061 – Hiding a Tree in the Forest
The police thoroughly searched our house, the house next door, the house in front, and the house behind.
They said they had to investigate because someone had reported something.
I don’t know what they were looking for, but it was futile.
There was nothing suspicious around this house.
Actually, Seugal and Yu Yeo-reum were here at some point ─ but that’s in the past tense now.
How did it happen, you ask?
Let me backtrack a little.
After finding out through Jeon Somi and Jang Hyun-ah that Jin Eun-byul’s birthday party was happening, I immediately returned home without wasting any time.
I had something I had to do since I had obtained the “Shrinking Cage.”
Thus, I arrived at the basement.
“Hey, why are you so late?” Seugal snapped at me as usual.
Yu Yeo-reum was trembling under the blanket wrapped tightly around her.
What could have happened?
It’s clear that something occurred, but I don’t have a clue what it was.
But, what’s important now is something else.
It’s moving you two to a new place using the “Shrinking Cage.”
“Heheh, Illuwalit!”
“Ahh! What are you doing!”
I reached out and put Seugal inside the cage, then did the same to Yu Yeo-reum curled up under the blanket.
“What is this!”
The confused Seugal and Yu Yeo-reum, now shrunk to a tenth of their original size, flailed around rather adorably.
“I feel like swallowing them whole!”
I neatly stowed the cage with its contents into my bag and headed toward the Great Labyrinth.
The entrance guard, who was stationed there, recognized me upon seeing me.
“Ah, Hanamjin, right? You’ve been here quite a few times today already.”
“Got to work hard if I want to do well on my midterms.”
“That’s right.”
With that, I entered the Great Labyrinth and headed toward the “Fairy Princess Room.”
I released the cage in that room and let Yu Yeo-reum and Seugal out.
“Hey! What is this all about!”
Seugal was furious, and Yu Yeo-reum too seemed irritated, but then closed her mouth without uttering a word.
She must be mad to the point her voice fails her.
“Staying in the basement is reaching its limit, so I’ve moved where you’ll be staying. This place is part of the Great Labyrinth, and since not many people know about it, it’ll be good for you girls to stay hidden.”
It was a problem that I approached Seo Do-cheol not too long ago.
Since I was overtly showing hostility toward President Seo Do-cheol, they must have started investigating me as well.
If I were in their position, I’d do the same.
They might have sent people to search the house at any moment.
If that were the case, it wouldn’t take long for them to find out that Seugal and Yu Yeo-reum are hiding in the basement next door.
Therefore, I needed to move the girls from their current location as soon as possible.
The question was how to relocate them without anyone noticing.
Just then, I obtained the “Shrinking Cage.”
Perfect timing!
It had to be the goddess of luck smiling upon me.
“Anyway, this place will be your home for the time being.”
Upon hearing my explanation, Seugal rubbed her stocking-covered feet over the grass.
Having moved from the cold stone floor to the soft grass and flower-filled space, her expression brightened significantly.
“Hmph, whatever. I like it, it’s spacious.”
Compared to the cramped storage room-like previous basement, this space was as wide as a two-bedroom apartment.
Instead of the pungent smell of dogs, there was the refreshing fragrance of flowers.
Even a bathroom was attached.
It might even be too spacious for just the two of them.
Plenty of room to add furniture.
“So, Yeo-reum, why are you hiding under that blanket? Are you cold?”
“A maiden must not show her skin too freely to a man.”
Oh? That’s actually correct.
But knowing how usually uncaring Yeo-reum is, revealing her underarms or stomach without thinking twice, made it seem out of character.
What could Seugal have done while I wasn’t there?
“Seugal, what happened?”
“Haha! I made Yeo-reum modest. I gave her the concept of ‘modesty.'”
“Of course, my beloved Seugal understands these things! Any woman should have a modest side!”
“… Yeo-reum became modest, but why do you seem so happy about it? I’m annoyed! Once a concept is given, it can’t be taken back! This is irritating!”
After roughly moving everything, I returned to my house alone and went to bed when the police arrived.
Bang bang bang!
The timing was so perfect that I couldn’t help but wonder.
“What was reported?”
“There was an anonymous tip saying strange lights and sounds were coming from your house. As we must respond to reports like this, we apologize for any inconvenience.”
“The neighbor didn’t find anything but this cloud-like thing. What is this? A doll?” — …
The police were busy feeling and shaking the soft cloud-like Yining. Yining, pretending to be a doll, cleverly remained silent. Making cooing noises here could lead to police drawing their guns and chaos ensuing.
“What kind of doll is this? It smells nice… hmm…”
If we keep this up, Yining’s true identity as a demon beast will be exposed.
There’s nothing to do but…
“Officer Ma’am, that’s my cushion. Please give it here.”
“H-H-Huh?!”
After the policewoman, who was sniffing Yining, was startled and threw Yining on the floor,
the officers left without finding anything.
“Anonymous. Transparent. Transparent.”
It must have been Seo Do-cheol or someone connected to him trying to harm me.
If I hadn’t moved Seugal and Yeo-reum to the “Princess Room,” what would have happened?
I might have had to turn the police into enemies.
It would have been quite troublesome.
“d*mn, I’m so lucky!”
…
After moving to their new home, Seugal looked around everywhere. She found the feeling of stepping on the grass, laid out like a carpet, fresh and much better than before, and the sweet-smelling flowers were everywhere.
‘For some reason, it feels slightly weird…’
There were bathrooms and various pieces of furniture like a vanity.
Seugal guessed this place might have been “a woman’s room,” possibly a very young or young woman’s.
“Still, how can grass and flowers grow inside?”
While absentmindedly looking at the ceiling, Seugal managed to alleviate some of her curiosity.
Across the large room’s ceiling, beautiful jewels were embedded, emitting light that felt like a small warm sun.
Seugal mentally named the jewels “Sunstones.”
Then she glanced at Yeo-reum, thinking if the “Sunstones” might have an impact on Yeo-reum’s “photosynthesis.”
It’s a plausible hypothesis.
Yeo-reum seemed to be in much better condition than before, mimicking yoga poses.
It even seemed like her “solar battery” had grown a little larger.
‘If Yeo-reum regains her strength, I won’t be able to bully her one-sidedly.’
The real issue wasn’t Yeo-reum at all.
She tried touching the flower-covered door, but it didn’t budge.
‘With this, I can’t just escape freely.’
In reality, Seugal had planned to end this ridiculous abduction and escape if needed.
She could easily break her shackles and flee.
In a manner of speaking, her captivity with Hanamjin was merely a temporary amusement.
But now?
She’s actually imprisoned in this bizarre chamber.
Though she can escape, the thought of not doing so voluntarily…
That’s akin to being unable to escape.
These two mental states have fundamentally different roots.
Seugal felt suffocated and began to feel a bit fearful.
What if I never get out like this?
What if people forget about me?
What if I spend my life here as a toy for this perverted kidnapper?
Bang bang bang!
The fear that had been suppressed for several days began to resurface.
To Seugal, Yeo-reum said,
“Seugal, your heart rate is rapidly increasing. Calm down.”
“What? You know my heart rate?”
Surprised by the unexpected word, Seugal turned her head to see Yeo-reum’s eyes sparkling with an unusual green light.
“How do you know my heart rate?”
“It seems like I’ve recently acquired something I’ve been aiming for, thanks to the ‘modesty’ concept you gave me, calming my mind.”
For a long time, Yeo-reum had been researching in the lab, conducting secret and unethical experiments to achieve her third awakening.
It was an effort that required a lot of sacrifices.
But progress had stalled, as if facing a big obstacle.
However, since entering this “Flower Room,” Yeo-reum gained confidence that she could overcome the wall surrounding her.
“Remember Dr. Wi Seon-a, the special training instructor? She once said that the Great Labyrinth has substances in the air that amplify and strengthen the concepts of awakened ones.”
Yeo-reum’s researchers referred to the substances affecting awakened ones as “Mana.”
They were known as elements that allowed magic in novels and games.
And this room seemed rich in “Mana.”
Thanks to this, Yeo-reum acquired the “X-ray vision” concept.
It meant she could tell how much Seugal’s heart rate was going “thump thump.”
“You crazy perverted girl! Why are you looking at my heart!”
Seugal covered her chest with her hands, her face turning red.
She felt like she was completely exposed in front of Yeo-reum.
“Eventually, you were also scared of being kidnapped, right?”
“What? That’s not! It’s not!”
“It’s natural to be afraid of a kidnapper. There’s no need to be embarrassed. Especially when the kidnapper is a man and the hostage is a woman, the probability of a perverted incident increases.”
Of course, Hanamjin didn’t do anything perverted.
He simply said he would train Seugal.
Ironically, that could be considered more perverted.
Why was Hanamjin doing such things?
“Seugal, why were you abducted in the first place?”
The kidnapping of Seugal was the starting point of everything.
“How should I know? I don’t. I really don’t!”
“That sounds like a lie, though.”
Seugal now closed her mouth.
Having spent a few days with Seugal, Yeo-reum didn’t expect an honest answer.
After quite some time had passed and Yeo-reum repeated yoga poses a few times,
“Because… I thought I was a princess. More accurately, I wanted to be a princess.”
“…”
A princess? What does that have to do with being kidnapped?
As Yeo-reum internally felt a subtle sensation, Seugal glanced around.
This place was full of flowers and grass, resembling a princess’s room.
It felt like all the dreams Seugal had as a child were here.
“In movies and fairy tales, don’t princesses usually get married to handsome princes? I wanted to do the same, so that’s why I ended up being kidnapped.”
Dreaming of a fairy-tale princess life led to her being kidnapped.
It still didn’t make much sense.
“Our dad said he’d help me accomplish my dream, and he did all sorts of things. You’ve probably heard of the engagement talks between me and Nam Tae-geon, the president’s grandson, haven’t you? That was all dad’s doing.”
“Nam Tae-geon’s grandson…?”
The current president, Nam Tae-geon, had numerous granddaughters and grandsons.
Jin Eun-byul of the Samjin Group was one, and Nam San-ho was another.
“Talks of engagement between you and Nam San-ho?”
Yeo-reum had met Nam San-ho a few times.
Because their fathers were friends, they occasionally met during gatherings or banquets.
He didn’t leave a good impression.
There were many rumors about his relationships with women.
“Nam San-ho disappeared during the N-Mart incident, didn’t he?”
The president’s grandson got caught up in arson by a crazy awakened one and disappeared — it was the trigger for the “Awakened Control Act,” which passed unanimously as a human rights violation.
“Nam San-ho didn’t disappear actually. He fell down the stairs and broke his neck.”
Seugal’s story made Yeo-reum’s eyes widen.
There were many things that didn’t add up.
But it didn’t seem like she was lying if judged by the heart rate.
“How do you know Nam San-ho’s neck was broken?”
“I was at N-Mart that day, two hours before the fire started.”
