Pandora's Box #2
Yu Yeoleum was lying with her back completely turned toward Seo Gaeul.
“Hey! Are you alive over there?”
Thud. Thud, thud—.
Seo Gaeul picked up nearby pebbles or concrete fragments and tossed them at Yu Yeoleum’s back, but there was no reaction at all. She must have been deeply hurt and had her pride shattered from having her chest examined by that male student just now. Everything was unfolding exactly as Seo Gaeul had predicted.
“Hey! Are you seriously sulking just because someone touched your chest a little? Snap out of it. We’ve been kidnapped by a crazy perverted bastard, you know? It wouldn’t be strange if something even more horrifying happens to us from now on!”
“……”
“Have you seen the movie that guy watches? It’s Complete Education! He’s a psycho who thinks if he locks us up and treats us well, we’ll fall into something called ‘Scorpion Syndrome’ and end up liking him!”
“……”
Yu Yeoleum didn’t respond to Seo Gaeul at all. It was closer to deliberate ignoring, which only made Seo Gaeul angrier.
“Hey! Pouting like that will only hurt you! Do you really think someone’s going to come rescue us? That your brother or father will find you? Not a chance! This place isn’t like that!”
Seo Gaeul had been trapped in this basement for quite a long time. The duration had grown so long that it was starting to feel like her own home. The number of followers on Stargram or the honeyed greetings from celebrities who visited the penthouse parties every week no longer mattered to her. What mattered to Seo Gaeul now was securing dominance in this small underground world.
“I don’t know if you already know this, but I’m the one who told that guy to kidnap you. Angry?”
“……”
Yu Yeoleum sat up. She glared at Seo Gaeul. In the past, Seo Gaeul would have felt a strange pressure from those eyes, but not anymore. In Seo Gaeul’s eyes right now, she only saw a pathetic nineteen-year-old girl wearing an oversized T-shirt like a dress and sulking because her chest had been examined by her kidnapper.
“Seo Gaeul, you really are awful.”
“What did I do! I’m a victim too! Me! Do you think I wanted to be locked up here? I was bored and scared being alone! I called you here because I wanted at least a friend!”
“I have no desire to play along with your tantrums. People will find us soon, and we’ll return to the outside world like nothing ever happened.”
Seo Gaeul hated that attitude. The casual assumption that they could obviously return to the outside world—the optimistic complacency of it all disgusted her.
“Yu Yeoleum, you’ve lived too comfortably to know what the outside world is really like. It’s a place you don’t even need to go back to.”
“I’ve lived too comfortably? Hearing that from a chaebol daughter honestly pisses me off.”
Even the usually icy Yu Yeoleum flared up this time, as if she couldn’t hold it in. But that reaction only excited Seo Gaeul more.
“I can say that because I am a chaebol’s daughter! You have no idea how casually those people can commit terrifying acts!”
Yu Yeoleum noticed the fear lurking in Seo Gaeul’s eyes. The girl was terrified of something, just like she herself had once feared monsters.
“So you and I should just stay here. Being here isn’t as bad as you think. There are inconveniences, but there’s nothing to really worry about, right? You’ll get used to it soon.”
Seo Gaeul began pacing anxiously from side to side. Watching her, Yu Yeoleum guessed there was something she didn’t know about. But her hatred for Seo Gaeul outweighed any desire to find out what it was. This was the first time she had ever hated someone so much.
From the very beginning, everything in her life had changed because Seo Gaeul got scratched by a cat. If only that day at the orphanage, Seo Gaeul hadn’t forcibly pulled the cat’s tail. Maybe this was her chance for revenge. A chance to get even with the Seonam Group that had ruined her life and used the orphanage children as lab rats.
Wham—!
Unable to hold back, Yu Yeoleum slapped Seo Gaeul across the face. The girl, who had been trembling in fear just moments ago, snapped back to her senses. With a ferocious expression, she slapped Yu Yeoleum’s cheek in return.
“You crazy bitch!!!”
Smack—!
Because of the electric discharge, Yu Yeoleum lacked strength. She was pushed back one-sidedly by Seo Gaeul and ended up lying on the floor, getting stomped on.
“Gaeul Kick! Gaeul Kick!”
Thud—! Thud, thud—!
Seo Gaeul had lost to Yu Yeoleum in a previous sparring match and suffered a blow to her pride. That pain felt like it was being washed away completely. On the other hand, Yu Yeoleum’s hatred for Seo Gaeul only deepened.
It had been a while since I last visited the Seonam Group headquarters building. The saying that criminals always return to the scene of the crime seemed to be true. This time, however, I entered proudly through the front gate.
“I’m from Youngsa High. I’m here for a site visit regarding Seo Gaeul’s disappearance and to conduct a personal investigation. By the way, this is who I am.”
I showed them a newspaper article from A Day Without Leftovers on my phone. Since I had saved screenshots of every scene I appeared in, it didn’t take long. The corporate security guards recognized me immediately and looked overjoyed.
“Oh, so you’re that guy! The famous Ha Namjin!”
“Yeah, it was a singer-like name. Can you sing well?”
“If it’s singing, I’m absolutely killer at it. Should I belt one out right here? Uwaa, on that blue hill abooove—.”
━Ing-ing-ya-ing.
“Guess the song will have to wait for next time. By the way, sirs, would it be okay if I go inside?”
“Of course! Investigators from Youngsa High or the police are allowed in without inspection procedures. Please find our dear Miss Gaeul.”
“She’s such a good kid who even remembers the names of lowly guards like us. Thinking about what kind of suffering that child must be going through somewhere…”
The guards’ eyes grew misty, as if they were genuinely worried about Seo Gaeul. The problem was that they were saying all this right in front of her kidnapper—me. Thanks to that, I was able to enter the group headquarters proudly through the front gate without any further inspection.
Ding-dong—.
I got on the elevator that had arrived at the first floor and was about to head up to the penthouse when someone behind me cleared their throat with a loud “Ahem.” What the hell?
“Student, this elevator is for executives only.”
I see. So this bald suit guy was an executive. Sure enough, his suit looked expensive, and an air of dignity practically dripped from his face. His head was shiny like an executive’s too. He had real presence.
“I hurt my leg, so let’s just ride together.”
I showed the bald uncle my casted leg. The bald executive let out another “Ahem,” apparently deciding there was nothing he could do, and turned his head away. He got off on the floor right below the top, and I went one floor higher and stepped out at the penthouse.
“……”
The scene was not much different from when I had come last time. You could even say the crime scene had been well preserved. I entered Seo Gaeul’s room and worked hard to find the Bogu she had mentioned. The place was full of all kinds of items, but since I had the Appraisal concept, finding it shouldn’t be difficult.
Nose. Let’s use my nose. I’ll recall Seo Gaeul’s scent. Since it’s her Bogu, it should be thickly permeated with her smell.
“Is it here?”
Slide—.
I opened the drawer. And what did I find but a huge pile of Seo Gaeul’s underwear? I pulled them out with delight.
“There’s no doubt that the Bogu Seo Gaeul mentioned is these panties!”
━Ing-ing-ya-ing.
At that moment, Ing-ing popped out of my bag. The little guy arbitrarily opened the wardrobe and pulled out a small box from inside it.
◈ A box cherished by the Fairy King of the Great Labyrinth.
◈ Can store all things in the world.
◈ Contains Hope Lv.3 — Hope on the level of a first-prize lottery ticket.
A box containing hope. It seemed this was the Bogu Seo Gaeul had been talking about. It was the size of a brick with three holes in it, giving the impression that a single sheep might actually be living inside. Nice. Let’s take it. Mission complete!
That was the feeling I had as I tried to take the elevator back down. Ding-dong—.
Someone had taken the elevator and arrived at the penthouse. It was a man wearing a black jacket. His appearance was so ordinary that he would probably blend right into a crowd and be hard to spot.
“Who are you?”
“I came from Youngsa High to investigate the disappearance case.”
“Really? I’m from the police.”
The man looked me up and down. I looked him up and down too. He was a truly unremarkable person, except for the earphones in his ears. Now his gaze had moved to the cast on my leg. Not wanting things to get annoying, I pressed the button for the first floor. But just before the elevator doors closed, the man said something strange.
“You can take that cast off now.”
What the hell was he talking about? It was when I started walking after arriving at the first floor that I realized my previously broken leg didn’t hurt at all. When I removed the hard cast, the broken leg had healed incredibly cleanly. Even the skilled doctors at Youngsa High had said it would take at least a few more weeks. At this astonishing event, I recalled the man I had just met. His impression was blurry and I couldn’t remember his face, but I was certain he had been wearing earphones. Could he have done this? It was nothing short of a miracle.
“Security sirs, there was a man with earphones from the police who came to search the penthouse, right? Do you know who he is?”
I asked the lobby guards. The security uncles looked at each other and tilted their heads.
“A man with earphones?”
“No one from the police came. There were no visitors except for you, student.”
It was strange. Just in case, I returned to the penthouse. There was no sign of the man I had met earlier anywhere. It was as if he had evaporated. Instead, there was another man. He looked to be in his mid-forties. A tall, middle-aged man wearing a burgundy red suit. He reminded me of the bald executive I had met earlier. Of course this man had a full head of hair, but the atmosphere was similar.
“Who are you? Why are you here?”
The middle-aged man asked me. I decided to ask back.
“Who are you to be in my girlfriend’s room?”
“…Girlfriend? I’ve never heard that our Gaeul had a boyfriend.”
Our Gaeul? I got angry for a moment. So this uncle had been targeting Seo Gaeul. A middle-aged man going after a high school girl. That’s a crime!
“You may not know who I am, but I’m the man who put stockings on Gaeul.”
“I’m the one who bathed with Gaeul.”
What? I lost! I was thinking it had been a while since I felt this kind of defeat when the man extended his hand.
“I am the one who is Gaeul’s father.”
“Ah, nice to meet you, father-in-law. I’m Ha Namjin. There’s one thing I’d like to ask. Have you by any chance seen a man in a leather jacket wearing earphones here?”
“Hmm? Even if I had, do I have any obligation to tell you? And I am not your father-in-law. I am Seo Docheol.”
So that’s how he’s playing it? He was a strict uncle. Then let’s change the question.
“Father-in-law, why did you set fire to N-Mart?”