The Thug Hides the Villainess

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014 – Only Extroverts Enjoy the Party #3

“Look over here! There’s a mini car! Wow, it’s a gold motor!”

“Isn’t this from the ‘Survival Series’? It’s been so long since I’ve seen this!”

“……”

Chang-sik, Tae-seong, and Deok-soon were busy wandering around my house, exploring the various items scattered about.

It had been a few days since I returned home, but I also couldn’t quite remember what was in the house, so I was actually glad to see all the random junk everyone was discovering.

While we were all exploring the house, Baek-Yeoul, with her big round behind, was buzzing around me like a malfunctioning robot. It seemed she wanted to say something but couldn’t get it out past her palate and front teeth.

“Ugh.”

Being the smartest guy among school dropouts, I decided to show a little sense.

“If you need to go, you can use the bathroom. It’s over there. There’s a bidet too.”

“…No way!”

She looked like a wet raccoon fluffing up its fur, her hair standing on end. I was curious how she managed to control that hair, but then she cautiously started talking.

“…Hey, I mentioned earlier that the party at the ‘office building’ is a trap, and you shouldn’t go. Aren’t you going to ask me more about it?”

So that’s what she really wanted to talk about. I’d thought she was just restless and had to go to the bathroom or something.

Earlier, after tasting my cooking, Baek-Yeoul had been spilling out information about Seo Ga-eul.

According to Baek-Yeoul, the party was some kind of ‘trap’ where you shouldn’t set foot.

“If you go, you’ll just end up… humiliated. So it’s best not to go. Everyone sees the good sides of Seo Ga-eul, but I know what kind of person she really is and how brutal she can be…”

Her muttering trailed off, leaving a calm silence between us.

Taking advantage of that quiet moment, I paused to think about what I needed to do next.

The answer was simple.

I still didn’t know exactly why the party at the office was a trap, but I knew I had to go there.

No, Seo Ga-eul is supposed to respond to my date proposal there.

She even mentioned giving me an invitation! It was a chance to explore Seo Ga-eul’s house.

It would surely help my ‘kidnapping’ plan.

“I’m going.”

“You must be kidding! Trying to prank me! You know it’s a trap, yet you say you’re going? Completely foolish.”

Baek-Yeoul, having failed to convince me, was pacing back and forth and sighing, seemingly at a loss.

Was it not the bathroom she was desperate for after all?

“W-well, I’ll go too.”

“You?”

“I mean, you don’t even know where the office is or what kind of party it is. But I do. I’ve… been there a few times. Not that I want to remember those times… And I still have one invitation left…”

“Great! You can guide me then, Baek-Yeoul.”

“And since we made a deal, you should make sure we keep working together to earn points! I want to earn loads of points too and take special classes! I want to control my abilities!”

“Sure. Looks like our interests align.”

I reached out my hand to Baek-Yeoul.

She looked a little surprised when she saw my palm, but quickly wiped the sweat off her palm on her skirt and took my hand.

It was a delicate hand.

It was small enough that it didn’t seem to be carrying all sorts of misfortune.

# # #

“That’s a shame. My part-time job is about to start, so I guess I need to get going. It was so fun reading the Survival Series after a long time.”

It was slightly past 8 PM.

Tae-seong, who had been sitting on the old sofa reading, yawned widely and got up.

I handed him several volumes of the Survival Series.

“Take these home and read them all. Return them once you’re done. They’ll really help you.”

“Whoa, are you lending these to me?”

I’m not lying when I say it was thanks to that ‘Survival Series’ that I barely managed to survive in this ruined world.

It’s like a life bible filled with useful information, like how to purify dirty water and build shelters. I seriously think they should use that Survival book as a textbook instead of all those discussion classes at Yeongsa High School.

But I was the only one aware that this world was on the brink of destruction.

At this point, it was impossible to reveal who the “betrayer of humanity” was.

“I think it’s someone close to Seo Ga-eul.”

To be able to reach and inflict a critical wound on the cautious Seo Ga-eul, the betrayer must surely be someone close to her.

If I played my cards right, I might meet the betrayer at tonight’s “office party.”

“Friend, I feel really embarrassed asking this, but can I borrow this mini car too? Actually, we have a mini car track at home, and I’d love to try it out just once and then return it.”

Was this a sign from Tae-seong, the reversal punk, lending books? Now Chang-sik, the candy maker, was also looking at me eagerly while holding my precious mini car.

That mini car had been a meaningful and precious Christmas gift from my childhood, but—

“Chang-sik, you can have it!”

My memories vs. unlimited candy.

It was obvious which one would win out.

No matter how many points I earned, it wasn’t enough for Chang-sik!

“Really? You seriously just giving it to me? Then I feel too shameless. Well then… how about you come visit my house next time?”

Chang-sik shouted, his face turning red like he was making some grand confession.

Visiting Cheng-sik’s house?

If that helps me earn points, of course, I’ll go.

That just left quiet Deok-soon.

Deok-soon had barely spoken all day, but I noticed her eyes occasionally glancing at Tae-seong behind her bangs.

Why was Deok-soon sneaking glances at Tae-seong? The smartest guy among dropouts that I am, I figured it out.

She couldn’t escape my emotional radar.

The reason, of course, was that she wanted to read the “Surviving the Apocalypse” book that Tae-seong was reading right now, but she was waiting because his reading was taking a long time!

“Tae-seong! When you finish your book, give it to Deok-soon. You two can arrange to read it together.”

“Uh, uhhhh…?”

O Deok-soon seemed very surprised as I voiced what she could not. She was so flustered that her hands and feet moved awkwardly, almost like she was doing a strange dance.

Luckily, Tae-seong was pretty cool after me.

“Really? Okay. Then Deok-soon, I think it’d be good to schedule the book borrowing. Can you give me your number?”

“My, my number? What was my number…?”

Seeing Tae-seong and Deok-soon exchanging phone numbers, a good idea struck me.

“Hey, since we’re at it, let’s all exchange contact information!”

Honestly, I wanted to ask the candy maker Chang-sik for his number, but if I asked him directly, people might think, “Why is he getting special treatment?” or “What’s so great about him?” and his value could shoot up unexpectedly.

So, feeling like I was taking down trees in the forest, I managed to collect everyone’s phone numbers.

“Deok-soon, I saved your number.”

“I… I did too.”

“It looks like it’ll be easier to create a group chat now.”

As everyone smiled, completely unaware of my perfect and dark plan, I couldn’t help but smile myself.

“Muahahaha!”

“See you all at school tomorrow!”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

“Ah… bye.”

With that, everyone returned to their respective homes and workplaces, and the once noisy house became eerily quiet.

Not a sound could be heard from the houses next door or in front either.

Suddenly, I remembered the time I lay on the old carpet, staring through the hole in the ceiling at the stars, wishing I had someone to talk to because it was so quiet all around.

My increased soliloquy was probably due to that.

Knock knock!

Just then, my phone rang.

“Baek-Yeoul: If you’re going to sign up for special classes, you need to do it before today ends.”

“Baek-Yeoul: Just thought I’d let you know since you might not know.”

What? A Cocoa Talk message from Baek-Yeoul.

Special classes, huh?

More frustratingly, my first-ever text from a girl just happened to be from Baek-Yeoul. I’d planned to save my first for Seo Ga-eul, so I was feeling incredibly cheated.

What a bad luck!

# # #

“Hanam-jin, you’ve applied for the ‘special class’ this morning, right?”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Not ‘Captin’ but ‘Captain.’ And for now, just call me Instructor. Now, Hanam-jin and Baek-Yeoul, please move to the special classroom. Start—”

Those who applied for the special class attend a special classroom to receive lessons from special teachers instead of the morning theory classes.

A 400,000-point lecture!

If you consider a bag of instant noodles costs 1,000 won, that’s about 400 bags, meaning if I eat 3 meals a day with that, it could last roughly 170 days.

Isn’t that crazy? Three hours of lecture equal to food for 170 days?

I was very excited about what they would teach.

More importantly, Seo Ga-eul always said she only took “special classes.” Since there was a party at the office coming up, it’d be great to chat with her in advance and score some points.

So I headed toward the place where the “special lecture” was being held.

I was imagining a gym filled with barbells or a boxing room full of punching bags, but instead, I was surprised to find a laboratory filled with machines and monitors.

Many students were already sitting on soft mats.

“Hey, Ja-hyeon. That’s him—”

“Isn’t that the guy who confessed to Ga-eul at the cafeteria?”

Some students raised their eyebrows as they recognized me.

Being a celebrity is really inconvenient like this. I didn’t know them, yet they felt a sense of familiarity and started acting like they knew me.

To prepare for this day, I had rigorously practiced my autograph.

“Why are you whispering like that? If you want an autograph, ask for it boldly, like a man.”

“What the hell?”

“What an idiot.”

At my question, the male students stared blankly at one another before bursting out laughing.

The only one among them who didn’t laugh was a boy, charmingly handsome, chatting with a girl.

Though he was sitting, his tall and fine physique made him stand out.

The boy was talking to a girl, who turned out to be Seo Ga-eul, like I wasn’t even there.

Who does he think he is, talking to Seo Ga-eul without my permission?

Just as I was getting a bit irritated, Baek-Yeoul, who had been quiet since this morning, poked me in the back.

“That’s Wang Ja-hyeon. He’s a big shot in Class F and comes from a really well-off family. If you want to get along with Seo Ga-eul, it’d be good to get on his good side. Definitely don’t mess it up.”

Get along, you say?

“Name: Wang Ja-hyeon

Status: ‘Two-faced’ – He is extremely mad at you for throwing a flirt towards Seo Ga-eul, whom he’s been pursuing.”

It seems he isn’t interested in getting along with me.

Wang Ja-hyeon from Class F was pretending not to pay attention, but he was heating up inside.

Being popular must be a pain in the ass, I thought to myself when someone entered the special lecture room.

“Alright, everyone, take your seats. Since there are some new faces, I’ll introduce myself first. I’m Instructor Wi Seon-a. My exploration ranking is 44th among 1,000, and my concept level is grade 4. Impressive, right? Top 10 percent.”

Her doctor’s gown and goggles made her look like a PhD nerd.

“Today, we’ll be doing a ‘special sparring’ session. Realizing your limits through sparring is significant for strengthening your ‘concept.’ So, let’s have our first challenger come forward.”

Sparring? So we can actually fight each other in special classes? Sounds fun!

More than anything, this is a great opportunity to show my good side to Seo Ga-eul, isn’t it?

“I volunteer!”

I raised my hand and stood up.

Then I asked Instructor Wi Seon-a.

“Doctor, can I choose my opponent?”

“Choose? Well, normally, special sparring is conducted with the instructor… but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to mix things up a bit. Who do you want to challenge?”

Who, huh?

Clearly obvious.

“Wang Ja-hyeon! You and I!”

“What?!”

“Ja-hyeon?”

“Whoa—”

“—!”

The responses varied dramatically among the students, with only Baek-Yeoul turning pale and letting out a silent scream. What a shocker!