The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

060 – Moving to a New House #1

060 – Moving to a New House #1

Oh Deok-hee was a high school girl who was born and raised in a very ordinary home.

Aside from her father’s drunkenness being a bit annoying and her younger sister entering her rebel teenage years, life was relatively peaceful.

Today, she had invited a friend over to her house.

“Deok-soon, thanks for inviting me. I’ve never been to a friend’s house because of my principles. Hehe… .”

“Me too… I haven’t had any friends since I transferred last year.”

Baek Yeo-ul and Oh Deok-hee ordered chicken and had fun together.

As time passed and they laid down on a blanket together, Baek Yeo-ul started talking about how Han Nam-jin had shown up today and had given the seniors a satisfying blow.

There were many parts of the story that Oh Deok-hee found impressive.

‘Is Han Nam-jin not afraid of the seniors? What does he plan to do if he gets sued later or meets the police after being locked up like that?’

A reckless, headstrong way of solving problems.

For Oh Deok-hee, it was something that would have been impossible even if she had come back to life, so she could only shake her head in disbelief.

On the other hand, there was a thought that because of such a radical approach, no matter what happened, Han Nam-jin would handle it well on his own. He was a fascinating friend. She felt a bit past.

“Anyway, I survived thanks to the male friend.”

Kkotok-!

At that moment, Baek Yeo-ul’s phone rang.

A message had arrived.

【Namjin: Which one sounds more sincere? Judge just by listening to their voices.】

It was a voice file from Han Namjin, and when it played, familiar voices were heard.

─Baek Yeoul, I’m sorry! I was wrong! Please forgive me!

─I’ll do better from now on! I’m really more sorry! Yeoul! Yeoul!

“Hey, that’s Jeon Som and Jang Hyun-ah’s voices! They must have apologized to me! Duksun, can you hear this? I should save it and listen to it whenever I’m having a hard time!”

Oh Deokhee was surprised because she never thought she would hear such earnest apologies from the fierce Jeon Som and Jang Hyun-ah.

“Ugh, it feels good, but I’ve received help from Namjin again. It’s hard to repay the debt just by making lunchboxes every day.”

Baek Yeoul didn’t like owing Han Namjin.

She wanted to be an equal partner with Han Namjin.

Deep in thought, Baek Yeoul came to a conclusion.

‘Han Namjin liked Seo Gaul.’

But now, Seo Gaul had been kidnapped by a bad person and was missing.

“If I catch the culprit and find Seo Gaul, Namjin will be happy, right? Duksun, what do you think?”

Oh Deokhee was greatly surprised.

Seo Gaul was a rival, a nemesis, whatever you wanted to call her to Baek Yeoul. To think she would find Seo Gaul for Han Namjin’s sake.

“But if Seo Gaul comes back, Yeoul, you and Namjin…”

“I know! My… my nose is three feet long! But I don’t want to gain from someone else’s misfortune! And I feel like it’s my fault that Seo Gaul ended up like that…”

It was said that Seo Gaul and Baek Yeoul were inseparable friends until some point in middle school. Baek Yeoul seemed to be secretly worried about Seo Gaul.

‘A friend…’

Oh Deokhee didn’t have many friends until middle school.

She could count them on one hand.

In fact, she didn’t want to remember her middle school days much.

But seeing her friend Baek Yeoul tried hard in many ways, she thought she couldn’t just sit still.

“…Someone who can help find Seo Gaul… I know someone. We weren’t that… close, though.”

Tap tap tap-.

Oh Deokhee opened the Star app on her phone and searched for a girl.

“…It’s her. She went to the same middle school as me…”

The girl had lots of photos taken at famous overseas spots and cool lounges.

She had many followers. About 400,000.

Seeing the recent updates of the girl who seemed to be living happily, Oh Deok-hee’s hands trembled uncontrollably.

In other words, this girl was Oh Deok-hee’s ‘Seo Ga-eul.’

The difference was that they had never been close friends, but rather had a one-sided bullying relationship.

It was because of this girl that Oh Deok-hee awakened to the concept of “rival.”

However, Baek Yeoul, who didn’t know this, felt a liking for the girl in the photo because she looked very pretty.

With her cold and sophisticated appearance, long straight hair, and a mole near her eye, she resembled a character from a comic book on Oh Deok-hee’s shelf.

“She looks just like Tomie from Junji Ito’s horror manga! Her name is… Jin Eun-byeol? I’ve heard that name somewhere. Where did I hear it… Jin Eun-byeol… Is she an Awakened ?”

Jin Eun-byeol.

Oh Deok-hee recalled her cold smile.

And the terrifying “concept” that made everyone wary.

# # #

“Damn it, Jang Hyun-ah, you b*tch. Because of you, I…

State: 《Great Fury》 – Angry at the misfortune they are experiencing. On the other hand, the desire for revenge against Wang Ja-hyun and Jin Eun-byeol, who deceived them, has grown.”

「Name: Jang Hyun-ah

Possession: 《Vibration Lv.3》 – Can produce vibrations as precise as construction machinery.

State: 《Fear》 – Desperately wants to prevent the spread of humiliating videos. Afraid of having to pay penalties if numerous advertising contracts are canceled due to controversy.”

Looking into their inner thoughts, it seemed like everyone would cooperate well.

The concept of「Emotion」is so good.

We escaped the 「Great Labyrinth」 like that.

It was around 10 PM.

When I received the 「Cage of Reduction」 from them, Jang Hyun-ah spoke coldly under the dark moonlight.

“There’s a birthday party for Jin Eun-byeol soon. It’s an event where only the children of political and business figures are invited, and Wang Ja-hyun invited me to it. He said he really wants me to come.”

Jin Eun-byeol. The daughter of the Samjin Group.

Mentioning that name, Jang Hyun-ah showed a sign of fear.

“If you mess with Wang Ja-hyun, you’ll inevitably clash with Jin Eun-byeol. Are you okay with that? It’s best to avoid becoming her enemy.”

Is Jang Hyun-ah, who is so proud, a woman who would back down?

Why? It’s rather interesting.

I returned home, finished various tasks, and laid down.

Today, I solved the ‘most troubling issue recently,’ so I should be able to sleep well.

As I was thinking that, someone banged on the door.

“Are you Han Nam-jin? We received a report, so we need to investigate your house.”

“Check the front, back, and side houses! Student, do you have a basement?”

From noble mtl dot com

Are the police investigating?

Even the basement and the neighboring house?

Who did this?

For a moment, Jang Hyun-ah and Jeon Somi came to mind, but I quickly dismissed the thought. Those girls didn’t have the guts to report to the police. If someone had such guts, it would be─.

Seo Do-chul.

Is it that guy?

“Sir! There’s a basement in the neighboring house! It’s locked with a padlock!”

# # #

Late dawn. The chairman’s office of the Seonam Group.

Under the dim lighting, a cold-looking female student sat in front of Seo Do-chul.

Seodo-cheol did not let a single expression slip.

The woman in front of him was a witch.

A witch wearing the skin of a beautiful human.

It was Jin Eun-byeol.

“I never expected Chairman Seo to contact us first. My father told me to assist Chairman Seo in every possible way.”

“Miss Eun-byeol, since we are both busy, let’s get straight to the point. With your ‘concept,’ can you find out where Gaeul is?”

“Of course. But from now on, you must never answer any of my questions.”

Jin Eun-byeol sipped her tea and laughed softly.

Then she unfolded a long fan to cover her face, and as her delicate laughter gradually subsided, a strange phenomenon occurred.

The surrounding lights flickered, and the windows began to rattle as if caught in an untimely wind.

“─Seodo-cheol.”

A thunderous voice came from beyond the fan.

“Seodo-cheol.”

The voice was too eerie to belong to a girl the same age as his daughter, sounding like the cry of a deity from the depths of the underworld.

Seodo-cheol kept his mouth shut, not answering the call.

Wondering what was about to happen with a subtle sense of anticipation.

Soon, a sinister shouted voice from beyond the fan.

“Your daughter has been taken by a tiger and is trapped in the cloud-filled southern underground.”

The cloud-filled southern underground.

For a moment, Seodo-cheol thought of the geographical south, then shook his head and changed his line of thought.

Could ‘south’ refer not to the direction itself but to Nam Tae-geon or Ha Nam-jin?

Coincidentally, both names contain ‘Nam.’

“Chairman, have you found Miss Gaeul?”

Seodo-cheol was stroking his prickly chin to hide his mixed emotions when Jin Eun-byeol asked again from beyond the fan.

“Chairman, have you found Miss Gaeul?”

“Have you found Miss Gaeul, Chairman?”

“Hehehe-.”

Seodo-cheol was displeased with the repeated questioning.

What would happen if he answered this question?

“I still haven’t found it.”

“Liar.”

“Murderer.”

“Devil.”

“Mr. Do-chul─. Save me─.”

A single voice heard beyond the fan snapped Seo Do-chul back to his senses.

It was because the voice begging for help was too familiar.

“…Who are you?”

“I am the Black Star.”

Thud-!

At that moment, someone grabbed Seo Do-chul’s shoulder.

“Chairman, are you okay?”

Turning his head, Jin Eun-byeol, who had been sitting across from him with the fan open, was now standing beside him, looking down at him with narrow eyes.

Seo Do-chul felt as if he were possessed by something.

Perhaps he really was.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re sweating a lot. I clearly told you not to respond to any voices you hear. Sometimes in life, the right answer is to just ignore ‘certain things’.”

The girl’s eyes seemed to look down on the man who was several times her age.

Perhaps she really was.

“Chairman, since my father and your godfather asked me, I will definitely find Gaeul, so don’t worry. Instead, please handle the correction report and press conference well.”

Advice from a much younger woman.

Seo Do-chul accepted it humbly and decided to give a small return.

“Miss Eun-byeol, I have one piece of advice for you too. If you encounter a student named Han Nam-jin while looking for your daughter, make sure to avoid or ignore him thoroughly.”

Jin Eun-byeol muttered to herself, “Han Nam-jin…?” and then smiled.

It was a beautiful smile, but there was something chilling about it.

“Well? That person should avoid me.”

With those words, Jin Eun-byeol left the chairman’s office.

The strange darkness that had been lingering in the office seemed to dissipate.

Suddenly, he became curious.

What would happen if a mad dog and a witch met, and in the end, who would avoid whom-.

I don’t know if that will ever happen, but still.

─Your daughter was bitten by a tiger and trapped in the underground of the cloud-filled south.

Recalling the story he heard beyond the fan, Seo Do-cheol picked up his phone and called his secretary.

“Chief Kim, this time, focus the search on the basement. That guy Han Nam-jin is really bothering me. Make sure to search his house and the nearby basements.”

Seo Do-cheol ordered the police to search Han Nam-jin’s house and the surrounding area.

He was almost certain that Han Nam-jin was the kidnapper.

An hour later.

A call came from Chief Kim.

“Yes, Chief Kim. How did it go? Did you check all the basements…what?”

What on earth is going on?

“…Nothing at all?”