A Korean Office Worker Who Became a Nuisance Villainess in a Zombie Story - Chapter 7

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 2. The Resolution Not to Stand Out
The opinion of Yusara, a third-year office worker, on her salary.
Salary isn’t payment for work—it’s compensation for endurance.
=Treatment fees for stress-induced illness
Company: A place that gives you the disease and the medicine (payment).
*Warning* The medicine cost is absurdly insufficient to treat all the illnesses you’ve acquired.
But this isn’t a company. They don’t pay me for tolerating things here.
Is it really right for me to tolerate that bastard’s behavior? Just because I shouldn’t stand out?
At the company, I’m already choking with rage just from holding back what I want to say. Do I have to endure it here too?
And they’re not even paying me!
From my perspective—someone who’s developed the habit of referring to every person I encounter at work as “that asshole,” “that jerk,” “that son of a bitch,” and so on—
The conclusion was clear: ‘No.’
I won’t endure it. I don’t want to endure it.
I spoke to the Troublemaker sitting diagonally across from me.
“Excuse me.”
“What, princess?”
“I admit I’m dead weight, but those two fit men over there aren’t, so it’s unfair to hear that from someone in the same situation as me, don’t you think?”
The male leads who’d suddenly become “two fit men” widened their eyes. I let out a laugh watching the handsome faces that looked almost adorable.
Whatever. I’m a troublesome villainess anyway.
Aren’t characters like that supposed to speak bluntly?
No matter how harshly I speak, I won’t match our team’s Director Jo, so it’s fine.
“And Yujein isn’t dead weight either. She has holy power. Who granted her that blessing she’s carrying right now?”
Actually, I don’t even like being called a villainess.
If I’m a villainess, what does that make him—a villain? A loser?
“If you hadn’t granted her that blessing, don’t you think Yujein would have had enough holy power left to treat her own ankle?”
Of course, it’s not quite that extreme. Holy power isn’t that tremendous of a force.
The Troublemaker, knowing this fact, immediately countered.
“What are you talking about? It’s a worthless power anyway. How could such a trivial force that barely heals minor wounds treat an ankle?”
“Oh really? But I heard a knight died because you didn’t grant him that ‘worthless’ blessing earlier?”
Not a single word of gratitude, and he’d been the one going on about how I should’ve done it sooner.
Why does he keep contradicting himself? He just opened and closed his mouth without speaking.
With the Troublemaker standing before me at a loss for words, I continued ranting alone.
“You were happy enough to accept the blessing when you received it, but now that someone’s injured, you want to abandon them and leave? Isn’t that shameless? Yujein isn’t an object. You don’t just throw things away when they break. Have some conscience.”
I wouldn’t even treat my home’s robot vacuum cleaner that way. I clicked my tongue openly.
The Troublemaker’s face flushed red as he raised his voice.
“Who said we’d abandon her completely? I said we’d leave her behind! The knight! The sword-wielder!”
“Why would you leave Dazling behind? By your own logic, it’d be most efficient for people who aren’t dead weight to go first. Dazling should go, and you should stay with us instead. You’re dead weight too.”
I pointed my finger at his chubby cheeks.
Though his face was so round it was hard to tell, the Troublemaker still had baby fat in his cheeks.
He must be around twenty years old.
Learning nothing but bad habits at an age when you should be full of vigor.
Tsk, tsk, tsk!
“If we’re talking efficiency, let’s be thorough about it. Isn’t that what you argued? Leave behind the dead weight, and only those with ability escape.”
“….”
“From the perspective of those armed people, you’re dead weight too. Heavy dead weight, in fact.”
“….”
“Your weight looks like it’s about twice that of Yujein. There’s no way anyone could carry you.”
As I spoke my honest thoughts, the Troublemaker’s face flushed crimson all the way to his ears. He huffed and wiped his sweat-soaked forehead, but it wouldn’t change anything.
Soon the Troublemaker warned me.
“Watch your mouth, girl.”
“Watch it for what? I’m just suggesting the most efficient method. Come on, let’s go back. Let’s hide together in the Sealed Room all night without a drop of water, starving while clutching nothing but a single short sword, waiting for a rescue team that might never come!”
I clenched my fist, scabs forming on my palm, and thrust it upward with force.
You madman, let’s die together!
“Let’s go!”
I stood and dragged the Troublemaker by his elbow. His arm was so thick with flesh—honestly, even a Jeju Island cutlassfish would have less meat on it.
“If a corpse shows up while we’re waiting, you can act as a shield to buy time, and meanwhile the women including me can escape. With all that extra padding, it’ll take the corpses a long time to tear through you.”
“You really….”
“What? That’s the most ef.fi.cient way, isn’t it?”
The Troublemaker couldn’t regain his composure—apparently no one had ever pointed out his weight before.
That was the point.
Working among male colleagues who constantly evaluated others’ appearances whenever they got the chance, I knew all too well how unpleasant and self-conscious it made people.
I didn’t want to become garbage who nitpicked others’ looks.
I hate that I’m using this crude method to attack him. I hate that this method came to mind first when attacking someone. I hate the company bastards who made me think this way. Why do they make people so petty?
Did you think the women were staying quiet because they had nothing to say?
“If we discard people one by one in order of who’s dead weight, and we women get discarded first, then what? Why don’t you realize that you’ll be the next dead weight to be abandoned?”
“Look, look—now this is really….”
The huffing Troublemaker shook off my arm. The rough motion made me stumble for a moment.
The Troublemaker shot to his feet and raised his arm toward my face. I wasn’t frightened at all, so I lifted my head defiantly.
From the Troublemaker’s breath pressed close to me came the sweet smell of alcohol.
‘This is driving me crazy….’
He’s drunk on top of everything else?
“Papri!”
The moment the Troublemaker raised his hand toward me, people surged to their feet. In an instant, the Crown Prince appeared behind the Troublemaker and grabbed his raised arm. He must have been quite far away, but he moved like he’d used some kind of teleportation technique.
“Papri.”
The Grand Duke, his expression hardening, called out the Troublemaker’s name. His hand was on his sword hilt.
The Crown Prince twisted the Troublemaker’s arm behind his back, restraining both his arms with a single hand.
“Agh!”
Subdued instantly, the Troublemaker cried out.
“Brother, it hurts! I’m in pain! Agh! Agh!”
Regardless of what the Troublemaker said, the Crown Prince only looked at me.
Only after I shook my head did the Crown Prince release the Troublemaker’s arm and step back. His voice dropped to a low warning.
“Don’t disappoint me.”
“Brother…!”
“Apologize to the lady. If you don’t, you’ll be the one left behind here alone.”
His long, cold eyes held not a trace of jest.
…He seemed genuinely angry?
“Is an apology really necessary? We can just use her as a shield on the way out.”
The Grand Duke chimed in.
“The lady offered a good suggestion. Let’s try it her way. A shield.”
His tone was tinged with amusement, but the content was brutal.
They were both angry. Definitely.
The Troublemaker, sensing the displeasure of his two feared ‘older brothers’, pouted and fell silent. He only rubbed his injured arm and tried to protest, but the male leads showed no sign of backing down.
Seeing the Troublemaker finally quiet, the Crown Prince sighed.
“Paprika.”
At last, an apology tumbled reluctantly from the Troublemaker’s lips.
“Sorry.”
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
I replied in kind, dropping the formality.
“…Let’s rest a bit longer before we move.”
The male leads, satisfied, returned to their positions and resumed their watch.
Only an awkward silence remained.
‘What’s wrong with these guys anyway? We should all be working together to survive this, yet they do nothing but complain.’
I’m hardly an adult for snapping back without thinking either, but… well, he started it!
Ugh. I want to go home.
I was in the middle of stretching my limbs when it happened.
The Troublemaker, rubbing his elbow, whispered again, careful to avoid the Crown Prince’s gaze.
“Must be nice. Getting protected just for being a woman.”
Maybe I should be reborn as a woman in my next life too. Grumble, grumble. I kept my voice deliberately low, worried the Crown Prince or Grand Duke might overhear while keeping watch.
‘This guy really is relentless…’
I fired back without hesitation.
“Did I really get protected, though?”
I wasn’t protecting you from getting hit by me, was I?
Did he think I’d just sit there if he struck me? Absolutely not. I’d scream and summon zombies for revenge if I had to.
As the argument resumed, Yujein grew anxious and darted her eyes between us.
I spoke up.
“What do you mean you want to be reborn as a woman next time? You just said we women should be left behind. Do you enjoy being abandoned?”
“That’s because you’d become a burden!”
“Exactly! So you’re a burden too! Standing between the women, getting protected on all sides! Be honest—when a corpse appeared, you were about to hide behind Yujein or Mascarpone, weren’t you?”
If he had any conscience, he couldn’t deny it.
“Even if I am a burden, I’d be a burden to the Crown Prince, the Grand Duke, or Dazling—not to you. And besides.”
I lifted my chin, making sure to look down at Troublemaker as condescendingly as possible.
“Can you even carry me like luggage? We look about the same height.”
He seemed slightly taller than me. My original body was 169 centimeters, and Yusara—the body I’d possessed—was around that too, so he was probably 172, maybe 173. But his arms were all soft flesh, no muscle to speak of.
I’d trust my thighs, hardened by three swimming sessions a week at dawn, over being carried by him.
“Just shut up and let’s go. We’re both in the same boat anyway—we’re both going down with this ship.”
I laughed as I spoke. Inappropriately for the situation.
If only I could speak my mind so freely back at the company.
Saying whatever I wanted without filtering—I never knew it could feel this refreshing.
No wonder confession booths exist.
“While we’re at it, one more thing. I’ve been wanting to say this for a while now… What good does it do if Yujein keeps blessing you when you don’t put in any effort? Aren’t you expecting too much from a blessing?”
“Pfft.”
Supporting Character 2 was the one who couldn’t hold back her laughter.
She quickly covered her mouth and apologized.
“I’m sorry…”
Mascarpone’s expression was similar, though she didn’t actually laugh. Even Dazling, standing a bit further away, had the same look.
Troublemaker’s face—the one who’d been looking down on us like we were cargo—was pathetic.
He wanted to hit me right then, but his older companions prevented him from doing so.
I looked Troublemaker over.
A petty expression caked with malice. Blunt, inconsiderate speech. A nature that paid no mind to the trouble he caused others, yet was hypersensitive to any damage done to himself. Stamina so poor he was gasping after just a few minutes of walking.
‘What was this bastard’s name again? Paprika?’
Whatever his real name was, I’d decided to call him Troublemaker for the rest of my life.
Until my hair turned white.
Back in Korea, I was a corporate worker who solved everything with “Yes,” “Thank you,” “Please confirm,” and muttered curses. But not here.
I’d be myself. I’d say what I wanted and act as I pleased.
My lips, twisted from possession-induced stress, began to curl upward.
This was when it started.
The resolution I’d been making all along—”Don’t act out”—which I’d never really kept anyway, now began to be genuinely broken.
[Imperial Villa 2nd Floor Washroom]
– Yusara, Yujein, Crown Prince, Grand Duke, Mascarpone, Supporting Character 2, Dazling, Troublemaker (Alive)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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