Hyunjin didn't know how long he lay there after they left.
Time blurry fast when your body hurt that much.
His head throbbed "Tch." A weak sound slipped through his lips as his fingers dug into the ground, The concrete was rough.
He pushed himself up.
His arms trembled violently, barely able to support his weight, His knees dragged against the filthy ground before finally planting beneath him.
For a moment, the world tilted.
His vision blurred again, darkness creeping.
He clenched his teeth, Forced himself to stay conscious.
One leg straightened.
Then the other, Hyunjin stood.
Barely, He swayed, his body unstable, his breathing uneven, but he was upright.
"Heh." almost disbelieving chuckle escaped him.
In his past life, something like this would have been impossible.
His hand rose slowly to his face, brushing against dried blood near his lips, The pain flared immediate.
"Right." He had nothing, No home, No food, No money.
Hyunjin looked down at himself, Torn clothes.
And a body that looked like it could collapse any second.
His gaze lifted, A thought crossed his mind.
Those guys, They had money.
Hyunjin exhaled slowly "Guess I have no choice."
...
It didn't take long to find them.
They were the kind who walked freely, loudly, arrogantly as if the world belonged to them.
He stepped into another alley, And there they were.
All four of them.
Leaning against the wall, passing around cigarettes, talking.
"Found you." Four heads turned
"Oh?" One of them grinned.
"Well, look who came crawling back."
Another snorted "What, you miss us already?"
"You want revenge or something?" a third added, laughing.
Hyunjin didn't answer immediately, He just walked forward.
"he's got a death wish," another replied.
One stepped forward, The one with the cigarette.
It hung loosely from his lips as he approached, hands in his pockets, expression amused.
He stopped right in front of Hyunjin.
Close, Smoke drifted between them.
"What's up?" he said, tilting his head slightly "You here to beg again?" Hyunjin looked at him.
"No." His voice was calm.
And then He smiled.
The boy frowned "What's-"
Hyunjin moved, His fist shot forward.
And connected.
Thud!
A dull impact.
The boy's head snapped slightly to the side.
Silence followed.
For a second, Nothing happened.
"Huh?" The boy slowly raised his hand to his cheek.
Touched it.
"That's it?" A faint red mark formed where Hyunjin's fist had landed.
Barely a bruise.
The boy blinked, Then looked back at Hyunjin.
And laughed "Are you serious?"
Hyunjin's arm lowered His breathing was already uneven "I'm fucked.." He thought.
His strength is.. Too weak.
A fist slammed into his face.
Thud!
Pain exploded, His vision went white.
The world spun violently as his body was thrown backward, hitting the ground hard.
"Ghk-!"
"Idiot," the boy scoffed, shaking his hand slightly "That's how you punch."
The others stepped forward now "You really came back to get yourself killed?"
"Guess we didn't beat him enough."
"Let's fix that."
Hyunjin tried to move, but his body, Didn't respond.
A kick slammed into his side.
Then another.
And another.
Pain layered over pain until it became entirely numb,
Blows rained down on him from all sides.
Fists, Feet.
Relentless, Hyunjin curled slightly, instinctively protecting what he could.
"Pathetic."
"Stay down this time."
"Waste of space." Their voices together.
His body lay broken against the ground, barely holding together.
"Is he out?"
"Nah, Still breathing."
"Tch, Tougher than he looks."
"Whatever, Let's go-"
Hyunjin moved, His hands pressed against the ground as he forced himself up.
He rose to his knees.
Blood dripped from his nose, mouth, amd cuts across his face.
"You're kidding me."
"Why is he still getting up?"
"Does he not feel pain?"
Hyunjin didn't look at them, His eyes were half-lidded.
Focused inward, Analyzing.
He had no strength, No speed and no experience.
"Right" Images flashed in his mind.
Fights he had read, Movements he had seen, Techniques he had admired.
"If I can't win with power.." His fingers tightened.
"then I'll use whatever I have."
The boys stepped closer again, Confident, Their guard Lowered.
"Stay down already-"
Hyunjin moved, His arm shot forward.
"Huh!" The boy's eyes widened.
"Ah!" Pain hit.
Hyunjin's fist had connected Directly To his groin.
The boy collapsed instantly, choking on a scream.
"YOU-!"
The others froze for half a second.
Hyunjin shifted, Forced his body to move again, Ignoring the pain.
His eyes sharpened, he took a stance.
He remembered, Footwork, Balance and Timing.
From reading and imagining.
He stepped in.
A jab, it landed.
The second boy flinched.
Hyunjin followed, a straight punch
Driving forward with everything he had left.
Thud!
It connected with the boy's ribs.
The boy gasped, Air leaving his lungs as he staggered back "Ghk-!"
Hyunjin didn't stop, Another punch, Then another.
Each one rough, relentless.
The boy dropped.
Struggling to breathe.
"What the hell-?!"
The last two rushed him, Angry now.
Hyunjin turned, His body screamed in protest.
Too slow, a punch clipped his shoulder, Another grazed his jaw.
he endured.
Then he Countered.
Hyunjin slipped barely, His fist shot forward again.
The third boy stumbled.
Hyunjin stepped in, Closed the distance.
Didn't give space.
He kept hitting, over and over.
Until, That one dropped too.
Silence fell.
Hyunjin stood, Barely, His body swayed, His vision blurred.
They were down, All of them.
"I.." He looked at his hands, Shaking, Bloodied "Won?"
In both lives, He had never fought..
Never.
A slow breath filled his lungs "Heh."
Something stirred in his chest "That was.. exciting." A dangerous feeling.
Hyunjin crouched slowly, wincing as pain flared through his body.
He reached into their pockets, one by one "100,000 won." He closed his hand around the money.
He looked at the boys one last time.
"Next time," He muttered quietly "I won't struggle this much."
Hyunjin turned, and walked away.
----
(Three days later)
In the alley.
Only the sound of breathing and low groans filled the air.
Six guys were sprawled across concrete, clutching their ribs, their jaws, their stomachs.
And in the middle of them..
Hyunjin stood.
His clothes were different now, clean, fitted, not the worn-out junk he used to hide in, a simple outfit.
His hair had changed too.
A wolf cut messy in a controlled way, layered and framing his face instead of covering it, It gave him a rough handsomely look.
And his face..
Six strip bandages crossed over bruised skin, Cuts healing, Swelling still there But cleaner.
And smiling, a wide, almost boyish grin.
He crouched down casually, picking up a wallet from one of the fallen guys, flipping it open like he'd done this a hundred times before.
"You guys are richer than the last five I beat," he said, voice almost cheerful "Eight hundred thousand won? Damn.. that's a lot."
He let out a small laugh, stuffing the cash into his pocket without hesitation "Thanks for the donation."
He stood back up, stretching his shoulder slightly and immediately flinched.
"Ah.. damn." His hand moved to his side, There were fresh bruises under his shirt, Maybe worse.
In Three days.
He got a haircut, New clothes, Basic treatment for his injuries.
And a tiny, run-down place he could finally call his own home.
"All that from beating up trash.." he muttered under his breath, a faint chuckle escaping him.
He looked at his hands, Still shaking slightly.
Still weak "I had, what.. twelve thousand won before coming here?" he said quietly.
A pause, Then a grin spread across his face again "Heh.. I'm rich."
But the smile didn't last long, He pressed his fingers harder against his ribs this time and his expression twisted slightly.
Pain.
"Every fight.." he muttered, voice lower now. "I end up like this."
His eyes darkened a little "I'm still too weak."
A brief image flashed in his mind.
A tall figure, Overwhelming presence.
Someone he couldn't even imagine beating right now.
"Good thing I haven't run into someone like Logan Lee.." he said under his breath.
His gaze shifted toward the alley exit "Everyone so far," dismissive scoff "Just bums."
The sky outside was already dim, the orange glow of evening Streetlights flickered on one by one.
Hyunjin rolled his neck, wincing slightly.
"It's already late.."
For a moment, he hesitated "Should I go home?"
"Nah." The grin came back "Let's hit at least one million won today before heading back."
Without another word, he turned and walked out of the alley, hands in his pockets, footsteps steady despite the pain running through his body.
Like it didn't matter.
Behind him, one of the guys slowly pushed himself up, groaning as he spat blood onto the ground.
"That guy," he muttered, voice shaking slightly "He's weaker than us I swear he is.."
Another one leaned against the wall, clutching his side "Yeah his hits weren't even that strong."
A pause.
Their expressions slowly changed "Then how the hell did he beat all of us?"
Silence fell again.
Finally, one of them spoke "Didn't you see his face?"
They all remembered.
Mid-fight, When fists were hitting him.
He was smiling, Not fake but genuine.
"He felt it," the guy said "The pain he definitely felt it."
"But he liked it."
No one said anything after that.
Because they all came to the same conclusion "That guy.."
"is a crazy bastard."