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

“No.”

“Then what was it?”

This bastard was trying to turn everything into some weird kind of reward.

“Doesn’t seem like you did anything worth praising?”

“Then what was it?”

“It means stop being so curious.”

“.......”

I glanced sideways at Do Yehyun, who blinked blankly, then added shortly,

“I’m kidding. So can we get moving now? At this rate, we’ll arrive tomorrow.”

I did not think I had said anything particularly pleasant, yet the tips of Do Yehyun’s ears and his cheeks had both turned bright red. Once again a beat late, Do Yehyun nodded and started pulling the car out before abruptly stopping with a screech.

“Sorry.”

'Should I really be letting him drive?'

Watching the first-day driver operate the car in a way that looked perfect for getting both of us killed, I casually turned my gaze out the window.

***

After that, on the way back to the Haeseong building, Do Yehyun encountered a total of seventeen near-accidents. Nevertheless, he eventually succeeded in parking without causing a single actual collision.

Filled with admiration, I praised him.

“Good job. If you die about three times, I think you could even make it into F1.”

“.......”

At least it was fortunate I had gotten him a good car. Combined with the huge beginner-driver sticker slapped onto the back, the nearby roads had practically emptied out, so there was no risk of us missing a lane change and getting shipped off to another region.

Despite having no work left himself, Do Yehyun got out of the car and followed after me anyway.

“You still have appraisal work left?”

“I’ve got some things to finish. Want to head home first?”

“I’ll wait.”

“Wait at home. I have somewhere else to stop by after work.”

“Somewhere else?”

“I’ve got something to discuss with the Haeseong Guild Master.”

Though I did not know whether the contact Im Haekyung mentioned meant today specifically.

'Still, I want to see them as soon as possible if possible.'

After experiencing something that interesting, I suddenly wanted to tear my own mind apart and personally see whether there was anything meaningful hidden there. What exactly were those deleted memories that they clung to me like this over? At this point, I was almost looking forward to it.

How important could they possibly be for not only my memories, but the memories of everyone who knew me, to be erased altogether?

At my words, Do Yehyun obediently nodded.

“Then I’ll go home and wait.”

“You can drive back alone?”

“I’ll try. If I get better at driving, it’ll make things easier for you....”

Admirable. Though realistically, it would take a considerable amount of time and effort before his driving actually improved.

Still, his driving earlier that morning had not been terrible. If I kept making him do it consistently, eventually he would probably get better.

After confirming that Do Yehyun had gotten back into the driver’s seat, I said goodbye.

“Don’t get into an accident.”

“Yes.”

“Alright. Get home safe.”

“Today....”

I thought he was just going to leave, but Do Yehyun suddenly trailed off.

I quietly waited for him to continue, and after fidgeting slightly with the hands gripping the steering wheel, he spoke.

“I liked learning more about you today.”

“Really? I thought I’d already told you a lot about me.”

“But I’m still curious....”

What was he so curious about?

Since I already knew a fair amount about Do Yehyun’s circumstances and inner thoughts, I could not really understand it.

No, actually, sometimes I did become curious about him too. Though rather than being curious about his past or present, it was more that I wanted to know how he would act in the future.

Preferably in a predictable and safe way.

Though occasionally...... not necessarily.

I quietly looked at Do Yehyun and smiled.

“See you at home, Yehyun.”

***

Around the time I finished my overtime work at Haeseong Guild, my phone rang.

I lowered my gaze just enough to check the caller.

[Im Haekyung]

Instead of checking the message, I immediately connected the call.

—Mm, I sent you a text though.

“Where are you?”

—Judging by that question, I guess you haven’t checked the text either....

Im Haekyung laughed quietly, then answered without sounding particularly displeased.

—I’m in my office. I had some things pile up outside, so I came back to deal with them. You’re surprisingly diligent, aren’t you?

“I’m always diligent.”

—Only doing things you want to do isn’t diligence. That’s just someone enjoying a hobby.

Ignoring Im Haekyung’s pointless comment, I belatedly checked the message they had sent.

I’m in my office right now If the mental manipulation thing is bothering you we can finish it today too I should be free until tomorrow

—Jehyun?

“Ah, I was checking the message.”

—You’re only checking it now?

“Sounds good. Can I come now?”

I cut off everything they were saying and threw out only the important part.

Im Haekyung fell silent briefly before readily answering.

—Come down to the underground parking lot. We’ll head out immediately.

***

When I went down to the parking garage, I spotted Im Haekyung’s car sitting among the empty spaces. I walked over to the driver’s side, confirmed nobody was inside yet, then leaned against the car using my phone while I waited.

“Jehyun.”

“Yes.”

A little while later, Im Haekyung came down looking slightly more polished than usual.

“Looks like you were on broadcast today.”

“That’s part of my duties too.”

As Im Haekyung said, they did appear here and there fairly often. Though realistically, it was usually just news panels or interviews.

“It suits you.”

“Does it....”

As I climbed into the passenger seat, Chase’s words suddenly came to mind, so I passed them along.

“When we went to Australia for support this time, one Hunter was talking about you, Guild Master.”

“Talking about me?”

Apparently caught off guard by the sudden topic, Im Haekyung raised one eyebrow slightly while smoothly pulling the car out. I glanced sideways at their profile and continued.

“He said he wanted to try fighting you once. Said it was fascinating that a weak-ass mental-type managed to become S-rank.”

“Ah....”

“There was praise too. Said you had a pretty face.”

“That’s not praise. That’s harassment.”

Correcting me like the idea was absurd, Im Haekyung tapped their fingers lightly against the steering wheel.

“So what did you say, Jehyun?”

What kind of question was that?

I casually answered with the truth.

“Obviously, I didn’t say anything.”

“.......”

At that, the hand gripping the steering wheel tightened visibly. Im Haekyung let out a short humorless laugh before asking in a drier voice than before,

“Who said it?”

“Are you the type to get provoked by this kind of thing?”

“No. I was just curious.”

“Chase Holt.”

“Ah.”

Leaving only that brief response, Im Haekyung pressed down on the accelerator as the light changed and added,

“That’s unfortunate.”

Did they mean it was unfortunate Chase died? Or unfortunate that he died first, before they could personally deal with him?

Either way, the second interpretation sounded more entertaining, so instead of asking again, I decided to think whatever I wanted.

***

By now, Im Haekyung’s house was starting to look familiar.

Without even pretending to hide the password, they casually entered it and went inside, and I followed after them.

“Nothing changes in this house no matter how many times I come here.”

“Do you change houses every time you move, Jehyun?”

Actually, I had changed houses recently. I moved completely and even bought new furniture.

'And there were some changes in household members too.'

After gesturing for me to sit on the sofa, Im Haekyung disappeared alone into a room and did not come back out for quite a while. Just as I started wondering whether they had abandoned me to do their own work and began standing up, the door opened again.

At first glance, Im Haekyung looked almost unchanged from earlier, but they came out wearing gloves on both hands and carrying something. The gloves looked ordinary at a glance, almost like leather, but in reality they were not.

'An item.'

There was no need to open the Status Window. I already knew them.

One of Im Haekyung’s personal possessions: reinforcement gloves.

Im Haekyung was a mental-type Hunter so strong that judging their personal combat stats was practically meaningless, yet they were also someone perpetually dissatisfied with their own abilities. Naturally so. In spaces without living beings possessing “minds,” they became extremely powerless.

Though even “extremely powerless” was not entirely accurate. They were still S-rank, after all. Their physical durability and overall strength remained incomparable to ordinary civilians or low-rank Hunters.

But unlike the familiar gloves, the thing in Im Haekyung’s hand was definitely unfamiliar.

Silently, I opened the Status Window.

Mana Suppression Device (A)

A tool that suppresses mana while worn.

While equipped, mana usage, including Skill activation, becomes nearly impossible.

A Mana Suppression Device...... why?

Despite the name sounding like something common, the item was actually nearly impossible to process, meaning most Hunters could never even obtain one. Yet Im Haekyung casually held it like a prop before finally approaching me and dropping it onto the sofa.

“What’s this?”

“A Mana Suppression Device.”

Giving the obvious answer, Im Haekyung leaned an elbow against the back of the sofa and looked down at me.

I picked the suppression device back up from where they had tossed it and turned my gaze back toward them. The moment our eyes met, they opened their mouth as though they had been waiting.

“Your mind is surprisingly soft, Jehyun. It’s a mess, and heavily suppressed from every direction. Incomplete. And if I touch it, I have no idea what kind of side effects might appear. Your mind is also voluntarily blocking outside access.”

“.......”

“Do you understand what I’m saying? Even I don’t know what side effects could happen if I dig into your mind. If you’re stimulated, you might turn aggressive, or you might cough up blood again like last time.... And your very existence is too much of a risk for me to handle every possible variable.”

The corners of Im Haekyung’s lips lifted into a smile as they gently took the suppression device from my hand.

“Give me your hand.”

Without hiding my displeasure, I held out one hand. Im Haekyung crooked their fingers, asking for the other as well. Calmly, they fastened the suppression device around both wrists at once and continued explaining.

“So this is the minimum safety measure to prevent you from hurting me while using Skills.”

“You just sound like someone into BDSM.”

“Ha....”

Letting out a sigh at my brief review, Im Haekyung frowned at me.

“I’m cooperating here too. You should cooperate a little as well.”

“But you’re S-rank, Guild Master. It’s not like I could really threaten you.”

I genuinely wondered.

No matter how unpredictable I might be, I was still two whole ranks below them. Did they really need to prepare this thoroughly, even using a Mana Suppression Device?

Unexpectedly, they answered easily.

“I’ll be using Mental Domination and suppression simultaneously, and it requires a great deal of concentration. Meaning if a variable appears, immediate response becomes difficult.”

“Ah.”

“And as you can see, the form is basically handcuffs... which helps in other ways too. You’re quite strong, Jehyun. Far stronger than your rank suggests.”

“Even if you got hit a few times, with an S-rank body it wouldn’t matter, would it?”

At my words, Im Haekyung narrowed their eyes slightly as though not particularly pleased, then instantly smoothed the expression away and abruptly tugged on the suppression restraints.

“Well, nothing serious would probably happen....”

Pausing briefly, Im Haekyung slowly crooked the corner of their mouth.

“But I have very low pain tolerance.”

“.......”

“Does that explain it now?”