Barehanded? (1)
It was the very earliest hours of dawn.
Sihyun opened his eyes even earlier than usual—far earlier than the hour he once rose to deliver newspapers.
Until not long ago he had moved with extreme caution, terrified that the slightest rustle might wake Seojin. That care was no longer necessary.
Yuri and Seonye. Thanks to the two of them, Seojin now waited for surgery in a hospital far more secure, better equipped, and better staffed than the one they had booked together before. The hollow quiet of the empty house felt strange, yet it also settled something inside him.
Sihyun rose silently and changed into his training clothes. Back when he dropped out of high school he had meant to throw the set away along with the dreams he had discarded; Seojin had insisted on keeping them “just in case.” He had never imagined the day would come when he would put them on again. Poverty had meant there was never a spare pair, so the fabric was well worn, yet still serviceable enough.
With familiar steps he headed for the small park near the house. In the dead of a midwinter dawn the air bit hard, the sun not yet risen, but he paid it no mind and began to loosen his body.
This won’t do.
He had to get stronger.
Baek Taesu. That cowardly bastard had done it again—exactly as he had in high school—dragging Seojin’s name into his filthy mouth. Sihyun had made the same foolish mistake. He should have been focusing every scrap of attention on Dongcheol while they traded blows; instead he had fallen for a cheap provocation. The result: he had barely managed to slip the attack that followed. A fraction slower and he would have been seriously hurt. And if Dongcheol had not stopped when he did… just imagining what might have come next made his blood run cold.
“Hoo…! Hoo……!”
White breath streamed from his lips. He started with a light jog, then hung from the iron bar in the corner of the park for pull-ups, dropped to the ground for push-ups, and kept going. Next he tried to reclaim the feel of the days when he had poured himself into taekwondo.
Whish—!
Whoosh—!
Sharp kicks sliced the empty air. The sound of the air being cut was almost explosive.
Pwoooong—!
“……Not enough.”
Sihyun was not the least bit satisfied. Anyone watching would have disagreed, yet he refused to be content and drove himself harder. He concentrated on practical motion rather than textbook form. His opponents now were no longer wooden boards or roof tiles meant for breaking. They were people—sometimes more than one, and he had no idea how many, or whether each of them might be as strong as Dongcheol. Sihyun had almost never watched movies or dramas, but he understood well enough that the people who served chaebol families were more frightening and more dangerous than any screen villain.
“Haap—!”
He trained until he was shouting with effort. Sweat poured off him like rain; still he did not stop. For his mother Seojin. And for… Yuri and Seonye. For every one of the people around him—those crazy women included—he had to become someone who could truly protect them.
After a long further stretch of training, the sky began to lighten and Sihyun hurried home. He showered quickly and changed into the bodyguard attire Yuri had prepared for him—a black suit. At first the clothes had felt impossibly awkward; now they sat on him with a certain familiarity.
He left the house again and made for the luxury officetel where Yuri lived alone. At the building entrance he hesitated. In the past he would simply have waited outside for her to come down.
Here, just in case. If you ever feel like coming in, you can whenever you want.
She had said it playfully while pressing an electronic key into his hand; he had recoiled in alarm and refused. Today was different. After the alley ambush, he could no longer afford to be complacent. Sihyun stepped into the lobby, rode the elevator to the floor she had told him, and stood in the corridor regulating his breathing while he waited for her to appear.
A short while later—
Creak—
The front door opened and Yuri stepped out, dressed as always in a crisp black suit. She saw him standing there and her eyes went round with surprise.
“What? What’s going on? What wind blew you into waiting right here?”
“……You already know why you’re asking.”
He answered curtly. Yuri gave a short laugh and needled him.
“Heh. It’s freezing out here—why wait outside? Just come in. Or rather… now that Mother’s in the hospital…”
A wicked, provocative smile curved her lips.
“How about we just start living together?”
“Ah, seriously……!”
Sihyun’s face colored slightly; he grumbled and turned his head away.
“Okay, okay~ Just kidding~”
Yuri laughed as though his reaction were the best entertainment and took the lead. Together they headed for the company.
When they reached the office, the rest of the staff were already at their desks and working. Harin greeted them brightly.
“Hello~ Sihyun-ssi~ And…… Madam CEO.”
The blatant difference in tone made Yuri’s brow twitch; she fixed Harin with a glare.
“Hey. You wanna die?”
“Hmph! You still haven’t signed off on the approval I asked for yesterday!”
“Oh? Look at this one.”
“Why! Sihyun-ssi, please say something to the CEO toooo!”
“These people for real?”
It seemed like any other ordinary morning—until Yuri turned straight to Sihyun.
“Hey. I’ve got something separate to handle today, so you go take care of your own work.”
Normally she would check for any urgent company business and then leave with him again. Today she was sending him out alone.
“Oh! Madam CEO finally!”
Harin cheered; Yuri ignored her lightly and added to Sihyun,
“Don’t go laughing it up with that bitch Min Seonye for too long.”
“……Are you really all right with this?”
His worry was plain; Yuri smirked.
“Don’t worry. However crazy the people in our family are, they’re not brain-dead enough to pull open bullshit inside this building.”
“……Still, contact me the moment anything happens.”
“Heh. Yeah, got it.”
“…….”
Sihyun had no choice but to nod and leave the office.
When he arrived at Café Luminous, Seonye was nowhere in sight—contrary to his expectations.
Is Noona also out investigating on her own?
Just as Yuri had sent him off alone because she had her own business, Seonye had agreed to cooperate; the odds were high she was moving in her own way.
“…….”
The fact that there was almost nothing he himself could do left a tight frustration in his chest. Beyond standing at Yuri’s side under the title of bodyguard and working the part-time shift he had been given, nothing was different from any other day.
He was thinking that as he walked in when Areum, who worked with him, greeted him brightly.
“Hello! Have a good day today too~”
“Ah—yes. Hello.”
Sihyun returned a polite bow and headed for the staff room to change into his uniform. Watching his back, Areum thought,
Ah… still too good to just give up on.
He wasn’t especially tall, yet the suit sat on him remarkably well. And that handsome face only made it worse. Residual feelings were inevitable. But—
I’ve only got one life…
Remembering Yuri, Seonye, and the other crazy women circling him, she had no choice but to let go.
Well, just getting to work together is nice enough~
She had no intention of crushing the little flutter in her chest, so a smile rose of its own accord.
Come to think of it, none of the crazy ones are here today? Yes!
Areum was just thinking it might turn into a really good day when the proverb about speaking of the tiger proved true.
Ding-a-ling—
The café door chimed cheerfully. At the same moment Sihyun finished changing and stepped out to the counter, ready to greet the customer who had just entered—
“Hi~ My puppy♡”
“!!!”
Every hair on Sihyun’s body stood on end; he stared at the entrance in pure shock. Areum’s face went just as pale.
“Ahaha… I’ll just go restock the warehouse for a bit~”
With that she vanished as if fleeing. An inexplicable sense of betrayal washed over him.
Then a sticky voice slid into his ear.
“Puppy. Your Master is saying hello?”
He turned his head again. The crazy woman—no, Yoona—was approaching with a languid, alluring smile. Without the slightest regard for the stares around her she leaned straight against the counter where he stood, tilted her head, and carefully examined the skin around his neck.
“……Where’s my gift?”
Confirming that his throat was bare, her expression iced over at once.
“…….”
“Answer me. Where. Did. It. Go.”
The low, whispering cold of her voice crawled into his ear and sent a full-body shiver through him.
“You didn’t throw it away, did you? If you did……”
Her eyes narrowed. Sihyun shook his head hard and fast on pure reflex.
No, no, no!
The “gift” he could neither wear nor casually discard was buried deep inside his locker in the staff room.
“Then where is it…?”
She kept pressing.
“I-I’m keeping it safe, anyway.”
He forced the answer out as calmly as he could. Yoona studied him for a long moment, then lifted the corner of her mouth in apparent satisfaction.
“Hmm~ Really?”
She glanced around and added,
“Come to think of it, neither Han Yuri nor Min Seonye is here today.”
“…….”
Sihyun squeezed his eyes shut. He had never wanted those two more desperately than he did right now. The mere thought of having to face this woman alone made him feel as though his mind might snap.
Whether she read that or not, Yoona leaned in and breathed a honeyed whisper against his ear.
“Then my puppy… shall we play just the two of us with this Master today?”
“……!”
The chilling undertone made him flinch backward in alarm.
“I-I’m working!”
He refused in a hurried, firm voice. Yoona was utterly unfazed; if anything she looked more amused.
“Hmm~ Look at my puppy playing hard to get! So adorable.”
She ran her tongue slowly over her red lips.
“Makes me want to eat you right up♡”
“S-Stop it!”
Truly feeling his life was in danger, Sihyun barked the words and retreated as far as the counter would allow.
“Really? You’re sure you’re fine with that?”
She didn’t so much as blink.
“Of course I—!”
He started to protest, but her next words cut him off.
“I can tell you everything my puppy wants to know, you know?”
The unexpected offer left him stunned.
“……!?”
For a moment Sihyun simply forgot to breathe. This time, it seemed, he would not be able to refuse her proposal.