You Fool (1)
Sihyun let Yuri pull him along by the hand.
"Boss? Where are you going off with Sihyun again? Huh? Please just do some work for once—!"
Leaving Harin behind as she wailed in desperate anguish, they stepped out of the office. Before they knew it, a crimson sunset had settled over the sky. Because of that, Sihyun harbored a small hope inside. Yuri had said she had somewhere to take him, but it was already quite late. Surely this time he wouldn't have to endure the usual ordeal of being dragged all over the place by her whims. Maybe they'd just go to some quiet café, have a coffee, and then she'd send him home.
But hopes were only hopes.
"Ah, for real…"
Once again, Sihyun found himself frowning. When he came to his senses, he was standing inside a large supermarket.
"What are we doing here this time?"
Sihyun grumbled and demanded an answer, but—
"Shut up. We don't have time, so just hurry up and follow me."
Yuri ignored his protest and started shopping. A short while later, Sihyun was pushing a cart piled high with every kind of grocery Yuri had tossed in at random, trailing after her.
"Seriously, why are you shopping at a place like this when it doesn't suit you at all…"
At his muttering, Yuri stopped mid-step, whirled around, and snapped.
"What? Then where do you think suits me?"
"Well, obviously…!"
Sihyun swallowed the words that nearly slipped out. Remembering the way she'd grabbed Seonye by the hair and gone at it, a boxing ring—or at least a boxing gym—would have suited her better. But he couldn't say that out loud. If he did, he might end up having to take her fists head-on right then and there, as if she'd read his mind.
"What? Want to be my punching bag?"
As she approached with an eerie smile, Sihyun instinctively hunched his shoulders and shot back.
"What did I even say?"
"Hmph. I told you. I can tell just by looking at your face."
Yuri clenched both fists and cracked her knuckles threateningly, as if warning him not to make excuses.
"No…"
Fearing he might truly end up as a human punching bag, Sihyun hurriedly shook his head and changed the subject.
"Anyway, it's weird!"
Still sounding thoroughly unconvinced, he pressed on with a voice full of complaint.
"Why is someone who doesn't even cook suddenly shopping at a supermarket like this out of nowhere?"
Yuri raised one eyebrow and shot back.
"Cook? I do cook."
"What?"
Sihyun's eyes went round in disbelief. His gaze flicked back and forth between Yuri's face and the groceries in the cart, utterly incredulous.
This crazy woman can cook?
She's probably great at pickling people, though.
Having settled that thought, Sihyun snorted and shook his head vigorously, as if he didn't believe a word of it.
"Eh~ Not funny at all."
At his blatant distrust and the way he reacted as if telling her to stop joking—
"Ha—! Hey, what the hell do you take me for?"
Yuri put her hands on her hips, looking utterly flabbergasted. Sihyun shrugged.
"Well, obviously a boss who just throws her weight around… Ow!"
He'd been about to naturally snipe at her, but before he could finish—
Thwack!
Something green came flying and smacked him square in the face.
"Shut up! Stop talking back and just follow me. There's still more to buy."
Picking up the bag of green onions she'd nailed him with from the floor and tossing it back into the cart, Yuri spun around again and strode ahead as she spoke.
"Mom's going into the hospital soon, so we should throw a little party before then, right?"
"…What?"
Sihyun stared blankly at her back with a dumbfounded expression, then snapped out of it and retorted in disbelief.
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
Yuri, who had been walking ahead, whirled around again.
"Hey! You keep calling everything bullshit—want me to make you stop?"
"What, I'm just calling bullshit bullshit! What else am I supposed to say! Ow!"
Thwack—!
This time it was a potato that came flying. She must have just grabbed whatever was on the nearest display and chucked it.
"Hey, for real, throwing stuff at people's faces since earlier…"
"It's not like we can return it anyway, so just put it in the cart already."
"Haa… Seriously."
Sihyun had no choice but to pick up the potato from the floor and toss it into the cart as he thought.
Is this crazy woman really planning to just casually come over to our place again today?
It had already been over a week since he'd started working as both Yuri's bodyguard and a café part-timer. In that short time, she'd visited their house a whole three times—even though he'd told her every single time absolutely not to come.
- Sihyun~ Yuri's coming over again today, right? I'll make some kimchi stew~
Somehow she'd gotten Seojin's contact information. She'd already called his mother beforehand before he could even stop her, so there was no way to block it. They'd probably already talked it over today too, leaving him completely out of the loop. Thinking that, Sihyun could only—
"Haa…"
—let out a sigh. With nothing else he could do, he simply gave up and followed after Yuri.
After finally finishing the shopping, they headed back down the alley toward Sihyun's house. Sihyun trudged along, both hands full of shopping bags, grumbling the whole way.
"Boss… As the CEO of a company, don't you have a car? Why do you always walk everywhere?"
Going around with Yuri, he'd noticed she walked surprisingly often. When the destination was a bit farther, she'd take the subway or bus—public transit. It was enough to make him wonder if she really was the heiress of a chaebol company. To Sihyun's question—
"Yeah, of course I have one."
Yuri answered as if he'd asked something obvious.
"Then why not just take the car when we've got so much to carry…"
As Sihyun kept complaining, Yuri snickered and needled him.
"Yep~ My hands are empty~"
"…Ha!"
Sihyun couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh. And though she found his grumbling so fun and cute that she wanted to keep teasing him, Yuri stopped herself—any more and he might actually get sulky for real—and casually dropped the real reason.
"It's because you don't have a license."
"What does my license have to do with anything? Obviously you have one, Boss, right?"
"Look at this? Calling me Boss while planning to make me drive you around?"
"That's…"
Even he found what he'd said ridiculous, so Sihyun's voice trailed off guiltily. Just as they were walking along, bickering as usual—
"Wadda… Now that's a real nice sight to see~"
An unwelcome guest suddenly appeared.
Wadda… I really don't wanna do this…
Dongcheol swaggered up in front of Sihyun and Yuri with a loose, casual attitude, but inside he felt thoroughly uneasy. That short scrap with Sihyun that night had definitely stirred a long-dormant fire in his empty chest—a thrill he hadn't felt in ages. But after seeing him chatting so sweetly with Seojin at the hospital, he'd decided he didn't need to get involved with Sihyun after all.
I was hopin' that hardworking filial kid would snag himself a rich girl and live easy, but man… this is…
Perhaps reading Dongcheol's complicated feelings, Hyeonsik, who had come along, watched his expression carefully and spoke up cautiously.
"Hyung-nim, if you keep hesitating and mess this up, the Boss is gonna chew you out, yeah? I don't like it much either, but still…"
"I know already!"
Dongcheol snapped irritably at Hyeonsik, then turned to Sihyun as if explaining the situation.
"Anyway, we said we wouldn't settle that debt from that day… but the higher-ups' business is all tangled up this way and that, so there's no helpin' it, yeah? Got it?"
To that—
"…"
Sihyun said nothing. He slowly set the bags in both hands down on the ground. Then he began to ready himself. At that sight—
"Wadda… Kid's got such a pretty face, but those eyes of his are downright murderous~"
Dongcheol felt the earlier unease vanish, the fire in his chest flaring back to life. Right then—
"Hey, are these thug bastards out of their minds? Get lost already!"
Yuri stepped in front of Sihyun and cut in. At her irritated tone, Dongcheol grinned lecherously and shook his head.
"Wadda… I won't lay a single finger on the young lady of Cheonryong Group, so don't you worry~"
His gaze stayed locked completely on Sihyun as he spoke. Yuri glared at him in disbelief and shouted.
"Ha! This thug bastard?"
Then she whipped her head around and asked Sihyun.
"Hey, can you take care of these bastards?"
As she asked, Yuri's eyes wavered slightly. On the surface she spoke as if it were nothing, completely calm—but inside, she was worried Sihyun might get hurt. Sensing that, Sihyun wanted to reassure her, but given who they were up against—
"…I'll have to try and see."
He answered in a calm voice, as if he couldn't fully guarantee it. Yuri lightly grabbed his collar and said,
"…Don't you dare lose."
"Don't get hurt even a little."
"If you get hurt, you're fired on the spot."
"Got it?"
At her unexpectedly sincere concern—
"Pfft."
Sihyun couldn't help but snicker. Yuri's face flushed faintly as she let go of his collar.
"Hey… You little…"
"I know. Don't worry."
Sihyun nodded, speaking as if to put her at ease.
"Hmph!"
Seeming a little more reassured, Yuri snorted lightly and stepped back behind him. Watching the two of them, Dongcheol—
"Whew~ Now that's a real honey-dripping scene~"
—whistled and shrugged his shoulders. Then he slowly settled into a stance.
"Alright, good to go now, yeah? Ready?"
To that—
"……"
Once again, Sihyun answered by refining his stance instead of speaking. There was no need for any more conversation now. A moment later, as if they'd made a pact—
"Here I come!"
"…!"
—they launched themselves at the same time. Fist and foot collided—
KWA-AAAANG—!
In the dark alley, a roar like a bomb going off echoed out, and just like that, the fight began.