I Became an NPC That Rankers Are Obsessed Over

I stared at the shattered glass.

Sharp shards of glass lay scattered helplessly on the concrete floor.

While I knelt and picked up the pieces, Executor silently looked down at me.

“Your movements are sluggish. My staff is waiting, too.”

He brushed my disheveled hair and forcibly made me meet his gaze.

I had to get up somehow, but my legs wouldn’t muster any strength.

To think I’d meet a psycho like this right after surviving.

It seemed God was determined to punish me thoroughly.

“When are we going to get our order?!”

Executor’s staff shouted, kicking their chairs.

They put their dirty shoes on the table.

The table I had painstakingly cleaned was once again dirtied with their dust and cigarette ash.

Their interference with the business had officially begun.

If this continued, the owner would eventually give up on the shop, and they’d buy it back at a low price.

In this world where the government no longer existed, no one could stop them.

It was miserable.

So, this was the reality of possession.

I even found myself missing the body I had before I was possessed.

Back then, my sister would have stepped in and subdued punks like this.

And she would’ve told me.

To face them boldly, that I hadn’t done anything wrong, so why was I bowing my head first?

But, sister…

Reality doesn’t care who’s right or wrong.

Ashes from their cigarettes fell onto my knees.

This damned world only cared about strength.

“Ah…”

Lost in idle thoughts, I cut my finger on a shard of glass.

Red blood trickled down my finger, mixing with the gin and tonic.

I put my finger in my mouth.

The metallic taste of blood coated my tongue.

That taste soon spread through my body, sharpening my senses.

“—.”

The bell at the shop’s entrance rang.

Thanks to that sound, I barely escaped my deep contemplation.

Everyone, including me, turned their gaze toward the dark silhouette at the door.

Usually, in this kind of tense atmosphere, people would go to another shop, but the owner of those footsteps entered the hall naturally, as if this situation was familiar.

The sound of boots filled the shop.

Following that sound, I slowly raised my head.

A silver-haired woman, her hair braided to one side, came into view under the glowing light.

Her radiant hair revealed that she was either mixed-race or a foreigner.

The woman had a pretty face, the kind that would have been popular on a campus in the past.

But her dark, black jacket and pants contrasted sharply with her silver hair, giving her a cold impression.

“…”

“A hunter killer, huh?”

Executor spun his chair and gazed at the woman.

He looked more serious than before, perhaps because he thought she was in the same profession as him.

But the woman’s gray eyes weren’t on him.

They were on me.

Specifically, on my bleeding finger.

Feeling unnerved by her gaze, I quickly turned my head away.

What the hell? Why is she staring at me all of a sudden…?

The once-noisy shop quieted down upon her arrival.

Even a father and daughter, who had been trying to flee from Executor’s gang, stopped and observed the situation.

“Order. Take it.”

At last, her lips moved.

In awkward Korean, she spoke to me one word at a time.

“Ah… um… well…”

I glanced nervously at Executor, who was sitting beside me.

As if in response, he fiddled with the ring on his finger and replied on my behalf.

“That’s difficult. I’ve rented this shop for the day.”

“All of it?”

“Yes, so you’ll have to come back later…”

I didn’t hear what Executor said next.

Soon, I found out why.

It happened in an instant.

The woman drew a long sword from her waist.

And as soon as it was fully drawn, a red crack appeared on Executor’s neck.

Just like the glass he had dropped, Executor’s head fell to the floor.

Black blood sprayed across my face like a mist.

Executor’s head rolled to a stop only when it reached my feet.

The same Executor who had effortlessly dealt with the hunter group lost his life like that.

The abrupt death of an evil man left me with a strange feeling.

“M-Mr. Manager…!”

Executor’s staff, who had been sitting at the table, jumped to their feet.

Executor’s body remained seated in the chair.

The woman slowly pushed the chair over with her foot, letting it topple, and then sat down in it herself.

“Now. I’ll rent it.”

The staff gathered around her, clutching swords and daggers.

But they didn’t dare rush in.

They didn’t charge her for revenge like in the movies.

I couldn’t tell if it was because they weren’t as stupid as I thought or if their terror overwhelmed their anger.

Instead, they just cautiously retrieved Executor’s corpse while keeping an eye on her.

As if she had already dealt with the small fry, the woman leisurely rested her chin on her hand at the table.

And with murky gray eyes, she stared straight at me.

“What would you like, ma’am…?”

I asked her while barely managing to stand on my trembling legs.

The woman stared blankly at the display case.

“The tastiest thing. Here.”

Why do people here order like this?

Their tone was robotic, but their requests were frustratingly vague.

One guy said, “The usual,” and now this woman says, “The tastiest thing.”

I pretended to consider her request while racking my brain.

Judging by her appearance, she looked to be in her early to mid-20s.

Should I go for something sweet, the kind young women typically like?

But after that swordplay just now, she clearly didn’t fall within the range of a normal woman.

Her taste in alcohol might be awful.

“Don’t. Even. Think. Of running.”

Her face, which had been expressionless like a machine, suddenly broke into a smile.

If I’d seen that face in a normal situation, I would’ve been moved by her pure beauty.

But things changed when red bloodstains smeared under her eyes.

I might actually die here…

I barely nodded and turned my face away again.

Just as my head felt like it was about to explode from the chaos, Ji-wook signaled to me from the kitchen.

“Why are you calling me… I’m on the verge of losing it here…!”

Ji-wook’s pupils trembled.

His lips quivered far more than when he’d seen Executor.

“Let’s run away.”

“What?”

“That person is Anna…”

“Who is that?”

“She’s a contract killer. Killing is her hobby, and she only works temporarily. If someone rubs her the wrong way, she kills them—a total psycho.”

“Wouldn’t we be fine as long as we don’t upset her? If we serve her the drink she likes…”

Ji-wook cut me off and shook his head frantically.

“She asked for the ‘tastiest thing’ in the shop, right?”

“Yes. But how did you…”

“No shop where Anna says that has ever survived.”

Suddenly, the image of the dead Executor came to mind.

In the end, like the glass he dropped or his head, were we all doomed to die?

“Hurry and prepare.”

Ji-wook threw off his apron and began gathering his wallet and bag.

What should I do…

I glanced at the hall visible beyond the kitchen.

I saw the father and daughter customers trembling while holding hands.

The young girl, who had been enjoying her bread just moments ago, and the father, who had been watching her warmly.

Could I really run away, leaving them behind?

A wave of guilt hit me.

Just like when I ran away from someone I cared about back then.

My side, where I was once stabbed with a dagger, felt cold.

That pain had taught me that running away would only lead to death anyway.

And that pain now gave me a strange courage.

If I were going to die again, I’d at least like to face it properly this time.

“Senior, I’ll stay. I’ll serve her a drink that satisfies her.”

“What did you say?”

“Running away would just get us caught and killed anyway.”

“Still, it’s better than giving up, isn’t it?”

“Don’t worry. I have an idea. Isn’t it better to at least try?”

Ji-wook looked at me with a baffled expression.

I rolled up my sleeves in response.

“Thanks for the meal earlier.”

Ji-wook stared blankly at my back as I walked away.

“Now watch what the hands you saved can accomplish.”

Leaving those words behind, I strode toward the counter.

As soon as I stepped out, Anna’s face came into view.

Her cloudy gray eyes resembled my sister’s at the time of her death.

Thanks to that, I couldn’t tell what she was thinking at all.

But even with someone like her, I had a way to find out what was on her mind.

“Excuse me…”

Anna rubbed her finger across the bloodstained table and stared at me.

“Could you hold out your hand for me…?”

“For what?”

At my sudden request, both Executor’s staff and the father-daughter pair turned to look at me.

“Well…”

What should I do?

I had to touch her hand to glimpse her happiest memory.

Should I pretend to be a fan and ask for a handshake?

No, there’s no way a contract killer would have fans.

Think.

There has to be a reasonable excuse…

“Why?”

Anna leaned her face closer to mine.

I felt like I was being sucked into her murky eyes.

“I… I’ll read your palm!”

The words burst out of my mouth, breaking through my clogged throat.

Even I was so shocked at what I said that I started hiccupping.

Ji-wook, who was still in the kitchen, held his head and collapsed.

The other customers’ faces turned pale.

I’m doomed.

What a ridiculous thing to say.

Reading her palm, in this situation?

I’d been so desperate I’d blurted out the first thing that came to mind!

“Korean. Service. Is it something like that?”

But unexpectedly, Anna placed her hand on her lips and seemed lost in thought.

Then, as if she’d made up her mind, she slowly extended one hand toward me.

“Do it. I’m curious. Korean magic.”

“Uh… thank you.”

I stood there for a moment, dumbfounded as she willingly gave me her hand.

I didn’t expect her to give in so easily.

But this was just the first hurdle.

The real challenge started now.

I had to figure out what lay behind those murky eyes.

I hurriedly grabbed her hand.

Unlike her smooth backhand, her palm was rough and uneven.

Just like my sister’s hands, which had always been dedicated to swordsmanship.

How could two people who pursued strength turn out so differently?

「Angelic Hand」

Let’s take a look.

At the moment when she was happiest.

Even a lunatic killer like her must have a happy moment.