#8. The Meeting

He turned his gaze back to the street. The midday spring sun poured through the large window, radiating heat.

Despite the heat by the window, the coffee in his hand was hot, too.

And so he endured another tedious day, one cup at a time.

Then a commotion broke out in the café. People began gathering, murmuring among themselves.

As they crowded around the windows and entrance, he frowned, making no effort to hide his irritation.

A woman screamed.

“The door! Lock the door! Hurry!”

The man’s shout snapped the others out of their confusion, and they quickly locked the entrance.

Inside, a measure of calm returned. Outside, the street was descending into chaos.

A middle-aged man sat slumped on the ground, bleeding and trembling. The man who had stabbed him prowled the street, searching for another target.

Wherever he went, pandemonium followed.

People screamed and scattered before him like the parting of the Red Sea. He continued roaming, looking for another victim to fall to his blade.

The distant wail of sirens drew closer. At the sound, he began shouting, growing more agitated and frenzied.

Min-gyu watched it all with the same detached air.

The police surrounded the attacker, and one officer fired a Taser at him.

Unfortunately, the shot missed.

How amusing.

He expertly concealed the laugh that threatened to escape.

A second Taser shot sent the attacker into a frenzy. He quickly stabbed another person, then backed away again.

The street was a scene of terror and confusion.

Min-gyu noticed a woman sitting on a small bench outside the café.

Wearing headphones, she was absorbed in her phone, a solitary figure of calm amid the commotion.

The perfect target.

One corner of his mouth lifted.

In that moment, he ceased to be an observer and became a spectator.

He crossed one leg over the other and leaned back in his chair.

Then he slowly raised his still-warm coffee, savoring its aroma.

“Someone warn her!”

Apparently, Min-gyu was not the only one who had noticed the woman in headphones. But no one dared unlock the café door and step outside.

Unable to stand by any longer, an employee began pounding on the window and shouting.

“Get away! Hurry! Hey!”

Even the loud banging failed to reach her in her private world. Only when she felt the vibration through the glass did she finally look up.

By then, it was too late.

The attacker wrapped an arm around her neck and held his knife to her throat. The police quickly surrounded them.

As the hostage situation unfolded beyond the window, the café filled with anxious voices.

Min-gyu let out a quiet scoff.

Human duplicity.

In the crowd, they seemed concerned for the woman in headphones. But he knew that was not what they truly felt.

Thank God it isn’t me. I wonder what happens next. And… this is entertaining.

Deep down, in the hidden recesses of their minds, they were probably treating the whole thing as a diversion, a spectacle.

By tomorrow, they would be eagerly recounting it to everyone they knew, complete with suitably sorrowful expressions.

How false. How contradictory.

Time dragged on.

The people who had been murmuring together now returned to their seats. Settling into comfortable positions, they watched through the window, voicing their worries and dismay as they consumed the spectacle.

Then a woman walked into that gray, colorless chaos.

Someone who captured Min-gyu’s attention at once.

Who was she?

Hers alone was a world of color, vivid and full of meaning.

His gaze began to follow her.

She slipped naturally among the police and onlookers.

For a moment, he lost sight of her. Then she slowly emerged from the alley around the corner of the café.

The officers appeared to be keeping the attacker’s attention on them.

With a sharp snap, she extended the collapsible baton in her hand and slowly approached him from behind.

As she passed the café entrance, time and space seemed to stop.

Their eyes met.

He could not be certain whether he had imagined it or whether she had truly looked at him.

But that fleeting glance burned itself into his mind.

The moment passed. She moved swiftly and silently behind the attacker, bringing her baton down on the hand holding the knife.

He staggered, thrown off balance by the sudden assault.

She seized the opening.

Striking his neck with the baton, she kicked him behind the knee. As he pitched forward, the officers rushed in together and pinned him down.

Freed from his grasp, the woman in headphones fainted and collapsed to the ground.

Even after the police had him restrained, the attacker refused to give in. His relentless thrashing was giving even the burly officers trouble.

A final, desperate struggle? This won’t be easy, then.

Min-gyu looked from the attacker to the woman who brought color to the scene.

She approached the man as he continued struggling fiercely among the officers.

What would she do now?

Min-gyu fixed his curious gaze on her.

Taking a Taser from one of the officers, she closed the remaining distance.

Without hesitation, she fired her Taser at the attacker—a sharp crack followed by an electric buzz.

This time, the shot hit its mark perfectly.

His violently struggling body shuddered, then went still.

“Ha! Hahaha.”

Heads turned toward Min-gyu at the incongruous sound of his laughter.

He did not care.

What an interesting woman.