The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess - Chapter 98



098 – The Goddess of Luck is Full of Mistakes # 2

098 – The Goddess of Luck is Full of Mistakes # 2

Seo Ga-eul returned home and slammed her fist onto the bed with a *thud thud*.

The cheap mattress creaked as if it was about to break, but Seo Ga-eul didn’t stop.

She flopped onto the bed, flailing her arms and legs.

*Flap flap flap-*!

“Ugh, this is so annoying!”

It was because of what had just happened.

Seo Ga-eul had gambled her own romance as a condition for kicking Baek Yeo-ul out of the raid party.

Hanamjin, who had always said he liked her, shouldn’t have been able to refuse this offer.

But Hanamjin refused.

It didn’t make sense.

—Why!

When Seo Gaeul asked, Hanamjin made a face like he was personally frustrated.

—I don’t make promises I can’t keep!

In other words, getting Baek Yeoul out was too much even for Hanamjin.

Or maybe, he just didn’t want to.

From noble mtl dot com

*Skshh-*

Hanamjin put his hand on Seo Gaeul’s shoulder and said,

—And Bbangdaengi is stronger than you think. Anyone can fail, but not just anyone can keep failing. She can do that.

How could constantly failing make someone strong?

Seo Gaeul didn’t like Hanamjin’s subtly trusting attitude towards Baek Yeoul.

“I offered to date you, how could you reject that?”

It was also shocking that her first ever confession was rejected.

She thought it was a sure thing, but now she was left with a bruised ego.

Maybe the perceptive Hanamjin knew what Seo Gaeul was up to.

Maybe he saw through her intention of using their relationship to control him by his leash.

Whatever it was, being rejected was humiliating.

“Shit! Agh! aaagghh!”

Flailing, flailing, flailing-.

Seo Gaeul thrashed around.

If she had known she would be rejected like this, she wouldn’t have bothered trying.

Ironically, after feeling a deep sense of self-loathing, Seo Gaeul felt like she could vaguely understand what Hanamjin had said.

The part about Baek Yeoul being strong.

Failure is embarrassing and bitter.

Once you experience failure, you shrink away from the desire to try again.

To keep failing meant that you kept challenging yourself, and you were ready to keep getting hurt. That could also be described as ‘strength’.

Seo Gaeul was impressed by the accuracy of Hanamjin’s viewpoint on Baek Yeoul.

Partner. Trust.

For Han Namjin and Baek Yeoul, it felt like something was definitely there.

“Seeing you two call each other by nicknames, you look pretty close. When did you guys get so close while I was locked up?”

On the other hand, a feeling she’d never felt before started to sprout inside her like a tiny seed.

Whether that sprout would become a baobab tree that could split an asteroid, or a coy rose, she’d have to watch it for a long time to know.

So, instead of sleeping, Seo Gaeul went out into the streets.

A park high enough to see a full view of D City’s nightscape.

At the top of the stairs that stretched straight down, Seo Gaeul met eyes with the girl who was waiting for her.

The girl with the mottled pink hair was unique.

“You’re late! And why did you call me?! I was busy training!”

Baek Yeoul was angry.

“You want the ‘Han Namjjin Photobook’ too, right? No way! This is mine!”

Baek Yeoul acted like the photobook was some kind of treasure. Seo Gaeul wasn’t interested in the ‘Han Namjjin Photobook’ at all, but seeing Baek Yeoul act like this made her suddenly want to snatch it.

That’s how it always is—other people’s rice cakes always look bigger.

“Give it here!”

*Thwack!*

Seo Gaeul reached out and snatched the photobook from Baek Yeoul’s hand. Baek Yeoul tried to resist, but it was no use.

“Hyaaak!”

Under the dazzling moon, Baek Yeoul’s desolate scream echoed through the deserted park. It was like the lament of a people who had lost their country.

Seo Gaeul flipped through the photobook wildly.

Then, she found a photo.

It was a photo of a child with long hair, looking pretty and feminine, almost like a girl, doing a V-sign to the camera.

That face was somehow familiar.

“I’m taking this one. The deal has to be fair.”

“You nasty b*tch! I thought this training would help us get back on good terms but I was wrong! Go trip and fall!”

Baek Yeoul spewed curses.

Seo Gaeul barely heard Baek Yeoul’s words as she went down the long, long stairs.

Baek Yeoul was frustrated.

A fair deal, she said?

Baek Yeoul herself had only been robbed unilaterally!

Then, at that moment, sniffling and with snot running down her nose, Baek Yeoul found a banknote on the ground. A whole 50,000 won bill.

“Ooh…!?!”

Looking around, Baek Yeoul slipped it into her hand.

It looked like the money that had fallen out of Seo Gaeul’s pocket during their scuffle earlier.

“Hehehe, lucky me! I can buy tteokbokki with this and share it with my friends!”

Baek Yeoul thought luck had come her way.

Like “fortune” itself had attached to her.

Conversely, Seo Gaeul, who went to a convenience store for ramen, frowned when she realized the 50,000 won was gone from her wallet.

As if “misfortune” had been transferred to her.

# # #

“Was it a big mistake?”

After rejecting Seo Gaeul’s confession, I sighed heavily out of regret.

It might have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I wondered if I shouldn’t have turned her down.

“I should have gone out with her and tried for a kiss at least!”

To calm my heart, I picked a few summer wildflowers blooming in the park. I figured nothing soothed a woman’s heart like flowers.

Why would I need to soothe a woman’s heart?

Obviously.

“Yeoreum, I’m here.”

Even for me, visiting Yoo Yeoreum required immense resolve and courage. It felt like sticking my head into the gaping maw of a lion.

This place was the “Food Storage” of the dark.

It was part of the labyrinth, and not a single ray of light seeped in, making it pitch black.

As I shone my phone light around, a flash—two lights gleamed in the dark.

Ssssh-sss-sss-.

Soon, the two lights seemed to approach me, and then revealed themselves completely.

The gleam was Yoo Yeoreum’s gaze, and it was filled with fury!

Was the feeling of the rabbits facing a predator’s eyes under the moonlight similar to mine?

“……”

Yoo Yeoreum, looking at me, didn’t speak or change her expression, but she was definitely angry.

That’s what made it even scarier!

To that expressionless woman, I extended the wildflowers in my hand.

“I was gone for too long, huh? I was a bit busy. Here, a gift.”

“……”

Even as she looked at the wildflower I held out, Yoo Yeoreum remained expressionless.

Only, her hand seemed to reach out—then snatched the flower from my hand, plunging its stem into a nearby water bottle.

There were several more water bottles with flowers stuck in them in this food storage warehouse.

The flowers varied in type but were all withering.

Because this place doesn’t get any light.

And that’s why I confined Yoo Yeoreum here.

Discovering this “Food Storage Warehouse” shrouded in darkness was purely due to luck.

I’d found it while scouting for a place to imprison Yoo Yeoreum within the Great Labyrinth. It wasn’t far from the “Flower Room.”

Accessing this place also required my “Ring.”

“Did you get along well with Inging?”

I asked.

I’d left Inging behind so Yoo Yeoreum wouldn’t be bored while she was alone. Where had Inging gone?

I searched the “Food Storage Warehouse,” as wide as a sports field, but couldn’t see it anywhere.

*Swish-*

Yoo Yeoreum pointed to a makeshift bed she’d made from piled junk.

—*Ingingyaing.*

Seeing Inging lying quietly on the bed, now shrouded in darkness, made me genuinely happy.

It was that very moment.

*Spat!*

Yoo Yeoreum seemed to pounce on me, then bit down hard on my shoulder!

*Crunch!*

“Kkyaaah!”

I thought she’d softened up after I gave her the flower!

I felt like I understood the feelings of the mice being devoured alive by a big cat!

Luckily, it seemed I didn’t taste good, because Yoo Yeoreum let go on her own.

“Let me go!”

“If I let you go, you’ll sue me.”

“I won’t.”

Yoo Yeoreum’s pupils were shaking violently from side to side. Unlike Seo Gaeul, she was terrible at lying. I’d bet she’s less talented at lying than even Baek Yeoul.

“Summer, think it over. It’s not so bad here, is it? There’s tons of food, and that cute little ‘Ee-ing’ too.”

The “Pantry” was overflowing with fairy honey, fruits, and strange breads. Nothing ever seemed to rot, no matter how much time passed.

Truly, it was a marvel of the fairy world.

And the fountain gushes out clear water, you know!

Is it because the drinking water is different?

Even Yoo Summer’s skin, once healthily tanned, seemed to have gotten a bit lighter.

She was always basking in the sun, doing her photosynthesis thing, but now she was a child of the dark, so it was only natural that her skin would become smooth and pale.

“You haven’t had any trouble, right?”

“Nope.”

Yoo Summer’s pupils were still shaking wildly from side to side.

She just wasn’t any good at lying.

Something’s up.

Something in this “Pantry” was making her lie.

Of course, what that was, I hadn’t figured out yet.

What even was this Great Labyrinth in the first place?

Why was the Star Main trying to guard this labyrinth?

There were so many questions.

If only I had more time, I would’ve slowly investigated every inch of the Great Labyrinth.

But right now, there were more important things to deal with.

Specifically, my talk with Yoo Summer.

“Summer, I’m going to join the ‘Main Suppression Squad’ soon. Based on my prediction, the operation will start within three days.”

“Main Suppression… Like that ‘Star’ Main we saw back then?”

Yoo Summer’s eyes, which had been listless, flickered with interest.

She knew all too well just how powerful that ‘Star’ Main we’d faced together was.

“Looks like there are a lot of people who don’t value their lives.”

“It’s not necessarily a hopeless battle. Things might actually go unexpectedly well. Truthfully, I think your being trapped here is a bigger problem than that.”

The truth was, Yoo Summer had just gotten caught up in Seo Gaeul’s whim.

She was, in essence, a pure victim.

I thought I owed it to her to give her an honest explanation.

“If, by any chance, something goes wrong during the suppression and I don’t make it back, I plan to set up a way for you to get out of here on your own. But there’s something you need to keep in mind.”

“What is it?”

“You’d better not say you were kidnapped by me. As far as anyone knows, you were kidnapped by Namsan-ho. I brought you a few newspapers, you saw, right?”

“Didn’t read ’em. Hate reading words. Summarize it in three lines.”

Yoo Yeoreum was as difficult an opponent as Seo Gaeul. If Seo Gaeul was sly and hateful like a fox, Yoo Yeoreum was fickle and prickly like a bothersome cat.

She only listened to what she wanted to hear and did only what she wanted to do.

“The second I get outta here, I’m gonna expose what a bad guy you are. Everyone’ll be shocked when they find out how much you’ve betrayed their trust.”

“That’s why I’m saying you shouldn’t. I’m saying it for you, not for me. In the first place, it wouldn’t matter even if you did tell the truth. Those monstrous b*stards would just bury it.”

“Monstrous b*stards?”

*Shhht-*

I pulled an old photo from my pocket.

A man in military uniform stood there, with a stern expression.

“Thought it was your picture, but it’s not? You look alike and have a similar vibe, but it’s someone else.”

“Of course. I’ve never been in the military.”

“A picture from a military leave? I know because I took one with my older brother when he was on leave. Looks like he’s a Private First Class. Two stripes.”

Yoo Yeoreum’s eyes went to the name tag on the uniform in the photo.

And she slowly read the letters with her lips.

“Nam-Ha-Neul.”

“Yeah, that’s my dad’s name.”

“Nam Haneul? But you’re Ha Namjin. You have different surnames?”

“My father cut ties with the family and just changed his name to Haneul. He never told anyone, so I only found out recently. About six months ago, to be exact.”

Chief Kim Jangdong told me that, drunk on the whiskey he’d managed to get. Until then, I’d thought my father was just an orphan.

But my father had a father too.

“My grandfather’s name is Nam Taegeon. He’s a monster.”