The Worst Day (2)
Yuri, the youngest daughter of the Han family who owned Cheonryong Group — one of the most prestigious conglomerates in all of South Korea — had barely graduated from an elite university when her father invited her to try her hand at management.
But her older brothers and sisters were already locked in a vicious struggle, constantly undercutting one another, so she had never taken the slightest interest in joining the business.
Her father's disappointment did tug at her a little, but there was nothing to be done about it.
If she forced her way into the company, she would only get swept up by those greedy bastards. That much was obvious.
What was so special about the chairman's seat that siblings would be ready to kill each other over it?
Competition itself didn't scare her — she simply hated the hassle of it all…
From the very beginning, Yuri decided to step cleanly away.
She didn't need her father's support. She had already earned more than enough money on her own; there was nothing she lacked or longed for in life.
So today, as always, she stopped by the club she frequented. Not so much for the nightlife itself — it was simply a good place to kill dull time. A place her feet naturally wandered toward, you could say.
Watching the social climbers fawn over her in hopes of catching even a few crumbs of her favor was amusing enough. And needling the idiots who made eyes at her without knowing their place had its own small thrills.
But today, a new face caught her eye. A new part-timer, by the look of it…
Was this really my type?
Yuri was rather startled by herself. She had always thought of men as dumb beasts who only cared about money and sex. There had even been a time when she wondered if she might be asexual, having never so much as dabbled in a casual fling with anyone. Because — men and women alike — she had never felt love, affection, or even the faintest spark of interest in a single person.
And then she saw Sihyun.
A strange emotion she had never known before bloomed inside her. Whether it was curiosity or a flutter of excitement, she couldn't say for certain. But it didn't feel bad. In fact, it felt rather good. Which meant this was clearly a positive feeling… In other words, she was drawn to that pretty-faced waiter she was seeing for the first time today.
Even at a glance, there was no way he couldn't tell she was someone important… Or rather, he almost certainly knew and was acting this way on purpose.
Oh, look at this little guy…?
Sihyun's forced smile didn't anger her at all — if anything, she found it cute. Which only made her more curious. In the end, for the first time in her life, Yuri found herself trailing after a man.
"Crush every last one of those bastards!"
But wouldn't you know it. The nuisance from the club, still unable to read the room, had come back with his goons in tow.
Hmm, what should I do about this~
Yuri smirked to herself. Whether they took after their master or had snuck a drink or two while on bodyguard duty, the subordinates Jinwoo had brought with him were in rough shape.
Beating them all down one by one wouldn't be so bad…
Even sober they wouldn't have been difficult opponents, and in that state, numbers meant nothing — they were a ragtag mess. She could have subdued them without any trouble.
But then…
"Wait, why me…?"
Seeing Sihyun's face twisted with injustice beside her, a mischievous urge stirred. Yuri wanted to put him in as awkward a position as possible.
Whoosh!
"Kyaah! I'm so scared~ Save me!"
"What the hell are you doing!?"
Yuri giggled inwardly at Sihyun's flustered reaction. But at the same time…
Hold on. Shouldn't a guy be happy when a woman like me latches onto him?
Somehow her pride was stung. She never made contact with people lightly, whether at the club or anywhere else — and she had gone out of her way to link arms with him. Only for him to reject her this hard.
This bastard… Don't tell me he's actually into guys?
Suspicion and spite rising together, Yuri only clung tighter to Sihyun's arm.
"Kyaa~"
"Hey, fuck! Let go of me!"
What…?
Yuri was dumbfounded. Was he really that scared of those thugs that he was trying this hard to get free?
Yeah, figures…
Disappointment flickered through her. Despite how he looked, she had half-hoped he might have some guts… She felt foolish for getting her hopes up.
Preparing to deal with Jinwoo's approaching men herself, Yuri released Sihyun's arm with a light shove. But before she could —
Thwack—!
One of Jinwoo's advancing subordinates took a kick from Sihyun and went flying.
"Gyaaaaah!!!"
The man screamed as he crashed to the ground, rolled, and blacked out on the spot. Yuri's mouth fell open without her realizing it.
Whoa!
Even accounting for the dress shoes, for a man shorter than she was — how could that slender frame produce that kind of power? And she wasn't the only one stunned.
"Wh-what the fuck? Are you kidding me…?"
Jinwoo, who had been fuming, froze in place.
"Huuuuh!!"
"Holy shit! Taesik!?"
Even the others who had been about to rush him stared in disbelief.
Ah, I screwed up.
Sihyun had reflexively kicked the first man charging at him — and immediately regretted it. He had been trying to get away quickly so he wouldn't get mixed up with rich lunatics…
"Kyaa~"
He never expected this crazy woman to latch onto his arm. Completely blindsided. He tried to shake her off.
Squeeze!
But her grip was far stronger than he'd imagined. Figuring it would be hard to break free, Sihyun briefly considered just taking a few hits. But this wasn't some ordinary customer throwing a light slap. He was surrounded by thugs in black suits ready to beat him senseless.
If I just stand here and take it from these bastards, I'm looking at a hospital stay at minimum…
Sihyun had to decide on the spot. If he broke a bone, it would be a disaster. Unexpected medical bills were absolutely out of the question, and missing even a single day of part-time work was something he could not allow. So he resolved to force Yuri's arm off if he had to.
But he didn't need to.
Thud.
Huh…?
Yuri had suddenly let go on her own. Relieved, Sihyun immediately tried to run. But in that instant —
Whoosh—!
A fist was flying straight at his face. Reflexively twisting his body to dodge, he ended up throwing out a kick.
…He shouldn't be too badly hurt, right?
Fat chance. He glanced over.
"Grrrkh…"
The man he had kicked was already foaming at the mouth, unconscious.
Ah, shit…!
Sihyun cursed inwardly. Today really was the worst day of his life. Taking this godawful part-time job without even hearing the details, just to earn a little extra money, had been a massive mistake. He was now tangled up in something extremely annoying!
"Um… are you okay? This is self-defense, so maybe we should just leave it here?"
Hoping against hope, Sihyun proposed a compromise to Jinwoo. But of course.
"Fuck off!!"
Things were never going to go the way he wanted.
"Y-you fuckers! What are you doing!? You're getting paid good money — don't tell me you can't even take down one pretty-boy like that?"
At Jinwoo's furious shout, the subordinates gritted their teeth and charged Sihyun again.
Damn it, no choice then!
The moment he steeled himself to fight —
"Kyaaaa~~~"
Yuri's even more theatrical scream rang out from behind him.
Crack!
Is this woman actually insane?
He wanted to spin around and yell at her right then, but this wasn't the time. The enemies in front of him came first.
Excluding the one already down, the biggest of the remaining five men threw the first punch.
Whooosh—!!!
Sihyun turned his head with fluid ease and slipped past it.
Grab—!
Seizing the man's wrist, he yanked — and the guy, nearly twice his size, lost his balance and pitched forward. In that instant —
Thwack—!!
Sihyun's knee drove sharply into his gut.
"Keheuugh!"
Wind knocked out of him, the man crumpled to the floor.
"F-fuck! Dieee—!"
But another man was already charging, aiming a kick at the opening.
Whiiip—!
Just before the foot reached his face, in a split second, Sihyun twisted, dodged the kick, and snagged the ankle at the same time. He twisted hard, and the man lost his balance and went down. Right before he hit the ground —
Thud—!
Sihyun stretched out a hand, seized the man's head, and slammed it into the floor.
"Ghhk!"
That made two. He was trying to hold back as best he could. But with opponents coming at him ready to kill, there was only so much he could restrain himself. The thought that he might end up paying their hospital bills later made Sihyun's stomach turn —
"What are you doing! What are you doing! Kill that bastard already!!"
— and Jinwoo's orders left the remaining men no room to let Sihyun rest. He had no choice but to counterattack again.
This time two came at once. One from the front, one from the side.
"Uwaaaaa—!"
The one charging from the front launched himself at Sihyun, ready to take a hit just to grab him. But Sihyun lightly sidestepped and caught the man approaching from the side with a spinning kick to the jaw.
Thwaaack—!
"Gyaaaah!!"
Before that screaming body even hit the ground, Sihyun followed up with another spinning kick at the man who had come from the front.
Thwaaaack—!!
"Gueeeh!!"
Struck square in the chest, the man spun through the air several times before crashing down.
The last one left —
"Hiiiiiik!!!"
— lost all will to fight, spun on his heel, and bolted.
"Y-you fucker! What are you doing!? Get back here!"
Jinwoo, left alone, screamed until his throat tore, but the man never looked back.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Watching this, Yuri smirked and applauded, then jabbed at Jinwoo with mockery in her voice.
"Shouldn't you hurry up and run after him too?"
Jinwoo's face flushed scarlet. He ground his teeth and clenched his fists.
"F-fuck! Just you wait!!"
Then he turned and fled without looking back.
"Pfft. What is he, some third-rate drama villain…"
Chuckling at Jinwoo, Yuri turned back to Sihyun with a look of genuine admiration.
"Hey! You look all pretty and delicate, but damn can you fight! That's incredible!"
It was a complete reversal of expectations. That pretty, cute face, short stature, and seemingly slender build — and yet he could fight like this.
I really like him.
Her heart began to race. Yuri's blue eyes sparkled as she gazed at Sihyun.
But then —
Dadadadadada!!!
Sihyun suddenly broke into a full sprint and ran.
"Huh…?"
Yuri shouted at the top of her lungs —
"Hey!!!"
— but Sihyun, wanting nothing more to do with any of this, never looked back. He vanished from her sight in an instant.