I Picked Up the Greatest Villain in the Story

48.

Instead of signing the contract, the man inserted several pristine checks into the clip and wrote the real estate agent’s name in the space for the contractor’s name.

Just as the real estate agent’s brow furrowed, thinking it might be a joke, the man’s long fingers tapped the checks.

The agent blinked at the amount, which was far more than the deposit, let alone the down payment, for the property the man had just viewed.

“You can’t possibly mean for me to contract it in my name…?”

Nod.

The man’s head moved up and down as if to confirm. The agent briefly looked at the sky, then at the amount written on the checks.

He should have known from the moment the man first opened the office door in his dark attire. It seemed like getting involved could lead to serious trouble, but the amount was the issue.

As it happened, he was on the verge of divorce after losing all his savings in a recent attempt at stock trading as a hobby.

This money could put out the immediate fire. He could even buy a handbag for his wife whose heart had turned cold.

“This really shouldn’t be done, but…”

Even as he said this, the agent busily filled in the blanks on the contract.

“You don’t need any change, right? The rest is all for my trouble.”

When he asked just in case, the man waved his hand as if annoyed. Ah, this seemed like a bad situation to get involved in. But it was too late to back out now.

The agent had no choice but to take out a key from his pocket and hand it to the man.

“You absolutely must not do anything that would bring the police. Understood?”

Sehun’s gaze turned cold as he looked at the chattering agent.

He had deliberately chosen someone who wouldn’t cause much trouble. Someone who would go crazy for an eye-popping amount of money.

If he just moved according to plan, why did he keep running his mouth? The agent instinctively sensed danger from the killing intent slowly emanating from Sehun and took a step back.

‘Is he a hunter?’

Come to think of it, the all-black attire was a style hunters often wore. The way he casually handed over an astronomical amount, and this chilling atmosphere…

Thinking he must be quite high-ranked, the agent rubbed his nape, which had become damp with cold sweat.

‘The nearby houses are all empty, so it should be fine.’

How could an ordinary person stop a hunter? If by any chance the man caused trouble and the police came looking for him, he could just say he was threatened.

Having made his quick judgment, the agent gathered the contract and money, bowed his head to the man, and quickly descended the steep slope.

Every time his short legs moved busily, the garbage piled up like fallen leaves on the ground rustled.

Sehun silently watched the man disappear. He had also placed a light suggestion, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

Creeeeak―

After the annoying distraction disappeared, he pushed open the rusty iron gate. The garden, which would have originally been full of lush grass, now had an eerie atmosphere with upturned soil.

It felt even more so because household items were strewn about like garbage, as if the previous occupants had moved in a hurry.

Standing in what used to be the garden, Sehun scanned the two-story house that looked like an abandoned building. Almost none of the windows were intact, and the front door was half-broken.

Neither the owner who put such a house on the market, nor the real estate agent who readily accepted it, was in their right mind.

Well, it suited Sehun fine to find a perfect hideout in a place with few people around.

He planned to leave the exterior as it was, but the inside being like this was problematic. Sehun walked in with heavy steps and tore off the door that was worse than not having one.

Fortunately, the inside of the house was in better condition than the outside. It was good that there was almost no furniture left. Even if there had been, it would all have to be thrown away due to the thick layer of dust.

He carefully inspected each room. Then he found a room with an attached bathroom. It was on the first floor and had several windows, but he thought those could all be blocked with plywood.

He imagined cleaning the dusty room thoroughly and bringing in furniture for Jian to use one by one.

Since he likes soft things, the bedding should definitely be fluffy. A king-size bed would be good.

Since he needs to attach chains, the headboard should be made of sturdy metal.

As he imagined placing each of Jian’s favorite things to ensure he wouldn’t be uncomfortable, his straight lips curved up into a smile.

* * *

“Shall we make dumplings together again this time? Rice cake soup with dumplings is the best for New Year’s, right?”

Jian asked in a bright voice as he neatly stacked the empty dishes, unaware of what Sehun was secretly planning.

“Yeah. Let’s put more meat in this time. And use kimchi that’s not too spicy.”

“Last year’s dumplings were really spicy…”

It was kimchi that Hyunwoo had recommended as delicious, but it was too spicy even for spicy food. Because of that, Jian had to shed tears like a sad person with every dumpling he ate.

Remembering that, Jian nodded at Sehun’s words.

“I’ll do the dishes, hyung. You rest on the sofa.”

“Let’s do it together. It’ll be quick if we both do it.”

They had just eaten three bowls each of the kimchi sujebi Jian had made earlier. There weren’t many dishes since they hadn’t taken out many side dishes.

Since he was young, Sehun had always followed Jian around, trying to help with anything. Jian smiled warmly at Sehun wearing rubber gloves as if dish-washing was his job.

After playfully patting Sehun’s bottom a couple of times with his palm, Jian stood next to him.

Sehun, who was lathering up the sponge, paused for a moment before washing each dish and handing it to Jian.

While Jian rinsed off the suds thoroughly, Sehun, having finished his part, took off the rubber gloves and brought a dry cloth to wipe the wet dishes until they squeaked.

“Shall we watch a movie together after a long time? I heard a good one came out.”

“I’ll make popcorn.”

Jian watched with a smile-filled face as Sehun took out instant popcorn from the cupboard. Soon, a savory smell filled the kitchen.

They poured the popcorn into a large bowl and went to the sofa. Then they turned on the large wall-mounted TV they had recently bought and sat side by side on the sofa.

Sehun clicked on the action movie Jian had wanted to see and placed the popcorn bowl between himself and Jian.

“It’s really delicious eating it after a long time.”

Jian, sitting cross-legged, grabbed a handful of popcorn and put it in his mouth. Sehun, who had been staring at Jian, followed suit and grabbed a handful of popcorn.

Seeing Sehun imitating him, Jian smiled so widely his eyes curved.

Although his heart was unsettled by the New Year approaching day by day, every time he saw Sehun’s cute behavior, he felt a groundless confidence that he could overcome anything that might happen.

The butter flavor spreading in his mouth made his mood even more buoyant.

Until the production company logo appeared and the movie officially started, Jian would put one piece of popcorn in his own mouth and then one in Sehun’s.

Each time, Sehun would eat it like a baby bird. Occasionally, when Jian’s thumb brushed against the inside of Sehun’s lips, it made his stomach feel strangely ticklish, but he attributed it to being ticklish.

The truly awkward situation arose when the movie reached its midpoint.

Smooch, smooch…

Jian’s eyes wandered aimlessly over the large screen at the obscene sounds coming from the speakers.

He was sure there hadn’t been an R rating, so why were the two main characters sucking on each other’s lips? And they weren’t even a man and a woman, but two male actors.

He had chosen the movie without much thought because it was ranked number one in today’s Top 10 movies.

Seeing two handsome male actors glaring at each other over a scene of two cars colliding, he had thought it was an action movie.

It certainly had been until the middle. The movie was about two A-rank hunters from competing guilds who constantly clashed before getting involved with a large criminal organization and tracking down a mysterious murder case.

The two who had been rivals began to gradually join forces when they realized the enemy was stronger than expected. Their abilities complemented each other well, and there were even a few scenes where they saved each other’s lives during battle.

There were moments when they stared intensely into each other’s eyes, but Jian had thought it was simply a bromance-style direction.

“Why is the content like this… Hahaha…”

Although he had watched many movies with Sehun before, this was the first time he had seen such an explicit kiss scene.

The back of his neck instantly became damp with cold sweat. His vision darkened at the scene that seemed to end but didn’t.

Feeling awkward, he tried to speak to Sehun, but Sehun was just watching the screen without any particular reaction.

Jian had thought of turning it off immediately if Sehun also found it strange. Seeing him more focused than expected, Jian just swallowed hard.

“Hyung…”

Sehun, who had been blinking slowly, turned his head slightly. The light from the screen danced across his face as their eyes met up close.

“Have you ever kissed?”

“Huh…?”

What did he just hear? With the sound of tongues and saliva mixing in the background, Jian was struck with shock as if hit on the back of the head with a hammer by the casual tone, as if asking if he had eaten.