The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

055 – Rat Poison That Kills When Eaten #3

055 – Rat Poison That Kills When Eaten #3

The morning the male student went to school.

The air in the basement, slowly heading towards summer, was as cold as winter.

It was because of what happened in the morning.

“You wish there was a cycle machine? Do you think this is a picnic? Do you think this is some kind of training ground?”

Seo Gaeul snapped at Yoo Yeoreum.

The sharp, bee-sting-like sarcasm pierced Yoo Yeoreum’s heart.

Yoo Yeoreum recalled what had happened earlier.

To hand over the morning newspaper, Yoo Yeoreum had spoken to the male student Han Namjin, who had come to the basement.

She had long hesitated to say it, but she finally mentioned that she wished there was a cycle machine in the basement.

She couldn’t ask to be let out of this place or to write a letter home, but she thought a cycle machine might be a negotiable request.

“Health management is important.”

Yoo Yeoreum replied cynically, but she was half sincere.

Being trapped in this basement for a long time made her feel like her muscles were wasting away.

Yoo Yeoreum just wanted to do something meaningful rather than just killing time in here, and that was the cycle machine.

But Seo Gaeul criticized Yoo Yeoreum’s attitude.

“Wow, were you the kind of girl who wagged her tail at boys and took all the good stuff? I’m really shocked. What was it? Didn’t you reject a senior’s confession in middle school, saying you weren’t interested in dating?”

Seo Gaeul and Yoo Yeoreum were alumni of Baekhwa Middle School.

Although they had never been in the same class, one was famous as the only daughter of a global conglomerate, and the other as the daughter of a Korean presidential candidate, so they exchanged light greetings.

The Yoo Yeoreum that Seo Gaeul remembered was a girl with short hair for a girl and usually wore the school gym uniform.

She was more popular among the girls than the boys. Nevertheless, some boys approached Yoo Yeoreum and asked her out on dates.

Given the nature of Baekhwa Middle School, known as the ‘noble school,’ all those boys were sons of ministers or some conglomerate heirs.

But Yoo Yeoreum rejected all their attention.

“It’s not something I’m interested in,” was the reason.

So there were rumors that Yoo Yeoreum might actually like girls—looking back, it was clear that all of that was just pretense.

“Yoo Yeoreum, are you some kind of prostitute?”

Seo Ga-eul openly criticized Yoo Yeoreum for flirting with a male student just to get a “cycle machine.”

Yoo Yeoreum was taken back.

“What? “What did I do to deserve that kind of insult?”

“Do you think I don’t know you were flirting with Han Nam-jin? You kept making eye contact, bumped into him pretending it was an accident, and then apologized! Are you out of your mind? It’s disgusting.”

Yoo Yeoreum’s face turned red for a moment.

She hadn’t expected Seo Ga-eul to see through her subtle attempts to seduce the male student to get the cycle machine.

‘As expected, Seo Ga-eul has much more experience in this kind of trickery than I do.’

Yoo Yeoreum recalled Seo Ga-eul, whom she had known since middle school.

In Yoo Yeoreum’s eyes, Seo Ga-eul was the epitome of pretense.

Every single action, even the act of accidentally dropping a handkerchief, was all calculated.

Isn’t it exhausting to live like that?—Yoo Yeoreum thought, but she didn’t feel like saying anything about it. There was no reason to.

However, after being trapped in the same room, Yoo Yeoreum felt the unfairness of knowing so little about Seo Ga-eul.

Still, the upper hand remained with Yoo Yeoreum.

She had managed to get the cycle machine through the male student.

More than just acquiring the machine, realizing that “it was possible to make a deal with the male student” was a significant gain.

So when Yoo Yeoreum regained her composure, Seo Ga-eul spoke irritably.

“Are you really thinking of messing with me? Do you know what happened to Baek Yeo-ul, who was flirting with me?”

The name Baek Yeo-ul momentarily took Yoo Yeoreum’s memory back to her middle school days.

Seo Ga-eul had been very close to Baek Yeo-ul in middle school, to the extent that they seemed closer than real sisters.

Best friends.

Even Yoo Yeoreum, who didn’t know much about their relationship, could see they looked like inseparable friends. But after entering high school, the relationship between Seo Ga-eul and Baek Yeo-ul had rapidly cooled.

To be precise, it was closer to Seo Ga-eul unilaterally bullying Baek Yeo-ul.

Yoo Yeoreum suddenly became curious.

Why did Seo Ga-eul bully and ostracize her friend Baek Yeo-ul?

They had clearly been very close.

The headquarters building of the Seonam Group.

At the very top floor, there was a penthouse.

So, what was on the floor right below it?

Chairman Seo Do-cheol’s office.

That’s why the bald executives were always coming and going from the floor right below the top.

Before getting off the elevator, Jin Ramyeon Nuna warned me several times, “You absolutely must not cause any trouble.” Am I really that unreliable?

Where can you find someone as well-behaved as me?

Ding-dong-.

And so, we arrived at the chairman’s office.

Chairman Seo Do-cheol looked even more emaciated than when I saw him last night. His office was such a mess that it didn’t even feel like a chairman’s room.

The flowers and trees in the pots were all uprooted, and there were broken glass pieces everywhere. Oh dear, did he break the aquarium?

The poor dead fish.

“Chairman, this is Inspector Jin Ri-hyeon. And this here is….”

“Father-in-law, I’m Han Nam-jin. Nice to see you again.”

“Hey! You! I told you to behave, why are you causing trouble right away!”

Jin Ramyeon Nuna scolded me immediately.

But Chairman Seo Do-cheol’s eyes were fixed not on us, but on the tablet PC placed on his mahogany desk.

He was so engrossed in it that he didn’t even seem to notice our arrival.

I glanced up and saw that a video of Seo Ga-eul was playing.

Thud-.

Chairman Seo Do-cheol only turned his gaze away after replaying the 30-second video several times. And without any flowery language, he got straight to the point.

“This ‘Zero Cola Fresh’ is something that only a very few executives knew about. It’s an item that recharges the vitality of the Awakened. How could the hostage-taker have known about it?”

“Isn’t it likely the work of an insider? I think the demands he made were a kind of warning. Like, ‘I’m an insider who knows important information about Seonam, so don’t mess around.'”

No, I just really wanted to drink a fresh cola.

I hope they release it soon.

“Then what does it mean to put the drink in a glass bottle?”

Seo Do-cheol asked.

This time, even Jin Ramyeon Nuna shook her head and said, “I don’t know.”

And then she looked at me.

“Brother, what do you think with your quirky ideas?”

Why put the drink in a glass bottle?

Because it tastes better that way.

“Maybe the kidnapper just likes drinking beverages. Even the same drink tastes better when it’s in a cold glass bottle. On the other hand, PET bottles taste the worst.”

“The kidnapper who kidnapped the daughter of the head of Seonam and only sent a message after a month. Would such a meticulous person, who leaves no trace, make such a demand just because he likes drinks?”

But it’s true.

This situation where I can’t convey my true feelings is really tor. tur. ing!

Feeling frustrated, I decided to roughly steer the conversation away from drinks.

“Father-in-law, what do you think about this first agenda? The condition is to disclose the transaction details between Villainous and Seonam. According to the demands, the survival probability of Gaeul would also increase, right?”

“…….”

Chairman Seo Do-cheol looked at me.

Then he asked Jin Ramen’s sister.

“Why is this guy here?”

“He is my assistant who will help me for a few days starting today. He’s a trustworthy friend.”

“Send him out.”

“Sure. Brother, could you step outside for a moment?”

What?

With that, I was kicked out of the chairman’s office.

But I had the concept of “emotion,” and the conversations beyond the thick door reached my sensitive ears without much distortion.

━I think it could be the work of Villainous, including Gu Se-jun. Second, it could be President Nam Tae-geon’s retirement. Thirdly, it could be the Jeongwang Group, which has always coveted my position─.

Did Seo Do-cheol point out three suspects for the kidnapping?

Villainous, the President, and the Jeongwang Group.

Of course, they were all wrong.

With so many enemies, he had no idea who had harmed him.

Anyway, Seo Do-cheol seemed to be upset as if he had taken my poison bait.

If I sprinkle a little more poison, he will eventually vomit out everything he has inside.

The ultimate mastermind behind the case I’m investigating and the clear evidence to strangle him.

While I was thinking that, a man who seemed to be the chairman’s secretary handed me a glass of cola.

It was “Zero Cola Fresh.”

“It’s a bit early, but this is the product that will be in each store starting this week. Would you like to try it?”

Click, hiss-!

As the bubbles rose up, I quickly brought my mouth to it, and a festival unfolded from my mouth to my throat.

This is the taste.

My head was spinning.

With my brain activated, I thought it would be good to slowly change the kidnapping location of Seo Ga-eul and Yoo Yeoreum.

The investigation will accelerate, and I can’t keep them next door forever.

Honestly, it’s a miracle they haven’t been caught until now.

“Please find Ga-eul.”

At that moment, the secretary spoke to me.

「Name: Secretary Kim

Status: 《Worried》 – Genuinely concerned about Seo Ga-eul’s disappearance.」

“Ga-eul is such a good kid. She doesn’t deserve such terrible treatment anywhere.”

“Seo Ga-eul is like an angel.”

# # #

“Han Nam-jin, we need to change your position.”

After a long conversation with Chairman Seo Do-cheol, Jin Ramen Noona informed me of my transfer.

“From tomorrow, you’ll be joining the ‘Great Labyrinth’ exploration team. I’ve already talked to the team leader, so there shouldn’t be any problems. You know Jeon Somi, right? Not a good connection, but still .”

Who is Jeon Somi again?

Is she the one from the viral video where she fell and showed her underwear?

That model.

Suddenly, I remembered that I was supposed to explore the labyrinth with that model.

Am I being transferred there?

“Why?”

“Jeon Somi is closely related to Wang Ja-hyun. Everyone knows Wang Ja-hyun was very interested in Seo Ga-eul. And according to the access records, Wang Ja-hyun was the last person to meet Seo Ga-eul.”

On the day Seo Ga-eul was kidnapped.

Wang Ja-hyun did visit Seo Ga-eul.

That’s why Wang Ja-hyun is being suspected as the kidnapper.

“If it’s Wang Ja-hyun, he might have had access to internal information of the Seonam Group, like ‘Zero Cola Fresh’. Originally, ‘Jeongwang’ and ‘Seonam’ were one, right?”

“So you’re telling me to be a spy.”

“Exactly. Approach Jeon Somi and dig up some information about Wang Ja-hyun. If you approach Wang Ja-hyun directly, you’ll be suspected right away, so take it slow.”

Not really interested.

When I showed a subtle reaction, Jin Ramyeon noona, who had no secrets, added.

“Chairman Seo Do-cheol said that the ‘evidence’ you want is likely to be in Je-wang. I don’t know what this means, but he said you would understand if I told you this.”

Evidence.

Is there a chance that the evidence that Seo Do-cheol ordered the arson at N Mart is in Je-wang?

If I obtain the evidence, I will be able to make Seo Do-cheol cry.

“Alright. Let’s do it.”

With that feeling, I changed my position to “Great Labyrinth Exploration” and changed my midterm exam subject.

“By the way, have you ever been to the Great Labyrinth?”

“No.”

In fact, I had never been to the real “Great Labyrinth,” not the “simple labyrinth” used for practice training at Yeongsa High School.

In many ways, it’s unknown. They say it’s the land of fairies?

As I harbored some expectations, Jin Ramyeon noona said.

“Let’s go for a tour today. There’s an entrance to the labyrinth in the basement of the Seonam headquarters.”

Really? That meant that the Seonam Group had exclusive access to the Great Labyrinth.

No wonder they became a global conglomerate in just 10 years.

It was when I stood at the entrance of the underground Great Labyrinth.

Jin Ramyeon noona said, looking at the grand stone structure like the gate of hell.

“Wait a moment. I’ll tell the person in charge to open the door. Normally, it takes ten awakened people to push and barely open this door.”

Woo-woong-.

From noble mtl dot com

At that moment, the ring “Seed” on my hand started to vibrate strangely, and the firmly closed door opened with a loud noise.

Gooo, kuung-!

“Huh? Why is it opening on its own?”

Even Jin Ramyeon noona, who had a good sense, just looked around as if she couldn’t understand the situation.