novelraw Chapter 210 : Chapter 210
Chapter 210 : Chapter 210
Chapter 210: Kidnapping (2)
With his mouth gagged, Ho-cheol said in a leisurely tone.
“Now, now. Let’s be kidnapped quietly.”
If it had been any other student, they would have been in a panic, not even understanding what he was saying, and things would have gotten troublesome, but with Se-ah, it was fine.
Although she was not on Ho-cheol's level, she was a professional who had been through all sorts of trials and tribulations.
He was sure that she would be able to recognize the current situation and follow him meekly.
But that was just Ho-cheol's delusion.
“Eup! U-eup!”
Se-ah, with her mouth gagged, let out an unintelligible sound.
Her lips under his palm kept mumbling, tickling his hand.
“Ah, why are you like this? I told you to just come quietly.”
At her stronger than expected reaction, Ho-cheol's brows narrowed.
He checked again, thinking that maybe she couldn't breathe, but he had only covered her mouth.
Her nose was fine.
Se-ah pulled her body back and tried to escape.
“No, you don’t. No.”
He reached out his remaining hand and wrapped it around her waist, holding her firmly.
Then he pushed his body forward, closing the distance between them even more.
“Let’s talk about whatever it is later. Can’t you just come quietly for now?”
Whatever she wanted to talk about, she could do it later, leisurely, at the new villain hideout.
“It’s not like it’s your first time being kidnapped.”
It wasn't even their first meeting, so what was so hard about getting kidnapped once?
Until just a moment ago, they had maintained a certain distance, but the moment Ho-cheol grabbed her waist, that distance had completely disappeared.
The moment Ho-cheol's voice and breath touched her skin, Se-ah's body flinched, and then she struggled, resisting even more fiercely than before.
She eventually brought her heel down on Ho-cheol's foot.
“Ouch.”
Since there was no sign of her coming along quietly, Ho-cheol muttered that he was disappointed and relaxed his grip.
“Puhat!”
Se-ah, whose mouth was finally free, gasped for breath and glared at Ho-cheol with daggers in her eyes.
Her face flushed bright red, and she shouted.
“Kidnapping and all that bullshit!”
Kidnapping?
He had disappeared for a few days and then suddenly appeared, what was this nonsense?
But there was a much more important problem than questioning that.
“I haven’t showered! How can I go out in this state!”
The kidnapping must have some meaning.
But to accept that, her own situation was too serious.
A shabby t-shirt with a stretched-out neckline, loose pajama pants, and even mismatched slippers.
And she hadn't even showered properly because she had been working from home for the past few days.
Honestly, there was nothing more troublesome than showering with a cast on your leg.
She had tried to stay calm, but when Ho-cheol had changed his posture and had come close to her neck, no joke, her mind had gone blank.
There was no way she didn't smell.
“Ah. So that’s why…”
Ho-cheol asked back, as if dumbfounded, and slowly examined Se-ah's condition.
She certainly looked like she hadn't showered.
Her face was shiny.
As if she had understood his gaze, Se-ah's face was now so bright red it looked like it would burst.
“Wait! I’ll come back after I’m ready, so let’s talk then!”
She pushed Ho-cheol's back and kicked him out the front door, slamming it with a kwang sound.
Ho-cheol let out a hollow laugh.
I came to kidnap you.
Is this how you treat a kidnapper?
But not even a few seconds had passed.
Kkiiik—
Se-ah poked her head out from behind the slightly opened door.
Although the redness had faded a little, she was still embarrassed and couldn't bring herself to meet Ho-cheol's eyes.
“If it’s a bit much outside, you can wait inside.”
Following Se-ah, Ho-cheol stepped into her house.
“Stay here.”
Se-ah sat Ho-cheol down on the sofa and brought a bottle of orange juice.
Although what was inside was actually barley tea.
She, who had poured a full glass of cold water, was finally able to meet Ho-cheol's eyes.
“Wait here. I’ll get ready to go out.”
“Uh. Will it take long?”
Ho-cheol asked, recalling the memory of So-hee making him wait for several hours in the name of getting ready to go out.
“Just wait quietly!”
Of course, there was no way she would answer that.
Se-ah hurried into the bathroom.
Ho-cheol leisurely crossed his legs and sipped the barley tea.
Right, this water bottle.
He had one in his house too, a long time ago.
He didn't know where they got them, but every house had one of these glass bottles.
After that, Ho-cheol looked around the house.
There were three rooms that could be seen from the spacious living room.
Isn't it a bit much for one person to live alone?
But then he thought again, and she wasn't living alone.
Gom-gom was also there.
Don't tell me Gom-gom has its own room?
For a moment, such a question and curiosity welled up, and he wanted to check beyond that door.
But Ho-cheol quickly calmed down and sat back down on the sofa.
He didn't have the confidence to handle the shock of confirming the truth beyond the door, more than his curiosity.
He quietly picked up the remote control that was rolling around next to the sofa and flipped through the TV channels.
Is this a kidnapper or a guest?
As Ho-cheol was looking for something to watch, Se-ah was leaning against the bathroom door with a troubled expression.
What on earth is going on!
Did I smell when he was close to me earlier?
She turned her head and checked the smell of her shoulder, wrist, hair, and other parts of her body.
“Ah, damn it.”
She smelled.
Of course, it wasn't an unpleasant or disgusting smell that would make you frown right away, but it was still clear enough to leave an impression.
It was a smell he had smelled before…
A rain-soaked puppy.
It seemed like that was the kind of smell you would get if you buried your face in its belly.
If he had to say, he didn't dislike it, but he still didn't know what Ho-cheol would think.
She hurriedly opened the shelf above the sink.
The toiletries she had received as a gift a long time ago, but had been left untouched for several months because she had never gotten around to using them.
She roughly tore off the packaging.
***
After nearly 2 hours had passed.
Sreureuk—
The bathroom door opened.
Warm steam spread out of the bathroom and into the living room.
Se-ah walked out from between the moist air.
“Haa.”
She let out a faint sigh.
Her damp hair fell on her shoulders, and although she had no makeup on, her freshly washed face had a strange liveliness.
She, who was wearing an oversized shirt, was dragging her slippers and carefully walking towards the living room.
Towards Ho-cheol, who was half-lying on the sofa, she asked.
“You’ve been waiting long?”
“For what.”
Ho-cheol waved the hand that was holding the remote control as if it was fine.
“I was so engrossed in the movie I didn't even notice the time.”
The TV he was pointing at was playing a movie that had been released at the beginning of the year.
“No, is that already on TV?”
“I paid for it.”
“Ah?”
Looking at the horrified Se-ah, Ho-cheol grinned.
“The security is very poor. What kind of payment password is 0000?”
“Ow! You crazy bastard! You watched a 10,000 won movie?”
She ran over and slapped Ho-cheol's forearm and back.
Every time her body moved, the water droplets she hadn't wiped off splattered on Ho-cheol.
When she snatched the remote and checked, it wasn't even 10,000 won.
“F… fifteen thousand won! Are you made of money?”
After a brief squabble like that, Ho-cheol stopped the movie and sat up straight.
It was kidnapper time again.
Of course, before that, it was a priority to persuade Se-ah, who would never follow him unless he explained properly.
Ho-cheol explained the whole story.
Of course, he had hidden some of the sensitive parts, such as the fact that the enemy he was currently facing was a resurrected Smiley, and that the reason they were after him was because of their past relationship.
Such information would not be helpful to know, and even if she knew, it would just hinder her from making the right choice for emotional reasons.
And after his explanation was over.
“Hey! Are you crazy!”
She shouted, even more angry than when Ho-cheol had watched the pay-per-view movie.
“Crazy? I’m more sober than ever before.”
“No, that’s not it!”
It wasn't just because he was trying to kidnap her.
No, in fact, she could understand that side.
To prevent the students or the people around him from getting involved, it was best for Ho-cheol to distance himself both physically and mentally like this.
However, the more Ho-cheol's plan progressed…
“Why are you volunteering to be the villain alone…”
Se-ah, who thought of him as a friend for now, was naturally saddened that Ho-cheol was taking the blame like this.
Ho-cheol asked in return.
“Then is there another clever way?”
Se-ah could not answer.
She could not logically refute Ho-cheol's opinion.
In the first place, there was no way there was an alternative.
But that's why she wanted to stop Ho-cheol even more.
How could a person's heart be divided and cut so neatly with just numbers?
In fact, since Ho-cheol was cutting it so easily, shouldn't she be the one to hold on?
After thinking for a moment, Se-ah asked something else.
“What about her?”
There was no need to hear who that was to know.
Ho-cheol also did not ask back the obvious question and answered shortly.
“So-hee is there. And you and the old man too. If the three of you take care of her together, she’ll be fine.”
Ji-an had also developed a lot.
Now that he was gone for a long time, she would be fine.
Ho-cheol checked the time for a moment.
It wasn't a very urgent matter, but it wasn't something to dawdle over either.
“Now, if you’re ready, let’s get kidnapped.”
“How long?”
“Well, it’ll probably take about two days for it to be known to those around and for the media to pick it up, right?”
It was a long time if it was long, and a short time if it was short.
“Alright. I’ll just go and pack some things for work. And some clothes to change into.”
“You don’t seem to shower for days anyway, so why bother?”
“Hey!”
“Ah, alright, alright. Pack your clothes too.”
Se-ah quickly went into a room, packed her things, and came out.
And behind her, as was natural, Gom-gom also followed her with small steps.
On their way down to the underground parking lot, Ho-cheol let out a groan.
“Kidnapping is hard.”
“Why? You must have done it a lot in your villain days.”
“Not really.”
In fact, although Ho-cheol had committed almost every crime in his villain days, there was just one crime that he was proud to say he had never committed.
Kidnapping.
In fact, it wasn't for a great reason.
Since he had a very short temper, it was obvious that he would kill the hostage right away if he didn't like them, so there was no need to hold a hostage and argue with a hero.
Arriving at the parking lot, Ho-cheol put Se-ah and Gom-gom in the back seat.
The expression was not "put," but "loaded."
Her hands were now tied firmly behind her back, and her mouth was also gagged with a towel so she couldn't speak.
“Eub eub!”
“Alright. Someone might be watching, so let’s just do it like this outside.”
In a situation where he didn't even know where a watchful eye might be, such a plausible show on the outside was essential.
Only after Ho-cheol had closed the back seat door and had gotten into the driver's seat did Se-ah untie her gag with her Trait.
“So what’s this car?”
“I stole it.”
“You’re just crazy.”
Ho-cheol chuckled.
To think he could confess his crime so nonchalantly.
All hail villains.
After the car started, Ho-cheol tilted his head.
“You sent the rescue signal, right?”
“Yeah. I’ll send it now.”
Se-ah fidgeted with her hands behind her back.
It was a rescue signal that was sent to the Association and the academy at the same time.
An emergency danger signal, and the target was not some other clumsy professor or hero.
Both the Association and the academy would move right away.
“It’ll take 20 minutes at the earliest, and 30 minutes at the latest.”
“They’ve gotten a lot faster than before. In my time, it was 30 minutes at the earliest.”
The system has gotten better.
As they were driving along a deserted country road, Ho-cheol checked the time and muttered.
“It’s about time for the Association or the academy to react.”
To complete Se-ah's kidnapping show, some public official had to come, but it had been quiet for 30 minutes.
And they were even tracking her location in real time.
Why were they so late?
“I know, right. Maybe it’s because they’re busy these days.”
Se-ah also muttered, as if she couldn't understand.
On a road that wound greatly around a mountain ridge, the moment they were turning on a winding road, a pitch-black dump truck from the opposite lane suddenly turned its steering wheel.
Kkiiiiik—!
It was clearly aiming for the car with Ho-cheol and Se-ah in it and charged at them.
“Damn it.”
Ho-cheol muttered, bathed in the headlights of the dump truck.
A truck coming at just 100km/h.
With his reaction speed, he could have easily reacted and dodged it, but he was holding the steering wheel of a car.
Even if he dodged, this car couldn't.
And even if he was lucky enough to dodge, there were several more pitch-black trucks that looked just like it, rushing in behind that truck.
The best move here was not to dodge vaguely to the side, but to go straight.
Ho-cheol, in turn, stepped on the gas pedal.
Kwaaaang—!
With the collision, the car, which had been crumpled like a piece of paper, rolled down the mountain road.
The car, which had been rolling, stopped, and Ho-cheol turned his head back.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
Fortunately, Se-ah was fine.
In fact, the reason Ho-cheol was fine even though the car was completely wrecked was thanks to her Trait protecting him.
However, she could not hide her flustered expression.
“That truck. It’s an Association-exclusive trailer. Why on earth?”
“Well, it’s natural.”
Ho-cheol declared nonchalantly, without even being surprised.
“The Association is a place where people live too. There’s no way there aren’t any guys who are in cahoots with villains. Or from the beginning.”
His gaze turned to the outside of the window, to the people from the Association who were looking down at them from the mountain slope.
“They were villains.”
Either way, there was not much of a difference.