Chapter 114 - Their First Meeting
"Why are you curious about that?"
Yu-jin frowned, her brow furrowed at Minseo's random question.
"Uh... um... just 'cause? Hehe..."
Minseo burrowed into the blankets, only his face peeking out, a silly grin plastered on it.
"Nah, it's too much of a hassle."
But Yu-jin found it incredibly bothersome, so she flatly rejected him and went back to her phone.
.....
A few minutes of silence passed between them...
Sleuk—
Yu-jin glanced back at Minseo, still looking at her phone.
His reaction had been far too quiet since her rejection.
And what Yu-jin saw was...
He was looking at her with a sorrowful, dejected expression.
"You're really not gonna tell me...?"
"....Haaa."
Yu-jin sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead as if she had a headache.
Was Kang Minseo always like this?
Just a moment ago, he'd been so terrified he could barely speak, but now he was being stubborn in a way that bordered on cute.
"Should we go for another round?"
Yu-jin deliberately wrapped her arm around his waist and pulled him tight—bajjjak—against her body, trying to scare him...
"Hieek— I'm sorry!!"
Minseo immediately whimpered—kkaegang—and struggled to escape her embrace.
Pishik—
Since Yu-jin only meant to scare him, she let him go. Seeing Minseo looking terrified and on the verge of tears, a smile crept onto her lips without her even realizing it.
Accustomed to being alone, Yu-jin had lived most of her life by herself.
Of course, she had the members of the Baekhwa organization, but unless it was an Executive Meeting or a specific event, she never bothered to call the Executives to meet, nor did she have any intention of doing so.
Being alone was comfortable, and having someone beside her was a nuisance.
But... Kang Minseo was a bit different.
Even if he just stayed still, she didn't dislike it.
He acted incredibly bothersome, but... Yu-jin found herself thinking that having him by her side wasn't so bad.
'Well... I've got nothing else to do, so maybe I'll tell him a story from the past.'
"Kang Minseo. You wanna hear it?"
"Yes...!!"
At Yu-jin's words, Minseo looked at her, his eyes sparkling brightly.
"Then listen closely."
And so, the story of Yu-jin and Hayoung's first meeting began.
The day I escaped from the orphanage, I ran out barefoot and dressed in rags.
The orphanage staff assaulted us every single day, and unable to endure it any longer, I knocked all of them down with my fists and fled before the Police arrived.
The first time I swung my fists, I realized it.
I had a talent for fighting.
With nothing else to do after leaving the orphanage, I sustained myself in the back alleys solely through fighting.
I'd stop passersby to take their money and shoes, and often took clothes that were wearable too.
It was a satisfying life in its own way.
Because it was an easy life where I could just take what I needed.
Since everything was a bother to me, I decided to just settle down in the back alleys.
There was some idiot playing Boss there too, but after a few of my punches, I was able to take over the back alley immediately.
Everything was easy and comfortable.
In that way, the back alley life became my kingdom, a world entirely my own.
A few years passed like that... and when I turned twenty, the winds of change began to blow.
"Yu-jin-nim...!!! Heok— heok—!"
"What is it now?"
A subordinate, panting and covered in wounds, ran up and began to explain the situation to me.
While walking down the street, the subordinates got into a scuffle with some people wearing suits, and they had completely lost the fight.
They didn't seem like mere street brawlers but people who had professionally learned how to fight... and so I heard the news that the subordinates were currently being one-sidedly beaten to a pulp.
"Ha... what a pain..."
Yu-jin found it extremely bothersome, but still, to play the role of the king in the back alleys, she had to handle this kind of cleanup lightly.
Teobeok— teobeok—
"Was it you guys? The ones who made my subordinates look like that?"
Yu-jin looked back and forth between her subordinates lying beaten in the alley and the guys wearing suits.
"They're the ones who picked a fight fir—"
Ppeoeok—!!
Before the guy in the black suit could even finish his sentence, Yu-jin charged forward rapidly and planted a fist into his jaw,
Teol-sseok
From Yu-jin's fierce punch, the guy in the suit lost strength in his legs and fainted.
"Shit— what the—!!"
Immediately, another guy swung his fist and rushed in,
But there was no way it would work against her, the woman who had conquered the back alleys with nothing but her fists.
After lightly dodging the punch, Yu-jin buried heavy blows into his abdomen and face, and the other guy collapsed helplessly as well.
"Get lost."
Yu-jin supported her subordinates and returned just like that.
A few days passed since then...
"Yu-jin-nim..."
"What again."
Yu-jin spoke with a frown, as if telling them not to keep bothering her.
"You know those guys in suits from the other day?"
"Yeah."
"A person who seems to be their Boss has come looking for you."
"What...?"
"They just showed up out of nowhere saying they want to meet the leader here..."
"Just send them back."
"The thing is... they won't listen..."
"Ah— shit—!"
Infuriated by the person who kept bothering her, Yu-jin headed toward her with angry footsteps.
Deol-keong—!!
Totok— tok— tok—
As she opened the door, the rain was falling relentlessly... and there, holding a black umbrella... was a silver-haired woman waiting.
That was the first meeting between Yu-jin and Hayoung.
"It's you. The one who knocked out my organization members."
She was speaking in a gentle voice, but her gaze was extremely sharp and fierce.
To the point where a person seeing her for the first time would feel a bit stiff.
However, Yu-jin was not one to yield to such things.
"Yeah. So what?"
"Don't you want to work with me?"
"What...?"
Yu-jin, who was already full of anger from being bothered, felt her temper flare even more after hearing such an absurd suggestion.
"Actually, I was looking for members to run an organization with."
"Shit— I'm not interested, so just get the fuck out."
Yu-jin spat out profanity in annoyance as her body gradually got soaked by the rain.
.....
Silence fell at Yu-jin's words... and the atmosphere became more frozen than ever before.
As if something was about to happen at any moment.
Tutuk— tuduk—
The rain continued to fall...
Yu-jin and Hayoung stood facing each other. As if preparing for something.
Yu-jin could tell at once.
To her, who had lived through countless dangers... Hayoung was no ordinary person.
She realized that Hayoung was alert and guarding against her without letting go of the tension for a second... and from this, she could tell the woman knew how to fight.
At that moment while she was sizing Hayoung up—
The umbrella Hayoung was holding was tossed upward...
Swaaaak—!!
Hayoung charged forward at high speed through the rain.
!!!
Yu-jin was slightly flustered by the speed, which was faster than expected, but she calmly followed Hayoung with her eyes.
Shuuk—
And immediately after, Hayoung's fist extended straight toward my face...
'Heut—!!'
With instantaneous reaction speed, Yu-jin barely managed to twist her face away and dodge.
It was a dizzying moment that would have hit if she were even a second late.
Now it's my turn.
Yu-jin immediately twisted her waist and planted a fist into Hayoung's side.
"Keu-heuk—"
It landed accurately, but in that short moment, Hayoung guarded with one arm to mitigate the impact and a counterattack flew back immediately.
Their fight, which began in the rain, was extremely fierce, and the outcome was unpredictable.
Repeating narrow misses and dodges, Yu-jin and Hayoung traded attacks with each other....
"Heok.... heok..."
"Haa.. haa...."
Both were in a state of extreme exhaustion.
A bitter taste from blood lingered in their mouths... and their bodies were incredibly heavy from the continuous fighting and the rain.
It was the same for Hayoung, who was in front of Yu-jin right now.
"Shit— just get lost—"
"Haa... you fight well... I'm telling you, let's work together."
"I said no—! You bitch—!"
Yu-jin burst through the rain, charged, and jumped.
She aimed for Hayoung by bringing her leg down in a stomp,
Hayoung, whose strength had faded, guarded with both hands and took Yu-jin's stomp, but the guard was broken by the impact.
Not missing this chance, Yu-jin quickly struck Hayoung's abdomen with a backkick and...
"Keo-heok—!"
Hayoung collapsed, pushed back by the impact.
"Haa.. haa.. You're no match for me. So get lost."
Yu-jin kept her eyes on the fallen Hayoung and stumbled back.
A few more days passed since then...
"Wow... shit... is she a crazy bitch...?"
Yu-jin spat out a curse as she saw Hayoung, who had come looking for her again.
Hayoung, whose injuries had all healed, had come to find her once more.
"In our organization..."
"Just—!! Shut up—!!"
Yu-jin immediately threw a punch and started the fight,
And the result was again Yu-jin's victory.
"Kollok— kollok—!"
Hayoung lay sprawled on the ground, coughing as if struggling with the pain...
Yu-jin, who had knocked her down even harder on purpose...
"Don't come looking for me again."
Disappeared with a warning.
But...
"Seriously, what kind of bitch are you?"
Hayoung recovered as if to show off and came back again,
And Yu-jin started the fight again as if it were a nuisance.
"Huu... seriously, if you come next time, you're dead."
And Yu-jin won this time as well.
Yu-jin expected that she wouldn't come again after such a scary threat...
But a few days passed, and Hayoung did not give up and came looking for her again.
"Hello. Yu-jin-ah. Won't you join my organization?"
Hayoung, who sent a burning gaze that didn't seem like it would ever cool down along with a smile... made Yu-jin realize she was a very different type of person from those she had met until now.
"A psycho bitch."
That was how Yu-jin saw Hayoung.
Hayoung, who challenged her to a fight again as if nothing had happened, despite being crushed every single time without tiring.
Her eyes were burning without a single trace of exhaustion. With a gaze that said she must achieve what she wants.
In that way, Yu-jin and Hayoung started fighting again and...
This time, the flow changed slightly.
Both were exhausted, but in the face of Hayoung's firm will that kept challenging her, Yu-jin felt like she was being pushed back by something...
When that thought flashed through her brain, Yu-jin, who had been distracted for a moment, was hit square in the face by Hayoung's fist.
Ppaaaaak—!!
Yu-jin, who took the hit directly to her face, felt the strength leave her entire body and fell backward....
Teol-sseok—!!
Yu-jin collapsed helplessly onto the cold ground.
"Haa.. haa...."
Along with the question of why she lost— she glared at Hayoung.
"Haa... just stop already."
Yu-jin was so annoyed by Hayoung, who kept being an eyesore to her.
And... Hayoung, with her face covered in wounds, slowly approached Yu-jin and said.
"Help me. The organization needs you."
It was the first time in her life she had heard those words.
The words that she was needed.
At Hayoung's words, Yu-jin felt like her brain had been struck—kung*—and...
Hayoung's words began to echo and ring endlessly in her head.
Why... am I swayed by words like this?
Why... do the words of a bitch like that keep bothering me?
"How about it? Do you feel like working with me now?"
Hayoung reached out her hand with a light smile and..
"....."
Yu-jin looked at Hayoung's face.
It was still burning.
She looked full of the will to live in this world.
Unlike me.
And... Yu-jin thought that such a Hayoung might be a little, just a little bit interesting.
She was getting bored of the back alley life anyway.
"You're noisy, so just shut up."
With that, Yu-jin took the hand Hayoung offered and slowly stood up.
"Let's eat first. Us."
"Do whatever you want."
From that day on, Yu-jin joined Hayoung's organization.
Yu-jin didn't know a single thing about what kind of work that organization did or what kind of people were there... but she was a woman who had accepted solely because she was drawn to Hayoung's charisma and charm.