THE NEXT MORNING
The antique tailor house occupied the ground floor of an old building. Consultation tables stood across the room, their wooden surfaces marked with shallow cuts and pale chalk stains from years of measuring. Display shelves held folded cloth and tools arranged with deliberate order, while clothing racks carried finished suits and half-completed jackets protected by thin covers.
A mannequin near the front wore a tailored coat secured with visible pins, beside a sign reading "Tailor's shop" in painted letters softened with age. The entire space carried the quiet scent of fabric, wood, and time.
A tailor measured the shoulders and inseam of a physically striking individual with a slim build, pale skin, and black hair. James Lee stood with his arms slightly extended, watching the tailor work with mild interest. Most people knew him as Diego Kang, or simply DJ.
"Long time," DJ said, glancing toward the boy sitting in one of the consultation chairs. "We're meeting for the first time after Charles Choi died, right?"
Daniel Park looked up from examining a bolt of fabric on a nearby shelf. He moved to another display, running his fingers over the edge of a wooden rack.
DJ watched him wander. "This is a tailor shop. You can get custom suits tailored here."
Daniel nodded, his attention drifting to a row of finished jackets hanging near the back wall. "Whoa."
"Since I was getting one for myself, I called you so you could get one too," DJ said.
Daniel turned away from the jackets and looked at DJ directly for the first time. "You dyed your hair?"
DJ touched the black strands briefly. "There's something I want to do. I even decided to retire from the entertainment world for it."
Daniel's eyebrows rose. "What's that?"
"It's still too early to tell you."
Daniel's shoulders dropped slightly and he looked down at the consultation table beside him, tracing one of the chalk marks with his thumb. "I'm jealous you found something you want to do."
DJ tilted his head. "Jealous?"
"Ever since Charles Choi died, I had nothing to do," Daniel said. "His death just made everything feel hollow."
The tailor finished with DJ's measurements and stepped back, making notes on a small pad. DJ moved to one of the consultation chairs and sat down across from Daniel.
"I guess that could happen," DJ said. "After all, Charles Choi knew the secret behind your two bodies, and he just died. But I don't think you lost your way."
Daniel looked up. "How come?"
"Think slowly and carefully. Charles Choi's death, what do you feel from it?"
Daniel was quiet. He stood and walked to the window, looking out at the street where morning traffic had begun to build. His reflection appeared faintly in the glass, overlapping with the view outside. After several moments, he spoke without turning around. "He was evil. Perhaps the most evil person I knew." He turned to face DJ. "So I've decided to stand against evil like him."
DJ leaned back in his chair, a slight smile appearing on his face. "How peculiar. It seems we're walking down the same path, Daniel Park." He paused, studying Daniel's expression. "I want to create a society without any evil."
Daniel frowned. "A society without evil? How will you do that?"
"If it's me and you, we can achieve anything we want," DJ said. "Daniel Park, you will become my wings." He shook his head once. "It seems I talked too much. I called you here for another reason."
Daniel returned to his chair and sat down, his posture straightening slightly. "I'm not sure about the wings part, but I'm curious why you called me here."
DJ's expression shifted, the casual warmth draining from his features. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. "Daniel Park, you do know about Charles Choi's killer, right?"
"Baki Hanma," Daniel said. "I do know him. It's just I didn't expect him to have such a grudge against Charles Choi to kill him."
"It seems your knowledge about him is on just the surface level," DJ said. "Do you know the real Baki Hanma?"
Daniel's frown deepened. "Real Baki Hanma?"
"They call him the Ogre," DJ said. "A bloodthirsty demon. Not many know about this nickname of his. Almost everyone who knew are already dead."
Daniel sat back in his chair. He'd encountered Baki before, briefly, but the person DJ described seemed disconnected from that memory. The contradiction sat uncomfortably in his mind. "Is he a king from generation one?"
DJ scoffed. "King? Such a mere title holds no value to him. He's no king. He is a demon."
DJ reached into his jacket and pulled out a tablet, tapping the screen several times before handing it across the table to Daniel. The device displayed a paused news video with Chinese characters overlaid on the thumbnail image.
Daniel took the tablet and pressed play. The screen showed a news studio with a Chinese anchor sitting behind a desk, her expression grave. Subtitles appeared at the bottom.
"We bring you breaking news from Guangzhou, where earlier today a violent incident left multiple people dead in the Tianhe District market," the anchor said. "Authorities are investigating what witnesses describe as an unprovoked attack by a lone assailant identified as a Japanese national."
The broadcast cut to shaky mobile phone footage taken from a distance. The video quality was poor, compressed from being shared across social media. Daniel leaned closer to the screen.
The footage showed a crowded market street with vendor stalls lining both sides. People ran in different directions, their movements creating chaotic patterns across the frame. In the center, a figure moved between the fleeing civilians. The person recording had zoomed in too far, blurring everything into indistinct shapes and colors.
"Local police received multiple emergency calls reporting the incident around eleven in the morning," the anchor continued. "The suspect was captured on multiple surveillance cameras and civilian recordings."
The video switched to a security camera angle mounted high on a building. The perspective was distant and the resolution low. Daniel could see bodies on the ground and a figure moving between them, but the details were impossible to discern clearly.
The broadcast cut to a series of photographs heavily censored with black bars and pixelation. Daniel made out shapes that suggested violence—blood on pavement, overturned carts, dark forms that might have been bodies—but the images had been obscured to the point where he could only see suggestions.
"Authorities have confirmed at least a few dozen fatalities, with several others injured and transported to nearby hospitals," the anchor reported. "The suspect fled the scene before police arrival, and his current whereabouts remain unknown."
Another video clip began. This one had been taken from inside a shop, the camera pointing out through a window toward the street. The glass was dirty and reflected light in ways that made it hard to see clearly. Daniel watched as figures moved past the window. He caught Baki's distinctive build and red hair, but everything happened too quickly and the video quality was too poor to understand what was occurring. The camera shook violently.
"Witnesses report the suspect attacked without warning or apparent provocation," the anchor said. "Several bystanders captured portions of the incident on their mobile devices before fleeing to safety."
The screen showed another blurry clip taken from ground level, as if someone had been crouching behind a market stall. The angle captured Baki from behind as he moved toward someone else in the frame. The other person's features were completely obscured by poor lighting and video compression. Baki's arm moved in a striking motion and the other figure fell. The video cut off.
"Chinese authorities have issued a statement calling for public assistance in locating the suspect," the anchor continued. "They warn citizens not to approach this individual, as he is considered extremely dangerous."
The broadcast returned to the studio. "We will continue to follow this developing story and bring you updates as more information becomes available. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families during this difficult time."
The video ended. Daniel stared at the tablet screen, his jaw tight. He had seen Baki before, had even spoken with him briefly, but the person in those videos seemed like someone else entirely.
DJ watched Daniel's reaction before speaking. "This happened just a few months ago. The Chinese government is keeping it quiet, but word is spreading. Over four dozen confirmed dead, possibly more that haven't been reported."
Daniel handed the tablet back. "I don't understand. Why would he do something like this? There has to be a reason."
DJ placed the tablet on the table beside him and crossed his arms. "Evil doesn't need a reason to be evil." He paused. "Charles Choi or Baki Hanma, none is better than the other."
Daniel looked down at his hands. "You said you wanted to create a society without evil. Is this why you're telling me about Baki?" He looked up. "But didn't he get arrested for killing Charles Choi? He'll soon be punished by the law."
DJ's smile returned, but it carried no warmth. "I see. You still have some naivety left." He leaned back. "How are you sure he'll be punished for his deeds?"
"With how volatile and enraged the public is, I don't see him getting off without punishment," Daniel said. "Isn't murder with premeditation punished with life sentence or even death sentence?"
"That would be the case if it actually was premeditated," DJ said, "but what if they can prove it was otherwise?"
Daniel's expression hardened. The implications settled over him slowly, and his hands tightened on the armrests of his chair. He exhaled through his nose. "Tell me what I have to do."
DJ leaned forward slightly. "Red Paper. You just have to collect it. The rest, I can handle."
Daniel studied DJ's face, looking for something in his expression that would clarify what he was being asked to do. DJ met his gaze steadily, waiting.
"What is Red Paper?" Daniel asked.