The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

Chapter 42

042 – A Wolf Among the Sheep #4

After the children went out on patrol, Yeongsa High School felt a bit desolate. Kang Cheolmin, the man called Captain, walked through the quiet hallway and entered the control room.

“Captain, I brewed some coffee. Would you like a cup?”

Moon Hyuna, the homeroom teacher of Class F and his former student, handed him a steaming paper cup, and Kang Cheolmin couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

“I’m not a captain, I’m an instructor. Just because the kids call me that, do you have to as well?”

“Why not? It suits you. Besides, a few years ago, I was still a kid too.”

She lifted the blindfold covering her eyes with her index finger and glanced at Kang Cheolmin’s expression, chuckling softly.

She was monitoring the students’ locations in real-time through their smartwatches.

Sipping the slightly bitter Americano, she became interested in the coordinates densely marked with red dots.

It was the location of the special team patrolling near the abandoned factory where “Yeomra” had appeared.

“Do you think Jinrihyun is right? That there’s a ‘Judge’ in our Yeongsa High School?”

“I don’t know. Things seemed quiet lately, and now this problem arises again.”

It’s been about ten years since the phenomenon called ‘Awakening’ occurred.

There have been incidents and accidents as superhumans gradually became part of everyday life.

The illegal armed group “Villains,” formed around the first graduates, was one such example.

Captain Kang Cheolmin felt a sudden fatigue thinking about the various issues among the students.

“Back in my day, all I thought about was running to the PC room after school. Nowadays, kids form armed groups and attack people. The generation gap is huge.”

Kang Cheolmin, being a man of the old era and a non-awakened ordinary person, felt a bit of confusion and absurdity about the current world.

He was a man drafted to teach the children as a kind of “military weapon,” but seeing the students, he always felt they were just ordinary kids.

“Training superhuman soldiers is fine, but honestly, I wish students could just be students.”

“Captain, are you getting female hormones as you age? Why are you saying things that don’t suit you? You were called the devil instructor back in our day.”

“Back then… it was my first time teaching kids, so I was clumsy with many things…”

“I’m joking. I don’t think the Captain back then was wrong. We awakened ones are wolves. Wolves among the sheep. So it’s best to firmly grasp the reins while we can.”

Moon Hyuna’s eyes were fixed on the students’ location information.

To her, all these students were like wild beasts that could turn on her at any moment.

“It’s certain that the guy called ‘The Judge’ is related to our school, right? Only we knew about ‘Yama’ and ‘Samajun’, and he killed them brutally.”

‘The Judge’ was well-informed about the internal affairs of the school and the police, and his crimes mostly occurred in the afternoon after school or on weekends.

Therefore, Moon Hyun-ah suspected that the murderer ‘The Judge’ was one of the students at the school.

“Probably from Class D.”

“Do you think so?”

“Captain, you know well that the criteria for dividing Class D and Class F are not as simple as family background or such. The criterion is a certain ‘possibility’.”

The criterion for dividing Class D and Class F students was, as Moon Hyun-ah said, a certain possibility.

The possibility of becoming an uncontrollable variable.

“To put it bluntly, it’s the possibility of becoming a heinous criminal, a terrorist, a villain. The kids in Class D are special management targets because their possibility exceeds half. So if ‘The Judge’ exists, it must be in Class D , right?”

Moon Hyun-ah’s eyes reached a certain red dot.

“Isn’t it Han Nam-jin? Many people around him have been killed. Yama, Samajun, even those loan sharks had enough motive to be killed by Han Nam-jin. The recent disappearance of Seo Ga-eul is the same. “

“Han Nam-jin had enough motive to commit the crime of Seo Ga-eul’s disappearance?”

“Yes. Han Nam-jin lost his parents in the N-Mart incident, right? Then he would have enough motive to hold a grudge against the Seonam Group. He killed Seo Ga-eul as revenge─.”

“Hyun-ah, as you said, Han Nam-jin is capable of anything and might have already done it. But, I don’t think he’s that bad.”

When Kang Cheol-min was still a ruthless soldier, he recalled the child soldiers he met on the battlefield of a poor third world country.

Han Nam-jin reminded him of them. The only difference between them and Han Nam-jin was their eyes.

Two eyes shining like stars.

There was hope in Han Nam-jin’s gaze.

“Look at ‘No Leftovers Day’. Who would have thought they could do that? Even I, as an instructor, couldn’t do it, but he saw the possibility. That’s the kind of guy he is.”

A guy who sees hope in people can’t be ‘The Judge’ who takes away everyone’s possibilities─.

Instructor Kang Cheol-min thought so and hoped it was true.

But even he had to agree with Moon Hyun-ah when she said, “But Han Nam-jin is strange, isn’t he? So he’s always a special management target.”

“That’s true.”

# # #

“There’s no one here. I thought the remnants of ‘Villainers’ might be around here.”

Class D leader Jung Ui-seon clicked his tongue in disappointment as he looked around the abandoned factory where Yama’s group had been hiding.

I was paired with him for a detailed search operation, and I was itching to ask many questions, to the point of being in pain.

The most pressing question was this.

As far as I knew, Class D leader Jung Ui-seon was popular, smart, handsome, and had a high-ranking prosecutor for a father. He was perfect.

His skills as an awakened one were also excellent.

Except for my father’s toughness, he was popular, good at studying, and handsome, just like me. It was no wonder people mistook us for twins.

Why is someone like him leading a double life as the serial killer “The Judge”?

“Captain, if ‘The Judge’ killed or kidnapped Seo Ga-eul, what do you think the reason would be? If you were in his shoes, why do you think he did it?”

The captain smiled as if he had heard an interesting story.

“Well, maybe it’s because of the corruption or bad stories related to the Seonam Group? The Judge is known for picking out criminals and punishing them.”

“But Seo Ga-eul hasn’t done anything wrong. Even if the Seonam Group committed corruption and crimes, it has nothing to do with Seo Ga-eul personally. Doesn’t that contradict The Judge’s actions?”

“No connection─. Do you really think so? Some people might not agree. Can someone who has lived off dirty money really be innocent?”

“So, Captain, you’re saying The Judge might support guilt by association. Making Seo Ga-eul pay for the Seonam Group’s accumulated corruption─is that what you’re saying?”

“Of course, it’s just my opinion. And talking about this is fun. I’m an INTP, you know. I like having various debates, but I haven’t had a suitable opponent, so I’ve been bored.”

The captain, Jeong Ui-seon, smiled. It was a smile that made it understandable why he was so popular with the girls. At the same time, I began to understand his behavioral principles to some extent.

“Nam-jin, I have something I’m curious about too.”

“What?”

“Earlier, you called me ‘The Judge.’ “Why did you think that?”

“It’s simple. Jin-ramyeon noona only said The Judge was a ‘related person’ at Yeongsa High, not a ‘student.’ It could be a teacher, staff, or student, but you specifically said student.”

“Really? Did I say that?”

“If you were The Judge himself, it would be an easy story to solve. More importantly, you resemble me. I don’t know if you feel it, but people have a ‘line.'”

“Yeom-ra” told me.

He said I smelled like him. Like someone who had crossed the ‘line’ without stepping on the brakes they should have in life.

In the ruined world I came from, there was no line to protect. So it was natural for Yeom-hoon to evaluate me as similar to himself.

I was getting that feeling from Jeong Ui-seon, the model student, popular with everyone, and proud son.

This guy was like me─I felt it from our first meeting. I wondered why I felt that way, but when he talked about The Judge, my doubt turned into certainty.

“You have the unique look of someone who has crossed the line. The look of someone who humans sees as mere numbers or objects. Such people kill without hesitation. Like you.”

A serial killer.

The guy who killed the loan sharks and disrupted my kidnapping plan.

The guy who dealt with Yeom-ra and Sa Ma-jun, ruining my ‘using the boiler freely in a ruined world’ plan.

That guy is in front of me.

“Captain, do you still support the death penalty?”

The smile disappeared from Captain Jeong Ui-seon’s lips.

He took a “fountain pen” out of his pocket.

As I recognized it as a type of “artifact,” the serial killer spoke.

“Namjin, can’t we just pretend we don’t know each other for our own sake? I think we might be able to find Seo Ga-eul soon. How about joining hands with me instead? I think we could be good partners .”

“Why is finding Seo Ga-eul good for both of us?”

“You’re a family member of the victims of the N-Mart arson case. Yeomra and Sama-jun told me before they died. The Seonam Group was connected to that arson case. In other words, they were behind it.”

“Seonam Group was behind it?”

“Aren’t you curious why they did such a thing? Why a corporation would commit such an act. Who gained the most and who lost the most from that arson case─.”

“I don’t know about that. But take my anger first.”

“What? Anger?”

“Because of you! I! Suffered! So much!”

I ran quickly.

With the determination I had vowed to kick the groin of the judge when I met him─.

“Namjin Kick!!!”

A kick at 120 km/h.

But the leg I kicked with all my might was blocked by Jeong Eui-seon’s hand.

Thud-. A lower block. Is this guy a Taekwondo black belt?

“Namjin, such an obvious attack─.”

“Namjin Punch!!!”

Thwack-! My fist struck the face of the murderer who was talking.