018 – Abduction, Furious Waves Crashing Against the Cliffs #1
There’s a type of man I hate the most in this world.
Guys who would d*e if a woman said anything to them and end up trembling like leaves.
Such men don’t deserve to be called men.
I, Hanamjin, am the kind of man who can say “NO” even to the woman I love.
“Hey, Seugal. Do I look like an idiot to you?”
“…What?”
Whenever I’d always been so gentle, my sudden change in demeanor surprised Seugal, causing her lips to quiver slightly—perhaps finding it oddly charming.
Meanwhile, Baek Yeo-ul, who used to glare at Seugal like an angry raccoon every time she saw her, seemed startled and clutched my side.
“Hey, hey, what’s gotten into you…?”
“Let go. Hey. What’s so fun about this party? Seugal, do you actually find it enjoyable?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is it fun for you? Do you enjoy talking about money and cars with people you don’t even like? That’s not who you are, is it?”
I vividly remember the day Seugal came to visit me at my old cabin. Sometimes, that scene would even appear in my dreams.
That day, she was battered and soaked from the rain, looking pitiful, but she was shining like a jewel. Even as she complained and took off her stockings, saying my place was dirty, her face wrinkled in dissatisfaction, I saw radiance in her.
I fell in love with Seugal for reasons like that.
“You are not being ‘Seugal’ at all.”
The Seugal on that day was already perfect in her own way. She didn’t seem to need anyone’s help anymore.
But the Seugal now is different from that day. She even resembles me when I used to mutter to myself at the garbage dump.
「Garbage dump」and 「ultra-luxury penthouse」. 「A loner muttering alone」and 「the star of the party」. Though their circumstances are completely different, I understood.
Seugal is lonely now.
She craves even meaningless and noisy chatter around her. Much like turning up the meaningless volume on the TV when you return home and no one greets you. This party is, in a way, her TV.
Spiced with a hint of spite and malice.
“Stop picking on Baek Yeo-ul. I don’t know what your relationship was in the past or what happened between you, but this is childish and disgusting. You’re the one orchestrating all of today’s drama, right?”
The reason model women could openly show their hostility toward Baek Yeo-ul was that Seugal, as the host of today’s party, had tacitly agreed, or even instructed them to do so—I assumed.
Don’t unnecessarily provoke Baek Yeo-ul—
That’s what I was indirectly telling Seugal.
Because I had suspected a few people at today’s party, including Baek Yeo-ul, as potential “Traitors of Humanity” who might stab Seugal in the back, and her latent score seemed to be the highest.
Plenty of grudges. Plenty of motives. Therefore, I couldn’t help but hope for harmony between Seugal and Baek Yeo-ul.
“….”
Seugal, who could usually deflect any comment with ease, finally fell silent. Her expression turned as cold as ice.
It seemed our relationship had reached its worst state.
“Can you handle what you just said?”
Seugal asked me. I wanted to ask her back.
“Handle it? That’s up to you. I just gave her an opportunity. Do you know? The moon is really beautiful tonight.”
I looked past Seugal’s shoulder, through the vast windows of the penthouse, at the beautiful full moon that glittered afar. It was Seugal’s weakest night.
In the first place, the reason I came to this building party was to check where Seugal was living and observe the entrances and exits. Covering the headquarters by collecting bottle caps, I managed to gather some satisfying information.
Seugal’s abduction is happening tonight.
“Well then, asta la vista!”
After leaving a stylish farewell, I walked back home.
“Are you okay? You said you liked Seugal.”
After a long silence, Bangdaengi Baek Yeo-ul finally spoke up.
“You’ve probably made her hate you completely because of today’s events. Honestly, it was total chaos.”
Is she worried about my romantic situation with Seugal?
Even though we had a partner contract, Baek Yeo-ul was quite responsible.
“It doesn’t matter if she hates me. My feelings for Seugal haven’t changed. Even if she dislikes me, I will continue liking her.”
“…Why?”
“Why?”
“What exactly makes you like Seugal so much? You know her character isn’t good now. She pretends to be nice to your face but behind your back, she treats people horribly.”
“Why do you like her…?”
“Seugal has always been popular. She used to be really kind, but suddenly she changed. I don’t know why, but…I think we need to speak out when we have something to say…”
Gripping the hem of her skirt, Bangdaengi Baek Yeo-ul seemed to be having trouble expressing herself.
It’s hard to open up. While Baek Yeo-ul was pondering, I reflected on why I liked Seugal.
“Why do I like Seugal? She’s beautiful, with ruby-like red eyes. I like the color red.”
“…”
Did my answer disappoint her? Baek Yeo-ul pursed her lips and frowned.
# # #
Upon getting home, Baek Yeo-ul buried her face in the pillow and cried her heart out.
Even though her makeup and snot smeared the pillow, she couldn’t care less.
“I couldn’t even say a word!”
When she had decided to join the building party, she had sworn to herself to toughen up. No matter what happened, she wanted to confront and overcome.
Yet, when the glares and criticisms were aimed at her, memories of old traumas surfaced, and she couldn’t utter a sound.
Recollections of being humiliated at a party due to Seugal.
She wanted to exact a satisfying revenge, but once again, Baek Yeo-ul merely trembled.
Instead, the usually worst-off guy, Chang-sik Hanamjin, revealed some of the words she had long wanted to say to everyone, even though it was only a little.
‘Why is he so confident?’
Is he not afraid of being hated by everyone?
As she stared at the expensive designer bag she borrowed from her mom, wondering what she should do next,
She remembered how the boy had stepped in to offer fake shoes to save her when people insulted her bag for being too countrified.
When she was attacked by model Jeon So-mi, Hanamjin stepped in as if it was his own battle and bore the shame and insult for her instead.
‘Why did he do that? …Could he like me?’
No, that shouldn’t be the case. Hanamjin had unabashedly proclaimed his love for Seugal everywhere.
Seugal was a nasty girl who was popular with people.
A genuinely nasty girl.
Why then does Hanamjin like such a person?
“Because she’s pretty? Is that all?”
Though she didn’t know why, Baek Yeo-ul felt slightly irritated.
With herself? With Seugal? With Hanamjin? Although she wasn’t sure exactly who she was angry at, she decided that she couldn’t stay like this.
“I need to change too.”
But how should she change?
Baek Yeo-ul imagined what kind of person she should become.
Today, the image of the self-assured VIP boys who didn’t flinch in front of her emerged in her mind.
Honestly, Baek Yeo-ul didn’t think she could change to that extent, but—
“At least I should change my appearance.”
Baek Yeo-ul picked up a brush and started painting the logo of a luxury brand onto her old school bag.
The shoddy but somehow endearing imitation designer bag was quickly finished.
“Whether it’s fake or real doesn’t matter. If I think it’s real, then it becomes real, right? Everything depends on how I perceive it!”
An epiphany bubbled in her mind like soda.
Now, she felt confident that she could get used to the concept of “misfortune.”
Silently, quietly.
Everyone asleep, she rose from her bed and rummaged through her mom’s drawers.
She pulled out a bottle of hair dye.
She didn’t even know what color it was.
Squeezing it into a bowl, Baek Yeo-ul spread the thick and sticky dye onto her hair in the dark room, her scalp tingling as the strong chemical touched her hair. But strangely, it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.
She thought it would be nice if her hair turned red like ruby.
But when she checked after washing her hair, the result was—
“Kyaaah!”
# # #
“Hanamjin, my friend, tell me that I did nothing wrong. Tell me it was right for me to leave the comforting embrace of the young ladies and escape the building’s party with you!”
Chang-sik was lost in thoughts of distress and misery on his way home.
I had no choice but to awaken him to the cruel reality.
“The girls sitting next to you all had engagement rings on. They had boyfriends and enjoyed tormenting you. You get it, right?”
“…Urgh.”
Chang-sik was genuinely sad. Knowing well how sorrowful it is to be rejected and mocked by women, I sincerely consoled him.
“Hey, take this.”
Sshh.
I pulled out about ten bottle caps from the collection I’d gathered today and handed them to Chang-sik. Primarily, they were crown caps from beer or tasty cola bottles.
Honestly, it was a bit wasteful to give these even to Chang-sik.
“It’s fine. We have plenty at my place.”
But Chang-sik refused my goodwill. There were lots of bottle caps at his house?
I wanted to hear more about that, but Chang-sik trudged up the bus and boarded.
Now, only I remained.
I looked up absently at the night sky. The full moon was shining brightly.
The party in the headquarters should end around midnight. When everyone has left, it would be the perfect time to implement the abduction plan.
I needed to maximize the use of my 《Leap》 abilities. I might even have to risk my life. Since the topic came up, maybe I should do a trial run?
I headed to a nearby park to warm up. Earlier during the “special class,” I had brainstormed ways to strengthen my 《Leap》 abilities while going through yoga and meditation, and now was the time to put it into practice.
“Leap isn’t really running. It’s more like jumping.”
Pfft.
I jumped lightly, propelling myself about two meters into the air. Honestly, it’s not satisfying.
“Jump! Jump!”
As I jumped around the park like Mario chasing mushrooms, I sensed someone approaching me.
It was a woman in a hoodie and dolphin pants. She had long, slender legs, and the area around her chest beneath the hoodie was notably prominent.
“Are you, Yoo Geum…?”
“No.”
“Ah! Right! It’s Yoo Gu-reum, right? Something related to a natural environment?”
“Yu Yeo-reum.”
Ah, that was her name. The Yu Yeo-reum in Class F, renowned as a prodigy despite the elite group’s emphasis on background. According to Taeseong, she’s someone even Seugal bows to in terms of ability.
There she was under the lamplight, exuding a radiant health aura. Probably out jogging, I thought. But then she asked me,
“What are you doing? I saw you jumping.”
“Ability development.”
“Ah—. You’re trying to elevate the level of your concept, huh? Let me give you a tip?”
“Tip?”
“The concept comes from powerful desires. And the primary fuel for wielding this power is emotion—hatred, jealousy, aspiration, fear. These emotions are our power sources.”
Ssh.
Yu Yeo-reum looked at me from beneath her hoodie, scanning me from head to toe.
“In your case, it seems like ‘anger.’ You draw power from anger when you use your ability, right? You must have been through an event that made you outrageously angry, that’s why you gained the concept that day.”
“Anger? Me?”
“I know, because I do too. Whatever it was, some event made you angry enough to gain the concept. Reflect on those emotions from that day.”
Anger. Was the emotion I felt the day I obtained 《Leap》 anger?
I didn’t know. Was I terribly angry that day?
“I train every evening at this ‘Central Park.’ If you have any questions about strengthening your concept, come and ask me.”
The hoodie girl, Yu Yeo-reum, showed me great kindness. It suddenly occurred to me why she was helping me so much. I knew better than anyone that there’s no such thing as free help.
“Why are you helping me? Do you like me?”
In response to my question, Yu Yeo-reum took off her hoodie. It revealed her neatly tied-back hair and a face of striking beauty with distinctively thick features.
Slightly tanned? Her skin seemed to have been evenly sun-kissed in the summer sun.
If I hadn’t met Seugal first, this girl might have been my first love.
As that thought crossed my mind, Yu Yeo-reum opened her lips.
“I—.”
“Sorry! I already have someone I like!”
