CH 27

‘Wow, I’m really going out to watch a movie with my friends.’ Yiyoung never pitied herself or envied her friends, but there were times when she admired them for being able to do anything they wanted.

Unlike Yiyoung, all of them came from wealthy families. If she wanted something, Yiyoung needed to work hard to earn it, which was one of the reasons why Yiyoung put so much effort into maintaining her academic performance.

Right now, Yiyoung and her friends were on different levels. But when they grew up, she wanted to compete on the same level as them.

Sunah carefully observed Yiyoung’s expression and decided to give her a final push. “I’ll pay for your ticket.”

“No,” Yiyoung replied, “I can pay for it.”

“Does that mean you’re coming?”

“Yeah! I’ll go with you guys,” Yiyoung said happily.

“Great!” Sunah cheered, and then Yiyoung left.

When she returned to her seat, Muyeol handed her $50.

“Thank you,” she said, but as she expected, Muyeol didn’t respond. Not like Yiyoung minded it, though. She was happy enough that he paid her like he had promised. 

Yiyoung was over the moon. The thought of rewarding herself with a movie excited her and spurred her to listen to the classes with a concentration even more intense than usual. She couldn’t stop smiling.

Once the day got over, Sunah loudly called out, “Let’s go, Yiyoung!”

“Okay!” Yiyoung chirped excitedly and left the classroom, bag in tow. 

Muyeol’s eyes followed her. ‘Are they going together? But… they barely know each other.’

He glared at Sunah. The girl remained oblivious to his stare, and at that moment, Muyeol noticed Sunah turn around and nod at someone.

His stomach turned. He frowned, suddenly feeling nervous. Something was up. Muyeol immediately picked up his phone and typed, “Make sure you don’t take your eyes off her today.”

‘Is Yiyoung taking a new route today?’ Sangsu thought after reading the text.

In Muyeol’s eyes, there was a pattern now. Whenever Yiyoung acted differently than normal, something bad awaited her. Muyeol received a reply instantly. “Got it. I’m waiting for her in front of the school.”

Muyeol sighed and rubbed his forehead nervously. He was sure that something bad was going to happen. His hands were clammy, and the irregular thumping of his heart only made him feel worse. 

He grabbed his bag and stood up. He had done everything he could have to protect her by hiring a bodyguard. Now all he could do was trust the bodyguard and let him do his job. If something happened despite all that, then Shitty Yoon might as well have asked for it. She shouldn’t have been so meddlesome; she should have worried about her situation first. 

However… Muyeol couldn’t control himself. Before he knew it, he was running around in search of Yiyoung. For a tiny girl, she sure was fast. It hadn’t even been a moment since she left, but he couldn’t find her anywhere. Muyeol stopped, hunching over as his heart ached from the exertion. He didn’t even have the strength to walk anymore.

‘Damn Shitty Yoon, my chest is hurting because of you,’ thought Muyeol.

He sent another text to Sangsu but didn’t receive any response, perhaps because Sangsu was busy following Yiyoung. Muyeol cursed, having no other choice but to wait for Sangsu to call him first. Muyeol clenched his phone tightly, hurriedly walking again.

* * *

Sangsu knew very well how cruel the teenagers of today’s society were, but this shocked him. He thought he had seen the worst of it while protecting other kids during his job. Perhaps this time it felt different because it concerned Yiyoung. The poor child was trying so hard to live on her own, and she was so friendly that Sangsu couldn’t help but feel protective of her.

After her father left for his job and Yiyoung met Sangsu in the alley, she had told him, “You know, Uncle Sangsu… You don’t have to concern yourself with me. I’ve been doing well so far, and I will continue to do so in the future.”

“Living well is a great thing, but being alone like this is not good for your age. It can be difficult,” Sangsu replied.

“It’s nothing compared to what Dad is going through. So if he asks, please tell him I’m doing really well.”

Sangsu was fond of her. She was only 14, but took care of the house and attended school all by herself, all the while trying to smile so wide her lips stretched thin.

Sangsu had never personally wanted to protect a kid. But he felt so close to Yiyoung as if he was actually her uncle. So this situation upset him to an extent that he never imagined he could be.

“You crazy rascals! What do you think you’re doing?” he yelled. 

At first, it was just one kid, but soon more of them surrounded Yiyoung and dragged her into an alley, determined to publicly shame her in the center of Kangnam. They had yanked her by her hair, skin, and uniform tearing as her knees scraped against the ground.

It was a cacophony, the sound of her screams drowning under the loud giggles of the ones bullying her. Passersby noticed the commotion and glanced around nervously, but some called the police, and even tried to stop the kids themselves. 

But they only turned more violent upon being interrupted, even threatening those who tried to interfere. “We’re minors. You know you’ll be arrested if you dared to touch us, right?”

“Just leave. Mind your own business.”

Sangsu pushed past the crowd and ran to Yiyoung’s side, snatching the wrist of one of the kids and twisting it behind his back.

The bully yelped in pain, “Did you just hurt a minor? I need to call the police!”

“I’ll call,” another child volunteered. These youngsters really had the audacity to threaten Sangsu?

“We’re minors, they won’t do anything to us. But you… you are different. You’ll be sent to jail,” they said sardonically, “Just leave us alone. We’ll take care of this.”

Yiyoung was breathing hard and held on to Sangsu. Yiyoung clung to Sangsu, breathing heavily. She trembled in fear. “Uncle…”

“What? He’s your uncle?” said one of the kids.

“Hey Uncle, do you want to see who’s really going to get hurt?” chimed in another boy.

Sangsu pushed Yiyoung out of harm’s way when a boy rushed at him. He dodged the boy’s fist, landing a harsh blow on his face. Sangsu flew into a rage and lost all reason when he realized how strong these kids were; they had attacked Yiyoung so mercilessly. The other boys, who were watching from the back before, joined the fray, each one as built as Sangsu.

However, Sangsu was a professional with a list full of clients with 100% satisfaction.

Frightened by the fight, Yiyoung shook like a leaf. It felt like a nightmare; all she wanted was to enjoy her freedom for a little bit and watch a movie with her friends like everyone else. But it had all gone downhill when people she didn’t even know suddenly crowded her and began to curse at her.

“Who do you think you are, talking shit about Jaeho?”

“You filthy, wretched b**ch! We let you hang around us because we sympathized with you, but you went ahead and overstepped your boundaries.”

“Are you trying to become a prostitute? Of course, a girl like you would obviously only be interested in stuff like that.”