Villain Eaten By The Hero - Chapter 93

93

After Belze returned to her organization, the previously quiet news started buzzing about Seo’s disciplinary situation.

[Hero Ravi temporarily suspended. It has been decided to assign unpaid special missions as punishment, and the type of mission will be finalized within a month.].

It wasn’t a severe punishment. Compared to being fired and ending up in prison or serving a sentence, a special mission wouldn’t be that difficult. If it was Seo, he would handle it well.

Belze decided to pay Seo a visit, to tease him a bit, but also to comfort him. Since it was probably already time for him to finish work, she figured it would be a good time to pick up snacks too before going to his place. He might be feeling bad about her leaving, so the sooner she went, the better.

Having applied the perfume Hyena recommended and wearing the underwear he had given her as a gift, Belze felt it was appropriate. With an egg tart set in hand, it seemed perfect to surprise him. Even if he got upset and complained about why she came without notice, he would still tell her not to go and drag her inside the house.

The only thing that stops her in her confident tracks is when she punches in the code at the front door. Seo’s home required entering a password at the entrance. She tried the one she’d used during her stay with him, but the door didn’t open.

She was momentarily surprised, but then she realized it could happen. Since they no longer lived together, it was only natural for him to change the password.

“Ah, it’s cold. Hurry back home.”

Yeah. It’s only natural.

Belze thought as she leaned against the entrance, optimistically anticipating Seo’s return since all the lights in the house were off.

But Seo didn’t return anytime soon. He didn’t come home even after Belze had crouched on the floor, her legs aching, passersby giving her a suspicious glance, and then, hungry, she ate the egg tart she’d bought as a gift. He didn’t return home even after midnight passed and she dozed off.

Nor the next day.

And the day after that.

*.

The milk tea and cheesecake, chocolate cake and cookie set she’d brought for Seo had all gone into Belze’s stomach.

She initially thought Seo might be on an overnight stay or a two-day business trip, but as it reached the third day, something seemed off. There were no pictures of him in the media for three days, and he still hadn’t returned home.

Even though he might be on a special mission like the time he went on a cruise, the lack of information made Belze uneasy. Unable to contact him, Belze could only sit crouched near the shadow of his front door. She had been driven away from more visible locations due to suspicions of stalking.

Honestly, the suspicions were understandable, so Belze tried to stay inconspicuous to avoid causing worry among the residents. After passing many nondescript faces, a large van pulled up and a man who could be seen from 100 meters away got out. It was a result achieved after three days.

Shouting “Kim Seo!” and about to run towards him, Belze’s steps halted because of his companions. Two well-dressed young women stepped out of the van with Seo. 

The fact that there were two instead of one usually wouldn’t be suspicious, but her emotions were not as sophisticated. The mere sight of a decent woman his own age standing beside him stirred an uncomfortable feeling in her.

It was ironic. Belze, who once thought it was pathetic to be jealous over trivial things in a relationship, was now paying the price for her past remarks. Unable to run to him, Belze could only hide and watch.

For the thirty minutes it took the three of them to get to the front door and back down again, Belze’s mind was in a constant state of irritation. Luckily, it was only thirty minutes; if it had gone over fifty, she didn’t know what she might have done.

“You don’t need to pack anything else, do you?”

“No, I’ll throw this away.”

The three of them stepped out onto the porch, each carrying large loads. The two women had reasonably heavy plastic boxes, and Seo had a small cardboard box.

The two women quickly loaded the items into the van, and among them, one of them stretched her neck and asked Seo, 

“What kind of book is that? Are you throwing it away?”

“It’s something I don’t need anymore.”

Setting the box down among the piles of waste paper, Seo turned back toward the van. Belze hoped the two women would now get in the van and drive away, but her hopes were popped like a balloon pricked by a needle.

“Then, I’ll list this house on the real estate market. If I find a good deal, I’ll let you know right away. Good houses go quickly, you know.”

“At the end of the month, we’ll get rid of the bed and sofa, and the rest of the furniture will be auctioned for charity. I might need another photo later. Is that okay with you?”

The two women said these words, and Seo nodded, then boarded the van and disappeared with them.

Being with someone else meant she couldn’t talk to him or interfere. Even if she had been hiding and watching, it was just a moment of abandonment.

But what mattered now wasn’t that. If Belze had heard correctly, Seo was planning to move.

“He didn’t even say anything.”

In retrospect, Belze didn’t need Seo to tell her, but it felt strange. It was undoubtedly his house, and even if she had become attached to it, it felt like Seo was leaving her alone.

No, he could sell the house, but then where was he staying now? 

It was strange that he’d been gone for three days, that he’d suddenly put the house up for sale, and that he’d left to go somewhere else. Belze walked slowly and tore open the discarded papers and box that Seo didn’t need anymore.

It wasn’t out of curiosity. She merely touched the box of waste paper because it was the last thing Seo had touched.

Since it was waste paper, it must have been an old book or newspaper, but her hand went there without thinking. Belze’s hand naturally tore open the box, confirming what was “no longer needed.”

“…….”

Inside were the scrapbook and fan fiction about Belze that he had secretly stashed away in the safe.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

She had seen the writings where she was treated poorly, faced various criticisms, and even seen photos being vandalized right before her eyes. It had always been expected.

Seo had treated it almost as if it were no big deal now, but when she saw the items related to herself that he had carefully hidden being discarded, a sudden sense of loneliness overwhelmed her, her heart sank. It hadn’t even been torn, just discarded neatly.

Wrinkling her nose to keep from crying, Belze rummaged through the box a bit more. There were a few old books in there, but mostly fanfic he’d kept hidden.

The scrapbook initially contained articles and data about Belze, gathered to suppress her, and later had information about Belze out of inertia.

Maybe he threw it away because it was truly useless now? 

Now that Seo knew enough about Belze and she might be excluded from his responsibilities after receiving disciplinary action, discarding the scrapbook might not have been an emotional decision.

…She couldn’t think that way. Belze was not stupid.

When she visited after a few days of leaving the house, the fact that the house had been vacant for three days, his plan to move, and the act of discarding the books that he had been subtly hidden all pointed to one fact.

There were too many ominous signs to say it was a good thing there were no pictures of them together in the cardboard box.

Maybe… Seo’s feelings had faded.