I’m Not That Villain

15 – First Customer (1)

The exclusive equipment was completed.

But there was no immediate way to hand it over to her.

Cha Seo-yoon did not respond. She must be busy with something.

Well, it looks like there’s a lot of work to be done. It seems like you’re running around the field often with a team leader-level position…

Let’s wrap it up nicely for now. Anyway, I can deliver it later when I get contacted.

More importantly, I had a more crucial task in front of me.

All the tasks that had been piling up one by one were finally finished.

House remodeling? Perfectly done. The security system is checked daily, and each one is secure enough that ordinary burglars would never break in.

As soon as they enter, they’ll be greeted with a hail of bullets. Well, not that it would actually come to that.

Personal safety? This side is also perfect. To be honest, I still don’t fully trust Lily’s abilities.

You’d have to see her fight to know. But one thing I do know is that there’s an unbelievable strength hidden in that small body. When we worked out together, she swung around huge chunks of metal with ease, which was somewhat intimidating.

Even aside from that, since Cha Seo-yoon personally vouched for her, she should be trustworthy. She seemed perfect in her work.

The only task left for me was to make a weapon for Cha Seo-yoon. It was the first weapon made here, and since it was a new type of specialized equipment tailored to the abilities, I paid extra attention to it.

And that was just finished now.

Self-management has also reached a certain level. I successfully incorporated it into my daily routine by appropriately distributing my time.

And now that everything has settled to some extent, I was finally standing at the proper starting line.

Alright. Let’s go.

To write my great history!

Now is the time to open my own workshop!

“…….”

But.

Something was different from what I expected.

I signed up for the black market with the ID ‘Black Whale’. At the same time, something like a first-class security badge dangled from the ID…

That’s it.

No questions were posted on my meticulously crafted personal sales channel. Naturally, no order requests came in either.

“Because there’s no promotion.”

“…I know that too.”

“It seems like you don’t.”

Lily sharply criticized me.

“Promotion is very important. We’ve moved beyond the era of self-PR to the era of self-exaggeration. To survive, you need to let people know who you are. That’s promotion.”

“If I say how great I am with my own mouth, it feels a bit cringy…”

“You’re being prideful in a strange way.”

Lily glanced over my channel.

“There’s not even a single sample photo uploaded. No reviews either. I get that it’s just starting out. But isn’t this price outrageous?”

“My skills are a bit special.”

“Are they special enough to warrant an immediate investment of 100 million without any guarantees?”

“…If you receive the exclusive equipment well, isn’t it about this much? I’ve heard that my skills are quite unique.”

“It could be unique. But you can’t prove that to others right away, can you? How about starting small? Or… asking for help from the black market. You’re already tied to them with a contract.”

Ah. I know.

Half of the income. But, you see, I didn’t want to extend the contract any further.

I planned to cut off that contract once I made a lot of money and became independent. Entrusting my leash entirely to someone else… I couldn’t do that.

So, taking on debt was even more out of the question. It just made me uncomfortable.

I knew what the problem was. But I took a shot because of Cha Seo-yoon’s words.

I thought that since my uniqueness was said to be exceptional, I could receive this much.

But as expected. There are no cheat codes in life. If you start without anyone’s help, no matter how good you are, you have to start from the beginning…

Well.

Let’s stop joking around and do it properly.

I quickly adjusted the sales channel. I drastically lowered the price of custom orders.

First order bargain sale, one million. Let’s start from there. It’s better that way. First, make one person, and use that person as bait to gradually increase other customers.

Usually, those with special abilities are close to others with special abilities. If I make it well, it will quickly spread by word of mouth. Since the price is completely shocking, someone will bite the bait immediately…

Come on! Just one!

My promotional customer for one million won!

[Excuse me…]

As soon as I posted the offer to sell the first order for one million won, a message came flying in.

A direct transaction post that can only be traded in Seoul. And the first customer was.

[Can you do it for 500,000 won?]

Of course, they suggested a price cut.

“This b*stard…?”

I’m offering to sell the exclusive equipment I made for one million won, and they want to cut it in half?

It doesn’t even cover the minimum labor cost. You jerk. I wrote a long curse message and then deleted it.

I just sent back a single word. With the tone I adopted as ‘Black Whale’.

If you’re going to be a big-time weapon maker in the underworld, you don’t need to cater to others.

So I naturally dropped the formalities.

[I won’t sell it.]

[60, is that not possible?]

[I said I won’t sell it.]

[70…?]

[Are you kidding me?]

[I don’t have enough money.]

[Neither do I.]

[I have to take care of my only younger sister alone. I need specialized equipment. Without it, I can’t even live a normal life.]

I flinched unconsciously.

Ability holders. Not all of them enjoy a normal life.

Sometimes, they even self-destruct due to their inability to control their abilities. The story of an ability holder whose body is constantly on fire, forcing them to remain still, was quite famous.

“Mr. Lee Seojun.”

“Yes?”

“It’s obviously a scam, don’t worry about it.”

“…No, I wasn’t worried.”

“Just give it to me.”

Lilly naturally took my phone. She sent a text message.

[Would I believe that?]

A short message brought a blunt reply.

[ㅋㅋ Fuck off, you pathetic b*tch. There are plenty of people who’d buy it even without you~ Yeah, you’re so fucking bad at selling that you’re losing even your first customer. You pathetic piece of shit.]

My first customer flew away with a torrent of curses.

No.

My first asshole.

Lilly handed me back my phone.

“It’s different here than outside. This place is full of people trying to scam others. The one who gets scammed is the culprit, that’s the way it is here.”

……..

“Don’t trust people. Absolutely not. Especially those who bring up sad stories themselves. Anyone who reveals their weakness to gain sympathy is a scammer.”

No, I know there are a lot of people trying to scam others. There are tons of them out there too.

I only hesitated for a moment, and I already suspected it wasn’t real.

But I was surprised that the person who sent a text message the second they posted it was a scammer.

Isn’t it almost like a world full of real criminals?

That bitterness can’t be compared to the outside. It’s chilling.

I received a few more messages after that. I blocked all the b*stards asking for discounts.

Alright. Let’s not get fooled. Don’t let your heart get weak for no reason.

Didn’t you see it when you were active as Viper?

Those b*stards who just look around without any intention to buy.

After thinking about it, I was sure that half of the people sending these messages were not ability holders. Most of them seemed to be people trying to play with someone or see if there was anything they could swindle.

Even after two days, there were still no proper order requests. Should I change the plan a bit? Just as I was seriously contemplating, a proper message finally came through.

[What exactly does the option of ability modification mean?]

The phrase on my sales channel.

I explained it in detail.

[It’s hard to explain in one go… In short, it means changing the ability that an ability holder has to a beneficial one.]

[Is that… possible?]

[If it’s me, it’s possible.]

The message came much later.

[I want to meet and talk.]

Wow. The first contact.

And the neatness of not asking for a discount.

With the appearance of the first proper customer, I was filled with anticipation. I said to Lily, who was munching on snacks while watching TV.

“Get ready to go out.”

“Did you catch it?”

“I’ll have to see to know for sure… but my intuition tells me it’s almost certainly a real customer.”

“Did you check for sure?”

“What?”

“That thing Mr. Lee Seo-jun always says. He told me several times too.”

I realized belatedly what I had missed.

Selling weapons to a villain once is enough. Damn.

[Do you have any criminal records?]

Never sell to criminals.

For my own sake.

The answer came a little late.

[Why is that…]

[It’s a necessary procedure.]

[No.]

I liked that short sentence.

Look. There it is. No. That makes them perfect for the first guest.

Even in this lawless city, there are people who live decently… Besides, it’s okay if the other party is a criminal as long as they’re not a big shot.

A mediocre villain is almost like an ordinary person in this neighborhood.

Of course, there’s a possibility that it’s a lie…

In the end, the only way to confirm it was to meet in person.

“Let’s go. To greet the first guest.”

I put on the mask I had prepared in advance. After pressing the hat deeply, I put on a hood over it.

Covered everything except my eyes. With sunglasses on top, I looked like a criminal of the night.

“I have it for self-defense.”

Lily naturally handed me a pistol. I spun it around and checked the bullets inside.

Fully loaded bullets. I hid it in my bosom and checked if the safety was on.

It felt like I was going for a real ‘deal’. Lily didn’t bother to change clothes.

“Don’t worry and go ahead. I’ll keep watching from nearby.”

A reassuring word from a veteran. I wasn’t sure if I could fully trust it, but I nodded for now.

I set out. I used public transportation. Took the subway and moved straight to the rendezvous point.

The first floor of a nearby hotel. It was also my first time at this meeting place.

This place. It was one of the most famous places in Seoul.

A building I learned about as I entered Seoul. There were a few mediation zones where fights were prohibited even in the lawless area.

They were all called Red Marks. Like here. A kind of hotel where fights were prohibited in each autonomous district.

Of course, it was that expensive. A single ordinary drink cost over fifty thousand won. But it was that safe. I took a seat and waited with the cheapest drink.

Among the people passing by inside the hotel, there were a few with unusual physical features. Some of the superpowered individuals had side effects severe enough to twist parts of their bodies.

I looked around while pretending to sightsee. I saw a child in plain clothes sitting far away. The face was slightly different, but it was probably Lily. She seemed focused on snacks…

Is she really guarding properly?

“…Excuse me.”

Something tapped my shoulder. I turned my head, recalling the words I had prepared to say when we met.

But as soon as I faced ‘it’, I closed my mouth.

What.

Is this.