Months Later
Seongji Yuk was working his shift at the convenience store. After Big Daniel's accident, Little Daniel had distanced himself from the others.
"To think that kid tried to murder two of his friends... I hope he learns from his mistakes," Seongji Yuk mused as he organized the items. Suddenly, Little Daniel entered the shop. He greeted Seongji Yuk weakly. "Hello... hyung..."
Seongji Yuk nodded. Daniel looked especially worse today. He seemed drained of energy. Daniel sat on the counter and leaned back, staring at the ceiling. Suddenly, a customer walked in.
He picked up a pack of cigarettes and went to the counter. "Excuse me, I wanna buy this."
"..." Daniel didn't answer. The customer called out again, "Hello~ Can you hear me?"
But Daniel didn't say anything. Seongji Yuk stepped forward to handle the sale, but Crystal suddenly came between them. "I'm sorry. Let me do it for him."
Seeing that she was handling the sale on Daniel's behalf, Seongji went back to his work. He entered the warehouse connected to the store and brought out boxes filled with new materials to fill the empty shelves. He saw that Zoe had also come to the shop.
Zoe and Crystal were working together on Daniel's behalf. Well, mostly Zoe, because Crystal was making a mess of everything. Seongji Yuk smiled. "Daniel's lucky to have such great friends."
As Seongji Yuk watched Crystal's desperate attempts at getting the work done correctly, Daniel finally spoke up. "Crystal... I'm sorry, but can you leave? I'd like to be alone."
The situation shifted from wholesome to awkward. Crystal looked sad but did as Daniel said. Seongji Yuk frowned at this but didn't pursue the matter.
Zoe tried to cheer Daniel up. But Daniel requested, "Zoe... Can you go too?"
Seongji Yuk frowned and decided to step in. But then he saw a giant kid looking at Zoe and Daniel through the glass panel. He signaled Daniel to come out. Daniel's body stiffened and he started to sweat. Daniel got up and said, "H-He's my friend. I'll come back in a jiffy." Saying this, he left.
Seongji Yuk, though a little disturbed by the whole incident, didn't say anything. After a while, Daniel still wasn't coming back. Zoe finally asked, "H-Hyung... Can we check on Daniel? It's been some time, but he isn't returning..."
Seongji Yuk smiled. "Okay. Let's find him."
After looking around, they found Daniel and the big kid in an alleyway. The big kid was bullying Daniel. Seongji Yuk walked in with Zoe. The bully was pressing down on Daniel's head with his foot. Seongji clasped the bully's shoulder.
"What are you doing, kid?" Seongji Yuk asked. Logan Lee looked back at Seongji Yuk with an angry face. "Who the fuck are you to interfere?!"
But Seongji Yuk squeezed his shoulder. Logan Lee dropped to the ground. His face twisted in pain and agony. He grabbed Seongji Yuk's leg and tried to pull him off balance. But he couldn't even budge Seongji Yuk. Suddenly, he was lifted off the ground. His feet were swaying in the air. Seongji Yuk lifted Logan Lee with one arm grasping Logan's shoulder. The scene was comical. It looked like a giant had picked up a pig by its neck.
Seongji Yuk asked, "What were you doing? Why were you bullying Little Daniel?"
Seeing Zoe standing in the back, Logan Lee felt embarrassed. He didn't answer Seongji Yuk's question and punched him in the face. The punch landed, but there was no damage whatsoever. Instead, Seongji Yuk only increased the pressure of the squeeze. Logan cried out in pain. Seongji Yuk threw him aside and looked at Daniel. He said, "Let's return to the store."
Seongji Yuk, followed by Zoe and a battered Little Daniel, returned to the store. On their way, Zoe questioned Daniel with concern. "Are you okay? Is it hurting?"
But Daniel didn't utter a single word and ignored her. After a while, he said, "Could you... please leave me alone?"
Zoe's shoulders dropped. A sad expression flashed across her face, but she quickly hid it with a smile. "Okay, okay~ I'll leave now and return tomorrow. Bye~"
Seeing the whole situation, Seongji Yuk frowned. He and Daniel continued their work at the store. It was soon time for Seongji Yuk's shift to end. As he was leaving, he said to Daniel, "You have great friends, Daniel. Don't do something you might regret. Don't become like that kid Jiho Park."
---
A Few Days Later
It was nighttime. Baki was driving down the street. It had been a long time since he'd returned home. Suddenly, he heard groans from another street. He decided to check it out.
Two kids were fighting in the street. "Hmm... Is this a classic case of bullying? The bully seems strong. But the other kid's got good endurance too."
The bully was one-sidedly beating up the victim. Slowly, the fight was shifting. It went from a one-sided beating to a blow-for-blow exchange. Both of them were beating each other up. But the bully seemed reluctant to pull out his right hand. "Hmm... is it his vanity that's making him use one hand? Even with one hand, he's better than most kids his age. But the other kid seems better. Is he learning and adapting in real time? He was pretty weak at the beginning, but now he's getting better fast. Huh? Why does it seem like his body is disobeying him? It's like he's not used to his body. He knows what to do, but doesn't know how to do it with his body."
Logan and Daniel were fighting each other. At first, Logan was easily winning, but the situation changed drastically. Logan unconsciously used his right hand.
Daniel was both happy and shocked. He managed to make Logan use his right hand and won the challenge, but the devastating punch was also coming toward him. Suddenly, he heard a voice.
"Kid! Twist your body and grab his arm to use his momentum against himself and slam him down. Do it now!"
Daniel subconsciously did as the voice said. The result? Logan Lee was sprawled out on the road. His body twitched from time to time. Daniel looked over to the source of the voice. It was a red-haired man on a bike. "H-He... is he a gangster?!"
Daniel was scared of Baki. But that wasn't the case for Baki. Baki was shocked by the boy. "He... he's an unpolished gem! Whoever becomes his teacher will have it both easy and difficult. Because to teach him, the teacher will have to be an extremely high-tier fighter himself."
Baki waved at Daniel. "Kid, come here."
Daniel stuttered, "M-Me?"
Baki said, "Is there anyone else here?"
Daniel looked at Logan Lee on the ground. Baki became annoyed. "Tch! Yes, kid. I'm calling you. Come here."
Daniel slowly walked toward him. Baki sized him up. "Hmm... What's your name, kid?"
Daniel stuttered, "I-I'm Daniel Park."
Baki nodded. "I'm Baki Hanma. Get on the bike, kid. It's pretty late. I'll drop you off at your home."
Daniel shook his head. "T-There's no need. I can g-go by myself."
Baki glared at him. "Do what I'm saying, kid. I don't like to repeat myself."
Daniel hesitantly got on the bike. Baki asked, "Where do you live?" Daniel gave the address. As Baki was driving through the streets, he said, "Kid, you're good. You've got talent. Hone it well, especially your senses. Don't rely on other things. These senses of yours—they're your most important weapon."
Daniel nodded as Baki kept giving him advice, one piece after another. Finally, they reached Daniel's home. Baki dropped him off. "Good night, kid. Don't let others bully you. For every punch, reply with ten punches. You can die, but you can't lose. Okay, kid? Bye then."
Daniel looked at Baki's back as he drove away.