The Beast Rages

While In Guk, Jin Goo and Yeo Ri were having their 'date', another person was also forcibly brought out on a date.

A seemingly eternal frown was carved on Hyuk's face. Fifteen minutes ago, he'd been blissfully wrapped under the familiar covers of his bed, but the noisy sound of his ringing phone woke him up.

"Hey, Lee Hyuk! What took you so long to answer?!" The girl on the other side said, her tone full of annoyance. She had called him several times already but he was sleeping so he ignored the calls.

"What?" Hyuk replied grouchily.

"Hey, let's go on a date," she said. It was more of a statement rather than a request.

"No," Hyuk unhesitatingly replied.

"What! Hey, if you don't take me out on a date right now, I'll keep bothering you for the whole day!" Bomi threatened. Why was it so d*mn hard to get him to go out with her? She liked challenges but Hyuk was really too difficult. Guys would usually swarm to her but Hyuk was the complete opposite. Fortunately, his face was good so her hardships were worth it.

"F*ck—!" Hyuk spat out, cracking his bleary eyes open. He really would not be able to stand her pestering, so he begrudgingly agreed to her request. "Fine! I got it, so shut up!"

And that was how he got to the outlet mall to accompany Bomi while she window-shopped.

Unbeknownst to him, Yeo Ri and the two guys were eating ice cream three stores away from where he stood.

Yeo Ri, In Guk and Jin Goo stood outside the ice cream parlour with their ice creams in hand. There were not many seats left in the shop since it was the weekends so they opted to walk around while eating.

"Are you sure you're fine with just one scoop?" In Guk asked.

"Yes!"

Yeo Ri held the ice cream as if it was a treasure. Although she wasn't so poor that she could not afford a single cone of ice cream every once in a while, she often denied herself the pleasure since the money could have been used for better purposes... like groceries. Besides, the flavour she had chosen was one that was only available at certain franchises of the ice cream brand. In a sense, the frozen treat really was a treasure in her eyes.

Smiling happily, Yeo Ri admired the multi-coloured ice cream in her hands.

Just as she was about to sink her teeth into the tasty cold sphere, someone had bumped into her.

"Ah—!"

Splat!

Yeo Ri's jaw dropped at the unbelievable situation. The ice cream that she had been looking forward to devour was now kissing the floor, staining the tile below. The sight looked so pitiful that some people couldn't help but stop and stare.

"Ah... no... but..." Yeo Ri stuttered. Her eyes were wide and the tears were already pooling. It looked as if her world had ended. She pursed her lips into a sad pout, trembling ever-so-slightly. "I—"

"Y-Yeo Ri-ah?" In Guk instantly felt bad for her, "Want me to get you another scoop?"

"Hic—" Yeo Ri unceremoniously started crying. She felt so wronged that she could not stop her tears.

"Y-Yeo Ri-ah?!" In Guk and Jin Goo panicked as the girl cried. Truly, a child will always be a child. It was just a little mishap but it was enough to bring her down. The two guys were not familiar with dealing with young girls so they did not know how to comfort her. "Please don't cry," was the only thing they could say.

"Kid, it's just an ice cream. Here, you can have mine; please stop crying!" Jin Goo held out his ice cream. He hadn't eaten it yet and he hoped it would appease the girl. But it did not work.

"Uu—" Yeo Ri cried even harder.

The two clueless boys fussed over her, hoping to somehow coax her into stopping her tears.

As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours.

At that exact timing, Hyuk who had just walked out of a store with Bomi noticed the commotion.

"...Yeo Ri?!" Hyuk's eyes widened as he recognised the crying little girl. It was definitely Yeo Ri—there was no mistake. He could always recognise her even among a large crowd.

"—Hey, Lee Hyuk, where are you going?!" Bomi yelled, startled as Hyuk suddenly started running. She ran after him in confusion.

"Oi, what did you do to my sister?!" Hyuk roared as he tackled In Guk. "You b*stard, how dare you make Yeo Ri cry?!"

"O-oppa?!"

"Wait—!" In Guk hurriedly tried to back away from the rabid guy. "This is a misunderstanding!"

Jin Goo tried to pry Hyuk off from his friend, but Hyuk easily threw him off.

"Oppa, stop!" Yeo Ri shrieked as Hyuk landed several punches on In Guk's already-bruised face. She wanted to stop him by hugging him from behind, but Jin Goo quickly realised the dangers of her action and stopped her. Watching Hyuk's behaviour, it was clear that he'd accidentally hurt her. If she did that, she would surely come home sporting a bruised face or a bloody nose.

"Lee Hyuk, what are you doing?!" Bomi shouted in shock. She'd seen him fight before, but to do it in such an open and public place? Part of her wanted to pretend she didn't know him, but if she didn't do anything, he'd probably kill the other guy.

Seeing that the older girl seemed to know Hyuk, Jin Goo passed Yeo Ri to her. "This is that crazy guy's little sister. Watch her for me, would you?" He pushed Yeo Ri to the girl before joining the fight.

The two girls exchanged worried glances. There were still remnants of tears in Yeo Ri's eyes so Bomi patted her reassuringly, "You okay?" Since the girl seemed innocent and cute, Bomi couldn't help but use a softer tone. "Seriously, what's wrong with your brother? Attacking someone out-of-nowhere, is he crazy?"

Tears welled up in her eyes again as she remembered why her was fighting. "It's my fault," she said, hiccuping.

"Oh, oh no—don't cry!" Bomi's face cramped as the girl started to cry again. Suddenly, the sound of a whistle could be heard.

"It's the security!" Someone had yelled.

"Hey, let's run!" Bomi shouted to the three idiots. The other two aside, if Hyuk was caught, it would not end nicely for him.

The three stopped throwing punches and immediately started running. Hyuk yanked Yeo Ri with him, and soon they disappeared from the mall.

"Hey, wait for me—!" Bomi, who was left behind, shouted as she tried to keep up with their speed. "Lee Hyuk—!"

To avoid getting caught, Bomi had used a different direction and ended up separated from the rest.

"You—Lee Hyuk, you little b*tch—!" Her scream could be heard echoing through the alleyways.