The Thug Hides the Villainess

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035 – A Strong Woman Generally Has Weaknesses #1

“Hey!!! Hanam-jjin!!!”

Bbangdaengi called me as he ran from afar. What could it be? The important thing is that he tripped over his own feet while rushing over.

Thud!

To fall on an empty floor takes skill.

However, it’s true that the menacing atmosphere eased with his arrival.

“What’s up?”

“What’s going on?”

The gazes of students leaving school gathered in this alley, and even the police officer Jinramyeon, who was half-threatening me with a clenched fist, softened her demeanor a bit.

“Little bro, you’re luckier than I thought. See you later. Just keep the story about me touching your chest a secret. If you mess up, I might have to wear an electronic ankle bracelet.”

Asking to keep it a secret but blabbing it all out herself—great logic there.

Thanks to that, Bbangdaengi growled like an angry raccoon.

“What do you mean, ‘chest’?! Hanam-jjin! You said you liked Seoga-eul, and now that she’s gone, you just turn your gaze to someone else? Is any girl good enough for you?!”

“I’m only devoted to Seoga-eul!”

“………”

Bbangdaengi Baek-Yeoul looked at me with a face full of discontent.

But it was also true that I’d just benefited from his sudden arrival.

Was it luck and timing?

If I had been dragged away by that noona, I might have been staring straight into a “GAME OVER” screen.

“So, Bbangdaengi, what the heck is going on? Didn’t you say you were going home?”

At my question, Bbangdaengi dusted off his knees and looked around.

Then he asked in a voice barely loud enough for me to hear.

“Dude, there’s nothing to eat at your house, right? So you came to suck on a ketchup bottle?”

“Hey, we have food at home!”

“Really? What do you have?”

“Ramen.”

“Not that kind of stuff!”

What’s wrong with ramen?

Soon, Bbangdaengi seemed to have something to say but was fumbling like he had something stuck in his throat. It was like having a mosquito bite on his foot but not being able to scratch because he was wearing shoes.

Just when I wondered what it was, he pulled out something from his bag.

“Hey! You teased me about not being able to cook! But that’s not true! So try this for dinner tonight!”

It was a lunchbox.

“I made this myself! I’m Baek-Yeoul of Baekdang! I’m confident in cooking!”

It seemed he was still sore about me shouting that he couldn’t cook during my fight with Yeom Hoon not too long ago.

It was still warm, so it seemed well insulated.

“If you honestly admit it’s delicious, I can make you a lunchbox every day for dinner. I’ve gotten some help from you, so consider this my return gift. A give-and-take situation.”

Bbangdaengi said he’d solve my dinner every day?

That sounded pretty good to me.

However, “Bbangdaengi’s cooking”? Wouldn’t that have descriptors like “charred” or “distorted underworld”?

Feeling nervous, Baek-Yeoul flicked his head and said as if he had finished his speech.

“Maybe… um, I might be the reason why Seoga-eul disappeared.”

“Why?”

“Because I hated Seoga-eul. I wished she’d disappear every day. Did my misfortune transfer to Seoga-eul?”

“That’s not it. You don’t have that kind of ability.”

“Hmm… Anyway! I’m going! Wash the lunchbox and return it to me tomorrow!”

With that, Bbangdaengi dashed off into the distance.

He tripped again but stood up nonchalantly and ran off, disappearing.

# # #

“I’ll say this in advance, if you hand me ketchup ramen today, I’ll bite my tongue and die.”

After returning home and heading straight to the basement without unzipping my bag, Seoga-eul had firmly laid down the law.

I didn’t understand why someone who hadn’t been able to eat properly for days was acting so high and mighty.

What else do we have to eat at home besides ramen?

Oh wait, there is one thing.

Schwoop- I pulled out the lunchbox I received from Bbangdaengi.

Opening the lid, I saw a rather shabby-looking egg roll, Vienna sausages, and soy sauce bulgogi all packed in compartments.

Maybe it was the delicious smell, but Seoga-eul showed interest.

“What’s this, a lunchbox? Did you make it?”

At Seoga-eul’s question, I pondered slightly on how to respond.

This was a lunchbox made by Baek-Yeoul.

Didn’t Baek-Yeoul and Seoga-eul have a pretty bad relationship?

Clearly, something had happened between them, but neither Baek-Yeoul nor Seoga-eul would openly talk about it.

“Well, yeah, I made it. I’m good at cooking.”

For now, I thought it would be better to say that I made this lunchbox. Seoga-eul had shown interest in food for once, hadn’t she?

If I said Baek-Yeoul made it, she’d probably say, “You eat it yourself!” So that’s why I lied.

“Ah—.”

Seoga-eul opened her mouth wide at my answer.

What is she doing?

“Hey, pervert. You wrapped tape around my hand, so I can’t eat with chopsticks or a fork. You have to feed me. So hurry up and feed me.”

Ah, that’s what she meant.

I picked up the food from the lunchbox with chopsticks and placed it on Seoga-eul’s tongue.

Her tongue looked fluffy between her white and tidy teeth.

So this tongue spews poisonous words every day.

Chew chew chew-.

“How does it taste?”

“Hmm, well, not bad?”

Baek-Yeoul’s lunchbox was just alright for Seoga-eul’s taste.

She said that, but Seoga-eul kept her mouth open and ate the entire lunchbox. Then she fell into deep thought like a judge on a cooking competition show.

“The degree of vegetable cooking is a bit unsatisfactory, but it’s been a long time since I’ve had home-cooked meals like this, so I’ll give it 6 points out of 10. Next time, cook the vegetables a bit more, okay?”

I guess that was it.

I should properly convey Seoga-eul’s request to Baek-Yeoul.

I ate ramen with Ying-ing.

Thanks to the infinite ketchup bottle I got today, the ketchup melded beautifully, giving it great flavor.

Gwiiee-.

Ying-ing, transformed into a cloud, floated around the basement, looking pleased with my ramen dish. That little guy is cute!

“Ketchup bottle? You only brought a ketchup bottle back from the treasure hunt? Wow, I can’t even bear to tell anyone that I was kidnapped by a guy like this.”

“It’s not just any ketchup bottle, it’s a rechargeable one, you know? Isn’t it incredibly awesome?”

“So can you use that ketchup bottle to kidnap Yu Yeoreum? When are you planning to kidnap her and tie her next to me? If you successfully kidnap Yu Yeoreum, I’ll help you with your weird plans!”

Once full, Seoga-eul became quite smug.

She thumped the floor with her legs while talking, and I didn’t want to get caught up in that.

“Hey, I’ve got plans too. Don’t worry. Today, we’re going to do leg workouts. You’ve been cooped up in here for quite some time, so your muscles might be a bit dull now. So, lie down.”

“Wh-what are you trying to do?!”

“Just some simple rehabilitation.”

I was somewhat of an expert on leg rehabilitation.

Originally, my legs had gotten badly injured after being run over by a truck.

I grabbed Seoga-eul’s legs and started moving them around to help loosen her muscles.

“Pervert, rehabilitation is just an excuse, and you’re just thinking about touching my legs, right? All guys are the same. Just pretending to be nice, but actually plotting something else with girls.”

Of course, Seoga-eul hated it.

Should I even give her a foot massage while I’m at it? I pressed on the Yongcheongyeol, the acupuncture point in the middle of her foot, with my thumb, and Seoga-eul’s body sprang back like a spring.

“Hyack!”

“So this is your weakness? Well, rehab session’s over for today!”

“…I’ll kill you. I’m really going to end you. Just wait.”

“Oh, that sounds nice. Sweet words. By the way, I heard there’s a missing person report on you.”

“Missing?”

Seoga-eul, who had been acting like an angry fox caught in a trap, suddenly became eerily calm. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.

As I contemplated, Seoga-eul murmured.

“TV.”

“What about the TV?”

“Install a small one in this basement. You can just leave for school, but I feel like I’m going to go insane from boredom during that time.”

A TV? That’s a bit difficult for now.

Instead, I brought the newspapers that flew to our house every morning.

“Is that our ad newspaper? I’ll endure for now, but please install the TV as soon as possible.”

Seoga-eul examined the newspaper’s headline with squinty eyes.

Her delicate fingers pointed to a corner of the newspaper.

“Opposition leader Yu Do-gwan criticized the President’s ‘Awakener Registration Law’ head-on this afternoon. This bill could suppress the human rights of awakeners—”

“This guy is Yu Yeoreum’s dad.”

“Who?”

“Opposition leader Yu Do-gwan. A presidential candidate.”

Yu Yeoreum must have had incredible abilities and come from a great family.

How high is the position of an opposition leader?

Of course, that means nothing in this world a year later.

“However, he’s not her biological father.”

Swish-.

Seoga-eul’s eyes widened in surprise as she heard the astonishing story.

“What do you mean, if he’s not her biological father?”

“Yu Yeoreum is actually an orphan from a foster home. The one supporting that foster home used to be our Seonam Group affiliate, which is now split off and called the ‘Je Wang Group.’”

So Yu Yeoreum is from a foster home—that might turn into useful information for kidnapping, depending on the situation.

“But that foster home is now closed. As for why it closed—the investigation is up to you. I think I’ve shared enough about Yu Yeoreum’s ‘weakness,’ don’t you?”

“Weakness? Does she even have a weakness?”

“Who knows? Well then, Ying-ing, come here.”

Gwiiee-.

Seoga-eul called Ding-ing, floating in the air, and used its fluffy cloud-like body as a pillow, lying down on the mat.

There was a time I yelled to kill it, but now she was treating it like a pillow.

Poor Ying-ing.

# # #

In a large training room.
A woman easily lifted a barbell with a 100 kg weight, with countless plates stacked upon it, in the pitch-black dark where not even a hand’s breadth could be seen.

“……”

Despite lifting a weight that would ordinarily require several strong men, her expression didn’t even flicker.
Only a few beads of sweat dripped from her forehead to her chin.

“That’s enough, Yeoreum. Let’s call it a day. Even in a depleted state, you can easily do 1,000 kg now, right? You’re in particularly good shape these days. Did something good happen?”

A middle-aged woman in a white coat carefully checked and wrote down Yeoreum’s records.
Yeoreum glanced at the middle-aged woman’s face.
It was quite amusing that she wore a night vision device that looked like spider eyes.

“Good things, you say?”

“How old do you think I’ve been watching you? You seem a bit more excited lately, like when you received a birthday cake back in the day. What’s going on?”

“Nothing in particular….”

Yeoreum exited the training room for her next session.
Descending into the dimly lit underground, a massive steel bomb shelter came into view.

Clank, thud-.

As she entered, the total darkness enveloped Yeoreum’s body.
It was a sticky, ink-like, complete darkness.

[Then, Yeoreum, it looks like you’re in good condition today, so it’ll be 12 hours. ]

A voice from somewhere embedded in a speaker echoed through the air.
However, shortly after, a sound of toxic gas seeping out came through the air.

[The 45th experiment on tolerance to toxic gas.]
[Test subject: 36 hours in a state of complete starvation.]
[1984 hours since the last concept manifestation—]

In the pitch-black darkness, Yeoreum sat on the ground, delving into her inner self.
The “light” she had longed for was already within her.
However, the dreadful hunger was still unbearable.
And if there was one more thing that was hard to endure—.

—This night vision is quite nice. Even in this pitch black, I can see my palm lines clearly.
—If I beat her, will my debt really be wiped?

In the inky darkness, the indistinct murmurs of unknown humans could be heard.

—It’s nostalgic to be able to beat up high school girls. Back then, it wasn’t just bravado—.
—Miss, how old are you? Do you have a boyfriend? Heheheh—.

Even though I tried to illuminate my gaze with a blinding light, the “light” I had charged through “photosynthesis” was all depleted from living in the dark room.
This training was intentionally set to adjust ’crisis’ and ‘lack’ for the manifestation of new concepts.

In the end, the evil intents and blunt weapons surging from everywhere injured Yeoreum’s body.

“……”

In this chaos, Yeoreum neglected to scream to conserve her energy. She merely paid back the violence as if it were second nature.

Thud, smash-! Crack, pop-!

—Kyaaa! S-save me!
—You crazy monster! A monster!
—Get me out of here!

The measurements being taken pleased Dr. Ahn and the others monitoring the situation.

“Doctor, the vital signs are renewing their peak levels again! We might be able to awaken the third concept soon!”

“It’s too soon to celebrate. Unless she overcomes that weakness, Yeoreum is pretty much a failure.”

Yeoreum had a fatal weakness.
If someone were to discover that weakness, even Yeoreum, who appeared as tough as steel, could crumble like a sandcastle.

Fortunately, the security regarding Yeoreum’s ‘weakness’ was thorough.
So meticulous that nobody could notice—even Yeoreum herself didn’t know.