I Became a Framed Villain

180 – Her Memories (2)

To be honest, she wasn’t expecting much when she pulled the torn-up comic book out of the trash can.

It was a simple mindset that I thought I could find new joy in life, even if just for a little while.

With that in mind, I simply inserted the torn pieces into the comic book, and since it was just time for me to leave school, I put it in my backpack and headed home.

“……”

After school, I took out the comic book from my bag and opened it on the worn-out desk I picked up from the local dump.

“Wow…”

I couldn’t help but fall in love with the comic book in an instant.

“…Isn’t it fun?”

Was it because, for the first time in my life, I encountered something purely for entertainment purposes? I was able to feel emotions I had never felt before in my life.

Excited. Flutter. Sadness. Anger. Moved.

The nostalgic feelings that I had forgotten ever since I was a child, when I couldn’t even remember much, began to warm my heart.

Of course, for children my age who have been exposed to a lot of such things, it may have been just a simple entertainment cartoon.

But, at least for me, that cartoon was like a treasure map that allowed me to explore a new world.

‘…Maybe I was living to read comic books?’

When I was halfway through a comic book and got stuck for a moment due to a torn page, such a thought suddenly popped into my mind.

But, of course, it was my mistake.

In an attempt to save on the comic books that I was already slow to read due to having to put the pieces together, I tried spending what little money I had to buy other old comic books at a used bookstore, but for some reason I didn’t enjoy them at all.

No, it wasn’t just boring.

I could not sympathize with the characters’ narratives or the story, and could not feel any emotions.

I thought I might have bought some uninteresting comic books, so this time I decided to go to the popular corner and buy some comics that were on the list, but they were just as uninteresting.

In the aftermath, it was a bonus to survive by boiling and eating half a bowl of ramen a day for several weeks.

Anyway, after going through so much trial and error, what I realized was that the only thing I was interested in was that comic I rescued from the trash can.

What was the reason?

‘This guy looks similar to me…’

First of all, the character ‘Lumia’ who appears in that cartoon may be very similar to me.

“The past is similar… And even poor…’

‘Lumia’, one of the two main characters in the manga, looked surprisingly similar to me except that her hair was white and her eyes were red.

Appearance, unfortunate past, and even the thing called misogyny.

‘…Has he ever been beaten to death by his mother and then passed out after being strangled by her?’

However, I found out later that, unlike me, Lumia was an orphan.

But I still felt a strange sense of intimacy when I watched comics.

From Noble mtl dot com

Sometimes, whenever she did her good deeds, she felt a strange sense of discomfort.

Anyway, there was an interesting element of the main character resembling me, but it wasn’t decisive.

“Sigh.”

The decisive factor that made me fall in love with this cartoon was not the main character or the allies, nor the novel story or drawing.

“What…”

Because it was only because of the main villain of the cartoon.

“…It’s cool.”

Throughout my life, I have thought of myself as a person who is quite far from feelings such as ‘love’.

Of course, for a girl with antisocial personality disorder who had never loved or been loved by anyone, it was very natural.

Isn’t being able to sacrifice everything for someone a fairytale-like story from dramas or comics?

Of course, I have never seen a drama or cartoon.

“It’s really cool…”

But that was a wrong idea.

The main villain ‘Trauma’ appears about halfway through the comic book and stands tall on top of a building in the night sky.

The moment I saw that, I was able to instinctively realize it.

If ordinary people had seen it, they would probably have laughed or pointed. He’s a strange guy who loves cartoon characters.

But it didn’t matter to me because I was a strange guy from long ago.

A villain like me who is not conscious of the gaze of those around him and commits anti-social acts without hesitation.

He, who always had a smile on his face, seemed quite free, unlike me, who was conforming to the social system.

“Kang Ha-neul… His real name was Kang Ha-neul…”

Furthermore, the name of the river is ‘Haneul’. Doesn’t it go very well with my name ‘Narae’, which means wing?

‘…I hope the trauma wins.’

Maybe that’s why I was passionately rooting for Trauma before I knew it.

‘Yes, that’s it. Everything as you want…!’

As I was restoring the comic book at such a fast pace, I was reading the contents while screaming in my heart.

“…..Ah?”

After turning the last chapter of a story that soon reached its climax, I couldn’t help but make a blank expression for a moment.

[Continued in Volume 2.]

“……..”

Have you ever felt so lost in your life?

My heart, which had been pounding just a moment ago as I watched the trauma attacking the academy, cools down, and an extreme sense of emptiness begins to creep in.

“…Volume 2, Volume 2?”

The one thing that could be comforted was the short sentence that it continued in volume 2.

“Next volume… There was a next volume…”

Muttering that with slightly droopy eyes, I started looking through the coin purse that was lying around on the desk.

“Then, buy it right away…”

– Rattling…

“…Ah.”

But what was in the coin purse were only a few 100 won bills. The amount was not even enough to buy ramen to eat tomorrow.

‘…Should I starve?’

– Grumbling…

I suddenly thought about whether I could starve for a few more days and work part-time, but I did that to cover the cost of participating in a field trip to middle school, but then I got sick, and the bitter memories of not being able to participate in the field trip and running out of money came back to me. I quit.

“…I need to increase my part-time work hours.”

– Rumbling…

“Can’t I get school lunch twice…?”

Because of this, I had unhappy days for a while until I saved enough money to purchase the next volume, but from that moment on, my life began to change.

“…No.”

It was because I had a clear reason to live my life.

“There is a better way…?”

It was the purchase of a comic book.

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“Kya!?”

“This, you f*cking b*tch…”

“Woah, do you know who my mother is and are doing this?”

One of the methods I chose to raise money was to steal money.

In fact, it was something that could not be helped.

I was already working enough part-time jobs to increase them, and it was clear that if I increased them even a little more, I would fall ill like last time.

However, the target was limited to Iljin.

“…I don’t know. I don’t care. Give me the money.”

“This is crazy… Wow!?”

“Give it to me.”

It wasn’t something I did out of a sense of justice.

All the money in the class goes to these guys, so wouldn’t it be natural to save money by ripping it off from them rather than from the guys getting ripped off?

With that in mind, I was in the back alley near the school, ripping off the poor-looking boy who was bullying me as usual, and attacked a group of people who were trying to harm the students who had come in to stop it.

Thanks to this, I was able to save up quite a bit of money, but once my school was overturned and all my money was confiscated, I had no choice but to give up on getting bribes from these guys.

The only thing I got out of it was that somehow I was actually quite talented in fighting?

Of course, the punishment given to me was quite large compared to what I gained, but luckily the incident was resolved well.

The guy who broke in at that time was a world-famous professional gamer, and the school realized that not only him but also a famous child actor was involved in the incident, so they covered up the incident as quietly as possible out of consideration for public opinion.

It doesn’t really matter now, but thanks to that, I’ve become quite friendly with them.

Anyway, from that day on, I started learning martial arts to use my talents in a more legal way than ‘getting money’.

Even though I started late, I showed amazing growth and after winning several competitions, I was able to earn quite a bit of money.

Of course, all that money was wasted on buying comic books and related goods.

“Volume 20… When did volume 20 come out…?”

– I hacked the system… Crackle… Now go inside…

“…Ah, it’s today.”

And it was the same after graduation, when I started working in a shaded area with my school classmates and worked in a place with a sunny location.

“It’s a bit late for online purchases… Do I really have to wait in line?”

– Hey, focus on the mission.

“…I understand.”

– Are you sure you’re not distracted by that hero cartoon again?

Of course, it had to be that way.

In a story that has just entered its final chapter, the truth about Kang Ha-neul is revealed, literally renewing the legend.

When I saw the trauma, or rather, Kang Ha-neul, whose bare face was revealed for the first time along with that narrative, I had tears in my eyes for the first time in a long time.

I was beside myself at the time when there was even a rumor that the next volume, volume 20, was complete.

“…You’ve been preoccupied with those mystery novels for a long time, right? I’m the same.”

– No, I’m telling you repeatedly, the Sherlock Holmes series is not a typical mystery novel…

“I thought that was it… Hmm? Wait.”

Is that why?

“There’s something strange here…”

I made a foolish mistake because I couldn’t find a trap that I would have normally noticed.

– Click…!

– What’s wrong?

“…Ah.”

It didn’t take long to notice that.

– Kugwagwagwagwang…!!!

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– Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Hey, is it me?

– Kugugugugu…

– Answer me!

The urgent radio call from an old school friend who works as a crime coordinator at the National Intelligence Service resonates faintly in my fading consciousness.

“Ugh…”

– Crackling… Answer… Cracking… Do it!!!!!

But unfortunately, I was no longer in a state to answer his radio call.

‘Is it going to end in vain like this…?’

– Please… Support…

‘…I just found the meaning of life?’

As I felt my eyes slowly closing, I began to mutter to myself.

‘I have to see Haneul’s ending with my own eyes…’

– Jijijijik…

‘…I wanted to see if the ending was the same as the game board.’

I honestly don’t remember what I was thinking at that time.

– I miss you… Sky…

– Jijijijijijik…

– If there was another chance…..

After staring at the hazy sky revealed in the aftermath of the explosion for a while, I quietly closed my eyes while listening to the static of the radio in my ears.

“…….”

When I opened my eyes again after a while.

“……Huh?”

To my surprise, I had become a white-haired beautiful girl with a familiar face.