5. The shameless man used his body to save me

The man in the apron pulled him and placed him behind his back, then smiled at the thugs who wanted to kill Matthew.

“So, you’re not afraid of getting dragged into this, huh?”

“You really want to die, don’t you?”

‘Money is money, after all.’ The man in the apron took a cigarette case from his pocket, pulled out a stick, and put the case back.

He looked at Matthew. “Do you have a lighter?” he asked while holding the cigarette between his fingers.

‘He still has the nerve to smoke? This guy is so fucking unbelievable!’ Matthew’s confusion only grew every time the man in the apron opened his mouth.

Even though Matthew was confused, he still searched his suit and pants pockets and found his silver lighter. It was a unique custom lighter with his family’s initials. The flame came out of the mouth of a dragon engraved on top, and the switch was its tail.

“H-Here…”

The man in the apron immediately took it and lit his cigarette.

He turned to face the men in black without returning the lighter or even thanking Matthew.

‘I don’t even know what to say anymore…’ Matthew’s confusion skyrocketed, but he ignored it and just shut his mouth.

The man lowered his black face mask and took a sip before blowing a white smoke from his mouth. Matthew couldn’t see his face because the man had his back turned to him, but he didn’t care anymore as long as he survived.

“Double this pretty boy’s offer and I’ll think about it,” the man said with a smile to the men in black.

At that point Matthew couldn’t stop himself from speaking, thinking the man was about to betray him.

“You—” Matthew glared angrily at the man in the apron.

‘This stupid, greedy man,’ he thought.

“No need, we’ll just kill you here,” one of the men in black said with a grin.

“As you wish. I’m easy to deal with,” the man in the apron replied, first exhaling smoke and leaving the cigarette in his mouth.

They attacked him, but because of his flexibility they couldn’t lay a finger on him.

“Ha! You call that a punch?” the man in the apron said with a grin as he caught one man’s fist. “So weak.” He took the cigarette from his mouth with two fingers and blew smoke into the man’s face, then kicked him hard in the abdomen, sending him flying.

“Yahhh!” He flicked the cigarette at another man in black who rushed from the side, then pummeled him with a flurry of punches.

Soon the two remaining men charged together, so he dashed toward the wall, jumped hard to gain momentum, and smashed his fist into one man, who collapsed to the floor, while the other was hit by a side kick followed by a roundhouse kick, knocking him down completely.

“Ha!” Almost all of the men in black were sprawled on the ground, some groaning in pain.

“Done…” The man in the apron smiled as he walked back toward Matthew, while Matthew was still shocked by what he had just witnessed.

‘Woah… he’s even better than my bodyguards who trained for a whole year… who exactly is this man?’ Matthew had so many questions.

“How did you—” He froze when he saw the man’s face up close. The man who had just knocked down four huge men, had such a gentle face that you would never imagine that he possessed such fighting skill. Even with the hat on, Matthew could clearly see his long eyelashes and red lips that weren’t too thick. His brown eyes shone in the light hitting his face. He even had dimples when he smiled, and his eyes almost disappeared when he did.

‘Is he actually a man or what?’ Matthew even questioned his gender because of his looks.

When the man in the apron noticed Matthew staring, his smile vanished and was replaced by a serious, frowning expression.

“Are you paying or not?”

‘Oh fuck, snap out of it, Matthew!’ He immediately regained his senses, took out his thick wallet from his suit, emptied it without counting, and handed everything to the man.

Just as fast as Matthew gave it, thats how the man slowly counted the money.

‘As gentle as his face is, that’s how shameless he is too’ Matthew couldn’t help grimacing.

“…99…100k. Okay, gracias (thank you) I’m going back inside, I still have work to do, alright?” the man said with a smile. In truth, Matthew had actually given him 2k extra without noticing.

‘this money voluntarily comes to me — why would I refuse it?’ He held back a grin so Matthew wouldn’t get suspicious.

As he was about to go back into the restaurant, Matthew suddenly called out to him.

“What is your name?” Matthew asked. The man in the apron paused and looked at him before smiling again. Every time Matthew saw that smile, he couldn’t help but stare because of how gentle his face was.

What they didn’t know was that one of the men in black was slowly standing up and quietly pulling a knife from his pocket.

‘If I can’t bring you to Mr. Kuznetsov, I’ll just fucking kill you’ the man in black smirked as he crept toward Matthew from behind.

“Ah, it’s not impor—BEHIND YOU!” The man in the apron quickly pulled Matthew aside when he saw the man trying to stab him. He managed to move Matthew away, but the knife that was meant for Matthew sank deep into the man in the apron’s shoulder.

“Joder (fuck)” the man groaned as he tightly grabbed the hand of the one who stabbed him.

Matthew’s eyes widened when he saw the man in the apron get stabbed. A mix of emotions flooded him, but anger burned the strongest. He held the man in the apron by the waist and pulled him away. All of a sudden he regained his strength and kicked the attacker hard.

“A-Are you okay?” Matthew asked worriedly as he looked at the knife still embedded in the man’s shoulder. Blood slowly spread across his white sleeveless shirt.

‘Fuck, what the hell was I thinking catching that knife?’ the man cursed himself, but what was done, was done.

‘Why did this fucking bastard catch that knife for me? We’re not even close. What the hell is wrong with this man?!’ Matthew wanted to scream but held it in for the sake of the wounded man in front of him.

The man took a deep breath and forcibly pulled the knife out of his shoulder. Matthew stared in shock and was about to scold him, but the man suddenly dragged him away from the men in black who were starting to stand again.

“Run!” He pulled Matthew out of the alley until they reached the side of the road where many cars were passing.

Matthew couldn’t help staring at the man now holding his arm while scanning the road. So many questions ran through his head, but worry and guilt were stronger.

“Is there still money in your wallet?” the man suddenly asked while holding his wound, snapping Matthew back to reality.

‘Is he going to ask for money again? Even though he’s wounded, I can’t help being annoyed by how shameless he is’

“W-why? Isn’t the 100k still not enough?” Matthew asked, confused and worried.

‘I don’t know what to feel right now. He got stabbed to protect me, but now he’s still talking about money? How greedy is this man?’

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m not asking for money. If your wallet is empty, here’s the 2k. Leave before those bastards follow you” the man said with a grimace. His eyes were starting to close and blood was still flowing from his shoulder. His breathing was getting faster, which Matthew immediately noticed.

“Hey, you should go to the hospital first before that wound gets worse,” Matthew said worriedly.

‘My shoulder is stabbed and this idiot is still acting up? If I lose control I’ll kick him away,’ the man wanted to curse Matthew so bad but he held it back because his shoulder was really burning in pain. He took a deep breath.

“Listen to me. Those people won’t stop until you leave this place.” He pushed Matthew into the taxi he had just called.

“Hey, don’t push me!”

“Bye. Welcome. Take care.”