I’m Not That Villain

29 – The Pursuers

The light flickers. The flickering of the light, which couldn’t be repaired due to lack of budget, woke up Yui, an agent of the enforcement agency.

What… was I doing?

First, she wipes off the drool. Fortunately, it didn’t stain the desk. After a slight stretch, she enjoyed the cracking sound of her bones.

Only then did she fully open her eyes. The first thing she did was simple.

Reviewing the materials she had been looking at late last night once again.

Only then did Yui recall what she had been chasing in her returning consciousness.

…Lee Seo-jun.

Nickname Viper.

She was chasing the illegal weapons manufacturer who sold items to Bad Sector and disappeared a few months ago.

But she knew. Every piece of information she was looking at was worthless.

The trail had gone cold.

Literally, completely vanished.

Despite chasing for months, not a single outline emerged. Calls from the higher-ups came every day, and she had to endure dozens of sarcastic remarks about not being able to handle even this.

Yui suppressed the curses rising from deep within her every time.

A crusader of justice shouldn’t curse.

“…Still…”

It’s frustrating.

It feels like she can’t even handle the first task she was assigned.

“…Ugh…”

She leans back in her chair with a pen stuck behind her ear. She always works hard, but sometimes, things turn out like this.

Yes. I’m an amoeba. I’m an amoeba. A lower organism that can only breathe and divide…

Thud.

Startled.

Yui quickly straightened her posture. She quietly stared at the steaming tea in front of her.

“Drink.”

She turned her head to look. There stood her senior.

Hair slicked back. Large build and fierce appearance. Sharp eyes resembling those of a beast.

When we hadn’t exchanged a single word, I was terrified just by making eye contact. His nasty temper was infamous in the company, which made it even worse.

But when we finally met…

Isn’t he a kind senior?

Yui sipped her tea. She stuck out her scalded tongue and panted.

But it was fine.

That one cup seemed to wash away all her fatigue.

“Get some sleep. Stop clinging to things that won’t work.”

“But, but, senior… if I want to get anything, I have to keep looking…”

“It’s obviously something powerful people have forcibly covered up. The escape route disappeared cleanly because of that. We can’t chase it.”

“…So, is this where we give up?”

“Then my head would be on the line.”

Senior Baeksan, an enforcer of the execution agency, sat down. He sipped his hot coffee.

“We change our approach.”

“Change our approach…? How…? Surely not…?”

Baeksan.

Who is he?

Despite being embroiled in company politics and controversies, he is one of the enforcers with the highest arrest rates.

Even with years of experience, he still strides gracefully in the field. Every movement of his is filled with elegance.

Yui’s hands trembled.

“Just how amazing is this method…!”

Baeksan put his legs on the desk.

He put on his sleep mask.

“First, we sleep.”

“Senior?!”

“Stamina is precious. Save it when you can. When you get old like me, you can’t even eat greasy food at night.”

“Seniooor?!!!”

Baeksan lifted one side of his sleep mask, which had cat eyes drawn on it.

“You’re an unnecessarily diligent junior. When was the last time you had a proper sleep?”

“W-What?”

“I mean, not dozing off at your desk, but a proper sleep.”

“Ha, but the work… I have to do it somehow…!”

“You can’t do it somehow. Not now.”

“What… do you mean…”

“Someone intervened. And it’s a big one. They completely buried their movements. It’s impossible to track. And they also erased their own traces cleanly. Professional. As if they’ve been doing this all their life.”

Baeksan put his sleep mask back on.

“They deliberately removed all evidence, so no matter how much you poke around, you won’t find anything. If others cooperated, we might get something… but they don’t. It’s better to sleep during the time you spend chasing. So close your eyes and sleep.”

“…Se, senior. But… we can’t just do nothing, can we? If we don’t solve this, you…”

“I didn’t say we would do nothing.”

“What?”

Baeksan adjusted his chair. He lowered the backrest almost to a lying position and covered himself with a blanket.

“We wait. For something else.”

“Wait… for what?”

“Even if the criminal escapes from Korea, there’s only one place they can be. Unless they flee abroad, they are definitely in Seoul.”

“The lawless city? But that would make things worse, wouldn’t it? The government can’t even touch that place…”

“This time, things are a bit different. The current president plans to declare a war on crime.”

“…What?”

“There will be several branches of the enforcement agency inside Seoul. As cannon fodder, so to speak.”

“Th-that’s…!”

“A large problem-solving office is also planning to enter. I haven’t heard the exact explanation, so I don’t know. The important thing is that there will be enough space for enforcers to enter Seoul.”

Baeksan turned over and lay down.

“We’re going too. To chase that Viper guy. So conserve your strength. When we poke around in there as enforcers, a fight will definitely break out.”

. . .

Clunk.

“Sister. I’m back.”

He greeted, but there was no response. The person who should have responded was asleep on the desk, so it was understandable.

Han Do-jun, a member of the Shark Tooth large problem-solving office, did not wake her. He quietly placed the breakfast he had brought on the desk and turned on the computer.

The almost inaudible clicking of the silent mouse and keyboard. But even so, the senior problem-solver who was sleeping on the desk slowly opened her eyes.

“…This is…”

A hoarse voice whispered.

“The smell of a ham sandwich from the food truck that only comes on Monday mornings…?”

“You’ve woken up, sister.”

A hand sneaked out and grabbed the wrapped ham sandwich. The solver, Choi Yeseo, who had stuffed her mouth full, extended her hand.

Han Dojun handed her the opened soda.

“…How long did I sleep?”

“You slept for four hours.”

“I passed out. Ah. I’m sleep-deprived. I need to sleep twelve hours a day, but these days I can’t even get a few hours…”

“But there has been some progress.”

Yes.

There has been some progress.

The illegal arms manufacturer, Lee Seojun, who had completely disappeared overnight.

With almost no evidence left, they finally caught his trail.

“To think they tried to cover it up in the black market…”

“Who would have thought such a big corporation was involved. But thanks to that, the commission fee went up, right? The chief was foaming at the mouth, telling us to solve it somehow.”

Choi Yeseo yawned and nibbled on the sandwich.

“So… Minjun?”

“It’s Han Dojun, sister.”

“Yes. Ah. I knew that. Just kidding. Just kidding. So, Minjun. Any new news? Other than the news that the black market and Viper are connected.”

“There is.”

“There is?”

“Yes.”

Han Dojun checked the chief’s email that arrived late last night.

“A directive came down from above. They said it was a directive from the large solver office. A directive also came down from the main office, and because of that, the chief is currently assembling personnel.”

“Assembling personnel… What is it about?”

“The government has declared a war on crime. The target is the lawless city of Seoul. They requested support from the large solver office that played the role of maintaining public order. The chief seemed very troubled because it’s something we can’t back out of.”

“…Seoul? Seoul, you say? The place crawling with those dangerous things?”

Choi Yeseo leaned back in her chair.

“Ah. I hate it. I hate it. I’m going to die. Yes. I don’t want to die. There were a few people who were dispatched there before, and they all came back as corpses… The ones going there are pitiful… Ugh… It would be lucky if they came back with just one disability, but it’s a place where even that is unlikely…”

“Our names are also on the list.”

“…What?”

Choi Yeseo froze in place. She immediately picked up her phone and made a call.

“Director. I heard something strange… Is it true?”

[…….]

“Me? Why? No. I told you, it’s just a possibility?”

[…….]

“Even if I’m not the main dispatched personnel, still! Why should I go there?! No, it’s just a possibility! The chances of it being true are low! There’s a possibility that Viper isn’t in Seoul but has fled abroad! Then I’d rather go abroad!”

[……..!]

“No, even so, this is so sudden…!”

[…….!!!]

“…Yes? Really? You’ll give me that much?”

[…….]

“…Mailbox… Yes. Just a moment. I’ll check. Please wait. Yes…”

Choi Yeseo turned around and turned on the screen.

After checking the mailbox, she quietly hung up the phone.

“Yejun, pack your bags.”

“It’s Han Dojun, sister.”

“Oh. Right. Dojun, pack your bags anyway. We have no choice. We have to do it, right? How many zeros are there…?”

Choi Yeseo stretched.

“With this amount, it’s worth going to Seoul. You got yours separately too, right? Do I have to give you a separate share from mine…?”

“I received it.”

“Good. Let’s go. A fixer has to get paid. My bank account is full, I can’t even sleep. Hmm. I’m happy.”

Choi Yeseo took a lemon candy out of her pocket and popped it into her mouth.

“I don’t intend to get involved in the war against crime or whatever… but I need to put in some effort, even if it’s just to play for a while.”

. . .

A wooden cross.

A person is hanging on it. In the empty church where solemn hymns echoed, the hanging person wriggled.

Blood flowed from the wounds nailed into the palms.

The groaning voice was gradually losing strength. The stream of blood flowing down the floor mixed with the sunlight and sparkled like jewels.

And then…

Sister Teresa, who was praying while sitting on a chair, slowly opened her eyes.

“Is that all you know?”

“I…I…all…all…is…all…”

“Insufficient. Information is.”

Following her employer’s orders, she continues to pursue the trail.

But the news of the weapon maker called Viper, which had suddenly been cut off, hadn’t completely disappeared.

Security level.

That damned security level is the problem.

Teresa, a follower of Bad Sector, stared up at the black market employee in front of her.

“Information is insufficient, pedophile.”

“Ah…ah…”

“Strange. Weren’t you usually more talkative? Your messages were. When you approached thinking I was a middle schooler, didn’t you ramble on and on about things I didn’t even ask about?”

She props up her chin. She tilts her head slightly.

“I need information. More information. I can’t track him down with just this.”

“Th-this is…all…rumors…I…I heard…it’s…not…certain…”

“That the weapon maker called Viper is connected to the black marketif that’s all the information you can vomit up, you’re no longer of value to me.”

“B-but…the security level…is…level 1…it’s…information I can’t obtain…I…I’m level 2…”

“Hmm…”

Teresa pondered.

Should I loosen the screws to get information out of him? No. I can’t do that. What good would a nobody like this be?

Security level 1.

Ultimately, the only information obtained was that the black market and the weapon maker Viper were directly intertwined. To only get this much information after a few months.

“…Disappointing.”

Should I start kidnapping black market employees one by one to get more information?

After a moment’s contemplation, Teresa straightened the knife she had been playing with.

No matter what she chooses from now on, one thing is certain.

That the person before her is no longer needed.

“Yes. Thank you. I’ll make you comfortable now. It’ll be over quickly. Close your eyes.”

“Wa-wait…wait…”

The scream quickly subsided. Teresa watched the flowing blood seep into the ground, swallowed by the earth.

It was a nice temporary hideout, but it was a shame.

Nevertheless, it was time to leave. Teresa spun the knife and tucked it into her bosom.

I have searched everywhere else.

But still, if it’s not there…

It must be either abroad or in Seoul. One of the two.

If they received help from the black market, the latter is more likely. The headquarters of the black market is in Seoul.

“Is it because they were chosen by Mr. Bad Sector… For an ordinary person, they are quite elusive.”

Theresa turned off the old player from which the song was flowing. She spun the ejected tape around to rewind it, then put it back into the cassette.

The hymn started again. Humming along, she mixed her true feelings into the lyrics.

“But I think the outline is starting to show. Please wait a little longer, Mr. Viper.”

Hoping that her voice would reach the other person…

With earnestness.

“Shall I come to pick you up now?”