Chapter 11

Chapter 11
Chapter 11

## Chapter Title: Meeting the Former Flame and a Timely Intervention

Gulp!

I finished the last of my steaming Americano and shifted my gaze toward the woman seated across the table.

Kim Seoyeon.

The flowing, straight tresses I held in my recollections had been swapped for a sharp bob.

Wearing an elegant pink off-the-shoulder gown, her radiance was undeniable.

She was the kind of striking individual who commanded the attention of every man in the room.

Her appearance was so vibrant and youthful that it seemed impossible she was twenty-nine years old.

Any man lucky enough to be her partner would surely walk with his chest puffed out in pride.

—But Oppa… I’m truly sorry. I can’t keep seeing a man who lacks any real drive. We’ve reached the point where marriage has to be the goal.

—All my acquaintances are dating or wed to heirs of conglomerates or high-level executives at major firms, but you… *Sigh.* Forget it. Let’s just call it quits.

The harsh parting words she leveled at me previously continued to ring in my thoughts.

Five years. A bond that could be seen as lengthy or brief depending on the perspective had reached its conclusion.

The second Kim Seoyeon declared our end, she had scrubbed my contact information from her life without a second thought.

She was incredibly cold-blooded when she decided to move on.

“What possessed you to reach out for a meeting so suddenly?”

“I just happened to be in the neighborhood and noticed your place. How have you been?”

What business would a girl living in Jamsil have wandering through the streets of Eunpyeong-gu?

She had no employment or social connections in this part of town.

‘How have I been?’

Honestly, things hadn’t been great.

Yet, something felt different.

I had anticipated that seeing her face again would send my pulse skyrocketing and drown me in nostalgia, but there was nothing.

Instead, my emotions were as still as a paper craft floating on a dead-calm pond.

‘Is this the result of Randolph’s presence…?’

Even without actively tapping into the Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule, the experiences I had lived through as Randolph were carved into my very soul.

Perhaps that was the reason.

This unexpected encounter didn’t rattle my nerves in the slightest.

“I’m getting by. And you?”

“Me? It’s the same old story. Office, apartment, office, apartment. It’s absolutely draining.”

It was the typical grumbling of a creature trapped in the repetitive cycle of a hamster wheel.

However, I was well aware that she hadn’t come here just to vent about her boring schedule.

I had a fairly accurate intuition regarding her true motives.

The profile image she had updated immediately following our split—a romantic shot with some polished corporate type—had recently vanished.

To be honest, the whole thing was preposterous.

After jumping to a new ship the moment she saw an opening, she was crawling back to me now that things had gone south.

Was she truly that thick-skinned, or did she simply view me as a massive pushover?

‘Well, I certainly used to be one.’

I had been the type to give her everything—my very essence—as if I were ready to donate my internal organs on a whim.

I used to believe that was just the depth of my affection, but now that the cord had been cut, I had no desire to play that role again.

I remained quiet, observing her to see what she would reveal next, and eventually, she broke the silence.

“Not too long ago, that massive chaos broke out, didn’t it? You were the very first person I felt concerned about.”

“What chaos are you referring to?”

“The ‘Dimension War.’ That day when those creatures from another world invaded our cities! I honestly thought I was watching a live-action Marvel production.”

She was referencing the afternoon the Giant Mantis made its appearance.

Entities from Pangeniar had broken into our reality, and those who had been transported to Pangeniar utilized the Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule to push back the invaders in the physical world.

Following that event, society began labeling them ‘Dimension Warriors’ and treating them like heroes.

Soldiers from an alternate realm.

The narrative was that they had inhabited the bodies of modern people to drive away the monsters.

The Dimension Warriors became celebrities in an instant, issuing warnings about the dangers yet to come.

Curiously, very few individuals made direct mention of Pangeniar.

‘I suppose an incursion from a parallel dimension sounds more believable to the public than a video game manifesting in the real world.’

Horrors emerging from a dark void were far more terrifying than an existing game coming to life.

“You don’t seem particularly engaged in the conversation.”

“Is it okay if I leave now?”

“…What?”

A flash of utter confusion washed over Kim Seoyeon’s previously composed features.

“We’ve seen each other. We aren’t really in a social circle that requires small talk.”

Disregarding her reaction, I pushed back my chair and stood up.

The version of me from the past would likely have held on for dear life, pleading for a second chance.

Our five-year stint had always been defined by a clear power dynamic of superior and inferior. I might have begged her not to leave things with such bitter lingering feelings.

But that man was gone.

I had a mountain of responsibilities to attend to.

I had no luxury of being manipulated by others anymore.

“…Is this because of the things I said when we broke up?”

“Not particularly. Does your current partner know you’re meeting up with me?”

Did she honestly think I wouldn’t notice just because the profile picture was gone?

The romantic photos were still visible on her social media profiles.

In simpler terms, she was keeping her options open.

She was weighing the value of me against that other guy.

Or perhaps she had a falling out with her boyfriend and came to me seeking a boost for her bruised ego.

Regardless of the reason, it was pathetic.

Her expression turned as hard as granite at my bluntness, clearly shocked that I would call her out so directly.

“That’s just…”

“Ugh! Seriously! Quit following me around!”

“Hana, please! I’m a good person, I promise!”

At that exact moment.

The café entrance swung open violently as a woman sprinted inside, screaming, with a middle-aged man hot on her heels.

“This is blatant stalking. I’m going to contact the authorities.”

“Please! Just give me one chance to talk!”

“I told you no!”

Every patron in the coffee shop turned to witness the confrontation.

I looked as well, though my interest was sparked by something different than the others.

She had a face I recognized from somewhere.

Where had I seen her?

Suddenly, the stalker’s—the man’s—demeanor shifted entirely. The pathetic pleading vanished, replaced by a dark rage as his face turned crimson.

“You arrogant bitch, you think this is some kind of game…!”

“Ah!”

The man lunged forward and grabbed a handful of the woman’s hair.

As she cried out in pain, a cruel smirk touched his lips.

“Why couldn’t you just cooperate? Why did you have to push it this far?”

His fury had completely overridden his common sense.

The stalker scanned the room and let out a roar.

“What are you idiots staring at? You want a show?”

Anyone who caught his gaze immediately looked down at their tables.

“Oppa, stay out of it. Things are already messy enough lately… The police will be here soon.”

Seoyeon was right.

Likely, someone had already dialed for help. In a matter of minutes, the patrol would arrive to handle the man. There was no practical reason to get involved and cause a scene.

Then, my eyes locked with the woman whose hair was being pulled.

Her eyes were wide with a silent, desperate plea for salvation.

“Oppa?”

……I couldn’t just stand there and watch.

I finally remembered her identity.

She was the person who had risked herself to protect a child when the Giant Mantis was rampaging.

“Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Let her go.”

“You little brat, what? Let go? You looking for a hospital bed?”

I stepped forward, gripping his shoulder firmly as I spoke, which only caused his face to contort further.

His eyes burned with a psychotic intensity, projecting a clear intent to kill.

“You think this is funny?”

But to me, that supposed killing intent felt almost adorable.

Recently, I had stepped across the threshold between life and death more times than I could count.

I had sprinted through battlefields where steel clashed and bodies were discarded like trash, without feeling a hint of trepidation.

I had endured insurmountable odds and struck fear into the hearts of hardened soldiers.

There was no way I was going to be intimidated by an unarmed harasser who only knew how to glare.

*Crunch!*

“Aaagh!”

I applied pressure to his shoulder, and the man let out a piercing shriek.

In that moment, I felt as though I could snap his bones like dry twigs.

Even without channeling the power of the Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule.

“Stop! Please stop! Ack!”

The stalker writhed, trying to escape the agonizing grip.

‘What kind of freakish strength does this kid have…!’

The man, who was by no means small, was shaking. Once I had a hold of him, he was completely pinned.

It likely felt as if his muscle fibers were shredding and his bones were being pulverized.

This wasn’t the level of strength a normal human possessed.

“You want me to stop?”

“Y-Yes! Please!”

I let out a quiet click of my tongue. Why couldn’t he have complied when I first asked?

“Cough!”

*Thud.* I released my grip, and he lost his footing entirely, hitting the floor in a pathetic heap.

The woman who had been observing the defeated man bowed her head toward me in gratitude.

“Th-Thank you so much.”

“Are you unhurt?”

“Yes…… Oh! Watch out behind you!”

I spun around just as the man was unfolding a pocket knife, lunging toward me with the blade aimed high.

“Die!”

However, I had already anticipated the move.

I executed a slight sidestep and extended my leg, tripping the charging attacker.

*Thud!*

He faceplanted into the hard floor and went limp instantly, knocked unconscious.

Five minutes after the altercation concluded, the authorities finally arrived on the scene.

“We’re going to need you to accompany us to the precinct.”

After surveying the aftermath, the officers attempted to detain me, but Kim Hana stepped in front of them.

“This gentleman was only acting in my defense. I am the one who filed the initial report against the stalker.”

“Regardless, an physical altercation took place, so everyone involved needs to give a statement at the station.”

“An altercation? He brandished a weapon—were we supposed to just stand there and be stabbed?”

“Protocol doesn’t allow for exceptions, ma’am.”

“……My name is Kim Hana, I’m a journalist with CK Broadcasting. Could I get your name and badge number, please?”

She presented her professional business card, and the officers’ expressions immediately shifted from stern to annoyed realization.

CK was a titan in the media industry, a top-tier national network. A single negative report from one of their journalists could jeopardize their careers.

“In that case, as a witness…”

“Witness? And what if I get caught up in the bureaucracy? Forget it—I will take full responsibility for the report as the victim, so do not involve innocent bystanders in this mess.”

The stalker turned out to be a well-known plastic surgeon.

In a society where wealth and high-priced legal teams could twist the truth.

There was no way she was going to let her savior get dragged into a legal nightmare over a random act of kindness.

The police stared at the fiery Kim Hana in surprise.

‘She looks more like a news anchor than a field reporter…’

‘She’s a real firebrand.’

Usually, victims in these cases would be shaking or sobbing from the trauma, but Kim Hana was fiercely protecting a complete stranger.

It was a rare sight for the veteran officers.

Soon, whispers began to ripple through the other customers surrounding Kim Hana.

“Is that her? The one from that viral video recently…”

“Yeah. The girl who saved that kid from the monster? I’m sure I saw her on the news.”

“Didn’t she receive some kind of bravery award?”

“Kim Hana. That’s the name. It’s definitely her!”

The event that had taken the internet and television by storm—the Dimension War.

When those alien horrors struck across the globe, it wasn’t just the Dimension Warriors who became household names.

Ordinary citizens who displayed warrior-like courage were also celebrated.

Kim Hana was a prime example.

She had shielded a child with her own body against a monster and then provided aid to the child and mother afterward.

The footage had garnered five million views in a single night. She was given a permanent position at CK and honored with a civic virtue award.

“…We understand. The journalist is free to go for now.”

Starting a conflict with someone of her public standing would only result in a massive headache.

The police were forced to back down.

Before departing, Kim Hana reached into her bag and produced another card.

“I can’t thank you enough for today. Please, take my card.”

“That isn’t necessary.”

“……Oh, is this lady your girlfriend?”

Kim Seoyeon, being mistaken for my partner.

I offered a small smile and shook my head.

“No, there’s no connection there. I don’t actually have a business card to give you.”

“Then, would you mind writing down your phone number?”

She took a pen and a notepad from her purse and passed them to me.

Without hesitation, I jotted down my digits.

I included the name of Randolph…… no, Park Hyun-myeong as well.

“Park Hyun-myeong? That’s a strong name. I’m Kim Hana.”

“Yes. I saw it on the card you gave me.”

“I’ll give you a call. Perhaps we can grab coffee tomorrow if you’re available? Or dinner works too. It’s on me.”

“I won’t turn down a free meal.”

“Perfect! I’ll talk to you soon!”

With a polite bow, Kim Hana exited the shop while the police dragged the unconscious stalker away.

……She was certainly a whirlwind of energy.

“Unbelievable. She’s even more stunning in person.”

“She could easily be a star instead of a journalist.”

“She has that Seol-yoon vibe. No wonder that guy went crazy over her.”

I slowly turned around amidst the sea of admiring whispers.

“……”

There stood Kim Seoyeon, her face looking colder than a winter storm, staring at me in absolute silence.