“Hajin.”
“I really can’t.......”
The end of my sentence trailed off. If Yohan had been watching, he would’ve screamed “you stupid bastard” until my eardrums burst.
But I couldn’t help it. I was weak to women. More precisely, I was weak to women’s tears.
Maybe it was my mother getting beaten by my father burned into my subconscious, or Yohan’s grandmother crying after being humiliated by hired thugs carved into some corner of my brain—whenever I saw a pitiful woman, my heart went soft without limit. I’d even gone as far as justifying it to myself, thinking that if those small, fragile women had to suffer, then it was better for someone like me, who could take a beating, to use my own body instead.
“Please.......”
But no meant no. If I gave in here, I was fucked. I clenched my fist and ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) forced myself to remember the ruthless things that man had done to me in the bar, and that dangerous smell of his.
I tried to steady myself, fist trembling—but when tears rolled down her cheeks, the resolve I’d barely scraped together wobbled. In the end, my tongue moved on its own.
“......Then just once.”
I could hear Yohan clicking his tongue in my head. That voice replayed automatically—saying I was totally unsuited for this line of work, a fool who acted sly most of the time but folded to sentiment at the crucial moment, grabbing me by the collar and shaking me hard.
But what could I do. I couldn’t coldly shove away a woman who’d be in trouble if I didn’t help. The real sucker here was Cha Haejun.
Having achieved her goal, Han Yeonghwa pulled a handkerchief from her bag and dabbed at her tears. The expression that had been melting my insides vanished as if it’d been washed away. She lifted her head, cool and aloof again, looking down at me.
“Then I’ll set it up. You have to come. If you don’t, I’ll tell the boss here.”
“The boss? No—what are you even going to tell him.......”
“That you tried to run without paying back your Mic King.”
“When did I ever!”
My mouth fell open. Sure, I’d thought about it for a second—but I’d changed my mind right away and was working honestly. I’d even gone to the hospital trying to get my dead dick to stand up again.
I grabbed at her sleeve in a panic, insisting I’d never done that, but she didn’t listen. She gently took my hand—and peeled it off without mercy.
“I’ll text you the place and time. You know what to do, right?”
“No, ma’am. Wait. Just a second—!”
“If you’re going to argue, cut off your dick first.”
She gathered her skirt and left the room. I scrambled after her, but even in high heels her steps were so fast she was already at the counter. When the boss fawned, asking if she was leaving already, she pulled out a wad of bills and set it down.
“Oh, ma’am. Stay and have some more fun.”
“Something urgent came up.”
Han Yeonghwa glanced over her shoulder at me. Then she raised her palm beside her cheek and moved her lips so only I could see. There was no sound, but I understood instantly. Mic. King. The boss was too busy counting the overflowing cash to notice how her lips moved.
After she left, I slid down the wall with my back against it. My face turned sallow. That familiar sensation of being fucked slammed into the back of my head. The boss leaned over, craning his upper body to peer at me.
“What happened to you?”
Over the boss’s face, I saw Daniel’s ankle—said to have been chopped clean off—flicker into view. That could be my future.
Would he believe me if I said I’d never tried to run with the Mic King? The boss always had a saying he repeated like a mantra: never trust a dick-bearing bastard, whether he’s a grasshopper or an employee. Once he’d had a few drinks, he’d rattle off names like a hit parade—Jo Minsik, Im Guyoung, Jang Taekyung, and so on—guys who’d taken his money and run.
“......No.......”
“Then why are you sitting like that?”
“I just lost my strength for a second.”
“A young guy already running out of steam. Back in my day, I’d do five rounds and still show up at dawn the next morning. Get your head straight! Get up, wash your face, and wait!”
The thunderous shout made me spring to my feet. I splashed cold water on my face in the bathroom like he said, then looked in the mirror. The face staring back at me was the color of a corpse about to die.
“Even if the sky falls...... fuck!”
Mottos and shit—there was no energy left. An escape route my ass; if the ceiling falls, everyone gets crushed.
“Fuck.......”
I never wanted to see that man again. I didn’t even want to get entangled by chance. I’d lived as a swallow for how long, and yet I couldn’t refuse a single request and ended up walking into a pit with my own two feet. I was the biggest idiot of all.
Muttering curses weakly, I plunged my face into the sink full of cold water. Under the surface, I opened my mouth and screamed and swore with all my strength. Only bubbles rose up.
* * *
After hearing everything, Yohan laughed just like I expected—cackling freely. Even if a friend had been buried alive, he’d probably laugh and say it was hilarious.
“So why the hell did you agree?”
“No, I couldn’t not agree. She looked so pitiful, crying like that.......”
“You’re drowning yourself and trying to save others.”
It was a painfully realistic point. Feeling like I’d been smacked to the bone, I rubbed my arm. Yohan took the chance to scrape every last bit of ramen from the pot.
“If you really hate it, just cancel the appointment. That Mic King thing—so what? You didn’t actually run. How’s that a threat? There’s no proof.”
“With her, I feel like she could make proof out of thin air.”
Han Yeonghwa was more than capable of that. Witnesses could be bought with cash, couldn’t they?
“Then just close your eyes and do it. She’s not asking you to die—just to say a few words. Why are you making it such a big deal?”
“You didn’t see that guy. He’s a gangster. Like, full-on. He smells like blood.”
Anyone else might not know, but I did. The man had that unmistakable stench. No amount of perfume could hide it—etched into the lines of his palms, the wrinkles of his whole body, soaked under the skin. Growing up, I’d dealt with debt collectors and loan sharks, and after high school, organ traffickers. I knew too well. It wasn’t something you smelled with your nose, but with instinct.
His eyes too. No matter how handsome he was—movie-star handsome—the light in his pupils was like a saw blade at Majang-dong, slicing meat and bone together.
“What are you, a shark?”
“I’m serious.”
I nodded gravely. Compared to anyone I’d met in my life, he was definitely the most dangerous.
“But there’s no way to avoid it right now.”
“Yeah.”
“Then you have to face it.”
I knew that answer. I grabbed my hair and screamed, and Yohan made a face like here we go again.
“Don’t worry. If you die, I’ll make a generous condolence donation.”
“They won’t even find my body. What donation.”
“I’ll file a missing person report.”
“That’s some tear-jerking friendship, you asshole.......”
Yohan put the dishes away in the sink. Since I’d barged into his place and eaten his ramen, I couldn’t be shameless—I tried to help clean up. I even reached for the dishes, but he stopped me, saying I’d just break everything.
“Don’t worry too much. No matter how reckless he is, he’s not going to do anything to you right away.”
Poison and antidote at the same time. Even if it was just plain water, I wanted to cling to it. I shuffled over and leaned my back against his legs.
“I’m really not going to die, right.”
“You’ve survived this long. What are you worried about? Your life force is tougher than a cockroach.”
“What kind of vicious insult is that.”
“It’s a compliment.”
While we were trading pointless lines, my phone rang, cutting us off. It was for me. With a bad feeling, I hesitated, then picked it up. A text from Han Yeonghwa.
“It’s her.”
“Where.”
Yohan pulled his head closer after taking off his rubber gloves. The message listed a place and a time.
[Go and say you have an appointment with CEO Lee Kangjoo. I trust Hajin to handle the rest properly.]
A concise message—but a clear threat.
Yohan searched the location on his own phone. The road view showed a normal building. Not some forest perfect for burying a body, but right on a main street, with a franchise café nearby.
“You really think they’d kill someone in a place like this?”
At his words, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. Maybe I’d jumped at shadows, smelling the same stench on him as the people who’d tormented me before. If I just told him as quickly as possible that Han Yeonghwa and I were nothing, then left the building, the mission would be complete.
Easy enough. I forced courage into myself.
