Refusal and the Flying Ruin
Flying ruin. …………… "No."
The word of refusal slipped out of my mouth before I knew it. Kang Haneul's movements stopped dead.
A few seconds later, she tilted her head slightly and looked at me.
"……What did you say?"
"I'm not doing dogeza. I'm not kneeling."
Kang Haneul's eyes widened. Her expression screamed 'I can't believe this.' And rightly so. Up until now, I'd done everything she demanded.
I'd signed the manager contract she handed me.
I'd accepted living with her.
I'd shared a bed with her.
Hell, just moments ago, I'd let her examine me in my underwear.
And now, I—Moon Yujin—was refusing her for the first time.
"Yujin. What did you just say?"
Kang Haneul's volume spiked sharply.
"I'll apologize! I will. For lying about not meeting Baek Sehee. But……."
I drew in a breath.
"Dogeza? No. I'm not doing it."
Kang Haneul's mouth fell open. She stared at me in silence for a long moment.
"……You won't?"
"Yeah. No."
It was defiance the old Moon Yujin never could have imagined. That guy had always been timid, always watching for cues, a victim of school violence, the object of obsession, an F-rank Awakener. Naturally, he'd shrunk into himself. He'd bowed his head before the strong.
But I'm different. Even if Moon Yujin's influence had made me more cowardly, I couldn't throw away my last shred of pride.
Kneeling on the floor and slamming my forehead down. Dogeza. This crossed the line. It was too much, even for her.
And…… this dogeza was like a slippery slope. If I gave in here, it wouldn't end. Every time I inevitably "messed up," her demands would escalate, trampling my dignity further. That's what she wanted—to break me in, to own me completely.
"Yujin. You're making a huge mistake right now. You know that, right?"
Kang Haneul took a step closer. I instinctively stepped back.
"You snuck off to meet that paranoid psycho bitch behind my back and lied to my face about it. Bold as hell."
"That's why I'm apologizing."
"Do it properly."
"I've already stripped down to my underwear for your inspection! I've apologized verbally too! That's enough!"
"No. An apology continues until the victim says it's enough. Isn't that obvious?"
Obvious? Now she was saying dogeza was the obvious response to screwing up?
"Realize how bad what you did was, kneel, slam your forehead down, and beg sincerely. Then I'll forgive you."
Forgive? She was offering forgiveness?
Something writhed in my chest.
"No. I'm not doing it."
"So you're saying you won't listen to me?"
Her face loomed suddenly close. She was furious—her ragged, heavy breaths reached me clearly.
"No, that's not――"
"Then what? You are refusing to listen."
My chest tightened, breath catching. But if I knelt now, it was over. Truly over.
"Haneul."
"What."
"I'm……not your possession. So I'm never doing it."
Kang Haneul's face froze in shock.
"……What?"
"I'm your manager. It's an employment relationship, not owner and slave. So you can't go this far either."
Kang Haneul sighed.
"Yujin, you're misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding?"
"Yeah. You are my manager. But that's not all. We're closer than that."
We live together, sleep together, are always together. How could it just be employment? You're mine, aren't you? How can you do this to me?
You're mine.
The thread of reason snapped.
"Baek Sehee was right!"
I shouted it, and Kang Haneul froze. Then, as the meaning sank in, the air in the office turned to ice.
"……What?"
"Baek Sehee was right. You don't see me as a person! Just as your property."
"Yujin――"
"The contract, living together, sharing a bed—it's all on your terms. My opinion doesn't matter. You just do whatever you want. What Baek Sehee said about you was spot――"
Slap!!
The world spun. My ears rang. It wasn't just my cheek—the whole side of my head buzzed.
My body lifted into the air and flew sideways.
Thud!
My back and shoulder hit the floor. The impact shot up my spine, forcing all air from my lungs.
"Guhk――"
I couldn't breathe. My lungs wouldn't work. For several agonizing seconds, it felt like suffocation.
Something trickled in my mouth. Metallic. Blood.
I probed the inside with my tongue. My inner lip was torn, smashed against my teeth.
……She hit me.
Kang Haneul had never struck me before. She'd made me hug a pillow and hit that, sure. But this? She'd crossed the line.
I swallowed the blood with my saliva. My throat stung.
Kang Haneul stared blankly at her hand.
We said nothing.
……………
I rose silently. Every muscle ached as I pushed up from the floor. My mouth still tasted of blood.
I walked toward the office door.
"Y-Yujin. Where are you going?"
Her voice came from behind, laced with uncharacteristic panic.
I didn't answer. Just kept walking toward the door.
Footsteps rushed up fast.
"Wait!"
My wrist was grabbed. No doubt Kang Haneul. I turned to see her pale face staring at me.
"Hitting you was my fault. I'm sorry."
She was apologizing. She was.
But I didn't want to hear it. Not now.
"Yujin, I……I was angry too. You lied about not meeting Baek Sehee. Hid her business card and everything. My mind went blank……."
Her words tumbled out faster.
"But it was all because of your lie, right? So we're even? Yeah? Let's drop it now."
Even. The word lodged in my ear.
I'd met Baek Sehee. True.
I'd lied. True.
She'd stripped me to my underwear, rifled through my clothes, demanded dogeza, and slapped me hard enough to split my lip and draw blood.
Even? No way. Not even close.
"Let go."
The words came out in an ice-cold tone I barely recognized as my own.
"Yujin――"
"Let. Go."
I tried shaking her off, but she wouldn't release me. She gripped tighter.
"I……can't."
"Let go!"
I grabbed her hand with both of mine and yanked. But her grip didn't budge. EX-rank Awakener strength. No chance for a normie like me.
"Yujin, please. I'm really sorry! I was angry and messed up. It was a split-second thing. I won't do it again. Promise. So calm down."
Kang Haneul was begging. Unheard of, even in Moon Yujin's memories.
But my anger hadn't faded. Or rather, I didn't want it to.
"Calm down? After you went that far? After hitting me?"
"Th-that……I'm truly sorry. I was just so mad……."
"So you hit me? And you'll hit me next time you're mad too?"
"No! I won't! Never again!"
"Enough. Stop talking."
I tried wrenching free again. Still no luck.
"Yujin……."
"I don't want to talk to you anymore. Let go."
"Yujin, please. I'm really reflecting. I won't do it again. I promise. I'll do anything. Yeah? What do you want? Tell me."
Anything. What do I want.
Ridiculous.
"I don't want anything. Just leave me alone."
"Th-that……no, I can't. I know you're mad at me. But if you go off alone without me……."
"What if I do? Scared I'll run?"
Kang Haneul's breath hitched.
"……No. That's not it."
"Then what?"
"I just……want you by my side. Always. It makes me anxious when we're apart."
"……I don't want to talk to you anymore."
I repeated myself.
"Yujin――"
"For real."
She bit her lip.
"You really mean it?"
"Yeah."
Silence fell.
"……For real?"
"For real."
More silence.
"You're really not gonna talk to me?"
"Yeah, no."
"For real? Really?"
"Really."
"Yujin, please――"
"Stop!"
With each refusal, the light drained from Kang Haneul's face. She stood there like a broken wind-up doll, expressionless, eyes unfocused.
Several seconds passed. Maybe ten.
Finally, the strength left her hand, freeing my wrist.
I couldn't miss this. I spun and hurried to the office door.
Just stay apart for a few days.
I was angry, sure. The slap, the dogeza demand, and especially calling it "even"—that pissed me off most.
But I had no intention of cutting ties completely. Impossible anyway.
Kang Haneul was obsessed with me. And she could leap to the skies with leg strength alone and crush boulders like mud. Escaping her? Near zero chance.
So this was shock therapy. A few days……a week and a half at most. She'd cool off, reflect, regret hitting me. She'd miss my ability's 'Harmless Cuteness' anger-soothing effect.
The Baek Sehee counseling……if Kang Haneul showed no improvement after this, I'd decide then.
For now, space was best. We'd meet later, talk calmly――
The moment I turned the doorknob.
Crack.
A bizarre sound, and the world tilted.
"Grk――!?"
Something smashed my right shin. I heard—or felt—bone shatter. A dull rupture from deep inside.
My leg buckled the wrong way. Below the knee, it bent at an unnatural angle.