Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

Cha Song-jin was a slow child in everything. When others spoke ten words, he barely stammered out one, and when others were running around, he barely learned how to walk without falling.

The children didn’t like Cha Song-jin, who was a late bloomer. The ‘older brother’ who first took charge of Cha Song-jin at the orphanage often got annoyed with him.

-Why can’t you understand what people say yet?

-How long do I have to look after you?

-You really wear people out.

The harsh words pricked Cha Song-jin. Each time, Cha Song-jin closed his mouth. Before he knew it, time passed and Cha Song-jin became a child who didn’t need anyone’s help, but his personality that had changed during that time didn’t return.

Cha Song-jin calmly accepted everything and tried not to open his mouth. He always kept his distance from people.

If I speak to them, they’ll be uncomfortable. No one would like someone like me… Someone like me just needs to quietly do as told. That’s how to be liked.

The older brother left, but Cha Song-jin continued to live according to the thoughts he had planted.

When he turned ten, Cha Song-jin and the orphanage children were dispatched to a factory.

It was a factory that packaged by-products from Gates. The children showed dissatisfaction with the hard work, but Cha Song-jin was different.

The factory manager called Cha Song-jin a good child for quietly handling work without any complaints while working without rest.

Good child.

Hearing that praise for the first time in his life, Cha Song-jin smiled broadly. And he started working harder than anyone.

Cha Song-jin, who arrived earliest and left latest, gradually became alone but didn’t mind much.

“Well done.”

Just because he liked that one word given to him.

The orphanage children called Cha Song-jin, who just worked so obediently, a weirdo. Sometimes he heard words cursing him, but Cha Song-jin deliberately ignored them. It was just the words that cursed him as a late bloomer changing a little.

Still, it’s better than before. At least now I’m being cursed for doing work well.

To be honest, Cha Song-jin didn’t understand at the time why he had to be cursed.

Because I can’t get praised by the factory manager? If everyone behaved nicely, they could get praised by the factory manager like me.

But at the same time, Cha Song-jin thought:

I wish the factory manager would only adore me.

So he didn’t tell his brief thoughts to the other kids.

‘You have friends and get along with each other. I only have this.’

It doesn’t matter if I grow distant from everyone. As long as there’s one person who praises me.

The other kids don’t like me anyway. So…

Thinking like that for several years, Cha Song-jin didn’t get close to anyone. During meal times and work hours, Cha Song-jin was always alone, and only the factory manager looked after him.

The candy he occasionally gave him was so sweet, and his one word of praise was so welcome that Cha Song-jin ignored the children’s sharp words, gazes, and ostracism.

That day too, Cha Song-jin was the last person to leave the factory. On the way back to the orphanage after closing the factory door himself, Cha Song-jin thought about tomorrow’s work while looking at the shining stars.

Open the factory door for the factory manager who likes to sleep in, check the children’s attendance cards…

Thinking about tomorrow’s work made the way to the orphanage quick. Cha Song-jin who entered the orphanage was about to enter his room. If it weren’t for the sharp voice that flew in at that moment.

“Not Cha Song-jin.”

At the sudden sound of his name, Cha Song-jin took his hand off the doorknob. Before he could react, children’s voices started intertwining following that voice.

“That guy is no different from the factory manager’s lackey.”

“Yeah, I don’t trust that guy at all either. How can we trust him?”

Cha Song-jin hiding behind the door bit his lip hard.

“Young-jin, what do you think?”

Kim Young-jin. Unlike Cha Song-jin, the most popular guy here. Everyone held their breath at that name.

“It’s better to proceed without that kid.”

What are they proceeding with? Cha Song-jin wanted to ask the children beyond the wall like that. But he was already excluded from this plan. If he pretended to know here, they would just beat him up for eavesdropping on their plan.

‘I don’t want to get scolded for eavesdropping.’

Cha Song-jin deliberately stomped his feet far from the door. Only after confirming that the light leaking from outside the door had turned off did Cha Song-jin open the door and enter the room.

The children had even turned off the lights and were lying in bed. Cha Song-jin carefully entered his bed.

After that day, whenever Cha Song-jin was late, the children would inevitably gather and have ‘secret talks’. Each time, Cha Song-jin stomped his feet to let them know he had arrived, but sometimes he eavesdropped on their conversations.

Among them were quite shocking stories.

“If you don’t want to die like Kim Min-joon, you need to get out of here quickly.”

Kim Min-joon died? Cha Song-jin blinked at that fact. Kim Min-joon hadn’t been seen for several months, but Cha Song-jin didn’t pay much attention. They weren’t close anyway, and he had never exchanged a word with him in private.

So even after that guy disappeared, he just thought, oh well.

But what if Kim Min-joon’s disappearance wasn’t just going somewhere?

What if he really died as these guys say?

The next day, Cha Song-jin asked the factory manager:

“Where did Kim Min-joon go?”

“Ah, that friend? I heard his health got bad, so I moved him to an easier place to work. By the way, I didn’t know you were interested in that guy.”

At those words, Cha Song-jin’s lips twitched. The factory manager’s eyes were staring at him intently.

“Just, I suddenly thought of him.”

“What’s the use of thinking about a guy who’s already gone. More importantly, why don’t we have lunch together today? I happen to have something I brought for you.”

Cha Song-jin wanted to believe the words of the factory manager who treated him kindly, but the moment he saw the cold light behind his kind gaze, Cha Song-jin realized.

That strange things were definitely happening in this factory.

After that day, Cha Song-jin observed his surroundings. As the children said, people were disappearing. The reason Cha Song-jin hadn’t noticed until now was because those empty spots were soon filled by other people.

The line where children especially ‘disappeared’ a lot was the line considered the most dangerous in this factory.

The place where by-products collected from Gates are sorted and washed before processing. By-products that just came from Gates had toxic contaminants attached that were poisonous to ordinary people, and the detergent to remove those contaminants was extremely harsh.

He learned that fact from eavesdropping on the children’s words.

Because Cha Song-jin, who was adored by the factory manager, had always been on the safe packaging line since he was ten years old.

“I threw up again today.”

“How long has it been since you threw up?”

“…A week.”

“Damn, no wonder your face doesn’t look good.”

Hearing such words, Cha Song-jin learned why the children hated this factory. And why they called him the factory manager’s lackey and treated him like a traitor.

Cha Song-jin was a child who knew nothing.

The children’s plans heard through the wall soon became concrete enough to have specific dates.

“So when are we leaving?”

“A week later.”

“Is everything prepared?”

“Yeah.”

“Everyone keep your mouths shut.”

“Got it.”

For the whole week after that, Cha Song-jin watched the children’s reactions.

-Not Cha Song-jin, he’s the factory manager’s lackey.

Though he heard such words, he wondered if they might ask him to come along just in case.

But even on the day they said they would execute the plan, no one spoke to Cha Song-jin. Unable to bear it anymore, Cha Song-jin pulled on the clothes of the guy who had been talking about the escape plan.

“Um, you know…”

“What.”

“Today…”

Seeing the guy’s face immediately harden at those words, Cha Song-jin hurriedly changed his words.

“They said to increase the work speed a little more. Otherwise we might have to do overtime.”

Why don’t you ask me to come along?

Burying the question he really wanted to ask inside, Cha Song-jin distanced himself from them.

Perhaps it was natural.

Until now, Cha Song-jin had no interaction with them. The orphanage children didn’t even consider him a friend as he stuck to the factory manager’s side and received all sorts of benefits while living comfortably.

So it’s natural that they don’t take him along in their plan to escape from here.

Cha Song-jin nodded while trying hard to think like that.

Though one part of his heart ached, this kind of pain was already familiar.

That night, Cha Song-jin deliberately asked the factory manager to work all night. Because he didn’t want to be alone in the room where the children would have disappeared.

Seeing the factory manager raging, Cha Song-jin believed the children’s escape had succeeded.

‘Yeah, be happy wherever you go.’

While praying for the children’s happiness in his heart, Cha Song-jin worked hard as usual.

The children returned, no, were caught, just a day later.

Familiar faces were hanging from the factory pillars. The moment he confirmed those faces, all color drained from Cha Song-jin’s face.

“Look closely! This is what happens when you abandon your duties and run away!”

The factory manager who shouted like that relentlessly whipped the tied-up children. Screams soaked in pain echoed all around.

“All the good treatment until now is useless! You only straighten up when beaten like this. No matter how well I treat you, you only stab people in the back!”

All the children trembled in fear at that horrific sight.

“Leave them tied up like this. No one touch them!”

At the factory manager’s fierce threat, the other kids deliberately turned away from the children tied to the pillars.

“Kuh, huu…”

All day long, they had to listen to groans mixed with pain.

The factory manager approached the frozen Cha Song-jin and whispered kindly:

“Don’t worry about guys like that. A guy who works well like you won’t receive such punishment.”

At those words, Cha Song-jin nodded while terrified. Though he found the factory manager disgusting and hateful, he couldn’t dare say he disliked him.

That evening too, Cha Song-jin stayed the latest to finish work.

And when he returned to the orphanage, what greeted Cha Song-jin were children who were thoroughly angry.

As soon as he opened the door and entered, Cha Song-jin was grabbed by the collar and thrown.

“Kuhuk.”

Someone’s foot immediately flew at Cha Song-jin who crashed to the floor. Kicked in the chest and writhing in pain, Cha Song-jin desperately shouted:

“S-stop it!”

The kicks didn’t stop despite Cha Song-jin’s shouts. Only after being hit for quite a while did the feet move away. Cha Song-jin raised his aching body. The faces of children glaring fiercely came into view.

“W-why are you doing this?”

“It was you.”

At those words, Cha Song-jin blinked.

“What?”

“You’re the one who told on our plan.”

Cha Song-jin repeatedly shouted at the children’s suspicion:

“I didn’t do anything!”

But no one believed Cha Song-jin’s words.

“Damn bastard, go to hell!”

“I’ll pray for your life to be ruined miserably too.”

“You’re a cowardly tattletale.”

“I, I really didn’t say anything…”

Cha Song-jin shouted like that, but they had already turned their backs.