The Thug Hides the Villainess

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018 – Kidnapping, Like Angry Waves Hitting the Cliff #1

There’s a certain type of man in this world that I absolutely loathe.

Those who tremble and turn into jelly at the mere mention of women.

Such fellows shouldn’t even be called men.

I, Hanam-jin, could say NO to any woman, even if I loved her dearly.

“Hey, Seoga-eul. Do I look like a fool to you?”

“…What?”

Always the gentleman, I revealed my unrestrained tongue, and Seoga-eul’s lips trembled as if she felt some kind of charm in my boldness.

Even Baek-Yeoul, who looked at me like an angry raccoon whenever she saw Seoga-eul, seemed flustered and tugged at my side.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong with you…?”

“Let go. Seriously, what’s fun about this party? Seoga-eul, do you honestly think this is fun?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, is it fun? Talking about money and cars among people you don’t even like? You’re not that kind of person.”

I vividly remembered the day Seoga-eul came searching for me at my dilapidated hut.

Sometimes that scene comes to me in dreams.

That day, she was battered and drenched in rain, yet sparkled like a gem.
Her face twisted in disgust as she complained about my filthy house while taking off her stockings, yet she didn’t lose her vibrance.
That was the Seoga-eul I fell in love with.

“You’re not being at all ‘Seoga-eul’ right now.”

That day, Seoga-eul was already perfect just as she was.

She looked like she needed nobody’s help anymore.

However, the current Seoga-eul was, after all, different from the one of that day.
The current Seoga-eul resembled me muttering to myself in a garbage dump.

“Garbage dump” and “luxury penthouse.”
“A lonely mutterer” and “the center of the party.”
Their situations were drastically different, yet I could tell.

The current Seoga-eul was lonely.
Lonely enough to wish for even meaningless and noisy chatter around her.

It was like turning up the volume on a TV that no one welcomes you home to.
In a way, this party was just like that TV.
With a dash of malice and ill will as garnish.

“Stop bothering Baek-Yeoul. I don’t know what kind of relationship you had before or what happened, but it’s childish and disgusting. You made today turn out like this!”

The reason the model girl openly displayed hostility toward Baek-Yeoul was that Seoga-eul, who was the host of today’s party, implicitly agreed to it.

I began to think perhaps Seoga-eul instructed it.

“Don’t provoke Baek-Yeoul.”
I was saying that to Seoga-eul.

Because I had a hunch that “humanity’s betrayers,” who might stab Seoga-eul in the back at the party today, could potentially be Baek-Yeoul.

There was enough grudge and motivation.
Thus, I had no choice but to wish for better relations between Seoga-eul and Baek-Yeoul.

“……”

Seoga-eul, who typically retorted leisurely to any comment, fell silent.
Her expression was as cold as ice.
Our relationship seemed to have hit rock bottom this time.

“Can you handle what you just said?”

Seoga-eul asked me.
I wanted to turn the question around.

“You should handle it. I gave you a chance instead. You know what? The moon looks really beautiful tonight.”

I glanced over Seoga-eul’s shoulder to the shining moon through the elegant penthouse windows.
It was a beautiful full moon.
The night when Seoga-eul is the most vulnerable.

In the first place, I came to this office party to check out where Seoga-eul lived, what the outlets and entrances were, etc.
Thanks to gathering some satisfying information here and there while collecting bottle caps, I presented my initiative for tonight.

The kidnapping of Seoga-eul takes place tonight.

“Well then, hasta la vista!”

With a stylish farewell, I started heading home.
“Hey, you okay? You said you liked Seoga-eul.”

After a long period of silence, Baek-Yeoul, the thick-bodied one, finally opened his mouth.
“I think you’re going to be completely hated because of today. Honestly, it was a mess.”

Is he worrying about my romance with Seoga-eul?
Even though we signed a partnership contract, he was surprisingly responsible.

“I don’t care if I’m hated. My feelings for Seoga-eul won’t change. Even if she hates me, all that matters is that I like her.”

“…Why?”

“Why do I like her?”

“What about Seoga-eul is so appealing? You know her character is bad, right? She pretends to be fine in front of you but makes people miserable behind their backs.”

“Why do I like her…?”

“Seoga-eul was popular from back in the day. She was genuinely nice. But then she suddenly changed. I don’t know why, but I think… I have to say what’s on my mind like you…”

With a pouty grip on her own skirt, Baek-Yeoul.
She seemed to want to say something but kept stuttering her lips.

It’s hard to lay your heart bare.
While Baek-Yeoul pondered, I thought deeply about why I liked Seoga-eul.

“Why do I like Seoga-eul? Because she’s pretty. Her eyes are as red as rubies. I like red.”

“……”

Did my answer not please her?
Baek-Yeoul bit her lips tightly and frowned.

# # #

When I returned home, Baek-Yeoul buried her face in her pillow and cried her eyes out.
Thanks to that, her makeup smeared onto the pillow, and snot was also on it, but I couldn’t care less.

“I couldn’t say a single word!”

When she decided to participate in the office party, she probably made up her mind to be strong.
No matter what happened, she resolved to face it head-on and overcome it.

But when everyone’s gaze and scorn turned toward her, haunting memories came back to her like a trauma, sealing her lips shut.

Memories of being greatly humiliated at the party because of Seoga-eul.
She wanted to get sweet revenge but ended up trembling once again.

Instead, the student who had the worst first encounter, Hanam-jin, opened up a little about what he wanted to say to everyone.
“Why is he always so confident?”

Was he not scared of being hated by everyone?
While staring at the luxury bag borrowed from her mother, Baek-Yeoul fell into thought.
She remembered the male student who offered to swap his fake shoes to save her from being teased for the gaudy bag.
Even when she was attacked by model Jeon So-mi, the male student had stepped forward as if it were his own issue, absorbing the embarrassment and humiliation instead.

“Why did he do that? D-does he like me?”
No, that can’t be true.
The male student openly declared his fondness for Seoga-eul without a hint of shame.

Seoga-eul was a bad person but was still popular among everyone.
A truly bad person.
Why on earth did Hanam-jin like such a rotten apple?

“Just because she’s pretty? Is that all there is?”

I might not know for sure, but Baek-Yeoul felt a flicker of anger.
At herself? At Seoga-eul? At Hanam-jin? She wasn’t quite sure whom exactly she was annoyed with, but she couldn’t let it stand as it was, so she stood up.

“I need to change too.”

But how could she change?
Baek-Yeoul envisioned what kind of person she ought to become.
Today, she remembered the male student who didn’t shrink away even in front of the confident VIP boys.
Honestly, Baek-Yeoul never thought she could change to that extent─.

“First, let’s change the appearance at least.”

Baek-Yeoul picked up a pen and drew a luxury logo on her old school bag.
Just like that, she completed a fake Chanel.
It was crooked and uneven, but oddly enough, that’s what she liked about it.

“Fake or real, it doesn’t matter. If I believe it’s real, then it becomes real, doesn’t it? Everything depends on how I choose to see it!”

The realization burst in her mind like soda bubbles.
At this point, even the bad luck she had been unable to control seemed something she could get familiar with.
Quietly, quietly-.
Now Baek-Yeoul rose from her seat at the hour everyone else was asleep and rummaged through her mom’s drawer.
What she pulled out was a bottle of hair dye.

She wasn’t even sure what color it was.
With the thick, sticky dye in her hands, she applied it to her hair in the dark room.
When the strong dye touched her scalp, it tingled, but it didn’t feel that bad after all.
She hoped that her hair would turn a ruby red.
However, when Baek-Yeoul washed it out and checked her hair color─.

“Hyah!?”

# # #

“Hanam-jin, my friend. Tell me I’m not the one at fault. Please say it was right to leave the comforts of my female classmates’ arms and attend the office party with you!”

Choi Chang-sik couldn’t shake off his worries and anxieties during the journey home.
I had no choice but to jolt him awake from the cruel reality.

“All the girls sitting beside you were wearing rings. They had boyfriends. They were enjoying at your expense. You know that.”

“…Ugh.”
Chang-sik genuinely looked sad.
I knew how painful it was to be rejected by girls and mocked, so I could offer him sincere comfort.

“Hey, take this at least.”

I took out around ten of the bottle caps I collected today and handed them to Chang-sik.
These were mostly crown caps from beer or delicious cola bottles.
Honestly, giving this to him felt a bit precious to me, even if it was Chang-sik.

“Don’t need it. I have plenty at home.”

But Chang-sik rejected my goodwill.
So, he had a lot of bottle caps at home?
I wanted to hear more about that, but Chang-sik merely trudged off and boarded the bus.

Now there was only me left on the seat.
I looked up listlessly to the night sky.
The full moon shone brightly as ever.

The office party was expected to end around midnight.
It would be best to execute my kidnapping plan when everyone leaves, and Seoga-eul is left alone.

I had to maximize the use of my ability, “Leap.”
I might even have to gamble my life.
Speaking of which, should I practice some drills?

I headed to a nearby park to stretch a bit.
Today, during “special lessons,” I thought of ways to enhance the grade of my “Leap” ability through yoga and meditation, and I intended to put them into practice.

“Leap isn’t actually a running concept. It’s a jumping concept.”

Pop-.
As I lightly leaped into the air, my body soared close to two meters.
Honestly, I was a bit disappointed.

“Jump! Jump!”
Like Mario craving mushrooms, I was jumping around in the park when I felt someone approaching me.
It was a woman wearing a hoodie and dolphin pants.
Her long legs and the curves popping out from under the hoodie were particularly noticeable.

“You’re, Yu Yeoreum… right?”

“No.”

“Ah! Right! It’s Yu Georeum! A name like a natural environment.”

“Yu Yeoreum.”

Right, that was her name.
Yu Yeoreum, said to be a genius even among the elite F class who scrutinize backgrounds, is rumored to be someone even Seoga-eul can’t mess with, according to Taeseong’s description.
There she was, Yu Yeoreum, exuding vitality under the street lamp.
Was she out for a jog? What a diligent person, I thought, just as she asked me.

“What are you doing? I saw you jumping in mid-air.”

“Developing my abilities.”

“Ah─. You’re trying to raise the grade of your concept. Want some tips?”

“Tips?”

“Concepts stem from strong desires. And the main fuel for using this power is emotions. Feelings like hatred, jealousy, envy, and fear are our sources.”

Slick-.
Yu Yeoreum was scanning me from top to bottom with her gaze beneath her hoodie.

“It seems to me that yours would be ‘anger.’ You’re tapping into anger every time you use your concept, right? Must be that something angry happened to you in your life. That’s when you acquired your concept.”

“Anger? Me?”

“I know that too well. No matter what happened, you must have experienced something enraging enough to acquire your concept. Reflect on the emotions from that day.”

Anger. Was that how I felt when I acquired the concept of “Leap”?
I hadn’t realized it myself.
I wonder if I was angry that day.

“I train here in ‘Central Park’ every late evening. If you have questions about enhancing your concept, feel free to come and ask.”

The hooded girl, Yu Yeoreum, had generously offered her help.
Suddenly I became curious about why she was going that far for me.
I knew better than anyone that goodwill without reason doesn’t exist.

“Why are you trying to help me? Do you like me?”

At my question, Yu Yeoreum took off her hood.
She had neatly tied hair and a pronounced, beautiful face.
Was she slightly tanned? It felt like her skin was evenly baked in the summer sun.
If I hadn’t met Seoga-eul first, this girl might have become my first love─.

Just as I was thinking that, Yu Yeoreum opened her lips.

“I─.”

“Sorry! I already have someone I like!”