To Be or Not To Be A Family - Chapter 60

Ashma kept staring at Dak-Ho and Yong-Sun alternatively. Dak-Ho was pulling Bong-Cha towards him, manhandling her but no one was helping her. She was getting angry at Yong-Sun. Why wasn’t he helping her? What was he waiting for? He was not even moving a finger. His face was blank as if this was not affecting him.

She wanted to be like him, stoic, indifferent. She wanted nothing to do with the family yet somehow she was always emotionally invested. She would scold the family members or say sorry to them. Either she would fight with them or cry with them. Emotions after emotions were making her angrier. Since the day she arrived in Korea she was continuously being pulled in the hurricane of feelings and emotions and she had no idea how to get out of it. She was now in the eye of the storm.

But today it was not only about her family, it was also about the safety of a girl. No matter who the girl was she had to help her. But why was no one else helping her? Why everyone was a mute spectator. A bully was bullying an innocent girl but no one said a word. Not even her friends were helping. That made her furious.

“Oppa! Unni!” shouted Bong-Cha while being dragged away. “Someone please help me. Let me go,” she kept shouting.

Ashma gritted her teeth. She again looked at Bong-Cha who was looking at Ashma and Yong-Sun asking for help with tears in her eyes. Suddenly Ashma understood that this was the reason, Bong-Cha always tried to avoid college. Why didn’t she tell her parents? Why didn’t she tell her brother? She was close to her grandfather, why not him? Why was she suffering alone?

Ashma then looked at Yong-Sun who sat relaxed with his arms crossed over his chest. He titled his head and looked at Ashma as if asking what are you going to do.

She bit her tongue and exhaled loudly. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists. She kicked her chair, stood up and groaned, “ohhh…” Yong-Sun smirked at her.

Dak-Ho was about to exit the Café when she ran towards the door. She slid over a table making all the cups and saucers fall. And before Dak-Ho could exit, she shut the door close. She grabbed Bong-Cha’s hand and pulled her away from Dak-Ho. She then punched him hard on his stomach and chest, grabbed his neck and pinned him to the wall. Everything happened so fast that Dak-Ho couldn’t grasp what happened with him. He stood with his back against the wall, shocked.

Suddenly he felt severe pain in his stomach and chest. He was having difficulty breathing as Ashma had her hands over his throat. It took him a minute to understand that a masked girl hit him and threw him against the wall. He was unable to move. He grabbed her hands and tried to remove them from his throat but he was unsuccessful.

Bong-Cha ran towards Yong-Sun. All her friends followed her. He gestured for her to sit down in the chair next to him. She sat there shivering. Yong-Sun was still sitting peacefully in his chair. He wrapped his arms around Bong-Cha to calm her down but not for once he removed his eyes from Ashma.

He signalled the server to come over. The server looked at him with surprise. He remembered about his coffee. There was so much going on in the café that she forgot all orders. She ran towards him with a cup of coffee.

“Bring coffee for everyone here,” ordered Yong-Sun.

“Yes, sir,” replied the server.

“Are you going to call the police?” asked Yong-Sun to the server.

“Sir?” the server was surprised. She didn’t think that far. In fact, no one was capable of thinking anything. All kept watching the scene that was unfolding in front of them.

“Don’t. Even if you want to,” commended Yong-Sun, still sitting in his seat peacefully while watching Ashma.

“But…” said the server.

“I will bear the damages. Just don’t call the police. And I will want the footage of this fight,” said Yong-Sun.

The server was shocked. She had no idea how to react, what to say. “Now? No, when it is over. Let it record and give it to me. Don’t let it upload to the cloud. In fact, activate the jammers. I don’t people to record it and upload it,” said Yong-Sun.

“Jammers? Sir?” Every word out of Yong-Sun mouth was giving shock after shock to the server.

“Come on! I know this café has jammers for emergencies. Activate them,” said Yong-Sun.

“Who are you?” asked the server.

“Son of the owner of this café,” said Yong-Sun.

“You are… you are Seo Yong-Sun?” asked the server.

“Yes, I am. Do you want to see my ID?”

“Yes, of course, sir, I mean, no, sir, I meant we will get anything you want, sir,” stammered the server.

“Are you new?” asked Yong-Sun.

“Yes sir, joined just yesterday,” said the server.

“Okay, no worries. Do as I say. Make sure no one else records this. Tell all servers to keep an eye on. And bring me the manager,” commended Yong-Sun.

“Yes, sir.” The server ran to bring the manager.

Meanwhile, Ashma was busy with the bully.

She gritted her teeth and chided, “touch her again, I’ll break every bone in your body.”

His friends surrounded Ashma. She kept an eye on Dak-Ho and another on the group of his friends.

“Help her, Oppa,” shouted Bong-Cha.

“Your unni knows how to fight, just wait and watch,” said Yong-Sun casually.

“But, Oppa.”

“Bongie!” exclaimed Yong-Sun.

One friend of Dak-Ho tried to attack Ashma from behind. But he could approach her she kicked him in his balls and he fell on his knee crying with pain.

“Anyone else wants to test me?” Ashma raise an eyebrow and challenged all the boys.

Yong-Sun sipped his coffee and commented, “Ohh she is good.” Bong-Cha kept looking at Yong-Sun and Ashma alternatively. She wanted him to help her but he was casually sipping his coffee.

On the other hand, Dak-Ho was struggling in Ashma’s grip. All other boys were jumping on their feet to fight with her but were scared after looking at Dak-Ho and the boy she kicked.

“Help me,” croaked Dak-Ho.

Another boy gained some courage and decided to help Dak-Ho. He approached her and tried to throw a punch at her head. She stared at him and ducked at the last moment and that punch landed on Dak-Ho’s nose. He cried with pain. His eyes started watering. His nose turned red. His ears started ringing with pain.

“Ask your friends to stand down or I’ll snap your neck,” said Ashma coolly. She tightened her grip.

“Ahh… stan… stand… do… down,” somehow he finished his sentence.

“Now say you are sorry to Bong-Cha,” shouted Ashma. The name of Bong-Cha triggered something in Dak-Ho. He tried to fight back. He raised his arms and held Ashma’s face with both his hands trying to push her away. This made her release her grip from his neck.

Yong-Sun was slightly concerned for her as she was outnumbered. He was about to get up to help her when she kicked Dak-Ho in the stomach, jumped in the air and triple kicked all other boys making them fall to the ground. Before Dak-Ho could do anything else his neck was again in Ashma’s grip and his back was again against the wall. Yong-Sun was grinning from ear to ear.

“Thank god, she didn’t do this move on me,” muttered Yong-Sun. “How easily she over-powered these boys, she was definitely holding her punches while fighting with me.”

“I said, say sorry to her,” reprimanded Ashma.

“Fine, Fine,” screamed Dak-Ho.

Ashma signalled Bong-Cha to come near her by moving her forefinger. Bong-Cha hesitated but Yong-Sun patted her back telling her to listen to her sister. She went near Dak-Ho, fear was clearly visible on her face.

“Say it,” Asham said through gritted teeth and released his neck.

He fell to the ground in front of Bong-Cha’s feet. He stood on his knees and rubbed his hand together and apologised to Bong-Cha, “I am sorry, I am really sorry.”

For the first time, after Dak-Ho’s arrival, Bong-Cha smiled. She looked at Ashma with gratitude and smiled. Ashma then pulled Dak-Ho’s ear and forced him to stand up.

“Never harass a girl who has no interest in you. Do you understand?” rebuked Ashma.

“Yes, Ma’am,” said Dak-Ho. Tears were flowing from his eyes due to pain and humiliation.

“If I ever see you again, I will kill you. Now take your band of merry men and get lost,” shouted Ashma.

All the boys ran away from the café hurriedly. Ashma cracked her neck and knuckles and came and sat on her seat.

“Thank you for your help,” she scolded Yong-Sun.

“Oh, you are welcome,” teased Yong-Sun. Bong-Cha smiled at their banter.

Ashma stood up from her seat and flicked Yong-Sun’s forehead in anger.

“Ow!” cried Yong-Sun.

“You deserve it,” said Bong-Cha, happily.

“You don’t get to open your mouth after what you did,” scolded Ashma. She kept the mask on.

“What did I do?”

“Nothing, that’s what. You did nothing. Why didn’t you fight back?” shouted Ashma. “And you idiots, you call yourself her friend, you didn’t even raise your voice when he was harassing her. Are you girls so helpless?”

Everyone lowered their head in shame and kept getting scolded by Ashma.