# Chapter 38
After climbing the mountain for quite some time, we went back down by cable car as the sun started to set. Perhaps because we had been exposed to the wind for so long, my face felt stiff and immovable. Woosang seemed worried about me and tried to unwrap the scarf I was still wearing.
“I’m fine. Coming down makes it much better.”
“Really? Still, let’s warm up somewhere before heading back to the hotel.”
I nodded and massaged my muffled ears. He looked around the area and pointed to a fairly large-looking pub.
“How about having a beer there to loosen up completely?”
“Alcohol is…”
“Just half a glass.”
Even though Woosang knew I couldn’t handle even one glass of beer, he led me to the establishment, saying I could drink moderately. Since I hadn’t had any alcohol recently, I was tense about him possibly pressuring me to drink, as I didn’t think I could handle even one beer.
Sitting down and opening the menu, I was relieved to find quite a few non-alcoholic options.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“Not yet…”
“They only sell drinks here without much else, so let’s just warm up and leave.”
I nodded and ordered a cup of tea with ginger and mint.
“I’ll have vodka then.”
Seeing Woosang down the high-proof vodka in one gulp, I felt a burning sensation in my empty stomach.
Then, as if he wasn’t satisfied, Woosang asked the server for another glass each of beer and vodka, and drank them nonchalantly.
It seemed I would never match his alcohol tolerance. Woosang pointed to his beer in response to my incomprehensible gaze.
“Really, you won’t have any?”
“No. I’ll go to the restroom.”
Seeing his flushed cheeks, I felt uneasy. Still, I didn’t want to disturb him when he seemed to be in a good mood for once.
The pub was bustling with customers like us who had just come down from the mountain to warm up. Even the restroom was so full that I had to stand in line to enter.
Perhaps because of the intense heat inside, my face felt like a fireball even though I hadn’t had any alcohol.
[Where are you from? Are you a tourist?]
The man standing in front of me turned around and addressed me in English. Startled, I straightened up and carefully replied.
[I came from France. And you?]
[I’m on a short holiday from Australia.]
[I see. Are you enjoying your vacation?]
[Yeah. But I’m not used to this kind of cold since we don’t get it much in Australia.]
The man, seemingly pleased that we could communicate in English, explained when he had crossed into Switzerland and how long he planned to stay in Europe. Since I rarely had the chance to hear others’ stories, I found it interesting and responded enthusiastically with “I see” and other acknowledgments.
[When are you going back to France?]
[Um… in four days, as planned.]
[Really? I’m going to France next week. Could I know which region you live in?]
‘How should I answer this?’
I was returning in four days, but not to Paris—to Belgium. There was no need to tell the truth, but lying to the man who was speaking with such obvious joy bothered me.
I could at least tell him that I wasn’t returning to Paris. With that thought, I opened my mouth. Just then, a loud voice came from behind, accompanied by the sound of something breaking.
[Did a fight break out?]
Although small frictions can occur anytime in a bar, this seemed to be a bigger commotion, with sharp sounds continuously ringing out. Screams and the noise of chairs falling over could be heard clearly.
The people waiting in line for the restroom all turned around simultaneously. Those behind me were asking each other what was happening, only whispering quietly that it seemed like a physical fight had broken out.
I wondered if Woosang might have been affected too. I craned my neck to look toward the source of the loud noise.
But then I heard Woosang’s voice, which should have been impossible to hear among those unpleasant noises.
“No way…”
His voice pierced my ears sharply. Thinking I might have misheard, I looked behind me, but it was definitely Woosang’s voice. My heart felt like it had plummeted.
I wondered what could have happened in the short time I’d been away, and here was trouble already. I hurriedly pushed past the people standing behind me and headed in that direction.
Perhaps startled by the sudden situation, my heart was racing.
‘If someone tried to harm him, then what should I do?’
Only jumbled thoughts came to mind.
I had been at ease since I’d never seen anyone pick a fight with Woosang before. I thought it would be fine, but would it really?
Taking a deep breath, I pushed through the crowd of people to check on Woosang. The place was complete chaos.
“What…”
Woosang, with an extremely angry expression, was wrestling on the floor with a man who was grabbing his hair. Even though Woosang hadn’t been exercising lately, he was basically as tall as me and quite strong. The man who was holding Woosang down without letting him move appeared to be twice Woosang’s size.
I felt breathless and couldn’t react. I wanted to immediately separate Woosang from the man, but somehow my mind went blank, and I couldn’t move.
[You Asian pig…! Are you going to let go or not?!]
The man who had been hit in the face by Woosang shouted angrily and spat out harsh words at him.
At first, I couldn’t process the nonsensical words he was spewing, but as soon as I understood, something inside me seemed to explode. Anger beyond words rose to the top of my head, controlling my body as if by itself.
[What did you just say! How dare you open your filthy mouth!]
I couldn’t comprehend the fact that we had to hear such filthy words from someone like him.
I grabbed the man by the nape of his neck, threw him to the ground, then mounted him, grabbed his head, and slammed it down.
Bang!
After having his head smashed against the floor a few times, the man screamed but didn’t properly answer my question. I wanted to strangle him and tear him in two right then and there. The smell of dirty alcohol and stench emanated from the man. Seeing this man oozing filth made me angry again.
[I said repeat what you just said, you bastard!]
[You, what are you? Someone who wipes that guy’s ass?]
The man screamed, perhaps surprised by the strength of my grip. Additionally, the shriek he let out in an angry voice was trembling so much that he couldn’t even form proper sentences. It was horrifying that I was even angry at such a person. But seeing this insignificant man up close, I felt my blood cooling rapidly.
He wasn’t worth dealing with.
[Yes, I’m the one who wipes his ass. So if you move your mouth one more time, it won’t end with just blood from your head.]
In that moment, the man spit at me while shouting in some other language I couldn’t understand. I wanted to beat him a few more times, but Woosang came first. Fortunately, my cooled head seemed capable of properly determining priorities.
[If you don’t quiet down, I can just knock you out.]
[…]
The man gritted his teeth and glared at me furiously. Sighing, I beckoned to a staff member who was awkwardly standing nearby.
[Can you calm this person down?]
[Ah, yes.]
Several staff members hesitated before approaching and tried to calm the man who was still making a commotion while pinned under me. Having already been hit by Woosang and me, the man seemed unable to control his body, possibly due to a mild concussion. Seeing him like that, anger rose within me again, but I tried to control it by biting down hard on my teeth.
Woosang carefully approached me and handed me a tissue. He looked at me with an expression more complicated than usual. At that gaze, I set aside the emotions that had risen and checked to see if he was hurt anywhere.
Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any major injuries, but the sweater he was wearing had completely stretched out, and he seemed half out of his mind.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m sorry, it’s because of me.”
“Why would this be your fault? It’s because of that bastard. Are you hurt anywhere?”
As I held him and examined him from all angles, Woosang pushed me away, saying he was fine. Concerned that he might be hiding an injury, I scrutinized him more persistently. Then, as Woosang kept grabbing around his neck area while avoiding the subject, I reached out my hand there, wondering if he had strained his neck from falling.
“Did you hurt your neck? Is the muscle shocked?”
“It feels like that. It hurts every time I move. Let’s go back to the hotel quickly.”
“Let me see. I need to check if it’s swollen.”
“Let’s go back first.”
He kept pushing my hand away, saying he was fine, and put on the jacket he had taken off. Finding this suspicious, I pulled at his jacket hood to check his neck area, even though I knew I shouldn’t.
There, I saw a bite mark that looked fresh. It had been bitten so hard that blood was caked on it.
Shocked, I stood still holding his clothes, and Woosang, seemingly startled, shouted loudly.
“What are you doing?”
“Yun Woosang.”
“……”
When I called his name with a serious face, Woosang seemed startled and turned his head without answering.
“Tell me what that bastard did to you.”
“It was nothing. Are we going to stay here? Quickly… let’s leave first.”
I felt an even stronger emotion than when I had witnessed Woosang fighting with the man earlier. Additionally, I didn’t know how to respond to his attitude of trying to brush it off evasively.
As I was led out of the establishment by Woosang’s hand, sadness rather than anger began to weigh me down.
Meanwhile, I felt only resentment toward Woosang’s face, which showed no trace of anger. I wanted to throw away his hand, which was only leading me without any proper explanation.
Finally, unable to bear it anymore, I shook off his hand.
The look in his eyes as he stared at the rejected hand felt frustrating. In another situation, I might have let it go, but right now, I absolutely couldn’t concede.
“Tell me. What did that bastard say to you earlier?”
“What difference does it make if I tell you? What happened has already happened, and it’s all been resolved.”
Woosang wore an expression suggesting he couldn’t understand my attitude. A thick tension stood between us. I wanted to stop right there, thinking I’d already made him depressed. But I couldn’t back down like this either.
“Why do you always try to act like nothing happened?”
He couldn’t readily answer my question. Now was truly the time to speak. Just then, a server ran out urgently from the establishment.
[Sir, are you alright?]
[Ah, yes. I’m fine.]
[If you need to report this…]
Woosang went to the server, looked at me once, and then suddenly began conversing with the server in a different language. I let out a bitter laugh, incredulous at the words I couldn’t understand at all.
I was about to ask the server what had happened, but Woosang grabbed my wrist and gestured for me not to.
The anger I had been suppressing burst out.
“Are you playing with me right now? Drop that pathetic German and talk properly!”
