The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

I was quick-witted and especially good at understanding people.

Three pieces of information I gathered and summarized about Yoo Yeoreum.

First, Yoo Yeoreum was a health-conscious beauty who loved exercising.

I couldn’t be sure without seeing her body uncovered, but her muscles were probably firmer than most men’s.

Second, the strawberry scent from Yoo Yeoreum was likely from deodorant-like cosmetics.

Did she dislike her sweat smell?

The sweat of a super high school girl might actually be popular, though.

Third, before Yoo Yeoreum shot beams from her eyes, they sparkled with a flash of light.

Zing—.

Just like now.

“Wasn’t your house over there? Why are you coming out of the house next door?”

Yoo Yeoreum was curious about why I came out of the house next door.

Well, sometimes people come out of unoccupied houses next door, don’t they?

Let’s bluff for now.

“This house is empty. I come here sometimes for my hobbies. You know, manly stuff. Ever heard of a man cave?”

“A man cave.”

“Yeah, so can you turn off those glowing eyes now?”

“What kind of hobby do you do alone in that empty house?”

What?

She’s asking even that?

Yoo Yeoreum was the first girl in my life to ask me so many questions.

She was a question mark serial killer or something.

━Ah, ooh, ahng!

At that moment, strange sounds came from somewhere.

It was fair to describe them as bizarre moaning.

The sound was coming from Seo Ga-eul in the basement of the house next door.

Damn it!

Why?

“There’s a strange sound coming from over there.”

Even among the elite F-Class, Yoo Yeoreum, the undisputed top, seemed to have sensory abilities far above normal people.

It occurred to me that Seo Ga-eul might have planned this.

What if Yoo Yeoreum went into the house next door and opened the basement?

And what if she found Seo Ga-eul chained up there?

She’d definitely pierce my stomach with her heat beams and turn me into Donut Nam-jin.

“There seems to be something in the house next door. A woman’s voice?”

Peek, peek—.

Yoo Yeoreum began to show interest in the house next door.

Sweat dripped coldly down my back and through the crack of my hips.

This was a desperate crisis.

Perhaps Seo Ga-eul had aimed for this.

She might have made those sounds hoping for my suffering at this moment.

Screaming for help would have been better, but this was also clearly an act with malicious intent.

However, Seo Ga-eul underestimated me.

Did she think I’d fall for this?

“Actually, I was watching adult videos. The next house is where I watch those. I thought I turned it off, but maybe the sound was still on. Since we’re here, wanna come in and watch together?”

“Ah… No, I think I’ll pass on that.”

Right.

Tight-.

I decided it would be better to leave the area before Seo Ga-eul pulled any weirder stunts, so I grabbed Yoo Yeoreum’s hand and tugged her along.

“Then let’s take a walk nearby.”

Her hand was softer than I expected, which surprised me.

I thought there’d be calluses.

# # #

Yoo Yeoreum and I headed to a park near my house.

The park was filled with trash, with flies and mosquitoes buzzing around, but it was just right for killing time.

“So, didn’t you say you had something to apologize for earlier?”

“I punched your chest. I was a bit clumsy with my strength control, so it wouldn’t have been strange if you’d been seriously hurt.”

“Oh, that? It’s nothing. Look.”

Swish—.

I rolled up my outerwear to show Yoo Yeoreum my chest.

Under the streetlight illuminating the park, Yoo Yeoreum seemed a little flustered at the sight of a man’s bare upper body but soon chuckled.

“You’re sturdier than I thought. Next time, I’ll hit you a little harder with sincerity.”

It was the first time I saw Yoo Yeoreum smile.

She usually had a cold expression.

Of course, her coldness was different from Seo Ga-eul’s rude kind.

Yoo Yeoreum felt more aloof, with minimal emotional display.

Anyway, a high school girl’s smile stirred a man’s heart like a cool breeze.

Even though she could shoot lasers from her eyes and had a body as solid as steel, a girl was still a girl.

The confusion in my heart caused by Seo Ga-eul’s “moaning attack” seemed to heal with Yoo Yeoreum’s laughter.

Did Yoo Yeoreum have a hidden talent for healing?

“You know, Yoo Yeoreum, your smile is pretty. You should smile more often.”

“…….”

Yoo Yeoreum seemed slightly startled by my words.

She touched her mouth with her hand as if she felt embarrassed by my compliment.

“Did I smile?”

No, she wasn’t surprised by my compliment but by the fact that she had smiled.

Was it really so surprising that she smiled?

As I pondered, Yoo Yeoreum rose from the park bench.

“I really ranked first in this practice, didn’t I? Next time, I won’t go easy on you. But you won’t see me in the next practice. I’ll be going into actual combat.”

“Actual combat? Like exploring the ‘Great Labyrinth’ for treasure and stuff?”

“No, it’s ground operations. Have you heard of unregistered awakeners? Those not registered with the ‘Yeongsa High School’ or the ‘Superhuman Management Agency.’ They’re usually criminals.”

The difference in physical ability between awakeners and regular people was as vast as between a high schooler and an elementary student.

Because of that, some awakeners misused their extraordinary physical abilities for wrongful purposes.

“I came to this neighborhood because I heard the ‘Villainers’ gang is active somewhere around here. There are many vacant houses in this area.”

There were many empty houses in our neighborhood.

Homeless people and criminals often used these houses for various activities.

I didn’t know what kind of people this “Villainers” group was, but they were definitely not good.

What if they broke into the “next house” where Seo Ga-eul was hiding?

Trouble was bound to arise.

“So, what kind of group is this ‘Villainers’?”

“It’s an illegal organization formed by a few first-generation Yeongsa High School graduates. The reason our academy stopped teaching ‘close combat’ as part of the core curriculum is because of them.”

Yeongsa High School was a school for superpowered individuals.

I always found it odd that “sparring” was only taught as a “special class” costing 400,000 points, but it seemed there was a reason.

The laws and systems regarding awakeners were insufficient for the first-generation Yeongsa High School students.

By instilling various combat knowledge into them, they might have created uncontrollable monsters.

“Han Nam-jin, since you live in this neighborhood, you should be careful too. Most of the Villainers are third-grade awakeners with firepower comparable to a company of soldiers. You’ve heard of ‘Yumra,’ the one who caused the N-Mart fire, right?”

“Of course. The guy who melts steel with flames, right? He still hasn’t been caught. I bet he won’t be caught anytime soon either.”

“Yumra.”

The bastard who caused my parents’ deaths.

I vowed to personally turn him into a eunuch when Yoo Yeoreum clenched her fists tightly.

“Those kinds of people are hiding all over the world, trying to destroy order and peace. Like the ‘Judge,’ who shakes the foundations of the justice system. In the end, they’re no different from monsters.”

Zing—.

Yoo Yeoreum’s eyes flashed with light.

I couldn’t agree or disagree with her statement that awakeners who crossed the line were no different from monsters.

I was just slightly worried about Yoo Yeoreum.

No matter how amazing an awakener she was, Yoo Yeoreum was still just a high school girl.

“Yeoreum, be careful when fighting criminals.”

“You’re the first person to worry about me. It’s fine. I’m invincible. And I’m not fighting criminals alone. Seo Ga-eul will be joining me, so it shouldn’t be dangerous.”

Wait a second—.

That Seo Ga-eul was in my basement….

# # #

“I’m sure I told you to be back within ten minutes, didn’t I? You could’ve made the stockings yourself, and it would’ve been faster than this.”

When I returned to the basement, Seo Ga-eul seemed firmly angry.

I had something to say too.

“Hey, because of the weird noises you made, things almost got really messy!”

“Weird noises? I don’t know what you’re talking about. More importantly, the person outside was Yoo Yeoreum, wasn’t it? That bitch.”

Name: Seo Ga-eul
Status: 《Resentment and Disgust》 – Prefers being kidnapped by a pervert over being rescued by Yoo Yeoreum.

It seemed Seo Ga-eul didn’t scream for help because she hated Yoo Yeoreum so much.

I guess that was fortunate for me.

“Here, I brought the stockings.”

Swish—.

I laid out the stockings I’d chosen from the convenience store in front of Seo Ga-eul.

For flimsy bundles of nylon, they were disgustingly expensive.

I expected to endure poverty and hardship for the next few days when Seo Ga-eul extended her pale foot toward me.

Did she need more of the “Rod of Love”?

“What are you doing? You’re the one who has to put them on me. My hands are tied with tape because of you, remember? Start with the 15-denier ones.”

Since her hands were immobilized, it was logical for me to put the stockings on her.

“What are you waiting for? Hurry and put them on. If you do it well, I’ll tell you why I’m on ‘sick leave.’ I might even give you useful information to help you kidnap Yoo Yeoreum.”

Swoosh—.

Seo Ga-eul’s slender eyes opened slightly.

“By the way, I’m not suggesting anything dirty, okay? If you have even the slightest lewd thought, I won’t share any information. I’ll just bite my tongue and die. Got it? I have a good sense for these things, and my ‘length’ concept also makes me sensitive to anything that ‘extends.’”

Would the snake that tempted Adam and Eve behind an ivy leaf have had such a wicked look and slithering tongue?

“You said you’d treasure my ‘body,’ didn’t you? So, you wouldn’t be aroused or anything just from putting on some stockings, would you?”

Whether it was about kidnapping Yoo Yeoreum or the stockings, Seo Ga-eul seemed completely focused on how to mess with me in this basement.

What a wicked woman.

She must’ve guessed I had a liking for stockings and women’s petite feet.

When did I develop such a preference?

It started when a rain-soaked Seo Ga-eul came to my house and removed her stockings!

Could I maintain my composure while putting stockings on Seo Ga-eul?

If I lost control and clumsily touched her body, my “Complete Education” plan would collapse completely.

Perhaps Seo Ga-eul was aiming for this.

She was tempting me to lose control and attack her.

However, since it wasn’t an overt seduction, there wasn’t enough justification to use the “Rod of Love.”

“Or how about untying my hands so I can put them on myself?”

If I followed that suggestion and untied her hands, Seo Ga-eul would undoubtedly overpower me and escape.

A complete deadlock—.

Seo Ga-eul’s gaze exuded arrogance as she looked at me.

But I wouldn’t be swayed so easily.

Letting a woman control me wouldn’t be manly.

In that case, there was only one solution.

I clenched my fists—

—And struck myself between the legs!

Thud-!

Thud-!

Thud-!

By inflicting pain and shock, I temporarily erased my masculinity, forcing myself into a state of absolute calm!

No chance of arousal now!

“Guwaaahhh!”

The pain twisted my entire body, and I almost foamed at the mouth, but the effect was outstanding!

“Now’s the time! Now!”

“You lunatic!”

In extreme pain, I was temporarily not a man! I couldn’t waste this opportunity!

Crinkle—.

I quickly tore open the stocking package and began carefully sliding the thin nylon over Seo Ga-eul’s pale toes.

“You psycho! Maniac! Idiot!”

Seo Ga-eul thrashed as if furious her plan hadn’t gone as she wanted.

Name: Seo Ga-eul
Status: 《Astonishment》 – Genuinely shocked by your reckless determination!

Her face was as red as a ripe autumn apple, and her breathing was labored.

“Pervert! Freak! Where do you think you’re touching, you bastard?”

The problem was that the temporary “feminization” from the pain wasn’t perfect.

I felt a guilty sense of wrongdoing as I put stockings on Seo Ga-eul’s struggling feet.

But with superhuman willpower, I completed the mission!

“Now, Ga-eul, tell me why you’re on ‘sick leave.’ If you’re the only daughter of the Seonam Group, shouldn’t your disappearance have made headlines? And give me information about Yoo Yeoreum!”

“Arrrrghhh!”