Inside the car, smoothly slipping through the city full of skyscrapers.
The man, Seo Do-cheol, opened his narrow eyes, looking at the twinkling lights outside the car window.
His secretary, based on long experience, could tell that Seo Do-cheol's mood was extremely unpleasant.
Even without words, there was an atmosphere.
“Chairman, did something happen?”
Chairman's secretary, Manager Kim, pretended not to know anything and asked.
“That son of a bitch suddenly bit my arm.”
Chairman Seo Do-cheol, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards.
Manager Kim recalled that Seo Do-cheol, the chairman of Seo-Nam, was supposed to meet with Gu Se-jun today.
Gu Se-jun was a dog raised by Seo-Nam.
However, it had grown so large that it was now a beast trying to devour even its owner. Today's meeting must have been where Gu Se-jun crossed the line.
While Manager Kim was making such speculations, Seo Do-cheol recalled the incident from earlier.
━Why did you set fire to N-Mart?
At the words coming from the boy's mouth, Seo Do-cheol was speechless for the first time in a long while.
He was someone who had refuted even the sharpest questions of the hearings without difficulty.
But he felt as if his neck had been suddenly bitten, his tongue stiffening.
Soon he realized he was flustered.
He was dumbfounded, wondering if there had ever been anyone who had been so rude to him, the shining second-in-command of the Republic of Korea.
Is this what it means to be young with nothing to lose?
On the one hand, he was envious.
“Well? I don't know what you're talking about. Even if I did such a thing, would I have an obligation to tell you honestly? You may not understand, young friend, but people need give and take.”
“Pleasant words at parting make a journey of a thousand miles pleasant─Is that what you're saying?”
Was there such a proverb?
Seo Do-cheol instantly realized that the male student in front of him was extraordinary. It was this very discernment that had put him where he was today.
He had thought it strange from the moment the boy said he was dating his daughter, Seo Ga-eul.
He must have gone crazy.
‘Is he a pseudologia fantastica or delusional patient?’
Reaching that thought, Seo Do-cheol felt this time was being wasted.
“If you want to find fault, at least bring some evidence. Undeniable evidence. Then, if there's nothing more to ask, I'll be leaving.”
It was the moment he was about to pass by the male student.
“I’ll ask just one more thing.”
Suddenly, the male student turned his head sharply and then bit Seo Do-cheol’s arm.
“Ouch, fuck!”
To think that asking meant literally biting his arm.
Even a refined chaebol couldn’t help but curse in surprise at the sudden bite. When he came to his senses, the male student was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, laughing, “Hehehe-.”
“Father-in-law, think carefully. After I find the evidence, it won't end with just biting your arm. You can consider Ga-eul's future siblings permanently out of the picture.”
When he rolled up his sleeve, a clear red bite mark was imprinted.
It hurt as if the bone was fractured.
“You, what’s your name?”
That was the end of the flashback.
Manager Kim was startled by the red bite mark the chairman showed him. He hadn’t thought that being bitten by a dog literally meant being bitten.
While the secretary was flustered, Chairman Seo Do-cheol asked.
“Manager Kim, have you heard of Ha Nam-jin?”
“Ah, yes. I’ve heard of him. He’s the next-generation rising star at Hero-mili School these days. He’s a friend who hasn’t even been there for a semester, but he’s already caught two level 3 wanted criminals.”
“Ah, that bastard?”
“He’s said to be a bereaved family member of the N-Mart fire. Because there are various dramas surrounding it, Hero-mili School seems to be pushing for him and his team, ‘No Leftovers Day.’ Could it be that crazy bastard who bit your arm...!”
Seo Do-cheol recalled the male student who had questioned him about the N-Mart arson.
Did he learn something from the level 3 wanted criminals he had arrested?
But unfortunately, now that all the evidence had disappeared, Seo Do-cheol just had to pretend he didn’t know anything.
The country's laws, the judicial system, and everything else were on his side. That’s why Ha Nam-jin's name was quickly erased from Seo Do-cheol’s memory.
He thought only of his missing daughter.
Then suddenly, a hypothesis came to mind.
“Ha Nam-jin, could that lunatic have kidnapped my daughter?”
“Superintendent Jin Ri-hyeon checked several times, but they say it’s not him.”
Then where did his daughter disappear to?
Seo Do-cheol was genuinely worried about his daughter.
To him, his daughter was his everything. She was all that his deceased wife had left behind, and a source of pride he wouldn't trade for the world.
That daughter had disappeared.
Why should only he be so unhappy?
Nam Tae-geon, the co-founder of Seo-Nam, had become a re-elected president and was enjoying his happiness, preparing for something like forced inheritance, far ahead of him.
Seo Do-cheol couldn’t stand the fact that someone was above him.
If he couldn’t be happy, he would drag others down to the same misfortune.
He wondered if there was any good way and then thought of the mad dog that had bitten his arm.
“Manager Kim, what was tomorrow's morning paper headline?”
“It was the exposure of Emperor Group's playboy, Wang Ja-hyun's private life.”
“We need to change that. Let's give Yoo Dog-wan, who must be heartbroken after losing his beloved daughter, some work to do.”
# # #
If you ask what is the most painful thing in a ruined world, it’s definitely loneliness.
I wanted to have a pretty girlfriend, have a relationship like everyone else, get married, have children, and happily watch my grandchildren play.
Whenever I felt that way, I would go up to the roof of my shack and look at the stars.
Because my heart felt a little better when I looked at the sparkling night sky.
When I thought about how those countless stars were floating alone in the vast expanse of the universe, my loneliness felt insignificant.
But the stars weren't easily visible in the current city.
“I can overcome hunger by eating ketchup, but what can I do to soothe this loneliness that comes at any time?”
━Inging-yaing.
Inging-i, who had popped out of my bag, rubbed its body against my face.
The fluffy and cool cloud body felt quite pleasant.
“Inging-i, what kind of monster are you anyway?”
I suddenly became curious about Inging-i’s true nature.
It was a slime before it became a cloud.
Did it have the concept of 「Slime」?
Just like that, I returned to the basement with Inging-i.
Clank- Creak-
As I opened the basement door and went inside, the sight of Seo Ga-eul and Yoo Yeo-reum facing the wall with their backs to each other came into view.
They hadn’t said anything, but it seemed they had fought while I was gone.
“Yeo-reum, I bought you some strawberry milk here.”
Swish-
I took out the strawberry milk that Yoo Yeo-reum liked from the bag.
Yoo Yeo-reum's eyes grew considerably larger upon seeing the strawberry milk, and she cautiously approached me and slowly reached out her hand.
That tense and hesitant appearance was just like a stray cat wary of people.
I think I understand why cat moms keep feeding cats.
They were having all this fun by themselves?
“What about my 「Treasure」?”
Seo Ga-eul, with her arms crossed and legs crossed, asked haughtily.
I had a lot to say, but I first took the box out of my bag and handed it to Seo Ga-eul.
「Name: Fairy King’s Treasure Box
A box that the Fairy King of the Grand Labyrinth cherished greatly. It can store everything in the world.
Possession: 《Hope Lv.3》 - Contains hope at the level of a first-prize winning lottery ticket.」
“Oh, what? You really brought it? That’s it, that’s it! That’s what I needed!”
Seo Ga-eul was very happy to receive the box.
Is this box really that great?
When I made a puzzled expression, Seo Ga-eul, for some reason, kindly explained.
“I can store the 「Concepts」 I’ve awakened in this box. I can take them out again when I need them. It’s like my ‘Concept Refrigerator.’ As expected, I need this.”
“What does that have to do with training?”
“Are you stupid? You should understand by now. I can awaken concepts much easier than you can imagine. Thinking about the trouble I had in middle school when I awakened a lot of useless concepts...”
Not all concepts were beneficial to the Awakened.
Look at Bangdeng-i. The concept of 「Misfortune」 was eating away at his life.
Like that, it seemed that Seo Ga-eul obtained this Treasure Box in preparation for when she awakens an unwanted concept.
This means she can now increase her speed in concept awakening.
I can honestly be happy about it.
“Then how about you do that ‘Mal-lang-mal-lang’ thing to me now?”
“What?”
Flinch-
Seo Ga-eul was flustered.
“What are you asking me to do?”
She must have said that she would do ‘Mal-lang-mal-lang’ to me once if I brought her treasure. It was quite annoying how she was pretending as if she had never heard of it.
“When did I say I’d do something like that? Bring the evidence. Evidence.”
Asking for evidence here?
“You and your dad are doing the same thing. Blood really doesn’t lie.”
“What? Why are you talking about my dad here?”
“I met your dad while bringing that box.”
“......!”
Seo Ga-eul’s demeanor, which had been relaxed until just now, deteriorated rapidly.
Seo Ga-eul seemed to be contemplating and finally let out a sigh.
“Fine! I’ll do ‘Mal-lang-mal-lang’!”
Swish-
Seo Ga-eul pushed her chest towards me.
What’s this?
“What are you doing?”
“Can’t you tell by looking? Mal-lang-mal-lang is touching my breasts.”
That’s very persuasive... It is!
But I could quickly tell that those words were a lie.
「Name: Seo Ga-eul
Possession: Click to expand for details ☜
Status: 《Making Excuses》 - Lying.
Whatever it is, Mal-lang-mal-lang doesn't seem to be simply touching her breasts.
Should I just pretend I don't know and touch her breasts anyway?
No, a man can't be called a man if he gets fooled by a small bait and loses a big prey.
“Seo Ga-eul, you owe me three ‘Mal-lang-mal-langs.’”
“What? Hey! Why three! Why did it suddenly become three?!”
Seo Ga-eul threw a tantrum as if she couldn't understand.
That was the moment.
Yoo Yeo-reum, who had finished her strawberry milk, cautiously approached me.
“Can you change my bedding? Even if I wash my body thoroughly, it seems meaningless if the bedding I sleep in is dirty. If you change my bedding, I can also grant you one request.”
Yoo Yeo-reum will grant my request?
I don't understand why she's suddenly being so obedient after acting so fiercely.
Did she like the strawberry milk that much!
Seo Ga-eul also chimed in.
“Change mine too. My bedding is for winter, so it’s really hot!”
“Then I’ll change it if you tell me what ‘Mal-lang-mal-lang’ really is.”
“......”
Seo Ga-eul kept her mouth shut.
In the end, only Yoo Yeo-reum got clean and cool bedding. Seo Ga-eul was so jealous of Yoo Yeo-reum that she growled like an enraged vixen.
“Yoo Yeo-reum, are you a bar girl? How can you get bedding by offering favors to a man? How sad would your brother be if he knew this. Aren't you ashamed?”
“The bedding is so cool and nice. Jin-ah, thank you.”
What?
I didn’t expect Yoo Yeo-reum’s attitude, which had been raging like a puma on the verge of euthanasia just a moment ago, to change like a well-trained house cat.
It’s good for me if she cooperates obediently.
Anyway, I also got one chance to ask Yoo Yeo-reum for something.
Actually, there was something I wanted to ask Yoo Yeo-reum.
With that feeling, morning came.
I thought I'd check the newspaper for Seo Ga-eul, so I flipped the paper open.
「Shocking! President colluded with terrorists?」
「Evidence of transactions with Villainerz revealed─.」
「With a mysterious tip-off, will the ‘Pandora’s Box’ regarding the current administration open─.」
「N-Mart disaster revisited-.」
“This is good medicine.”
This newspaper was the one that Seo-Nam Group advertised in, right?
In other words, this was the rat poison spread by Seo Do-cheol of Seo-Nam.