BHB 45

“Wh-what! Hey, a-aren’t you letting go?!”

“Why, what’s wrong? Between men….” Just as Yeowon was tilting his head and about to slyly move his hand from the buttocks to the front.

“You fucking psycho!” The man, turning pale, jumped up and roughly struck Yeowon’s face with his arm as if to push him away. 

This caused Yeowon’s head to bend 90 degrees, reddening. Feeling a tang in his mouth as if his lip had split, 

Yeowon continued with a slow, ominous smile at the taste he hadn’t experienced in a while, “Shouldn’t we avoid swearing?”

The seniors had suddenly surrounded Yeowon. Judging that they couldn’t be beaten in numbers, they shouted triumphantly, “What are you saying, you son of a bitch!”

“I said no swearing, you fucker.”

“This bastard really―!”

What followed was blatant chaos. In the end, the senior side threw the first punch, and Yeowon, who took the first hit as if he had been waiting for it, grinned and kicked the other’s abdomen. 

With that start, the seniors immediately surrounded Yeowon and swung their fists. Yeowon dodged a few times but couldn’t avoid being hit several times when three or four pounced on him at once. However, overall, Yeowon landed more hits, focusing particularly on beating a few of them.

Chaemin, stiff from the sudden situation, tried to back away but, seeing Yeowon outnumbered, gritted his teeth and joined the fight. But before he could properly make a fist, he was instantly knocked down, and when Yeowon saw Chaemin being kicked while sprawled on the ground, he dodged the clumsy punches and grabbed the hair of the guy who was kicking Chaemin.

“Urgh!!!”

Leaving the man who fell behind, Yeowon quickly helped Chaemin up. “Why did you jump in?”

“Ha… because you seemed at a disadvantage….”

“It’s fine, stay away.”

“But–”

“People will gather soon and end this situation anyway.”

Unlike the urgent Chaemin, Yeowon calmly replied and pushed him away, but Chaemin held onto Yeowon’s arm and looked up worriedly, “You’re bleeding from your mouth.”

“So are you, senior.”

“You’re more hurt….”

“Do you have time to chat right now?!”

Before their brief conversation could end, one of the opponents turned Yeowon around by the shoulder. As soon as he turned, Yeowon dodged the other’s fist and skillfully dealt with the oncoming attackers by kicking them hard in the chest with all his might.

Chaemin, standing behind him, trembled at the brawl unfolding before his eyes. Being exposed to violence was not a common occurrence, and it felt like his vision had turned white. Unlike him, Yeowon seemed accustomed to such situations, showing no signs of panic as he trampled his opponents and drove his fist into their faces. Conversely, even when his own face was hit and his head bent 90 degrees, he quickly returned to normal and paid back his opponents as if he hadn’t been hit at all.

Just as Chaemin, grasping his trembling hands, was wondering how to resolve the situation, people started gathering around as Yeowon had said. Passersby, students coming to smoke, and even those who had been oblivious inside the bar began to notice and come out one by one. As these scenes moved slowly, the sound of sirens that would end this situation began to be heard from afar.

Chaemin blankly watched Yeowon, who was sweating profusely while breathing slowly. Even though the seniors had pathetic fighting skills, he was facing several adult men alone. As the sirens grew closer, more and more people were falling to the ground unable to get up. Yeowon exhaled heavily as he brushed back his hair, chuckling lightly as if it were a sport.

**

In the end, Yeowon, who was taken to the police station, sat quietly with a split lip and a bruise around his eye. Next to him sat Chaemin, who had been caught up in the situation, and across from them were several senior groups, more injured than Yeowon, sitting and fuming. 

And Youngjae, who had heard the situation from Chaemin, was calmly explaining in front of the police desk, “So, those seniors started the trouble first–”

“What trouble did we start!” One of the seniors who heard this shouted, holding his beaten jaw.

“Please be quiet.”

When the police officer receiving the report cautioned them, the guys suppressed their anger and fidgeted. Finding their squirming like they needed to use the bathroom amusingly, 

Yeowon muttered quietly, “Shit.”

As the words were uttered as if meant to be heard, the other side erupted again, “What did you say?!”

“I said be quiet!”

As the police officer cautioned them again as if issuing a command, the opponent flinched and sat down again, but his face was red and restless, seemingly frustrated and embarrassed at being collectively beaten and made to look foolish by a junior.

“Are you okay?” Chaemin quietly asked through the tense atmosphere.

“Yes. How about you, senior?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“That’s good.”

Yeowon responded casually, staring blankly into space with an indifferent gaze. It was his first time at a police station since his school days. Being no longer a minor meant there was no need to call a guardian, but it also meant he had to handle things himself now. He felt sorry for Youngjae, who was trying to sort out the situation as the department representative, since it happened within their department.

“… Why did you do it?” As Yeowon unconsciously watched Youngjae’s desperate back, a truncated question approached cautiously. “Why did you stand up for me?”

It was a question asking why he had intervened in something that wasn’t even his business. 

Yeowon didn’t answer immediately, pausing as if pondering for a moment. But the pause wasn’t long before he said, “Because you’re seeing Taegang.”

“What?”

“You said you’re not dating, but you two are still in that kind of relationship, right?”

“……”

“Still, seeing someone my friend is involved with being treated like that…”

“……”

“As a friend, I couldn’t just stand by and watch.”

Yeowon answered nonchalantly, smacking his lips awkwardly, “If someone I’m seeing was treated like that, Taegang would do the same.”

“… Yeowon, I….”

Just as Chaemin, who had been listening quietly, was about to speak after hesitating, the police station door burst open. Everyone inside turned with surprised faces at the noisy entrance. 

At the center stood Taegang, looking as if he had rushed over.

“Taegang?” Yeowon stood up abruptly, surprised at his appearance. Wondering how he knew to come, he looked at Youngjae, who avoided Yeowon’s gaze as if he were the culprit.

“How did you…”

Meanwhile, Taegang, having spotted Yeowon, quickly approached and grabbed his chin, carefully examining his face. 

After a thorough inspection, Taegang gritted his teeth and spoke in a low voice, “You got quite a beating.”

Yeowon, who had been dumbfounded by Taegang’s sudden action, brushed off his hand from his chin and laughed lightly, “It was 4 against 1.”

“Someone who can’t fight picking fights.”

“Who says I can’t? Can’t you see their faces?”

“Your handsome face is all messed up.”

“So you admit I’m handsome.”

“Is this a time for jokes?”

“Sorry. It’s been a while.”

At this unexpected remark, Taegang looked at him quizzically, and Yeowon continued with a hearty laugh, “You worrying about me.”

Perhaps because he was feeling Taegang’s familiar concern after so long– the gaze that had been focused only on him since entering, the way he examined each wound– Yeowon found himself laughing without realizing it.

Yeowon, knowing from experience how important it was who struck first, said with a shrug, “Anyway, I was hit first. I didn’t throw the first punch.”

Along with it being 4 against 1, the fact that he didn’t throw the first punch meant the situation was naturally in his favor. Of course, even if the other side was more injured, it meant he had more ways to get out of this.

Taegang took a short breath and turned towards the desk where Youngjae was. At that moment, Taegang’s gaze fixed on Chaemin, who was sitting quietly. His eyebrow flickered as if he had seen someone who shouldn’t be there, “Why are you here?”

The indifferent question pierced the air above Chaemin’s head. Since Taegang’s arrival, Chaemin had been looking elsewhere, as if trying hard not to make eye contact.

“He got caught up in it while talking to me.” Yeowon answered instead of Chaemin, who couldn’t respond. Taegang’s gaze turned slowly, as if in slow motion. “We were talking when those bastards came and started trouble.”

“What trouble?”

“What?”

“What kind of trouble did they start that made you resort to fists?”

Just as Yeowon was hesitating, unable to answer immediately, Youngjae, who had sorted out the situation, approached and spoke as if relieved, “I’ve passed on the lawyer’s contact info you gave, Taegang. They’ll contact each other separately. Since they started the fight and provoked it, we’re allowed to leave first. Whew, I feel like I’ve aged ten years.”

Fortunately, since Youngjae liked to take charge, Yeowon didn’t have to explain in detail, which was convenient. As the situation was resolved, Yeowon glanced once at the group still glaring at them as if they wanted to tear them apart, then left the police station first with his companions.

As soon as they got out, Youngjae sighed heavily and pointed at the guys still inside the police station, “I always knew those guys would cause trouble someday.”