episode_0045

“Heuk, heuk!”

The stalker’s footsteps as he ran away were fast.

Even though I was much faster.

“Tch!”

The way he smoothly dodged obstacles, as if he knew the terrain well, was annoying from the perspective of the pursuer.

“That bastard!”

I gritted my teeth and chased after him.

I will catch him no matter what.

I will catch you and somehow get you to talk.

I caught up to the stalker as he swiftly maneuvered through the alley corners like a water snake.

“Cough!”

With a gasp for breath, the stalker grabbed my neck.

As I grabbed hold of him, I felt it.

‘He’s small.’

He was shorter than I had seen in the video.

My intuition screamed.

This guy is not that stalker.

A sense of foreboding crept over me.

I quickly removed my mask.

It wasn’t Ju Yeon-seok, but a stranger’s face.

“Who are you?”

“P-please, spare me.”

The man spoke, wiping his hands nervously.

“I-I was promised that if I did this once, I would be forgiven…”

“Who ordered you to do this?”

“T-that’s… I can’t say…”

“Speak quickly!”

“Eek!”

With a growl, the man, trembling in fear, revealed the truth.

“I-I can’t say…”

This man was not it.

I could tell.

In that moment, anxiety gripped my heart.

“I left Ju Yeon at home to catch this guy.”

“Damn it!”

I pushed him aside and hurried to Ju Yeon’s house.

“Ahh!”

In the distance, a sharp scream echoed.

“Ju Yeon!”

I saw Ju Yeon being dragged away by the criminal.

The criminal was trying to force her into a car parked in the alley.

“Oh, oppa!”

It wasn’t too late yet.

“You idiot, you couldn’t even buy some time!”

The criminal, who met my gaze, showed irritation.

His voice was familiar.

“Ju Yeon-seok!”

But he didn’t respond.

He was just focused on taking Ju Yeon away with all his might.

My breath was running out, but I didn’t stop.

If I stopped and hesitated now, I would regret it for the rest of my life.

I ran somehow.

I grabbed the criminal’s wrist, trying to kidnap Ju Yeon.

“Ahh!”

The man let go of Ju Yeon’s hand under my grip.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“You son of a b****!”

Although he covered his face with a mask and a hat, it was definitely Ju Yeon-seok.

“Let’s go to the police station. We’ll talk more there…”

At the same time, I saw a sharp object reflecting light in my eyes, and instinctively leaned back.

It was a knife.

He was trying to slash my face with the sharp knife.

“You’re insane!”

I tightened my grip on his wrist.

“Ahh!”

The stalker struggled and swung the knife in his hand.

[Trainer protection protocol activated.]

Thud!

My hand reflexively struck the stalker’s wrist holding the knife.

“Ahh!”

Clang!

“This is self-defense. Got it?”

Confirming the knife had fallen to the ground, I clenched my fist and punched him in the face.

Bam!

“Argh!”

The stalker’s face turned.

The guy who got punched staggered to the ground.

I climbed on top of him and punched him again.

Thud!

“Ahh!”

One punch seemed insufficient.

“Ugh…”

I removed the stalker’s mask as he groaned on the ground.

It was Ju Yeon-seok.

His face was swollen from the blow.

I briefly considered the possibility that he might be someone else.

But as expected, the suspect appeared.

A criminal.

Not only a simple stalker, but he also attempted kidnapping, making the situation even more serious.

“This son of a b****… hitting people? Damn it…”

He still hadn’t come to his senses, cursing at me when he saw me.

“Do you still not know who was in the wrong?”

To think that on top of being a stalker, he was now trying to kidnap someone and complaining after getting slapped in the face.

It was ridiculous.

“If you told me not to approach, then I wouldn’t have. Why do you keep chasing after and harassing people?”

Ju Yeon-seok wasn’t looking at me.

He was looking at Mi-joo, who was trembling behind me.

“Mi-joo! Tell me! Did I do something wrong? It was your friend who did wrong! Who approached who from the beginning! And now you’re denying it? You damn b***h! You b***h!”

Then, Mi-joo approached.

Walking barefoot on the asphalt, Mi-joo approached Ju Yeon-seok.

Smack!

Without hesitation, she slapped Ju Yeon-seok across the face.

“Ugh!”

His face turned to the side.

“Don’t act up. I never had any feelings for you. You just imagined things on your own…”

Mi-joo’s eyes narrowed.

“These bastards. In pairs…”

That’s when it happened.

Thud, thud.

Footsteps were heard.

I turned my gaze.

Coming towards us was Kang Joon, the big guy who always followed Ju Yeon-seok.

He looked at me with a blank expression.

Damn.

I looked up at the guy who was probably over 190 cm tall.

Dark night.

Narrow alley.

Behind me was Mi-joo, and below me was Ju Yeon-seok, who was both a stalker and an attempted kidnapper.

There was nowhere to retreat.

Should I have reported to the police beforehand?

Regret was fleeting.

I clenched my fists secretly.

If the big guy tried to attack me, I was prepared to counter.

“Kang Joon!”

Ju Yeon-seok’s expression brightened at the appearance of a strong ally.

“How dare these b*****ds! Beating up innocent people!”

Kang Joon didn’t respond to Ju Yeon-seok’s words.

He came up to me without a word.

“Do you have a moment?”

Where would the attack come from?

Left fist?

Right fist?

It would be difficult to dodge if he kicked.

As I ran through numerous simulations in my mind…

“Those who exercise… shouldn’t hit people.”

“What?”

“No matter how much of a b*****d the other person is, hitting someone can get you in big trouble.”

“What are you talking about?”

A stronger voice was heard from below.

“Kang Joon! What are you saying! Quickly, deal with those b*****ds!”

Kang Joon didn’t respond to that and spoke to me.

“The person who exercises said there are no bad people. And I saw what that guy did to your girlfriend. I’m sorry. I’ll apologize on his behalf.”

Kang Joon bowed his head.

“This b*****d! Why aren’t you giving them a beating! I clearly said, if you don’t listen to me, I’ll expose the secret you’re hiding!”

“Do as you please.”

“What?”

“No matter how big my secret is, it’s not as big as what you did now.”

“You b*****d!”

It seemed like Kang Joon had no intention of fighting me.

“I don’t think I’ll be the one to accept your apology.”

The apology was something Ju Yeon-seok had to give to Mi-joo.

“And you, keep your mouth shut.”

I stuffed the mask Ju Yeon-seok was wearing into his mouth.

“Mmph!”

After throwing the knife he was holding into a corner, I asked Mi-joo.

“What do you want to do?”

“We need to report to the police immediately.”

“Indeed, that’s the right thing to do.”

Mi-joo straightened her disheveled clothes, which had become a mess during the process of being kidnapped by Ju Yeon-seok.

There were signs of resistance all over her body.

“Sigh.”

I felt guilty.

Damn it.

If I hadn’t blindly chased after another guy disguised as a stalker, this wouldn’t have happened.

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”

“No, it’s not.”

Mi-joo shook her head.

“Without you, I would have continued to struggle and wouldn’t have been able to catch him.”

She looked at Kang Jun, who was being cornered and unable to move, and said.

“Thank you. Yesterday and today as well…”

Weyong- Weyong-.

The sound of a police car approaching from a distance could be heard.

The police arrived and explained the situation.

The story that Ju Yeon-seok had been stalking for a long time.

Videos of scenes he had been secretly watching, along with testimonies from Kang Jun and Mi Joo, were added.

And even attempted kidnapping.

He was caught in the act, so there was no way out.

Although there would be further investigation, the severity of the crime meant he wouldn’t easily get away.

“You may be summoned as a witness soon.”

“I understand.”

The police dragged Ju Yeon-seok, who resisted until the end, away.

“Don’t let your guard down.”

“What?”

Watching Ju Yeon-seok being taken away in a police car, Kang Jun said.

“What do you mean?”

“That guy, his connections are quite strong. He’ll probably get out soon.”

“…Is that so?”

“His father is a ruling party member of the National Assembly.”

No wonder…

“But he won’t be out in a day or two.”

“That’s true.”

Kang Jun nodded at my words.

Then he stared at me intently.

It’s quite uncomfortable to be stared at like that.

“What are you looking at?”

“What kind of exercise are you doing?”

“What?”

“Your body looks different from when I saw you last time.”

“…”

“I asked because I wanted to learn the exercise from someone who does it.”

“Ah.”

I couldn’t say that I was receiving power from the system.

“If you’re curious, come to our gym later.”

I brushed it off.

“…I’ll consider it. And I’ll look into the guy who disguised himself as Ju Yeon-seok. I know him.”

“Thank you. I’ve received a lot of help.”

“It’s my fault for not stopping him. Apologize for me. Comfort your girlfriend well. She must have been through a lot.”

With that, Kang Jun also left.

“It’s all over.”

Ju Yeon-seok was taken to the police station.

Kang Jun also left.

It seems like the stalker incident has been roughly resolved.

Perhaps it’s because I thought everything was over.

“Ah…”

“Mi Joo, are you okay?”

Her legs gave out, and Mi Joo staggered.

I supported her as she almost collapsed to the ground.

“I’m sorry. I was so tense…”

“Let’s go home first.”

People’s gazes were fixed on us.

Lights that had been turned off were now lighting up here and there.

The curious eyes of people watching us were everywhere.

The quiet neighborhood had become noisy.

I pushed away those gazes and supported Mi Joo to her house.

We went inside, and I laid her down on the bed.

“Now that everything’s over, I’ll go home…”

When I tried to get up from my seat again.

“Um… Oppa.”

Mi Joo grabbed my wrist and asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to watch Netflix today?”