The Thug Hides the Villainess

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028 – Heroes Obsessed with Villains #3

I temporarily sacrificed two marbles to extract two pieces of information from Seoga-eul.

A perfect 2 for 2 exchange.

This is capitalism.

“Then first, tell me why you were marked as ‘sick leave.'”

“I don’t know either.”

Seoga-eul crossed her arms and took a completely exclusive stance.

It felt like the sacrificed marbles were crying.

“Hey, you promised to be honest!”

“I don’t know.”

“Hey, you really gonna act like that? If you’re gonna say stuff like that, then apologize to my sacrificed marbles!”

I slowly took off my school uniform pants and showed Seoga-eul my tiger underwear.

When Seoga-eul locked eyes with my tiger, she shook violently like a fox caught by a hunter.

“Ugh, that damn tiger underwear. Change it, will you? Is that all you have to wear?”

“I don’t have any. Hurry up and apologize.”

Apologize to my marbles, or honestly spill the information.

Seoga-eul’s options were limited to just two.

After a long stare-down with my tiger, she eventually sighed deeply as if pulling from her gut, realizing my determination was unyielding.

“Hah… I honestly don’t know why I’m on sick leave. I wish I could understand what’s going on in the head of that man who is my father. His daughter gets kidnapped by a perverted scumbag and he just labels it ‘sick leave?’ Damn, what a jerk. Don’t joke about that.”

Seeing Seoga-eul clench her jaw so hard it looked like her teeth might crack, it didn’t seem like she was joking or lying.

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

“You jerk!”

Seoga-eul continued to curse her father with raw language. The remarks were too sensitive to jot down anywhere, so I casually rolled them off my ears when Seoga-eul spoke up.

“So when are we planning to kidnap Yu Yeoreum? It would be best to hurry. She’ll be thrown into action soon. I can guarantee you, Yu Yeoreum might die this time.”

“What? Die?”

“There are many tricky concept holders in ‘Billunners’. Our seniors have a lot more combat experience. No matter how great Yu Yeoreum is, can she handle those?”

She started rubbing her foot against my shin through her stockings.

“That’s why I was supposed to join in, to provide backup. Aah—, because of some damn perverted scumbag, I ended up locked in this basement, and Yu Yeoreum has to deal with the Awakened all on her own? Even if someone else substitutes for me, can they really support as well as I could?”

In other words, it meant Yu Yeoreum might die or suffer serious injuries in this battle.

Someone might laugh it off, but it didn’t feel like a joke to me. After all, it was the first time I heard Yu Yeoreum’s name since coming to this school.

The name ‘Supernova’ from the future I knew had no mention of Yu Yeoreum.

It seemed like there was a reason I had never heard of a name that should have shone brighter than the sun in August.

…Is Yu Yeoreum really going to die?

Then the promise I made with Seoga-eul— that I’d train her after she kidnapped Yu Yeoreum— would also blow away.

“Let’s think. Think.”

Yu Yeoreum would be deployed to the field starting this coming Monday. So the time left for me was just Saturday and Sunday.

With that amount of time, I could chop, eat, and do what I need to.

Tok-tok-.

I decided to use my smartphone to convene ‘No Leftover Day’.

That’s what the group chat is for.

“I’m looking for party members to beat up the villains in our neighborhood tomorrow.”

# # #

“Oh wow, you’re eating well.”

━Gwiing.

Late at night.

Ying-ing was scarfing down the ramen I had prepared like there was no tomorrow.

Slurp, slurp—chomp, chomp, chomp—.

Watching her eat heartily made my own stomach rumble.

“Eat up! You need to eat a lot now.”

In a year, this ramen would cost ten bottle caps a pack as premium ingredients. But Seoga-eul didn’t seem to appreciate the delicious food and rejected it.

“I’m not eating!”

“Hey, you’re gonna mess up your health doing that!”

“I asked for something normal! Not this dog food!”

Dog food? That was a bit harsh.

How many people in the destroyed world were starving and couldn’t even find dog food?

But maybe it was different for someone like Seoga-eul?

Seoga-eul was a Supernova, active in the only functioning ‘City,’ the last shelter in Korea.

I couldn’t afford citizenship to enter the ‘City’ and lived in the outskirts junkyard, but I heard people inside those high, massive walls could bathe in warm water, eat food made from uncooked ingredients, and still have electricity to light their nights.

They even had a clean bed to rest in and some medical facilities, making it a paradise remaining in the destroyed world.

I used to love watching the last city lights from the rooftop of my makeshift home in the junkyard.

Someday, I would gather bottle caps to step inside there—so I had been motivated as such.

But look at me now.

Having returned to my warm and cozy home beyond the shelter.

This must be the grace of Seoga-eul, the goddess.

“I’m done eating. Give me a bath.”

“A bath? You don’t need that.”

Seoga-eul had so strong a desire to be clean that she acquired the new concept of ‘Refined Lady.’

So maybe that’s why, despite being trapped here and living a life far from cleanliness, Seoga-eul radiated the fragrance of sweet, fresh apples instead of smelling bad.

Sniff, sniff.

“Why are you sniffing, you perv!!! Anyway, this is a feeling issue! Knowing my body isn’t dirty still makes me feel refreshed after a bath! And while I’m bathing, you have to stay outside the bathroom!”

The water supply to the next house was cut off.

To bathe Seoga-eul, I would have to take her back to my house. To wash her in my house’s bathroom and make me stay outside that door?

Somehow, that just sounded off because I felt I smelled something foul.

“Hey, pervert. You said it yourself. We’re gonna see each other for a long time. So isn’t it better to cooperate and get along? A bath is no big deal, right?”

Seoga-eul had a point.

However, since there was a high chance that this girl might go berserk if she stepped outside the basement, I had no choice but to flat out refuse.

“Let’s save the bath for the next full moon. When your power is weak.”

“…….”

Seoga-eul pulled a face at me.

“Name: Seoga-eul

Owner: View More ☜

Status: {Discontent} – Feeling upset about things not going as they wish. They will not talk to you for the next two days.”

She was seriously pouting.

Should I comfort the sulking Seoga-eul with a gift?

I had originally intended to give it as a commemoration for the next ‘concept’ I manifested.

“Hey, have you been to a restaurant? They have bells at every table, right? This is like that. If you press this button, it will ring a bell at my house, so just let me know if you need anything.”

In other words, it was a ‘call bell’.

Of course, Seoga-eul seemed like she wouldn’t even listen to me, turning her back to protest as she flopped onto the mattress.

“…….”

# # #

Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong-.

Damn it, I needed to sleep, but the ‘call bell’ I installed in my room kept ringing, preventing me from doing so.

It was Seoga-eul pressing the bell all night.

The problem was that every time I went to check and asked, “Do you need anything?”, she would somehow turn her back to me and not answer, as if she didn’t know what was going on.

So I’d return home, and after about five minutes—ding dong- the bell would ring again.

Ding dong ding dong ding ding ding ding-.

Ding dong ding dong-.

Ding dong ding ding ding ding-.

This won’t do. Is she using the bell I kindly installed in this manner?

As I decided to smack her thigh with ‘the rod of love’ and step outside, I was stopped by—

“Hey! Hanam-jjin! Why are you coming out so late! How many times did I ring the bell!”

“You can’t be serious; did you just wake up? It was you who called us together to beat the villains!”

“…….”

In front of my house stood Baek-Yeoul, Choi Chang-sik, and Deok-soon. It turned out it wasn’t Seoga-eul who had just pressed the bell, but my friends.

The sounds were similar enough to cause confusion. I should change the sound when I get the chance.

The problem was that Baek-Yeoul and the others barged right into my house.

“Hey! Hanam-jjin! You haven’t had breakfast yet, right? I brought some tteokbokki from my fridge!”

With big strides—

Baek-Yeoul acted like he owned the place and stormed into the kitchen.
He then set a pot of water on the stove and began to boil it with some sauce, but I couldn’t tell how he was cooking, and soon, black smoke began billowing out of the pot.

“Kraaak!!!”

Baek-Yeoul grimaced and screamed, probably because his eyes were irritated.

I couldn’t tell if it was just my imagination, but he seemed to be getting stranger each time we met.

Anyway, having friends in my house right now felt weirdly off. After all, Seoga-eul was right next door, wasn’t she?

Even with this commotion going on, the lack of her pressing the call bell or using ‘moans’ made it seem like she’d fallen asleep after troubling me all night.

But if this chaos continued, she might wake up.

“Ugh, the smell! Hey! Everyone out! I can’t breathe in here!”

I turned off the burning pot, leading everyone outside.

Baek-Yeoul’s cooking disaster turned into a stroke of luck for me. Of course, Baek-Yeoul seemed a bit more conscious of what happened and scratched his head awkwardly.

“This… is strange. It went well when I cooked alone at home.”

In the park we ended up in,
we bought some cup noodles from a nearby convenience store and ate happily.

Now that we’ve finished eating, I think it’s time to ask.

“Isn’t Taeseong here?”

“Taeseong said he couldn’t come today because of his part-time job, didn’t he mention that in the group chat?”

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

Was that so?

I hadn’t had time to check the chatroom because I was busy with Seoga-eul’s call bell war yesterday.

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

I see. It seemed everyone gathered because I called for them without knowing what exactly we were doing today.

It might have been a fun Saturday, but they were all bored without friends.

Lucky me.

“I’m going to tell you why I called you all. There are many vacant houses near my place. I was hoping you could investigate who’s been illegally occupying those homes.”

“I see, a self-defense squad activity? Makes me think of the seniors who caught robbers and got commended. I heard they got a ton of shops and the right to use ‘Relics.'”

“Relics? What’s that?”

In response to Bang-dae’s question, Deok-soon, who was knowledgeable, kindly explained.

“It refers to tools infused with concepts, like the ‘Cutting Pen’ our captain has. It’s something that can be rented at the Yeongsa High School treasure exhibition starting from this year….”

“So if this external activity ends successfully, we might get ‘Knight Brooches’ like our class president and acquire tools that match our own concepts from the Yeongsa High School treasure exhibition!”

“Self-defense squad! I’ve always wanted to do that! I want a tool infused with concepts too! Me too!”

Bang-dae, Choi Chang-sik, and even Deok-soon showed more enthusiasm than I expected.

While I was relieved they were excited on their own without needing my persuasion, I couldn’t help but worry if they might stir up trouble.

I had called everyone here solely for ‘investigation,’ not ‘eradication.’

“Then let’s pair up in twos. There might be dangerous guys, so even if you see illegal awakening holders, don’t rush in. Remember, we’re just doing ‘investigation’ here.”

I planned to investigate the locals’ whereabouts of illegal awakeners and later handle them stealthily—.
Doing so would make Yu Yeoreum’s practical experience much simpler.

Besides, if I piled up points and acquired ‘Knight Brooches,’ I’d likely gain those ‘Relics’ as well, enhancing my combat strength.

How many birds could one stone hit?
A two-for-one that exceeds even that!

I really am a genius!

“Then I’ll go with Deok-hee to the left.”

“……”

Chang-sik made the first pair with Deok-hee.

So the only one left was Bang-dae.

“Hanam-jjin!!!! I’ll carry you!!!!”

How Bang-dae’s ‘bad luck’ plays out in this investigation mission will be the key.