I Became an NPC That Rankers Are Obsessed Over

The joint funeral was over.

The father who had been by my side until yesterday was now said to be inside this small urn.

I stared blankly at the square, cold ceramic urn held in both hands.

Without the three letters of his name written on the urn, no one would know that this was my father.

Sparse contact came from acquaintances and relatives.

Because most of those “acquaintances and relatives” either perished in the sudden monster incident or were busy with their own family funerals.

At times like this, we know it’s better not to contact each other.

I walked home absentmindedly, holding the urn in both hands.

On the way, people barely paid attention to me.

No, they couldn’t.

They were fleeing somewhere to avoid monsters or urgently making calls to find someone.

No one cared about the pitiful state I was in.

Even though I was a top model.

I arrived in front of my apartment.

The front door, which should have been familiar, felt strangely unfamiliar.

I stood blankly for a long time, unable to recall the passcode.

Then, noticing hand cream marks on the doorknob, I guessed the first number, and the door finally opened.

The house I hadn’t been to for a few days was deathly quiet.

As if no one had ever lived there.

I placed the urn on the stool beneath the TV.

Then I sat on the sofa and stared blankly at the father resting inside.

“…”

After divorcing my mother, he raised me alone.

He had never cooked before, but he learned by watching YouTube.

Every morning, he prepared my meals.

Now, that father was gone.

Only the villain who chose this shell of flesh over him remained.

I raised my gaze to the black TV screen.

In the screen, the villain was staring straight at me.

It was then that I realized.

That my eyes had turned red.

I couldn’t believe it and staggered toward the TV.

Grabbing the screen, I took a closer look at my reflected face.

Red, unpleasant eyes that anyone would recognize as those of a villain.

It felt as if the system had branded me with the mark of a demon.

At that thought, my face trembled.

My entire body itched like crazy again.

Even though my skin was smooth, it reeked as if it hadn’t been washed for months.

I began scratching my body with my finely grown nails.

I scratched and tore at it until it ripped apart.

But even when I tore and ripped my skin, glossy flesh immediately grew back over it.

Only my skin fragments piled up on the wooden floor.

Exhausted from incessantly scratching, I collapsed on the floor and curled up like a fetus in the womb.

It was a habit I had when I was young and struggling to prepare for modeling.

Back then, just like now, I was miserably hungry, in pain, and worn out.

Each time, my father would approach me quietly and stroke my head.

“When it’s hard, always talk to me.”

Even when I was struggling, I never expressed that pain to my father.

But strangely, he always knew when I was having a hard time.

And he would say with a gentle smile.

“No matter what happens, I’m always on your side. So don’t suffer alone, just tell me.”

Even if you’re a thief.

Even if you’re a murderer.

“Even if I killed you…?”

I asked softly.

But, just like at the department store, there was no answer.

On the balcony, the red sun dripped molten lava as it set.

The light of the sunset brushed against my face, allowing me to open my eyes again.

My stomach growled.

It was only natural, as I hadn’t eaten anything since the accident.

I wanted to ignore the sound and fall asleep as I was.

But my stomach, unaware of my thoughts, went beyond hunger and began to sting.

“Even my stomach’s hungry now.”

The more my flesh regenerated, the worse the hunger became.

It made sense, considering I had spent all day tearing myself apart.

I stood up wearily and headed to the refrigerator.

The last time I checked, it was completely empty.

But even knowing that, I habitually grabbed the handle.

As expected, the top shelf was empty.

The second shelf held a half-eaten protein bar that I’d grown sick of.

“There’s no way there’s anything to eat.”

And then, as I opened the third shelf.

I froze in place.

“This is…”

A lunchbox.

One with a very familiar design.

There shouldn’t have been anything at home…

Had my father made it while I was out for work?

My hand, holding the lunchbox, trembled.

Swallowing dryly, I opened the lid.

Inside was…

Sugar-cured tomatoes.

It was a food I had loved since I was young.

After becoming a model, I couldn’t sprinkle sugar on them anymore, so I rarely ate them…

But even after I became an adult, my father occasionally made them for me.

Each time, I would tell him.

“I told you not to sprinkle sugar!”

When I grumbled like that, he always said.

“Why—wasn’t this your favorite?”

“I’m not a kid anymore. I don’t eat stuff like this.”

“To me, my daughter is still just a little girl.”

He would chuckle as he said that.

Maybe he was right—maybe I was still a little girl.

That’s why I didn’t know what was more important than appearance.

With bloodstained hands, I picked up a tomato.

Then I slowly shoved it into my mouth.

The tangy tomato enveloped my parched tongue.

It was refreshing and sweet.

The long-absent food brought a stinging ache to my jaw.

But I paid no mind and, with trembling hands, continued eating the tomatoes.

Hot tears streamed down my cheeks.

Even on the day before he died, my father was thinking only of me.

I clung to the refrigerator and collapsed, sobbing.

I couldn’t stay standing because my legs had given out.

With my body covered in blood, I devoured the expired tomatoes like a madwoman.

That was the happiest final memory of my life.

Eating the last meal my father had left in this world…

「Angelic Hand, terminated.」

End of flashback

The warm noon sunlight poured over my face.

The radiance blinded me, making me squint my eyes.

Grasping my heavy head, I barely managed to lift myself up.

My body was sprawled out on the office sofa.

“What the… Did I fall asleep?”

I threw off the blanket covering me and quickly scanned my surroundings.

The girl who had been sitting across from me earlier was nowhere to be seen.

“Figures, she must’ve run off.”

A bitter laugh escaped me.

After all, I had scared her so much—there’s no way she’d stay.

“Are you awake?”

A voice I shouldn’t have heard came from the direction of my office desk.

With a growing sense of dread, I lifted my head.

It was the little brat from Moment.

She was standing at my desk, making something.

I stared blankly at the girl bartending under a strong halo of light.

Daring to use my desk without permission—she deserved a beating for that.

But for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I didn’t know if it was because of the noon sunlight or the red drink in her hand.

“You must’ve been tired.”

“Huh…?”

“You fell asleep while I stepped out to the restroom.”

She placed a glass on the desk as she spoke.

Her words made me grimace.

Did I really fall asleep in that short amount of time?

I tried to make sense of the incomprehensible situation.

But soon I let go of those thoughts.

Watching Si-ho prepare something distracted me entirely.

“I’ll start now.”

A cold glass, frosted with white mist.

She poured beer straight from a freshly opened bottle into it.

Creamy foam overflowed, spilling over the edge.

She then filled the foamy glass to the brim with red tomato juice.

The glass gradually turned a bright crimson hue.

Next, she added two small aspirin tablets.

Then, a single egg yolk with a golden-orange hue.

Finally, she sprinkled in two spoons of sugar.

Rating: ★★★★

Effect: Restores 50% of the drinker’s stamina.

Details: A special cocktail made using tomatoes and beer. It boasts a savory and refreshing taste.

Typically, pepper or salt is used, but Si-ho opted for sugar.

Thanks to Angelic Hand’s effect, it received an additional ★.

“Drink it. It’s for you.”

Under the fresh sunlight, the girl handed me the glass.

The cocktail was as vividly red as my eyes.

“Ha, I never thought I’d see a drink with tomatoes in it.”

What a coincidence.

Eating my father’s tomatoes in a dream and receiving a tomato cocktail in reality.

I’d heard this kid in front of me was powerless.

And yet, of all the cocktails, she chose this one?

I grabbed the glass.

I stared intently at the crimson cocktail.

“…”

Doubts welled up in my mind.

But I quickly dismissed those negative thoughts.

Because the girl smiled at me.

Her smile stirred something inside me, as if I were seeing my own pure childhood self.

Young and beautiful.

Though, of course, not as much as I am now…

“You used my office without permission, so if it tastes bad, you’d better be ready.”

I took a slow sip from the glass.

Tomato pulp slid into my mouth.

Usually, drinking juice right after waking up leaves your throat feeling heavy.

But…

After the tangy, smooth juice came the crispness of the beer.

Its refreshing quality completely washed away the heaviness of the juice.

And finally, the sweetness of the sugar.

It perfectly compensated for the tomato’s lack of sweetness.

“How is it?”

She approached me, asking softly.

Si-ho reached out and tucked my disheveled hair behind my ear.

“Are you going to eat my hair too?”

At that moment, she reminded me of my father.

The day he made me breakfast for the first time.

He asked how it tasted as he brushed back my messy hair.

“…”

My lower eyelid trembled.

Was it the cocktail on an empty stomach? My chest felt unbearably hot.

That heat rose up my throat, moistening my eyes.

“I don’t know what you did wrong to your father.”

Si-ho spoke softly to me.

“But…”

“If a father saw his surviving daughter struggling because of him, he’d be heartbroken.”

I stared blankly at her.

Then she scratched the side of her head awkwardly.

“Was that meddlesome? Sorry.”

The girl smiled shyly and sat back down on the sofa across from me.

I watched her for a moment, gathering my thoughts.

And I slowly voiced those “gathered thoughts.”

“Me, you see…”

“Since joining the organization, I’ve tasted all the so-called good drinks out there.”

The short-haired girl perked up her ears.

Looking down at the nearly empty Red Eye, I continued.

“Usually, good liquor is best appreciated neat in a glass.”

“That’s why I always thought cocktails were cheap drinks. They’re often made to mask the taste of bad alcohol.”

Hearing that, Si-ho’s face fell.

She was an easy girl to read, as all her emotions showed plainly on her face.

“But…”

I decided to stop teasing her and said my honest feelings for the first time.

“I’ve never tasted anything this good before.”

Saying that, I set the glass down on the table.

Slowly, Si-ho’s face brightened.

“So… Does that mean I passed?”

She asked, clasping her hands together.

“Yeah, let’s make a deal. If there’s a drink you want, just tell me. I’ll get anything for you.”

I extended my hand to her.

A handshake of trust.

Si-ho grabbed my arm with both hands, shaking it excitedly.

“Thank you! I’ll definitely repay you if I succeed.”

“No need for repayment… Just make me this sometimes when I visit Moment.”

Looking at her up close made my face feel warm for some reason.

I never thought such a warm person could exist in this bleak world.

I had grown ruthless because of how desolate the world had become.

But seeing the girl in front of me made me feel like I’d returned to my younger days.

Normally, I wouldn’t engage in any deal that might lead to a loss.

But this girl disrupted my calculations.

So just this once, I decided to invest in this short-haired girl in front of me.