Villain wants to live as a commoner chapter 114

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HEEWON POV

Cold…

Did I fail to die?

My awareness meant I was still alive.

I opened my eyes, only to recoil at the unexpected sight before me.

This place… it’s definitely the Black Sea Guild’s lab.

The structure resembles where I lived as a child.

But why am I here?

“Ugh…”

The groan that escaped was faint and feeble.

I looked down at my hands.

Small, thin—they didn’t belong to a fully grown adult.

I… I’ve become younger.

No, it’s more accurate to say I’ve regressed.

Could this be a dream?

But it felt far too vivid to be just a dream.

Besides, I was supposed to be dead.

My throat, where the blade had struck, tingled.

I couldn’t imagine I was alive and dreaming.

I thought everything was over for good.

I wanted it all to end forever, not return to the past like this.

And shouldn’t regression usually erase one’s memories?

Then again, my memories had become clearer with each regression, so it wasn’t entirely surprising to remember them from the start this time.

I reached for my throat, which had been feeling constricted for a while.

A metallic restraint was fastened around my neck.

They didn’t use to put things like this on before…

That’s when I noticed something strange.

“Lee Heewon.”

A researcher entered through the door and called my name.

His dry voice sent a shiver through me.

Before being adopted by him, my name was Lee Heewon.

A surname I had completely forgotten until now, and yet I was being called by it again.

“Would you prefer to be called Seo Heewon?”

When I didn’t respond, the researcher asked with a sarcastic tone.

I couldn’t immediately grasp the situation.

“…What?”

“If you like the name Seo Heewon better, I’ll call you that, as long as you behave like before.”

I looked up at the researcher with his indifferent expression.

The restraint around my neck, fastened from the start.

The forgotten surname. Everything felt ominous.

“Why are you calling me Seo Heewon?”

“If you don’t like it, never mind. But why is this brat speaking informally?”

“Why am I a ‘Seo’?”

When I shouted, the researcher struck me on the head with the file he was holding, looking incredulous.

“Are you crazy?”

“…What about him? What happened to him?”

At my question, the researcher snorted.

“Dreaming, are we? He’s dead.”

The words hit me like a blow, leaving me breathless.

That couldn’t be true.

Every regression had brought me to a point a year earlier, so if this was the right time, he should still be alive…

I’ve regressed to a time after he died? But why?

“You’re lying…”

“Enough. Come out. We’ve got experiments to do.”

“You’re lying.”

“Lee Heewon.”

“Don’t lie to me!”

When I shouted again, the researcher clicked his tongue and reached into his pocket.

“You wouldn’t have to waste your energy like this if you just behaved.”

“Ahhh…!”

A jolt of pain surged through my body.

The collar around my neck emitted a strong electric current. It was a punishment for disobedient test subjects.

A painful penalty, but the pain was the least of my concerns right now…

He’s dead.

It made no sense. I couldn’t believe it.

The last time I saw him, he was alive and well. And now, not only had I regressed, but he was gone…

“Lies, lies…”

“Come on, hurry up.”

The researcher nudged me with his foot impatiently. His words barely registered.

“God, so annoying… Won’t listen, huh?”

The researcher turned off the lights in the room with a frustrated sigh and left, closing the door behind him.

The door was sealed tightly, letting no light in. I was left alone in utter darkness.

I sat there in stunned silence, trying to understand.

Why had time turned back?

And why to this point, after my uncle had already died?

No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn’t find an answer.

Tears welled up. I didn’t even try to hold them back as they spilled.

It was as despairing as when I decided I had to die—perhaps even more so.

“Uncle… sob…”

To think that was our last meeting—I couldn’t believe it.

I thought it was the brainwashing and that we’d eventually reunite with smiles.

Why did it have to be this point in time?

He’s already dead? I’m trapped here, powerless before awakening. Why, why…?

“…Ah, ugh… no, no… Dad…”

Regret crashed over me belatedly.

If I’d known, I’d have called him that just once.

But regret, no matter how soon it comes, is always too late.

The thought of never seeing him again made me want to die all over again.

I cried endlessly, eventually passing out in exhaustion.

When I woke again, the darkness was still all around me.

…

This could only be a nightmare before death, I had hoped, but waking up again crushed that slim hope.

Was this hell meant to punish me?

Then why didn’t it just punish me alone—why him too…?

I sat in silence for a long time.

Time had passed; I was hungry.

Even in this situation, hunger made me laugh bitterly.

Weak and exhausted, I curled up on the floor.

This, too, was a punishment they used in the lab for disobedient children.

Locking them in darkness, withholding food and water, leaving them unsure how much time had passed.

It was meant to instill terror and break them.

I knew it wouldn’t kill me.

I just had to endure.

But my body trembled, regardless.

‘You’re not okay. You still have trauma. You’re scared of small spaces, and needles still terrify you.’

Baek Gunho’s words came to mind.

It wasn’t a situation I liked at all.

But I had endured enough to become numb to it… so it didn’t matter.

It didn’t…

“Ugh…”

Even though I knew this would end someday, breathing felt like a monumental effort.

While I feared the darkness, the greater terror came from realizing this was my reality—something that would continue indefinitely.

I tried to stand but collapsed onto the floor.

Tears streamed down my face as I stayed curled up in the same position.

Not out of sadness alone, but sheer exhaustion.

I drifted in and out of a daze, unsure if I was awake or asleep.

I had no idea how much time had passed.

Hunger was one thing, but the unbearable thirst drove me to the point where I considered drinking from the toilet.

That’s when, at last, the door creaked open.

The light was too harsh, forcing me to squint as I winced in pain.

The researcher entered, dimming the light as he closed the door behind him.

With the faint glow now illuminating the room, I could finally open my eyes.

“You’re somewhat conscious now?”

“…”

“Here, drink.”

I greedily gulped down the water he handed me, spilling over half of it due to my trembling hands.

Anticipating this, the researcher handed me another bottle.

“It must’ve been hard, huh?”

“…”

“This is why you should’ve just complied.”

The researcher placed a tray of food on the floor: porridge with finely chopped seafood and a few simple side dishes.

“Eat. You need to regain your strength.”

“…”

“Answer me.”

“…Yes.”

“There’s a good boy.”

The researcher, who had mercilessly imprisoned me, spoke in a sickeningly gentle tone, like offering a carrot to a horse.

The condescension made my skin crawl, but I didn’t bother resisting.

Right now, I was powerless.

Nothing I did would change the situation.

After finishing the meal, I curled up on the bed.

As the immediate agony subsided, the horrifying reality of the old man’s death resurfaced in my mind.

Overcome with despair, I allowed myself to sink into it.

Time passed, and eventually, the door opened once more.

“Get up. Behave, and I’ll make it quick today.”

I knew escape wasn’t possible.

Unless I awakened, I was just an ordinary kid who had been captured—nothing more.

I stepped out of the room and followed them down a narrow corridor to the laboratory.

They strapped me into a large chair, binding my limbs securely.

“Stay still.”

A needle pierced my skin, and the drug began to seep in.

Dizziness swept over me before the excruciating pain hit like a tidal wave.

“Ah… ugh…”

What… What kind of drug was this?

It hurt. It itched.

It hurt so much… I wanted to rip my flesh apart.

It felt like I was dying…

“It’s a failure.”

“Inject more.”

The unbearable pain made me thrash instinctively, but the researcher held me down, suppressing my resistance.

The experiment dragged on endlessly.

Slumped in the chair, I couldn’t help but think of Baek Gunho.

If the old man was gone, then Baek Gunho was the only one who could save me now.

I knew full well that a younger Baek Gunho, at this point in time, wouldn’t have the power to rescue me.

In most timelines, he hadn’t even tried.

But maybe this time would be different.

Baek Gunho had developed feelings for me, after all.

He knew I could change, and perhaps, for his own goals, he’d come for me…

“…”

The irony wasn’t lost on me—that after all the times I had pushed him away, I was now hoping he would come to save me.

Still, I had no choice but to cling to that hope.

Whether it was Baek Gunho or someone else, I prayed they’d find me here and rescue me.

It was all I could do.

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