Don't Worry
How incredible was the power that had been given to him?
Seong-min still did not fully understand the strength the Status Window granted him. He only knew that the special abilities it provided were extraordinary. The same held true for the stats displayed on it. In particular, he had no precise grasp of what the Martial Power stat truly meant. All he knew was that the higher it climbed, the stronger he became.
When his Martial Power had been at 60, he had subdued an opponent ranked fifth in the national mixed martial arts rankings. Even though it had only been sparring, the man had clearly intended to deliver a proper "lesson" to some punks who had swaggered into the gym without knowing their place. Like the old saying about a newborn pup that does not yet fear the tiger, the fighter had wanted to teach a harsh reality check to someone who had walked in believing he could handle himself. That was why a current national top-five athlete had stepped onto the mat against Seong-min. Seong-min had known exactly what he was walking into when he visited that gym—it was famous for that sort of thing. The result had been Seong-min's victory, and not a difficult one. He had finished it in the first round.
That was when he had gained his certainty. That was when he had moved to save Min-hyeok. Facing the thugs who had locked Min-hyeok away had been the same. Seong-min had never needed to pour out the full force of his Martial Power of 60. There had been no reason to go all out. Even against the ringleader—a man named Tae-su who had looked like he could actually fight, who had bounced on his toes and thrown boxing combinations—Seong-min had felt no real difficulty. Every movement, every trajectory of an incoming fist, had been visible to him. Slow, even. Countering and putting the man down had been almost effortless.
That had been Seong-min at Martial Power 60.
Now his Martial Power exceeded 300. He still had not fully felt what that increase meant in practical terms. But from the moment he obtained the list of key figures compiled by the information broker and set out to punish the core members of the Yonggol-pa who held her life in their hands, Seong-min realized he was a predator stepping onto the savanna to hunt—and not just any predator. He was the king of beasts. A lion.
The special Teleportation Skill proved extremely useful. It let him cover vast distances in a single instant. Seong-min pulled on leather gloves, a brimmed hat, and a black mask to hide his face—the same outfit he had worn when he had beaten information out of the men connected to Min-hyeok's captivity. He already had experience with this. He acted without hesitation and hunted the core executives of the Yonggol-pa.
He ambushed one as the man left an establishment after an inspection, dropping him in an instant. He waited near another's house and took him the moment he stepped out of his car. On the first day alone Seong-min hunted five of them. Every single one suffered injuries severe enough to keep them in a hospital bed for a long time—injuries serious enough to force them into retirement from the organization and a long convalescence. He had simply chosen not to take their lives. His actions were that bold.
As a result, the Yonggol-pa went into emergency mode. Executives kept getting ambushed by an unknown attacker and carted off to hospitals. They reinforced their security details and tried to protect themselves. It made no difference. Whether ten bodyguards or more stood between him and his target, it was no problem for Seong-min.
"That's him!"
"Get that bastard!"
The moment Seong-min appeared they swarmed him as if they had been waiting, trying to surround him.
Thud! Crack! Whoosh—!
"Gyaaah!"
"Kehek!"
"Aaaaagh!"
With movements so fluid they bordered on the supernatural, he sent every man who charged him flying with kicks and punches. In moments he had subdued more than ten bodyguards and closed in on his target. The man drew a blade.
"You son of a bitch... I'll cut you down myself!"
He had expected that after the other executives fell, Seong-min would come for him too. Determined not to go down alone, he lunged with the weapon raised.
The blade whipped toward him in a vicious arc. Seong-min simply twisted his upper body a fraction to the side, let it pass, and drove a fist into the man's ribs.
Thud!
"Guh—?!"
The impact rang out. Seong-min seized the wrist that still clutched the weapon and twisted.
Crunch.
"Gyaaaaah!!!"
As the man screamed from the shattered bones in his wrist, a rapid flurry of blows hammered into him.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!!!
The impacts drove him staggering backward until he collapsed, body convulsing on the floor.
"Ugh..."
Every bone in his body was broken; his organs were damaged. Once they got him to a hospital he would need a long period of recovery before he could even move again. His sphincter had apparently given out as well—he soiled himself where he lay. Seong-min looked down at him without expression, then turned and vanished.
And so, having dealt with twelve of the thirteen bosses and executives, Seong-min moved to finish the last one—the man who could be called the boss of the Yonggol-pa: Yang Ik-soo.
Who the hell is targeting us...?
Holed up inside his house, Yang Ik-soo was in a grim state. An unknown attacker had systematically taken down every executive of the Yonggol-pa. After five of them fell in a single day they had held an emergency meeting and beefed up close protection for everyone's safety. But the bastard was so formidable that even those bodyguards were beaten down on the spot while he hunted his chosen targets.
Yang Ik-soo was currently inside his own home. The Yonggol-pa was in crisis. Every executive had been taken out. Only Yang Ik-soo remained. Dozens of enforcers stood guard in the courtyard. Twenty more were stationed in the reception room. He had positioned them thoroughly for his own protection.
"I don't know who you are... but I swear I'll find out your identity and pay you back...!"
"Not sure you'll get the chance."
"?!"
Yang Ik-soo's head snapped to the side. A man stood there—hat, mask, leather gloves.
"Y-you...!"
Thud!
A heavy blow to the back of the neck dropped Yang Ik-soo before he could finish speaking. His body trembled violently as the strength drained out of him. Seong-min did not leave the unconscious boss alone. He damaged the joints of both arms and both legs badly enough that the man would need at least a year of hospital recovery. Even unconscious, Yang Ik-soo seemed to feel the pain—his body kept shaking.
Idiots who don't even know what's happening to their own boss.
Seong-min sneered at the enforcers beyond the closed door, then leisurely vanished from the spot.
Two days. In just two days Seong-min had crippled the core executives and the boss of the Yonggol-pa, consigning them all to long hospital stays. Retirement from the organization was the inevitable next step. Not long after Seong-min disappeared, Yang Ik-soo's wife walked into the master bedroom, saw her husband collapsed on the floor, and screamed.
"Kyaaaah!"
The enforcers rushed in at the sound, but everything was already over. The Yonggol-pa, which had swaggered and ruled over Cheonan and Asan, lost every pillar that held it up the moment twelve executives and boss Yang Ik-soo were carried off to the hospital as cripples. These men had also been the key figures who held her life in their hands. All of it had been accomplished in the mere two days since Seong-min began to act.
She waited. Just as that man had told her. She did not go outside. She did not take a single step. She stayed in the room and waited alone. It was the only thing she could do. She crouched on the floor and waited. She could not bring herself to sleep comfortably on the bed. She leaned her back against the wall, pulled her knees together, and buried her face against them until sleep took her. And when she woke again—
"Ugh... hic..."
Tears came on their own. The thought that the man might be Seong-min made her cry. She did not know how he had discovered where she was. What mattered was that he had stepped forward for her sake. That man who might be Seong-min had planned something and taken action against the people who held her life. That was why the tears came.
Seong-min... no... don't... just... come back... if something happens to you... I...
"Ugh! ...Uuhhhhk!!!!"
Every time she dozed off and woke she simply pulled her legs in and cried. There was no way to know for certain whether that man was truly Seong-min. But Yoo Ji-ah had already accepted it emotionally—he had to be.
Could I ever do the same...?
If it were not him, there was no reason anyone would go this far for her.
Could I become someone who can protect another person the way Ji-ah once protected me...?
After she had lost everything and fallen into despair, there was no one left in the world who would stand up for her. If such a person might still exist—if even one such person might be out there—
I couldn't protect Haeng-bok... but I never want to go through something like that again.
That man had to be Seong-min. It was certain.
"I-I'm sorry... uuhhhk!! ...I'm... so sorry... Seong-min... uuhhhhk!!!"
She was terrified. Not of those men's revenge. She was terrified that something might happen to the man who might be Seong-min. If he never came back—if something happened to him—she did not think she could endure any longer.
Please... please... let him come back safely...!
She prayed and prayed inside. She could be dragged away again. Just let that man be safe. She prayed and prayed for his safety. In this moment when she believed she had lost everything, Yoo Ji-ah—having let go of it all—prayed to the heavens again and again. That he would return unharmed.
How much time had passed? The sky was dark. The room was dark. In the heavy silence Yoo Ji-ah sat leaning against the wall with her face buried against her knees. Then a sound broke the stillness. She lifted her tear-streaked face. From the entrance hall came the sound of the door lock. With eyes wet with tears, with tear tracks still visible on her face, Yoo Ji-ah stared at the front door. The lock disengaged. The door slowly opened.
"Ah...!"
A figure stepped inside.
"Ji-ah... have you been sitting like that the whole time?"
Seong-min asked in surprise as he took in the sight of her leaning against the wall in the dark room. In that instant—
Thud-thud-thud...!
She shoved herself up from the floor and crossed the distance in a rush, throwing her arms around his neck.
"Ji-ah...?"
"Uuhhhk!!!"
Seong-min froze at the way she clung to him, sobbing against his neck.
"Ji—"
"Thank you... for coming back... again... uuhhhk...! ...Thank you so much... Seong-min... hic..."
"......"
Seong-min slowly closed the mouth he had opened. He gently stroked the long, jet-black hair of the woman who clung to his neck and wept without end, and he held her.