Chapter 154
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 154
Slurp—
The familiar sound of coffee rising through a straw filled the air.
Harim watched the boss and that human’s ex-girlfriend, who were in the middle of a heated argument on the other side of the cafe.
“What the hell is your problem, you fucking bitch?”
“I have nothing to say to a whore~.”
“What, you fucker?”
Quite the fight.
Harim felt a sense of delight as the situation grew more and more interesting.
When Harim had first arrived, the thought ‘What am I even doing here?’ had filled their mind. Now, that same mind was screaming with joy at the stimulating scene unfolding before their eyes.
After watching them with a smirk for a moment, Harim’s gaze shifted to the part-time worker at the counter, who was fiddling with their smartphone, and couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.
To pay not one bit of attention and simply carry on with one’s own work in a situation like this was the very picture of fine individualism.
Harim thought that they, too, should learn from such an example.
And why not? Whenever the boss flaunted her relationship, Harim would always end up drinking out of frustration. At this rate, it was clear they would soon be bedridden with alcohol poisoning.
Just as Harim was nodding in approval, feeling the urge to applaud the part-timer’s excellent response, the fight escalated.
“Well, fuck. You must have an elephant’s cunt, because every time you talk, all I hear is you snorting into my ear. Aren't you ashamed of yourself, acting like that at your age?”
“You fucking bitch!”
Provoked by Eun-byeol’s taunt, Ji-woo raised her fist.
Oh, a fist.
Was she trying to live up to her size? That human’s ex-girlfriend wasn’t going for a clumsy slap but was about to throw a proper punch to the face.
However.
It won’t work on Eun-byeol.
It was a useless attempt.
Eun-byeol watched the fist fly toward her, then twisted her upper body, letting the punch flow past her. She grabbed Ji-woo’s outstretched arm and, in one smooth motion, threw her over her shoulder.
It was a picture-perfect jujutsu throw.
For Harim, it was a practical display of Eun-byeol’s martial arts, something they hadn’t seen in a long time.
CRASH—!
“Aargh!”
“Who do you think you’re messing with, you bitch?”
The sound of a table toppling over and Ji-woo’s scream overlapped.
She’s still got it.
Harim let out a silent exclamation of awe, impressed by Eun-byeol’s skills, which hadn’t dulled in the slightest.
In fact, that was the real reason Harim hadn’t stopped Eun-ah from storming out.
Even if a fight broke out, if Eun-byeol emerged, there was no way she would lose to another woman.
What kind of person was Eun-byeol? Before that human had arrived, she had been the most difficult target among all of Harim’s duties.
A crazy fighting chicken who’d get into brawls every time she went to a baseball game.
A bona fide street fighter, honed by real-world combat.
She was not someone a woman raised in a normal environment could ever hope to defeat.
Harim still remembered it vividly.
That day at the baseball stadium when a bench-clearing brawl had erupted. The sight of a furious Eun-byeol fighting a mob of fans cheering for the opposing team—she had looked less like a human and more like a demon.
Once again, Harim’s gaze turned toward the part-timer.
They glanced at the fallen table, let out a deep sigh, and then immediately returned their attention to their smartphone.
Brilliant.
On this day, Harim met a true master of life.
*
The pain radiating from her back made Ji-woo’s head spin. She staggered to her feet.
“You, you bitch…!”
What the hell just happened? Why was this happening to her? A thousand thoughts raced through her mind.
Her entire body ached, and the world felt like it was spinning.
Even so, seeing the smirking eyes visible between the woman’s hat and mask, Ji-woo felt a surge of anger. She bit her lip and forced out a curse.
“You… you crazy bitch…!”
“You should’ve known who you were messing with. I’m not afraid of beating your ass, you know. Settlement money? I’m the kind of person who can beat the shit out of you and then pay you whatever chump change you want.”
At the end of her gaze was that cackling madwoman.
The words that had been grating on her from the start.
Touching what belongs to someone else. Flirting. You should’ve known who you were messing with.
The words were disjointed, but Ji-woo wasn’t so clueless as to not understand what they meant.
She had a rough idea of why this crazy woman was acting this way.
“Does Dokyun know you go around acting like this?”
“Dokyun? Who the fuck gave a slut like you permission to say his name?” Eun-byeol spat, raising her fist again. Ji-woo flinched, and a smile spread across Eun-byeol’s face.
Eun-byeol cackled at the sight of Ji-woo shrinking back. She then leaned down to meet Ji-woo’s eyes, her voice dripping with scorn.
“Listen here, bitch. I’m the kind of person who usually doesn’t fight outside the stadium… but when I see a slut like you hitting on my man, you think I’m not gonna get pissed?”
As Eun-byeol spoke, she felt a sense of satisfaction watching Ji-woo’s gaze fall to the floor.
Ah, that’s refreshing.
Had she been stressed from behaving herself lately? After landing a solid punch for the first time in a while, she felt a huge weight lift from her chest.
This was the life.
Eun-byeol was basking in her delight, a wide grin on her face, when she straightened up and surveyed her surroundings.
The trashed table. The slut on the floor. Harim sipping coffee in the distance.
This could be a problem if he sees.
Didn’t this whole scene make her look like the bad guy?
Eun-byeol hummed in thought. How could she fix this situation? She’d already made too big of a mess to pretend nothing had happened, but she couldn’t just stand by and do nothing either.
As she mulled it over, a brilliant idea flashed in her mind.
‘…What if I’m the victim?’
Why bother trying to clean up the situation? All she had to do was become the victim.
No, wasn’t she the victim already? She had personally come all this way because she missed her beloved, only to find some old woman hitting on him.
Well, only Eun-ah knew if she was actually flirting or not, but Eun-byeol could just act as if that was the case.
Having made up her mind, Eun-byeol smirked and threw off her hat and mask.
As she savored the feeling of liberation from the stuffy accessories, she saw a momentary look of shock on Ji-woo’s face as she recognized her.
Eun-byeol chuckled at her expression.
“So you know a pretty face when you see one, huh, bitch?”
“Y-You’re….”
“You, bitch, picked a fight with the wrong person.”
Cutting off whatever Ji-woo was about to say with a sneer, Eun-byeol reached for the half-empty cup of coffee on the table where Ji-woo and Dokyun had been sitting.
“Life is the real deal, you little shit.”
She poured it all over her own head.
Ah, cold.
She shivered slightly as the cold liquid seeped through her clothes. Then, for a moment, Eun-byeol closed her eyes and relinquished her body to Eun-ah.
*
Whoosh—
The toilet flushed with a satisfying sound.
Dokyun pulled up his pants, a look of profound satisfaction on his face.
Ah, what a relief.
He’d been having trouble with his bowel movements for a while and had wondered if he was getting constipated, but thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case.
I really need to start eating some greens…
It was probably because Eun-chae had been coming out more often lately, leading to a diet heavy on meat rather than vegetables. He knew he needed to maintain a balanced diet, but whenever Eun-chae was out, his resolve would weaken, and he’d end up eating nothing but meat again.
Dokyun chuckled at the thought, washed his hands, and left the restroom.
Time to head back.
The worried face Eun-ah had before he left came to mind.
Now that his business was finished, he figured he should head back and give her a call. With that thought, Dokyun opened the restroom door.
“Hic… sob…”
“What… what the hell!”
For a moment, his thoughts ground to a halt at the scene before him.
Amidst the overturned tables, Eun-ah was collapsed on the floor, her clothes soaked through, while Ji-woo stood over her with a bewildered expression.
A little further away, the part-timer was still looking at their phone, and in a corner, Harim was waving at him.
What was going on?
As Dokyun stared blankly, Eun-ah, who had been trembling and curled into a ball, spotted him. Her eyes immediately welled up with tears.
“H-Honeybee-nim…”
Her voice was thick with sobs.
Dokyun felt his train of thought snap.
His feet moved toward Eun-ah of their own accord. She looked so pathetic, drenched in what looked like coffee. His first instinct was to wipe it off somehow, and he began dabbing at her with his sleeve.
“Eun-ah-ssi, how did you know I was here?”
“Hic… sob…”
The crying in Eun-ah’s voice grew heavier.
“I-I was worried… about you, Honeybee-nim… s-so I came here…”
The way she spoke between hiccups twisted his insides. Seeing Eun-ah on the verge of a full-blown breakdown, Dokyun had no capacity for rational thought. He shot a sharp glare at Ji-woo.
Ji-woo’s mouth opened, a flustered explanation about to spill out, but Dokyun cut her off.
“N-No, wait a…”
“I’m really disappointed in you.”
“…What?”
“Even so, isn’t this the first time you two have met? I get that there must have been some misunderstanding, but how could you do this to a person?”
“W-What are you…”
Ji-woo felt a dizzying blow to the back of her head as the situation unfolded.
But I’m the victim.
I was just sitting here when she started a fight. I’m the one who got hit. She did that to herself just now.
“My business here is done, so I’m leaving. It was nice seeing you after so long, but… I don’t think I’ll be able to see you with a smile next time.”
As Dokyun said his piece and began to gather his things to leave, Ji-woo reached out to stop him, but her movement froze.
“You… whore…”
The word, uttered in a voice so small only she could hear, came from Eun-ah.
Ji-woo’s head snapped toward her.
Eun-ah was now leaning against Dokyun, who had finished packing his things. Her head was tilted down slightly, and she was directing a sharp, mocking smirk at Ji-woo.
At that.
“Huh?”
A disbelieving laugh escaped Ji-woo’s lips.
*
Harim watched Dokyun and Eun-ah’s retreating figures, then realized it was time to step in.
Right, fuck, time to work.
Isn’t this what I get paid for? Harim sighed deeply and approached Ji-woo, who was left standing there in a daze.
“Excuse me?”
Ji-woo’s gaze shifted to Harim.
“Yes?”
Harim took a card case from their pocket, pulled out a business card, and handed it to Ji-woo.
“I apologize for the trouble. We will handle everything from here.”
As Harim spoke with a slight bow, Ji-woo’s face hardened as she accepted the card.
“Um, excuse me…”
Her tone was somewhat cautious. It made Harim remember something they had forgotten.
Ah, right. She works for them.
Harim’s brow furrowed as they recalled the profile on Ji-woo they had researched a while back.
This was a troublesome connection. With that thought, Harim let out a small sigh and added another sentence.
“…I ask that you please keep this a secret from Executive Director Seo.”
Ji-woo flinched at Harim’s words.
“Th-That’s, I mean…”
“Well, you want to have a long career, don’t you?”
Seeing Ji-woo press her lips firmly together, Harim finished with a smirk.
“It’s best if we don’t create trouble for each other, isn’t it?”
Ji-woo glanced back and forth between the business card in her hand and Harim, then bit her lip and nodded.
“…Yes.”
Harim beamed at her response, gave another slight bow, and then turned toward the part-timer.
Ugh, I need to get off work, fast.
The memory of the boss and that human leaving together so happily made Harim’s stomach turn.
Today was a day that called for a drink.