83 – The Powerful and Jealous Villainess (1)
083
Monday morning.
“Hmm?”
Jinsuyeon, who was on her way to school, tilted her head while looking at a distant, dimly lit alley.
She saw the back of a strangely familiar red-haired boy.
The boy, standing in the alley with his academy uniform carelessly thrown on, seemed to be Kang Daehan.
“Daehan?”
“Oh, what’s up, Jinsuyeon?”
Kang Daehan, whose reddish hair suited him well, pretended to be somewhat familiar while loosening his wrist.
Jinsuyeon blinked her eyes and a question mark appeared above her head.
What on earth was Kang Daehan doing in the alley?
“What were you doing there…”
“Shh, ugh, ugh.”
“Uh, ugh.”
Jinsuyeon’s words were abruptly cut off.
It was because behind Kang Daehan’s red hair, several seemingly delinquent boys were lying on the ground, gasping for breath.
It seems like there are some troublemakers nearby.
“Is it because of you?”
“What if it is?”
Kang Daehan shrugged as if he couldn’t care less, with a nonchalant expression.
It could be a big problem to use violence recklessly in a place where temporary hero licenses were issued.
If they made a mistake, not only could their hero license be revoked, but they could also face disciplinary action or even expulsion from the academy.
Jin Soyeon’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“What if you use violence without thinking?”
“Annoying.”
Kang Daehan snorted and waved his hand dismissively. He seemed to have the attitude that it was too bothersome to explain himself.
As a result, Jin Soyeon looked back and forth between Kang Daehan and the troublemakers lying on the ground, pondering.
What could have possibly happened?
It was hard to imagine that those troublemakers would pick a fight with Kang Daehan for no reason.
Kang Daehan was wearing a Union uniform, and he was almost like a superhuman hero trainee. He wouldn’t dare to fight with them.
No, on the contrary, since he was a hero trainee, it might have been him who picked the fight.
He must have known that assaulting an ordinary person could be charged as a special assault crime.
Of course, Kang Daehan was the son of a villain boss, so even if he reported it to the police, he would most likely be able to handle it smoothly.
“Dae Han, you…”
That’s when it happened.
“Meow…”
“A cat?”
A white cat that was inside an old empty box approached Kang Daehan and gently slapped his leg with its paw.
It seemed like it must have been an abandoned cat.
It looked weak as if it hadn’t eaten for a long time.
Moreover, the cat had bruises on its head and body, and one of its legs seemed uncomfortable.
Judging by the blood on the scattered rocks nearby, it seemed like those troublemakers had been tormenting the cat by throwing stones at it.
“Hey, you guys, get lost now.”
“Hee, heeek!”
When Kang Daehan stomped on the troublemakers who were lying on the ground, they bit their lips and eventually ran away.
From the way Kang Daehan controlled his strength, it didn’t seem like the troublemakers were seriously injured. It seemed like he just subdued them a bit.
“Meoow, meow.”
“Tsk.”
Gang Daehan glanced at the cat repeatedly slapping its own leg and briefly stuck out his tongue.
He seemed slightly conflicted about what to do with this injured and abandoned cat.
Jin Soyeon quietly observed him.
Although Gang Daehan seemed like a troublemaker on the surface, he appeared to secretly like animals.
“Did you fight because of the cat?”
“It’s not like that. And by the way, just in case, don’t say unnecessary things at the academy, Jin Soyeon.”
Was he a little embarrassed?
Gang Daehan warned with a sharp gaze, but Jin Soyeon calmly continued to gently stroke the cat’s head.
“Do you like cats?”
“What’s there to like.”
“There’s something like cat food sticking out of your pocket.”
“Ah, shut up.”
Gang Daehan pressed his finger firmly, as if indicating a slight defeat.
He pretended not to, but it seemed like he had secretly brought some snacks for the abandoned cat.
It appeared difficult for this cat, whose leg seemed to be injured, to find food on its own.
It seemed like it couldn’t even escape from the torment of troublemakers in the first place.
“Look at the wounds… We should take it to the animal hospital.”
Jin Soyeon murmured to herself while examining the cat’s wounds.
The hospital bill could be quite expensive, but Jin Soyeon didn’t really pay attention to such things due to her personality. It was a matter that could be resolved by using the money she had saved. For her, this kind of expense was not a waste.
“Daehan, you also have quite a few wounds.”
“hahahaha, did you get them from those guys?”
Gang Daehan furrowed his brows in displeasure, but Jin Soyeon shook her head from side to side with a soothing voice.
“No, you haven’t been doing well at the academy lately and have been focusing on training. Aren’t these wounds from training?”
There were occasional purple bruises and swollen marks on Gang Daehan’s face, which seemed to be a result of receiving strict training.
Well, the Kang family was not an ordinary household.
Aren’t they the descendants of the legendary Kang Cheolwoon in South Korea? It was inevitable for Gang Daehan to receive more rigorous training than others.
She vaguely remembered hearing stories about how Gang Daehan’s position had become unstable after the Union Academy raid video was released, where a woman with silver hair completely defeated him.
Because of that, Gang Daehan must have had to punish himself as well.
“Wounds should be treated properly. If done incorrectly, it can scar.”
“Whether you get scars or not, what does it matter to you?”
“Anyway, your attitude… Well, your words aren’t wrong.”
Normally, if a girl were to be spoken to in such a forceful manner, she would have felt hurt or angry, but Jin So-yeon just casually brushed it off and smiled.
Seeing that, it brings back old memories.
When Jin So-yeon first approached Lee Jin-hyuk, she also rejected him harshly with sharp thorns.
“Take this.”
Eventually, Jin So-yeon took out a small scalpel and ointment from her bag.
Since she was young, she had always tried to help others and had experienced countless injuries, so she always carried around an emergency first aid kit.
“I have to take the cat to the hospital, so use the scalpel and ointment yourself. Oh, I’ll give you the ointment back later at the academy, right?”
“Don’t make a fuss. Leave me alone.”
Although Kang Dae-han expressed his refusal, Jin So-yeon approached him without a care and firmly placed the scalpel and ointment in his hand.
Huh. What is this kid doing?
Kang Dae-han slightly wrinkled his nose and looked at Jin So-yeon, but she showed no signs of discomfort or fear.
She had a calm expression on her face just like Kang Dae-han.
“The penguin drawing on the scalpel is cute, right? Then I’ll go first. See you at the academy.”
“Hey, hey! I don’t need it…?”
Suddenly, the cute little character on the scalpel caught Kang Dae-han’s eye.
He remembered seeing this ridiculous penguin character on a scalpel in the past.
It was a story from when he stayed at his relative’s house for a few weeks due to family circumstances, just around the time he was about to enter elementary school.
At that time, he got into a fight with some local elementary school kids in the Sapling Park, but a girl intervened and helped him.
He vaguely remembered her as a quite pretty girl with a big mouth, and the scalpel she gave him was very similar to this one.
No, it seemed exactly the same.
It’s not common to come across a girl who uses a scalpel with this silly penguin drawing on it.
“…Now that I look at her, she does resemble that little girl from back then.”
It had been a long time, so he only vaguely remembered her face, and he couldn’t recall it exactly.
Furthermore, they were both very young at the time, so their faces had changed a lot since then.
Because of that, Kang Dae-han was unsure.
“Hey, Jin So-yeon.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
Before she knew it, Jin So-yeon was already prepared to rush to the hospital with a cat in her arms.
“Do you remember the boy who fought with several kids at the nearby park when you were about to enter elementary school and gave him a penguin picture sticker?”
“Well…”
Now that she thought about it, there was a vague memory of a black-haired boy fighting with kids at the park when she first entered elementary school.
I wonder if that boy was Kang Dae-han, who was always causing trouble.
This is quite surprising.
“Was the black-haired boy you, by any chance, the one getting beat up by the kids?”
“Hey, hey! Who got beat up? I was just getting my ass kicked.”
“Heh. I didn’t think so when I saw it.”
When the slightly wounded Kang Dae-han responded with a defensive and rough expression, Jin So-yeon chuckled softly.
“Anyway, that boy was you? Wow, what a coincidence.”
Since he was a boy she had never met before, she thought he must have recently moved here.
That’s why he didn’t fit in well with the other kids, reminding her of herself in kindergarten, and she remembered how she had behaved politely after school.
Just like how Lee Jin-hyuk had helped her, Jin So-yeon also wanted to help others.
At the time, she had asked for his name, but the boy had replied with an annoyed face, ‘What do you need my name for?’ or something strange like that, so they parted without knowing each other’s names.
Also, Jin So-yeon felt a bit annoyed, so she didn’t tell him her name until he told her first.
Considering his temperamental personality back then, it seemed that Kang Dae-han was indeed the right person.
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“Wait, was it the red hair dye?”
“Actually, I dyed my hair black at that time.”
“Oh, I see.”
Jin So-yeon nodded her head as if she was slightly surprised.
It was quite fascinating to meet again through the connection they had made during those few weeks when they were young, and through Union Academy.
“Meow~”
“Oh, sorry, Meow, I’ll take you to the hospital quickly, Unnie.”
Remembering the condition of the cat she held in her arms, Jin So-yeon quickly apologized and hurried to the hospital.
“Hey, Jin So-yeon!”
“Let’s do it next time if it’s not urgent, next time!”
Concerned about the condition of the cat, Jin So-yeon left the alley with a face full of apologies and the cat in her arms.
Kang Dae-han quietly watched Jin So-yeon’s back as she disappeared into the distance.
So, the girl that he had met in the past was indeed Jin So-yeon.
He was also amazed. Honestly, I never thought I would be impressed by this kind of thing.
“To be honest, even though it sounds a little cheesy, thanks to him, I was able to regain some energy.”
When I was young, I suffered quite a bit because of my father, mother, and other brothers, but I was comforted by Jin So-yeon’s lively presence as she wandered around with me.
That’s why I can’t completely erase the memories of the young girl.
It’s not really a first love, just a little worrying?
I’m sure it’s just that much.
Maybe.
“Come to think of it, were she and Yi Shi-woon close?”
Kang Dae-han clenched his fist around the handle of the penguin picture frame and thought only of Jin So-yeon for a while.
***
“Ah, really.”
Jin So-yeon, who was rushing to the animal hospital, suddenly thought of Lee Jin-hyuk and bit her lip.
“How should I look at Jin-hyuk’s face?”
She was worried about how she should greet her childhood friend at the academy since she had confessed to liking him a few days ago and it turned out to be a lie.
Just greet him as usual, right?
Don’t act awkwardly and just act normal, there won’t be any problems.
“I might be a little late because of the animal hospital.”
Is he noticing something?
He shouldn’t misunderstand that I’m late because of what happened on the weekend, right? I can’t be awkward.
“Phone, the phone….”
But it’s also a bit strange to explain everything over the phone.
Ugh! Really! Why am I worrying about such things, Jin So-yeon, you idiot!
… Unlike Kang Dae-han, who was lost in thought with fond memories of an old friend, Jin So-yeon didn’t pay much attention.
From her perspective, well, he was just a friend who used to have some kind of connection in the past.
And lately, she had been keeping her distance from boys, and Jin So-yeon, who had opened her eyes to love, did not have the personality to be interested in other boys.
