by Con Template
She debated on taking off and leaving him but couldn’t bring herself to do so. Although the jerk blackmailed her into servitude, she had an unexplained attachment for him. They came into this alley together and for reasons she couldn’t explain, it felt wrong to leave him.
“Leave no one behind,” a distant voice whispered in her thoughts. She had not the slightest idea where she heard that statement before but at that precise second, it couldn’t have rung truer. She couldn’t leave him behind – not yet.
Damn moral obligations. Mentally chastising herself at the stupidity she was about to partake in, Yoori threw all caution out the window and continued to follow Tae Hyun.
A loud voice rang through the alley, causing Tae Hyun and Yoori to stop.
"Ah, Tae Hyun. You made it."
The beating ceased after the voice swam through the confined space. The ten dark silhouettes drew away, leaving two dark figures to lie on the pavement, twitching and groaning in pain. Though it was dark, Yoori could tell they were bleeding profusely. A shortness of breath assailed her. She was positive she was going to pass out from all the anxiety. This was all too scary and real for her.
From the crowd emerged a young man who appeared to be in his early twenties. He was dressed in a handsome dark suit and was smoking a cigar. He was tall and lean, his facial features reminiscent of an aristocrat who had his nose broken too many times. He wasn’t the typical handsome guy but he was attractive nonetheless. He claimed her attention, not because of his appearance, but how he presented himself. He was easily the youngest in the crowd yet it was clear that he was the leader.
Unease rummaged through her. Yoori blended further into the darkness when she observed that she wasn't the only one doing the staring.
"Good job picking out your toys, Tae Hyun," the other gang leader said mockingly, craning his neck to get a better view of her.
He laughed once he noted that Yoori moved further out of sight. Sensing her fear, his chuckles grew more pronounced. He took another whiff of his cigar. "Though I can't see that pretty little face, you can tell from the rack on her that this one seems like a lot of fun to play with in bed."
The men in the background roared in agreement.
"I'd want some of that tonight," one of them jeered.
“Where you headed later tonight, baby?"
"Does that pretty little ass of yours need a good spanking?"
Yoori clenched her fists. Anger throbbed inside her. It wasn't right. Chauvinistic pigs were taunting her and it made her blood simmer. Her eyes seared. She was tempted to propel out of the darkness to give those jackasses a piece of her mind. However, knowing better, she kept her mouth shut and her face out of sight. Despite being a force to be reckoned with when she was enraged, she knew her odds of even being able to slap one of them were slim. She had to pick her battles and this one definitely wasn’t one of them.
"Let them go, Jae Won," Tae Hyun instructed the other leader, his voice hard as steel.
"Let me remind you, Tae Hyun,” began Jae Won. His expression was lined with irritation. Smoke exuded from his mouth and evaporated into the wind. "You have no power here."
For a tense second, silence occupied the alley. Much like an introduction for the stream of events to come, a big gust of wind flew into the narrow alley, pulling up the curtains for the show to come. All eyes watched with anticipation as Tae Hyun bent down and picked up a metal pipe on the pavement beside him. Upon retrieving it, he stood up.
"Let go of my men," he repeated. His hand clenched onto the pipe in lethal warning.
The crowd of men stiffened up. It was then that Yoori saw what an intimidating and powerful person Tae Hyun was. Even in the presence of enemies who outnumbered him, he exuded such confidence and fearlessness that it was hard to see Tae Hyun as anything but a God in human form.
For that fleeting instant, when everyone watched Tae Hyun with understandable fear, Yoori herself felt envious of him. It was a foreign and perplexing feeling for her. She was not envious because she longed to have the power he had. No. She was envious because, for some reason or the other, it felt like she was yearning for a power that she used to have. Halting her train of unnatural thoughts, Yoori swiftly disregarded such feelings and returned her attention to the crowd of men lingering behind Jae Won.
As if everyone felt the enviable power that Tae Hyun displayed, fear subsided for the time being as sounds of knuckles cracking surged up in the form of echoes. Although power is intimidating, it is also a desirable trait that all humans yearn for. All the men standing parallel to Tae Hyun knew that they could easily take that power from him. The odds were in their favor. After all, Tae Hyun was only one man in the presence of eleven others. If the Gods wanted to be entertained, then this was the perfect moment.
Yoori had the strongest urge to tug at Tae Hyun's arm and haul his ass out of the alley. The resolve on his face confounded her. Instead of exhibiting fear like a sensible human being, he was actually watching them with anticipation. If anything, he was entertained with the crowd in front of him. She was tempted to scream at him for being a fool but given the severity of the situation, she was unable to say anything. Truth be told, Tae Hyun intimidated her too.
"Who do you think you are giving orders around here?" Jae Won screamed out, incensed with Tae Hyun's cocky disposition.
"You know who I am," he answered, unaffected by the rage flooding from the other gang leader.
"Oh yes, the King of Serpents," Jae Won mocked, taking another puff of his cigar. He laughed derisively. "The God who is here to save the day, right?"
Tae Hyun smirked. "Yes, Jae Won. Unlike you, I do not turn my back on my brothers. We stay through the tough and good times. From what I hear, this is an attribute that you, very famously, lack."
Any sense of humor fled from Jae Won.
"You know nothing about me," Jae Won growled. It was clear that Tae Hyun's comment hit a sensitive nerve within him.
The curving smirk on Tae Hyun's mouth remained. Jae Won’s reaction was the one he wanted. Utilizing the break in Jae Won’s composure, he continued to pick at the wound.
"You turned your back on your gang and pathetically tried to form a new one.” He measured the crowd of men behind Jae Won. He was not impressed. "And the best you can come up with are these pitiful fools? I know you well enough. You are a failure and you will always be a failure."
The alley thundered with fury.
Yoori slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. She was flabbergasted with the idiocy Tae Hyun displayed. Why was he insulting a group of men who outnumbered him? Did he have a death wish?
Jae Won spat his cigar out and stepped on it. "Tae Hyun," he prompted with a small smile. "Congratulations, you have just signed your own death certificate."
Behind him, a group of five men stepped forward from the crowd. They grinned uncontrollably. Each well-built gang members possessed weapons that ranged from a pipe, baseball bat, rope, and knives. After the round of insults from Tae Hyun, they now appeared fired up to take him down.
Shit! Shit! Shit! Unable to keep her mouth shut, Yoori tugged at Tae Hyun's arm. Maybe if she could convince him to run, then there would be a chance they could still make it out of this alive.
"Are you seriously going to fight them by yourself? There's one of you and five of them. Can you not do the math? Are you that stupid?"
Ignoring her observations, Tae Hyun peeled off his blazer and tossed it in her direction. Yoori caught the blazer in resignation. She knew it was Tae Hyun's bizarre way of telling her that he'd be fine. Unconvinced, Yoori watched painfully as Tae Hyun stepped forward to face those five men.
"Last chance to back off," Tae Hyun said to them. He bounced the pipe up and down on his left palm. There was no fear in his stance, only anticipation.
When all they did was laugh at his statement, Yoori's fears worsened. It was traitorous of her to admit it, but if she wasn't on his side, she would’ve laughed as well. Did he really think he wa
s going to win?
"Let's play, King of Serpents," one of the men said boldly. He wasted no time in charging toward Tae Hyun. The knife he held up was pointed straight at Tae Hyun’s stomach.
"No!" Yoori gasped when the gang member attempted to take jabs at Tae Hyun. The sharp knife glowed under the slits of light coming through the alley, its glowing blade hungry for Tae Hyun's blood.
This is it. The idiot is going to die right now, she concluded morbidly. Her hopes for his survival diminished with every attack that flew in his direction.
She couldn’t have anticipated the next sequence of events.
Tae Hyun easily dodged each strike and used one of the alley walls as a prop to perform a spin kick that inevitably left the knife man on the floor. A collective gasp issued when the gang member accidentally stabbed himself in the stomach.
"That was for your lack of manners," Tae Hyun stated simply, a triumphant smile illuminating his features.
With the sound of pained groans lingering in the background, Tae Hyun reached his hand out to the remaining men. He motioned them forward. He wasn't done teaching them their lessons.
Like bulls on command, they came stampeding toward him with vindictive speed.
As another out-of-the-world performance, Yoori watched in amazement as Tae Hyun threw men who were twice his size against the walls like they were rag dolls. One by one, as they came charging for him, they all went down, never lasting more than several seconds with him. Did she need to mention that throughout this entire ordeal, he had yet to use his pipe?
"Damn," Yoori uttered, marveling at what she just witnessed. He told her not to gawk but it was really difficult. To her credit, she wasn’t the only one gawking. The audience in their company also reciprocated this particular feeling of awe.
Jae Won’s nostrils flared. Annoyed with the wonder his men found in Tae Hyun, Jae Won shot them a glare that spoke of nothing but fury. "What are you idiots waiting for?” he bellowed at the top of his lungs. “Get him!"
On Jae Won's command, the remaining men snapped out of their stupor and went on the attack.
"TAE HYUN!" Yoori screamed when he became engulfed by a horde of gang members.
Her confused eyes lingered on his back. She didn’t understand why he wasn't using his gun. It was baffling. If only he took it out, then he wouldn't have to deal with all of this. He wouldn't be at such a disadvantage.
She shook in worry. All she could hear was the sound of men grunting as they kicked and punched Tae Hyun. She stared helplessly at the sight before her. Frustration mounted over her. Why wasn’t he using his gun? She held her breath and closed her eyes in anguish. There was no way he could make it out of that crowd alive. There was just no way. She was sure of it.
Well, she thought she was sure of it until she heard something that revitalized her hope.
"What the fuck!" one of the men shrieked.
Yoori opened her eyes, its core brimming with hope and excitement. Sounds of metal hitting bones ran rampant in the air and she spotted him.
Tae Hyun was beating each gang member to a pulp with his pipe. He was very much alive. It didn't take too long for Tae Hyun to knock each and every one of them down. Pretty soon, it was just Yoori, Tae Hyun, and Jae Won left standing. Everyone else was on the floor, groaning in pain. Apart from the bloody lip he was sporting, Tae Hyun looked totally fine.
Yoori smiled stupidly at him. This unreal bastard was absolutely mind-boggling.
Clapping emitted from the hands of Jae Won. "Very impressive, Tae Hyun," he said, taking the words right out of her mouth.
Stripping off his jacket, Jae Won approached Tae Hyun. As his shoes echoed with every progressing step, Jae Won started to roll up his white sleeves, preparing himself to go into battle.
"Now I know why they call you the King of Serpents. Your fighting skills are impressive." He tossed his jacket on the ground. "But I must tell you that I was trained by the best fighter in the Underworld. So with that said, you, my friend, are going down."
All eyes watched in anticipatory silence as Jae Won clenched his fists and raised them up, positioning himself into a fighting stance. He was ready to take on Tae Hyun.
Tae Hyun’s lips bent into an amused smile. He wiped the blood away from his mouth and flung the pipe aside. He rolled up his own sleeves. "Let's have some fun then, kid."
Like a gun signifying the start of a race, Jae Won rocketed toward Tae Hyun. He swung a punch at Tae Hyun but missed, enabling Tae Hyun to punch him in the face while following that with a brute kick to the stomach. Jae Won stumbled back after Tae Hyun's steel-like foot made contact with his abdomen. He gasped for air when he slammed against the brick wall.
Wiping the blood from his mouth, he stood up again. If the expression on Jae Won's face gave any indication, he was extremely pissed off.
Soon after standing up, he rounded onto the lid of a lone trashcan. With amazing dexterity, he projected himself up and bequeathed Tae Hyun with a kick to the side of the face. As Tae Hyun fell backward, Jae Won, who wasn't done with his attack, grabbed him by the collar. Instead of allowing him to fall to the ground, Jae Won delivered a powerful punch across Tae Hyun's face. The assault had him falling straight for the wall. Colliding into the brick foundation back first, Tae Hyun managed to sneak a couple more strikes onto Jae Won, his punches as hard as the next. Despite such retaliation, Yoori could tell the fight with the other gang members had taken a toll on Tae Hyun. He simply did not have enough energy to fight Jae Won. He may have been fighting, but he was slowly losing.
Using one of his fallen men as an added prop, Jae Won jumped onto him and flew into the air, his legs pointing straight at Tae Hyun. Yoori watched in horror as Jae Won delivered the final spin kick that left Tae Hyun spitting coagulated blood into the air. Weakened, Tae Hyun slid down the wall from the assault. He didn’t allow the strike to keep him down for long though. Struggling, he surged to his feet once more. Though he was up, his balance wavered.
“Well done, kid,” Tae Hyun breathed with a mocking smirk. “It only took several of your minions to fight me beforehand for you to get this far.”
Jae Won chuckled, unfazed by how he got to this point. The only relevance was the victory awaiting him. "Now," he began expectantly, a victorious grin already forming on his face. "It’s time to kill the snake.”
The concern for Tae Hyun's safety amplified within Yoori. As her unblinking eyes remained on Jae Won, her gaze, for whatever reason, was suddenly analyzing Jae Won for a particular weakness in his stance. She noticed something in the way he walked. It was so subtle but she finally caught it…a weakness that would save Tae Hyun. Her eyes bulged. Before she could stop herself, she announced her finding to Tae Hyun.
"TAE HYUN!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.
The next words that came from her mouth took her by utter surprise. "TAE HYUN! HE HAS WEAK LEGS! GO FOR THE LOWER LEGS!"
As if finding familiarity with her voice, Jae Won turned his attention to Yoori.
He squinted his eyes, attempting to make her out in the darkness. Distracted with Yoori, Jae Won failed to see that Tae Hyun had begun toward him. Jumping slightly off the pavement, Tae Hyun served a lower spin kick that left an unsuspecting Jae Won on the floor. A pained grunt emitted from him when Tae Hyun proceeded to perform various punches and kicks to Jae Won's lower legs. This beating eventually left Jae Won groaning on the floor in agony.
Slightly huffing and puffing, Tae Hyun ceased with the assaults. He stood before the war zone in triumph. Though he had trouble balancing, he managed to keep his head up high as he addressed the gang members, all of whom were writhing on the pavement in pain.
"You all have just witnessed first hand what the repercussions for going against a Serpent consists of." He stood up high. The pride in his voice grew. "Death...as of now...should be imminent in your futures." He scrutinized them intently. "But I have another proposal in mind."
All the gang members listened with shallowed breathing, their
attentive eyes on Tae Hyun. The only one not looking at Tae Hyun was Jae Won. His eyes were instead locked on a faceless Yoori. She was still hiding in the darkness. After several passing seconds, he turned his eyes from her and peered at Tae Hyun. "Who is she?"
"It doesn't matter right now who she is," Tae Hyun dismissed. He went back to the business at hand. "My proposal is for a merging of gangs."
His eyes went over each of the men. "Members of the Dragons gang. You all have precisely 60 days to decide whether or not you want to join the Serpents or spend the rest of your days in hiding from us. You will be provided with a briefcase filled with forms and documents that will essentially consist of you giving up your bank accounts, among other things, to the Serpents if you should choose to merge."
He turned to Yoori with an outstretched hand. "Briefcase."
Initially, Yoori hesitated to come out of the darkness. She didn't want any of those gang members to see her face, just in case they ever wanted to seek revenge. However, she knew that if she didn't come out, Tae Hyun would more than likely drag her out instead. Sighing, she decided to come out on her own accord.
Finally stepping out of the shadows with the briefcase firmly gripped between her fingers, Yoori watched with puzzlement as Jae Won's eyes grew huge upon seeing her face for the first time. She hesitantly handed the briefcase to Tae Hyun. He tossed it onto the pavement. The briefcase landed beside Jae Won with a thud.
"Look closely at what I have just given you," Tae Hyun said purposely, only speaking to Jae Won at this point.
