Seeing how Su-Jin remained silent, the man glared at her openly. His eyes were fierce, flashing with a menacing glint. It looked as though he wanted nothing more than to shoot daggers at her with his eyes.
"I asked you a question." he said coldly. "Are you crazy or something? Why did you jump in front of the… "
At the sight of the tiny cat, clutched in Su-Jin's hands, he stopped himself abruptly. The man sucked in a breath, and his glares immediately intensified tenfold.
You can't possibly..." he took a deep breath before continuing. "You can't possibly be that stupid."
"Excuse me?!" Su-Jin snapped, suddenly aware of his rudeness. "Who are you to call anyone stupid?"
"I'm a driver who just got injured." he shouted furiously, pointing at his forehead. "All because of a dumb woman who threw herself in the middle of the street in order to save a cat!"
Su-Jin's eyes lifted slowly. Sure enough, right above his left eyebrow there was blood. A small trickle was sliding down the side of his temple.
"I am really sorry for your scratch." Su-Jin said, feeling slightly remorseful and uncomfortable.
She thought the man did have a point about her jumping in front of his car. Regardless of the reasons, what she did wasn't quite right either. Therefore, an apology was expected of her. Therefore, sincerely apologizing was the least she could do.
But just as she was reflecting over her reckless actions, Su-Jin suddenly heard the man let out a cry of indignation.
"Scratch?! You call this merely a scratch? Look at it! It's bleeding, for Heaven's sake!" he concluded as if that final statement was enough proof that he was plagued with some kind of terrible, deadly disease.
"Yes, well, scratches tend to do that, you know. Bleed I mean." Su-Jin said without being able to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
She was really starting to dislike this guy more and more. First, he yelled at her. Then, he was rude. And now, he even was exaggerating his wound, making himself sound like a war casualty.
That was the final straw for Su-Jin. That, as well as the fact that he did not appreciate her trying to save a life, angered her beyond measure. She hated people who dismissed those who were weaker than them. Whether it be animal or human, in Su-Jin's view, they all had equal rights to be protected.
"Listen," she continued before he could answer her previous line. "I am sorry you got...hurt." She tried to sound less sarcastic. "But this creature is hurt as well. It's so tiny and frail that even the smallest wound could prove dangerous. So, if you will excuse me, I will..."
"What about me then?" he asked, propping himself in front of her, arms crossed like a colossus. "Do you think you will get away so easily after all this?"
Su-Jin was now torn between disbelief that a man such as him actually existed, and the fury that was slowly rising within her. She had already lost too much time on this idiot. At the same time, the meows were becoming louder and louder, making her annoyed at the kitten as well.
Ultimately, she forced herself to take a deep breath, trying to think of ways to leave that place without stretching the argument further.
"I can only offer you my apology for jumping in front of your car like that. I really hope you understand why I did it. As you can see, this tiny creature is hurt as well. If you're not going to help me with it, you'd better move out of my way. About your... injury…"
Su-Jin paused, considering her next words carefully.
"I suggest you go and treat it at a hospital. That way, it won't leave a scar. Afterwards, send me the bill." She finally threw at him resentfully.
"The bill?" he snorted. "Do you have any idea how much this is worth?" he said, pointing at his forehead.
"Judging by the looks of it, probably one or two stitches at most." Su-Jin retorted, already turning around to leave.
Luckily, the bus arrived just then, providing Su-Jin with the means of escaping the scene without having to look back.
The man remained standing there, staring after her dumbfoundedly. With his mouth hanging slightly open, and his gaping eyes, the man's face depicted the perfect image of pure shock. When he finally regained his senses, Su-Jin was already long gone.
"Crazy woman." he muttered.
He shook his head, getting back into the car.
Only when he was inside, he noticed that his hands were shaking, and his breathing became erratic. He grabbed the steering wheel, squeezing it tightly until his knuckles turned white.
Earlier during the argument, he had made a fuss about the injury, but he wasn't really referring to his forehead. His scar laid somewhere else, somewhere deep within his heart. Seeing his car running closer and closer to that person made him recollect unwanted memories. The idea of an accident almost drove him into a full panic attack.
"Dammit." He breathed out, clutching the steering wheel even tighter.
He shook his head vigorously, trying to recollect himself. Loud noises came from the cars standing in line behind him. The drivers were honking impatiently at him to move his car out of the way.
Willing himself to calm down, the man finally turned on the engine. Then, he drove the car away, heading towards his destination.
Ten minutes later, Su-Jin was getting out of the bus. Huffing and running, she headed towards the closest veterinary cabinet she could find on the internet. Luckily for her, it was five minutes away from the Kanji Tourism building.
After she left the kitten at the veterinary, promising to come back later that evening to check on it, Su-Jin hurried towards her workplace. When she stopped in front of the tall, twenty-stories building, the phone showed half past eight sharp.
"This has been one hell of a morning." She said to herself, breathing heavily from all that running.
Leaning her head back, she stared up at the building. It was truly imposing, with glass windows on all sides, and a sturdy metallic frame. The design was elegant, but, at the same time, looked strong enough to withstand powerful winds.
However impressive the exterior was, though, it was nothing compared to what awaited Su-Jin inside.