Goo arrived, carrying Xiaolong's spear. "The fight's over. Good—less work for me."
Baki looked back at Goo, his body covered in blood. "What? You came here too? Are you following me around or something?"
Goo waved his hands dramatically and pulled out a piece of paper. "Worker's third affiliate... They exposed their hideout? Idiots... As of this moment... the third affiliate is disbanded. Whoever wrote this has terrible handwriting."
He threw the paper away and smiled. "Anyway, it's over. I'm here on behalf of Gun to finish the job."
Baki nodded. "Is that so? But what can I do... I'm a simple, hardworking man. I can't just abandon my job, can I?"
Goo circled around Baki. "Can you stop me though~?"
Baki chuckled. Goo asked, "What's so funny?"
Baki shook his head. "Nothing. It's just that an old man asked me the same question a few days ago."
Goo stroked his chin. "That old man... it couldn't be *him*, right?"
Baki didn't answer. Goo pulled out his phone and called someone. A moment later, Baki's phone rang. It was the White Tiger Job Centre. He answered.
"Yes. Yeah, he's standing right in front of me. Are you sure? Old man, if you handle your jobs like this, aren't you afraid people won't hire you in the future? Oh... if it's the client's decision, then it's fine."
He ended the call. Goo smiled. "So, can I?"
Baki nodded. "Sure."
With that, he picked up the unconscious Eli and Johan and started walking away.
---
Baki arrived home. He went to Hostel's apartment and dropped off Eli and Johan.
Sujin was helping Sally cook. Amy and Natalie were playing with Yenna. Warren had gone to train with Manager Kim, while Max and Derrick were out on business. Heather couldn't stay with them because of her mother.
Seeing the battered state of Eli and Johan, Sally sighed. "Hyung, how come every time you drop someone off, they're half dead?"
Baki scratched his head. He remembered dropping off Warren the same way, and now Eli and Johan. "H-Haha. Does it really seem that way?"
Sally nodded. "Yeah. That's exactly how it seems."
"It's nothing much. Just boys being boys. Hahaha." With that, Baki quickly left. The girls picked up Eli and Johan, threw them onto their beds, and returned to their tasks.
Baki returned to his apartment. No one was there—neither Vin Jin nor Seongji Yuk. He dialed Seongji's number.
After talking briefly, Baki ended the call. The part-time worker at the convenience store had quit, so Vin Jin was helping Seongji cover the shift. Baki entered his room and slowly removed his clothes. His body was covered with scars and wounds. He stepped into the bathroom, turned on the hot water tap, and sank into the bathtub.
The hot water seemed to melt away all his weariness. Soon, he fell asleep in the bath.
---
A few days later, Baki was jogging. The street was still dark. Behind him, Johan struggled to keep up. "Kid, why are you following me?"
Johan remained silent for a moment, then said, "You defeated him, right? Can you teach me?"
Baki kept jogging. "Did I defeat that kid from the third affiliate? Maybe. Can I teach you how to grow stronger? No."
Johan asked through heavy breaths, "Why? What's the point of being your sidekick then?"
Baki laughed. "Hahaha. Kid, how can I teach you when you don't even know why you want to grow strong?"
Johan answered, "I know why. I want to defeat Gun."
Baki laughed again. "Haha. Then you'll only grow until you defeat Gun. What about after that? Haha. Kid, you're doing just fine now. Let's head back."
With that, Baki turned around and jogged back home with Johan following behind.
---
A few hours later.
Johan was sitting in the living room watching TV when Eli approached him. "There's a letter for you."
Johan took the letter, confused. As far as he knew, no one would send him letters. He opened it and read:
"You're invited | Messiah"
Meanwhile, Eli received a similar letter. Sally asked, "What is it, Eli?" Warren added, "What does it say?"
Eli answered, "We've been invited by Gangmi Choi. Heather's mother."
"Huh?! That's impossible! Why would that woman invite us?! Someone's definitely impersonating her." Warren's jaw clenched.
Sally added, "Guys... what if it's Heather who wants to meet us?"
Eli stood up. "I guess we'll have to go then. Whether it's really her or someone impersonating her, it's better to face the problem head-on rather than wait for it to come to us."
Suddenly, Eli noticed Johan had dressed and was heading out. "Johan, where are you going?"
Johan sighed. "What does it have to do with you?"
Warren was about to retort, but Eli stopped him. "We've been invited to a suspicious location—that's why I'm asking."
Johan asked, "You too?" Then he sighed. "I guess it's fake then. I wanted to kill that bastard with my own hands if he was still alive."
---
A few hours later, Hostel and Johan arrived at a hotel according to the address. They entered, but it was empty. Johan sighed and sat down on the stairs. "Waste of time."
Eli and the others sat on stools at the bar. Suddenly, they noticed another group entering the hotel. It was Big Deal.
Jake glanced at the Hostel crew, then his eyes shifted to Johan sitting on the stairs. Gangdong's Hostel. Gangbuk's God Dog. And Gangseo's Big Deal. Three of the four major crews gathered in one place.
Only two entities had the power to orchestrate this: the creator of the Four Crews, or the strongest of them all—the Workers.
A tall, muscular man with dark skin and a large black afro walked in. He was so imposing that even Jerry Kwon, Jake's right-hand man, looked small in comparison.
Jerry confronted him. "Who are you?"
The man answered, "Mandeok Bang."
Off to the side, Samuel leaned against the doorframe, smoking. "Jeez. I never thought I'd see Jerry look up at someone."
Jake asked, "What are you doing here, Samuel? Were the Workers invited too?"
Samuel smiled. "Jake, do you think we'd need an invitation to be here?"
Jake nodded. "I see. So the Workers are behind this. The chairman of the Workers... the one who sent out the invitations? I can already tell—he'll probably hide behind his phone again so we won't find out who he is."
"Wrong." An ordinary-looking young man slowly stepped down from the stairs.