His massive hand still hung in the air in front of Aurora as he turned his face in my direction.
His expression lacked the bit of self-control he owned, so I was forced by my reflexes to take a few steps back.
In a moment, he turned his whole body on me, and while the pieces of broken glass creaked under his shoes, he strode toward me.
,,Ya!" I caught an unfamiliar voice from the part where several customers were sitting before his outstretched hand appeared in my field of vision.
Instantly after, I felt a nasty pressure in the back of my head as he grabbed part of my hair hard in his fist.
Despite the pain caused by his pulling, I stared straight into his eyes with a blank expression. My palms were pressed against the edge of the table, into which I had dug skin on my thighs.
,, You threw a fucking cup at me!" His raised voice sounded in my ears.
,,Byeong-Ho!" I heard Aurora's scream.
As soon as the moment of shock subsided, my mouth decided not to wait for the advice that was forming in my brain.
,, So now you're showing it to the audience?"
,, I'd love to show them where your place is." He did not hesitate to answer.
Then another of Aurora's attempts to draw his attention back to her were heard.
,, Dare to raise your hand at her sometime in your life. Or at me." I said despite the situation I was in.
Maybe I'd deserve the blow that would most likely strike me. Maybe it would work for me.
I was aware this sentence hit him, and that's why a wave of surprises passed through me when the pressure suddenly disappeared.
My realization was that Byeong-Ho had been dragged away from me by force.
,, You're sick, buddy. Get yourself out of this cafe!"
A dark-haired man spoke, standing with his back to me in a defensive gesture, blocking my view.
A few seconds later, Aurora stood by me, her palms pressed against both of my upper arms.
,,Sorry. I'm so sorry, Mill." The accumulated tears in her eyes could not be overlooked. It was terrifying for her.
,, I'm alright." I gave her the reassurance she needed and moved her hands back to her body.
When I looked up, I had the chance to see that stranger struggling to keep Byeong-Ho in one place. He was more than furious.
Then a voice came from behind us again.
,, Hey you! I called the police!"
I saw a customer standing at one of the tables in the company of a girl holding his hand.
However, if he thought that this announcement would help the situation in any way, I'd rather have my hair snatched and then pick it up from the floor in peace.
That would be better than the punch that Byeong-Ho inflicted on the dark-haired man.
A scream escaped Aurora's lips, followed by her quick steps toward the stranger who was just kneeling on the ground.
My gaze landed again on my friend's ex-boyfriend, who was now watching her in disbelief.
Then, purely for psychopathic use, he bend down and took a piece of glass from a broken cup in his fingers. His eyes searched for the couple a few feet from him again and quickly stood up.
,, Quit this!" I stepped closer, but I was still a safe distance away.
Based on my raised voice, Aurora turned her face in our direction and her eyes widened as she looked at the shrapnel in his hand.
A second later, a muscular arm encircled her waist, and with that movement the guy moved her behind his back.
My eyes rested for a moment on the handful of people in the cafe, and the feeling of anger grew inside me.
They sat there, at the tables. With their orders in front of them with various expressions on their faces, but no other act could be expected of them. I didn't even see the man who called the police anymore.
However, I was interrupted when I felt the crippling chills that came from the fact that in a short time of my inattention, Byeong-Ho managed to move to me and press the piece of glass against my cheek.
,,Make her step away from him. Right now!" He growled in my face. Then there was increased pressure on my skin with that sharp little thing.
I was staring into the eyes of a pure rapist.
The next moment I hissed at the sudden biting pain. I realized that his hand and the shrapnel were gone, and his closeness had also disappeared.
It was only after I closed my eyes hard and opened them again that I was sure of what was happening.
Su-Jin's right hook struck Byeong-Ho with incredible force into his left temple while my stomach twisted in discomfort.
Furthermore, no hesitation came when he wanted to straighten his head in the original position, the punch was repeated. Maybe with even more urgency.
Before my body could cooperate with my mind which shouted at me to do something, the guy who had been kneeling on the ground intervened again.
He placed his palm on Su-Jin's shoulder, drawing his attention, but Byeong-Ho used it for quick-recovery.
However, once he took a step forward, this time he was genuinely stopped by a hard-sounding serious voice.
,, Put the shard down and step away! All three of you!"
We all turned our faces to the two incoming police officers.
,, What's going on here?" The other one, who had his hands folded, asked.
I turned in front of me again, where I glanced at all four people standing there wordlessly.
The stranger wiped the blood that was running from his nose with his sleeve, after which Aurora handed him a napkin straight away.
Her ex-boyfriend seemed to be marked by the wounds inflicted on him, so he just clenched his fists dangling along his body.
As my gaze traveled to Su-Jin's face, I might not have been surprised to notice that he was looking directly at me.
Well, he didn't look into my eyes, rather below.
Then he strode straight for me.
,,Ya! Young man, stand still!" A policeman shouted at him, but the words literally bounced off him.
When he was right in front of me, he raised his hand and gently touched my cheekbone with his fingers.
He then pulled them away so I could notice my blood there.
,, This is called disobeying a police order!" Again, his words had no effect.
Instead, Su-Jin reached out again and rubbed the cut with his thumb several times in a row to wipe out the rest.
Despite the situation we were in, a slight smile formed on my lips.
I gazed straight into his eyes, which closed for a moment, and a deep breath came out of his nostrils.
I followed his example.
For the first time, I was glad that someone had used violence, which made my heart feel like it wanted to jump out of my chest and angrily leave to look for another one to hop into.
But the feeling of Su-Jin's closeness kept the imaginary cage around it, which had no sign of inconvenience or disorder at all.
When my eyelids lifted again, I noticed that Byeong-Ho had handcuffs on.
One of the officers stood by Aurora, who was probably explaining the situation that had happened a while ago.
This time I had the opportunity to look at the face of a guy standing next to my friend. After a few seconds, I recognized in him the man who was drenched in his companion's drink and whom Aurora then went to help.
A little later, Byeong-Ho was taken to a police car in front of the shop. One of the men of the law stayed with us and passed us all with an indistinct gaze.
,, I'm going to have to ask you two to come to the police station." He announced, and after the two guys confirmed they were coming, he joined his colleague.
Su-Jin took a few steps away from me with an unreadable expression.
Then his eyes softened.
,, I'm sorry."