I Picked Up the Greatest Villain in the Story

55.

But I wasn’t affected at all. Mind control was an ability I originally possessed, and my mind was full of thoughts about how to utilize abilities like enchantment or blood manipulation.

I even thought it might look quite nice to tie Jian up with ropes made from my extracted blood, but Jian probably doesn’t have the ability to look into my mind.

“Can I ask… what kind of ability you got?”

The small voice that came out was extremely cautious. Does he think I won’t tell him?

I was about to tell him right away. But the fear crouching in Jian’s eyes made my opening lips hesitate.

“They say it’s S-rank and the main ability is telekinesis.”

I only told part of it, feeling a strange sensation holding me back. Telekinesis was the most ordinary among the abilities I had gained.

There were many hunters in South Korea with telekinesis as a skill. There just hadn’t been anyone with an S-rank hunter grade among them.

“…I see.”

Jian responded with difficulty, realizing that Sehun had lied to him. His tightly clenched fists were trembling slightly. He knew he should handle this calmly, but for a moment his mind went blank.

Why was he hiding it? Thanks to this, the anxiety he had barely suppressed began to creep out.

He already knew that Sehun would awaken as a hunter when he turned twenty. He had long suspected that he was Gong from the original story.

But when it actually became reality, the shock was bigger than expected. Sehun’s attitude of hiding his abilities from him with an indifferent face was a bit suffocating.

However, it was also difficult to press the boy about why he wasn’t telling the truth. Unless he had precognitive abilities, he wouldn’t have an answer to Sehun’s question of how he knew.

Suppressing his rising anxiety, Jian forced a smile. Then he gently stroked Sehun’s forehead, which was beaded with cold sweat.

“Is your headache feeling any better?”

“I want to lie down for a bit. Can you stay by my side until I fall asleep?”

“Of course.”

With an affectionate tone as if to soothe his anxiety, Jian took Sehun’s hand and stood up. When he tried to go to the small room, Sehun stopped and shook his head.

“I want to sleep in your room.”

Although the color had changed, the depth of emotion in the eyes looking at Jian was the same. How could he refuse the request to let him sleep in his room? It’s not like he was asking to leave home.

Jian pulled back the neatly spread blanket and laid Sehun on the bed. After watching his eyes blink slowly as if tired, he sat down on the floor beside the bed.

“Come up on the bed too, hyung.”

“I have to work the afternoon shift at the cafe. But I’ll stay by your side until you fall asleep. Are you not hungry? The rice noodles should be here soon.”

Even though it seemed past the expected delivery time, the front door remained quiet. Sehun shook his head and turned his body towards Jian.

“Pat my head.”

Perhaps due to the aftermath of awakening as a hunter, his heart was still beating fast. His temples throbbed occasionally.

His whole body felt limp, as if he had collapsed from exhaustion. It felt like he would fall asleep immediately if he closed his eyes.

Although he was a bit afraid of falling asleep, Sehun knew Jian wasn’t the type to leave for America while he had just awakened as a hunter.

Moreover, since he looked sick, Jian would probably postpone his scheduled trip.

Knowing this, he decided to sleep for just a little while. He could feel his body automatically entering a recovery phase, like when he had just escaped from the research facility. Back then, unable to find a safe place, he had climbed a mountain, dug a hole, and hid.

Unlike then, when he only smelled damp earth, now he was buried in bedding full of Jian’s scent.

“…Make sure to wake me up when you come back from work later.”

“Okay.”

Sleep came quickly with the gentle hand stroking his head. Soon after, the sound of even breathing could be heard. Jian let out a barely audible sigh.

The face sleeping so soundly looked exactly like when he was younger. Although it should feel stiff if it were dyed, the feeling of hair wrapping around his fingers was only soft, as if telling him it was his original hair.

It felt like drifting on a small boat in a vast ocean without any landmarks. This situation was even more overwhelming because he couldn’t discuss it with anyone.

Jian got up from his seat when his legs started to go numb. When he quietly opened the front door so as not to wake Sehun, he saw a plastic bag that seemed to have arrived a while ago.

It looked like they had just left it at the door. When he checked his phone, there was a message from long ago saying the delivery was completed.

Not feeling like eating, he just brought it inside and went down to the cafe. In fact, he didn’t have the mindset to work, but he deliberately kept himself busy, feeling that he would only have strange thoughts if he kept looking at Sehun’s face.

Even when it was time to close the cafe, there was no contact from Sehun. Was he still sleeping? Jian managed his expression while seeing off the last customer and cleaning up.

With Sehun awakening as an S-rank hunter, there would soon be a commotion. In the original story, he had lived quietly in hiding before appearing leading a group of villains, but now Sehun had become Jian’s family.

With Hyunwoo’s help, Jian had adopted Sehun. To register him as a brother on the family register, his parents would need to be alive, which was impossible, so he registered him as a son.

There was also a sense of urgency due to fears that Researcher Header, whose whereabouts were still unknown, might reach out to Sehun again.

Those who awakened as hunters had to register with the Hunter Management Bureau as soon as possible. Outstanding looks, a perfect SAT score, and now S-rank hunter abilities.

Although he planned to ask Hyunwoo to do his best to prevent rumors from spreading, once Hyunsu awakened too, South Korea would be in an uproar over the unprecedented simultaneous awakening of S-rank hunters. Given the nature of information, even Hyunwoo would have limits in containing it.

As he was closing the cafe door, a group of heavily drunk hunters passed by nearby.

“Heeey, shall we go for round three? Round three?”

“Of course we should…! The moon hasn’t even risen yet…!”

“Alright! I’ll treat for round three!”

They all looked bleary-eyed, wearing shabby combat uniforms as if they had just come from a dungeon raid. Hunters don’t usually get drunk easily. To be in that state, they must have been drinking alcohol specifically for awakened ones.

With three of them walking arm in arm in a zigzag, passersby coming from the front were shocked and had to dodge them.

Jian also stood pressed against the cafe door, waiting for them to pass. Even though they just passed by, the smell of alcohol was strong enough to sting his nose.

‘Maybe I should have a drink too…’

Come to think of it, he could count on one hand the number of times he had drunk alcohol while raising Sehun. Even then, it was just a glass or two of champagne or wine that Hyunwoo had brought occasionally to lift the mood.

Before possessing the novel’s character, when things got too tough, he would buy a pack of soju on his way home and squat on the street, sipping it.

At a time when most people were asleep, sitting alone pitifully looking at the sky while drinking would make his mind fuzzy and give him strength to go on another day.

Once the thought of alcohol came to mind, he desperately craved it. After briefly looking at the dark second-floor window, Jian turned his steps towards the convenience store.

* * *

Even after buying alcohol for awakened ones and returning, the house was quiet. Jian crossed the dark living room without turning on any lights and headed for the bedroom.

The blanket rising in a long mound was still and quiet. As he approached the bed, he saw messy hair sticking out above the blanket.

Even in the darkness, he could see a slight reddish tint, making him swallow hard. He must have been sleeping continuously since earlier, skipping lunch.

Jian grabbed Sehun’s shoulder and gently shook him awake.

“Sehun, you need to eat dinner.”

“…I’ll just sleep.”

A voice full of sleepiness flowed out from under the blanket. Normally, he could easily eat five packs of ramen, but now he was trying to skip two meals in a row.

Wondering if he was still sick, Jian checked his forehead temperature with the back of his hand, but it was only slightly warm.

It seemed he was experiencing severe fatigue from awakening as a hunter.

He had heard that some hunters end up in the hospital due to awakening fever. Jian hadn’t experienced it himself since he had possessed a body that was already awakened as a hunter.

“If anything hurts, make sure to call me. Okay?”

“Okay…”

Sehun responded while nuzzling his forehead against Jian’s hand. Then he fell back into a deep sleep, making quiet breathing sounds.

Left with no choice, Jian tiptoed out of the room. He left the door slightly open so he could hear if Sehun started groaning in pain.

He brought the plastic bag he had abandoned before going to work at the cafe and put it on the dining table. Although the noodles were a bit soggy since the broth was separate, it was still edible.

He set out a full meal of rice noodles, spring rolls, and fried food, and lined up the alcohol bottles.

Although shaped similarly to soju bottles, they were pitch black in color, looking more like poison than alcohol.

Wanting to get thoroughly drunk, he deliberately brought out a large glass and poured the alcohol generously. He first warmed his stomach with the hot broth and then drank a glass of alcohol.

“Whew…”

The alcohol, tasting very similar to soju, burned as it went down, making his stomach feel hot.