The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess - Chapter 160



160 – Summer Summer

160 – Summer Summer

While the term ‘son fool’ might be unfamiliar, ‘daughter fool’ is commonly used.

It was because sons were raised strongly, like young lions released onto the savanna, but daughters were cherished more preciously than roses in a glass greenhouse.

I knew a lot about how much fathers called ‘daughter fools’ doted on their daughters.

Having gone through the Seo Do-cheol & Seo Ga-eul father-daughter affair, I’d learned enough to be sick of it.

A father, you see, that’s someone who’d turn the whole world into an enemy for his daughter.

That’s where the trouble always started, I tell you.

And so, I kneaded Yoo Yeoreum’s chest like a freshly steamed bun, still hot from the microwave, *squish*—firmly.

“……!!!”

Even Yoo Yeoreum, not one for showing much expression, was clearly flustered by my sudden assault, her mouth forming a perfect ‘o’, her back arching reflexively.

It was in that exact moment that President Adams of America exploded in fury.

“You insolent wretch! How dare you!”

*Whoosh!*—!

Adams’ hand lunged towards me.

I jumped back, dodging the attack with ease, and kneaded Yoo Yeoreum’s chest three more times.

*Squish-squish-squish*—.

Finally, Yoo Yeoreum let out a strangled, “…*Ugh*!!!” and slumped to the floor. Seeing this, the American President erupted like a bomb.

“You impudent b*stard!!!”

“What’s wrong? I thought you didn’t care, having abandoned your daughter long ago. ‘A man must sometimes sacrifice the small for the greater good,’ or so they say, but I guess that doesn’t apply here?”

“You detestable punk! I didn’t like you from the moment I laid eyes on you! All smug and slippery!”

The middle-aged man continued to lash out at me.

Of course, he couldn’t touch me.

“Too slow.”

“You little rat! Let’s see if you can dodge *this*! ─Morning glow. Evening dawn. Earth. Inversion.”

As the American President chanted this strange incantation, something miraculous began to happen.

Kkuuuk-.

For suddenly, I felt my legs grow heavy.

As if someone had placed a massive African elephant upon my ankles.

“I’ve altered the gravity. You won’t be escaping now!”

A truly magnificent feat, that.

Not a skill utilizing “concepts,” but something akin to actual magic from a fantasy tale.

I was genuinely curious as to how he did it, while a deep-seated tension took hold of me.

Tududuk, jjijijik-.

Adams ripped his shirt apart, his muscles bulging as if about to burst.

Indeed, befitting the president of the world’s foremost superpower, the United States of America.

His upper arm, seemingly as solid as steel, seemed to coil like a spring before launching a punch towards my face.

“Washington Punch!”

Jjeeeeeeeeok-!

I imagined this was the sound one might hear if a major league cleanup hitter, wielding a titanium bat, struck the Eiffel Tower itself – a steel rebar – that was the ear-splitting sound that erupted from my face.

“aaargh!”

Due to concussion symptoms, a dizzying vertigo set in, causing the figure of the American president to appear doubled.

“aaargh! Isn’t the ‘Sage’ supposed to be a mage? How is his physical attack so powerful?!”

“We dark elves have a saying: ‘If the body is weak, the mind suffers.’ The most formidable strength is no different from the most formidable wisdom. Do you understand now why I am called the ‘Sage’?”

“Oh, bollocks.”

“You wretch! Will you try again?”

* * *

Thump-!

My legs gave way, and I crumpled to my knees.

A man brought to his knees by external pressure… a humiliation of no small measure.

The wound inflicted on my heart just now, none could ever heal.

But?

I wasn’t about to simply suffer in silence.

Perhaps it was thanks to the recent shock, but the strange magic binding my feet had weakened.

Keeping my knees planted firmly on the ground, I snapped my head upwards and sprung forth like a coiled spring.

Bwoo-ing!

“Daepodong Jump!”

“Ghuaak!”

Thwack-!

My head connected squarely with the American President’s solar plexus.

Truly, it was like a sly communist trick sinking into the weak point of the American imperialists.

“Illuvit!”

Wobble wobble-.

I grabbed hold of the American President’s beard as he staggered, and with a sharp tug, he let out a squawk – a sound not unlike a chicken having its comb seized.

“Let go! Let go of me!”

“If you want to live, call me Grandfather!”

“…I am the President of the United States! I won’t─aaagh! Grandfather!”

Of course, releasing the beard was out of the question.

So I tightened my grip even further, and the American President let out a choked, near-death scream.

“aaagh!”

I didn’t miss the opportunity, and pounded on the American President with my fists.

Thudthudthudthudthudthudthudthud-.

Surely, this was the historic moment the global hegemony shifted from the United States to the Republic of Korea. I was trembling with emotion─.

From noble mtl dot com

“Hey! You bad guy!”

Wham-!

My eyes flashed- like lightning had struck!

When I came to my senses, Yu Yeoreum was clenching her fist and hitting me on the head.

I felt a sense of betrayal, plain and simple.

Yu Yeoreum hitting me.

“Why are you hitting me? You said that guy wasn’t even family!”

It was all wrong.

Yu Yeoreum’s eyes were already spinning red like a bull suffering from heatstroke.

And as I lay sprawled there, the US President, as if seizing a newfound opportunity, thrust his fist towards me.

“This punk dares to make an old man sound come out of the American President’s mouth?”

# # #

Yu Yeoreum and the American President sat by the river as the sunset faded, sharing many words.

I didn’t know what they were talking about, but the fact that they sometimes raised their voices made it seem they weren’t just sharing pleasantries.

But they did not leave each other’s side, remaining seated there for a long while, until the setting sun stretched their shadows long across the land.

In the meantime, I tended to the wounds I’d sustained from that father and daughter, meditating beneath the sun’s rays.

“Huuup, hiiyuuu-“

That strange breathing method still felt unfamiliar, the sensation of my skin drinking in air and mana. A dizzying giddiness, perhaps, brought old memories bubbling to the surface.

In that world, long since fallen, cigarettes were used as currency, like bottle caps. I remembered once taking a puff, recalling how my father used to smoke.

It was terribly unpleasant, a fit of coughing wracking my frame.

‘Why do people enjoy such a thing?’

I had become a man, but never learned to drink or smoke.

Shaving the stubble that sprouted on my face, wielding simple tools—all these things I learned and mastered alone.

I wondered if the children in other homes learned such things from their fathers.

“I will not say your intervention was unwelcome.”

Opening my eyes, I found the American President seated beside me.

“So, when do you intend to marry my daughter?”

“I don’t know.”

“You touched my daughter; you must take responsibility. Isn’t that what you call being a man?”

“But, someone said that a man must also be willing to sacrifice the small for the sake of the great. To love a woman, to have children… isn’t there a grander purpose for a man than such things?”

*Swish-*

The man picked up a stone.

And with all his might, hurled it towards the nearby river.

Splash-.

The spray reached my face.

As I wiped it away with the back of my hand, the man added, “I tried, in my own way, to protect the world. Lost and sacrificed much in the process. Even parting ways with Yeoreum was for that reason.”

“…Hmm.”

“I’m the one who gave Yeoreum her name, actually. Though I’ve lived in the shadows of history, I wanted her to shine as brilliantly as the summer sun, the brightest of all.”

So, there was such a meaning behind Yu Yeoreum’s name.

As I was inwardly marveling, the girl’s father stood up and said, “But I couldn’t even witness the most radiant summer of my life shining. It suddenly occurs to me… is this world, frankly, even worth sacrificing oneself so much to save?”

With those words, the American President vanished into the distance.

Soon, Yu Yeoreum cautiously approached me.

“Jina, sorry for hitting you earlier.”

“Get lost, you devil!”

Daring to strike me.

I let out a manly roar, causing Yu Yeoreum to stifle a laugh.

“You’re quite the comedian.”

It’s no joke.

The spot where Yu Yeoreum hit me still aches, you see.

So, I was regarding Yu Yeoreum with considerable caution when she sat down beside me and said, “I had a long talk with Dad. There are still many things I can’t understand, and it’s impossible to reconcile and forgive each other overnight, but… I think it’s fortunate that there’s a day like today.”

“That’s a good thing, then.”

“I know you played the villain so Dad and I could talk. It was a method I never would have considered. You’re truly clever. I think you’re amazing.”

“I am a little clever, it’s true.”

“Dad said the strategy of drawing Nambada into an election through debate was quite brilliant. He even said the Joint Chiefs could arrange a location for the debate.”

I had been worrying about how to arrange a debate location with Nambada, so this was timely indeed.

It seems, after all, that if one puts in the effort, any problem can be solved, somehow.

Anyway, after experiencing all sorts of things, the hour had grown late.

Before I knew it, the sun had set.

Back at the barracks, Seo Gaeul was scolding us.

“Hey, where did you two go without us? If you’re going somewhere, you should at least say where you’re going and when you’ll be back.”

“What’s this now!”

━ Woof woof…!

Ppangdaengyi had spotted the squirrel-dog clinging to Yoo Yeoreum’s shoulder.

Ppangdaengyi was aghast.

“A squirrel barking like a dog, this is absurd! This is fraud! Such a thing should not be allowed to happen in this world!”

As if a wolf-spider, the kind Ppangdaengyi keeps, barking – woof woof! – made any sense.

The Nymphs were utterly impressed with the squirrel-dog as well.

“It is a very ferocious-seeming squirrel-dog…!”

“It seems quite tame for a squirrel-dog, says this one…!”

“Why does Inonoi speak words different from those of Baonoi…?”

“Bao-no indeed speaks with a tongue unlike this Ino-no’s…!”

“This Mi-bbang, too, you wish to touch…!”

The earth below proves truly clamorous.

Raising my gaze to the heavens, I found the stars shimmering above the city prone to blackouts – a summer night sky of striking beauty.

Just then, a softness brushed against my arm. Turning, I saw Yoo Yeoreum linking her arm through mine.

“Today, I met my true father and received his blessing for the wedding with Ha Namjin. Therefore, you all must treat me with respect.”

“Huh? What sort of talk is that! Ha Namjin, what have you been doing with Yoo Yeoreum!”

From the opposite side, Seo Gaeul tugged at my arm.

With Seo Gaeul and Yoo Yeoreum pulling at my arms from either side, I felt like a criminal subjected to dismemberment.

“Gyaaagh! Release me!”

The problem being, Bbangddaengi was now pulling at my head as well.

“You lot, let go of him! Ha Namjjin is suffering!”

As an aside, on this day, both my arms sustained fractures, and for several days I was forced to live uncomfortably with casts.

A small bald patch also appeared on my head.

Thus, the sweltering time flowed onward, until the breezes of autumn began, little by little, to make their presence known—

When, from out of the blue, a figure I never expected came seeking me.

“I am Gye Boksoon. Tomorrow’s debate with Nam Bada-ssi will, of course, become a situation like a trap for you all. However, I can assist you. You all must stop Nam Bada-ssi.”