The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

070 – Suspension!

070 – Suspension!

“Nam Taegun, step down! Nam Taegun, step down!”

“Step down! Step down!”

The shouts of the protesters made the Seoul sky noisy day after day.

It was the second day since the ‘unidentified monster’ rampaged in the middle of D city’s downtown and was subdued.

Rumors and misinformation spread by an internet broadcast had driven people to the streets to express their anger at the current regime─.

At least, that’s how the newspapers and news explained it.

But the government hadn’t taken control of all the media.

On the internet, where government regulations were relatively less effective, a heated debate had been ongoing since the incident two days ago.

「ㅇㅇ: As Han Nam-jin said, it was true that the N-Mart incident was intentionally instigated」

└They also said that the monster was subdued by the police special forces and the government’s awakened power teamㅋ

└I was watching the broadcast at that time, and it was Han Nam-jin and his friends who subdued it, while the police special forces stood by

「Wairanosaurus: They say it wasn’t a monster but a demon that rampaged in the city?」

└It seems that some awakened ones go berserk like that

└Does that mean demon incidents can continue to happen?

└Maybe they’re already living among us like Jin Eun-byeol without us knowingㅋㅋ

Society was very chaotic.

“Release Han Nam-jin!”

“Release him! Release him!”

The deep wrinkles on the police chief’s forehead showed his deep anguish as he listened to the shouts of the people gathered on the street.

Could you believe that this problem and chaos were caused by just one high school student?

“Your Excellency, this time we need to impose a definite punishment.”

The police chief said to the man sitting at the wide desk reading a newspaper.

The man, an old man with a rather skinny build and a neatly shaved beard, spoke without taking his eyes off the newspaper.

“What for? Chief Kang, isn’t this something to be pleased about? A student from Yeongsa High School bravely faced an unknown threat and saved citizens. It shows that Yeongsa High School’s education has been effective.”

Yeongsa High School was an educational institution created by the Nam Tae-geon regime and was also one of their great achievements.

Therefore, if a student from Yeongsa High School accomplished any feat, it would be considered a feat of President Nam Tae-geon─.

It seemed that President Nam Tae-geon thought so.

“Where is student Han Nam-jin now?”

“He is being held in the detention center of D city’s police station… .”

“Release him. The reason… well, insufficient evidence should be good enough, right?”

The police chief glanced at the president.

To see if he was speaking sincerely.

The police chief, who had been assisting the man in front of him for several years, still found it difficult to read his intentions. He was a man whose thoughts were impossible to discern.

That was terrifying, and conversely, that was impressive.

He had always come up with solutions so remarkable that everyone was astonished and resolved the issues.

Surely, this time too, he would present a surprising solution.

“But, still, making such a fuss and being released without charges wouldn’t set a good example for many students. A ‘suspension’ would suffice.”

This was how Han Nam-jin, a male student at Yeongsa High School, came to receive a ten-day suspension.

Captain Kang Cheol-min was the one who notified Han Nam-jin of his suspension.

Of course, Kang Cheol-min didn’t know the detailed conversations above, but he was certain that this incident was a series of miracles.

And such miracles usually don’t come down more than twice.

“Han Nam-jin, you lucky b*stard. Causing such a ruckus and getting away with just a ten-day suspension, you might be the first in the history of South Korea. Please behave for these ten days!”

He said to behave, but…

To Captain Kang Cheol-min, Han Nam-jin was definitely not a student who would behave quietly.

‘In the first place, this ‘suspension’ isn’t an ordinary punishment.’

Yeongsa High School’s suspension was the highest punishment the school could impose.

The reason was that there were many ‘differences’ between the suspensions of other schools and Yeongsa High School’s suspension.

Kang Cheol-min decided not to explain such things in detail.

“Captain! Why is only Han Nam-jin suspended? We were all there together at that time!”

Baek Yeoul, a female student who was watching Han Nam-jin leave the school grounds through the window, shouted.

Soon, all the students began to agree, saying, “That’s right, that’s right.”

“Captain! We fought with all our might against the demon and won, but instead of being rewarded, we get suspended. What kind of awakened person would protect the citizens then?”

“It’s an unfair punishment!”

The classroom became very noisy.

Captain Kang Cheol-min was pondering how to calm this situation.

“Well, Nam-jin…”

A female student opened her mouth.

It was Oh Deok-hee, a female student whose bangs covered most of her face.

Oh Deok-hee, who had made a significant contribution in the recent demon incident and even received a ‘reward,’ added her words during the chaotic silence.

“Nam-jin said he would take the ‘suspension.’ Someone had to take responsibility for the actions, and it would probably be the leader, himself. But he said not to worry because it was all calculated.”

“Calculated?”

“Do you think you’re some kind of gill light?”

Not only did he manage to get away with broadcasting shocking incidents and getting arrested as a current offender, only to be released due to ‘insufficient evidence,’ but he also calculated in advance that the school would suspend him?

When the kids were buzzing, Kang Chul-min also chuckled.

In fact, Kang Chul-min also couldn’t understand Han Nam-jin’s punishment. Shouldn’t he be rewarded for achieving good results with good intentions?

But he was a public servant, and there was only one thing he could say.

“Stop talking and open your books!”

# # #

Suspension!

As I roughly expected, I was suspended as punishment for this incident.

But for me, it was rather a rewarding time.

I don’t have to go to school!

Overflowing free time!

I feel like I could fly!

“It would have been better if it was expulsion, though.”

Hehehe-.

Now that I have plenty of time, should I put some effort into Seo Ga-eul’s assistant? And I also thought of learning the concept training method from Yoo Yeoreum.

When I fought the ‘demon’ this time, I realized that I couldn’t have caught it alone.

My strength is still below the standard to be called a ‘supernova’ in a ruined world.

It was time to think that I should work harder in the future.

“Han Nam-jin!”

Someone came running across the playground from afar.

I wondered what it was, but it was Bbangdaengi.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“Self-suspension!”

“There’s no such thing as self-suspension. You’re just skipping!”

“I just made it up! We’re partners! It’s unfair for you to be punished alone when we did it together! So I decided to self-suspend too!”

“Oh? What, Bbangdaengi, you!”

I didn’t know Bbangdaengi Baek Yeoul had such great loyalty.

It was a meaningless loyalty, but still!

I feel like crying!

“And this….”

Baek Yeoul took something out of her school uniform pocket.

It was a small coin.

「Name: Lucky Coin」

「Description: A 10th anniversary commemorative coin with the face of the fairy princess.」

「Possession: 《Luck Lv.4》 – Luck like the bluebird in the fairy tale has settled. It grants the owner’s wishes, but its power is now completely exhausted.”

“Isn’t that the coin you took out of Jin Eunbyeol’s throat?”

“Yes. This coin was a birthday present from my dad. I lost it, but why did Jin Eunbyeol have it? I want to ask!”

Baek Yeoul soon became very depressed.

“And she said many people died because of me, but I want to know what that means. Actually, I don’t really want to know….”

Was she bothered by the nonsense Jin Eunbyeol had been spouting?

I was also concerned about Jin Eunbyeol.

“I was planning to visit the hospital anyway.”

Jin Eunbyeol was confined in a ward at a special detention center.

She was covered in tubes and hooked up to machines, her whole body wrapped in bandages, looking like a critical patient.

Her limbs, which had stretched monstrously when she became a demon, had returned to their original size, but various scars and wounds were sure to remain.

She was a beauty despite her rudeness, but now it’s a pity.

“Jin Eunbyeol.”

I spoke to Jin Eunbyeol, who was visible beyond the acrylic.

Then Jin Ramyeon, who was standing guard, flared up.

“Hey! Han Namjin! Do you know where you are? If things were normal, you should be locked up here too! Be grateful you were released due to insufficient evidence because public opinion was bad!”

Actually, I shouldn’t be here.

But who else in this world has the right to question Jin Eunbyeol as much as I do?

However, seeing Jin Eunbyeol’s condition, it seemed she wasn’t in a state to answer anything.

It doesn’t matter.

If there’s a vending machine for answers, it’s right here in front of me.

“…Don’t ask me anything! Please! Why are you looking at me like that!”

“Jin Ramyeon, has Jin Eunbyeol said anything?”

“Yes. She told me how she came to grasp the concept of the ‘demon’. She said she touched an antique box her father gave her as a gift when she was in the sixth grade, and that’s when she started to change.”

A human who lost their self to the concept of the ‘demon’.

Is there a sin?

「Name: Jin Eunbyeol

「Possession: 《Foresight Lv.2》

Status: 《Comatose》 – Occasionally regains consciousness.」

Should we consider the Jin Eunbyeol of that time and the Jin Eunbyeol now, who has lost the concept of “demon,” as separate people?

As I watched Jin Eunbyeol struggling to breathe beyond the acrylic, Jin Ramyeon noona added a few words.

“She’s a distant relative of mine, and she was originally a good kid. I don’t know if it’s appropriate to say this in front of you who fought her to the death, but honestly, I feel sorry for Eunbyeol. She’ll never walk again.”

Never walk again.

Having once severely injured my leg, I felt a certain sympathy for her situation.

Can a life be so twisted by mishandling a single box?

“Noona, what is this box?”

“Oh. It’s a box that looks like this.”

Jin Ramyeon noona drew a picture and showed it to me.

【ooo】

It was a box that looked like this.

The brick-like, perforated shape was familiar.

Isn’t this the artifact that Seo Ga-eul owned?

Coincidence?

While I was deep in thought, Jin Ramyeon noona asked me in a small voice.

“Brother, how did you know that Jin Eunbyeol was a ‘demon’? Where did you get the USB video file? That video was filmed at the ‘Eden Church,’ wasn’t it?”

“’Eden Church’?”

“When Jin Eunbyeol’s parents were 14, they asked the pastors of the then-famous cult ‘Eden Church’ to exorcise the demon that possessed Jin Eunbyeol’s body. “That video is from that time.”

Was there such a story?

In return for Jin Ramyeon noona’s honesty, I also spoke frankly.

“From Gu Sejun of the ‘Villainers.’”

“‘Villainers’… !? You… ! “Did you join hands with terrorists?”

From noble mtl dot com

Jin Ramyeon noona frowned.

I extended my arm to her.

“If you think it’s illegal, arrest me.”

“Forget it. You’ll be released for ‘lack of evidence’ anyway. What kind of magic did you use? “Do you have some powerful backing?”

“Do you want to know?”

I looked at Jin Ramen Noona seriously.

But Jin Ramen Noona, as if she sensed some kind of burning in my serious eyes, covered her ears.

“No, don’t tell me! Never! I have a feeling that I shouldn’t hear it now!”

What a pity.

This is where it gets exciting.

I looked at Jin Eunbyeol, who was barely hanging on to life.

Just as I said, this is where it gets exciting.

Jin Eunbyeol, whether by choice or not, became the fuse for the great events that were about to unfold.

The concept of the “demon” that resided within Jin Eunbyeol disappeared by destroying the concept stone─.

That was very significant.

From now on, it will be an era of loss.