Citizen Hero (2)
Drip.
Bright red blood burst from the man's nose after the can struck him square in the face, pattering onto the floor.
"Whoa, damn..."
A gasp slipped out of me before I could stop it. Even though I was the one who had thrown the can, the sight of that vivid red blood dripping steadily made my hand twitch forward on pure reflex. The words Are you okay? rose all the way to my throat, but I managed to seize hold of my reason and pulled my hovering hand back.
Clutching his nose, the man stayed curled on the floor, groaning and muttering something incomprehensible under his breath.
What now? Should I just bolt?
Honestly, I was at a complete loss. This was the first time anything like this had ever happened to me. For a second I considered spinning on my heel and sprinting away at full speed, but I quickly reined myself in.
I should call the police first.
The moment I rummaged in my pocket and pulled out my phone, the man flinched, then staggered unsteadily to his feet.
"I-Is taking one damn photo so hard for you?!"
Even with the lower half of his face a mess of blood from the nosebleed, he still managed to raise his voice and shout at the top of his lungs. I looked him up and down with genuine disgust. No matter how dark this alley convenience store was, how could anyone be this oblivious to the situation? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Anyone listening would think I was the one who had assaulted an innocent fan.
"You used violence first, didn't you?"
I spat the words coldly, recalling the impact of falling backward. Throb. My coccyx ached and stung where I had slammed it into the ground after the man yanked hard on my hoodie hood.
"Ah, shit... Did I actually crack a bone?"
I furrowed my brow deeply and lightly patted my lower back. The man seemed flustered by my attitude and took a step back.
"I-If I just post one thing online, you're finished! I'll tell everyone you beat me up!"
He spouted empty threats and started to pull his own phone from his pocket. I snorted a hollow laugh at that idiotic remark and pointed my chin toward the corners of the convenience store ceiling.
"Before you post anything online, why don't you look up for a second?"
"...What?"
"This is an unmanned convenience store. CCTV runs twenty-four seven with no blind spots. Your little stunt of grabbing my hood from behind and throwing me to the ground? That got captured in high definition. Want me to post that online with it?"
At my words, the man's gaze snapped to the ceiling corner.
"Ah, fuck...!"
He looked stricken with defeat for a moment, then began trembling and clenched both fists, forcing strength into them.
Is he seriously about to hit me?
The absurd thought had barely crossed my mind when the man finally swung a fist toward me. But...
Way too slow.
Matching his sluggish bulk perfectly, the incoming punch was so slow it could put someone to sleep. The man huffed and puffed, swinging his fists wildly like a charging boar. I dodged the flying punches at a leisurely pace, merely tilting my head or leaning my upper body back.
"Could you stop already?"
I tossed the words out with irritation in my voice. But my composure did not last long. Thud. As I stepped back without much thought to avoid a punch, my back soon met the cold wall.
Oops. Cornered.
I had been completely pushed into the narrow space between the store shelves and the wall. Seeing me trapped, the man curled his lips up unpleasantly, like a cat that had cornered a mouse.
"Heh, since it's come to this! Heh heh heh."
Despite the blood streaming from his nose, he laughed darkly. His hands twitched grotesquely, then he threw another punch with all his might. Without hesitation I dropped right into a crouch and ducked my upper body.
Bang!
The man's fist, slicing through the air above my head, slammed straight into the convenience store wall. Crack! I did not actually hear the clear sound of bones breaking in my ears, but...
"Gyaaaaaah!!"
From the way he clutched his own hand, rolling on the floor and screaming like a beast, it looked as though he had thoroughly broken some finger bones.
What the hell is this guy even doing?
I looked down at the man writhing on the floor, blood dripping from his nose as he cradled his broken hand, and spoke with pure disbelief.
"You're seriously pathetic. What are you even doing?"
"Ugh... ghk... uuugh..."
The man only let out weird groans of pain. I had been staring down at him sprawled on the floor for a long while with pity when—
Ding-a-ling!
"Police! Stay right there!"
With a loud siren, two uniformed officers kicked open the convenience store door and burst in. I had been about to dial 112 but stopped, so there was no way the response could have been this fast. I found out later that the owner, who happened to be monitoring the unmanned store's CCTV in real time late at night, had urgently reported the man's rampage after seeing it.
"Aagh! My bone! My bone's broken!"
In an instant the man was face-down on the floor, handcuffed as a current offender, and dragged out looking thoroughly pathetic. And I, who had simply come out to buy a soda, suddenly found myself the victim of this absurd assault case and had to go to the police station to give a statement.
Sitting in a corner chair at the precinct after finishing the report, I stared blankly at the wall clock.
I came out for a soda and now it's dawn. What the hell is this mess?
I was grumbling inwardly while lightly rubbing my throbbing coccyx when—
Creeeeak— Slam!!
The precinct door flew open as if it would break, and a familiar voice rang out.
"Jiyoung!!"
The person who ran in, gasping for breath, was none other than my mom. From the way she had not even taken off her gown and had simply thrown a coat over it, it was clear she had bolted straight out of the hospital examination room the moment she got my call.
"Mom?"
"Jiyoung, are you okay?! Are you hurt anywhere?"
Mom grabbed my face and looked me over this way and that, tears welling up.
"Mom, calm down. I'm not hurt at all. The one bleeding and with a broken bone is that guy, not me."
"Really? No scratches even?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. So don't get too worked up. You're scaring the officers."
At my words, Mom finally looked around, gave a light bow to the awkwardly standing police officers, then hugged me tightly again.
"Thank goodness... Really, thank goodness."
The trembling I felt from Mom's embrace made even a corner of my indifferent heart melt warmly. After that I returned home with Mom, stuck a pain patch on my coccyx, and spent the next few days cooped up in my room without moving.
And a few days later.
"...What? I have to go back to the station?"
An unexpected summons came from the detective in charge. He said there was something additional to check and asked me to come to the police station.
Is that guy trying to drag this into mutual assault?
Worried that my throwing the soda can and bursting his nose might be the issue, I went to the police station tense. But the detective who greeted me had an expression completely different from what I had expected. Rather than serious, his face was strangely excited and flushed.
"Ms. Han Jiyoung, you've arrived. Please take a seat over here."
As soon as I sat down, the detective cleared his throat once, then opened his mouth in a very solemn voice.
"Ms. Han Jiyoung, you've done something truly remarkable."
"...Excuse me?"
"We seized that bastard's phone and ran forensics on it. And the contents were quite shocking."
According to the detective's explanation, the guy's gallery did not just have peeping photos of me. Hundreds, thousands of illegal recordings of ordinary women taken on subways, at bus stops, and in public restrooms poured out. He was a habitual illegal filming and stalking criminal of the worst kind.
"He was a prime suspect in the unsolved spy-cam cases that had been occurring in this area recently, but we couldn't catch his trail no matter how hard we tried. Thanks to you, Ms. Jiyoung, we were able to round him up completely!"
The detective looked at me with respectful eyes and continued.
"So our chief has recommended you as a citizen hero! The city will be awarding you a citation soon."
"...Me? A citizen hero?"
I asked back with a blank expression. All I had done was throw one soda can and crouch down on the floor to avoid some slug-like punches.
"Um, Detective. I just defended myself..."
"No need to be modest! It was thanks to you calmly using your wits against a dangerous criminal, wasn't it? Truly excellent!"
This was an atmosphere in which I could not even deny it. And a few days later, I really was dragged out of the blue.
"And now, our brave citizen hero, Ms. Han Jiyoung!"
Pop! Pop!
Confetti exploded in the auditorium, and the district mayor approached me with a broad smile.
"Truly admirable! A youth our city can be proud of!"
The mayor thrust a heavy certificate and a huge bouquet into my arms.
Click! Click! Click!
Camera flashes from the local press reporters went off so brightly they nearly blinded me.
Ah, the broadcasting station said no external activities...
Kang PD's exhausted face flashed through my mind for a moment, but I had no justification to refuse a well-intentioned citation ceremony hosted by the city.
"Ms. Han Jiyoung! Look at the camera and give us a big smile!"
At the reporter's shout, I clutched the bouquet and forced the corners of my mouth up in a spasm next to the mayor.
I really have no idea how life is supposed to go.