Sora's POV
It's him! The cute guy with a great ass! Mr. Snob-I'm-in-a-hurry guy!
"How dare you take a video of us without our consent!" one woman said.
Mr. Snob scoffed, chuckling sarcastically. Earlier, I thought he was cute, but now that I heard him laughing like a maniac…
He sounded like someone who definitely kicks puppies for fun.
I think he is just… pure evil!
A crowd started forming around us as well, so much humiliation!
What did I get myself into?
He glanced back at me over his shoulder. "Are you alright?"
Our eyes met. My brain shut down, totally hypnotized.
"Uh… huh…" That was it. That was all the English I knew.
He turned back to the angry mob. "How dare ME? How dare YOU hurt the lady! Did you ask for her consent before you all ganged up on her? What is this—five of you? Plus your little bastards, who apparently inherited their filthy mouths from their low-life peasant parents? And she's alone. No matter how I look at it, you're in the wrong!"
The parents collectively gasped, like offended Victorian nobles clutching pearls they bought on sale.
"Who are you and why are you intervening? She cursed our children! Our families! Us! Step aside if you don't want to get hurt!" one man barked.
Mr. Great Ass laughed, loud, sharp, and unhinged. "Such a fucking pussy!"
He strode forward, grabbed the guy by the collar, lifted him slightly, and said, "It's the 21st century, and you still believe in curses? If you're that terrified, go hide under your wife's stinky cunt! You useless man-child!"
My jaw dropped as I stared at this man. Savage, brutal, and with a freaking sharp tongue!
Then he shoved the man to the ground like he was throwing out trash.
The crowd gasped again.
I was starting to think they practiced these gasps chorus.
He pointed at all of them, eyes burning. "Disgusting. Each and every one of you. Freaking brainless idiots."
He held up his phone and wiggled it. "If you really believe she did all that crap you're accusing her of, then let's all head to the police station. Right now. I've got everything on video, from the moment she tried helping that little liar to the exact second you brainless peasants assaulted her. Shall we go?"
The plaza went dead silent.
And as I sat there on the ground, staring up at this infuriating, chaotic, oddly heroic man, one thought burned through my head:
…Who the hell is he?
The crowd finally started to disperse, mumbling like they were in some low-budget reality show.
The angry parents kept throwing me dirty looks, frowning, hissing, rolling their eyes, clearly realizing they could actually get arrested for ganging up on one defenseless woman who just wanted to wipe a nosebleed and teach their children some manners.
"Go ahead, side with that witch!" one mother snapped before storming off with her son. "Don't come crying to us when her curse gets you!"
Yeah, okay, ma'am. Go cure your stupidity first. I rolled my eyes.
The others trailed behind her, dragging their crying little demons along like a dramatic parade of hell on Earth.
I pressed my lips together and tried to stand on my own—but then, suddenly, two hands grabbed my arms.
I flinched so hard I nearly punched the air when I gasped loudly. Instinctively, I covered my face, waiting for another blow. Defense mode on.
"It's okay. I won't hurt you. They're gone," Mr. Great Ass said, his voice gentle for someone whose mouth just committed manslaughter with filthy words sharp as swords a few minutes ago.
"Thank you for defending me like that," I muttered, brushing dirt off my clothes. "But they're right. You… you should stay away from me. I'm cursed."
To my absolute surprise, he laughed.
Not the villainous, I-enjoy-chaos kind of laugh. But a soft, warm, genuinely amused laugh.
My heart skipped, did a somersault, then tripped, then face-planted.
"What is so funny?" I glared at him, but my lips were already on their way to joining his laughter.
He lifted a hand toward my head, and I jerked back like he was about to smack me with a holy bible.
"Relax," he said, smiling a little as he plucked a leaf tangled in my hair. "Just getting rid of this."
He kept brushing more dirt and leaves off me, far too casual for a stranger with a very nice jawline, thin lips, a pointed nose, and even though it's nighttime, his blue eyes shine the brightest in the dark.
He then wiped the tears on my face that I had forgotten about with his thumb. "You should worry about yourself, not me. I don't believe in such things. I believe in people. And clearly this town is… dangerous. Too many feral residents. You should file an assault case against them. I have the proof that you need."
I shook my head. "No need. I don't want to cause more trouble for myself. They probably live in my neighborhood and not here, since they recognized me. I'm a celebrity there, you know—just the antagonist in their paranormal novel.
Rumor says I kill men. And if I don't kill them, I make them sick or poor. So obviously, that makes me a witch. Although I haven't heard them say, I suck the life out of men to make my old self young again."
How can I even tell him, a total stranger, that even if I want to report these people, I can't… I can report the kids, yes, just for the purpose of simple scolding. But the rest? I have to stay low… Just for a year. It's not that long. I have been waiting for two years now, and another year is just around the corner.
I laughed at my own ridiculousness, but it came out a bit sad despite my intentions.
Because sometimes it really does feel like I'm the villain in my own life story.
But when he looked at me, it didn't feel like he agreed.
I stopped laughing the moment I realized he was staring at me with his mouth slightly open, eyes wide, like I'd just confessed to killing all my five husbands myself.
Okay… maybe I did go a little too far. He's a stranger after all, not my therapist.
"Hey," I waved a hand in front of his face, "it's a joke. You can laugh now."
A tiny smirk tugged at his lips. "You are young… You look young to me, at least. Just... Just how can you laugh like that after what they just did to you?"
I smiled despite my eyes still wet from my tears earlier. "Because life is short," I said with a shrug. "So I'm making the most of it. No time for hatred, no time for drama, no time to stress about idiots. I'm already busy trying to survive."
He placed his hands on his waist, jacket shifting aside, and oh dear universe, why was no one prepared to warn me about that chest?
He shook his head, chuckling. "You really are something."
Yes, babe, something is just so right...
I'm something who is now staring very disrespectfully at your toned everything through that shirt that fits you too well.
Good lord. It's getting hot in here!
"Hey," I said quickly, before I could drown in thirst, "are you still in a hurry?"
He blinked. "In a hurry? What are you talking about?"
Oh, Right!
Earlier, I was wearing a face mask, and he barely looked at me. He probably thought I was a random NPC that spawned on the sidewalk.
"You bumped into me this afternoon," I explained. "On my way to the pet shop. You said you were in a hurry."
His jaw dropped as he slapped both hands over his mouth. "That was you?! Oh my God—I'm so sorry! I swear I wasn't running away because of you. Work emergency. How's your phone? Did you get hurt?"
Ahhh... Those rosy cheeks. Cuteness overload. So, he looks like this when he's embarrassed, huh?
Why is he not an actor? Or a K-pop idol? Or both? It suits him best.
"Yes, that was me. And my phone is the same disaster as earlier," I said, waving it. "But I wanted to thank you for saving me from those people. So… are you still busy? If you have time, maybe I can repay you with something you'd like?"
I fully expected a polite no, or at least a 'Sorry, I have to go.'
Instead, he hummed thoughtfully, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at me like he was evaluating a potential investment.
"I'm not busy… yet," he said. "But how exactly are you planning to repay me? As you pointed out, I saved your life. So it's only fair you repay me with something of equal value."
Then, because apparently he wants me dead… Death by imaginary orgasms… He leaned closer, close enough for me to count the lashes on his stupidly pretty eyes in the dark.
He took a few strands of my hair, lifting them toward his face, smelling them like flowers.
"Men like me only want one thing from women like you," he murmured. "Are you willing to give it?"
!!!
Uhm…?
YES, DADDY! TAKE EVERYTHING! TAKE MY HEART AND SOUL! IT'S ALL YOURS!
But externally, I… gulped, staring at him like a cornered hamster.
"What's your name?" I asked with the most seductive smirk I could muster.
He clicked his tongue and shook his head in disappointment. "I see… You didn't read my business card at all… I'm Yeongjae… Yeongjae Young."