Brrring! Brrring!
Sanghee slowly stood up and answered the call.
"Did you capture them?" Eugene asked from the other end.
Sanghee wiped the blood from his mouth. "We're just about to take out Hostel, but some new kids intervened. They seem to be part of Hostel too."
"Part of Hostel?" Eugene said. "They might be Olly Wang and his subordinates. Can you handle them?"
Sanghee smiled. "Of course. We are the White Tiger Job Centre."
Eugene shook his head. "Okay." With that, he ended the call. Two shadows stood behind him. "Do you want us to intervene?"
---
Manager Kim had blocked Justin Peng and Chuck Kwak's attacks. He asked, "Are you from Hostel too?"
But Justin and Chuck didn't answer. Instead, they rushed toward Manager Kim.
Manager Kim's eyes narrowed as they came at him from both sides. Justin aimed low at his ribs while Chuck swung high at his head. They moved in perfect sync. Manager Kim lifted his left arm to block Chuck's punch and grabbed Justin's wrist with his right hand.
Manager Kim twisted to throw Justin, but Chuck was already spinning into a kick aimed at his knee.
Manager Kim released Justin and stepped back. The kick missed his leg by inches. Before he could counter, Justin was already sweeping at his legs while Chuck punched straight at his chest.
"They fight like one person," Manager Kim realized, blocking the punch and jumping over the sweep.
The moment his feet touched the ground, both boys attacked again. Chuck feinted left, drawing Manager Kim's guard, while Justin came from the right with a hard elbow strike. Manager Kim's arm shot up, blocking the elbow.
"Not bad," Manager Kim said, pushing Justin back.
But Chuck was already there, filling the gap. He threw rapid punches—jab, cross, uppercut—all targeting Manager Kim's body. Manager Kim's hands moved quickly, deflecting each hit. Then his fist shot out, a counter punch aimed at Chuck's jaw.
Chuck didn't dodge. He leaned into the punch, letting it slam into his cheek. His head snapped back and blood flew from his mouth, but in that same moment, his own fist crashed into Manager Kim's ribs.
Manager Kim grunted from the impact. "He traded hits on purpose.'
Before Manager Kim could recover, Justin was already there. Manager Kim threw a hard straight punch at Justin's face, but Justin didn't move away. He took the hit square on his nose—bone crunched and blood poured down—but his knee drove upward into Manager Kim's side at the exact same time.
Manager Kim blocked the knee with his arm, but the force still pushed him slightly off balance. "They're willing to take damage to land their own hits."
Chuck rushed in again, blood dripping from his split lip. Manager Kim kicked at his chest, a powerful strike that should have stopped him. But Chuck crossed his arms and took the kick head-on. The impact cracked something in his forearm, but he grabbed Manager Kim's leg and pulled him off balance while Justin swept at his other leg.
Manager Kim twisted mid-air and landed in a crouch, but both boys were already attacking. Chuck's face was swelling on one side, Justin's nose was clearly broken, but neither slowed down.
Manager Kim threw a spinning back elbow at Justin. Justin raised his shoulder to block, and the elbow smashed into his shoulder blade with a sickening crack. Justin's entire arm went numb and hung limp—but his other fist was already flying at Manager Kim's temple.
Manager Kim ducked and drove his knee into Justin's stomach. Justin coughed up blood but grabbed onto Manager Kim's leg, holding him in place for just a second.
That second was all Chuck needed. He charged in, and Manager Kim was forced to punch him in the ribs to break free. Chuck's ribs cracked under the blow and he gasped in pain—but his elbow came down hard on Manager Kim's shoulder at the same time.
Manager Kim suddenly moved faster. His fist shot out and crashed into Chuck's already injured ribs. Chuck screamed and stumbled back but tried to counter anyway. Manager Kim caught his arm and threw him hard into the ground.
Justin, fighting with one dead arm, rushed in. Manager Kim met him with a front kick to the chest. Justin tried to grab the leg to trade damage again, but Manager Kim pulled back too fast. His follow-up punch caught Justin clean on the jaw.
Justin's head whipped to the side, and he dropped to one knee, dazed.
"They can trade hits, but they're too weak for me," Manager Kim thought.
Chuck tried to stand up, his breathing ragged and painful. His face was a mess of bruises, his ribs were broken, but he still raised his fists.
Manager Kim walked toward him calmly. Chuck swung wildly. Manager Kim blocked it and drove a clean punch into Chuck's temple. Chuck's eyes rolled back and he collapsed.
Justin struggled to his feet, swaying, fighting with just one arm now. He charged one last time, trying to tackle Manager Kim.
Manager Kim sidestepped and brought his elbow down on the back of Justin's neck. Justin crashed face-first into the ground and didn't move.
---
Eli Jang and Olly Wang stood side by side against Sanghee and Yeongcheol.
Sanghee combed his hair with a smile. "Yeongcheol, even one of them was difficult to begin with. What do we do with two?"
Yeongcheol cracked his knuckles, a savage grin spreading across his face. "Two targets just means twice the fun."
Sanghee's smile widened. "Then let's divide them properly." He stepped toward Olly Wang while Yeongcheol moved to face Eli Jang.
Yeongcheol rushed forward, throwing a hard punch at Eli's face.
Eli tilted his head slightly and the fist passed by his ear. He grabbed Yeongcheol's arm and twisted, using the bigger man's own momentum against him. Yeongcheol stumbled forward, off balance.
"Tch!" Yeongcheol muttered, recovering quickly.
He spun and kicked at Eli's ribs with brutal force. Eli stepped back, but Yeongcheol was already coming at him again. A punch to the stomach. A hook to the jaw. A knee driving upward. Each attack came faster and harder.
Eli's arms moved smoothly, redirecting each strike away from his body. A punch aimed at his face slid past his shoulder. A kick targeting his knee got swept aside.
Yeongcheol feinted with a high punch, and when Eli moved to deflect it, Yeongcheol dropped low and slammed his fist into Eli's stomach. The blow connected hard.
"Guh!" Eli gasped, the air knocked out of him.
Yeongcheol grinned. "Got you."
He threw a combination—left jab, right cross, left hook. Eli blocked two, but the hook caught him on the cheek, snapping his head sideways.
Yeongcheol pulled his fist back for a heavy punch. But Eli's hand shot up faster and caught Yeongcheol's wrist before the punch could land.
Eli twisted hard, wrenching Yeongcheol's arm at a painful angle. Yeongcheol grunted. Then Eli's other hand shot out, fingers clawed, aiming straight for Yeongcheol's eyes.
Yeongcheol jerked his head back, barely saving his eyes. "What did the Director create?!"
Eli had changed. His breathing was heavier, almost animal-like. His eyes glowed green and looked wild and dangerous.
Yeongcheol threw a hook, but Eli dropped into a low crouch like a predator, then lunged forward. His shoulder rammed into Yeongcheol's stomach with bone-crushing force, driving him back several steps.
Before Yeongcheol could recover, Eli grabbed a metal pipe from the ground.
Eli swung the pipe at Yeongcheol's head. Yeongcheol ducked, but Eli changed the swing mid-motion and brought it down like a hammer.
Yeongcheol threw up his arm to block. The pipe crashed against his forearm with a loud clang. Pain shot through his arm, but he grabbed the pipe with both hands.
"Got you!"
But Eli didn't pull back. Instead, he used Yeongcheol's grip as an anchor and swung his whole body around the pipe, his feet flying toward Yeongcheol's face.
Yeongcheol had to let go and stumble backward. Eli landed in a crouch, pipe still in hand.
Yeongcheol wiped blood from his lip. "...Hey, runaway king, you know that Hostel can't be saved tonight, right? "
He charged forward with a powerful straight punch. Eli swung the pipe to block, but Yeongcheol's punch was so strong it bent the pipe and sent shockwaves up Eli's arms.
Eli threw the useless pipe aside. He caught Yeongcheol's next punch with both hands, guiding it downward, then drove his knee up into Yeongcheol's face.
Crack!
Yeongcheol's nose broke and blood sprayed everywhere, but he laughed through the pain. "At first he felt like a first-generation king. But I don't know if it's because we kept fighting, or if he's running out of energy."
He grabbed Eli's leg before it could pull back and yanked him off balance. Eli fell forward, and Yeongcheol met him with a rising elbow that caught Eli on the chin.
Eli's head snapped back, stars exploding in his vision. He hit the ground hard.
Yeongcheol stood over him, raising his fist. "Time to finish this."
But Eli's wild eyes suddenly focused. As Yeongcheol's fist came down, Eli rolled sideways and swept his leg out, catching Yeongcheol behind the ankle.
Yeongcheol stumbled. He caught himself quickly and kicked at Eli's head.
Eli caught the leg with both hands, twisted his whole body, and used Yeongcheol's own weight to slam him into the ground. The concrete cracked beneath them.
Yeongcheol groaned but tried to get up immediately. Eli was faster. He mounted Yeongcheol and drove his elbow down toward his face.
Yeongcheol caught the elbow with one hand and punched Eli in the ribs with the other. Once. Twice. Three times.
Eli grunted with each hit but didn't back off. He grabbed Yeongcheol's punching arm and twisted it, putting pressure on the shoulder until it screamed in pain.
"Gah! You bastard!"
Yeongcheol bucked violently, using his strength to throw Eli off. Both scrambled to their feet, breathing hard and covered in blood.
Yeongcheol threw a punch. Eli caught it and twisted Yeongcheol's entire body, slamming him into the ground again.
Yeongcheol coughed, struggling to breathe. "Damn... you're strong..."
Eli grabbed Yeongcheol by the collar and lifted him slightly, then drove his fist into Yeongcheol's face. Once. Twice. The third punch, Yeongcheol couldn't even block.
Eli grabbed Yeongcheol by the head and drove his knee into his face one more time. Yeongcheol collapsed, unconscious.