The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

051 – Pandora’s Box #2

051 – Pandora’s Box #2

Yu Yeoreum was lying completely turned away from Seo Ga-eul.

“Hey! Are you crying?”

Thud, thud-thud-.

Seo Ga-eul picked up some pebbles or concrete fragments lying nearby and threw them at Yu Yeoreum’s back, but there was no response.

She must have been deeply hurt and humiliated by the boy’s examination of her chest just now. It was all as Seo Ga-eul had expected.

“Hey! Are you sulking just because your chest got touched a little? Get a grip. We’ve been kidnapped by a crazy pervert! It wouldn’t be strange if something terrible happened to us from now on!”

“…….”

“Did you see the movie that b*stard was watching? ‘Perfect Education’! That psycho thinks if he keeps us locked up and treats us well, we’ll fall for him because of something called ‘Scorpion CD-ROM’!”

“…….”

Yu Yeoreum didn’t respond to Seo Ga-eul.

It was close to intentional ignoring, which made Seo Ga-eul even angrier.

“Hey! Sulking like that only hurts you! Do you think someone will come to rescue us here? Do you think your brother or father will find you? Not at all! This is that kind of place!”

Seo Ga-eul had been trapped in this basement for quite a long time. The time had grown so long that it now felt like home.

Now, the number of followers on her Stargram, or the flattering greetings from celebrities who came to her penthouse parties every week, didn’t matter to Seo Ga-eul.

What mattered to Seo Ga-eul was gaining the upper hand in this small basement world.

“In case you didn’t know, I’m the one who told that b*stard to kidnap you. Are you mad?”

“…….”

Yu Yeoreum sat up.

She glared at Seo Ga-eul, and in the past, Seo Ga-eul might have felt a strange pressure from those eyes, but not now.

Now, in Seo Ga-eul’s eyes, there was only a 19-year-old girl wearing a shabby T-shirt like a dress, sad because her chest had been examined by the kidnapper.

“Seo Ga-eul, you’re really mean.”

“What about me! I’m a victim too! Do you think I like being trapped here? It’s boring and scary to be alone! I called you because I wanted a friend!”

“I don’t want to deal with your annoyance. Soon people will find us, and we’ll go back to the outside world as if nothing happened.”

Seo Ga-eul didn’t like that.

The attitude of thinking they could naturally return to the outside world─.

She hated that complacency of thinking everything would be fine.

“Yu Yeoreum, you don’t know what the outside world is like because you’ve lived too comfortably. It’s a place you don’t need to go back to.”

“Me, living comfortably? Hearing that from you, a chaebol’s daughter, really makes me angry.”

Yu Yeoreum, who was always cold, couldn’t hold back this time and snapped.

But that reaction only excited Seo Ga-eul more.

“I can say that because I’m a chaebol’s daughter! You don’t know how ruthlessly scary those people can be!”

Yu Yeoreum noticed the fear in Seo Ga-eul’s eyes.

She was terrified of something, just like she had once feared monsters.

“So, you and I just need to stay here. It’s not as bad as you think. There are many inconveniences, but nothing to worry about? You’ll get used to it soon.”

Seo Ga-eul started pacing anxiously.

Watching her, Yu Yeoreum guessed there was something she didn’t know.

But her hatred for Seo Ga-eul was greater than her desire to find out.

It was the first time she had hated someone so much.

From the beginning, many things in her life had changed because Seo Ga-eul was scratched by a cat. If only Seo Ga-eul hadn’t forcibly pulled the cat’s tail at the orphanage that day.

Maybe this was a chance for revenge.

A chance to get back at the Seonam Group that ruined her life and used the orphanage kids as lab rats.

Thud-!

Yu Yeoreum couldn’t hold back and hit Seo Ga-eul’s face.

Then, as if snapping out of her fear, Seo Ga-eul’s face turned vicious, and she slapped Yu Yeoreum’s cheek.

“You crazy b*tch!!!”

Slap-!

# # #

It had been a while since I last came to the headquarters building of the Seonam Group.

It seemed the saying “the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime” was true.

But this time, I entered proudly through the front door.

“I’m from Yeongsa High School. I’m here to investigate the disappearance of Seo Ga-eul and have some personal matters to look into. For reference, this is who I am.”

I showed them a newspaper article on my phone about “No Leftovers Day.” It didn’t take long since I had already clipped all the scenes I appeared in.

The security guards of the conglomerate recognized me quickly and were very pleased.

“Oh, you’re that guy! The famous Han Nam-jin!”

“Yeah, you have a name like a singer. Do you sing well?”

“I’m amazing at singing. Should I sing a song here? Ah, on that blue sky─.”

━Eeeengyaing.

“Maybe next time for the song. But teachers, can I go inside?”

“Sure! Investigators from Yeongsa High or the police are allowed in without inspection. Please, find our Miss Ga-eul.”

“She’s such a kind girl who even remembers the names of lowly guards like us. Thinking about what kind of hardships she might be going through….”

The guards’ eyes reddened with genuine concern for Seo Ga-eul. The problem was that they were saying this in front of me, her kidnapper.

Thanks to that, I was able to enter the group’s headquarters proudly through the front door without any inspection.

Ding-dong-.

I took the elevator that arrived on the first floor and was about to go up to the penthouse when someone behind me cleared their throat.

What?

“Student, this elevator is for executives only.”

I see.

This bald man in a suit must be an executive.

Indeed, his suit looked expensive, and his face exuded an air of dignity.

Even his head shone like an executive’s. He had presence.

“I hurt my leg, so let’s share.”

I showed my casted leg to the bald man.

He cleared his throat and turned his head, seemingly thinking he had no choice.

He got off just below the top floor, and I went up one more floor and got off at the penthouse.

“…….”

The scenery wasn’t much different from the last time I came.

# # #

Should I say the scene was well preserved?

I entered Seo Ga-eul’s room and tried to find the “artifact” that Seo Ga-eul had mentioned. The room was filled with all sorts of things, but it was clear that finding it wouldn’t be difficult because of the concept of “emotion.”

Nose.

Let’s use the nose.

Let’s recall Seo Ga-eul’s scent.

Since it’s Seo Ga-eul’s artifact, it must be deeply imbued with Seo Ga-eul’s scent.

“Is it here?”

Creak-.

I opened the drawer.

And wasn’t it filled with Seo Ga-eul’s underwear?

I was delighted as I took them out.

From noble mtl dot com

“This must be the artifact Seo Ga-eul was talking about!”

━Buzz Buzz.

At that moment, something buzzed out of my bag.

It was a small box that had opened the wardrobe on its own and taken out.

“Name: The Fairy King’s Repository

A box cherished by the Fairy King of the Great Labyrinth. It can store everything in the world.

Contains: 《Hope Lv.3》 – Contains hope equivalent to a first-prize lottery ticket.”

A box filled with hope.

It seemed that the “artifact” Seo Ga-eul was talking about was this box. It was the size of a brick with three holes in it, as if a ‘sheep’ could live inside.

Alright.

Let’s take it.

Mission complete!

It was with that feeling that I was about to take the elevator back down.

Ding-dong-.

Someone arrived at the penthouse by elevator.

He was a man in a black jacket.

His appearance was so ordinary that it would be hard to recognize him if he blended into a crowd.

“Who are you?”

“I’m here from Youngsa High School to investigate the missing person case.”

“Really? I came from the police.”

The man looked me up and down. I did the same to him.

He was an ordinary man with no distinctive features, but he was wearing earphones.

Now his gaze shifted to the cast on my leg.

Worried that things might get troublesome, I got into the elevator and pressed the button for the first floor. But before the elevator doors closed, the man said something strange.

“You can take off the cast now.”

What is he talking about?

It was when I arrived on the first floor and started walking.

I realized that my broken leg didn’t hurt at all.

When I removed the hard cast, my previously broken leg was completely healed. Even the skilled doctors at Yeongsa High School said it would take at least a few more weeks.

In this surprising moment, I thought of the man I had just met. His face was blurry in my memory, but I was sure he was wearing earphones.

Could it have been him?

It was truly a miraculous event.

“Security guards, a man with earphones from the police came to search the penthouse, right? Do you know who he is?”

I asked the security guards in the lobby.

The security guards looked at each other and tilted their heads.

“Man with earphones?”

“No one from the police came. There were no visitors except for students.”

It was strange.

I went back to the penthouse, just in case. The man I had met earlier was nowhere to be seen.

As if he had evaporated.

Instead, there was another man. He looked to be in his mid-forties.

A tall man in a burgundy red suit. He reminded me of the bald executive I had met earlier. Of course, this man had a full head of hair, but he gave off a similar vibe.

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

The middle-aged man asked me.

I decided to ask him back.

“Who are you to be in my girlfriend’s room?”

“…Girlfriend? I’ve never heard that our Ga-eul has a boyfriend.”

Our Ga-eul?

I was suddenly furious.

Was it the man who targeted Seo Ga-eul?

A middle-aged man targeting a high school girl.

That’s a crime!

“You may not know who I am, but I’m the man who put stockings on Ga-eul.”

“I even took a bath with Ga-eul.”

What? I lost!

As I was thinking that it had been a long time since I felt such a sense of defeat, the man extended his hand.

“I am Ga-eul’s father.”

“Oh, nice to meet you, father-in-law. My name is Han Nam-jin. I have one question. Have you seen a man in a leather jacket with earphones around here?”

“Well? Even if I had, do I have an obligation to tell you? And I’m not your father-in-law, I’m Seo Do-cheol.”

So that’s how it’s going to be? He was a strict man.

Then let’s change the question.

“Father-in-law, why did you set fire to N Mart?”