The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

Chapter 13

013 – Only Extroverts Enjoy Parties #2

Summary.

I asked Seo Ga-eul out on a date, but she put it on hold.

Not a rejection, just a hold.

There’s a party at a place called ‘Saok’ tomorrow night, and she’ll give me an answer then.

“Then, Han Nam-jin? We should finish our meal, so shall we end the conversation here?”

“Good. Meals should be eaten on time.”

Swoosh-.

I slowly backed away from Seo Ga-eul and returned to my original seat.

Chang-sik, the candy maker, who had been watching the whole thing, made a big fuss as if he was very surprised.

“Asking Seo Ga-eul out on a date publicly! You must be out of your mind! My friend, I’m curious where you get such courage!”

“Amazing….”

Even the quiet Deok-soon seemed impressed, but Geum Tae-seong, who had always shown me kindness since we first met, shook his head with a rather serious expression.

“It wasn’t a very good move. Look over there. Do you see those guys?”

Swoosh-.

Geum Tae-seong gestured slightly with his chin.

“They’re from Class F, led by Wang Ja-hyun. From what I heard, Wang Ja-hyun confessed to Seo Ga-eul last week and got rejected. If you get caught approaching Seo Ga-eul, they might make things difficult for you.”

When I turned my head, I saw a group of boys gathered in the middle of the noble.

They were glaring at us as if they wanted to eat us alive, so I glared back.

At that moment, Baek Yeoul frowned and got slightly annoyed.

“Han Nam-jin, are you coming to my house or not? You’re the only one left.”

Baek Yeoul’s house?

Is that important right now?

Seo Ga-eul said, “I’ll think of you every time I see the handkerchief. Will you marry me? Let’s have kids.”

She must have invited me to her party to announce our marriage in front of everyone.

And so the meal ended.

While I was lost in the moment, my teammates were having a lively conversation, mostly about their abilities.

“I’ve never scored a goal since I got older. Whether it’s basketball or soccer. I must be unlucky….”

“Really? You can’t even throw this can into the trash?”

Swoosh, clang-.

Kim Taeseong perfectly tossed the crumpled can into the trash.

The parabolic arc of his throw showed he’d played some basketball.

“I want to try too!”

Baek Yeoul, as if spurred on, rummaged through the trash can herself.

She seemed to want to recycle the can he’d just thrown away.

“Oh? This…”

Swish-.

Baek Yeoul pulled something out of the trash can.

In her hand was a handkerchief embroidered with a heart.

“Hanamjin, wasn’t this the thing you were fiddling with and sniffing all day?”

“That’s what I gave Seo Gaeul?”

Wait? Why is something I returned to Seo Gaeul in the trash?

Something’s definitely wrong. I thought that, then Baek Yeoul sighed in a small voice.

“This kid… again…”

Again?

What does that mean?

“Again? “What are you talking about?”

Baek Yeoul and I had a deal. In exchange for me being on the same team as her, she’d give me information on Seo Gaeul.

Baek Yeoul looked around cautiously, then whispered to me so the other team members couldn’t hear.

Whispering-.

“What? s*x? “bbangdaeng-a, what are you saying to me?”

“I, I never said that!!! If you come to my house tonight, I’ll tell you what I know! But there’s a condition! Y-you have to pretend to be my close… “Friend to my mom and dad.”

So even bbangdaeng-i wants a deal, huh-.

But it was a tricky condition.

“Pretend to be friends? Aren’t we already friends? We’ve both seen each other’s underwear.”

“When did we see each other’s underwear! You only saw mine… ”

Baek Yeoul shouted hysterically.

Soon, her face flushed as if she’d remembered something.

“W-was it at the crosswalk… “That time?”

“Of course.”

“YaaaH!!!!”

Baek Yeoul charged at me with clenched fists.

But in his excitement, he didn’t see the stone at his feet and stumbled as if he was about to fall.

How foolish!

“Bbangdaeng, are you an idiot? Puhahahaha!”

It was when I burst out laughing.

Baek Yeoul, who was stumbling forward, fell with a thud and punched me in the nose.

Thud-!

“Guaaah!”

# # #

Baek Yeoul’s house was slightly away from the center of D city.

A house with high walls, often seen in movies or dramas.

Beyond those walls was a garden with grass, and a terrace in the living room where you could see the garden, basking in the sunlight, subtly enhancing the satisfaction of life.

The interior, built in a modern minimalist style, had a Swiss kitchen something-or-other, and a plump housekeeper who always seemed ready to peel fruit.

From noble mtl dot com

“I’ve never been in such a big house before. I knew Yeoul was well-off, but I didn’t know she was the daughter of such a rich family!”

“It’s really amazing. With the part-time jobs I do, I could never afford a house like this in my lifetime.”

“… It looks like the house from the movie ‘Parasite’.”

Everyone from Team ‘No Leftovers Day’ was in awe.

But honestly, I couldn’t hide my disappointment.

I expected a semi-royal house famous for its desserts to be like a candy house from a fairy tale, but it was just concrete, cement, and stone.

“Then wait here for a moment! I’ll bring my parents! Mom! Dad!”

Baek Yeoul took off her shoes and dashed upstairs, then came down with a middle-aged man and woman who seemed to be her parents.

“Our Yeoul brought friends over! “How many years has it been!”

“Nice to meet you all! I’m Yeoul’s father.”

The woman, who looked as gentle as a lady, and the man, whose hair was slightly balding, guided us to a large dining table and placed many dishes on it.

From bright red lobsters to beef that I didn’t know how to eat.

“Uh… Mom. Isn’t this too much?”

Baek Yeoul asked her mother cautiously, but the lady covered her mouth and laughed, patting Yeoul’s back gently.

“How could I stay still when my daughter brings friends over? I personally put some effort into this. Eat a lot. There’s more, so don’t hesitate.”

“… … .”

Everyone seemed to be watching each other, perhaps overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the upper-class dining table.

I thought this was my chance.

“Ma’am, can I take some leftovers if there are any?”

As I took out a container from my bag, the lady of the house burst into laughter.

“If you want more, this lady will pack some for you separately!”

The lady’s laughter loosened the tense atmosphere, and everyone began to eat.

The boss seemed like a quiet person, but the lady was buzzing around, constantly talking during the meal, so there was no chance for silence to settle.

“Our daughter is a good kid, but she’s a bit clueless, so we’re always worried─.”

“Oh my!”

“We always worry if she makes friends well, or if she’s being bullied. So, how is our Yeoul at school? “She’s a complete troublemaker at home.”

How is Baek Yeoul at school?

I recalled how Baek Yeoul was always picked on by everyone, but before I could open my mouth, Baek Yeoul spoke up first.

“I have lots of friends! Everyone wants to be in the same group as me!”

Indeed. It seemed the parents didn’t know how Baek Yeoul was doing at school.

Baek Yeoul must have chosen not to reveal it.

Baek Yeoul’s clumsy lie made the dining atmosphere awkward, but the food was really delicious.

Crunch, crunch-.

“Hey! How can you eat the lobster with the shell on! “Your teeth will get damaged!”

“Ma’am, you are really good at cooking.”

“Pfft, really? How are your parents? “Is your mother good at cooking?”

“Uh, mom-.”

Baek Yeoul was greatly flustered.

「Name: Baek Yeoul

Status: 《Tense》 – Nervous that parents might say something unnecessary.”

Baek Yeoul started to look around nervously.

Everyone turned their gaze to me as if they had question marks on their heads, so I answered simply.

“My mom wasn’t very good at cooking. She always made strange food. “She would put ssamjang and ketchup in kimchi stew.”

“Oh my, she must be a very interesting person. Cooking reflects one’s personality, you know.”

The atmosphere during the meal was quite harmonious.

Thud-thud-thud-.

Men in black suits suddenly burst into the house.

I thought they might have prepared some surprise event, but seeing Madam, the President, and Baek Yeoul all greatly flustered, it didn’t seem like an intended performance.

“Wh-who are you?”

“Sir, we are from the National Tax Service. Due to unpaid taxes past the due date, we are compelled to proceed with the forced execution process. We apologize for the inconvenience, but please understand that the seizure will be carried out according to legal procedures.”

The men in black began attaching yellow stickers all over the house. They even stuck one on the dining table where we were eating. Even on the dishes with food!

The President and Madam were so shocked that they were at a loss for words, their mouths agape.

「Name: Baek Jungwon

Status: 《Humiliation》 – Suffering from an embarrassing situation in front of his daughter and her friends.」

「Name: Dang Hwayeon

Status: 《Worry》 – Worried that her daughter might get hurt.」

Everyone was just watching each other.

In Baek Yeoul’s case, she was frowning deeply, clenching her fists tightly, and trembling.

Seeing tears welling up in her eyes, I was worried she might do something reckless like a rabid raccoon.

If she causes trouble, it would be a real disaster.

I had no choice.

I grabbed Baek Yeoul’s wrist.

“Hey, the adults are busy, let’s give them some space.”

“……”

As I pulled Baek Yeoul out, everyone who had been overwhelmed by the situation silently followed me.

Putting on our shoes and leaving the garden, climbing over the high wall, it felt as if everything that had just happened was a dream.

Everyone’s expressions were subtle.

They didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

“It’s because of me….”

Eventually, Baek Yeoul frowned and burst into tears.

She looked even uglier when she cried.

“Because of my ‘bad luck’, our family is struggling. Mom and Dad get hurt often. Because of me….”

Was Baek Yeoul’s family situation worse than it seemed? That’s why she couldn’t fix her broken phone screen right away.

Baek Yeoul seemed to think that it was all because of her ‘bad luck’.

But as I said before, luck is like a seesaw.

If something goes up, something else goes down, and if something goes down, something else goes up.

“Hey, you guys are incredibly lucky today. You’re about to eat something really delicious. Let’s go!”

I led everyone to my house.

As we crossed the alley filled with trash and junk, everyone seemed surprised when we entered my house.

“This is your house? The neighborhood is so quiet.”

Admiring the serene atmosphere, Geum Taeseong.

Choi Changshik seemed a bit worried, as if something was bothering him.

“Friend, won’t it be a nuisance if we all go in without telling your parents?”

“It’s okay. My mom and dad aren’t here. This is my house. Come on in. You can wear indoor slippers if you want.”

Leading my friends, who were hesitating like broken cats, into the house, I went straight to the kitchen and started boiling water.

I added the meat side dish I had packed today, the ramen soup I had saved, ssamjang, and ketchup. The delicious smell started bubbling up from the pot.

“Here, my special ramen.”

The thick broth already looked delicious.

As everyone started to drool, they glanced at each other.

“…Can we eat this? Why did you mix everything?”

A nervous Geum Taeseong.

The dish looked so delicious that he seemed to tense up.

“Why did I mix it? It all ends up the same in your stomach anyway. People with an IQ over 140 always eat like this.”

“……”

“…I’ll try it. They said you shouldn’t leave any food uneaten.”

The first to pick up a spoon was Baek Yeoul, who was still sniffling.

Baek Yeoul scooped up some broth with a spoon and put it in his mouth, his expression changing dramatically.

“De…delicious…!?”

“Yeoul, is that true? This twisted underworld-like broth is really delicious? Let me taste it too! Hmm, this, this taste is ugh…”

It was so delicious that Choi Changshik couldn’t keep his composition and ran to the bathroom.

“Haha, Namjin, I’m sorry but I can’t eat this.”

“It’s not food, it’s poison…”

Even Geum Taeseong and the quiet Oh Deoksun couldn’t stop themselves after tasting a spoonful, but only Baek Yeoul kept slurping the broth and eating the contents with chopsticks.

“…Wh-why is this so delicious? It shouldn’t be this good! Why? Why? Why is this so delicious? I can’t accept this!”

The revolutionary taste seemed to make Baek Yeoul forget the sorrow that had been weighing him down just moments ago.

In the end, Baek Yeoul and I shared all the food. I was a bit angry because Baek Yeoul ate a little more, but I decided to forgive him since I had also received food from the lady.

“Look! There’s a mantis in the yard! A golden mantis!”

Just as I was about to clear the dishes, Choi Changshik suddenly shouted from our yard.

Excited at the thought of seeing a golden mantis, I ran out to the yard with all my might, and Geum Taeseong, who was following me, tapped my shoulder.

“Namjin, you’re even cooler than I thought.”

Suddenly?

Is it because my cooking is so good that my face looks better too?

It was entirely possible.

It’s an era where men who cook well are considered cool.

In the end, I didn’t see the golden mantis.

It flew away before we came out. Missing the rare golden mantis, what bad luck.

Instead, Baek Yeoul, who came out to the yard, was so awkward that it was funny.

“Are you imitating the golden mantis now?”

“…No! You! You said you were going to Seo Gaul’s party. The one at ‘Saok’.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Don’t go. It’s a trap. I got caught too…”