Side Story
Translator: RaidenTL
Side Story
Arriving in front of Ga-hee’s school on his Hayabusa, Gi-chan dismounted and pulled off his helmet. He immediately took out his phone and placed a call.
Nearby, a group of male students from another school were watching him with envious eyes.
"Whoa, a Hayabusa."
"Look at him, all decked out in gear like some kind of pro rider."
"Hey, Taesik, that’s a newer model than yours, isn't it?"
"Shut it! It’s the rider that matters, not the bike," Taesik snapped, puffing out his chest. "Any idiot with enough cash can buy a nice bike. There are only a few who can actually handle one properly."
The boys gathered around Taesik nodded in fervent agreement.
"True. There’s no comparing an ordinary person to someone like you, Taesik. You're an Ability User with actual martial arts training. No way a civilian could ride as well as you do."
At his sycophantic friend's words, Taesik tilted his head back, his shoulders stiff with pride.
There was no way their conversation could escape Gi-chan’s hearing, but he didn't have the energy to spare for kids whose presence he could barely even sense. When he focused on his phone without so much as a glance their way, the boys began to swagger and bluster even more, mistakenly thinking he was intimidated by them.
"I’ll be waiting in front of the main gate," Gi-chan replied.
Not long after he hung up, students began pouring out of the school. Gi-chan watched as the kids, who had been running out excitedly, flinched and took a long detour upon seeing the group of delinquents loitering at the gate. He lost interest in the punks even further; getting involved with kids like that was nothing but a headache.
Just then, he spotted Ga-hee walking out with her friends in the distance. But as Gi-chan was about to raise his hand to call her, Taesik and his entourage swarmed toward her.
Gi-chan’s expression shifted instantly, his brow furrowing.
"Kang Ga-hee! I came to confess, just like I said I would. Here!"
Taesik held out a ring—identical to the one on his own finger, engraved with a large skull—but Ga-hee walked past him coldly.
"Don't ever show your face in front of me again."
"How many times does Ga-hee have to reject you? She’s not interested in punks like you," Sehee added, walking beside Ga-hee.
At her words, one of the boys reached for Sehee’s head.
"Agh!"
Ga-hee’s eyes widened in shock as the boy roughly grabbed Sehee by the hair and yanked.
"You annoying little eyesore. You think you're something just because you're hanging around Ga-hee?"
"What do you think you're doing?!" Ga-hee cried out.
Taesik blocked Ga-hee as she tried to reach Sehee, a scowl deepening on his face.
"Hey, Kang Ga-hee. Stop playing hard to get. I’ve put in enough effort. What makes you think you're so special? You're just—"
"Aaaaaagh!"
Taesik was cut off by his friend’s sudden, piercing scream.
Before anyone realized he had even moved, a man in a rider jacket was there, twisting the wrist of the boy who had grabbed Sehee.
"Sehee, are you okay?"
"O-Oppa..."
Her eyes welled with tears, and she collapsed to the ground the moment she saw Gi-chan, her legs giving out from the shock.
"Who the hell are you? Her boyfriend?" Taesik barked. "Back off. We’re in the middle of a conversation."
Ignoring Taesik entirely, Gi-chan spoke while still crushing the wrist of the boy who had grabbed Sehee’s hair.
"Taeyang Technical High, right? You’d better fix that habit of putting your hands on women."
"Why, you little... If it weren't for the Special Act on Ability Users, you'd be dead today," Taesik threatened, posturing with his status. "Get lost while I'm being nice."
Gi-chan’s figure blurred.
Thwack!
A flash of light exploded before Taesik's eyes, accompanied by a sickening crunch in his nose. Knocked flat by the heavy punch, Taesik rolled backward and scrambled to his feet, his face a mask of blood and rage.
"You son of a—!"
Thwack!
With another heavy impact, the boy was sent flying back again. As Gi-chan twisted his lips, preparing to give them a proper thrashing, Ga-hee grabbed his arm.
"Oppa... stop."
"Oppa? You piece of shit! Are you Kang Gi-chan?" Taesik spat, wiping blood from his mouth. "You crazy bastard, do you have any idea who I am? You must have spent some time in Cloyd, but you picked the wrong guy today!"
As he finished speaking, Taesik pulled a real sword out of his subspace. Gi-chan gently pried Ga-hee’s hand off his arm. Sensing the decent amount of bloodlust radiating from the boy, Gi-chan spoke calmly.
"Judging by that, you're probably a Bronze Wing. Or maybe you've already dropped out."
With those words, Gi-chan pulled a staff from his own subspace. Seeing the weapon—which was clearly high-grade and glowing with a faint golden light—Taesik finally began to grasp the gravity of the situation.
"D-Do you have any idea how severe the punishment is under the Special Act on Ability Users for attacking a minor?"
"I don't care," Gi-chan said, walking slowly toward him. "I have legal immunity."
"You think a Mage can handle close quarters?!" Taesik screamed, lunging forward.
Before the boy could even finish his sentence, Gi-chan’s staff slammed into his ribs, intercepting the sword mid-swing.
Thud! Crack-crack-crack! Thwack! Thud! Crack!
The boy’s body froze from the sheer agony of the first strike. Gi-chan then unleashed the Single Dragon Staff Technique, a brilliant flurry of blows. The combo—launching the boy into the air and pummeling him before he could hit the ground—looked like something straight out of a high-level fighting game.
In an instant, the boy’s limbs and ribs were shattered. He was left crawling on the pavement, unable to even scream.
"The biggest problem is when pieces of trash like you become Players."
Gi-chan finished the encounter with a brutal soccer kick to the downed boy's jaw.
Crack!
Sehee and Ga-hee had been watching Gi-chan’s martial prowess in a daze, but they squeezed their eyes shut and turned away at the final blow. It wasn't just them; Taesik’s friends turned away as well, their faces pale. The sound of breaking bones was enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
As the boys stood there with trembling legs, five men in black suits approached. The moment the students saw the men, who clearly radiated an aura of authority, they ran toward them as if they were a lifeline.
"Y-You're from the government, right? That man used his abilities to hurt someone! Arrest him!"
Ignoring the students, the men in suits walked straight up to Gi-chan and bowed deeply.
"We didn't intervene because you stepped forward yourself, sir. We will handle the cleanup."
Gi-chan nodded at the agents and looked down at Taesik, who was still feebly clawing at the ground.
"If I ever see you again, or if you so much as linger around Ga-hee, I'll just kill you next time."
The boy nodded frantically, a crushing pressure in his chest. The bloodlust radiating from Gi-chan was so intense it made him forget his physical pain; it felt as if his very heart were being squeezed.
The agents slapped handcuffs on Taesik’s wrists and stripped the subspace ring from his finger.
"You are under arrest for a flagrant violation of the Special Act on Ability Users. You will be sentenced to prison without trial, and your rights to appeal or legal counsel are hereby revoked."
Having finished the pronouncement, the agent dragged the barely conscious Taesik away. The moment they left, two foreign men in black suits appeared from the shadows.
"We did not intervene as you handled it personally," one said in English. They were the Swedish agents secretly guarding Ga-hee.
"I know," Gi-chan replied shortly. He then helped Sehee up from the ground. "You must have been really scared."
"Huh? Oh, yes... I was just so shocked to find out you're an Ability User, Oppa!"
Seeing Sehee’s eyes sparkle with sudden excitement, Gi-chan was taken aback by the rapid emotional shift of a high school girl. He glanced at Ga-hee. He had intended to reveal his status today anyway, but things had taken a strange turn, and he had ended up showing her through violence rather than words.
"There are too many eyes here. Let's go for now."
Ga-hee took the lead and walked away without a word. After moving to a nearby cafe, the siblings sat down to talk.
"Wait... you knew?" Gi-chan asked, stunned.
"Of course I knew. Do you think I'm an idiot?" Ga-hee replied. "A high schooler buys an apartment less than four months after starting a 'shopping mall'? And the mall he supposedly runs barely has any customers. When people started talking about Ability Users and Cloyd recently, I figured that was it. But honestly... I was relieved. I was actually scared that you were doing something truly illegal, so I couldn't even bring myself to ask."
Gi-chan lowered his head at his sister's words. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner."
"It's fine. I wouldn't have been able to say it easily either. More importantly... is it really okay to mess someone up like that just because you have legal immunity? You're not going to get arrested, are you?"
"Who would arrest me? Besides, it's better to make sure a guy like that can never do something like that again. People like him are the most dangerous."
He had just come from a world where he hadn't hesitated to kill trash who murdered civilians for coins; he didn't feel an ounce of mercy for a bully like Taesik.
"Well, I destroyed his Dantian, so he won't be able to use his powers ever again."
"Phew. Anyway... I'm just glad you're back in one piece."
As she spoke, Ga-hee took a sip of her latte. Gi-chan noticed her hands were still trembling slightly. His gaze grew complicated as he watched her, realizing the weight of the secret he had been keeping.