"You're late."
Lee Won, gasping for breath, sprinted down the street. Normally, walking the distance of one tram stop was nothing to him, but today he hesitated. Should he take the tram after all? Even as he ran, he mentally calculated the money. Every day was tight. He had to save wherever he could.
After quickly checking his worn-out wristwatch, Lee Won decided to speed up instead. The bitter wind of the northern district lashed at his cheeks mercilessly. Damn it—it made him curse without thinking. As the buildings blurred past, he suddenly noticed a tall man approaching from the opposite direction, talking on his phone.
Shit.
He was already too late. His legs, still in full sprint, couldn’t stop in time. Just as he clenched his eyes shut, he glimpsed the man turning his head and widening his eyes in surprise.
"Damn."
There was a loud crash. For a brief moment, Lee Won saw himself being violently knocked aside. But then, in just a split second, the man let out a short exclamation and caught Lee Won by the waist. Lee Won instantly lost his breath. The man’s quick reflexes were impressive, but the outcome wasn’t ideal. He had caught Lee Won to prevent a fall, but the sudden pressure on his stomach made Lee Won reflexively retch.
"I'm sorry."
Lee Won managed not to stammer as he raised his head—and was startled to see the man’s face positioned above his own. For someone fairly tall like Lee Won, it was rare to have to look up at someone. But this man seemed at least a full head and a half taller.
The first thing that caught his eye was the dazzling platinum-blond hair. As Lee Won stared dazedly at the soft strands swaying in the wind, he hurriedly collected himself and lowered his gaze. There, he met a pair of striking silver-gray eyes, the color of a snowfield wolf. For a moment, Lee Won forgot to breathe. The man spoke.
"Are you hurt?"
"Ah, I'm fine."
Quickly regaining his composure, Lee Won stepped back. The man let go of him without resistance and gave a faint smile. Even after calming down, the man’s presence still overwhelmed him. He stood tall and muscular, his entire body glowing faintly under the pale sunlight of the north. Draped over a black suit was a luxurious long fur coat, likely enough to take down several beasts to make. Compared to Lee Won, racing through the street in a cheap suit, the man looked extravagant beyond compare.
What was someone like him doing in a shabby alley like this? Just as the thought crossed his mind, the man’s sensual lips parted to reveal stark white canines. Realizing he had been staring, Lee Won quickly opened his mouth.
"Sorry for causing trouble."
"Not at all."
The man replied in a smooth, flowing tone as he looked down at Lee Won. His unwavering gaze made Lee Won feel uncomfortably exposed.
"Well then, I’ll be going."
He turned to leave with a quick farewell, but the man suddenly called out.
"Wait."
Turning around in surprise, Lee Won found the man still staring at him.
"How about wearing sunglasses from now on?"
Lee Won blinked. He had heard that sunlight reflected off snow carried more UV than summer rays. Maybe it was a given in Russia, where winter lasted half the year. Still, it was odd for a stranger—who wasn’t wearing sunglasses himself, and who had much more sensitive silver eyes than Lee Won’s dark ones—to make such a comment. Was it just casual advice?
Recalling how Russians were known to lecture even strangers, Lee Won brushed it off. He neither agreed nor disagreed, just gave a vague smile and returned to the present. He had completely lost track of time. He took off running again, while the man remained where he was, watching him go.
「………」
A voice sounded through the phone. Only then did the man bring it to his ear and speak.
"Ah, Dmitri. There was a little incident. …No, nothing serious."
Fixing his gaze on the spot where Lee Won had disappeared, he chuckled softly.
"I just saw a walking piece of pornography."
“Damn it, don’t you get it? I said this place belongs to us now! Get the hell out!”
With a furious shout, the rough-looking men hurled tables and chairs across the room. A middle-aged woman, her face worn from years of hardship, cowered in the corner, too frightened to protest. Though a small crowd had gathered and whispered among themselves, not a single person stepped forward. Emboldened, the men grew louder, throwing things more violently.
“I told you to clear out unless you want to die here! What, you deaf? Want us to beat the sense into you? Want to die getting hit?”
Just as one man raised his fist toward the woman, gasps rippled through the onlookers. The man’s arm had been caught in midair. Shocked by the unexpected interference, he turned his head.
“W-What the hell?!”
A cold gust pierced the air, backlit by the light behind him, casting a long, dark shadow. Squinting against the glare, the man blinked rapidly before finally focusing on the figure in front of him.
The man blocking his punch was tall and somewhat slender, but the suit fit his frame perfectly. Long-limbed and leanly muscled, his body was balanced and elegant—not too bulky, not too thin, perfectly proportioned. His jet-black hair, tinged with a faint blue sheen, clearly marked him as someone with mixed or foreign blood, nothing like the native Slavs. His eyes were an intense shade of black, deeper than ink.
The tall man looked down at him with a gaze as frigid and sharp as glacial ice. Despite the situation, the man meeting that gaze was momentarily stunned. He had never seen someone so beautiful. No—he hadn’t even imagined it was possible for a man to be that captivating.
The word “obscene” felt tailor-made for him. Just a single glance from those piercing eyes could melt your spine. That moment of instinctual shock shattered the other man’s will. As he stood frozen, the man with the black hair spoke, as if used to this kind of situation.
“This kind of behavior is illegal. Come back with the proper paperwork.”
“W-What?!”
“Ivanov, what are you doing?! Take him down now!”
Snapping out of their daze, the other men shouted in panic. Embarrassed to realize he'd been mesmerized, Ivanov jerked his trapped arm away and swung his free fist—but he didn’t even get off a clean punch.
The man twisted Ivanov’s arm behind his back with a sharp motion, sending him down with a scream.
“Ah, aaagh!”
Ivanov thrashed pathetically, howling in pain. The others finally rushed forward with angry yells. The black-haired man shoved Ivanov to the floor and lunged forward, striking without hesitation.
The crowd held their breath in awe, eyes wide. Despite being outnumbered four to one, the fight ended with a comically one-sided result. As the last man lunged at him, the suited figure sidestepped, then drove his foot into the gap between the man's spread legs.
A bloodcurdling scream rang out, and the battered thugs limped away, sobbing like children. Only after the final one disappeared did the man dust off his suit and turn around.
The woman, still crouched in the corner, flinched as her eyes met his. As he adjusted his suit with practiced ease, he stepped toward her with a kind smile and extended his hand.
“Are you alright? Sorry I’m late. The tram broke down, so I had to run a block.”
Only then did the woman notice his black hair, now clinging wetly to his forehead. But she still hesitated to take his hand, eyeing him with a mixture of distrust and fear.
“What... what did you just do? Do you even know who those men were?”
“I had a general idea. But I’ll know the details after our consultation.”
He smiled brightly. Far from smiling back, the woman looked more baffled.
“So you interfered without even knowing? You started a fight—what the hell were you thinking?”
But the man remained calm.
“My creed is: if someone slaps you, break their arm. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Violence for violence.”
Still tense, she slowly stood up, legs trembling. She didn’t take his hand.
“So why help me? What are you here for?”
The man reached into the inner pocket of his suit. Alarmed, she flinched and stiffened—but what he pulled out was just a business card.
Realizing her reaction had been wrong, she blinked awkwardly as the man spoke.
“Sorry for not introducing myself properly. You called the office yesterday, right? I’m Jung Lee Won.”
Her eyes widened as she looked at the card. Disbelief spread across her face as she looked up at him. He gave her a charming smile.
“I’m a lawyer.”