I was about to send a message when someone approached me.

The man smiled gently and bowed slightly when our eyes met.

“Excuse me…”

“Yes?”

“You’re Heewon, right?”

I saw the Somang Guild member badge around his neck and recognized his face.

“Ah, yes. You’re from the security team, right?”

“That’s right.”

I recognized him since I occasionally saw the security team around.

The man was delighted just to be recognized.

“I wanted to talk to you again, and I’m glad to see you like this.”

“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you.”

“My name is Lee Jooyun.”

The man pulled out a business card and handed it to me. He was an A-rank hunter. He has a promising future.

“I met you before and really wanted to talk to you again…”

“With me?”

“Yes.”

The man’s face flushed slightly.

The unmistakable signal made me a bit uncomfortable.

Seeing my expression, the man hastily added.

“No, it’s not like that… I just want to get to know you better, so if you’re interested… please contact me.”

“Oh…”

“Well, I’ll be taking my leave now.”

This is definitely a move, isn’t it?

It’s been a while since a guy hit on me, and I have to admire their boldness.

I have no intention of contacting him, though.

“Are you going to call him?”

I was startled and jumped up at the voice from behind.

Of course, it was Baek Gunho.