The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

“Ham-tap-ju! Look at this! It’s a collapsed house!”

Rustle-rustle-.

Butt girl Baek Yeoul rushed into the crumbling ruins.

“Where are the bad guys! Are they here? Here? Where are they hiding!”

Rustle-rustle-.

She opened a cupboard, pulling out a worn-out cup while giggling. It was clear she wasn’t in her right mind.

The way she fearlessly squeezed into the ruins, not knowing what might jump out, was like a hungry raccoon digging through a field.

Lately, when I look at Baek Yeoul, I feel like she’s a bit… floaty.

It’s obvious that someone like her will get into trouble eventually.

At times like this, I have to step in.

“Baek Yeoul, when I was in elementary school, a high school senior once tried to rob me. It was in an alley between abandoned houses like this.”

“What’s with the sudden story?”

“That senior asked me, ‘Hey, do you have any money?’ So I said yes. Then he said, ‘Hand it all over.’ So I obediently replied, ‘Sure.’”

At that moment, I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a carrot knife instead of money.

A folding carrot knife.

“I named that knife ‘Nanatsuyoru.’ I swung it at the high school senior.”

“…A carrot knife?”

“I was crazy back then. And now I’m in high school. No elementary school kid dares to approach me anymore.”

“Wait, what’s this sudden story about?”

“The point is, for an elementary school kid to take on a high schooler, they need something like ‘Nanatsuyoru’ to stand a chance. You’re the elementary kid, and the bad guys you’re looking for are high schoolers.”

“…So what you’re saying is, me taking on bad guys is reckless, and this mission should be more about ‘investigation’ than ‘elimination,’ right? You’re worried about me.”

Baek Yeoul scratched the back of her pink head awkwardly, as if she understood my intent.

But that wasn’t what I meant at all. She completely missed the lesson in my story.

“The point is, we need to find our own ‘Nanatsuyoru’ to beat high schoolers. Look at this table leg. Doesn’t it look like it could be used as a weapon if we break it?”

Crash-!

I kicked the table, breaking it apart.

Then, I tore off one of its legs with a satisfying crack, like tearing apart a chicken drumstick. The rusty nails sticking out made it look perfect as a weapon.

Whoosh-whoosh-.

It felt good to swing.

“Getting hit with this would guarantee tetanus, even for Buddha’s grandmother. If we’re exploring, let’s find useful tools like this. Remember, humans are tool-using animals.”

“Tools! I get it now, Ham-tap-ju”

For the first time, Baek Yeoul’s eyes lit up with determination, as if she truly understood.

She wasn’t ready to become a master recycler yet, but she showed promise.

Still, there was something that had been bothering me.

“Baek Yeoul, but what’s with calling me Ham-tap-ju?”

“That… that?”

Blushing, Baek Yeoul squirmed awkwardly, looking more uneasy than a caterpillar trying to cocoon itself.

She probably realized her actions were embarrassing.

“Renaming someone without permission is rude. I already have a name given to me by my parents—Han Nam-jin.”

Frown-.

Baek Yeoul scowled.

“Yeah, you’re right, but you’re the last person who should be saying that! Stop calling me Baek Yeoul ‘Butt girl’ first! You rename people all the time!”

“But you are the Butt girl.”

“I’m not! My name is Baek Yeoul!”

“Which ‘Yeoul’ is it? Is it a Korean word or a Chinese character? Or is it pure Korean?”

“…Huh? What was it again…?”

“See? You’re definitely Butt girl.”

“No, I’m not! Then you’re Ham-tap-ju! End of discussion! Got it? And this investigation—I’ll take the lead, so forget about yourself, Ham-tap-ju! Just follow me!”

Swish-.

Baek Yeoul grabbed a frying pan nearby.

It was wide, sturdy, and looked like it could serve as a great weapon.

“Wow, that frying pan looks good.”

“Right? This is my ‘Unlucky Rod!’ My weapon!”

“‘Unlucky Rod’? Sounds like a trot singer’s name.”

“It’s a stick that makes you unlucky when hit! That’s why it’s the ‘Unlucky Rod!’”

No, it’s not a rod. It’s a frying pan.

Shouldn’t it be called the ‘Unlucky Frying Pan’?

Baek Yeoul was becoming stranger by the minute.

Anyway, the morning investigation ended like that.

Our only gain was Baek Yeoul getting her ‘Unlucky Rod.’

Honestly, even I found the ‘Unlucky Rod’ tempting.

The more useful tools, the better.

That’s why I was also interested in the ‘Relics’ said to be in Yeongsa High’s treasure vault.

Relics imbued with concepts! Just owning one would make life incredibly convenient and reassuring.

As I thought about this and considered getting lunch, an older man called out to us.

“Hey, kids! Wait a moment!”

He was wearing an old denim jacket and jeans.

They were stained with paint, and his scruffy beard made him look like either a homeless person or a suspicious character.

# # #

“Hey, kids! Wait a moment!”

Swoosh-.

Baek Yeoul held her ‘Unlucky Rod’ defensively, wary of the man.

The man, however, laughed heartily.

“You kids go to Yeongsa High, right? My son goes there too. You remind me of my own kids, so I’m saying this—don’t mess with these abandoned houses.”

It turned out the man had a cart filled with junk.

A kindred spirit? I could sense a master’s aura from him.

Maybe he was trying to say this area was his territory, so we rookies shouldn’t mess with it.

“This guy saw some suspicious people wandering around this neighborhood lately. So if you keep rummaging through abandoned houses, you might get hurt.”

Suspicious people?

My interest spiked instantly.

“Sir, where did you see these suspicious people? And what exactly made them suspicious?”

“Sir? I’m not that old. Anyway, they were suspicious just by looking at them. They had their hair dyed all crazy and were wandering around in the dead of night. I can tell at a glance they don’t belong here.”

Considering he dragged around such a big cart, I figured I could trust his judgment. If he said they were suspicious, then they probably were.

“Could you guide us to the exact place where you saw them?”

“Well…”

The man hesitated for a moment.

Just then, Chang-sik and Deok-soon came toward us from a distance.

“……”

“……”

Both Deok-soon and Chang-sik seemed rather surprised by the shabby-looking man.

The man also seemed like he wanted to say something but ended up just advising, “Be careful not to get hurt, kids. Leave here before the sun sets,” before pulling his cart and struggling up a steep hill.

Creak, creak-.

Dragging that heavy cart full of scrap uphill would’ve been tough even for an adult man. Deok-soon, watching him, let out a small sigh.

“He looks like he’s struggling… Should we help him?”

The man soon reached a nearby junkyard and started scavenging for usable items, paying no mind to how dirty he got. He looked at the junk like it was treasure, his eyes shining. That sight made Chang-sik subtly avert his gaze.

I leaned closer to Chang-sik and whispered quietly enough for only him to hear.

“Chang-sik, is that your father?”

“…!”

Chang-sik looked startled.

Baek Yeoul and Deok-soon also seemed surprised, falling silent and glancing around nervously.

Eventually, Chang-sik sighed deeply.

“You’re right. Honestly… I couldn’t say it because I was ashamed. Isn’t he doing dirty, degrading work? I never thought I’d run into him here…. He didn’t say anything weird to you guys, did he?”

“Chang-sik, do you know what a hero is?”

“…A hero? Are you talking about Yeongsa High graduates?”

“In my opinion, a hero is someone who takes on the tasks others least want to do. In that sense, your father deserves to be called a hero.”

“……”

“Isn’t he giving discarded, meaningless resources a new chance? Your father is a great man. We should aspire to be like him.”

The man’s greatness was on par with the future Seo Ga-eul.

No, to be honest, he was slightly below Seo Ga-eul─.

But for me to compare him to Seo Ga-eul at all meant his character was truly remarkable.

A silver medal is still amazing.

“……”

Chang-sik seemed to be lost in thought after hearing my words, his gaze darting around.

Then, as if he had made a big decision, he clenched his fists and shouted.

“…Father!”

Thud-thud-thud-.

Chang-sik sprinted up the steep hill in a flash.

He pushed his father’s heavy cart effortlessly to the top.

“━─.”

“─.”

They seemed to be talking about something up there, but I couldn’t hear what it was.

“Sorry! Did I keep you guys waiting?”

When Chang-sik returned downhill, his face was smudged with dust. But his expression was bright, as if all the worry and unease had been washed away.

“My father gave me money for dinner. I’ll treat everyone tonight. And he also told us not to go near the old factory in District 3.”

He gave you money for dinner? Sweet, free meal!

And don’t go near District 3?

There must be a reason for that warning. It’s probably because he’s worried about his son.

If Chang-sik’s father knows he’s an awakened, yet still worries…

“There’s something in District 3 near the old factory─.”

“Could it be villains…!?”

Baek Yeoul, for once, showed quick and accurate comprehension.

The information we’d been searching for came from Chang-sik’s father.

“Looks like we’re in luck.”

“Of course, it’s all thanks to me, right?”

Baek Yeoul puffed out her chest proudly.

To be honest, she hadn’t done a single thing.

We headed to District 3 near the old factory before sunset.

The towering, rusty buildings were both majestic and desolate, reminiscent of Ozymandias’ verse.

That’s when we noticed a peculiar figure lingering outside the factory.

“Isn’t that the Mantis guy?”

“Sa Ma-jun. One of Wang Ja-hyun’s lackeys!”

Just as Baek Yeoul described, it was Sa Ma-jun, Wang Ja-hyun’s lackey.

What was he doing here?

As we pondered the odd situation, a man with long, crimson-dyed hair, looking like an outdated rocker, emerged from the factory.

He casually slung an arm around Sa Ma-jun’s shoulder and dragged him somewhere.

While everyone else fell silent, unsure of who the man was─

A memory I had long buried surged back into my mind like lightning.

“That guy… ‘Yeomra.’”

“My friend, by Yeomra, do you mean Yeom Hoon, the N-Mart arsonist? Then that means….”

He’s the enemy who caused my parents’ deaths.

The top-tier wanted criminal, Yeom Hoon! To think I’d encounter him here today!

“Guys, I think we’ll have to cancel the exploration mission.”

This is an extermination mission!

I’ll crush that guy’s marble into dust!