With a heavy swing, I hit one of them with a thick, wooden plank. He fell to the ground with a loud thud. The other five of them turned around in surprise. “Son of a ,” one muttered and threw a punch. I swerved away. Dumb, drunken men. I gave another blow, sending him thumped against the brick wall. The others, apparently unarmed, fled the scene.

There she was, curled against the wall, with her knees up to her chest. She wasn’t crying – just simply staring at the tar. My insides raged with anger and frustration. I grabbed her forearm and dragged her away with long strides, to my car that I parked not far from the restaurant. I pushed her into the passenger’s seat and slammed the door shut. I looked back at the restaurant where the two men laid unconscious. I got into the driver’s seat and hit the gas.

My breathing was ragged as I sped down the empty roads. I should’ve killed them. I should’ve killed them all. I hit the steering wheel and growled out of resentment. Faster. Driving faster. And faster.

She jolted forward as I suddenly braked the car with a loud screech of the tires. I took a long breath and slumped against my seat. I bit the insides of my cheeks to try to keep myself calm. She remained quiet. I wanted to hit her. I wanted to kill her. I wanted to hurt her for being so stupid. I wanted to hold her so tightly until she cries her worries out in my arms.

I tried to steady my breathing, “Is that what you’ve been doing all this time?”

She gulped audibly, “Yeah.”

“You like serving men like that? You like them touching you like that?”

She kept staring out the window.

“You put up that wannabe strong, independent woman with us – then you go objectifying yourself in those skimpy outfits, pouring drinks for men and letting them touch you for extra tips?”

“Why were you stalking me?”

“What if I didn’t? Okay, what if I didn’t follow you today? What could’ve happened?”

“You don’t have the rights to.”

“What could’ve happened?!”

I saw her tremble. She struggled to open the car door. I grabbed her hands and hauled her around to face me. I tightened my grip onto her hands, causing her to flinch. “Do you know what could’ve happened if I wasn’t there?! Or was that a normal occurrence?!”

She stared hard at our hands and remained quiet.

We arrived home. I was about to get out of the car when suddenly she grabbed my wrist. “Please don’t tell Yongguk.”

I scoffed and shrugged her off. “He should know about this. What if instead of me, someone else saw you? You have to remember – you’re not the only one in danger – Yongguk would be, too. And when that happens, the whole team would be dragged down with you. So stop being so selfish.”

She grabbed my arm again, but this time with both hands. “I’ll quit. I’ll quit. I swear, I’ll quit,” I felt her tremble, “Just don’t tell him.”

I slumped back into my seat with a long sigh, “Are you that scared of him?”

“I’m not scared of him,” she hesitated and shook her head as she continued softly, “I’m just…embarrassed. I don’t want him to have a bad impression of me,” she looked up to meet my eyes for the first time in a very long time, “I don’t want him to get weary of me.”

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