The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

There’s a type of man I hate the most in the world.

Those who tremble and obey every word a woman says.

Such men shouldn’t be called men at all.

I, Han Nam-jin, was a man who could say “NO” to any woman, no matter how much I loved her.

“Hey, Seo Ga-eul. Do I look like an idiot to you?”

“…What?”

As I, who was always gentle, showed an unexpected bluntness, Seo Ga-eul’s lips trembled slightly as if she felt a different charm from me.

Baek Yeoul, who used to glare at Seo Ga-eul like an angry raccoon, also looked startled and pulled at my side.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong with you…?”

“Let go. What’s fun about this party anyway? Seo Ga-eul, do you really find this fun?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m asking if you find it fun. Talking about money and cars with people you don’t even like. That’s not who you are.”

I vividly remembered when Seo Ga-eul came to my shabby cabin.

Sometimes, that scene even appeared in my dreams.

That day, she was covered in wounds and drenched in rain, but she shone like a jewel.

Even though she grumbled, removing her stockings because my house was dirty, her face, despite frowning, still retained its liveliness.

It was that Seo Ga-eul that I had fallen in love with.

“You’re not being ‘Seo Ga-eul’ at all.”

Back then, Seo Ga-eul was already perfect on her own.

She didn’t seem to need anyone’s help.

But the current Seo Ga-eul was different from the one I remembered.

Now, she resembled me when I used to mutter to myself in a trash heap.

“A trash heap” and “a luxurious penthouse”.

“A lonely mutterer” and “the host of a party”.

Even though their situations were so different, I knew.

The current Seo Ga-eul was lonely.

So lonely that she wanted even the meaningless noise around her to keep talking.

Like how someone might turn up the volume on a TV in an empty home because no one greets them when they return.

In a way, this party was her TV.

A party with a garnish of slight malice and spite.

“And stop bothering Baek Yeoul too. I don’t know what went down between you two in the past, but it’s childish and nasty. Today’s mess, it’s all because of you, isn’t it?”

The reason the model girl could show open hostility toward Baek Yeoul was because Seo Ga-eul, the host of the party, had implicitly allowed it.

I even thought that maybe Seo Ga-eul had ordered it herself.

Don’t provoke Baek Yeoul unnecessarily─.

That’s what I was telling Seo Ga-eul.

Because I had a feeling that tonight, Baek Yeoul might just be the one to stab Seo Ga-eul in the back as the “Betrayer of Humanity”.

Baek Yeoul had both enough motive and resentment.

So, I had no choice but to hope that Seo Ga-eul and Baek Yeoul would make peace.

“……”

For the first time, Seo Ga-eul, who always responded smoothly, kept her mouth shut.

Her expression turned cold as ice.

It seemed that this marked the worst point in our relationship.

“Can you handle what you just said?”

Seo Ga-eul asked me.

I wanted to ask her back.

“You’re the one who needs to handle it. I actually gave you a chance. Do you know that? The moon is beautiful tonight.”

I looked past Seo Ga-eul’s shoulder at the sparkling moon through the wide penthouse windows.

It was a beautiful full moon.

The night when Seo Ga-eul was at her weakest.

In fact, the only reason I came to this party was to gather information on where Seo Ga-eul lived, her entrances and exits, and the routes around the building.

Collecting bottle caps as an excuse, I wandered around the building and gathered satisfactory information.

The kidnapping of Seo Ga-eul was set for tonight.

“Then, hasta la vista!”

With that cool farewell, I headed home.

“Hey, are you okay? Didn’t you say you liked Seo Ga-eul?”

After a long silence, Baek Yeoul, who had been deep in thought, finally spoke up.

“With today’s mess, you’re probably completely hated. Honestly, it was chaos.”

Was she worried about my relationship with Seo Ga-eul?

Even though we’d signed a partnership agreement, she seemed quite responsible.

“I don’t care if she hates me. My feelings for Seo Ga-eul haven’t changed. Even if she dislikes me, as long as I like her, that’s enough.”

“…Why?”

“What do you mean, why?”

“What do you like about Seo Ga-eul so much? You know by now that she’s got a terrible personality. She acts all nice in front of people, but behind their backs, she torments them.”

“Why do I like her…?”

“Seo Ga-eul used to be really popular. She was so kind back then. But suddenly, she changed. I don’t know why, but… I think you should say what needs to be said, like you do.”

Squeezing her skirt tightly in her hand, Baek Yeoul hesitated as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.

It’s hard to open up your heart.

While Baek Yeoul was struggling, I pondered why I liked Seo Ga-eul.

“Why do I like Seo Ga-eul? Because she’s pretty. Her eyes are as red as rubies. And I like the color red.”

“……”

Was she unhappy with my answer?

Baek Yeoul pursed her lips and frowned.

# # #

Back home, Baek Yeoul buried her face in her bed and cried her heart out.

Tears, snot, and makeup stained her pillow, but she didn’t care.

“I couldn’t say a single thing!”

When she decided to attend the building party, she must’ve resolved to stay strong.

She must’ve planned to face anything head-on and win.

But when the stares and criticism turned toward her, old traumas surfaced, and Baek Yeoul couldn’t open her mouth.

Memories of being humiliated at parties because of Seo Ga-eul came flooding back.

She wanted to get revenge and humiliate her in return, but again, Baek Yeoul just trembled.

Instead, that boy, Han Nam-jin, who had the worst first impression, had said a fraction of the things she wanted to say.

‘How can he be so bold?’

Was he not afraid of being hated by everyone?

Baek Yeoul stared at the luxury bag she had borrowed from her mother.

When everyone mocked the bag as tacky, that boy had stepped up, offering his knockoff shoes to shield her from the embarrassment.

When she was attacked by the model Jeon So-mi, that boy had stepped forward as if it was his own fight, taking on the shame and disgrace for her.

‘Why did he do that? Could he… like me?’

No, that couldn’t be.

He openly declared his love for Seo Ga-eul without any shame.

Seo Ga-eul was a bad person, yet everyone liked her.

She really was bad.

So why on earth did Han Nam-jin like her?

“Because she’s pretty? Is that all?”

Baek Yeoul felt a surge of frustration.

At herself?

Seo Ga-eul?

Han Nam-jin?

She wasn’t sure who she was angry with, but she knew she couldn’t just stay like this.

“I need to change too.”

But how could she change?

Baek Yeoul imagined what kind of person she wanted to become.

The image of the confident boy standing tall even in front of those VIPs from earlier crossed her mind.

Honestly, she didn’t think she could change as much as he did─.

“Well, I’ll start by changing how I look.”

Baek Yeoul grabbed a pen and drew a luxury brand logo on her worn school bag.

Instantly, a fake Chanel was born.

It was crooked, but she liked it even more for that reason.

“A fake or real, it doesn’t matter. If I think it’s real, then it’s real, right? Everything depends on my mindset!”

The realization hit her mind like a soda bursting open.

She even felt like she could finally get a handle on the concept of “Misfortune” that she hadn’t been able to control.

Tiptoeing out of her bed, Baek Yeoul quietly opened her mom’s drawer.

What she took out was hair dye.

She had no idea what color it was.

Squeezing the sticky, thick dye into a bowl, Baek Yeoul began slathering it into her hair in the dark room.

The strong dye made her scalp tingle, but it didn’t feel bad.

She hoped it would turn a bright red.

Ruby-like red.

But when she washed her hair and checked the result─.

“Hyaaaaaak!”

# # #

“Han Nam-jin, my friend. Tell me I wasn’t wrong. Tell me I was right to leave the cozy company of those girls and run away from the party with you!”

Chang-sik was still troubled and couldn’t focus on anything as we walked home.

I had no choice but to bring him back to reality.

“The girls sitting next to you were all wearing rings. They all had boyfriends. They were making fun of you, and you knew it.”

“…Ugh.”

Chang-sik was truly heartbroken.

I knew how painful it was to be rejected and ridiculed by girls, so I offered him my sincere comfort.

“Here, take this.”

I handed Chang-sik about 10 of the bottle caps I’d collected today.

Mainly beer and delicious cola bottle caps with crown shapes.

To be honest, I was reluctant to give them away, even to Chang-sik.

“No thanks. I’ve got plenty of these at home.”

But Chang-sik rejected my offer of kindness.

Plenty of bottle caps at home?

I wanted to hear more about that, but Chang-sik trudged off and got on the bus.

Now I was left alone.

I stared blankly up at the night sky.

The full moon was still shining brightly.

The party would end around midnight.

It’d be best to wait until everyone had left and Seo Ga-eul was alone before executing my kidnapping plan.

I had to make full use of my 《Leap》ability.

I might even have to risk my life.

Since the idea was out there, I figured I might as well do some practice.

I headed to a nearby park to loosen up my body.

Today, after the “special class” that involved yoga and meditation, I’d come up with ways to enhance the rank of my 《Leap》 concept.

“Leap isn’t really about running. It’s about jumping.”

Hop─.

I jumped lightly into the air, and my body rose about two meters.

Honestly, I wasn’t satisfied.

“Jump! Jump!”

As I jumped around the park like Mario chasing mushrooms, I sensed someone approaching.

It was a woman in a hoodie and dolphin shorts.

Her long, slender legs and the chest area that bulged under the hoodie stood out.

“You… was it Yoo Gi-reum?”

“No.”

“Oh! Right! Yoo Gu-reum! It was a name like something from nature.”

“Yoo Yeoreum.”

Yeah, yeah, that was it.

This was Yoo Yeoreum, the genius of Class F, even among the elites who scrutinized everything, and according to Tae-sung, even Seo Ga-eul admitted she couldn’t compare to her.

Yoo Yeoreum stood under the streetlight, radiating health and beauty.

Was she out for a jog?

I thought she must be a diligent person when she asked me a question.

“What are you doing? I saw you jumping into the air.”

“Developing my ability.”

“Ah─. Trying to increase your concept’s rank. Want a tip?”

“A tip?”

“Concepts come from strong desires. And the main fuel for using this power is emotion. Feelings like hatred, jealousy, admiration, and fear are our main sources of power.”

With a glance from under her hoodie, Yoo Yeoreum looked me up and down.

“In your case, I think it’s ‘anger’. Every time you use your concept, aren’t you drawing power from anger? You must’ve been furious at some point in your life to have acquired that concept.”

“Anger? Me?”

“I know because I’m the same. Whatever happened, you were angry enough to acquire the concept. Try to recall that feeling.”

Anger.

Was it really anger that I felt when I acquired 《Leap》?

Even I wasn’t sure.

Had I been that furious on that day?

“I train here every evening in Central Park. If you want to ask me anything about concept enhancement, come and ask.”

The hooded girl, Yoo Yeoreum, offered me great kindness.

I was suddenly curious why she was being so kind to me.

I knew better than anyone that there’s no such thing as kindness without a reason.

“Why are you helping me? Do you like me or something?”

At my question, Yoo Yeoreum took off her hood.

Her hair was neatly tied back, and her face had strong, defined features that made her look like a classic beauty.

Was her skin slightly tanned?

It gave the impression that she had tanned evenly under the summer sun.

If I hadn’t met Seo Ga-eul first, this girl might’ve been my first love─.

As I was thinking that, Yoo Yeoreum opened her lips.

“I─.”

“Sorry! I already have someone I like!”