Worried that the argument would grow more heated and draw her parents out of the house, Hae-Li immediately grabbed one of the men's wrists and pulled him away as quickly as possible from the residential area.
Hae-Li was breathing hard. She had never imagined Rocky would dare show up in front of her house in Korea. If her father found out, the man would get beaten up.
"Where are you taking me?" the man she was dragging asked softly.
"Huh?"
Hae-Li stopped at the edge of the main road and looked back. She was stunned to realize that the man she'd been dragging all this time wasn't Rocky, but Moon Bin.
Hae-Li instinctively released his hand, her face flushing with embarrassment. The two of them stood awkwardly on the sidewalk.
"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to drag you this far," Hae-Li squeaked, turning her face away.
Moon Bin slipped both hands into his pants pockets and gave her a faint, unreadable smile. "It's all right. Continue on your way. Take good care of yourself, Cho Hae-Li."
Without waiting for her reply, Moon Bin turned around and walked away at an easy pace, leaving her alone by the roadside.
"Hey! Ugh, what kind of man is he?" Hae-Li grumbled, stomping her foot on the ground as her frustration continued to build. "How dare he leave a woman alone by the side of the road! Hmph."
Still fuming, Hae-Li had no choice but to walk to the nearest bus stop to find a bus to campus.
Meanwhile, as Moon Bin strolled back to his residence, Rocky was still standing straight in front of Hae-Li's gate. It was as if the man had deliberately stayed behind to wait for Moon Bin's return.
The two men once again exchanged sharp looks from several yards apart.
"Why are you still here?" Moon Bin asked coldly as the distance between them narrowed.
"I should be the one asking that," Rocky shot back challengingly. "Why are you hanging around Hae-Li? What do you really want?"
The calm expression on Moon Bin's face suddenly vanished. He strode forward, closing the distance between them, grabbed Rocky by the collar, and glared at him with fury flashing in his eyes.
"You bastard!"
Moon Bin's hand clenched into a tight fist and rose into the air, ready to smash into Rocky's face. But Rocky nimbly dodged, twisted Moon Bin's grip, and roughly shoved him against his parked car.
"You're the bastard, Moon Bin!" Rocky shouted.
Without wasting a moment, Moon Bin used the car for leverage and swung a powerful kick straight into Rocky's stomach. The impact sent Rocky sprawling, his body hitting the asphalt hard. Moon Bin advanced several steps and raised his clenched fist, ready to rain down a series of blows on Rocky's face as he lay helpless on the ground.
When Moon Bin saw Rocky merely staring at him resignedly, with no intention of fighting back, he stopped his motion midair. He exhaled harshly, released his grip, then turned and walked toward the door of his own house.
"We're not finished yet," Rocky muttered from below, punctuating his words with a soft cough.
Moon Bin stopped in front of the door and glanced back. "Then let's finish this now."
Moon Bin shoved his front door wide open and stepped inside. With the little strength he had left and his face darkened with anger, Rocky got to his feet and followed him in.
The door was locked tightly from the inside. After several tense moments of silence, the sounds of objects being slammed around and the din of a physical fight began ringing loudly from inside Moon Bin's house. Someone was unleashing an old grudge that had never been settled.
"Coward!"