THE VILAIN
: Strange Villains
W. Gpeum
- WARNING!The author thinks of and portrays the protagonist as a rather immoral person.
Jiwon lay on her bed in her room, staring at her hands. Guiding. The power she received today was clearly Guiding, not some supernatural ability. As an esper, Jiwon knew what Guiding was. It was the energy that allowed espers to use their supernatural abilities. However, the scene unfolding before Jiwon's eyes was completely different from the Guiding she knew. The sight of the research director collapsing after she breathed Guiding, Dr. Sung running off with a pale face, and herself being told to return to her room. "I failed," Dr. Sung's mutter lingered in her ears.
“…Well, does it matter?”
Jiwon sat up in bed. The drawer occupying one corner of the room was something Dr. Sung had personally placed there, telling Jiwon to store things like paper and paints for his love of drawing. The other test subjects didn't have anything like this in their rooms. No, they weren't even given single rooms, let alone drawers. Jiwon slowly opened the bottom drawer. He pulled out a neatly stored glass box and counted the red beads inside.
“Three? Hmm… that should be enough.”
Jiwon, who had been pondering something for a moment, lifted the mattress on the bed she'd just been lying on. She placed a red bead underneath it and returned the mattress to its original position. She put the remaining two beads in her pocket. She couldn't carry the entire box around. She grabbed something else from the bottom drawer and opened the door to her room. The unlocked door seemed to indicate her location within the lab.
Special treatment also meant power within the lab. A private room, a closet, an unlocked door, and freedom from surveillance were all part of that power. Jiwon opened the emergency exit door at the end of the hallway, as if he were accustomed to it.
They had to go to where the other subjects were gathered. Jiwon's room was a single room on the third floor of the lab, but the other subjects lived together in a large auditorium-like space on the second floor. Jiwon's frequent visits to the other subjects' rooms whenever she was bored was now a familiar routine for the lab staff. When they realized it was Jiwon opening the emergency exit door and entering, the guard in the hallway softened.
"Mr. Seunghwan!"
"Is it Jiwon? Why aren't you in your room? Aren't you tired?"
"You did an experiment today," he said, his voice filled with worry. Jiwon chuckled. Seunghwan, the security guard on the second floor, was one of the many who favored Jiwon, calling her name and asking how she was doing.
"Can I play with my friends?"
"Only here, you can't go out to the garden today."
"Yes! Just stay here! I'll just play for a bit and then go!"
At Jiwon's words, Seunghwan readily opened the door, saying, "Okay, okay." The door, which had been triple-locked to prevent escape, opened easily at Jiwon's single word. "Just let me know whenever you want to leave," Seunghwan said, smiling. "Yes! Thank you!" The corners of Seunghwan's lips twitched at Jiwon's bright smile.
The thick iron door clanked shut, and Jiwon wiped the bright smile of a seventeen-year-old girl from her face. The lab staff, who viewed the test subjects except Jiwon as mere "test subjects," probably thought Jiwon was just having fun and laughing whenever she visited them. However, Jiwon had never once spoken to these "test subjects." The only reason she had been constantly visiting this horrific place was to prepare for what would happen today.
Despite the dozens of eyes fixed on her, Jiwon showed no sign of discomfort, glancing around the vast room, which resembled a large auditorium. She fiddled with the red bead in her pocket. "Where would be good?" Jiwon's soliloquy echoed throughout the vast room.
"Actually, it doesn't matter where,"
Jiwon crouched in the center of the spacious room. Several test subjects flinched in surprise at Jiwon's unhesitating act of tearing up the wooden floor with his bare hands. Without even glancing at them, Jiwon dropped a red bead onto the floor he'd torn off. Then, as if nothing had happened, he returned the floor to its original state. Anyone could tell it had been forcibly torn, but it didn't matter. The researchers weren't likely to pay much attention to the space where the test subjects were gathered, and the building would eventually disappear by the end of the day.
Jiwon, having dealt with one marble, headed for the room's right wall without hesitation. The test subjects leaning against the wall scrambled to avoid him as soon as Jiwon approached. Without even glancing at them, Jiwon gently pounded the right wall with his fist until the thud, thud, thud sound changed to a hollow, hollow sound. Jiwon stopped near the wall where the sound had changed and kicked it without hesitation. The wall, which had been making a dull thud, easily shattered with a few kicks. A passage leading to a dark space was revealed. The children's eyes widened.
"It's a secret passage."
"……."
"The lab is going to explode soon."
"If you want to live, escape along this path as soon as the emergency alarm sounds," Jiwon said to the test subjects who were staring at him.
"Don't go out before then. If you do, you'll all die."
Jiwon, who had left the warning, turned around without hesitation. Her business here was over. If she wanted to live, she'd do as she was told. Well, if she didn't trust him, then there was nothing she could do. With that thought in mind, Jiwon pounded on the thick iron door. Seunghwan poked his face through the bars. "I want to go..." Jiwon said, his expression now sullen and like a young girl. Seunghwan's eyebrows twitched. He quickly unlocked the door. The door slid open with a creak.
"I guess the kids are all tired, they don't even pretend to see me."
"Are you ignoring me? Anyway, since you're test subjects…."
At Seung-hwan's words, Ji-won's gaze sharpened. Seung-hwan, who had been swearing while looking at the door, turned his head back to Ji-won. Ji-won, who had lost all traces of that expression, now furrowed her eyebrows as if she were about to die of frustration, so Seung-hwan couldn't have noticed. Ji-won's face brightened at Seung-hwan's words, "Why don't you just go and ask Jeong-gook to play with you?" "That's right. Bye, mister!" Seung-hwan smiled and waved back at Ji-won, who opened the emergency exit.
"The subject of the test subject?"
Did those test subjects even know that a simple snap of their fingers could kill a normal person like me? Well, if they had, they wouldn't have made such a foolish remark as "Test subjects," Jiwon thought as she climbed the stairs. In any case, Jiwon intended to go find Jeongguk, just as Seunghwan had suggested. It wasn't for the sake of playing with the kids, as Seunghwan had thought.
The subject receiving special treatment wasn't just Jiwon. Jeon Jungkook, the only child in this lab who received better treatment than Jiwon. His room was on the fourth floor, so Jiwon, instead of pushing through the emergency exit on the upper flight of stairs, began to climb further. The emergency exit door on the fourth floor creaked open. There was no way there would be a security guard.
Jiwon, standing in front of a familiar room among the countless rooms in the dark hallway, knocked on the door. "Hey, Jeon Jungkook," Jiwon said, and a voice came from beyond the door. "Kim Jiwon?" At that moment, the door swung open, and Jiwon squeezed herself through the gap.
"What are you doing at this hour?"
The boy, who had just turned fifteen, seemed to have just woken up, his head hanging limp and his eyes agape. Jungkook's room was much larger than Jiwon's. Jiwon's room had a desk and a closet, which were absent, so that said it all. Well, that wasn't the point. Jiwon thought it was too late to be upset about the discrimination between Jungkook and himself. He just slowly looked around Jungkook's room. Still, he couldn't find a suitable place. Jiwon sighed deeply and lifted Jungkook's bed mattress. ... What are you doing?" Without answering Jungkook's question, Jiwon simply put the last red bead under the mattress, just like he had in his room. It was over. Jiwon grabbed Jungkook's arm, who was standing there blankly.
"Have you been experimented on?"
"What experiment?"
"An experiment to develop guiding abilities, giving golden beads."
"Oh, yeah. It was briefly interrupted when Dr. Sung came in, but I still finished the experiment. Why?"
"No, it's over. Do you want to go for a walk?"
Jeongguk vaguely sensed something different about Jiwon's appearance, but he nodded without asking a question and picked up his outerwear. It was a different quality from the clothes given to test subjects at the lab. Jiwon watched Jeongguk put on his clothes, then picked up a scarf strewn carelessly on the bed and wrapped it around Jeongguk's neck.
"It's cold outside."
"…you?"
"I'm fine. I don't usually catch cold easily."
Jiwon carefully zipped up Jungkook's coat, then grabbed his hand and opened the door. Jungkook followed Jiwon as she walked toward the emergency exit with a familiar routine. Jungkook, feeling like he might fall as he followed Jiwon down the stairs, hurriedly called out, "Slow down, slow down!" But Jiwon acted as if he couldn't hear him. Something was off about Jiwon today.
There was always a guard posted at the entrance to the first floor. The director had meticulously placed guards to prevent any potential escapes of test subjects or the leak of confidential documents. Of course, this didn't pose much of a problem for Jiwon and Jungkook. Just looking at them peeking out of the emergency exit, the guards would chatter with them in friendly tones like, "Is that Jiwon?" or "Where are you going?" Jiwon smiled brightly and said, "A walk with Jungkook!" Other than a warning to be careful, nothing stopped them. Leaving the building was now as easy as breathing. Jiwon, holding Jungkook's hand tightly, walked slowly. Jungkook looked puzzled as he saw Jiwon heading in the opposite direction from their usual walking path.
“Where are you going? This is the way to the main gate….”
“Hmm… I guess I’m discovering a new walking trail?”
Jiwon held Jeongguk's hand and walked silently. Their slow pace quickened as they approached the main gate. Frightened by Jiwon's unusual behavior, Jeongguk simply followed his lead. When they were less than a hundred meters from the gate, Jiwon suddenly changed direction. He pushed Jeongguk into the nearby grass, causing his legs to give out and he fell.
Jungkook couldn't quite understand Jiwon's unusual behavior today. He'd been annoyed by Jungkook's earlier "What's wrong?" expression, then put his index finger to his lips and pretended to shush. Jungkook felt a bit offended, but he knew that showing his frustration would only make him the butt of Jiwon's teasing, so he kept his mouth shut. However, Jiwon's subsequent actions left Jungkook wide-eyed in surprise. Jiwon pulled a small earring from her pocket. He'd gotten his ears pierced, but he wore them with a familiar blue gemstone. Subjects weren't allowed to bring personal belongings into the lab, let alone expensive jewelry with such gemstones. Where did he get something like that? Jungkook stared at Jiwon with wide eyes, but instead of explaining anything to him, Jiwon fiddled with the earring a few times. Then Jiwon spoke.
"Yeah, it's me."
Jungkook couldn't help but be even more surprised. His eyes fluttered slightly at the realization that it wasn't an ordinary earring, but a communication device. ... Jiwon? Jungkook called out in a small voice, but Jiwon gave him a glance and spoke in a flat voice.
"Blow it all up."
As soon as Jiwon finished speaking, the lab's emergency alarm blared. Startled, Jeongguk covered his ears. Jiwon pressed the top of his head, burying himself deeper in the grass. She covered Jeongguk's mouth as he let out a sob. He was so scared he felt like crying. Jiwon stared at him with pity, but Jeongguk didn't even glance at him. He simply muttered numbers with a calm expression. Ten, nine, eight, seven...
Three, two, one… and then a loud noise. It was the sound of something exploding. It wasn't just one. The guards guarding the main gate were startled by the sudden explosion and could be heard running towards the lab. "Oh my, I'm going to die," Jiwon muttered. Another explosion brought Jeongguk's eyes shut tightly. He couldn't understand what was happening. Blood flowed from his eardrums, ruptured by the loud bang. Jeongguk looked at his friend in front of him, who looked unusually large today. Jiwon, who was bleeding from his eardrums just like him, covered in flying ash and dust, and had leaves stuck to his hair in a slovenly manner. He was laughing. Looking at the bright red flames that had engulfed the lab, he said-
"Ah~, it feels so refreshing!!!"
Jungkook thought. Maybe this girl in front of me isn't really my friend anymore. Maybe this girl isn't my friend,
"He might be a villain," thought the fifteen-year-old Jeong-guk.
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