I Shall Surrender
There is a gang of robbers that has recently been causing quite a stir around the Gangseo District of Seoul.
They call themselves the "Small Business Plunderers."
They were a trio of robbers who gained notoriety by targeting small business owners who lacked the "Men's Safety Mark," had poor security, and yet—despite not being entirely bankrupt—were doing surprisingly well for themselves.
Their leader was Jo Malsuk.
In South Korea, a country where firearm possession is prohibited—a so-called "Villain-Free Zone"—she was a robber who even illegally possessed a gun.
She had become a full-fledged "Villain," with not only the police but also the Korean branch of the Hero Association tracking her down and assigning her a separate rank.
And now, their latest target was a snack bar that was reportedly pulling in an annual revenue of 1 billion won.
...Or so they thought, but the current situation was, by any measure, completely unexpected.
Jo Malsuk and her two subordinates stood there with blank expressions, simply staring vacantly at what was in front of them.
They were so dumbfounded that they couldn't even bring themselves to hold up their guns and issue a threat.
'...Am I dreaming right now?'
This was an ordinary snack bar in a remote alley, a place that didn't even have a Men's Safety Mark.
And yet... why was there such an impossibly "handsome man" standing right in front of them?
It wasn't just that he was handsome. He was a beautiful character from a manga, something that couldn't possibly exist in reality.
The moment she looked at his eyes, nose, lips, and even the line of his neck, Jo Malsuk’s mind went blank.
Countless thoughts swirled and collided in her head, but only one stood out with overwhelming intensity.
"Please surrender peacefully."
And why did his voice have to sound like that?
It was firm, yet cute.
The short, clipped tone felt somewhat impudent, but strangely, that made it all the more appealing.
And that gaze.
With a face so neat it was almost irritating, the way he glared at them...
It was erotic.
So much so that her lower abdomen tingled.
'...This is insane.'
Her heart dropped, and her senses snapped to attention.
Only then did Malsuk truly realize it.
This wasn't a dream. This was reality.
'Ugh... I may be a woman who robs small businesses, carries illegal firearms, and has been extorting money since high school... but I'm not so far gone that I'd mess with a man?!'
"Hey, Boss..."
"That person... is he, by any chance... a man?"
"Quiet! You can see it, can't you!"
Where had that imposing air that commanded the snack bar just moments ago gone?
Jo Malsuk’s subordinates were in a state of total confusion.
They had switched into "amateur robber" mode, full of openings.
Of course, that didn't mean Hyunwoo could move easily.
After all, they were all holding guns.
'If I make the wrong move... I might end up with a hole in my body.'
Naturally, there was no way a robber would actually shoot a real gun at a man—that would be insane. But Hyunwoo was the only one who didn't know that fact.
Meanwhile, Jo Malsuk was agonizing over what to do.
She had to steal the money.
That was her duty as a villain, her way of survival, and the very reason for her existence.
But the man in front of her was standing with such dazzling confidence that it made doing such a thing feel impossible.
His eyes were sharp, his expression was bold, and he was standing his ground as if he were cosplaying as a hero.
The problem was that it looked way too cool.
'I still have to take him down...!'
If they dragged this out, the police might show up.
Jo Malsuk bit her lip in frustration.
Then, a thought occurred to her.
'Wait a minute. At the end of the day, he’s just... a man, right?'
In this world, that’s what men were. Creatures who would tear up at the slightest threat, flinch at a loud noise, and well up with tears just from a woman staring at them.
That’s why they were precious, why they had to be protected, and why... they were so damn adorable.
Jo Malsuk chuckled to herself.
'Alright. Let’s just scare him a little.'
She wouldn't hurt him.
Really!
Absolutely!
She intentionally engaged the safety on her gun. She aimed vaguely... way above his head.
And she put on a scary expression, making her eyes look cold.
"H-hey... friend... if you don't move, this muzzle will... uh..."
...She tried to say it, but her voice trembled slightly.
Her pupils wavered. The corners of her lips curled up awkwardly.
In the end, it came out as a polite "request."
"Boss! Isn't pointing a muzzle a bit too violent for a man?"
"Oh, is it...? Then, this long piece of metal might make you go 'ouch!'... so. Please move aside! ...Please."
It was a truly "timid threat," constructed with feedback from her subordinates halfway through.
To be precise, it was closer to a polite apology delivered while fidgeting than a threat.
But the problem was that the person on the receiving end was a "man."
"T-that's too horrible!"
"I can't bear to watch..."
"Waaaaah! Mommy...!"
"It's okay, it's okay..."
At that moment, the inside of the snack bar was engulfed in shock, as if the end of the world had been prophesied.
The female students, tears welling in their eyes, clung to each other and trembled, and the mothers instinctively hid their daughters behind them.
And the shop owner, unable to watch any longer, ended up ripping the entire safe out and lifting it up.
"S-stop it! Just take the safe! The safe! Please! ...No, before that, even if you are robbers, how can you point a gun at a man?!"
"W-well! Pointing it at a man? I was pointing it at the ceiling! Right? Guys?"
"Of course, Boss!"
"Even if we are criminals who threaten people with guns, we aren't that far gone! We follow a minimum code of 'business ethics'!"
"That's right! We may have shot people, but do you really think we're that kind of bad guys?!"
While they were bickering and pointing fingers at each other with some truly bizarre logic:
"Ahem! Anyway, you understand... right? If you block our path, we might just beat you up..."
"Boss! Watch your language!"
"Ah, right... you might get a 'spank-spank'... so. Please go away... now!"
Jo Malsuk carried the safe the owner had handed over and tried to leave the snack bar, having "threatened" Hyunwoo in a clumsy manner.
Her subordinates nodded, agreeing that was the right thing to do, and the shop owner, while watching the safe—which contained several years' worth of revenue and savings—being shaken around, didn't look regretful at all.
Instead, she even let out a sigh of relief, as if she were grateful.
And before long, a strange peace settled inside the snack bar.
The safe had been stolen, and the money was gone.
Yet, no one was sad.
Just from the fact that they had protected one man, the female students breathed a sigh of relief, and the mothers nodded as they patted their daughters' backs.
Truly, it was all for the best.
Before anyone knew it, a strangely heartwarming atmosphere, filled with "Haha, that was a close one~," was flowing through the snack bar.
Except for one person.
Lee Hyunwoo.
Grab.
"Wait! Ma'am, where are you taking that safe?!"
"Oh, uh...? T-this shouldn't be happening...?"
"Let go of that right now!"
"No, you see... my job is being a robber. So this is a bit difficult... for me."
Hyunwoo ran outside the snack bar toward the safe the robbers were carrying.
And then, he grabbed the safe with both hands.
Thanks to that, the robbers were in a bind, and the customers inside the snack bar were even more troubled.
"Oh my, young man! It's dangerous!"
"But this contains... all the money you've saved your whole life!"
"Even so, there's only about 1.7 billion won in there!"
1.7 billion won.
For a tteokbokki shop that charges 3,000 won per serving, 1.7 billion won is an amount that would make even a major franchise headquarters weep.
For the record, this snack bar was a genuinely "kind shop" where a set of sundae, fried food, and tteokbokki cost exactly 10,000 won.
Yet, this gang of robbers had tried to extort 1.7 billion won from such a conscientious and good-hearted small business owner in a world where people charge 15,000 won for a single serving of tteokbokki.
That was why Hyunwoo could never back down.
No matter who the opponent was, he had to protect this safe.
But the opponents were a trio of villains that even the Hero Association was tracking.
The numbers were 3:1.
There was no way they could lose to a mere man.
...Or so it should have been?
Tug, tug, tug, tug...
"This is..."
"My body... on its own..."
"Is being pulled...?"
They were robbers, and they were villains, but before that, they were "women."
And in their eyes, they could still clearly see it.
The man with the firm arms, heavy shoulders, and tightly pressed lips, holding onto the safe with an expression far more desperate than their own.
The "delicious sight" of him sweating and holding on, top to bottom.
Facing such a man, what woman could possibly exert any strength?
Their instincts were already reacting.
Let's ease up.
No, let's just let him win.
Even if it’s just like this, let’s satisfy the man in front of us.
Besides, what if the three of them really pulled the safe with all their might here?
Thud!
"Waaaaah! My knee, it's bleeding! Waaaaah!"
The moment they imagined a man with a solid 180cm frame falling to the floor and whining like a baby, it was too "demonic an imagination."
They couldn't bear to make that imagination a reality.
Pop.
Just like that, the safe finally returned to the man's embrace.
"I-I found it!"
Hyunwoo had finally recovered the safe.
And that wasn't all.
"B-Boss! Since it's come to this, let's run!"
"That's right! It's better to just run away!"
The Small Business Plunderers tried to flee in a panic.
At that moment, a small but clear voice came from behind them.
"Why do you... do such bad things?"
"...!"
Those words.
They had heard them countless times.
Those cliché words they had heard on the news, from heroes, and from police, letting them go in one ear and out the other.
But today was different.
Because the person who said it was none other than a man.
In the suffocating silence, those words pierced straight into the center of their hearts!
The man's voice was soft, yet filled with resolve.
That single sentence sounded to them like, "I will not give up on you."
"*Sob*..."
"*Sob*..."
"*Sniff*...!"
It was just a single sentence, but there was something solid within it.
And at that moment, something inside their hearts began to quietly melt away.
When they came to their senses, all three were crying.
With tear-stained faces, they were cautiously regretting their crimes.
It was because they suddenly felt so sad that they had appeared as "villains" even to a man.
"I... I've never heard something like this from a man before..."
"M-me too..."
"If we're hearing this kind of thing even from a man... we must have really lived our lives badly..."
"Boss... should we just turn ourselves in?"
"Yeah... from now on, as members of society... let's do our best...!"
"......Huh?"
Wait, you're not going to fight?