The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess - Chapter 91



091 – I’d rather die than swallow my pride # 1

091 – I’d rather die than swallow my pride # 1

「Name : Maple – Wakizashi

A sword crafted by a master artisan of legendary skill. Every owner of this blade has met a gruesome end.

Possession : 《Steal Lv.4》- Capable of stealing everything from the opponent, like an unreasonable and illogical transaction.」

Seo Gaeul’s grief was imbued with the very concept of “Steal.”

The explanation that it could take “everything” from the opponent was rather reassuring, yet also chilling.

A cursed sword, a demon blade.

It certainly deserved to be called that.

What if “everything” included the concept of Awakened beings?

It could be a wild card when facing Nam Woo-joo, who has become a star demon.

Swoosh-.

After hearing my explanation of the “Steal” concept, Seo Gaeul drew the sharp blade and examined it.

The curved edge seemed to mesmerize her red eyes.

“You’re saying this sword might be able to steal the concepts of Awakened beings if you cut them with it? It’s that powerful, huh. But the problem is I’ve never actually used a sword like this before.”

Swoosh, click-.

Seo Gaeul sheathed the weapon again.

I told her casually.

“You’ll be able to use it well.”

“How do you know that?”

“I can just tell.”

If it doesn’t work, she could just awaken the concept of “Swordsmanship”.

It was a moment where I was newly reminded of Seo Gaeul’s limitless potential.

Like a blank canvas where any painting can be freely unfolded.

Then what about me?

Am I someone who carelessly draws on that blank canvas?

No, that can’t be right.

It’s Seo Gaeul herself who paints on her own canvas.

I’m just here to supply the paint and brushes, and that’s enough.

In that sense, offering her a few pieces of advice wouldn’t be bad.

“You’re saying you’re going into that subjugation op against the Star Fiend? You actually saw that thing in person, and you’re still going? That’s gotta be a suicide mission.”

Seo Gaeul had little practical experience.

When we fought Namsanho, she froze up and was only useful as ‘bait’.

With experience, anyone would get used to it.

But, participating in a Star Fiend subjugation to gain experience didn’t seem like a great choice. It was like a level 1 hero charging straight into the Demon King’s castle for experience points.

Seo Gaeul herself must know this too.

And yet, she joined the subjugation team…

At my question, Seo Gaeul pulled out her phone from her pocket.

“A Lieutenant Jang Boreum called. She said that if this operation is successful, I could get a presidential pardon and immunity. I have no reason to refuse.”

“Is it because of your father, Seo Do-cheol?”

Seo Do-cheol was exposed for conspiring with 「Villainers」 and was ousted from his position as chairman of the company, now under investigation by the prosecution.

He wouldn’t escape a heavy sentence.

Seo Gaeul was trying to join the subjugation team in exchange for her father’s pardon.

Of course, that couldn’t be the only reason.

It was probably guilt.

Because many people died because of her, she clearly believed she had to save as many lives as she could to atone for it.

Saving people-.

Whatever the reason, that will was sprouting like a tiny seed in Seo Gaeul’s heart. And those feelings would gradually grow and forge her into a shining hero.

“Alright, I’ll help with your 「Swordsmanship」 training.”

I wanted to see it.

The day that this arrogant brat shines as a supernova that even I would respect.

“What kind of training are you even talking about?”

“There’s nothing better than actual combat experience. If my hunch is right, there’s still a few days before the subjugation team launches the operation, so we have time. By the way, this training will be done in a team.”

Seo Gaeul wouldn’t be the only one participating in the Star Fiend subjugation.

She would also need to practice forming a team with others and coordinating.

“Team? You’re not going to be the one doing it?”

“There’s someone better suited to be your teammate than me. He’s definitely going to be joining the subjugation team, so it’s a win-win to train together. Be serious. You don’t want to have to lay a grass blanket over your comrades.”

“Grass what?”

Seo Gaeul had a confused expression on her face at my words.

And that was the end of my conversation with her.

“Alright, you’re done here, so get going.”

“Why are you being so cold? *I’m* Seo Gaeul, *I* came to visit you. Any other guy would be so nervous they wouldn’t even be able to talk to me.”

*Swoosh*—She tilted her chin up, all haughty, like some grand fox. A fox with a bunch of tails.

But? She’s a bit lacking to be a gumiho.

She looked exactly like the Seo Gaeul I fell for at first sight, but that one felt like an older sister, and this one felt more like a little sister.

“Hmph, whatever. I’m leaving, I’m leaving. I’m done with my business.”

Seo Gaeul snorted lightly.

As she was putting on her shoes, she suddenly opened her mouth, as if something had occurred to her—*Ah*.

“I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Why do you keep calling yourself ‘Brad Pitt’?”

I thought maybe she’d ask about Yu Yeoreum’s location, but it wasn’t that.

Is it so strange that I call myself ‘Brad Pitt’?

“Haven’t you seen the movie *Troy*?”

“What the hell’s that?”

“*Ya re ya re*, this is why you kids who only know how to use social media don’t know anything about culture…”

“I seriously want to hit you. And I don’t even use social media anymore? I deleted it!”

*Whoosh*—!

Seo Gaeul slammed the door and left.

Finally, it’ll be quiet for a bit.

Just as I was thinking that, the door opened again.

“Oh, and Dad said he wanted to meet up with you, he has something to talk about!”

# # #

D City had many old and rundown commercial buildings.

After the discovery of the “Great Labyrinth,” D City was filled with towering skyscrapers, but many areas were left behind and abandoned, unable to keep up with the rapid growth. This commercial building was one such place.

Every alley nearby was full of old people pulling carts and collecting scrap paper, and when it got dark, women would appear out of nowhere, soliciting customers.

“Little boy, aren’t you a little too young to be in a place like this?”

“Did you get lost?”

The women on the street giggled at me. I walked past them and reached a building.

Instead of a common sign, there was a place with “Happy Trading Co.” taped in large letters on the window. Light was leaking out, so it seemed like someone was inside.

“Happiness Corporation – 2F.”

Looking at a rough map of the building, I found the office, but it was suffocating with thick cigarette smoke and a musty odor. Just awful.

I spoke to the man visible through the hazy smoke.

“Hey, old man!! I’m here. Hahaha!”

“So now I’m not even your father-in-law, just ‘old man’? And you’re three minutes late for our appointment. I told you to be here by 10 PM, didn’t I?”

Seo Do-cheol stubbed out the cigarette he was holding into the ashtray upon my arrival. He looked like he’d aged a few more years in that time, his once-black hair now streaked with gray.

His situation had changed a lot in just a few days.

The office, piled high with unopened boxes, looked less like the office of a conglomerate chairman and more like the hideout of a fugitive running from loan sharks.

Does a person make a place, or does a place make a person?

“What is this place?”

“It’s where I worked before I founded Seonam Group. You didn’t think I was born rich, did you? I’ve become rich once from nothing, you think I can’t do it twice?”

There won’t be enough time.

Even for Seo Do-cheol, becoming rich again within the year before the end was going to be a tough ask.

“Ha Nam-jin, you don’t like beating around the bush. I don’t like long talks with you either. My daughter, Ga-eul, has been tricked by Namba-da into some kind of subjugation, or whatever they call it.”

Seo Do-cheol seemed to have learned how to have a man’s conversation.

No flowery words, just straight to the point!

“You can get my daughter Ga-eul out of that subjugation team, right? I can’t let my only daughter, whom I rescued from the kidnapper Namsan-ho, die like a dog there.”

“What can I do to pull Seo Ga-eul from Namba-da’s grip that even the great Chairman Seo Do-cheol can’t manage? Besides, Ga-eul Seo chose to join the subjugation team herself.”

“Don’t play coy! You are perfectly capable of getting my daughter out of there! Or, can’t you just join the team and protect my daughter? I heard that you refused to join the subjugation team!”

Word had already reached Seo Do-cheol.

Even in this backwater place, his information network, the hallmark of a top businessman, hadn’t deserted him.

“If you heard the news, then you know why I refused. Me going there would just add one more corpse to the pile, wouldn’t it?”

“How much? How much would it take─”

Seo Do-cheol stopped himself, as if he was about to negotiate a price.

He must already know that I’m not a man who can be swayed by money.

“Man, Seo Do-cheol. If you want to ask a favor, there is a proper attitude for that, isn’t there? And we made a promise man to man, didn’t we? To get Ga-eul out, and then you kneel and apologize to me.”

“You son of a b*tch! Still talking about that!”

*Thump!* *GRAB!*

Seo Do-cheol pushed his worn chair back hard and stood up, grabbing my collar. His fists, unlike that of a conglomerate chairman, were covered with scars.

Traces of welding sparks.

“kkreeeeak!”

That’s when Seo Do-cheol screamed like a stabbed pig.

I hadn’t done a damn thing, and he was the one gripping my collar, actually.

He kept making these choking sounds for a while, then a vein popped out on his forehead, sweat dripped down his face, and the whites of his eyes turned red with burst blood vessels.

“kkreeeeeeeak!!!”

Maybe he had a heart condition or something.

His body trembling like a leaf, he choked a few more times, then his hand gripping my collar went limp.

And then, slowly, like a glacier exposed to heat, falling into the sea, his body started to bend.

Thud-.

One knee hit the floor, and finally, the other knee landed with a loud *thump*.

“Ggggrrrroooaaak!”

Seo Do-cheol, he screamed like someone trying to forcefully bend a knee joint that had never been bent in his life.

His shoulders, which seemed like they’d never looked up to anyone, were now several times lower than mine, and his empty palms touched the filthy, dusty ground.

“Ple…ple…pleaseeee…I beg…you… My daughter…! Take Gaeul out of the subjugation squad…!”

「Name : Seo Do-cheol」

「Status : 《Deep Frustration》 – His will, which had never been broken in his entire life, has been snapped, wounding even his soul.」

“So, are you admitting your mistakes and apologizing?”

I asked.

Seo Do-cheol, his forehead pressed to the ground, answered with a sob.

“Yes! I! I was the bad guy! You said you liked my daughter! What good would it do you if Gaeul dies like this! So please….”

“……”

“Ha Nam-jin, you must have had a father too. How do you think a parent would feel if their child died before them, having to watch it happen?”

Was this how Achilles felt when King Priam of Troy came to him to take Hector’s body?

I was a man.

A man forgives when he receives an apology.

And a man also has to admit honestly when something is not possible.

“Even if I wanted to, I can’t get Seo Gaeul out of the subjugation squad.”

“What? I even got down on my knees!”

“In the first place, she wouldn’t allow herself to be taken out of the squad. That girl, once she sets her mind on something, she pushes ahead even if everyone is against it.”

That must be why she came to see me living in that shanty, even though everyone was against it.

Therefore, stopping Seo Gaeul would be impossible.

“But, I can help enough so she doesn’t die.”

“Th-then…”

“I’ll join this subjugation team.”

Actually, I was going to do it anyway.

Even if Seo Do-cheol hadn’t asked. Honestly, I was even surprised and flustered myself because I didn’t think Seo Do-cheol would actually kneel.

Even so, it’s not a bad feeling.

“See? If you swallow your pride and give a sincere apology, this many problems get solved. But, I guess that’s difficult.”

“……”

With that feeling, the next day passed.

I called Seo Gaeul to my place early on a weekend morning for training that was like a real battle, a real battle that was like training.

Is she going to be late?

I was thinking that, but Seo Gaeul arrived 20 minutes early for our appointment.

“Aah-humm.”

The way she yawned made it seem like she hadn’t slept.

What could she have been doing all night?

“What’s wrong?”

“’Brad Pitt’ my ass. What are you, Achilles? Ha Nam-jin, you’re just, what’s the word, you’re the grunt from that movie!”

“Ah, you must’ve stayed up late watching ‘Troy.’”

“So, what are we doing today? And what’s this team training thing?”

“Just wait. One more person hasn’t come yet. Ah, there he is.”

“Who did you even call…”

The expression of Seo Gaeul, who had been frowning while yawning, suddenly widened in a strange way.

Probably because she discovered the figure waddling like a raccoon in the distance.

“Ha Nam-jjin! Training on a weekend morning, what the hell—huh!”

Baek Yeo-ul was also frowning.

Baek Yeo-ul and Seo Gaeul.

It was like they had met again, these two people who should never be in the same place.