A card slapped down on the table. Choi Bongpal stared at her terrible hand, the corner of her mouth twitching.
"Lost again?" Baki lazily swept his winnings toward his side of the table, a smile tugging at his lips. "Lady Bongpal, you really need to work on your card game."
"Shut up." Choi Bongpal threw her cards down. "One more round."
"Anytime."
The next hand was dealt. Bongpal studied her cards for a long moment, brows knitted tight. Baki barely glanced at his, played them casually, and won anyway.
"..." Bongpal pressed her cards face-down on the table and took a slow breath.
"What's wrong, done already?" Baki propped his chin on his hand, watching her with obvious amusement. "Or is lady Bongpal finally admitting she's bad at cards?"
"Who said that? Deal again!"
Another round. Another loss.
Bongpal shoved the whole deck aside. She was about to say something when the door swung open and one of her subordinates strode in, his expression tight.
"Boss."
Bongpal caught his look and her eyes sharpened immediately. "Talk."
"Numbers Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six of Jinrang Gang. They've all moved out. Simultaneously."
Silence fell over the room for a moment.
Bongpal slowly set down her last card and said nothing.
'All of them at once...' Her mind was turning fast. 'Busan's Four Major Crews, taken out this quickly? I passed the intel just yesterday, and today Jinrang Gang's heavyweights are all on the move. This can't be a coincidence.'
"Alright. You're dismissed."
The subordinate stepped out and pulled the door shut behind him.
Baki leaned back in his chair and let out a quiet laugh. "Figured it out?"
"Five of Jinrang Gang's top people moving at the same time." Bongpal glanced at him. "Busan's Four Major Crews are probably already wiped out."
"Yeah." Baki nodded, though something else flickered behind his eyes. "Interesting. Last time I paid those Four Crews brats a visit, they seemed like they had some backbone. Didn't expect them to get folded this fast."
Bongpal watched him for a moment. "Baki, what do you think will happen now?"
"No idea." Baki smiled. "That's exactly why I want to meet these Seoul brats."
Bongpal went quiet for a beat, then spoke. "Maybe Seoul itself is just a nest of monsters."
Baki blinked, then burst out laughing. He raised both hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm not from Seoul. I'm from Cheonliang. Don't put that on me."
"But you can't exactly say I'm wrong either, can you?"
"Fair enough, fair enough." He laughed and rose to his feet. "Seoul's a monster's nest, nothing to do with the guy from Cheonliang."
Bongpal watched him stand up. "Where are you going?"
"To take a look." Baki rolled his shoulders, completely at ease. "I want to see for myself what kind of people could push Jinrang Gang this far. It'd be a shame to miss it."
Bongpal didn't answer. She simply picked up the deck of cards again and began slowly shuffling them in her hands.
---
Jagalchi Market.
During the day, it sold fish. At evening, it sold something else.
Area 4 was tucked away right here. It started out as a place for dockworkers and sailors to settle disputes with their fists, but word spread, the scale grew, and by now most people in this part of Busan knew there was a fighting ring somewhere in here.
Baki had heard of Area 4. He'd just never been.
Today was the first time.
He walked in with the crowd, hands in his pockets, scanning the place as he entered. It was bigger than he'd pictured. Spectators packed every side, loud and restless, with an open stretch of floor cleared out in the middle. But it didn't look like a normal match was going on.
Because there were a lot of people lying on the ground.
'Jinrang Gang fighters? They have been demolished.' Baki swept his gaze across the crowd, and then it stopped.
He spotted three people.
Three people surrounded by men in black.
Baki narrowed his eyes. The corner of his mouth slowly pulled up.
'So it really is you guys.'
One of them he knew better than the others.
Vin Jin.
And beside him, Daniel and Vasco.
Baki didn't move. He stayed where he was, near the back of the crowd, tucked behind enough people to keep himself out of sight. He had no intention of stepping forward.
'Let's just watch for now.'
---
Jinrang Gang's Number Three. Hwang Jungseok.
Though not the strongest, Baki respected Jungseok for his determination. He had something to him, enough to be considered a great fighter.
A ripple of noise ran through the crowd.
Baki crossed his arms and watched with quiet interest.
'One against three. Interesting. I wonder if the kids can take him on.'
Jungseok took two steps forward and swept his gaze across the three of them.
"Come at me together," he said. "Let's not waste time."
Vin Jin smiled. "Are you crazy? You want to fight all three of us at once? Your bluffing is gonna get you killed."
Jungseok looked at Vin Jin. "Kid, scared you'll lose?"
Vasco stepped forward before anyone else could move. "I'll go first."
Daniel glanced at him. "Vasco—"
"Stay out of it."
Vasco rolled his neck and walked straight at Jungseok. He threw a knee strike directly at Jungseok's midsection.
Jungseok caught it on his forearm and didn't budge.
Vasco's eyes sharpened. He followed up immediately, driving his elbow at Jungseok's jaw. Jungseok leaned back, let it pass over his chin, and shoved Vasco's arm aside. Then he grabbed Vasco by the collar and headbutted him square in the face.
Vasco staggered back two steps.
The crowd reacted instantly.
"OHHHH!!!"
"JUNGSEOK HWANG!!!"
Vasco touched his nose. It wasn't broken, but it stung. He reset his stance, came back in, and threw a low kick at Jungseok's lead leg. Jungseok checked it with his shin and didn't move. Vasco threw another. Jungseok checked that one too, then countered with a straight punch that caught Vasco across the cheek and sent him stumbling sideways.
Vasco caught his footing and looked up.
'He's heavy,' he thought. 'Every hit feels like running into a wall.'
He went back in, this time throwing a barrage of strikes — elbows, knees, short punches, not stopping, not giving Jungseok room to set his feet. Jungseok absorbed most of it, arms up, and walked forward through the flurry. He grabbed Vasco's wrist mid-strike, yanked him in close, and drove a short uppercut into his ribs.
Vasco bent over.
Jungseok grabbed the back of his head and shoved him to the ground.
Vasco hit the floor on one knee. He put his hand down to push himself up, and Jungseok was already standing over him.
"Not bad," Jungseok said flatly. "But you're not there yet."
Vin Jin had seen enough. He stepped forward, and the smile was gone from his face.
"My turn."
Vin Jin closed the distance, grabbed Jungseok's collar with his right hand, shifted his footing, and threw his weight to the side. Jungseok tried to dig in — and for a split second, it worked. His feet held.
But Vin Jin didn't stop.
The muscles across his back and shoulders bunched up all at once, the kind of tension that looked like it could snap something. His grip on the collar tightened, and Jungseok could feel the fabric twisting under fingers that felt less like a hand and more like a vice. Vin Jin exhaled sharp and hard, drove his hips through, and just ripped the throw forward by brute force alone.
Jungseok's feet left the ground.
He hit the floor hard, the impact rattling up through his spine.
For a moment the whole arena went quiet.
Then the whole crowd erupted.
"WHOAA!!!"
"WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THAT KID?!"
"JUNGSEOK HWANG'S DOWN!!!"
"HE ACTUALLY TOOK DOWN THE IRON MAN, JUNGSEOK HWANG!!"
"YOU'RE IMPRESSIVE, BRAT!"
"SEOUL GUYS ARE PRETTY DECENT, HUH?!"
"That's not enough to take me down."
Jungseok ground his teeth and slowly got up. "Next."
In that moment Daniel came in from the other side. He kicked Jungseok hard in the ribs, snapping his body around, then followed immediately with a straight punch to the same spot. The second hit landed like a hammer.
Jungseok's body folded and flew back.
He was on his knees, trying to push himself up. Daniel didn't move. He just stood beside him and watched.
A few seconds passed. Jungseok kept his head down and thought, 'There have been only two people who made me lose strength in a fight. Jinrang Hyung-nim and James Lee.'
He looked up at Daniel and Vin Jin. 'Does that mean these kids are at their level?' He clenched his teeth. 'I need to get up, but my body won't listen!'
Baki observed the whole thing and went quiet for a moment.
'Vin Jin, nothing surprising there,' he thought. 'But Daniel...'
He fixed his gaze on Daniel, watching how he carried himself standing there, and something shifted slightly in his expression.
'Interesting. Last time I saw him, he wasn't at this level. How long has it even been?'
A name surfaced in his mind.
Gun Park.
'Reminds me of him a little.'
Baki said nothing. He just kept watching, and the curve at the corner of his mouth went a little deeper.
Then he shifted his eyes to the figure standing off to the side.
Jinrang Gang's Number Two. Sang Baek.
'Your turn now. What's your move?'