Kang Chan left the athletic club room the moment the bell rang after classes had ended. He didn’t like the attention he was getting from the other students. Since Seok Kang-Ho was in charge of the roll call, he didn’t have to go to the school assembly or homeroom.

When Kang Chan reached the back gate, he found three slim, short-haired men in black suits and white shirts standing in front of a black car.

“Are you Kang Chan?”

Kang Chan nodded.

“Get in.”

Not only did they have short hair, but the bottom part of their suit pants were also tapered, like leggings. It was an outfit that was hard for the opponent to grab in a fight. Naturally, they weren’t wearing any neckties.

Click.

Kang Chan got into the back seat of the car, sitting directly behind the passenger seat. The three men got in after, occupying the driver, passenger, and remaining back seats.

‘Stupid bastards.’

There was a fillet knife hidden in the left chest area of the guy in the passenger seat despite his suit still being buttoned. The guy sitting in the back seat next to Kang Chan also had one inside his pants.

They drove along the alley and circled around the school. The atmosphere within the sedan was chilly, almost as if its interior had been covered in ice.

Kang Chan looked out the window. Students whose classes had finished were flocking out of the school gate.

The three men’s heads never moved, making it seem like their heads were bolted to their bodies. Kang Chan thought they were bringing him to some secluded factory. However, the car stopped in front of a two-story building located next to a huge hotel instead. The building was black with snacks scattered all around the entrance and ‘Cotton Candy’ scribbled in white on one side of the walls.[1]

Kang Chan waited.

Click.

Face twitching, the guy in the passenger seat got out and opened the door for Kang Chan, but it didn’t matter to Kang Chan since it wasn’t like he was going to get hit in the face.

The man then pointed to the door leading to the basement.

It was a so-called hostess bar. The stairs were so wide that three men could walk side by side, and it led to a carpeted floor with a counter on the left and a hallway that forked into two paths.

A man Kang Chan had never seen before was standing in front of the counter. He pointed to the hallway on the right, which was quite long and had doors on both sides—six on the left and five on the right, with the third one on the right being guarded by a man in a black suit. Upon noticing Kang Chan, he opened the door behind him. Kang Chan entered the room.

The room had a huge chandelier hanging above a marble table with bottles of water, beverages, and about a dozen knocked-over cups on it. It also had a bathroom, which was just across the door he had just entered.

There were five men inside. Kang Chan figured that the person in front of him, who was sitting at the very center, was the so-called boss. He had sharp eyes and a thick neck, forearms, shoulders, and chest that looked twice as big as Kang Chan’s.

“Who would’ve thought I’d see a boy in school uniform in a place like this! Are you Kang Chan?”

He looked around forty years old.

“Come, sit. Hey! Get up and make some room for him.”

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

The two guys on the right quickly got up from their seats, and Kang Chan sat down next to the boss without hesitation.

“I like the intensity of your gaze! Oh! It’s excellent! Yeah. That’s how a young person should be.”

The boss was more talkative than expected. He placed his arms on the table, leaning forward.

“I’m not here to drink with you.” Kang Chan replied.

The boss pursed his lips and glanced at Kang Chan. Kang Chan’s calm attitude and intense gaze seemed to bother him.

“There are people out there looking to put you six feet under. They used to say the same about me, but now, even the hyung-nims avoid me when they see me. The choice is yours, though. Will you obediently become one of us? Or will you spend the rest of your life living with regret?”

At that moment, it felt like another layer of tension was placed on top of the existing tension.

Kang Chan looked at the gangsters staying silent.

The boss clenched and opened his fist on the table, nodding in sync with the rhythm. It seemed like he was doing it out of habit rather than in an attempt to scare him.

“It makes sense that you made a fool out of three of my guys. Ah! Didn’t you say he injured ten students too?”

“Nine, hyung-nim.”

The boss nodded again then swiftly returned his gaze at Kang Chan.

“Ha! I can see that. This little dipshit needs to be taught a lesson.”

Kang Chan couldn’t help but laugh softly. He tried to hold it in as much as he could, but he couldn’t stop it from blurting out anymore after seeing those men test his patience and make decisions as they pleased.

“Are you laughing?”

“Should I be crying then?” Kang Chan asked.

The guys sitting next to him and across from him cursed at him and sprung to their feet but sat back down when their boss raised his hand.

“Do you know what death is?”

Kang Chan turned his head to either side.

“Do you?” he asked in response.

The boss looked like he was boiling with rage.

“He’s one crazy bastard.”

“Yeah, punk. So don’t mess with the school that a lunatic like me attends,” Kang Chan retorted.

“You little bastard!”

The boss’ right hand swung toward Kang Chan’s face out of the blue. It seemed like the boss was trying to slap Kang Chan, but his thick forearm slowed his movements tremendously.

Smack.

Kang Chan grabbed the boss’ hand with his left hand and punched his nape almost at the same time.

Pow.

In doing so, he prevented the boss from using any strength immediately. Kang Chan then mercilessly broke the boss’ right finger that he was tightly holding onto.

Crack.

“Gah!"

Pow.

Simultaneously, the guy sitting next to Kang Chan aimed a punch at his face, but it was all too easy for Kang Chan to dodge. Using his right index and middle fingers, Kang Chan stabbed the boss’ eyes hard.

“Ack!”

“Hey, you bastard!”

The guy next to Kang Chan attacked him. Bastards like him were the most foolish ones.

Pow.

Kang Chan landed an elbow strike on his forehead.

Thump.

The two guys across from him were already standing on the table. Kang Chan immediately lowered his stance a bit and kicked both of them in the shin.

Crash!

The two men fell flat on their faces before Kang Chan, who then swiftly struck them in the neck.

Pow. Pow.

“Cough!”

“Cough cough!”

The two men writhed in pain with only their legs on the table as their boss tried to leave, clutching one of his eyes. The narrow space between the sofa and the table forced him into an awkward stance, however.

“Where are you going, you bastard!”

When Kang Chan swiftly got onto the table, the guy sitting by the bathroom whipped out a fillet knife. The door connected to the hallway also flung open.

From atop the table, Kang Chan kicked up.

Thud.

The boss’ awkward posture put him at just the right height. If Kang Chan were to stop here, the boss would seek revenge.

Crack.

“Cough!”

The boss turned limp when Kang Chan twisted his neck. Kang Chan leaped to the innermost sofa and hauled his body up.

“You fucking bastard! Let go of him!”

Kang Chan had no idea the hostess bar was this spacious.

About a dozen men in black suits entered the room.

“Let go, you bastard!”

Swish. Swish.

The guy sitting by the bathroom swung his fillet knife menacingly.

“Take him.”

Kang Chan’s response seemed to have surprised them.

“You bastard!”

“I twisted his neck, so if I drop him, it won’t be good for him. Make sure you catch him properly, fucker.”

Flustered, the guy holding the fillet knife, quickly looked toward the entrance. The one standing in front of the dozen men nodded.

Hesitates.

‘Imbeciles.’

The guy with the fillet knife then walked over to him hesitantly, and Kang Chan shoved their boss toward him with immense force. This startled his opponent, since Kang Chan had mentioned moments before that the boss might die because his neck had been twisted.

Whoosh!

Kang Chan charged toward them and aggressively pushed the back of the boss’ head, aiming at the forehead of the man reaching out.

Whack.

Crash!

Tangled up, the boss and the man with the fillet knife tumbled under the table.

“You bastard!”

A few of the other guys thought of climbing over the table to get to Kang Chan, but they hesitated because Kang Chan had grabbed their downed ally’s knife and was standing on the chair once again.

Kang Chan’s heart pounded against his chest. He hadn’t felt so nervous in a long time.

Unlike the gangsters, Kang Chan held the fillet knife in a reverse grip, with the edge toward his opponents. As soon as he put his left foot down from the chair to the table, the three men who had climbed up on top of it paused.

“You idiots. Do you really have nothing better to do with your fucking lives than mess with students in school?” Kang Chan taunted them.

“You bastard! I’ll rip your mouth apart!”

Thud.

Kang Chan stood on top of the table. The guy that had collapsed after his boss crashed into him and the guys previously standing in the back were busy dragging their boss out.

“There are fifty people outside waiting for you, you fucking bastard! You won’t be getting out alive today! This place will be your grave even if it means I’ll get sentenced to death, you fucking son of a bitch!” one of the gangsters yelled at him.

Kang Chan slowly clenched his left hand. His wound had probably opened up—it felt damp and was throbbing with pain.

“You’re not a bunch of weaklings, so why do you only hang around outside the school picking on students?”

“You fucking bastard!” Seemingly losing his cool, the guy yelling at him charged forward with a fillet knife.

Swish!

Kang Chan extended his left hand and shifted his grip up the handle, positioning it closer to the blade. His opponent stared at him, apparently flustered by Kang Chan’t movements.

Pow. Pow. Pow. Pow.

Kang Chan stabbed him in the forearm four times.

Pew!

“Aaaaack!”

He screamed in pain when Kang Chan slashed his wrist for the final blow. Kang Chan then shoved him away.

Crash!

“Aagh! Ack!”

The guy fell on the cups scattered on the floor and grabbed his wrist, crying in pain.

He seemed to have mistakenly thought Kang Chan had sliced his artery open.

Moron.

The guy got himself all startled.

The two remaining gangsters couldn’t even run. One of them was shaking. Kang Chan smirked. Bastards like him were especially merciless to people who were weak.

Meanwhile, a few guys leaped onto the sofa from both sides.

Swish!

The guy on the left sofa swung his knife toward Kang Chan’s waist.

Seven threats and three targets.

Whoosh!

The moment the knife swung past him, Kang Chan sprung forward and shoved his assailant. As the man’s shoulder was now facing Kang Chan, Kang Chan jabbed at the guy’s shoulder muscles.

Pow. Pow.

“Gahh!”

Pow. Pow.

Next, Kang Chan struck both his armpits, rendering the bastard unable to wield a knife.

Bam.

Even so, Kang Chan still slammed his forehead into his face.

Swoosh.

The guy who seemed terrified earlier thrust his knife forward and charged, appearing to have found an opening. Did he not know that the human body stiffened up when one was afraid?

Kang Chan ruthlessly stabbed him in the right arm.

Stab. 

“Gaaaaaargghh!”

“Come here, you fucking bastard!”

When Kang Chan moved toward the middle sofa, the guy charged at him, almost as if Kang Chan had caught him with a fishing line and was pulling it in.

Pow. Pow. Pow. Pow.

Kang Chan had no desire to let him go. He forcefully jabbed the thug’s muscles just above his knees, then struck his shoulder muscles.

“Aghhh! Eckkk!”

Such cries and screams would destroy his comrades’ morale.

Kang Chan slashed the guy’s right wrist with the fillet knife.

“Never do this ever again.”

In tears, the man nodded.

Pew!

“Aaaaghhh!”

Kang Chan flung him aside and climbed onto the table once again.

Hesitate.

When the guy at the table suddenly leaped down, the men in front of Kang Chan took that as a signal to retreat. By now, the dance floor was filled with gangsters.

Kang Chan jumped down to the left sofa and grabbed the right hand of the guy that had passed out after getting headbutted. He glared fiercely at the men standing in front of him.

Pew!

Kang Chan was showing them that their lives would be over if he were to ever catch them. It didn’t matter if it was repulsion or fear he instilled in them. He was fine with it. Those feelings plaguing their minds would stiffen their movements, which would ultimately tire them out quicker when fighting against him.

When Kang Chan jumped onto the floor from the sofa, some of those at the back headed toward the door. One would think they were tenacious bastards, but they were just tenacious high schoolers wearing black suits and standing in line. They’d bow and apologize out of fear.

You messed with the wrong person.

“Move out of the way!”

A commotion sprung at the door. Soon, two men with baseball bats entered the room.

Did they think their weapons’ length would give them an advantage? If that were true, the long swords in Africa would’ve long killed Kang Chan and his unit!

“You motherfucker. Fuck around and see what happens!”

Whooosh! Whoosh!

The bat made a rather powerful sound because of its size.

“Just try me, you fucking bastard!” Kang Chan shouted back.

Crash.

It seemed as though the thugs thought Kang Chan was being backed into a corner. The three guys with fillet knives charged at the same time, following the lead of the man with the bat.

Bam.

Kang Chan kicked the bat with his right foot.

Whoosh!

Kang Chan grabbed the fillet knife coming from the left and yanked it toward him. Based on the way it stung, it had definitely cut his hand even though it was bandaged.

Pew! Pow!

As Kang Chan jerked the blade in his direction, he slashed its wielder’s wrist and stabbed the forearm. He then yanked the thug even closer to him.

“Gaghhhhh!”

Claank.

The bright, resonant sound of the aluminum bat hitting the guy’s head rang throughout the room. Blood gushed out as if in celebration of a home run.

Crash!

Kang Chan positioned the gangster with the split head in front of him as he charged forward.

Pow. Pow.

Two knives ruthlessly stabbed into Kang Chan’s meat shield.

Pow. Pow. Pow. Pew! Pew!

Kang Chan stabbed the person holding a bat in the forearm and shoulder, then mercilessly slashed the necks of the two guys with fillet knives. They could die, but if he tried to be careful and let them live, then he would be the one to die.

Pew!

At that moment, Kang Chan felt a prick in his left shoulder.

Pew! Pow!

He slashed the wrist of the man that stabbed him in the shoulder, then stabbed him in the forearm.

“Gaaahhhh!”

Kang Chan had to retreat for now. He dragged with him the guy whose forearm he had just stabbed, causing his victim to let out a shrill scream. A knife was still sticking out right below Kang Chan’s left clavicle, and it would’ve been a disaster if he hadn’t moved out of the way reflexively.

Damn it.

‘There’s a lot of them.’

Kang Chan twisted the knife and pushed upward.

“Gaaaaaahhh!”

When the guy twisted his body…

Pow!

Kang Chan struck his throat with his left hand.

“Cough!”

The guy fell to his knees, coughing in front of Kang Chan.

“Would you like me to take out the knife for you?”

“Cough! Cough!”

The bastard nodded.

Pow. Pow. Pow.

Kang Chan smirked as he pulled out the knife, then stabbed the man’s shoulder and back muscles.

Pow!

He then kneed the thug in the face.

Clink clank.

Kang Chan tossed the knife the guy was holding aside and pulled out the knife that was embedded in his own left shoulder, causing his blood to spurt out intermittently like a broken faucet. He clenched his left fist.

Tingle.

The pain traveled through his nerves and reverberated throughout his body.

Drip. Drop. 

Blood was dripping from the bandage around his left hand, as if it had been dipped in blood. More importantly, his current body was the issue here. It was slow and lacked strength, preventing him from moving as he pleased. Had he been in his original body, these stupid amateur knife users wouldn’t have been able to wound him.

His left cheek was throbbing with pain after being hit the first time.

Tingle.

He tried to act as if nothing had happened and took half a step, but his shoulder hurt so badly that it felt like it had been torn off.

At that moment, a commotion at the door interrupted the short confrontation. A man had appeared, holding a bright blue katana.