In the Raging Storm

The crowd’s attention snapped toward Suzuki the moment he bellowed at the top of his lungs.

The surrounding murmurs grew louder. People watched the two of them with sparkling, eager eyes.

More precisely, their gazes sharpened with distaste once they caught the juicy details hidden in his shout. Late at night. A married woman. Drinking with a black man. The stares that landed on Sumire and Bob quickly turned judgmental.

With no time to care about any of that, Sumire exploded at Suzuki.

“You’re the last person who should be lecturing me right now!”

“Huh? Then who should? You’re the one out here with some random guy at this hour. Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

What had started as a few onlookers drawn by Suzuki’s initial outburst quickly snowballed. As the fight escalated and both sides grew more heated, more people gathered around them.

“Oh~? Really? Then explain this—why the hell did you take the money for our overdue rent?”

“…That’s not what’s important right now—”

When Suzuki faltered at his own disadvantage and tried to change the subject, Sumire narrowed her eyes and cut right through him.

“If that’s not important, then what is?! What did you do with the rent money? Live? Haha. Did you want to show off in front of some girls?”

Some people saw it as entertaining drama, others had their own motives. Either way, phones came out and recording started.

The eyes that had been fixed on Sumire now shifted toward Suzuki.

The crowd set aside the raw emotions of the couple and watched with pure, gleeful interest as the juicy bar gossip unfolded right in front of them.

“L-live? I really did a live show! You said it yourself yesterday—didn’t you ask if I knew how important it was?! Of course the live was real! Ask the guys behind me if you don’t believe me!”

At Suzuki’s desperate, aggrieved shout, Sumire—who had somehow kept her cool despite her fury—glanced back at the band members hovering awkwardly. They flinched and nodded their heads rapidly.

Disgusted by how quickly they sided with Suzuki, Sumire glared at them before turning back to him.

“Fine. Let’s say the live show was real. And tomorrow—no, today! The important thing you mentioned was obviously our wedding anniversary, you idiot!!”

“W-what?”

Suzuki’s mouth clamped shut for a second. Then he ground his teeth and glared at her.

Whether it was a shred of conscience or something else, his face flushed bright red as he struggled for words. His eyes suddenly lit up as his brain spun into overdrive, and he shouted again.

“Hah. Okay, fine. I couldn’t make our anniversary because of work, I’ll give you that. But! What the hell were you doing with that bastard on our anniversary?!”

He twisted the truth, deflected his own guilt, and pressed the attack on Sumire.

“What? What?!”

His shameless attitude made Sumire’s previously icy head start to boil. She was at a loss for words.

Once again, the crowd’s eyes swung back to her.

It was the kind of farce you’d only see in a cheap soap opera.

In the middle of that spectacle, the band members formed a loose circle around Sumire and Suzuki like spectators at a coliseum. They glanced at the growing swarm of onlookers, nodded to each other, then quietly took another step away from the couple—acting as if they had never come together.

As the situation dragged on, Sumire finally regained her senses, furrowed her brow, and pressed him again.

“That’s your excuse? You think this is about the live show? Fine, let’s say it is! Then why the hell did you take the overdue rent money when you left?!”

At Sumire’s shout, Suzuki realized there was no escape this time. He ground his teeth and spat out words he should never have said.

“Th-that measly amount of money? Who cares how much it was!”

For a moment Sumire wondered if she had heard him correctly. She pressed a hand to her forehead, then stared at him with eyes like blades. Her voice came out low and seething.

“M-measly… amount? You… you have the nerve to say that?! Who do you think kept this household running while you lived like a freeloader?!”

The injustice of having her efforts denied, of having her hard work belittled, swelled inside her. Sumire’s scream carried a haunting edge.

Suzuki unconsciously took a step back.

Even in this moment. Even in this situation.

The fact that he had flinched away from a woman sent rage roaring through him like wildfire. On top of that, being humiliated in front of so many strangers made him glare at Sumire with pure venom.

His fury grew. The shame of having his theft of their emergency fund exposed, the humiliation of being shamed in public—when he found himself losing the verbal battle, Suzuki finally uttered the one thing he should never have said.

“I pitied a whore who used to do compensated dating and took her in! And now you act like some pure, hardworking saint?!”

The moment those words left his mouth, every eye in the crowd snapped to Sumire.

The women narrowed their eyes at her tanned skin and dyed hair, clicking their tongues in disapproval.

The men openly ran their gazes over her body like they were licking her.

“You… you…!”

That was a forbidden subject no matter the circumstances. And the man who was supposed to protect her, the husband who should have covered for her no matter what, had not only dragged it out into the open—he had weaponized it against her.

The hazy belief that no matter how angry or pathetic he became, he would never stoop that low… was shattered.

Shocked speechless, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Sumire couldn’t even form a reply.

Suzuki, on the other hand, looked triumphant—like a child who had just landed a lucky blow. He raised his voice even louder.

“Thaaaaat’s why—you’re the problem! Do you even know where I went for my live show today?! The people from Airbags offered me a contract! I was running toward my dream, planning to succeed and give you the good life, but you’re out here cheating with some foreign bastard?!”

As he shouted, the crowd’s stares grew even colder. Their gazes moved past Sumire and now bored into Bob as well.

The disapproving looks directed at Sumire’s gal-style appearance. The whispering that started the moment they saw the foreigner Bob. Even as rage boiled inside him, Bob knew he had no right to step into a married couple’s fight. If he got involved now it would only make things worse. So he clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white and simply watched.

Sumire, who couldn’t spare any attention for Bob or the crowd, simply glared at Suzuki like she wanted to kill him.

Suzuki had just smashed the fragile glass of their marriage and sent it crashing to the floor. The trust it once held now lay shattered and scattered across the ground.

Trembling with a betrayal so sharp it made her teeth ache, Sumire stormed forward and grabbed him by the collar.

“How could you say something like that?!”

“Kek! What the hell are you doing?!”

Being grabbed by the collar by a woman. The blow to his pride when he was overpowered so easily made Suzuki violently slap her hand away and shove her.

The moment Sumire stumbled backward helplessly, Bob’s body twitched. He was about to step forward—when someone moved even faster, catching her in mid-fall. Bob’s eyes widened.

“Thanks, Bob. I’m fine, so could you step back for a bit?”

Sumire had assumed it was Bob who caught her after she fell backward without resistance. When the hands didn’t let go, she reached up to touch the shoulder holding her and turned her head. Her eyes flew wide open.

“Shin… kun?”

“Sumire noona, are you okay?”

At the sight of Kim Shin’s worried face, Sumire’s entire body froze. The blazing anger inside her drained away in an instant, replaced by a whirlwind of anxiety.

Did he… hear all of that just now?

More than the violent fight with her husband, more than the pathetic scene she was making, the fear that he might have heard about her dark past surged up violently.

Sumire stared at Kim Shin with a stiff expression. When she saw the pain and rage he was barely holding back, her heart sank like a stone.

The past she wanted to hide from him more than anyone else in the world.

The one person she never, ever wanted to know had just learned the truth.

Slowly, she pushed away the hands that had been holding her.

Her face twisted like someone who had committed a terrible sin.

Then she turned and ran.

With an expression like a child fighting back tears, Sumire’s wide, frozen eyes stayed fixed ahead as she pushed through the crowd and fled. Kim Shin watched her retreating back.

“Sumireee!”

Bob, his voice full of worry, immediately chased after her.

“Hey!! Your husband hasn’t finished talking yet! Where do you think you’re going?!”

In complete contrast, the so-called husband screamed at her back. The words made Kim Shin’s blood boil.

That son of a bitch…

His rage toward the bastard was one thing, but the sight of people holding up their phones, treating the whole thing like some fun sideshow, made his face twist in disgust.

The way the idiot stood there triumphantly shouting past the crowd like he had won made Kim Shin’s vision go red.

Had he ever felt this kind of rage in his entire life? The kind that made his whole body shake and his teeth ache?

It was like a tornado had descended on a burning building—his fury swirled like a firestorm. He wanted to smash his fist into that face, knock the bastard down, and stomp him into the ground until there was nothing left. His body was already moving on instinct.

Muscles tensed. Fists clenched. Power surged into his thighs as his body leaned forward, ready to charge.

The muscles pulled so tight it felt like they might snap. He clenched his jaw so hard it felt like his teeth would shatter.

He closed his eyes and spoke to the helper.

Helper. Turn off the synchronization right now. Switch to ‘real’ emotions.

The moment he made the request, the rage that had burned all the way to his marrow faded. His head cleared in an instant. The boiling fury subsided enough for reason to take control again. He let out a long sigh.

Even now, his worry and concern for Sumire remained even after switching to his ‘real’ heart. He felt relieved by that fact and opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was the fool proudly celebrating the very ‘opportunity’ he had mentioned earlier, completely unaware he had just thrown it all away.

The remaining anger transformed into deep, visceral disgust as he looked at the pathetic idiot in front of him.

His mind began to race at terrifying speed. He didn’t even notice that the world around him seemed to slow down slightly as his thoughts accelerated.

Live show. Big agency. Overdue rent. The bastard’s behavior this morning. Sumire’s past. Sumire from the memories of this world’s Kim Shin.

The pieces began to click together. He started to faintly understand how Sumire felt about him, and why she had acted the way she did.

The crowd around us. Should I beat the shit out of him? Too easy. Bad move. Then?

I’ll send him straight to hell. How?

His brain spun faster than it ever had in his entire life.

If the sound of his thoughts had been audible, it would have been loud enough to drown out the entire area.

And then the conclusion came.

To the fool who never realized the value of the jewel he held in his hand and threw it away.

The very dream he cherished so much would be what ultimately destroyed him.

The moment he made up his mind, he spoke loudly enough for the crowd to hear, deliberately drawing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their attention away from the fleeing Sumire and back to himself.

“I wonder who the hell is actually talking bullshit here?”

A blatantly crude curse—rarely heard in Japan—rang out loudly.

The shocking profanity made the eyes that had been on Sumire shift exactly as planned—onto him.

Even after being cursed at, the fool still looked around in confusion. Kim Shin spoke again while the idiot scanned the crowd.

“What are you looking around for? I’m talking to you, you fucking moron.”

“What did you just call me, you bastard?”

Only then did the idiot realize he was the target of the insults. The sheer stupidity of it made Kim Shin let out a small, mocking laugh. More and more eyes turned toward him.

He activated Tracking and Search, switching them to read the bastard’s psychological state. When he saw the result, he almost laughed out loud.

“Come on, it’s obvious. On your wife’s wedding anniversary—the one you claimed was with another man—you stole the overdue living expenses, don’t work, spend all day at pachinko, and live like a pig that only eats and contributes nothing. Yet you don’t see any of your own faults. You think it’s all good because a ‘big agency’ noticed you, you fucking moron. And—”

He paused for a moment, smiling coldly at the murderous glare the idiot gave him, then continued.

“Even in this situation, you’re thinking ‘well this worked out nicely’ and already planning to go to a hotel with some other woman, you horny piece of trash. What about it?”

“…”

The way the bastard’s mouth clamped shut at his words told Kim Shin he had struck a nerve. The crowd’s murmurs grew louder.

No matter what, that’s too much.

Yeah, that’s crossing the line.

Wait, what did he just say?

Typical band guy behavior.

The whispers spread exactly as intended. Kim Shin smiled coldly and kept going.

“Isn’t this guy complete garbage? Oh, and that black guy he insulted—Bob—he’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠our next-door neighbor. I live right next to him. Or were you too drunk to notice? The neighbors who’ve exchanged side dishes multiple times? Ah—”

That’s right. We were the ones who actually made and traded the side dishes. Of course a pachinko addict like you wouldn’t have noticed.

He kept throwing facts one after another, never giving the bastard room to breathe. He erased Sumire’s information from the crowd’s minds and replaced it with the bastard’s behavior.

The righteous anger over a wife’s past compensated dating and infidelity was wiped away.

In its place, the image of a trash husband who insulted a wife who had tried so hard to live properly despite her painful past slowly took over.

“You! You’re the guy from next-next door! Some kid who’s still wet behind the ears!”

“Oh dear? Age? You’re at that age and all you do is play pachinko?”

He kept exposing the bastard’s weaknesses—bringing up age, anything he could use to gain the upper hand.

You think I’ve only dealt with one or two narcissists since I entered society?

He easily swatted away the idiot’s shallow counterattacks.

Even as he watched the bastard’s face turn red while screaming, the sight of the crowd enjoying the spectacle filled him with even greater disgust.

The crowd’s reaction began to split. People started looking at the fool in front of them like he was filth. Kim Shin narrowed his eyes.

If they could flip this easily, they must have heard Sumire’s words too.

About how he stole the money meant for overdue rent. About the wedding anniversary. Yet instead of thinking the man was at fault, they applied harsher standards to the woman. It made him want to vomit.

Mob mentality was easy to manipulate, but the disgusting way they turned the victim into the villain made his blood boil. Still… he had to use it.

When he looked at the bastard again, the idiot still hadn’t grasped the situation. Kim Shin laughed inwardly.

He glanced at the band members. They had already blended into the crowd and were pretending not to know the fool. The shallow nature of their so-called friendship made him want to burst out laughing and clap.

Was life always this easy? Could I always manipulate people’s actions this simply?

With the situation turning exactly as he wanted, he slowly walked toward the bastard. The idiot, whether out of pride or stupidity, refused to back down. Kim Shin looked down at him.

“Wh-what the hell, you bastard!”

The pathetic, scrawny body that was a full head shorter than him. The pressure from the height difference made the bastard shrink slightly. When he saw the mocking smile on Kim Shin’s lips, the idiot tried to open his mouth again—but Kim Shin grabbed his shoulder, applied just enough strength to stop him, and whispered directly into his ear.

“You fucking moron. The company noticed you at the live show? You idiot. You absolute idiot. What company in their right mind would want a married man who gets into a public love-triangle fight in the middle of the city? Especially one who puts down his own wife, steals the rent money, and acts like a pathetic loser? Hm?”

You don’t even have the brain of a rat.

“Wh-what?”

Whether it was the alcohol, the rage, or the childish way he stopped seeing anything around him when things didn’t go his way, the bastard finally seemed to notice the crowd that had formed.

His face turned deathly pale. In his panic at the disadvantageous situation, he instinctively looked for allies. Kim Shin took one step back and decided to watch the fool struggle.

The bastard’s eyes met the band members he had been searching for, and his face briefly lit up with hope.

That hope shattered the moment they avoided his gaze.

When the idiot tried to shout at his bandmates—who were now standing at a natural distance as if they had never been together—Kim Shin spoke so only Suzuki could hear, his voice dripping with mockery.

“Congratulations, you idiot. Looks like you don’t have anyone left around you now. Good luck with that?”

The moment those words sank in, the ugly face twisted horribly.

“You— you bastard!!”

Shouting with pure resentment as if Kim Shin were the mastermind behind everything, the bastard threw a punch.

It was a sloppy, amateur swing with no foundation in proper stand-up striking technique. The weak punch that carried no real power was easily caught in one hand.

Even while his fist was trapped, the bastard tried to pull away. When that failed, he stepped back with one leg to throw a kick—but before he could, Kim Shin tightened his grip.

“Kuk! You son of a— AAAAAAAGH!!!!”

The bastard screamed in pain and collapsed to his knees. Kim Shin looked down at him.

He poured every ounce of the murderous intent he felt—the desire to kill this moron right here and now—into his gaze. When their eyes met, the bastard pathetically looked away.

Kim Shin stared at him coldly, then flung the hand away and spoke.

“You never even realized the jewel you held in your hand, you moron. You’re the one who threw it away.”

“What the hell are you talking about?!”

When their eyes met again, the pathetic way the bastard immediately tucked his tail made Kim Shin shake his head. He turned around.

As he walked confidently toward the crowd, the people parted like the miracle of Moses. He gave them a cold glance and kept walking. The fool behind him started yelling again. For a second Kim Shin seriously considered punching him once, hard, just to feel better.

But the crowd, which had been useful but was now unnecessary, acted as a natural barrier. He slowly made his way through them.

Not far away, he saw Bob. When he approached, Bob spoke with a slightly stiff expression.

“(You’re a scary man, Kim Shin.)”

“(This much? It’s not over yet.)”

It wasn’t enough to satisfy him, but for now, this was as far as it went.

He didn’t voice his true thoughts. Instead he asked about Sumire, since Bob had gone after her but was now here.

“(So, can I ask what happened with Sumire noona? Why are you here instead of with her, Bob?)”

The shadow that fell across Bob’s face at those words gave Kim Shin a bad feeling.

“(Sumire got in a taxi and went somewhere. She’s not answering her phone either.)”

Kim Shin frowned automatically. He switched the skill he had set to the idiot over to Sumire and checked. A curse slipped out before he could stop it.

“(God damn it. Haa. Alright, I got it. I’ll go look for places I know. What about you?)”

“(I should head back. If I stay here any longer I might actually do something to that idiot over there.)”

Seeing Bob’s genuine rage, Kim Shin nodded, patted him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the shoulder a couple times as he passed, then headed for the parking lot. He got in the car and smoothly pulled out, immediately activating his skills.

“Ugh, you idiot…!”

The frustration from the emotional state the skill had analyzed burst out of him. He gripped the steering wheel tightly and slammed on the accelerator.

The constantly shifting predicted route made him frown. Since he couldn’t determine the final destination, he drove in the general direction the skill indicated and asked the helper.

“Helper, can you find Sumire’s current location? Or better yet, her destination?”

“[Answer. Calculating Sumire’s current route. The direction is—]”

The sea.

He almost shouted that this was an island nation and of course there were many seas, but a memory suddenly flashed through his mind. His eyes widened.

The sea? Mm~ I really hated it back then? It’s funny~. I hated the sea in my hometown so much, but in the end, that’s where I found the most comfort. Huh? Where? Should I tell you~ or not~? Okay, I’ll tell you.

Where it was—

The memory passed by in a flash. He immediately punched the location into the car’s navigation system. Following the shortest route it displayed, the engine roared as the car shot forward.