I was watching to see if they could even communicate, when the actual object of interest, Rashanin, didn’t budge and remained sitting in his spot, and a small scuffle broke out between the women and men. In the midst of it, a weasel-faced man grabbed Rashanin’s wrist.
“Huh?”
In the midst of me gasping without realizing it, Rashanin shook off the weasel’s hand. It was a light motion, but the shaken-off weasel flew away and collided with men who were walking by. Unluckily, pitch-black cola spurted from a can one of them was holding and spilled all over their clothes. Just from the clothes they were wearing, it was clear they were a group of street thugs. What’s this, dry cleaning costs, compensation—such words flew out, and the atmosphere instantly became hostile, leading to grabbing each other by the collar.
“Huh? Huh?”
What’s going on, I thought, hesitating in a bewildered mood, when now fists were being exchanged.
Literally in the blink of an eye, the situation had escalated. The women screamed and ran away. People wondering what was happening also appeared in an instant. I looked around out of ingrained habit, and sure enough, riot police on patrol could be seen in the distance. The timing was perfect too. Damn it.
Cursing inwardly, I crossed the street and ran toward where about ten men were entangled.
“Rashanin-ssi!!”
「Lee Unhyuk? What a coincidence. To see you here.」
Rashanin, smiling coolly while saying it was a coincidence, wasn’t even getting up from where he was sitting and was kicking away men who rushed at him. I don’t know how strong he was, but with a thud, the man who flew away collapsed on the ground and couldn’t even get up. The way he was groaning made it seem like something somewhere was broken. At this rate, it was obvious he’d be caught as an offender in the act.
「Please get up quickly.」
Without thinking twice, I grabbed Rashanin’s forearm and applied force to pull him up.
「Hm?」
「Hurry!! There’s no time to explain.」
I was applying force telling him to get up quickly when someone bumped into me from behind. Something heavy hit the side of my head, but I ignored it and shouted.
「Please trust me and follow me.」
Rashanin’s eyes widened as if surprised for a moment, then he soon smiled and got up from his seat, following along as I pulled him. Avoiding the brawling group, pushing through the onlookers, I ducked into an alley I had spotted earlier.
I was jogging without looking back when Rashanin asked what was going on.
「You’ll get caught.」
「Caught?」
「If you get tangled up with the police, things get complicated.」
The moment Rashanin asked back about the police, really with perfect timing, a whistle sound came from behind us.
「Aha. That?」
「Yes.」
Even while answering, I didn’t let go of Rashanin’s wrist and kept moving my feet. The authority of the Special Management Bureau for Heteromorphic Organisms, a secret agency, was quite significant. For a big shot like Rashanin, they would easily get him out with no charges. Still, if you got tangled up with the police, many annoying things would happen. You’d have to make calls here and there and write several reports. Most of all, I’d get an earful from the department head asking why I couldn’t prevent it when I was at the same location. Just imagining it gave me a headache.
After running for a while and exiting the alley, we entered a different busy district from earlier. Neither the whistle sound nor the noise could be heard anymore.
Thinking it was fortunate and letting out a sigh of relief, the gazes of people passing by felt a bit strange. They glanced sideways as they passed, or whispered to the person next to them. Some stared blatantly. I wondered why, then soon realized who I was holding.
「Seems like we’ve gotten far enough? How far are you going?」
I was startled when Rashanin pulled on the wrist I was holding. I quickly let go of Rashanin’s hand and looked at him following behind. A man so devastatingly handsome that he drew the gazes of passersby was smiling.
「I apologize for acting on my own.」
「No. It’s fine. It was fun. Having my wrist grabbed by a man, being chased by police. The car stopping on the road before was also a first. When I’m with Lee Unhyuk-ssi, only fun things happen.」
The man curling up the corners of his mouth seemed genuinely amused. But to my ears, it only sounded like he was mocking me. Saying it’s fun that the car broke down and stopped. I swallowed a sigh inwardly.
「If you had stayed sitting there, you could have toured a Korean police station. But I wouldn’t want to recommend it.」
「Haha. I wouldn’t want to receive that recommendation either. Police stations can’t be comfortable anywhere in the world.」
「Of course.」
「But didn’t you get hit on the head earlier?」
「I’m fi—. Ouch.」
I was saying I was fine when Rashanin lightly touched where I was hit, and a small groan escaped. It really hurt.
「You’ve got a bump. You got hit hard with an elbow. Does it hurt?」
「It’s fine as long as you don’t touch it.」
I pulled my head back to avoid Rashanin’s hand. I meant it would be fine as long as you don’t touch it, but whether Rashanin understood or not, he just grinned.
「I’m telling you, it’s fun.」
「Pardon?」
「It’s not dinner time yet, is it? I’d like to treat you to dinner as an apology and thanks, do you have time?」
I stared at Rashanin with wide eyes. Because of the considerable height difference, I had to look up at him. He seemed sincere, wearing his usual smile. Why? Why is he asking to have dinner together in this situation?
「Why…?」
「I received help, so I want to repay it. And you also got hurt helping me.」
「I appreciate the invitation, but I have a prior engagement.」
「Prior engagement?」
「I have to visit a friend at the hospital.」
I gave a valid reason and refused as gently as possible. Repayment or whatever, I absolutely did not want to have a meal with Rashanin.
「Then how about tomorrow?」
「Pardon?」
「I asked how your schedule is tomorrow.」
I was flustered when he asked about tomorrow as if it were natural. Why is this man so persistent?
「Ah, well, I have work tomorrow. I have a part-time job…」
Even to my own ears, it sounded like I was making excuses to avoid Rashanin. But tomorrow I had to finish my translation work. Since I couldn’t work as planned during the week, I might have to be stuck in front of my laptop all day tomorrow.
「A part-time job? You have a job but you work on weekends too?」
「That kind of thing happens.」
「What kind of part-time job do you do?」
「It’s a personal matter, so it’s difficult to tell Rashanin-ssi. I apologize.」
Every weekend I was devoted to English translation work. It wasn’t something I couldn’t tell others, but I instinctively became wary of Rashanin, who was interrogating me by prying into this and that as if conducting an investigation.
Rashanin made his smile thinner and stared intently at me. It was a strange look, as if looking at something odd. It was a bit burdensome to meet the gaze of a man with extraordinary presence. Still, it felt like I’d lose if I avoided it, so I took a deep breath and endured.
Absurdly, we ended up in a situation of glaring at each other. Since no conversation was exchanged, a somehow chilly and awkward feeling enveloped us. However, the atmosphere quickly disappeared when Rashanin smiled brightly.
「I’m not used to being rejected, but if you have work, it can’t be helped.」
His tone was gentle and his smile was deep, but that made the feeling even more eerie. And it was strange that he wasn’t asking about Monday.
「I seem to have taken up a lot of your time one way or another, is that okay?」
Moreover, he was being considerate. It was highly suspicious.
「Ah, it’s fine. More than that, from next time, if a problem arises, please don’t confront it head-on like today. If you get tangled up with the police, you’ll suffer.」
「What can I do when I can’t communicate?」
「How about getting a guide? If you have a guide, there won’t be interpretation problems, and even if trouble occurs like today, there won’t be problems.」
「You’re really kind.」
「…?」
「To give me kind advice even though you dislike me.」
Even while directly saying I disliked him, the man didn’t change his expression one bit. That made me feel even more caught off guard.
「This is embarrassing. To think that you believe I dislike you, Rashanin-ssi…」
