Chapter Text
“You’re close to my ideal type. Wanna join me and some of my buddies for drinks tonight?”
Jang Seonyeong looked up from her phone and gave the sleazy guy an unimpressed look. She had gone out with her girlfriends to de-stress after midterms. Though she was initially looking forward to tonight, considering her last night out was with an ex ages ago, the plans she and her friends had made went down the drain fairly quickly. First, Minseo had to leave early to turn in an assignment she totally did not forget was due that same night, then Eunmi and Hyejung got into an argument over a team project they received a rather unsatisfying grade on and stormed out. That left her with Minji, and while they were able to party it up for a bit, the poor girl got herself one too many drinks and started wailing over her most recent quarrel with her boyfriend. Seonyeong was determined to turn the night around, to end it off on a strong note, but she had to admit there was no saving it after rubbing Minji’s back as she spilled the contents of her stomach into one of the club’s dingy toilets. When she finally got around to calling her friend a cab at around eleven p.m., she was left waiting outside the club for all of two minutes before getting hit on by some slimeball. Just her luck.
Clearly, tonight wasn’t proving to be very de-stressing after all.
"No thanks,” Seonyeong replied, her voice dull. Looking back down at her phone, she ignored the guy’s huffs of indignation and the hoots of his small crew just a few feet behind him. She scrolled through some posts on Instagram, not really processing what she was liking as she mentally pleaded for the guy to walk away. She seriously just wanted to get back to her dorm and sleep for eternity.
"Ah, your number then, huh?” Without warning, the persistent dolt swiped her phone out of her hand.
“Hey!” Jerking her head up, Seonyeong’s eyes shot flames at the offender. She was seriously regretting not getting into that cab with Minji and just calling it a night.
Dangling the phone above his head, he eyed the woman. “What? Not gonna try and reach for it?” He snickered, taunting Seonyeong. He continued dangling the device, waiting for her to try and take it back.
Not wanting to feed into his satisfaction, Seonyeong stayed put. She stared at him with simmering anger and her fists bunched at her sides. The guy cackled.
“You’re cute when you’re mad, you know? Hey, I’ll give you back your phone if you agree to join me.” He blinked slowly, waggling his eyebrows. “Just one drink, hm?”
This wasn’t Seonyeong’s first rodeo with pricks like him. It wasn’t always easy to brush off their catcalling or their unwanted comments about her looks, but she believed she had become fairly impervious to jerks like him. However, she was truly feeling her patience run thin tonight.
It’s one thing to bug me with your sour breath, but it's another to snatch my damn phone, Seonyeong thought as she watched the man turn to his chortling group and laugh along with them. In an attempt to retrieve her phone, Seonyeong swung her arm up, only for her wrist to wind up in his free hand. He squeezed.
“Ugh, let go!” Seonyeong wriggled in his grasp, but to no avail. She really didn’t want to resort to physical violence, but there was no telling how badly this would escalate. What she could tell, though, was that his temper was rising, if his tight grip on her was anything to go by. Upon closer inspection, his clothes were a tad disheveled and smelled faintly of alcohol. Was he already drunk? She hadn't noticed him exiting the club...
“Whaddya think you’re doing? Didn’t I make you a deal? You know, you should really show more respect for your seniors-”
A shadow fell over his profile, putting an abrupt end to his babbling. The ominous gloom that blocked the dim lighting previously shining on the two seemed to spook the guy’s gang, judging by the way they stopped laughing and backed up just a smidge. She even thought she heard someone among the group say the word “Lucifer.” The losers looked like they were about to tuck their tails and run.
Seonyeong looked to her right and understood right away why they had all abandoned their bravado.
A man, a very tall man, towered over them all. He had to be a head or two taller than all the men present. Seonyeong was sure that her head would barely graze his chin. He wore a black bomber jacket and a black hat. His dark wash jeans were the only pop of color on his person, but even then, they looked black in his silhouette. A mask hung below his jaw, making the bottom half of his face visible. Although his hat made it difficult to make out his eyes, she didn’t need to see his expression to register his overwhelming aura of intimidation.
In his distracted stupor, the oaf’s grip loosened, and Seonyeong ripped her arm free. Rubbing her wrist, she watched as the tall stranger—who definitely had to be well over six feet—plucked her phone with ease from the cowering weasel. He wordlessly handed the phone back to her, which she accepted mutely herself, and kept his body facing towards the rodent of a man. Then he took off his cap.
Taking in the man’s features, Seonyeong was, for lack of a better word, dumbstruck. He wasn’t even looking at her, but she was captivated. His black hair was neat and short on the sides, but a bit longer at the top, enough to cover a portion of his forehead. His eyes were dark and harsh, contributing to his severe countenance and no doubt making the men before him shrivel internally. She took note of the scar that rested horizontally underneath his right eye.
Was the devil supposed to be this handsome?
Seonyeong couldn’t have prepared herself for the words that came out of the stranger’s mouth then.
“I’m free for a drink. Let’s go.”
It came out deep and monotone, leaving no room for debate. Seonyeong turned to the recipient of this self-invite, and was pleased with the results. He was positively pale. And to make matters even more comical, his arm was still raised; his hand was still poised to hold a phone that was not there. The thing looked like a frightened goat.
Well, this was one way to sober up.
Shakily, he finally said, “Um, w-we’re good…we were actually gonna go back-”
“Come on, just one drink.” And with that, the stranger hooked his arm around the man’s shoulders. The stranger began dragging him away, but he didn’t forget about the rest of the douche’s posse. Nodding his head at them, he gritted out, “Let’s. Go.” The gaggle of onlookers seemed to shrink under the stranger’s words. With visible reluctance, they scurried ahead.
And so there the unlikely group of men went. Seonyeong watched, dumbfounded, as the stranger pulled the flustered guy along, his grip on his shoulders firm.
No, Seonyeong was definitely not taking note of his broad shoulders.
The stranger in black turned his head to look back at her. When his eyes connected with hers, she felt a zing travel up her spine. He started to mouth something, and Seonyeong found herself laser-focused.
Get home safe.
Plopping his hat back on, he turned forward, continuing his walk with the bunch of no-goods.
Seonyeong watched him get further and further away, until he turned a corner and disappeared. She hadn’t realized she placed her hand over her heart or that said organ was thump-thump-thumping out of control. Releasing a breath and unlocking her phone, she pulled up her ride-hailing app. Only one question remained in her mind on the drive back to her dorm building.
Who are you?