The Thug Hides the Villainess

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016 – The Party is Only Fun for Extroverts #5

“Then today’s training ends here! We’ll start meditation, so everyone, return to your spots! Meditation is important. It allows you to deeply reflect on your desires and set your direction!”

Dr. Wi Seon-a clapped her hands, sending the kids back to their respective spots.

Meditation? Sounds boring.

With that thought, I returned to my spot and crossed my legs when someone poked me in the side. It was the round-faced Baek-Yeoul.

She whispered to me, her face flushed red, just loud enough for me to hear.

“Hey! You need to get close with Wang Ja-hyeon from Class F! You defeated his gang, so he’s probably angry! It’s going to be a real hassle!”

“That doesn’t mean I can just turn into mush, right?”

“…….”

Baek-Yeoul couldn’t refute my perfect logic and merely began to mumble. But then maybe out of spite, she managed to squeeze out a response.

“At the office building party, Wang Ja-hyeon’s crew will be there too. We’re totally in trouble. What should we do… If I go, I’ll just get humiliated and create a ton of embarrassing memories….”

“What’s this humiliation and embarrassment you’re talking about? Is it worse than standing in front of a crowd in your underwear?”

“…Well, maybe it’s not that bad.”

“What? So it’s nothing serious.”

“By your standards, maybe! Anyway, why do you keep taking off your pants? It’s making me embarrassed just watching!”

Why am I the one who took off my pants? Is Baek-Yeoul blushing because Jang Geun-seong lost in the training match and apologized to Wang Ja-hyeon?

Anyway, after the training, the meditation class proceeded without a hitch.

Now, if someone asked me whether that “special class” was worth 400,000 points, honestly, I wouldn’t know.

“Alright, now in addition to meditation, we’re going to practice some yoga movements.”

As time went on, we started doing yoga along with meditation. Maybe thinking my posture was stiff, Dr. Wi Seon-a approached me and leaned over, pressing down on my back.

“Be flexible. Both body and mind need to be flexible, got it? The enhancement of existing concepts and the blooming of new ideas come from imagination. Imagination is the essence of flexibility—like this.”

Press, press—.

The ‘flexibility’ touching my back was incredibly soft and warm.

This place really does a great job with special lectures! I’ll need to save up another 400,000 points! Hehehe!

Tick-tick, tick-tick—.

As time passed, it was finally time to join the party at the office building.

“Really? You’re going to give me the last invitation?”

I decided to give the invitation I got from muscleman Jang Geun-seong to my friend Choi Chang-sik, and he looked utterly incredulous.

“You’re inviting me to that ‘office building party’? Is that really sincere? An invitation would fetch quite a price if just sold for money!”

“Stop talking about money.”

If we talk about money, I might retract my decision. How many cups of ramen could I buy if I sold the invitation for cash?

But!

Investing in Choi Chang-sik, who could provide me with a lifetime of free candy, felt like the better choice in the long run.

No matter how many points I earn, it’s never enough for this guy.

“My friend, are you really okay with this? I’ll ask one last time. The office building party will have some amazing people everyone’s trying to connect with!”

Based on Choi Chang-sik’s words, this “office building party” seemed like a social gathering for notable figures. Hence, securing an invitation is as tough as reaching for the stars.

Honestly, I have no idea who would show up there or what would happen, but there was one thing I knew for sure.

“No one will be more impressive than you, Chang-sik.”

“You’re exaggerating, my friend. All I can do is turn rocks into candy or paper into gum. Honestly, I’m not sure I can fit in with all those great people…”

Choi Chang-sik said this, a hint of hope and anticipation blushing on his face.

So when is that round-faced girl going to show up?

We agreed to meet in front of the school by 5 o’clock, but the time was nearly up and there was still no sign of her.

She definitely said, “I need to grab something from home! I’ll be right back!” but ‘right back’ seems to mean something different for her.

“Aha, we’ve got a time zone mismatch here.”

Tada-dat-.

At that moment, I heard footsteps approaching.

Turning my head, I saw the uniformed Baek-Yeoul waving at me from a distance as she ran over.

“Sorry to keep you waiting!”

“Yeah. It’s exactly 5 o’clock. You’re not late after all.”

What on earth could she have been doing at home?

I quickly scanned Baek-Yeoul from head to toe, and nothing seemed to have changed, leaving my mind filled with questions.

“What changed?”

“My bag!”

She presented a small handbag-like item to me.

I’m not sure, but it looked small and soft with impractical design.

“Do you have any idea how much you’ll be looked down on without even one luxury item?”

“R-really?”

With Baek-Yeoul’s bragging, Choi Chang-sik seemed flustered, trembling as if he thought he would be looked down upon since he didn’t own any luxury brands.

So it’s up to me, then.

“Chang-sik, don’t worry. There’s always a way.”

Swoosh—.

I took out a pen from my bag and drew a C-shaped logo overlapping with the ones on the sneakers Chang-sik was wearing.

Instant designer footwear!

It’s officially one-of-a-kind limited edition matching sneakers!

“How about it? You shouldn’t have to worry about being looked down on now?”

“….”

“….”

Chang-sik and Baek-Yeoul stared at me with peculiar eyes after I drew on the shoes.

I’m quite sure they were moved by my pioneering and innovative idea.

# # #

The office building referred to the rooftop of Seo Nam Group’s headquarters.

The global conglomerate, Seo Nam Group, has been operating in D City since before concepts like ‘ideas’ existed.

Now, with the world having drastically changed, D City’s status has risen, including the discovery of the “Great Labyrinth,” and Seo Nam Group is also soaring towards new heights.

“Wow, there are so many suited folks around.”

As dusk approached, hefty men in suits were guarding the building entrance like a fortress under the beautifully illuminated skyscrapers.

Vroom—.

Expensive cars pulled up in front of the building one after another, and as a group of individuals who looked to be around my age got out, Choi Chang-sik started making a fuss.

“Look over there! Isn’t that the 1-million-subscriber YouTuber Kim Byeol? It’s like a dream to see a YouTuber I follow and watch every week attending the same event! I wonder if I could chat with them?”

Choi Chang-sik recognized a ton of impressive people, but I couldn’t tell who they were. They seemed like individuals who hadn’t made a name for themselves in this roughly collapsed world.

“Here’s our invitation.”

Baek-Yeoul, Choi Chang-sik, and I showed our invitation to the guard stationed at the entrance and entered the elevator.

30th floor, 40th floor—the elevator seemed to go on endlessly, and the breaths of Baek-Yeoul and Choi Chang-sik grew heavier.

“Why on earth did I come here? Should I just turn back now? I know this is a trap, but here I am, back again. I’m such a fool, an idiot!”

Especially Baek-Yeoul looked very anxious, fidgeting restlessly.

I decided to comfort her.

“Hey, you really have changed. You knew you were a fool and an idiot this whole time, didn’t you?”

“…What!?”

Ding-dong—.

Before we knew it, we reached the top of the large corporation.

Swish—.

As the elevator doors opened, a massive penthouse appeared before us.

“Wow, this is amazing.”

It looked like a space out of Bat-Man’s charity gala; y’know, where wealthy people throw parties, and villains with clown masks might show up to terrorize everyone.

The only difference from that place in movies is that everyone here looked young.

Already, many were gathering in small groups, chatting and enjoying the party, appearing to be around my age through the eyes of my 《emotion》.

Could it be a party just for students?

Swish—.

As we stepped out of the elevator, several people’s gazes turned towards us.

They must be curious about who the new guests are.

Or maybe they’re all moved by my grand entrance, which could be painted as today’s highlight.

I had practiced my signature extensively for this day.

“Isn’t that Baek-Yeoul?”

“Oh? It really is Baek-Yeoul.”

“Wow, she’s here at the office building party.”

“I heard that Gaeul kept sending her invitations.”

What? They’re showing more interest in round-faced Baek-Yeoul than in me?

Utter humiliation.

Absolute humiliation!

It seemed that Baek-Yeoul, feeling proud that everyone’s attention was on her, calmly cleared her throat.

What an arrogant attitude.

Who does she think she is? All she has going for her is that her butt is slightly bigger!

I’m irritated!

What can I do to redirect the attention back to me?

Fortunately, I picked up some hints with my keen ears.

“Hey, look at Baek-Yeoul’s bag.”

“What brand is that from? When was it made?”

“Did she borrow it from her mom or something?”

“Looks like her house is really struggling.”

With everyone now focused on Baek-Yeoul’s bag.

Baek-Yeoul’s face was turning red as she was on the verge of either crying or laughing.

Not good.

I wanted all the attention today, good or bad!

“Looks like no one’s wearing better shoes than mine.”

Swoosh—.

With a slightly exaggerated stance, I extended my legs.

Wearing those limited-edition luxury shoes on my designer legs.

Seeing that, the chatter among the crowd grew loud.

“What’s that?”

“Wow, did they draw the Chanel logo on it with a pen themselves?”

“Who is this kid?”

Great, great.

All the attention on me!

I glanced at round-faced Baek-Yeoul with a look saying how am I doing? She wore a rather peculiar expression—probably overwhelmed by having all the attention shifted from her.

“Uh, um….”

Even Chang-sik, the most important guest, was in a robotic state, looking stiff.

Just when I thought the party’s centerpiece was definitely me, someone strode over, the sound of high heels clicking.

“You came just in time! I’ve been waiting for you!”

Hehehe—.

Her elegantly laughing smile was captivating.

“Ah, that’s Seoga-eul. My friend, it’s really her!”

Choi Chang-sik was unable to endure the positive energy radiating from Seoga-eul and ducked behind me.

Only Baek-Yeoul stood her ground, glaring at Seoga-eul like a raccoon furious about having its food taken away.

However, Seoga-eul seemed unconcerned about Baek-Yeoul’s pointless wariness, lowering her gaze to my shoes instead.

“Wow, what’s that? Those shoes are really unique.”

“Right? They’re limited to only two in the world. Want me to draw on yours too?”

“That sounds fun. Sure, but later.”

Swoosh—.

Seoga-eul grabbed my wrist.

Even though today is the day I’m supposed to announce my engagement, this bold public display of affection is pretty daring.

It’s making me a little too pleased!

“Hanam-jin, and friends? You’re special guests I invited, so let’s head to the VIP room. You’ll definitely love it; they’re all cool and pretty people. They’ll surely like you too.”

VIP room!

They said it’s the best room in this penthouse with the most extraordinary people gathered.

While heading there, Chang-sik was exclaiming, “Is this a dream?!” while Baek-Yeoul’s expression stiffened even more.

When we finally arrived, the room was somewhat dim, with cheap karaoke-like lighting.

A wide sofa was filled with students in Yeongsa High School uniforms and kids in unnamed brand clothes chatting and laughing, some of whom I recognized.

“So after graduation, my dad is going to buy me a car—”

“What? I’m jealous! I have to go on a family trip abroad every year instead of getting a car.”

So that must be Wang Ja-hyeon and his gang.

They didn’t seem to mind my arrival and continued their giggling amongst themselves.

“Guys, these are my guests. This is Hanam-jin, and over here….”

“Choi Changsik, um…It’s nice to meet you.”

“Choi?! Oh, and here’s Baek-Yeoul! I’ve been waiting for this long. It’s been forever since we last saw you! Right? Is this your first party in two years? Then just wait here a moment. I’ll grab some drinks for the guests.”

Once Seoga-eul stepped away, all the eyes in the room shifted toward Baek-Yeoul.

Once again, people were more interested in Baek-Yeoul than in me?

Just when I was feeling resentful, someone tsked loudly.

“Ugh, how annoying.”

Jumping up from my seat, I approached with a click-clack of my own shoes, towering over her.

She seemed tall enough to be a model. Impressive for someone so strikingly beautiful, but then she stepped right past me to poke Baek-Yeoul sharply in the chest.

“Hey, Baek-Yeoul. What face do you have to come back here? After all that trouble last time. Shouldn’t you be apologizing to us? No, did you apologize to Gaeul?”