The Thug Hides the Villainess

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040 – A Wolf Among the Sheep #2

The basement of the foster home I entered behind the short-haired girl was not much different from the collapsed surface above.

Plod, plod, clank-.

It was full of broken debris, making me choke on dust every time I took a step.

“Looks like you’re not scared at all? Usually, first-timers get all tense and jumpy. It looks like a place where ghosts would come out. They say some kids have actually seen ghosts here.”

“I’m a guy, so I’m not afraid of ghosts. It’s people I find scarier in places like this. There’s a higher chance that sneaky, wicked wolves are hiding around here.”

In reality, I wasn’t scared of those sneaky, wicked guys either. Because I was always the one doing that sneaky and wicked stuff.

“What’s this about guys and girls? Are you the paternalistic type?”

“Don’t you think so?”

“I really hate that. My dad was exactly that kind of guy. He’d drink every day at home and then curse my mom who brought in the money from outside, saying she was disrespectful and even hitting her for cheating.”

Contrary to her rough and cool exterior, the short-haired girl rambled on about things I hadn’t even asked. She said she and her sister would hide in the wardrobe when their dad fought with their mom.

“So I like kind and caring guys.”

“Then we’re not a match. I’m the baddest of bad boys. I’m the kind of guy who’d rather slap a girl’s butt than stroke her hair, so don’t fall for me. I’ve already got a girl I like.”

I am a handsome, popular guy.
So much so that it’s common knowledge I almost had the call sign “Brad Pitt.” I had set up a wall of defense in advance so that the menhera girl in front of me wouldn’t fall for me.

Was she annoyed at getting shut down by me?
The short-haired girl stopped and growled like a wolf.

“I think you’ve misunderstood, so I’ll clarify. I have eyes too, you know? I like smart, intelligent guys, not just nice ones. And a guy who can make solid decisions while being manly.”

“That’s what I’m telling you.”

“Do you think you’re that kind of guy? Ugh, you’re really disgusting.”

As we continued this trivial chat, we arrived at a spacious hall.

Under the fluorescent lights, I spotted various equipment laid out, reminding me of the hellish rehabilitation center I had been to. It was probably a similar place.

Whoosh-.
In the center of the room, a campfire was blazing.
There were two, no, three shadows standing nearby.
Were they around my age?

“Hey guys, I brought someone who wants to join the Billunners.”

At the short-haired girl’s words, the faces of the boys and girls watching the fire turned toward me.
Sure enough, they were disheveled with hair sticking out and clothes so filthy I couldn’t tell the last time they were washed. They might have looked somewhat like me.
Ah, that’s why the short-haired girl mistook me for a hopeful candidate for the Billunners. There was a mix of suspicion and curiosity in everyone’s eyes.
They were probably assessing whether I fit in with them.

“You seem scrawny.”

A very fat boy evaluated me like that.
Those who judge others should be ready to be judged in return.

“You look like you’d pop if poked.”

“What? What did you say?”

“Whoa, did you hear what he just said? Unique character. Hey, what’s your name? How old are you? Have you had your second awakening yet?”

Another girl seemed intrigued and approached to scrutinize me closely. She was wearing a school uniform. It wasn’t from Yeongsa High School, but rather something cheap, suitable for cosplay.
Her appearance and long hair in a hime cut reminded me of characters from Japanese manga.

“Oh, this outfit? Guys like this kind of thing, right? Don’t they?”

Flipping her skirt playfully, she was quite the cheeky one. Just then, a quiet boy who had been silent spoke up.

“So—.”

He was wearing a thick padded jacket that seemed unfit for this late spring weather, and his curly hair looked like sheep wool.
With glasses and soft eyes, I wondered if he was the “kind, gentle, intelligent, yet decisive man” the short-haired girl mentioned earlier.
The sheepish boy spoke.

“I’m a Level 3 Awakened named Pinocchio. In other words, I’m an interviewer for the Billunners. Care to do a little self-PR? Explain why we should accept you as a member.”

“You guys don’t seem like my kind of people.”

“What?”

Honestly, I had no intention of joining the Billunners.
My only purpose for being here was to gather information about the “foster home” and “Yu Yeoreum.” Ultimately, I was here for Seoga-eul.

“First, I want to ask about the foster home. Why are you all here? Isn’t this someone else’s land? Just be honest. If you stall, I might ensure you don’t leave here on your feet.”

“What are you talking about? Are you just stammering like that last guy? Are we scary or something?”

The girl in the sailor uniform around me firmly grabbed my butt.
Kids these days have no shame about physical contact, huh?

I did the same and squeezed the sailor uniform girl’s butt.
Squeeak-.
Girls’ butts are surprisingly satisfying to hold!

“Ah! What, what the hell, you perverted bastard! Where do you think you’re touching! You crazy nut!”

Slap-!!!

The problem is that the girl who first touched my butt slapped my cheek in retaliation.

So I returned the favor and slapped her back.
Sliiiiick!
“Yaaah!”

The girl in the school uniform crumpled to the ground.
Soon, the fat boy yelled in rage.

“Cera! You—you bastard! Hey! You crazy punk! I’ll kill you!”

Zzzipp-. The T-shirt wrapped tightly around the fat boy ripped from the sudden muscle expansion, revealing tattoos densely inked from his arms to his chest, and my mood soured.

“How many drawings did you get on your body? Even if you’re a runaway, couldn’t you spare enough money for a sketchbook?”

“Ahhhhh!”

Thud, thud, thud-. A hefty body came charging at me.
Bored with waiting, I too charged toward the pig-like boy.

“Eh—!?”

By the time he reacted, it was already too late.
My knee was precisely squishing his groin.
Crunch-.

“Eeeeeeeee!”

What a beautiful soprano voice he had.
If he hadn’t been a thug, perhaps he could have excelled in vocal performance.

“A speed runner who kicks groins without hesitation. I feel like I’ve heard this somewhere. You wouldn’t be Hanam-jin, would you? The Yeomra Yeom Hoon who slapped a third-year from Yeongsa High School. The guy mentioned in the newspaper.”

Finally, the bespectacled, curly-haired boy “Pinocchio” recognized me.
I couldn’t help but wonder if celebrities felt this way when people recognized them on the street. Honestly, the thrill of being acknowledged made my spine tingle.

“I’m a bit famous, huh? I guess you’d know what happens next. You’re not a combat-type Awakened, right? That Yeomra already got beaten by me; what do you think you’ll do?”

“Sharp eyes. I detest fighting. Mari, can you handle him for me? After all, you’re the one who brought him.”

The mention made the short-haired girl shudder slightly.
But just for a moment.

“Brother, run away! I’ll deal with this!”

The short-haired girl glared at me with a devilish frown and charged at me.
In the moment I tried to dodge that attack, the curly-haired boy vanished somewhere.

“You might not be able to fight, but you sure are quick on your feet.”

“Yaaah!”

I slammed my fist into the short-haired girl’s face, who was persistently coming at me. She stared wide-eyed in surprise at getting hit.

[Name: Kim Mari

Condition: {Confused and Scared} – She never expected to get hit sincerely and is greatly bewildered. She is currently afraid of you.]

So she didn’t expect to get punched?
I’m an advocate who hates discrimination.
I enjoy beating up everyone equally, regardless of gender, age, or status.

“You guys probably thought you were wolves hiding among the sheep, huh? Feeling all high and mighty, fancying yourselves ‘new types’ or whatever. But you’re mistaken.”

# # #
The fat boy, short-haired girl, and school uniform girl were all first awakeners.
That means they lack sense.
They were no match for me, who possessed the combat-ready ability “Leap.”

Once the dust settled, I decided to question the short-haired girl instead of the unconscious fat boy and school uniform girl.

“Hey, Kim Mari. Answer my earlier question. Why are you all here at this foster home? Just a nice hiding place?”

“This foster home is our home. The place we lived. We’re all from this place. After it closed down, we scattered, but eventually, we all ended up back here—.”

She answered more readily than I expected.
Because they understood that resisting would only cause them more pain.

“You’re all from this foster home? Then you must know why this place shut down?”

“I do. The truth is, this place was just a front. It was like a laboratory. They were conducting experiments to turn children into Awakened… Until that ‘incident’ happened, and they had to close it down.”

“The incident?”

“Monsters….”

Kim Mari, the short-haired girl, seemed to want to say something but was suddenly overcome with fear.
What could monsters possibly be related to?
Her breathing became ragged, and her limbs trembled, as if she were suffering from some sort of trauma-induced mental state.
I waited for her to calm down.
Once she regained her breath, she suggested to me.

“Honestly, I don’t want to remember what happened that day. But I’ll tell you. There’s a condition, though. If you’re a third-year from Yeongsa High, you must know about Geum Tae-seong, right?”

“I know him.”

“He’s a horrific criminal. It’s infuriating to see a monster like him attending school as if nothing’s wrong. He ruined my sister’s life completely.”

Kim Mari was gripping her fist so tightly that her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood.

“Tell him I’ll return this to him and never forgive him. And here’s my contact information; make sure to pass it on to that bastard Geum Tae-seong.”

Clink-.
Kim Mari pulled a small cross necklace from her pocket and handed it to me.

It was a surprisingly straightforward request. If she had said something like, “Kill Geum Tae-seong,” I would have been in all sorts of trouble.
As I put the cross necklace in my pocket, the short-haired girl began to speak again.

“…The monster we raised went berserk, injuring and killing many people. That’s why the foster home was shut down. We all scattered after that.”

A monster going berserk and hurting people in the foster home? If such an incident had occurred, the world would have made a fuss over it, yet this was the first I had heard of it.

“My sister and brothers reported it to the police and even tipped off the newspapers, but everything was covered up. No one paid us any attention. Not in a legitimate way….”

I felt like I understood why these kids were involved with an organization like the Billunners. If they couldn’t resolve things legitimately, they would resort to underhanded means to make their grievances known.

I had no desire to preach morality regarding their methods and actions.
I, too, was someone who wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever it took to achieve my goals.

“Then let me ask one more thing. Do you know Yu Yeoreum?”

“Summer sister?”

Bingo. That’s the correct answer.

“You know Summer? If you meet her, tell her this: it’s not her fault, so don’t worry too much.”

Kim Mari told me about Yu Yeoreum and the monsters from their time in the foster home.