045 – Four Steps Back to Move One Step Forward
Yining’s cloud-like body was as cool as a chilled pillow.
While it might feel a little cold in winter, it was perfect to hold during the increasingly hot weather.
Seugal used Yining like a pillow and placed it behind the unconscious male student’s head.
Guii-ing.
Steam rose.
The male student’s forehead was so hot it could likely fry an egg.
“What happened to him to get this hurt?”
Seugal used the concept of “Restoration” acquired from breaking chains to heal the wounds on the male student’s stomach and thighs.
Since it was a newly manifested concept, its grade was low, making a full recovery impossible. Still, it was better than leaving the wounds untreated.
“…”
In reality, the male student’s expression significantly softened, becoming more bearable.
It was then that Seugal became slightly irritated.
“Why should I be the one to nurse you?”
Seugal pulled on the male student’s nose in different directions to vent her anger but instead thought it was for the best that he showed no signs of waking up.
“Looking at this, he’ll probably be out cold for about a day.”
With a crack, Seugal broke the chains bound around her hands and returned to the ground.
The dim night sky felt strangely unfamiliar.
Even the humid warmth of the wind carrying the scent of summer and the sounds of insects crying everywhere seemed alien, evoking a strange feeling.
The sensation of stepping on the desolate yard with her bare feet was unusually vivid and amusing.
All these things were the kind she wouldn’t normally have noticed. She usually didn’t care about such trivial details like how insects chirp or what seasons exist between spring and summer.
Seugal thought she felt like a newborn baby. Had her former self died in that basement, and had she been reborn?
She chuckled at the silly joke, the kind she wouldn’t have made a few months ago, as she entered the house she had always imagined – the male student’s home.
Creak, creak.
She was surprised twice: first by the wooden floor in the living room and then by how incredibly messy the scattered items were.
“Wow, people really live in places like this?”
While marveling at this thought, Seugal’s eyes landed on a family photo hanging in a frame.
“Wow, the mom is beautiful, but this guy doesn’t look anything like her.”
Even by Seugal’s harsh standards of appearance, the woman in the picture was beautiful. Thinking about how this family once lived noisily together in this house, she entered the male student’s room.
It was hard to imagine that this was the room of a notorious kidnapper. It was just an ordinary room.
If you categorized Korean male students from top to bottom and picked the one exactly in the middle, it would look just like this.
An old bed, a computer, a bookshelf – plain and simple.
“What is this?”
Seugal retracted her earlier judgment that the room was ordinary.
The books on Hanamjin’s bookshelf were peculiar.
「The Little Prince」
「The Little Prince」
「The Little Prince」
「The Little Prince」
“Why did he buy so many copies of the same book? Is he some kind of weirdo?”
Even though the different books had varying covers and publishers, they still defied Seugal’s comprehension.
“Did reading ‘The Little Prince’ move him that much?”
Suddenly, Seugal realized she had never read “The Little Prince.”
Though Seugal was good at studying, she didn’t enjoy reading books.
“That guy once told me something about being like the prince’s rose.”
Taking advantage of her rare free time, Seugal decided to read the book. Since reading alone might be boring, she headed to the bathroom to fill the bathtub and decided to have a bath at the same time.
Daaaah.
Immersing herself in the warm water, starting from her toes and slowly moving upward, she felt all her fatigue and irritation wash away.
“Who knew bathing could be such a pleasant experience?”
If she escaped the kidnapping and returned to her normal life, she thought she could enjoy such a nice bath every day.
But Seugal quickly dismissed this thought.
This happiness ironically came from deprivation, absurdity, and unreasonable restrictions. She wouldn’t experience such joys in vast freedom and indulgence.
Seugal understood this well, and it made her angry.
To calm her frustration, she focused on the printed words in front of her.
The book was still uninteresting.
# # #
“Is he okay?”
Baek Yeo-ul felt a twinge of worry as she looked at the empty seat beside her for the second day in a row. It had been two days since the boy’s battle with the class president.
Baek Yeo-ul’s partner, high schooler Hanamjin, hadn’t come to school. His injuries must have been painful.
‘I should probably check on him today.’
As Baek Yeo-ul thought this, she glanced around the classroom. After the truth about the terrifying class president somehow spread, the atmosphere was different from before.
“…”
“…”
The students now realized how dangerous each other could be and became guarded.
Fear and distrust filled their gazes.
The dark sides of once-popular classmates had left deep scars on the already-sensitive minds of the students.
Baek Yeo-ul wondered what things would have been like if Hanamjin were here. He would have ignored others’ opinions and cheered everyone up with his laughter and chatter.
“Chang-sik and Deoksun seem suddenly busy too.”
Baek Yeo-ul never really liked school.
Because of Seugal’s bullying, she wished every day that the school would collapse. Yet, recently, school had become so fun that her eyes would naturally open every Monday morning.
Her amusement was the new student who transferred in one spring day.
She thought there was nothing else she could do.
If she visited Hanamjin’s house and took care of him, she might be able to convince him to come back to school sooner.
“He’ll probably be happy if I go.”
Baek Yeo-ul couldn’t help but smile foolishly at the thought of the boy lying in bed, bored, and excitedly welcoming her visit.
“Mu-rung-hooht!”
Gasp! Baek Yeo-ul quickly covered her mouth, surprised at her own strange laugh.
It was the backlash from her growing control over her “Misfortune” concept.
Anyway, Baek Yeo-ul decided she would visit the boy after school ended.
And so, after school…
Baek Yeo-ul walked through the alleys she was beginning to get used to, passed some familiar walls, arrived at the boy’s house, and stepped inside.
And then—
“Jin-ah, if you eat this, you’ll get better soon. Let me feed you.”
Baek Yeo-ul was stunned to see the boy in bed struggling with a girl who seemed terrifying.
Especially the girl.
“Yoo, Yu Yeo-reum!”
She couldn’t understand why Yu Yeo-reum was here in Hanamjin’s house, and why she was feeding him gruel with a spoon.
“B-Bangdaengi! You came just in time! Save me! She’s trying to k*ll me! Guaah!”
The boy was flailing and screaming. Quickly, Baek Yeo-ul dashed over and hid Hanamjin behind her back.
“Wh-What are you doing?”
“I’m just making food for him.”
“Food?”
Baek Yeo-ul looked at the pot in Yu Yeo-reum’s hands and almost fainted at the grotesque ingredients inside.
“W-What is this even made of?”
“Vitamins, protein, eel, and dried centipedes—”
Baek Yeo-ul felt a chill at the pot’s contents. It was more terrifying than when her mom gave a lecture on making “Solitary Poison.”
“Doing this for two days after being treated for pain.”
For some reason, Yu Yeo-reum was making nursing visits after school to my house, but, honestly, it was as if I were dying.
First of all, Yu Yeo-reum couldn’t cook at all.
“Jin-ah, the problem is you’re too weak. You need to eat this and grow stronger. All these are good for your body.”
“Yeorum, have you ever eaten something like this?”
“No, I haven’t eaten food since obtaining the concept of ‘Photosynthesis.’ Can I even eat…?”
“Hey! If you can’t eat it, how could Hanamjin? Hanamjin, today’s dinner is on me! Trust me! Let’s throw away this trash. Throw away the whole pot!”
For some reason, Bangdaengi Baek Yeo-ul also came to my house and started shouting like an angry raccoon. Of course, Yu Yeo-reum, who was sturdy and agile like a black puma, didn’t feel threatened by Bangdaengi at all.
I had no choice. If I stayed like this, there wouldn’t be an end.
I grabbed the pot and gulped down its entire content.
Wasting food goes against my motto.
“Great! Clean plate!”
“Hanamjin, you must be in terrible pain from eating that. Are you still sane?”
“I’ll make this again tomorrow.”
Baek Yeo-ul was shocked looking at me, and Yu Yeo-reum nodded with satisfaction as she watched me, even patting my back like a volleyball player hitting my spine.
Anyway, I was feeling uneasy because of the unexpected girl visits. If they find out Seugal is in the basement next door—
No, conversely, if Seugal learns about their existence—
Fortunately, Seugal didn’t seem to notice the chaos upstairs and remained calm.
In fact, Seugal has been unusually calm these past few days.
Just not honest.
A few days ago, I distinctly remembered important evidence being in my bag before I collapsed. After I regained consciousness, it had vanished mysteriously.
This evidence was acquired from Section Leader Jeong Yi-seon’s secret base and proved the connection between the N Mart incident and Seonam Group.
“Document? I know nothing about it. Did Ining eat it?”
Why would gourmet Ining eat documents?
It’s clearly Seugal’s doing, but her continued denial made further questioning meaningless.
The problem is that Section Leader Jeong Yi-seon’s secret base, where the photo was obtained, was now completely burned down.
There were all sorts of information there, but when I revisited it, it was completely on fire.
“Who-Who!”
Suddenly, a strange sound was heard nearby.
To my knowledge of “The Little Prince,” this was unmistakably the sound of a red fox. What would make a fox’s sound in a neighborhood of abandoned houses?
“Seugal! Seugal must be messing around right now!”
The problem was that Bangdaengi Baek Yeo-ul, who was confronting Yu Yeo-reum, reacted sensitively upon hearing this sound.
“Did you hear that sound? That wasn’t a cat, it was definitely a fox. Can foxes live around here?”
Hmm, how does she know this is a fox’s sound? Bangdaengi Baek Yeo-ul keeps surprising me every time I see her.
Onion.
The more you peel, the more layers there are.
“We need to catch the fox!”
Patt!
Bangdaengi, holding chopsticks, dashed off somewhere. Yu Yeo-reum watched her and quietly chuckled, which is a rare sight.
“I’ve decided to be deployed for the exploration and elimination of the ‘Villains’ starting tomorrow. I was planning to reconsider a little more, but your fight with the ‘Judge’ made me have some realizations.”
“Realizations?”
“I need to use my power in the right place. I want to use the power I have properly. I can’t hide forever because it’s dangerous.”
If Yu Yeo-reum gets into trouble again as a result of the Villains battle, it’ll be the worst-case scenario given the postponed kidnapping plan.
No choice but to move the plan up.
“If you have time tonight, would you join me? I’ve been lying down too long, so I want to patrol the neighborhood as part of my rehabilitation, but I don’t feel comfortable going out alone.”
“Tonight? Is this like asking me out on a date?”
Yu Yeo-reum chuckled as if hearing an amusing story. Given that she isn’t outright refusing, my handsome face must be helping.
As such, once the evening came after both Yu Yeo-reum and Bangdaengi had disappeared, I prepared for a rare outing and visited Seugal in the basement.
“You’re looking great, huh? The girls visiting and nursing you feels good, huh? You talked about loving me like a rose, didn’t you? But I guess any girl works for you, right?”
Today’s Seugal was pricklier than ever over these past few days.
I told her,
“The kidnapping of Yeo-reum is today. The roommate will be coming, so you should know that.”
“… So suddenly?”
So suddenly—
Certainly, as Seugal pointed out, it feels rather abrupt. But isn’t life itself a series of impromptu decisions?
And unexpected timing is, after all, the greatest opportunity for a kidnapper.
