Chapter 41

Despite Taejun’s advice, I was particularly jumpy over the next few days. I decided to throw myself wholeheartedly into my endeavors. Fortunately for me, after deciding with Seolhee that we were going to go steady, she had begun to insist on me visiting and being around her a lot more.

Dating Seolhee was easier than I’d thought it would be. She didn’t seem to have too many expectations for me. I was still wary of her shallowness and previous promiscuity, but I had learned the kind of girl she was, and looked the other way when she playfully flirted with strangers.

I think she appreciated my seeming lack of care on that end (considering she made a living taking scantily clad pictures). It’s not that I didn’t care, I just forced myself not to so I wouldn’t be let down again.

It didn’t take much for her to be happy. As long as we were together she chattered away happily. I think we both just enjoyed spending time together. Seolhee was very spontaneous. She could turn any mundane event into a memorable outing. One time we were walking in a park when she suddenly told me she wanted to do something crazy. Before I could stop her, she tossed her shoes at me and jumped into the fountain next to us. Despite the people staring at her she refused to come out. Her laughter and pleasure at doing something so childish and impulsive was infectious. After she splashed me a few times, I just waded in to drag her out. But she outmaneuvered me. By the time I finally convinced her to step out of the fountain, both of us were breathless with laughter and soaked.

Our first fight was over her wanting me to go to the meet to show off our official dating status. I’d absolutely refused to go. Tempting as it was to rub it into Yoo Seunghyuk’s face that Seolhee had ended up with me, I didn’t particularly feel like running into either Sungmin or Ryusuke. And if LC decided to interview me again, I knew it would be near impossible for me to resist the temptation to race again. Even though I occasionally took Seolhee on joyrides through quiet streets, it just didn’t feel the same anymore without that competitive edge.

But as my cram school got harder and harder, I had to spend more and more time finishing my homework or studying, and I think she started to get a little restless. A couple of times I tried to bring my assignments to her place so we could at least be together as I worked, but Seolhee seemed determined to distract me with her feminine wiles. Maybe she was jealous for my attention.

We fought a lot more then. She accused me of being uninterested in the relationship. I told her I was just too busy.

“Busy?! What do you do all day, Jae? You’re just a convenience store employee!”

“Where I work all day doesn’t change the fact that I’m working all day,” I would say in frustration. I was already unhappy with where I worked, so this was a particularly sore subject for me. But no matter how mad I was, I never threw any accusations at her regarding her own source of income.

Fortunately the fights never lasted long. I don’t know what it was about our fights, but when both of us were all yelled out and just standing there glaring at each other, it just seemed to awaken our desire for each other, and we’d end up making up in bed.

Nevertheless, sometimes I dreaded getting a text from Seolhee asking to meet up.

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We were walking through a shopping district one time as our post dinner walk one day when Seolhee suddenly announced that she was bored. She’d been fidgety the entire evening, and I thought a long walk might settle her down (so I didn’t have to go to her apartment afterwards).

Tiredly, I asked her what she would rather do. Frankly, I was a little out of ideas. Not that we did much else other than dinners, walks, and going for drives.

“I haven’t gone clubbing in ages,” Seolhee sighed. “I want to go out and dance tonight.”

I paused. I wasn’t really sure how I felt about that. The first and only time I’d gone clubbing, the night had ended horribly. I had to admit the atmosphere was nice, but dancing to extremely loud music didn’t really appeal to me all that much. I knew Seolhee liked to dance. Maybe I could get away with just drinking and watching.

“You never do anything fun anymore,” Seolhee complained. She looked a little angry. I didn’t want to fight tonight, so I quickly relented.

“Ok. We can go,” I said. I’d just be careful tonight.

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I hated to admit it but without taking something, I just felt awkward on the club dance floor. Of course Seolhee immediately caught the vibe and was dancing away. But when she tried to entice me to join her, I simply couldn’t unfreeze my limbs.

“I think I need to get more drunk first,” I told Seolhee. I could tell she was getting frustrated at me again. She towed me off the dance floor and back to the bar and ordered us a round of drinks.

“Make it a double for him,” she snapped at the poor faultless bartender. As we waited, Seolhee pulled out her phone.

“Who are you talking to?” I asked her. I could feel her anger growing at my stiffness, so I quickly downed the drink she had ordered me and asked for another. I hadn’t expected to get smashed tonight, but it looked like I would need to to please my thrill seeking girlfriend. At least it was just us two. Without Eunsoo, it was probably pretty unlikely that either of us would get into any illegal substances tonight.

“I’m texting Eunsoo,” said Seolhee.

“Seolhee,” I said in alarm. She knew I was on pretty bad footing with most of the Tigers. And Eunsoo never traveled alone.

But before either of us could say anything more, the fiend himself showed up as though summoned by magic. He put an arm around both of us. “Seolhee-yaaaa,” he drawled. Eunsoo smooched Seolhee’s cheek with an exaggerated ‘MUAH’ sound and she laughed.

“Eunsoo, you fuckboy,” she scolded. “Jae’s right there.”

“Oh. My bad. I’ll give him one too,” grinned Eunsoo.

“No–!” I tried to get away but Eunsoo held me in place while he planted an annoyingly loud and wet kiss on my cheek as well. “Eunsoo! Fuckin’ really?” He and Seolhee cackled as I shoved him away and wiped off the wet spot he’d left behind. “Seolhee, did you call him here?”

“Just to the bar. I was already here. You’re cold as hell, Jae,” he slurred. The night was still early, but I could see Eunsoo was already blitzed off something. Hopefully him being already high meant he had nothing to give us.

“How are you already so fucked up?” I asked grumpily.

“You know me,” he chuckled. Eunsoo suddenly remembered we were at the bar. “Hey, bartender!” he called out. I shook my head as he ordered a round for us. This guy was going to send himself to an early grave.

“Let’s go over there,” said Seolhee, pointing at a nearby booth.

Though I had initially been apprehensive to see Eunsoo at the club, I relaxed a bit when he didn’t offer me or Seolhee anything. He and Seolhee chattered happily together, and I felt a little relieved that he seemed to be keeping Seolhee entertained. It was odd to see Eunsoo all alone though.

“Did you come by yourself?” I asked.

“Oh shit!” Eunsoo exclaimed, bolting upright. “I completely forgot where I left Ryu,” he sputtered, smacking himself in the forehead. My heart sank. I had been hoping not to run into him.

“Hopefully he’s with Sungmin,” Eunsoo said after wracking his brains. Even fucking worse. Sungmin was here too. “I better go find them,” decided Eunsoo. Good. The moment he was gone, Seolhee and I could make our escape–

“I’ll go with you,” Seolhee said. Or not. Eunsoo hopped up happily.

“You coming, Jae?” he asked.

“No,” I said, almost too quickly. Seolhee protested and Eunsoo squinted at me, trying to remember why I was being so resistant. It hit him like a bolt of lightning. He lit up with a shit eating grin.

“You stay here,” he decided. Then Eunsoo pulled Seolhee off. I stared open-mouthedly as the two of them disappeared. I was left at a loss as to what to do. I definitely wanted to leave, but I had come here with Seolhee. I couldn’t just up and disappear on her.

I’d just wait for her to come back, I decided. Then I’d convince her to go to another club without Eunsoo and his entourage attached.

I think she forgot about me. Nearly a half hour had passed and neither Seolhee or Eunsoo had come back. Neither of them were returning my texts either. I decided that if I didn’t get a reply in ten minutes that I’d just say fuck it, text her that I was leaving, and just go home.

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Yep. Clubbing was a shit experience for sure.

“Jaehyun,” a voice said. I looked up from my phone and froze. It was Ryusuke. But Eunsoo and Seolhee were nowhere to be seen.

“Eh.. Ryusuke. Hi,” I stuttered. I didn’t know why Ryusuke had called my name at all. If I were in his position, I probably would have pretended not to see him. He looked exhausted. Maybe he was having a rough night too.

“Yeah. I know. But I’m desperate. Have you seen that fuckhead Eunsoo?” he asked tiredly. I swallowed a laugh. Poor Ryusuke.

“I saw him,” I said. “But he went off looking for you.”

“‘Kay,” Ryusuke said unhappily. He started to move off.

My phone vibrated. It was Eunsoo.

[ shit say there,imon mo way bacl ]

How wonderfully coherent. I chuckled. “Wait!,” I called after Ryusuke, who hadn’t gone far yet. “He says he’s on the way here.”

Ryu froze. I could tell he didn’t want to stay with me. But he really must have been desperate to find Eunsoo, because he turned around. He stood by the table, swaying a little.

“You might as well sit,” I said. Even though we weren’t on friendly terms, I was still mildly concerned that he was about to fall over.

Ryu sat.

The awkward silence began.

“Is he coming or not?” Ryusuke asked. Some time had passed, but neither Eunsoo or Seolhee had shown up. He pulled out his own phone and squinted at it.

I had been texting Eunsoo, trying to give him an approximate location, but all he kept replying with was variations of:

[ wher ruuuuuu ???????????/ ]

“I think he’s lost,” I said unhelpfully.

Ryusuke swore something in Japanese. “Fuckin classic,” he grumbled. I couldn’t help laughing. “Well, guess I’ll go.” He stood up.

“Ryyuuuuuu!” Eunsoo, the man with the worst timing always, came charging out towards us. Ryu hastily sat back down so he couldn’t be tackled. Eunsoo crash landed into the booth and scooted up to his friend. “I finally found you,” he cried. “I’ve been looking for you for hours!”

“Not hours, dumbass,” Ryu said, bopping Eunsoo on the head. “Ugh! Your hair is so wet.” He winced. Ryu wiped his hand off on Eunsoo’s sleeve.

“Ow,” said Eunsoo unhappily. “Don’t be mad at me.”

“Eh?!” Eunsoo lit up when he spotted me. “Jae! Ryu, you’re sitting with Jae? You guys made up?”

Ryu and I exchanged awkward glances.

“Just waiting for you together,” I mumbled. Ryu looked away unhappily. Confusion washed over me. He seemed disappointed somehow.

“Oh,” said Eunsoo. He looked at Ryu.

The awkwardness was too tangible. “Where’s Seolhee?” I asked.

Eunsoo’s eyes went wide. “Fffffuuuck, I knew I was forgetting something.”

Oh my god. It was frustrating but also so stupid it was hilarious. I couldn’t help letting out a laugh of disbelief. “You’re a dumbass,” I complained.

“Why did you have to do that bump, Eunsoo?” Ryusuke scolded Eunsoo. “You have zero attention span on stims. You turn into a goddamn goldfish.”

“Blub blub,” said Eunsoo happily.

“Yeah, uh. I’m going to go find Seolhee.” I stood up. Eunsoo waved lazily at me as he leaned against Ryu. “Er, good luck with him, I guess.”

“I’ll need it,” Ryu grumbled.

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I wandered around for what felt like forever. I spotted Sungmin from afar but fortunately Seolhee didn’t seem to be with him. Sungmin was a gang member, and I was still keeping with my total avoidance strategy.

I was just about to give up and just send her a text saying I was leaving. Clearly she didn’t need me to have fun. Then I spotted her. Tangled in the arms of some random guy. They were kissing.

My blood boiled even though I knew this was normal behavior for Seolhee. I grabbed the guy by the back of his shirt and hauled him off of her.

Seolhee’s eyes flew open. She gasped when she saw me. “Jae!” she exclaimed.

“What the fuck?” the guy cursed. “What’s your fucking problem?!”

“That’s my girlfriend,” I growled at him. Seolhee’s eyes lit up and I felt even angrier. She was loving this. Her toxic love for drama and conflict had resurfaced.

“She came onto me,” the other guy snapped. A few passerby had stopped to watch the building conflict.

It was probably true, but I was so angry I needed to vent it on something. “I don’t care,” I said, stepping toward the other guy threateningly. “Get lost.”

“Don’t fucking tell me what to do,” the stranger growled. He stepped towards me as well. I gave him a light, one-handed shove, but he recoiled forward and grabbed my shirt. (Really? Really?!)

“You really want to do this?” I threatened, as I put my hand over his. I knew I was falling for the bait Seolhee had set for me, but I’d been having a bad couple of weeks, and this guy was the perfect scapegoat.

“Yeah,” he decided. His fist came up. But before he could finish throwing his punch, I ripped his hand off my shirt and sidestepped. As he and his fist went flying past me, I shoved the heel of my hand into his chest. The combined opposing forces of my hand and his own forward momentum made for a powerful blow and he snapped over backwards, slamming into the ground. It felt good to hit something so hard. A few screams broke out.

I disengaged back as he stumbled to his feet, wheezing. His eyes blazed with fury at his near immediate humiliation. “You want to try that again?” I laughed disdainfully.

He growled and shoulder rushed me. My hands went up and I grabbed him by the shoulders to push him back. He punched me in the side, making me grunt in pain. But I had a good grip on his shoulders, and I followed up, snapping my knee into his stomach. He stumbled back wheezing.

I felt someone rushing at me from behind. I tucked my chin in case they tried to catch me in a chokehold, but they just grabbed me by the shirt. I twisted inwards to—

“Stop,” rumbled my new assailant. It was a bouncer. The fight went out of me immediately, but not my furious opponent. He took advantage of me stopping and went for a cheap shot. I ducked, and the bouncer released me to catch my opponent’s fist instead. The bouncer twisted and the guy gasped with pain.

I bounced out from under them. The bouncer gave me a warning glare, but I didn’t need to repeat the same mistake the other guy had. I’d made my point.

“Both of you, out,” growled the bouncer.

“This is far from over,” my opponent bluffed. He should have known he was outmatched.

“It is,” the bouncer snapped at him. He grabbed the other guy and reached for me. I stepped back.

“No need to drag me,” I said. “I’ll see myself out.”

The bouncer’s eyes narrowed, but I ignored him and started out. I didn’t care if Seolhee was following me or not.

As I walked down the street, the guy shouted at me. “The hell you think you’re going, you gaesaekki?”

I turned around and fixed him with a glare. I scoffed at him. “You really want to humiliate yourself a third time, huh?”

The guy snarled something at me. He pulled out a knife.

Instantly every hair on my body prickled with alarm. But I tried to stay calm. “You’re not going to do that,” I said, with far more bravado than I felt.

“Yeah? You don’t think so? Fight me now, pussy,” he taunted.

I scoffed and turned to walk away. Turning my back to him was probably a bad idea, but staying was an even worse one. Unfortunately the guy must have been on something, because he still took me walking away as a challenge.

I heard him rush me and I whipped around just in time to jump back from his knife. My heart instantly went into overdrive. I knew that any self defense techniques I knew would be nigh useless against a knife. I could be in real trouble.

He advanced forwards again with a swing. All I could do was continue to dart back and pray I kept my footing. “The hell do you think you’re doing?” I swore at him. I kept my eyes glued to his knife.

“Go to hell,” he spat back. So focused was I on his knife that I backed up into an electrical box. As I panicked and tried to keep my balance, he came in for an overhead downward stab. I managed to grab his wrist, just before the blade sunk into my shoulder. I shoved him back, but his blade caught me on my arm as he jerked back.

I gasped out at the line of pain it drew, but even more powerful than the pain was the panic that set in. The sleeve of my jacket (actually Taejun’s) had stopped the blade somewhat, and the cut was not as deep as it could have been.

He circled me like a shark. I held up my arm to show him the blood running down it. “Are you done yet? Fuck off!”

He just grinned maliciously and spun his knife. “Not quite.” There was a crazed look in his eyes. He was definitely on something. I had no idea when he would stop, or if he even would. I had to stop him.

Taejun would probably have strangled me if he was there to see what I did next.

As he was spinning his knife again, I went for a ridiculous high kick aimed at his hand. Fortunately for me, I hit his wrist, not the whirling blade of the knife. He grunted but his hand went slack and the knife slipped from his fingers.

His eyes went wide, but he tried to catch it. Maybe I should have let him, because he probably would have cut himself. But at the moment I was more concerned with getting him away from it. I spun back with another kick, to his chest this time.

With a wheeze he stumbled back. I jumped over the bouncing knife and went for a takedown. He hit the ground hard, but this time I didn’t disengage. I planted my boot on his chest. His hands grabbed my ankle and I pressed down threateningly.

“You’re done,” I told him.

I hadn’t noticed in the heat of the fight, but someone must have seen the fight and called the club security. I don’t know when they arrived, but pretty much as soon as I had the other guy on the ground, a pair of security guards separated us.

I wasn’t stupid. I didn’t put up a fight. But the other guy, whose ego had been critically bruised, did. He was forcibly restrained. One of the bouncers picked up the knife.

“The police are on their way,” he said.

I didn’t want to stick around for that, so I tried to leave. The one who had picked up the knife grabbed me by the arm. I hissed and cursed as a sharp pain flared up along my cut. The bouncer recoiled, looking at the blood on his hand.

“Get the first aid kit, and tell the police to send an EMT,” he instructed his partner. I was trying to sneak off again, so he grabbed an uninjured part of me.

“You’re going to stay right here,” the security guard growled at me.

“Fine,” I said. “Let me make a phone call.”

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Taejun was already at the police station by the time the police brought me and my combatant there. His eyes narrowed when he saw me holding a wad of gauze to my arm. I felt both nervous and relieved to see him there.

“Taejun–” I started to say.

“Go get stitched up,” he interrupted.

Meekly, I let the EMT whisk me off to their medical unit.

Taejun stood by as I gave the police my report of what happened. “It matches the other witnesses’ statements,” the policewoman interviewing me said. Apparently the ones who had called the police first weren't the club security. A couple who had been outside having a smoke had called, and they too had been escorted to the station for their testimonies.

“Seems like a case of self defense on your end,” she reassured me. “Once we confirm that, you’re good to go home tonight.”

“It was,” Taejun growled. Even though he was standing behind me, I could feel the oppressive energy of his anger coming off of him.

It gave even the police officer pause. She shuffled awkwardly. “Agent Baek–”

“If you don’t have any further questions, we’re finished here.” Taejun put a hand on my shoulder.

The officer didn’t resist. She allowed Taejun to walk me out of the police station without protest. My opponent, whose name I still didn’t know, yelled at me as we went by.

“You’re letting him walk?” He jerked at the cuffs binding him to a bench. “That fucking byeongsin started–”

Taejun whirled at him. “What’s your name?” he asked. I shivered to hear Taejun’s voice like that again, low and steady, but every word dripped with deadly intent.

The guy stared open-mouthedly at Taejun’s instantaneous oppressive stance.

“Drug test him,” Taejun said coolly to a nearby officer. Taejun’s victim’s eyes widened as the police officer nodded hurriedly.

I think everyone in the police station was a little relieved when Taejun finally left. But I was stuck with him. Though I was relieved that I had walked out of that station without consequence, I was terrified at what my brother was going to do or say to me after.