A few days had passed.
In front of a rundown apartment building, a pot-bellied bald man was pounding on a door with all his might.
"Yabuki! You bastard! Open up!"
He hammered on the door while cursing.
"I was lenient with you because you came from Japan, because you're a foreigner and sick! You know that? Anyone else would've kicked you out long ago."
After a while, the door opened.
Joe Yabuki stood in the doorway half-asleep, hair disheveled.
The bald man opened his mouth to yell, but after seeing who it was, he swallowed his words.
'This guy...'
Actually, the bald man was a rabid boxing fan. He naturally knew who Joe Yabuki was. So when Joe had come to rent the place years ago, he'd been very enthusiastic. But as time passed, that enthusiasm faded, replaced by contempt.
Especially since his wife kept inviting Joe to dinner and helping him out, which made the bald man jealous as hell.
Joe's physique wasn't particularly impressive, and his height was average, but his face was handsome, especially with that silky long hair. The bald man's wife clearly had some attraction to him.
Joe naturally understood this, so he kept his distance as much as possible.
For this reason, he never minded what the bald man said.
The bald man coughed. "You owe two months' rent."
Joe rubbed his eyes. "I know."
"You know? You know and still haven't paid?" The bald man's voice rose. "Listen, I'm not running a charity here! The COVID pandemic has affected everyone, including me! Either you pay rent or you get out!"
Joe sighed. "Can you give me a few more days?"
"What?"
Just then, a woman's voice came from the stairwell.
"Honey, what are you doing?"
The bald man turned to see his wife coming down the stairs, his expression changing.
"Why are you up here?"
The woman walked over to him, glanced at Joe, and her face showed apology. "Mr. Yabuki, I'm sorry. He just has a bad temper, but he's good-hearted really."
The bald man glared at her. "Shut up! This is our business!"
The woman grabbed his arm. "Alright, alright, stop it."
She turned to Joe. "Mr. Yabuki, we'll give you three more days, okay?"
Joe nodded. "Thank you."
The bald man wanted to say more, but his wife dragged him away.
"Come on, let's go."
Joe closed the door and leaned against it.
'Three days.'
He needed money. To earn money, he had to work. But to earn more money, he'd have to take dangerous jobs.
He had no education, so office work was impossible. Physical labor was also out because of his Parkinsonism.
So he needed to find work that could support him and suited his condition.
Fortunately, a few days ago he'd seen a job posting.
Bodyguard.
Many people might think being a bodyguard was physical labor, exhausting work. But it wasn't. Because of the COVID pandemic, most bodyguards were getting paid for doing nothing because there was no actual work. After all, people rarely went out. In fact, many bodyguards were being laid off for being useless.
Joe washed his face and changed into clean clothes.
***
A taxi stopped in front of a large building.
Joe got out, adjusted his mask, and entered the building.
He climbed the stairs to the third floor.
This was the interview location.
The door read "Dream On Capital."
He pushed open the door to see three people already waiting.
One wasn't wearing a mask, one had pulled his mask down to his chin, and the last one was still wearing it properly.
Joe was about to sit down when a door suddenly opened.
A man walked out with a smile on his face.
This was Moon Gwang-mu, the person who'd posted the job listing.
Seeing him, the others all stood up.
Joe hadn't sat down yet anyway.
Gwang-mu smiled. "Hello everyone, I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long?"
As he spoke, his gaze fell on the person without a mask.
He walked up to him. "Oh, why aren't you wearing your mask?"
The man bowed slightly. "I'll put it back on right away."
Gwang-mu raised his hand to stop him. "No need. I asked you why you weren't wearing it. Answer me."
The man exhaled, looking somewhat impatient. "You made us wait half an hour. It was getting stuffy in here."
Gwang-mu sneered. "Whoa! If you don't have patience, how do you think you can protect people?"
The man finally snapped. "Good god, what does this have to do with wearing a mask?"
Gwang-mu's smile vanished. He exhaled sharply. "Get out. Get out now!"
The man sighed and turned to leave. "Fuck this."
Hearing him curse, Gwang-mu snorted. "Little punk."
Seeing the first guy get kicked out for not wearing a mask, the second guy who'd pulled his mask down immediately pulled it back up.
Gwang-mu turned to him. "Jeez, you pulled your mask down too."
The second guy shook his head. "Uh, no."
Gwang-mu smiled. "I saw it."
The second guy gave in. "I just had it at my chin."
Gwang-mu said coldly, "Pulling it to your chin is taking it off, idiot." Then he ordered, "Get out. Get the hell out!"
The second guy cursed. "Ah, damn it." Then he left.
Gwang-mu mocked him. "Oh no, damn it. Oh no! Damn it! Idiots."
Then he turned to the third guy. "Pull it down. Let me see."
The third guy pulled down his mask.
Gwang-mu nodded. "What's your name, kid?"
"Cheon Dong-woo, sir."
"Mm. Height?"
"187 centimeters, sir."
"Any training?"
"I've trained in kickboxing and hapkido for ten years, sir."
"Your major?"
"I majored in Security Services."
"Oh! A real man. Look at you! Military service?"
"I was exempted. Tore my ACL playing volleyball."
"Oh. Never mind then. See you next time."
"Why are you turning me down, sir?"
"I need a Marine, kid. Get out of here."
"Does it really have to be?"
"Uh-huh. Yes."
"Shit, you should've written that in the job posting."
"Oh really? Why's that?"
"Because you wasted my time!"
"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?"
"What elder? You don't screw people around like that."
Dong-woo suddenly lunged forward, throwing a straight punch at Gwang-mu's face.
Gwang-mu tilted his head. The punch grazed past his cheek.
Before Dong-woo could pull back, Gwang-mu grabbed his wrist and twisted it sharply.
Dong-woo grimaced, his body forced to turn sideways.
Gwang-mu swept Dong-woo's leg with his foot.
Dong-woo lost his balance and fell forward.
Gwang-mu pressed down on his shoulder, slamming him face-first into the floor.
"Ugh!"
Dong-woo's face hit the ground hard. He tried to push himself up, but Gwang-mu's knee was already on his back, pinning him down.
"You done?" Gwang-mu's voice was calm.
Dong-woo struggled, but couldn't move. His arm was twisted at an angle that made any resistance painful.
"Let... go..."
Gwang-mu increased the pressure slightly. "I asked if you're done."
Dong-woo groaned, breathing heavily. "Yeah... yeah, I'm done."
Gwang-mu released him and stood up, dusting off his hands.
Dong-woo slowly got to his feet, clutching his shoulder.
Gwang-mu patted him on the back. "See you next time, yeah?"
Dong-woo groaned.
Gwang-mu smiled and gestured toward the door. "Yeah."
Dong-woo limped out, muttering under his breath.
Finally, Gwang-mu turned to Joe.
Joe was about to pull down his mask, but Gwang-mu raised his hand to stop him.
"You? No need to pull it down. Just tell me if you're a Marine or not. If not, get the hell out."
Joe stood there without answering.
Gwang-mu sneered. "Jeez, are you deaf?"
Joe finally spoke. "I... am Japanese."
Gwang-mu's eyes widened. "Then what the fuck are you doing here?"
"I need money. To earn money, I need work. I think I'm perfect for this job."
Gwang-mu patted him. "Listen, kid. I think now's the perfect time for you to leave. I've got enough on my plate already, okay? So goodbye."
With that, Gwang-mu turned to leave.
But Joe didn't move.
Suddenly, Gwang-mu spun around, throwing a punch at Joe.
Joe sidestepped, avoiding the punch.
Gwang-mu's eyes lit up.
'Good reflexes.'
He kicked out, aiming for Joe's knee.
Joe stepped back. Gwang-mu's foot missed.
Gwang-mu smiled. "Interesting."
He increased his attack speed—left hook, right straight, sweep—a smooth combination.
But Joe dodged them all.
His movements weren't fast, but they were precise. Each time he just barely avoided the attacks.
Gwang-mu stopped, catching his breath.
'This kid...'
Joe stood there, hands trembling slightly, but his eyes calm.
Gwang-mu suddenly charged forward, using a grappling technique to try to grab Joe's arm.
Joe didn't dodge.
He grabbed Gwang-mu's wrist and twisted.
Gwang-mu's body lost balance, pulled forward.
Joe raised his knee, driving it toward Gwang-mu's abdomen.
Gwang-mu quickly blocked with his other hand, but the impact still forced him back several steps.
'That power... something's off.'
Gwang-mu steadied himself and charged again.
This time he used more force, a heavy punch straight at Joe's face.
Joe ducked. The fist grazed his hair.
Then he stepped forward, right fist striking Gwang-mu's chest.
Gwang-mu's breath caught. His whole body was knocked backward.
He hit the wall and coughed a few times.
'Shit.'
Joe pulled back his fist and stood in place. "So? Am I capable of the job?"
Gwang-mu looked up at him, rubbing his chest. He coughed once more, then straightened up.
"Not bad." He pushed off the wall. "But that doesn't change anything. I still need a Marine."