Pandora's Box #3
The car glided smoothly through the glittering cityscape packed with skyscrapers. Inside, Seo Docheol stared out the window at the twinkling lights, his eyes narrowing into thin slits. His secretary, with years of experience under his belt, could tell that the chairman was in an extremely foul mood. You didn't need words when the atmosphere spoke for itself.
"Chairman, did something happen?"
Secretary Kim, the chairman's aide, asked as if he knew nothing. Seo Docheol's lips twitched upward in a sneer.
"Some son of a bitch suddenly bit my arm."
Secretary Kim recalled that today the chairman of Seonam Group, Seo Docheol, had been scheduled to meet with Gu Sejun. Gu Sejun was a dog that Seonam had raised. The only problem was that the mutt had grown too big and was now trying to devour even its own master. It seemed Gu Sejun had crossed the line during today's meeting.
While Secretary Kim was making these assumptions, Seo Docheol was replaying the earlier events in his mind.
—Why did you set fire to the N-Mart?
The words that came out of the boy's mouth left Seo Docheol speechless for the first time in a long while. He had always casually brushed off sharp, dagger-like questions during congressional hearings. But this time, he felt as if his throat had been bitten, and his tongue froze solid.
He quickly realized he was flustered. It was absurd that anyone would dare treat him—the man ranked second in South Korea's power hierarchy—with such rudeness. Was this what it meant to be young and have nothing to lose? In a way, he was almost envious.
"Who knows? I have no idea what you're talking about. And even if I did do something like that, why would I have any obligation to tell you honestly? You might be a kid who doesn't understand, but relationships between people involve give and take."
"A kind word travels a thousand miles—is that what you're saying?"
Was there even a proverb like that? Seo Docheol immediately recognized that the male student before him was no ordinary person. After all, it was that very eye for talent that had brought him to his current position. He'd already found it strange when the boy claimed to be dating his daughter, Seo Gaeul. The kid had clearly lost his mind.
'Delusional disorder or pathological liar, perhaps.'
Once that thought crossed his mind, Seo Docheol decided this conversation was a waste of time.
"If you want to nitpick, at least bring some evidence. Something I can't deny or escape. If you have no more questions, I'll be on my way."
He was about to brush past the male student when—
"Just one more question."
The boy suddenly whipped his head around and sank his teeth into Seo Docheol's arm.
"Aaaagh, fuck!"
So when he said he had one more question, he literally meant biting the arm. No matter how refined a chaebol chairman you were, a sudden chomp like that would make anyone spit out curses in shock.
By the time he came to his senses, the male student was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and laughing with a creepy hehehe.
"Think carefully, father-in-law. Once I find the evidence, it won't end with just biting your arm. You can consider your chances of ever making Gaeul a little brother or sister completely gone."
When he rolled up his sleeve, a vivid red bite mark was clearly visible. The pain was so intense it felt like the bone might be cracked.
"You... what's your name?"
That was where the memory ended. Secretary Kim's eyes widened in shock at the bright red bite mark the chairman showed him. He had never imagined that "bitten by a dog" was meant literally.
While the secretary was flustered and scrambling, Chairman Seo Docheol asked,
"Secretary Kim, have you ever heard of Ha Namjin?"
"Ah, yes. I have. He's the one Youngsa High is pushing as the next-generation talent lately. The kid transferred in less than a semester ago but has already caught two Class 3 fugitives."
"Ah, that guy?"
"He's apparently a bereaved family member from the N-Mart incident. With all the drama surrounding him, it seems Youngsa High is trying to promote him and his team, 'No Leftovers Day.' No way that crazy bastard actually bit your arm...!"
Seo Docheol recalled the male student who had questioned him about his responsibility for the N-Mart arson. Maybe the boy had learned something after interrogating the captured Class 3 fugitives. But unfortunately, with all the evidence gone, Seo Docheol could simply play dumb and deny everything. The laws of the country, the judicial system—everything was on his side.
Because of that, Ha Namjin's name was quickly erased from Seo Docheol's memory. He only thought about his missing daughter.
Then, a sudden hypothesis struck him.
"Could that lunatic Ha Namjin have kidnapped my daughter?"
"Inspector Jin Rihyeon checked multiple times and said no."
Then where on earth had his daughter disappeared to? Seo Docheol was genuinely worried about her. To him, his daughter was everything. She was all that remained of his late wife, and she was his greatest pride and joy—the kind of treasure you could stare at forever without ever getting tired of her.
And now that daughter was gone.
Why did only he have to suffer such misfortune? Nam Taegeon, who had been a co-founder of Seonam, had become the re-elected president and was enjoying happiness by preparing for some ridiculous hereditary succession, always one step ahead. Seo Docheol could not tolerate the fact that someone stood above him.
If he couldn't be happy, then he would drag everyone else down into the same misery. As he pondered if there was any good way to do that, he thought of the mad dog that had bitten his arm.
"Secretary Kim, what was the headline in tomorrow's morning paper?"
"It was an exposé on the private life of Wang Jahyeon, the troublemaking prince of the Je-wang Group."
"Let's change that. Let's throw some work at Director Yu Dogwan, who's grieving the loss of his beloved daughter."
If someone asked what the most painful thing in a ruined world was, I would answer without hesitation: loneliness.
I wanted to date a pretty girlfriend too. I wanted to do all the normal things—fall in love, get married, have a baby, and happily watch my grandchildren's adorable antics. Whenever those feelings hit me, I would climb up to the roof of my tiny shack and stare at the stars. Looking at the sparkling night sky always made my heart feel a little better.
When I remembered that even those countless stars were just floating alone in the vast, endless universe, my own loneliness didn't seem so bad.
But in this city, the stars were barely visible.
"Hunger can be fixed by eating ketchup, but what the hell am I supposed to do about this loneliness that keeps creeping in at random times?"
—Kyuing.
Ing-ing popped out of my bag and rubbed its body against my face. The soft, cool, cloud-like texture felt surprisingly nice.
"Ing-ing, what the hell kind of monster are you anyway?"
I suddenly became curious about Ing-ing's true identity. It used to be a slime before it became a cloud. Did it have some kind of Slime concept?
With Ing-ing in tow, I returned to the basement. With a heavy clunk and a long creak, I opened the basement door and was greeted by the sight of Seo Gaeul and Yu Yeoleum sitting with their backs to each other, both staring at the wall. They hadn't said a word, but it was obvious they had fought while I was gone.
"Yeoleum, I bought you some strawberry milk."
I pulled out the strawberry milk that Yu Yeoleum liked from the bag. Her eyes grew noticeably large when she saw it. She cautiously approached me, then slowly reached out her hand. The way she was tense and hesitant reminded me exactly of a wary stray cat.
Now I understood why all those cat ladies kept feeding strays. Was I really the only one who hadn't been in on this fun?
"Where's my Bogu?"
Seo Gaeul asked with her arms crossed and legs elegantly crossed, her voice dripping with haughtiness.
I had a lot I wanted to say, but for now I pulled the box out of my bag and held it out to her.
◈ A box cherished by the Fairy King of the Great Labyrinth.
◈ Can store anything in the world.
◈ Contains Hope Lv.3 — Hope on the level of winning first prize in the lottery.
"Oh, what? You actually got it? This is it! This is exactly what I needed!"
Seo Gaeul looked absolutely delighted as she took the box. Was it really that important? When I made a face that said I didn't understand, she unusually decided to explain it to me kindly.
"This box can store all the Concepts I've awakened. I can take them out again whenever I need them. It's basically my personal 'Concept Refrigerator.' Yeah, I definitely needed this."
"What does that have to do with training?"
"Are you an idiot? You should have figured it out by now. I awaken Concepts way more easily than you can even imagine. I've awakened so many useless ones that it reminds me of all the trouble I went through back in middle school..."
Not every Concept was beneficial to its Awakened. Just look at Bbangddaeng. The Bad Luck Concept was literally eating away at the poor guy's life. It seemed Seo Gaeul had acquired this repository as insurance against awakening unwanted Concepts. From now on, she could speed up her Concept awakening process.
I could honestly be happy about that.
"Then how about you finally give me that Malang-malang thing?"
"What?"
Seo Gaeul flinched.
"What do you want me to do?"
She had definitely said that if I brought her Bogu, she would do Malang-malang for me once. Yet here she was, acting like she'd never heard of it. It was incredibly annoying.
"When did I ever say I'd do that? Bring me evidence. Evidence."
She was demanding evidence now?
"You and your dad really are exactly the same. Blood really doesn't lie."
"What? Why is my dad coming up all of a sudden?"
"I ran into your dad while I was getting that box."
"...!"
The relaxed attitude Seo Gaeul had been maintaining until now vanished instantly. She seemed to wrestle with herself for a moment before finally letting out a long sigh.
"Fine! I'll do the Malang-malang, okay?!"
She thrust her chest toward me. What?
"What is this?"
"Can't you tell just by looking? Malang-malang means you get to touch my breasts."
It was... strangely convincing! But I immediately knew she was lying.
Name: Seo Gaeul
Status:Throwing a Tantrum — She is lying.
I didn't know what Malang-malang actually was, but it clearly wasn't just touching her chest. Still, should I just pretend I didn't know and cop a feel anyway? No. A real man doesn't fall for a tiny bait and miss out on the big prey.
"Seo Gaeul, you owe me three Malang-malangs now."
"What? Hey! Why three?! Why did it suddenly become three?!"
Seo Gaeul threw a fit, clearly unable to accept it. At that moment, Yu Yeoleum, who had finished her strawberry milk, cautiously approached me.
"Can you change the bedding? No matter how clean I wash my body, if the sheets are dirty it defeats the purpose. If you change them, I'll do one favor for you."
Yu Yeoleum was offering to do me a favor? I had no idea why the girl who had been acting so fiercely was suddenly being so docile. Did she like the strawberry milk that much?!
Seo Gaeul chimed in as well.
"Change mine too. Mine is a winter comforter, so it's seriously too hot!"
"Then tell me what Malang-malang really is, and I'll change it."
"......"
Seo Gaeul clamped her mouth shut. In the end, only Yu Yeoleum got the clean, cool bedding. Seo Gaeul looked like she was dying of jealousy, growling like an angry vixen.
"Yu Yeoleum, are you some bar girl? How can you give a man favors just to get new sheets? How sad would your brother be if he knew? Aren't you ashamed?"
"The sheets are so cool and nice. Thanks, Jin-ah."
What the hell. I never expected the girl who had been rampaging like a puma about to be euthanized to suddenly turn into a well-trained house cat. If she was going to cooperate nicely, that was fine by me. Anyway, I now had one chance to ask Yu Yeoleum for a favor.
In truth, there was something I wanted to ask her.
That was how the morning went. I was about to check the newspaper I was going to give Seo Gaeul when I flipped it open.
SHOCK! President Made Deals with Terrorists?
Evidence of accounts linked to the Villainers revealed—
Mysterious tip opens 'Pandora's Box' against current regime—
N-Mart Tragedy Reexamined—
"This is some strong stuff."
This newspaper was one that received advertising money from the Seonam Group. In other words, this was the rat poison that Seo Docheol of Seonam was spreading.