"What took you so long?"
Another middle-aged man got out of the car back there—following the previous man who spontaneously straightened up. His luxurious suit seemed to glisten slightly in the light of the street lamp. Even though they both wore suits, it was still clear that there was a level difference between them.
His steps were getting closer, so Hyunji could see the man's face clearly. Hyunji looked at them alternately when the man was standing in front of her.
"My apologies, Mr. Yoon." The man who had argued with Hyunji earlier bowed, apologizing. He briefly explained the debate that occurred between him and Hyunji to his superiors.
The man in the luxurious suit turned his head to Hyunji. A disdainful smile was etched on his face. "You need a long time to clean up a snotty kid like this? How incompetent."
Hyunji frowned disapprovingly. She looked the man up and down. Judging from his appearance, this person was definitely not an ordinary person. People like him might be a little difficult to deal with. She was sure she had seen this middle-aged man somewhere, but she couldn't remember.
"Hey, Snot! You have to pay for the damage to my car."
The words she heard made Hyunji chuckle. She wanted to curse this man so bad. His clothes look classy, but his head must be empty. Very concerned. Were these two completely oblivious to their mistake?
"Sorry, Sir." Hyunji smiled. "May I know why I have to pay for the damage to your car?"
"Do you still need to ask? You parked carelessly on the shoulder of the road and blocked my way. Because of you, my car was damaged!"
"It was your own fault for hitting us."
"But you parked your car here!"
Hyunji raised one eyebrow. There was not the slightest look of trepidation or fear on her face. "You know that parking on the road shoulder is a violation?"
"Of course!"
"Then, did you know that driving on the road shoulder is also a traffic violation? As you can see, our car is parked here. If your car hits ours from behind, it means you are driving on the road shoulder, right?"
Hyunji's words left her two opponents speechless. She lifted her chin, making her dominant side spread out among the white flakes that fell from the sky.
The man wearing a luxurious suit suddenly raised his index finger, pointing at Hyunji. His face reddened. He couldn't accept being humiliated by a snotty kid like Hyunji. "You don't know who I am?!"
Hyunji looked at him judgingly. "Parliamentarian?"
"Exactly! You should be aware of where you are by now! With the position I have, I could have thrown you in jail!"
"You have power, but you don't have enough evidence to put me in a prison cell." Hyunji glanced at something behind them.
They looked up at once. Finding the object Hyunji was referring to was a CCTV in one corner of the closed shop.
Hyunji smirked. "Well, now your faces have been exposed on CCTV!" She seemed satisfied that she had fooled her opponents. "Think about it, what if I managed to get the CCTV footage and publish this incident on SNS? This will definitely attract a lot of media. How will the public react if they finally realize that you are just an old fart who likes to violate traffic and take advantage of reputation to bring down civilians? I'm really looking forward to it."
A glint of anger shone clearly from the pair of eyes in front of her. The man growled angrily. "I'll make sure you get punished-"
"Indeed. We would have been punished for parking on the road shoulder. But you? You would have been punished many times over." Hyunji's gaze sharpened. "First, because of driving on the road shoulder. Second, because you have caused an accident. Even if it didn't result in any casualties, the collision that occurred earlier would still be classified as an accident. And lastly, I assure that you will receive social punishment for trying to bring me down with your reputation. Be prepared to lose your position after this."
The man laughed mockingly. "What kind of evidence are you going to spread to bring me down? CCTV footage isn't enough."
Hyunji picked up her phone which somehow had moved in her hand. "The recorder is on, you know."
Surprised, the man immediately rushed forward, about to grab the phone in Hyunji's hand. His arrogant expression disappeared and was replaced with a clear expression of anxiety. "Give it to me!"
Hyunji just put on a poker face as the man steps closer to her.
But unfortunately, her expression had to change to surprise when suddenly Jungkyu grabbed her waist and pulled her fast. Making Hyunji—who was originally resting on her knees—fell down on his lap.
Not stopping there, Jungkyu also buried his face in the crook of Hyunji's neck. Gave a small bite there and caused a muffled shriek that escaped her lips. "Ahk! Jung- you-"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
The exclamation made Hyunji return her gaze to the outside. Her eyes caught the presence of someone who had become her opponent was now staring at her in shock. Apparently the man witnessed everything and gave up his intention to snatch Hyunji's phone.
The man stepped back. "HOW DARE YOU DO 'THAT' IN FRONT OF OLDER PEOPLE! HOW IMPOLITE!"
Hyunjin laughed inwardly.
Impolite he said? Then, his act of rushing forward suddenly to snatch someone's phone, is it polite?
"Mr. Yoon!" Another man—who got out of the car first—approach his boss in hurry. He bowed slightly, then said, "The meeting will start soon. They say your candidacy is in danger of being canceled if you don't show up in fifteen minutes."
"WHAT?!" The man in the luxurious suit was wide-eyed. He was petrified for a while, before turning to Hyunji in anger. "Just this once, I'll release you. Instead, don't let this incident be exposed in the media. If it happens, I'll make sure you won't be able to live the rest of your lives in peace. Got it?!"
Hyunji rolled her eyes in response.
The two men left. Get in their car and drive away from there. Hyunji just closed the window when the car was out of sight.
She looked down. Staring at Jungkyu who hasn't moved a bit since earlier. "Hey ...," she called softly.
Jungkyu just mumbled incoherently in response. Hyunji took a deep breath. "You almost ruined my play earlier."
Hyunji's grunt was met with silence, until Jungkyu said in a low and slightly trembling voice, "Sorry."
Hyunjin snorted.
She wanted to nag at this moment, but realizing how Jungkyu's body was shivering from panic attack, was more than enough to make Hyunji hold back all the annoyance she was feeling. Therefore, she just kept quiet and let Jungkyu tighten his embrace.
However, something had been bothering her for a while. Realizing that Jungkyu's panic attack had recurred when the two of them arrived—even not at the same time, made Hyunji wondered.
Actually, between the two of them, which one really brought trauma to Jungkyu?
***
"Why aren't there good shows?"
The girl, Hyunji, is currently sitting in the living room of Jungkyu's apartment. A jar of snacks she placed between her crossed legs on the sofa. She huffed in annoyance, changing the TV channel without interest.
The clock showed nine o'clock in the evening. The apartment situation is very quiet—considering there are only two people as residents. Even Jungkyu, as the owner of the house, has not shown his nose at all since they came home this afternoon. Only the sound of the TV makes the atmosphere feel more alive.
After struggling with the television remote for a long time, Hyunji's attention was drawn to the news broadcast that was currently airing on one of the national TV stations. At first glance, there is nothing interesting. But her eyes narrowed at the sight of a familiar figure who appeared on the broadcast.
"Isn't that ... the person from earlier ...?" she muttered, almost silently.
Because she was too focused on the show, Hyunji didn't realize someone was walking towards her. "Hyunji Kwon."
She quickly turned off the television and looked back. She found Jungkyu standing behind her in confusion. "Why did you turn off the TV?"
"Nothing is interesting." Hyunji shrugged nonchalantly, trying to act as normal as possible. "Are you hungry? Want me to cook you something?"
Jungkook shook his head. He grabbed his jacket draped over the back of the sofa. "I have business outside and may not be back tomorrow morning. Make sure all the doors and windows are locked while I'm not around. Got it?"
Hyunjin nodded. She got up, was about to walk to the kitchen to get a drink, but stopped because Jungkyu held her arm. Jungkyu reached out his hand, touching the purplish red spot on Hyunji's neck. Feeling guilty and sorry at the same time. "I'm so sorry."
Hyunji pushed Jungkyu's hand away slowly. "Never mind."
Then she left, take a drink in the kitchen and sit on the dining chair. She was busy contemplating, digesting what had happened today. She didn't even realize Jungkyu had left the apartment and left her there alone.
After a long silence, her thoughts were finally broken by a vibration in her pocket. She turned on her phone and saw the incoming message from Jimin.
From: Jimin Hwang
Make sure you come to campus tomorrow!
Hyunji took a deep breath.
To: Jimin Hwang
Okay
After typing that short reply, Hyunji stared at her phone silently. She decided to open a browser, then type in keywords related to the news headlines she had seen on TV. Not long after, hundreds of entries appeared and filled the phone screen. Hyunji's focus fell on the top article.
It's written, "Daejung Yoon officially resigns from his position as a council member and is running for Mayor of Seoul."