The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess - Chapter 159



159 – Yeoreum’s Sentiments #3

159 – Yeoreum’s Sentiments #3

Adams Snail, President of the United States.

His true identity was that of a ‘Sage’, a figure who had operated behind the scenes of human history, both before and after the construction of the pyramids.

A superhuman (超人) who had lived, indifferent to the guise of man or woman, old or young.

Yoo Yeoreum’s chipmunk, instead of the lost wallet, led us toward that very man.

Perhaps it thought the same scent emanated from Yoo Yeoreum and this man.

There were several possibilities to consider.

Firstly, that Yoo Yeoreum and this man used the same body wash, shampoo, or perhaps even perfume.

And secondly—

That the father Yoo Yeoreum so desperately sought was none other than the ‘Sage’ himself.

A mere conjecture, but both hypotheses felt remarkably plausible.

More than anything, if the second hypothesis was correct and the ‘Sage’ was Yoo Yeoreum’s biological father, then her incredible vitality would be easily explained.

Even while burdened with the potent concept of ‘Light’, without any backlash, without even a hint of becoming a demonkin, it must be because Yoo Yeoreum inherited the ‘Sage’s’ special blood.

To ask like a man, perhaps?

To inquire if he might be Yoo Yeoreum’s father.

But, to meddle in the domestic affairs of another, that wasn’t exactly the act of a man.

And so, with my head swirling with conjecture, Adams asked,

“A magnificent squirrely-dog, isn’t it?”

The U.S. President reached a hand towards the sightless squirrely-dog.

The demonic squirrely-dog puffed out its fur, letting out a ━Krrr…!, expressing its wariness in no uncertain terms.

The U.S. President’s hand was withdrawn once more.

It was then, in that instant, that Yoo Yeoreum asked,

“By chance, are you my biological father?”

A question of truly astounding bluntness.

Even I couldn’t help but be impressed.

And so, how would U.S. President Adams Snail, the “Sage,” answer?

“That is so.”

He answered, just as refreshingly as she had asked.

No further explanation was needed, nor flowery words.

“Why did you abandon me at the orphanage?”

“Because it had to be that way.”

This place, it seems, is not where I ought to be.

And so, just as I was contemplating slipping away–quietly–to give them space…

The President of the United States spoke.

“I was called ‘Sage.’ The wisest amongst the fay. I was there, that long, long ago, when the witch and the first Red King struck their bargain.”

His eyes were lost in reverie.

They seemed bottomless, as if gazing into a past immeasurably old.

“I, in truth, opposed the King making a pact with the witch, promising him prosperity. Everything demands its price. The greater the gain, the greater the cost. So I resolved to prepare for ruin.”

“Is that why you abandoned me?”

Not a flicker of emotion colored Yoo Yeoreum’s question.

Merely a businesslike tone, as though seeking information.

No resentment for the parents who forsook her, no fury.

“Sacrificing the small for the sake of the great… it was commonplace. I have lived a long time, trying to prevent destruction. To the point where I no longer remember my true name, or even my face.”

The Sage looked upon Yoo Yeoreum.

He added, “But when I met her… I felt a feeling I’d never known before. She was truly… ordinary. That ordinariness… it almost made me ordinary too.”

“So that’s why you abandoned me!”

*Crack—.*

Yoo Yeoreum shouted, louder than expected.

Even I was slightly surprised by her uncharacteristic agitation.

But the Sage remained composed.

“In my long life, I have never once established a household. For a man, fathering a child means settling down after a long, long wandering. I… I could not yet settle. There was still work to be done.”

“……”

Crinkle-.

Yu Yeoreum’s brow furrowed.

“Now, you and I, we’ll never meet again.”

He spun around, quick – turned away.

Thump, thump-.

Yu Yeoreum walked ahead along the riverbank, where the sunset bled.

His pace didn’t seem particularly fast, yet strangely, the distance between us refused to close.

And so, I diligently followed after Yu Yeoreum, but then, he stopped dead in his tracks.

“I’d wondered what kind of person my real father was, ever since ages ago. But meeting him in person… I was surprised at how… insignificant he was.”

In my opinion, he wasn’t insignificant at all.

I doubted there were many people in the world as mysterious and remarkable as him.

“It seems family isn’t just something that happens because you share blood. I miss Mom and my brother. It seems the only ones I can truly call family in my life are those two.”

“Include one more now.”

I glanced slightly behind me and saw the blind chipmunk, standing far off in the distance, tentatively following after us.

About thirty steps back, give or take.

When we stopped walking, it stopped walking too.

When we walked, it walked too.

‘It’s wary, but… it’s not like it completely hates us, I suppose.’

It reminded me of the first time I tamed Ing-ing.

Back then, we were trying to devour each other; it was total chaos.

Then we became close, now we’re the best of friends, and emergency rations to boot.

Becoming close to someone strange is truly difficult, and all the more a grand thing for it.

*Sch-.*

Yoo Yeoreum held out her hand, and the Dog-Squirrel scurried up along its palm, toward her shoulder.

*━Kkeongkeong… !*

*Outbreak outbreak outbreak-.*

It wagged its full, fluffy tail wildly from side to side; looking just like a puppy.

Seems it wasn’t given the name ‘Dog’-Squirrel for nothing, after all.

“Even so, today was interesting. Meeting my biological father was meaningful too. Knowing what kind of person he is, there’s nothing more to be curious about. Hanamjin, you won the sparring match today.”

“Then, as promised, I shall thoroughly investigate your body?”

“But only for ten minutes.”

*Sch-.*

Yoo Yeoreum pointed with her hand to the blinking motel sign.

A motel still doing business… that’s something to see.

*Squeak-.*

We flipped the bottle cap and went inside.

*Sigh-.*

Yoo Yeoreum flopped down on the bed.

And so, I began investigating Yoo Yeoreum’s body for the allotted ten minutes.

I started by placing my palm on her back.

“Remarkably firm. Yet, when pressed with a finger, it yields, quite a bit.”

Yu Yeoreum’s skin, at first glance, possessed a feeling of solidity.

But upon truly touching it, one found a softness and suppleness befitting a young woman.

The muscles were the same.

Areas like her arms and thighs, when strength was exerted, became like steel, but when relaxed, they quivered like pudding.

I strove to discern Yu Yeoreum’s inherent constitution with both fingertips and ‘sensation’.

The conclusion I drew.

“Yu Yeoreum, you don’t even flinch when your armpit is tickled.”

“You’re annoying.”

“Just a jest, your body is forged by mana. The mana particles dispersed in the atmosphere permeate every nook and cranny of your form, granting you the simultaneous properties of suppleness and hardness.”

Mana is a toxin exuded from the Great Labyrinth.

If ordinary people are exposed to it for extended periods, it is said to cause various serious illnesses.

But for Awakened ones, mana became the fuel for the ‘concept’ they wielded.

The higher the adaptability to mana, the greater the output of one’s abilities.

Yu Yeoreum’s mana sensitivity was especially high, even among those I had seen.

If other Awakened ones absorbed 100 units of mana into their bodies, and then expelled roughly 50 back out, it could be said that Yu Yeoreum received 100 and absorbed and used all 100 entirely.

How could such a thing be possible?

“It’s probably thanks to my breathing technique. When I still lived at the orphanage, a yoga instructor came and taught us various movements and abdominal breathing techniques. It’s called breathing through the skin.”

“Breathing through the skin?”

“It’s about imagining that you’re breathing through your skin. I usually photosynthesize while also practicing skin breathing. Close your eyes and follow me. Hooo inhale, Hiyuyuuu-.”

It was a peculiar sound.

Still, clinging to a sliver of hope, I closed my eyes and imagined breathing through my skin, mimicking that strange sound.

“Hoo-eup, hee-yoo-yoo.”

Then, a wondrous thing occurred.

My skin felt as if it truly breathed, as if air flowed through it.

I could sense mana being expelled and drawn in through my very pores.

However, the method was unfamiliar, and a dizzying vertigo gripped my head.

# # #

A fading vision.

When I came to, a small girl was there.

She sat beneath the eaves, seeking refuge from the sweltering summer sun, eating watermelon.

A white dress suited her tanned, healthy skin perfectly, and she kept gazing towards that distant hill.

As if searching for someone.

“When loneliness creeps in, one must meditate under the sun, they said.”

The girl spoke with a feigned maturity.

And then, she moved to a sun-drenched spot, where the summer rays fell strongest, and lay down, gazing up at the sky.

“Hoo-eup, hee-yoo-yoo-.”

The next day, and the day after, the girl looked towards the hill.

Even the cicadas, which had been chirping so relentlessly, were starting to tire, as summer neared its end—.

Still, the girl looked towards the hill.

Then, the girl’s eyes widened.

“Teacher!”

“Well, if it isn’t Yeoreum.”

*Pitter-patter-patter.*

The man was greeted with such warmth that the girl ran barefoot to meet him.

He was an ordinary middle-aged man.

So commonplace that, lost in a crowd, even his features would fade from memory.

“Teacher, I can do all the yoga poses now! I meditate often too, and I can breathe through my skin. Look. Hooo, Wheeeew─.”

“Yes, you’re doing very well.”

The man ruffled the girl’s hair in a playful manner.

At that, the girl dissolved into a fit of giggles.

“Teacher, it tickles!”

The girl adored the man.

The man cherished the girl.

Like a daughter.

But, from some point onward, the man stopped coming to see her.

Though the monsoon season came and went, though the leaves turned and fell, though the snow that had fallen cold melted and bloomed into spring, the girl still gazed at the hill.

Always, unceasingly, she gazed at the hill.

“Hooo, Wheeeew-.”

And so, time passed, and the girl grew, little by little.

Her legs had lengthened, enough to reach the hilltop she had only ever gazed at in a single bound.

From atop that high hill, overlooking the village in its entirety, the girl finally resolved.

Not to wait, but to seek out for herself.

“A yoga instructor? There’s no one like that here.”

“Never heard of such a person.”

“Mr. Kim, have you ever seen anyone like this?”

“Not someone who worked here, no.”

“……”

That day, the girl was alone once more.

Though later, kind souls became her family.

Still, the girl’s heart remained as it was, gazing at that hill.

“Are you awake? You suddenly collapsed, I was so startled.”

Opening my eyes, I found myself inexplicably resting my head on Yoo Yeo-reum’s lap.

To that Yoo Yeo-reum, I said,

“You’ve always looked at that hill, haven’t you? Waiting for that person.”

“Did you see my heart through ‘Emotion’ or something? You’re right. A very long time ago, gazing at high hills was my hobby. Especially when I felt utterly alone in the world.”

“You were waiting for your teacher?”

“I thought maybe he was my father. We never said it out loud, but in my young mind, I thought that yoga teacher might be my father. When I learned we could never meet again, it was a bit of a shock.”

“……”

“But it’s okay now. I’ve grown up. I have many friends, and a good family, so I don’t need to endlessly stare at that hill anymore. Anyway, there’s no one left to wait for now.”

When young Yoo Yoreum felt lonely, she would always lie beneath the sun.

I wonder if that still holds true.

Her healthily tanned skin is almost dazzling, even.

Yoo Yoreum was still spending long stretches under the sun, it seemed.

I raised my hand.

And ruffled Yoo Yoreum’s hair, as if to tease her.

Then, a surprising thing occurred.

“Pfft-.”

Yoo Yoreum burst out laughing.

As if she couldn’t stand the ticklishness.

I spoke to Yoo Yoreum, then.

“If there’s something you want to say, you should say it clearly. No matter how much you pretend to be grown, to me you still seem like a milk-smelling little kid.”

“What was that?”

Yoo Yoreum furrowed her brow.

*Snap-*!

I seized Yoo Yoreum’s hand and pulled her out of the room.

“Wait! You can’t just barge in here like that-.”

“Just a moment!”

We passed by those who tried to block our path─.

I approached the man the young girl must have waited for, gazing at the hill.

“You’ve come again.”

“It’s not like I *wanted* to come.”

The man and girl regarded each other, still acting with detached indifference.

I thought this wouldn’t do.

Life is short, you should burn with a little more passion.

It couldn’t be helped, but this time, I would have to play the role of the match.

*Shkkk-*

And so, I raised my hand and *firmly* grasped Yoo Yeoreum’s ample chest!

“Namjin Secret Art, Steamed Bun Kneading!”

“……!!!!”

Startled, Yoo Yeoreum made her hair stand on end.

Soon, the ‘Sage’ was erupting in fury.

“You insolent fool! How dare you!”