The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

052 – Pandora’s Box #3

052 – Pandora’s Box #3

Inside the car gliding through the city full of skyscrapers.

Seo Do-cheol, the man, opened his narrow eyes as he looked at the twinkling lights outside the car window.

His secretary, with long experience, could tell that Seo Do-cheol was in a very bad mood.

Even without words, there was an atmosphere.

“Chairman, did something happen?”

The chairman’s secretary, Chief Kim, pretended to know nothing and asked.

“The b*stard suddenly bit my arm.”

Chairman Seo Do-cheol twitched the corners of his mouth.

Chief Kim recalled that today Seo Do-cheol, the chairman of Seonam, was supposed to meet Goo Se-jun.

Goo Se-jun was a dog raised by Seonam.

However, it had grown so big that it was now a beast trying to develop its own master. Goo Se-jun must have crossed the line in today’s meeting.

While Chief Kim was making such guesses, Seo Do-cheol recalled what had happened earlier.

━Why did you set fire to N Mart?

Seo Do-cheol was at a loss for words for the first time in a long while at the boy’s question.

He had always rebutted even the dagger-like questions of the hearing without much concern.

But he suddenly felt as if he had been bitten on the back of his neck, and his tongue stiffened.

Soon, he realized that he was flustered.

He was dumbfounded, wondering if anyone had ever been so rude to someone as illustrious as himself, the second-ranking person in South Korea.

Is this what it means to have nothing to lose in youth?

In a way, he was envious.

“Well? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Even if I did such a thing, do I have an obligation to honestly tell you? Young friend, you should know that people need to give and take.”

“You mean, ‘A kind word will take you a long way,’ right?”

Was there such a proverb?

Seo Do-cheol immediately realized that the young man in front of him was no ordinary person. It was this keen eye that had brought him to his current position.

He had thought it strange from the moment the young man said he was dating his daughter, Seo Ga-eul.

He must have gone mad.

‘Is he a pathological liar or a delusional patient?’

With that thought, Seo Do-cheol felt that this time was wasted.

“If you want to pick a fight, at least bring some evidence. Evidence that I can’t deny. If there’s nothing more to ask, I’ll be on my way.”

It was at that moment, as he was about to pass by the young man.

“Just one more question.”

Suddenly, the young man turned his head sharply and bit Seo Do-cheol’s arm.

“Argh, damn it!”

When he said he would ask a question, he literally meant biting his arm.

No matter how noble a chaebol, he couldn’t help but curse at the sudden bite. When he came to his senses, the young man was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and laughing.

“Father-in-law, think carefully. When I find the evidence, it won’t end with just biting your arm. You can consider that Ga-eul’s siblings will never be born.”

When he rolled up his sleeve, there was a clear red bite mark.

It hurt as if his bone had cracked.

“You, what’s your name?”

That was the end of the recollection.

Manager Kim was started by the red bite mark the chairman showed him. He never thought that being bitten by a dog meant literally being bitten.

While the secretary was flustered, Chairman Seo Do-cheol asked.

“Manager Kim, have you heard of Han Nam-jin?”

“Yes, I have. He’s the one being pushed as the next leader at Yeongsa High School. He transferred less than a semester ago and has already caught two third-degree wanted criminals.”

“Oh, that guy?”

“I am the family member of the N Mart victim. With all the drama going on, it seems like the embassy is trying to push this guy and his team ‘No Leftovers Day’. But could it be that crazy guy…! “

Seo Do-cheol recalled the male student who had blamed him for the N Mart arson.

Had he heard something from the arrested third-degree wanted criminals and figured something out?

But unfortunately, with all the evidence gone now, Seo Do-cheol could just feign ignorance and deny everything.

The country’s laws, judicial system, and everything else were on his side. That’s why Hanamjin’s name was quickly erased from Seo Do-cheol’s memory.

He only thought about his missing daughter.

Then suddenly, a hypothesis came to mind.

“Hanamjin, could that crazy guy have kidnapped my daughter?”

“Inspector Jin Ri-hyun checked several times, and it’s not him.”

Then where on earth did his daughter disappear to?

Seo Do-cheol was honestly worried about his daughter.

To him, his daughter was everything. She was everything left by his deceased wife and a source of pride that wouldn’t hurt even if he put her in his eyes.

That daughter had disappeared.

Why did he have to be the only one so unfortunate?

Nam Tae-gun, who would have been a co-founder of Seonam, had become a re-elected president and was preparing for an absurd succession, enjoying happiness far ahead.

Seo Do-cheol couldn’t stand the fact that someone was above him.

If he couldn’t be happy, he would drag others down to his level of misery.

Thinking of a good way, he recalled the mad dog that had bitten his arm.

“Manager Kim, what was the headline for tomorrow’s morning paper?”

“It was the scandalous private life of Prince Hyun of the Jeongwang Group.”

“We need to change it. Let’s give the grieving judo master, who lost his beloved daughter, some work.”

# # #

If you ask what the most painful thing in a ruined world is, it was undoubtedly loneliness.

I wanted to have a pretty girlfriend, date like everyone else, get married, have a baby, and happily watch my grandchildren’s antics.

When I felt that way, I would go up to the roof of my shack and look at the stars.

Looking at the sparkling night sky made me feel a little better.

When I thought about how those countless stars were floating alone in the vast universe, my loneliness seemed like nothing.

But now, the city didn’t show the stars well.

“Hunger can be cured by eating ketchup, but what can soothe this incessant loneliness?”

━Eeeengyaing.

Yingying, who had slipped out of the bag, rubbed its body against my face.

The soft and cool cloud-like body felt quite pleasant.

“Yingying, what kind of monster are you?”

Suddenly, I became curious about Yingying’s true identity.

Before it became a cloud, it was a slime.

I wondered if it even had the concept of “slime.”

With that thought, I returned to the basement with Yingying.

Clank, creak-.

As I opened the basement door and entered, I saw Seo Ga-eul and Yoo Yeoreum standing with their backs to each other, facing the wall.

Although they didn’t say anything, it seemed like they had fought while I was away.

“Yeoreum, I brought you some strawberry milk.”

Swish-.

I took out the strawberry milk that Yoo Yeoreum liked from the bag.

Yoo Yeoreum’s eyes widened as she saw the strawberry milk, and she cautiously approached me, slowly reaching out her hand.

Her tense and hesitant demeanor was like that of a stray cat wary of humans.

I think I understand why cat moms keep feeding stray cats.

Was this fun thing only being done by cat moms?

“Where’s my ‘treasure’?”

Seo Ga-eul, with her arms crossed and legs folded, asked haughtily.

I had a lot to say, but I first took out a box from the bag and handed it to Seo Ga-eul.

“Name: Fairy King’s Repository

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

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

“Oh, wow. You really brought it? That’s it! That’s what we need!”

Seo Ga-eul was delighted to receive the box.

Is this box that important?

Seeing my puzzled expression, Seo Ga-eul kindly explained for some reason.

“This box can store the ‘concepts’ I’ve awakened. I can take them out when needed. It’s like my ‘concept refrigerator.’ We definitely need this.”

“And what does that have to do with training?”

“Are you stupid? You should have figured it out by now. I can awaken concepts more easily than you imagine. I suffered a lot in middle school because of all the useless concepts I awakened….”

Not all concepts benefit the awakened.

Look at the butt. The concept of “misfortune” was gnawing at the life of the butt, wasn’t it?

In the same way, it seemed that Seo Ga-eul had this storage box in preparation for the time when she would awaken an unwanted concept.

From now on, it means she can speed up the awakening of concepts.

She can honestly be happy about that.

“So how about you do that ‘soft-soft’ thing for me now?”

“What?”

She flinched.

Seo Ga-eul was taken back.

“What do you want me to do?”

If she brought her treasure, she must have said she would do ‘soft-soft’ for me at least once. It was quite annoying how she was acting as if it was the first time hearing it.

“When did I say I would do that? Bring me proof. Proof.”

Asking for proof here?

“Father and daughter are acting the same. Blood really can’t be hidden.”

“What? Why is my dad being brought up here?”

“I ran into your dad while bringing that box.”

“… … !”

Seo Ga-eul’s attitude, which had been relaxed until just now, suddenly improved.

She seemed to be contemplating, and finally let out a deep sigh.

“Fine! Just do ‘soft-soft’ for me!”

She leaned her chest inward.

What could it be?

“What is it?”

“Can’t you tell? ‘Soft-soft’ is touching my chest.”

It was very persuasive… !

But I could quickly tell that those words were a lie.

【Name: Seo Ga-eul

Possession: View in detail ☜

Status: 《Feigning》 – She is lying.】

I didn’t know what it was, but it seemed like “soft and squishy” wasn’t just about touching breasts.

Should I just pretend not to know and touch her breasts?

No, a man shouldn’t be fooled by the small bait in front of him and miss out on the big catch.

“Seo Ga-eul, you owe me ‘soft and squishy’ three times.”

“What? Hey! Why three times! Why did it suddenly become three times!”

Seo Ga-eul flared up as if she couldn’t accept it.

It was at that moment.

Yoo Yeoreum, who had finished her strawberry milk, cautiously approached me.

“Can you change the blanket? Even if you wash your body clean, it seems meaningless if the bedding you sleep in is dirty. If you change the blanket, I can do you a favor too.”

Yoo Yeoreum said she would do me a favor?

I don’t know why the fierce one suddenly became so compliant.

Did she like the strawberry milk that much!

Seo Ga-eul also chimed in.

“Change mine too. My blanket is for winter, so it’s really hot!”

“Then tell me what ‘soft and squishy’ really is, and I’ll change it.”

“……”

Seo Ga-eul clamped her mouth shut.

In the end, only Yoo Yeoreum got a clean and cool sleeping place. Seo Ga-eul seemed to be going crazy with jealousy, growling like an angry fox.

“Yoo Yeoreum, are you a bar girl? How can you get a blanket by giving a man something in return? How sad would your brother be if he knew this. Aren’t you ashamed?”

“The blanket is so cool and nice. Jina, thank you.”

What is this.

I didn’t expect Yoo Yeoreum, who had been rampaging like a puma on the verge of euthanasia, to turn into a well-tamed house cat.

It’s good for me if she cooperates willingly.

Anyway, I got one chance to ask Yoo Yeoreum for a favor.

Actually, there was something I wanted to ask her.

With that feeling, morning came.

「Revisiting the N-Mart Tragedy-.」

“This is poison.”

Wasn’t this newspaper sponsored by the Seonam Group?

In other words, this was the rat poison spread by Seonam’s Seo Do-cheol.