I Possessed The Villain In a Hunter Novel And It Fits Me Perfectly

Only after borrowing the car keys back from Do Yehyun and moving the car out did Im Haekyung get into the driver’s seat. After confirming that Im Haekyung had gotten into the car, I parked properly, then knocked on the bastard’s driver-side window.

When I grabbed the top edge of the lowered window and bent at the waist, I saw Im Haekyung slightly furrow their brows.

“Why are you getting off work so early?”

“It’s not getting off work. It’s an outside appointment.”

“Ah.”

Im Haekyung stared at me and asked,

“What did you talk about with Jiwon?”

“I was explaining. That there’s nothing going on between me and you, Guild Master. But your call came at such perfect timing that now we’re secretly dating.”

“You were planning to explain that? That’s really surprising.... Before explaining, you could just not create incidents like that.”

Well, was it my loss? I did not know how far the rumor that I was the Guild Master’s lover had spread, but at least nobody had picked a fight with me for suddenly transferring. The problem was that I could not tell whether that was because of individual character or because of the bullshit rumor.

“I suppose so.”

When I answered indifferently, Im Haekyung silently raised the window.

I hurriedly grabbed the rising window, and only then did Im Haekyung stop it. They stared at me and said,

“Did you apply for Gate entry this afternoon?”

“No.”

“The appraisal work went over to you too. Did you finish all of that?”

“About half?”

I had only just started, but the beginning was half the work anyway.

At that, Im Haekyung smiled faintly and lowered their voice.

“Go into a Gate if possible. Unless you want the unsavory rumor you created to affect me negatively too.”

“To be honest, it wasn’t entirely by choice that I didn’t get in. There was already the issue of there being a lot of applicants. If I tell Hunter Seok, I think he’ll draft me somewhere suitable, so I’ll tell him. Appraisal work, well, I finish it quickly.”

“Good.”

After answering briefly, Im Haekyung lowered the window again. They rested an arm on it, poked their head slightly out of the car window, and crooked a finger, meaning I should come a little closer.

When I obediently lowered my head a little, Im Haekyung continued.

“I thought about the restriction placed on your head, Jehyun. Whether I’d ever seen something like this before....”

“You’ve been thinking about that this whole time?”

I asked because I was genuinely curious, but the bastard lightly ignored the question.

“Naturally, I hadn’t.”

“.......”

“It’s a form where some memories are partially erased, and when you try to access them, they’re blocked from the mind at the same time as a physical reaction. I didn’t explain it properly then, but.... In other words, the form of the prohibition is clearly a type of mental suppression.”

Mental suppression? It was not a term an ordinary person would use, but considering Im Haekyung was classifying it clearly, was it something used among mental-type Awakened?

I scanned Im Haekyung’s Status Window.

The Skill the bastard used most often was unquestionably Mental Domination, but Im Haekyung had two other S-rank mental-type Skills in addition to that. The name of one of them was also Mental Suppression.

“What exactly is Mental Suppression?”

“Mm.”

At that, Im Haekyung slightly frowned and looked away as if thinking about something.

“Mm.... It’s hard to explain intuitively. Put simply, it means putting a barrier over the mind. The mind I’m talking about here goes beyond simple consciousness and includes memories or... emotions to some extent too. Usually emotions are secondary, you see? It covers those things with a screen.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“The mind is... ultimately something that belongs to the individual. It’s unique, and no matter how much I touch and manipulate it, I can’t completely delete or change it. I can make someone believe something, or block memories here and there to cause confusion. Suppression is similar. Since I can’t make it disappear completely, I sink it all the way to the bottom. So it can’t be consciously drawn out....”

Im Haekyung let the end of the sentence blur faintly, then added one example.

“When a major accident happens, people sometimes lose their memories, don’t they? That’s the unconscious suppressing the mind.”

“So, Guild Master, you’re the ‘major accident’?”

At my question, Im Haekyung’s gaze returned to me. Eyes strangely bright for the color of their hair narrowed, then curved as if imitating a smile.

“Wouldn’t I be?”

I met the bastard’s eyes, then twitched one eyebrow.

“So you’re a traffic accident that slams into the mind? I understand.”

“.......”

Im Haekyung ignored my words entirely and returned the conversation, which had briefly gone elsewhere, to its original track.

“Anyway, as far as I know, there’s no one who could produce this level of precision in mental suppression. Though, Jehyun... you likely can’t look into your own mind.”

What bothered me more than the last sentence was the sentence before it. There was no one who could produce this level of precision in that field.

'They’re certain....'

Strictly speaking, it was the realm of “god,” so it was true enough.

I briefly thought about the mechanism by which Im Haekyung’s head worked, then quickly quit and asked,

“What about you, Guild Master?”

“What about me?”

“You said there’s no one who could produce this level of precision in that field. Does that include you?”

At that, Im Haekyung quietly looked at me and raised the corner of their mouth.

“What do you think?”

Leaving the question behind, the bastard checked the time and said,

“I have to go now, so I’ll contact you separately.”

“Yes.”

Right. It would not do any good to have this kind of conversation in a public place anyway. I quickly accepted it and stepped back.

Im Haekyung started raising the window, then paused and stared at me again.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Don’t even think about making explanations. Jehyun, you should just... stay still.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Do I seem like I don’t?”

Why ask something so obvious? I answered without hesitation.

“Yes.”

“.......”

Im Haekyung glanced at me with a face that instantly turned cold, then raised the car window all the way.

I added more words toward the slowly rising window.

“I don’t think you have either a lover or friends.”

And as far as I knew, they actually had neither. Ah, of course, no family either. But the bastard did not even pretend to hear any of my words and drove off at once.

I watched the car pulling away into the distance and waved goodbye.

After returning to the building, I gave the car keys back to Do Yehyun, sat down, and headed toward Seok Jiwon, whose eyes were sparkling with weird expectation.

“Please assign me to any Gate that has room.”

“A Gate? Why all of a sudden?”

“I wonder.”

“Did the Guild Master, ah, no. That... you suddenly felt like going in, huh? Uh, okay. But what’s your main Skill?”

It seemed he had tried to ask if the Guild Master had ordered it, then barely stopped himself because he was conscious of the people around us. Though he had already said the subject, Guild Master, so I wondered what the point was.

Anyway, my main Skill. I had mostly been using freezing-type Skills, but in truth, that was not really “my” main Skill. After all, it was only copying the ability of a magical beast.

But separately from that, I answered obediently.

“Freezing-type.”

“Right. Your rank is... B?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.... Got it. I’ll try to put you in.”

Seok Jiwon nodded, then subtly looked around as if he wanted to ask something else. I roughly had an idea what he wanted to ask, so I turned away and returned to my seat as if I had not seen it.

'Well, I’ll probably get into one or two Gates around tomorrow.'

I turned my attention back to the appraisal work and thought nothing of it.

And exactly one hour later, a message from Seok Jiwon arrived.

Seok Jiwon

A Gate entry came up, so I put your name on the list.

Just as I was about to ask the exact time, another message from Seok Jiwon arrived in succession.

You can leave now!

“......?”

(Address link)

I arranged it so you can go with Hunter Do Yehyun.

If you need a car, get the keys and take the one in the basement.

I’ll send the Gate rank and special notes.

That was not what I meant by wanting to go this quickly.

I pretended not to see it and closed Seok Jiwon’s messenger window.

***

Two hours later, Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do.

'Sigh.'

The Dungeon assigned to Do Yehyun and me was a C-rank Dungeon in Pocheon. Its wavelength had not suddenly risen, and a Break had not occurred, so there was no reason for a request to come all the way to Haeseong.

Besides, if it was C-rank, even if it was not exactly a low-rank Dungeon, the Hunter Association or the Special Response Team should be able to clear it well enough.

However, this Dungeon had exceptionally sent a support request straight to Haeseong.

I recalled what Seok Jiwon had told me a little while ago.

‘The rank is nothing special, but apparently two people got caught in the Rift.’

‘Hunters?’

‘Civilians.’

I understood Seok Jiwon’s nuance instantly.

‘They don’t seem to be ordinary people?’

‘They are ordinary people. But both their parents are a bit....’

‘Ah-ha.’

I had no idea how powerful they had to be for all the minor procedures to get skipped and the request to land directly at Haeseong.

Seok Jiwon had sighed and added,

‘At first, the request apparently came to the Guild Master, but the team cut it off.’

‘Oh....’

‘You know too, Guild Master can be firm when necessary, but they’re a good person, so if it’s related to safety, they often end up accepting.’

‘......?’

What was that? I absolutely did not know anything like that.

Anyway, I ignored Seok Jiwon’s bullshit and eventually headed to the place where the Gate had appeared.

When I arrived, reporters and police were already spread all over the area.

“Hello. We’re support from Haeseong.”

“Ah! You’re, Hunter Seo...?”

“Yes.”

“I saw that you joined Haeseong.”

One police officer acted as if he knew me and quickly led us to the scene. I took Do Yehyun and approached the area near the Gate.

“You’ve probably heard the explanation, but the Gate rank is C. Judging by the wavelength alone, it’s a C-rank that’s almost closer to D-rank. In fact, they said if it had been a little lower, it could have been classified as D-rank. But now civilians have gotten caught in it... so it’s become a bit complicated.”

“What exactly is the situation, civilians getting caught in it?”

“Actually, this area had been classified as a Gate occurrence risk zone, so the area nearby was sealed off....”

The police officer glanced around, then lowered his voice.

“They were partying at a pension nearby, got drunk, and crossed the sealed line. Right then, the Rift opened, so... yes, the two of them ended up going straight inside the Dungeon. A report came in to the Special Response Team immediately, so we were preparing our own measures and trying to clear it, but....”

“Yes.”

In short, they got drunk and did something stupid. I had wondered why civilians had barged in there, but the reason was more ordinary than expected.

“The parents of the kids who went in this time contacted us and told us to contact Haeseong Guild immediately, so, well, there was nothing we could do....”

“Ah-ha.”

When I responded indifferently, the police officer nodded, then glanced around once more.

“Those kids’ parents are both very powerful. You know how rich-family children all play like that.”

“Yes, well. I’m sure there are plenty of bastards like that.”

“One is the son of Assemblyman Han Myeongseok, and the other is....”

As if telling me a secret, he dragged it out, then continued.

“The son of CEO Choi Museok. You know him, right? Seongmu Group....”

At the name I had not heard in a while, I paused briefly.

“What are the civilians’ names?”

“Their names? What were they.... Ah! Han Uigeon and Choi Yujun. Apparently both are influencers, or they do InXtagram or something.”

Every explanation the police officer gave after that went in one ear and out the other.

'I didn’t think I’d hear that name in a place like this.'

For reference, Choi Yujun had a connection to the original me too. Though, right now, he probably did not know about me.

Choi Yujun was originally my younger brother from the same father.

'Has it been a while since he stopped being my brother?'

Even if we shared blood on our father’s side, in the end, I had been removed from the family register again.

I checked my equipment one last time and turned my gaze toward Do Yehyun. Maybe he had gotten used to entering Dungeons by now, because he was just quietly looking at me with a face that did not seem particularly tense.

“Let’s go.”

Without hesitation, I led Do Yehyun into the Gate.