I sat there with a swollen, purplish bruise on my cheek. Every word that left my mouth felt like torture, but what else could I do when the woman in front of me was clearly hostile, glaring daggers at me?
If I wasn't careful, my right cheek might be next. It already hurt like hell; another hit and I'd probably end up in the hospital with a broken jawbone.
"It's just a muscle bruise from ruptured capillaries. It'll heal in six or seven days. Don't worry, I didn't use my full strength," the woman said casually.
I froze. My mouth nearly fell open, but I stopped myself, because that would really hurt. If she didn't use her full strength, then what would happen if she did? Would I be dead by now?
Slowly, the realization of how dangerous this woman was began to sink in. I edged back slightly, my voice trembling. "W-who… who are you, exactly?"
She arched a brow. "Me? You should be the one explaining who you are first. You barged into someone's house and spied on a woman in the shower."
I frowned. "Someone's house? The house you're talking about is my grandmother's! I just came home to check on things, and suddenly there's someone using our bathroom—ugh, that hurts!" I winced, clutching my aching cheek as the pain flared from my own outburst.
"Wait… you're Grandma's grandson?"
I nodded weakly. "You knew her?"
"Of course! She was my role model. She was so kind and always willing to help anyone in need. She even let me stay here without paying a single won."
An uneasy feeling crept up inside me. That same kind-hearted Grandma had also let me stay here for free, and I helped her run the boarding house in return. Had she been so disappointed in me that she decided to treat this woman like her own granddaughter instead?
"Grandma… I'm sorry…" I whispered under my breath.
The woman blinked, startled. "A-are you crying?"
"I let Grandma down…"
"H-hey, I'm sorry if I said something insensitive. I didn't mean it that way. You're not the only one grieving, you know. I—I miss her too."
She reached out and patted my back gently, trying to comfort me. "There, there. Don't cry anymore."
Silence filled the room, thick with awkwardness. The woman's hand froze mid-pat, and she quickly pulled away, her face flushing bright red.
"I-I was just trying to comfort you! Don't get the wrong idea. My action just now didn't mean anything," she said nervously.
I looked at her for a moment, then asked, "So… Grandma let you live here?"
"Y-yes. She said I could stay with her."
I studied her from head to toe. Knowing Grandma's generosity, I figured she should've been more careful about who she let in. There was something odd about this woman, something she was trying to hide. My instincts screamed danger. I couldn't let my guard down.
"What was your intention in getting close to Grandma?" I asked suspiciously.
"My… intention?"
"You look uncomfortable when I stare at you, and even more so when I ask why you approached Grandma. You're definitely hiding something. Did you have bad intentions toward her?"
Her face turned crimson. "What kind of woman wouldn't feel uncomfortable being stared at like that?! And for your information, I had no bad intentions toward your grandmother. I'm a black belt holder! The code of martial arts forbids using one's strength recklessly, especially against elders!"
"B-black belt?!" I exclaimed in disbelief.
And that was how I came to terms with the fact that the bruise on my cheek was courtesy of a black belt martial artist. Fate forced us to live under the same roof. My conclusion? Grandma had truly been too kind, so kind that even after her death, her generosity continued to ripple through others.
***
Because of that incident, I had to wear a mask every time I went out. The bruise on my face was still bad, even after a night of cold compresses. Today, I had a presentation, and all I hoped for was that no one would care about how I looked.
Unfortunately, that hope was crushed the moment my classmates began pestering me to take off the mask. Worse still, my professor wasn't sympathetic either. He insisted I remove it, claiming my voice was too muffled.
What's the point of having a microphone, then? They obviously just wanted to humiliate me.
"I'm sorry, but I can't take it off. I've caught a cold," I tried to explain.
They didn't care. The professor pressed harder. Maybe to them this was no big deal, but to me, it was a matter of life and death. Especially when I noticed Jia sitting among the students. Since when was she in the same class as me?
My frown deepened when I saw who she was sitting with. Word must've already reached Minjae, the guy who had been chasing Jia for ages without success.
Maybe today was the day Minjae decided to get revenge for my brief encounter with Jia. He never let anyone near her, but I didn't think someone as insignificant as me would end up in his crosshairs too.
With great reluctance, I removed my mask, revealing the ugly bruise for everyone to see.
The reactions varied—some gasped, some whispered, others snickered until they coughed. I continued my presentation anyway, ignoring the professor's guilty look for forcing me to remove it.
I stood there like a fool—a loser—especially in front of the woman I liked. Jia would never look at me the same way again. I couldn't even bear to meet her eyes.
When the presentation finally ended, I quickly put my mask back on. I knew there was no point hiding it anymore, but at least I could endure a little longer until I escaped this hell Minjae had built for me.
My suffering wasn't over yet. Outside the campus gates, I saw Minjae waiting at the corner with his group. They didn't come empty-handed. That was when I knew, my life might actually end today.
"There he is," Minjae sneered. "The clueless guy who dared to touch my Jia. Who even is he? I didn't know our campus accepted people like him."
One of Minjae's friends stepped forward. "His name's Caspian," he said.