"Maybe instead of tearing the bag, I should've ripped out her hair."
At Soo-hyeok's angry mutter, Soo-ah shook her head.
"It's fine. Honestly, that alone was super satisfying. It's not like this kind of coincidence happens often. We just got unlucky. And hey, once you're successful, we can get proper revenge in style. Right?"
"Ugh…"
Soo-hyeok groaned instead of replying.
"A step back for a greater leap forward, right? So really, I'm fine. And seriously, you looked amazing when you stepped in to protect me. The look on Hanarum and her little tail-wagging cronies' faces? Ugh, I almost had to run to the bathroom again."
"What kind of girl are you…"
"What, girls are only allowed to speak pretty and politely? That's sexism, you know?"
Soo-ah let out a full, bold laugh and stood up.
"Anyway, that talk gave me some energy. Let's go. Mom and Dad are probably waiting."
"Yeah."
Soo-hyeok didn't show her any pity.
Pity would've only hurt Soo-ah more right now.
Besides, Soo-hyeok believed in her.
"That step back for a greater leap forward," as Soo-ah put it.
They were past the point of needing to retreat.
There would be no more stepping back.
Soon, they would leap not just two, but ten steps forward.
And when that time came, it wouldn't be Soo-hyeok fighting—it would be Soo-ah.
He never once thought Soo-ah would lose if she actually fought back.
'Of course not. She's my sister.'
A new fire lit inside him.
Luckily, their parents didn't question their late return.
They had simply accepted the excuse that the siblings had gone for a short walk to clear their heads.
And just like that, it seemed the happy day had come to an end.
It would have—if not for the two men in black suits who blocked Soo-hyeok's path as he stepped out to buy a heat patch at the convenience store.
'Wait… there's a third.'
Standing between the two large men—who'd gone unnoticed at first—was none other than Hanarum.
"You're earlier than I expected."
Soo-hyeok smirked, mind already working.
'My condition isn't ideal.'
The two men in front of him—he couldn't see their ranking, but they were definitely Awakened.
So it was true—Hanarum's family had clout.
If they could deploy Awakened as bodyguards or personal enforcers, then their wealth and power had to be substantial.
'I'll need to look into this.'
He had already asked Oh Shin-woo, who'd been out of touch for days, to investigate Hanarum. Leaving loose ends wasn't Soo-hyeok's style. Once Shin-woo wrapped up, he'd definitely contact him.
"Give me the phone," Hanarum said first.
Her lips trembled, her eyes wavering.
'She's scared of the video, huh.'
Well, of course. She didn't know exactly what had been recorded—and fear of the unknown is always stronger.
"If you hand over the phone, I'll forgive the bag," she said.
"I don't need that. You think I care about some dumb bag's price?"
At his sneer, Hanarum's frown deepened.
She was clearly suppressing her anger.
"…There's a limit to my patience.
I don't want to make a scene, but if you keep pushing, these men will use force."
"Hmmm…"
Soo-hyeok rubbed his chin thoughtfully, letting out a hum.
Her uncharacteristic composure gave her away.
'This isn't her idea.'
She had been ordered to come here—likely by her father or someone equally influential.
"That video won't do you any good either. You're an Awakened, and you used force against civilians. That's a crime, you know."
"Me? I don't remember that."
"You tore my bag, didn't you?!"
Hanarum screamed, her entire body shaking.
"Yeah. I used force—on a bag. Never touched a person. But you? You hit someone. My sister, no less."
His final words cut like a blade.
Maybe that's why.
Hanarum, who had seemed confident until now, flinched.
She actually looked scared of Soo-hyeok.
The tide had clearly turned.
Soo-hyeok moved to cross his arms when—
"You bastard, I'm really going to kill you!"
Hanarum suddenly burst out, tears welling in her eyes as she flailed her hand.
"Grab him!"
The two men moved in.
"Oh wow, didn't you know? Fighting between Awakened in city areas is also illegal."
Soo-hyeok quickly widened the gap.
The two men were fast, as expected of Awakened—but not fast enough to match Taeguk Eight Trigrams Step Form.
'At best, they're Silver-grade.'
Around rank 4 to 6.
Honestly, for bodyguards sent to subdue an unknown Awakened, they were underwhelming.
'Can I take them down without going overboard?'
Soo-hyeok licked his lips, expanding his consciousness.
His recent fight with Park Moo-ki had left him more than just bruised—it had sharpened him.
That deadly encounter had reignited his old combat instincts.
The precise, razor-sharp senses that once made him fearsome were now back.
In moments like this, Soo-hyeok was far stronger than usual.
The two charging men, Hanarum's stunned expression, and even his own movements—all of it played out in his mind like a painted scene.
A smile crept across his face.
'First, let's play the video.'
Ding—!
The sound of a video starting to record echoed loudly and deliberately from his phone.
Hanarum's face turned even paler in an instant.
The camera lens captured her stunned expression.
"Kyaah! Don't record me!"
Whoosh—!
With her scream came the sound of wind slicing through the air, sweeping right past Soo-hyeok's phone.
"Oh dear, that was a preemptive strike. If you keep this up, I'll have no choice but to use force in self-defense."
The two suited men said nothing.
But the hostility in their eyes only grew sharper.
'Tch, how transparent.'
They looked at him the way one looks at a nimble rat.
They were clearly underestimating him.
Even without his sharpened senses, Soo-hyeok could tell he would win this.
As soon as he was confident that he had recorded enough to justify it as unavoidable self-defense, he moved.
He dove toward the first incoming punch, closing the distance.
It was close—he felt it brush the tip of his nose as he slipped under the man's outstretched arm.
The surprised attacker tried to follow up with a quick knee strike, but Soo-hyeok had already seen his muscle twitch in preparation.
With ease, he dodged to the side and tapped the man's calf with a light but precise strike.
"...!!"
It wasn't enough to break the leg, but the man staggered, eyes wide with shock.
That was all Soo-hyeok needed.
He extended his index finger, concentrated his energy, and tapped a vital pressure point on the man's body.
'Nothing beats point-pressing for these situations.'
Pressure points—nodes along the body's internal meridians—were critical zones. If manipulated with qi or technique, they could have a variety of effects.
Touching a death point could kill, as he had shown during the fight with Park Moo-ki.
But a numbing point simply immobilized the body.
The target would still be conscious but unable to move a muscle, no matter how strong their will.
'Sure, if enough time passes or if the person knows how to control qi, they can recover… but not mid-fight.'
And not when they were untrained martial artists.
The moment your body refuses to obey, panic kicks in.
More often than not, people just give up.
To top it off, Soo-hyeok had also pressed a vocal nerve point, silencing him.
"You weren't much of a talker anyway, so you won't be bored."
Soo-hyeok smiled as he lightly patted the immobilized man's shoulder.
At that moment, the other suited man reached into his coat and pulled something out.
Crack—!
Two black metal beads collided, emitting a grating, unnerving sound.
Soo-hyeok immediately recognized him—he was the same one who had attacked with the black orb earlier at the restaurant.
"You've got decent skills. I heard you only Awakened recently… I'm Kim Man-soo."
For the first time, the man—Kim Man-soo—spoke.
"How dramatic. You say that like it's some kind of recognition."
At Soo-hyeok's sarcastic reply, Kim Man-soo bared his teeth in a dry chuckle.
"You're right. I thought you were just some rookie, but your skills are far from ordinary.
If I hadn't acknowledged your ability, I wouldn't have brought out this Ink Orb."
"Yeah, yeah. Whether it's your side or mine, you posers all talk the same crap."
Soo-hyeok smirked and shot back.
Kim Man-soo's face stiffened—clearly irritated.
"You really don't know your place, do you? I may be stuck babysitting some girl right now, but I'm Kim Man-soo."
"So? What, you want a prize for having a lame name?"
Soo-hyeok's completely unfiltered attitude made Kim Man-soo's eyes twitch.
'Does he seriously not know who I am?'
In truth, Kim Man-soo was once a prominent figure.
He had risen to the ranks of vice-presidency in one of Korea's top three guilds, Cheonhae. Though he lost in a brutal political battle and was forced to "retire" under the guise of honor, his skills were the real deal.
Especially his signature Ink Orbs—even upper-rank Awakened, those rated above grade 10, acknowledged their destructive power.
"You got lucky once, and now you're all cocky. I'm warning you—this won't be like when fists were flying."
Crack—!
Kim Man-soo rolled the metal beads again, his eyes glinting coldly.
Soo-hyeok shrugged nonchalantly.
But behind the mask of confidence, he was already calculating.
'Kim Man-soo, a.k.a. "Ink Sphere." Grade-10 Awakened. Former board director of Cheonhae.'
Though he hadn't shown any public activity after his forced retirement, if he had continued to train, he might've reached even higher ranks.
More importantly, the destructive power of his orbs in short bursts was legendary—some even said it surpassed Park Moo-gi's.
This was no restaurant ambush anymore.
'Back then, the orb came from far away.'
Even Kim Man-soo himself had said Soo-hyeok got lucky.
The distance had weakened the orb's speed, power, and accuracy.
But now? They were within arm's reach.
Soo-hyeok looked relaxed on the outside, but internally he forced down a bitter laugh.
'Would've been great if he kept underestimating me.'
As expected from someone who survived a top guild's political hell—even in defeat, Kim Man-soo's instincts were razor-sharp.
The moment he saw his partner fall, he'd completely reassessed Soo-hyeok.
And he was right—this would not be a brawl of fists.
Worse still, Soo-hyeok was holding his phone in one hand.
Crack—!
The beads crackled ominously again.