The Thug Hides the Villainess

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060 – Moving to a New House #1

Oh Deok-hee was an ordinary high school girl born and raised in a very normal house. Apart from her dad’s annoying drinking habits and her younger sister entering the rebellious phase of puberty, her life was relatively peaceful.

Today, she had invited a friend over to her house.

“Deok-soon, thanks for inviting me. I’ve never really been to a friend’s house because of my circumstances. Hehe…”

“Me too… Since I transferred last year, I haven’t had friends…”

Baek-Yeoul and Oh Deok-hee ordered chicken and had a great time together. As time passed, they laid out blankets and lay down together, at which point Baek-Yeoul began to chatter about how Hanam-jin showed up today and dealt a satisfying blow to the seniors.

Listening to her story, there were many parts that made Oh Deok-hee marvel.

‘Isn’t Hanam-jin scared of the seniors? What does he plan to do if he gets reported or runs into the police after being locked up like that?’

His reckless, fearless way of solving problems was something Oh Deok-hee reckoned was impossible for her, even if she died and came back to life.

On the one hand, there was a comforting thought that with Hanam-jin’s radical methods, he would be able to skillfully handle any situation that arose. He was a fascinating friend. It was also a bit enviable.

“Anyway, thanks to Nam-jjin, I survived.”

Tap-tap!

At that moment, Baek-Yeoul’s phone rang. A message had come in.

【Nam-jjin: Who seems more sincere between the two of us? Just judge by the voice.】

It was a voice message from Hanam-jin. When she played it, familiar voices could be heard.

─Baek-Yeoul, I’m sorry! I messed up! Please forgive me!

─I’ll do better in the future! I’m really sorry! Yeoul-ah! Yeoul-aahh!

“Hey, that’s Jeon Som-i and Jang Hyeon-ah’s voices! Looks like they are apologizing to me! Deok-soon, can you hear this?! I have to save it and listen every time something hard happens!”

Oh Deok-hee was taken aback, as she never imagined that the fierce Jeon Som-i and Jang Hyeon-ah would recite such heartfelt apologies.

“Ugh, I feel good, but I’ve ended up relying on Nam-jjin again. At this rate, it will be hard to repay him just by packing him lunch every day.”

Baek-Yeoul didn’t want to be in debt to Hanam-jjin. She wished to be an equal partner with him.

As Baek-Yeoul fell into deep contemplation, she reached one conclusion.

‘Hanam-jjin liked Seoga-eul.’

But right now, Seoga-eul was missing, having been kidnapped by a bad person.

“If I catch the culprit and find Seoga-eul, Nam-jjin will surely be happy, right? Deok-soon, what do you think?”

Oh Deok-hee was greatly startled. Seoga-eul was a rival and a person of bad fate for Baek-Yeoul. The fact that she would be finding Seoga-eul for Hanam-jin left her baffled.

“But if Seoga-eul comes back, then Yeoul, you and Nam-jjin…”

“I know! I’m aware of my… standing! But I don’t want to gain from someone else’s misfortune! And I feel like it’s partly my fault that Seoga-eul ended up like this…”

Seoga-eul and Baek-Yeoul had once been best friends during middle school. It seemed Baek-Yeoul was subtly worried about Seoga-eul.

‘Friend…?’

Oh Deok-hee didn’t have many friends until middle school. Just a handful. In fact, she didn’t want to recall her middle school days much.

However, seeing her friend Baek-Yeoul making efforts in many ways made her feel like she couldn’t just stand by.

“…I know someone who can help find Seoga-eul… I’m not very close to them, but…”

Tap-tap-tap-

Oh Deok-hee opened the Beolstar app on her phone and searched for a female student.

“…Hey, she was in the same middle school as me…”

The girl had a gallery full of pictures taken at famous international destinations and stylish selfies.

She had a lot of followers, about 400,000.

Seeing how happy she seemed in her recent photos made Oh Deok-hee’s hands tremble.

In a way, this girl was Oh Deok-hee’s ‘Seoga-eul’. The difference was that they had never been close and had only had a one-sided bullying relationship.

Oh Deok-hee had awakened the concept of ‘stagnation’ because of this girl.

However, unaware of this, Baek-Yeoul felt a favorable impression at how pretty the girl looked in the photos.

With a cold and refined appearance, long straight hair, and a beauty mark by her eye, she resembled a character Oh Deok-hee had seen in the manga on her bookshelf.

“This girl looks just like Tomie from the horrid manga ‘One-Tales of Jilted Lovers’! Her name is… Jin Eun-byeol? I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere. Where have I heard it… Jin Eun-byeol… An awakened one?”

Jin Eun-byeol. Oh Deok-hee recalled her icy smirk.

The terrifying concept that made everyone wary.

# # #

“Damn, Jang Hyeon-ah, you stupid bitch! Because of you, now I’m… I’ll never get married because of you!”

“…How is this my fault?”

Naked women hurriedly put on their clothes.

Looking at it with ’emotion’, they seemed to feel extremely humiliating and insulting feelings.

“The words tell me that I can’t tell which of you two was more sincere in your apology. I think the same. I can’t determine superiority. Neither of you have even a hint of sincerity.”

Jeon Som-i and Jang Hyeon-ah had not sincerely apologized to us.

Apologies are a realm of talent; not everyone can do it.

However, having filmed naked dogeza (Japanese-style apology), they certainly had their gains.

Since both of them had many Beolstar followers, this video would be ample material for negotiation.

“If you mess around, this video will go straight to the Internet. My life might get rough, but you both will instantly become big stars. Good, right?”

Flinch.

At my threat, the girls trembled.

It seemed they didn’t like the idea of becoming famous for embarrassing videos online.

“Now, you two need to create a natural opportunity for me to approach Wang Ja-hyeon. If everything goes smoothly, I’ll erase the video, got it?”

“…Got it.”

“…Sure.”

Everyone’s energy seemed to deflate.

“Name: Jeon Som-i

Possession: 《Slipperiness Lv.2》 – Slicker than the best loach.

Condition: 《Great Anger》 – She’s angry about the misfortune that has befallen her. At the same time, she’s filled with a desire for revenge against Wang Ja-hyeon and Jin Eun-byeol, who deceived her.”

“Name: Jang Hyeon-ah

Possession: 《Vibration Lv.3》 – Can produce the precision of construction machinery.

Condition: 《Fear》 – She desperately wants to prevent the embarrassing video from spreading. She fears that if many advertising contracts are canceled due to controversy, she will have to pay a penalty.”

Looking into their true thoughts, it seemed they would cooperate well.

The concept of ‘emotion’ works so well.

Thus, we exited the ‘Great Labyrinth’.

Was it around 10 PM?

When I received the ‘Accessory of Diminishment’ from them, Jang Hyeon-ah said coldly under the dark moonlight.

“There’s going to be a birthday party for Jin Eun-byeol soon. It’s an event only for invited guests from the political and business circles, and Wang Ja-hyeon invited me. He wanted me to come.”

Jin Eun-byeol, daughter of Samjin Group.

Jang Hyeon-ah displayed a sign of fear while saying that name.

“By messing with Wang Ja-hyeon, I’ll inevitably have to clash with Jin Eun-byeol. Are you sure that’s okay? It’s better to avoid becoming enemies with her.”

Is this prideful Jang Hyeon-ah really going to concede to the girl?

Why? This is interesting.

After returning home and finishing various tasks, I lay down.

Today, I had resolved the ‘issue that had been bothering me the most recently’, so I should be able to sleep well.

Just as I was thinking that, someone knocked loudly on the door.

“Is this Hanam-jin? We received a report, so we need to investigate your house a bit.”

“Make sure to check everywhere—the house in front, the house in the back, and the houses on both sides! Do you have a basement in here, student?”

The police… investigating?

A basement and the house next door?

Who did this?

For a moment, Jang Hyeon-ah and Jeon Som-i came to mind, but I quickly dismissed the thought. Those girls didn’t have the guts to report to the police. If someone had the guts like that, it had to be—

Seo Do-cheol.

Is it that dirty man?

“Sir! There’s a basement in the house next door! It’s locked with a padlock!”

# # #

Late in the early morning. Seo Nam Group’s chairman’s office.

Seated in front of Seo Do-cheol was a girl with a cold demeanor under dim lighting.

Seo Do-cheol’s expression remained impassive.

The girl before him was a witch.

A witch wearing a pretty human disguise.

It was Jin Eun-byeol.

“I didn’t expect you to contact us first, Chairman Seo. My father told me to assist you in every way possible.”

“Eun-byeol, let’s get straight to the point. With your ‘concept’, can you find out where Seoga-eul is?”

“Easy. But you must never answer any of my questions afterwards.”

Jin Eun-byeol giggled as she sipped her tea.

She then unfolded a long fan to cover her face, and as her charming laughter gradually quieted down, a peculiar phenomenon occurred.

The lights around them began to flicker, and the windows rattled for no reason at all.

“—Seo Do-cheol.”

A thunderous voice was heard from behind the fan.

“Seo Do-cheol.”

The girl’s voice, so peculiar it was hard to believe it was from a girl of the same age as his own daughter, sounded like the voice of King Enma from deep within the underworld.

Seo Do-cheol remained silent, keeping his mouth shut in anticipation of what was coming.

What was happening?

Soon, the eerie voice shouted from behind the fan.

“Your daughter is trapped deep under the south, engulfed in clouds after being bitten by a tiger.”

Clouds filled under the south.

In an instant, Seo Do-cheol momentarily thought of the literal southern direction but shook his head and altered his line of thinking.

‘South’ might not refer to a direction but to ‘Nam’taekun or Hanam-jin?

Coincidentally, both situations had ‘Nam’ in their names.

“Chairman, have you found Seoga-eul?”

At the moment he was lightly stroking his chin to hide his awkward emotions, Jin Eun-byeol then asked again from behind the fan.

“Chairman, have you found Seoga-eul?”

“Yonaatcha… eunga yangnal a?”

“Kick-kick-kick-.”

Being asked repeatedly made Seo Do-cheol feel displeased.

What would happen if he answered this question?

“I still haven’t found her.”

“Liar.”

“Murderer.”

“Demon.”

“Do-cheol—save me—.”

A familiar voice from behind the fan made Seo Do-cheol’s mind snap back to reality.

The plea was too familiar.

“…Who are you?”

“I am the Black Star.”

Thud!

At that moment, someone clutched Seo Do-cheol’s shoulder.

“Chairman, are you alright?”

Turning, he saw Jin Eun-byeol, who had just been sitting there with the open fan, now standing beside him, looking down with thin eyes.

Seo Do-cheol felt as if he were entranced by something.

It must have been true.

“I’m alright.”

“Cold sweat is running down you. I clearly told you not to answer whatever voice you hear. Sometimes, it’s best to ignore ‘certain things’ altogether.”

The girl’s gaze seemed to look down on the much older man before her.

It might have even been the case.

“Chairman, as per the request from your father and my godfather, I will make sure to find Seoga-eul, so please don’t worry. But I would appreciate your cooperation with the press release and press conference.”

The advice from such a much younger girl.

Seo Do-cheol accepted it humbly and even decided on a small reward.

“Eun-byeol, I have some advice for you as well. If, during your search for my daughter, you run into that guy named Hanam-jin, please avoid or ignore him thoroughly.”

“Hanam-jin…?” Jin Eun-byeol muttered to herself before breaking into a grin.

It was a beautiful smile, but there was a chilling aspect to it.

“Well, he should be the one avoiding me.”

With those words, Jin Eun-byeol left the chairman’s office.

It felt as though the peculiar darkness that had enveloped the room began to dissipate.

Suddenly, he became curious.

What would happen if a mad dog and a witch met, and ultimately, who would avoid whom?

If that situation would even occur.

—Your daughter is trapped deep under the south, engulfed in clouds after being bitten by a tiger.

Recollecting the words he had heard from beyond the fan, Seo Do-cheol picked up his phone and called his secretary.

“Kim Sil-jang, this time, let’s focus on searching the basements. I have a feeling that boy Hanam-jin is weighing heavily on my mind. Make sure to check both his house and the nearby basements thoroughly.”

Seo Do-cheol ordered the police to send them to search Hanam-jin’s house and the surrounding area.

He was almost certain that Hanam-jin was the kidnapper.

One hour later.

Seo Do-cheol received a call from Kim Sil-jang.

“Okay, Kim Sil-jang. What happened? Did you check all the basements… what?”

What just happened?

“…Nothing?”