Chapter 227

Chapter 227

Bamboo Forest Manager.

Episode 227: Thieving Bastard

I wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about bicycles.

In fact, until I bought one, I was completely clueless.

The fact that I, who was so ignorant, came to know so much about it.

It means I invested a lot of affection and went through a lot of deliberation.

They say when people are angry, they can’t see anything.

I’ve resolved to immediately punch the face of the thief who stole my bicycle.

“Come out! Is it you? Is it you!?”

I’ll hit whoever comes out!

Even that biggest, bald guy over there!

I’ve already built up immunity to bald heads, so I’m confident enough.

‘As soon as they come out, I’ll surprise them with a first strike. That’ll make them flustered and flail, right? Then I’ll step in and go for a Dempsey roll to the abdomen.’

The strategy is already set.

All that’s left is to act exactly as I’ve planned in my head.

To even become good at fighting?

Kim Woojin is just crazy.

So damn sexy.

But the response from the gangsters was quite different from what I expected.

“What are you saying, man?”

“We came here in a van, you idiot.”

“…What?”

I inadvertently slipped into polite speech.

The chuckling gangsters looked at me with amusement instead.

“Hey, kid. I thought you were stepping up to heroically save Ju-hee, but that’s not it?”

“Wow, who is it? Who stole this kid’s bicycle?”

“That’s a tough one. Whoever stole that kid’s bike is gonna be in deep trouble.”

What the heck, these guys.

I couldn’t help but be a bit flustered by their encouragement of my courage.

I naturally assumed one of the gangsters came on my bicycle.

What the heck.

Then whose bicycle is it outside?

No, it’s mine.

Then who’s the thief?

As I stared blankly at the counter, my gaze fell on one of the staff members there.

A tall guy was awkwardly glancing around, gauging the situation.

The other part-timers nudged him, asking if he came by bike.

“Is it you?”

Walking past the gangsters, I asked the part-timer hesitantly. His eyes darted around and then suddenly bolted.

“That guy’s running away!”

“Ha ha ha! Catch that bastard!”

Leaving the amused gangsters behind, I hurriedly dashed outside.

At first, he tried to escape on a bicycle, but upon seeing Seo Yerin and Yu Arin blocking the way, he quickly changed direction.

“That’s him! That bastard’s the culprit! Hey! You’re already exposed because of your job, so just stop, you idiot!”

Even though I shouted that running away was pointless, it seemed my words didn’t reach him.

He continued running with his back turned.

I tried to catch him, but he was incredibly fast.

“If you can run that well, why not just run marathons, you crazy bastard!”

Though I’m pretty fit and kept up persistently, the distance wasn’t closing.

While tenaciously chasing him,

Whoosh!

A fruity scent passed by me.

Yu Arin, with her neatly tied blonde hair fluttering, sped past me in an instant.

“Wow.”

I was so amazed by her speed that I clicked my tongue unconsciously, but Yu Arin didn’t even glance at me as she dashed forward, surpassing me.

Thinking it would be tough to escape from Yu Arin who caught up so quickly, he turned into an alley.

The culprit and Yu Arin went in, and a few seconds later, I entered the alley.

Funnily enough, the guy cornered in the dead-end was in a standoff with Yu Arin.

“Hey! Hey!”

“Huff! Huff! Ah, damn, I’m out of breath! Hey! You’ve been caught anyway, you know? You’re a café worker, so your identity and face are all on CCTV. Why are you running away?”

I tried talking to him while catching my breath, but he was too agitated for a reasonable conversation.

If it comes to this, there’s no choice.

“Arin, step aside.”

I grab Yu Arin by the shoulder and pull her back. Yu Arin’s eyes widen at my suggestion to fight myself.

No matter what, I can’t just watch my girl fight.

“Hey, are you sure about this? Judging by his stance, he looks like he’s trained in something.”

“…What?”

I inadvertently respond in surprise.

Then, just as I was about to step back and let Arin handle it.

Whoosh!

The thief charged at me like a beast.

He seemed to think that if he just subdued me, the man, he would be fine, and immediately knocked me down, then started punching.

Thud!

“Ow! It hurts!”

Thud! Thud!

“Can you handle this? Do you know how much the medical bills will be?!”

Thud! Thud!

“Ouch! It’s 100,000 won per punch, and you’ve hit five times, so that’s 500,000 won, sir!”

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

“600! 700! 800! 900! Hey, you bastard! That’s enough!”

While covering my face with both hands and getting beaten up.

Thinking he’d completely subdued me, he suddenly stood up.

Lying down, I watch the upside-down world as Yu Arin and the criminal fight.

“I thought you’d be impressive since you said you’d fight.”

“I ran all the simulations in my head…”

Reality doesn’t always go as planned.

Limp and dazed, I watch Yu Arin and the thief’s fight.

“Arin, if it looks like you’re going to get hit, just let it go.”

I said this because I didn’t want to see Yu Arin get hit, but she just smirked and stepped forward.

“I won’t let the bastard who hits my man get away.”

Wow, that’s so impressive.

I should have been the one to say that line.

Thud!

The thief charged at Yu Arin in the same way he did at me. It seemed like his plan was to tackle her, pin her down, and then hit her.

“Where does that bastard think he’s going, attacking someone else’s girl!”

The moment I saw him trying to pounce on Yu Arin, I suddenly found strength and jumped up.

But instead, it was the thief who ended up on the ground.

Wham!

A precise knee kick landed squarely on his face. Yu Arin closed the distance with a quick step, countering the thief who was charging at her in a crouch.

Her swift movements were so fast it seemed like the wind was blowing around her.

“Ugh!”

The guy fell with a nosebleed.

As I jumped up, I stared at Yu Arin in a daze as the guy collapsed.

But Yu Arin didn’t stop there; she even delivered a soccer kick to the face of the groaning guy on the ground.

Thwack!

“Wow, isn’t that a bit much?”

I found myself empathizing with the thief and asked, to which Yu Arin grumbled, annoyed.

“Don’t go around getting hit. It’s really annoying to watch.”

“Then shouldn’t you have saved me when I was getting hit?”

“I thought you had it handled.”

She pinched my waist once and then examined the injury on my face.

“Ugh, you’ve got a scratch on that not-so-handsome face. What are you going to do about it?”

Watching her turn my face this way and that with both hands made me laugh.

“Se-ah said earlier that I’ve gotten more handsome.”

“To me, you’re the same. Just plain old Kim Woojin.”

Is it because we overcame a crisis together?

Why is she so irresistible right now?

“Arin, can I kiss you?”

“Are you crazy?”

Smooch.

But as soon as Yu Arin finished speaking, I brushed off her hand and kissed her.

A brief kiss.

Yu Arin’s surprised expression as she looked up at me felt cute, so I kissed her again.

Tongues intertwined.

Even as we explored each other’s lips in the alley, we knew we shouldn’t be doing this here.

We should finish quickly.

It would be dangerous if someone saw us.

With that thought in mind, my grip tightened, but her addictive taste only grew sweeter.

“Woojinaaah! Arinaaa!”

Just then, Seo Yerin’s voice echoed from outside the alley.

Without a word, we quickly pulled away and awkwardly tidied our clothes.

“Huff! Huff! Oh, I’m out of breath!”

Seo Yerin caught her breath, leaning against the alley entrance. It seems she had a hard time keeping up.

“Guys! There’s a big problem right-!”

Seo Yerin, about to shout something, was startled when she saw me.

“W-Woojin?! What’s with your face! Oh no! Our Woojin! Except for your face and… There’s nothing you excel at!”

Seo Yerin, on the verge of tears, ran over and hugged me tightly.

“……”

Suddenly, she stared at me with suspicious eyes.

Smooch.

Out of nowhere, she kissed me.

“Tastes like fruit, you jerk!”

And then she delivered a punch to my abdomen.

“Oof!”

Seo Yerin’s punch was light due to her lack of strength, but it landed precisely on my solar plexus, delivering a critical hit.

She patted my hunched back with her palm.

“Did Arin take care of you because you were hurt?! Our Woojin seems to be living too busily! Running off to chase a thief, knocking them down, and kissing Arin! How! How does this all happen in just 10 minutes?!”

I glanced at Yu Arin for help, but she avoided my gaze and pretended not to know anything.

‘I should have slapped her instead of kissing her.’

Feeling betrayed, I recall what Seo Yerin mentioned when she entered the alley earlier and urgently shout,

“You said there was a big problem earlier! What is it?! Did someone steal a bike again?”

I was trying to change the subject, and Seo Yerin, realizing she had forgotten, finally stopped her hands.

“Th-thugs! There are thugs in the café! Those people-!”

Hearing Seo Yerin’s words, I felt a chill down my spine and immediately dashed to the café.

Inside the café, there was nothing but silence.

The customers had already left, and the owner and the part-timers were keeping their mouths shut, just observing.

The thugs were kneeling.

Yes.

They were kneeling.

“Huff! Huff!”

Entering the cafe, I rushed to the tearful thugs to comfort them and told them to stand up quickly.

“Get up! Get up! Oh dear, those gentlemen must have been scary, right?”

Then the professional bodyguards in black suits, sunglasses, and even wearing earpieces approached me.

“Young Master, are you all right?”

The thugs’ eyes widened in surprise.

Young master?!

With such expressions, they knelt again, lowered their eyes, and apologized.

“Uh, sorry for cursing earlier.”

“We were mocking… We were disrespectful to you.”

“We should have helped you catch the bike thief.”

Indeed.

I contacted my oldest and second brothers. I asked if they could help since I might get tangled with some thugs again over the bicycle issue.

I mentioned it like that…

I never expected the security team to arrive before the police.

“Why did you come so quickly?”

“We’re always on standby near Gahyeon University. The vice president ordered it after the last incident with the thugs.”

“……”

“For the record, we didn’t make them kneel. When we enquired about your location, they suddenly picked a fight, so we only responded in self-defense. Even if the police show up, we can charge them with obstruction of business.”

The voice, subtly proud of handling it cleanly without breaking the law.

I unconsciously slapped my forehead and glanced at the thugs.

“Ha, this is driving me crazy.”

I can hear police sirens outside.

Someone must have reported it.

I looked around and then spoke to the thugs.

“Stand up and order a drink each. Security team, line up behind the thugs. Since we found the bicycle, I’ll treat you all.”

The line forms neatly.

Senior Ju-hee at the counter spoke with a bewildered expression.

“I’ll take your order…”

“Iced Java Chip Frappuccino, please.”

What?

“What did you say you wanted?”

Now I’m really annoyed.

“…Iced Americano, please.”