The Thug Hides the Villainess

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039 – The Wolf Among the Sheep #1

Bzzz, bzzz-.

Seoga-eul kept pressing the call button.

She was angry from the conversation that had just taken place, and since the boy had left on his own accord, her feelings remained unresolved. In times like this, it was best to sharpen her nails and scratch things out.

Bzzz, bzzz-.

But no matter how much she pressed the call button, the boy showed no sign of coming back.

That fact only made Seoga-eul even angrier.

“Wow, are you ignoring me right now?”

Seoga-eul had never been ignored by anyone before. From the boys of her age to the adults, the men were all too willing to pretend they’d die for her if need be.

Even Wang Ja-hyeon, the notoriously arrogant prince, paid close attention to Seoga-eul and made sure to focus all his energy on her.

Because of that, Seoga-eul knew her value better than anyone else.

But the boy Hanam-jin had kidnapped her and was completely ignoring her. It felt as if he had just tossed her aside like an old toy.

“When you wanted to marry me and even made invitations, what happened to that?”

Seoga-eul could not tolerate this situation in any way.

What was even more infuriating was that Hanam-jin was not even a third-generation chaebol, nor was he a boy doing well in life—
—he was really just an utterly mediocre boy making her angry.

Seoga-eul’s pride was wounded because of Hanam-jin’s pathetic behavior and fundamental nature.

It was unbearably frustrating to think that she had been kidnapped by such a lowly boy, and that she was annoyed because of him.

Thus, she found herself going through the stages of rationalization to protect her delicate and aloof inner self.

‘What if Hanam-jin isn’t such a bad guy after all?’

An ordinary guy couldn’t possibly ignore her charms, pleas, and irritations. What if it had been Wang Ja-hyeon instead of Hanam-jin who kidnapped her?

It would have been equally terrifying and nauseating to think about, but Seoga-eul was confident that she could control Wang Ja-hyeon as she wished.
He was the type to tremble at the slightest frown from her.

‘That guy doesn’t even have the guts to kidnap me in the first place.’

In contrast, Hanam-jin was different.
Hanam-jin did nothing according to Seoga-eul’s wishes. He even neglected small requests, like setting up a little TV, to the point of using newspapers instead.

“Guess he’s not an ordinary guy.”

That was the conclusion she had to arrive at. It was simply impossible that she was kidnapped by a common and insignificant guy.
Thus, Seoga-eul successfully elevated her sense of self-esteem by viewing him as superior.

‘Hanam-jin, I’ll acknowledge that you’re not just a pathetic fool. Thinking that makes me feel a bit better. Still—’

Bzzz, bzzz-.
Seoga-eul was still angry at Hanam-jin for ignoring her call button. All she wanted was to get back the Ying-ing, who had gone out of the basement with Hanam-jin.
She really liked resting her head on the soft Ying-ing like a pillow to help her sleep.

Rustle-.
Just then, after a long stay in the basement, Seoga-eul picked up a presence nearby.
She thought it might be Hanam-jin returning, but the footsteps sounded different.

Clop, clop-.
The sound of high heels.

‘A woman?’

She didn’t know who it was, but it was definitely a woman.
An adult woman who wore high heels, no less.

Soon, she heard the ding-dong of a doorbell ringing next door.
What business would Hanam-jin have with a woman wearing high heels?

“Little brother, big sister is here. Are you home? Last time, our conversation was interrupted by an intruder. I want to talk about the judge and Seoga-eul’s disappearance! To be precise, I’m here to ask for your cooperation in the investigation!”

Hearing about the investigation and cooperation made it sound like she was involved with the police. Seoga-eul thought the situation was getting interesting and her lips curled upward.

“Not home? This sister came secretly to meet you, very discreetly! There won’t be another chance like this! So, why don’t we have a deep conversation together?”
Clop, clop, clop-.
Eventually, the sound of the woman’s high heels approached the empty house where Seoga-eul was trapped.

“This house feels suspicious. My gut is telling me so.”

The woman’s presence reached right in front of the basement where Seoga-eul was trapped.

“It’s quiet, but it has a dangerous feel to it. Why is that? It’s just an empty basement, but it’s rather concerning.”

Clink, clink-.
There was the sound of chains and locks being handled.

“How many locks are there? What exactly is in here that requires so many locks? Is there… is there someone inside? Hello? Is there, by chance, a person locked up in here?”

Knock, knock, knock-.
The woman knocked on the iron door.

“Seoga-eul, are you here? If I were Hanam-jin, who held a grudge against the Seo Nam Group, I would have kidnapped you and kept you here.”

The ‘sense’ she had was surprisingly sharp, enough to make Seoga-eul impressed.
Having witnessed this situation in the basement, Seoga-eul thought it was a great opportunity and opened her mouth to shout softly.

“Grrr-!”

It was a perfect animal imitation.
To be precise, it was the cry of a cute red fox, known for its reddish fur colors similar to autumn leaves and black legs reminiscent of stockings, a friend of the Little Prince.

“Grrr-!”

Thanks to the concept of “imitation” she had picked up to combat boredom in the basement, Seoga-eul could imitate the red fox better than anyone else.
Was it effective?

“An animal? Ugh, I hate animals. Just one touch makes me break out in hives.”
The woman, fiddling with the locks, backed away from the basement door. Seoga-eul remained seated on the mat until she heard the sound of high heels click away into the distance.
She had sat there calmly for quite a while.

# # #

Grrr.
Late at night. Around midnight. On the way to the foster home.

The cloud-like Ying-ing had flown away into the night sky.

“Hey! You need to get back home before it gets too late!”

Ying-ing might have felt like flying far away in the sky since it had been locked up in the basement for so long, much like Seoga-eul.
But whether Ying-ing would return home or not was unclear. If Ying-ing didn’t come back, then perhaps that was just respecting Ying-ing’s wishes.
Ying-ing loved to roam around.

What about Seoga-eul?
While her feet were heading towards the foster home, her mind was completely filled with thoughts of Seoga-eul. That’s how love works in the end.

“Should I take Seoga-eul out for walks occasionally?”

How about tying Seoga-eul with chains and taking her for a walk? That might just lighten her bad mood.

However, if she resisted and yelled, things might get problematic.
Should I just wait until the full moon rises for both a bath and a walk? If I wanted to see the next full moon, I’d have to wait for another fortnight.

As I thought this, I arrived at the foster home, which was not far from the abandoned factory that had been in chaos due to Yeom Hoon last time.

“New Sprout Foster Home”
The swings with rusty chains and the creaky merry-go-round on the outer walls were peeling paint, reminding one of a haunted house.

But I was a man.
Men don’t fear ghosts.
More than anything, with my tiger pants on, it only made sense that ghosts should be scared of me.

So, with no fear, I boldly entered the inside of the new sprout kindergarten, and it truly felt like the place was a forsaken building.
Broken windows, baby bottles lying around—a feel of long neglect developed along with a strange sense of déjà vu.

The chilly sensation crawling down my neck was quite sinister. Months ago, while rummaging through a run-down hospital where robbers were hiding in search of medicine, I had felt the exact same vibe.
It felt like someone was lurking, waiting to pounce on me.

A trap. In simple terms, it felt like I was stepping right into someone’s trap.
Sniff, sniff-.
Above all, there was a strong scent of antiseptic swirling around my nose. This made me recall my time spent in that run-down hospital.
Someone had to be in this foster home.

“Who’s there?”
I asked while shining the light of my phone into the dark corners of the foster home.

Rustle. Clattering glass shards hitting the ground and the sound of falling asbestos from the ceiling echoed, soon followed by a girl with short hair, pierced lips, and a boyish appearance.
If not for her lack of curves, one might have difficulty recognizing her as a girl.
She looked like the type who would be into hip-hop.

“It’s been a while since someone saw through my hiding. You must be a new type.”
“New type?”
“Awakener.”
Were there really humans who called Awakeners ‘new types’? Just when I was wary in various ways, the short-haired girl scanned me with her anxious eyes as if she was cautious of me too.

“You’re here to join ‘Billunners,’ right?”
“Billunners?”
I was surprised to hear that name here.

“Me? Why do you think that?”
“You’re just like us. Messy clothes. I can tell just by looking at your nails and hair. You’re an orphan or in a tough family. Drinking adults who turn violent at home, perhaps?”

She had quite an eye for detail. I thought I had been clean enough, but my background as an orphan evidently couldn’t be hidden.
I never expected to hear about “Billunners” in this foster home.
Did Seoga-eul know?

“Oh, that wristwatch belongs to Yeongsa High School? Are you a student there?”
Zing-. The short-haired girl’s hair stood on end like it had sparked, as if she held some animosity towards the Yeongsa High School students.
I was curious in return.

“You’re an awakener too. Aren’t you a student at Yeongsa High School?”
“Why would I go to a place like that? You get completely leashed there. Once you enroll, they inspect your fingerprints, blood, everything. It’s so suffocating.”

I understood. She was a ‘non-registered awakener.’
Just a month ago, I was in the same boat. Those awakened who hadn’t enrolled in Yeongsa High School ended up causing societal problems as they recklessly used their powers.
They could be referred to as “super juvenile delinquents.”

“If you’re from Yeongsa High School, do you know ‘that guy’?”
I sensed the intense disdain and hatred towards ‘that guy’ in the way she pronounced it.
The reason for this girl’s hostility towards Yeongsa High School must have been because of that guy.
Is he male?

“Who?”
“Geum Tae-seong. He’s in his third year now.”
It was an unexpectedly familiar name, though I had no idea of the relationship between this short-haired girl and Geum Tae-seong.

“I don’t really know. I’m a transfer student.”
I lied, trusting in the ring’s “deception.”
At the same time, my curiosity and interest in this foster home rapidly grew.

“So, how do you join this ‘Billunners’? And why are we messing around here in this foster home?”
“If you want to know, follow me.”
There seemed to be an unspoken bond between runaway teens and orphans. Perhaps the girl sensed something from me, as she quickly broke down her guard and led me to the basement of the foster home.