The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

050 – Pandora’s Box #1

050 – Pandora’s Box #1

A bustling street filled with people.

A man with earphones in his ears walked aimlessly among the crowd.

━Even Yeomra and Pinocchio have already been taken down. Isn’t this the first time something like this has happened?

━Getting beaten by a high school student, there’s no greater humiliation.

━Could this be a setup? Are they trying to throw us under the bus?

The noises coming from the man’s earphones kept breaking the peace.

The voices were filled with anxiety, anger, and fear.

━The problem is that Yeomra is dead. He held the key to negotiating with the Seonam Group, like the arson directive.

━Aren’t we the only ones who will take the fall if this keeps up? Those b*stards. They use us as they please.

━Shouldn’t we strike first before we get hit?

“Shh.”

At the man’s small voice, the noisy sounds in the earphones gradually became so quiet that even breathing couldn’t be heard.

The man enjoyed this silence.

He knew well that truly precious time was extremely short.

Now, the man lightly looked around.

He could feel the faces of the people who came out to the streets ahead of summer, each carrying their own worries and concerns.

Because he was wearing earphones, he couldn’t hear their voices, but to the man─Gu Sejun, it felt like countless outcries were piercing his ears.

Even when he tightly closed his eyes, the countless outcries kept shouting directly into his brain.

All kinds of anguish, worries, and screams─.

As if to shake off those outcries, Gu Sejun shuddered and spoke.

“Don’t worry. I’m thinking of meeting them in person soon to talk.”

━Talk? With the chairman of the Seonam Group?

━Are you an idiot? It must be someone higher up.

━If Sejun talks to them directly, the problem will be solved!

“Then, let’s all return to our positions. Dismissed.”

Dismissed-.

At the words of Gu Sejun, the highest-ranking officer of the Villainers, a few shadows in the street disappeared into the bright crowd.

“Throw us under the bus.”

Gu Sejun thought the time had come.

The time to stop playing childish villain games and become the real deal.

To do that, it seemed best to go to Seo Ga-eul’s penthouse first.

Because what he wanted would be there.

# # #

Swoosh—.

The sound of water coming from the bathroom was quite loud.

I had no choice but to shout against the bathroom door.

From noble mtl dot com

“Don’t use too much water since the water bill is high!”

On the other side of this bathroom door, Yoo Yeo-reum was bathing in the nude.

Originally, I had planned to wash Yoo Yeo-reum, but she threatened, “If you even touch my body with your fingertips, I’ll smash my head against the wall and die.” So, reluctantly, she went into the bathroom alone.

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if the kidnapped hostage, Yoo Yeo-reum, might have some other thoughts, so I pressed my ear against the bathroom door and listened closely to the sounds coming from inside.

Splash, splash—. Plop, plop—. Swoosh—.

Thanks to my “emotions,” I could roughly tell which part she was washing just from the sound of the splashing water.

She must be washing below her chest now.

It must be uncomfortable to wash with handcuffs on, but she seems to have a good technique.

Drip—.

At that moment, the sound of water stopped.

Swish, swish—.

For a moment, I heard the sound of her drying her body with a soft towel.

Clunk, creak—.

The door opened, and Yoo Yeo-reum appeared in the living room, wrapped in a long bath towel. I took her into the room and dried her hair with a hairdryer.

Vrrrr—.

Maybe it was because her hair was so long, but just drying it took quite a bit of time and effort.

Am I going to have to spend time like this every day?

It seems too dangerous.

“Don’t you need to go to the bathroom?”

Yoo Yeo-reum flared up at my question.

“I haven’t eaten anything for months.”

Photosynthesis must be good for her.

Yoo Yeo-reum grumbled as if she was really in a bad mood and turned her head away.

“Your family?”

Is she bothered by the family photo hanging in the living room?

Before I could even answer, she added coldly, as if she had come to some conclusion.

“You don’t look like your mom at all.”

“I do resemble my dad more than my mom.”

“Is your dad a criminal like you?”

Yoo Yeoreum’s story was filled with hatred, betrayal, and ridicule. It felt like she was asking, “Do your parents know what you’re doing?”

Was she hoping I’d feel guilty?

The fortunate thing was that I wasn’t a villain.

I was doing the right thing, so I could stand proudly in front of my parents’ photos.

“Come to think of it, when my dad wanted to marry my mom, there was strong opposition from the family, so he took her and ran away as if he was kidnapping her. Is kidnapping a family tradition?”

My dad wasn’t as good as me, but he was a man of action and determination. Because of that, he started many businesses, most of which failed.

He had no skills, only action.

“My mom and dad fought every day. Honestly, they weren’t a good couple, but they couldn’t help it. As the money in the house dwindled, everyone became anxious─.”

That day was no different.

“It was my birthday, and my mom made ketchup kimchi stew. Even I got tired of it after eating it for months. So when I got my part-time job money, I suggested we eat out.”

Eating out meant going to the food court of a nearby large mart and grilling some meat.

But it was still a rare outing, so my mom put on makeup for the first time in a while, and my dad dressed neatly and even slicked back his hair with oil.

We looked like a harmonious family.

It must have seemed that way, and strictly speaking, we were a harmonious family in our own way.

“But while I was briefly on the first floor, a fire broke out. My mom and dad found me from the fourth-floor terrace and shouted for me to run, but the stairs were already cut off, so there was nothing I could do .”

“……”

“Sometimes I think, what if I had just stayed home and eaten the ketchup kimchi stew quietly?”

“…Is that why you put ketchup in your ramen? Do you eat it as a form of penance, thinking that your family’s misfortune and the big incident happened because you were picky about food?”

Yoo Yeoreum’s expression, which had been as harsh as a storm cloud for the past few days, has softened considerably. I honestly shared my feelings with her.

“No, it’s just that I like ketchup. And it wasn’t my fault that the fire started, was it? The ones who set the fire were to blame. The ones who ordered them to set the fire were to blame.”

The arsonist was Yeomra.

But there were those who ordered him to set the fire.

According to Jung Eui-sun, the class president of Class D, the ‘Seonam Group’ was a strong candidate. They might have deliberately created the incident to gain political advantage.

─A crazy awakened one committed a crime!─

They incited fear among the citizens to strongly regulate and oppress the awakened ones, implementing the “Awakened Control Act.”

Because of that, awakened ones like me had to undergo thorough DNA tests and various psychological exams at least once every six months.

This “smartwatch” from Yeongsa High School was actually used to monitor students’ locations in real-time. Although there was some margin of error.

Yu Yeoreum spoke.

“Soft drink.”

“Sodium hydroxide.”

I countered with a strong word, as it seemed like Yu Yeoreum had unexpectedly proposed a word chain.

It would be a bit of a hassle to come up with words that start with “yum.”

In reality, Yu Yeoreum raised her eyebrows as if she had been ambushed.

“What are you talking about? I can drink soft drinks. Soft drinks can mostly be made with nutrients, but among them, I like strawberry milk the most. Remember that.”

# # #

“Must be nice. After taking a bath.”

Seo Ga-eul casually shot a remark at Yu Yeoreum.

A honeybee leading with its stinger probably wouldn’t be sharper than that.

Indeed, there was a pleasant fragrance coming from Yu Yeoreum.

The smell of shampoo wafted from her long, voluminous hair.

Had the bath washed away her bad mood, or was it that Yu Yeoreum had fully regained her composure?

She looked completely at ease, even in the face of Seo Ga-eul’s mental attack.

“Like you said, the bath felt good.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Her attitude and posture seemed to have thoroughly irritated Seo Ga-eul.

Now, Seo Ga-eul was furious and was doing everything she could to make Yu Yeoreum feel bad.

“Look at her chest! It’s smaller! Did she do something? Hanam Jin! Look at her chest! It’s smaller than usual! She’s definitely up to something!”

Seo Ga-eul was pointing at Yu Yeoreum’s chest, which was hidden under my oversized t-shirt, as if it were a dress. Indeed, Yu Yeoreum’s chest appeared smaller than I remembered.

What the hell?

What kind of trick did she pull?

Could she have done something to escape?

But Yu Yeoreum simply responded in a blunt tone, as though to say, *What nonsense?*

“I’m telling you I’m completely drained. The amount of light I had saved is all used up. If I have a lot of stored light, my chest gets bigger. When it’s all gone, it shrinks to this C cup. “

So, this C cup is what it shrinks to after everything runs out? Even with that, it was still far above the average size in Korea. As I thought this, Seo Ga-eul smirked wickedly, like a mischievous nine-tailed fox.

“What bullshit is that? Are your breasts batteries or something? She definitely did something weird in the bath. Pervert! You should check it yourself, before things get worse!”

Seo Ga-eul’s words did have some merit.

It might be better to check it directly than

“Go ahead and touch it to check.”

Seo Ga-eul wore a triumphant expression, like a detective who had just caught a thief.

It seemed as if she thought she had won.

On the other hand, Yoo Yeoreum flushed, looking quite flustered. She sighed deeply, as if there was nothing she could do. Then, she made a suggestion to me.

“Fine. I’ll let you check, but in return, buy me strawberry milk before today ends, if there’s no problem.”

She was offering a kind of trade: let me check her chest, and in exchange, buy her strawberry milk.

“Strawberry milk? Hey! You’re kidnapped right now, and you’re thinking about that? Think about your situation! Strawberry milk, really? Stop being ridiculous!”

Seo Ga-eul was very much against this trade.

As for my decision…

“Alright.”

I decided that, instead of checking Yoo Yeoreum’s chest, I would buy her strawberry milk if there was no problem. It seemed like a reasonable deal to me.

And so, I reached out and touched Yoo Yeoreum’s chest.

Over her clothes.

Three times.

With the concept of “emotion” in mind, I figured after three touches, I would be able to tell whether something was wrong or not.

As my hand made contact, I felt an unexpectedly firm, elastic sensation under my palm.

Beside me, Seo Ga-eul burst into laughter.

“Our Yeoreum’s never getting married now!”

“…”

Yoo Yeoreum bit her lips tightly.

＜Name: Yoo Yeoreum

Status: 《Humiliation》 – Being touched by an evil villain on her chest is extremely humiliating, and she feels like crying, but she’s enduring it.＞

Although she didn’t show it, she seemed to really dislike the situation.

By the way, this was my second time touching a woman’s chest.

The first time was with Jin Ramyeon, right? Back then, I was too overwhelmed to think, but now, it was different.

I was a man.

That meant I didn’t casually molest women.

So, I touched Yoo Yeoreum’s chest three times in a

“No problem at all. It really seems like my chest shrinks and expands depending on the amount of light stored, just like summer said.”

“… Then hurry up and take your hand off. And don’t forget the strawberry milk.”

Yoo Yeoreum exhaled a rough breath, reaffirming our deal.

I, Han Namjin.

A man who keeps his promises no matter what.

“Alright, one strawberry milk. I’ll go get it now, okay?”

“Hey! Wait! “I want apple juice!”

At that moment, Seo Gaeul shouted.

Apple juice.

It seemed like she wanted to drink apple juice too.

“Seo Gaeul, you didn’t get your chest checked.”

“Then should I get it checked too?”

“No, you don’t need to get it checked, so why bother.”

“… What… wha, what did you say?”

Seo Gaeul’s face turned extremely red after being rejected by me.

Like a well-ripened apple.

「Name: Seo Gaeul

Possession: Click to view in detail ☜

Status: 《Great Humiliation》 – Feeling completely pissed off as if she lost to Yoo Yeoreum after being rejected by the kidnapper!”

She was huffing and puffing as if she was really angry, enough to make me flinch. But I wasn’t going to be swayed by that expression.

From now on, I had to focus on truly training Seo Gaeul.

“Seo Gaeul, if you succeed in awakening your concept, I’ll buy you apple juice then.”

“Concept? Well said. Then bring me my “Bogu”. It should be in my room. I need it to easily acquire the concept.”

Seo Gaeul’s Bogu?

I thought it meant the Japanese sword in the treasure room, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Seo Gaeul had multiple Bogus too.

“And if you bring the Bogu, I’ll do the ‘Malleable’ thing once.”

“What?”

“Malleable”? What’s that?

I didn’t know what it was, but it was a word that seemed to fry my brain.

Is it a word learned in high school or college?

As someone who only graduated middle school, I had no idea what that ‘soft and squishy’ thing was!

Whatever it was, if I brought Seo Ga-eul’s “Bogu,” I would be able to find out what that ‘soft and squishy’ thing was.

Hehehe-.

I laughed involuntarily, as if my brain was broken.

Let’s go back to Seo Ga-eul’s penthouse!

This time, confidently, through the front door.