The Thug Hides the Villainess

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017 – The Party is Fun Only for Extroverts #6

“Hey, Baek-Yeoul. What face do you have to come back here? After causing all that chaos last time. If you have a mouth, why don’t you say something? If someone makes a mistake, shouldn’t they apologize?”

“…….”

Baek-Yeoul, who looked like a threatened clam, tightly shut her mouth.

As the atmosphere turned tense in various ways, Chang-sik explained to me in an extremely quiet voice.

“She’s a graduate. Jeon So-mi, a current explorer who graduated from Yeongsa High School last year. She’s also active as a celebrity, but I never thought I’d run into her in a place like this.”

It seemed that the person demanding an apology from Baek-Yeoul was a famous woman.

If she’s a graduate, doesn’t that mean she’s an adult? So adults could attend this party, huh?

“…I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“What?”

The little voice from Baek-Yeoul made the impression of the beautiful woman wrinkle as if squashed. Her distinct features seemed to exaggerate the rapid changes in her expressions.

“…I…I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“What is she saying? Wow, did you all hear that?”

The model girl laughed, looking around as if incredulous.

Baek-Yeoul’s face turned as red as if it was about to explode, and I could see the surrounding unrest slowly growing; the situation didn’t seem good.

On such a joyful day, Baek-Yeoul was drawing all the attention!

This was the worst!

Today should’ve been my day to shine!

I didn’t want to resort to this method.

“Yoo-jeong, sit down for now. We’re not here to watch Baek-Yeoul apologize, but to present everyone with the wedding invitation for myself and Seoga-eul. I made this myself.”

While waiting for Baek-Yeoul in front of the school, I handed model Kim Yoo-jeong the wedding invitation I had drawn on A4 paper. Upon receiving it, model Kim Yoo-jeong looked utterly flabbergasted.

“Huh? Who are you marrying? A wedding invitation? And I’m not Yoo-jeong; I’m Jeon So-mi… No, is this real? This invitation—.”

Why does she keep asking if it’s real? Is there something about my invitation she doesn’t like?

Ah! Maybe it lacked something. Oh dear, I was lacking in taste.

I pulled out a fan and drew my signature and a designer brand mark on the invitation.

“Tada, it’s complete. Now it’s a luxury item you love. Right? You can’t buy this anywhere.”

“Wow….”

The model girl’s mouth formed a perfect O.

Baek-Yeoul, who had been tensed like an angry raccoon, was now blinking rapidly with widened eyes.

That moment successfully diverted everyone’s attention to me.

Crack—.

Someone ground their teeth loudly, then slammed the table while standing up.

“Ah, damn it, I really can’t stand it.”

It was the male student who had sat next to Wang Ja-hyeon during the special class earlier.

What was his name again?

He looked agile and had a face like a mantis.

He had a similar delinquent vibe to Geum Tae-seong, but while Tae-seong looked intimidatingly handsome, this guy just had a sly face.

I’m pretty skilled at reading faces, you know.

Anyway, this sneaky mantis came right up to me, leaning his face in closely as if to engage.

“Hey, who are you?”

“We’ve been in class together, and you still don’t know my name? It’s Hanam-jin.”

“Wow…, this guy is absurd.”

“Hey, Ma-jun, stop it. Just stop.”

“Hold on. Hold on.”

Several male students restrained the guy called Ma-jun by his hands and shoulders.
But Ma-jun seemed to have lost his sanity over the embarrassment of not remembering my name and shook off their hands aggressively.

“Let go. I said let go. Hey, who do you think you are? Just stop messing around. If you’re a knock-off wearing knock-offs, know your place. Don’t you realize you’re being a nuisance to everyone?”

“Why does it matter if I marry Seoga-eul? The nuisance is you, making the party atmosphere hostile by suddenly cursing. Do you think I’ll be scared just because you’re yelling?”

Swish-.

I gripped the area between the male student’s legs as he approached me.

It felt thinner than I expected in my palm, and Ma-jun’s face quickly turned to one of cold dread.

“W-what…? Hey! Ah! Let go! Let go! Ahhh!”

【Name: Sa Ma-jun

Status: 《Shock》 – Overwhelmed by an unexpected situation and horrified.】

“Threatening someone isn’t just barking like a terrified dog. It’s the last mercy of someone who can thoroughly destroy their opponent. Now, say goodbye to your jewels.”

“Hey, hey, hey! Oh no! Ugh!”

As I tightened my grip, Sa Ma-jun began to sweat profusely, flailing around. The bravado he had while cursing at me vanished, turned into a soprano.

“Y-you! Do you know who I am? If you touch me, the Je Wang Group won’t stand by! My dad is the managing director of the Je Wang Group!”

“Why should I care? I’ll give you 5 seconds to apologize to me and the invitation I made. Otherwise, from today, you’ll be a girl. Got it?”

“Ugh!”

“3. 2—.”

“You crazy bastard! You said 5 seconds! Okay! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I was wrong! I was just pretending to be tough! I’m sorry! Hanam-jin! I’ll apologize!”

I wasn’t satisfied with the apology.

I seriously considered just crushing him like this, but I decided to let it slide this time.

From afar, I saw Seoga-eul approaching us with a drink in a glass bottle.

I couldn’t let my beloved Seoga-eul see me holding onto a guy’s jewels.

She’d misunderstand and think I was gay.

Swish-.

The moment I loosened my grip, Sa Ma-jun lost his balance and fell to the ground with a thud. It was funny to see him checking his groin in a state of exhaustion.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

Seoga-eul returned to the VIP room.

As she smiled and glanced around, Wang Ja-hyeon, who had been silent until then, suddenly beamed.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

With Wang Ja-hyeon’s words acting as a signal, even Sa Ma-jun, who had been noisy just moments ago, and the model girl yelling for Baek-Yeoul to apologize fell silent.

What a dull bunch.

“Oh, what’s this?”

Seoga-eul seemed to notice the invitation dropped on the floor and bent down to pick it up.

The invitation I had crafted with such care.

I awaited her reaction eagerly.

Did Sa Ma-jun feel the same way I did now?

“Pfft, this is funny. Nam-jin, you made this yourself?”

“Of course.”

“I’ve received gifts often, but this is the first time I’ve ever gotten something like this. I’ll definitely cherish it. This is hilarious.”

Hahaha—

Seoga-eul burst into laughter. Thanks to her smile, the mood of the VIP room, which had been heavy as if a dog had eaten poison, brightened up a bit.

Indeed, a beautiful woman’s laughter was powerful.

# # #

Despite all the chaos just a moment ago, the party continued as if nothing had happened. Everyone sat in small groups, chatting, and I felt strangely anxious.

My friend, my prized catch Chang-sik, was blending well with the young elites in luxury.

“Can you make candy?”

“Can you change the flavor?”

“Y-yeah.”

“What about those shoes? They’re the same brand as that one.”

“You seem pretty unique, just like him, Hanam-jin.”

Thanks to the luxury shoes I had personally designed, Chang-sik seemed to be earning points from those around him.

But Chang-sik looked slightly sheepish and fumbled a bit as some female students offered him things.

“Hey, I have these leftover slippers; want to wear them? I’ll give them to you.”

“Huh, aren’t these Armes slippers?”

Chang-sik glanced around as if checking the reactions, then took off the shoes he was originally wearing and slipped on the expensive-looking slippers. It was infuriating.

Everyone started to bribe Chang-sik, recognizing his greatness. Seriously, the ability to make infinite candy is the best, right?

Some of them had decent enough eyes.

Clang—.

Then someone dropped a cup, breaking it.

It was the model girl who had been rampaging like a chihuahua earlier.

“Ah, not again! How many times is this going to happen? It’s just bad luck whenever someone is around.”

“Right? I was startled earlier when my stockings suddenly ripped. Totally unlucky.”

“To be honest, if you have some sense, shouldn’t you avoid places with so many people? It’s wholly inconsiderate if you can’t control your abilities.”

Such sharp comments.

Those piercing remarks aimed precisely at someone quietly sitting in the corner, and the party’s incident-stricken Baek-Yeoul couldn’t even muster a rebuttal, trembling instead.

I was quick to read the room.

It was clear that Baek-Yeoul and everyone in this VIP room had a shared past, one that had gone wrong for some reason.

But I didn’t like how they were going about voicing their discontent like children.

Let me demonstrate directly.

“Enough already. If you have something to say, say it outright. Since I raised her as a potential girlfriend, I guess that won’t do. Your heart is ugly.”

“Excuse me? What?”

The model girl seemed to take offense to my words, springing up from her seat.

Had she been drinking alone? Her face was flushed red, and with her frown, she looked bizarrely unattractive.

“Who do you think you are calling ugly! Cancel that statement right now!”

“Cancelled.”

“…What?”

The model girl seemed at a loss as if she had stepped in dog poop.
Then, unable to contain herself, she swung her hand and slapped my cheek.

Smack-!

Everyone’s eyes turned to me with that loud sound.

In an instant, it felt as though I had been spiked by a volleyball player. It was more confusing than painful.

But my response was as swift as lightning.

Smack, smack-!

I gave the model girl alternating slaps across her cheeks.

“Eek!”

“Do you know the saying? A kind word goes a thousand miles. I always return double for what I receive. I won’t show you any mercy just because you’re a girl.”

The model girl swayed, not expecting to be hit, and slipped on the drinks spilled on the floor, flailing about.

“Ah, oh no!”

Wobbling over the spilled drinks in her high heels, it resembled a peculiar dance, which was funny. It looked like a newborn deer trying to stand.

“Eek!”

And finally, the model girl crashed down—

With her legs splayed, her underwear was visible due to her awkward position.
It was black. With lace.

【Name: Jeon So-mi

Status: 《Anger and Shame》 – She is in a frenzy over being humiliated in front of her crush, Wang Ja-hyeon.】

“Damn it, this is so annoying! It’s just so damn annoying!”

The model girl exploded in frustration.

But I distinctly wanted to clarify this one thing.

“Don’t recklessly talk about bad luck. Do you even know what true bad luck is? True bad luck is when you can’t even scream in a burning house.”

Only I knew that the lifespan of this world was only one year left.

I found it heartbreaking that I couldn’t share that fact with everyone.

“Clinging to an empty shell that will someday burn away is a sad affair. Luxury? Money? All that is unnecessary. What’s truly important is this. This.”

Swish-.

The bottle cap.

As I held it up, everyone’s eyes were glued to it.

“This is the real valuable item.”

I’m not lying; that bottle cap would hold more value than gold in the future.

The reason is ridiculously funny—but I’ll explain it later; for now, let’s just gather some bottle caps.

With that intuition, I roamed around the party and managed to collect over 100 bottle caps!

This party is the best!
Now that I collected everything I needed, should I start heading home?

“I expected this party to be fun, but it’s honestly boring. I’d rather go home and review Game of Thrones. I’m out, you guys can keep having fun.”

“Y-you’re leaving?”

Chang-sik, who had been trembling with anxiety, seemed shocked.

It looked like he wanted to stay longer.

“Chang-sik, are you leaving too? Just stay a bit longer.”

“Yeah, let’s talk more about making candy.”

Chang-sik alternated glances between me and the female students.

After thinking for a while, he took off the luxury slippers and put on the sneakers I had personally drawn the logo on.

“U-uh, I think I should start to go too. It’s getting late…”

“I’ll go too.”

Baek-Yeoul got up from her seat.

We made our way out of the VIP room and headed for the elevator when Seoga-eul spoke to us in a gentle voice.

“Are you really leaving already? Why? It’s just getting exciting; stay a bit longer.”

That was such an angelic question.

If someone heard that, even a man with a heart as cold as a glacier would fall deeply in love.

But no is no.

“Seoga-eul, do you think I look like a fool?”