Bastard NPC Chapter 10

Chapter 10

“Was the VCI that wanted you that crazy dog?”

“Ranieri? Yeah, that’s right.”

“Oh, fuck. No. Just stay put.”

Ren, who had been roughly shaking his curly hair, let out a sigh. He stumbled for a moment before locking the door I had entered through, then moved the cabinet to block the door. He didn’t say what was going on, but I could guess well enough. Time has come.

“No. I think it’s time for me to go. Thanks for today.”

I put down the game console, feeling like a soul being dragged to the afterlife, and quietly stood up. Then, Ren, looking as if he had just heard something absurd, strode up to me and blocked my path.

“Bullshit. If you leave now, you’ll be dead for sure.”

“Hmm? No-”

“Is it time for you to worry about me now? Since when were you so nice?”

“I’m originally nice, but I’m not worried about you. He’s here to meet-”

“Oh, that’s okay. Just be quiet until I tell you to come out.”

Let me speak, you punk.

That’s when Ren, who had reached his own conclusion without even listening to me, grabbed my hand.

Bang, bang, bang.

The sound of what felt like a building collapsing echoed continuously. The door tilted, and the cabinet scraped the floor with a screech as it was pushed away. But it was only for a moment. 

With a loud thud—a military boot suddenly appeared, kicking the door as if clearing an annoying obstacle. The large cabinet was pushed all the way to the sofa, and the torn door panel fell to the floor.

“You’re really having fun.”

The words weren’t mine. Of course, they weren’t Ren’s either.

“What I meant by ‘do well’ wasn’t to start dating, pretty.”

It was Theo, appearing in VCI combat gear, like a righteous agent coming to apprehend a criminal.

I mean, could he not make a more ordinary entrance?

The public authority in this city is always like this. They destroy everything for a single purpose, burning down the whole house just to catch a single flea. Yesterday, he demolished my house, and today, he turned Ren’s workshop into a pile of rags. 

I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart and stared at Theo, who stood outside the door.

Over a khaki full-body armor, he was dressed in a dark gray bulletproof vest with “VCI” emblazoned across it. He looked completely different from the guy I had seen in the living room the previous night. 

With his sharp features, perfect height, solid build, and the combat gear, he looked like the protagonist of a high-budget action movie. However, because of his rather unpleasant mood, he seemed more like a hero who had just been betrayed by his country. Then, he was now beginning to turn to the dark side, which was a problem.

“…Pretty? Are you talking about me?”

Ren, having finally realized the situation, muttered in annoyance, as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have. At this moment, I really shouldn’t be the one critiquing him, especially considering I was just admiring Theo’s looks. 

However, Ren really has no filter. His workshop door got blown off, and he’s still worried about something like that?

I guess you need this kind of attitude to survive as an NPC in this city.

“Well, I guess you think I’m pretty too, huh?”

“Hey, you should head to the hospital. You’ve totally lost it.”

Despite the disgusted and twisted expression on his face, Ren’s earlobe, adorned with flashy piercings, turned bright red. It was at that moment that the kind-hearted thug almost started to seem cute.

Tang-

The loud gunshot, so powerful it felt like my eardrums might tear, rang through the air. Then, a bullet zipped past me and Ren, piercing the cabinet. 

If either of us had moved even slightly, the bullet might have gone straight through one of our heads instead of the cabinet.

We froze for a moment, as if paralyzed. Then, instinctively, Ren and I flinched, shrinking back and quickly creating distance between us. 

The gunshot had been so deafening that my ears were ringing with a high-pitched beeep. If I opened my mouth, I felt like my heart might just jump out of it.

“What are you doing right now?”

I turned to look at him, and he smiled prettily, completely unfazed, as if he hadn’t just done something insane. Then he shrugged nonchalantly.

“My mistake.”

“You must be crazy, really. Do you know how surprised I was? If you had missed even a little bit-”

“Riley.”

He called my name softly. He was smiling, but the coldness in his piercing blue eyes sent a chill down my spine. At that instant, the fiery frustration that had been building up inside me seemed to vanish in an instant.

“I’m the one who’s surprised. You need to get it together.”

“……”

“I came because you whined for me to. Are you going to just waste time chatting? This is your punishment.”

As expected. It was a good thing I didn’t go too far. If I had driven off in Ren’s car, it wouldn’t have just been the door falling off. It could have been our heads rolling side by side.

But fear is fear, and what’s not fear is not. No matter how I think about it, I never whined for him to come quickly. Furthermore, if I wasn’t wanted, I wouldn’t have wasted time chatting with Ren either. 

As I turned my head, bracing myself to snap something back, my eyes met his cold, piercing gaze. It was the kind of look that could freeze all the complaints I had built up inside me.

“You must have had a hard time coming here. Would you like me to find something for you to drink?”

I heard a scoff from the side. I nudged Ren’s foot lightly, signaling him to get a clue. This time, Theo let out a dry laugh.

“Is that the guy watching your back?”

He gestured toward Ren with a look. For a moment, Colin came to mind, but I quickly pushed the thought away and gave an awkward smile.

“There’s no such person. You must be mistaken.”

“He’s good, though. Managed to block the location tracking.”

“……”

“Your boyfriend?”

It seemed like Theo was calling him because he couldn’t track my location. Before the conversation could shift toward Ren, I quickly shook my head.

“No.”

“What’s not?”

“Didn’t you ask if Ren and I were dating? I was just saying we’re not like that.”

“Not like that, huh?”

I couldn’t understand why he was prying so much, like a jealous husband. But I couldn’t avoid answering either. 

If I did, he’d just throw a fit and accuse me of not answering, and that’s happened before. What exactly were Ren and I, anyway?

Unable to define our relationship clearly, I tilted my head and looked at Ren. Just as I did, our eyes met.

“Customer?”

“Friend?”

We both spoke at the same time, as if rehearsed, but the meanings were quite different. Were we friends? Feeling awkward, I glanced at Ren for a hint, but he raised an eyebrow, glaring at me like I was trash.

“Wow, that’s really hurtful, seriously.”

“You should listen to people until the end, friend. I was going to say we started as a customer-relationship and are building a friendship.”

“Oh, I see. My bad, customer.”

I gave a quick, awkward laugh in response to Ren’s teasing, but that was short-lived. As I looked back at Theo standing by the door, he spun his gun around smoothly and raised a wicked grin.

“Maybe it’s because I’m annoyed, but I keep wanting to make mistakes.”

“……”

“What are you doing? Hurry up and crawl over here.” 

Being told to crawl over like a dog wasn’t exactly pleasant, but the way his gun spun in his hand erased any lingering discomfort I might have had. Fine.

I glanced at Ren, silently mouthing “I’ll go,” and started to take a step. But just as I was about to move, Ren grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

“Let’s make sure we know why you’re going.”

Even as I wobbled and struggled to regain my balance, I kept my eyes on Theo. As expected, the last trace of a smile, which had lingered like a mercy, vanished completely. 

With his head tilted slightly, he furrowed his brows and ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek.

“Do I have to ask for your permission?”

“Did you issue a wanted notice for someone who isn’t even a criminal now?”

“That’s for me to decide, not you.”

“……”

“If you understand, let go of her arm. Before I really make a mistake.”

At a glance, it might have seemed like a scene from a love triangle. In reality, it was nothing more than a standoff between a public official carrying out their duties and a civilian obstructing those duties. Nothing more, nothing less.

“It’s fine. I didn’t get a chance to say it earlier, but the person who was coming was Ranieri.”

I muttered softly as I grabbed Ren’s hand that was still holding onto my arm. Pulling it away, I distanced myself.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Isn’t the wanted notice from Ranieri?”

“Ugh, it’s a long story. I’ll explain later. Sorry.”

Ren seemed like he had something to say, but it wasn’t the right moment for a conversation. I gave a bitter smile and took a heavy step forward.

“You don’t even know when to be obedient.”

As I got closer, Theo clicked his tongue, probably thinking I was useless, and suddenly draped his arm over my shoulder. The weight of his thick arm surprised me, and I looked up at him with a startled expression. 

He gestured ahead as if telling me to walk straight, his gaze directed forward. It felt like a thug leading a naive student down a back alley.

“I’m not running away. You can let go.”

I muttered, for what felt like the hundredth time today, hoping he’d release his heavy arm. However, the response I got was a chilling stare.

“You used to sleep with that damn thug, didn’t you?”

“Did you hurt your eyes? That never happened.”

“Oh, you don’t like being touched by trash, huh?”

“No, when did I ever say that?”

“Why. He doesn’t look like trash to you?”

Why am I even talking?

I sighed in response. My situation felt so pathetic. I had to be careful even with a simple sigh, making sure not to offend the crazy guy. 

 

As I struggled to exit the workshop building, another man dressed in VCI combat gear appeared. The man, who quickly approached Theo, was unfamiliar to me, but he had a rather handsome face. 

As I was pulled along in the direction he led, I glanced back once in a while, and a remark came from him, “You’re showing your face now?” 

“Um, but… the wanted notice will be lifted, right?”

Instead, I asked the most important question. Theo, who had been opening the rear door of the military-grade armored vehicle, just smiled smugly, but didn’t give a clear answer.