The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess - Chapter 103



103 – When the Wills of the World Collide #2

103 – When the Wills of the World Collide #2

Wang Ja-hyun wasn’t born with everything from the start.

In his childhood, Wang Ja-hyun didn’t have a father.

“Yesterday, I saw a raccoon at the zoo! A raccoon!”

“I went to the aquarium with my dad and saw a whale shark! Ja-hyun, have you ever been to an aquarium?”

When the kids he went to kindergarten with bragged about going to amusement parks or zoos with their fathers every weekend, Wang Ja-hyun could only listen quietly.

“……”

He didn’t show it, but it was natural for envy to grow in the heart of the young boy.

Since Jae-hyun Wang had never seen a raccoon or a whale shark.

He had never been to a hamburger place that gave out toys with kids’ meals, nor had he ever received a fancy Christmas present from Santa.

Jae-hyun’s mother, a single mom, gave birth to him and raised him alone while working. She worked as a cashier at a supermarket or sometimes helped with household chores for neighbors to earn a little money.

It was a bit tight for the two of them to live on, but if they didn’t get greedy, they could live frugally without starving.

Knowing this, Jae-hyun never asked his mother to take him to the zoo or the aquarium, nor did he ever ask for a kids’ meal.

But on payday, his mother would occasionally pack kimbap and take young Jae-hyun’s hand to climb the hill behind their neighborhood.

“That’s a squirrel and that’s a chipmunk.”

His mother taught him how to distinguish between squirrels and chipmunks, and she told him what flowers bloomed on the hill in each season.

Jae-hyun didn’t care much about squirrels, chipmunks, or flowers, but he liked the kimbap with ham, so he liked his mother’s payday.

Then one day.

“Jae-hyun, guess what mom prepared? Ta-da, movie tickets. It’s the one you’ve been wanting to see! Today is your birthday, so you’re the star. Mom even took a day off today!”

His mother had gotten movie tickets from her company for the movie Jae-hyun wanted to see.

Jae-hyun was excited about going to the theater for the first time in his life, and his mother seemed unusually excited too.

But when they got to the theater, they found out for the first time that what they had were “movie discount coupons” that looked like tickets.

What they had were not movie tickets, but “movie discount coupons.”

With no money in her pocket, his mother had no choice but to turn back.

“Jae-hyun, I’m sorry.”

Jae-hyun’s mother sobbed.

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Jae-hyun wanted to say something, but somehow his mouth wouldn’t open.

A year later, his mother fell ill with an unknown disease.

As the time spent sleeping gradually increased and the anxiety grew, one day, Ja-hyun’s mother held his hand and said,

“If I can’t wake up from my sleep, call this number. If you mention my name, they won’t treat you badly. You’ll be able to watch movies as much as you want and go to the zoo too.”

Ja-hyun preferred living with his mother over going to the zoo or watching movies.

He learned upon entering elementary school that things in life don’t always go as planned.

“Is your mother’s name Gong Ju-hee? You must be Ju-hee’s son, Ja-hyun. I am your father.”

The father he met for the first time was a man with a protruding belly.

He already had many sons and daughters, and Ja-hyun felt intimidated by their clothes, toys, and cell phones.

They didn’t know how to distinguish between squirrels and chipmunks or the flowers that bloomed on the hillside each season.

“Auntie! I told you I don’t eat kimbap, don’t put it in my lunchbox! You eat it yourself!”

“Miss, I’m sorry. I thought kimbap was necessary for a picnic…”

They didn’t eat kimbap with ham either.

A life so different from the one Ja-hyun had lived.

“Ja-hyun, you’ve lived with us for a week, so decide. Do you want to suffer and die unnoticed like your mother, or live comfortably as my son?”

At the man’s question, Ja-hyun recalled the day his mother no longer opened her eyes.

There was no need to hesitate.

‘I want to be like them.’

It was better not to know how to distinguish between squirrels and chipmunks from the beginning.

‘It wasn’t even a chipmunk, it was a ground squirrel.’

Ja-hyun had many things he envied since he was young.

There were many things he wanted, and many people he wanted to become.

He might have come up with the concept of “replication” for that very reason.

The more he envied others, the more praise and money flowed to Wang Ja-hyun.

─Crown Prince Wang Ja-hyun enters Youngsa High School!

─He is being strongly considered as a candidate for the new “supernova”!

“Ja-hyun, my son! Look at these articles. You are the protagonist of this world!”

He monopolized his father’s attention, outshining his other siblings, growing up eating only the best, kissing girls who didn’t care to know the difference between a squirrel and a chipmunk.

Ordering kids’ meals at burger joints and eating until he was stuffed.

Renting out entire zoos or aquariums for private viewings─.

He had done everything he dreamed of as a child, but Wang Ja-hyun still felt empty.

Was it because the sense of loss from his childhood was like a hole in his core that could never be satisfied?

He could cover the hole temporarily, but he could never fill it completely.

The more he craved people’s recognition, the more disgraceful he became.

Then, his eyes fell on “Han Nam-jin.”

The guy had nothing, yet he shone like a protagonist.

He couldn’t stand it, envying and hating him.

‘How can an orphan and a beggar live so freely?’

When a guy with nothing shines so brightly─.

It made him feel pathetic for using his lack of possessions as an excuse for doing nothing.

Despite the mockery and jealousy of his half-siblings, and the capricious scolding and love of his father, Wang Ja-hyun never felt satisfied.

Han Nam-jin.

He felt that if he could press down that guy’s nose and become the protagonist of the scene, the hole in his chest might be filled a little.

That moment is now.

Hwaaa-!

Wang Ja-hyun copied the concept of “light” from Yoo Yeoreum’s concept using the concept of “replication” and scattered light with his eyes.

The power, strong enough to be considered a concept of the world, was very effective, causing the swarm of dark rats to retreat hesitantly.

“I’ll buy some time, so open the door and run away quickly!”

“Wang Ja-hyun, you….”

Han Nam-jin, who had always been full of confidence, looked at Wang Ja-hyun with surprise and admiration. At this moment, he was superior to him.

No one in this place had as much presence as he did.

However.

The price for coveting the “light” that did not match his status was severe.

The recoil of the “light” surged.

# # #

Chiiiik-!

Black soot spread from Wang Ja-hyun’s eyes.

“aaah! My eyes!”

Wang Ja-hyun screamed loudly, covering his eyes with his hands.

It seemed to be the recoil of the copied “light.”

As far as I knew, the concept of “replication” allowed one to temporarily copy the concept of a specific target, but also brought along its recoil.

It seemed that the concept of “light” had a recoil that caused great shock to the eyes.

It was the moment I realized how amazing Yoo Yeoreum was, using such things without hesitation.

But.

It was also remarkable that Wang Ja-hyun managed to make the swarm of dark rats hesitate for a moment.

Those dark beasts were the reason people became afraid of darkness and shadows at the time of destruction.

This made it clear.

The “darkness” that had become the seasoning of the apocalypse along with the “zombies” existed in this great labyrinth.

“Keep shining the light with flashlights and phones!”

I shouted to confront the “darkness.”

The simplest way I knew to deal with it was to shine light.

“Wang Ja-hyun! Are you okay?”

While everyone was shining their lanterns, Jeon Su-ho picked up Wang Ja-hyun as if to retrieve him.

As we reformed our ranks and formed a circle, emitting light in all directions, the strange dark rats hesitated and retreated.

Seeing this, Bbangdaengi was delighted.

“It’s working! They’re all retreating!”

It bothered me that Bbangdaengi was the one who said that.

Sure enough, the dark rats seemed to gather and then transformed into a strange human figure.

It was a tall man dressed in black with a feathered hat.

“What is that guy!”

I couldn’t easily answer Dr. Wi Seon-ah’s question.

I don’t know either!

But, at a glance, it was clear that the opponent was not to be underestimated.

【I am Hameln, the Grand Knight and Protector of the Fairy Kingdom. The kingdom’s greatest artist and hunter, bearing the feats of “Rats,” “Music,” “Courage,” “Art,” and “Hunting.”】

It was a very polite voice.

【You have committed the grave sin of invading my homeland and destroying the forest, so I must take your lives. You shall become food for my rats. They have been starving for a long time.】

Speaking such ominous words so politely?

Whatever it was, it was clear that the guy had a lot of concepts.

He seemed as dangerous as the demons of the stars, so that said it all.

“Doctor! What is that guy saying!”

“I don’t know! It sounds like the fairy language! But he’s not saying he wants to be friends, right! Look at those rats! Those rats…!”

Squeak-!

While Jeon Suho and Wi Seonah were having a meaningless conversation, the rats of darkness squeaked noisily.

【Go and kill them. And retrieve our “Star.”】

The rats of darkness, though pained by the light of our lanterns, were closing in as if to follow the command.

“Teacher Kogae! How far is the door!”

“Five minutes!”

We had to buy five more minutes.

It wasn’t that there was no way.

The concept stone of “Conquest” that had fallen to the ground. It stood out conspicuously in my sight. The rats of darkness were avoiding it, not touching the concept stone of “Conquest” that had fallen to the ground.

It was at that moment when I was making up my mind in various ways.

━Grrrr…!

Someone let out an extremely angry sound.

A greatly flustered Bbangdaengi.

“Ah-! No! Stay still!”

What does he mean by stay still?

Soon, the large bag Bbangdaengi was carrying on his back started bulging here and there, and then something popped out from inside.

A golden spider, Kkeong-kkeong, whose body sparkled dazzlingly.

━Kkeong-kkeong…!

“A monster…!? A spider monster…! Why is a spider monster in Yeoul’s bag…!?”

An even more tense Dr. Wi Seon-ah.

Baek Yeoul was also flustered.

“This guy! He’s a good monster! There’s no need to be wary!”

The important thing was that when the monster spider Kkeong-kkeong appeared, the dark rats retreated as if they had discovered a terrifying predator.

“It looks like the rats are afraid of that spider!”