C3

The Villain Next Door

“Something about this…”

Gwanghyeon narrowed his eyes as he stared at the door.

There was something about that place that seemed familiar, as though he was on the verge of remembering something.

Hmm. What was it again?

He continued staring for a moment.

Then, right on cue, the door opened with a loud creak against the floor.

A man covered from head to toe in tattoos emerged from inside.

The man yawned widely, then slowly walked outside.

The moment Gwanghyeon saw his face, he immediately realized why he had been feeling so uneasy.

“Huh?”

Since Gwanghyeon had continued staring at him, the man naturally noticed his gaze.

Their eyes met.

The man immediately frowned deeply and spat to the side.

“…What? What are you staring at?”

Seeing the man speak so rudely, Gwanghyeon became even more certain.

He’s the same bastard I remember.

“Kim Changhyeop, right?”

At Gwanghyeon’s question, the man flinched and raised his eyes.

Then he lowered his voice threateningly and asked Gwanghyeon,

“You little shit. Who the hell are you?”

Back then, Gwanghyeon had thought of Kim Changhyeop simply as an intimidating neighbor.

Since Changhyeop didn’t seem like a particularly pleasant person, whenever Gwanghyeon happened to run into him on his way to work, he would always hurry away.

Sometimes, as Gwanghyeon escaped as though running away, he could even hear Changhyeop laughing behind him and muttering things like “idiot.”

But Gwanghyeon had never been able to say anything in response.

It’s best not to get involved with people like that.

That was all he would tell himself as he tried not to think about it at all.

But later, Gwanghyeon eventually learned Changhyeop’s true identity.

A wanted criminal who had committed murder, terrorism, and all sorts of other crimes.

Kim Changhyeop was a villain.

That bastard had been living right next door to us?

It was common for villains to commit crimes and then hide themselves in quiet neighborhoods.

Kim Changhyeop had moved here for exactly that reason, using the neighborhood as his hideout.

Gwanghyeon had only learned the truth later through the news of Changhyeop’s arrest, and at the time, all he could feel was gratitude that his children had remained safe.

But looking back now, that was hardly something to be grateful for.

He should have been ashamed that he had failed to recognize such a bastard and had allowed him to live right next to his children.

“Ha…”

Gwanghyeon’s expression gradually darkened.

Without even realizing it, anger toward Changhyeop began boiling inside him.

In fact, because of the incident in which his son, Seojun, had been killed by a villain before his regression, Gwanghyeon had developed a deep hatred for villains.

He had returned to a point long before that incident had occurred, but the memories themselves had not disappeared at all.

Step. Step.

Before beginning anything else, Gwanghyeon decided that he would deal with this bastard first.

…What the hell is wrong with this guy?

Kim Changhyeop was inexplicably intimidated by the atmosphere around Gwanghyeon.

Normally, he would have already thrown a punch.

Yet for some reason, he found himself unable to do so.

This was the same guy who would normally lower his tail and cower just from making eye contact with him.

But today, it felt as though he had suddenly become an entirely different person.

Wait. What am I worried about?

Changhyeop had been momentarily intimidated, but once he remembered something, his confidence quickly returned.

He was a Level 3 Threat villain.

Was it really possible for someone like him to be afraid of another person?

Besides, before using this poor neighborhood as his hideout, Changhyeop had conducted some background checks on the residents to see whether anyone living nearby might pose a threat to him.

Naturally, he had investigated the man standing in front of him as well.

As he searched through his memories, the information about him quickly came back.

Choi Gwanghyeon.

A low-ranking member of a small-to-medium-sized guild.

An E-rank Hunter.

Right. That’s it.

What the hell was I doing just now?

Having assessed the situation, Changhyeop quickly returned to his usual self.

Now that he thought about it, it was downright laughable that he had flinched just because an E-rank Hunter was trying to act intimidating.

His fundamental level was completely different from that of an E-rank.

Changhyeop himself was a D-rank Awakened.

And unlike this rookie Hunter, he was a villain who had been through countless dangerous situations.

How could some inexperienced Hunter possibly compare to him?

Changhyeop’s eyes returned to normal as he looked down at Gwanghyeon mockingly.

Standing with one leg crooked to the side, he asked in a threatening voice,

“You. Who are you? How do you know my name?”

Step. Step.

Gwanghyeon still didn’t answer.

Changhyeop couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

Is this guy actually sane?

Or has he just lost his mind?

Unable to tolerate it any longer, Changhyeop shouted angrily,

“You bastard! Answer me—!”

“Shut up.”

At that instant, Gwanghyeon’s hand clamped over Changhyeop’s mouth.

Changhyeop couldn’t react to the tremendous speed at all.

He belatedly tried to pull Gwanghyeon’s hand away, but he couldn’t.

W-What kind of grip strength is this?!

Changhyeop struggled with both arms, but the harder he resisted, the more tightly Gwanghyeon’s grip crushed his face.

Changhyeop’s personal trait was also physical enhancement.

When it came to raw strength, he was rarely outmatched even among villains.

Yet he had never experienced anything like this.

“If you wake the kids up, you’re dead.”

Changhyeop’s face turned bright red as he desperately tried to pry Gwanghyeon’s hand away.

But all his resistance was futile.

All he could produce were muffled noises.

Eventually, Changhyeop was dragged deep into the alley while Gwanghyeon continued gripping his face.

A short while later, sounds of violent impacts began echoing through the normally dead-silent neighborhood.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK…

That day, Changhyeop came to regret choosing such an isolated place as his hideout.

“He’s a villain.”

“…Excuse me?”

The police officers at the local precinct were extremely confused when Gwanghyeon suddenly appeared.

Naturally, they were bewildered.

After all, he had arrived dragging another man behind him with one hand, having beaten him into a bloody mess.

“…Um, are you turning yourself in?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“You said you’re a villain.”

At the officer’s question, Gwanghyeon tilted his head as though he had no idea what the man meant.

Then he threw Kim Changhyeop down in front of him and pointed at him.

“This guy is a villain, so I brought him in. Check him.”

“Excuse me? Ah… Yes!”

The officer hurriedly called over the sergeant and senior officers, and the precinct immediately descended into chaos.

“W-What happened? How did you turn a person into this?”

“Is this really okay?”

The police exchanged nervous glances, but Gwanghyeon answered without the slightest sign of embarrassment.

“He resisted pretty fiercely, so I had to use force to subdue him.”

The officers were left speechless.

For the moment, they simply followed Gwanghyeon’s request and ran a background check.

At first, it was difficult to identify the man because his face was so badly beaten.

But once Gwanghyeon gave them the name Kim Changhyeop, they were able to confirm his identity.

However, the police were stunned the moment the search results came back.

“S-Senior, this is…”

“A Level 3 Threat wanted villain?!”

The officers simultaneously looked down at the man sprawled across the floor.

Although he was covered in blood, there was no doubt.

It was indeed Kim Changhyeop.

“What are we supposed to do?”

“What do you mean, what do we do?! Hurry up and contact the Villain Special Response Team!”

They couldn’t even tell whether Changhyeop was unconscious or dead, but the police were forced to act quickly.

The people stationed at this precinct were ordinary police officers, not Awakened.

They had absolutely no means of restraining an Awakened villain.

Watching the officers panic, Gwanghyeon figured that leaving right now would only make things even more chaotic.

So he decided to stay for the time being.

“He won’t be able to move anyway. Take your time.”

The Villain Special Response Team of District 3 rushed out immediately after receiving the report about the appearance of a Level 3 Threat villain.

The team was composed entirely of Awakened.

Even at this early hour, they had to leap out of bed and respond whenever a report came in.

When it came to villains, ordinary police officers couldn’t easily subdue them regardless of how many officers were present.

Therefore, if they wanted to minimize casualties, they always had to move quickly.

Haah… We aren’t going to be too late, are we?

The Villain Special Response Team hurried to the scene and arrived at the precinct in less than thirty minutes.

They burst through the door and urgently shouted,

“Where is he?! Where’s the villain?!”

But moments later, they were left speechless.

“Oh, over there.”

A man was calmly pointing toward one side of the precinct.

And in the direction he was pointing, a villain was lying unconscious on the floor.

“…Huh?”

It didn’t take long for Ryu Seyoung, the team leader of the District 3 Villain Special Response Team, to hear the explanation from the precinct officers.

After understanding what had happened, Seyoung sighed and approached Gwanghyeon.

“May I ask your name?”

“Me? I’m Choi Gwanghyeon.”

“Mr. Gwanghyeon, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Ryu Seyoung, the team leader of the Villain Special Response Team in this district. I have a few questions to ask you. Would that be all right?”

The Villain Special Response Team, huh?

Good people doing good work.

Gwanghyeon looked at Seyoung for a moment before readily nodding.

“Sure. What is it?”

“First, were you the one who did that to the villain?”

At Seyoung’s question, Gwanghyeon glanced to the side.

The Villain Special Response Team members were holding special restraints in their hands, apparently unsure how they were supposed to restrain the beaten man.

“Yes, I was.”

Gwanghyeon answered so casually that Seyoung was momentarily taken aback.

Even if the man was a villain, Gwanghyeon had broken practically every bone in his body, yet he showed absolutely no concern.

Seyoung cleared his throat and continued.

“Well, the force you used to subdue him was… rather excessive, but you did well. Thank you very much for helping us apprehend a villain.”

“Haha, thank you. Since your team is here now, I can leave, right?”

Gwanghyeon smiled and slowly stood up.

He felt rather proud of himself for eliminating one villain from the world.

It seemed like he would be able to start the day in a good mood.

“Ah, wait a moment.”

But Seyoung stopped Gwanghyeon before he could leave.

He reached into his coat, took out a business card, and handed it to Gwanghyeon.

“Please send your name, resident registration number, and bank account number to this number.”

“Huh? Why do you need—”

“Why? Are you saying you don’t want to claim the bounty?”

A bounty.

At that word, Gwanghyeon flinched.

Wanted villains each had bounties placed on them.

Gwanghyeon had known this, but he had never paid much attention to it, so he had completely forgotten.

There was no reason to refuse money he was entitled to receive.

Gwanghyeon slowly nodded.

“Oh, right. I completely forgot. But I didn’t bring my phone with me.”

“In that case, just write the information down here. I’ll submit the payment request immediately.”

Gwanghyeon took Seyoung’s smartphone and quickly entered the requested information with a faint smile.

Then he handed the phone back.

Seyoung checked the information and sent a message somewhere.

“It’s been submitted. Thank you again for helping us capture the villain.”

After the incident was over, Gwanghyeon chuckled to himself.

A bounty? I’d completely forgotten about that.

He hadn’t expected it, but it was certainly a fortunate development.

Maybe I’ll get a few million won?

He decided that when the money came in, he would use half of it to pay down his debt and the other half for his children’s immediate living expenses.

Speaking of which, how absent-minded was I to leave the house without my smartphone?

Gwanghyeon hadn’t originally planned on going straight home, but he decided to stop by the apartment for a moment.

It was still morning, so the children were still asleep.

He carefully searched for his smartphone.

Come to think of it, I haven’t properly checked my phone even once since returning to the past.

Gwanghyeon chuckled softly and quietly left the house again.

Wondering if any messages had piled up, he immediately checked his phone.

“Huh?”

But when Gwanghyeon looked at the screen, his eyes widened at a notification.

[Police Agency Villain Special Response Team]

— Bounty payment completed.

— Payment amount: 100,000,000 won.