10. Bang Taegyu
"You bastards want to die."
Loud noises echoed through the abandoned factory early in the morning.
Thud-! Thud-! Thud-!
Bang Taegyu kicked over three kneeling students in succession.
"Didn't I tell you to bring 200,000 won each? Didn't I?"
"Urgh..."
"Oh? No answer? My words don't mean anything?"
"W-wait... Ugh!"
A soccer kick landed squarely on the student's philtrum.
Thud- Thud- Thud!
As the kicking resumed, the students curled up like turtles and groaned.
"Block it? Block it? Raise your face."
As Taegyu grabbed their hair and slapped their cheeks, the delinquents smoking in the back snickered and smiled.
But contrary to their outward appearance, they were inwardly tense.
They feared Taegyu's merciless behavior.
'As expected of Taegyu. He's ruthless even to losers.'
'No wonder even seniors from other schools are wary of him.'
'I should never mess with Taegyu no matter what.'
Taegyu's height was 185cm.
A rather large build for a second-year middle school student.
Naturally overwhelming among his peers.
He's also good at fighting, famous even among delinquents.
"Damn, I was going to buy a motorcycle with the money I got today, but these bastards aren't helping from the morning."
Taegyu, who had been panting, turned to the watching delinquents.
"Hey. Any of you bastards have money?"
"Huh? U-us?"
"I'll definitely pay you back next month."
The flustered delinquents scratched the back of their heads with awkward expressions.
"S-sorry. I'm in a position to just get pocket money from home occasionally..."
"M-me too. I don't have any money saved up because I spent it on cigarettes. Haha..."
They tried to refuse as politely as possible to avoid offending him, but Taegyu's expression was already twisted.
"Useless bastards. Should I beat you all up?"
"Huh?"
"A-are you talking to us?"
"Yeah, you bastards. If you can't even lend money, how are you any different from these shuttle bastards here?"
Taegyu's anger was genuine.
Realizing this, the panicked delinquents bowed their heads and started apologizing.
"S-sorry we couldn't help..."
"I'll try to save up some pocket money so you can buy a motorcycle..."
"Forget it, damn it. How long would it take to buy one with your measly pocket money?"
Taegyu, who had been constantly irritated, kicked the fallen students irritably.
Thud thud-!
"It's because of these bastards!"
Thud thud-!
"If only these bastards had brought the money on time, damn it!"
Only when the students were so limp they couldn't even groan did Taegyu's kicking stop.
"Ah, damn things. Ptui!"
Taegyu spat and raised his finger towards the delinquents.
One delinquent quickly took out a cigarette and handed it to him.
"Phew..."
Exhaling smoke and putting on airs, Taegyu turned to the delinquents again.
"Hey, isn't there anywhere we can get money?"
"Huh? Get money?"
"Yeah. Isn't there any way?"
"Hmm..."
"Well..."
The delinquents stroked their chins and pondered as if it were their own problem.
If they couldn't raise money, the backlash might fall on them again.
"How about robbing a convenience store?"
"Do you want to go to the police station?"
"Or how about stealing money from homeless people begging near the station?"
"That's like squeezing blood from a stone. How much could homeless people earn?"
"Then how about extorting other students on the street?"
"That's probably the most realistic."
"But where can we find students at this hour? They'll all be holed up at home during vacation."
"We could check PC rooms or coin karaoke places."
"There are a lot of CCTVs these days, it'll be tough."
"That's why we need to cover our faces well when we do it."
As they were all putting their heads together and casually conspiring to commit crimes,
"Oh, come to think of it, Taegyu."
One of the delinquents asked Taegyu.
"Why didn't you call him?"
"Who?"
"You know, that shuttle in your class."
"Ah, that bastard Ryuwon?"
A sinister smile spread across Taegyu's lips.
"I was going to call him today anyway. He needs to get beaten up to celebrate the new year."
"What if he doesn't come when you call?"
"Don't worry. I know where that bastard lives."
"We could extort some money from him."
"Right. That would work."
The delinquents agreed, but Taegyu shook his head.
"That bastard's a beggar. I heard he only eats ramen at home because he has no money."
"Huh? Really?"
"Would I be lying for no reason?"
"Ah... sorry."
"But how poor is he to only eat ramen?"
"Yeah. If he can live in Seoul, doesn't that mean he has some wealth?"
As his friends expressed doubts, Taegyu shrugged.
"I don't know either. But seeing how he doesn't bring a single penny even after getting beaten up by me, he must really have nothing. He even lives in some run-down multi-family house."
"Oh, really?"
"Still, it's a bit strange? Living so poorly but going to school in Seoul? His parents must not be in their right minds?"
"That bastard doesn't have parents. They died in a car accident, so he lives with his brother."
It might have evoked pity, but the delinquents just snickered and sneered.
"What a pitiful life. No parents either. Kukukuku."
"No wonder he's a beggar, damn. Kekekeke."
After the mockery, conspiracy theories emerged.
"Taegyu. In my opinion, that bastard doesn't seem to be a beggar."
"I think so too. He must have received an inheritance, how can he have no money?"
"These days, I heard kids without parents actually live better because of the generous basic livelihood support payments."
"Right. I think he's been pretending from the start to avoid getting extorted."
"He's probably cutting into a luxurious steak outside after school."
Taegyu's expression turned red and blue, as if his friends' claims seemed plausible.
"That damn bastard dares to fool me? I should call him right now and beat him half to death, that son of a..."
Taegyu was about to take out his phone to call, but for some reason he stopped his action.
"What's wrong, Taegyu?"
"Wait. Don't you hear something?"
At Taegyu's words, the delinquents quietly listened.
Thump thump-
Footsteps were heard in the quiet abandoned factory.
The sound of what seemed to be more than one person.
Soon after, two men appeared before the delinquents.
One of them was a face Taegyu knew well.
"Huh? You...?"
It was Ryuwon, who had been the subject of their conversation just moments ago.
Taegyu let out a long sigh.
He felt deflated, making his previous tension seem foolish.
"Speak of the devil... No, not the devil but a dog? You dog bastard, Ryuwon."
Ryuwon's face immediately became scared upon hearing the insult.
Though inwardly satisfied with this reaction, Taegyu couldn't be completely content.
The expression of the man next to him hadn't changed at all.
'Who's that bastard? Such a small guy with an annoyingly expressionless face.'
Taegyu nodded with a displeased expression.
"Who's the bastard next to you? A new shuttle you brought because you were worried I'd be bored?"
"Th-this is..."
Before Ryuwon could speak, Ryumin stepped forward.
"I'm Won's older brother."
"Brother?"
A snicker escaped Taegyu's lips.
"Didn't I tell you before? Keep your mouth shut if you don't want to die. But you ended up tattling to your brother? Even telling him the location of our hideout?"
"N-no! I didn't say anything..."
"Fuck you, bastard. You're dead today. You and your brother both."
Taegyu's fierce eyes fixed on Ryumin.
Though he still maintained an expressionless face, Taegyu saw it.
The momentary flinch in his gaze, as if scared.
'Hehe, idiot. Getting scared by this bluff.'
He thought the guy might have some guts since his expression didn't change earlier, but apparently not.
'No, it's too early for hasty judgments.'
Taegyu looked behind the brothers.
No more footsteps were heard, as if they hadn't called anyone else.
'Surely they must have heard about me, yet they came with just the two of them? Is he somewhat skilled?'
Taegyu had fought numerous opponents during his time as a delinquent.
Among them were small opponents like the one calling himself the brother.
'Only amateurs let their guard down because someone is small.'
First, he needed to check his skills.
Taegyu glanced slightly at his friends.
The delinquents who received the signal nodded slightly and stepped forward.
"Wow, the world has really improved. There's even a shuttle who dares to stand up to Taegyu."
"Is your brother that good at fighting? Damn, if you're confident, want to have a go with us?"
Three delinquents approached with malicious expressions, but Ryumin showed no signs of fear.
'He's got some guts. That's why he came this far. Now for his skills...'
He would be able to confirm soon.
The distance between the delinquents and the so-called brother had become close enough to reach out and touch.
'Watching losers fight is the most fun.'
It was a tense situation.
Just as Taegyu was about to watch comfortably with his arms folded.
Bam-!
Unexpectedly, the brother's side took the initiative.
"Ugh, you bastard!"
The delinquent who grabbed his nose swung his fist, but.
Whoosh whoosh-
Ryumin nimbly dodged with weaving and instead planted his fist in the delinquent's chin.
Thud-
As one fell helplessly, the other delinquents charged with fire in their eyes.
"You bastard!"
But from the start, they were no match for Ryumin.
Thud- Thud-!
The delinquents who were hit in the cheekbones and stomach fell in succession, and Ryumin's following kicks broke their front teeth.
"Urgh..."
"Aaagh..."
It didn't take long for the three to fall.
Taegyu's eyebrows arched like a bow.
'That bastard...'
He wondered how well someone of similar size could fight, but now he could estimate.
'Just a loser after all.'
He seems to have learned some boxing somewhere, his stance shows a bit, but that's all.
'You tried to challenge me with such half-baked skills?'
To Taegyu, who used boxing as his base, it looked no different from a beginner's skills.
"Hey, Won's brother. Seems you got cocky after learning a bit of boxing somewhere..."
Taegyu stepped forward, passing the fallen delinquents.
"Didn't you learn how big the weight difference is in boxing?"
"..."
As Taegyu stood in front, Ryumin raised his head.
Taegyu with his 185cm height and sturdy build.
Ryumin with his 165cm height and frail-looking small frame.
The obvious weight difference was easy to predict the outcome without even fighting.
But surprisingly, the opponent showed no signs of being intimidated.
"Seems you haven't watched the news either."
"What news?"
"Tsk."
Seeing Ryumin click his tongue as if pitying him, veins popped on Taegyu's forehead.
"What news, you bastard!"
The enraged Taegyu threw a surprise punch.
An ordinary person would have been hit in the face and staggered without time to react, but.
Whoosh-
Ryumin avoided the attack just by tilting his head slightly.
Taegyu, whose pride was hurt, threw a follow-up attack, but that too was dodged.
The third, fourth, and fifth punches also missed.
He had intended to take the initiative and lead the fight advantageously, but things didn't go as planned.
"You squirrel bastard!"
The agitated Taegyu tried to hit Ryumin by alternating between punches and kicks.
He thought he could land at least one hit, but it was a clear miscalculation.
"If you had watched the news, you wouldn't have rushed at me, a player, like this."
Ryumin, who had been leisurely dodging, extended his fist.
Bam-!
"Ugh!"
It hit Taegyu's face accurately.
But it wasn't enough to knock down Taegyu, who had some toughness.
"You bastard! Was that a mosquito bite? This much is just itchy..."
Bam-!
Another punch landed while he was speaking.
His nose bridge stung.
"I'll kill you!"
He swung his fist with killing intent, but it missed completely.
Bam-! Bam-!
One hit, two hits, as damage accumulated on his face, he no longer felt like talking.
"Argh!"
Only rage clouded his vision.
Bam-! Bam-!
Regardless, Ryumin kept targeting Taegyu's face.
No matter how weak the strength, there's no way there's no damage when punching the face with fists.
As proof, Taegyu's nose bridge collapsed and his lips burst, bleeding.
With only one-sided attacks, weight difference or whatever became irrelevant.
'Damn, just one hit. If I could land just one hit...!'
Even while getting beaten, Taegyu didn't give up.
His pride couldn't accept losing to such a loser.
"This isn't the time to cling to pride."
Ryumin's fist hit Taegyu's face again.
'Hit again, damn it!'
He didn't know how many times he had been hit.
Now he couldn't even feel pain in his face.
His movements were so efficient it made his earlier displayed skills seem like a fake.
Taegyu frowned and swung a big hook.
As it missed, Ryumin dove in and planted his fist in Taegyu's chin.
"Ah..."
For a moment, as the dizzy Taegyu saw another fist coming,
He didn't want to admit it, but there was no answer in just attacking.
Instinctively, he raised his hands to block, but.
Thud-
'Huh?'
Instead of hitting the guard, the opponent grabbed his outstretched fingers.
Crack!
"Aaaagh!"
Taegyu screamed at his grotesquely bent fingers.
But as soon as he lowered his upper body, Ryumin's knee struck his face.
"Guhk!"
"Hey."
Ryumin had already grabbed Taegyu's other hand fingers.
Crack-!
"Uwaaagh! It, it hurts! It hurts!"
Crack- Crack-!
"S-stop! Pleeeease! Aaagh!"
Despite the pleas to stop, Ryumin mercilessly broke all ten fingers like snapping chicken necks.
"Hey."
Ryumin speaks again in a frosty voice.
"You know what happens if you touch my brother?"
"Kuhub... Khub..."
"No answer?"
"I-I got it. I won't t-touch him."
Taegyu, now covered in tears and snot, nodded with difficulty, but.
Thud-
Ryumin, seemingly not intending to end it here, grabbed one of Taegyu's arms.
"Wh-what are you trying to..."
"I need to make sure, in case you change your mind later."
"D-don't. Don't...!"
Despite Taegyu's protests,
Crack-!
"Aaaaaaagh!"
Ryumin went ahead and bent Taegyu's arm in a grotesque direction.
"Try to seek revenge or report to the police. I'll find you even at the ends of the earth and break your other arm too."
"Kuhuhuhub... I-I got it..."
It was the moment when fear was engraved in Taegyu's mind for the first time.