Who Saves the Despairing Girl? (1)
Countless lights from the shopping district brightly illuminated the dark night, and beneath that glow, people finished their work and enjoyed comfortable rest and entertainment.
Laughter and lively music flowed without pause, heightening the atmosphere. Yet in this street, only one person walked alone, unable to smile.
- Thud—
"Ah! I'm sorry!"
Rumi had been walking through the bustling district with an expression as lifeless as death itself. A man who bumped into her shoulder bowed his head first and apologized.
"......"
Rumi didn't even turn her head, let alone reply. She simply kept walking aimlessly, one step after another.
"What the hell, oppa…? She didn't even look at you when you apologized…."
The woman with him glared at Rumi.
"It's fine. She looks like she's in pain. Let's just go."
The man grabbed his companion's arm and quickly pulled her away. Once they were at a safe distance, he whispered into her ear.
"That woman… she had blood on her face and hands. She might be a villain. Better not provoke her."
Having noticed the bloodstains on Rumi's chin and the back of her hand, the man decided it was wiser not to get involved.
"......"
Normally, a person's steps are guided by a clear purpose and destination. But Rumi had none. She walked without reason, as if she had been left alone on the street.
Rumi continued forward with a hollow expression, going nowhere.
- Drip… drip…
Suddenly, raindrops began to fall from the quiet darkness.
"What? A sudden downpour?"
Startled, people pulled out spare umbrellas or rushed into nearby shops and buildings to avoid getting wet.
"......Ah."
Only after most of the pedestrians had taken shelter did Rumi finally notice the raindrops landing on her shoulders and head.
But Rumi didn't seek cover. She simply stood there in the rain, tears streaming down her face.
"Is that person… okay…?"
"Why would such a young, pretty girl be like that…?"
Passersby found her behavior strange, yet they also felt pity at the sight of her overwhelming sorrow. Still, no one approached to offer her an umbrella.
Someone else will help her. Someone will take her out of the rain.
I'm just here to enjoy myself, after all.
There was no hero in this district willing to save her from the sudden shower.
"Hic…"
She had saved countless citizens from villains, enduring until her body and mind were torn to shreds. And what remained for her now was only the alliance's betrayal and the citizens' indifference.
- Ring ring— Ring ring—
After crying in the rain for a long time, Rumi's phone began to ring from inside her pocket.
"Wh… who…?"
She worried it might be someone from the alliance coming to hunt her down. But the name on the screen wasn't anyone from the Hero Alliance.
"Si… Si-yoon…?"
Seeing a name unrelated to the alliance, Rumi's heart sank. Only then did she realize she had been standing in the middle of the street, crying in the rain. When she finally lifted her head, she also noticed that people had been silently watching her.
"Aah…!"
Without even having time to feel embarrassed, Rumi stood up and hurried into a nearby building. She wiped the water droplets from her smartphone screen with her sleeve.
"H-hello…"
"Ah! Rumi! Are you working right now?"
"Ah… um…"
Even after her vacation ended, Rumi had exchanged texts and calls with Si-yoon every day, sharing their daily lives and feelings. Yet when her regular hero work hours were over, she hadn't checked any messages. Worried, Si-yoon had called because of the sudden rain.
"You didn't even read my texts. Did something happen?"
"Ah… it's nothing… really… nothing. I was just… a bit busy… I'm sorry."
Rumi tried her best not to reveal her situation, but the sorrow and despair in her voice, thick with tears, could not be hidden.
"You can be honest with me."
Si-yoon had sensed her pain and knew something must have happened.
"No… no… I'm fine… really…"
Rumi didn't want to show Si-yoon her broken self. She wanted him to see only her strong, beautiful side—the side of the woman he loved. Yet deep down, a part of her desperately wished for someone to save her from the despair slowly swallowing her whole.
"Si… Si-yoon. Even if… I did something terrible… even if I look awful… could you… still not hate me?"
That desperate plea finally slipped out through her trembling voice.
"I've told you before. You can be completely honest with me."
Si-yoon answered her heartfelt question without hesitation.
"I don't know exactly what happened to you. But I can tell you're going through something unbearably painful and sad. So… don't try to carry it all alone."
"But… I…"
"I'll come to you right now. Can you tell me where you are?"
His words carried absolute certainty—he was coming to save her from the fear and anxiety still gripping her.
"Near the hotel… the street we walked together that night."
Rumi wiped the rain and tears from her face and finally gathered the courage to tell him her location.
"Thank you for being brave. I'm on my way now."
***
After finishing his sweet time with Do-hwa and putting her to sleep, Si-yoon had called Rumi—the one person he hadn't heard from all day.
"Ugh… why is it raining so hard…!"
After sensing something was wrong from the tone of her delayed reply, he grabbed an umbrella and ran toward the bustling street she had mentioned.
"It was the street with that adult store… is this it?"
Searching through the heavy rain for any sign of her, he finally spotted her.
"Rumi!"
After running for what felt like forever, he found her taking shelter in front of a gray building, her clothes soaked through.
"Hwaah…! Si… Si-yoon?!"
He pulled her trembling, rain-drenched body into a tight embrace.
"It's okay. Just stay like this."
Si-yoon was a selfish villain who always put himself first. A villain should never let personal emotions interfere with their goals—they must move with cold, calculated precision. But when it came to the women he had claimed as his own, the rules changed.
The old Dark Nights failed because they were weak and couldn't protect their subordinates or their hideout. So I'll become a strong villain who never abandons his people.
That was the thought that had driven him to run to Rumi and hold her so tightly.
"Cry as much as you need. You can tell me what happened afterward."
Clinging to his solid chest, Rumi couldn't speak. Her emotions burst forth, and she cried endlessly, her eyes turning red.
Si-yoon still had no idea what had happened to her. But if even the cold, emotionless hero Rumi had been reduced to this state, then whatever she had endured must have been truly unbearable. Silently, he gently patted her shoulders and back.
***
The sudden downpour that had drenched the peaceful evening sky and the lively shopping district finally stopped. Rumi and Si-yoon entered the same hotel they had visited before and took a moment to rest.
Si-yoon adjusted the room temperature so Rumi wouldn't catch a cold.
"I set the air conditioner to a comfortable temperature… you should be fine now."
After leaving her wet clothes at the hotel's laundry service, Rumi put on a robe and accepted the warm canned coffee Si-yoon had bought from a nearby convenience store.
"Can you tell me what happened?"
Once Rumi had calmed down a little, Si-yoon asked why she had been crying alone in the rain.
"Is it something you're too embarrassed to tell me… or something you want to keep hidden?"
"Th-that's…"
"Then let's make a deal."
When Rumi hesitated, Si-yoon proposed a trade.
"I'll tell you something I've been hiding from you all this time. In exchange, you tell me what happened to you."