The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess - Chapter 87



087 – My Friend is a High School Girl Kidnapper! This is Awesome!

087 – My Friend is a High School Girl Kidnapper! This is Awesome!

Thud, thud, thud-!

Men in black suits stuck seizure stickers on all the items in the penthouse.

“What on earth are you people?!”

Seo Ga-eul, who hadn’t anticipated this situation, snapped fiercely, but everyone was unyielding.

Soon, a man who shone like a crane among chickens appeared among the black suits.

“Everyone, take it easy. You’re scaring the cute lady.”

He was a man with an impressive tall stature, dark circles, and pale skin.

He looked to be in his early thirties.

Seo Ga-eul asked the man, who seemed to be in charge.

“What on earth are you doing right now?!”

“Miss, the board of directors just unanimously passed the motion to dismiss Chairman Seo Do-cheol. Moreover, Chairman Seo Do-cheol’s assets are being seized on charges of colluding with anti-government forces─ah, what a bother. What is this as soon as I return to the country?”

The man’s cold eyes looked at me.

He smirked and handed me a business card.

“Chairman of Seonam Corporation – Nam Bada”

“I am Nam Bada, newly elected head of Seonam Group. Nice to meet you?”

Swoosh-.

Nam Bada extended his hand to Seo Ga-eul.

When Seo Ga-eul didn’t take his hand, Nam Bada awkwardly withdrew it and brushed off the dust on his clothes.

“People who haven’t experienced social life don’t like this kind of thing.”

Had Nam Bada, who had been dispatched to the United States, already returned?

It was only natural that the second son would come to take the position since the eldest son, Nam Woo-joo, was missing, but it was a week earlier than I had expected.

Nam Bada soon looked at Seo Ga-eul with half-closed eyes.

“By the way, is it true that Nam San-ho kidnapped you? It sounds like a lie.”

“What did you say? A lie?”

Seo Ga-eul’s face turned red as if she was genuinely offended.

Was she acting? The skill she had of pretending to be innocent like a fox hadn’t gone anywhere.

“Excuse me, Mr. Bada.”

“That kind of question is a bit─.”

Even the black suits around seemed flustered by Nam Bada’s attitude, but Nam Bada was unyielding.

“Why? What? It’s hard to believe. How could that idiot Nam San-ho kidnap Seo Do-cheol’s only daughter? He works hard, but he has no talent at all. Did he really do that?”

Swoosh-.

Nam Bada leaned his head towards Seo Ga-eul.

“Be honest. Didn’t Nam San-ho have an ‘accomplice’? Who knows, if you speak honestly, Chairman Seo Do-cheol might be reinstated sooner.”

Nam Tae-geon’s second son, Nam Ba-da, was a snake-like man.

He was resourceful and didn’t hesitate to use any means necessary.

“You don’t want to live like a pauper, do you? I’ve tried it, and it’s really not great. So let me ask again, did Nam San-ho really do it? Or did he have an ‘accomplice’?”

If Nam Woo-joo was Nam Tae-geon’s shining eldest son, Nam Ba-da was the fixer who handled the regime’s dirty work from behind the scenes.

Seo Ga-eul seemed greatly confused by his tongue-lashing but finally seemed to reach a conclusion.

“There was no accomplice. I was kidnapped in my sleep by some method I can’t even understand.”

“So what was that method? How did that idiot commit the perfect crime? I’d like to ask Nam San-ho directly, but the dead don’t speak.”

Tsk-. Nam Ba-da clicked his tongue.

He must not have liked the lines I had prepped Seo Ga-eul with in advance.

Cunning Nam Ba-da seemed to find the “And Then There Were None” operation, which pinned everything on Nam San-ho, suspicious.

He didn’t seem to think I was the culprit, though.

Considering he thought there might have been an ‘accomplice’ who helped the foolish Nam San-ho with the kidnapping, he might eventually reach the real culprit—me.

In fact, I had roughly anticipated this man’s reaction. I also expected that he would become a very troublesome adversary for me.

“Then, miss, leave this house by today. Sadly, the world has changed while you were kidnapped.”

# # #

About a week had passed since Nam San-ho, who had caused the “zombie incident,” was dealt with. Martial law was still in effect, but people’s lives seemed to have returned to normal.

People returned to work, and Yeongsa High School resumed classes as usual.

“I hit a zombie’s head!”

“I killed a few too. It was really gross.”

In just a few days, the kids seemed to have grown up a lot.

The “zombie incident” seemed to have become an experience point for Class D kids.

Indeed, luck and misfortune seem to depend on one’s mindset.

Class F was even more chaotic.

“Did you see Ga-eul from Class F come to school today?”

“She seems even prettier somehow! Did she change her makeup? Huh?”

“Is it true that the kidnapper didn’t even touch her?”

Seo Ga-eul’s return to school after being kidnapped.

From noble mtl dot com

It was a perfect topic for kids who loved to gossip about others. And I was always at the center of the conversation!

“Nam Jin-ah! Is it true that you caught the kidnapper?”

“I saw the interview too! They said he killed several special zombies!”

The hero of South Korea who saved the country from the “zombie terrorists” and rescued Seo Ga-eul from the kidnappers!

Everyone seemed to be both incredulous and delighted that such a person was a student in their class.

The darker the times, the brighter a single shining star appears.

“Is it true that Nam Woo-joo has become a demon?”

At that moment, someone’s question pierced through the many voices like a sharp dagger.

It was class president Cheon Yoo-ra.

Her expression looked extremely worried, as if she had just heard the tragic news of General Yi Sun-sin’s death.

In reality, Nam Woo-joo was the Admiral Yi Sun-sin of the 21st century.

“…There’s no way Woo-joo oppa would do that!”

Bang-!

Soon, Baek Yeoul, who had been silently sitting next to me, slammed the desk.

Her eyes were welling up with tears, and it seemed that all the students were greatly agitated.

“Th-that’s right, there’s no way Nam Woo-joo would become a demon. If he did, it would be a real disaster.”

“But if you watch the video….”

The atmosphere was chaotic.

Just in time, Captain Kang Cheol-min entered the classroom and tapped the podium.

“Attention everyone! We have a practical training session this morning! We have secured some zombies from the recent incident, and you will be taking them down. I’ll start calling the names of those who need more practice points!”

“Eek! I hate zombies, they smell!”

“I’d rather fight monsters!”

The clock of daily life began to tick again.

It was worth all the hard work.

‘There were many achievements.’

Having defeated the “Giant of Conquest,” it could be said that one of the three calamities had been sealed.

Even if the apocalypse were to happen right now, more people would survive than before.

Time passed, and after school…

Geum Tae-seong patted my shoulder.

“Nam Jin-ah, your recent exploits have been amazing, haven’t they? I can’t believe you’re my friend. Even Bada hyung praises you a lot!”

Bada.

That name was familiar.

“Nam Bada? Why Nam Bada?”

“Yeah, didn’t I tell you? I work with him.”

I knew Geum Tae-seong was doing various part-time jobs.

I never imagined he was working under Nam Bada.

Given Nam Bada’s nature of doing dirty work for the regime, it was clear that Geum Tae-seong wasn’t doing anything honorable or good either.

There was a reason why Geum Tae-seong was secretive about his part-time job.

The problem was that Nam Bada had praised me.

The fact that he was keeping an eye on me was troublesome.

“More than that, Nam San-ho is a real piece of trash. Kidnapping people and turning them into zombies. They still haven’t found Yoo Yeoreum, right? Nam Jin-ah, where do you think Yoo Yeoreum is?”

The whereabouts of Yoo Yeoreum.

It was still one of the unsolved mysteries of the 21st century.

Geum Tae-seong spat on the ground.

“Kidnapping and imprisoning people. What a piece of trash. If he were in front of me, I would have punched him. Don’t you all think so? Kidnapping a woman.”

Everyone nodded at Geum Tae-seong’s question.

Only Chang-sik was trembling and acting nervously.

“Y-yeah. Kidnapping people. That should never happen. Especially kidnapping a high school girl… that’s absolutely unacceptable…”

Chang-sik was stuttering and sweating, truly angry.

As we were leaving the school gate, someone called out to me.

“Han Nam-jin. Can we talk?”

A girl with beautiful long black hair was standing in front of the school gate. I blinked, wondering who looked so beautiful like a fairy, and it was Seo Ga-eul.

Cold and haughty Seo Ga-eul.

She was as elegant as a peony flower, as if she had never experienced anything like a kidnapping.

“We can talk here.”

I said indifferently, and Seo Ga-eul frowned slightly.

But only for a moment, Seo Ga-eul showed a gentle and soft smile.

“…I have something to tell you about your father. I heard you made some kind of promise with him? So, I want to talk to you, is that okay with everyone?”

“Uh, uh… what should we do?”

“…Should we leave?”

Chang-sik and Deok-soon were flustered by Seo Ga-eul’s princess-like demeanor.

They were overwhelmed by the atmosphere.

But Bbangdaengi was different.

“Seo Gaeul…!”

Bbangdaengi growled like an angry raccoon.

Bbangdaengi had been friends with Seo Gaeul for a long time, but due to various events, they had become worse than strangers.

However, perhaps because he felt sorry for the kidnapped Seo Gaeul, he couldn’t easily get angry.

What should I do here?

“Gaeul, I’m sorry, but I have a prior engagement with the ‘No Leftovers Day’ friends today.”

“…Really? Then I guess it can’t be helped.”

Grin-.

Seo Gaeul turned her back, smiling like an elegant noble lady.

In that brief moment, I didn’t miss her mouth forming the word “damn.”

But what can I do?

I have a prior engagement.

And it was better to keep some distance from Seo Gaeul for a while.

There were still eyes looking at me with suspicion.

“Then, guys, let’s go eat hamburgers! Bbangdaengi is treating!”

“…I did say let’s go, but I’m treating? I’m short on allowance!”

This afternoon, Yeoul said she had something to tell us. I think it’s probably something related to ‘Nam Woojoo.’

So we were having a meeting, but Changsik suddenly trembled like someone who urgently needed to go to the bathroom.

“I, I have urgent business. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can eat hamburgers…. Then I’ll be off first!”

Paddadadak-.

Changsik quickly ran away like a thief who had stolen something. Watching him, Deoksun said a word.

“…Suspicious.”

Yeah.

Anyone could see that.

Would Changsik, who wasn’t well-off, refuse a free hamburger? It was as absurd as Han Namjin refusing ketchup ramen.

In this situation, there was only one way.

“Let’s eat hamburgers a bit later and go to Changsik’s house? If Changsik is involved in something dangerous, we should help him as friends!”

“Right! Let’s go, Han Namjin! We’re all friends!”

So we followed Changsik to his house.

And what we saw there was Chang-sik slipping into the dirty container among the junk.

Before entering the container, he checked his surroundings several times, as if he had something hidden in there.

“Whack!”

I quickly approached the container and shouted as I opened the door.

Then Chang-sik, who was inside, was startled and screamed.

“Kyahhh!”

Kyah?

That scream was too thin to be Chang-sik’s.

When I came to my senses, I saw Chang-sik and a woman.

The woman was sitting on the bed, looking filthy as if she hadn’t washed for days, and her arms and legs were chained.

What came to mind immediately was ‘high school girl kidnapping confinement.’

“Gasp…! How did you guys find this place…!”

“…Choi Chang-sik, you crazy b*stard!”

Deok-soon, who rarely gets angry, was furious.

My friend Chang-sik had kidnapped and confined a high school girl!

Really…

Really….

…That’s insane!

“Huh?”

But now that I looked closely, the woman’s face was familiar.

“Aren’t you Jin Eun-byul?”

Jin Eun-byul, who had been missing after being detained in the “Special Detention Center.”

Why was she here?

“Chang-sik, you better explain this well.”

Geum Tae-sung’s clenched fist was unusually hard and angular.

As if recalling PTSD from his school days, Chang-sik trembled in fear, and Jin Eun-byul, who was sitting on the bed, spoke.

“Chang-sik did nothing wrong. I asked him to do it.”

So Jin Eun-byul asked Chang-sik to kidnap her?

Urging someone to kidnap themselves.

There was another person like Seo Ga-eul.

“Why?”

Then I became curious about the reason.

At my question, the shabby Jin Eunbyul let out a deep sigh.

“It’s because of Nambada. Because I know that man’s weakness… If he finds me, I’m sure I’ll die…”