Being a Villain is My True Calling

The previous night, Uchi had gotten his face injured, while Han-mir arrived with a bandage plastered across his cheek.

It was too coincidental to dismiss as mere chance, yet not conclusive enough to assert with full confidence.

‘While clichéd, who can say for certain…’

More importantly, even if Han-mir and Uchi were somehow connected, it had no direct bearing on me.
After all, I had only accompanied Uchi that one time.

‘Well, I do intend to join him again until this matter is resolved.’

“Here’s your iced Americano.”
“Thank you, Boss!”

After Uchi got roughed up, I had basically foisted that drug dealer onto him.
Since the dealer could still prove useful, but I had no desire to look after him myself, I needed someone else to take him off my hands.

“So, did you get yourself a girlfriend or something?”
“Pardon? What brought that on…”
“Those marks on your neck. That.”
“…Huh?”
“There are reddish markings, you know?”
“Err…?”

At my words, Han-mir’s face drained of all color.

Fumbling…
With trembling hands, he gingerly touched his own neck.

His quivering demeanor seemed to scream that this was absolutely something he must avoid at all costs.

‘I suppose that’s confirmation enough.’

“Just kidding.”
“J,just kidding…?”
“Yeah, you looked so drowsy that I thought I’d liven you up a bit. Did it work? Feeling more awake now?”
“Boss…”

Seeing me snicker mischievously, Han-mir lowered his head in seeming exasperation.
Just as I wondered if he might lash out angrily, instead:

Grab!

“Huhuhuhuhuhengghh!!…Please don’t joke about things like that…”

The fully grown man had latched onto my hand, sobbing piteously.

“Huhuhuhuhuhengghh…”

Truly a pitiful sight, with tears streaming uncontrollably.

…
It seemed he had endured far more trauma than I had realized.
Witnessing his despondent state, I felt an unexpected pang of guilt.

“Ah, my apologies. I’m sorry, Han-mir…”
“You big meanie, making me cry…”

…I couldn’t refute that accusation.
Ga-yeon, who had been cleaning the floor nearby, chided me upon seeing Han-mir’s sorrowful sniveling.

“Huhuhuhuhuhengghh…you jerk…!!”
“Alright, alright, I’m a jerk.”
“Huhuhuhuhengghh…!! Stupid jerk…!!”
“Yeah, yeah, stupid jerk.”

After requesting Ga-yeon give us some space, I finally managed to console Han-mir by offering him chocolate chip cookies and various snacks.

“Sniff. I,I should get going now, Boss.”
“Take care not to get into any more scraps at school.”

Having calmed down somewhat, Han-mir cited the late hour before hurriedly exiting the cafe.

“Oppa.”
“Yes, Ga-yeon?”

Watching Han-mir depart, Ga-yeon scurried over to me.

“Why was the big meanie like that today?”
“Well…”

It was a rather difficult question to answer.
By all appearances, Han-mir did seem to be Uchi, yet I lacked definitive proof…
No, I hadn’t even mentioned Uchi to Ga-yeon at all, so I would need to elaborate on that first.

“…I just happened to encounter him in the slums yesterday.”
“For a mission?”
“Yes. Though of course, neither of us revealed our true identities, we were both in disguise.”

I provided her a brief overview of Han-mir’s presumed identity and the events of the previous night.
Naturally, I largely glossed over the unsavory details involving the drug dealer.

“So then. Is the big meanie our comrade now?”
Ga-yeon inquired about potentially inducting Uchi into Eclipse.
However, he fell rather short of the necessary qualifications to join our ranks.

‘I’m still unaware of his abilities, and more crucially, he’s an entirely new character absent from the original storyline.’

Of course, being unmentioned in the source material didn’t automatically preclude potential strength, but his conduct thus far hardly inspired confidence.

Noting my dubious expression, Ga-yeon tilted her head inquisitively.

“Then is he an enemy?”
“Not an outright enemy perhaps, but we can’t let our guard down around him either.”

I smiled as I gently patted Ga-yeon’s head, her soft tresses providing a soothing tactile sensation.

“…Should I come with you then?”
After fidgeting briefly, Ga-yeon gripped the sleeve of my shirt.

‘If Ga-yeon accompanied me…’
Having her presence would undoubtedly provide reassuring support.
With her instant teleportation alone, I could readily escape any predicament, no matter how dire.

However, as I had mentioned previously, bringing her along would draw far too much unwanted attention.

‘For a mission requiring discretion, unnecessarily attracting scrutiny would be inadvisable.’

Hence, her involvement was postponed for now.
Of course, when explaining my reasoning, I would need to frame it as concern for her wellbeing rather than bluntly citing operational hindrances.

“It’s alright, I can handle this one alone.”
“…Why?”

I met Ga-yeon’s upturned gaze with a measured tone.

“Would you truly be unaffected by visiting the slums, Ga-yeon?”

“……”

At those words, Ga-yeon fell silent, opening and closing her mouth wordlessly before finally lowering her head despondently.

‘In a sense, this was another reason I hesitated to bring her along.’

No matter how resilient Ga-yeon might be, trauma wasn’t something easily forgotten.
And unresolved trauma could severely impair her ability utilization.

In other words, her overall effectiveness would plummet drastically.

“…I can endure it.”
Ga-yeon took my hand and guided it atop her head.

“Just do this for me…”

While her willingness to persevere for my sake was admirable, this time I had to refuse.
Unlike the concert incident, the likelihood of inadvertently triggering her trauma was far higher now.

“Ga-yeon.”

As I made to withdraw my hand, Ga-yeon frantically clung to me with seeming desperation, for reasons unknown.

However, as my hand inevitably slipped from her head, Ga-yeon’s eyes began glistening with unshed tears.

“Ga-yeon.”

Calling her name once more, I gently pried her hands away while offering a tender smile, before she could break down in tears.

“There’s no need for you to endure such painful ordeals just to assist me.”
“But…”
“It’s not that arduous a task to begin with, is it?”

The only difficulty was locating the drug traffickers – once found, dealing with them wouldn’t be particularly challenging.

“If I do truly require aid, I’ll call upon you then.”
“……”
“You know I don’t stubbornly insist on shouldering difficult burdens alone, don’t you?”

I smiled reassuringly as I intertwined my pinky finger with hers.

“Promise.”
“…If you keep that promise, I’ll take you on a date.”
Well aren’t you generous.

“It’s lunchtime, anything in particular you’d like?”
“Curry.”
“Order received.”

With the atmosphere considerably lightened, I donned my apron to prepare Ga-yeon’s favored curry, doing my utmost to placate her lingering sullenness.

“That was delicious.”
“Have a good day.”

In the afternoon following the lunchtime rush, I was utterly drained from serving the influx of customers.

‘It’s already gotten this late.’

After bidding farewell to the final patron and tidying up the cafe, I was surprised to find it was already well past 4 pm.
As I casually caught my breath and began preparing a coffee for myself, the entrance bell chimed.

Jingle-! Jingle-!

“Yahoooo! Your big sis Narin is here!”

A rather distinctive visitor had graced the cafe with her presence.

“Narin, what brings you here?”

Narin, my second-in-command and our organization’s hacker extraordinaire.
Having dedicated herself to fortifying our internal security protocols, she had rarely ventured outside our base recently, so this was quite the unexpected visit.

“Oh come now, do I need a special reason to visit you? I just felt like it!”

Narin swiveled her head in every direction, surveying the cafe interior.

“Where’s Ga-yeon by the way?”
“She seemed rather fatigued today, so she’s napping upstairs.”

After our lunchtime meal, she had started nodding off, so I simply told her to rest upstairs.

“Heeehh…”
“Did you come to see Ga-yeon as well?”
“Of course! I missed Ga-yeon too! But…”

Striding over purposefully, Narin leaned against the counter and gazed up at me mischievously.

“I was even more eager to see my beloved Oppa~”

Beaming radiantly, she then produced a card from her pocket.

“One ultra-delicious drink, coupled with some premium service from our handsome owner, if you would be so kind?”

“…I’m afraid we don’t offer any such ‘premium service’ packages here.”
“Then let’s add one to the menu! The ‘Lovely Narin Special’ exclusive!”

Just what had she been up to this time…?
Snorting in amusement at her brazen antics, I began preparing her beverage.

“Gulpgulp, so tasty!”

Narin consumed her drink more like an alcoholic beverage rather than a mere cafe offering.
While her behavior was rather peculiar, I simply smiled and sipped my own coffee indulgently.

“…So then, how have things been going for you lately?”

“Ughh, don’t even ask~ Just what kind of ramshackle security programs have you been getting by with?”

I’ve had to rework everything from the ground up, such an ordeal~
Narin let out an overly dramatic sigh of exasperation.

“It must have been quite the challenge.”

“You don’t know the half of it, this genius’ perfectionism simply cannot tolerate even the slightest flaw, you see.”

While she jested flippantly, the task of revamping an entire villain organization’s security protocols was undoubtedly arduous.
This wasn’t some ordinary small business system, after all.

“Does that mean you haven’t had time for your fan club activities recently?”

Changing the subject, I inquired about her beloved fan community management duties.
It also provided an opportunity to investigate that strange rumor I had overheard.

“Fufufu, Oppa. Just what do you take me for? I am the genius hacker Narin, is it not obvious that I can handle both with perfect ease?”

“I see, I see.”

Narin exuded utmost self-assurance and poise.
I responded with an admiring round of applause.

So you were already aware, then?

“In that case, could you perhaps enlighten me about this so-called ‘Maker Challenge’?”

“Ahem.”

“As well as how it came to proliferate so widely?”

“…Gulpgulp.”

Despite her bright smile, her voice carried an unsettling chill.
Perspiring anxiously, Narin began shooting me apprehensive sidelong glances.