I Picked Up the Greatest Villain in the Story

51.

―Hyung, I’m a bit busy right now. I’ll call you back later.

“Oh…”

Before Jian could say anything more, the call abruptly ended. He stared blankly at the phone screen showing the brief call record.

Sehun used to always answer calls with an excited voice, calling him “Hyung.” But just now, he said only what was necessary and hung up without hesitation.

Moreover, if he wasn’t mistaken, he thought he heard someone else’s voice in the background.

“Manager?”

The shock was like being hit on the head with a hammer, and he didn’t even notice a customer had arrived. Jian bit his lip and put the phone in his apron pocket.

Forcing a smile, he looked at the customer standing in front of the counter. His hands moved smoothly, taking the order and entering it into the POS system, but his mind was still in chaos, as if a bomb had exploded.

* * *

Thud.

As soon as he heard the door, Jian stood up from the sofa. Sehun, who was taking off his shoes with a tired face, looked up in surprise.

Jian was suddenly right in front of him. His smiling face looked as precarious as someone standing on the edge of a cliff. Had something happened?

Come to think of it, his lips were full of wounds. As if he had been constantly chewing on them.

“…You’re home?”

“Hyung, what happened to your lips?”

Moreover, his voice was hoarse, which seemed odd. Sehun approached Jian and gently touched his swollen lips with his thumb.

“We need to put some medicine on this.”

“Ah, this is just… More importantly, can I ask where you went today? You said you’d call back after hanging up earlier, but there was no news… I was worried.”

Sehun’s eyes narrowed as Jian spoke, rolling his large eyes back and forth. He had been doing things lately that he normally wouldn’t do.

He thought Jian hadn’t been paying much attention when he casually asked about it recently. But seeing him today, it seemed he had been trying hard not to show it.

Suppressing the urge to smile, Sehun gently caressed Jian’s cheek. His pitch-black pupils were full of anxiety, making Sehun wonder why he hadn’t noticed it before.

Ah, he wanted to kiss him.

He always thought he was the one who was anxious in their relationship. It was a misconception. Jian had been fine because he had never acted in a way that made him feel anxious before.

Thinking about Jian being anxious all day thinking about him, Sehun felt heat rising to the back of his neck.

“It’s nothing special. I just wanted to spend some time alone.”

He gave a vague excuse since he couldn’t tell him yet, and Jian’s thick eyelashes trembled anxiously. Sehun’s gaze lingered for a long time on Jian’s slightly parted lips, which looked shocked.

He had been a bit worried, but seeing Jian in this state, he felt he didn’t need to worry. He was in the process of deducing who Jian might have kissed in the past, using Kim Soochul’s help.

As the new year was rapidly approaching, everything was moving according to a D-day schedule to be completed by then.

He was undertaking a major renovation of their home to make it comfortable for Jian. The interior designers’ memories would be erased once the work was done.

Even Kim Soochul wouldn’t know the location of their home. This way, Jian would truly be living in a place only Sehun knew about. Like in a cozy birdcage.

“Hyung, I’m a bit tired. Can I shower first?”

“Huh? Oh… sure.”

Although he wanted to embrace Jian right away and deeply inhale his comforting scent, he restrained himself. He had waited for nearly 10 years, so how could he not wait a few more days?

As he passed by Jian, Sehun smiled a smile that would make anyone’s heart flutter. The fruit he had been waiting for for so long was ripening nicely.

“…”

Jian blinked slowly at the faint sound of running water. Unconsciously, he clenched his fist and pressed it firmly against the center of his chest.

Even though he hadn’t eaten properly today, his stomach felt upset as if he had severe indigestion.

Or was it? Was he sick?

His thoughts were scattered like a messy puzzle due to Sehun’s cold attitude as he passed by.

The tightly closed door felt like a wall erected between him and Sehun, making the bridge of his nose sting. Jian clenched his trembling fist at Sehun’s increasingly serious deviations.

He thought if he waited, Sehun would come back. He tried to console himself, thinking it might be better to wait until Sehun spoke honestly, rather than scolding him and risking pushing him further away.

Needing time alone… He had never done this before.

Feeling hurt, he unconsciously bit his lip and then grimaced. A stinging pain spread across his lip. When he touched his lip, it felt wet.

Looking down at his fingertip tinged with a reddish hue, Jian let out a low sigh. He strongly felt that things couldn’t go on like this.

How could he have raised Sehun like this? Even though Sehun was about to become an adult, in Jian’s heart, he was still the little boy whose cheeks he wanted to pinch.

Having made his decision, Jian gritted his teeth. His eyes, fixed on the closed door, showed a firm resolve.

* * *

Swish―

Sehun abruptly stopped walking at the suspicious sound from behind. A group of students wearing nearby middle school uniforms passed by, whispering as they looked at Sehun.

Thanks to them, the presence following him faded away, but as soon as it became quiet again, it tickled his ears.

‘What should I do?’

Sehun entered a nearby convenience store, pretending to choose a drink while discreetly looking outside. There was nothing particularly strange, but Sehun had felt a presence following him since he left school.

Probably an ordinary person wouldn’t have even noticed. The tailing was that secretive and careful. It was only because Sehun had such a developed sense that he caught on.

He chose a coffee he usually enjoyed and took it to the counter. The part-time worker blushed as she saw Sehun, who exuded a cool aura despite wearing a school uniform.

“That’ll be 5,000 won.”

“Here you go.”

He took out a card from his wallet and handed it over. After finishing the transaction, the part-timer glanced at Sehun and gathered the courage to speak.

“Excuse me… Are you from Haneul High School?”

“Yes.”

“I graduated from there too. It’s really nice to meet you. You took the SAT this year, right?”

“Yes.”

He was used to people’s interest. After the kidnapping incident, Jian had kept him close for a while, but since starting high school, Sehun had encountered numerous people.

Even then, hunters dispatched from the dark net guild had protected Sehun’s surroundings for months. It was natural in a way that Sehun had become sensitive to the presence following him. He had also been highly cautious of his surroundings after being kidnapped.

He gestured to the nervous part-timer to give him back his card.

“Um, by the way…”

“Take care.”

Ignoring the part-timer who seemed to have more to say, Sehun left the convenience store. A disappointed sigh followed him, but he felt nothing.

Except for Jian, most people were no different from streetlamps to Sehun.

A cold wind brushed past his cheeks. With the weather getting colder day by day, everyone on the street was wearing padded jackets that came down to their knees.

‘I wonder if Hyung is dressed warmly while following me.’

Suddenly, he became concerned about what Jian was wearing. Given his susceptibility to cold, he probably dressed warmly on his own, but there was also a good chance he might have dressed lightly for the sake of tailing.

At first, he didn’t know. He didn’t know it was Jian following him. Thinking it was someone from the research institute, he deliberately led them to a secluded place before realizing. The familiar scent carried on the wind.

From then on, Sehun wandered around various places, acting like someone without a specific destination. He had a mountain of things to do, but he couldn’t take Jian to their nest.

About 30 minutes had passed. He felt the presence hesitating. The duration of Jian’s stealth skill had ended.

’30 minutes is too short.’

Feeling like they were on a secret date, Sehun deliberately headed to a nearby park with his coffee.

He sat on a bench and slowly drank his coffee. Until Jian’s skill cooldown time was over.

The cold wind froze his nose tip and cheeks, and his fingers became numb, but he didn’t mind. He thought he could even hear the sound of feet stamping.

After about an hour, he leisurely got up. Then he repeated the same actions. Worried that Jian might be cold, he deliberately entered a large shopping center and aimlessly looked around the stores.

Then he caught a glimpse of Jian’s reflection in a store window. His skill duration had ended again.

Fortunately, Jian was wearing a fur hat and a thick scarf. It seemed to be for the purpose of hiding his face, but it made him stand out more since he was wearing it indoors.

Suppressing the urge to laugh, Sehun entered a bookstore. It seemed he would have to be content with spending time with Jian like this today.