The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess - Chapter 139



139 – The Declaration of War! # 1

139 – The Declaration of War! # 1

“The Black Rain” was not just a situation confined to Korea.

The contaminated rain caused crops in the fields to wither, and people’s hair to fall out in clumps, leading to a surge in cases of baldness worldwide.

According to news reports, Japan and China, which are close to Korea, suffered the most. Hence, the establishment of the joint operation command “New Order” led to cooperation between China and Japan, transcending ideologies.

“Hanamjin! There’s no need to listen to this thief! Tie him up and beat him until he spills all the information! How dare he interrupt our precious vacation!”

Bangdaengi’s opinion had some merit.

However, since I was the one who brought the black rain into the world, I felt a certain responsibility for the situation.

Taking responsibility for one’s actions.

That’s a basic principle, not just for men, but for all people.

“If we can borrow the treasure of ‘Recovery,’ we, Japan, can withdraw from the internal issues happening in Korea! Please exchange it for the location information of Junior Lieutenant Hagihoon!”

Tsubaki wanted to borrow the treasure.

The problem was that the treasure of “Recovery” was not mine.

I had no rights or authority over it.

The owner of this private beach was the Jaewang Group, and the person in charge was Wang Jageon.

After listening for a while, Wang Jageon made a decision and smiled slyly.

“Khehehe, fine. We’ll lend you the treasure of ‘Recovery.’ Make sure to draft the contract meticulously. Check each clause carefully. We don’t want any disputes later.”

“Y-You’re trying to insert toxic clauses! Just like the Eulsa Treaty that Japan imposed on Korea! But we have no choice…”

Wang Jageon was more generous than expected, readily agreeing to the loan. In the end, they drafted a 25-page contract and signed it.

I couldn’t know the exact details of the contract, but everyone seemed satisfied.

Now it was Tsubaki’s turn to fulfill the promise of revealing Hagihoon’s information.

Fortunately, he wasn’t shameless and provided the information smoothly.

“The first person to report Namjin’s information to our ‘New Order’ was Junior Lieutenant Hagihoon. Our decision to intervene in Korea was thanks to his report.”

That old man?

But why did he report to “New Order” and then join hands with “Genesis Holy War”?

Japanese agent Tsubaki added more information as if he knew more.

“Before he contacted ‘Genesis Holy War,’ he met with President Nam Taegun and had some discussions. There were also minor skirmishes with a few injuries.”

Junior Lieutenant Hagihoon had contacted President Nam Taegun─huh.

Whether this information would be helpful or not, I couldn’t tell.

Swoosh-.

Tsubaki handed me a small USB.

“There should be an address in here. But be careful. All our reconnaissance agents who approached that place have gone missing. It’s an extremely dangerous fortress.”

From noble mtl dot com

Thus, the search for the culprit came to an end.

Fortunately, no one was injured, so it could be considered a good resolution.

# # #

The next day.

Seo Ga-eul finished her personal schedule and arrived at the beach.

“Is it true that a Japanese agent targeted Han Nam-jin?”

Someone must have informed her, as Seo Ga-eul knew all the details as if she had been there herself.

It’s nice not having to repeat the tedious explanations.

At that moment, we were in the process of salvaging the “Recovery” treasure from the depths of the sea. The salvage operation was taking a long time because the identity of the “Recovery” treasure was beyond imagination.

“The treasure is a sunken ship?”

“Not just any ship, but a battleship. They say it’s a Yamato-class battleship operated by the Japanese military during the Pacific War. And it’s incredibly difficult to recover.”

We had agreed to lend the “Recovery” treasure to Japan, but the process of retrieving it was challenging.

A massive battleship was sunk in the sea, and it required tremendous manpower and time to bring it up and transport it to Japan.

That’s why the Jaewang Group had left the “Recovery” treasure submerged in the sea, even though it could be used infinitely.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to recover it; they couldn’t recover it.

If we could use the Japanese government’s help to bring up the battleship, it would be like blowing our nose without using our hands for Wang Ja-geon and the Jaewang Group.

Wang Ja-geon laughed slyly.

“Khehehe, it’s going according to my plan.”

So they say.

Anyway, the vacation continued, and we played in the waves or played tag on the sandy beach.

As time passed, we gathered around a bonfire on the beach, grilling meat. We also set off fireworks while looking at the round full moon.

“This backwater is so much fun…! I wish we could play like this every day…!”

Everyone agreed with Mi-bbang’s words.

This year had been full of incidents and accidents, so there hadn’t been much time to enjoy leisure like this.

As time passed, it was already 11 PM.

The nymphs and Mi-bbang went back to their rooms to sleep, and only those with remaining energy stayed on the beach, sharing wistful stories.

Seo Ga-eul took a beer can from the icebox filled with ice and opened it with a hiss.

However, Wang Ja-geon, the only adult present, seemed displeased with Seo Ga-eul.

“Kids, don’t drink alcohol.”

“What are you saying!”

Gulp, gulp-.

Seo Ga-eul drinking beer.

“Ugh, it really tastes awful. Why do people even drink this? I thought it would taste good with chicken because chimaek is famous, but it’s just bitter! Cola is much better!”

Ptooey, ptooey-.

Seo Ga-eul spat everywhere, as if trying to forget the aftertaste of the beer. Baek Yeoul and Yoo Yeoreum also took a sip of the beer Seo Ga-eul handed them and had the same reaction.

“Yuck! It’s awful!”

“I thought it would taste like McCol.”

“It does have a barley scent.”

“…A strange taste….”

“Is this the taste of adulthood?”

“I like it.”

Chang-sik, Deok-soon, Jin Eun-byeol, and Kim Mori each took a sip from their beer cans and gave their own evaluations.

However, most of them frowned as they were not used to drinking.

Only Wang Ja-hyun, who was accustomed to drinking and singing, proudly opened a second can.

“You guys grew up smoothly without any hardships. Because I’ve been through a lot, this just tastes like a sweet drink to me.”

Twenty minutes later.

Wang Ja-hyun, seemingly tipsy, nodded off and fell asleep.

Chang-sik helped the dozing Wang Ja-hyun into the room.

“I’m sleepy too, so I’ll head in.”

“Me too….”

Deok-soon, who had been yawning continuously, also went into the room.

Before long, only Seo Ga-eul, me, Baek Yeoul, and Yoo Yeoreum were left.

Seo Ga-eul was already opening her third can of beer with a hiss─.

“Becoming an ordinary person every full moon. It’s really inconvenient. Even opening a can is so hard. It wasn’t like this before. Why did it become like this?”

Her tongue was slightly twisted, indicating she was drunk.

Baek Yeoul, who was crushing the empty cans, chimed in.

“You losing your strength every full moon. It might be because of me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Remember that lucky coin you refused to accept at Christmas? I made a wish on it. I wished for Seo Ga-eul to be unhappy…”

“What are you talking about?”

Seo Ga-eul’s expression grew even more displeased at Baek Yeoul’s drunken rambling. Although Baek Yeoul quickly covered her mouth as if she had made a mistake, words once spoken cannot be taken back.

“Are you saying that all my suffering was because of you, Baek Yeoul?”

“That… that might be the case. Seo Ga-eul, who knows what would have happened if you had accepted my gift properly. …It’s your fault for being so rude.”

“That day, I was in an unusually bad mood. Because Yoo Yeoreum was really getting on my nerves. If it weren’t for that, I would have accepted that strange coin gift too.”

Perhaps due to the unfamiliar alcohol content, everyone revealed things they normally wouldn’t. These were deep stories that even I couldn’t see through with my “emotions.”

Yoo Yeoreum glared at Seo Ga-eul.

“That day was the anniversary of the children who died during the experiment at the orphanage. The children died like that, but you, the daughter of the Seonam Group that conducted the experiment, were partying. I hated that.”

Two years ago, Yoo Yeoreum had deliberately provoked Seo Ga-eul on Christmas.

As a result, Seo Ga-eul, who was in a bad mood, acted harshly towards Baek Yeoul, and Baek Yeoul, humiliated by the rejection of her gift, wished for Seo Ga-eul’s misfortune.

That wish for misfortune eventually brought bad luck to Seo Ga-eul.

Under the full moon, Seo Ga-eul, who had lost her strength like an ordinary person, was almost in danger from the perverted Nam San-ho, and she killed Nam San-ho─.

But Nam San-ho didn’t actually die and became a “zombie,” leading to the tragedy at N Mart, where my family was caught in the fire.

Since then, I lived a miserable life, injured my leg while saving Baek Yeoul, went through all sorts of hardships, and met Seo Ga-eul again in that shack, leading to this moment─.

So many things happened.

As Wang Ja-hyun said, alcohol tastes sweet to those who have been through a lot.

Sizzle, gulp gulp-.

“……”

But even for me, the beer was just bitter.

Maybe the alcohol was bitter because I hadn’t yet tasted enough of the world’s bitterness.

I don’t remember what we talked about after that.

It seemed like we raised our voices and fought, someone cried, someone laughed.

When dawn came, I left the lodging and stood on the dark beach.

The beach, which had been noisy until last night, was so quiet that it felt incredibly lonely, as if I had been the only one here from the beginning.

Swoosh, crash-.

The only sound was the waves crashing.

“Ah!”

Wanting to hear someone’s voice, I shouted alone towards the waves. Ah-. The echo of my voice coming back felt like someone else’s, which somehow reassured me.

But soon, the echo was swept away by the waves.

The vast sea.

The sun beginning to be tinged with the dawn of morning.

I stood alone in front of those immense natural wonders.

It felt as if I was being swallowed by something enormous, awakening the loneliness that slept within me.

“What are you doing? Shouting all by yourself.”

Someone spoke to me from behind.

Due to the dimness of dawn, I couldn’t see the face clearly.

It was probably Seo Ga-eul.

I could smell Seo Ga-eul.

But what made me uncertain was the voice that spoke to me, filled with a warmth so affectionate it was almost benevolent.

Not like the always prickly Seo Ga-eul.

‘Is this girl really Seo Ga-eul?’

Perhaps, in my extreme loneliness and solitude, I had conjured up an illusion.

While I was thinking that, the girl spoke.

“There isn’t much time left to relax like this. When I think about it now, it seems like the time I spent tied up in that basement was when I lived without worries and concerns. Although there were many annoying things.”

“……”

“Of course, that doesn’t mean I forgive you for kidnapping me. Just because my future self asked you to, you really kidnapped someone. Even in a crude method, there should be a limit. And you hit me with a fly swatter?”

The girl seemed to be quite angry.

“I will never forget the humiliation and fear I felt then, and I will never forgive you. I will keep it as a debt you have to repay for the rest of your life. So, don’t go this time.”

“Don’t go where?”

“The USB in your hand. You’re thinking of going alone to the coordinates on it. That’s why, at this dawn, you made everyone else drunk and packed your things alone, right?”

“You’re quick-witted.”

“Normally, you would have lectured that minors shouldn’t drink, but it seemed strange that you stayed quiet. You’re planning to meet Sergeant Ha Gi-hoon alone. It’s obviously a trap. Or we all go together. Everyone will help if it’s your matter.”

“Because it’s my matter, I have to do it. Honestly, it won’t be easy, but I can’t let my friends get hurt.”

Entering Ha Gi-hoon’s fortress uninvited was not an easy task for me either.

Therefore, I couldn’t ask for my friends’ help.

Flash-.

At that moment, the dawn began to break beyond the sea.

As the morning sun pushed away the darkness and revealed its face, the girl’s face became clearly visible.

Somehow serene, yet with a hint of sorrow, as if she was smiling but about to burst into tears at any moment.

“You said you liked me. I’m not asking for something difficult, so why do you hate doing it so much? If you just leave here, I’ll never forgive you for the rest of my life.”

I liked Seo Ga-eul.

I thought it would be worth risking my life for Seo Ga-eul.

However, there are things that must come before love between a man and a woman on the path of a man.

That is the greater good.

“Seo Ga-eul, don’t forgive me!!!”

“Hey!!!! You bad guy!!!!”

As I turned to leave, Seo Ga-eul shouted loudly at my back.

But, just like the echo I shouted, everything was soon buried in the sound of the waves.