The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

Chapter 71

071 – The Taste of Lying!

Jin Eunbyeol, who opened her eyes, looked at her body attached to cold machinery.

First of all, she had no sensation in her lower body.

“Ugh….”

Tears flowed.

She had only touched the “antique box” she received as a birthday present from her father.

Since then, she felt as if she had been pushed to the passenger seat and someone else had taken the wheel of her life.

Jin Eunbyeol soon realized that someone was beyond the transparent acrylic wall.

“…Wang Jaehyun?”

When she asked in a cracked voice, the male student pressed his face close to the transparent window.

It was Wang Jaehyun.

While the wheel was taken away, Jin Eunbyeol couldn’t do anything as she wished. But her feelings for Wang Jaehyun were sincere in their own way.

That was the problem.

Jin Eunbyeol, who possessed the concept of “foresight,” knew well why Wang Jaehyun was here.

“…Don’t, don’t do it….”

“You already know what I’m going to say, don’t you? Let’s break up.”

“Why… why….”

“You won’t be able to walk for the rest of your life, right? Why should I take care of a girl like that? And because of you, do you know how much defeat and humiliation I had to feel from Hanamjin─. “

Wang Ja-hyun said these harsh words and turned away abruptly.

No matter how much time passed, Wang Ja-hyun did not return, and Jin Eun-byeol shed dry tears.

Step, step, step-.

After some time had passed, the sound of a man’s footsteps was heard.

Could it be Wang Ja-hyun returning? No, it wasn’t.

“You’ve been completely messed up. Well, you were the weakest among us. Hehehe. I’ve always wanted to say this, and thanks to you, I finally can.”

The man pressed his face against the acrylic of the special hospital room where Jin Eun-byeol was lying.

Jin Eun-byeol was started by the man’s eyes, which were so red that the whites were barely visible.

“You…”

“Eun-byeol, it’s been a while. But what’s with that expression? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“You… how… you should be… dead…”

“I don’t have much time, so I’ll get straight to the point. Do you know where Seo Ga-eul is? I have a debt to collect from her. A very big debt. Very, very─.”

“……”

Jin Eun-byeol kept her mouth shut.

The man laughed with his blood-red eyes narrowed.

“Is that how you want to play?”

Crash-.

The reinforced glass shattered.

The man’s hand dug into Jin Eun-byeol’s bandaged chest.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not interested in your flat chest. What people call a concept stone these days aren’t just found in monsters.”

Crack, snap-.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Something unusually cold and chilling pierced through her bones and gripped her heart.

As the icy touch of death made Jin Eun-byeol helplessly shed tears, it happened.

“Is anyone there?”

Click-.

The lights of the special detention center, which had been off, turned on, and someone appeared.

Jin Eun-byeol was confused, unable to see where the man who had just tried to kill her had gone.

Her chest, which should have been pierced, was intact.

‘Dream? Reality?’

It didn’t feel like a dream at all.

The proof was that Jin Eunbyeol’s chest still retained that ice-cold sensation.

# # #

「Is this a country! We demand an explanation from the President!”

「Did the government know about the existence of the demons? A public press conference is─」

「Was there government involvement in the disappearance of Jin Eunbyeol, who was detained in the detention center─.」

When I turned on the TV, it was full of noisy and boring political stories like demands for the president’s resignation, impeachment rallies, counter-protests, and so on, so I quickly changed the channel.

Anyway, in less than a year, the government itself would become meaningless, and it felt like everyone was getting heated over something pointless.

“Isn’t there any fun entertainment program?”

━Eeeengyaing.

“If you turn it on a few times, will it come out?”

━Gyuiing.

First day of suspension.

I was enjoying sweet free time at home.

I’ve been running around busily these past few days, so isn’t it okay to take a break for just one day?

I should celebrate since my 「Leap」 and 「Emotion」 levels have increased from the fight with Jin Eunbyeol!

Both are at level 3!

As far as I know, the concept of level 3 goes beyond affecting myself, overflowing like a vessel and affecting others as well.

The USB I threw quickly leaped and pierced through the chest of the “Demon”, which is an example of that.

Level 3 of 「Emotion」 was also very useful.

I started seeing things I couldn’t see before.

「Name: Cotton Candy Cloud Eeeengyaing

Possession: Click to see details ☜

《???》 – Your emotion level is insufficient to see this.

《Cloud Lv.1》 – It is fluffy like a cloud floating in the sky.

《Rock Lv.1》 – It can become as hard as a stone on the roadside.

《Leaf Lv.1》 – It can sprout like a new leaf on the lawn.

《Sand Lv.1》 – It can scatter like sand on the beach.

Status: 《Very Hungry》 – Eeeengyaing」

“Ing-Ing, you crazy b*stard! You have so many concepts!”

━Grrr…!

All the concepts were absorbed by Ing-Ing at will.

It looks like a cloud, but it’s so greedy!

“You’re hungry again even though it’s been less than an hour since we ate?”

━Ing.

“Actually, me too. Shall we feast today for the first time in a while?”

On the way back from an extravagant convenience store shopping spree, a sudden curiosity arose.

“But why is your name ‘Cotton Candy Cloud Ing-Ing’? Wasn’t your name just ‘Ing-Ing’?”

━Ing-Ing-ya-ing.

“Seo Ga-eul gave it to you?”

Seo Ga-eul arbitrarily added a name to my emergency food, Ing-Ing.

Is this some kind of joint ownership?

“Actually, I need to go see Seo Ga-eul and Yoo Yeoreum.”

I hadn’t been able to visit them for about three days.

Imagine what might have happened to Seo Ga-eul and Yoo Yeoreum, who had been locked up in the “Princess’s Room” for those three days, even I, who had never felt fear in front of a “demon,” felt nervous.

But first, it’s snack time!

Kimchi cup noodles with string cheese and even a chicken drumstick from the convenience store!

Slurp, slurp-. Crunch, crunch-.

“Ah, this is life!”

━Gyui-ing.

This is a delicacy that you can never taste in a ruined world.

TV, electricity, washing machines, and fans, you have to enjoy them while you can.

In other words, I was enjoying temporary happiness.

“For a few months!”

Now, I should go meet Seo Ga-eul and Yoo Yeoreum.

As I headed back to school, the security guard, who was the entrance manager of the “Great Labyrinth,” greeted me warmly.

“Nam-jin, weren’t you ‘suspended’?”

“If you rest for a day, you have to train for ten days to recover your senses.”

“That’s true. But if I let you in while you’re suspended, I’ll get in trouble. What to do… Ah, just don’t get caught by others!”

This is why people need to cultivate good behavior in their daily lives.

Thanks to the flexible security guard, I was able to enter the “Great Labyrinth” without much difficulty.

“Has the structure changed a bit in the past few days?”

The “Great Labyrinth” was structured in such a way that it was easy to get lost inside. The structure and terrain changed at irregular intervals, making research and exploration difficult.

【On the way to the princess’s room…!】

Of course, I had the concept of “emotion,” so it wasn’t hard for me to get to the room where Seo Ga-eul and Yoo Yeoreum were confined.

Creak-.

When the door opened, Seo Ga-eul’s eyes, lying on the bed, grew as large as the full moon.

“You son of a b*tch!”

Ah, music to my ears.

She must have been starving for days, yet she still had the energy to curse.

What about Yoo Yeoreum?

Yoo Yeoreum was clinging to the wall, openly wary of me.

“Don’t come near me.”

Her modest demeanor was pleasing to see.

I liked girls who were that quiet.

Float-.

At that moment, Yingying popped out of my bag and closed to Yoo Yeoreum.

Like a cicada clinging to an old tree!

━Gyuing.

“Ma…monster! Get away from me!”

Yoo Yeoreum, greatly flustered, struggled.

Zing-.

A laser even shot out from her eyes.

“What?”

I was startled.

How did Yoo Yeoreum charge her light in this pitch-dark room? It seemed that the glowing stone on the ceiling served as a light source.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Yoo Yeoreum, who had fired the laser from her eyes, wobbled like a mosquito hit by autumn medicine and then collapsed.

“Yingying, come here. She doesn’t like monsters.”

Swoosh-.

I carefully removed Ing-Ing from Yoo Yeoreum’s body.

Then, I took out the snacks and drinks from my bag and spread them out on the floor.

“Gasp! Food! Hand it over!”

Seo Gaeul, who had been grumbling, pounced.

Yoo Yeoreum also snatched a strawberry milk and drank it through a straw with a slurp.

# # #

After the simple meal, when we had some leisure time, a more relaxed Seo Gaeul asked me,

“What took you so long?”

“I fought with Jin Eunbyeol. If I could upload it on MeTube, it would easily get ten million views. Watch this.”

I showed them the video saved on my phone.

It was a coolly edited video of my fight with the demon Jin Eunbyeol.

“I knew there was something off about Jin Eunbyeol, but a demon…?”

“A demon…”

Yoo Yeoreum and Seo Gaeul stared intently at the monster on the phone. Occasionally, they glanced at each other’s faces, and a very suspicious atmosphere was felt.

A feeling like they were sharing a secret I didn’t know?

“Did anything happen while I was gone?”

I was away for three days.

I thought Yoo Yeoreum and Seo Gaeul would have fought fiercely, but their relationship wasn’t as bad as I expected. Curious, I asked, and both Yoo Yeoreum and Seo Gaeul shook their heads.

Nothing happened?

“Feels like you’re lying.”

Sniff sniff.

I smelled Yoo Yeoreum.

A sweet scent.

The smell of a lie.

“D-Don’t come closer.”

As I took a step towards Yoo Yeoreum, she took a step back. But soon, she was cornered against the wall.

I pounced on Yoo Yeoreum.

“Come here!”

“No! Stop it!!!”

Yoo Yeoreum screamed sharply like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

This was the first time Yu Yeoreum made such a loud noise, but I had already caught hold of Yu Yeoreum and licked the back of his neck.

*Lick-.*

“Yaaahhh!!!”

“What!? What is this taste—”

A dizzying sweetness spreads in my mouth.

Candy!

Yeah, it’s candy!

But why does Yu Yeoreum taste like candy!?

Name: Yu Yeoreum

Attributes: Expand to view ☜

《Light Lv.4》 – Can shine like a supernova facing death.

《Photosynthesis Lv.2》 – Has photosynthesis abilities like an old tree.

《Decorum Lv.2》 – As graceful as a princess from a fairy tale.

《X-ray Vision Lv.2》 – Can see through things like a precise medical scanner.

《Candy Lv.2》 – Sweet like a first love during puberty.

Status: 《Great Humiliation》 – Wants to bite his tongue and die. However, he swears to carry out a thorough revenge before he dies.

What?

There’s a concept I haven’t seen before.

Candy!

It’s not as big as ketchup, but candy is still an incredibly valuable resource. That’s why Choi Chang-sik, the *Candy Maker*, is a VIP more important than the president!

But what happened to make this “candy” concept appear?

I was curious about the three days I had missed.

But I’m sure they wouldn’t tell me easily.

*Swish-.*

I picked up the “Punishment of Love.”

“You all lied to me, so you should receive your punishment, right?”

Fear glistened in Seo Ga-eul’s eyes.

But it was only for a moment—

“Yu Yeoreum! Now! Now!”

Seo Ga-eul shouted, and Yu Yeoreum grabbed

Is this insubordination?

I thought it would happen at least once, but to think it’s today.

Kwaaak-!

I thought I’d be able to get out of it easily, but the soft, squishy feeling against my back was so unfamiliar and captivating that it momentarily stole my focus.

Mol-kang mol-kang-.

“Gaaah! What kind of attack is this?! “My body is burning up!”

In that moment, Seogae stood before me without hesitation.

And then she started stretching. Mostly around her ankles.

“Gaeul, I thought we were in love with each other.”

“Shut up! No, I’ll shut you up! Gaeul kiiiiiiick!!!!”

Pat-!

I leapt high into the air just before her kick could land.

Thanks to that, Seogae’s kick hit the innocent Yu Yeo-reum square in the backside.

Puhhh-!

“… Ugh… !”

Yu Yeo-reum slowly collapsed forward.

What a mess!

“Do you really think you guys, with your lack of experience, can defeat me now that I’m a Rank 3 Awakener? For your punishment, Seogae, you’ll be subjected to the tickling torture!”

From what Baek Yeoul told me, Seogae was apparently sensitive to being tickled.

Whether that was true or not, Seogae’s face turned ashen.

“Ha… I surrender!”

“Surrendering is only allowed after 15 minutes.”

Swoosh-.

I reached out toward Seogae’s side.

At that, Seogae twitched like a fox struck by an arrow.

“I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you! “There was a monster!”

From noble mtl dot com

“… Hey! Seogae… !”

Yu Yeo-reum, lying face down with her backside still held, shouted out.

But Seogae, with her mouth already open, spilled everything she knew.