Chapter 36 - Hanging Out in Hongdae (Part 2)

“What?”

The guy became angry. And so did I. I wasn’t about to let some trash of a guy touch Jia. You can call it jealousy if you want, but it was more of a paternal instinct, if you will. And my father-like alarms were shooting up all kinds of red flags with this guy.

“I said fuck off. What are you? Deaf?”

“What? Hahaha!”

The guy threw his head back and laughed, clearly at me. But I knew he was caught off guard. This is probably the first time a girl had spoken to him like I had.

“Look at her.”

He raised his hand as if he was about to slap me. But then he put it down and said, “Wow, what a bitch.”

And with that, he turned and left.

“Sian, are you okay?” Jia asked, looking slightly scared.

“No, I’m not.”

How could I be? I felt as if I was about to explode.

“Sian, let’s just go.”

Jia stood up but I sat her back down. I looked at all the food.

“Let’s finish this first.”

I didn’t want our food and beer to go to waste.

“What if they come back?”

“Doesn’t matter. Right now, it’s the food that’s important.”

I lifted my beer and began to drink.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Gulp.

Gulp gulp gulp gulp gulp...

It was better than I imagined.

“Whoa, in one go...”

Jia gasped. Of course she was surprised – who chugs an entire pint of beer? I could feel my body getting hot, so I forced my body to calm down.

“It’s not enough.”

“....”

“Is this good?”

I picked up the salty and slightly spicy fries. It was a new experience. I’ve never tasted anything like this before.

“Wow!”

Each fry was about the size of my finger, but I picked them up three at a time and shoved them into my mouth. Then I enhanced my hearing so that I could hear what that bastard and his friends were saying at their table.

What’s up with that Sian girl?

Fucking pig. She’s one of the original members of Lovely Girlz.

A pig? She’s so skinny.

She lost all that weight. But she’ll get it back, with the way she’s eating and all.

Should I try to get her number?

Go ahead. I barely stopped myself from hitting her earlier. She’s a bitch.

Really? But catty girls have their appeal, don’t they?

Should I try to seduce Jia?

You think you can?

Just look at her. You can tell she’s the easy type. I bet she’ll do whatever you want if you pay her.

Then, can I try first?

Go get yourself another slut. You have money.

You too, asshole. You’re an heir to a company, remember?

Your dad’s a university president.

Whatever, I’m going to try for Jia again. If Sian gets up in my face again, I might really hit her.

We’ll back you up.

“Pfft.”

I snorted at what I heard. This is the beauty of having some extra powers. You can eavesdrop on conversations that are far away from you.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve had a workout.’

After Chun-ah and Jun-jin, I haven’t really had the opportunity to beat anyone else up, and I was just itching for a fight. Good timing, I guess.

I checked the locations of the security cameras and made Jia sit on the opposite side of them. And I changed my position slightly as well. I laid down the trap. Now I just had to wait. And speak of the devil – he was back. But this time, he wasn’t alone.

“Hey, Jia?”

“Uh…yeah...?”

Jia looked up. The look of fear increased as she stared at him.

“Do you want to come have a drink with me?”

The guy unclasped his watch and held it out to her.

“This is..”

“It’s not much, but…please accept it. It’s swiss made, but it’s only like 20 grand.”

“Oh!”

Jia gasped at the price. The guy smiled and grabbed Jia’s wrist. So I grabbed his.

“Let me go.”

“You first.”

“Wow. You don’t know when to quit, do you?”

The guy began to shout, catching the attention of everyone in the pub. A few took their phones out and began to take photos and videos. Some had already been taking photos since earlier.

“I said let go.”

The guy lifted his hand, as if to slap me. I squeezed his wrist in response.

“Argh!”

He cried out. His hand came down on my cheek.

Slap!

My face did a complete 90 degree turn. And I knew it was caught on the security camera. Not just that either. Judging by the phones, I’d say he was caught on at least a dozen phone cameras as we. There’s no doubt that I was slapped. Now, it was my turn.

I turned my head back and looked at him. I smirked.

“You think this is funny?”

He lifted his hand again. I quickly punched him in the nose.

Wham!

“Ah!”

The bastard was thrown back, clutching his nose with both hands. I jumped off the table and gave him a side kick square to the chest.

Bam!

“Argh!”

Bam! Thud!!!

The bastard fell down, and the pub became a public viewing space.

“You bitch!”

One of his friends put his hand on my shoulder. I kicked him in the groin.

Bam!

“Ugh!”

The guy fell to his knees. Another one did a right hook. Of course, I ducked the blow and gave him a one-two in the chest.

Bam! Bam!

“Argh…ergh…!”

The guy clutched his chest and tried to step away, but I grabbed him by the scalp and brought him to his knees. Hard.

Thud!

His head made a noise as it hit the floor. Another one came running at me and I pushed my chair. It hit him in the thigh and caused him to slip. I flew in the air and did a series of scissor kicks to his face.

Slam! Bam! Wham!

If I had used my full strength, he would’ve lost his head. Thankfully, I refrained myself. This is enough.

Then I walked over to stand in a camera blind spot. Everyone watched. I held my hand up and gestured to the first guy. Everyone turned to watch the guy, and I quickly picked up a napkin dispenser and threw it at him.

Bam!

(Bullseye!)

The dispenser hit him square in the face and the guy went down. And no one had seen what I had done.

Suddenly, the police came.

***

We left after answering a few questions. Jinwoo showed up almost immediately with a lawyer in tow so there really was nothing left for me or for Jia to do.

“Sian, are you okay?”

“No.”

“I...I’m sorry...It’s my fault.”

“It’s not that. I just wish I could’ve hit them more.”

I wasn’t kidding. I really wish I could. If I could have, I would’ve beat them to the inch of death, but I held myself back because of the cameras. I do have an image to protect, hence I need to restrain myself.

“Hey, Sian.”

“What?”

“You’re number one on the search site.”

“Again?”

How many times has that been now? Honestly, it wasn’t that exciting anymore.

“There’s already a video of your fight.”

“What do the comments say?”

“They’re all saying you did a good job.”

“That’s good.”

I fought against a group of men, 4 to 1. And everyone could clearly see that I was just trying to protect Jia, not to mention that I had gotten hit in the process. Who could blame me after all that...if they did, well, screw them.

Anyways, the video made the public see me in a new light and I gained more fans. Especially female ones...also, the guys who tried to assault me and Jia had their information blown up on the internet, including stuff about their families. It was also just released that they may have to serve time in prison.

“But you know Sian, you’re really good at fighting.”

“You just realized that?”

“Yeah,” Jia said, plastering herself next to me.

“It’s hot. Go away.”

“No!”

It seemed like the incident made her more attached to me...Not that I’m complaining.

“But Jinwoo looked really mad.”

Jinwoo looked furious at the police station. But not at us. He was mad at the guys who had tried to assault us. Since we were from a prestigious entertainment company, it didn’t matter how connected those guys were. And if the case wasn’t handled fairly, I would personally make sure to make the boys regret it. Okay, I wouldn’t beat them to a pulp. Just a little jab here and there.

***

The moment we came back to the doors, it was chaos again. They kept bothering us and tried to get the story from us until early morning.

“Guys. Come on. I have to sleep.”

I tried, but these girls wouldn’t let me go. Of course, they were most interested in the video. That one where they could clearly see me beating those guys to a pulp.

“Wow, Sian, you’re really good at fighting,” Hainan said, giving me a thumbs up.

“Sian, do you want to be my bodyguard?” Ji-hyun said. I stopped myself from giving her the finger. Ji-hyun is pretty too, but not my type. She’s pretty much good at everything and can take care of herself. She could fill up an entire truck with men who would sell their organs for her.

“We should take Sian if we’re going to go out at night,” Yoo-young said. Everyone agreed. But why was Eunmi so quiet? Was she still the same person who dissed me during a rap battle?

“Hey, Eunmi.”

“Yes, Sian?”

“Why so quiet? Come on. Diss me again.”

“I’m really sorry, Sian...” Eunmi said, her head hanging low. I gave her a smile.

“What for? Come on. Diss me again,” I said, eying the video of me fighting. Eunmi’s head hung lower.

“And you were so confident then. Diss me all you want, okay? It’s totally fine. Bring your friends along. Okay?”

“I’m sorry, Sian..sniff..sniff...”

Suddenly, Eunmi burst out into tears. I gave her a big hug. If you make fun of a girl regularly and then suddenly throw her a compliment, they become really grateful. That’s what I did.

Soon, the sun was up and we were all asleep. Today was Sunday. We all slept until sundown. Only the sun was the same in light of the bizarre situation, setting in the West as usual.

***

Sunday was our day off, but Jinwoo came to visit us. Well, not us. Me.

“Sian, can we talk?”

“Of course,” I said.

“Let’s go to the café across the street.”

“Okay.”

I went with him to the café and we found a table. Jinwoo paid for the coffee. He got me a café latte.

“Hey, Sian.”

“Yes, sir?”

“You…really...”

At Jinwoo’s words, I began to feel a little apprehensive. Now that I think about it, I had acted a bit too hastily. I should’ve been more careful, if not for my sake, then for the other girls and the company. Of course, if I had the chance, I’d probably do it all over again.

“You did a good job.”

“What?”

“You did really well! You should’ve hit them more! I saw the security camera...Wow...I got so mad!”

It’s these moments where I really like Jinwoo. During evaluations, he can say things that make me want me to stick my tongue out and spit in his face. But then, now for example, he was pretty cool. He takes care of his own, like family.

“There won’t be any problems, right?”

“We have the advantage. You were one girl against four grown men. Not to mention, one of them tried to grab Jia. Our attorney is doing everything he can.”

“I just don’t want this to fall back on us.”

“If it does, we’ll just start over. It’s okay.”

“I appreciate that.”

“But, you know Sian.”

“Yes?”

“You really are something.”

“Huh?”

“I’m just saying. I just wanted to tell you that. Don’t let anyone put you down.”

“I’m not the type to be put down so easily.”

“I figured. Your confidence is truly amazing. Where did the old Sian go?”

“I’d like to know that too.”

I’m serious. Where did she go and how did I end up in her body? The Grim Reaper...what did he do...ugh, this is all His fault.

“Anyways, you’ve been through a lot. Go get some rest.”

Jinwoo took out something from his wallet and handed it to me.

“What is this...?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know.”

“Oh, okay.”

“I saw your stream. You sure can eat. Go out with the girls and treat them to dinner with my card.”

“Really?”

“Yep,” Jinwoo answered with a nod.

“I can really eat as much as I want?”

“Of course,” Jinwoo said. I was sure he hadn’t watched the whole thing. How else could he give me his card so easily?

“You might regret it.”

“Pfft. How much could a bunch of girls eat?”

I knew it. He had no idea. Fine then. He asked for it. I have his card. All I have to do is say thank you.

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“Enjoy the remainder of the weekend, okay?”

“Okay.”

And with that, Jinwoo left, leaving me with his credit card.

“Hehehehehe...”

I got goosebumps just listening to myself cackle.