I Became the Academy's Kibitz Villain-Chapter 404: Project Jeju (2)

From a reader’s perspective, the more heroines, the better.

Even readers who loved pure love stories seemed to enjoy having multiple heroines in the story.

Of course, there were those who simply wished for pure, genuine love between a man and a woman.

But in most harem novels, the heroines were either numerous or followed the pattern where there was a main wife, with multiple concubines added later.

And here, when it came to the growing number of heroines, one critical aspect stood out.

Perhaps keeping that philosophy in mind, the author filled the original nationalist light novel with a variety of heroines.

Take, for example, that A-grade woman, Yang Darin, seen on the broadcast.

“Oppa, how about a married woman?”

“Not interested.”

“Is it because she’s already married to another man? Or because she’s had intimate relations with someone else? Or is it because she has a child?”

“None of the above.”

Although I might have a unicorn-like tendency, it was merely a preference.

If I truly loved someone, I could accept her past—at least that’s what I’d like to say.

Of course, the most ideal scenario was that I would be the first man in the life of the woman I loved. And in this world, that was entirely achievable.

It was just a matter of prioritization, not that I suffered from a ‘she-must-be-a-virgin-or-I’ll-die’ syndrome or anything like that.

“To take down the Haegneul Group Chairman and his family, targeting that woman would be the best strategy, but I don’t necessarily need to do that.”

“Wow, you’re really the definition of a villain.”

“A villain acting like a villain—is there a problem with that?”

I calmly sipped my coffee, closely monitoring the live airport broadcast.

“Yumir. Does Yang Darin love Chairman Choi Ho-jung?”

“How would I know? I’m not a mind reader.”

As Yumir knew, it was public knowledge on the Hero Wiki that Yang Darin has mind-reading abilities.

“If Chairman Choi Ho-jung truly loves Yang Darin, she might think, ‘Ah, at least this man loves me.’ Whether she loves the old man is a separate issue.”

“That’s true. But if that’s not the case, and instead, Chairman Choi treats Yang Darin as an ‘A-grade ability user accessory,’ what then?”

“…Why is that woman just staying quiet?”

Yumir immediately showed her disgust, shaking her head.

“Keeping a woman as a decorative object for self-satisfaction? That’s the worst.”

“Exactly.”

Someone once said this:

Heroines that had been “captured” should either stir a bit of jealousy over new heroines or merely help create a few story episodes with the protagonist.

If their numbers grew uncontrollably, they could be sent off to a beach somewhere to compete for the protagonist in some light-hearted escapade.

That’s just a typical harem storyline.

But this world, this reality, moved in a much stickier, murkier direction.

“Because he’s the Haegneul Chairman, he married an A-grade ability user. That man has become the dream and envy of men worldwide.”

Even without abilities, wealth, property, and power were enough to “acquire” an ability user.

Not to mention, he married a woman three times younger than himself—men everywhere would envy and resent him for that.

“But Yumir, human greed knows no bounds. Can you guess what I’m about to say?”

“Chairman Choi Ho-jung would aim for an even younger and prettier S-grade ability user if he got the chance?”

“Exactly. He’d abandon Yang Darin and do whatever it takes to win over the S-grade woman. For instance, Haegneul keeps making advertising offers to Yoon Iseon.”

“Ugh… I hate this.”

Yumir openly expressed her disdain, her face filled with contempt.

“Is he insane? He already has a wife and a child with abilities!”

“I told you, greed has no limits. He might have an A-grade wife and a C-grade child, but he desires an S-grade wife and an EX-grade child.”

He had already achieved most of what a person could hope for as a wealthy individual.

But, having been born before the Great Upheaval, there was something he could never attain himself.

Abilities.

So, to compensate, he was focused on ensuring his bloodline inherited abilities.

“Did you know? Current President Tae Chae-jin ran for office mainly because of Chairman Choi Ho-jung.”

“…Baridegi Tae Irin?”

“Not entirely, but about 30% of it, give or take. According to my research, during the presidential election, Choi Ho-jung provided immense political funding to Tae Chae-jin’s rival.”

“If that candidate had won, Armored Taejo wouldn’t have stood a chance, and Baridegi might’ve ended up by Chairman Choi’s side. Oh, and Tae Chae-jin would probably have been imprisoned for political crimes?”

“Looks like you’ve become pretty knowledgeable about how this country works.”

“Hehe, it’s all thanks to you teaching me, oppa.”

“Happy to educate you.”

Baek Harang emerged from the kitchen with freshly brewed tea, smirking as she handed the cups to Yumir and me.

“Instead of showcasing Korea’s good sides, why are you revealing all these unpleasant truths?”

“What, should she live in ignorance forever? Yumir should know the reality of this country too.”

There was something called tolerance.

Hearing this all at once would cause anyone’s “meteor counter” to explode.

But if you were exposed to such stories regularly, the counter’s parameters wouldn’t rise as much.

“Some call it resistance training.”

It was better to prepare in advance.

So when faced with the massive evil hidden in this country, instead of obliterating the world out of rage, one can calmly think, “I need to destroy the people responsible for this mess.”

Trash behaving like trash just needed to be dealt with accordingly.

“It’s because of people like that that love between non-ability users and ability users gets its purity questioned.”

“True. Because of those people saying things like, ‘Having a relationship with an ability user is so cool,’ people think you hit the jackpot, oppa.”

“Isn’t the real jackpot Baek Seol-hee?”

“People don’t know your EX-grade bat unless they experience it firsthand. Most just think Do Ji-hwan turned into Cinderella.”

Even Yumir and Baek Seol-hee were gradually aligning with my worldview.

“All men probably think like this right now: that an S-grade or A-grade, beautiful ability user would show up with immense wealth and power, fall in love with them, and take care of everything.”

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

“Well, women probably think the same.”

“That’s true, but for now, the issue is that you are obviously at the center of the storm, oppa. After all, the non-ability user is a man this time.”

In fairy tales, Cinderella was a woman, but in modern times, there’s no rule saying Cinderella must always be female.

That would be sexism.

Men could also become Cinderella, and as Yumir said, the Cinderella right now was Do Ji-hwan, a man.

“What do you think about approaching Yang Darin as Do Ji-hwan? Who knows? She might fall for you at first sight and decide to abandon the Haegneul Chairman to run away with you.”

“Not sure about that. She doesn’t seem like that type of person.”

Since she was one of the heroines in the story, I knew her personality quite well.

“If I had to guess, she probably prefers handsome foreigners with blond hair and blue eyes.”

I glanced at Yumir.

“…Why are you looking at me?”

“I was just wondering—if you had entered the academy in Korea as a man and met Yang Darin, how would things have turned out?”

“Hmm….”

Yumir lowered her head, her expression slightly complicated. She smiled faintly and waved her finger.

“Maybe it could’ve happened, but there’s no need to dwell on what might have been in a world that no longer exists, right?”

“…That’s a good point.”

Yumir’s words made me collect my thoughts.

Right.

Just because, in the original story, she was saved by a blond, blue-eyed foreigner didn’t mean it had to play out the same way in this reality.

After all, affairs didn’t discriminate based on the people involved.

Seogwipo City, Auction Venue—Haegneul Hotel.

“Ha ha. Nice to meet you, Chairman Desmond. Thank you for moving the auction venue to our hotel.”

“With the promise of top-notch service and security, of course, we had to move the venue.”

At the hotel, Chairman Choi Ho-jung shook hands with Desmond, who was dressed in a pristine white suit.

“If only we had more time, we could’ve had lunch together to prepare for the auction, but it’s a shame it starts this afternoon. Such bad timing.”

“It’s already been decided. There’s no need to hold it late into the night unnecessarily.”

The auction was scheduled to begin at 2 PM.

The timing was perfect—after lunch and some tea to settle the stomach, the auction would commence. However, having a meal together right before the auction was impossible for both Choi Ho-jung and Desmond.

“Ah, by the way, this is my wife, Yang Darin. She’s an A-grade ability user and a mind reader.”

Choi Ho-jung gestured toward the stunningly dressed woman standing beside him.

“Darin?”

“…Ah, yes.”

Yang Darin bowed her head modestly.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yang Darin.”

“What a beautiful name. It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”

“……..”

“Well then, I hope for a favorable outcome.”

As Desmond turned to greet others, Yang Darin stared intently at his ungloved hand as he walked away, lightly biting her lip.