Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: These Bastards Have Really Decided to Go All Out
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These bastards have really decided to go all out.
Lee Jae-hyun rose from his seat as he eyed the burly men who had smashed through the restaurant entrance.
'No way, no way. I didn't think they'd actually show up.'
He had come to the gukbap house just in case. Worried that Park Man-seok's daughter, Park Hyun-jin, might take out her anger on innocent A-ram now that her father was caught.
But reality had exceeded his imagination.
"Gimme a bowl of gukbap. What's the holdup?"
"Hey, you didn't say sundae, pork, or offal."
"Oh, right. That thing... gimme sundae."
The men who barged in started chuckling and chatting among themselves.
They'd smashed the entrance of someone else's shop and waltzed in like it was routine.
They clearly weren't just PMC company employees. They had to be members of whatever organization was connected to those guys.
Lee Jae-hyun swept his gaze over them, confirming his suspicions.
'Five guys. No one outside. ...What's that?'
His eyes scanned the five burly men and stopped on one.
More precisely, on the axe tattoo etched on the back of the man's hand.
Axe Gang.
"Uh, um...."
The restaurant owner froze at the unexpected thuggish scene, stammering in panic.
Instinctively, he had pulled Song A-ram behind him to shield her.
Lee Jae-hyun clicked his tongue.
No time for self-defense laws or anything.
He locked eyes with the man at the front and spoke.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"Looking for sundae gukbap? Here you go, asshole."
With that, Lee Jae-hyun grabbed the bowl in front of him and hurled it.
"Crazy...!"
As the guys scattered in panic,
Lee Jae-hyun lunged at the frontmost one and swung his fist.
Crack!
The man's jaw shattered instantly, and he crumpled.
One of them snapped out of it and charged at Lee Jae-hyun.
It was the guy with the axe tattoo on his hand.
Whoosh!
Lee Jae-hyun tensed as he heard the wind from the guy's swinging fist.
"You little shit!"
As the man threw another punch,
Lee Jae-hyun deployed his favorite weapon.
He grabbed the man's arm, slipped inside, and hoisted him over his shoulder.
But...
Thud!
The instant he hit the ground, the guy rolled with a breakfall, slipping free from Lee Jae-hyun's grip.
Lee Jae-hyun moved to pursue, but fell back a step as the others rushed in.
Right then.
"Stop!"
The tattooed man sprang up from the floor and shouted. The charging thugs halted.
He seemed to be their leader.
Maybe he realized Lee Jae-hyun wasn't an easy mark.
Instead of rushing together, the leader cautiously sized him up.
The standoff lasted a moment.
The leader smirked and spoke leisurely.
"Tch... Ruining my cred in front of the boys. You know some judo, huh?"
"Basic cop training."
"What? A pig? Didn't hear about that."
He twitched his brow, scanning Lee Jae-hyun up and down.
Mention of police made him hesitate?
'They don't look like the type.'
These were guys who smashed windows to enter a shop. If they cared about cops, they wouldn't have done it.
And sure enough.
"You're out of luck. Shouldn't come for gukbap this late."
They'd crossed the line long ago.
The leader chuckled and nodded toward Lee Jae-hyun at his men.
"What're you waiting for? Rush him."
"Got it!"
At his order, the waiting men charged as one.
The leader watched, smirking.
"Judo? At best, you can throw one at a time. What're you gonna do against all of us?"
Judo was specialized for one-on-one.
The big movements left openings after techniques.
But...
"What can I do?"
Grinning, Lee Jae-hyun charged right at the oncoming thugs.
In a one-against-many fight, prevent them from encircling you.
His countercharge threw the Axe Gang off, making them falter.
He closed on the lead thug and fired a left jab to check him.
Smack!
The guy instinctively raised his right to guard his face.
Lee Jae-hyun exploited it, slamming his right fist into the exposed body.
Thwack!
"Gah!"
A clean liver shot. The man collapsed.
Beyond him, more Axe Gang rushed into view.
One charging barehanded, fearless.
Another grabbing a chair, sensing danger.
Lee Jae-hyun eyed them.
"...Should've rushed all at once like the boss said."
Bare hands or chairs, to land a hit, they needed timing like he said.
He muttered as he slapped aside the barehanded thug's fist with his palm.
Thud.
The fist grazed past.
As his extended hand reached the thug's shoulder, Lee Jae-hyun clenched and swung sideways.
Crack!
His fist nailed the temple perfectly.
"Urgh...."
The thug rolled across the floor.
Without checking, Lee Jae-hyun sidestepped back.
Crash!
A chair smashed where he'd been, broken leg flying.
The chair guy.
Lee Jae-hyun kicked the broken chair away.
"Playing dirty... That's aggravated assault, asshole."
The thug tumbled with the chair.
All in seconds.
Having downed them all, Lee Jae-hyun faced the sole standing leader.
"So, who's the unlucky one now?"
"You fucker..."
The leader ground his teeth at the smirk.
But then.
A presence behind Lee Jae-hyun. The leader's brow twitched.
His eyes darted side to side.
Lee Jae-hyun's ears perked in tension. A clatter, then Song A-ram's voice.
"Mister, watch out...!"
"You guys always pull this. So cliché."
As she shouted, Lee Jae-hyun chuckled and ducked forward.
Crack!
The chair leg swung by one thug smashed into the barehanded one's face.
"H-Huh...?"
The chair wielder dropped it in shock at what he'd done.
Lee Jae-hyun seized his face and slammed him down.
Boom!
"No team spirit."
He stood, facing the leader.
"Right?"
"...What the hell are you?"
The leader, who stood idle as his men fell, now looked grim, leisure gone.
"Told you. Cop."
"You pig bastard to the end... Fine, let's end this."
Furious over who knows what, he cursed and reached behind his waist.
When he drew his hand...
A sharp sashimi knife gleamed in it.
"...Axe Gang, but carrying a knife?"
"Die!"
Lee Jae-hyun muttered in disbelief.
The leader ignored him, slashing wildly.
Swoosh.
The blade cut air toward him.
Lee Jae-hyun backed up two steps, staring at the incoming edge.
The big guy's reach was longer with a knife.
"Keep yapping like before."
"Even I won't go barehanded against a knife."
Regaining confidence, the leader smirked, waving knife and mouth.
Lee Jae-hyun dodged another slash, rolling on the floor.
Charging a knifeman without a vest was suicide.
"So... Guess I'll use a weapon too."
And suicide was Lee Jae-hyun's specialty.
Rising from the roll, he gripped a broken chair leg—now a club.
The tide turned instantly.
Whoosh!
Longer than the sashimi knife, and Lee Jae-hyun's skill superior.
He swung; the leader retreated helplessly.
Desperate, he stabbed wildly...
Exactly what Lee Jae-hyun waited for.
He blocked the stab path with the club.
Crunch!
The blade lodged in the wood.
"You fuck!"
"Won't come loose? That's how it works."
The leader yanked futilely.
It stayed stuck.
Lee Jae-hyun pulled the club.
"H-Huh...?"
"That reaction's getting old."
Always 'huh'-ing in shock.
Lee Jae-hyun's cold eyes fixed on him, then he punched the exposed jaw.
Crack!
Done.
Confirming the leader out cold, he turned to the owner and Song A-ram.
"You okay? No injuries?"
"We're fine. ...No, this isn't the time to worry about us. You okay, mister?"
Song A-ram shook off the owner's protective arm and approached.
Was the owner's gaze on her oddly forlorn?
"I'm fine, don't worry."
Lee Jae-hyun peeled off her inspection.
Still work to do.
'Call the cops, collect weapons for evidence.'
Gather dropped weapons before they wake.
As he reached for the knife by the leader,
Ring.
A phone rang in the guy's pocket.