Chapter 36: A Family’s Fear
The last of the police cars pulled away from the curb, their sirens silent but lights still flashing faintly against the storefront. The teenage girl, still shaken but alive, sat on a small stool behind the counter, holding an ice pack against her arm. Her eyes darted between the shattered glass and scattered groceries on the floor, the adrenaline slowly leaving her system and giving way to exhaustion.
The bell above the door jingled sharply, announcing the arrival of her parents. They hurried inside, their faces etched with worry. Her father, a stocky man in his late forties, moved swiftly to her side, his hands gripping her shoulders as his gaze searched her face.
"Are you hurt, Ji-yeon?" he asked in Korean, his voice trembling. "What happened? Why didn't you call us sooner?"
Her mother, a petite woman with sharp eyes, hovered nearby, wringing her hands. "You could have been killed!" she exclaimed, her voice rising. "Why were you even here alone? We've told you not to take late shifts when the streets are so dangerous!"
Ji-yeon tried to calm them, her words spilling out in a mix of Korean and English. "I'm fine. I swear. There was a guy... he saved me. I—I'm okay because of him."
Her father's brow furrowed deeply. "Saved you? What man? Who was he? What did he look like?"
Her mother chimed in, her voice sharp. "What if he was part of it? What if this was all some scheme?"
Ji-yeon shook her head vigorously. "No, Eomma, he wasn't part of it! He stopped the bleeding—he healed me." She gestured to her arm, showing the faint silver mark where the wound had been. "I thought I was going to die, but he saved me. He was... different."
Her father's eyes narrowed, unconvinced. "Different how?"
Ji-yeon sighed, pressing her hands to her temples. "Just... watch the tapes. You'll understand."
Her parents exchanged a wary glance but nodded, their worry now laced with curiosity. They moved to the small storage room behind the counter, where a hidden DVR system connected to their private surveillance cameras sat discreetly under a shelf. These weren't the standard cameras the police had accessed earlier—these were the hidden ones, installed for insurance against shoplifters, vandals, or worse. These were also the cameras they typically shared only with the geondal, the local Korean gang, when situations escalated beyond their control.
Her father scrolled through the footage, finding the timestamp Ji-yeon provided. As the video played, the clarity of the hidden cameras revealed details the public-facing ones had missed.
The first thing they noticed was the speed. The man—tall, broad-shouldered, and confident—moved with precision and control. His every action was deliberate, his strikes efficient. They watched him disarm and incapacitate the first robber with a fluidity that seemed almost superhuman.
"Who is this man?" her mother whispered, leaning closer to the screen.
The video continued, showing him neutralizing the second man and confronting the woman with the gun. The soundless footage captured his calm demeanor, his lips moving as he spoke to her. The woman's visible terror at his words was evident even without audio.
And then came the part that made both parents fall silent. The man knelt beside Ji-yeon, his hands glowing faintly as he pressed them to her wound. The silver light pulsed faintly, almost imperceptibly, but it was enough to show what he was doing. When he stood and slipped out of the store, the girl was no longer bleeding, her expression filled with awe.
Her father froze the footage and leaned back, his face pale. "What... what did we just see?"
Her mother crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing. "This is not normal. He's not normal."
"It doesn't matter," Ji-yeon said firmly, standing behind them now. "He saved my life. That's all I care about."
Her father rubbed his chin thoughtfully, staring at the frozen image of Tony on the screen. "He looks familiar."
Her mother frowned, leaning closer to study his face. "Wait... isn't that the delivery man from Hana's Market? The one Halmeoni Song is always talking about?"
Ji-yeon's eyes widened. "You mean Tony? The guy who speaks Korean? That's him!"
Her parents exchanged a look of recognition. They both remembered the man who had delivered to their shop on several occasions, always polite and fluent in their language. He was well-liked, even admired by some of the older community members who appreciated his respect for their culture.
Her father straightened, his expression serious. "If this is the same man, we need to speak with Halmeoni Song. She knows him better than anyone."
Halmeoni Song was a pillar of the Koreatown community—a sharp-minded elder with deep connections and an unwavering authority that even the geondal respected. If anyone could provide answers about Tony, it would be her.
"We'll visit her first thing tomorrow," her father said, his tone resolute. "If this man is as extraordinary as he seems, she may know more about him."
Ji-yeon hesitated, her hand brushing over her arm again, where the faint silver mark glimmered faintly in the dim light. "What if he doesn't want to be found?" she asked softly.
Her mother's expression softened, but her voice remained firm. "If he saved you, Ji-yeon, then we owe him our thanks. And we need to understand what kind of person he is—for your safety and ours."
Her father nodded. "This man is more than he seems. But whether he's a savior or something else, we need to know the truth."
As they powered down the surveillance system and prepared to close up the store, a quiet tension hung in the air. The mystery of Tony, the man who had moved like a ghost and healed their daughter, loomed large in their minds.