I Became a Villainous Character with a Limited Lifespan

Episode 36

How did he know, no. It wouldn’t be that he actually knew, so how did he guess right away that it would be like that without any explanation? It was a bit of an odd thing.

Seung-hyun, who had unconsciously typed and erased the words “How did you know,” almost dropped his cell phone, startled by the suddenly ringing vibration.

The call came from someone who was one of the few registered in the address book on this phone. The person he had been exchanging messages with until a little while ago.

The gap between receiving the reply and making the call after sending a reply was shorter than the time it took for the reply to come. Seung-hyun, who had been pondering for a moment whether to answer the call or not, pressed the receive button.

“Hello.”

―Where are you sick?

“Out of the blue… What kind of nonsense is this?”

Is it normal to immediately ask if he’s sick when he only said he might not be able to keep his promise? No, don’t people usually just ask for the reason?

―Since you’re not denying it, I guess it’s true.

“No, it’s just that it’s such a sudden story. Why do you think that in the first place?”

―Well, because you’re not the type of person to do that without a good reason.

There was certainty in Jae-young’s voice. A voice that said there was absolutely no way. Seung-hyun said with a slight sneer,

“You talk as if you know me very well.”

They had only met for about a month at most. Yet how could he be so sure about him?

―I don’t know you well, but…at least I know the basics. Things about Han Seung-hyun.

“The things heard through rumors would all be meaningless.” 

Because that person and I are different people. Seung-hyun answered nonchalantly. The Han Seung-hyun in the rumors was completely different from his current self in every way.

To the extent that anyone who knew ‘Han Seung-hyun’ well would think it was almost time for him to die.

‘If you think about it that way, it’s a perfect excuse.’

Seung-hyun thought with a self-derisive laugh. Should he consider this fortunate or not? As he was thinking that, Jae-young said,

―I didn’t know the rumors that well to begin with. Even if I did, just being with you for a day was enough to know you’re a different person from the rumors, so why would I think about that?

A somewhat dumbfounded tone could be felt in his voice as he said that. Indeed, if he had paid that much attention to the rumors, he wouldn’t have been interested in Seung-hyun in the first place. Even if he was, he would have been wary.

―It’s true that there are still more things I don’t know about Han Seung-hyun than what I do know…but I do know that Han Seung-hyun isn’t the type of person to send this kind of message for a trivial reason. Last time too…you hid it, didn’t you?

He was talking about the time when contact was cut off while having a big bruise on his face. He hadn’t thought much of it, but it seemed to have left quite an impression on Jae-young.

―So don’t think about hiding it and tell me. Are you very sick?

It seemed Seung-hyun had been excessively lacking in expectations for Jae-young. Seung-hyun, who had been pondering for a moment what to answer in response to his confident tone, said,

“It’s not to the extent of being worried.”

It’s a bit of a silly thing to say while living someone else’s life, but he wasn’t used to lying skillfully enough to do it completely.

It seemed like he would get caught if he told a complete lie. It would be fine if he just didn’t talk about it, but somehow it felt like Jae-young would keep asking and he would end up saying it.

In times like this, the best method would be to mix truth with lies when speaking. Seung-hyun cleared his throat a little and said,

“I’m not sick. It’s just that I recently had a health checkup and there was a part with slightly bad results, so they said to take medicine for a while and see how it goes, but I lost the medicine. That’s what I’m going to get again.”

―Isn’t that being sick?

“I’m just thinking of it as taking nutritional supplements. It’s been about a month since I started taking the medicine…if I had such a big health problem, how could I have walked around like that for a month? It’s just that I’m a bit sensitive about health.”

If you’re not sick in front of my eyes, it’s practically the same as not being sick. Seung-hyun thought and said,

“With human affairs, you never know what will happen, so don’t you have to be mindful?”

No matter how much money you have, as long as you’re human, you can’t be completely free from illness or accidents. That wasn’t a problem for Seung-hyun alone. That’s why this subtle lie served as a pretty good excuse.

―I’m glad if you’re not sick…but still, you surprised me. If Han Seung-hyun suddenly said he might have to cancel an appointment, I thought maybe you were very sick somewhere.

“You have a lot to worry about too. Because we’re friends?”

Because we’re friends, that wasn’t a question but a confirmation. He didn’t dislike this concern. It felt a bit strange to have him say he knew about him.

But it shouldn’t go beyond that. That was the minimum sense of responsibility and conscience.

―…Yes. Because we’re friends.

A reply came a beat late. The slightly late reply did bother him, but the more you forcibly suppress your heart, the more it raises its head stiffly.

It would be better to just wait for it to disappear naturally at this point. It was a slightly different method from what he had originally thought, but anyway, he properly conveyed that it seemed difficult to meet tomorrow, so Seung-hyun thought it was fine and let out a small sigh.

“So I don’t think I can meet tomorrow. I’m sorry about that.”

―When will you be back?

“Well. It probably won’t take long…I guess it’ll be around dinner time when I return.”

He was only going to get a prescription anyway, so it wouldn’t take long, and even being generous, it seemed he would sufficiently arrive home in about an hour and a half. When he answered nonchalantly, a humming sound of pondering could be heard from the other side of the phone.

“You’re not thinking of coming, are you?”

―Your house is nearby too, and it’s not like I’m going out of my way. We weren’t planning to be together all night even if we met during the day anyway, were we?

“That’s true, but.”

It wasn’t an unreasonable time to have dinner together and return home after having some meaningless conversation. Seung-hyun pondered for a moment and answered,

“Do as you please.” 

Well, it’s just meeting for a bit. And it’s a bit lonely being in a big house all by myself too. When he answered nonchalantly, Jae-young on the other side of the phone said,

―Do you have anything to eat at home? You said it’ll take time for the ahjumma to come. Should I buy something to bring?

“I was so free with nothing to do that I went to the mart. It was nice having so many things nearby.”

―That’s true. Even if there’s no bustling downtown, it has everything you need. Ah, the park nearby is also well-maintained. I know that place well. I’ll guide you there next time.

The way he casually set up the next appointment was natural. Since it wasn’t uncomfortable or bothersome, Seung-hyun decided to overlook it as if he didn’t know.

“Sure. Okay then.”

It was a conclusion slightly different from what he had expected, but it wasn’t a bad feeling. Seung-hyun, who put down the phone feeling refreshed, lay down completely on the sofa. The still unfamiliar ceiling felt unusually high.

“Playing is something you don’t get tired of even if you do it every single day.”

A life of doing nothing and just playing, he didn’t think it would be boring, but he thought there would be moments when it got a bit tedious, but that was an unnecessary worry.

Time passed amazingly well even just staying still, and there were quite diverse types of playing, so there was no time to get sick of it. If he could, it seemed he could keep doing this for several years, no, even decades to come.

“Time shouldn’t go by too fast though.”

However, the more enjoyable it was, the faster time passed, which wasn’t very pleasant. It would be really nice if time passed slowly the happier you were.

Each day felt languidly enjoyable yet regrettable. But he couldn’t bring himself to have a definite hobby, because it seemed he would become more impatient if he had a goal.

“I thought if it was a world like this, I could really do everything I wanted without having to be conscious of others, but I keep hesitating because I’m afraid of myself, not others.”

He didn’t care at all about other people’s gazes, but he kept hesitating because he was concerned about his future self. Because the more joyful and happy he was right now, the more painful it would be when he had to leave.

Having an end was something with clear pros and cons. He knew it was a problem to think too much, but he couldn’t help it because that was his nature.

It would have been nice if he had a very thoughtless personality, no. It would have been better if he didn’t know when he would die. If he didn’t know, he wouldn’t have to fear that day.

“Still…this much should be okay.”

However, he didn’t want to let go of the one and only acquaintance who wasn’t ‘Han Seung-hyun’.

He knew what kind of feelings that person had right now and in what direction those feelings could grow, but he just wanted to pretend he didn’t know.

Because he didn’t like being alone, and it was fun being together. Because when he was having fun, he could avoid sinking into thoughts.

“Tomorrow will be awkwardly busy.”

Seung-hyun let out a small sigh and got up from his seat. If he stayed awake like this, it seemed like useless thoughts would come to mind again. At times like this, the answer was to just go to sleep.

‘It’s true that there are still more things I don’t know about Han Seung-hyun than what I do know…but I do know that Han Seung-hyun isn’t the type of person to send this kind of message for a trivial reason.’

As he turned off the living room light, Jae-young’s voice from a little while ago came to mind. Somehow, he kind of looked forward to tomorrow.