Demon King, Chaebol Heiress, Baek Ga-eun (2)
The shock of being betrayed by something you trusted...
The sight before my eyes was horrific. In the dark room, a naked woman was hanging from the wall. The Demon King stood before the bound woman. The Demon King looked just as she had when I'd first glimpsed her past.
"Ha... ruh... heh... hah..."
Her mouth gaped wide as she begged for her life, but no teeth were visible. Without a word, the Demon King conjured magic at her fingertips, forming a sharp blade. The woman, seeing this, filled with terror in her eyes and pleaded even more desperately for mercy.
"Heh... heh... ha... ruh... heh..."
"..."
The Demon King formed tongs with her other fingers and pulled out the tip of the woman's tongue.
"Hee!! Ee-ee-ee!"
"..."
The woman shrieked hysterically, but her wide-open mouth and yanked tongue produced ridiculous garbled sounds. Without hesitation, the Demon King pressed the blade against her tongue and sliced off the end.
"Ee-ee-ee-ee-ehk!"
"..."
Even in agony that could make her pass out, the woman endlessly screamed and drooled saliva. I'd seen plenty in past lives, but watching torture firsthand was bad for mental health.
The Demon King prodded the wriggling cross-section of the severed tongue and said,
"...What did our XX ever do to you?"
"Hee-ehk... hee-ehk..."
It sounded like she was calling my name amid the static. This woman must have badmouthed me. Her eyes kept losing focus, rolling back, then suddenly snapping to the Demon King—repeating endlessly.
With a gesture from the Demon King, the woman's appearance restored in the blink of an eye. She was now wearing the school uniform the Demon King had once worn. Her teeth and severed tongue were fully regrown. The teeth and tongue chunk on the floor remained untouched.
"Hu... huhk!"
The Demon King spoke softly to her as she gasped for breath.
"What was that?"
At those short words, the woman slammed her head against the floor repeatedly in apology.
"S-Sorry! How dare a wretch like me speak..."
Blood smeared her body from the floor, but she continued apologizing without care. The Demon King watched her pitifully self-deprecate and stutter, then patted her head.
"Fine. Don't let it happen again, okay?"
She flinched at the touch but beamed with joy at the forgiveness.
"Y-Yes! I'll make sure it never happens again!"
As she kept thanking her profusely, my consciousness snapped away. It bounced to the scene where she'd secured a forfeit on the grass field for victory. Among the opposing group was the woman from the memory. She was whispering to the leader, who then approached and declared forfeit. It made sense how the Demon King won so easily.
Consciousness snapped again. The Demon King used magic to summon targets into the dark room. She inflicted endless mental torment to get what she wanted. In the room where one woman was tortured, others suffered too. An old man killed his family to escape endless agony. The reason? He'd discriminated against me, giving low scores.
The next woman was stunningly beautiful, with a voluptuous figure. She was soaked head to toe in filth and poison. The reason? She'd approached me with interest. Sometimes she couldn't resist using magic on me—mostly to satisfy her desires. Unable to insult the next Demon King, their gazes turned to me, always nearby. The Demon King eliminated all those ill-intentioned stares, leaving no one around.
She and I built great achievements together, maintaining our relationship. To the world, we shone with talent, resolving issues. In truth, her behind-the-scenes machinations made it seem like I "got lucky," so I brushed it off casually. In the end, she ascended the throne and married me. Her patience and schemes were extraordinary. She'd orchestrated everything around her for her plans. I never lifted a finger, swept up in the massive current into marriage with her.
After the happy kiss scene, warm light enveloped me, and consciousness snapped away.
...
"..."
The goddess and I were both speechless from the Demon King's obsessiveness.
...The Hero was physical, so the Demon King must be magic?
[...] The goddess seemed still wrapped in shock, silent.
"Ha, no, that... haa..."
It felt like watching a full twist movie. I'd thought the Demon King relatively easy compared to the Hero, but she was the final boss herself. The Hero's actions were predictable, but even from her viewpoint, the Demon King was impossible to foresee. An unpredictable massive force was like a bomb. Having to crash into another bomb while holding a nuke... Is this how people off themselves these days?
The goddess hesitated several times before cautiously speaking.
...Hang in there...
"..."
...
Mentally exhausted, I paused the past exploration. Waking up, I messaged Hyeon Ha-yeon that I couldn't make it today due to work.
'Ah... you can't come...'
Her voice dripped with disappointment at my absence.
'Ah, no! If you're busy, what can I do? Tomorrow?'
Realizing her slip, she forced cheer. I told her to call if anything came up and hung up.
After seeing the Hero's past, I'd run into Hyeon Ha-yeon by "coincidence." Recalling she looked much like her past self led to a simple conclusion: keep an eye out for natural white-haired women, and she'd appear.
*
A week into searching for the Demon King, I hadn't seen so much as gray hair. Helping with Hyeon Ha-yeon's lessons and adjustment, I poked around everywhere, but not even dyed white hair showed up.
...Was meeting Hyeon Ha-yeon really pure coincidence?
While convincing her bit by bit, I analyzed the Demon King's viewpoint against mine. The deeper I dug, the more terrifying she seemed—like an onion with endless layers.
"Manager oppa, what do you want?"
Hyeon Ha-yeon asked.
"Ah, I'll have spicy pork bibimbap."
"Spicy pork bibimbap... Got it, ordering!"
She headed to the kitchen.
"Excuse me~ Auntie~ Spicy pork bibimbap one and fried rice one, please!"
"Sure~ Just sit!"
I turned from her bright ordering smile to the small TV in the corner.
The show ranked people with quirky themes. I watched the MCs hype the intro when Hyeon Ha-yeon brought water and side dishes.
"Here, Manager oppa~"
"Thanks."
CG Enter still had no cafeteria. Following her schedule meant frequent takeout; she always eagerly set utensils or poured water first.
Sipping water, she watched TV.
"Whoa... rich list? How much money do they have?"
"Jobs is third..."
"Third? Even richer people exist."
Hyeon Ha-yeon, glued to the TV, said in surprise,
"Oh... Uncle Baek Man-sik is second."
"Yeah. Made more money than Jobs."
Baekil Group was Korea's flagship conglomerate.
"Whoa~ She's so pretty~"
Eh?
"Whoa, look at her hair color."
Hyeon Ha-yeon kept gasping in admiration; Baek Ga-eun was stunning. Was I seeing wrong from staring too much? I rubbed my eyes and checked the TV—the Demon King was still there.
"Bleaching white turns it what color...?"
"..."
Snow-white hair, large eyes with a sleepy allure...
"Here's your spicy pork!"
"Ah, this way! Thank you~"
"Manager oppa! Dig in!"
The food arrived as the Baekil segment ended. Starved from lessons, Hyeon Ha-yeon ate heartily, then looked at me.
"Manager oppa... aren't you eating...?"
"Ah, yeah, gotta eat. Enjoy."
"Yes! You too!"
She giggled, chopsticks up. Seeing her happily eat, I couldn't smile. The modern Demon King was a chaebol heiress.