The Thug Hides the Villainess

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051 – Pandora’s Box #2

Yu Yeoreum was completely turned away from Seoga-eul, lying down.

“Hey! Are you crying?”

Tap, tap-tap.

Seoga-eul picked up nearby stones or bits of concrete and threw them at Yu Yeoreum’s back, but there was no response.

She must have been seriously injured and her pride hurt after that boy checked her chest. It was all just as Seoga-eul had predicted.

“Hey! Are you sulking just because someone touched your chest? Get a grip. We’ve been kidnapped by a crazy pervert! It wouldn’t be strange if we face something horrific from now on!”

“……”

“Have you seen the movie that pervert watched? It’s ‘Perfect Education’! He thinks that if he treats us well while keeping us locked up, we’ll fall for him like ‘Scorpion Syndrome’!”

“……”

Yu Yeoreum was ignoring Seoga-eul.

Being deliberately ignored only made Seoga-eul angrier.

“Hey! If you keep sulking, it’s only going to hurt you! Do you think someone is going to come rescue us? Do you think your brother or dad will come looking for you? Not at all! This is the kind of place it is!”

Seoga-eul had been trapped in this basement for quite a long time. The time had stretched so long that it now felt like home.

To Seoga-eul, the number of followers on Stargram or the empty greetings of celebrities who used to come to the penthouse party every week no longer mattered.

What mattered to Seoga-eul was gaining an advantage in this small underground world.

“I don’t know if you already realized, but I’m the one who told him to kidnap you. Aren’t you angry?”

“……”

Yu Yeoreum raised her body.

And she glared at Seoga-eul, who would have usually felt a strange pressure from that gaze, but not now.

All Seoga-eul saw in Yu Yeoreum’s eyes was a sad 19-year-old girl wearing a shabby T-shirt like a dress, upset because her chest was checked by a kidnapper.

“Seoga-eul, you’re really cruel.”

“What?! I’m a victim too! Me! Do you think I chose to be locked up here? I’m bored and scared alone! I called you hoping I’d have a friend!”

“I have no desire to cater to your annoyance. Soon people will be looking for us, and we’ll go back to the outside world like nothing happened.”

Seoga-eul didn’t like that.

It annoyed her that Yu Yeoreum assumed they could just return to the outside world so easily.

She despised that complacency that thought so optimistically about so many things.

“Yu Yeoreum, you’ve lived too comfortably to know what the outside world is like. It’s a place we don’t need to go back to.”

“Have I lived comfortably? Hearing that from you, the daughter of a conglomerate, honestly makes me really angry.”

Yu Yeoreum, who had always been cold, flared up like she couldn’t stand it this time.

But that reaction only excited Seoga-eul more.

“I can say that because I’m the daughter of a conglomerate! You don’t know how effortlessly those people can commit horrendous acts!”

Yu Yeoreum noticed the fear reflected in Seoga-eul’s eyes.

It was as if Seoga-eul was deeply afraid of something, just as she had once feared monsters.

“So you and I just need to stay here. Being here isn’t as bad as I thought. There are plenty of inconveniences, but there’s really nothing to worry about, right? You’ll get used to it soon.”

Seoga-eul started to pace nervously back and forth.

Seeing her like that, Yu Yeoreum sensed there was something she didn’t know.

But her hatred towards Seoga-eul was greater than her desire to find out what it was.

This was her first time feeling such deep hatred for someone.

After all, her life had changed dramatically when Seoga-eul was scratched by a cat. If Seoga-eul hadn’t forcibly pulled on the cat’s tail back at the foster home that day…

Perhaps this was an opportunity for revenge.

A chance to take revenge on the Seo Nam Group, who ruined her life and used the kids from the foster home as test subjects.

Wham-!

Unable to hold back, Yu Yeoreum slapped Seoga-eul’s face.

Right then, Seoga-eul, who had been trembling in fear just moments ago, snapped back to reality with a fierce look and slapped Yu Yeoreum back.

“You crazy bitch!!!”

Smack-!

Yu Yeoreum, weakened from the shock, was pushed aside by Seoga-eul and ended up lying on the floor, stepped on.

“Autumn kick! Autumn kick!”

Thud-! Thud-thud-!

Seoga-eul had been wounded in her pride after losing to Yu Yeoreum in their previous sparring match, but now all that hurt seemed to fade away.

On the contrary, Yu Yeoreum’s hatred for Seoga-eul deepened.

# # #

It had been a while since I visited the Seo Nam Group headquarters.

It seems the saying that criminals return to the scene of the crime was true.

Only this time, I entered through the front door with confidence.

“I’m here from Yeongsa High School. I’d like to personally investigate the case of Seoga-eul’s disappearance. By the way, I’m this kind of person.”

I showed them a newspaper article featuring ‘No Leftover Day’ on my phone. Since I had saved all the clips of the scenes I was in, it didn’t take long.

The corporate security quickly recognized me and looked very pleased.

“Oh, so you’re that guy! The famous Hanam-jin!”

“Yeah, it was a singer-like name. Are you good at singing?”

“I’m great at singing! Shall I hit a note here? Ahh, on the poured zwon up there─.”

━Ying-ing yah-ing.

“Let’s save the singing for later. But teachers, may I go in?”

“Sure! Investigators from Yeongsa High or the police can enter without inspection. Please find our dear Seoga-eul.”

“The kind kid even remembers the names of lowly guards like us. Just thinking about what that kid might be going through…”

The guards had tears welling up in their eyes as they genuinely cared for Seoga-eul. It was rather problematic that they were talking about such things right in front of the kidnapper.

Thanks to that, I managed to enter the group’s headquarters confidently without further inspection.

Ding-dong-.

As the elevator reached the first floor while heading to the penthouse, someone cleared their throat behind me.

What’s up?

“Student, this elevator is for executives only.”

I see.

The balding suit guy must be an executive.

His suit looked expensive, and a sense of class radiated from his face.

His head was shiny and bald like an executive too. Quite imposing.

“My leg is injured, so can I share it with you?”

I showed the guy my leg in a cast.

He seemed to think there was no helping it, cleared his throat, and turned his head away.

He got off at the floor just below the top, and I went up another level to the penthouse.

“……”

The scenery was much the same as when I was here last time.

One could say the preservation of the site was quite good.

I entered Seoga-eul’s room and struggled to find the ‘artifact’ she mentioned. Though there were lots of items, finding it shouldn’t be too difficult since there was a concept of ‘feelings.’

Nose.

Let’s use my nose.

I just needed to recall Seoga-eul’s scent.

Since it was her artifact, it should have her scent lingering thickly.

“Is it here?”

Creak.

I opened the drawer.

Wasn’t it filled with Seoga-eul’s underwear?

I was delighted to pull them out.

“Surely this underwear is what Seoga-eul calls her artifact!”

━Ying-ing yah-ing.

Just then, Ying-ing popped out of my bag.

That guy opened up the wardrobe indiscreetly and pulled out a small box from inside.

“Name: Fairy King’s Storage Box

A cherished box of the Fairy King of the Great Labyrinth. It can store anything in the world.

Possession: 《Hope Lv.3》 – Contains hope akin to winning first place in the lottery.”

A box filled with hope.

Perhaps this was the ‘artifact’ Seoga-eul was talking about. It had three holes drilled in it, resembling something that could house a ‘lamb.’

Alright.

Let’s take it.

Mission accomplished!

Just as I was about to take the elevator down again.

Ding-dong-.

Someone had arrived at the penthouse in the elevator.

He was a man wearing a black jacket.

He looked so ordinary that he could easily blend in among the crowd.

“Who are you?”

“I came to investigate the missing persons case from Yeongsa High.”

“Is that so? I’m from the police.”

The man scanned me up and down. I did the same to him.

He was just an ordinary-looking guy, but he was wearing earbuds.

Now his gaze shifted to my leg in a cast.

Wanting to avoid unnecessary trouble, I pressed the first-floor button in the elevator. But before the doors could close, the man said something strange.

“The cast can come off now.”

What does that mean?

After arriving at the first floor and shifting my steps, I realized my previously broken leg was no longer in pain.

As soon as I took off the stiff cast, my broken leg appeared to have healed perfectly. Even the skilled doctors at Yeongsa High said it would take at least a few more weeks!

In shock over this miraculous event, I remembered the man I had just met. I couldn’t recall his face since he was so indistinct, but I clearly remembered he was wearing earbuds.

Was it something that guy did?

It was truly a miraculous occurrence.

“Hey, security guys, did the man with earbuds from the police come to search the penthouse? Do you know who he is?”

I asked the guards in the lobby.

They exchanged glances and shrugged their heads.

“Man with earbuds?”

“No one from the police came. Other than students, there were no visitors.”

How strange.

Doubtful, I returned to the penthouse. There was no sign of the man I had just encountered.

It was as if he had evaporated into thin air.

In his place was another man. He looked like he was in his mid-forties.

He was tall with a burgundy-colored red suit. The balding executive I had met earlier came to mind. Of course, this man had a full head of hair, but he exuded a similar aura.

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

The middle-aged man asked me.

I decided to turn the question back to him.

“Who are you that you’re in my girlfriend’s room?”

“…Girlfriend? I’ve never heard of our Seoga-eul having a boyfriend.”

Our Seoga-eul?

I got angry in an instant.

Was he the pervert after Seoga-eul?

What kind of middle-aged man was after a high school girl?

That’s a crime!

“I don’t know if you recognize me, but I’m the guy who put stockings on Seoga-eul.”

“I’m also the guy who took a bath with Seoga-eul.”

What? I lost!

It had been a while since I felt such defeat when the man extended his hand.

“I’m the one who happens to be Seoga-eul’s father.”

“Ah, it’s nice to meet you, father-in-law. I’m Hanam-jin. I have a question, though. Have you seen a man in a leather jacket with earbuds around here?”

“Well, even if I say I saw him, do I have any obligation to inform you? And I’m not your father-in-law; I’m Seo Do-cheol.”

So that’s how it is? He was a strict guy.

In that case, let’s change my question.

“Father-in-law, why did you set fire to N Mart?”