The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

The corpse of the monster had a small magic stone, mostly near its heart.

It was where the “concept” it possessed was embedded, so it was also called a “concept stone”.

“It should be around here somewhere.”

Schloop-.

As I dug into the dead dog’s corpse with my hands, everyone around gasped in shock and took a step back.

Ignoring them, I just focused on what I was doing.

I grabbed two tiny, pebble-sized stones in my hand.

“Got it! This is it. They’re small, but it’s both the ‘Eye’ and ‘Nose’.”

I felt really good because there was so much I could do with these, but everyone just stared at me with confused expressions.

“Nam-jin, are you okay? I can heal your injuries with my ability.”

After I finished my work, Geum Tae-sung asked me.

Of course, his face was scrunched up in disgust.

Probably because my body was covered in the monster’s filth.

“It’s hard to tell where you’re hurt like this.”

There couldn’t be anyone more unlucky than me at this school today.

But, in a strange way, I was a bit relieved.

After all, it wasn’t just the monster’s filth that was on me.

When Baek Yeoul kicked me in the groin, I wet myself.

If anyone found out about that, I would be teased as a bedwetter for the rest of my school life.

Thankfully, it seemed like no one had noticed, given the circumstances.

In a way, I was lucky.

Still, it would be best to erase the evidence quickly.

“Hey, you guys handle the cleanup. I’m going to wash up.”

I remembered there was a stream nearby.

I thought about going to the stream where Chang-sik stepped in dog poop to wash myself.

“Ugh, what’s that smell?”

“What is that! A monster?”

“Ga-eul! Be careful! There’s a monster!”

When I arrived at the stream, I wasn’t alone.

There were some students there wearing knight brooches.

They all had unfamiliar faces, so they must have been from Class F… wait, Class F? Ga-eul, be careful?

I looked at the faces of the girls, and my legs almost gave out.

Among them, I spotted the woman I had been desperately searching for.

“…Seo Ga-eul.”

There were no scars.

Her face looked a bit younger, but she was unmistakably my goddess, the savior of my life, Seo Ga-eul.

Who would have thought that I’d meet my love while coming to the stream to wash myself?

Could my terrible luck, which had me covered in filth, be turning into a blessing in disguise?

“Seo Ga-eul!”

I shouted and ran toward her.

While the girls of Class F screamed and pinched their noses, trying to avoid me, Seo Ga-eul just looked at me with a calm expression.

“It’s not a monster, but a student. Are you here to wash up?”

She smiled gently at me and pulled a handkerchief from her pocket.

“Use this. And also—.”

Swoosh.

Seo Ga-eul’s gaze shifted to my tiger-print underwear.

Her reddish eyes curved into a crescent shape.

“You should probably put on some pants.”

“Hey! Han Nam-jin!”

Paddap-!

At that moment, someone came rushing toward the stream.

Recognizing the familiar voice, I turned my head and saw Baek Yeoul waddling toward me from afar.

“What? It’s Baek Yeoul?”

“Ugh, how unlucky.”

The girls from Class F openly showed their dislike at the sight of Baek Yeoul.

It was to the point that their expressions matched the looks they gave me, covered in filth.

Only Seo Ga-eul greeted Baek Yeoul warmly.

“Yeoul, hello?”

“Huh? You, you are….”

“Are you doing well?”

To think that Seo Ga-eul, who was greeted by everyone, would also ask how Baek Yeoul, who was ostracized by everyone, was doing.

Seo Ga-eul was truly a kind girl.

Beautiful face, kind personality, perfect in every way!

She was someone destined to be my soulmate.

“Alright, everyone, let’s go.”

While Baek Yeoul awkwardly fidgeted, Seo Ga-eul, having finished her business, flipped her hair and walked off like a fairy.

The scent of her shampoo wafting in the breeze was lovely.

“I’m lucky.”

I brought the handkerchief that Seo Ga-eul had given me to my nose.

Mmm, that fragrant smell~.

“I can use the excuse of returning this handkerchief to talk to Seo Ga-eul. I’m lucky.”

“…Lucky? You’re looking at your current state and saying that?”

Baek Yeoul gave me a sharp look.

What’s wrong with how I look?

Just a bit dirty on the outside.

I had crawled through worse filth in sewers before, so this was nothing.

But I should still wash up.

Splash, splash-!

Kicking water in the stream felt refreshing.

I’d hunted a monster, got a handkerchief from Seo Ga-eul, and everything was going perfectly.

Why was everything going so well today?

Had the goddess of fortune finally smiled upon me?

Maybe─.

“Hey! Stop splashing water! Hey! I said stop splashing! Eww! Han Nam-jin! Ugh! Dirty water got into my mouth! Ew! Ptooey ptooey!”

But it’s definitely not her.

# # #

“I will now announce the results of the joint practical between Class F and Class D. The team with the most points is….”

At the end of the class, the captain sniffed the air as he stood in front of us in the schoolyard.

“Sniff sniff, don’t you smell something? Anyway. I’ll announce the team with the most points first. The team with the most points is Class F’s Team Summer.”

“Of course!”

“All that hard work paid off!”

Kyaa kyaa-.

The girls from Class F squealed.

Team Summer?

When I turned my head, I saw a tall girl in a hoodie being hugged by everyone.

“That’s Yoo Yeoreum. She’s the class president of Class F. She’s so skilled that she’s already considered an active explorer, even though she hasn’t graduated yet.”

Geum Tae-sung whispered this information to me without me even asking.

Yoo Yeoreum.

Yeoreum?

That name sounded familiar.

“I’ll now announce the second-place teams. Two teams have tied for second place. The first is Class F’s ‘Fallen Leaves’ team, and the second is none other than Class D’s ‘No Leftovers Day’.”

“Wow! We did it! We really did it!”

Choi Chang-sik waved his hands in excitement.

Other students’ gazes were all fixed on us, clearly surprised.

“Those guys? How did they….”

“Were they just lucky? Maybe they stumbled upon something with a concept?”

“No way. Can you be lucky with Baek Yeoul on your team?”

“…Maybe it was thanks to the transfer student?”

Yes, yes.

I could feel everyone’s attention on me!

Getting attention from people was such a thrilling feeling.

“…Ugh.”

Of course, there were those who didn’t enjoy the attention.

Like introverted and shy Oh Deok-soon.

“Deok-hee, you worked hard today. You’re a better dancer than I expected.”

Smack-.

Geum Tae-sung lightly patted the shy girl’s back.

Her cheeks flushed red like a traffic light.

“D-dance. Forget about it….”

“I’ll now announce the team that placed third. By the way, teams placing in the top three will receive small prizes, so you can look forward to that. And third place goes to─.”

The third-place team was also from Class F.

Class F swept all the points.

But it was a predictable outcome.

Class F entered the practice field first, so it was only natural for them to secure the best spots.

Could Moon Hyun-ah, the homeroom teacher of Class F, have committed some kind of fraud?

According to Geum Tae-sung, our Class D would be the first to enter in the next practice.

“Then will the team leaders come forward? Ms. Moon, please.”

As the teams with the best scores went forward to receive their prizes, Geum Tae-sung tapped my back.

“Nam-jin, go.”

“Me? You’re the leader.”

“I think it’s only right for you to be the leader. Honestly, without you, we would’ve just wasted time on that cliff and then returned.”

Well, if he put it that way, I didn’t mind being the leader.

I did do most of the work, after all.

So I stood on the stage alongside Yoo Yeoreum and Seo Ga-eul.

I didn’t want to miss the chance to stand next to Seo Ga-eul, so I spoke in the coolest voice I could muster.

“Ahem, hem, hem, hem, Ga-eul, I’ll make sure to wash and return your handkerchief.”

“Huh? Oh… the handkerchief. The tiger-print underwear at the stream… that was you. I didn’t recognize you after you cleaned up so well. Seeing a new face, I thought you were the transfer student from Class D.”

Oh!

Seo Ga-eul remembered me!

Isn’t it a green light when a girl remembers a guy?

Maybe Seo Ga-eul was impressed by my tiger-like bravery.

If I asked her, “Will you let me kidnap you?” maybe she’d say, “Yes!”

Feeling elated at the thought that things might go easier than expected, I noticed that Teacher Moon Hyun-ah, who was handing out the prizes, frowned when she saw me.

“You must have been desperate enough to get yourself covered in filth. But you can’t count on luck like that next time.”

Her tone was cold, like she was in a bad mood.

It must be because her sense of smell had heightened after wearing an eye mask.

In a way, she reminded me of that teacher with the big nose.

“Teacher Nose, we’ll see whether today was just luck or not. If I beat the Class F students and come in first place in the next practice, what will you do?”

“…Nose? My name is Moon Hyun-ah, so call me Teacher Hyun-ah. And first place? Pffft-. Let’s see you try. Our Class F students aren’t pushovers. But if you do come in first, I’ll give you a kiss on the cheek!”

Teacher Nose laughed like she had heard the funniest joke in the world.

And that was how the prize ceremony ended.

“Your name’s Han Nam-jin, right?”

Just as I was about to leave the stage with my heart racing, eager to check what was inside the paper bag containing the “2nd place prize”, someone called out to me.

A tall girl wearing a hoodie over her uniform.

She was almost as tall as me.

Was she an athlete?

“You’re… Yugi-reum, right?”

“No, I’m Yoo Yeoreum. I couldn’t just ignore what you said about coming in first next time. I never lose.”

Swoosh.

Yoo Yeoreum extended her hand to me.

“I’m Han Nam-jin. Let’s do our best.”

Squeeze-.

Her grip was strong.

For her to hold my hand so firmly, could it be… she likes me?

Sadly, my heart already belonged to Seo Ga-eul, so I couldn’t return Yoo Yeoreum’s love.

But that subtle strawberry scent was quite to my liking!

And her chest looked pretty big under that hoodie.

# # #

“That’s the end of today’s class. Everyone, head home carefully. There’s been talk about strange people wandering around the school lately, so be cautious.”

Class was over.

Just as I was thinking about how long the day had been, everyone flocked to me.

“Transfer stuuuudent! Is it true that you did most of the monster hunting?”

“Join our team next time! I heard you’re a multi-ability holder!”

“Nam-jin! Team up with me! I need to earn points!”

Oh dear─.

Rumors about me had already spread.

What a dilemma.

“I told you, I wore my coolest underwear today.”

“Underwear? Pfft, ahem, cough.”

“Ugh, that smell.”

“Anyway, Nam-jin! Think about it!”

But for some reason, those who had wanted me on their team suddenly backed away, covering their noses and mouths.

Boring.

If they’re bothered by this little smell, how will they survive in the post-apocalyptic world?

On the other hand, my seatmate, Baek Yeoul, had guts.

Even though we sat right next to each other, she didn’t even flinch.

“Hey, Butt girl, doesn’t the smell bother you?”

“I’m telling you, I’m not ‘Butt girl’, okay? Besides, my family runs a food business, so we deal with all kinds of ingredients. Compared to kiviak or kusaya, this smell is nothing. But….”

Baek Yeoul fidgeted.

What’s her problem?

“What? Do you need to poop? Want some tissue?”

“…No! I just… earlier, th-thanks for saving me.”

“For showing the monster my underwear when I took off my pants?”

“…Yes! Thanks to that, we got points.”

What, was she hesitating just to say that?

I thought she was going to confess something major.

If she had nothing else to say, it was time to head home and start planning my “Seo Ga-eul kidnapping that begins with a handkerchief.”

As I stood up, Baek Yeoul suddenly grabbed my wrist.

“L-let’s be in the same team next time!”

Her voice was louder than expected.

So loud that everyone getting ready to go home turned to look at us.

“Heeet!”

Baek Yeoul, realizing she had shouted, panicked and knocked over her bag, spilling books and supplies onto the floor.

“Oh no, my pencil case!”

What did she do to cause this mess?

She was such an unlucky girl.

But among the things that spilled out of Baek Yeoul’s bag, one thing caught my eye.

“Huh, this is….”

It was a photo.

A photo of Baek Yeoul with someone.

They were wearing middle school uniforms, smiling brightly. It was a nice picture, but there was something strange about it.

The face of the person hugging Baek Yeoul in the picture was scribbled out in black.

“Hey, Butt girl, what’s this?”

“Give that back!”

Snatch-!

She quickly snatched the photo from my hand and clammed up, but my head was already filled with exclamation marks.

Because my 《Emotion》 faintly recognized the blacked-out face in the photo.

There was no way I could mistake it.

That ‘someone’ was Seo Ga-eul!

“Butt girl, you were close enough with Seo Ga-eul to take pictures together?”

“…We went to the same kindergarten and were classmates in elementary and middle school.”

Classmates from kindergarten to middle school?

Then she was practically a Seo Ga-eul expert!

I couldn’t believe I had such a key to my success so close by.

“Alright, Butt girl. I’ll team up with you next time. But there’s a condition!”