The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

011 – Liars Can Recognize Each Other

011 – Liars Can Recognize Each Other

In the monster’s corpse, usually near the heart, there was a small magic stone.

It was imbued with the creature’s “concept,” and was also called a “concept stone.”

“It should be around here somewhere.”

Squelch-

As I dug my hand into the corpse of the brutally killed dog, everyone recoiled in horror and stepped back. Regardless, I just did what I had to do.

I found two small pebble-sized stones in my hand.

“Found it! This is it. They’re small, but there are two of them, ‘Eye’ and ‘Nose’.”

I was in a great mood because there were countless things I could do with these, but everyone just looked at me with incomprehensible expressions.

“Nam-jin, are you okay? I can heal your wounds with my ability.”

Geum Tae-sung asked me as I finished my work.

Of course, his face was all scrunched up.

It must be because the filth from the monster was all over my body.

“It’s hard to tell where you’re hurt like this.”

Honestly, there’s no one more unfortunate than me in this school today.

However, on one hand, it was somewhat fortunate.

In fact, it wasn’t just the filth of monsters mixed in here.

When I got hit in the groin by Baek Yeoul, I almost wet myself. If someone had found out about that, I would have been teased as a bedwetter throughout my school years, right?

Given the circumstances, it seemed like no one had noticed.

In a way, it was a kind of luck for me.

Still, it would be best to quickly destroy the evidence.

“Hey, you guys clean up a bit. “I need to wash up.”

There was definitely a stream nearby.

Thinking that I needed to wash my body at the stream where Chang-sik had stepped in dog poop, I started to walk.

“Ugh, the smell. “What is that?”

“What is that! “A monster?”

“Gaeul! Be careful! There’s a monster!”

When I arrived at the water’s edge, there were guests. Students wearing knight-shaped brooches on their chests.

Since everyone had unfamiliar faces, they seemed to be students from Class F… Wait, students from Class F? Gaeul, be careful?

I glanced at the faces of the female students, and my legs almost gave way.

Among them, I found the woman I had been searching for so desperately.

“… Seo Gaeul.”

She had no scars.

Her face looked a bit younger.

But she was undoubtedly my goddess, the benefactor of my life, Seo Gaeul.

To think I would meet the love I had longed for so much while coming to wash my body in the stream!

Had my terrible luck, which had left me covered in filth, turned into a blessing in disguise?

“Seo Gaeul!”

I shouted with all my might and ran towards Seo Gaeul.

As the female students from Class F screamed “Eek!” and covered their noses while dodging, Seo Gaeul merely looked at me with a relaxed expression.

“It doesn’t seem like a monster, but a student. Are you here to wash up?”

She smiled gently at me and took a handkerchief out of her pocket, offering it to me.

“Use this. And you—”

Swoosh.

Seo Gaeul’s gaze shifted to my tiger-print underwear.

The reddish eyes curved like a crescent moon.

“I should put on some pants.”

“Hey! Han Namjin!”

Splash-.

At that moment, someone came running quickly through the stream.

Recognizing the familiar voice, I turned my head to see Baek Yeoul waddling from afar.

“What is it, Baek Yeoul?”

“Ugh, how annoying!”

The girls of Class openly showed their dislike upon seeing Baek Yeoul.

It was to the extent that their gaze was on par with the one they gave me, who was covered in all sorts of filth.

Only Seo Gaeul greeted Baek Yeoul comfortably.

“Hey, hi?”

“Huh? You, you are….”

“How have you been?”

Even asking about the well-being of Baek Yeoul, who was ostracized by everyone. Seo Gaeul was indeed a very kind girl.

Pretty face, good personality, truly perfect in every way!

She was someone who lacked nothing to become my soulmate.

“Guys, let’s go.”

While Baek Yeoul awkwardly hesitated, Seo Gaeul, having finished her business, disappeared far away, her hair swaying like a fairy.

The scent of shampoo carried by the wind was really nice.

“That was lucky.”

I brought the handkerchief I received from Seo Gaeul to my nose.

Hmm, this fragrant smell~.

“I can use the excuse of returning the handkerchief to talk to Seo Gaeul. Lucky.”

“…Lucky? Even after seeing your current state, you can say that?”

Baek Yeoul looked at me with narrow eyes.

What’s wrong with my state? It’s just a bit dirty on the outside.

Having crawled through the sewers and been more horribly contaminated than this, this filth was nothing to me.

But I should still wash up.

Splash splash-!

Splashing wildly in the stream felt exhilarating.

I hunted a monster, received a handkerchief from Seo Ga-eul, and everything seemed to be going perfectly.

Why is everything going so smoothly?

Is the goddess of luck on my side?

Maybe─.

“Hey! Stop splashing water! Hey! I said stop splashing water! Hah! Han Nam-jin! Haaah! Ugh! Dirty water got into my mouth! Ew! Ptooey!”

I doubt it’s because of him.

# # #

“I will announce the results of the joint practice between Class F and Class D. The team with the most points is… .”

The end of the class.

As we returned to the school playground, the captain sniffed the air.

“Sniff sniff, does anyone else smell something? Anyway. I will announce the team with the most points first. The team with the most points is Class F’s Team Summer.”

“As expected!”

“It was worth the effort!”

Squeals of delight.

The girls from Class F screamed.

Team Summer?

I turned my head and saw a tall girl with a hood being hugged by everyone.

She was a tall girl.

“That’s Yoo Yeoreum. The class president of Class F. She’s so skilled that even though she hasn’t graduated yet, she’s already treated as an active explorer.”

Kim Tae-seong, thinking I would be curious, whispered unsolicited information to me.

Yoo Yeoreum.

Summer?

I’ve heard that name somewhere before.

“Now, I will announce the second-place teams. Two teams tied for second place. The first team is Class F’s ‘Fallen Leaves’ team. And the second team is Class D’s ‘No Leftovers Day’.”

“Wow! We did it! “We really did it!”

Choi Chang-sik waved his hand, honestly delighted.

Other students’ gazes, as if in disbelief, turned towards us.

“Them? How?”

“Must have been luck, right? They probably stumbled upon something imbued with a concept by chance.”

“No way, can they be that lucky? They’re from Baekyeoul’s team.”

“…Maybe it’s because of the new transfer student?”

Good, good.

I can feel everyone’s attention on me!

It was thrilling to be the center of attention.

“…Ugh.”

Of course, there were people who didn’t like the attention.

O Deok-soon, who was introverted and shy, was one of them.

“Deok-hee, you did great today. You dance better than I thought?”

Bang-.

Geum Tae-seong lightly slapped the back of the shy girl.

A red signal appeared on the girl’s cheeks.

“Da…dance. Forget it….”

“Then I will announce the third place for point acquisition. By the way, up to third place will receive a small prize, so you can look forward to it. Then, third place is─.”

Third place went to Jo from Class F.

Class F swept all the points.

But well, it was an expected result.

When this practice started, Class F entered first, so it was natural for them to occupy the good positions and spots first.

Did Moon Hyun-ah, the homeroom teacher of Class F, commit any fraud?

According to Geum Tae-seong, our Class D will enter the practice field first next time.

“Then all the team leaders, please come forward. Teacher Moon, please.”

The teams with excellent results came forward to receive their prizes.

Geum Tae-seong patted my back.

“Nam-jin, go.”

“Me? You’re the team leader.”

“I think it’s more appropriate for you to be the team leader than me. Honestly, if it weren’t for you, we would have just wasted time on the cliff and returned.”

If he says so, well, I didn’t mind being the team leader.

Actually, I did everything anyway.

So I went up on the stage with Yoo Yeoreum and Seo Gaeul.

I didn’t miss the chance to stand next to Seo Gaeul and said in the coolest voice possible.

“Ahem, hmm, hmm-hmm, hmm, Gaeul, I’ll make sure to wash and return your handkerchief later.”

“Huh? Oh… the handkerchief. The tiger panties of the stream. It was you. I didn’t recognize you because you looked different after washing up so neatly. Judging by your unfamiliar face, you must be the transfer student in class D?”

Oh!

Seo Gaeul remembered me!

Isn’t it a green light when a girl remembers a guy?

Maybe Seo Gaeul was impressed by my tiger-like bravery.

Then, when I say, “Would you let me kidnap you?” she might answer, “Sure!”

Just as I was feeling good thinking things might get easier, Teacher Moon Hyunah, who was giving out prizes to the kids, frowned at me.

“Smell. You must have been desperate enough to overturn a garbage can. But there’s no guarantee that today’s coincidence will happen again.”

Her tone towards me was quite cold, as if she was in a bad mood.

It must be because her sense of smell has become sensitive from wearing an eye mask.

In that sense, doesn’t she resemble that teacher Koga from earlier?

“Teacher Koga, we’ll have to see if today’s event was a coincidence or not. What will you do if I come first in the next practice, beating the students of class F?”

“…Koga? My name is Moon Hyunah, so call me Teacher Hyunah. And first place? Pfft-. Go ahead and try. You don’t seem to know that our class F students aren’t that easy. If you “Do come first, I’ll give you a kiss on the cheek!”

Teacher Koga laughed mockingly as if she had heard something very funny.

The prize-giving time ended like that.

“Your name is Han Namjin, right?”

I was about to step off the podium with a pounding heart, eager to check what the “second prize” in the paper bag was, when someone called out to me.

A tall girl, about my height, wearing a hoodie over her school uniform.

Is she an athlete?

“You are… definitely Yoo Girum, right?”

“No, I’m Yoo Yeoreum. I couldn’t just ignore it when you said you’d come first in the next practice. I won’t lose.”

Swoosh-.

The girl Yoo Yeoreum extended her hand to me.

“I’m Han Namjin. Let’s do our best together.”

Squeeze-.

The grip of her hand was strong.

To hold my hand so tightly, could it be… she likes me?

Unfortunately, I couldn’t accept Yoo Yeoreum’s love because my heart was firmly set on Seo Gaeul.

But the faint strawberry scent she gave off was quite to my liking!

The chest visible under the hoodie seems big, too.

# # #

“Then, today’s class is over. Everyone, be careful on your way home. I’ve heard there are some strange people wandering around the school lately, so stay alert.”

Class dismissed.

Just when I thought the day had dragged on unusually long, everyone gathered around me.

“New kid! Is it true you almost single-handedly took down that monster?”

“Next time, join our team! I heard you’re a multi-ability holder!”

“Nam Jin-ah! Pair up with me! I need to earn some points!”

These guys, these guys, these guys─.

Has the rumor about me already spread?

Damn it, this is troublesome.

“I told you. I wore cool underwear today.”

“Underwear? Pfft, ahem, cough.”

“Ugh, it smells.”

“Anyway, Nam Jin-ah! Think about it!”

But for some reason, the guys who had been trying to recruit me into their team backed away, covering their noses and mouths with their hands.

Pathetic.

If they’re already suffering from this slight smell, they’d never survive in a world that’s been ruined.

On the other hand, my partner Baek Yeoul had some guts.

Despite sitting right next to me, not a single eyebrow twitched.

“Don’t you mind the smell?”

“I told you, I’m not a ‘butt’! Also, my family’s in the food industry, so I’ve dealt with all kinds of ingredients. Compared to kibiana or kusaya, this smell is nothing. Besides…”

Baek Yeoul was hesitating.

What’s up with him?

“Why? You need to go to the bathroom? Want some toilet paper?”

“…No! It’s just…I just…I wanted to thank you for saving me earlier.”

“Earlier, when you took off your pants and showed the monster your underwear?”

“…Yeah! Thanks to that, I earned some points, too.”

What? Was he stalling just to say that?

I thought he was going to make some big confession or something.

If there was nothing more to say, it seemed like a good time to head home and think about “Seo Ga-eul’s Kidnapping Starting from a Handkerchief.”

As I stood up, Baek Yeoul suddenly grabbed my wrist.

“L-let’s be in the same group next time too!”

It was louder than I expected.

Everyone who was preparing to leave school turned their attention to us.

“Eek!”

Baek Yeoul, embarrassed by her own outburst, fumbled around, causing her bag, which was on the desk, to fall to the floor, spilling books and school supplies everywhere.

“Oh no, my pencil case!”

What does one have to do to cause such a mess? She was truly an unlucky girl.

However, one of the items that fell from Baek Yeoul’s bag particularly caught my eye.

“Huh, this is….”

It was a photo.

A photo of Baek Yeoul with someone else.

The photo, where they were wearing middle school uniforms and smiling brightly, looked quite nice. But there was something strange. The face of the ‘someone’ hugging Baek Yeoul was blacked out.

“Hey, what’s this?”

“Give that back!”

Whoosh-!

The girl snatched the photo from my hand and stood there awkwardly for a moment before closing her mouth, but my mind was filled with exclamation marks.

Because my 《emotion》 vaguely recognized the blacked-out face in the photo.

It couldn’t be mistaken.

That ‘someone’ was Seo Ga-eul!

“Hey, were you close enough to take photos with Seo Ga-eul?”

“… We were kindergarten, elementary, and middle school classmates.”

From kindergarten to middle school?

Then you’re practically an expert on Seo Ga-eul!

I was lucky to have a key to help me so close by.

“Alright, let’s be in the same group next time too. But there’s a condition!”