The Surveillance Squad
“Y-you’re seriously going to fight me? Can you handle the consequences?”
The man stuttered, looking genuinely flustered. In contrast, Oh Jeong-hwan was brimming with confidence.
“Gusan is famous for its bets, isn’t it? Isn’t it your style to make a wager and have the loser follow the winner’s demands?”
“Ha, give me a break.”
I had heard that Baek Gusan, the leader of the Gusan Shelter, was a gambling addict. Because of his influence, a culture had taken root in Gusan where everything was settled with a bet, and the loser was strictly required to obey the winner’s terms.
“I-is this Gusan?”
“Are you scared? Should we make it three-on-one instead of one-on-one?”
“Three-on-one?!”
The man’s voice brightened. It seemed he wasn’t confident in a one-on-one fight, but he believed he had a chance if they ganged up on him.
“Three-on-one, you really mean it? Don’t go changing your words later.”
“Sure. If we’re going to do it, let’s do it in front of all the members. It’s more fun with an audience, right?”
“Hah! You want to be humiliated in public?”
“That remains to be seen.”
A brief whisper broke out among them. Soon, the man who had finished his calculations accepted the deal with a triumphant tone.
“Fine. You’re on.”
“I trust you’ll keep your word.”
“Of course. Our Gusan might be lacking in other areas, but we always honor our bets.”
“Let’s go outside.”
Oh Jeong-hwan and the three members of the Gusan surveillance squad headed out to the playground. I took out my earphones and watched them from the rooftop. Oh Jeong-hwan must have decided that he couldn’t let these guys push him around anymore. On the other hand, those thugs had likely agreed because they thought it was a winning bet. Oh Jeong-hwan was serious, but the others were giggling.
Hwang Gyunam tilted his head, a question mark plastered on his face.
“What’s going on? Oh went outside?”
“They’re going to have a showdown.”
“Huh? With who?”
“Those guys.”
“Three of them?”
“I’m worried, too. If they’re Cha Dohyun’s right-hand men, they must be decent fighters.”
“But isn’t a showdown supposed to be one-on-one?”
In the meantime, people began to gather one by one. Thanks to them, a circular ring was formed, and the rooftop served as the royal-tier viewing gallery.
“These idiots, they’re crawling out without even knowing their own shelter leader is about to get beaten up.”
“Quiet. The winner becomes the boss. No weapons, bare hands only.”
“Heh heh heh! Yes, yes. Let’s do that.”
The men seemed used to this kind of situation, forming a triangle around Oh Jeong-hwan. Seeing that, Hwang Gyunam shook his head and said,
“What happens if Oh loses…?”
“Why do you think he’ll lose? He just needs to win.”
“The Gusan guys fight every single day. They even hold regular fighting arenas.”
“The shelter leader must have his reasons.”
“Can a guy who only threw balls handle brawlers? And three of them at that?”
Come to think of it, I had never seen Oh Jeong-hwan fight either. I had seen him swing a bat at zombies a few times, but all that told me was that his physical strength was immense. Fighting, however, required experience more than raw strength. Hearing Hwang Gyunam’s words, I started to feel uneasy myself.
“Huh?!”
It was right then. Oh Jeong-hwan lunged at one of the vertices of the triangle. He had taken the initiative to overcome his numerical disadvantage.
“Ugh!”
Oh Jeong-hwan charged like a wild boar, diving under the opponent’s waist and successfully executing a takedown. Before the remaining two could even react, Oh Jeong-hwan’s left fist was buried into the man’s face.
“Whoa, damn. That’s gotta hurt.”
I had momentarily forgotten that he was a left-handed fireballer who once dominated the Major Leagues. To throw a 100-mph fastball with 2,700 RPM, how strong must his shoulders and grip be? Lack of experience and slow speed weren’t big problems for him. There wouldn’t be anyone left standing after one punch from him.
“You son of a bitch!”
Seeing their colleague sprawled on the ground like a corpse, the remaining two lunged at once. They positioned themselves in front and behind, unleashing a barrage of attacks on Oh Jeong-hwan. If the one in front drew his attention, the one behind would strike his side or thighs without mercy. Yet, Oh Jeong-hwan just kept his guard up like a turtle, hunched over.
‘Gotcha!’
It was when the guys lost their caution because Oh Jeong-hwan was only defending. Oh Jeong-hwan dropped his guard and snatched the front man by the collar. A left straight was driven directly into the center of his face.
Thwack—!
“Ugh!”
The man tumbled away in an unsightly heap. It wasn’t like he was One Punch Man, but I had never seen a fighting style like that in my life.
“That’s insane.”
“...I was worried for nothing.”
Oh Jeong-hwan walked toward the last remaining guy with long, steady strides. Honestly, his presence was enough to intimidate anyone. The man, backing away, had no choice but to throw a punch.
“Oh, damn it!”
Oh Jeong-hwan easily dodged by bending his waist and drove his left fist into the man’s abdomen. The man collapsed on the spot, gasping for air as if his breath had been cut off.
One shot, one kill. A bomber on the playground. One punch was enough to knock out the brawlers of Gusan. When he signaled, Kim Gang-hyeon and the nurses took the men away. As Oh Jeong-hwan entered the auditorium, the search teams followed immediately. Han Jiyoung was even dusting off Oh Jeong-hwan’s clothes, her lips twitching into a smile.
“Thanks to the leader, I feel like I’ve downed a glass of soda. Watching those bastards roll around was so refreshing.”
“Tell Teacher Kim to treat them well.”
“He’ll handle it. But that super strength was no joke, right? His power seems even greater than yours, Senior. Don’t you think?”
Han Jiyoung asked, looking at me. It strangely stirred my competitive spirit. I just shrugged my shoulders.
“I thought Oh would lose. If he wins that overwhelmingly, what does that make me?”
Hwang Gyunam joined in, praising him. Even so, Oh Jeong-hwan didn’t change his expression or say a word. At first, I thought he might be shy, but he was a person with a much larger capacity than I had anticipated.
“When they wake up, I don’t know how they’ll react. We need to keep our members in check.”
“Hey, didn’t they say they’d serve us as their bosses from now on? Isn’t that the end of it?”
“If it were that easy to solve, I wouldn’t have a headache.”
I felt the same. It was refreshing, but it meant nothing more than that. These were men acting under the direct orders of Gusan. Expecting them to disobey Gusan’s directives just because they lost one bet was absurd. They might even hold a grudge and act even more viciously.
Nevertheless, I supported Oh Jeong-hwan’s judgment. If they showed they could act with impunity within the shelter, it wouldn’t just be Oh Jeong-hwan’s pride that crumbled—it would be the pride of Osori itself.
“Still, since we’ve broken their spirit once, they won’t be able to act as they please.”
“I hope so, but they’re such scumbags, I don’t know where they’ll bounce.”
“It’s okay. You did great today.”
“...I didn’t expect to hear a compliment from you.”
A slight crack appeared on Oh Jeong-hwan’s stone-Buddha-like expression. Seeing that, Han Jiyoung pouted, looking envious, and grumbled,
“When those bastards wake up, I’m going to challenge them to a fight too.”
“You can’t.”
“No, why? I could take those guys in three seconds.”
“Then bet three seconds on it.”
“I’m just saying, just saying. Anyway, you’re always so cold to me.”
“For now, let’s see how they come out. It won’t be too late to deal with them after that.”
Everyone nodded as if agreeing with my opinion. Regardless, they were Gusan affiliates. We were still the underdogs who had to read the mood of the powerful.
***
The next day, the first thing I did after arriving at work was look for Kim Gang-hyeon. His face was haggard with fatigue, and I could roughly guess the reason.
“They woke up after about half a day. One of them has been swearing all day long; my ears are practically bleeding.”
“That’s the guy who got hit in the abdomen, right?”
“Yes, the guy named Yoon Taesik. Ha... don’t even ask. He keeps asking for painkillers because he’s in pain, and when I told him no, he even tried to lay a hand on the nurse.”
“...They still haven’t come to their senses.”
“They’re beyond redemption. I have to save the medicine, but they ask for it like they’re popping vitamins...”
“What are they doing now?”
“Sleeping. They snore so loudly I haven’t been able to get a wink of sleep. I was told to stay on emergency standby, so I couldn’t even go anywhere else.”
“Oh, you’ve had a rough time.”
“Phew. Can’t be helped.”
After finishing my conversation with Kim Gang-hyeon, I immediately went out for search activities. Half of the loot was Gusan’s requirement, and Oh Jeong-hwan’s judgment was that we should follow it for the time being. In fact, there were no other options. Since we were being stripped of so much, we had no choice but to work diligently.
We finished our meetings earlier than usual and everyone hurried to start their activities. However, as if to mock our efforts, Oh Jeong-hwan sent a radio message around 12:00 PM.
-All search teams, withdraw. Assemble in the grand auditorium.
Something had clearly happened. I practically ran back to the shelter, and inside the grand auditorium, the three surveillance squad members and Oh Jeong-hwan were locked in a war of nerves.
“Are you saying you won’t keep your promise?”
“No, when did we ever not keep it, Boss? We call you Boss every chance we get, so what’s the problem? Bo-ss.”
“You scumbags.”
“I told you to say it! We’re serving you well as our Boss, aren’t we? Did we break our promise?”
Is that how they want to play it? Kim Gang-hyeon’s words that they were beyond redemption came to mind.
“They’re arriving.”
Han Jiyoung and Hwang Gyunam arrived. As all the search teams returned one after another, Yoon Taesik revealed his yellow teeth and said,
“Well, well. Since everyone is here, I’ll speak. You said you start search activities from 9:00 AM? That’s too early. From now on, let’s start from 1:00 PM.”
“1:00 PM? Are you kidding me right now?”
It was Han Jiyoung who flared up. Yoon Taesik, knowing her, smirked when he saw her face.
“We have to leave together, don’t we? To be blunt, how do we know you aren’t hiding the loot?”
“You son of a bitch! Hey! You guys take half, and if we leave at 1:00 PM, are you telling us to starve to death? We hurried out today too, so what kind of bullshit is this?!”
“That’s none of our business. From tomorrow, let’s leave at 1:00 PM.”
“Can’t we just leave at 9:00 AM? Isn’t it good for you guys too if we get a lot?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I need to sleep in.”
“W-what...?”
The guys giggled and continued to mock us.
“Is our Jiyoung’s hearing bad? I said I need to take a nap. I have to play until late at night, so how can I wake up at 9:00 AM?”
“...Do you all want to die?”
“We’re strong at night. How about it? Should I show you?”
“You sons of bitches!”
Shing—!
Han Jiyoung drew her sword and lunged at Yoon Taesik. I didn’t even have time to stop her. No, to be precise, I was so furious that I had no intention of stopping her either.
“Heh heh heh!”
The blade stopped right in front of his throat. Yoon Taesik, who had flinched for a moment, raised his cheekbones as if he had expected it.
“Age 26. Winner of the World Youth Kendo Championship, 11th generation Hunter. The type who only talks big.”
“What did you say...?”
“But you, have you ever killed a person?”
“...”
“Heh heh! Do you know why you didn’t become a high-ranking Hunter? It’s not because of your points, it’s just because you lack the brains. You don’t know when to step up. You only know how to threaten, but you can’t even really kill.”
“Go ahead, keep talking...! Do you think I can’t do it?”
“Do you know why we gave up on recruiting you? Because a Hunter who can’t even kill a person is useless.”
Yoon Taesik pushed the sword away with his finger. Han Jiyoung just stood there like a statue, her body trembling. In an instant, I felt the string at the top of my head snap.
“Is that so?”
I walked toward them, step by step. Someone who didn’t see people as people. Someone who had killed countless people. The Hunter those guys were looking for was right here.