YNKHG Ch 1 part 1

This is why people shouldn’t do the things they don’t usually do.

Jiwon walked through the dark alleyway as she chewed on her lips, her fists clenched. Her palms were already drenched in sweat.

“Hey! Lee Jiwon!”

When she heard the voice call her name from behind, a shiver ran down her spine. She pretended she didn’t hear it and picked up her pace, but she could not escape from the other person’s large stride.

Jiwon looked around with anxious eyes. This alleyway was dark and empty. The problem was that she had just begun to walk wherever her feet took her due to her frantic heart.

If she knew that person would follow after her so tenaciously, she would have walked towards a main street.

The sound of her labored breaths grew louder.

“Lee Jiwon!”

The voice calling out to her also grew louder.

Jiwon swallowed back the curses that threatened to leave her mouth and tensed her legs, getting ready to run.

“Hey! Fuck! Can you not hear me?”

His booming voice rang in the alleyway. Her body flinched and momentarily froze.

That was the ultimate mistake. She felt a crashing hand grab her shoulder, and her world spun. By the time she regained her senses, she saw the second-year student representative from her department panting through his nose as he stood in front of her.

“Hey! I asked if you couldn’t hear me!”

When she heard the second-year student rep yell, Jiwon quietly chewed the inside of her cheek. Having come to the conclusion that she could no longer escape, Jiwon stretched her lips into an awkward smile.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I had earphones in my ears, so I didn’t realize someone was calling out to me.”

Jiwon showed him the wireless earphones that were inside her ears. Then she quickly put them inside its charging case before he could check to see if music was coming out of them or not.

However, the student rep stretched out his hand as if he were about to snatch them away. Jiwon pushed the case into her pocket so that he couldn’t grab them from her. Then she innocently looked up at him.

“But why did you call out?”

“Hey, we were sharing drinks together, so how could you just leave without saying goodbye? Huh?”

“Ah… but I did say goodbye before I left.”

Jiwon kept the discomfort from showing on her face and answered back with a soft voice.

“But you didn’t say it to me. Directly to me.”

…And why should I?

Jiwon forced the frown from forming on her face. Then she asked back.

“Ah… Haha. But is it okay for a senior student representative to come out like this? I’m sure they’re all looking for you.”

“Senior? You sure don’t like to listen. I told you to call me ‘oppa’. ‘Oppa’.”

“……”

Unable to endure this any longer, Jiwon frowned.  This man had taken another year to study for the entrance exams, so he was one year older than her. But the word ‘oppa’ was unable to leave her lips. She knew that the moment she said ‘oppa’, he would stick even more closely to her.

“And even if they’re looking for me, they are probably all aware that I only came out because of you. Huu, actually, I’m glad this happened. Let’s not stand here like this and go somewhere else. I know a good bar around here.”

The student rep draped his arm around Jiwon’s shoulders. Her frown deepened. She looked at his arm with disgust. She could feel him intentionally lower his arm so that it touched her chest.

“I’m sorry. My parents are waiting at home, so…”

Jiwon quickly took a step forward and escaped his arm.

She wanted to curse at him with all her heart, but she knew that all men turned into dogs after drinking, and she didn’t want to anger him inside a dark and empty alleyway. And she knew that if she were beaten and sent to the hospital, there wouldn’t be anyone to take care of her either.

“Ha, are you serious?”

The student rep let out a bitter scoff.

Jiwon suddenly felt that she had done something wrong.

“Hey, I know that’s all bullshit. I heard you live alone.”

The forced smile slowly disappeared from Jiwon’s face when she heard his words. When she silently stared at him, the student rep scoffed.

“Hey, you’re real funny, you know that? It’s not like I’m trying to do anything to you, so why are you using your parents as an excuse? Did I ask you to go to a motel with me? Or anything like that? Why are you making such a fuss?”

“…How did you know?”

Jiwon asked in a low voice.

“About what?”

“That I lived alone. I’ve… never told anyone that.”

“You said so.”

“No, I didn’t.”

When Jiwon answered back with a firm voice, the student rep froze. Jiwon had never told anyone that she lived alone. Nothing good would come from telling people that a woman lived alone.

“Ah, really? Well, it was obvious.”

He said shamelessly as if he hadn’t hesitated just a moment ago.

“Why is it obvious that I live alone?”

When Jiwon asked in a sharp voice, the student rep laughed.

“Hey, you live in the Goldenville apartment complex. How can you live with your parents in a one-room apartment? No matter how poor you are, you can’t live there with your parents. It’s not like you’re sleeping while standing up.”

“Then how did you know that I live in Goldenville?”

“Hey, why are you asking so many questions? Fuck, I could have just found out naturally. Either way, you lied to me, so you should buy me a drink. Then I’ll forgive you.”

I’ll be generous and forgive your rude behavior. The student rep’s expression seemed to be saying this as he gazed at her. Unable to stand this any longer, Jiwon flashed him a crooked smile.

“You don’t have to forgive me, so please just go away.”

Jiwon spit out the words. It didn’t seem like he was the kind of person who would leave if she spoke to him kindly. Unable to hold back, she shook off his hand from her shoulder. She was extremely annoyed right now.

She had been stupid. She shouldn’t have trusted this guy when he told her that the professors would give extra points to students who attended the departmental welcome party. She didn’t think she had anything to lose, so she came, only to find out that none of the professors had attended the party because they were all at a seminar right now.

As soon as she heard this, she decided to just count this as a loss and escape, but the student representative had followed her out. And she was tricked again when he told her he’d tell her what kinds of questions were on the final exam the previous year if she bought him a drink. For the past thirty minutes, he did not mention the exam or any other information on the curriculum.

He merely bragged about himself the whole time.

Feeling that it would be a waste of time to stay any longer, Jiwon excused herself, claiming she needed to use the restroom, and made her escape. However, like a crazy dog, the student rep chased after her and continued to bother her.

“Hey!”

He grabbed her shoulder again. This time, he was more forceful, and she couldn’t help but let out a shocked cry. When she lifted her head, she saw the student rep’s face as he huffed with anger.

“Are you looking down on me? Who are you to tell me to forgive you or not? Who do you think you are? Huh? Acting out all because you have a pretty face. I was only trying to take care of you because I felt bad that you were going around school by yourself, but you repay my kindness with this bullshit? You fucking bitch.”

He took a step towards her. She could smell the liquor on his breath. It smelled as if the snacks he had tossed into his mouth as he drank the soju had rotted. Her stomach churned, and she felt like she was going to vomit. Her final strand of reason snapped.

“You don’t have to take care of me, so stop bothering me and leave.”

“Informal speech? Did you just speak to me informally?”

“What? You can curse, but I can’t speak informally?”

“Wow, you’re a funny girl. I thought you were pretty and cared for you, but now you’re attacking me?”

“Who are you to care for me? I don’t need any of that, so get lost…! Ugh!”

“You crazy bitch!”

He began to press down on her shoulder. It throbbed as if it were being torn out of its socket. Her legs gave out. Meanwhile, tears began to pool in her eyes.

She had never asked him to care for her, so why was he acting like this? This wasn’t fair. It made her angry.

“Let’s go. I need to properly discipline bitches like you.”

Perhaps it was because he was angry or due to liquor, but the student rep’s words grew slurred. His grip on her shoulder grew even stronger.

“Am I crazy? Why would I follow you?! Get lost!”

Jiwon used all her strength to push the man away. However, she could not beat his drunken strength.

“Fuck, you evil bitch. I cared for you, but your speech is fucking nasty.”

His drunken strength was incredibly strong. He began to drag her away. Jiwon collapsed and pushed her hips back as she frantically looked around.

“Save me!”

But she couldn’t see anyone in this dark alleyway. Because this was a redevelopment zone, there weren’t even any buildings with its lights on. Filled with anxiety, her eyes began to water. She didn’t know what would happen after this student rep dragged her away. She could tell with one glance that this guy wasn’t in his right mind.

“Do you think you’re the first pretty girl I’ve seen? Fuck, I cared for you, and you’re full of bullshit.”

“Someone help, mmph!”

As she screamed out again, a thick hand covered her mouth.

“Fuck, shut up!”

The menacing student rep’s face suddenly changed.

He must have thought of something because the whites of his eyes suddenly turned red. He looked around. Then he licked his lips.

A shiver ran down her spine. She frantically tried to squirm out of his grasp, but the student rep quickly pushed her down and sat on her.

When the man sat on her stomach, Jiwon lost her breath. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t escape. While she writhed, her shoes fell off her feat, and the back of her head throbbed from being dragged around the asphalt.

“Move! Fuck!”

She moved her arms around as she screamed, but there was nothing to grab. Her palms got scraped up on the pavement.

“See? If we shared a few drinks, we could have just done it comfortably on a bed. Aagh!”

Jiwon bit down on the student rep’s hand with all her might.

“Move! Let go! I’m going to report you! You crazy son of a bitch!”

“You fucking bitch, until the very end!”

A large hand snatched her hair. Ugh! A groan automatically spilled out of her mouth. Her vision grew hazy, and her surroundings seemed to spin around her.

But Jiwon mustered all her strength to move her elbows around to push him away. Even though it didn’t do anything to shove his hands away, she couldn’t just stay still and do nothing. But tears continued to trickle out of her eyes.

Why did she have to suffer because of this crazy bastard? She had lived a good, kind life, hadn’t she?

This wasn’t fair. She felt angry. She felt scared.

Her tears caused her vision to grow blurry when…

Suddenly, something red and yellow flashed before her eyes.

Thud!

She heard a dull sound as the pressure on her hips disappeared. With the black sky as its backdrop, red and yellow leaves flew in the air like pollen. It was an odd sight. For a moment, she wondered if she had lost her mind.

“Uuugh!”

She gripped her dizzy head and barely managed to turn around. The first thing she saw was a bouquet of flowers rolling around on the ground.

…Why? What was that doing here?

There was no time to ask such questions. A long shadow burst out of nowhere. A large figure appeared, making her wonder why she hadn’t noticed him before now. It grabbed the student rep’s neck as he groaned on the ground.

The student rep was of average male build, but the figure easily grabbed his neck and lifted him up with one hand. Jiwon could hardly believe her eyes.

As the man lifted the student rep up by his neck, his arm was clearly illuminated by the streetlight. His thick muscles were well-defined, and a large dragon was wound around his arm.

Jiwon knew who this tattooed man was.

Actually, everyone who went to her school knew who that man was.

There was only one man on campus who was as tall as this man and also wore a tattoo on his arm with such confidence.

Jiwon gazed at the man’s back in confusion.

Why was that sunbae… here?

“Why, ugh, are you…? This is a misunderstanding. Ugh!”

The student rep’s voice was choppy as if he couldn’t breathe.

“You? You fucking son of a bitch. Am I your friend?”

The low, terrifying voice rang in the alleyway.

“Let, ugh, g-go!”

The student rep writhed to shake off the man’s hands that were gripping his throat. He tried to pry his fingers off, but it must not have worked because he promptly began to hit his arms and pinch his wrists.

It wasn’t all that different from what she had been doing when she was trying to escape from the student rep. She didn’t know if she should laugh or cry, so she merely stared blankly at the scene.

The man, who had been silent while the student rep continued to hit him, suddenly laughed. Instead of feeling insulted by his mocking laugh, the student rep grew even more pale.

“Ow, ow.”

Even though the man’s voice wasn’t very loud, she could clearly hear what he was saying. But Jiwon couldn’t believe her ears. The word ‘Ow’ didn’t seem to suit this large man.

“It hurts a lot.”

“……”

Even a person who happened to pass by in a car wouldn’t think that he was hurt.

“This means you’re the one who hit me first.”

“Keuk, ugh.”

“This is self-defense. I’m really hurt right now.”

The man laughed after saying these words and pulled his fist back.

Thud!

A blunt sound rang in the alleyway.

…Did he explode?

That was the first thought that came to mind. The noise sounded so hollow. Because the large man was blocking her view, she couldn’t see the student rep. Therefore, she felt like her question was valid.

Thud!

The blunt sound rang out once again. Thankfully, the student rep didn’t seem like he had exploded. She vaguely saw the student rep helplessly swaying as the man grabbed the back of his neck. The problem was that it seemed like the student rep had fainted.

But the man did not stop.

Thud! Thud!

The sound of the beatings caused goosebumps to form on her skin.

She returned to reality a moment later. Jiwon had been blankly watching the scene because she had lost her sense of reality. But now, fear began to creep up, starting from the tips of her toes.

She was relieved she was able to escape the student rep, but the person who was beating up the student rep in question was not in his right mind either.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t continue to beat the student rep, who had already fainted long ago.

She felt like she had come across a villain who was worse than the villain he had defeated.

What should she do? Maybe she should just make her escape for now… But if she did that, it might put the man who had saved her in a tough position.

Unable to do this or that, she remained in her spot as she pondered what to do.

Tap!

The man tossed the student rep as if he were tossing out the garbage from his house before turning around.

At this moment, Jiwon regretted not running away.

She could see his gleaming eyes in the darkness. If it was just his face, he would be a handsome guy, but paired with his incredibly tall height, the tattoo peeking out from under his short-sleeved t-shirt, the fierce expression on his face, and the overwhelming aura that seemed to surround him, he was quite a terrifying man.

She wasn’t sure what she should say and remained frozen in her spot. Meanwhile, the man folded his knees and sat down. He was still taller than her.

Was this what it felt like to face a savage beast?

“…Hel…lo.”

As if presenting her harmlessness to a savage beast, Jiwon forced a smile. Seeing this, the man raised a brow.

“Do you know me?”

“…Yes, I do.”

Jiwon forced out a strained laugh to maintain her harmless appeal.

“How do you know me?”

The man slowly rubbed his brows as they furrowed. His unexpected question flustered Jiwon, and her eyes trembled.

“Again, how do you know me?”

The man repeated his question as he frowned.

“…You’re a sunbae from school. And you’re… quite famous, too.”

Jiwon’s voice grew thin and small when she said the word ‘famous’.

This man in front of her was truly famous. When he had first started attending the university, an upperclassman was trying to discipline him, and this man had slapped him on the cheek, sending him flying in an arch like a scene from a movie. This story was quite famous on campus.

And that wasn’t all. After beating up another upperclassman, he was sued. But a few days later, the upperclassman disappeared, making the story all the more famous. It was said that the upperclassman who was beaten had taken a leave of absence, but no one had seen him since.

Since then, there were rumors claiming he was the son of a criminal organization or the only son of a gangster family, that he had buried that upperclassman in a ditch in the hills, or that the upperclassman had gone away to live in a foreign country because he was threatened by this sunbae’s family.

The problem was that this sunbae had never refuted any of these rumors. Because of this, the rumors were verified as fact by default.

“Me?”

His eyes looked fierce as he asked.

….Ah, had she made a mistake?

Once again, Jiwon was so flustered that she didn’t know what to do. What should she say? As she frantically searched for the words, the man opened his mouth first.

“Do you know my name?”

“Yes. Kang Haesung-sunbae-nim!”

Jiwon quickly answered. The man did not respond. But somehow, his expression seemed to have eased slightly.

His raised brow lowered somewhat. He swept his hand down his face before looking at Jiwon once again.

“Are you hurt?”

“Not at all!”

“Your elbows are bleeding.”

“Ah…”

The man clicked his tongue and waved his hand.

“You should go now.”

“…What?”

“You should go to the hospital.”

When she heard Haesung’s words, her eyes went to the crumpled body of the student rep on the ground.

“Wouldn’t it be better to report this to the police and explain what happened? Or…”

Jiwon’s stuttering voice came to a halt. This was because the man’s eyes, which had been briefly resting on the student rep, suddenly turned to her. Even though their surroundings were dark, she could clearly feel his gaze, and it made her heart sink.

“Police?”

“……”

Ah, she made a mistake.

Jiwon realized too late and bit her tongue.

This man might be associated with a criminal organization, so how could she suggest the police to him? And if they reported it now, the student rep wouldn’t be the one who was taken away. It would be this man.

“It’s fine, so just go.”

“……”

“I’ll take care of that.”

His voice sounded cold. His choice of words were terrifying enough, but what was even scarier was his cool gaze as he looked at the student rep.

“Aren’t you going to go?”

At Haesung’s urging, Jiwon awkwardly got to her feet. Unable to win against his fierce gaze, she began to walk away.

But she still felt uncomfortable leaving like this, so she turned around. The man was still standing in front of the student rep and staring at her.

Like a savage beast who had its prey right in front of it, his eyes gleamed.

Jiwon flinched and faced the front once again and began to walk.

Thud! Thud!

She could hear the terrifying sound of beatings behind her.

* * *

Even though it was now September, the weather was still quite warm. It was said that a late typhoon would soon arrive, and as expected, the wind was humid.

On the way to school from her studio apartment, Jiwon stopped by a cafe on the side of the road and bought a cup of iced americano. She usually didn’t buy it because she didn’t want to waste money, but she had no choice but to drink it today. It was because of yesterday’s events.

“Huu.”

She let out a long sigh. She wasn’t feeling very well.

Last night, Jiwon returned to her senses as she came home and wondered if she should call the police. Judging from the student rep’s condition, he needed an ambulance more than the police. But as she picked up her phone, she suddenly remembered the man’s eyes flashing in the darkness.

Unlike his tranquil and pretty name, Kang Haesung, the man exuded a fierce aura from head to toe. Even though he was only wearing a white t-shirt and standing there, he looked like some kind of human weapon.

No matter how she looked at it, she felt that if she called the police, the one who would be captured was not the student rep but Kang Haesung.

She didn’t want to humiliate the person who had saved her, so she ultimately put down her phone. But the emotions from that night did not go away.

She thought it would be better to just worry about all this tomorrow and decided to take a shower and go to sleep. However, sleep evaded her.

She got up and checked the door lock and made sure it was latched. Only after she closed and locked all the windows did she barely manage to fall asleep. But even then, she had a strange dream.

She was on a quiz variety show, and she was tasked with finding the real wall. She wondered what kind of quiz this could be as she pushed one of the two hard walls. Suddenly, the wall turned around and asked, ‘Do you know me?’

Why is the wall talking… Just as she asked herself this question, a face and body appeared on the wall, and it transformed into Kang Haesung. She cried out in surprise and woke up. It was 7 AM.

Because her dream was so chaotic, she didn’t even want to go back to sleep. After waking up, she took a shower, ate breakfast, and went out to go to school. Out of habit, Jiwon checked her phone.

She was worried that the police would call her, but she hadn’t heard anything yet. She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. Jiwon took a sip of her iced americano through the straw and furrowed her brow.

Should she make a report to the police now, even if it was a bit late? But even if she did, it was unclear whether there were any CCTV cameras in that redevelopment area.

She was worried that Kang Haesung would suffer for helping her… And she was also afraid that Kang Haesung would retaliate if he ran into trouble, saying something like, ‘I saved you, but you repay my kindness like this?’

Jiwon stepped into the classroom and suddenly came to a halt.

Even though it was early in the morning, someone with a large frame was already sitting in the classroom. And they were sitting in the back seat where she usually sat.

But why was a third-year sunbae in the economics department sitting in a second-year class…

Should she back out and run away while she still had the chance? Or should she go out and buy something to give him as thanks? As she thought about what to do, Kang Haesung turned his head, and their eyes met.

Jiwon flinched. Kang Haesung looked at her as if he were asking her why she was just standing there like that.

“Hel…lo.”

Having lost her chance to escape, Jiwon awkwardly smiled and entered the classroom. Kang Haesung nonchalantly answered, ‘Yeah.’ Then silence settled over them once again.

Jiwon sat down a few seats away from Haesung. As she was quietly preparing for class, she felt his gaze from a distance.

Jiwon gulped. Even though she wasn’t the type of person to be intimidated by other people, his harsh aura was too scary. After seeing him beating someone up in front of her eyes this past Sunday, she wondered if the rumors about him being a gangster were true.

But she couldn’t avoid him just because she was afraid of him.

Jiwon agonized over this for a while. Then she looked up with a smile. His eyes had been looking at her this whole time.

Kang Haesung lifted a brow. For some reason, she felt like he was in a good mood. After hesitating for a bit, she finally opened her mouth.

“Sunbae… thank you so much for last night. I wanted to thank you yesterday, but I didn’t know how to contact you, so I wasn’t able to. Either way, I’m truly very grateful.”

“……”

Despite hearing her string of thanks, Kang Haesung didn’t say a word in response. As soon as Jiwon stopped talking, another suffocating silence settled over them.

“Sunbae, were you alright last night? Did someone report you…”

Feeling like she was drowning in this silence, she decided to say whatever came to mind and opened her mouth.

“I’m sure he will once he wakes up.”

His low voice rang in the air.

“Who will?”

“That son of a bitch.”

“……”

Why does his voice also sound like that? So scary. And did that mean the student rep was still unconscious? After beating him into a bloody pulp, did this sunbae come to class as if nothing happened?

Jiwon’s face grew pale, and she lowered her eyes, unable to look at Kang Haesung any longer.

Her eyes naturally gazed at his thick arm. There was a thin scratch on the arm with the tattoo. The wound looked quite fresh.

“By any chance… Did you get that wound last night?”

Jiwon gazed at the wound with worry.

Seeing how he took care of his figure, she could tell that he cared a lot about his body… Would he torment her because of his injury? No, was the student rep as good as dead?

Either way, it had something to do with her. He had gotten injured because he had saved her, so she didn’t feel particularly good about it.

Haesung glanced at his arm and frowned. Jiwon reflexively flinched.

“Uh… Are you hurt anywhere else? I’m worried you’re not feeling well, Sunbae.”

“What could an unconscious bastard possibly do?”

“…T-That’s true.”

Jiwon recalled how the student rep had fainted in the brawl and stuttered back an answer.

“What about you?”

Jiwon flinched when she heard his blunt voice.

“Pardon?”

“Are you okay?”

“Ah… Yes, I’m fine.”

Jiwon laughed. Haesung’s face stiffened.

“Yeah, right.”

“……”

“Did you go to the hospital?”

“…No.”

“Why not?”

Haesung’s eyes widened. His large eyes grew even larger. Jiwon flinched.

“…I’ll go today.”

“Make sure you do.”

His voice made it sound like she’d be in big trouble if she didn’t go.

“Yes, sir.”

“Did you file a police report?”

“…No, I didn’t. I most definitely did not.”

Jiwon answered him in a firm voice. Haesung seemed to have a problem with it and frowned. Even though it was a simple change in expression, the atmosphere grew tense.

Did I say something wrong? Was I supposed to tell him I had no intention of reporting it to the police? And how should she repay him? If she didn’t do anything to thank him for saving her, she felt like it would only bring trouble down the road. She better repay him and escape from this uncomfortable situation. With that in mind, she opened her mouth.

“But you should still file a report…”

“Sunbae…”

They spoke at the same time. Flustered, Jiwon’s eyes widened.

“Go ahead.”

Haesung spoke up.

“Not at all. You speak first, Sunbae.”

“I told you to go ahead.”

“Uh… Sunbae. Are you hurt anywhere else? Should we… go to the hospital together? Or if you get checked out, make sure to send the bill my way. And… what do you like? If there’s something you like, I’ll buy it for you.”

Haesung tilted his head when he heard Jiwon’s words. He acted as if he hadn’t expected this.

“Thank you for last night. If the student rep reports you to the police and a problem comes up, please let me know. I’ll be your witness.”

Jiwon quickly added. Haesung opened his mouth to respond when…

The doors to the classroom opened, and students began to flood in. Haesung closed his mouth and turned his eyes back to the front.

The second-year students entering the class discovered Haesung and all lowered their heads in greeting.

A strange silence settled inside the classroom.