The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

056 – The Room You Can’t Leave Unless You Do #1

056 – The Room You Can’t Leave Unless You Do #1

Chairman Seo Do-cheol of Seonam came to his senses only after seeing the blood dripping from his hand.

It seemed that the shards had pierced his palm when he broke the pot of the bonsai he had been cherishing.

He roughly wrapped the wound with a handkerchief taken from his inner pocket to stop the bleeding and played the video again.

“━━─!”

Seeing his precious daughter silently screaming in agony beyond the tablet screen, anger surged again.

‘How dare you provoke me like this?’

Seo Do-cheol, who hadn’t shed a single tear even at the funeral of the nanny who had taken care of him for 30 years, was different when it came to matters involving his daughter.

A child is an extension of their parents.

In other words, it was as if Seo Do-cheol himself was the one kidnapped and suffering here.

He struggled to remain calm, barely holding back the rising curses. In his mind, there were only three groups of people bold enough to do such a thing to him.

The most suspicious was the Jeongwang Group.

‘If you are the ones who kidnapped my daughter, know that your sons and daughters will suffer the same fate.’

The most cherished by the chairman of Jeongwang was his illegitimate son, Wang Ja-hyun.

Among the many sons and daughters of Chairman Wang Ji-seok, only that boy had become a superhuman, so his love was bound to be extraordinary.

Although he didn’t show it openly, Wang Ji-seok subtly wanted Seo Ga-eul to be paired with his son and become the daughter-in-law of Jeongwang.

From Seo Do-cheol’s perspective, nothing could be more ridiculous and laughable.

The Wang family had always been mere servants handling the dirty work for the Seo family.

Even though the dynasty had fallen and a democratic state had been established, a dog and its master could never share the same table.

‘If the parents are dogs, so are the children. Parents and children resemble each other.’

Seo Do-cheol recalled the boy Wang Ja-hyun bowing his head to him at the conglomerates’ banquet.

He also remembered how the boy’s eyes had gleamed with various desires as he looked at his daughter, Seo Ga-eul.

If the boy couldn’t suppress his youthful vigor and had kidnapped Seo Ga-eul─.

Crunch.

Just the thought of it made Seo Do-cheol so angry that his teeth were on the verge of breaking.

“You b*stards!”

Feeling as if his insides were twisting and his head spinning, he finally couldn’t hold back his boiling anger and collapsed.

Crash.

“Chairman, I want to report that the Great Labyrinth underground has been opened… Huh! Ch-chairman! Get a hold of yourself! Chairman! Hey! “Someone call for help!”

He heard the sound of many people rushing towards him as he fell, but Seo Do-cheol couldn’t regain consciousness for a while.

While unconscious, Seo Do-cheol dreamed.

A dream of his daughter, his wife, and the times when he was still happy.

━Honey, our princess wants to marry a prince when she grows up.

━Then this dad will have to work hard.

━Wow! Dad, you’re the best!

# # #

“Have you ever fought with a monster? You never know where or what kind of monster might pop out, so it’s best to stay alert. Of course, you don’t have to worry about that in this entrance area.”

I walked through the “Great Labyrinth” with Jin Ramen Noona, but it looked a bit different from what I had imagined, and my disappointment appeared as we went further.

“Dr. Kim! Is this sample ready yet?”

“Hold on! Just scanning the murals in this area-.”

I had imagined the “Great Labyrinth” to look like the ‘dungeons’ I often saw in games, but in reality, it was more like a bustling graduate school with lights placed here and there and researchers in white coats.

In other words, this was the safe zone of the Great Labyrinth secured by the Seonam Group.

They say they research the Great Labyrinth and secure technological prowess here?

Soon, Jin Ramen Noona whispered to me.

“That ‘Zero Cola Fresh’ was actually made by interpreting the letters found in the Great Labyrinth. See those people over there?”

Many researchers were seen struggling with a certain steel.

The letters on the stele were extremely squiggly, resembling worms. If you looked closely, some looked like leaves, some like squirrels, and some like clouds or spiders.

They must be hieroglyphs.

Srrr-.

As I squinted my eyes to look at the letters more closely, the letters started to float up before me.

【In commemoration of the princess’s 10th birthday, we brew “Nectar”…!】

【”Nectar” is a very sweet and delicious drink…! It is the favorite drink of our fairies, including the princess…! The kitchen fairies should follow the recipe below…!】

【Ingredients: Sugar, lime, fairy’s stream water (can be substituted with carbonated water), honey….】

“Ah, what’s the last ingredient? Fairy language is too irregular, I can’t figure out the last word.”

“Something like an insect. But isn’t it funny that an insect is used in making a drink?”

“If we want to release ‘Zero Fresh’ by ​​this week, we need to figure this out!”

“Does anyone have contact with F-class Joino? We need him to interpret these sentences!”

Seeing the researchers struggling in front of the steel, I felt moved.

Helping with the stele research would aid in the release of Zero Cola Fresh.

“The last word is honey.”

“Honey?”

“Honey, you say?”

“Honey… seems right. It is related to insects, after all….”

The researchers looked at my face.

As if to say, who is this guy suddenly giving advice?

I answered lightly.

“I have the concept of ‘emotion’.”

“Emotion? Wait, I remember seeing you somewhere-!”

“You’re the student from the newspaper! The one from the ‘No Leftovers Day’ team!”

“Yes, I am Hanamjin, also known as ‘Bread Pitt’.”

“Hanamjin the Eccentric!”

“Eccentric!”

“Yes, I am that ‘Bread Pitt’.”

“Hanamjiin! Come to our department after you graduate!”

“Come anytime! I’ll give you an access pass!”

“Alright, let’s all go home now!”

“Wow! We’re leaving after 48 hours!”

Thus ended my first great labyrinth exploration.

It was a bit annoying with the researchers and doctors clinging to my clothes, but it was a fairly interesting experience.

The ’emotion’ I received from Seogaul was indeed very helpful. Every time something like this happens, my affection for Seogaul deepens even more.

“I even got a free pass to the labyrinth. Nice.”

It was when I was about to leave the labyrinth.

I thought I might be able to open the closed door with this ‘Seed’ ring again, so I was about to experiment when I saw a familiar butt at the corner of the hallway.

To be precise, it was a big butt.

“Hey, isn’t that your butt?”

I didn’t know what she was doing, but Baek Yeoul, who was crouching in the corner, was started like a mouse caught stealing rice when she heard my voice.

“Wha-what!”

Upon closer inspection, she seemed to be eating a Choco Pie alone.

Eating something so delicious alone in hiding. What a sneaky girl.

“Name: Baek Yeoul

Possession: 《Misfortune Lv.2》 – Possesses a level of misfortune that even a black cat would respect

Status: 《Sadness and Confusion》 – Extremely sad and surprised to meet someone she knows!”

Sadness and confusion?

Confusion, I understand, but why sadness?

As I observed Baek Yeoul, she looked at my expression and asked.

“Hanamjin! What brings you here?”

“Me? I came because I had some business with Jinramyeon noona and the Seonam Group. So, how is it? Do you think the Great Labyrinth exploration is worth it?”

“Of course! Absolutely! I’m Baek Yeoul of the Baekdang! I even took down Jeong Eui-seon─Oops, was that a secret? Anyway! I’m carrying the team even inside the Great Labyrinth! Today alone, I disarmed “Five traps!”

Seeing how confident he was made me feel uneasy. Still, it seemed today’s exploration was worthwhile, judging by his boasting.

Just then, someone shouted from around the corner.

“Hey! Baek Yeoul! What are you dawdling for? Hurry up!”

“Gasp! I better get going! See, nothing progresses without me. Everyone’s always looking for me.”

Baek Yeoul scratched the back of his head awkwardly and laughed, then picked up a rather heavy-looking bag and waddled away.

He tripped over a stone a few times but soon disappeared from sight.

Starting tomorrow, I’ll be exploring this Great Labyrinth with that guy.

I feel uneasy somehow!

But it will be fun!

# # #

Baek Yeoul stuffed the half-eaten Choco Pie into his pocket and waddled along.

Even for an awakened one like Baek Yeoul, the bag was heavy, making it hard to walk.

But the slowing of his steps wasn’t just because of the bag’s weight.

Baek Yeoul’s heart grew heavy at the thought of what he would see around the corner.

“Hey, where have you been slacking off? Keep doing that, and your midterm scores will drop!”

“The guy who started work today is already slacking off. Who told you to act alone? Do you have a death wish? In the Great Labyrinth, if you don’t follow the team leader’s orders, you really die.”

As he turned the corner, active explorer Jeon Somi and team leader Jang Hyuna scolded him as if they had been waiting.

They soon handed Baek Yeoul empty lunch boxes.

“Clean these up.”

“Making your seniors wait.”

There were three lunch boxes in total.

They belong to explorer Jeon Somi, team leader Jang Hyuna, and Baek Yeoul.

But for some reason, they had eaten Baek Yeoul’s share of the lunch as well.

Baek Yeoul felt quite aggrieved and sad since he hadn’t eaten anything from morning till evening.

“My lunch….”

“Baek Yeoul, you came late, didn’t you?”

“We thought you weren’t hungry.”

Baek Yeoul was alone because Jeon Somi had ordered her, “Hey, go throw this in the trash can at the entrance.”

Jeon Somi pretended not to know anything about it.

It was annoying that Jeon Somi’s friend, Jang Hyuna, also acted ignorant despite knowing everything.

They have been blatantly ostracizing and bullying Baek Yeoul since the morning.

Sending Baek Yeoul first to places where traps were set.

“Hey, Baek Yeoul. If you walk with us, the traps will definitely activate, right? So you go first and just trigger all the traps!”

Or picking a fight with Baek Yeoul over her concept of “misfortune.”

“Ah, damn, why do I keep hitting dead ends every time I choose a path? Who’s making me so unlucky?”

“Seriously, you’re such a nuisance.”

“……”

Baek Yeoul’s heart had grown calloused. She thought she had gotten used to childish ostracism over the years.

But recently, she had softened, having enjoyed school life with her friends on “No Leftovers Day.”

So when she saw the face of the male student Han Namjin at the entrance of the Great Labyrinth, she was quite pleased.

She thought about confiding honestly to the male student who asked if she was okay, but─.

‘I can overcome this alone, even without friends.’

Baek Yeoul decided to endure and persevere.

She was a remarkable person who had even fought against formidable third-class wanted criminals.

Jeon Somi was pleased at the thought of playing a prank on Baek Yeoul.

‘Should I lock her in the trap room tomorrow and leave her there until she cries and begs for forgiveness? Honestly, that’s not even enough to repay the humiliation she gave me last time.’

But in fact, there was something more important to Jeon Somi than Baek Yeoul at the moment.

“Hyuna, have you heard that a male student is joining our team tomorrow?”

“I haven’t heard the details. But if it’s a third-year male student joining our team, there’s only one.”

Jeon Somi thought of the boy she liked.

It was Wang Jahyun, a tall boy with fair skin and big eyes.

“Of course, it’s Jahyun joining our team, right?”

Jeon Somi had a crush on Wang Jahyun.

It was because he was the youngest son of a chaebol family. His tall stature and fair skin made him look like a prince, which was her type.

He was her ideal type.

To think that such a student would temporarily join their team.

‘If only Jang Hyuna weren’t here, it would be perfect.’

Jeon Somi recently found out that Jang Hyuna had been secretly exchanging DMs with Wang Jaehyun behind her back.

It was clear that the soft-hearted Wang Jaehyun couldn’t easily cut off the women who contacted him.

But tomorrow.

If she showed how close she was with Wang Jaehyun, Jang Hyuna, who had been wagging her tail like a fox, would eventually realize her place and swallow her resentment.

While Jeon Somi was laughing to herself, Baek Yeoul was trembling with anxiety.

‘Not just Jeon Somi and Jang Hyuna, but Wang Jaehyun too? That guy is totally annoying!’

She wished tomorrow wouldn’t come.

The next morning, after the women had spent a restless night with their own wishes.

“Yes, I am ‘Bread Pitt.'”