The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

062 – They say interpretation is better than a dream

062 – They say interpretation is better than a dream

The boy often dreamed of that day when he closed his eyes.

The most impressive day of his life.

A certain girl’s birthday party.

A party attended by all sorts of celebrities, including the president.

As the party was in full swing-

The girl’s father raised his glass and made a toast.

He remembered it as something about harmony and peace between the parties, but the important part was the last thing he said.

“Your Excellency, how about we promise the eternal harmony and alliance between our Seonam Group and the Liberal Party by engaging my daughter Ga-eul to your grandson?”

The boy was breathless.

Seo Ga-eul was the girl he had a secret crush on, and Nam San-ho was his long-time friend and rival.

The boy felt a surge of anxiety at the thought of losing his unrequited love to his rival, but he couldn’t utter a single word.

There was no need to.

“Do-cheol, you are a fine man, just like your father. A diligent worker, just like him. But, I’m sorry. Even though times have changed, a dog and its master cannot be engaged, can they?”

The atmosphere turned chilly in an instant.

No one laughed until the party was over.

It was truly a nightmarish time.

“Gasp!”

The boy woke up from his dream, his bed and pajamas soaked with sweat.

“It was just a dream.”

As he threw off the blanket and got up to drink water from the refrigerator, he noticed a woman sitting quietly in the corner of the kitchen.

His fiancée.

It was Jin Eun-byul.

“……”

The boy, Wang Ja-hyun, couldn’t bring himself to speak to Jin Eun-byul, who was staring blankly into the void in the darkness.

An indescribable sense of uneasiness and discomfort enveloped him.

What was she doing sitting in the corner of the kitchen at 4 am?

If he listened closely, he could hear incomprehensible murmurs escaping from between her lips.

‘Do I have to live with a woman like that for the rest of my life?’

To inherit the Jaewang Group─.

─and to join forces with the Samjin Group to one day aim for the throne, Wang Ja-hyun had to share a bed with Jin Eun-byul.

But every time he looked at Jin Eun-byul, he felt a subtle fear.

And he found himself questioning whether he truly wanted to spend his life with that terrifying woman.

“What are you doing?”

Jin Eun-byul asked Wang Ja-hyun.

Her eyes appeared unusually black even in the darkness, so deep that they sent chills down his spine.

When Wang Ja-hyun froze like a mouse in front of a snake, Jin Eun-byul chuckled.

“Another nightmare? Was it the one where Nam San-ho knocks on your door again? With his charred appearance, bang bang bang-.”

Wang Ja-hyun recalled the nightmare he often had.

A dream where his missing old friend appeared before him in a horrific state.

“Oh, our Ja-hyun was scared. Come here. I’ll give you a hug.”

Swoosh-.

Jin Eunbyul spreads her arms wide.

Wang Jahyun didn’t want to be embraced, but he couldn’t refuse Jin Eunbyul, who said, “Hurry up.” So he buried his face in her chest.

Then, Jin Eunbyul stroked Wang Jahyun’s head and spoke.

“You hated Namsanho, didn’t you? He used to catch cicadas or mantises and shove them in your face, right? And if you got scared, he’d call you a coward.”

“……”

Namsanho had a manly personality, resembling his grandfather.

On the other hand, Wang Jahyun had been slightly delicate and emotional since childhood, often being dragged around by Namsanho.

Swoosh swoosh-.

Jin Eunbyul comforted Wang Jahyun by stroking his head.

She whispered in the boy’s ear.

“It’s okay. Namsanho is gone now. He’s dead. Horribly.”

“What?”

The grip on Wang Jahyun’s head tightened.

Wang Jahyun, feeling scared, struggled but couldn’t escape.

“Let go of me!”

At that moment.

Click-.

The sound of a switch being flipped and the kitchen light turned on.

“Jahyun, what are you doing there?”

Turning his head, he saw Jin Eunbyul, with a distinctive mole under her eye, standing in the kitchen in her pajamas, looking at him.

“……”

Wang Jahyun was speechless as he looked at the Jin Eunbyul who had just appeared in the kitchen. So who was the ‘Jin Eunbyul’ that had been holding his head, and where did she disappear to?

He wasn’t actually curious.

He didn’t want to know.

Instead, Wang Jahyun cautiously asked Jin Eunbyul.

“Eunbyul, you said you were helping Chairman Seo Do-cheol find Seo Ga-eul, right?”

“Yeah. If I find Seo Ga-eul, your charges will be cleared. Things got messed up because you met Seo Ga-eul that dawn.”

Smile-.

Jin Eun-byeol laughed.

“Ja-hyun, since you asked me a question, I’ll ask you one fairly. Do you know who Han Nam-jin is?”

Nod-.

Wang Ja-hyun nodded instead of answering out loud.

That was the end of the question.

He didn’t know why she asked about Han Nam-jin, but Wang Ja-hyun didn’t ask anything. Jin Eun-byeol’s interest was not a good sign.

It was rather fortunate.

Wang Ja-hyun had always disliked Han Nam-jin.

He reminded Wang Ja-hyun of the missing Nam San-ho.

# # #

Today’s exploration of the “Great Labyrinth” went smoothly.

Jang Hyun-ah and Jeon Somi were absent, so it was just me and Bbangdaengi studying on our own.

It was a bit dangerous when a monster popped out.

It was a small lion, like a cat, but Baek Yeoul threw chopsticks at it, and it ran away.

The Great Labyrinth where monsters live.

In fact, it’s the land of fairies.

When I thought it was amazing, Baek Yeoul said,

“Some kid from Class F said that there are still fairies living in this labyrinth. So if you wander around, you might find traces of fairies.”

“Fairies?”

“By the way, fairies like sweet things just like monsters. If you leave candy here and hide, you might be able to meet a fairy.”

Baek Yeoul took a grape-flavored candy out of her bag, placed it on the ground, and giggled. Then something amazing happened.

The candy that was on the ground had disappeared!

“Bbangdaengi! The candy on the ground disappeared! Look!”

“A fairy must have taken it! It’s a fairy! Han Nam-jin! There must really be a fairy that likes candy! Where did my candy go? Huh? Didn’t you see where it went?”

“I saw it! Right into my mouth! Ah-.”

I opened my mouth to show the grape-flavored candy inside.

The ability to eat candy without anyone noticing.

One of my great superpowers, which according to my brain’s ranking, is an S-rank skill.

“Geez, why did you eat the candy! I really thought a fairy ate it!”

Bbangdaengi was angry that I had eaten the candy.

Even after that, Bbangdaengi kept saying, “I’m going to find the fairy!” and caused a ruckus, darting around the great labyrinth, but couldn’t find a single monster, let alone a fairy.

Well, that’s probably how the entrance of a labyrinth usually is.

Time passed, and before we knew it, it was afternoon.

Just as I was thinking about ending the labyrinth exploration and heading to where Yoo Yeoreum and Seo Gaeul were, Baek Yeoul said.

“I’m going to look for Seo Gaeul too!”

“You?”

“Yeah! Because you like Seo Gaeul. So, I’m going to help you find Seo Gaeul. Even though I don’t like Seo Gaeul… for you, Hanamjin!”

“Ugh, Bbangdaengi, you!”

I was touched.

Bbangdaengi was willing to help me find Seo Gaeul.

Isn’t she the perfect Cupid of love!

“Duksun and I thought of a good method. There’s an incredibly accurate fortune teller, and we’re thinking of asking them to find Seo Gaeul.”

The problem was, I had Seo Gaeul with me.

The situation was kind of funny.

It’s never boring with her around.

I suddenly wondered what it would have been like if Bbangdaengi and I had lived together, picking up scrap metal in a ruined world.

We would have made good partners.

We could have given ketchup to Yingying together!

But we couldn’t do that.

It would have been hard to survive in a ruined world carrying “misfortune.”

# # #

When I returned to the princess’s room, Yoo Yeoreum and Seo Gaeul were sitting demurely.

When their expressions, looking at me, somehow felt solemn, Yoo Yeoreum spoke.

“Hanamjin, you kidnapped Seo Gaeul because of the N-Mart arson incident, right?”

“What?”

“The N-Mart arson happened because of Seo Gaeul and Nam Sanho, and you lost your family there. As a result, you wanted to take revenge on Seo Gaeul, the root cause, so you kidnapped her─isn’t that right? “

What? I was so shocked that my tongue froze.

So while I was just opening and closing my mouth, Seo Gaeul, looking very embarrassed, bowed her head to me.

“Many people were harmed because of me. Hanamjin, you wanted an apology from me, right? That’s why you kidnapped me. You wanted me to sincerely repent.”

How did they come to this conclusion?

I was curious about what Yoo Yeo-reum and Seo Ga-eul talked about while I was away.

There were so many things I wanted to say that I couldn’t organize my thoughts well, but I had to make one thing clear.

“What’s up with Nam San-ho? What did he and Seo Ga-eul do? This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

Who on earth is Nam San-ho?

I don’t even know what kind of person he is.

Seo Ga-eul looked a bit flustered at my question.

“… What? “Didn’t you already know everything?”

“I don’t know what you two talked about, but the reason I kidnapped you isn’t that serious. Do I look like such a heavy and serious bore?”

I’m a much lighter person than fluffy clouds.

The overly serious atmosphere was actually uncomfortable.

“Haah!?”

“…Bore?”

The expressions of Seo Ga-eul and Yoo Yeo-reum crumpled instantly.

“Hey! Yoo Yeo-reum! I told you it wasn’t because of the N-Mart incident! Ah, damn it, I shouldn’t have said that!”

“No way… . Then why? Why did you kidnap us?”

Why did I kidnap them, you ask?

At this point, I was the one feeling frustrated.

“I’ve told you multiple times. I need to train Seo Ga-eul, okay? In that sense, Ga-eul, tonight before you sleep, you’re definitely going to awaken at least one concept. If you can’t, I’ll hit you with the ‘love stick.’”

Swish-.

I lifted the “love stick.”

“Shall I hit the soles of your feet today?”

At that, Seo Ga-eul, who loves the love stick too much, let out a shriek as if she were having a fit.

“Then why are you training me! Why! Why! Why! Why! Why!”

A continuous “why.”

It sounded just like a ‘desert frog’ croaking.

“What the heck! I don’t even know who you are or what you want to do!”

Seo Ga-eul was particularly hysterical today.

Her face, which had turned red, seemed to puff up, and eventually, tears began to flow.

“It’s unfair! Why do I have to go through this alone!”

Was Seo Ga-eul’s will completely crushed by the incomprehensible training curriculum?

It seemed that the problem was hiding too much information out of caution against the ‘traitor of humanity.’

“Do you want to know the truth? You might regret it.”

“Tell me!”

Are you sure?

Fine.

It seemed like it was about time to reveal some of the truth.

“From now on, within a year. No, in less time than that, more than half of humanity will die.”

As I vomited out the secret I had been holding alone, I felt relieved.

It felt like I had thrown up the vomit that had been stuck in my chest.

Even Seo Ga-eul stopped crying at my shocking ‘truth.’

“What are you saying? Did you have a dream?”

Srrr-.

I closed my eyes.

When I closed my eyes like this, I often dreamed of that day.

The day the world roughly ended.

The time when three giant monsters appeared, tearing through the land, sea, and sky, opening their huge jaws wide, and sucking people in like Kirby of the Stars─!!!