Villain wants to live as a commoner chapter 38

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“Just a moment.”

Just then, Lee Jooyun’s phone rang. He stepped a little away from me to take the call.

Even though he moved away, I could hear the entire conversation.

After finishing the call, he returned to me.

“It’s getting a bit chilly; shall we head back inside?”

Lee Jooyun suggested. I was about to tell him to go ahead, but then I remembered I couldn’t leave him behind and nodded.

The person Lee Jooyun was on the phone with was Kim Jinhyeong. Since all the necessary discussions were over, we headed back to the hospital room.

There was another familiar face in the room when we arrived.

Baek Gunho, who had left earlier due to an urgent matter, had returned.

“When did you get here?”

“Just now.”

Baek Gunho replied curtly. His expression was deeply troubled, likely because you were hurt.

That insolent guy always tries to act kind and seems to care a lot when it comes to you.

“You’re both here? Then you can go in together now.”

As soon as we returned, my uncle issued an order for us to leave. I frowned.

“Huh? I was planning to stay with you tonight…”

“The caregiver’s bed is mine.”

Kim Jinhyeong interjected without missing a beat. You gave a wry smile as you looked at the two of us.

“Jinhyeong, you should go in too.”

“Huh? Team Leader, what are you talking about…”

“Finish the work you were doing. Were you planning to rest here?”

“I’m not trying to rest; I’m just worried about you.”

“Go finish your work. Leave the rest to me and get some rest.”

“Heewon, you should go in too.”

I looked at you reproachfully as you pushed me away. My uncle shook your head firmly.

“It won’t work, no matter how cute you try to look.”

I never tried to look cute. But if he found me cute, I could look at him that way more often.

My uncle groaned and turned your head away as if my gaze was too much.

“I said no. You have to get some rest since you have work tomorrow.”

“I can stay up all night just this once.”

“Heewon.”

He spoke sternly, like someone coaxing a child who was throwing a tantrum, and then signaled Baek Gunho.

“Gunho, take Heewon inside.”

“Uncle!”

“Stop treating me like a patient and go.”

I looked at you intently. There was a line I couldn’t cross either.

“I’ll go if you promise not to discharge yourself first thing in the morning.”

It seemed like he had indeed been planning to discharge himself as soon as we left, because he averted our gaze.

“Uncle!”

“Team Leader!”

Both Kim Jinhyeong and I shouted at the same time. Eventually, he raised his hands in surrender.

“Alright, alright, I’ll stay until the doctor says I can leave. Now go on, it’s getting late.”

“You promised.”

“Yes, I promise.”

I held out my pinky to you. It was a childish gesture, but my unlce liked it when I acted like a child. He wrapped his much larger hand around my pinky.

Now that he had promised, he won’t be leaving the hospital abruptly.

“Are you really okay being alone?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Now, go on.”

“Get some good rest.”

“You too, Heewon.”

Finally, I left the hospital room with heavy steps. As I was leaving, Kim Jinhyeong thanked me.

“Heewon, thank you for coming. Because of you, someone who was about to discharge himself immediately is now willing to stay and rest.”

“If anything like this happens again, just call me.”

“Alright, I’ll count on you.”

After thanking me, Kim Jinhyeong quickly left, probably because he was indeed busy with work.

“Jooyun, you can go home now.”

“Huh? But…”

“I’ll take Heewon home.”

Lee Jooyun glanced between me and Baek Gunho, then bowed his head.

“Alright, I’ll head out first. Heewon, rest well.”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

After parting ways with Lee Jooyun, I was left alone with Baek Gunho. We got into the car, and a heavy silence filled the air.

Baek Gunho wasn’t the talkative type, but the current silence felt unnaturally tense.

I thought he might be distressed because the old man got hurt, but it seemed like there was something more going on.

“Hey, is something wrong?”

“No.”

Baek Gunho replied curtly and started the car. His face, focused straight ahead, looked unusually serious, stirring up uneasy thoughts.

“I heard the old man got hurt because of Shin Chaeyoung. Is that true?”

“…Ah, yeah.”

Baek Gunho responded a beat late, as if lost in thought.

I hadn’t asked earlier because the situation didn’t seem right, but hearing that the old man got hurt because of Shin Chaeyoung seemed strange.

“How did the old man get hurt because of Shin Chaeyoung? Isn’t she a non-combatant?”

It was nearly impossible for an A-rank hunter like the old man to be severely injured by someone as close to an ordinary person as Shin Chaeyoung.

“She was. But then suddenly, she started using various skills and attacking everything around her. The old man got hurt while trying to stop her from harming civilians without any equipment.”

“What about the sealing sphere?”

“The sealing sphere Shin Chaeyoung had was at most C-rank. For her to hurt the old man that much, the power she showed must have been at least A-rank or higher.”

“…Does that even make sense?”

“It doesn’t. Under normal circumstances.”

In ordinary cases, it wouldn’t make sense. But the Black Sea Guild had been conducting experiments for a long time to enhance the power of awakened beings.

What if they had some success?

“I don’t know the details. Shin Chaeyoung is unconscious, so we can’t get a confession from her. The investigation is still ongoing, so it’ll take some time before we get results. I’ll let you know when we do, so don’t worry too much.”

“…”

There’s no way I couldn’t worry. As I stayed silent, Baek Gunho glanced at me.

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m wondering if it’s okay for me to just stay like this.”

“Don’t think unnecessary things.”

“It’s a reasonable thought.”

I slowly organized the thoughts that had been swirling around in my head.

“I can’t just stand by forever. This involves me.”

“Precisely because it involves you, you should stay still. Moving recklessly will only make things worse.”

“It didn’t go wrong when I moved before. I saved Choi Do-kyum and caught Shin Chaeyoung too.”

If I had no power, it would be one thing, but I had the ability to deal with what was coming my way.

Sitting back and worrying without taking action felt like a waste.

Baek Gunho glanced at me, looking like I was giving him a headache.

“You said you wanted to live a quiet life. Why the sudden change of heart?”

“It’s not sudden. The old man got hurt, so how can I just sit back and do nothing?”

“So what, are you thinking of becoming a hunter?”

“Who said anything about becoming a hunter? I just want to help where I can.”

“And how exactly do you plan to help?”

“Since they’re after me, I could at least act as bait…”

“Seo Heewon.”

Baek Gunho muttered in a harsh tone. Anyone would think I had just suggested killing someone. It was the kind of thing he would never allow.

“It was just an example.”

“Don’t give me those shitty examples.”

“I’m just saying there might be something I can help with.”

“No…”

“Ah, just shut up and listen.”

“How am I supposed to shut up and listen to that crap?”

“Just bear with me. Think about it. Is just going back and forth between home and work going to solve anything? No, right? In the end, we have to take down the Black Sea Guild for everything to be okay. Even if it means taking some risks, it’s better to bring them down as quickly as possible…”

“How is putting you at risk a ‘small’ risk?”

“…”

“The moment you step in, everything is on the line. There’s no room for second thoughts.”

I was speechless at Baek Gunho’s matter-of-fact statement. I couldn’t understand why he was speaking so harshly.

I quickly gathered myself and added,

“You’re too extreme.”

“Yeah, I am extreme.”

“Don’t just agree with that. I’m saying you need to think more flexibly.”

“I always think of the worst.”

“Why bother?”

“Because I’ve seen it. The worst.”

Baek Gunho muttered heavily. While I had been living my life in relative peace, Baek Gunho had been seeing things I couldn’t even begin to imagine.

It was a realm beyond my understanding, so I couldn’t easily say anything.

But I hadn’t brought this up without any resolve.

“Don’t be so rigid. Trust me for once. Things might work out well if I’m involved.”

“…”

“Don’t you trust me?”

“No.”

This heartless jerk’s response was as cold as it could get. I imagined smacking Baek Gunho on the head.

In my imagination, he got hit a hundred times and begged me to admit I was right. It was a completely unrealistic fantasy.

“Seo Heewon.”

Baek Gunho called my name seriously, perhaps to stop me from complaining. I answered curtly.

“What?”

“Just stay put. I’ll handle it.”

“No.”

“Sigh…”

Baek Gunho wore the same expression he had when he found me after I ran away.

“You’ve lived as an ordinary person until now, so how do you plan to deal with hunters?”

“I’m also S-rank…”

“S-ranks die just the same.”

Baek Gunho murmured darkly.

“Do you think this is a joke?”

“When did I ever say that?”

“If you’re not joking, then don’t mess around and stay put. We don’t need your help.”

How can he say things so obnoxiously?

I was boiling with anger.

If I let it out, I knew I’d end up saying something I couldn’t take back, so I kept my mouth shut.

A moment later, perhaps thinking he’d been too harsh, Baek Gunho looked at me again.

“I’m worried about you.”

“…”

I didn’t reply. As soon as I got home, I slammed the door and shut myself in. I was genuinely pissed off.

---

I stared quietly at Baek Gunho in front of me.

Today, he was dressed in a suit with his hair neatly slicked back.

The unusual part was that his mouth was gagged, and his arms were bound behind his back.

Seeing him unable to spout his annoying words, looking somewhat disgruntled, was a satisfying sight.

‘Why are you staring at me like that?’

‘…’

‘Do you want me to touch you?’

I spouted insane nonsense and moved my hand. My fingertips grazed Baek Gunho’s forehead and traced down to his ear.

As I gently caressed the edge of his ear and massaged his earlobe, a faint blush spread across his face.

Encouraged by his shy reaction, my movements became bolder. My hand slid down to his shoulder and then grabbed his tie.

With a flick, the tie dropped to the floor, and as I slowly unbuttoned his shirt, the familiar sight of his body came into view.

I placed my hand on his chest. Even through the thick chest muscles, I could feel his heartbeat racing.

‘Are you scared?’

‘…’

‘You need to be taught a lesson.’

I climbed on top of Baek Gunho and roughly caressed him…

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