I Was Scared
Another day, another hunt for a scoop. The reporter had been showing up at the police station so often it might as well have been his actual commute.
"Yaaawn..."
Evening had already slipped past, and people would be getting properly drunk about now. He prowled the perimeter of the station, swallowing the yawns that kept climbing out of his throat.
"I've got to land something today... Has the world gotten this dull?"
He wasn't tired, and his body wasn't giving him any real trouble. If he had to pick a complaint, it was the heat — the weather kept climbing, and standing in one spot was starting to feel like a punishment.
"Yaaawn..."
He was just bored. The yawns would not stop. At this rate he was going to fall asleep on his feet.
Figuring he might as well wake himself up, the reporter pulled out his phone and went online. Killing time, he scrolled to see if anything interesting had dropped.
He was a long way down the feed when a headline snagged him.
The title was dripping with bait. He couldn't help himself. He tapped it.
Was any of it even true?
The piece had only been up a few hours. There still wasn't a single official word from anyone who mattered, which meant there was every chance some gossip rag had been chewed up and spun into an article.
"That's a bit much. She still looks so young, and they're pulling this garbage... Well. If it paid, I'd do it too."
The most important thing in life was money. Page views were money. And a title loaded with that much bait converted straight into page views.
Just look at it. A few hours, and it already had several thousand hits. Give it a couple of days and it could climb into the popular ranks. Official channels would have to move one way or another, and once they did, even more people would pile onto this article.
"Ohh, that's a well-written piece. How come a tip like that never lands in my lap?"
He clicked his tongue and shot a look at the police station. He'd come here on rumors that celebrities and idols turned up in the area all the time. Instead, every day had been so peaceful it had crossed over into boring.
Something — anything — could happen anytime now...
His phone buzzed in his pocket.
"Ah, hell... Who is it. I said don't call when I'm working..."
He checked the screen, and his spine folded to a ninety-degree bow.
"Yes, Chief..."
"Where are you right now?"
"Ah... me, you mean?"
"Who else would I mean? Quit messing around and get back here."
"What? Then what about my week? You said I could have a month!"
"I'd like to leave you to it, but I can't. Get back here. Right now the higher-ups..."
"Haaah..."
The words higher-ups dragged a sigh out of him before anything else. Every time — a call right before he actually landed something, and then it was always the higher-ups this, the higher-ups that.
If they kept working like that, when were people like him supposed to make money? When were they supposed to climb? They'd just starve while the pigs upstairs got fat.
The rant rose all the way to the back of his throat. He swallowed it. What else could he do? He shook his head. You didn't ignore an order from above.
"Yes. I underst— wait."
"What? There is no wait! You get back here right—"
"Chief... I just saw something interesting."
The word interesting made the man on the other end hesitate.
"Stop talking nonsense and get back—"
"Would you believe me if I said the actress everyone's been buzzing about — Lee Jiwoo — is standing right in front of me?"
"Wait. Lee Jiwoo is there? You... you said you were at the police station..."
The reporter's mouth curled.
"Chief... no. Hyung. You still want me to come back?"
"Nngh..."
A long, thinking silence leaked through the speaker.
"Fine! But you bring me a scoop. You understand that."
"Yes, yes~ Of course I do. This is a scoop. I can smell it."
"That nose of yours... All right! I'll handle the people upstairs. Go."
"Yessir! I'll hang up now."
The line went dead. He shoved the phone into his pocket without much care and started walking, slowly, toward the station doors.
So. Are you going to make me money?
"Excuse me~"
He pushed the door open and stepped inside. It wasn't a large station. A single sweep of the eyes was enough to take in the whole interior — which meant the two women locked in a tight embrace off to one side were impossible to miss.
Found them already.
"Reporter Han. What brings you in today?"
A male officer stood up from his desk at the sight of him. For about a week now the reporter had been coming in every day, making nice, working the familiarity. He'd thought they were on decent terms — no, he was sure they were. Cops were people too. Keep approaching someone in a friendly way and sooner or later the guard comes down.
As of yesterday, he'd almost called it a success. So why was the man's tone so sharp today?
Something's going on, then.
The reporter smiled, just a little.
"Ah... just dropping by to see if anything came in. You know how it is. I've been here every day lately."
"There's nothing going on, so I'd appreciate it if you left. There are people inside the station right now. No photographs."
"Yes, yes~ I know. I'm just a two-bit reporter. Image rights are a minefield these days, aren't they?"
He wanted to push deeper, but the wariness was running high. Because of those two women, no doubt.
Even at a glance, neither of them looked like an ordinary person. And of course they didn't. One of them was the whole reason his feet had brought him here in the first place — the actress Lee Jiwoo.
She's beautiful... I've seen plenty of celebrities, and she's in a league of her own. This is going to make a hell of an article.
He eased the bag on his shoulder around so that it faced the two women. A camera was mounted inside it — something he'd snuck out without the chief's permission, saved for a day exactly like this. The higher-ups had probably called an emergency meeting over the missing equipment. Or not. Either way.
"Still... nothing at all today? You know how it is for us. A reporter can't go home until he lands something. Even a scrap would do... hmm?"
"Haaah... There's nothing. Keep this up and I'll have to throw you out."
What was with this cop? The edge on him today was something else. Didn't he know that the harder you shoved a reporter away, the more the reporter's instincts started to twitch? All he'd done since the man walked in was try to push him back out the door.
"Aww, don't be like that~ Or how about a drink? My treat. Just one."
"Why would I be drinking with you? That's enough. Please leave."
Nngh. That wasn't landing. He hadn't wanted to play this card.
"Oh? You're Lee Jiwoo, aren't you! Wow~ running into you in a place like this. I'm a fan!"
"Hold on! Reporter Han. Don't do this."
The officer caught him by the shoulder.
"Aww, come on, let's not be like that. I'll just get a signature and go."
"I don't mind."
"See? She says she doesn't mind!"
"Haaah... Fine. Make it quick and leave."
"That was always the plan. I'm a fan."
He pulled a sheet of paper and a pen from the bag and held them out to Lee Jiwoo.
What a weirdo.
I knew reporters could be relentless, but I hadn't expected him to shove his way in even with a cop trying to stop him. Fine. I'd sign the thing and send him on his way. The officers working here didn't need this kind of headache.
I glanced at Lee Yuwol, who still had her arms wrapped around me. She caught the look and nodded.
"Here. I'll sign it. What's your name?"
"Ah. Han Hoshik. I never thought I'd run into Lee Jiwoo in a place like this... So what brings you here, exactly?"
"That's personal. We can't tell you."
Yuwol answered for me.
"Ah... so you're the manager. Come on, just a little hint?"
"No."
"You're being so stiff..."
He wasn't wrong. I'd never seen this side of her either. I didn't know Yuwol unnie had this in her. It was actually a little scary.
"Here you go, Mr. Han Hoshik. Your signature."
"Ah... thank you. But really, why did you come here..."
"No."
The reporter tried to step in closer. Yuwol slid between us and cut him off.
"Tch... All right, then. Shame. Truth is, I'm a reporter. If it was something good, I was going to tell the world for you."
"If it's good news, the company will announce it officially."
"But doesn't it take time for something to go through meetings and come out as a press release? One word from me and the article goes up immediately..."
"Even so, we'd rather have a statement that's been checked over more than once and is actually safe."
"So what you're saying is... my articles aren't safe?"
Wow. The staring contest between those two was no joke. I was about ready for popcorn.
I knew Yuwol was doing this for me. That didn't mean I was above watching a fight.
While they were at it, the station door opened. A man came in between two officers, his feet dragging as they hauled him along.
"Ah..."
Our eyes met for a second, and mine went wide.
"Ah... it's the goddess... Goddess! Look over here!!"
"Don't move!"
"Sir! If you keep thrashing we'll have to restrain you!"
"Gyaaah!! Let go of me! I want to go to the goddess!!"
The two officers lost their grip for a split second as he exploded into motion. Free, the man locked his eyes on me and came straight on.
I— I have to run...
My body would not do what I told it to. A fear I had never felt before — real, raw terror — froze me where I stood.
"Goddeeeeess!!!"
"Kya— kyaaah!!"
Listen. Even with training, there's no shortcut that makes you good overnight. You build the fundamentals first, then you take the next step. That's the only way.
But.
Choi Wooseok's voice surfaced in my head.
In an emergency, you also have to know how to hit back. For someone with no stamina, this is the method that actually fits you.
First.
If they come at you head-on — make a fist, drop your hips a little, and go for the jaw. Like this.
CRACK!
The one motion I had drilled alongside all that conditioning. The one move I had thrown hundreds of times a day.
It paid off. My fist snapped out clean and buried itself in the man's jaw.
"Gh... uhhh..."
He staggered, couldn't find his feet, and went down in a heap.
"I... I was so scared..."