You Idiot (2)
KRAAASH!
The thunderous boom that exploded through the dark alleyway was loud enough to leave ears ringing for a moment.
Dongcheol glanced back and forth between his own right fist, still tingling from the impact, and Sihyun—who had taken the blow head-on without so much as a step backward and was already settling into a stance for the next attack. A hollow laugh escaped him.
Damn… shit, this really ain’t no joke?
Honestly, he’d looked down on the kid at first. The ones Sihyun had dropped in that alley that night had been plenty in number, but every last one of them was small fry. Pretty face like a girl’s, stick-thin body. He’d figured the brat was nothing more than a quick little snake at best.
But just like that night—when fist and foot had collided a moment ago—the hardness he’d felt made it clear all over again. This wasn’t someone he could put down easily. It was the unmistakable sensation you only got from the real deal.
Blood’s boiling!!
A full-body shiver of thrill ran through Dongcheol. At the thought that he could finally go all-out against this tiger cub—no, this tiger—a smile rose unbidden to his lips.
Territory scraps with the Biryong Clan. Power struggles inside the organization. This pure clash of strong against strong was on a completely different level from all that tedious shit, and it lit up his bloodlust just right.
Yeah—boss’s orders, the organization, whatever. First I’m gonna enjoy this!
The moment the thought formed, Dongcheol kicked off the ground and charged Sihyun again. Faster this time. Heavier. His left fist exploded toward Sihyun’s jaw!
Whoosh—!!
But Sihyun leaned his upper body back like smoke, letting the punch graze past by a hair’s breadth. And he didn’t waste the opening. As if he’d been waiting for it, his right foot flashed like lightning toward Dongcheol’s midsection.
Thud—!
“Guh—!”
The razor-sharp counterattack gave him no time to react. Dongcheol let out an involuntary groan and staggered two steps back. The kick buried in his side delivered a pain like being stabbed with a blade.
This… this bastard… really is fast!
Dongcheol’s eyes gleamed murderously. Using the recoil of his retreat, he kicked off the ground even harder and lunged again. This time it wasn’t simple swinging punches. Drawing on years of real combat, he mixed in deceptive footwork and unleashed a relentless barrage of left-right combos, driving Sihyun back.
Whoosh—!
Whoosh—!
Whooosh—!!
“Damn it! Just take the hit already!”
Dongcheol shouted as he mixed in a fake and swung his right fist. What he was really aiming for was the light straight. Even if the kid was hard to put down in one shot, a single clean hit from his fist would guarantee a critical wound!
Whoosh—!!!
But Sihyun twisted his body and slipped every attack with ease, then used the alley wall as a springboard and launched himself into the air. Still airborne, he spun his body and unleashed a devastating reverse roundhouse kick straight at Dongcheol’s temple.
“!!!”
Dongcheol raised his arms on pure instinct to guard—
CRACK—!!!
The enormous rotational force and destructive power loaded into the kick sent a numbing pain surging not just through his arms but through his entire body.
“Grrk!!!”
Driven backward, Dongcheol staggered and barely managed to keep his balance.
Watching the exchange, Hyunsik was stunned.
No way! Hyung Dongcheol’s getting pushed back by a brat whose blood’s barely dried on his head!?
Having served at Dongcheol’s side for a long time, Hyunsik knew exactly how strong the man was. Right before coming up to Seoul, he’d been called a legend among the provincial gangs.
So the guy the Blue Dragon heiress is keeping around really is the real deal!?
And he wasn’t the only one reeling.
What the hell—that Kim Sihyun bastard is wiping the floor with Hyung Dongcheol too?
Taesu stared blankly at the scene, his face gone pale.
Fuck, I can’t let this keep going!
Right before Sihyun had started fighting Dongcheol in earnest, their eyes had definitely met.
I’ll really kill you.
Taesu could almost hear Sihyun’s voice ringing inside his skull. If Dongcheol and the Daeho Clan men all went down to Sihyun here, it was obvious what would happen to his own life.
Having reached that conclusion, Taesu bellowed in a voice thick with desperate malice.
“Hey, Kim Sihyun! If you don’t want to watch your mom die, just stand there and take the beating, you retarded bastard!!!”
At that shout—
“!!!”
Sihyun’s movements faltered for a split second. In the middle of a fight this vicious, that alone was fatally dangerous.
Thud—!
He failed to fully dodge Dongcheol’s fist. The punch slammed square into his shoulder and sent him flying with a cry of pain.
“Ugh!”
“Yah!!!”
Seeing Sihyun collapse to the ground and groan, Yuri’s eyes flew wide and she screamed.
Watching that, Taesu curled his lips into a nasty smile and shouted as if he were suddenly somebody important.
“Hyung Dongcheol! Now’s the time!”
He couldn’t hide his excitement at the thought that he could finally finish off that eyesore of a bastard.
“Finish him right there—!”
But before the words were even finished—
CRACK—!!!
“Guek—!!”
Dongcheol’s kick slammed into Taesu’s gut.
“Damn it, you fucking piece of shit!”
Dongcheol looked down at the fallen Taesu with pure contempt and roared.
“This crazy bastard can’t find anything else to touch so he goes after a kid’s parents!? In the middle of fighting me, no less!? Huh!?”
Thud! Thud—! Crack—!
Dongcheol mercilessly rained kicks down on the crumpled Taesu.
“Aaagh! Aaagh! Aaagh!!”
Taesu curled up like a shrimp and screamed. It looked for all the world like he was about to kill the man.
Yet no one tried to stop Dongcheol.
“Tsk tsk… bastard… even if we’re gangsters, there’s still a line we don’t cross…”
Hyunsik clicked his tongue and sided with Dongcheol’s rage. The other men nearby all seemed to feel the same; they nodded along.
“Ghhk…”
In the end Taesu frothed blood and collapsed. Only then did Dongcheol stop kicking and spit on the ground in disgust.
A heavy silence settled over the alley for a moment.
“Damn… this really got awkward.”
Scratching the back of his head, Dongcheol looked at Sihyun, who was struggling to get back on his feet, and spoke as if the situation were troublesome. Sihyun’s eyes still burned with fighting spirit, cold and sharp. But the way he clutched the shoulder that had just taken Dongcheol’s fist made it clear he wasn’t in peak condition.
Which was why Dongcheol said, without a shred of lingering attachment,
“We’re heading back!”
He turned and barked the order at Hyunsik and the men.
Hyunsik asked worriedly,
“You sure about this, Hyung? Cha Mujin ain’t gonna sit quiet.”
“Ah, enough! Worst that happens is the boss chews me out a little, right?”
“Isn’t that exactly the problem?”
“I said enough! We’re going!”
After shouting at Hyunsik, Dongcheol glanced back over his shoulder and tossed Sihyun one last line.
“Next time we settle this!”
His eyes carried both regret and the eager promise of a rematch.
“And… this is just advice, but put your mother somewhere safe. I’m fine with it, but with idiots like these around, better to be careful.”
With that, Dongcheol led Hyunsik and the rest into the darkness and vanished.
Left alone in the alley were Sihyun and Yuri.
“Yah! Are you okay!?”
Yuri rushed straight to Sihyun, ready to support him. Sihyun pushed her hands away as if to say he was fine and forced himself upright with difficulty.
“Yes, I’m fine. This much is… ugh!”
Despite his words, the pain from the freshly struck shoulder made him wince involuntarily.
Seeing Sihyun in pain,
“Yah! Stop acting tough and let me take a look!”
Yuri panicked and immediately tried to undo the buttons of his shirt without so much as asking. Sihyun’s face flushed red as he recoiled in shock.
“W-what are you doing!?”
Yuri snapped at him,
“This is not the time to be embarrassed! Stay still!”
In the end she yanked his shirt open. What met her eyes was a massive, ugly blue bruise blooming across his shoulder.
“This crazy gangster bastard!”
Yuri’s face twisted into something fierce. She looked ready to chase after the vanished Dongcheol and murder him on the spot.
As if to reassure her,
“I really am fine. Something like this’ll be gone by tomorrow.”
Sihyun forced a casual shrug of his shoulders. Yuri scowled and shouted,
“Shut up! What do you think your mother is going to think if you go home like this!?”
“I-if I just hide it well… ugh!”
“As if you could hide it!”
Saying that, Yuri pulled out her phone and started dialing. Realizing who she was calling, Sihyun urgently tried to stop her.
“W-what are you doing!?”
Smack!
Yuri lightly swatted his hand away and began speaking into the phone as if nothing were wrong.
“Ah, Mother. Yes, it’s Yuri. Because of company work today, Sihyun suddenly has to pull an all-nighter—will you be all right alone tonight?”
“What is this crazy woman actually—! Mmph!”
Overhearing the call, Sihyun tried to protest, but Yuri’s other hand clamped over his mouth. After chatting with Seojin a while longer, she ended the call.
Stay quiet!
Yuri shot Sihyun a sidelong glance, warning him with her eyes to keep silent. A few more words with Seojin later,
“Yes, then I’ll see you next time~”
Yuri offered a soft goodbye and hung up.
“……”
The moment the hand left his mouth, Sihyun glared at her, looking thoroughly wronged.
“Hmph. What are you glaring for when you didn’t even do anything right? Just wait—I’m calling someone else too.”
With that she tapped at her screen again and dialed another number.
“Yah, Oh Harin. Bring the car here right now.”
She stated only the bare essentials and hung up without waiting for a reply. From the other end of the line came a faint, distant scream that sounded very much like—
This crazy bitch—!
Yuri paid it no mind whatsoever and went back to checking Sihyun’s condition.
“Ah, I keep telling you I’m fine! There’s no need to call Noona Harin…”
Sihyun still insisted he was all right and tried to dodge her hands, but—
“…I told you not to get hurt.”
Yuri’s low, quietly settled voice made him shut his mouth. And though her eyes still looked fierce and sharp, they held a faint sheen of moisture.
“…You idiot.”