Touch Me and I Bite.
Touch Me and I Bite.
220 moves.
Yoon Hyeong-seop stopped his hand, finally realizing all his stones were dead.
Even summoning the god of Go wouldn't save him now.
I'd wanted the reaction to be There is no way I could lose.
Yoon Hyeong-seop looked like he'd hit a wall for the first time in his life.
Maybe I'd messed with his head a little too much. Yoon Hyeong-seop, still with his mask off, was just starting to come back to his senses.
He stared silently at his tablet for a long moment, and before long his shattered expression had re-donned its mask.
"Wow... wow..."
As if he were a completely different person from moments ago, Yoon Hyeong-seop let out a stream of admiration.
"What are you... HaPhaGo? Are you insane? What dan are you?"
"7-dan?"
"You're insane... no wonder... There was no way I could win. You don't like being known, do you?"
"That's right."
"Yeah, I'm not big on praising people or tearing them down to others, either."
Yoon Hyeong-seop got two coffees from the vending machine and handed one to me.
"That was fun. I feel like I've just reached enlightenment."
"Really?"
"Take care~"
Yoon Hyeong-seop picked up his tablet and left.
With Yoon Hyeong-seop gone, I was sitting alone killing time when someone else walked up to me.
"Um..."
When someone looks at me and gets all embarrassed, it means one of two things.
If they've got their head on straight, they're about to say they're a fan.
If not, they're about to ask for my number.
You think nobody ever asks a celebrity for their number?
Obviously, the handsome young man who'd come up to me was the latter.
"Could I get your phone number?"
"I'm sorry."
"Ah... okay."
Honestly, he probably knew the answer before he asked, so why go through with it? Just get an autograph and leave.
Still, since I'd stamped my social media with Quit fucking confessing to me. and And stop asking for autographs. You bring me paper, I'll rip it up, got it?, most of them had dropped off.
If you're wondering why there's no controversy over my personality, though.
I'm a national hero.
Online, they treat me roughly like a brawler, on the level of an independence fighter.
And the Republic of Korea already knows half my blood carries Kang Mari's bloodline.
Which is to say, Mari acted exactly the same as I do...
The people of the Republic of Korea already had immunity to my personality.
As I sat there killing time on my phone, Da-yeon came out.
"What are you doing out here!"
"Hmm?"
"You could've gone to a café or a PC bang to wait..."
"Just~ the air's nice today~"
"I think Yoon-seo's coming out soon too."
"Yeah?"
Da-yeon hadn't even studied for the exam, but she'd still finished quickly and come out.
These days, the weather gets hot by afternoon, so wearing our department jackets was too much, and I'd taken mine off and set it aside for a moment.
I looked toward the exit and saw Yoon-seo, who'd finished the exam a little later than average, coming out.
She spotted us and started toward us all excited, but a senior stopped her halfway and they talked.
But... the way she was blushing seemed unusual.
"Could she be getting confessed to?"
"Really!?"
"Yeah, I think it looks like it?"
Da-yeon and I, brimming with curiosity, opened our eyes wide, hid behind a tree, and secretly watched Yoon-seo as best we could.
But Yoon-seo, as if she instinctively knew we were looking at her, blushed and handed over her phone.
""Ooooh...""
Ever since I'd started helping her dress up, Yoon-seo had gotten incredibly pretty, so I thought she had the kind of looks that could easily captivate guys and get confessions.
Yoon-seo came out and looked for us; seeing Da-yeon's face and mine, she went red.
""What!? What!?""
When Da-yeon and I stuck to her like puppies pestering her, Yoon-seo blushed and opened her mouth.
"He... said he wants to get to know me better..."
"Ohhh~ So? Do you like him?"
"Yeah... he was really handsome..."
"What a hopeless love-at-first-sight case. You have to take off the rose-colored glasses and see him as he really is."
"... You said you've never had a boyfriend either."
"A lifelong single is naturally a master of relationship advice."
"....."
"You know there's nothing that looks more desperate than jumping right in just because someone confessed to you once?"
Next to me, Da-yeon nodded her head vigorously.
"...Okay."
"You have to play a little hard to get to raise your value, judge with your head, not your heart."
Yoon-seo nodded as if making a resolution.
The three of us ate dinner together, and I drove Yoon-seo home.
"Have a great weekend!"
"Okay~ You have a good date!"
"Yeah!"
Yoon-seo went scurrying into her house.
"Si-yoon!"
"Yeah?"
"Let's go to Australia next month!"
"Again? Why?"
"I was wondering if Jong-su's doing okay~"
Jong-su...
He always seemed like he was missing a few screws, and his way of thinking was unlike anyone else's.
But it wasn't bad; if anything, his particular brand of idiot-charm stood out and felt fresh, I guess?
I chuckled and answered Da-yeon.
"Should we, then?"
"Yeah!"
It was an uneventful weekend, so I was resting my head on Dad's lap, decorating my island in Debtor's Forest.
Dad was fiddling with my cheeks.
"You'll ruin your eyes~"
"What are you talking about, I haven't let a gadget out of my hands since I was eight and I still have 20/10 vision~"
I smacked Dad's hand away from my cheek.
"Why do you keep touching it."
"It's squishy~"
"It's more on the firm side, though?"
"Yeah, it's firm~"
"If you want squishy, my boobs are the things that are genuinely squishy. Wanna touch?"
Dad smacked me on the mouth.
"Are you crazy?"
"Why'd you hit me!?"
"Because you're saying weird things!"
"Heh, Dad, you've never touched tits this big in your life, have you?"
"Hey!"
"This right here is Mega Milk."
"Are you insane!?"
When I moved my hands to my chest, Dad smacked them away—whap!
After the usual small commotion, I set down my Nintendo and watched TV.
Dad, who'd been touching my ear, suddenly looked at me as if he'd just remembered something he wanted to do.
"We've got nothing to do—want to go visit Grandpa and Grandma?"
"A dad who bothers his parents because he's got nothing to do—I don't think I've ever seen a more devoted son."
"Hey, you know you're just as bad, right? You torment me constantly."
"Eyy~ Dad and I are on totally different levels and in totally different positions."
"Wow... what is that supposed to mean?"
"I'm a baby, aren't I?"
Dad and I sprang to our feet and went to our rooms to change clothes.
Outside, Dad was packing snacks for me.
I put on a comfy cotton T-shirt of Dad's and a pair of baggy pants.
"... You're going out like that?"
"All my clothes are there anyway."
"....."
I grabbed the car keys and went prancing over to Spot.
"My Spot, you've been bored lately because your big sis hasn't been playing with you, huh~ Sorry again today~"
I boarded my Whitey, and Dad got in the passenger seat.
And then I remembered—I hadn't taken the vape out of the passenger-seat glove compartment.
I'm fucked...
Dad was filling the glove compartment with snacks, looking at me frozen in place.
"Something wrong? Bathroom?"
"Ah, no, nothing."
Seeing Dad close the glove compartment, I exhaled in relief.
While I was driving, Dad fed me some of the mustache snacks.
As I was eating them, Dad spoke up, his expression completely unchanged.
"Si-yoon."
"Yeah?"
"Do you smoke?"
"Cough!! Kek... Huh...? What do you mean..."
"Eyy, you sprayed it everywhere."
Dad wiped the snack crumbs that had shot out of my mouth with a handkerchief, perfectly calm—far, far too calm.
I feel a chill...
And in Dad's hand, at some point, was my pink vape.
"What's this."
Dad was clearly an assassin trained to the absolute limit. Otherwise, I had no logical explanation for how he'd taken that without me noticing.
"That's... a flavor-cigarette..."
"So it is a cigarette, then?"
"It's not something bad for you!"
"It's also not something good for you, is it?"
When I glanced over at Dad, he motioned with his chin for me to look forward.
I pulled the car over onto the shoulder, searched up the product, and showed Dad.
From the moment I remembered it was in the passenger seat, I'd already prepared an excuse.
"....."
"Besides, this one's super expensive, so I bought it because I was curious~ You have to try things when you're curious..."
"Si-yoon's mom used a vape too, once."
"Really?"
"Yeah. She quit when she met Dad."
"Honestly, you've gotta admit that's insanely attractive."
"You. Throw that away."
"Whaaaaat."
Dad checked that the harmful ingredients and the addictiveness had been reduced to their absolute limit, and in the end, gave me tacit permission.
However, if I got caught using it on social media or in public, there was an extremely high probability that my cards, my cash, and my phone would all end up locked inside the safe whose combination I still didn't know.
"Our daughter's a really good driver now, huh...?"
"Practically at the master-drill-instructor level."
"You're really good at it~"
We hit traffic, so while I was chatting with Dad and enjoying some snacks for a moment...
Suddenly, from behind us, a blaring Bwaaaaaap!!! sounded, loud and forceful.
I checked the rear-view mirror, snack still in hand, and instinctively pulled the car into an open space.
But the dump truck barreling up from behind must have also decided to pull onto the shoulder, exactly like I had, and it followed me.
I slammed the brake and the accelerator as if I were doing a launch start.
The moment my foot came off the brake, the sudden surge launched me forward; I pulled the handbrake and slid Whitey's rear end toward the shoulder in a light, drifting glide.
Skreeeeeeech!!!
In the end, the dump truck lightly scraped my Whitey as it roared past.
CRRRAAASSSHHH!!!!!
Next to me, Dad was so shocked he couldn't make a sound.
"You fucking shit! Driving like... are you insane!? If this were Spot, that dump truck owner would be my confirmed slave, so what a shame."
"Are you okay!?"
Dad hadn't even registered that I'd cursed; he was rapidly checking my safety first.
The car had just been scraped a little and the truck had gone by, that was all, but his worry was off the charts.
But if I hadn't dodged using the drift I'd honed, I would have been crushed like the car in front of me.
There seemed to be a lot of seriously injured people, and the car directly in front of the dump truck was a horrific wreck—it was a miracle anyone inside was alive.
And one of the security team's vehicles that had been following behind me was crushed.
When the two sports cars pulled over onto the shoulder, the dump truck driver got out with a grave expression and started checking on people's safety.
A faint smell of alcohol...
There were tons of eyes on us, and some people who'd recognized my face had probably already started filming.
"My Whitey... your big sis is sorry. Haa. What a goddamn sight..."
I casually gestured to the car behind us.
One of the intact sports cars pulled up.
"Miss! Are you alright!?"
Bodyguards in black suits surrounded me, securing my safety against any potential secondary threat.
"I'm fine, but Grandpa and Grandma are waiting for us. Please handle the aftermath for me~"
"Yes!"
I handed over the car keys and loaded our bags into the other car with Dad.
And the dump truck owner's expression that I glimpsed in passing...
Apologizing and extremely agitated, he didn't actually look all that drunk.
And yet the smell of alcohol was so strong it was wafting outside...
I had the distinct thought that something about his expression felt off.
I looked at my Maklaren that Agent Song Sang-gil had brought and paused for a moment.
"Si-yoon, are you feeling unwell somewhere!?"
Dad had been doing nothing but worrying about me, so I shook my head, then called over Jong-hyeon, who'd been assessing the situation from a distance.
"Jong-hyeon!"
He came running over to me.
"Please investigate that dump truck owner for me."
When I spoke seriously, in a low tone, Jong-hyeon took it gravely.
"Understood."
That's Jong-hyeon for you—no asking why, just an Understood.
I spent a peaceful, completely healing time with Grandpa and Grandma, and then came outside in the early morning hours when everyone was asleep, carrying a warm cocoa and mustache snacks.
I was sitting on the swing, looking up at the star-filled sky, when I sensed someone behind me.
"Miss."
Jong-hyeon was giving me his report about today's incident.
"The driver's name is Min Dong-cheol. Two hours ago... two men came and went from his house."
"And?"
"After the two men left, we entered and checked... it was heavily ransacked, as if they'd been looking for something."
"Oh... so it seems something was there after all?"
"Yes. The two are ethnic Koreans from China. Tae-yoon and Sang-gil are currently extracting information from them."
"Is there a chance they deliberately targeted Dad?"
"...Yes. So we intend to confirm whose orders they were acting on."
"Where is Min Dong-cheol?"
"He is currently being questioned at Gapyeong Police Station."
I sipped my cocoa and kicked lightly at the ground, rocking the swing I was sitting on.
"... Hmm, could it be Taebaek made a move?"
"... It's still too early to say for certain... but I don't consider the possibility nonexistent."
"In that case, shall I tell you an interesting story now?"
"....."
Reading my expression, Jong-hyeon naturally pulled out his wireless earbuds and began switching off all his equipment.
The gesture meant he would leave no record whatsoever of what I was about to say.
"The Tiger. Do you know who its founder was?"
"I've only heard rumors."
"What kind of rumors?"
"...That he was a monster for the ages."
It seemed even the name had been erased; the traces of my past now appeared to survive only as legend.
"That was me."
"...?"
"Mm... to be precise, that was who I used to be. Ji-hoon, Tae-oh... we were reincarnated. Truly fascinating, isn't it?"
".....!!!"
I was reincarnated. Anyone else might scoff at hearing such a thing.
Jong-hyeon was horrified.
As if every puzzle piece had just now clicked into place.
"To be honest, Ji-hoon and Tae-oh didn't have the experience or the skill to be called full-fledged Tigers, but they were my kids, the ones I was raising. For me, who had no family, they were more precious than anyone."
At my words, Jong-hyeon couldn't hide his expression or say anything at all.
"My name in my former life was Kang Han-seong. Ji-hoon was Jae-hyeong, and Tae-oh was Park Gi. The three of us were the only Korean Tigers, so Uncle Han Jeong-min knows all three of our names, as it happens."
"You might find it if you search the records at HSW... Ah, right. If it's Ji-hoon, that's fine, but I don't recommend asking Tae-oh directly."
"If you absolutely must ask him, you can tell him I revealed it first. Aha."
I smiled at Jong-hyeon, who was still silent.
"Anyway, I was betrayed by that young bastard Joo Gwang-il. Well, truth is, I knew he'd betray me, and I didn't want to kill off everyone who'd spent a long time with me just for the sake of cleaning house. And honestly, back then, I kind of wanted to die too."
I bit into a mustache snack with a crunch!
And I smiled, swinging my feet that didn't reach the ground.
"That day, the sky was also clear and full of stars like this, aha. Ah! You asked me once before, didn't you? When I was kidnapped before, you asked how I killed a Tiger."
"...Yes."
"Then you must understand now why I reacted the way I did when I heard my maternal grandfather's name, right?"
"Yes. Miss."
Jong-hyeon's expression had hardened.
"Then, I'll tell you an even more interesting story. This one has to do with my maternal grandmother."
Jong-hyeon swallowed, unable to meet my eyes.
"The Amy in my memories was cold—chillingly so—and wretched. And yet, even then, she didn't cry out in pain."
"Thinking about it now, I guess... I wanted to believe that she wouldn't have cried out in pain. When I tried to find out who did it on my own... there was just no way to find them in that vast land."
"....."
"So I consumed Russia. Honestly, how could I find them all by myself in that huge country~ I released the Tigers. The craziest bastards I could find, the ones with the most grievances against the world—I chose them so that everyone who died by their hands would scream in agony..."
"Ah..."
"But truly, truly fortunately, among the thousand lives—maybe over ten thousand—that I personally ended... one of them, they say, was the one who killed Amy. If that's the case, I don't feel an ounce of guilt toward those who died by my hand, and it makes me think it wasn't a meaningless act after all. Aha."
Russia, back when I was there, was actually cleaner.
So much so it could confidently claim the top spot in public safety...
Because ordinary citizens simply didn't come outside, and the criminals dug themselves into their holes and didn't dare even breathe.
Well, I'd even stormed the prisons and killed all the connected inmates before leaving, so that says it all.
After hearing the reason the Tigers were born, Jong-hyeon's expression looked complicated.
It was probably... connected to his own daughter, who'd been killed by one of the Tigers.
Still, having completely opened up to Jong-hyeon—whom I considered entirely one of my people—I felt unexpectedly unburdened.
"So... I'm sorry. I truly am sorry. I never dreamed I would reincarnate... What happened is the result of the seeds my former self scattered... Haa. I should have cleaned it all up thoroughly..."
"...It is not your fault, Miss."
"No, I don't want to avert my blame like that. It is my fault. Even if you were to turn your gun on me for it, I wouldn't dodge it."
"Never. That will never happen."
"... Thank you. But, hypothetically."
"Yes..."
"Truly, hypothetically, what if Taebaek is involved in this incident...?"
"...Yes."
"I intend to erase Taebaek, then."
"..... Understood."
If they really had tried to lay a hand on my dad—not me.
For the safety of Dad, whose activities abroad had become so frequent lately, I would erase Taebaek from this world.