Vows and Bullets
Chapter 125: Sleepless Night (Part 2)

Chapter 125: Sleepless Night (Part 2)

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[Still at Yoon-Ah’s POV]

[Two hours before her call with Agent Selene continuation...]

The men that appeared from nowhere—were all wearing black suits, and they approached Mr. Seo-Hyuk when he turned towards a dark alley. I couldn’t see much anymore, but they talked to him. It seemed like they knew each other? The men in black suits were also bowing down to him respectfully.

"Bodyguards? Is Mr. Seo-Hyuk actually a rich person?"

Hmm... Well, if that’s the case, it’s no wonder since his manners, the way he stood and talked, and even just his aura screams "Old Money." I did think of him like that before, but I didn’t want to pry, so I didn’t ask him. After all, we only had been friends for what? Less than a month? Yeah. It was too early to ask.

Ever since my little accident with those thugs, Mr. Seo-Hyuk had been visiting the coffee shop frequently, asking me random stuff such as...

"How are you?"

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Are you experiencing any trauma or phobia from what happened?"

"How’s your family taking it in?"

"How’re your friends taking it in? Are they okay?"

He had always been nice, polite, and caring. He didn’t need to check on me, but I think the reason he visited the shop often was just him being kind and wanting to check if I really was okay. He truly was kind. That’s why I’m not going to allow any bad men to approach him!

Well, good thing those men in black suits weren’t harassing him, or else... I’d ask the bodyguards from Ye-Ji’ya to fight them. He-he. I couldn’t possibly fight those men.

I continued watching them, curious about what was happening and also waiting for the perfect timing to wave good morning to Mr. Seo-Hyuk. I already prepared a warm smile just for him!

But then... that warm smile soon faded from my lips.

SMACK!

THUDD!

DUGSH!

I jolted from my seat, hearing those sounds.

The first one was the sound of someone getting punched or kicked.

The second one was someone hitting a wall or something.

And the third one was the sound of something collapsing? I’m not even sure anymore.

Were they doing something bad to Mr. Seo-Hyuk after all?!

Scared but worried, I went back to the window and hid between the curtains to peek again. Blood splattered on the ground, and one of the men in a black suit was groveling at his feet.

’W-What is happening?’

"P-Please... forgive us—"

The man who had blood on his face pleaded for mercy only to be welcomed by another punch and kick from another man wearing a black suit. The punches continued until Mr. Seo-Hyuk stepped in and raised his arm, asking them to stop.

When he did, I finally saw the fullness of the tattoo on his upper arm. The light from the post at the corner of the dark alley illuminated his skin.

And on his right arm was an artwork of an anchor wrapped in some huge tentacles—like an octopus or a squid.

"Stop," Mr. Seo-Hyuk said. "That’s enough. You can all go now."

"T-Thank you..."

Just as he said, they all went away and left him alone. The poor man with blood on his face was carried by the other men, helping him to walk despite his injuries.

’Did they have some argument? I wonder what happened?’

Good thing Mr. Seo-Hyuk was there to stop them. Haaaah...

After that, Mr. Seo-Hyuk continued walking until he passed our house. My courage earlier to greet him all went down the drain.

Halfway through the uphill road, Mr. Seo-Hyuk suddenly stopped and turned around. Then, he glanced up and towards my window! Oh my goodness!

I was still hiding at that time, but that sudden look startled me!

’Did he see me? No way that’s possible. My room was dark, and if you look at it from below, no one should be able to see inside my room except the window—and I was hiding between my curtains, so he couldn’t have seen me, right?’

Or was he just checking on me again?

It probably was because soon enough, he turned to his back again and continued walking.

"Phew! That was nerve-wracking," I sighed to myself in relief. "Dang it! My tea has grown cold. I should reheat this."

And so, I did. While reheating it, everything that happened ran through my head. My mind was filled with hundreds of questions in an instant.

"Who were those men?"

"Are they Mr. Seo-Hyuk’s bodyguards?"

"Was he actually some VIP or something?"

"And why did they punch that poor man so much that he bled?"

"Did he do something bad?"

"And what exactly was that?"

"Why are they meeting before dawn in some dark alley? Were they trying to avoid prying eyes or something?"

"And what is Mr. Seo-Hyuk’s involvement with them?"

Yeah. That’s right. They seemed to respect him and follow him like their leader or something. Hmm... Don’t tell me they belong to some gang like Yakuzas or Mafias or something alike?

"Pft! No way, Mr. Seo-Hyuk would be involved in that," I chuckled to myself. "Maybe, they were indeed his bodyguards, and they did something wrong, so that’s how they discipline their people. And Mr. Seo-Hyuk felt sorry, so he asked them to stop beating the crap out of the other man."

I concluded all that with my simple mind, though something still felt a little amiss. I didn’t mind it much, so I went to my computer and started watching random stuff until hours had already passed. Still, I was a little bothered by what I saw.

’Maybe I should ask Ye-Ji’ya about it. She should be familiar, right?’

Thinking that, I decided to message my best friend. She soon replied by calling me instead of replying to my text message. Good thing she was awake!

We talked and talked and talked... but then again, I didn’t have the courage to bring it up to her. I didn’t want her to worry unnecessarily. She was finally living a little happier than how she used to be with her revenge in mind. I shouldn’t dampen her marriage life for something like this.

"Haaah..." I sighed deeply as soon as the call ended.

’It’s okay, Yoon-Ah. You did the right thing by not telling her. Ye-Ji’ya is already busy, and she’s finally living a happy life with her husband. There’s no need to worry her over something you THINK you saw.’

I tried to tell myself that, over and over.

"Yeah... that’s right. It’s nothing serious," I whispered to myself, trying to convince myself despite the many noises in my head.

But then... "that" image was stuck in my mind.

And somehow, my instincts kept telling me I was right.