chapter 11

“Hey, Hyung-ssi. If you don’t want that hand of yours to be broken, you better let go.”

“Huh?”

Kwajik!

“Aaaaaaaagh!”

“Ah!”

In that fleeting moment, she was unable to comprehend what had occurred.

As soon as that huge shadow had fallen across her face, she had closed her eyes.

But that scream had been real enough.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Park Deokgu, who was silently looking down, and Yoo Seokwoo, who had fallen to the ground, screaming.

“Deok-Deokgu-ssi?”

“Ahhhngaaaa…”

“I had no idea we had this brand of scumbag here. Alright, it’s not broken, so don’t be such a crybaby.”

“Aaaaagh…”

A large fist cut through the air once more. The sound of an impact rang out as the blow fell precisely on Yoo Seokwoo’s head.

It was almost unreal to see him sent sprawling to the floor as though a heavy, blunt weapon had struck him.

“Ahhhh! Uh… Uhhh…”

“Quit pretending. I didn’t even hit you that hard… Someone might think you were a wailing newborn with all the racket you’re making.

A big foot struck out, and Yoo Seokwoo’s body was thrown into the air.

He had been kicked.

Seeing him crashing into the wall, Jung Hayan was afraid that the situation would spiral into something bigger.

“I-It’s okay now, so please stop. You’re going to hurt him. Deok-Deokgu-ssi.”

“Ah…”

The glare he shot in Yoo Seokwoo’s direction was vaguely terrifying.

However, if she didn’t stop him now, then perhaps Yoo Seokwoo’s death would really come to pass.

Seeing Yoo Seokwoo hunched over and trembling on the ground made her anxious.

“Don’t worry too much, Noonim. All I did was give him a little shove and a kick. Well, this Hyung-ssi is just a cry-baby…”

That wasn’t why she was anxious.

She could see some people rushing over after hearing Yoo Seokwoo’s screams.

“Stop!”

“…”

“What are you doing? Seokwoo-ssi, are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine…”

The most conspicuous of them was, of course, Lee Jihye. As she led her herd towards them, abject confusion shone in her eyes.

“Hey, what the hell is going on here? Violence is forbidden within the shelter.”

“That man sexually harassed Hayan-ssi. So I gave him a beating.”

“Is that true?”

“I saw it with my own two eyes.”

“It’s…not.”

“What?”

“O-of course, it might have looked misleading because I grabbed Hayan-ssi’s hand… B-But he was mistaken…”

“You’re still running your mouth.”

“Alright, that’s enough, Deokgu oppa. Like I said, violence is prohibited here. Even if Seokwoo-ssi did something wrong, hastily swinging your fists at someone without hearing them out first creates disharmony amongst group members. This way of doing things… is not right. Before anything else, you need to determine if anything wrong is even taking place.”

“…”

“Seokwoo-ssi, did you really grasp Hayan-ssi’s hand to then sexually harass her?”

“N-n-n-no. A-absolutely not. I never meant to do such a thing.”

“Then what Deokgu oppa saw…”

“I-I think there was a bit of a misunderstanding. O-of course, it’s true that I expressed my feelings towards Hayan-ssi, but I mistakenly thought that Hayan-ssi had accepted them… I-I think that’s what happened.”

“Really?”

“Yes, yes… R-really.”

“Please repeat exactly what you said.”

“I told Hayan-ssi I wanted to get closer to her, and Hayan-ssi reciprocated… I guess I was just mistaken.”

“Hayan-ssi, please clarify. Is what Seokwoo-ssi just said true?”

Several gazes landed on her. Of course, this wasn’t something she could suddenly get used to.

It was because their gazes were far from being friendly.

She quickly realised that there was no one on her side.

As her arms and legs started to shake from tension, Lee Jihye’s face, and her stare as though urging her to hurry up and speak, came into her view.

For some reason, she had trouble opening her mouth.

“T-that’s true. B-but after that, Seok-Seok-Seokwoo-ssi… F-forcibly pulled my arm, and… that if I want to have a pleasant time here… H-he spoke like that… I-I was a little surprised…”

“Please speak properly, Hayan-ssi. I can’t understand what you’re saying. Take it step by step.”

“S-so…”

“So it’s true that Seokwoo-ssi said he wanted to get closer to Hayan-ssi and you agreed?”

“Sorry? Yes… B-but I didn’t know what he meant… I-I didn’t know…”

“I asked whether it’s true.”

“I-it’s true. B-but…”

“Excuse me, Hayan-ssi.”

“Yes?”

“So isn’t it Hayan-ssi who acted misleadingly and allowed this situation to develop? Come to think of it, you’ve been hanging out with Seokwoo-ssi ever since you came here. Am I wrong?”

“That’s true, but… It was always… Seok-Seokwoo-ssi who approached first…”

“This is what happens when your behaviour is problematic.”

“No… Well, that’s…”

“Do you think it is acceptable to create this type of misunderstanding and then back down like that? The same goes for Deokgu oppa. I can’t believe you hit a person without even considering the actual situation…”

When she turned her head a little to look at Park Deokgu, she noticed a tinge of confusion on his face.

He was likely thinking, ‘Maybe I made a mistake.’

“Is he telling the truth? Noonim?”

“I-I did agree that we should get closer… B-but…”

She was so bewildered she didn’t even know where to begin.

She had no idea how to respond to this situation which had popped up out of nowhere, or how she could fix it.

Her face flushed and her eyes filled with tears.

“Do you think crying will solve anything?”

“I- I’m sorry. I… I…”

“It’s not a matter of whether you’re sorry or not. To be honest, the mood in the shelter hasn’t been good recently… Deokgu oppa… Of course, I appreciate you giving a helping hand to a woman in a situation like this, but don’t act so rashly unless you know what’s going on. I think you were a little… too reckless this time.”

“Yeah…”

“Especially when it’s a situation where it’s unclear who the victim and perpetrator are…”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Am I the one you should be apologising to?”

“Apologise directly to the victim, Seokwoo-ssi.”

“S, S… Sorry…”

“What’s going on here?”

***

“What’s going on here?”

I already knew the answer.

It was a situation that I could read with ease.

I was expecting something to happen sooner or later, but not like this.

I had never imagined that they would launch an offensive filled with accusations at this scale.

Park Deokgu wore an embarrassed expression and seemed to be on the verge of tears. Meanwhile, Jung Hayan was shedding tears like a waterfall.

Of course, there was no such thing as ‘justice’ here.

At a glance, the assailant and victim were clear.

Well, it was none of my business if Jung Hayan really tried to take advantage of Yoo Seokwoo, however the fact that Jung Hayan was in a tight spot was a matter of considerable importance.

At my appearance, Lee Jihye was the first to speak.

“It’s good to see you, Kiyoung oppa. Presently…!”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Sorry?”

“Jihye-ssi, are you out of your mind?”

“W-what are you…”

“Do you think this is some kind of local playground? Do you think no one will hear you when you’re making such a large commotion? Just because we leave the shelter regularly to clear outside, that doesn’t mean we can’t take care of internal matters as well.”

She seemed to have realised that she had made a mistake.

“Ah… So the situation right now is…”

“I saw it from afar, so I roughly know what’s going on, Jihye-ssi. Just as Jihye-ssi said, in a situation like this, where the assailant and the victim have yet to be clearly identified, even I would be scared if I were cornered by a group such as this. And yet, what situation do we have right now?”

“But that woman is clearly the one at fault…”

“Jihye-ssi, can you say for sure that Seokwoo-ssi is wholly innocent?”

I was fairly certain that she couldn’t.

The moment those words left her lips, it would become her, not Yoo Seokwoo, who would bear the responsibility for them.

And so, she had grown hesitant, displaying an anxious and flustered appearance.

“And based on Hayan-ssi’s reaction, I don’t think that is the case…. But most of all, Hayan-ssi isn’t that kind of person. I can guarantee that.”

My ‘guarantee’ was over the top. Completely over the top.

Right then, I was just talking nonsense.

It was such an embarrassing remark, even I wanted to laugh at it.

Jung Hayan, who probably felt that she wasn’t worth the hassle, was likely extremely grateful for a statement in her defense.

But others wouldn’t feel the same.

When on Earth would I have gotten to know her so well that I could even vouch for her?

Aside from her Pure Advocate disposition, I had no other reason to vouch for her.

As a matter of fact, there were many points worthy of mention.

In the first place, it was wrong to question the victim from a standpoint that they had done something wrong when the crime involved sexual harassment.

There was no way that Lee Jihye, a woman, wouldn’t know that. Her insistence on siding with Yoo Seokwoo was likely done with the intention of furthering the exclusion of outsiders and consolidating her existing power.

Or maybe the goal was to screw with Jung Hayan from the start.

I wouldn’t mind refuting her logic, but simply pushing my agenda forward in this case would work just as well.

No, not ‘just as well’.

Because…

‘I’m in control.’

I was the one in power here.

What I meant, was that my authority was heavier than anyone else’s here.

“Hayan-ssi doesn’t deserve this.”

“Ah… that…”

There was a great contrast between Jung Hayan, who stared at me whilst wiping her tears, and those who glared at Jung Hayan with hostility clear in their gazes.

Perhaps in their minds this was a very unreasonable situation. Someone who appeared out of the blue and browbeat them into letting go of the situation, was also seemingly overly partial to one person.

Of course, I wouldn’t be the hated one.

I looked toward Jung Hayan.

A woman favoured by the powerful.

She was bound to become an object of hatred; a person whom everyone else could not help but direct their dissatisfaction at.

Especially for someone like Lee Jihye.

“Everyone’s still just standing around… Yoo Seokwoo-ssi needs to get his injuries treated. However, after that, I will ask him to explain the exact situation again. For now, let’s move Seokwoo-ssi first.”

“Y-yes sir.”

“Jihye-ssi, please clean up this place quickly, so that you can start your daily activities. It will soon be time for Hyunsung-ssi to return. Monsters might start rushing in at any moment, so Deokgu, please patrol the surrounding area.”

“A-alright, Hyung-nim.”

“Also… Hayan-ssi, I’d like to speak with you for a second.”

“Yes.”

Some people were whispering, Lee Jihye was biting her lips, and Yoo Seokwoo seemed to be rather fretful.

I could clearly see what all of them were thinking.

I could make out some of their words, but no one openly disapproved of my actions.

“What… that woman.”

“Bitch.”

There was a much better ‘prey’ than me, after all.

“Come with me.”

“Ah… yes.”

Rather than someone powerful, the kind that was easy pickings.