36 – My Own Villain (8)
As the clock struck the hour, the students entered the underground training facility following the designated gate. The midterm exams had begun.
Meanwhile, I visited the control room with Kim Dong-hak. As planned, I monitored the scene through CCTV to ensure that there were no significant incidents.
“Oh, Officer. Can you please take a look at CCTV number 16 over there?”
He pointed to one of the numerous CCTV screens installed in the control room. In the video, two students were seen fighting.
“They’re hitting and fighting each other.”
“Leave them alone. It’s part of the exam.”
This exam was, after all, a treasure hunt. If the students found the hidden brooch within the mock dungeon, they would pass the exam. There was no need for them to fight and exhaust themselves.
“Stealing someone else’s brooch is also considered a pass.”
“Ah.”
Even stealing someone else’s brooch would still count as passing the exam. So fighting was inevitable. It seems the students in this class enjoyed picking fights with each other.
“Now that the exam has started, how about taking off that cumbersome neck brace?”
“Yes.”
Clang!
I untied the tight neck brace that had been securely fastened. Of course, I was not wearing it due to any pain in my neck. It was just for show, similar to a wheelchair, for a moment.
By the way, I borrowed this neck brace from Choi Min-soo. Hospital connections are truly invaluable at times like this.
“Officer.”
“What is it?”
“What happens if we can’t find the brooch in three hours?”
I was curious. Would it result in immediate failure in the exam, or would there be some points awarded for submitting the results, even if late?
“You’ll be considered retired. It’ll be marked as a zero for the midterm exam.”
“Tsk.”
He was truly an uncompromising authoritarian. I thought it was a good decision to bring the wheelchair along.
“Wow. Your skills are still impressive.”
On the other hand, Kim Dong-hak widened his eyes in admiration. I wondered what was so fascinating, but he was actually watching the CCTV footage of Arna’s appearance.
In the video, Arna was defeating monsters on her own, without any help.
“But that doesn’t necessarily lead to passing.”
It was as Kim Dong-hak said. Catching specters and passing exams were entirely separate issues. No matter how many specters one caught, if the brooch wasn’t found, you’d end up with a score of zero.
Someday, Arna would have to find that brooch.
But for now…
─── Quest ───
: Only one villain
: Prove to Arna that you are the only villain.
* Time remaining until quest start: 01:14:00
───
What on earth was this quest? Time was passing without specifying a concrete goal. This was a first in such cases.
I don’t understand what I’m supposed to prove. This quest just appeared out of nowhere as soon as I arrived here.
I’ll wait until it starts and see…
“Hmm?”
At that moment, Kim Dong-hak smirked. Following his gaze, I turned my eyes as well. It was a CCTV installed in the corner.
“An injured person? That student is definitely Baek Ju-hee.”
The video was showing Baek Ju-hee. Baek Ju-hee was sitting on the floor, writhing her ankle. It seemed she had twisted it during the exam.
“What should we do? Should we go rescue her now?”
“Wait.”
Kim Dong-hak reached out, signaling to observe the situation.
Soon, a female student who had just defeated a specter entered the room. It was Arna. Arna noticed the sitting Baek Ju-hee and jumped in surprise.
“Indeed….”
Kim Dong-hak focused on the CCTV silently. He was observing Arna’s next actions.
For Arna, Baek Ju-hee was just a simple competitor. Ignoring her and passing by wouldn’t matter much.
“Oh.”
However, Arna ran towards Baek Ju-hee without hesitation. Judging by the shape of his mouth, he seemed to be asking if she was okay.
Later, Arna extended his shoulder to support Baek Ju-hee. They chose to proceed with the exam together.
“Indeed, he’s a hero. He doesn’t hesitate to help when needed.”
Feeling somewhat disappointed with the too obvious outcome, Kim Dong-hak sighed quietly.
However…
“…!”
“…!”
Arna reached out menacingly, but Baek Ju-hee struck her in the back of the head. Something had been jabbed into Arna’s shoulder; it seemed to be a syringe.
Arna immediately lost strength and collapsed to the floor. She tried to reach out, but couldn’t touch Baek Ju-hee.
Baek Ju-hee stood still, looking down at Arna with a smile that lacked kindness.
Incidentally, the ankle that had been injured seemed perfectly fine.
“hehehehe, Baek Ju-hee is quite something. To think that was all a trap.”
“Shouldn’t you have stopped that? Whatever happens….”
“No. The exam continues. It wasn’t an action that would cause harm to life.”
From Noble mtl dot com
Kim Dong-hak did not stop the exam. He considered it just another combat situation. If it became more dangerous, he would intervene then.
“….”
But for some reason, the thought that leaving it like this was unacceptable crossed my mind. I didn’t want to see Arna suffer like this, especially since there was only one person in this school who could torment her—me.
One villain was enough for me. I didn’t need anyone else.
I had a feeling it was my turn to step forward.
“Instructor.”
“Speak.”
Kim Dong-hak still had his gaze fixed on the CCTV.
I asked Kim Dong-hak, “Can I still enter the exam room?”
“What…?”
Kim Dong-hak quickly turned away from the CCTV and looked at me, his ears perked up.
“Are you saying you want to take the exam now?”
“Yes. It’s a bit late, but I also want to take the midterm.”
“With that body?”
I stood up from the wheelchair as if to prove a point. In fact, my back had already fully recovered. I could easily handle light exercise.
“Heh, was the act earlier all just a performance?”
“You knew it all along, didn’t you? That it was all an act.”
“Now you’re not even making excuses. You kept such an interesting student.”
Kim Dong-hak’s expression was filled with some kind of amusement. It seemed like he was hoping for a major incident from me.
“I won’t give you more time. As much as you’ve participated midway, bear the consequences.”
The remaining time is about an hour and a half. Honestly, the exam score didn’t matter at all. If I get a score of 0, I can just apply for re-enrollment later.
What’s important to me right now is not the exam score but Arna.
I quickly headed to the underground training ground.
***
“Oh my. It worked right away. I was surprised too.”
At the same time, Bae Joo-hee looked at the syringe in her hand. It was a self-injector similar to epinephrine, a product that anyone could easily use.
I never imagined such a thing would be available on the market…
“As expected, big companies are different, huh?”
“Ugh….”
Meanwhile, Arna struggled to get up from the floor. However, due to the effects of the medicine, she couldn’t muster any strength.
“Why… would you do this…?”
Arna couldn’t understand. Why did Bae Joo-hee attack her?
If it was to snatch the brooch, she could understand. However, Arna didn’t have the brooch.
Moreover, Bae Joo-hee’s motive didn’t seem to be the brooch in the first place. There was no sign of her trying to find the brooch.
“Just understand this once. My client really wants Arna to fail.”
“Client…?”
Wasn’t this a solo act by Bae Joo-hee? Who else would do such a thing? Could it be Kang Tae-hoon?
“Don’t try to dig too deep. Since it’s come to this, why don’t you take a break too?”
“Oh, no….”
They couldn’t afford to let time pass like this. If Arna failed the exam, her top-ranking position could be in jeopardy.
Arna tried to get up again.
“It’s useless. Just relax. Why are you putting in so much effort? What’s so special about being a top scorer?”
“I… because I’m a hero… heroes always… ugh…!”
Thud!
Just as she managed to lift her knees off the floor, Arna’s body collapsed again. In the end, was she supposed to just endure this?
“Don’t worry too much. I added a sleep-inducing effect to the medicine.”
Indeed, as time passed, her eyelids began to feel heavy. Her head became foggy, and a yawn crept in.
“After a nap, you’ll feel refreshed. Of course, you’ll fail the exam, though.”
Ohoho!
Bae Joo-hee began to laugh mockingly. Despite facing such mockery, Arna couldn’t resist. All she could do was remain glued to the floor.
It was too careless. I should have been suspicious from the beginning. Seeing that someone was injured, I unknowingly rushed forward, just like Arna.
To fall into such a trivial trap. Disqualified as a hero. Heroes are supposed to be perfect in everything.
“Arna, you’re too kind, and that kindness has actually tripped you up.”
“….”
“Well then, I’ll go check it out. It would be nice if the prince on a white horse came to rescue you just like in a dream.”
Baek Ju-hee whispered softly as if soothing a baby. After that, she turned her back and tried to leave the room.
“Who brought a mop to the test room? The smell of a mop even reaches this corridor.”
“….”
That’s when it happened. A man’s voice came from afar. Soon, the owner of the voice appeared in this room.
“Why does it smell like a mop? It’s you again, Baek Ju-hee.”
“Shin Yoon-sung, you…”
Baek Ju-hee was surprised. People had come all the way to this remote place. And it had to be Shin Yoon-sung. Memories from the last training session began to slowly resurface.
Thud, thud.
Shin Yoon-sung walked past Baek Ju-hee and headed toward Arna. He wanted to check Arna’s condition.
“You little troublemaker. Are you okay?”
“You…”
Arna was equally surprised. She had heard that he withdrew from the test because of his back. Shin Yoon-sung had confidently appeared in this place.
Why here?
“I came to rescue you.”
“Why…”
There was no reason for him to do that. In fact, she had never thought that he would be the one to do something like this to help Arna instead of causing her trouble.
It only raised more questions.
“Do you remember the last training session?”
“The training session…?”
“Yeah. I came to repay that debt.”
The last training session, exactly on the fourth day of training. Arna had come to rescue Shin Yoon-sung, who was in danger that day.
Shin Yoon-sung hadn’t forgotten that day and had come to repay the favor. He had come to rescue Arna just as she had done for him.
“Leave it to me here.”
With those final words, Shin Yoon-sung turned away from Arna.
Arna smiled smugly towards his large back.
“hehehehe… Wearing hospital clothes… Saying such things… It’s not cool at all…”
His eyes began to close. He was reaching his limit. If things continued like this, he would fall asleep. No more tests could be conducted.
But it’s okay. From here on, Shin Yoon-seong will take care of it.
Arna believed in him. He believed that Shin Yoon-seong would protect him.
“Then… I’ll leave it to you…”
It was truly the first time Arna depended on a villain. To rely on a villain in his lifetime was something he never thought would happen.
He was always being difficult, torturous, and even constantly engaging in s*xual harassment. But still.
To Arna, Shin Yoon-seong was the only one.
The one and only villain in this world.