The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess - Chapter 120



120 – Bear the Weight of the Crown #1

120 – Bear the Weight of the Crown #1

Once upon a time, Seo Ga-eul had a fifteen-year-old junior who particularly followed him well.

He was a first awakener, though his name was not well remembered, he was called by the nickname “Weasel.”

His eyes were slanted, resembling those of a weasel.

In the city, when someone mentioned a weasel, they were referring to him.

One day, the weasel said,

“Sis, did you hear? There have been a lot of noisy incidents on the outskirts of the city lately. You know those robbers who took over the hospital? Those troublesome guys. I heard a scavenger had a big fight with them.”

A scavenger was someone who rummaged through trash to make a living.

Or, it could be someone who did dirty work like trash.

Either way, they were people who had nothing to do with the “Supernovas” living in the last city of humanity. But the “Weasel” was very interested in the world outside the city.

A few years after the world ended, the boy “Weasel” was growing up in a ruined world, and there were so many things he wanted to see. The city’s walls were too narrow for him.

“Do you know what’s amazing? The hospital robbers lost to a scavenger. They say that scavenger is incredible. They say he’s an Awakened. Sis, have you heard of the callsign ‘Loser’ when you were at the Academy?”

“‘Loser’?”

Seo Ga-eul had never heard of such a callsign when she was at the Academy.

However, she knew a few ominous rumors from the outskirts of the city.

There was a fixer who would do anything for a bottle cap.

But they also said he was too dangerous to meet easily.

According to rumors, he tamed ferocious monsters and used them like slaves.

“I’m thinking of going to that ‘Loser’ guy. We finally found out the headquarters of the Genesis Crusaders. It’s a situation where the more hands, the better, so if we ask him for help, it will surely be useful.”

“Weasel, don’t get involved with people outside the city. The outside is a demonic realm. The people living there are different from the humans you imagine. Think of them all as demons.”

“That’s not true. I heard that scavenger guy might actually be a really good person. ‘Squirrel’ said that he does work for free for kids.”

In an era where everyone had to work for their share, taking care of children who couldn’t even contribute labor.

“There’s another person as stupid as ‘Squirrel’.”

“No! There is still hope in the world. I heard that someone saw flowers blooming outside. Not ‘Blood Roses’. Maybe spring is coming. Spring!”

The weasel laughed heartily.

Soon, the boys and girls giggled.

“Don’t lie! How can flowers bloom outside? The ground is all polluted by black rain!”

“But it’s true! Someone saw it! They said there’s someone planting flowers outside the city?”

“Planting flowers? Are they really that stupid? Idiots!”

Despite the cold weather, their expressions, as they talked about flowers, seemed like spring had already arrived.

The weasel that had gone outside the city soon returned as a cold corpse.

The cause of death was a blade that pierced through the cervical spine.

“A third-grade second awakening died so futilely. He was our promising talent.”

“A single blow to the weak spot. Not an ordinary skill.”

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“Was it that guy? The scavenger who drove out the robbers from the hospital.”

Seo Ga-eul investigated ‘Loser’ after that.

And found out that he had a significant connection with him.

Finally, he decided to meet him in person.

And now─.

━There isn’t much time left. I couldn’t take Kore to the ‘Red King’. But I was able to take something to replace her.

In the mirror, the future Seo Ga-eul spoke to his past self.

Everything will be resolved well.

━Everything happened because Kore didn’t fulfill her duty and escaped the Great Labyrinth. The fairy sleep disease that mother suffered from also spread to the world from Kore. I think Han Nam-jin will be able to solve these issues. It won’t be easy, though.

“Wait, are you saying that my mom got sick because of Hanamjin’s mom? That Kore deliberately spread the disease?”

━That’s not it. It’s just that when Kore escaped the Great Labyrinth, the endemic disease that the fairies suffered from was transmitted to humans. For the fairies, it’s like a cold, but for humans, it’s a dreadful…

Whether intentional or not, the disease that escaped the Great Labyrinth with Kore killed Seogaeul’s mom.

“And Hanamjin’s mom died because I killed Namsanho…”

Seogaeul and Hanamjin were more deeply intertwined than they thought. If Seogaeul’s mom really got sick because Kore escaped the Great Labyrinth─

Seogaeul felt a slight hatred towards Hanamjin, while simultaneously feeling guilt and remorse for destroying the life of such a person.

“…It’s complicated.”

━It’s not complicated. What you have to do is simple. Put the “Red King” to sleep with this sword. Then, everything will be better than before. Of course, the choices and decisions that follow will be Hanamjin’s responsibility… But I believe he will make the right decision. That’s why I chose him.

“What choice did you make? What are you?”

It was when Seogaeul asked back.

His reflection in the mirror had returned to normal.

“Did I just have a conversation with myself in the mirror?”

Am I really crazy?

If Baekyeoul, Yuyeoreum, or Hanamjin had seen this scene, they would have laughed and mocked him.

So Seogaeul looked around and decided to keep this incident a secret.

# # #

“If it’s now, it’s not too late…! If you want to go back…!”

Little Bread, Mibbang, was hiding behind the larger Baekyeoul, trembling.

He seemed to be very scared.

It was just like the time long ago when Baekyeoul had drawn a map on the bed for two consecutive days and didn’t know what to do about it.

“So, like I just said, this is me. A small me. Should I call it my alter ego or my twin? Honestly, I don’t know! If I had known this would happen, I would have studied harder in science class!”

Baek Yeoul rambled on about Mi-bbang.

Baek Yeoul’s mom and dad looked at Mi-bbang with very serious and bewildered expressions, and Mi-bbang, sensing their confusion, turned to leave.

“I… I’m really okay…! Enjoy your dinner…! It would be great if you could focus on the meat dishes…!”

With that, Mi-bbang turned towards the door.

It was then that Baek Yeoul tried to grab Mi-bbang by the nape of the neck.

“You eat too. It’s not difficult to add one more spoon to the table that’s already set.”

At the words of Mrs. Dang Hwa-yeon, Baek Yeoul’s mother, Mi-bbang stopped in her tracks.

And then, she smiled brightly.

“Oh yeah…!”

Mi-bbang sat at the table and started eating the food voraciously.

“Ribs taste this good when you eat them yourself…! Delicious…!”

“Look, she’s only eating the meat dishes. Just like Yeoul when she was little.”

“Indeed. It brings back memories. I don’t know what this ‘alter ego’ thing is, but seeing it in person, I have no choice but to believe it.”

Mrs. Dang Hwa-yeon and Chairman Baek Jung-won couldn’t turn away from the girl who looked exactly like their young daughter.

And, they also had their own suspicions about the girl.

Mrs. Dang Hwa-yeon recalled the day she met the “witch” in the fairy forest.

─Please save me! I beg you!

She pleaded with the witch to save the baby in her womb, saying she didn’t care about her own life.

─I suppose I held onto my long life for this moment. Everything follows the guidance of fate, doesn’t it?

The witch took out a sparkling stone from her chest and handed it to Lady Dang Hwayeon.

─If you want to live, eat this “Concept Stone”. However, no one knows what will happen next.

The witch’s body, having extracted the Concept Stone from herself, instantly became smaller and shabby.

As if an important component that made up a person had been removed.

However, Lady Dang Hwayeon focused on saving the child rather than that.

Lady Dang Hwayeon’s body, having swallowed the Concept Stone, was completely healed, and she gave birth to a princess the following year.

However, for Baek Yeoul, the Concept Stone that Lady Dang Hwayeon had swallowed at that time still existed.

A powerful concept was gnawing at the newborn Baek Yeoul.

To extract it and save her daughter, Lady Dang Hwayeon joined hands with the state.

‘The Concept Stone extracted at that time….’

Lady Dang Hwayeon recalled the Concept Stone that had endangered her newborn daughter.

It was natural to hate the Concept Stone that took the form of her daughter.

However, that Concept Stone had also saved her and her daughter’s lives.

So Lady Dang Hwayeon made a decision without hesitation.

“You can call me mom. Actually, this mom always wanted Yeoul to have a younger sibling. It never worked out though.”

“Ahem, honey, why are you bringing that up again? I was busy with work and…”

Mibbang’s face, who was gobbling up food, brightened up.

She had become the real daughter of her mom and dad.

“Uh…mom.”

But it still felt awkward somehow.

So, she called out carefully, and Mrs. Dang Hwa-yeon raised her hand to stroke Mi-bbang’s head.

Suk-suk, suk-suk-suk-.

She also scratched her cheeks and chin as if tickling them with her nails.

It was exactly the same feeling that Mi-bbang had seen, heard, felt, and envied through Baek Yeoul’s eyes a long time ago.

“Mom, I love you! Wo ai ni!”

Mi-bbang got up from her seat and hugged Dang Hwa-yeon’s neck tightly.

Mrs. Dang Hwa-yeon felt rather sad at the shy affection of her newly found daughter.

She didn’t know that such a small child had been used for experiments for such a long time.

“Cough-! Ugh-.”

At that moment, Mi-bbang coughed and shivered.

She looked very sick.

While everyone was flustered, Mi-bbang shouted.

“I’m okay! I’m invincible (無敵)!”

Mi-bbang felt a burning pain.

But she didn’t want to go back to the tank.

Meeting her family in person was better than she had ever imagined.

It was warm, soft, there were delicious dishes, and her mother smelled nice.

She didn’t like the smell of cigarettes from her father, but just watching him made her feel secure and proud.

Mi-bbang wanted to be with her real family, even if it was just for one second.

Anyone would think the same, not just Mi-bbang.

# # #

“The operation starts at midnight. I’m sure that’s what I told you, right?”

10 PM, two hours before entering the Great Labyrinth.

Yoo Yeoreum came to my house.

She was flicking the sprouts of the plants growing in the garden with her fingers.

“I know. There’s still two hours left.”

“Then why are you here? You should spend the remaining time with your family.”

Seo Gaeul and Baek Yeoul must be spending time with their families before the big operation.

That’s what it means to have something important ahead.

You want to be with the people you care about for as long as possible.

However, Yoo Yeoreum seemed different.

“My mom and brother are fine. But in the end, they could never be my real family connected by blood. I’m always alone. So if I want a real family, I have to make it myself. So, what do you think?”

Slyly-.

Yoo Yeoreum pulled the neckline of her top with her finger, slightly revealing her cleavage.

My eyes are like a scavenger’s, instantly spotting anything recyclable in the trash. I wouldn’t miss a moment like this.

“Let’s make a family ourselves, as fellow orphans─ouch!”

Yoo Yeoreum pinched her own cheek with her right hand.

“Stop hitting me! Stop! It’s not like I said anything untrue! I’m just honestly expressing the desire lurking inside you! You want it too! Bloood-!”

Thud thud-! Slap-!

She punched her nose or slapped her cheeks, acting like a fool playing two roles by herself, which made me laugh.

Who won the battle between light and darkness?

Yoo Yeoreum adjusted her clothes and cleared her throat.

“Let’s pretend you didn’t hear that.”

“How can I pretend I didn’t hear something I already heard?”

“You just have to act like you didn’t hear it.”

If I pretend I didn’t hear it, it becomes something that never happened.

Maybe that’s true.

But I don’t want to live like that.

Then Yoo Yeoreum asked.

“…Aren’t you lonely being alone in this big house?”

“I’m not alone. Bao Noi is here, and Ino Noi is staying too. Ying Ying is also here. They just got quiet, so don’t make a fuss and wake them up.”

The nymphs never stopped chattering, always talking noisily.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the reason the fairy kingdom fell was because the nymphs were too noisy.

Yoo Yeoreum added to my story.

“Don’t you miss your family? I don’t even know my real mother’s face. But sometimes I miss her. What kind of person she is. What she’s doing now. My father, the member of the Judo Hall, knows, but…”

That was the end of Yoo Yeoreum’s words.

Is she deeply troubled?

If asked a question, it’s only natural to answer.

“I am a man. A man is born with the belief that he is the best in the world. A man must know how to live alone.”

“That’s foolish. Being a man. Not being able to honestly say you miss your family. Not being able to say you’re having a hard time. I’d rather just be a girl.”

Yoo Yeoreum, who calls herself a girl.

This is a precious scene.

However, the funny point is that if Yoo Yeoreum and I were to fight in a yacha duel, I, a man, might end up fainting, beaten to a pulp by Yoo Yeoreum, a girl.

“Uhaam, I’m sleepy. I can’t sleep because whenever I do, the dark Yoo Yeoreum keeps popping out on her own, so I’ve been staying up all night…. I’ll lie down on the sofa for a bit, so wake me up when it’s time.”

Yoo Yeoreum went into the living room sofa.

While she was snoring softly, I discovered flowers growing from the tender sprouts in the garden bed.

“That’s amazing!”

No matter how much a man’s life is about being self-reliant, it’s a pity that there’s no one to brag about this to.