I Became a Villainous Character with a Limited Lifespan

Episode 30

“Hmm, when the housekeeper starts work, I’ll get her phone number, so until then, I guess that’s how it will be.”

“When does the housekeeper start work?”

“The day after tomorrow.”

It was special treatment for just a little over 24 hours. But Jae-young felt his heart flutter for some unknown reason that he became the only person saved in the phone book even for that short period of time.

“I need to ask if she can still take care of the house after I move.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m going to move. As soon as possible. I don’t like people coming without notice, and this house feels too desolate.”

At Seung-hyun’s words, Jae-young turned his head and looked around the house. Some parts had things scattered about, but other than that, it was almost eerily neat and tidy. 

It seemed to be not just because the cleaning and organizing were done well, but also because of the monochrome interior.

“Where do you plan to go?”

“I was in the middle of looking for a place.”

“Hmm… There’s no neighborhood you particularly prefer or anything?”

“I just want a comfortable place. Since I have several cars, it would be nice to have ample parking space.”

Seung-hyun said, recalling his cars lined up in the parking lot. He didn’t necessarily have to go to a mansion with a garage, but it was quite a good feeling to change cars and drive around according to his mood and needs.

‘As I kept driving, it became fun…’

“I did look at a few places through an app but haven’t decided yet.”

“You should look for a house by going directly. Besides having ample parking, is there anything else you want?”

“I’m thinking of completely redoing the interior, so I don’t want something dark like this house, and I want to go somewhere I won’t run into people I know.”

Seung-hyun went and sat on the sofa. Seung-hyun picked up the tablet again and showed Jae-young the house he was looking at.

“What do you think? For now, this is the place I like the most.”

“This place… would be quite far from where you live now.”

“That doesn’t matter. I used to live close to the company anyway, and now I won’t be going to the company anymore.”

Seung-hyun said, shrugging his shoulders. In fact, the biggest reason he wanted to leave this place was because this house was close to Chairman Han’s house.

‘That damn old fart… I don’t want to run into him even by chance.’

“Is this the only candidate? You’re not doing any remodeling or anything?”

“Remodeling… takes a long time, doesn’t it?”

I don’t even know if I’ll be alive by the time that’s finished. Seung-hyun flipped through the tablet screen.

“This one and this one also seem nice. But I’m also thinking this one is a bit iffy since it’s not in Seoul…”

“I like this one.”

Jae-young, who was looking at the screen, suddenly grabbed the tablet to stop Seung-hyun from flipping the screen. It was a house he was slightly hesitant about because the conditions were good but it wasn’t in Seoul.

“It’s close by highway anyway. Look how well-connected the roads are here. The garden is pretty too, doesn’t it look relaxing? And there aren’t many people living in this neighborhood, so there won’t be any bothersome issues to get entangled in either.”

“That’s true, but… It seems inconvenient for the housekeeper to commute to work too. It’s a hassle to find a new one.”

It’s more comfortable with the original person working. Seung-hyun thought that while looking at the screen Jae-young had stopped on. 

He did have a longing for a garden. That’s why he had bookmarked it while mainly looking in Seoul, but it wasn’t a priority house.

“If that’s the problem, I can introduce you to a new person.”

“…I’m asking just in case.”

A hypothesis flashed through Seung-hyun’s mind as he was quietly listening to Jae-young’s words. Seung-hyun asked, looking at Jae-young’s face.

“Do you happen to live around here?”

“My, my. You’re quick-witted too.”

Jae-young shrugged his shoulders right away without denying it.

‘No wonder he talked as if he knew the place so well.’

“To be exact, it’s not my house but my family home is in this area.”

“Where does Mr. Ju Jae-young live then?”

“Let’s just say it’s a 20-minute distance from my family home.”

Seung-hyun turned his gaze away from Jae-young and looked at the tablet screen again. He had hesitations because it was a suburb rather than the city center, but he thought it might be okay if someone he knew was nearby.

‘Meals can be resolved by changing the housekeeper to someone who comes to work often, and I don’t plan to stay home often anyway… Having a pretty garden might make me feel different even while at home.’

After thinking for a bit, Seung-hyun nodded his head.

“Then I should go see this place first tomorrow.”

“I should also stop by my family home for the first time in a while.”

In fact, it hadn’t been that long since Jae-young had visited his family home, but he added a word with the intention of obviously following Seung-hyun.

Seung-hyun had no intention of refusing the transparently obvious statement, but he felt a question again from that action. 

Coming all the way to the house to find someone who had lost contact was definitely something even a friend could do. Although he wasn’t a friend he had known for very long.

But no matter how much of a good-for-nothing human Ju Jae-young was compared to the original Han Seung-hyun, he shouldn’t have absolutely no schedule. Offering to even help look for a house, not moving, wasn’t that being too nosy?

“Mr. Ju Jae-young. Do you not have friends?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking if you don’t have people to hang out with.”

Jae-young made a dumbfounded face and pointed to himself. Asking if he had no friends. There wasn’t a lack of people around him, although there was no one he could call a close friend.

“Is that why you’re paying so much attention to me?”

“No. That’s not…” 

“Then do you always pay this much attention to the people who come when you call them too?”

Seung-hyun asked in a rather serious tone. He let it slide without much thought earlier, but not this time.

“That’s…”

Jae-young looked a bit confused. It was definitely being too nosy. It started out of curiosity, but there was no need to want to put Seung-hyun in his life’s radius for that reason.

There was a clear difference between worrying about not being able to contact someone and wanting to keep them by your side. Jae-young, who had to judge his feelings once again, fell into thought for a moment.

“I do pay more attention to Mr. Han Seung-hyun compared to other people.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re so different from what I thought, I’m curious too. Also…”

He thought he had his reasons, but when he tried to explain, the reasons were too flimsy. Why did he end up paying more attention to Seung-hyun in particular?

Jae-young faltered, unable to easily organize his words. Seung-hyun, who was watching him, unconsciously asked.

“Do you perhaps like me?”

It was a lightly thrown remark. A remark thrown without much thought, like a joke. Although he was curious why Jae-young paid attention to him, whatever the reason was, it wasn’t something for him to get involved in.

But the moment he saw Jae-young’s face stained with embarrassment at those words, Seung-hyun felt something had gone wrong.

“……”

He thought it would naturally be answered with a no or what are you talking about, but Jae-young didn’t answer at all.

But sometimes, things other than words could also become answers. Like the faint redness that rose on the face stained with embarrassment, or the body that had completely stiffened, unable to answer easily.

“Wait a moment.”

Seeing that, Seung-hyun spoke first before Jae-young could answer. He was the one who asked, but he didn’t ask expecting an answer in the first place.

“Just don’t answer. Don’t even think about it. Just forget it.”

Seung-hyun waved one hand. It seemed unbelievable, but if that was true, it would be a big deal.

“Why? Didn’t you say it doesn’t matter if Director Han thinks of us as a couple?”

“That’s about how the relationship appears externally, and this is a different issue, isn’t it?”

The fact that a negative answer didn’t come back right away was already a risk factor, and that attitude was even more dangerous. Seung-hyun hurriedly added before Jae-young could answer.

“Don’t like me. If you feel like such feelings might develop, give up as quickly as possible.”

“……”

“What I need is a friend, not a lover. I don’t want a person for that kind of relationship. Not now, and never will in the future either.”

Seung-hyun spoke bluntly to an excessive degree. He could just leave, but the person left behind had a future. The time that might or might not be 1 year was too short for the person left behind.

“…That’s unique. You don’t need a lover, but sleeping together was okay?”

“It may vary from person to person… but for me, it is. Aren’t a relationship that can be enjoyed for a day and a lover different?”

Seung-hyun nonchalantly spat out words that could possibly hurt Jae-young’s feelings. He couldn’t tell if Jae-young really harbored feelings for him or not, but even if he did, it probably wouldn’t be anything grand yet.

‘It’s okay to be a bit over the top. The sprout that will become a nuisance must be cut off clearly in advance.’

“Sleeping together is something that means nothing to me. But if I get a lover, I would have to put meaning even into that trivial act. I hate that.”

It was okay to seem a bit unpleasant and lose affection. It was right to cut off feelings that shouldn’t develop from the very beginning.

“So if you’re expecting something like that, don’t be friends with me and go to the people you said come when you call them.”

Seung-hyun spoke with a serious face. He thought Jae-young would have sufficiently understood since he wasn’t a stupid person.

However, without realizing that the easiest rejection method hadn’t even crossed his mind, Seung-hyun made eye contact with Jae-young as if telling him to answer quickly, after listing only long excuses.