The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

I temporarily sacrificed two marbles and managed to get two pieces of information from Seo Ga-eul.

A perfect 2-for-2 exchange.

This is capitalism.

“Then first, explain why you were marked as being on ‘sick leave.’”

“I don’t know.”

Seo Ga-eul crossed her arms and took a completely uncooperative stance.

It felt like the marbles I sacrificed were shedding tears.

“Hey, you promised to tell me honestly.”

“I don’t know.”

“Hey, are you really going to act like this? If you’re going to talk like that, then apologize to my sacrificed marbles!”

Swoosh, I pulled down my school uniform pants and presented my tiger-patterned underwear to Seo Ga-eul.

When her eyes met the tiger on my lower half, she trembled violently like a fox caught by a hunter.

“Ugh, those tiger-patterned underwear again. Just change them already! Don’t you have anything else to wear?”

“Nope. Apologize. Now.”

She could either apologize to my marbles or be honest and spill the information.

Seo Ga-eul had only two choices.

After a long staring contest with my tiger, Seo Ga-eul seemed to realize I was serious and let out a deep sigh as if drawn from the depths of her stomach.

“Ha… I really don’t know why I’m on sick leave. Even I want to understand what’s going on in my dad’s head. His daughter was kidnapped by some perverted bastard, and he marks it as ‘sick leave’? Damn it, what a scumbag. Tell him to stop being ridiculous.”

Seeing Seo Ga-eul clenching her jaw so tightly it seemed her teeth might shatter, it didn’t seem like she was joking or lying.

Well, no one can lie in front of my ‘Tiger of Truth.’

“Bastard!”

Seo Ga-eul continued to hurl colorful insults at her father after that.

Her words were so crude that they were hard to repeat, so I let them go in one ear and out the other until she finally said something else.

“So, when are you planning to kidnap Yoo Yeoreum? You’d better hurry. She’ll soon be deployed in the field. I’m telling you, Yoo Yeoreum might actually die this time.”

“What? Die?”

“There are a lot of tricky concept holders in ‘Villainers.’ They’re our seniors and have way more experience in actual combat. Do you think Yoo Yeoreum can handle people like that?”

Swoosh—Seo Ga-eul rubbed her stocking-clad foot against my shin.

“I was supposed to join the field operation to balance it out. But ah, thanks to some perverted freak, here I am, locked up in this basement. That means Yoo Yeoreum has to face the awakened ones alone. Even if they send in a replacement for me, will that person really support her as well as I could?”

In short, it sounded like Yoo Yeoreum might die or suffer a serious injury in this operation.

To anyone else, it might sound absurd, but it didn’t feel like a joke to me.

That’s because I first heard Yoo Yeoreum’s name only after coming to this school.

In the future I knew, the ‘Supernova’ didn’t include Yoo Yeoreum’s name.

For someone who should have shone brighter than anyone, like the August sun, there had to be a reason why I’d never heard her name.

…Does Yoo Yeoreum really die?

If she dies, the deal I made with Seo Ga-eul to cooperate with my training would fall apart too.

“Think. I need to think.”

Yoo Yeoreum’s field deployment starts on Monday.

That means I only have tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday left.

That’s enough time to fight, eat, and rest.

Click-clack.

I operated my smartphone to convene a ‘No Leftovers Day.’

This is exactly what group chats are for.

“Recruiting party members to beat up villains in our neighborhood tomorrow.”

# # #

“Oh wow, you’re eating so well.”

━Gyu-iiing.

Late into the night.

Ying-ying was devouring the ramen I boiled, completely engrossed.

Slurp, slurp—chomp, chomp, chomp.

Watching how well it ate made my own stomach feel full.

“Eat a lot. You need to eat up now.”

In a year, this ramen will become a luxury item worth at least 10 bottle caps per packet.

And yet Seo Ga-eul refused this delicious food without even a word of gratitude.

“I’m not eating!”

“Hey, you’ll get sick at this rate.”

“Give me something normal! Not this dog food-like stuff!”

Calling it dog food is way too harsh.

In a ruined world, countless people would have killed to eat something like this dog food.

But was Seo Ga-eul different?

Seo Ga-eul was the Supernova who operated from the ‘City,’ Korea’s last functioning shelter.

I couldn’t afford the citizenship to enter the ‘City,’ so I lived on the outskirts, in the garbage dumps.

But inside those tall and massive walls, people bathed in warm water, ate untainted food, and even used electricity to light up the night.

I heard they even slept in clean beds and had limited access to medical facilities.

That place was called the last paradise in a fallen world.

I used to enjoy looking at the last remaining city lights from the rooftop of my shack in the garbage dump.

I’d tell myself that one day, I’d save up enough bottle caps to get inside that place.

But look at me now.

I’ve gone beyond the shelter and returned to my warm, cozy home.

All thanks to the grace of Goddess Seo Ga-eul.

“I’m done with food. Give me a bath.”

“A bath? You don’t need that.”

Seo Ga-eul, with her obsession for cleanliness, once developed a new concept, ‘Refined Lady.’

Because of that, even while trapped here in less-than-hygienic conditions, she didn’t smell bad but instead exuded a sweet, fresh apple scent.

Sniff, sniff.

“Why are you smelling me, you pervert?! Anyway, it’s about the feeling! Even if I know my body isn’t dirty, taking a bath makes me feel refreshed! And you better stay outside the bathroom while I bathe!”

The water supply to the neighboring house was cut off.

To bathe Seo Ga-eul, I’d have to bring her to my house.

She wanted to bathe in my bathroom while I waited outside?

For some reason, that sounded suspicious, and I didn’t feel great about it.

“Hey, you said we’re going to be seeing a lot of each other from now on, right? Then shouldn’t we cooperate and be friendly? A single bath isn’t too much to ask, is it?”

Seo Ga-eul had a point.

However, since there was a high chance she’d go berserk the moment she left the basement, I had no choice but to firmly refuse.

“Let’s do the bath thing on the next full moon, when your powers weaken.”

“…….”

Seo Ga-eul frowned.

「Name: Seo Ga-eul
Possessions: Expand for details ☜
Status: 《Displeased》 – Upset about things not going her way. She won’t talk to you for the next two days.」

She was seriously sulking.

Should I cheer her up by giving her a gift?

I was originally planning to give it to her to commemorate her next concept awakening.

“Have you been to a restaurant? You know those call bells on the tables? This is one of those. If you press this button, the bell in my house will ring, so let me know if you need anything.”

In short, it was a “call bell.”

But it seemed Seo Ga-eul wasn’t interested in listening to me, as she turned her back and flopped onto the mattress.

“…….”

# # #

Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong-.

Damn it, I was trying to sleep, but the call bell I installed in my room kept ringing, making it impossible.

Seo Ga-eul had been pressing the call bell all night.

The problem was, whenever I went to ask, “Do you need something?” she would turn her back and act as if she didn’t know what I was talking about.

Then, as soon as I returned to my room, about five minutes later, the bell would ring again.

Ding-dong-ding-dong-ding-dong-ding-dong-.

Ding-dong-ding-dong-ding-dong-.

Ding-dong-ding-dong-ding-dong-ding-dong-.

This couldn’t go on.

Was she abusing the call bell I’d generously installed?

I decided it was time to teach her a lesson with the “Rod of Love.”

Just as I was heading out with that thought in mind—

“Hey! Han Nam-jin! Why are you so late? Do you know how long I’ve been ringing the doorbell?”

“Could it be that you’re just waking up? Weren’t you the one who called us to beat up villains?”

“…….”

In front of my house stood Baek Yeoul, Choi Chang-sik, and Oh Deok-soon.

As it turned out, the recent ringing wasn’t from Seo Ga-eul but from Baek Yeoul and her friends.

The bell sounded the same, so I got confused.

I’ll have to change the sound later when I have time.

The real issue was that Baek Yeoul and her friends pushed their way into my house.

“Hey! Han Nam-jin! You haven’t had breakfast yet, right? I brought tteokbokki from my fridge!”

Stomp, stomp—.

Baek Yeoul barged in like she owned the place and took over the kitchen.

She started boiling water in a pot with sauce, but somehow black smoke began pouring out of the pot.

“Kyaaaah!!!!”

Baek Yeoul screamed, scrunching her face in pain as her eyes stung.

For some reason, every time I met her, she seemed to get weirder and weirder.

In any case, I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease about my friends being here, especially since Seo Ga-eul was next door.

Despite all the commotion, she hadn’t rung the call bell or attacked with her “groaning” ability, so she must have fallen asleep after tormenting me all night.

But if this noise continued, she might wake up.

“Ugh, it reeks! Hey! Everyone out! You’ll suffocate if you stay here!”

I turned off the burner and led everyone outside before the charred pot got any worse.

Baek Yeoul’s cooking mishap turned into a blessing in disguise for me.

Of course, Baek Yeoul sheepishly scratched the back of her head.

“W-well, that’s weird. It works fine when I cook alone at home.”

That’s how we ended up at a park.

We bought some instant noodles from a nearby convenience store and enjoyed them individually.

Now that everyone had eaten, it seemed like a good time to ask.

“Didn’t Tae-sung come?”

“Tae-sung said in the group chat that he couldn’t come because he has work today.”

“That guy’s amazing! He’s working three part-time jobs on the weekend!”

Is that so?

I didn’t check the chat because I was busy battling with Seo Ga-eul and the call bell yesterday.

“So, friend, what exactly do you mean by beating up villains?”

It seemed they didn’t know what today’s plan was but still showed up because I called them.

Lucky for me, it was Saturday, and everyone must’ve been bored without other plans.

“Well, let me tell you why I called you all. There are a lot of abandoned houses near my place, right? I want you to investigate who’s been illegally occupying them.”

“Got it. Sounds like a vigilante mission. This reminds me of when our seniors caught burglars and got commendations for it. They even earned a ton of merit points and gained access to relics.”

“Relics? What’s that?”

In response to Baek Yeoul’s question, Oh Deok-soon, who seemed knowledgeable, kindly explained.

“Like…the ‘Pen of Severance’ that Captain…has. It refers to tools infused with concepts. At Yeongsa High School’s treasure vault…you can borrow such items starting from…the Knight Brooch rank….”

“So, if this external activity ends successfully, we might also earn Knight Brooches and access to Yeongsa High School’s treasure vault to get relics tailored to our concepts?”

“Vigilante work! I’ve always wanted to do something like this! I want a concept-infused tool too! I really do!”

Baek Yeoul, Choi Chang-sik, and even Oh Deok-soon showed unexpected enthusiasm.

It was a relief they were motivated without my persuasion, but were they going to overdo it and cause trouble?

Today’s goal was strictly “investigation,” not “elimination.”

“Let’s split into pairs. There might be dangerous individuals, so if you encounter any illegal occupants, don’t engage. We’re just here to investigate.”

The plan was to preemptively gather information on illegal awakened individuals’ hideouts and take them out myself later.

That way, Yoo Yeoreum’s field mission would be much easier.

At the same time, we’d earn merit points and acquire Knight Brooches, which would allow us to gain relics and enhance our combat power.

How many birds could I kill with one stone?

This was beyond a simple win-win. It was pure genius.

“I-I’ll go left with Deok-hee.”

“…….”

Choi Chang-sik paired up with Oh Deok-hee first.

That left only Baek Yeoul.

“Han Nam-jin!!!! I’ll carry you!!!!”

The key to this investigation mission would be seeing how Baek Yeoul’s “Misfortune” would play out.