He saw her.
Two men, who seemed to be drunk, were bothering a girl.
She seemed visibly uncomfortable and scared.
"What are they doing, master?"
Si-Hun quietly walked towards them.
The two men didn't pay attention to him coming.
The girl looked at Si-Hun with hope in her eyes, hoping he would be her savior.
She pushed one of the men coming close to him.
The man got angry and held his hand to hurt her, but just in time, Si-Hun came in front of her, and the punch landed on his back.
The girl held slightly onto his sleeve for safety.
"Get lost! It's none of your business." One of the men shouted.
Si-Hun turned around and looked the man in the eyes, his gaze sharp enough to cut through glass.
He punched the man right in the face, breaking his nose.
Blood started coming out of his nose, and he winced.
"Don't you know how to respect women?"
Si-Hun was cold and brutal to him.
The other man saw his friend getting beaten like that, so he tried to run away.
Si-Hun saw him running away, but he asked Kuro to teach him a lesson.
Kuro held him in the air and then threw him against the wall.
The man was confused about how he was held up by an unknown invisible entity.
He was very scared and just ran as fast as he could.
They both got out of there as fast as they could.
Si-Hun's eyes were lacking emotion, but as soon as they landed on the poor girl, who had tears in the corner of her eyes, they softened, just a little.
And Kuro, he noticed it.
That glint of change in his eyes.
"You should be careful. There are a lot of punks like these here. Avoid walking here alone." Si-Hun said to the stranger.
She looked down and didn't say anything.
"Where do you live? I can walk you home. Those guys must be anywhere nearby."
She thought for a bit, and knowing it was still unsafe to go alone in this dark street, she agreed.
Si-Hun nodded, and they both just quietly walked.
Kuro was behind them, smiling a little.
No one said anything until she decided to break the silence.
"Thank you for saving me."
Si-Hun looked at her, who was still looking down, biting her lower lip.
"Just be careful around here. Men like these roam around here, drunk."
"I was just late from University, and just wanted to reach home quickly. T-those men came and cornered me. I-I didn't know that this street had people like...those. My home is not far from here, it's in the city center, building number 4."
Si-Hun recognized that building; it was his building.
"Actually, I live there too. Small world."
"Oh- really? I live on the 8th floor, apartment number 2.''
"Mine is apartment number 1, 8th floor…"
"So you were the new neighbor who moved in a few days ago?"
"Uh yeah, I guess."
"Well, then I owe you a dinner for helping me!"
"A dinner?" Si-Hun was amused by her innocence. She was inviting a stranger whom she had just met on the street.
"But, you're inviting a stranger home. You don't even know me."
"But you seem kind, and you helped me. So, I should pay you back."
Si-Hun chuckled, a rare voice coming from him.
"Okay. I will come."
"How about today?''
"Today?"
"Yes, I made tteobkbokki today."
She wanted to thank him for his kind actions; if he had not stepped in to help her, who knows what would have happened.
Si-Hun smiled and nodded.
They both reached their home, and the girl invited him in.
He took a seat at the table.
Her apartment was nice and cozy, unlike his, cold and raw.
"I should call you?"
Her voice was soft and came out small.
"Han Si-Hun. And you..?''
" Hae Su-Yeon."
She served the food.
Si-Hun actually liked the food.
He almost forgot that Kuro was with them this whole time.
He was quietly seeing them, but not coming ahead.
He was curious about Su-Yeon, but he liked her.
"It's…nice."
"Thank you."
"You go to that college near the city center?"
"Yes. It's my third year."
"So you're halfway through."
"I'll graduate in 1 and a half years."
They talked like this and finished eating.
Si-Hun thanked her for the meal and was about to go when
"You can ask me if you need any help since you just moved in. Here, it's my contact."
"Oh, thank you, but you don't need to be bothered because of me."
"There's nothing like that. You got hurt because of me; this is the least I could do."
Si-Hun smiled and said Thank you again.
And like that, he left from there, only to see Kuro there poking his inner cheeks.
"Whoa, master. What was that??"
"I didn't even know I had a neighbor."
"You're always so lost in your raids that you forget that there are humans around you, too, other than monsters."
"It's a small world, huh?"
"But, why were you feeling shy…?''
Si-Hun side eyes him, pretending not to hear.
He knew Kuro was going to tease him like this.