028 – The Hero’s Obsession with Villains #3
By sacrificing two precious beads temporarily, I managed to extract two pieces of information from Seugal.
A perfect 2-for-2 trade.
This is capitalism.
“So, first things first, why don’t you explain why you were marked as ‘on leave’?”
“I don’t know.”
Seugal crossed her arms and adopted a completely dismissive stance.
It felt like the sacrificed beads were shedding tears.
“Hey, didn’t you promise to be honest with me?”
“Don’t know.”
“Hey, come on now. If you’re going to keep saying that, you need to apologize to my sacrificed beads!”
With a whoosh, I stripped off my school trousers and showed her my tiger-patterned underwear.
When Seugal’s eyes met the gaze of the tiger on my underwear, she trembled like a hunted fox.
“Ah, d*mn it, that tiger print underwear again! Would you change it already? Is this all you’ve got?”
“Nope. Apologize, now.”
Either apologize to my beads or provide the information truthfully.
Seugal only had two options.
After exchanging prolonged stares with my tiger, Seugal eventually sighed deeply, as if drawing the breath from the bottom of her soul.
“Hmph…I don’t know why I was put on leave either. I’d like to understand what goes on in my father’s mind too. His daughter was kidnapped by a freak, yet he marked it as ‘leave’? sh*t, what the hell. Don’t joke around like that.”
With her jaw clenched so tightly it seemed her molars might crack, Seugal appeared neither playful nor dishonest.
Of course, no one can tell lies in front of my ‘Truthful Tiger.’
“d*mn!”
Seugal continued her harsh verbal attacks on her father. However, when she asked when we’d proceed with capturing Yu Yeo-reum, it seemed she had another agenda.
“Anyway, when are you planning to capture Yu Yeo-reum? It’d be better to hurry, you know. She’ll likely be deployed into combat soon. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if she dies.”
“What? d*e?”
“The Billionaires have many challenging Concept Holders among them. Our seniors, with far more combat experience… Even Yu Yeo-reum might struggle against that kind of opposition.”
Swish-swish-swish, Seugal rubbed her stocking-clad foot against my shin.
“Initially, I was supposed to support her in the battle. But alas, because of some weird pervert, I’m locked in this basement, meaning Yu Yeo-reum has to face the Awakeneds alone. Can someone else replace me and offer the same level of support?”
In other words, there’s a real chance that Yu Yeo-reum could either d*e or sustain critical injuries in this upcoming battle.
Though someone might dismiss this as laughable, it didn’t feel like a joke to me. After all, I only heard the name Yeo-reum after coming to this school.
Her name did not exist in the future world I remembered as the “Supernova.” If Yeo-reum was supposed to shine like the August sun, surpassing all others, her absence must have been due to some valid reason.
…Could Yeo-reum actually d*e?
If that’s the case, then my agreement with Seugal—wherein she would assist in my training if I captured Yeo-reum—would fall apart.
“Let’s think. We need to think.”
As Yu Yeo-reum is set for deployment starting next Monday, then I only have Saturday and Sunday remaining.
That should be plenty of time to make rice cakes, eat, and even fight.
Toduk-toduk.
I decided to summon the “No Leftovers Day” group chat on my smartphone.
This is why group chats exist, especially for these kinds of situations.
「We’re looking for party members to beat up villains around our neighborhood tomorrow.」
# # #
“Good grief, you eat well.”
-Gurk-
Deep into the night.
Yining was enthusiastically devouring the noodles I had vigorously boiled.
Slurp, slurp, slurp, slurp—her vigorous eating made me feel hungry just by watching.
“Eat up. You need to eat while you can.”
In a year, this kind of ramen might become a luxury item costing ten bottle caps per pack. Yet, Seugal rejected these delicious noodles without appreciation.
“I’m not eating it!”
“Hey, not eating might harm your health!”
“Give me something normal, please! Not this kind of dog food!”
Dog food? That’s harsh.
In the post-apocalyptic world, how many people were unable to eat even such food?
But was it different for Seugal? After all, she was a Supernova who operated with her base in the last shelter of Korea, the only city that maintained its functionality.
I lived in a scrapyard outside the city, unable to afford citizenship, but I heard that people inside the towering walls enjoyed warm baths, ate food made from unpolluted ingredients, could light their rooms at night with electricity, and even rested on clean beds. They even had partial access to medical facilities, making the city essentially the last paradise in a collapsed world.
I used to love watching the last lights of the city center from the rooftop of a scrapyard shack, dreaming of one day gathering enough bottle caps to enter.
And yet look at me now.
I’ve moved beyond the shelter into a warm and cozy home, all thanks to Seugal, my goddess.
“The food is good enough. What I need now is a bath.”
“Bath? You don’t need one.”
Seugal had acquired the new concept of being a “Gentle Lady” due to her excessive desire for cleanliness. Therefore, despite being confined here, far from the cleanliness she desired, her body emitted not an unpleasant odor but a sweet fragrance of green apples.
Sniff, sniff.
“Why are you sniffing, you freak!!! Anyway, this is a matter of mood. Even if you know my body isn’t dirty, taking a bath refreshes me! And while I’m bathing, you need to stay outside the bathroom!”
The water supply in the neighboring house was cut off. If I wanted to bathe Seugal, I’d have to bring her to my house. Was she really asking me to stay outside my own bathroom door while she bathed?
For some reason, it filled me with dread.
“Hey, you pervert. Didn’t you say yourself that we’re going to see each other often? Wouldn’t it be better for us to cooperate and become closer? Taking a bath isn’t that difficult, right? Isn’t it?”
Seugal had a valid point.
Given her high likelihood of becoming manic and escaping the basement, I had no choice but to decline firmly.
“Let’s wait for the next full moon to take a bath. When your strength wanes.”
“…”
Seugal frowned deeply.
「Name: Seugal (Female)
Owned Concepts: Expand details
Condition: 《Dissatisfied》 – Becomes upset due to things not going her way. She will not talk to you for the next two days.」
She’s completely sulking now.
Since she’s in this mood, I thought I’d offer her a gift to console her, something I originally intended to give as a commemorative item for her next manifested concept.
“You’ve seen those call buttons at restaurants, haven’t you? There’s one here. You press this button, it’ll trigger a bell in my house where I can come if you need anything.”
It’s called a “Call Bell”, but Seugal either refuses to hear it or protests by turning her back on me, quickly lying down on the mattress as if to ignore all.
# # #
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong…
f*ck, I can’t sleep because the “Call Bell” installed in my room is constantly ringing. It’s all because Seugal spent the entire night pressing the bell.
The problem? Every time I go see her and ask, “Do you need anything?” she pretends to have no idea and refuses to respond, turning her back on me.
When I return home, about five minutes pass before the bell rings again: Ding-dong-dong-dong…
Ding-dong-ding-dong-ding-dong…
This won’t do. I installed this call bell out of goodwill, and now it’s being abused?
I decided to give her a little “loving slap” on the thigh as a warning and headed out to her room.
“Hey! Hanamjin! Why are you so late? How many times have I pressed the doorbell!”
“Surely this moment wasn’t when you woke up, was it? You were the one who called to fight villains!”
“…”
Turns out, the people outside weren’t Seugal but Bangdaengi and her friends, standing right in front of my house.
The bell sounds must be similar, confusing me. I should adjust the tone when I have time.
The problem now is that Bangdaengi and her friends pushed their way into my house.
“Hey! Hanamjin! You didn’t have breakfast yet, right? I brought tteokbokki from our fridge!”
Bang-Bang!
Bangdaengi entered my house as if it were her own, heading to the kitchen. She started boiling water in a pot along with some sauce but for some reason, thick black smoke started billowing from the pot.
“KYAAAH!!!”
It must have stung her eyes, as she scrunched up her face and screamed. For some reason, she seemed to be getting stranger each time I saw her.
Anyway, I was uneasy about having friends in my home right now since my neighbor Seagal might hear the commotion. Given that she hasn’t hit the “Call Bell” or started her “Groaning Attack,” she probably fell asleep after her nightly antics.
But if they keep making noise, she might wake up.
“Hey, it smells! All of you, get out! You’ll suffocate in here!”
Quickly turning off the blackening pot, I led everyone out of the house. The unfortunate incident with Bangdaengi’s cooking turned out to be a stroke of luck for me. Bangdaengi scratched the back of her head awkwardly, seemingly coming back to her senses.
“It… it’s strange. When I cook alone at home, it turns out fine.”
Moving to the nearest park,
We bought instant noodles from a nearby convenience store and enjoyed our meal.
Since we’re all done eating, I should bring up the topic now.
“Where’s Taesung?”
“Taesung couldn’t come because he’s working part-time jobs like he said in the chat.”
“That guy is amazing, doing three part-time jobs on weekends!”
Was he?
I completely missed that message yesterday after my endless bell battle with Seugal.
“That’s why, friends, what was the point of gathering to fight villains?”
Ah, that’s right. They all gathered without knowing why exactly we met, just because I called them.
They were likely bored without friends on this pleasant Saturday, and it’s good timing.
“Let me explain why I called you all. There are empty houses near my place, and I wanted you to investigate if anyone’s illegally occupying them.”
“Understood, it’s a vigilante activity, right? I remember our seniors catching burglars and receiving commendations. I’ve heard they earned many items and even got access to ‘Relics’!”
“Relics? What are those?”
In response to Bangdaengi’s question, Deoksun, who knows more, kindly explained.
“Like Captain’s ‘Shearing Pen’, it refers to tools imbued with concepts. One can rent such items from the Treasure Exhibition if they own a ‘Night Brooch’…”
“If this external activity succeeds, we might obtain ‘Night Brooches’ like the class representative, gaining access to suitable relics from the Treasure Exhibition!”
“I’ve always wanted to do vigilante work! I want a concept-infused tool! Me too!”
Bangdaengi, Chang-sik, and even Deoksun showed more enthusiasm than I anticipated.
It was fortunate they were motivated without much persuasion, but should we not get carried away?
After all, I gathered everyone today primarily for investigation, not for eliminating threats.
“Let’s move in pairs. There might be dangerous individuals, so do not attack any illegal Awakeneds you see. Our job is purely ‘investigation’.”
We’ll first gather information about where the illegal Awakeneds reside, then later, I’ll clean them all up–.
This way, Yu Yeo-reum’s battle will go much smoother.
As a bonus, we’ll earn points and obtain ‘Night Brooches’ for relics, enhancing our combat strength.
How many birds can we really k*ll with one stone?
This isn’t just two-for-one; it’s more like a seven-or-eight-for-one!
I am truly a genius!
“T-T-Then, I’ll go to the left with Miss Deok-hee.”
“…”
Chang-sik paired up with Deok-hee first.
That leaves Bangdaengi.
“Hanamjin!!! Let me carry you!!”
I guess the key now is how Bangdaengi’s ‘Misfortune’ will affect our investigative mission.
