Chapter 7

“I’ll be going in. See you tomorrow.”

After finishing her shower and stepping outside the building, Lee-jin found that darkness had already settled black over the streets. Since the gym was not far from the center of Dohyang-dong, noisy sounds drifted all the way over here.

The street, glittering with dazzling lights as if inviting people in, looked full of life, unlike her. Lee-jin hitched up the sports bag holding her workout clothes and gear once, then started walking toward home.

Whether she got beaten up or not, tomorrow was match day. Even taking a beating without making it obvious was a skill, so she could not do it carelessly. If someone happened to notice the match had been fixed, Roxana would be turned upside down, and Boss Kim would demand compensation from Lee-jin.

The opponent she had already faced a few times was weak against hooks, Lee-jin’s specialty. Maybe it was instinct, a desire to protect the pretty face that had even earned her a separate sponsor.

So tomorrow, I should hold back on that move as much as possible, Lee-jin thought, and then abruptly stopped in place.

Her eyes were filled with loud, brilliant lights. Lost in thought as she walked, she seemed to have unconsciously gone right at the intersection instead of left, the way home.

Before she knew it, Lee-jin was standing across from Havana Club, one of this neighborhood’s landmarks.

“D*mn it, I’m not one of Pavlov’s dogs.”

She must have walked this road until it wore thin for over half a month, because her body seemed to remember it automatically.

She was tired enough already and wanted to lie down as soon as possible, so wasting time here was the last thing she needed. Lee-jin was about to turn and leave just like that.

But at that moment, one of the large men standing in front of the club spotted her and gave her a casual nod. He was one of the gangsters who mainly managed Havana, and one of the same men who had kidnapped her last time and dragged her to the warehouse by the reservoir.

‘What’s there to be happy about, greeting me like that.’

He had not dragged her away especially violently, but it was not a good memory either, so Lee-jin twisted her face at him.

It seemed he had no intention anymore of giving her signals just because she was, in his view, the stalker Kwon Ki-joo had acknowledged. Still, she had no desire to exchange warm greetings with him either.

Lee-jin stepped back to head home. Then this time, something truly troublesome happened.

Five familiar black cars stopped on the road between her and Havana Club. Lee-jin recognized at once that it was Kwon Ki-joo’s arrival.

She had not intended to follow him today, so she had not checked Kwon Ki-joo’s movements with Wonjae. He was a man who often moved differently from the information because of how unpredictable he was, but even so, she had not expected him to appear right now, exactly when Lee-jin happened to be standing in front of Havana.

For a moment, Lee-jin wondered whether she should run off just like this, or at least see his face before going.

But her hesitation did not last long. The image of Kwon Ki-joo’s face, looking disappointed as he asked why she was not following him, suddenly rose in her mind.

To imitate a fansite master, Lee-jin pulled out her shabby phone from her pocket. On the cracked phone screen, Kwon Ki-joo’s car came into view.

While Lee-jin was setting it up, one of the large men hurried over and opened the rear door of the car. Immediately, Kwon Ki-joo, dressed in a pitch-black suit, stepped smoothly out onto the road. A whole swarm of men in black crowded around and bent at the waist.

Watching Kwon Ki-joo’s broad back, clearly taller than everyone else even hidden behind the car, shifting like a wave, Lee-jin mechanically pressed the camera button.

Even though she had followed him all this time, she had never once thought of taking his picture. Now that she had been discovered, she had to at least leave behind some traces, if only as evidence.

Lee-jin had taken nearly ten rough photos, even catching his side profile, and was wondering if she should take more when the large man who had nodded to her earlier straightened from his bow and hurried over to Kwon Ki-joo to whisper something to him. Judging from the brief glance that lingered in her direction, it seemed he was talking about her.

Sure enough, Kwon Ki-joo immediately turned around and looked at her. On the small screen, his smiling face directed at her filled the frame.

Startled by the sudden reaction, Lee-jin unconsciously clicked the button, then in a panic quickly shoved the phone back into her pocket.

Kwon Ki-joo started crossing the street toward her with long strides. His face was full of a playful smile.

Though he was a large man, Kwon Ki-joo’s steps as he came toward her were nimble and clean.

But the air he carried was truly arrogant and self-assured, as though this whole street lay beneath his feet.

“I feel like I’ve become a real celebrity.”

Stopping right in front of her, Kwon Ki-joo spoke in a cheerful voice. Lee-jin forced the corners of her mouth upward.

“On my way home after finishing my workout at the gym, I thought I’d come by here in the name of neighborhood watch duty and see if maybe you were here. I’m lucky I ran into you.”

“You were working out this late?”

“Yes.”

“It’s not even a match you’re going to win.”

“Even taking a beating has to be done skillfully. I could get hurt.”

As if wondering how to interpret Lee-jin’s voice, heavy with exhaustion after moving all day, Kwon Ki-joo slowly looked her over from head to toe.

It was not the sticky, persistent gaze from the warehouse, but more the kind of gaze that seemed to say, Why with a body like this.

“Now that I’ve seen your face, Boss, I’ll be going. I have to wake up early again tomorrow and loosen up my body.”

“I’ll take you.”

“What?”

“I’m saying I’ll take you in my car. You don’t even look like you have the strength to stand.”

As Kwon Ki-joo said that and checked the time on his expensive-looking wristwatch, gauging his schedule, Lee-jin, who had been about to refuse, suddenly let her eyes drift toward the car he had stepped out of.

Amid the line of escort vehicles that had followed him, she could see a woman standing there in a red dress.

As expected of Kwon Ki-joo’s taste, she was glamorous and strikingly beautiful enough to make one’s eyes widen. And among all the women he had brought around so far, she looked the most refined and elegant.

“I know your house isn’t far from here, so ten minutes or so would…….”

Kwon Ki-joo, who had been speaking, suddenly turned his head to follow Lee-jin’s gaze. The woman, noticing Kwon Ki-joo looking at her, narrowed her eyes and smiled seductively.

When Kwon Ki-joo turned back to look at Lee-jin again, his eyes shone with a kind of interest they had not held before.

Ah, jealousy. Lee-jin understood at once what Kwon Ki-joo wanted. A gangster woman who had fallen for him at first sight and chased after him recklessly ought to feel hurt when he showed up with an astonishing beauty on his arm.

So first, Lee-jin lowered her head and cast her eyes downward. Then she whispered softly.

“I’ll just…… go by myself. My house is close. You don’t have to take me.”

She was already utterly worn out from exercising, so a drained voice, like someone who had just heard news that their favorite person was dating, came out on its own with surprising ease.

Even if Kwon Ki-joo already knew where her house was, she did not have even the slightest desire to drag him along to that shabby place.

Lee-jin awkwardly took a step back, as if hesitating. Hoping that she looked pitiful.

“Please get on with your business, Boss. I’ll be on my way now.”

Just as she was about to bow without lifting her eyes and step away, her wrist was suddenly caught.

Into Lee-jin’s lowered field of vision came Kwon Ki-joo’s large hand. His big, masculine hand was full of fine scars, like rough traces left behind.

“Are you okay?”

When Lee-jin raised her head, Kwon Ki-joo asked the question with eyes still full of mischievous interest. He was enjoying her dispirited appearance. So Lee-jin decided to think of only one thing.

Her life. Yes, if her life was at stake, then she would give him despair rather than jealousy if that was what it took.

“Yes, I’m okay. Um, Boss, could you…… let go of my hand.”

“I said I’d take you.”

“Today, I just want to go by myself.”

I can’t bear to look at you with another woman any longer. As she only moved her lips emptily and sent that message with her eyes, the corners of Kwon Ki-joo’s mouth curved in satisfaction.

Her body, exhausted enough to feel like it might die, naturally pushed Lee-jin’s whole mood in that direction.

“Boss.”