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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: A Week of New Beginnings
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Lee Hayul.
A week had already passed since she came to live in this mansion.
"Did you wake up, Noona?"
"Huh? Oh..."
Her younger brother, Cha Yoon, entered from the next room, stifling a yawn. After ruffling his hair, she too prepared to get up.
She washed up and changed her clothes. Passing through the long hallway to the living room, she saw a woman with long, straight black hair preparing food in the kitchen. As if she'd heard Hayul approaching, the woman paused her cooking and looked up. Their eyes met, and the woman smiled brightly, greeting her.
"Hayul, you're up? Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, Unnie. Did you sleep well too?"
"Mm-hmm."
She gave a small smile before continuing to dish out the rice. Hayul herself stood beside her, helping with the cooking. Subin Unnie initially tried to dissuade her, saying it was fine, but when Hayul insisted she really wanted to help, Subin reluctantly allowed her to join.
Breakfast was a simple affair: fried rice and various side dishes. Soon, time passed, and footsteps echoed from the stairs, announcing the arrival of two figures.
"Seoeun, open your eyes when you walk. You're going to trip."
"N-no... Oppa, hold my hand."
"Oh, for goodness sake..."
A girl with silver bobbed hair, and the man who had come up with her, holding her hand. They were Han Seoeun, two years younger than Hayul, and Dain, the owner of this house.
"Did everyone sleep well? *Yawn*."
"Good morning, everyone..."
The two shuffled over to the sofa and sat down, eyes still closed. Though they hadn't lived together long, these two always seemed weak in the mornings.
As the cooking neared completion, Subin Unnie went to wake the two dozing on the sofa, and I went to wake my brother who was still in his room.
"Cha Yoon... Are you already studying?"
"Yeah!"
Opening Cha Yoon's door, she saw her brother already sitting at his desk, studying, even before breakfast.
Her brother had declared he would start school next Monday and intended to study in advance until then. It was truly admirable that he was studying on his own, but...
'Yoon. Why are you studying so hard?'
'I'm going to study hard and become someone important, so I can help Dain Hyung!'
...Watching her brother declare this so boldly, she couldn't help but offer a wry smile.
"Breakfast is ready, let's go eat."
"Okay!"
Cha Yoon scribbled down the last of his answers, then got up and headed for the living room. Watching her brother, a pang of bittersweetness went through her. To think that until now, she hadn't even been able to properly feed a child who wanted to study so much, let alone let him study...
When she returned, everyone was already seated at the dining table.
Once she and her brother took their seats, everyone finally picked up their spoons and chopsticks.
"Let's eat well."
"I'll eat well."
And so, they all ate together. The fried rice was delicious.
"Seoeun, open your eyes when you eat, your eyes!"
"Oh... I did..."
"Cha Yoon eats all his side dishes without being picky, doesn't he?"
Subin Unnie said this with a pleased smile from beside him, and Cha Yoon, mid-bite, replied spiritedly.
"Yes! I need to eat well so I can grow big like Dain Hyung!"
"That's right! Hahahaha. To become a great person like this Hyung, you need to eat up!"
"Ugh... Oppa, your inflated ego is disgusting."
"Tsk..."
Watching Dain and Seoeun bicker and joke around like that, Lee Hayul found herself smiling faintly, without realizing it.
It had already been a week since she started living with them in this house. A period of time that was short if you considered it short, and long if you considered it long. Living together for a week, Lee Hayul had learned many things.
The man sitting across from her, bickering with the girl beside him, was Dain. His true identity was Ego-stick, the most famous villain in South Korea. He had committed three terror attacks so far, and killed dozens of other villains.
She hadn't known it, usually being swamped with work, but he was incredibly popular. Even Cha Yoon liked him. She'd often see him watching videos of things being destroyed and wondered what it was, only to find out it was Ego-stick replays. Honestly...
The Ego-stick she'd seen while living with him was, contrary to public knowledge, what could she say... a good person?
At first, when he suggested they live together and offered support, she had suspected he might be trying to do something to them— But not anymore. Any suspicion about how much money he had to give so generously vanished when she saw this enormous mansion. Ah. He really. He really had a lot of money.
Ego-stick, Dain. He had actually kept his word and hadn't done anything particular to them. And what she'd felt while living with him was that he wasn't that kind of person. Seeing him play with Cha Yoon and subtly look out for her too...
Then there was Subin Unnie, who lived with him. She looked after Hayul and Cha Yoon as if they were her own younger siblings. She went with them to choose clothes, taught her how to cook, and even helped with school administrative procedures... Hayul felt incredibly grateful and sorry towards her.
A week had passed. It was as if she was still dreaming. The abuse from the orphanage director that had continued since her childhood, and their recent struggles living in a small shack, felt like just yesterday.
Yet suddenly, overnight, she was living like a noble lady in this grand, antique house, eating three square meals a day?
In truth, more than her own satisfaction, she was overjoyed that her younger brother, Cha Yoon, could grow up without enduring such harsh suffering. Her brother, who had been frail since childhood and often persecuted by the director even at the orphanage, was someone she had always looked after. Just seeing him eat, laughing brightly and chatting along, made her feel full.
At the same time, she glanced at Dain once more. All the luxury she was now enjoying was thanks to the man before her, Dain. No, in fact, if he hadn't helped, she and her younger brother might have died right then and there.
But somehow he had known and appeared just in time. He had saved her and her younger brother.
In truth, Subin Unnie's influence was a major reason she came to trust Dain. After moving into this house, she had looked up everything about Ego-stick, and in the process, learned about Subin as well.
Subin was also someone he had taken in, much like herself. Dain had taken her with him when she was committing a terror attack. Among netizens, there had been a heated debate about what Ego-stick had done to her. But now she knew. Subin was doing well.
Actually, Subin Unnie might seem as kind as an angel, but she was also a type of terrorist who had committed attacks. Ego-stick was already an A-class villain on the Association's radar. And that silver-haired girl over there, while she looked small and cute on the surface, turned out to be a genius hacker.
But what did any of that matter? What was important was that they had welcomed her and her brother like family. In truth, she wasn't entirely innocent either. She had, after all, sustained herself by pickpocketing...
As time passed, she felt an overwhelming gratitude towards Dain. It could be said that her suspicions had almost completely vanished, replaced by a heart full of thanks.
Although he seemed unaware of her ability—that she could heal almost any human injury.
'If he ever comes back injured...'
Then, she would definitely repay his kindness. She quietly made that vow to herself.
***
"Ajusshi. Let's go to the basement."
"Seoeun... We just moved, you should get some sunlight."
"Oh, hurry up!"
"Alright, alright. I get it."
Seoeun was whining so much that I finally headed for the basement. If I didn't go, she'd probably keep calling me 'Ajusshi'...! After being called 'Hyung', now 'Ajusshi'...
The way there was simple. All I had to do was take the teleportation device.
A teleportation device I'd badgered Seoeun into creating for three months. It looked just like the TARDIS from Doctor Who, and opening its door led directly to the basement.
It did have the limitation of only being able to transport between locations where a teleportation device was installed... but then again, the original purpose was just to connect the house and the basement.
Being stuck in this underground base for three months, I'd realized it wasn't a place for people to live. Before, I hadn't noticed it, being constantly busy with work, but resting here, it was unbearable. Seriously, a person needs sunlight to live.
So, I made a big decision and bought a huge mansion deep in that mountain valley. Even for me, with money to spare, it was a truly enormous expense. Looking at its antique, magnificent grandeur, like an 80s mansion, my chest swelled with pride.
There was only one reason I bought such a large house. It was because this would be the headquarters of my villain alliance, the Ego-Squad, a place to lure in more superhumans in the future.
Although for now, only five of us were living here snugly, I had no doubt this place would be full in the future. ...It will, right?
"Haa. Home truly is the best."
"Seoeun, our home is that palace-like mansion up there..."
"I'm more comfortable here. Haa, my monitors. Were you lonely?"
...Of course, there were those who opposed the move, like Seoeun, who was hugging her monitors over there.
At least Subin seemed to like it. Especially seeing her meticulously look after the two kids, it made me feel pleased just watching her. It seems she unexpectedly has a fondness for children. Come to think of it, she became friends with Seoeun quickly too.
Those siblings. Somehow, they seemed to have successfully gotten close. Well, it would be stranger if they *didn't* like me, considering I gave money, a house, and practically saved kids who were living like beggars, right...?
Cha Yoon, was it? Him being my follower was a huge help. I noticed he was practically brainwashing his older sister about Ego-stick... How reassuring!
Anyway, recruiting Lee Hayul was a really great move. It's almost like having several extra lives. Even if I'm on the verge of death, if I run to her, she'll probably save me. Probably?
In any case, with Lee Hayul recruited, I seemed to have more or less finished my tasks. Three months... no, almost four months now? Anyway, I think I spent the time quite productively. It's almost winter now.
"Oppa, what are you thinking about again?"
As I was lost in thought for a moment, Seoeun puffed out her cheeks and glared at me. She's been sticking to me much more ever since those siblings moved in.
"Nothing. Oh, right, Seoeun. Let's do that now."
"Huh? What's that?"
Seoeun tilted her head and asked, so I replied with a grin.
"What else? A new terror attack."
I've rested for too long. At this rate, the public will forget about me. Time to add some tension to this relaxed peninsula, draw some aggro from Stardus, and prevent future crises.
*
[If Mangostick doesn't show up next week, I'm going to shit my pants.]
A warning.
=[Comments]=
[I support this.]
[I'm going to take a dump in front of Gwanghwamun. Don't stop me.]
ㄴ[Screenshotting this.]
ㄴ[So we'll see you in Gwanghwamun next week?]
ㄴ[M][Screenshotted. If you don't do it, you're blocked. Peace out.]
ㄴ[Manager appeared LOLㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[The original poster reportedly ordered another pair of pants.]
[Dude, still waiting? You're hardcore LOLㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
*
...And to stop our Mangodan from shitting their pants. I need to pull off a fresh, sleek new terror attack.
At the mention of a terror attack, Seoeun's face brightened. Had I raised her wrong...? She'd become a middle school girl who loved terror. No, a high school girl now, wasn't she...?
"Wow! We're finally doing it?"
"Hmm... yeah. This terror attack's concept is..."
'Let's go with 'Mapo Bridge Has Fallen.''
Mapo Bridge is going to fall, you bastards. Because I'm going to make it fall.