I cry out and double over, clutching my stomach.
“What the—” The mugger steps toward me, irritation flashing across his face. “Get up. Stop playing games.”
He reaches for my arm to wrench me toward him, but I’ve already decided on my counter move.
My teacher’s tote swings in a wide arc, catching him square in the jaw. The bag is heavier than it looks—stuffed with teacher’s manuals and my laptop—and the impact sends him stumbling off-kilter.
The knife slips from his grip and clatters to the pebbly ground. He curses me out in a flash of rage, but I’m already following up with another move.
I stomp down hard on his foot then thrust the base of my palm into his throat.
He chokes, his hands flying to his neck, his face turning an alarming shade of red. Two years of women’s self-defense classes in college, and I’ve never been more grateful for them.
The instructor always said the throat and the instep were the great equalizers; it didn’t matter how big your attacker was if he couldn’t breathe or stand.
Without waiting to see if he recovers, I bolt past him, my pulse pounding.
But I’m not fast enough.
His hand closes around my elbow, wrenching me backward. I hit the wall hard enough to make me a little dizzy, and suddenly he’s looming over me, his face twisted with rage.
“You’re gonna pay for that,” he snarls, spittle flying from his lips. “I was gonna let you live but now?—”
A dull thwack cuts himoff.
His eyes go wide then roll back in his head. He staggers to the side as if trying to remain on his feet, then he falls over, face-planting into a dirty puddle with a wet splash.
Behind him stands Mr. Noh, a chunk of splintered plywood clutched in his hands.
“Miss Ross,” he says, sounding startled yet steady all at once. “Are you alright? Do you need medical attention?”
I stare at him, my brain struggling to catch up with what just happened. The adrenaline is still surging through me, making it feel as if I’m in some weird dream.
“I—” I start, then interrupt myself for a shaky breath. Clearing my throat, I try again. “I’m okay… I… I think. He just... he came out of nowhere. I didn’t know there were muggers in Suyeong.”
“It’s usually a very safe neighborhood,” the vice-principal answers, setting down the plywood and stepping over the unconscious man to check me for injury. “But in recent times, there have been some troublemakers. Please, come inside. I’ll call the police and we can file a report.”
I nod numbly and let him guide me back toward the school, only sparing one last quick glance at the mugger lying unconscious in the puddle.
Mr. Noh’s office is small for a vice-principal, but it’s tidy and decorated with framed certificates and a few potted plants that are obviously well-tended.
I sit in one of the chairs across from his desk, my hands wrapped around a cup of tea he’s made me. My gaze is set on the framed photograph on his desk, which seems to be of him and his wife from when they first married. He had a thicker head of hair back then but the same calm, kind eyes. His wife looks just as sweet, her belly round and pregnant.
Through the ajar door, I can hear him speaking with a police officer in the corridor. He’s calmly explaining that a member of his staff was attacked by the mugger.
I opt not to identify myself when he offered to let me speak with the officer directly. The less involved I am with the Busan police, the better.
Given my connection to Jin—one of the city’s biggest and most dangerous criminals—any interaction with law enforcement feels like a risk.
The last thing I need is some overeager detective digging into my life and stumbling onto who my fiancé is and what he does for a living.
So I’m grateful for Mr. Noh stepping up. More than happy to let him handle it, identifying himself to the police officer as a concerned administrator who witnessed the aftermath of an attempted mugging.
It’s not entirely a lie.
The officer eventually leaves, and only a moment later, Mr. Noh steps back into the office, closing the door behind him.
“Good news,” he says, settling into his chair. “Apparently, this man has been terrorizing several people in the area. The officer believes they’ll be able to put him away for at least a few months this time.”
