A Proper Lesson
The man stared at Sihyuk for a moment, then the corner of his mouth curled upward.
He took a step closer.
"You made a deal inside just now, didn't you?"
"I did."
"Sold quite a few gold bars, from what I saw."
Sihyuk didn't answer.
The man's gaze swept over Sihyuk's pockets and empty hands in turn. He had clearly walked out carrying a black bag, yet it was nowhere to be seen now.
"Where'd you put the money you got?"
"Why would I tell you that?"
"I said I wanted to talk."
"And I'm listening."
The smile hanging at the man's lips stiffened.
One of the men standing behind him clicked his tongue.
"Boss, just tell him to hand everything over. Doesn't seem like he gets it."
"Quiet."
The man blocking the way raised a hand to silence his subordinate, never taking his eyes off Sihyuk.
"We don't particularly want to get rough either."
Despite the words, the men behind him sealed off the alley entrance. One had a hand inside his jacket; another flexed his fingers, clenching and unclenching his fist a few times as if loosening up.
Faint mana spread across their skin.
They were Awakened. Not high-ranked ones, but more than enough to intimidate a few ordinary people.
"Just share a little of what you've got and this ends quietly."
"How much do you need?"
The man's expression eased. He seemed to think Sihyuk had finally grasped the situation.
"Now we're talking."
Sihyuk glanced around once.
It was a narrow alley. No one else in sight, and they had the path completely blocked. Forcing his way through would mean using his hands eventually.
That was a hassle too.
Sihyuk reached into his Subspace.
Instead of the black bag, he pulled out a single bundle of cash. Five pairs of eyes locked onto it at once.
"Take this and we're done."
The man accepted the cash. He flipped the bundle over once to check it, then let out a hollow laugh.
"You sold that much gold and you want to end it with this?"
"It's more than enough for what you've done."
Following him this far, blocking the road, and starting a conversation—that was the sum of their effort. Sihyuk figured the money more than covered that much trouble. Handing over a single bundle and walking past was faster than fighting.
What mattered to him right now wasn't the pocket change in front of him, but deciding what to eat for dinner.
The man's thoughts, however, were different.
He tapped the cash bundle against his palm a few times.
"You don't seem to understand the situation, mister."
"What don't I understand?"
"Do we look like we're begging for a few scraps of cash?"
Sihyuk looked over the five men around him again.
"Yeah, you do."
Laughter burst out from behind. The smile vanished from the man's face. He dropped the cash bundle onto the ground.
"Hand over everything you've got."
"Don't want to."
"It's not just gold, is it?"
The man's gaze fixed on Sihyuk's right hand—the same hand that had pulled out the gold bars and hidden the cash bag.
"We're going to have to check everything inside that Subspace of yours."
"I like that even less."
"Think you've got a choice here?"
Sihyuk looked down at the money on the ground. Until a moment ago, he had planned to hand over cash and be done with it. Giving up a little money was simpler than making a bigger mess. But it seemed the other side had never intended to take a reasonable amount and back off.
Sihyuk asked,
"No chance you'll take what I just gave you and call it finished?"
The man snorted.
"You serious?"
"Then I've got no choice."
"No choice about what?"
Sihyuk didn't answer. He lifted his gaze from the money on the ground and met the man's eyes.
Only then did the man realize Sihyuk's expression hadn't changed in the slightest from the beginning. He hadn't complied out of fear. He had simply been trying to end a nuisance with money.
The man gestured.
The thug behind Sihyuk lunged immediately. A fist loaded with mana aimed for the back of Sihyuk's head.
Sihyuk tilted his head and slipped past the punch. He caught the arm as it brushed past his face and pulled it forward a single step. The unbalanced body lurched toward him.
Sihyuk set his palm against the man's chest.
Thud.
A dull impact, and the man flew all the way to the opposite wall. The wall shuddered; dust rained down. The man slid limply to the base of it. The center of his chest was caved in to an unnatural degree.
The alley went quiet.
Someone swallowed hard.
"What the hell…"
The faces that had been laughing moments earlier went blank.
Sihyuk glanced once at the man crumpled beneath the wall, then spoke.
"Leave now and I'll end it here."
The man swept a look over his hesitant subordinates, then drew a short dagger from inside his jacket. Blue light ran along the blade.
"Kill him!"
They charged at once. One from behind tried to grab Sihyuk's waist; another swung an iron club at his temple. From the front, the dagger stabbed toward his chest. From the other side, the last man threw himself at Sihyuk's ribs.
Sihyuk seized the wrist holding the dagger first. Force closed around his fingers, and bone crunched. The blade's angle twisted sideways. Before the man's scream could fully form, Sihyuk shoved the arm outward.
The blue blade sliced clean across the throat of the man charging from the opposite side. Blood sprayed in a long arc across the alley wall.
Next the iron club came down toward Sihyuk's head. He raised an arm and blocked.
Clang!
A harsh metallic crash rang out. The club never struck Sihyuk's arm. Instead it bent sharply in the middle. The eyes of the man gripping it went wide.
"What the…"
Sihyuk's hand closed around his throat. Fingers tightened.
Crack.
A short sound, and the man's body went limp. When Sihyuk released him, the corpse collapsed to the ground.
The remaining two scrambled backward at the same time.
The one who had tried to grab Sihyuk's waist a moment earlier fumbled inside his jacket with trembling hands. What he pulled out was a mana pistol no larger than his palm. Faint blue light gathered at the muzzle.
"Don't move!"
His voice was loud. The barrel was visibly shaking.
Sihyuk tilted his head slightly.
"And if I don't?"
"I'll shoot!"
"Isn't that why you already pulled it out?"
The man's finger locked up.
Sihyuk took one step forward.
At the same instant the trigger was pulled.
Bang!
The gunshot cracked through the alley. A mana-charged round streaked toward Sihyuk's forehead.
Sihyuk didn't dodge.
The bullet struck an invisible wall just short of his brow. The solid metal flattened in an instant.
Clink.
The sound of the spent round hitting the ground rang out with unnatural clarity.
The gunman's mouth fell open.
"What is this…"
Before he could raise the muzzle again, Sihyuk closed the distance. His fist drove up into the man's jaw. The sensation of bone shattering traveled through his hand. The man's neck snapped at an unnatural angle. His body spun half a turn in the air before slamming into the ground.
Only one remained now.
The man who had first blocked Sihyuk's path. Clutching his broken wrist with his other hand, he backed away several steps. The face that had ordered Sihyuk to hand over everything moments earlier had gone completely bloodless.
His eyes swept over the bodies sprawled across the ground.
Four.
None of them moved.
His lips trembled finely.
When Sihyuk took a step closer, the man flinched.
Sihyuk asked,
"Well? Want to keep going?"
The man shook his head. His mouth opened, but no voice came out.
Sihyuk took another step.
Only then did the man spin around and start running for the mouth of the alley.
Sihyuk didn't chase him.
"Go deliver a message."
The man's feet tangled for an instant. He righted himself just short of falling and looked back.
Sihyuk picked up the cash bundle from the ground as he spoke.
"Tell them this is as far as it goes."
The man couldn't manage any reply. He turned again and fled the alley.
Sihyuk brushed the dust off the cash. The band was a little crumpled, but it wouldn't stop him from spending it. He tucked it back into his Subspace and pulled out his phone.
The restaurant list he had been looking at earlier still filled the screen. After a brief moment of thought, he tapped one of the places that had come up on the map.
Those idiots blocking the road had made dinner a little late.
Sihyuk didn't look back at the alley as he walked on.
Two blocks from the alley, a black van sat parked at the curb.
The man in the driver's seat had been waiting for the five who had gone in. They had asked him to stop the car so they could shake down the guy who'd just sold gold bars, and he hadn't thought much of it. This wasn't the first time.
But it was taking far too long just to grab some money and come back out.
He was about to check his phone when someone came stumbling out of the alley at a run.
The driver narrowed his eyes.
Alone.
He looked nothing like he had going in. One wrist was bent at a wrong angle, and there wasn't a drop of color left in his face.
The man yanked open the van door and threw himself inside.
"Drive!"
The driver didn't start the engine.
"Where are the others?"
The man gasped for breath.
"They're dead."
"What?"
"All of them are dead!"
The van went silent.
The driver stared at the alley entrance. No one else came out.
"Did you report it upstairs?"
The man couldn't answer.
"You didn't?"
"…No."
"You crazy bastards."
"There looked like there was more gold, and other stuff too…"
The driver swallowed a curse. He pulled out his phone. The call connected quickly.
"Boss."
A low voice came through the receiver.
"What is it?"
"We've got a problem."
"What kind of problem?"
The driver glanced once at the man beside him.
"Four of the boys are dead."
Silence stretched for a moment.
"Who ordered it?"
"They say it was their own call."
"What the hell did they do that four of them ended up dead?"
"There was a guy who sold gold bars at the market today. The boys saw him and tailed him on their own."
The other end of the line went quiet.
"Put the survivor on."
The driver handed over the phone. The man took it with his good hand.
"Yes, Boss."
"Did he attack first?"
The man's mouth locked up.
"…No."
"Then start from the beginning."
Stumbling over the words, the man explained everything from the moment they had followed Sihyuk. That Sihyuk had offered cash first. That they had refused it and demanded the contents of his Subspace as well. That they had been the ones to attack first, and that four of them had died as a result. That even a mana pistol round hadn't touched him.
When the full story was finished, the boss asked,
"How did you walk out alive?"
The man's lips stiffened.
"He… let me go."
"Why?"
"He told me to deliver a message."
"What message?"
The man swallowed dryly.
"That this is as far as it goes…"
A short laugh slipped through the receiver.
"Huh."
It wasn't a big laugh. If anything, that brief sound only made the man more tense.
"He kills four of our boys, lets you live, and even sends a warning?"
"I'm sorry."
"We'll deal with that later."
The voice dropped lower.
"You got a clear look at his face?"
"Absolutely."
"Find out who he is."
"Yes."
"Where he lives, who he's connected to—everything."
The man hesitated for a moment.
"Boss, that guy isn't an ordinary Awakened."
"So?"
"The mana pistol was useless. And he gave a warning…"
Nothing came from the other end for a few seconds. The man realized too late that he had said something he shouldn't have.
"You saying I ought to be scared?"
"No."
"Then do what I told you."
"…Understood."
"And round up the boys."
The call ended.
The man sat for a long while without putting the phone down.
The driver asked,
"What'd he say?"
With a rigid face, the man opened his contacts.
"He said gather everyone."