Alexandra found herself surrounded by a group of four men loitering in the alley.

“Hey toots,” one of them called out with an unmistakable devilish grin. “You’re looking rather cute tonight.”

Who uses the word toots? Are we in the 1950s? 

“Sorry I don’t speak Korean,” Alexandra lied as she spoke in English.

They ignored her. 

She felt the sudden weightlessness of her handbag disappearing from her shoulder. The guy tossed her bag between his hands, with an infuriating grin plastered across his face.

“Listen, I really don’t want to do this right now. I’ve got a slight headache and really hate violence,” she said, this time in Korean. 

He twirled her purse in his fingers, taunting her. “Okay, you can have it back… if you give me a kiss.”

“Sorry, I don’t kiss ugly men.”

The taller man yanked her by her hair, “What did you say?”

Things had gotten out of control and she could see they had no intention of giving her back her purse, nor letting her leave unharmed. 

Alexandra didn’t even hesitate.

She punched him in the throat.

The guy gasped, stumbling back as he clutched his neck. He choked out a heavy wheeze, gasping for precious air.

She wiped her hands on her skirt, disgusted by the fact she even touched him. 

“I especially hate rude people,” she said calmy but anger boiled behind her gaze.

That set off the rest of them. The second guy lunged.

“I just wanted a nice evening,” she said, side stepping past his lunge. 

She drove her elbow into his ribs before flipping him onto the pavement. 

“That move I actually learned from my best friend. Works every time.”

The third guy swung at her. She ducked and kicked his legs out from under him. The fourth actually hesitated. 

Smart—but not smart enough. 

He barely got his arms up before she landed a clean, bone-crunching punch to his nose. 

Oops I didn’t mean to punch him so hard.

Blood splattered. 

“Ugh, you got my shoes dirty,” Alexandra said agitated.

From the side of the alley, Seo, Jae and Young-Hana stood shocked at the sight before them. 

“You think we should help her?” Seo asked, stepping forward into the alley.

Hana stood at the front of the group watching Alexandra’s movements. “Nah. She’s got this.”

Hana knew that Lexi's father forced her to train religiously after that incident. There was only one person who could beat Lexi and that was Hana herself. Well, she could a few years back that is. 

Jae-Yong whistled under his breath, impressed. “Remind me never to make her mad.”

Seo watched with narrowed eyes and arms crossed. "Her form is solid. Aggressive, but efficient."

“Give her a break, she’s had a few drinks,” Hana sighed. 

The last guy scrambled away, coughing as he took off.

Alexandra, breathing heavily, dusted herself off before realizing something.

“Well, there goes my passport, wallet, and phone.”

The group blinked at her. Her hair. Her long curls were now wildly untameable. Jae didn’t mind her unruly hair. He actually found her that much more attractive. 

She didn’t even care about her appearance at this point. Her only concern was her missing items. 

“…Wait,” Young-Hana said. “You mean none of them had it?”

Alexandra exhaled sharply, “You couldn’t even get the guy with my purse? I was in heels for crying out loud.”

Jae-Yong stuttered, “Uh, we… kinda got distracted.”

Seo gave her a pat on the head, “We saw you take down four guys. Sorry if we were a bit… preoccupied.”

Hana agreed,  “I mean, how did you bust that guy’s nose like that?”

Alexandra groaned, ignoring all their questions. “Someone buy me a drink,” she said pushing past them. 

“You know I’m good for it right?” She didn’t know where she was headed but she knew it’d be anywhere but here. 

Hana laughed, throwing an arm around her. “Yeah, yeah. But you do realize Matteo’s going to kill you when we get back, right?”

Alexandra sighed, “I know.”