The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess - Chapter 86



086 – And Then There Were None #2

086 – And Then There Were None #2

‘I heard that Nam Woo-joo went missing in the labyrinth, but I never thought he would become a demon. I thought he would last at least another half year.’

In fact, I knew that Nam Woo-joo would become a demon someday.

It was as inevitable as a ripe persimmon falling from the tree.

I couldn’t tell the truth because there was Bangdaengi, who followed Nam Woo-joo like a real brother.

In the future I saw, Nam Woo-joo, who was driven to the limit, fought against the monsters of the Three Calamities, became a demon, and exploded himself like a supernova, perishing together with the monsters.

I also saw that scene from afar.

It’s an unforgettable memory.

However, the Nam Woo-joo I knew was not such a dark and ominous-looking demon.

Rather, he was something that shone so brightly.

Even though he had fallen to a demon and was prepared to self-destruct, he was so dazzlingly beautiful that everyone honored him and called the heroes “Supernova.”

“Was that just now… Nam Woo-joo?”

Yoo Yeoreum asked me.

While I was hesitating to draw a conclusion, Yoo Yeoreum, who was still chattering, seemed unable to calm her surprised heart from what had just happened.

“In fact, Nam Woo-joo came to save us. He generated a great force to break the door, but ended up summoning the darkness of the labyrinth. After that, I don’t really know what happened…”

Could it be that Nam Woo-joo had figured out the location where Seo Ga-eul and Yoo Yeoreum were imprisoned?

He was indeed an excellent man.

According to Yoo Yeoreum’s explanation, it seemed that Nam Woo-joo, who emitted a huge amount of energy to rescue Seo Ga-eul and Yoo Yeoreum, had stimulated something in this great labyrinth and was attacked by it.

Suddenly, I thought of the “Giant of Conquest” and “Demon Nam Woo-joo” that had just appeared.

“Didn’t Nam Woo-joo say, ‘I will… eliminate the threat… of the great labyrinth’?”

It was as if he was speaking like a guardian of this great labyrinth.

However, Yoo Yeoreum shook her head at my question.

“I don’t know? Did he say that? Seo Ga-eul, did you hear it?”

“…What? What did you just say?”

Both Yoo Yeoreum and Seo Ga-eul seemed mentally unstable due to the unfamiliar experience.

However, I did not doubt my memory.

“Elimination of the threat.”

From noble mtl dot com

It’s like an ant nest.

When you stick your finger into an ant nest hole, the fierce soldier ants swarm out, just like this great labyrinth seems to be operating a “defense system” to eliminate threats.

When a powerful opponent like Nam Woo-joo, the top-ranked awakener, or the “Giant of Conquest” appears in the great labyrinth, the defense system activates to eliminate it.

But I didn’t know why Nam Woo-joo, who had become a demon, had turned into such a “defense system.”

It felt like a crucial piece of the puzzle was missing.

‘Even things that I, who came from the future, do not know, have happened.’

In a way, it was inevitable.

Seo Ga-eul sent me to the past so that we wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes.

I had anticipated this much of a variable, so there was no problem at all.

Rather, it was a great harvest.

Thanks to Nam Woo-joo’s help, we were able to defeat the “Giant of Conquest.”

“…Ugh, hot!”

When I picked up the white stone left by the “Giant of Conquest,” it was so hot it felt like I would get burned.

I could sense through my emotions that this was a fusion concept stone of “Conquest,” “Zombie,” and “Infection.”

A super-grade concept stone that could turn into a great monster.

Wouldn’t it become a tremendous power if consumed?

But the concept stone itself was toxic, so it couldn’t be consumed recklessly.

That’s why I had my friend and emergency food supply, as well as concept stone toxin filter, Yingying.

“Yingying, try eating this.”

When I handed the concept stone to Yingying, who was quietly hanging on my face like a mask, it growled inappropriately.

━Grrrr…!!!!!!!!!!!

Even Yingying, who would go crazy and devour any concept stone, hated it.

Such was the seed of disaster that could become a great monster.

This must never be eaten.

The important thing was that we survived anyway!

I smiled contentedly as I watched the videos I had recorded on my phone.

If this gets out on the internet, becoming a MeTube star would be a piece of cake.

Wouldn’t there be tons of comments?

Tonight, I have to dive into video editing!

“Problem solved!”

Just as I was happily dusting off my hands, Yoo Yeoreum, who looked extremely exhausted, grabbed my shoulder.

“It’s not over yet. They said if we finish this well, they would send one of us back home. You haven’t forgotten that promise, have you?”

“…Right! The promise!”

Seo Ga-eul, who had been spacing out, suddenly came to his senses.

Right. I did make that promise.

And I am Han Nam-jin, a man who knows how to thoroughly keep contracts and promises.

“Have you discussed it well with each other? Who will go back home? One stays, one leaves. Think carefully. This opportunity won’t come again.”

“Let me go.”

Yoo Yeoreum said confidently.

What about Seo Gaeul’s opinion?

“Your ear.”

Seo Gaeul demanded my ear.

Slightly-.

As I brought my ear closer, Seo Gaeul whispered into it─.

“Alright. The one who will stay has been decided.”

# # #

And so, time passed, and the next morning.

The internet was in an uproar as my edited video was uploaded at dawn.

Articles pouring out as if they had been waiting.

“Seo Gaeul’s kidnapper’s identity revealed!”

“Seo Gaeul returns to everyone’s arms after 00 days!”

“The notorious kidnapper! How did he come to abduct women?”

“Where is Yoo Yeoreum, who has not yet been rescued?”

“What is the identity of the starlight mine seen in the video?”

As I opened the door and stepped outside, reporters were swarming in front of our house.

“Student Nam-jin! Please say something about Seo Gaeul’s kidnapping!”

“What do you think about this incident?”

“Do you have any idea where Yeoreum might be?”

I put on a feigned look of grief.

And then, I confessed my feelings to the countless microphones.

“I never imagined that Nam San-ho, the adopted son of President Nam Tae-geon and the missing person from the tragic incident, would kidnap Seo Gaeul and Yoo Yeoreum and even stage a zombie incident to confuse the investigation! From the moment he went missing at N-Mart two years ago, it was all a plan for this kidnapping. He was a very meticulous and wicked guy.”

Click, click-!

The camera flashes went off wildly.

Satisfied.

As you just saw, I made Nam San-ho the culprit of the Seo Gaeul and Yoo Yeoreum kidnapping case.

After causing the N-Mart incident with his twisted and misguided desires towards Seo Ga-eul, Nam San-ho made himself disappear and became a person who didn’t exist in the world, then kidnapped Seo Ga-eul─.

However, as the investigation net tightened, he created a “zombie situation” and staged a self-made drama, pretending to be a “zombie terrorist” and a “kidnapper” to cause confusion─.

That was the truth behind the ‘Seo Ga-eul kidnapping case’ known to the world.

“But! Even the evil kidnapper couldn’t defeat me, Han Nam-jin! I will surely find Yoo Yeoreum, whom he hid somewhere, so please look forward to it! Ah, I also want to thank my father-in-law, Chairman Seo Do-cheol, who sharply saw through the identity of the kidnapper Nam San-ho with his keen intellect.”

Click, click-!

I felt very good.

Shall I use the closing remarks I prepared overnight?

“The person thought to be dead is the real culprit behind all the incidents. It’s like that novel. The title of that novel was probably ‘And Then There Were None,’ right?”

Good, I’m satisfied.

Nam San-ho, you must feel wronged for being blamed for all the crimes, but the dead cannot speak.

Seo Do-cheol and Yoo Nami’s help was also significant.

“Indeed, that rootless b*stard Nam San-ho kidnapped my daughter! I told you! Nam San-ho is the kidnapper! Do you think I got to this position for nothing? My eye for people is accurate!”

Especially, Seo Do-cheol criticized how insidious and dangerous Nam San-ho was, and how poor Nam Tae-geon’s judgment was for adopting such a person.

As the head of a global conglomerate and the father of the victim, when Seo Do-cheol said Nam San-ho was the kidnapper─, no one doubted it.

Yoo Nami also contributed greatly.

Yoo Nami was one of the hostages we rescued from Nam San-ho’s colosseum, but after being infected with the virus, quite some time had passed, and her recent memories seemed to be fading.

“So, he kept talking about wanting to turn Seo Ga-eul into a zombie… So he kidnapped people…. I’m sure he kidnapped Ga-eul to turn her into an obedient zombie….”

Yoo Nami, the first awakened one whose memories were unclear since being kidnapped by Nam San-ho, testified that Nam San-ho was the kidnapper of Seo Ga-eul.

Three people make a tiger.

If more than three people say it, even a nonexistent tiger will appear.

That’s how Nam San-ho became a tiger.

With this, I, Han Nam-jin, could be said to have completely escaped the tightening investigation net.

No, that’s not it.

It was still too early to use the word ‘completely.’

“How’s your body? The reporters must have been asking all sorts of questions and causing a fuss.”

I visited the Seonam Group building and faced Seo Ga-eul, who was staying in the penthouse.

Meeting legally in a legal place felt new.

Of course, Seo Ga-eul approached me like having a seizure and grabbed my collar.

“…I definitely told you to release Yoo Yeoreum, didn’t I?”

That’s right.

Seo Ga-eul whispered to me, “Release Yoo Yeoreum.”

Yoo Yeoreum wanted to be released, and Seo Ga-eul also wanted Yoo Yeoreum to be released.

It was because of that choice that I released Seo Ga-eul.

“As soon as Yoo Yeoreum was released, she would have spilled everything about me. If that happened, my plan to frame Nam San-ho would have failed.”

“What…?”

“Right now, Yeoreum is in a place only I know, and I have her well. If you do anything foolish or even utter a suspicious word about me, who knows what will happen to Yeoreum.”

“You…! You said you would send me home…!”

Seo Ga-eul glared at me.

Her eyes were like those of an enemy she had hated for a thousand years.

“I said I would send you home, but I didn’t say I would set you free.”

Grit-

Seo Ga-eul ground her teeth.

Seo Ga-eul had an altruism that thought of Yoo Yeoreum.

That altruism became shackles, and in the end, it prevented Seo Ga-eul from flying out of the cage.

“You wicked man!”

“Seo Ga-eul, the location has changed, but you are still my hostage. Our adventure begins now!”

Swoosh-

I reached out my hand to Seo Ga-eul.

Seo Ga-eul, who had been glaring at me with red eyes, did not take my hand.

It was at that moment.

Thud, thud, thud-!

Men in black suits started to swarm in and began sticking “Seized” stickers on various items in the penthouse.

Oh dear, has it already started?

They are in such a hurry.

“What! Who are you people!”

Of course, Seo Ga-eul, who did not grasp the situation, growled fiercely like a fox caught in a trap.