Beggar Bastard (3)
When Sihyun’s face twisted,
Han Yuri thought that crazy bitch Kang Yoona had come looking for him at the café again.
But the people walking in looked like nothing more than a group of university students.
Friends?
If they were, Sihyun’s expression was far too grim for it. She hadn’t known him long, yet the look on his face was completely different from when Kang Jinwoo had brought his flunkies to pick a fight, or when Kang Yoona had thrown her usual psychotic tantrum, or even when he’d exploded and shouted today. It was the face of someone who’d just run into a ghost from the past.
An ominous premonition prickled through Yuri—and as was so often the case with people, that kind of feeling had never once been wrong.
One of the girls among the students… no, one of those damn bitches, spotted Sihyun, curled her lips into a mocking smirk, and spat the insult right at him.
“Beggar bastard.”
Yuri’s expression froze over in an instant. She was already rising from her seat, fully intending to grab Suhyeon by the hair and slam her into the floor.
But then—
A firm hand clamped around her arm.
“Han Yuri, wait.”
Min Seonye held her back.
“Min Seonye, what the hell are you doing? Can’t you see what they’re doing to him right now?”
Yuri glared at her with murderous eyes. Seonye understood the feeling—no, she shared it completely. She was staring at Suhyeon and her pack with the same raw fury. Still, she didn’t loosen her grip.
“If you jump in right now, Sihyun’s pride will only get hurt worse.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
“Just hold on. Sihyun’s dealt with plenty of assholes making scenes—not just that bitch.”
“You think that’s just some random asshole?”
“…”
“Ha!…”
A hollow laugh escaped Yuri. She wanted nothing more than to shake Seonye off and charge over to Sihyun that second. But she decided to listen—for now. She’d already sworn to herself she wouldn’t bother him while he was working, and this shitty situation was still part of his job.
And he was handling that job with perfect composure. Even with that bitch and the insects behind her all laughing together—
“Pwahahaha!!”
“Kikikik!!!”
—his face didn’t change once. He just endured it.
Fuck, why does he keep putting up with shit like that for a job that barely pays anything?
The rage boiling inside Yuri felt worse than if the insults had been aimed at her. Watching Sihyun take hit after hit made her chest tighten until she thought she might actually lose her mind.
Her patience finally snapped.
The instant she saw Suhyeon dump water all over Sihyun, soaking him completely—
Thud!
—Yuri roughly yanked her arm free from Seonye’s grip. Seonye herself looked so shocked by how far it had gone that her hand held no strength at all.
Yuri snatched up the barely touched coffee cup from the table and, without a second’s hesitation, dumped every last drop of it straight over Suhyeon’s head.
“Kyaaah!! What the hell!?”
The drenched bitch glared up at her with venomous eyes. Yuri looked down at her like she was something filthy stuck to the bottom of her shoe and raised the empty cup high.
“You fucking bitch.”
She swung the cup as if she meant to smash it into Suhyeon’s skull.
“Y-you crazy—! Stop! Kyaaaaah!!”
Suhyeon dropped to the floor, arms wrapped around her head, screaming. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the impact.
“…?”
The pain never came. When she finally lifted her head, she found Yuri staring down at her with pure contempt.
“Heh. Beggar bastard.”
“What? Beggar bastard?”
Suhyeon’s face twisted into something ugly as she shot to her feet. Who the hell did this woman think she was calling a beggar? The real beggar bastard was that soaked loser behind the counter. And this psycho who’d just barged in picking a fight was the actual beggar bitch. She might be cosplaying some gangster out of a movie or drama, but that suit she was wearing was clearly cheap—
“Saint Laurent!?”
Suhyeon recognized the brand and couldn’t stop the shock from showing. At her reaction, Yuri let out a short, mocking laugh.
“Wow, you actually know it? Guess you’ve got a decent eye for someone like you.”
She sneered.
“For a beggar bastard, that is.”
Suhyeon’s face flushed scarlet with humiliation as she glared and shouted,
“W-who the hell are you to start something!?”
Then she whipped around and snapped at Sihyun.
“Hey, Kim Sihyun! You finally sold your body, you beggar bastard? To that crazy bitch!?”
At those words—
“What? Who’re you calling a crazy bitch, you crazy bitch!?”
—Yuri flared up and this time made a real grab for Suhyeon’s hair. In that exact moment,
“Stop it.”
Sihyun’s low, calm voice cut in, restraining Suhyeon. Then he turned to Yuri with a weary look.
“And you need to stop as well.”
His eyes said he just didn’t want the situation blowing up any further.
“Hey! You’re just going to take that after what she did to you!?”
Yuri exploded.
“Ha! So you really are someone’s sugar baby, huh?”
“Hey, you got a death wish?”
Yuri’s killing aura looked ready to tear Suhyeon apart on the spot. Suhyeon’s friends jumped in to help.
“Excuse me, please leave our Suhyeon alone?”
“Yeah! Pouring coffee on someone’s head? How can you be so uncivilized?”
“You want to die too?”
Yuri’s blue eyes flashed murderously, and Suhyeon’s friends flinched as a chill ran down their spines.
“Hiiik!”
“S-she’s actually insane! We’re calling the police!”
Just as the atmosphere turned truly ugly, Seonye stepped in.
“You students are the ones who keep treating Sihyun like garbage. Don’t you know that alone is enough to get you reported?”
She crossed her arms and fixed the whole group with an icy stare.
“I’d assume anyone attending Cheongun University would know that. Or am I wrong?”
She flicked a glance at their department jackets and continued.
“Cheongun’s pretty far from here, isn’t it? I don’t know why you bothered coming all this way to this neighborhood, but for a so-called prestigious school, maybe you should think before you act.”
Suhyeon’s group fell silent. Suhyeon ground her teeth in pure rage but couldn’t find a comeback. Her friends patted her shoulder and whispered urgently.
“S-Suhyeon, let’s just go to another café.”
“If someone records this and posts it on YouTube, things could get way bigger—just like that woman said.”
“Yeah. And we should find a bathroom nearby so you can wash your hair.”
Once they realized every other customer in the café was staring, Suhyeon’s group had no choice but to back down. Suhyeon shot Sihyun one last glare and muttered under her breath,
“…Kim Sihyun, you beggar bastard.”
Then her friends dragged her out of the café.
The moment Suhyeon and her pack were gone, Seonye turned straight to Sihyun, worry written all over her face.
“Sihyun, I’ll take over here for now. Go change into dry clothes and come back.”
The café was heated, but it was the middle of winter—staying in wet clothes was a perfect way to catch a cold. Seonye was already slipping behind the counter to take his place as she spoke.
But Sihyun shook his head.
“I can’t do that. The manager went out on an errand anyway. He’ll be back soon, so I can change then…”
Seonye shoved him firmly toward the back.
“Stop being stubborn and go!”
Sihyun finally gave in with a small nod.
“…Alright. Just for a moment, then. Please watch things.”
“Don’t worry about it. Go warm up a little while you’re at it.”
“…Thank you, Seonye noona.”
Hearing “noona” from him again made Seonye’s face light up without her even realizing it. She beamed and gave his back another push.
“Mm, hurry up! Don’t worry about a thing here!”
“…Okay.”
Sihyun managed a faint, bitter smile and headed for the staff break room. He changed clothes the second he got inside, but instead of returning to the counter right away—
The unexpected reunion with Suhyeon had left him thoroughly unsettled. He didn’t smoke, but he needed a breath of air. He opened the back door of the café and stepped out into the narrow alley.
“Haa…”
He dropped heavily onto the steps beside the door and let out a long sigh.
Then—
“Hey.”
A familiar, somewhat curt voice called out to him.
“….”
He looked up. Exactly the face he’d expected. He frowned on reflex.
But then the image of her standing up for him flashed through his mind—the way she’d dumped the coffee without hesitation and called Suhyeon a fucking bitch. So he dipped his head awkwardly.
“Thank you as well.”
“Ha…!”
Yuri let out a complicated little laugh at the thanks. Hearing gratitude felt nice, sure—but unlike someone else who got called “noona,” all she got was “you.” Still, she wasn’t dense enough to bring that up in this atmosphere. She fell back into her usual blunt tone.
“Hey.”
“…?”
Sihyun looked up at her with exhausted—no, almost listless eyes.
“…!”
For a second the sight of him, like a discarded kitten, made her head spin. She forced a deep breath.
“Huu…”
Then she pulled herself together and spoke.
“I’ll make the offer again… no, properly this time.”
She looked straight down at the Sihyun sitting on the steps and held out her hand.
“You. Become my exclusive bodyguard.”