"Cute little punk. Keep trying to run away. The more you struggle, the more my cock gets excited."
Across from him, Hansoo was trembling. With a face that looked like he was going to cry at any moment, he looked around quickly as if looking for a place to escape. Behind him, the road manager stood with a face wondering what this was all about. I gritted my teeth and approached them.
"Fuck, then I'll have to cut that excited cock."
Everyone's heads turned in unison. As I approached them, a stinging gaze was fixed on me. I stopped at a distance from Hansoo and gestured to the mad dog.
"You have business with me, don't you? Bring it on. I'll fuck you up now."
The mad dog, recognising me, bared his teeth and snarled.
"What, did you come to save this kid? Ah—because this kid saved you before?"
"Stop barking and come at me."
And I sneered at the four people standing behind him.
"You all look weak, so come at me all at once."
The four of them turned at my provocation and approached one step at a time. I looked at them with indifferent eyes and glanced back at Hansoo. Hansoo, who was frozen with a pale face, tried to speak when our eyes met. But I spoke over him
"Go."
"B- but…"
"I said go."
At my command, the mad dog and the other four smirked as if something was funny. Maybe they thought it was funny that I was dealing with all of them.
"Ah, fuck. You guys see this troublesome bastard? You want to fight 1 vs 5?"
The answer to his question came from a completely unexpected direction.
"Mm."
A loud voice rang through the air. Everyone's eyes moved together once again. And everyone was silent. Everyone had the same stunned look on their faces as I did. Because the person who gave an energetic answer was the road manager. Tadak. Taking a step forward, he asked the mad dog with a grin, unlike his usual blank face.
"Do you want to be beaten by this uncle?"
Like a picture, everything stopped and even the sound disappeared. What was he talking about? Again, no one responded to the road manager's words. It wasn't enough that he confidently stepped forward, as if they wanted to be beat up. Maybe I heard him wrong. Maybe it was a hallucination. it didn't make sense for an ordinary man in his 40s to deal with five men with tough airs. But the road manager made us doubt our ears again.
"Even if you get hit by me, you can't sue. Got it?"
He seriously reinforced it once more as if he was really worried.
"If you act cheap and sue me, I'll rip your peppers off."
This time, the mad dog reacted immediately.
"Ha."
He gave a short laugh and twitched his lips.
"Hey, uncle. You must have already developed dementia at that age, but I will laugh it off, so just step back quietly."
Tap. The mad dog took a step forward and looked down menacingly.
"Before you get trampled on by these shoes and your old body turns to mincemeat"
"The talkative people always complain and bother me by suing afterwards…"
The road manager muttered in his usual voice. Of course, in a park on a quiet night, it was clearly carried to the mad dog. He smiled and bared his teeth.
"Hey, you bastard, what are you mumbling to yourself?"
Tap, tap. When the mad dog started to walk, I took a step right away. Then the mad dog noticed me and stopped in the middle and only looked towards me.
"Why? Are you going to play the knight again?"
"You don't have to be a knight to catch a dog."
I answered indifferently and stood in front of the road manager. I thought that maybe I should make the two of them leave before the road manager spouted more nonsense, but the mad dog said something strange.
"The guy who will soon be dog food has a mouth. Well, like he said, it's better to save the best for last."
'He'? What came to mind is Chairman Kim. It's a disgusting honor to have someone like that save me. I said to the road manager who was behind me without looking at him.
"Go quickly."
However, the road manager sighed languidly and said, "Goodness." Then he suddenly took a big step and came next to me. Then he grabbed my shoulder and spoke softly.
"I'll just take care of them."
I should have laughed at his words, but I couldn't. Rather, I couldn't help but look at him with a stony expression. I don't have any special skills, but there was one thing I thought I was better at than others. Recognizing people. I instinctively feel how dangerous the opponent is and how strong he is. This was seldom wrong, and I was trusting my intuition.
Until I met a middle-aged man in his 40s who looked normal without a hint of danger. He was someone who didn't fit into my classification. I felt bone-crushing pain in my shoulder held in his hand. Of course, anyone can exert force. It's just that there were few people who could do it easily as if it was no big deal. As the pain in my shoulder grew, the road manager started to look like a completely different person. I finally looked at him properly. What the hell is this guy?
"So wait for a little bit."
My shoulders suddenly felt light. He removed his hand from me, stepped in front of the mad dog, and repeated the question as if he were sure to get confirmation.
"No suing. Hm?"
When the road manager came out seriously, even the mad dog stopped laughing. Instead, he nodded towards someone from behind, as if he had decided to get rid of him first.
"Crush him."
Then, one of the hulking figures who had surrounded us stepped forward to confront the road manager with heavy footsteps. The road manager began to slowly warm up while sizing up the guy in front of him. First rolling his head, then his shoulders, then arms and wrists… It was still a sloppy-looking move, but now I didn't believe that sloppiness. I stared at him in disbelief, but I heard a trembling voice next to me.
"Oh, what should I do? Shall I run and call the police?"
Hansoo whispered behind me, but I replied without turning my eyes.
"Wait."
As if my answer was unexpected, a confused "Yes?" came from behind. However, there was no time to explain to Hansoo. I watched the road manager intently, not wanting to miss even a single breath. It was clear that the man was up to something. He hid himself so brilliantly that I was mistaken…
"Aiyo, my knees."
The road manager, who had been warming up, loosened his right leg and suddenly sighed. And then, as if on purpose, he shouted loudly.
"I have a bad knee joint! Even if I move just a little bit, it hurts like this!"
… So what? He stepped forward with confidence and suddenly he was talking about his knees. Feeling betrayed, I felt like an idiot watching him. Even the big guy who was about to take him on looked at him in amazement. But what was even more absurd was that the road manager, who claimed to have glass joints, kept looking at me.
As if he wanted to let me know about his arthritis. Why on earth? In the end, he still wanted me to step up? While I was thinking this uncle was crazy, the road manager seemed satisfied with my awareness of his arthritis. Only then did he straighten his body and move forward. The hunk twisted his lips and let out a sneer as he approached him.
"Does your knee hurt? But what can I do, soon you're about to become a cripple… ugh!"
Puck!
Whack!
Kwadang!
Loud sound shook the floor, followed by a heavy silence. No one understood what happened in an instant right before their eyes. It was clear that the road manager was moving in front of the big guy, but it wasn't clear how it ended with the big guy lying on the floor
But if what I saw was correct, it was that the road manager quickly punched him in the stomach and used judo techniques to pass him over. There's probably only one person who can confirm this. The road manager was kneeling next to the hunk who fell to the floor with a loud noise, who was gasping for breath.
However, judging from the already gray face, it was clear that he had fainted, so there was no way he could resist. The road manager's hand that had been gripping his neck slowly loosened, and he rose in the usual sluggish motion. Now there was no laughter or contempt in the eyes of those who saw him. The mad dog, who was the first to realize the situation, narrowed his eyes as he alternately looked at the collapsed hunk and the road manager.
"What do you do, asshole?"
"Part-time job."
After answering seriously, the road manager walked towards the group. Feeling wary of him now, one of them quickly cut in his way and took the lead.
Swish-
The fist he wielded cut through the air, and the road manager, who had dodged to the side, easily pulled his arm and threw him off balance. Then it was the same as before. No matter where it was hit, the attacker's upper body bent, and the road manager's hands and arms wrapped around his lowered neck from behind and twisted it.
Thud.
With the sound of joints twisting, another thud echoed through the floor. It was his movements that surprised me more than the fact that he took down a body larger than himself in one fell swoop. He didn't look exhausted at all. The road manager, who took down the two in an instant, looked at the rest as if looking for the next opponent. The mad dog stared at the second one who had fallen for a long time. At first I thought he was in shock, but he turned his eyes to his remaining subordinates and gave the order.
"Stop that uncle."
Then the road manager stepped forward and scratched his gray hair.
"But I want to hit you next. Are you trying to run away with that size?"
The road manager provoked, but the mad dog rather showed his teeth and laughed.
"That's right. Try to get away while my men stop you. But before that."
The road manager paused as he stopped talking and looked away from him. The mad dog looked at me and Hansoo and continued with the following words.
"I'm going to leave those two half dead. So, uncle."
The mad dog looked at the road manager again and said the rest.
"While you're dealing with my men."
The road manager stood there for a moment, staring at the mad dog, then took a step back. The mad dog let out a chuckle as if he knew it would happen.
"Ah, what is this?"
Then he turned his eyes and met mine. The guy's lips parted and his teeth bared as if to growl.
"You lucky bastard. Keep this part timer next to you 24/7. The moment he's away even for a little bit, I will snatch you and the chick behind you."
***
After the five men disappeared, the empty lot seemed wider. Hansoo kept his mouth shut for a while until the mad dogs' group disappeared with a puzzled look on his face, as if he couldn't understand this situation. Perhaps, like the mad dog said, we were wildly lucky. But I never thought of it that way.
Until the road manager got rid of the two big guys, I thought I was lucky enough to meet a road manager who was good at fighting. But the moment he stepped back at the mad dog's words, I was sure this was no accident. If he was just trying to help us as a road manager, he shouldn't have backed down at that point.
While the two remaining subordinates dealt with the uncle, I could have dealt with the mad dog. No matter how many hits, I wouldn't collapse anytime soon. However, the road manager backed down as if he would not allow that. As if complete protection was the goal.
"W-wow! Uncle Road! So cool!"
Hansoo seemed to have finally come to his senses, and then he started making a fuss about him. Then he hung on to the road manager and begged him to accept him as a disciple, and the road manager returned to his normal state and mumbled in embarrassment.
"If she finds out that I fought, my wife will scold me. My joints are bad…"
Then he glanced at me. Yeah, there was that too. The strange look that said he wanted me to know about his particularly painful joints. I stared at him silently.
"Aiing, but please accept me as your disciple. I really fell in love…"
"Who are you?"
My voice cut into the open space filled with Hansoo's admiration. Hansoo, who was shaking the road manager's arm, stopped moving with a startled face, perhaps sensing the coldness in my voice. He looked bewildered and took turns looking at me and the road manager. But all I could see was the road manager. I was determined to find out even if he refused to answer, but he didn't seem taken aback by my question. Rather, he gave the answer too easily with a bored face as usual.
"If you meet Jay, tell him my joints are really bad."
What? No matter how foolish of an expression my face may have changed into, his words were completely unexpected. Jay. That was the name of the madman, wasn't it? Why does the road manager casually say his name?
"My 'right' knee joint is not good, but I am doing my job diligently."
He emphasized his right leg and added another comment that would make my jaw drop again.
"So, whew, could you please tell him to stop chasing after me?"
… 'Chasing after me'?