The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess - Chapter 83



083 – To Catch a Big Fish, You Need Big Bait #2

083 – To Catch a Big Fish, You Need Big Bait #2

If effort is also a talent, the boy’s talent was truly genius.

From a very young age, the boy realized how great it was to strive for something and finally conquer it.

The higher and steeper the peak, the more the boy’s heart burned with passion.

President Nam Tae-geon noticed the boy and adopted him as his son because of that spirit of challenge.

“From today, your name is Nam San-ho. Nam San-ho. Keep working hard in the future.”

The boy, Nam Sanho, was delighted.

Although the genius Nam Taegun had many adopted sons and daughters, there were only a handful who inherited his surname.

That alone made him feel superior to others.

An achievement earned through his own efforts.

It seemed there was nothing he couldn’t achieve if he just worked hard enough.

The same applied to his relationships with women.

Nam Sanho saw women as trophies to be won, lands to be conquered through his efforts.

But-.

Unfortunately, women could not satisfy Nam Sanho’s desires.

They were simply boring.

Women would fall for his excellent background and handsome appearance without him having to put in any effort.

No explorer would be happy to climb a mere small hill.

In the midst of this, he met Seo Gaeul.

“Seo Gaeul was different from any other girl I had met. Even when I begged like a dog, she wouldn’t give me a glance. That’s it. That’s exactly what I wanted.”

Nam Sanho, wearing a white mask.

He recalled that day.

The time when Seo Gaeul pushed him down the stairs at N Mart.

Crack-.

The pain in his neck from that time was still vivid.

If he hadn’t awakened to the concept of “zombie” at that moment, he would have truly died.

“She was the first girl who not only rejected me but tried to kill me. When I think of her, I want to bite her. I want to become one with her physically. This must be true love, right?”

Drip, drip-.

Yoo Nami, who had been kidnapped by the zombie’s mind, felt a chill run down her spine as she saw the saliva dripping from under the white mask.

It felt like he was going to devour her.

‘Zombies eat people. In five days. If I can’t drink cola in that time, I too…’

Yoo Nami soon lost consciousness due to a severe headache.

She desperately tried to hold onto her consciousness, but it was in vain.

“Yoo Nami, when you wake up, you will be an obedient woman to me, just like the others.”

It was almost time.

The zombie’s mind, Nam Sanho, decided to head to the memorial park in D City to meet Seo Gaeul’s kidnapper.

“Killing the kidnapper and making Seo Ga-eul obedient only to me.”

Nam San-ho’s concepts were “zombie” and “infection”─.

─And the most important one.

With these three concepts, there was nothing he couldn’t conquer.

If he just put in the effort, becoming the king of the world was possible.

Because he was a chosen being.

That day, the reason he came back from death was because of that.

As he ascended to the surface, the chilly air brushed against Nam San-ho’s face.

“Due to an unidentified infection, the memorial park is temporarily closed.”

From noble mtl dot com

The closed memorial park was extremely eerie.

It was so gloomy that it seemed like a zombie might appear, but Nam San-ho felt like he was on a picnic.

It felt as if Nam San-ho’s heart, which had stopped long ago, was beating again.

He couldn’t believe that he would soon meet Seo Ga-eul.

As he reached the promised time and place, he saw a woman with long hair standing with her back turned.

It was an unforgettable sight.

After all, she was the woman he had seen every day in his dreams.

“…Seo, Seo Ga-eul.”

Nam San-ho felt like he had returned to that day in his adolescence when he didn’t know women.

He felt somehow embarrassed and didn’t know what to say.

So Nam San-ho confessed his unadorned truth.

“You killed me that day. But I don’t want to resent you. Thanks to you, I became an even greater person.”

“……”

Seo Ga-eul turned her head.

A small, white face, red eyes shining like rubies.

She was at a distance where it seemed like he could reach her if he just stretched out his hand.

It felt like he was dreaming.

It would be a lie to say he didn’t resent Seo Ga-eul.

Because of Seo Ga-eul, Nam San-ho’s life was ruined.

But, she was such an extraordinary woman that even such resentment and hatred vanished in an instant.

It wasn’t just her beauty, but the elegance she carried herself with.

“Seo Ga-eul, I’ll give you the world. Come with me. Take my hand.”

Swoosh-.

Nam San-ho reached out his hand.

Under the moonlight.

Just the two of them in the world.

That feeling lasted only for a moment.

“I thought it was unlikely, but you really came alone. It’s not that you’re honest about promises, but you just didn’t want to show Seo Ga-eul to anyone else.”

Someone emerged from the darkness.

His face was half-covered with something like strange cotton candy, but Nam San-ho immediately recognized the man’s identity.

He was Seo Ga-eul’s kidnapper.

A surge of heat rushed to Nam San-ho’s head.

“You!”

“Ah-ah, don’t come any closer. If you take even one step closer, I’ll kiss Seo Ga-eul on the cheek. I’m a man who does what he says.”

“Damn it, no!”

At the kidnapper’s threat, Seo Ga-eul made a face that showed genuine disgust.

That fact further fueled the fire in Nam San-ho’s heart.

“Ga-eul! Just wait a little! I’ll save you soon!”

“Anyone would think I’m the villain here. Hey, there have been a lot of missing Awakened ones lately. Zombie’s demon Nam San-ho. You kidnapped them, right? You must have locked them up somewhere to turn them into special zombies.”

Nam San-ho was greatly surprised.

The special zombie thing was supposed to be a secret.

Could it be that the ones he sent out as a test when he kidnapped Yoo Na-mi were caught on CCTV?

No, that couldn’t be.

Nam San-ho had thoroughly learned how to hide his identity over the past two years.

“Who are you? Are you the one who revealed the infection cure too?”

He was the kidnapper of Seo Ga-eul.

He was definitely not an ordinary guy.

# # #

The plan was simple.

The more complicated the details, the higher the chance of failure.

So the most important thing was to lure Nam San-ho out using Seo Ga-eul as bait.

Conclusion.

It was so easy that it felt like my strength was drained.

To think he would actually come out alone.

His desire to monopolize Seo Ga-eul must be great.

That’s what a demon is.

They are honest about their own desires.

The desire to possess Seo Ga-eul.

Then let’s see how pure his desire really is.

“Nam San-ho, release all the hostages you have and surrender. Neutralize all the special zombies you’ve been gathering. Our conversation will start from there.”

“What?”

The red eyes behind the mask wavered for a moment.

Was my condition too harsh?

It was only natural since it was an unfair condition like the Eulsa Treaty.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Nam San-ho rejected my proposal.

I thought he would.

“Chairman Seo Do-chul said the same thing. He could save his daughter, but he didn’t want to kneel. Everyone has things more precious than Seo Ga-eul, despite what they say.”

That made me angry.

To me, Seo Ga-eul was everything in this world.

“Trying to gain everything in this world without giving up something precious is a nasty mindset. Trying to climb a high mountain without effort and sacrifice? There’s no other bandit like that.”

“…How dare you talk about effort and sacrifice in front of me?”

Nam San-ho flared up.

According to Seo Ga-eul, Nam San-ho was a man deeply in love with the image of his ‘hardworking self,’ and it seemed to be true.

You know those guys who love posting body profile pictures on social media.

But that was my goal too.

To find out his hideout.

Nam San-ho, wearing a white mask, headed underground to the memorial park.

There was a small stone door there, looking more like something from an ancient civilization than from the 21st century.

Here it is.

Another entrance to the Great Labyrinth.

Wooong-.

The ring on my hand reacted.

‘Open the door.’

As I entered the command in my mind, gooo- the door opened outward.

“…What….”

Nam San-ho, the demon, stuttered as if he had encountered something unexpected.

But only for a moment, he led the way into the labyrinth.

The structure of the Great Labyrinth we entered was very simple.

It was a large plaza.

It was clearly a strange space to be underground in a memorial park.

Even though it was an underground facility, the night sky sparkled high above, and an astonishingly vast space unfolded.

To compare it with my knowledge, it was like a colosseum.

Iron bars were everywhere in such a place, and the corpses trapped inside wailed in sorrow as if lamenting their decayed bodies.

“Khehehe, khehehehe….”

It was then.

Suddenly, Nam San-ho started laughing.

As if recalling an amusing memory.

“Kekeke, release the hostages? Do you think I would make such a deal!”

Nam San-ho suddenly changed his words.

What a complete swindler.

But it’s okay. I had no intention of exchanging Seo Ga-eul even if Nam San-ho released all the hostages and surrendered.

“Did you really think you could enter my kingdom without fear? Fool! You won’t be able to leave! The entrance to this ‘Great Labyrinth’ only works with a special incantation!”

Nam San-ho also had something to rely on.

So do I.

I took the birdcage out of the bag I was wearing on my back.

“Yoo Yeoreum, come out!”

Pop-!

Yoo Yeoreum emerged from the birdcage.

Soon, Yoo Yeoreum knelt down and gagged.

“…When you shrink and then suddenly grow, it turns your stomach upside down!”

Namsanho shouted from behind his white mask as he saw the scene.

“You b*stard! I told you to come alone with Seo Gaeul!”

“Let’s call it even since we both lied.”

Grrrrr-.

Namsanho growled like a beast.

He shouted as he fled into the darkness.

“Stupid b*stard, adding just one more person won’t change anything! Everyone, come out!”

Clang-.

The sound of chains being released was heard, and zombies appeared from all directions. Twenty, no, thirty? It seemed pointless to count.

Namsanho, you b*stard, how many corpses did you steal?

If this many zombies had spread into the world without any information about the cure, it wouldn’t have been surprising if ten thousand people were infected each day.

“Qi Bullet!”

Bang, bang bang bang-!

Seo Gaeul fired miraculous bullets from his palm.

Zombies fell as if hit by gunfire.

“You have to aim for the head.”

As I felt regret, Namsanho screamed frantically.

“Seo Gaeul! Why! Why are you interfering with me! I’m trying to free you from the kidnappers!”

“Why, you ask! I just hate you! Right now, I fucking hate you so much! More than the kidnappers!”

Seo Gaeul, who had been reaching out towards the zombies, hesitated.

Namsanho burst into laughter from the darkness as if he had been waiting for this moment, seeing Seo Gaeul hesitate at the sight of the children dressed like Santa.

Then, like a child boasting about a certificate, he started talking about things no one had asked.

“Do you recognize them? They are the people you talked to at N-Mart that day. They are the first zombies I made, so they are hard for me to control.”

“…The first? That day…!? Namsanho, what the hell did you do!”

“Seo Ga-eul, have you ever thought it was strange? The reason Yeom Hoon from ‘Villainers’ had to set the mart on fire. It was too much just to hide my body that you accidentally killed…”

It was such an excessive act.

I recalled the bewildered expression of the arsonist Yeom Hoon under the gas mask.

He seemed to be surprised by the fire he had set himself.

What could have driven that cowardly, pathetic guy to set the fire?

He must have received some incomprehensible order from above.

Something like having to burn down the entire building and people to incinerate the unknown zombie virus that suddenly started spreading in N Mart.

“Namsanho, it was you. You made him set the fire that day.”