The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess - Chapter 117



117 – Bread2 # 1

117 – Bread2 # 1

Memorial Park in City D.

A man stands in a place where many people seek rest and peace.

His name is Seo Do-cheol.

He was a famous rich man and an iconic and symbolic entrepreneur, but today he stood here as an ordinary man.

He bought flowers and looked for his wife.

His wife’s memorial day was approaching.

In the photo, his wife was smiling brightly.

She looked like a princess, as if she didn’t know what hardship was.

Was it her noble appearance that captivated him when they first met?

But she was also a woman strong enough to drive a huge truck with one hand and park it in reverse.

She used to fix broken lights by herself with ease.

“Seo Do-cheol, I knew you would be here.”

A woman’s voice was heard from behind, but Seo Do-cheol did not turn his head.

His gaze was still directed at his wife’s smiling face.

“Daehwa-yeon, what brings you here?”

It was Daehwa-yeon from Baekdang Pharmaceuticals.

She placed the flowers she was holding in front of the photo and said,

“Ha-yeon’s memorial day is coming soon.”

Daehwa-yeon had a long-standing friendship with Seo Do-cheol’s wife, Seol Ha-yeon.

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The two families often interacted since their daughters were young, so it was natural.

Hwa-yeon and Ha-yeon, their names were similar like sisters.

It would be fair to call them friends spanning generations.

In Daehwa-yeon’s eyes, she saw Ha-yeon’s face in the photo, smiling brightly.

That smiling face felt unfamiliar.

The last memory Daehwa-yeon had of Seol Ha-yeon was of her cursing, scowling, and revealing the depths of her despair without reservation.

The disease of fairy sleep.

A disease with no cure, where sleep deepens gradually until one can never wake up again.

Seol Ha-yeon endured this illness and the harsh treatments. But the cost was severe.

The pain, like her body was burning, colored every moment with agony, and her graceful figure twisted and withered, stealing her beauty.

Baekdang’s medical knowledge was used in creating that treatment.

Thus, it was hard to say that Baekdang was completely blameless for the cruel and tragic end of the once beautiful Seol Ha-yeon.

“Seo Do-cheol, if you could resent us, it would make us feel more at ease.”

“Ha-yeon was the one who chose the painful treatment.”

But Seo Do-cheol clearly identified the object of his resentment.

The disease of fairy sleep.

He hated the disease itself.

So he went so far as to conduct unethical experiments using the young children of the orphanage.

“How about you? Your body can’t be in good shape either.”

Seo Do-cheol looked at Dang Hwa-yeon.

Despite her age, she still retained the beauty of her youth, but there was an uneasy atmosphere about her.

It was because Dang Hwa-yeon had once been on the brink of death after suffering a severe injury in her younger days.

It was a story from when she was active as a “Great Labyrinth Investigator” with several others.

Dang Hwa-yeon, who was on the verge of going to prison for multiple counts of violence and assault, was promised amnesty on the condition that she became a Great Labyrinth Investigator through a judicial deal.

However, the Great Labyrinth was a dangerous place, and Dang Hwa-yeon had been isolated in the fairy forest full of monsters, facing death.

The problem was that Dang Hwa-yeon was not alone at that time.

Was it her intense will to survive that reached out?

That day, Dang Hwa-yeon met a “witch” in the forest.

Thanks to her, she saved her life but suffered a great problem.

# # #

“My mom was a soldier? I didn’t know! I thought my mom was just a rich housewife!”

Bread was trembling with surprise, as if hearing a story he had never known, listening to Manager Kim Woo-soo.

I found it strange that he didn’t know anything.

There’s no way a rich lady would make her daughter practice throwing chopsticks to hit a target.

Nor would she grow illegal crops like monkshood, stonecrop, or poppies as a hobby.

“The important thing is that your mother, who was fatally injured at the time, received a concept stone from the ‘witch.’ The concept stone she ingested saved her life.”

Swallowing an unneutralized concept stone with a normal human body?

It would be better to swallow hot fire.

To save the child in her womb, in other words, to save Baek Yeoul, Dang Hwayun took a gamble and it seemed she succeeded.

“The problem is that the concept stone affected the fetus. The child born with it had a concept from birth. Yeoul was probably the first to be a second awakener from birth.”

“That can’t be! I became an awakener when I was in middle school!”

The secret of birth heard underground.

It was surprising in many ways because it was a fact even I didn’t know.

“That’s because we performed the concept stone extraction surgery at that time. Yeoul was being devoured by the concept she had. If we hadn’t separated it, she would have become a demon. The concept stone we removed back then is that.”

Director Kim Woosu pointed to the existence in the tank that looked like a young Baek Yeoul.

“Sometimes, a concept stone that has been around for a long time takes on a biological form, and this is one of those cases. We call it mimicry. What was part of Yeoul has transformed to look like Yeoul.”

In other words, a clone of Baek Yeoul.

A mini Baek Yeoul.

You could call it Bread2.

“Is that thing alive too?”

I asked.

Kim Woosu nodded.

“That’s the problem. If it doesn’t go into the specially designed life support device and sleep, it writhes in pain as if it’s burning every moment.”

“Every moment of not being asleep is pain─.”

Seo Ga-eul flinched.

As if something was bothering her.

“Is it possible that my mom’s cure comes from that kid?”

“Yes. That’s correct. This child is the very secret of life itself, possessing the concept of ‘life.’ The more we study her, the closer we get to the root of life and death. That’s why her codename is ‘Witch.’”

What an ominous naming sense.

It was at that very moment. Bbangdaengi was startled as if she had seen a ghost.

“Hey! She just opened her eyes! Isn’t she listening to us? Huh?”

Bbangdaengi pointed at herself in the tank, making a fuss.

When we looked at the clone in the tank, it was still floating with its eyes closed, not moving at all.

Soon, Kim Woo-soo laughed.

“The ‘Witch’ is asleep. The chances of the drug in the tank malfunctioning and waking her up are less than one in ten thousand, so there’s no need to worry.”

One in ten thousand?

For the unlucky Bbangdaengi, that probability might as well be 100 percent!

Creak, creak, creak-.

There was an unsettling sound of cracking coming from the tank.

And then, crash-!

The glass of the tank suddenly shattered.

Director Kim Woo-soo shouted in surprise.

“The reinforced acrylic panel that can withstand the attack of a level 4 awakener has broken! The probability of this happening is less than one in a million, so why now…!? Manager Kim, what are you doing! Deploy the security forces!”

So, in the face of the misfortune’s buttocks, probabilities mean nothing.

Weee-eee, weee-eee-.

The siren began to blare loudly.

Mini Baek Yeoul, who had collapsed on the floor, spat out the tube that was stuck in her mouth as if she were vomiting.

“Ugh-ugh-ugh-.”

Watching her limp limbs, unused for a long time, and her body soaked in the tank’s liquid, it felt like witnessing the birth of life.

Like a newborn deer, perhaps.

Of course, that is not a baby deer but an abnormal being called a “witch.”

“Subdue her! Subdue her!”

“Don’t let her escape!”

Zzzzzzt-.

The “witch” in the form of young Baek Yeoul was hit by the guards’ taser gun.

However, as if it didn’t bother her, she reached out her hand, and at that moment, something amazing happened.

Ssssss-.

The guns they were holding turned into branches with blooming flowers.

“…Ah, Code Red! Initiate Code Red!”

“The ‘witch’ is rampaging!”

“Shoot her! Shoot her! Subdue her with live ammunition!”

Dudududududu-.

The gunfire was so loud it felt like it would tear the eardrums apart.

Even a witch couldn’t remain unscathed under a barrage of bullets, or so I thought. But the wounds, shattered and pierced by the bullets, regenerated at an astonishing speed.

Slither, slither-.

What was even more bizarre was that the blood she shed soaked the ground and bloomed into flowers that looked like bright red roses.

It was the “Blood Rose” that Nymph Baonoi had been so wary of.

Was this why it was called the “Witch’s Herb”?

That strange flower was a crop that bloomed from the witch’s blood.

In an instant, the thorny vines covered the ground.

“aaagh!”

“It hurts! Save me! Save meee!”

As the guards were swept and pricked by the thorny vines, screaming in agony, Baek Yeoul, who was watching the scene, shouted.

“Hey! Stop it! Stop! Everyone, stop!”

It seemed she couldn’t just stand by and watch people get hurt.

However, the doppelgänger did not listen to Baek Yeoul’s words.

Instead, it sneered.

“Don’t want to…!”

“aaagh!”

“It hurts!”

The guards were torn to shreds by the thorny vines.

It was clear that the “Witch” was not a benevolent being towards people. After being confined in a small tank for about 20 years, living like a fish, it was no wonder she resented people.

Whoosh, boom-!

Whoosh-!

“Fire!”

“Put out the fire! Quickly!”

But if this continues to rampage, the lab filled with all sorts of toxic substances might explode.

If I get caught in it, even I wouldn’t come out unscathed.

And if I hurt my leg again, it would be a big problem.

“Mini Butt, stop! Right there! If you keep doing that, this oppa will scold you!”

Just when I thought I might have to hit Butt2 hard if things went south.

Suddenly-.

The “Witch” listened to my words and really stopped her actions.

And then, as if approaching me, she spread her arms wide and hugged my waist tightly. She even rubbed her wet face against my chest.

“Hanamjin…!”

“A creature that has lived in the tank for 20 years knows my name.”

It’s amazing.

Was my fame that great?

Mini Butt said.

“I know everything! Because I am also Baek Yeoul! My body was in the tank, but in fact, I was watching everything! The ‘No Leftovers Day’, and Seo Ga-eul bullying me and doing bad things!”

There is something called twin telepathy.

One twin’s eyes are covered while the other sees a card, and the one with covered eyes has to guess what the card is.

Then the twins resonate with each other and guess what the card was.

It was part of an unproven superstition and myth.

But when it came to Bbangdaengi and Bbangdaengi2, it seemed it wasn’t a false superstition.

“Why are you Baek Yeoul! I’m the real Baek Yeoul! And stay away from Han Namjin!”

Bbangdaengi forcefully pulled the small Baek Yeoul away.

A complex and chaotic atmosphere in many ways!

I thought it would be best to leave this laboratory for now.

Then Bbangdaengi2, who claimed to be the real Baek Yeoul, spoke.

“I know the way to the Great Labyrinth of the laboratory! Follow me! Han Namjin! I can help you! I’ve always received help, but now I can help!”

Know the way to the Great Labyrinth?

That was exactly why I came to this place.

The process was strange, but if the result is good, it somehow works out.

But didn’t Bbangdaengi2 say that without a life support device, he feels intense pain every moment as if he’s burning?

Because he wasn’t actually a real human, but a concept of a demon turned into flesh.

Unlike the demons I’ve met, he didn’t seem to have any malice….

“Ugh….”

His breath was rough, as if the pain he felt was real.

Seeing that, Seo Ga-eul asked, as if worried.

“Are you okay? It seems like the same symptoms as my mom.”

Did Seo Ga-eul’s mother also live and die feeling pain as if she was burning every moment? Maybe that’s why Seo Ga-eul seemed to feel sympathy for Bbangdaengi2.

Of course, Bbangdaengi2 disliked Seo Ga-eul.

“Scolding Gal(喝)…! I hate you…! Don’t talk to me…! You bullied me…!”

“…When did I ever bully you? We just met today!”

Ignoring Seo Ga-eul’s words, Bbangdaeng2 stuffed a handful of nearby chemicals into his mouth and started chewing them noisily.

I wondered if that was okay, but soon Bbangdaeng2 pulled my arm.

“Let’s go quickly! Quickly! I’ll carry you!”