Chapter 227: Thief
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 227: Thief
I didn't actually know much about bicycles.
In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I knew absolutely nothing before I bought one. The fact that someone as ignorant as I was had become so well-versed in the details meant one thing:
I had poured that much affection into it, and it was the result of agonizing over every single choice.
They say when a person gets angry, they lose sight of everything else. I vowed right then and there that I would smash the face of the thief who stole my bike the moment I saw him.
"Come out! Was it you? You!?"
I didn't care who came out; I was going to hit them! Even if it was that guy over there—the biggest one with the shaved head! I already had a high tolerance for bald guys, so I was plenty confident.
The moment he steps out, I’ll catch him off guard with a preemptive strike. He’ll panic and flail around, right? That’s when I’ll use my footwork to dig inside and unleash a Dempsey Roll on his solar plexus.
The tactical battle in my head was already over. All I had to do was act exactly as I’d simulated.
What if I ended up being good at fighting, too?
Kim Woo-jin, you're just insane.
So damn sexy.
However, the thugs' response was quite different from what I had anticipated.
"What's this punk yapping about?"
"We came in a van, you little shit."
"…Pardon?"
The honorifics slipped out reflexively. The thugs chuckled, looking at me as if I were some cute little kid.
"Hey, kid. I thought you were stepping up all cool to save Ju-hee, but I guess not?"
"Kyah, who was it? Who stole this kid's bike?"
"He's a tenacious one, isn't he? Whoever stole from him is gonna be shitting blood."
What was with these guys?
I was a bit taken aback by how they were actually encouraging me after I’d summoned all that courage. I had naturally assumed one of the thugs had ridden my bike here.
Wait.
Then who was the owner of the bike outside?
No, I'm the owner. Who was the thief?
As I stared blankly toward the counter, everyone’s gaze shifted to one of the employees. A lanky, beanpole of a man was fidgeting and glancing around nervously. The other part-timers were nudging him, asking if he hadn't been the one who rode a bike to work.
"Was it you?"
As I walked past the thugs and asked the employee tentatively, his eyes darted back and forth before he suddenly bolted.
"That punk's running!"
"Hahaha! Get him!"
Leaving the thugs behind to enjoy the show, I dashed outside.
At first, he tried to hop on the bike and flee, but when he saw Seo Ye-rin and Yoo Ah-rin standing guard right in front of it, he immediately changed direction.
"It's him! He's the one! Hey! Your info is already on file because of your job, so just stop, you idiot!"
I shouted that running was pointless, but it didn't seem to reach him. He kept running, his back turned to me. I tried my best to catch him, but the guy was incredibly fast.
"If you can run that well, just run everywhere, you crazy bastard!"
I had decent stamina myself, so I managed to stay on his tail, but the gap wasn't closing.
As I pursued him relentlessly...
Whoosh!
A scent of fruit whipped past me. With her blonde hair tied back for running and fluttering in the wind, Yoo Ah-rin overtook me in an instant.
"Wow."
I marveled at her incredible speed despite myself, but Yoo Ah-rin didn't even give me a glance as she shot forward like an arrow.
Perhaps realizing he couldn't outrun her, the thief ducked into an alleyway. I entered the alley a few seconds after the culprit and Ah-rin.
Amusingly, the guy had hit a dead end and was now facing off against Yoo Ah-rin.
"Dammit! Dammit!"
"Huff! Puff! Ah, shit, I'm out of breath! Hey! I told you, you're already caught! You're a cafe employee, so your info and face are all over the CCTV. Why even run!?"
I tried talking to him while catching my breath, but he was too agitated for common sense to work. I guess I had no choice.
"Ah-rin, step aside."
I grabbed Yoo Ah-rin’s shoulder and pulled her behind me. Her eyes widened when she realized I intended to fight him myself. No matter the situation, how could I just stand by and watch my woman fight?
"Hey, are you going to be okay? Looking at his stance, he looks like he's learned some martial arts."
"…Huh?"
I blurted out a response, caught off guard. Just as I was about to take a step back and decide that maybe it was better for Ah-rin to fight...
Whoosh!
The thief lunged at me like a beast. Thinking he only needed to take down the man, he tackled me to the ground and started raining down punches.
Thwack!
"Agh! That hurts!"
Thwack! Thwack!
"Can you even handle this? Do you know how much the medical bills are going to be?!"
Thwack! Thwack!
"Agh! It's 100,000 won per hit, so that's 500,000 won so far, sir!"
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
"600! 700! 800! 900! Hey, you bastard! That's enough!"
While I was getting pummeled with my hands covering my face, the guy suddenly stood up, apparently satisfied that he’d neutralized me.
Lying there, I watched the world upside down as Yoo Ah-rin and the thief began to fight.
"And here I thought you had something up your sleeve when you said you'd fight."
"I did the whole simulation in my head, but..."
Real life didn't quite go as planned. I lay there limp, blankly watching the fight between Yoo Ah-rin and the thief.
"Ah-rin, if it looks like you're going to get hit even once, just let him go."
I said it because I didn't want to see her get hurt, but she just smirked and started bouncing on her toes, finding her rhythm.
"I'm not letting a guy who hit my man go free."
Oh my, how forceful. I should have been the one saying that line.
Step!
The thief lunged at Yoo Ah-rin just as he had with me. It looked like he was planning to tackle her, pin her down, and then start hitting.
"Where do you think you're going with someone else's woman!?"
The moment I saw him lunging at her, strength suddenly surged through my body and I bolted upright.
But it was the thief who went down.
CRACK!
A knee kick landed squarely on his face. As the thief lunged low, Yoo Ah-rin had used her footwork to close the distance and deliver a lightning-fast counter. Her movements were so swift I could almost feel a gust of wind coming off her.
"Guh!"
The guy collapsed, blood spurting from his nose. I stood there dazed, staring at Yoo Ah-rin after the guy went down.
But she didn't stop there. She delivered a soccer kick right to the face of the groaning, fallen man.
THWACK!
"Whoa, jeez. Isn't that a bit much?"
I asked, feeling a sudden surge of empathy for the thief. Yoo Ah-rin just grumbled at me, looking annoyed.
"Don't go around getting beaten up. It makes me feel like crap, seriously."
"Then couldn't you have saved me while I was getting hit?"
"I thought you had a plan."
She pinched my waist once before checking the wounds on my face.
"Ugh, your face isn't even that great to begin with, and now it's all scratched up. What are we going to do with you?"
Watching her hold my face with both hands and turn it side to side made me smile.
"Seo-ah said I got handsome earlier."
"You look the same to me. Just the same old Loser Kim Woo-jin."
Maybe it was because we’d just overcome a crisis. Why was she suddenly so attractive?
"Ah-rin, can I kiss you?"
"Are you crazy?"
Mwah.
But as soon as she finished her sentence, I brushed her hands aside and pressed my lips to hers. It was a brief kiss. Her surprised expression as she looked up at me was so cute that I kissed her again.
Our tongues intertwined.
As we tasted each other's lips in the alleyway, we both knew we shouldn't be doing this here. We had to finish this quickly. It would be dangerous if someone saw us.
Her grip on my hand tightened as if to convey that sentiment, but the addictive taste of her only grew sweeter.
"Woo-jinaaa! Ah-rinaaa!"
Just then, Seo Ye-rin’s voice echoed from outside the alley. We broke apart instantly and awkwardly straightened our clothes.
"Haa... haaa... whew! I'm so out of breath!"
Seo Ye-rin leaned against the alley entrance, gasping for air. She must have struggled to keep up.
"Guys! Something big just—!"
Seo Ye-rin, about to shout something, froze when she saw me.
"W-Woo-jin?! What happened to your face! Oh no! My poor Woo-jini! You have nothing going for you compared to others except your face and your dick!"
She wailed and ran toward me. While she was hugging me tightly with teary eyes...
"..."
She suddenly stared at me with suspicious eyes.
Peck.
She gave me a sudden kiss on the lips.
"You fruit-flavored bastard!"
And then she immediately drove a hook into my stomach.
"Oof!"
Seo Ye-rin didn't have much muscle, so her punches were light, but hitting me squarely in the stomach resulted in a critical hit. She began slapping my back as I hunched over.
"Did Ah-rin give you a 'feel-better' kiss because you were hurting?! Our Woo-jin sure stays busy! Running after a thief, taking him down, and kissing Ah-rin! How! How does all of this happen in just ten minutes?!"
I glanced at Yoo Ah-rin for help, but she just looked away, feigning ignorance.
I should have slapped her butt instead of kissing her.
Feeling a sense of betrayal, I suddenly remembered what Seo Ye-rin had said when she entered the alley and shouted urgently.
"You said something big happened! What is it?! Did someone steal the bike again?"
I tried to change the subject, and Seo Ye-rin finally stopped hitting me, realizing she’d forgotten.
"The—the thugs! The thugs in the cafe! Those people—!"
The moment I heard her, a chill ran down my spine, and I bolted straight back to the cafe.
*
The inside of the cafe was dead silent.
The customers had all left. The owner and the part-timers were keeping their mouths shut, nervously watching the scene.
And the thugs were kneeling.
Yes. They were literally on their knees.
"Huff! Huff!"
I rushed into the cafe, ran over to the tearful thugs, and tried to comfort them, telling them to get up.
"Get up! Stand up! Oh man, were these guys scary?"
Then, the professional bodyguards in black suits and sunglasses, with in-ears tucked into their ears, approached me.
"Are you alright, Young Master?"
The thugs' eyes went wide.
Young Master?!
With those expressions, they lowered their heads even further and began to apologize.
"W-we're sorry for cursing at you earlier."
"We were out of line... laughing at you like that."
"We should have helped you catch the bike thief."
I had, in fact, contacted my Big Hyung and Little Hyung. I’d asked if they could help because I thought I might get tangled up with thugs again over the bike.
I’d said that, but...
I didn't expect the security team to arrive faster than the police.
"How did you get here so fast?"
"We are on constant standby near Gahyeon University. The Vice Chairman ordered it after you got involved with thugs last time, Young Master."
"..."
"For the record, we didn't force them to kneel. When we asked for your location, they suddenly picked a fight, so we merely responded in self-defense. Even if the police come, we can have them charged with obstruction of business."
There was a hint of pride in his voice as he explained how they’d handled everything cleanly within the bounds of the law. I reflexively slapped my forehead and glanced at the thugs.
"Sigh, this is crazy."
I could hear the sound of police sirens outside. Someone must have called them.
I looked around and then spoke to the thugs.
"Get up and order a drink, each of you. Security team, go stand in line behind the thugs. I found my bike, so it's on me."
The line formed instantly.
Senior Ju-hee, standing at the counter with a bewildered expression, spoke up.
"I'll... take your order."
"I'll have an Ice Java Chip Frappuccino."
What?
"You'll have a what?"
The mood soured instantly.
"...I'll just have an Iced Americano, please."