Ch.140140 – Righteous Theft 2

# 140 – Righteous Theft # 2

I found another box labeled “001.”

It was empty.

Where were the contents?

I don’t know.

Now that I knew what this was, my mood instantly soured.

“Just how many of these are there?”

It wasn’t wrong for high school students to use contraceptives.

It was actually better than not using them.

But the fact that those guys were currently at church was absurd.

The pastors would be preaching things like “If you don’t maintain your purity before marriage, you’ll be stoned!”

The Ten Commandments even say, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’

I don’t know how they can sit through those sermons without dying of embarrassment.

Of course, in the Ten Commandments, right after “Thou shalt not commit adultery” comes “Thou shalt not steal.” And here I was, stealing.

Am I being too hypocritical?

Are there distinctions between major and minor sins? Just as humans don’t really differentiate between small ants and big ants, are my sin of stealing and Wang Jahyeon’s sin of adultery the same in God’s eyes?

‘I don’t know.’

What mattered was that seeing women’s clothes scattered everywhere and the rumpled bed was making my head burn.

For a hormonal teenager going through puberty, this house was too stimulating.

At the same age as me.

In his own villa, not long after transferring schools, with girls from our class?

To me, Wang Jahyeon’s life seemed more like fantasy than the “Status Window” appearing before my eyes.

Unacceptable.

I’ll definitely steal that talisman.

Rummage, rummage-

I searched desperately for the talisman with that mindset.

But no matter how much I looked, I couldn’t find it.

‘Was my guess wrong?’

I firmly believed that Wang Jahyeon’s group had stored talismans in this place.

But even after searching the house for 20 minutes, no talismans were in sight.

The time was 11:40.

Time remaining: 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Honestly, I thought 3 hours would be plenty, but I was starting to feel suffocated.

“Here!”

Just then, Bong Jiyeon shouted.

It seemed she had found something under the bed.

“Let’s all lift this together!”

“Hnngh!”

“Too… too heavy…!”

It was incredibly heavy.

No joke, it must have weighed around 100kg.

We all combined our strength to somehow pull it out.

Thud-!

When we set it down on the floor, it made quite a loud noise.

It was a cube about 50cm on each side.

A very precisely cut metal box.

Clank-!

It had a padlock that was too thick to cut with the bolt cutters we had brought. And there were two such padlocks.

What could possibly be inside this box that required such a sturdy metal container with two padlocks?

Gold bars?

No, it wouldn’t be gold bars.

We all already knew what was inside.

“This is it. This is the one!”

I rejoiced.

We needed to quickly open this box and see what was inside.

“Move aside. This lock. I’ve seen these a lot at Jeongseok’s house. I know how to pick it.”

Bong Jiyeon took a hairpin from her pocket.

She bent it in various ways and inserted it into the lock, rattling it around quite convincingly.

Delinquents often steal bicycles or motorcycles, right?

It wouldn’t be strange for Bong Jiyeon to have such experience and know how to pick locks.

Rattle, click-

Rattle-

Click-!

One padlock opened.

Seeing this, Kwon Sua said:

“Ms. Jiyeon, you’re amazing! Honestly, I didn’t know what role you played in the pirate crew! You’re really showing your skills today! If this were a game, you’d be a thief!”

“……”

Glare-

Bong Jiyeon glared at Kwon Sua.

It seemed like she had something to say but held back, and continued working on the other lock.

Rattle, click-

While everyone was watching Bong Jiyeon’s mysterious lock-picking skills-

The problematic message arrived.

“Jeongseok: Hey, we’ve got a big problem. Wang Jahyeon and the girls are trying to head back now.”

It was already noon.

It seemed Jeongseok and Yang Juhui were having difficulty keeping Wang Jahyeon’s group occupied.

“Hold them as long as you can! As long as possible!!!!”

We needed to buy time until Bong Jiyeon could pick the lock!

I considered just running away with the box, but it was too heavy. If several of us were struggling to carry it, we’d definitely attract witnesses.

“Jiyeon! Bong Jiyeon! Hurry up! Quick! You’re a thief, right?!”

“Hey! Shut the fuck up! You’re distracting me!”

It was pure panic.

Time, which crawled so slowly during class, was now racing by.

It was already 12:20.

“Jeongseok: I managed to hold them a bit longer but now we’re really out of time! Whatever happens, retreat quickly!”

Retreat?

It takes at least 10 to 20 minutes to get here from Yeong-gwang Church.

Would we have time to clean up this mess within that timeframe?

Moreover, this house didn’t have a keypad lock, so someone would need to lock the door from inside.

Probably Kwon Sua.

Kwon Sua would have to lock the door from inside, then climb back through the window and go down to the first floor.

That would take at least 30 minutes.

Click-!

Just then, I heard the sound of the other padlock opening.

Unable to contain myself, I opened the box.

Whoosh-

As soon as the box opened, an incredibly intense chill swept over our bodies.

If X-rays had an icy cold property, it would feel exactly like this.

“Look at that!”

Swish, swish, swish swish-

The crosses that filled the house began turning upside down.

Inverted crosses. They gave off an unmistakably ominous feeling.

We were all tense and confused. We had no idea how long it would take to restore all those crosses to their original positions.

Just as I was thinking we should quickly examine and collect the contents of this cubic safe, Dahui spoke:

“I’ll try to hold Wang Jahyeon’s group outside for now.”

Swish-

Dahui went outside.

Taking advantage of that moment, I examined the contents of the box.

There were two items inside.

One was an envelope.

Inside it was not money, but…

“…talismans!”

Talismans.

Ten of them.

This was a total jackpot!

So they were hiding talismans after all!

Ten of them!

This was equivalent to 4000P in points.

“…What’s this? It’s with the talismans.”

Just then, Kwon Sua showed interest in the other item.

It was something very small wrapped in tissue paper.

I was wondering what it could be when a voice echoed in my head.

[Wang Jahyeon and the girls are coming from far away. I’ll try to hold them for 10 minutes.]

What?

How could I hear Yu Dahui’s voice in my head?

“Did you guys hear Dahui’s voice just now too?”

“What nonsense are you talking about! I’m closing the box! I’m going to lock it again!”

As Bong Jiyeon was getting irritated, I quickly gathered all the contents of the box.

Together, we pushed the box back under the bed.

“We need to put all the crosses back in their original positions!”

The longer it took for the theft to be discovered, the better.

So we planned to restore everything as much as possible before leaving.

# # #

Yu Dahui was standing a short distance away from Wang Jahyeon’s red brick villa.

The route between Yeong-gwang Church and Wang Jahyeon’s house.

Yu Dahui, who had been waiting between those two points, moved as if by coincidence when Wang Jahyeon appeared, chatting with the girls.

Then, when they were close enough to recognize each other’s faces, she abruptly stopped walking.

“Oh, you guys…”

Yu Dahui tilted her head as if she didn’t know anything.

When Gong Yerin and Lim Huiyeon narrowed their eyes at Yu Dahui, Wang Jahyeon smiled.

“It’s Dahui. How is the Chairman doing?”

“You’re Jahyeon, right? Grandfather told me about you.”

“I doubt it was anything good.”

“He said you’re an impressive kid and that I should be friendly with you. Where are you headed?”

“Me? I’m on my way home after going to church.”

“Jahyeon, let’s go quickly. My legs hurt.”

“What movie should we watch today?”

Giggle-

The girls pulled on Wang Jahyeon’s arms.

Yu Dahui got a strange feeling from the girls.

It was the kind of tension or sensuality that female students who had sexual experiences before becoming adults might have. They were connected as one.

They were united in a different sense than the Ha Yeongwon Pirates.

Thinking that breaking their bond wouldn’t be easy, Yu Dahui smiled.

“You all seem close. Close enough to go to each other’s homes and watch movies together.”

“We often eat together too.”

“During vacation, we were together almost every day.”

Gong Yerin and Lim Huiyeon looked at Yu Dahui as if feeling a great sense of superiority.

To them, the handsome “Wang Jahyeon” was like a treasure, something worth showing off.

They seemed to feel a strange superiority toward Yu Dahui while also appearing wary of her.

Yu Dahui pretended not to know anything and asked:

“Girls, it’s so hot that I was thinking of getting some iced tea if there’s a café nearby. Could you tell me where to find one?”

“If you go that way, you’ll find one.”

“Really? Got it. Thanks.”

Yu Dahui deliberately headed in the wrong direction.

Seeing this, Wang Jahyeon spoke again:

“Not that way, but toward that utility pole. If you go there, you’ll find one right away.”

Yu Dahui considered asking, “Would you mind taking me there?” but decided against it.

Being too friendly might cause suspicion and misunderstanding.

[Yeongwon, I can’t hold them any longer.]

Yu Dahui spoke to Ha Yeongwon using her newly acquired trait.

『《Whisper》: Allows you to speak with a mysterious voice.』

That must have been what this ability was.

Still, she had held them up for about 5 minutes, so now she could only trust her teammates for the rest.

Swish-

Finally, Yu Dahui and Wang Jahyeon’s group parted ways.

Wang Jahyeon honestly admired Yu Dahui’s retreating figure.

Even as the girls beside him linked arms with him, his gaze remained fixed on Yu Dahui.

‘If I could have become friends with her, I probably wouldn’t have needed to go through all this trouble.’

“Jahyeon, let’s go quickly.”

“I’m hot!”

As the girls whined like children and pulled on Wang Jahyeon’s arms, he slowly climbed the stairs and raised his key.

Click-

When he opened the door with his key and entered, the air inside felt slightly different.

“……”

Wang Jahyeon, with a suspicious feeling, headed toward the bed.

And he said to the girls:

“Girls, I want to take out the box.”

“Again? I don’t want to, it’s too heavy.”

“Let’s rest a bit instead. Okay?”

“Take it out.”

When Wang Jahyeon, who had been smiling kindly, coldly changed his tone, the girls flinched.

The two girls smiled obsequiously as if nothing had happened and pulled the box out from under the bed.

“Ugh, it’s heavy. Yerin! Gong Yerin! Put some strength into it!”

“You put in some strength!”

Thud-!

Finally, the box was placed on the floor.

Wang Jahyeon took out a key from his pocket and opened the box.

Then he checked the two items inside.

One was a set of talismans in a white envelope.

Ten talismans.

“One is missing.”

Originally, there should have been 11 talismans.

But this box only had 10 talismans.

With a suspicious feeling, Wang Jahyeon now looked at “that thing” wrapped in tissue paper.

This was an item much more important than the talismans.

It also required great resolve to check with the naked eye.

Swish-

With an ominous feeling, Wang Jahyeon unrolled the tissue paper.

And finally, he could see that the contents inside were missing.

“We’ve been robbed.”