NOVEL NEXT Chapter 52
052 – Pandora’s Box #3
Inside a car gliding softly through the downtown filled with skyscrapers.
The man, Seo Do-cheol, opened his narrow eyes, taking in the sparkling lights outside the window.
His secretary, Kim Sil-jang, with his lengthy experience, could tell that Seo Do-cheol was in a rather foul mood.
There’s such a thing as atmosphere, even without words.
“Chairman, is there something bothering you?”
Pretending to be completely unaware, the secretary inquired.
“That damn dog suddenly bit my arm.”
Seo Do-cheol, with the corners of his mouth twitching upward.
Kim Sil-jang recalled that today, Seo Do-cheol, the chairman of Seo Nam, was supposed to meet with Gu Se-jun.
Gu Se-jun was a dog raised by Seo Nam.
However, he had grown so large that he now seemed capable of devouring his own master. It seemed that Gu Se-jun had crossed a line during today’s meeting.
As Kim Sil-jang was making such assumptions, Seo Do-cheol recollected what had happened earlier.
━ Why did you set fire to N Mart?
The boy’s words left Seo Do-cheol speechless for the first time in ages. He had effortlessly countered even the sharpest questions during investigative hearings.
But a sudden feeling of having his neck bitten left him tongue-tied.
Soon, he realized he was flustered.
Had anyone ever spoken to him so rudely, a person shining as the second most important figure in South Korea?
Was that what it meant to be young and with nothing to lose?
Part of him felt envious.
“Well? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Even if I had done something like that, would I have an obligation to honestly tell you? You young folks might not understand, but there are things people exchange.”
“If you want to be treated well, you should treat others well in return—that’s what you mean, right?”
Was there such a proverb?
Seo Do-cheol immediately recognized that the boy in front of him was no ordinary student. This perceptiveness was what had brought him to his current position.
He had thought it was strange when the boy mentioned dating his daughter, Seoga-eul.
Indeed, this guy must have completely lost his mind.
‘Is he a pathological liar or delusional?’
Upon reaching such thoughts, Seo Do-cheol regretted wasting his time.
“If you want to pick a fight, at least bring evidence. Evidence I can’t escape from. If you have nothing further to ask, I’ll be on my way.”
Just as he attempted to pass by the boy.
“Let me ask just one more thing.”
Suddenly, the boy turned his head sharply and bit Seo Do-cheol’s arm.
“Ugh, damn it!”
So when he said he wanted to ask a question, he really meant he would bite his arm.
Even a refined chaebol couldn’t help but curse at such a sudden bite. When he regained his senses, the boy was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and chuckling away.
“Father-in-law, think carefully. Once I find my evidence, it won’t just end with biting your arm. You might never have a granddaughter again.”
Rolling up his sleeve, a clear red bite mark was visible.
It hurt as if his bone had been cracked.
“What’s your name?”
That was where the memory ended.
Kim Sil-jang was startled by the red bite mark Seo Do-cheol was showing. He never thought being bitten by a dog was so literal.
As the secretary was bewildered, Seo Do-cheol asked.
“Kim Sil-jang, have you heard of Hanam-jin?”
“Ah, yes. I’ve heard. He’s the next rising star at Yeongsa High School. They say he’s already caught two Level 3 fugitives, just a semester after transferring.”
“Oh, that kid?”
“He’s said to be related to the victim’s family from the N Mart incident. With various dramas happening here and there, it seems Yeongsa High is pushing him and his team, ‘No Leftover Day’. You don’t think that crazy kid actually bit you…!”
Seo Do-cheol recalled the boy who had questioned him about the arson at N Mart.
Had he learned something from the Level 3 fugitives they had captured?
But unfortunately, since all the evidence had vanished, Seo Do-cheol could simply pretend to be unaware.
The country’s laws and the entire judicial system were on his side. Because of that, Hanam-jin’s name was quickly erased from Seo Do-cheol’s memory.
He could only think of his vanished daughter.
Then suddenly, a hypothesis arose in his mind.
“What if Hanam-jin, that lunatic, kidnapped my daughter?”
“Chief Jeon Ji-hyeon has checked multiple times, but it doesn’t seem so.”
Then where could his daughter possibly be?
Seo Do-cheol was genuinely worried for his daughter.
For him, she was everything.
She was all that remained of his late wife, a source of immense pride who was so precious she couldn’t even be harmed if he placed her in his eyes.
And now that daughter had disappeared.
Why was he the only one to suffer like this?
Nam Tae-geon, who would have been a co-founder of Seo Nam, was now reveling in the joys of life, having become a reincarnated president, preparing for some ridiculous hereditary succession.
Seo Do-cheol could not tolerate the fact that someone was above him.
If he couldn’t be happy, he wanted to drag down everyone else into the same unhappiness.
Thinking of some good way out, he recalled the mad dog that bit his arm.
“Kim Sil-jang, what was tomorrow’s headline in the morning paper?”
“It was the revelation of the private life of the disgraceful Wang Ja-hyeon of Je Wang Group.”
“We should change that. Let’s throw some work at Yu Do-gwan, who must be devastated losing his beloved daughter.”
# # #
If you were to ask what the most painful thing in a destroyed world was, it would undoubtedly be loneliness.
I wanted to date a pretty girlfriend, experience a relationship like everyone else, get married, have kids, and happily watch my grandkids play.
When such thoughts plagued me, I would climb to the rooftop of my shanty and look at the stars.
Staring at the shining night sky made my heart feel a bit lighter.
Remembering that those countless stars were floating alone in the vast universe made my own loneliness feel trivial.
But in the current city, it wasn’t easy to see the stars.
“I could ease my hunger with ketchup, but what on earth can cure this unending loneliness that comes and goes like this?”
━ Ying-ing, yao-ing.
Ying-ing, having wriggled out of my bag, rubbed its body against my face.
Its soft and cool cloud-like body felt quite nice.
“Ying-ing, but what kind of creature are you really?”
I suddenly became curious about Ying-ing’s identity.
Before transforming into a cloud, it was a slime.
Did it have any concept of being a “slime”?
Anyway, I returned to the basement with Ying-ing.
Creeeak, creak-.
As I opened the basement door, Seoga-eul and Yu Yeoreum appeared, each facing the wall with their backs turned to each other.
Without speaking, it seemed they had fought while I was away.
“Yeoreum, I brought strawberry milk.”
Swish-.
I pulled out the strawberry milk that Yu Yeoreum liked from the bag.
Her eyes widened significantly upon seeing the strawberry milk, and she cautiously approached me, slowly reaching out her hand.
The nervousness and shyness in her demeanor resembled a cat with high caution.
Could this be why cat moms keep feeding their cats?
Did these fun things only belong to cat moms?
“Where’s my ‘treasure’?”
Seoga-eul, with her arms crossed and legs crossed, asked coyly.
I had many things I wanted to say, but for now, I pulled out a box from my bag and handed it to Seoga-eul.
「Name: Fairy King’s Storage
A box cherished by the Fairy King of the Great Labyrinth. Capable of storing everything in the world.
Holding: 《Hope Lv.3》 – Contains hope that matches winning the first prize in a lottery.」
“Oh, what? You really brought it? That’s it! I told you we needed this!”
Seoga-eul was overjoyed upon receiving the box.
Is this box that valuable?
Seeing my puzzled expression, Seoga-eul kindly explained for some reason.
“This box allows me to store the ‘concepts’ I’ve awakened. I can retrieve them when needed. In other words, it’s my ‘concept refrigerator’. Definitely something we need.”
“And what does that have to do with training?”
“Are you foolish? You should roughly understand by now. The awakening of concepts is easier for me than you imagine! Lots of useless concepts appeared, making me suffer back in middle school…”
Not every concept benefited the awakeners.
Look at the ‘misfortune’ concept. It was gnawing away at my life, wasn’t it?
It seemed Seoga-eul had acquired this storage container to prepare for times when she awakened unwanted concepts.
From now on, it meant she could speed up concept awakenings.
Honestly, it wouldn’t be bad to be pleased.
“Then how about doing that ‘squishy’ thing for me now?”
“What?”
Seoga-eul flinched-.
She seemed taken aback.
“What do you want me to do?”
I thought she would definitely say she’d do the ‘squishy’ thing if I brought her treasure. It was pretty annoying that she was acting as if this was the first time she heard about it.
“What do you mean I said I’d do that? Bring proof. Proof.”
Asking for proof here?
“Dad and daughter are acting the same. It must be true that blood can’t lie.”
“What? Why is my dad coming up here?”
“I ran into your dad while bringing the box.”
“……!”
Seoga-eul’s attitude, which had been carefree until just moments ago, suddenly turned sour.
She seemed to be contemplating but finally let out a deep sigh.
“Fine! If it means I have to do ‘squishy’, I will!”
Swish-.
Seoga-eul pushed her chest toward me.
What’s that supposed to mean?
“What is it?”
“Can’t you tell? ‘Squishy’ means touching my chest.”
That’s rather persuasive…!
But I quickly realized that statement was a lie.
「Name: Seoga-eul
Holding: Expand to see in detail ☜
Status: 《Stubbornness》 – She’s lying.」
Whatever it was, it seemed ‘squishy’ wasn’t just about touching her chest.
Still, should I just pretend not to know and touch her chest?
No, a real man wouldn’t let himself be misled by a small bait and miss out on a big catch.
“Seoga-eul, you owe me ‘squishy’ three times.”
“What? Hey! Why does it suddenly become three?”
Seoga-eul threw a fit as if she couldn’t comprehend.
At that moment, Yu Yeoreum, having finished her strawberry milk, carefully approached me.
“Could you change my blanket? Even if I wash my body clean, it’s meaningless if I sleep with dirty bedding. If you change the blanket, I could help you with one request too.”
Yu Yeoreum says she’d help me with my request?
I had no idea why the fierce girl was suddenly being so compliant.
Did she like the strawberry milk that much?
Seoga-eul chimed in.
“I want a change too. My blanket is winter-grade and really hot!”
“Then if you tell me what ‘squishy’ really is, I’ll switch the blankets.”
“…….”
Seoga-eul remained tight-lipped.
In the end, only Yu Yeoreum got to enjoy a clean and cool sleeping arrangement. Seoga-eul might have been so jealous of her that she became furious like a raging fox.
“Yeoreum, are you some bar girl? How can you give a guy a favor for a blanket? How sad would your brother be if he found out? Aren’t you ashamed?”
“This blanket is so cool and nice. Thank you, Jina.”
What is this?
I never expected Yu Yeoreum, who had just been like a puma on the brink of euthanasia, to suddenly turn into a well-trained house cat.
As long as she cooperated, it was fine by me.
In any case, I had an opportunity to ask Yu Yeoreum various requests now.
Honestly, there was something I wanted to ask her about.
That feeling greeted the morning.
When I decided to check the newspaper I would give Seoga-eul, I opened the paper.
“Shock! President who dealt with terrorists?”
“Evidence of dealings with Billunners surface—.”
“A mysterious tip-off opens ‘Pandora’s Box’ against the current administration—.”
“Rethinking the N Mart disaster-.”
“This newspaper is a drug.”
Was this newspaper the one sponsored by Seo Nam Group?
In other words, it was poison spread by Seo Do-cheol of Seo Nam.