#hnh group

[squishyneet]

I truly could never understand the theory that DG is Charles' second body. I understand that people come up with lookism theories left and right and some of them come true (like Eugene and Yuseong :DD) but what on earth makes y'all actually believe it? Like I'm trying to see it but I just can't??

DG is his own person! He's two ppl actually!?!?

Maybe some ppl think the second body thing is genetic, which I could understand because I have a small theory that Jinyoung may have had one in the past, but why DG?

IF we are going with the idea that the second body can be destroyed or die somehow (because of Big Daniel's death flags), why would any of these ppl still have their second body? especially with their yk . . . JOBS??? Charles or Jinyoung full well could have lost their second bodies or grown out of them or smth idk. Also, are ppl forgetting how the bodies work??? We have seen them in the same place!! And PTJ breaking the rules of his own universe is not as likely as some other explanation.

DG is someone Charles took full advantage of. He was a crazy child, absolutely. But he was a child that was taken advantage of and turned into a cash cow. And now he is seeking freedom.

Some of these second body theories kill me bc I don't understand. And it makes me a little upset that DG has been reduced to being a second body because it takes so much away from his character. We don't know why he knows about second bodies, maybe he has one, maybe he is one. But idk man he's more than just his connection to Charles.

And the ppl who say DG's movin weird, DG's sus, he wants freedom!! He has to be sus! Everybody is sus!

[wannaeatramyeon]

Goo Kim x Reader: Patience

G/N. Fluffy. 4.7k. Another friends to lover with Goo falling first

You're used to Goo's melodrama. You've known him since middle school, survived to tell the tale, hung around post-Juvie and joined him in HNH Group so of course you are used to this guy.

He considers you his best friend, partner in crime. Looks at you with a wicked smile that you return before descending into whatever diabolical plans you have cooked up.

(Goo likes to joke that he's the brawn and you're the brain when he's feeling particularly kind and charitable and you counter with that he's neither.)

And of course this includes witnessing his growth spurt from ankle biter to the somewhat reasonable specimen that he is now. Though you've never looked at him that way, it's a little icky if anything, and you just nod kindly when he tells you how hot he is.

You guess it must be true to some extent. He has a lot of pretty men and women hanging off him. An ever revolving door of beautiful people that you doubt he's winning over with his charming personality.

(Sometimes you take pause and wonder why you get on so well. Maybe it says a lot about your own charming personality but you handwave away any fleeting moments of introspection.)

Objectively, you suppose, he's fine. Like you wouldn't kick him out of bed. Although that's not entirely true. You have shared a bed many times, kicked him out more than you can count when he hogs your duvet and drools on your pillow.

However. It is funny and kind of endearing to watch him wake up bleary eyed. Pillowcase wrinkles pressed into his face, blonde hair a nest, as he pats around for his glasses.

Either way, it doesn't matter. You're childhood friends. You know him better than you know yourself and you think Goo can say the same for you. But he just doesn't give you those gooey fuzzy feelings.

Never has. Never will.

Goo would definitely agree with that too.

.

.

…Except he doesn't.

Well, he doesn't like to think about it, is what it is.

For all his drama and chaotic energy, he stuffs this down and ignores it. Do you know how difficult this is for him? Of course you don't. Goo is loud and boisterous and obnoxious. So to continue to act like everything is normal, to be patient and quiet and not howl and wail about it goes against everything that he stands for.

He can't pinpoint it, ok. Has no idea what changed or when.

Maybe it was when you were kissing that guy with the terrible fashion sense who he thought was fathoms below your league.

(Thank the heavens you came to your senses a week later and ditched him. Even if it took a lot of sly insults and put-downs from Goo to help you along the way.)

Or when you said you thought Gun was pretty handsome and Goo nearly threw up in disgust.

(Goo was particularly vicious to Gun for a short while after that. Hissing at him every time, calling him all sorts of childish names and relishing how the vein in his temple twitched.)

Or it could be the way you took care of him over the years. Waiting for him at an ungodly hour in the morning when he bounced out of juvie and into his first day of freedom. Accompanied him shopping as he spent his first HNH Group paycheck. Bandaged up his many injuries, taking care of age old scars, all the while chuckling at how pathetic he is even with a wetness in your eyes.

Something blossomed for Goo. 

Slowly but surely, blooming from a weak seedling and unfurling, growing into a hardy evergreen that never dies, never wilts. Kept steady and healthy by your sharp tongue and knowing eyes.

Whose roots are deeply embedded into Goo's core. That there's no way of ever untangling or removing.

.

.

So yes, Goo has an ever revolving door of distractions.

And if it's something to test the water now and then, to see if your face drops at seeing a new trophy on Goo's arm, then who can blame him for that working in his favour.

It never happens though. You're polite and courteous when you are greeted with his fling. A face you have likely seen in magazines and on the screen but will eventually forget about after their 15 seconds of fame and Goo.

Does it matter that maybe Goo should be direct and stop toying with everyone's feelings. Sure. But the odds aren't in his favour so why not have some fun. This is also Goo Kim you're talking about.

In all honesty, he's still a bit- a lot of an asshole.

.

.

"Why do I even like you," Goo mutters under his breath when he sees you dripping sauce down your top for the N-th time in so many minutes.

Your current hand eye coordination leaves a lot to be desired, and your table manners are atrocious. Goo sits and sighs, hand resting on his palm, watching you trying to clean yourself up when you're only working the stain into your shirt harder.

"Fuck, this is going stain forever isn't it." You frown at the brown splodge across your chest.

"No shit."

"Damnit."

"Let's go shopping after," Goo says, and what he means is I'll buy you a new shirt because you're an idiot and I'm not walking around with you looking like that.

"Again?!" You pull a face, and what you mean is thanks for taking care of me.

.

.

Goo has a theory. One he doesn't want to test or be proven wrong but he thinks about it all the time nevertheless.

Like right now. When you're rifling through the racks picking out clean clothing and he has time on his hands to think.

His theory is that you like him too.

He can imagine you scoffing when you hear that, rolling your eyes and accusing him of being delusional. Which ok, he admits he is. But he's not that out of touch. Even he knows how it sounds. 

He has realised the way you feel about him from the way you look at him, how you seek him out, the way you brighten seeing his handsome face even if you don't realise it yourself. You're just too stubborn to admit it.

There is no way on earth he can force this, and he is oh so very used to brute forcing his way through things with unscrupulous methods, so he waits for you to come to the realisation on your own and eventually bat your eyelashes at him and announce your own feelings.

Except it's taking a good while, and hasn't he already mentioned he's not the patient kind? You're not doing either of those things, nowhere close.

In fact, you're actually exiting the changing rooms in a new outfit that is far too flattering and spinning around for Goo to observe.

"Looking good, Sweetheart," he tells you, leaning back to take in the view with a cat smile. "You should get it."

And you do. Fishing out the credit card that Goo pays off every month to complete the transaction.

.

.

If Goo is someone that keeps count, and he absolutely is despite playful appearances, then he would know it's been years since the feelings have crept up on him.

And if he were to consider when his theory started, it would probably be around two years ago.

Yes, you do spend some nights together. Usually due to running errands from Charles Choi and it's more convenient, or more often because of Goo hanging around too long and too late in your home then refusing to leave.

But he reckons the turning point might have been two years ago when you were the one that stayed at his penthouse. Goo was riddled with some deadly disease (a cold actually, but it was a pretty bad cold to be fair) and you sort of unwillingly took on the role of caretaker.

How could you not? 

No-one else likes him half as much as you do. He's got more enemies than he knows what to do with who would rob him in his state then kill him without so much as a second glance.

You’re sure even Gun and Crystal and Kouji would finish him off then throw a party about it.

For that week, Goo’s usual quips and sharp edges were nowhere to be seen although he definitely did more than his usual share of moaning and whining.

But he was adorable. Pink cheeked and red nosed, hair in disarray, wallowing in his comfiest sweatpants and hoodie. A million miles away from his suited and booted, meticulously styled persona. Half lucid, curled around you or with his head in your lap looking absolutely weak and pathetic.

It's your fondest memory of Goo Kim.

You saw him at his worst, all soft and squishy and vulnerable and it did something to your heart ever since.

Goo knows this. The way you act around him, how you look at him, hasn't been the same since that week.

There's a softness, affection, that wasn't there before. It's just a shame you're too ignorant to your own feelings and any flirtatious behaviour from Goo is just seen as him being his usual fun self.

So he waits and waits, even as he loses grip of his sanity and falls more for you with each passing day.

.

.

Kindness is often repaid, and your kindness comes full circle in the present day when you're the one that falls ill.

It's a rare thing for something to knock you off your feet as much as this has. It started with a sniffly nose and Goo recoiling in horror when an unexpected sneeze crept up and you sprayed spittle in his car.

A cough also accompanied the snot a few days later. Goo rubbing circles into your back turned into thumping and you shoving him away from you, sputtering and hacking in his direction for good measure.

You continued to work, with Goo's stares growing more concerned and exasperated by the day. Likely making yourself much worse and prolonging any recovery until-

You're bedridden. Switching between hot flush and cold shivers and feeling worse than death.

"You only have yourself to blame," Goo mother hens around you, feeling smug. "I told you so."

In your delirium, you can hardly make out the words but a part of your brain, refined after spending so many years in Goo’s presence feels a surge of annoyance.

A hand reaches out to feel your forehead. "Ew, clammy" and you try to bat it away without success.

You're given pills and medicine over the next couple days. Water and herbal teas carefully tipped down your throat and spoonfed hearty meals in your delirious state. Idle chit chat passes through one ear and out the other. You flutter somewhere between half awake and passed out.

At some point, you become lucid enough to poke the body next to you and ask, "Why aren't you at work?"

Goo, burrito-ed in your duvet after you kicked it off for being too warm, and snoozing happily moments ago, turns and glares at you. Wants to point out that it's currently 4am so please shut the fuck up.

Instead, he looks into your eyes that are sort of looking at him but looking through him; notices the sheen of sweat across your brow and laboured breathing. He decides to be nice, for now. 

Voice groggy, he says "Go back to sleep," and gives you a pat on the head to send you on your way.

There's no work for Goo today at 4am. There's no work for him for the last few days either or for the foreseeable. Concludes it better for you to come to your own realisation that he took the time off so he could look after you.

There is no work, no other priorities for him, when you're like this.

Goo sighs and grumbles as he falls back to sleep. About making less money, about having to put up with Gun complaining when he's back.

Still, as he feels you curling your body around his back, your arm slung across his hips - he guesses he doesn't mind, if he can have this.

.

.

Your fever breaks on a Thursday. Lucky for you, it coincides with your medicine running out. Nonetheless, Goo insists on a supply run.

"But I'm fine," you whine, despite being completely not fine and stumbling out of bed.

Goo mutters something about the 'state of you', pushes you back into bed with one hand and cackles when you fall back with an 'oomph!' and minimal force.

"I'm going out." Goo states with no room for argument. 

Something in you clicks at hearing such a no nonsense, authoritative tone.

The bratty side of you insists on at least joining him. It's been days since you left your home, left your bed. You're going stir crazy. Fresh air will do you good.

Goo rolls his eyes as your reasons spill out in a jumble. Lips quirking, he gives in. "Fine."

You hate to admit this, but Goo is right. You'll never tell him though, lest his ego is inflated further.

But the bright noon sun, the city crowd, and the fluorescent lights of the pharmacy are overwhelming.

Has Goo always walked so quick, been so sure in his strides? Cutting easily through the throngs of people.

You trail him, struggling to keep up.

Goo glances over his shoulder, sees you looking bewildered and falling behind. He slows, stretches his hand out to yours and intertwines your fingers with his.

Leaning into your ear, he murmurs "Stay with me."

Something else inside you clicks at his breath ghosting over your skin and the sight of your hands joined together.

The pharmacy is a labyrinth. Aisles and aisles of medicine and toiletries and whatever else overwhelms your delicate senses.

Only the view of Goo's broad back and your hand in his keeps you steady. He winds this way and that, foot sure in where he's going but pace slowing to match yours.

"Here we are," Goo stops, arriving at the destination, untangling your hands and you slam into him.

"Careful sweetheart," he gives you a quick toothy grin before examining the rows and rows of packaged pills and bottled syrups.

Hands now in pocket, he bends at the waist, getting a closer look. Frown creeping over his face when his brand of choice is nowhere to be seen.

"Shit. C'mon, let's find someone to see if they have it in stock." He tilts his head and signals you to follow.

Or at least you try to. One moment he was in front of you, his bleached hair and tall lean physique within reach.

The next, he turned the corner and so did you. Except he vanishes. Completely into thin air.

Fuck.

If you were feeling like yourself, you would know that this pharmacy is only a block away from your home. You've been here a million times. You can wait for him outside if you have to.

But you don't feel like yourself. You feel like a kid lost in a sea of people. Suffocating between bodies and bright shiny plastic crap. Too small to know where to go or find the exit and your one lifeline, Goo, is nowhere to be seen.

"Shit," you look around, check behind you and down more aisles. "Shit shit shit."

The panic lodges itself into your chest and your stomach sinks. More faceless nobodies get in your way, blocking your view and your path, moving too quick for you to cut a route through.

"Where the fuck is he-"

A hand rests on your hip, stops you moving another step and you feel a chest lightly pressed against your back.

Anyone else and you would have spiralled further, but you already recognise who it is.

"Didn't I tell you to stay with me," Goo growls lowly into your ear.

It cuts through your fever induced haze, your sickness induced panic. It shoots into the pit of your stomach and travels like a lightning bolt straight to your groin.

When you turn your head, milimetres away from Goo's own, see an eyebrow arched, the amusement in his eyes and the smirk on his lips-

Your own desire is reflected in his glasses.

The final piece clicks into place.

.

.

Life moves on.

You get better, and you both return to work. You have a mountain of paperwork to catch up on and Goo has to put up with Gun once more.

However. Goo now knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that his theory is correct. He also knows that the realisation is starting to sink in for you too. 

He's seen the look in your eyes, it's blatant as hell. Somewhere between the pharmacy and the walk home you looked at him like he was a new person. Eyes greedy and roving all over his body (which did wonderful things to his ego, by the way).

That doesn't mean he doesn't like it.

You could hardly keep track of conversation, eyes always dipping to stare at his lips. And sure, Goo knows he has very sexy lips, but with the way you eyeball him... He actually feels-

Exposed.

Objectified.

It's just...

Unusual.

That's not even considering the flirtatious banter that returned full force once you were well enough to appreciate it. You've had years and years and years of it. Never batted an eyelid at Goo's innuendos and indecent words. Except now-

You're kneeling down on the floor, rifling through your bag for your wallet you've either left at home or in Goo's office. Neither of which are appealing options.

Goo continues to ramble, as he does. You're feeling around for the familiar touch of leather, holding eye contact with him as he mentions something about a new manga chapter-

But then a salacious smile spreads over his face as he realises the compromising position you're in. On your knees, at head height with his crotch and staring directly into his eyes. It's really a very intimate scene. Easy for minds to wander.

"Get off your knees, Sweetheart. Seeing you at this angle is killing me."

Goo pours all his dirty thoughts into that sentence, and you jolt like you've been struck. You can feel the heat under your collar spreading to your face and the tips of your ears.

Goo notices too, because he glances at your crimson ears and his grin only stretches further.

You are 100% certain that sentence changed your brain chemistry forever. You’ve thought about what it could mean every night since.

.

.

With each passing day, Goo knows you are also losing grip of your sanity too. He hit that point a long time ago and his chest swells with pride knowing you're following in his footsteps.

But Goo is an eternal little shit. He thinks where's the fun in confessing straight away. Why put an end to this game that has lasted so long. He's having the time of his life and frankly, you're so much fun to mess with.

He couldn't believe he went so long without knowing what a pretty shade you turn when you flush. How much your pupil blows open when you're looking at him and thinking your own obscene thoughts. The way you now flinch at his touch but lean in almost straight away.

And the nights. Oh the delicious nights. He spends more time playing sleepover with you than is healthy.

Even if he deprives himself of his own sleep, it's simply so much fun hearing you tossing and turning into the early hours of the morning. You can’t fall asleep knowing that he is next to you, that you want to touch him and hold him but can't. You're on edge, imagination running wild, but unable to do anything about it.

You're sporting matching bags under your eyes but Goo can't bring himself to mind. He is having the best time.

The revolving door of arm candy also stops. It was never serious in the first place, and now that Goo knows you reciprocate his feelings, even he isn't that mean. There's no-one else he needs as a distraction because there's nothing to distract himself from.

Still, if he name-drops a couple made up people in conversation with you, a few fibs and tall tales to make you jealous, see your nostrils flare and your lips thin then who has to know.

.

.

The first bit of doubt presents itself late that night, when Goo is surprisingly in his own bed and you are miles away.

What if you try to distract your own feelings with other people? Sure you're not the type but what if?

You probably feeling a bit unhinged with all your newfound feelings. Goo is doing nothing to help with his own silly game playing, so what if you develop your own revolving door of nobodies to distract you?

What if one of these nobodies turn into somebody?

Shit.

Goo doesn't sleep a wink.

As dawn breaks, he decides that the early bird gets the worm, or the early Goo gets you (Goo cackles to himself at his wit) and thinks today is as good a day as any.

Before anyone with their grimy mitts swoop in and steal you from right under him.

Maybe he only had himself to blame and he was a touch mean playing around with your feelings, but it's a small price to pay for how you have made him feel for years.

It's settled. You and him. Today. No-one is getting in the way of that.

.

.

The day starts off as normal.

Despite the lack of sleep, the alarm for work rings and Goo leaps out of bed with a bounce in his step. Whistles cheerily as he takes his morning shower, lathering himself in luxurious body washes and styling his hair with expensive products.

He chooses a suit that you picked out with him, knots a tie that he recalls you placing around his neck and selects a cologne that he knows is your favourite - every time he wears it, you drift a touch closer.

He drives fast and like a madman, grinning at everyone that flips him off or honks him and navigates to your block. 

You’re already waiting outside, two drinks in hand and smiling cutely when you see his car even if other drivers are still throwing him dirty looks.

“Morning,” You say, climbing in and handing him his coffee. Triple shot with triple syrup and whipped cream, sweet and sickly just like Goo himself.

“Good morning, Sweetheart.” He beams, reaching over to pat your thigh for thanks and enjoying the way you blush and squirm, taking a sip of your own drink to take your mind off the way your skin sears with his touch.

Goo mimics you, takes a gulp of his sugary concoction and finds it extra delicious on this fine morning and smacks his lips in delight.

“You-” You glance over and giggle.

“What?”

You gesture to your upper lip and Goo flips down his visor, examining his whipped cream moustache.

“Maybe I’m saving it for later.”

“Idiot.”

“You’re the idiot.”

Goo leaves the whipped cream. He doesn’t wipe it off. He doesn’t wipe it off when he smacks your hand away from changing the music, he doesn’t wipe it off as he drives to the office, nor when he parks up and unclips his seatbelt.

“Goo,” you say, exasperated at the state of him.

“Y/N,” he says, mocking and matching your tone.

“Wipe your face.”

“No.”

“You look a mess.”

“So do you.”

“You-” Goddamn. You make a split decision. “Fuck it.”

Goo doesn’t move as he sees your hand coming towards him, doesn’t move when you swipe at his upper lip, cleaning the cream off his face, doesn’t move when you lift your thumb to your mouth.

Doesn’t move, can’t; doesn’t breathe, forgets how to, when you suckle on your thumb and lick all remnants away.

Fuck it indeed. That’s Goo’s plans blown to shit.

Thing is, he had this whole scenario planned out. More flirtation and Goo being Goo and you being you until it comes to a head this evening and he confesses. 

Perhaps after he has pissed you off so much for one reason or another and you tell him to get out of your home and he shuts you up with a kiss; or maybe after he has teased you so much you’re a wreck and he finally takes pity and breaks the tension with a well timed smooch.

But goddamn, what a move. He’s supremely impressed and he really has been uncharacteristically patient for so very long, for so many years and he thinks that he deserves this.

“That was really hot,” he grins and he chuckles at the shock on your face.

“My turn-” Goo, voice dropping to barely a whisper, leans over the centre console and crosses into your space.

If he were more of a romantic, he would have wanted your first kiss to be anywhere other than the HNH Group parking lot where it’s dingy and grey, and the lights are flickering.

But you’re both in a fragile bubble. In the privacy of his car, and too wrapped up in the moment to really care about the when or where or how.

Goo closes the gap and kisses you.

It’s minty and barely a peck, your eyes flutter close and you can feel him smiling through it.

He kisses you. And there’s something so Goo and so right about it that you can’t think about anything else except that it is happening. That something really did click when you were ill, and afterwards you had a newfound clarity and a newfound headache because Goo was all you could think about for weeks and weeks.

When he pulls away, you subconsciously move forward, trying to chase his lips with yours.

“How was that, sweetheart?”

You open your eyes, the reality of kissing Goo sinking in, and let out a squeak, “What was that?”

You slam your mouth shut because that was definitely not the tone you meant.

The damage is already done when uncertainty flickers across Goo’s face and he snaps,  “What do you mean what was that.”

“I meant what was that!” You get the mad urge to giggle. That even though you don’t mind this turn of events at all, the ridiculousness of Goo Kim kissing you makes you unwell. In the best way possible.

“It was-!” Goo’s jaw tenses, he flinches as if he had been punched and he had grossly misread the room. He crosses his arm defensively and backs away.

“No!” You surge forward, grabbing Goo by the tie and yanking him close to you, “I meant-” you bring your voice down a few decibels, “It was good. I liked it.”

“Thought you would, idiot.” Goo pouts, side eyeing you but letting you hold on to him.

“I can’t believe you kissed me.”

“Well you’ve been making it obvious.”

You want to smack him. Instead, you catch his bottom lip still jutting out and you think you would prefer to bite him.

You do just that. Yanking Goo forward as he braces himself for another kiss but you nip, harsh and leaving a mark, on his lip instead.

“Asshole.” He says but he’s grinning and reaching over the console for your hand. Lacing your fingers together and squeezing.

“Sorry,” you say and you don’t really feel sorry at all. You feel like you’re floating. 

You can’t believe how long it’s taken to get here. You can’t believe you’re here at all. But now that it’s happened, you’re surprised it didn’t happen sooner.

“Are we…?”

“I’m all yours, Sweetheart.” Goo smiles, wide and toothy, squeezing your hand to seal the deal.

You yank him by his tie once more, and he follows obediently, across the console and into your space, and kisses you over and over.

[phsmloves]

Y/N: Hey, get me some water.

Elite: I'm Charles Choi, the Chairman of HNH group.

Y/N: Okay Charles Choi, the Chairman of HNH group. Get me some water.

[thefiery-phoenix]

Hi I have been reading all your works and I'be got to say that its really good I mean like wow anyways I would like to request a platonic y'know fix with the oldies of lookism I mean Charles and tom Lee meeting up and Charles bragging about his child (the reader) there new awards , involvement in the business or you can do the geniuses instead of the reader being a genius she's named as the prodigy and is literally so smart like 400 IQ type shit and she literally saves the company's reputation, every genius admits shes smart and kinda like a learning genius where she doesnt have to copy it but masters whatever she wants to learn isnt a copy genius btw but can you like make the personality of the reader a bit like James like reserved nonchalant etc anyways thank you

Hello and thank you for liking my work, it really does mean a lot to have your support❤️

THE PRODIGY

"Long time no see Choi'' spoke a hulking and imposing man that stood tall and towered over the frame of the CEO of the HNH group as Charles glanced up from his newspaper to see none other than Tom Lee, the owner of the White Tiger Job Centre (Baekho HRM), known for being the best in the business to get rid of people in a sneaky and quick manner. "Oh please, you act like we haven't seen each other in years when we just met 2 months ago'' scoffed Charles slightly but a small amused smirk formed on his face. "You look happy...whose life did you screw over, you old crone?" chuckled Tom as he took out his grey bottle from his trench coat pocket and gulped a large sip of his alcohol from it. "Oh come now, you act like I'm a criminal or something...but I didn't screw anyone over yet...for now'' said Charles as he headed over to the table nearby and shuffled a few papers till a picture of you fell out from the stack of papers as Tom's interest piqued up and peered at your picture in an interested manner

"I didn't know you started hiring girls to do your dirty work Choi...props to you for following gender equality and such'' grinned Tom as he stared at the picture. "Ah, that's my newest recruit. One of the prized gems I've had the fortune of stumbling upon. Her name is Y/N L/N'' spoke Charles proudly as the lines around his eyes crinkled slightly out of pride for you. "This is the first time I've ever heard you praise someone other than those brats Gun and Goo...I wonder what makes this one here so special that has you singing her praises'' questioned Tom as he raised a brow in curiosity, awaiting for Charles' explanation. "In a way, she's kind of like James Lee...an exceptionally skilled and talented fighter, I daresay even stronger than Gun and Goo... she has training of the Indian martial arts called Kallaripayyatu along with Krav Maga which makes quite the deadly combination when used in combat. The advantage of her using her skills is that no one can predict what she might do next. She's even more unpredictable than Goo and James because if someone faces them a couple of times they'd be able to read their attack patterns with ease. But it's different for Y/N, you'll never know when she'll whip out a chain or a knife or just fight with her bare hands... that's what makes her quite the enigmatic fighter, she isn't afraid to fight dirty as well''

"She sounds like quite the catch then...'' muttered Tom as he continued to drink his drink and stared at your picture. "She's even won an award for her literary works as a writer, the Lindenberg award and is quite the over achiever if I must admit...a real prodigy of a girl. My daughter took an instant liking to her as do I. She simply cannot stop singing her praises'' replied Charles as Tom had an amused smirk on his face. "Neither can you and the amount of stalking you do makes me look sane'' answered Tom with a cackle. Charles smirked as he replied "That was mere research...her personality is a literal carbon copy of James, completely reserved and shy and nonchalant'' "Ah, so you're dealing with a touch me not of an introvert then eh, good luck getting that one to open up to you'' said Tom as he snickered and gulped down the last sip of his drink before he stuffed his bottle back into his pocket and glanced at Charles

"Doesn't matter though, I'll have to make her open up...what she's achieved to do for my company was more than what any of the Worker's affiliates could do, they're all mere useless inexperienced children in front of her...'' scoffed Charles as he hummed slightly and his gaze left your photo to focus on the view of the night city before him, several feet below him, taking pride in the fact that he'd gotten to a point where people had to look up to HIM. "You better be careful though...a little birdie told me that Steve Hong was looking forward to meeting with Y/N L/N'' said Tom with a slight grin as Charles' posture stiffened and his jaw clenched as he narrowed his eyes. "What did you say?" he asked in a soft voice, his tone laced with malice and hidden fury. 'That old bastard...if he ever thinks he can have Y/N and steal MY prodigy from me, he's got another thing coming...he can't have her..no...I'll make sure of it...' Charles thought to himself as Tom smirked, looking like he'd just read Charle's thoughts. "You look awfully nervous of losing your beloved little prodigy...wouldn't it be a shame if someone were to snatch her up like the little feather that she is for someone else to use?" asked Tom, his cheshire cat like grin evident on his face and his eyes glinted with malicious amusement, enjoying the sight of Charles Choi on the verge of losing his cool and his patience on the line

"Let me enlighten you with a little story...a while ago Eugene tried to recruit Y/N to join the Workers and he somehow thought he could keep it quiet from me but failed. Why else do you think I decided to meet with Jake Kim, the son of Gapryong Kim that night? We both know it wasn't out of sheer pity...Y/N is my ticket to destroy the crews and the Workers and expand my empire'' said Charles as he continued to stare at the city beneath him, just how he liked it, everyone underneath him, serving him. "I sometimes forget you're more unhinged and ruthless than me...I can't say if I'm shocked or proud'' spoke Tom as he trailed off and looked like he was pondering about something. "This is coming from someone who strips his clothes off and challenges his employees to a fight to the death. It's a miracle your so called employees lasted for so long'' replied Charles as he smirked at Tom. "Touche old Choi'' grinned Tom

"I'm planning to make sure she stays close to us...to me...at my residence. Of course, I shall fund for her schooling and such'' said Charles after a few moments of silence. "Doesn't she have parents?'' asked Tom with a quirked brow as his amused smirk grew even wider. It was such a sight to see someone like him be so obsessed about someone like you, and rightfully so, Tom could understand his friend's obsession with you. You were a natural gifted fighter, the sort of fighter people would literally KILL and spill blood to have on their side. "Do you think that concerns me? Her father is a software engineer and her mother is a stay at home housewife...hardly what I call a challenge. Her potential will be wasted if she continues to live with them. I've tried to convince them before to send her to me and they had the guts to refuse me even after offering them a fortune...I am Elite...if it means I have to get rid of her parents and have their blood spilled then so be it. It will also prove as a warning for anyone foolish enough to attempt to lure her to them. Besides, I've already spilled blood before, it's nothing new. What's a bit more going to do?'' answered Charles, his eyes glinting with malice as his smirk widened. Tom was now convinced you really were the prodigy he'd heard so much about from the people around who kept on yapping about you. He was just glad he managed to wring out the information from Charles which saved him tons of amount of research as he mentally decided to pay you a visit some day...even if it meant dealing with Choi's wrath which he could always deal with later. The main goal on Tom's mind now was how to get you on HIS side...

[lookismstuff]

Behind The Names: The Leaders of the 2nd Generation's Five Major Crews

A previous version of these edits appeared on Reddit. My disclaimer, sources, and notes on the names are available in the reply section.

My previous "Behind the Names" Post: The Kings | Cheonliang Family | HNH Group (Gun, Goo, Crystal, the Kojima Brothers, Kouji)

[lookismaddict]

Lookism Chapter 431 Memes/Thoughts I Have:

(SPOILERS !!! I don’t own any of the Lookism panels and the translations. Only the memes that I made.)

Sorry for the late post, I had no idea that I was going to be a bit busy today. 🙏🏽 BUT GOD, THE SUSPENSE WAS KILLING ME FROM THE LAST CHAPTER. LET’S SEE WHO THE NEWEST MEMBER IS… 👀

I FUCKING KNEW IT!!!!!!! 😫😫😫😫

AND LOOK AT HIM, WEARING THE SAME CLOTHES AS TAESOO MA!!!! 😳 I think it was pretty obvious because Daniel Park did say that they’ll meet each other again.

HE’S EVEN WEARING THE SAME COAT AS TAESOO MA!!! And THAT’S the reason why he decided to join? Understandable. Eli Jang will eventually get his wake up call in the future. 😬

I miss this type of interaction between Jay and Daniel. It reminds me of the older Lookism chapters when they used to go to school and Daniel used to be the mediator. I’m just glad that we get to see Jay and Daniel together again, regardless if it’s Daniel in his OG body. 😭💞

OHHHHHH YEAHHHHHH, THE BADASSES ARE IN BUSINESS. ALL IN ONE CREW. 😎✨

ZACK BAHAHAHAHAHAHA. THIS HAD ME LMAAAAOOOOOO WHAT A MOOD.

BRUH. THESE PANELS OF SAMUEL BEING AN INSANE GOOF IS KILLING ME. 💀💀💀 HELP-

I honestly feel bad for him. He's been injected like TWICE so far. Wthhh 😭

OHHHHHH MY GOD. THAT TRANSITION???? HELLO??? IT’S ONE OF OUR FAV BLONDES!!!!! AHHHHHH I’VE BEEN WONDERING WHERE HE’S BEEN ALL THIS TIME. 

PLEEEEASE, THE WAY HE’S WEAK FROM SHOTS BUT NOT WEAK FROM FIGHTING ANYONE.

THE BABY BAND-AID, I- SDHFJSDHFSJDFJSD HE’S SUCH A BABYYYYYYY. AHHHHHHHHHHH I CAN’T. 

BROOOOO LOOK AT THIS FOOL. HE’S ALL GUCCI-ED OUT BRUH LIKE DAYUUUUUUM. His outfit could pay off my rent. (God, simping for this man is like a guilty pleasure. sheesh)

UMMMMM SIR. YOU’RE SAYING ALL OF THIS IN FRONT OF A DOCTOR????? Realistically, he’d call the police. Unless, if he’s affiliated with HNH Group or The Workers, thennnn... that’s probably why? IDK ANYMORE LMAO.

Also, tell me why I thought he was Seongjun Baek from Viral Hit for a second. 😂😂😂😂

Ummm... Are y’all REALLY going to talk about this right now?

WHILE YOU TWO ARE FALLING???????? 😰

Jake Kim, the GOAT. HE’S SUCH A GOOD GUY, AHHHHHHH. WE DON’T DESERVE JAKE. 😭😭😭😭 God, he’s such a kind soul. ❤️

She’s pretty and all, but I still resent her for what she did when she was still with the Workers. 😤

E W. LMAAOOOOOOOO NO.

PTJ really drawing pretty panels out here. 

EWWWWWWW x2 LMFAAAAOOOOOO. GET FUCKED.

THIS IS SUCH A PRETTY SCENE ASDHFKJASDHFHJSDHF. DISNEY PRINCESS, WHO???? (Even though, I wouldn’t consider her as one because... yk... Wow, I really have mixed feelings about this.)

I guess they have their own “happy ending” even though Vivi doesn’t really deserve it imo lol. 

JAMES LEE ALWAYS BE POPPIN WITH STYLE. HE SERVIN!!! 💅🏽

BRUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. PTJ REALLY GIVING US THESE ANGLES MAN. WTFFFFFFFFFFF???? BRO I CAN’T IMAGINE HOW THE JAMES LEE FANS MUST HAVE FREAKED OUT OVER THIS PANEL. HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA IM SOBBIN. 💀💀💀💀💀💀 (like, “Yes sir, let me sit on your lap.”) 

For the James Lee simps: If you were to be there watching, what would you do? 😈

LMFAAAAOOOOOOO HE LOOKS SO FUNNY SITTING THERE, LEANING ONTO THAT LOW ASS CHAIR. WHY IS HE LEANING BACK LIKE THAT? BRUH I’M DEAD. 😭😭😭💀💀💀💀💀 HE LOOKS LIKE HE NEEDS TO TAKE A SHIT DURING THIS MEETING WITH EUGENE, SO HE HAD TO LEAN BACK JUST TO HOLD IT IN HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Ayo Eugene, you better tell him once he does his part of the deal. No games pls, bc you play too much. 😘

[xaiblood]

OMG I LOVED YOUR GUN X READER FICCC!! MAY I REQUEST A PART 2?

Ofc! I made this part for all my readers^^ I hope you guys like it. Part one is here.

His Name [2]

It was been a week after you met him after school, he still not showed himself in the school, your school life still normal tough without him. But your head still thought about him; like "Where is he?" or "Yamazaki still alive, right?" and many questions in your head.

You walked to your school in this rainy day, it was cold, very cold. And that was why you were holding a white umbrella with your right hand. You hummed a song while you listened to your favorite song, your eyes seems very happy in this rainy day.

You stopped at your track, your eyes were widening in surprised; you saw him. Your classmate.

"Yamazaki-kun!" you waved at him, as you waved he turned at you. He wore a black sunglasses, and he didn't wore a school uniform.

You walked toward him, "Why are you---"

"I'll never see you again for now, and you'll never see 'Yamazaki Yuzuru' again." he said, he cuts your unfinished speech. "Go to school, and be a good student there," he turned around and walked away, and you just stood and watched him leave.

■□■□■□■□■□■

You sighed, felt the fresh air of South Korea inside your lungs. You took your smartphone for took a picture of the aesthetic alleyway you just found, but your eyes saw someone that you couldn't recognized and you just turned back and ran toward your car outside the alley.

'God, who the hell is that?!' you tried to calm yourself while drive to your boss' apartement, and turned on the music so that your mind is distracted from the figure in the alley earlier.

But, the next second you felt your smartphone rang and you picked the call. "Hello? What's up, boss?" you talked to your boss---who was your friend in the junior high school---with unformal tone and she didn't mind it after all.

"Are you want to back to the Japan with me, [Name]-chan?" She asked, the woman with style gothic lolita waited your answer. "Hurry up, or I'll go to Japan without you," she hissed.

You nodded, "Yeah, I'll go with you. In ten minutes I'll reach your place, Shimamura."

■□■□■□■□■□■

"Hey, Shimamura." you heard her hummed, "You think that I'm still ... y'know what I'm talking about."

Shimamura Rei, she just nodded. "Yeah, my men told me that he always visited the temple, so just hope that he's there when we at there, too." she spoke after she took a sip of her drink. "Looks like someone really fall for that Yamazaki," she chuckled.

"Yak! I'm just curious, after all he's suddenly no news after all this time. What's wrong with that?" you scoffed.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, well after all, I can go to Japan with you," she took her bottle of alcohol. "By the way, actually you can meet him in the HNH Group, I've seen him with Choi Dongsoo's daughter." she babbled a little drunk.

You widened your eyes, "What?! Why are you didn't telling me earlier?! If you're tell me this, I'll visit that HNH Group, Shimamura Rei!" you gritted, your hand wanted to punch her face but you knew it wasn't avail, and you're also already on her private plane. You lowered your hand, and placed it on your thigh.

You mumbled something under your breath. She just chuckled at your respond.

"Aww, little cat just angwy right now?" she let out a laughed, she laughed like a kid. You just rolled your eyes.

■□■□■□■□■□■

It was raining, you were at the temple. You were in Japan.

You stood there and prayed to God that you still gave a long live and your life was blessed by God, and your friend, stood beside you and prayed to God.

You don't know what she said in her heart, surely the woman was asking God in her prayers.

But, suddenly someone called out Rei, "Miss Rei, I think we must go to the hotel right now, because ... uhh," the guard was biting his lower his lip, and Rei raised an eyebrow.

"What? I told you to don't disturb us while we were praying." She crossed her arms, "you want us to go back at hotel because of the rain?" she asked in stern tone, she frowned.

You turned back as you finished your praying.

And here, you widened your eyes in disbelief.

You saw him, Yamazaki Yuzuru, or known as Park Jonggun. You knew this information from Rei when you were in her private plane. Jonggun was standing there while held a black umbrella in his left hand.

Rei smiled at him, "Ara~ Yamazaki-san." her tone was friendly like usually, but Jonggun just gave her a cold stared behind his sunglasses.

His gaze shifted at you, then he walked but kept his gaze at you.

Until he stopped on the front steps of the temple. "[Name]," he called you, and your heart was beating faster than usually. "Come with me."

Silence.

You just stood, and processed what did he just said. Come with him? What the hell he was talking about? Before you protest, your phone was vibrating. "I think it's your father, [Surname] Kenji." said Jonggun.

Without thinking, you reached into your bag and took out the sophisticated flat object. Then picked up the voice call from your father. "Hello? Yeah, Dad?" you spoke in soft tone.

"Honey, maybe you're meet him, Yamazaki-kun. I know it's sudden but--- sorry ..." he was sobbing, made your mind full of question. Why your dad sound really sad? Did something happen?

Jonggun took steps toward you, and he leaned at your phone, "Yeah, it's me, [Surname] Kenji. Your daughter with her friend," you felt his breath hitting your earlobe.

You heard your father sighed, "Thank you, I hope she doesn't making you in trouble." he said.

"Don't worry, I know she's a good little one." he leaned back, and took off his sunglasses. His irises looked at yours deeply. "She isn't the troublemaker, she's a good girl."

[beardedmrbean]

Aug. 7 (UPI) -- British authorities were gearing up for a wave of riots across England with reports of at least 30 planned for Wednesday night amid fears the offices of law firms that represent immigrants and asylum seekers could be potential targets.

A "standing army" of 6,000 police was mobilized after far-right groups circulated a list of 39 immigration lawyers, charities and groups that provide services to migrants and refugees on social media and 500 prison spaces had been freed up as public prosecutors threatened swingeing justice for those participating in or organizing violent disorder.

"All of us are concerned that a list is being circulated online," Communities Minister Jim McMahon told BBC Radio.

"We at this point don't know if those will transpire to be protests in the way that we've seen in other places. Or whether it's a list that's intended just to cause alarm and distress, or even to provoke.

"But to be clear we are absolutely prepared in terms of our policing response, our prosecutor response and also our court response," said McMahon.

The country's top prosecutor said at least one rioter had been charged with terror offenses and warned his office would consider the same where organized groups were planning "really serious disruption to advance an ideology."

Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson said his officials would deploy every legal means available to put people behind the disorder behind bars and that anti-terrorism laws were being used in one ongoing prosecution.

Police also said they were confident they would be able to maintain control.

The Law Society said it had "serious concerns for the safety and wellbeing" of its members with at least one immigration advice center boarding up its windows and doors in anticipation of trouble.

"A direct assault on our legal profession is a direct assault on our democratic values and we are supporting our members who are being targeted," the society's president, Nick Emmerson, said in a post on X.

He added that he had written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer asking that the threats against the profession be treated with the "utmost seriousness."

The non-profit advocacy group Hope Not Hate warned the list was an aspirational "hit list" that called for action, "up to and including terrorism" against the targets named at 8 p.m. local time, circulated by an anonymous individual who it said was also involved in instigating anti-Muslim violence in Southport and Liverpool over the past week.

"This actor, who has also called for the assassinations of public figures, must be brought to justice and face the full force of the law," HNH said in a news release.

The group said the purpose of the list was to spread fear and uncertainty as it was impossible to predict whether and where attacks might materialize and therefore "any and all services should be on high alert."

HNH said it was also monitoring a number of other far-right demonstrations planned for the days ahead which it said were emerging "more organically" and so may attract larger numbers of protesters.

The developments came after a night of relative calm with police in Liverpool and Durham tamping down tensions with the use of dispersal orders that give them powers to order people to leave the area.

The coroner was due to open inquests Wednesday morning in the Liverpool suburb of Sefton into the killings of Bebe King, 6, Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, in nearby Southport on July 29.

The last of the eight other children and two adults injured in the stabbing spree at a dance studio -- triggering a week of unrest across England and Wales -- were discharged from hospital.

Axel Muganwa Rudakubana,17, of Banks in Lancashire, was charged July 31 with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed weapon.

On Wednesday, the first rioters were also sent to prison with a judge at Liverpool Crown Court sentencing one man to three years for taking part in violent disorder in Southport last week when a mob hijacked a vigil for the slain girls, injuring dozens of police and attacking police vehicles and a mosque.

The man received a concurrent two-month sentence for assaulting a police officer.

Another man was sentenced to 28 months in prison for violent disorder and torching a police vehicle in Liverpool plus two months for perpetrating "malicious communication."

A third man was sent to prison for 18 months plus two months for a "racially aggravated element" of the offense.

The first significant prison sentences follow the jailing of an 18-year-old man sent to prison Tuesday for two months after pleading guilty to criminal damage charges following a riot near Manchester on Sunday.

About 100 among the more than 400 people arrested across the country since rioting erupted a day after the July 29 killings in Southport pleaded not guilty to various charges but, unusually, were refused bail pending trial.

Juveniles, however, continue to be bailed in line with standard policy.

[krys-draws]

✎. Abel | Lookism oc.

updated.

" ᴵ'ᵛᵉ ʷⁱᵗⁿᵉˢˢᵉᵈ ᵃ ˡᵒᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵐᵘʳᵈᵉʳˢ ⁱⁿ ᵐʸ ᵗⁱᵐᵉ, ᵃⁿᵈ ᵃˡˡ ˢⁱˣ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉᵐ ʰᵃᵖᵖᵉⁿᵉᵈ ᵗᵒᵈᵃʸ."

Name: Abel Guadez

Name: Abel Guadez

Gender: Male

Age: N/A

Nationality: Filipino

Height: 177 cm

Birthdate: February 29

Relationships:

Unnamed mother — Alive

Unnamed father — Deceased

Love interest:

N/A

Status: Alive

Affiliation: HNH Group

Fighting style:

Arnis

Capoeira

Krav Maga

Appearance

Abel is a person of average appearance and height, standing 177 cm. He has unruly chocolate brown hair and honey yellow eyes. He has an inverted triangle body shape with dark, lean features. He sports a crucifix tattoo on the right side of his neck, a winged pelvic tattoo, and a dimple when he smiles. He is frequently seen donning sweatpants.

Personality

Abel frequently exhibits a carefree and playful attitude with his students, close friends, and coworkers but unsympathetic and heartless towards those that piss him off. He is also extremely perceptive and analytical, which allows him to express his thoughts more clearly. He is the type to remember subtle nuances and has an insanely good perception of individuals.

Background

Abel was born and raised in the Philippines into a lower middle class family. Due to the problems he causes, his parents used to argue about him. As a result, Abel's parents separated, and he moved in with his father to live in Korea.

But because of his temper—which was the cause of the misfortune he brings to people—his father struggled, frequently fell ill, and nearly lost his job. After a year and a half in Korea, Abel's father sadly passed away, leaving him in an orphanage where he often faced discrimination.

Abel left the orphanage months after residing there, and lived on the streets while looking for food and a place to stay. A few years after, when he was 16 years old, he was arrested for stabbing someone and was placed in juvenile detention.

Contrary to popular opinion, he was content in the detention center where he was sent as he was given a place to sleep and food to eat. Additionally, he won't have to worry about bringing misfortune and hurting the people there.

Sadly, despite everything he did to stay there, someone bailed him out as a fictitious guardian and later hired Abel to work for him.

Trivia

Hasn't finished elementary school.

Some of his clothes are from James.

He continues to send his mother money (anonymously) whenever he is able to.

Teaches at J-high.

Work buddies with Rai-han ( @hakkuto ‘s oc)

Kwon siblings’ ( @amayochew ‘s ocs) ambassador.

Calls Dan-bi and Byung-ho ( @dyfavorable ���s ocs) “his kids”.

Gossip king 🤭👑 jk

[squishyneet]

This panel always stuck out to me. Goo Kim of all people being called stuck up . . . and feeling offended. I feel like Goo really does have a personality and we just don't get to see it. He looks genuinely surprised here.

[wannaeatramyeon]

Gun Park x Reader: Retirement

You've been waiting for this day

"Happy 20th Birthday!"

Gun had mentioned he would retire at this milestone.

When you raise the question, all you get is a noncommittal answer. He still has unfinished plans, and despite the increase in danger and punishment of getting caught, he isn't ready to wrap up this life.

You're under no illusion as to the kind of man he is, but had pinned your hopes on a passing phrase.

.

.

The months and years fly past.

"Happy 21st Birthday!"

"Happy 22nd!"

"It's your 23rd... Happy Birthday Gun."

You've been waiting faithfully for him.

You counted down the years by his side, but there's no end in sight. Truthfully, you could be content if he gave you an actual deadline but it seems the target is forever moving.

The sleepless nights wear you down. Grinds at your patience. Each time Gun is away, you fear your phone buzzing. You worry about someone telling you that he is injured or arrested, or even worse - dead.

This year, the timing is unfortunate but you think this is the best gift you can give him. Releasing the shackles that weigh him down, one less weakness for enemies to target.

You tell him it is over.

His response surprises you, "We have something good. Have patience and wait for me."

You don't give him an answer. You can't even bring yourself to respond to the request for more patience, the only indication of emotion are the narrowing of your eyes and threat of angry tears.

You tell him it's better if you both separate.

.

.

"I'm out," Gun announces.

There's a finality about this conversation. Charles knew this day was coming, each year borrowed time. He tells Gun that it's not easy to wash the blood off his hands, but he seems different today.

Like there's a renewed spark, something which has gradually fizzled out over the last few years with no real successor or foreseeable endgame.

"If it's for Y/N, then you're making a mistake."

Taking a drag of his cigarette, Gun considers this. "Funny. I thought the same about you if you dared to say no."

Charles isn't the young man he once was, didn't hold the power he once did. Maybe in his youth he would have killed Gun to keep him quiet. Perhaps it's old age that has softened him. But the elephant in the room is that rejecting Gun would just cause further headaches.

Instead, he negotiates the terms of Gun's exit.

He doesn't make it easy, and he doesn't make it quick. This agreement needs to benefit Charles Choi as much as Gun Park. Besides, Gun can put in the effort if this is truly what he wants.

.

.

Dismantling everything Gun has built with his own two hands comes easier than he expects.

There's hardly any anger or resentment with this outcome, just acceptance. On the worse days, he carries on his warpath by thinking of you.

He is violent and merciless, destroying all lingering evidence of the crews and any underhanded dealings of HNH Group.

A final death rattle for the Shiro Oni in exchange for a clean slate for Elite.

Isn't it peculiar where life takes you. What was once the mission given to his potential successors is now the lifeline for Gun and a new beginning.

At the end of it, Gun has no legacy. He erases all trace of his empire.

Charles finally lets him go. It's an anticlimax. Dismissed like a normal employee, handing back your credentials to your boss.

But it's done.

.

.

You wake up tangled in bed together. You give him a sleepy smile, and he finds you radiant.

For his 24th birthday, Gun has his closure and he has you.

[lokislytherin]

the angel (jay), the witch (daniel), and the audacity of this bitch (gun)

Lookism (2014-) is a South Korean webtoon written and illustrated by Park Taejoon (PTJ). It revolves around Park Hyung Seok / Daniel Park, who was bullied and “an unattractive loner who wakes up in a different body” which is “tall, handsome, and cooler than ever” (Naver Webtoon) when he transfers to J High. Daniel desires to find the secret behind why he now has two bodies, and in the process of doing so, he gets involved with two key characters: Hong Jae Yeol / Jay Hong, who eventually becomes one of his closest friends; and Park Jong Gun / Gun Park, who is a major antagonist of the series. This essay will explore the extent to which Jay and Gun can be seen as character parallels of each other through investigating their similarities and differences.

First and foremost, Jay and Gun have various similarities. Most of these are explicitly shown throughout the webtoon - for example, they are both smokers, as well as trained fighters, with Jay shown using Systema and Kali Arnis, and Gun with a multitude of martial arts including Aikido, Kyokushin Karate, and Capoeira. They are also both affiliated with wealthy families and corporations, as Jay is the second son of chaebol organisation H Group’s CEO Hong Kyeong Yeong / Steve Hong and younger brother of H Group’s future heir Hong Kitae, while Gun is one of the Ten Geniuses raised by Choi Dongsoo / Charles Choi, who is the CEO of H Group’s competitor HNH Company and the hired bodyguard of Charles Choi’s daughter Crystal Choi. But this is not the extent of their similarities.

Moreover, Jay and Gun are both closely linked with Lookism’s main character, Daniel. However, their relationships with Daniel also mark the biggest difference between them: their treatment of Daniel.

In the first chapter of Daniel’s arrival at J High, Jay is shown to have some kind of interest in him compared to the rest of their class: 

The isolated panel of Jay’s parted lips proceeded by a bust-up panel of Jay (Chapter 4) juxtaposes the grouped reactions of the rest of the class. Although Jay never speaks, he is almost always one of the first individuals to come running to Daniel’s aid whenever he is in trouble in future chapters, eventually solidifying his place in Daniel’s friend circle. Daniel is also one of the only characters in the series capable of perfectly interpreting Jay’s silences. Whatever Jay’s exact interest in Daniel is has never explicitly been stated, but PTJ has implied that Jay is homosexual and harbors a crush on Daniel, claiming "큰형석을 짝사랑(?) 한다” (@/ptj.comics on instagram), which roughly translates to “I have a onesided love(?) for Big Hyung Seok”, referring to Daniel’s second body. Time and time again, Jay has shown himself to be willing to sacrifice anything and everything for Daniel, including himself.

Similar to Jay, Gun shows an interest in Daniel almost immediately after meeting him on his own, yet the way he treats Daniel is wildly different. He constantly fights Daniel or the boys in Daniel’s friend group, causing Daniel no small amount of stress and worry. Yet, after Big Daniel is kidnapped by Park Jinyoung, the original Daniel goes to Gun and asks for Gun to train him into becoming a better fighter so he doesn’t “have to solve his own problems” (Chapter 397), this is what Gun says after beating Daniel up:

In the earlier panel, Jay is drawn in bright lighting as he looks at Daniel, suggesting that Daniel brings light to Jay’s life. However, in this panel (Chapter 397: The Kidnapping of Daniel Park - 4) Gun is shown walking into the darkness while dragging Daniel’s bloodied and unconscious body behind him. This suggests that Gun is willing to destroy Daniel - both in mind and body - for his own goals, and ‘for Daniel’s sake’, providing a contrast to Jay.

In conclusion, Jay and Gun have many similarities regarding their backgrounds, but meeting Daniel brings out the self-destructive side of Jay while bringing out the destructive side of Gun at the same time. Thus, Jay and Gun can be interpreted as character parallels through careful analysis of their probably-toxic relationships with Daniel Park. 

This semi-bullshit essay was not proof-read but is dedicated to @lookismaddict​ all the same for enabling this humble writer.

[razypie]

thoughts on a lookism AU where everyone has chips implanted into their brains and they all live in a medical facility because they’re “special” and are forced to train their bodies to make it to the top fighter list? it’s like everyone is a caged animal, and if they go rabid the chip will shut them down immediately. Charles is probs behind it haha whatcha think? would you read/write anything like this??

hii anon! that is a pretty cool concept you have for a lookism au--the conditions are different, but fighting is still there. it reminds me of the Maze Runner series for some reason lol (with its dystopia-ish vibe and old men forcefully confining children 💀) although im not sure if you want hcs or a oneshot incorporating the au, or just my thoughts on it. would i write anything like this, though? absolutely! in fact, im dropping some of my hcs now 😭😭

What lies outside the Ivory Walls: Lookism AU headcanons

Note: Daniel's POV in most of these.

Sang-a Private Hospital is a medical facility built under the HNH Group to-- you know what? Charles Choi, at this point, could just do whatever he wants without due process as if he's above the law. 🙄

Sooo how would our Lookism characters "get trapped" in the facility? You see, Charles is a shameless mf. He'd do anything to get ahead of others, even at the expense of innocent people. So, he briefed the SPH employees as to what the real function of the facility is--to gather sickly infants (officially declare them dead to not arouse suspicion) and bring them to the secluded basement below the facility, each of them having a separate room.

Then, these kids will be raised and conditioned into thinking they are "special", a fighter, and in need to be subjected into intense training and experiments to obtain results to be reported to Charles Choi for his who-knows-what schemes.

However, little did these SPH workers know that some of these kids really are special and have innate fighting ability (yeah, it's our Gen 2 babies!)

Around ages 17-18, the fruits of their labor will be put to test. Each of their watchers implant chips into their napes to monitor their health--physical, mental, intelligence, and psychological (these are the criteria of making it into the Top Fighters list).

Each fighter gets assigned to another, and they enter a quadrilateral arena caged with wire mesh. They fight until one of them yields, or one of them remains standing to qualify for the next round. This goes on until one victor remains. The chip installed to each fighter transmits points for all of their fights as well as their health status in accordance with the given criteria. Rankings get released afterward, divided into parts: Top Fighters, Average, and Questionable Ones.

The ones in the last category are given 3 more tries to make it into the Average cut. Failure to do so (that or if they go beyond what they were tasked to do) will activate the self-destruct function of the chip... ⚰️⚰️⚰️

This wouldn't be a problem for Big Daniel, of course, since he possesses the copy ability. He always tops the Top Fighters list. Following him are Zack, Vasco, Jay, Vin, Logan, Johan, Jake, Hudson, Samuel, Eli, Warren, Jihan, etc.

This feat, however, isolated Daniel from the group; but he didn't mind. At least he could still sleep at night.

Not until he started having weird dreams of odd places that don't resemble the pearl walls he's seen his whole life, objects he hasn't seen before, and strange human expressions he never thought people could pull, and sensations he is unfamiliar to. But, despite all these things being foreign to him, he found comfort and familiarity in them.

(Big) Daniel wasn't aware that he's been switching between two bodies (Little Daniel) at that point. Although, the dreams of that world became more vivid and coherent that he couldn't brush it off as a dream anymore.

He raised his questions to his watcher, who flinched at them but didn't answer. It didn't stop Daniel, though. He kept on asking, which prompted his watcher to take action (aka violence).

Other Top Fighters saw this and went to Daniel's aid.

That's where their camaraderie formed. And to Daniel's luck, they were also suspicious of the workings inside the basement, which saves him time explaining. Most of them offered a hand in helping Daniel seek the answers he's looking for. Some were skeptical at first but joined afterward (Jake, Samuel, Vin, Jihan, and Hudson), and Logan didn't give a shit at all. 💀

Being a strategic thinker, Daniel had devised a foolproof plan to move out of the basement undiscovered. But he needed the floor layout plan first, and to locate an escape point.

This was no problem to Jay and Johan who could work discreetly; they were able to steal the complete layout of the area as well as its ventilation map.

Vasco, with his spatial ability, was able to comprehend the maps quick and volunteered to scour the entire floor to locate the best escape point. Zack, Eli, and Warren, went with him in order to remain inconspicuous from the watchers.

While the others were busy, Jake, Samuel, Vin, Hudson, and Jihan would go 'patrolling' (eavesdropping) on watchers to gather information that might be helpful for their escape.

Everything was going swiftly. They were also able to maintain their Top Fighter status in all matches so that was no issue. All they had to do now was to follow Daniel's plan to escape.

But then, security became more strict and more watchers were assigned to each fighter. They're pulling the big guns now (as in with capital G kind of Gun, along with the other Gen 1.5 fighters and Gen 1 kings)

Daniel didn't understand. Why out of nowhere? Right after him and the others have already planned their escape? Should they still push through this? Right now, there is at least a watcher in every single corner of the basement already. Do they have to fight the watchers on their pursuit even though it's not part of the plan? But they've worked so hard to get to this point.

"The timing is so suspicious." Daniel murmured.

"I'm sure the chip only detects our health status, though. We were also under the radar the entire time and kept the plan to ourselves."

His eyes widened. "...unless, there's a mole."

aaand that's all my word vomit can offer. my brain just stopped there. 💀💀 i didn't delve much into their survival in that kind of environment, but rather, how to escape from it. jeez, i watch too much attack on titan 🫣🫣

[anonymousbardd]

can i have one for my oc? her name is kim mi young, blonde straight hair with curls at the end, usually styled in a ponytail (like my pfp if u can see it), shes half japanese and half korean, like i want to make her to work under hnh group too besides her family being rich and sometimes goo and gun wondered why she chose to do that. she’s more of like a teasy, playful, mischievous person, likes causing problems here and there since shes good at fighting, always wearing a white and a white ribbon on her hair, her eyes dark brown and her skin is pale white (?) yeah thats mostly it

I am currently in the process of writing it, do you have any specific names to which Gun or any of the characters call her?

[lookismaddict]

Lookism: Rendezvous 🔞 (Ch. VIII) || Gun Park x Fem! Reader ♡

Author’s Note: I just wanna say, you guys are amazing. Like, I have no other words to describe how all of you are so supportive and I find that very sweet. Thank you! 💗 Also, I apologize in advance if some of the information here isn’t quite accurate in this chapter. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if they are correct since there are facts that are still debatable in the Lookism webtoon, but I just kept it just for the sake of the plot. Also, my explanations suck so I’m really sorry if they don’t make sense. I hope you guys find it to your liking somehow! 😭💝

NSFW Warning: Violence and strong language/cursing, and light sexual content (teasing ?) .

Story Summary: You traveled abroad to help support your mother who is sick, back home in Japan. However, once you reached Korea, everything went downhill until you met a stranger who offered you a deal that could benefit you. But who knew that this special encounter would turn your whole life around…

Gun stared into your persistent eyes, understanding that it was time for him to explain everything regarding what he does for a living and what are his plans for you. Knowing that this conversation might take a while, he took off his sunglasses with one of his hands then put it in his pocket while his other hand slipped into his other pocket to take out a cigarette, lighting it while feeling the gentle night breeze brush against his hair. A deep smoke was enough for him to ready himself for a long talk with you that might possibly last you the entire night, sacrificing his sleep in the process.

“Very well, then let’s begin. What do you want to know first?”

“I want to know… what do you even do for HNH Group. How do you even contribute to their business?”

“Well, as Crystal’s bodyguard-”

“Is being a bodyguard REALLY what you do? Or is there more to it?”

Gun felt cornered from your pressing question, realizing that he can’t seem to cover up his own misdoings from you. You were quick witted and attentive enough to suspect what was going on behind the scenes of his “corporate life”. He already got the impression that you had a feeling that there’s more to it, so this time, he won’t hold back on the answers and will just come out to you straight and honest. After this conversation, he just wished that you won’t look at him differently than how you usually did from before.

“Before I became Crystal’s bodyguard, I had a different job position. Goo and I were like business partners. We’d help run a business for the higher-ups. For the rich and powerful. Our jobs were to gather and create crews that would accumulate money for us in order to help support that business. It became the main source to making money for them. In a way, we were just following orders from Charles Choi, Crystal’s father.”

“Is that also how you got a lot of money?”

“Yes, that’s precisely it.”

“Oh, and I noticed that Kouji is still a minor and he’s working for HNH Group. Are there anymore underaged kids who are possibly… connected as well?”

“Well, yes, there are. The leaders of the four major crews are controlled by teenagers, and all of them were chosen according to how well they led and how powerful they are to control a certain area of Korea. It’s essential for them to become as strong as they should, since it’ll help maintain control to continue bringing money to the plate. It’s like a ‘check and balance’ system within each gang. But, it all was up to me and Goo to enforce them to do what they’re supposed to be doing.”

“Oh, I see. But what happens if a crew leader can’t do their job properly? I remembered you mentioned the crew leaders’ flaws as well when you explained to me about them, from that one time. But the one crew leader that I remembered vividly the most was Jake Kim, because of how you mentioned that he didn’t do what he was supposed to do, which is why he got locked up behind bars…”

“When a crew is weakened from the inside, it’ll only just bring us down. The main cause for that is due to their leader. They must be cut off in order for us to continue operations without being suspected by the police. That is why, I prefer doing things the legal way. In Jake’s case, he was running an illegal gambling business behind my back, when I specifically told him to earn money through the legal way. However, that moron didn’t listen, which then led to him being brought to juvie. We had no choice but to lay low thanks to him. When he returned to the outside world, he was already dead to me.”

“Ah, so that’s how he ended up in juvie. Um, I was wondering. How much money did you have to collect from each of these gangs?”

“About a hundred thousand dollars per month.” (127 million won)

You stared at him then blinked a couple of times, unable to process the huge number in your head.

A small laugh came out from you, as you asked him, “I’m sorry, can you repeat that one more time…?”

“I’ll say it slower this time.”

Gun leaned in closer to you then slowly whispered into your ear, making sure that he pronounces every syllable carefully to the last word. “A… hun-dred… thou-sand… dol-lars… per… month…”

Once he leaned back to straighten his posture, he snickered at your priceless expression from his words. He loved seeing your reactions every time he surprises you, which always gets a good kick out of him.

You remained frozen in place, speechless for only a minute from the big amount of money that Gun had to collect.

“A-a… h-h-hundred… th-th-thousand… d-dollars… p-per… m-m-m-month…?”

While stumbling on your words, Gun crossed his arms with a playful grin forming on his lips.

“Yes, that’s correct. Do you want me to convert that into Japanese yen for you?”

Your head slowly nodded as you cannot resist this profound information that he has yet to give you.

“In Japanese yen, that would be about thirteen million yen. Actually, that’s my individual collection. If you were to combine the amount of money that Goo and I get per year, that would be about five million dollars worth in profit.” (about 6.4 trillion won)

“Gun… WHAT THE FUCK?! THAT MUCH?! DUDE, DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY I COULD SPEND WITH THAT?! THAT CAN LAST ME AND MY MOM AN ENTIRE LIFETIME OF SUSHI, RAMEN, TEMPURA, KARAAGE… YOU NAME IT! I COULD EVEN PAY FOR WAGYU STEAK!!! Oh my god, that could even help pay fully for my mom’s hospital bills too… We’d even be eating so good!”

Gun chuckled at your adorable reactions, replying with, “What the hell, you immediately thought of food when you heard about how much I earned? (Y/N), you’re such a strange person. Are you a piglet in disguise? Usually, people would think of buying a huge house, such as this, or even luxury sports cars. It makes me think that you’re not even human.”

Gun’s words made you scoff to the side. “A piglet?! Why? What’s so wrong about dreaming a little? I’ve never had wagyu steak in my life, and I’ve always wanted to try it… Okay, but that’s besides the point! How the hell did you even manage to gather that much money from each crew?! Wouldn’t they have retaliated if you had to force them to gather money for you and Goo?”

Gun took his cigarette in between his fingers, releasing another blow of smoke from his mouth. He looked into your eyes wickedly saying, “Don’t underestimate me. Of course, I had to enforce my own power to gather all of them under my control.”

“Did Goo have to do that too?”

“Yeah, he still does it till this day, even as Charles Choi’s bodyguard. I used to accompany him frequently just to make things run smoother and quicker. You should’ve seen the look of terror on their faces whenever we’d pummel all of them to the ground.”

The thought of Gun and Goo beating up gang members left a nasty pit in your stomach. Picturing all of that gory bloodshed caused by only one or two people made you shiver, but thankfully, you’re on Gun’s side. His strength made you view him as a force to be reckoned with, in your eyes. Even at that night when you witnessed him beat up those thugs from that shady bar the first time when you two met, you never once doubt his strength.

“So, back to the whole ‘minors working’ system, why does Charles Choi only insist on using teens as a source for money making?”

“It’s because they have a shorter sentence.”

“What? How?”

“When minors get caught, they get a shorter sentence and their punishment isn’t too severe than those who are ‘of age’. That is why, when Jake was imprisoned, he got out quicker. That’s just how the law goes.”

“So you’re saying, that once they get out again, then there’s a possibility that they’ll be able to continue working for you as soon as possible?”

“Correct. We have no choice but to abide to the law. And at the same time, we use it to our advantage.”

“Huh… I don’t want to admit it, but that’s actually pretty smart. Yet, insane. But you know what I want to know? Who are the higher-ups? I assume that Charles Choi has some accomplices and people that he trusts within his own circle. And how do they fit in with this whole scheme?”

“Aren’t you a little nosy detective today? If that’s the case, then I’ll start with the important people. Charles Choi created a group called the ‘Ten Geniuses’. Each of them play an important role in maintaining this whole business scheme. You were just with the five of them today at HNH Group headquarters.”

I was with them? But the only people that I was with at that time were…

“Wait, don’t tell me… YOU’RE ONE OF THEM?!”

Gun gave a sly smirk, then stated, “Why are you so surprised? I’m the one who’s been training you after all.”

In a playful way, you decided to tease him as you asked him, “‘Genius’? Where? In being strict? Self-centered? Annoying?” You couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of Gun being called a “Genius”, which seemed kind of corny to you.

Gun’s judgmental poker face made you burst out in laughter even more, holding your stomach as you couldn’t control it. While he was watching your little laugh trip, the thought of Goo joining in on your joke made him irritated even more. And because of how his reaction was irreplaceably hilarious by standing there in silence until your laughs died down, you wiped a tear of joy from your eye while exhaling deeply.

“Are you done?”

“Yeah… Okay. In all honesty, it makes sense though. When you were training me, you did give helpful tips and proper fighting knowledge on how to position myself, how to attack effectively, and all of that. I’m guessing it’s due to your martial arts expertise. That’s actually pretty impressive, not gonna lie…”

“Yeah? Wouldn’t you agree that I’m also a genius in bed too?”

“W-what?”

The colorful expression of red tint on your face from Gun’s unexpected comment made himself snicker in pride, as a way of getting even with you for making fun of him for being called a “Genius”. To change the subject, you cleared your throat before uttering a, “Anyways… why are the rest called Geniuses?”

“Crystal is called the ‘Business Genius’ since Charles Choi uses her looks to his advantage to help settle with business partners. Kouji is called the ‘Hacker Genius’ because of how well he’s good in hacking. Goo is known as the ‘Weapon Genius’ because he can wield any weapon perfectly. Especially if that weapon is a sword.”

“Ohhh, that explains the sword he was carrying that other night… And what about DG? I’m surprised that an actual K-pop idol is also one of the Geniuses too.”

“DG? Well, he’s a special case. He is actually known as “The Genius” among us ten.”

“‘The Genius’? Wait, that actually sounds pretty cool! Why is he called that though?”

Gun suddenly felt annoyed at how impressed you were from hearing DG’s title right away as he decided to hold onto the information about him from you for now. “That, I won’t say.”

“What? Why not?! Didn’t I say that I want you to tell me EVERYTHING about HNH Group?!”

“Yeah, but it’ll take forever for me to tell you everything about him, so I’ll save that story for another day.”

“Hmph, whatever. Then, what about the other Geniuses? You said there are ten of you guys, so what about the other five?”

“The rest of the Geniuses don’t usually meet at the HNH Group building, so I rarely ever see them. However, there is a man who specializes in fighting and his name is Tom Lee. He’s known to be a part of Gapryong Kim’s gang back in the day, as he himself is a Zero Generation fighter.”

“Gapryong Kim? Didn’t you point out that he’s Jake’s dad?”

“That’s right. Tom Lee was also a mentor to me and Goo. He actually was the one who raised us to become the strong fighters that we are today.”

“Wow, he must be really strong if he was the one who trained you and Goo.”

“Yes, but now he runs his own bodyguard job agency called White Tiger Job Centre. Those who come from that organization are trained by him and are eventually hired by the richest millionaires.”

Hm… I’m guessing that explains Gun and Goo’s positions as bodyguards for Charles and Crystal.

“What about the other four?”

“Just like Tom Lee, there’s another Genius who’s from the Zero Generation as well. His name is Jinyoung Park. That man holds medical prowess, like an actual genius. However, there are rumors that he’s gone insane, like a mad scientist.”

Just hearing him say “mad” and “scientist” in one sentence made you question Charles Choi’s antics.

“Why did Charles Choi keep him as a Genius, if he’s not mentally stable?”

“Not sure. That’s just what I’ve been hearing around HNH Group.”

“Okay… please, continue on with the last three.”

“Alright. Another Genius that I haven’t mentioned yet is actually one of the four leaders of the major crews. I dare you to take a guess at which crew he’s from.”

“Ummmm… I don’t know, God Dog?”

“Never in a million years, no. Try again.”

“Uhhhh… geez Gun, I have no clue. Just tell me already! The suspense is killing me…”

“Fine. He’s the leader of Workers, and his name is Eugene. Among the Workers, they call him CEO or Chairman. His intelligence is uncanny, being able to control and manipulate people in every way, earning him the rightful title of being one of the Ten Geniuses.”

“Man, he sounds like a total douche.”

“It’s just how he operates. If he finds that method successful for himself, then it’s still a win-win on his part. Remember Sinu Han, the previous leader of Big Deal that I’ve mentioned to you before?”

“Yeah?”

“Eugene was the one responsible for buying off Sinu Han. That’s how he got stuck with the Workers for a long time until Jake decided to take him back.”

“What?! So that guy paid for Sinu Han? That’s just crazy! Why did he want Sinu so badly?”

“Actually, it wasn’t Eugene who forced him to do it. Sinu Han was the one who offered himself for a great amount of cash.“

“Really? But… why did Sinu Han want that huge amount of money, and what for?”

Gun remained quiet for a long minute which made you uneasy. It was like he was caught in a trance. Lost in thought, as if he was hesitant to even say a word to you. To break the silence, you questioned him in a concerned tone.

“Gun? Are you okay?”

“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?”

“It’s because you’ve been quiet for a minute there. Is there something wrong?”

“No.”

“Okay… can you tell me why then?”

Gun paused for a bit until he finally said, “It was because of me.”

At that moment, a cold breeze blew by, which resulted in a spine-chilling shiver. Now you were the one who couldn’t utter a single word.

“What…? But… why-”

“It was because I told Big Deal that they needed to give me a hundred million won (86,000 U.S. dollars) by the end of the month. They did manage to get the money for the first month thanks to Samuel Seo, but they somehow couldn’t keep it up. I offered Sinu Han a chance to get the money that would save his crew, by speaking with Eugene to negotiate a deal. In the end, he ended up getting about 1.2 billion won (860,000 U.S. dollars) by selling himself, which would give Big Deal about ten months worth of full payment for us. Eventually, Jake became Big Deal’s leader and because he’s Gapryong Kim’s son, I offered Jake an opportunity to work to become my successor at that time. He had to prove his worth to me somehow, by continuing to pay me a hundred million won per month. If he does manage to continue to pay me that much, then it’ll prove that he can be my successor.” A small snicker was uttered by him, as he continued with his explanation. “Jake really is a fool. He could’ve gotten the money to buy back Sinu Han for five billion won (4.3 million U.S. dollars), but no. If only he didn’t get involved in that illegal number racketing operation, then he would have become my successor.”

“That’s just… cruel…”

“It had to be done. It is needed to create the four major crews and get the money needed to fuel Charles Choi’s business. And besides, I needed to find a successor, since I’m getting older.”

“So it was because of you, that Sinu Han had to sell himself? You basically just FORCED them to become a part of the four major crews. Also, you’re really spouting a lot of bull here! From what I got, it really WAS you who led Jake to get himself behind bars! And you said that it wasn’t even your fault?”

“I was just following protocol.”

“But then you didn’t even think about how the members of Big Deal were struggling to keep themselves together? How they had to suffer because of YOUR OWN selfish plans?! That’s very hypocritical of you. Demanding a hundred million won for you, and then suggesting Sinu to sell himself for the sake of your own demands for money?! Jake had to endure hardships, just to earn your damn money! You told him to earn it the legal way, but that’s fucking impossible! How the hell were they supposed to earn that money the legal way in just one month?! No wonder the poor kid had to resort to illegal ways. And on top of that, he had to earn MORE just to get Sinu back as well?! Don’t you feel any remorse from what you’ve done?”

Gun’s hand reached over his own eyes, heaving a bothered sigh while thinking of what a pain it was to deal with your judgement towards his past actions. “Oh, so now you feel sorry for them? Ha, it’s almost laughable at how you could be so easily swayed by their story. So, listen closely… In this world, those who have money and hold power are the ones that rule above everyone else. Above ALL. This isn’t some fair game, where they can just do whatever they want just to make themselves happy. They don’t live in some kind of happy fantasy world either, where they can live in harmony all the time. This is reality. And at times like these, it’s just how reality goes. The strong will remain at the top, while the weak will remain at the bottom. It’s just that simple.”

The night breeze was all you heard in your ears that time. All you felt was the numbing feeling from the cold, enveloping you in the night. You couldn’t help but feel sorry for what the Big Deal members had to go through just because of this whole crazy situation. It was hard to believe that because of those in power, there are people who’ve fallen victim to such a cruel reality. All of this made you think of the possibilities of how these crews were formed and were forced into something that they didn’t choose to be a part of.

“B-but… how could you be so… heartless?”

A slight tear ran down the side of your eye, which made you sniffle while trying to wipe your eyes with the back of your sleeve. Gun couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of shame, just by seeing your broken expression like that. It pains him that, for the first time, he felt regret for ever telling you anything about himself. From the start, he was worried that you might think lowly of him for all of the things he had done in his past. And this definitely proves his own point.

While continuing to wipe your own eyes, you said in between soft whimpers, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to tear up in front of you like this. God, how embarrassing… why can’t I keep it together today…”

Gun suddenly dropped his cigarette on the ground before he took your arm away from your face, as his hands began to cup your cheeks. While staring deeply into your teary eyes, he gently wiped the tears away from your eyes with his thumbs, hoping to help relieve that pained look on your face.

“I’m sorry, that I made you cry. I don’t blame you if you think of me more, as a monster now. I just don’t want to see you like this because of me…”

Those soft words that came out of his own mouth made your heart thump wildly, which made you conflicted about how you view Gun.

Gun admitted that he had done terrible things back then and he’s surely feared by many. And despite all of that, how can he still be this kind towards me? Is this all just a façade? My feelings for this man are still strong, even though he can be cruel at times. Why do I still feel drawn to him? Like a piece of metal attracted to a magnet. Have I gone insane? What the hell is wrong with me? To fall for a man who had eyes only for money and power… Is it really worth it if I pursue confessing my feelings towards him?

“I-it’s okay. I know that whatever you did was all in the past. I don’t think of you as a monster.”

“Then, what do you think of me?”

“I think of you as…”

Currently, as your words got caught in the back of your throat, the eye contact that you two had on each other didn’t waver one bit as both of your faces started to pull closer to each other. The tension between you two, with yours and Gun’s lips hovering to close the distance between one another, was beginning to build up to something major.

Is this really happening right now? No… I can’t let myself be sucked in so eagerly. This isn’t how I want to confess to him. Not like this…

As both of your lips barely touched, you immediately felt the urge to push him away. When your hands reached over to feel his chest, you then shoved him away from you, which resulted in him to release you from his grasp. The two of you propelled backwards from your forced separation from him, leaving Gun to be taken aback from your unanticipated action.

Quickly, you yawned, pretending to be tired from all of the events that happened today. Casually, you said in a sluggish mood, “Sorry, I’m getting pretty tired. Is it okay if we continue this talk later? I think we should both get some sleep since we still have to get up early for training later.”

Gun cleared his throat before brushing off his suit, reluctantly nodding in agreement. “Right, I agree. We should both get some rest.”

The two of you began walking back into the house without saying a word. After Gun let you walk in first, he then followed, closing and locking the sliding doors behind him. While walking side by side, you eventually made it in front of the door to your room. You looked back at him saying, “I’m apologizing to you in advance if I don’t wake up in time. I usually put an alarm on my phone and since I can’t use it, I might not be able to wake up in time.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to come by to your door later and I’ll try to wake you up.”

“Okay, thanks. I appreciate it!”

The two of you stared at each other for only a few seconds in awkward silence until you said, “Well… goodnight!” before quickly entering your room and shutting the door behind you. Gun was about to reply back with a “goodnight” as well, but didn’t get to since you already went inside your room. He let out a huff, walking towards his room to get the sleep that he rightfully needed from such an exhausting day.

. . .

Once the clock strikes six, a few loud knocks made themselves known from behind your door.

“(Y/N), wake up! It’s time to get up!”

From within your room, there was no response. Gun, who had his tinted Ray Bans sunglasses and was dressed already in his trainer outfit with his expensive dark grey Columbia sportswear, matching black striped jogger pants on the side, and white laced sneakers continued to bang on the door for you to wake up.

“I’m counting down from three! By the time I reach ‘one’, you better be awake or else I’m barging in there… THREE!”

No response.

“TWO!”

Still no response.

“ONE!”

Dead silence.

Gun didn’t know if you were still awake or if you actually died in your sleep. With a tight grip on the door knob, Gun muttered, “Fuck it.” before turning the knob and kicking the door wide open. He stormed towards you with a huge scowl on his face. His eyes stared down at your careless sleeping face, with a tad of drool dripping down the side of your mouth. He swiftly snatched his own sunglasses from his eyes, as his dark menacing eyes bored down onto you.

“Hey… WAKE UP!!!”

His hands went for your comfy blanket, as he ripped it off of your lifeless body. Your body reacted to his abruptness, as your face scrunched up during your sleep, making you groan and curl up into a fetal position on your bed. A vein started to pop on the side of Gun’s temple, as he grabbed onto your shoulder with one of his strong hands then started shaking you in a very violent manner.

“ARE YOU DEAF?! I SAID WAKE THE FUCK UP ALREADY!!!”

Unconsciously, your hand smacked the back of his hand, resulting in a bit of a red mark to form on his hand from how hard you hit him back while sleeping. Gun drew his hand back to look at his own hand, sneering from your unexpected attack.

“Even while sleeping, you can still hit nicely. Fine. I’ll give you that much of a compliment, since you somewhat earned it. I can’t believe I have to resort to this method…”

Gun turned on his heel then left the room for only a little while. Five minutes later, he returned to your room with a plastic refillable spray bottle as he stopped right in front of your bed, now aiming the spray bottle onto your face. His finger on the spray bottle’s fluid pump was steady and ready to be pulled back, like he was ready to pull the trigger on a gun. Mercilessly with excessive squirts, you woke up from the uncomfortable feeling of water being sprayed onto your face. Briskly, your eyes shot open as you jolted up from the bed. Once Gun saw that you were awake, he pulled back his spray bottle away from you, still looking down at you with such malice. You were still breathing heavy from the sudden wake up, as your eye suddenly realized from your peripheral vision that Gun was looming over you. Slowly, you turned your head towards him with your face still dripping in water. As you looked up at him, your blank expression remained stunned until you greeted him with a small smile and wave as if nothing happened, saying, “Good morning, Gun! How are you? Did you have breakfast yet?”

Gun’s grasp on the spray bottle tightened, glaring at you with eyes that could kill. “No, I didn’t. I was occupied by a sleeping kitten who needed a wake up call. I had to bring this with me just to do the job effectively.” He held out the spray bottle in his hand to show you the actual struggle of waking you up. “I might as well carry THIS whenever I have to wake you up again.”

Guilty, you whistled casually while averting your eyes from his. “S-sorry, I must’ve been a pain to wake up…”

“And you just realized that now? Go get ready and changed already. Then, meet me downstairs in ten minutes.”

Gun carried his spray bottle out the door with him, before slamming it behind him. Relieved from how he finally left the room, you collapsed back onto the bed while wiping your dry hands onto your wet face, trying to get rid of the water that Gun had sprayed.

Good job (Y/N), you really outdid yourself this time. I better find a new phone fast, or else I’ll have to experience that every morning! Ughhh…

Your hand reached over to a nearby pillow, pressing it onto your face while letting out a stress-relieving scream into it before you forced yourself up to go get ready for another long day ahead of you.

. . .

Once you were dressed in your usual sportswear with your black fitness cropped top, and light sportswear shorts, you met Gun downstairs at the usual spot where you sat at the dining table across from him. On the table, you grabbed an apple from a huge plate full of other various fruits as you started to munch into it. Gun was scrolling through his phone, reading through whatever was on his phone screen. While going through the text messages that he missed, he caught Goo’s message from last night:

“I’ll cover for you in any way I can while I’m still here. Don’t get it mixed up. This is for dropping me off that one night. 🤧 You better remember to pay me back, you pervert!! 🙄”

Gun’s teeth clenched as he breathed in through his nose with a strong inhale. Annoyed by Goo’s text, he left Goo on read, slamming his phone onto the surface of the table. Startled by Gun’s obvious irritation, your eyes looked at him with a hint of concern as you asked him, “Are you alright?”

Gun replied with a dry response claiming, “I’m fine.”

“Okay…” While cautiously observing him, you resumed your apple-eating until he said, “After training for today, we’ll eat first. And then, I have to go out and pick something up. While you’re waiting, get ready while I’m out. I’ll pick you up at around four.”

The words “pick you up” made you confused, which made you raise an eyebrow at him. “For…?”

“For grocery shopping.”

“But I thought I already did that yesterday? Why do we still have to go today?”

“It’s because SOMEONE wasn’t careful with the eggs yesterday. It got all over the rest of the stuff in the bag.”

“Oh…”

Crap. I forgot to check the bag if the eggs were okay! They must’ve been crushed from when I was chasing after that douchebag with the hoodie. URGH, why am I so DUMB?!

“I’m so sorry! I should’ve been more careful. The carton of eggs must’ve been cracked from when I was chasing after the guy who stole my phone…”

“It’s fine, you don’t need to explain any further. After we buy the eggs, we’re getting you a new phone.”

“What? But-”

“You can’t refuse. I’m buying it for you whether you like it or not. It’s essential that you carry a phone with you at all times. It’s basically common sense.”

“Ca-”

“And no, you cannot pay me back. I thought we already discussed this before? Just be grateful and accept whatever I give you.”

“Oh, no. I was just going to ask if I can go to a money transfer place right after so I can send money back home in Japan…”

Gun’s dead eyes seeped into your confused ones as he said in a dull tone, “Yes. You can.” He grabbed a banana from the platter of fruit in front of him, and started to peel it.

“Uh… Gun?”

“Hm?”

“Since we’re most likely going to just do another one of those ‘fights’ again for today, are there any other fighting styles that you’d like to teach me? Since, you’ve basically already taught me everything that I needed to know for Kyokushin Karate.”

“That’s a surprise. You’re finally eager to know more, huh?”

“I’m just curious because there are so many types of martial arts out there. I’m an amateur, compared to you so I’m still unfamiliar with everything. You’re literally… the ‘Training Genius’ after all. You’re strong and you’ve got what it takes to defeat a whole group of gangsters. It just amazes me how powerful you really are…”

Gun’s mouth curved to a narcissistic grin from hearing your praise. His ego had somewhat grew, just by hearing you compliment him over his great fighting prowess. He could just sit here, listening to you praise him for hours while admiring you from across the table. After finishing his banana, he got up from his seat to throw it away in the trash. While you were still sitting at the table, you didn’t notice how he walked up to you from behind. Your eyes widened when he suddenly reached around your body to raise your face up towards him by lifting your chin with his right hand. Both of your eyes met, as he looked down onto yours with an earnest look in his eyes while you looked up into his, upside down with pure shock.

“You too, will become a legend one day. It’ll take time for you to polish your own skills, but don’t worry. I’ll be the one to guide you every step of the way, my sweet little warrior…”

Gun’s left hand then trailed over the top of your head, as his fingers combed through your hair tenderly. He did this in such a slow and sensual fashion, that you felt your face burning and your heart pounding rapidly. Your eyes couldn’t help but still be glued to his, as he touched you ever so gently. When his fingers reached the tips of your long locks, he held onto them while still making eye contact with you, bringing them to touch his lips like he was pressing your tuft of silky strands for a kiss. Carefully, he let go of your hair as he took a few steps back away from your chair, leaving you to stare up at the ceiling in bafflement.

While making his way towards the backyard, he put his sunglasses on again then turned his head around to look at you as he instructed, “Next week, I’ll finally teach you Aikido so don’t slack off and prepare yourself. After you’re done eating there, make sure there’s no trash left behind then come out right away. We’ll begin shortly, so I’ll be waiting for you outside.”

As he left you sitting there in confusion, your mind still had a hard time trying to process what was going on.

What was that just now…?

. . .

The sky outside was already bright and sunny. On the grass, strong fists and swishes of fast kicks slicing through the air could be heard from outside of the backyard.

The mock fight between you and Gun had already commenced. Both of you have been going at it for quite a while now, as you kept at it with the usual speed and the fast takes of punches, kicks, and dodges. Gun was still amazed at how much you’ve improved in about a month’s time. However, he knew that since you’re barely learning, you still needed time to hone your actual skills.

A quick attack came prowling towards Gun as you jumped and spun around in the air to aim for the side of his head with a gruesome kick with your left leg, hoping to knock him out right away in one blow. However, as his eyes can’t see you from where he was facing, he still used his other senses to feel the swift air currents from your movements that were directed towards him. With a sharp turn around, he caught your foot with his calloused palm, grabbing onto the front of your foot then pulling you down onto the ground to restrict you from ever getting back up again. As your body hit the grass, you rolled in the ground away from Gun, until you pushed one of your hands to force yourself to get back up on your feet again.

Now, you were standing a few feet away in front of Gun with your fists parallel to your shoulders. Your feet were about a feet apart while your knees were bent a little. The eyes that you gave him were concentrated with focus, while you cautiously circled around him. As you continue to move around him, his gaze follows you with close intent, shifting his body with a few close steps in between.

So, I can’t attack him directly like I used to. I’ve figured that out from last time. The only thing I could think of is to trick him, but how…?

While pondering to yourself about what your next move should be, a wicked grin started to form on Gun’s face as he exclaimed, “Are you giving up already, (Y/N)?! I’m guessing my little student is running out of options!”

You rolled your eyes at his snarky taunts as you yelled back at him, “Keep dreaming, Gun! I’m only just warming up over here!”

“If you’re just going to continue warming up, then I’ll bite!!!”

Gun sprinted towards you with a crazy look in his eyes, feeling the rush of the moment from his own adrenaline high. While watching him closely, he shifted left and right while running towards you, but he didn’t do this consecutively. He’d switch his pattern to catch you off guard and when he does, he’d go in for the strike. Once he went for a side jab to the left side of your stomach using his right hand, your hands immediately went for a cross block with both of your arms. However, for a split second, you weren’t aware of his change in position as he caught you off guard when he spun his body around to your left side until he was behind you. He placed his left hand on your right shoulder, pressing it down for you to kneel before him while trying to catch you off guard from your blind spot. But with the weight of his hand pressing down onto you, you decided to go for a round house kick to his face as you swung your left leg around the opposite way of where his hand was positioned, expecting your left foot to meet the side of his face. As he jumped a step back, that’s when you decided to come in for the kill. Without thinking, you rolled onto your left side as if you were going for a summersault, as your hands met with the ground to support your whole entire body. From that point, you pushed your entire weight onto the ground as your body retracted from the ground, causing your right foot to be the first foot coming in for a side kick to his face. When your foot breezed towards his left cheek, his eyes widened for only a moment, until he managed to block your indirect kick with his left forearm. Gun was surprised and was surely unaware from that sudden move that he knew for sure, wasn’t the technique that he taught you in the first place.

“Capoeira? Where did you learn how to do that?” he questioned you, as he blocked your attack. When your side kick impacted his left forearm, it sent his feet skidding onto the ground a few feet away from you only for a few seconds, until he regained his straight posture. He stood before you, with his hard gaze penetrating yours, as you breathed heavily while trying to catch your own breath from that sudden move that you just pulled.

“What? What do you mean?”

“I’m asking you… WHERE did you learn that from?”

You bent over your knees, while trying to hold yourself up with both of your hands on your thighs. The fatigue was beginning to get to you, as you stood there panting for air, unable to say a word. Gun was starting to get irritated as he stormed towards you. Your head turned to the side to face him, but for some unusual reason, his facial expression seemed to be highly annoyed.

Gun was currently conflicted on how he’s supposed to react to seeing you pull that move on your own. He didn’t know if he should feel proud or mad, since he knew someone who specialized in Capoeira the most… DG. It’s been annoying him recently, as he had been witnessing DG being the one who’s been catching your eye recently. What’s so special about him? You barely met him, and he’s already the one who’s been in the back of your mind? Unless, you two already met…? But that doesn’t make sense. Why would you pretend that the two of you haven’t met before? What if you’ve been secretly getting lessons with DG all this time? The endless possibilities pissed Gun off.

When Gun finally stopped right in front of you, he grabbed onto your wrist before leading you towards the shade of the big tree that stood in the backyard. You were bewildered by his sudden pull, until he pushed you against the tree trunk.

“W-what are you-”

Gun’s forearms pressed against the tree trunk, trapping you in between his arms in the process. Your eyes shifted to his arms until you met with his eyes. His eyes were intense, making your legs feel wobbly from the intimidating look that he was giving you. However, you knew that his demeanor was serious, as this now became an interrogation session for you.

“Have you been taking me for a fool, (Y/N)?”

“What? What are you even talking about?!”

“Then where did you learn that move from?”

Baffled, you stated, “U-uh… I learned that… from the guy who helped get my phone back…”

Gun’s blood pressure started to rise, as he leaned in closer to you. His persistent gaze pierced into you, like a sharp knife trying to cut into your soul. You wanted to look away from how nervous you felt, but you couldn’t even dare to look away from him. Meanwhile, Gun felt pissed off even more, now discovering that the stranger who had helped you yesterday was indeed an experienced fighter. It wasn’t Gun who helped you out of that situation but THAT stranger. And that really pissed him off, knowing that he wasn’t there to help you out.

Gun leaned his face closer to yours, barely keeping an inch-distance away from you. In a low husky voice, he asked, “Who was it?”

Confused, you blinked a few times before asking, “Who was…?”

“Who was the guy who helped you in that alley?”

“Alley? How did you-”

“Answer me. NOW, (Y/N).”

Already, you felt how persistent Gun was as you took a deep breath before saying, “His name is Daniel.”

Gun’s eyes widened in surprise until he decided to ask a follow-up question. “What did he look like?”

“Um… he was, er… ‘good looking’ for sure… and he was wearing school uniform. There was a tag on his blazer that said, ‘Jaewon High’ on it…”

When he heard you describe the stranger’s appearance, Gun’s mouth turned to a dark smirk. “Oh, I know who that is. It’s-”

“Daniel Park, I know.”

Gun gave you a blank stare, as he asked, “Did he tell you his name?”

“Yeah he did. But he just told me his first name.”

“Then how did you know his full name? Unless… Ah, I know. You were even eavesdropping during that time when Goo and I were talking amongst ourselves. You really ARE a nosy person.”

You felt your face flushed, as the blood came rushing into your cheeks. “H-hey! I couldn’t help it, since you guys were so noisy in the front of the car. Also, there was no way that I couldn’t ignore your conversation. Your voices were the only source of ‘entertainment’ within that cramped little space.”

Gun sneered while replying with, “Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that, you inquisitive woman.” as he then released his grasp from the tree behind you. Gun was somewhat relieved that the guy who helped you wasn’t DG. That explains how you were able to do Capoeira at that moment. Daniel Park really is a true fighting specimen. His knowledge in fighting was incredible, yet he refused to even become Gun’s successor in the first place. Because of his own softness, he couldn’t help but refuse Gun and that thought made him smirk. Eventually, he’ll come back to him when he wants to gain even more strength than before, Gun thought.

When Gun slowly released himself from you, a smug smile formed on his face as he walked into the house without saying a word to you, deep in thought regarding his own plan that he had yet to disclose to you. Confused, you chased after Gun without saying a single word.

During lunch time, you both were eating healthy chicken breast sandwiches, since Gun didn’t have time to prepare lunch for the two of you in advance. You didn’t mind, as you chomped away at your sandwich. Without hesitation, Gun said aloud, “So, what else do you want to know?”

When your head tilted up from your sandwich to meet with his eyes, you wiped your mouth with a napkin before replying with, “Tell me about your plan. Where do I fit into your plan?”

Gun set down his sandwich on his plate, grabbing onto a nearby napkin before saying, “Let’s start from the beginning first. You know how I wanted to destroy the four major crews, right?”

“Yeah…?”

“That’s because they all have grown weak. The business scheme isn’t working as well as I originally hoped for, so I needed them to be disposed of.”

“Wait. So basically, you want me to clean up your own mess for you?”

“Not really. However, you do play an important role in my plan.”

“How…?”

He clasped his hands together onto the table, while rearranging his legs to be crossed. When his eyes locked to yours, he asked, “Have you graduated high school?”

You nodded without hesitation. “Yeah, why?”

“I see. I had a feeling that we’re the same age. If that’s the case, then you aren’t qualified to become my successor. However, I’ll still turn you into one of my masterpieces.”

“Okay…? But how does that involve me in any way?”

Gun crossed his arms before continuing the conversation. “You will be the ‘Support’ to my successor. Since you’re already an adult, then you cannot take my place in the near future. I’ll look for someone who’s fit and qualified to become my successor, and once I find them, then they will succeed in the business that I’ve laid out for them. While trying to take down the four major crews, you will work together to get rid of them. Once you managed to eliminate them, then I’ll ensure that my successor will strive to the top. They will eventually force the eliminated crews to unite under their leadership and create a crew so powerful, that they’ll be able to gain control in every part of Korea. A strong and powerful leader such as that, will be able to create an empire so great that everybody will grow to fear them. They’ll become one of my greatest masterpieces of all time and together, we’ll be at the top with unlimited money and power…” While Gun explained his plan to you, a maniacal grin began to show on his face, making you shiver from the insane glint in his eyes.

Such ambition… gives me the chills. If I tried to back out now, then everything that we both worked for would be taken for granted. This isn’t the time to chicken out, (Y/N). You’re already too deep into this, so you might as well suck it up and just go with it. You even have to rely on him as well, since there’s no way you can go back to those struggling times again, working those jobs that could barely pay for mom’s hospital bills. I need to think of her as well…

Everything about this is crazy to begin with, but you can’t help but want to stick by Gun’s side too, even through all of this. Gun’s ambitious side made you attracted to him even more, as you now understand and accept how much of an important role you have in this scheme of his.

“Who do you have in mind as your successor?”

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s Daniel Park, of course.”

Astonished, you were surprised to think that Gun had his eyes on Daniel as his successor, which made you curious to know how strong Daniel really is. That technique that you witnessed in the alleyway yesterday was incredible. Not to mention, the way he ended that fight so quickly was a major knockout, that his opponent couldn’t even recover quickly from that.

Who really is Daniel Park, and how strong can this guy be?

“Why? Is he… that strong?”

Gun snickered, not even knowing where to begin to explain Daniel’s true fighting power. “Yes, he is. Whenever I see him fight, it makes me want to challenge him every time. To put him up to the test. His skills aren’t even considered to be a mere beginner’s. But, if he hadn’t refused to become my successor, then he would’ve become a monster.”

“Wait. He REFUSED your offer to become successor? But why are you so insistent that he’ll even want to become your successor in the first place?”

“It’s because he’s the best candidate that I’ve found so far. In all my years of training others, theirs couldn’t even top Daniel Park. Sure, I even considered Eli Jang to become my successor at one point. That’s because of his beastly instincts. But now, I’ve realized that beastly instincts weren’t enough to be the best. And when I observed Daniel, he’s got ALL of it. Cleverness, battle IQ, heavy impact… he could’ve been a true beast. A true MONSTER. Eventually, he’ll have the sudden urge to want to get stronger. I won’t even be surprised if he approaches me one day to finally take me up on my offer. It’ll always be open for him.”

A spine-chilling chuckle came out from Gun, as if he was reminiscing something wonderful when he was talking about Daniel Park. Gun’s caricature while he was talking about him, gave you goosebumps all over your body. The conversation so far made you question yourself whether or not you even dared to want to know more about Daniel Park. He seemed like a sweet boy when you met him, but… who knew he could be so terrifying? It was like that soft face of his was only just a mask to cover what he was truly capable of. What lies underneath Daniel Park was definitely no laughing matter to be messed with.

“You’ve been talking about him as if you’ve fought with him before.”

“I have, actually.”

“Huh?” The look on your face transitioned from incredulity to a hint of surprise.

“Yes, I even remember it vividly. There was this one time when I so happened to run into him. I didn’t expect him to be at that place, but I was just intrigued. That was when I offered him the opportunity to become my successor. However, he didn’t take it as willingly as I could have hoped for. We ended up bashing each other to the point of severe injury. He even broke my arm during that little fight of ours.”

All of a sudden your hands slammed onto the table in immense disbelief. “WHAT?! HE DID THAT?!”

“Yeah. At that time, I’ve never felt so alive. It was exhilarating, having the chance to fight him like that.”

“H-how… how did he manage to break your arm?”

Gun leaned back into his seat, while looking up at the ceiling. A small smile curved from the corner of his mouth, as if he was lost in a sweet daydream.

“Ultra Instinct.”

Blankly, you stared at him, confused to what that could be.

“What’s that?”

His eyes returned to look at you, as his demeanor changed to a more serious mood.

“Ultra Instinct is the state that I’m currently in right now. Do you see my eyes?”

He took off his sunglasses, revealing his inverted colored eyes. His black spheres, along with his white pupils centered in each eye, were now fixated at you with an intense gleam in his eyes. While staring at his eyes in a hypnotized state, you slowly nodded.

“I was wondering what happened to your eyes when I first saw them.”

“Well, this isn’t something that I so happened to have since birth. It actually manifested during an intense period of fighting of ultimate survival. Swinging left and right doesn’t just take up effort, but for most people, they think while doing it. Have you noticed that before you throw a punch, you think about doing it? Well in this state, however, you don’t think while fighting. It involves some biological and psychological factors. Usually, your body reacts with a fight or flight response when facing a stressful situation. Your brain cells sends messages to your body during thought processing, and the stimuli then causes your body to act upon whatever your mind tells you to do. You do this while your mind is still conscious. But with Ultra Instinct, it’s different. Both your dynamic visual acuity and your momentary thought process heighten, as your body just reacts with whatever it sees in front of you. Any target that your eyes focuses on, will unconsciously act upon it, and will attack without even giving a second thought. All morals will be thrown away, leaving you to attack without a reason. It isn’t even a technique that you can just willingly do. It’s mainly a psychological state that ensures survival.”

“Ah gee, thanks for the lecture Professor. But if that’s the case, then how can you still talk to me while you’re still in that state?”

“I learned how to control my personality and behaviors while I’m constantly in the Ultra Instinct state. Technically speaking, I’ve mastered how to maintain a clear and balanced mind while surrendering myself to just pure instinct. It takes a huge amount of martial arts experience of getting used to, which results in my body mostly taking control of the scene.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. If Daniel Park broke your arm during that time, then how did he manage to do it while he’s in that state? You’re already pretty strong, so I’m still surprised that he managed to damage a part of your body in a severe way.”

“While I was fighting him, I questioned why did he reveal such strength to me at that time. I thought that he was hiding it all this time. But the more that I think about it, that wasn’t really it. I believed that he wasn’t aware of the power that he had. Lucky for me, I got to test out how far he could go while in Ultra Instinct. Even when he was unconscious during our fight, he still managed to do a lot of damage. Although in addition to the Ultra Instinct state, he had a special talent within him.”

The face that you’re currently giving him was mixed with puzzlement and fascination, as you were still munching away on your sandwich.

“Daniel Park is actually like you.”

As you finished your sandwich, you gave a final wipe on your mouth, before asking in an intrigued tone, “He’s like me? How?”

“He has the Copy Ability, just like you do. It’s a special talent that some fighters have when they observe their opponents’ moves and in response, they would copy their opponents’ abilities and utilize it during their own fights.”

“Damn. So, Daniel and I are actually similar? That’s hard to believe. From all the things that I’ve heard so far, he sounds like he can beat up anybody. How can I even be on par with someone like that?”

“It takes a lot of time and experience to sharpen one’s techniques. That is why, I been having you do those fights during your training so that those moves that you’ve seen will be etched into your brain and you won’t forget it. It’s like people who have photographic memory. When they see something, then that memory will be stored into their head and they can retrieve that image from that memory anytime they want. The same goes for you. When I saw you fight with that one bastard in that alley that night, you claimed that you have never fought before, yet you managed to fight due to how you’ve seen those moves from someone else. By the way, I’m not making you fight everyday just to increase your strength and stamina. I’m doing it for your own sake so that you’ll remember the moves that I’ve taught you, for future fights when that time comes.”

“That explains a lot, thanks…”

“And another thing. Daniel’s Copy Ability is basically perfect. From what I’ve gathered, he can do Kyokushin Karate, Muay Thai, Taekwondo, Boxing, Wrestling, Capoeira, Aikido, Systema, and even Mixed Martial Arts.”

“Holy- … Forgive me Daniel, but you’re too O.P. I’d probably be an ant compared to him. I’m a tiny ant while he’s a big tarantula. There’s no way that I’ll even be as strong as him…”

“Obviously, you ARE an ant. But who knows? There are many possibilities that could happen in this world that we always never expect. Just continue to learn under my tutelage, and you’ll be able to go against anyone.” Gun scooted his chair back before getting up to throw his trash away and to put his plate in the dishwasher. On the other hand, you were still sitting in your seat, thinking about facing strong fighters who you’ve never even met before. The idea made your heart pound anxiously, while mumbling to yourself, “Ugh, how scary… oh wait, Gun!”

Gun turned his body around to face you entirely. He leaned against the kitchen counter behind him before asking a, “Yeah?”

“Umm… do you�� like computers?”

“What?”

“It’s because… you mentioned hardware and software before… so I was just wondering if you have an interest in computers, or work with computers…”

“Oh. No, not really.”

“Then, what did you mean about having ‘bad software’ and ‘incompatible hardware’?”

“I was referring to their physical and mental capabilities. If they are weak in both motivation and physical strength, then they wouldn’t even last long in a fight. Also, I’m not a tech nerd like you.”

“Ah, I see. And… wait, how did you know that I’m knowledgeable when it comes to technology?”

Gun didn’t say anything until your eyes lit up, as an idea popped in your head, resulting in a teasing smirk on your face.

“Unless… you were eavesdropping on me and Kouji at that time. Gun, I didn’t know that you’re ALSO an eavesdropper. No wonder, us eavesdroppers better stick together. Who knows what would happen if some ‘valuable information’ might spill to other people.”

“Shut it.”

As you teased him, you giggled at the sight of that irritated look on his face, enjoying the feeling of constantly annoying him back whenever he always had something “smart” to say to you. All of a sudden, he silently made his way out the kitchen and the dining area, making you laugh from how salty he was about your comeback.

You called out to him in between laughs, as you got up to chase after him. “Wait, Gun! I was only joking!”

Ignoring you, he kept strolling towards the front door. Your feet tapped rapidly against the wooden floor behind him, quickening the pace of your feet after him. He casually grabbed his keys that was already set on the table by the stairs and as he was about to turn to walk out the door, you finally caught up to him. As you reached out your hand towards his back, you grabbed onto his left arm, making him halt in his tracks. Panting, you heaved from running after him, which made him turn around to look at you with a playful grin on his face. When you looked up to meet with his eyes while panting, he said in a satisfied tone, “That’s what you get for being annoying.” He reached his right hand over to your face to push the strands of messy hair off your eyes and tucked it behind your ear, making you blush. You didn’t realize that you were gradually releasing your grasp around his arm, as he finally opened the front door to leave. While closing the door behind him without turning back to look at your dazed, you stood there frozen in place, speechless.

That Smart-ass.

Three hours have passed and you were waiting for him downstairs in the lounge area watching TV, all dressed and ready to go. Since those marks that Gun left on your neck was starting to fade, you decided to wear a horizontally striped long-sleeved black and white shirt, light blue jeans, your usual sneakers, and of course, your favorite bag Old Reliable. It wasn’t much, but you thought it was fit for grocery shopping. This time, you decided to style your hair by twisting your long bundle of hair from behind while clipping it from behind your head with a simple thick hair clip, almost like a high ponytail. Right when you arrived downstairs, you were about to sit on the couch but then, you remembered the stains that were left from those intimate moments you had with Gun on that couch, so you decided to just sit at the bar instead.

Once you heard the front door beep, your head turned towards the opening door, as you watched Gun walk in with shopping bags that mostly had logos of designer brands advertised on the sides of them.

“You’re back, with… clothes?”

He shut the door behind him with his foot, since both of his hands were full. “All of these are for me. I decided to pick them up today, since I have other things to take care of and I don’t have time to pick them up in a later date. Also, next week on Saturday, HNH Group will hold an after-party celebrating its partnership with one of its major business partners. I’ll be attending the party in the late afternoon, so I’ll be gone for only a few hours.”

“Oh okay…”

“I’ll put these in my room and I’ll take a quick shower. Once I come back, we’re leaving.”

Nodding, you watched him walk up the stairs with his bundle of shopping bags.

“Something”? More like, some THINGS. Geez, how much did he even get? That’s way too many, even if it’s for a party. Does he always spend his money excessively like that? I just don’t understand why a lot of people are into designer clothing. They’re all so overrated.

When he came back from his room, you realized that he was now dressed in not sportswear, but a more casual wear. Gun had on a white loose polo shirt that had the bold words of “Louis Vuitton France” printed all over, with a few buttons opened loosely. His shirt even had a black layer underneath, which goes well with his black pants. While for his shoes, it was one of his polished black leather dress shoes which always went with his fancy and stylish outfits. Now, he decided to style his hair as it was slicked back with gel, looking more proper than before. Once he came downstairs, you turned off the TV then followed him out the door. However, this time, the two of you aren’t taking the usual tinted Rolls Royce car that he favored so much. As you took a step outside, you were greeted with a white Rolls Royce parked at the driveway. The luxury automobile looked newer than the other, as its headlights were noticeably more modern with bright highlights surrounding its inner headlights. The head of the new car was a bit wider and much more curved compared to the previous Rolls Royce car. Its silver grill at the front was much wider as well, compared to the black Rolls Royce. Right when he opened the door for you to take your seat, you were awestruck at how white and clean the car was. The leather seats were all white with no stray marks on them at all. The dashboard and center console of this luxurious new foreign vehicle was sleek black, with no dust spotted whatsoever. The stick shift was also replaced by a fancy turning knob that switches quicker to features like “P” and “D”. Right when you took your seat, you noticed how low the seats were in the car, as your legs were bent in a ninety degree angle. You slid into your leather seat, leaning your back onto it as it was bent back a bit. When Gun got into the car with you, he revved the engine up before driving out of the driveway and into the street. It hasn’t been five minutes yet and you already felt weird while sitting in the car. You felt uncomfortable due to the hard silence of the car, barely hearing the engine running and the car’s tires rumbling from outside. When you repositioned yourself in the low seat, all you heard inside the car was the sound of leather crunching and creaking, making you a bit annoyed from how you dislike the new car’s interior. With a passionate sense of hate on your face, you turned towards Gun and asked him, “Why is this car quieter than the other one?”

“This car is newer and was intentionally built this way, just to match the name of the car, which is the Rolls Royce Ghost. However, the engineers who built this car had to tweak some things, so it wouldn’t be too quiet.”

“Oh. What was the name of the other one?”

“That one is called the Rolls Royce Phantom.”

“Ah, I see a pattern here. Very supernatural. But if you were to give this car a name, wouldn’t you call it… Shiro Oni?” [白鬼？]

His eyes glanced at you in surprise from the name that he just heard, only to give a light chuckle at the irony he pictured in his head. “Yeah, sure…”

Confused by his amusement, you asked curiously, “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.”

“Hmph. Well, I’ll call it Shiro Oni, since the color of this car is white and like you mentioned, it’s also called ‘Ghost’. It’s very fitting, since it’s so quiet in here that you could barely hear any noise from outside of this car and all you could hear is just the leather seats if you move.”

“And what about the black one?”

“Hmm… I’ll call it… Kuro Tengu!” [黒天狗!]

A long pause of silence was loud enough to read the strong disapproval coming from Gun.

“That’s a terrible name.”

“What?! What’s wrong with Kuro Tengu?!”

“You made it sound like an obnoxious goblin.”

“W-well… if that’s the case, then what about Kuro Oni?” [黒鬼？]

“That’s very unoriginal. You literally just copied the idea of the name that you just gave for this car.”

“UGH, WHATEVER! I’ll let you know when I think of something for the other car! Sheesh… so picky, for a car collector.”

By pouting in your seat all annoyed by Gun’s judgement, a small grimace lingered on his face, as he continued to drive through the crowded lanes of Seoul to your rightful destination.

Twenty minutes later, the two of you arrived in front of the supermarket where you bought the groceries from last time. When you got out of the car with Gun, you circled around the car to meet with him to walk side by side, before entering the market. While walking towards the doors, Gun slid his sunglasses on like he usually does whenever you’re outside with him. Of course, the place was crowded once you both stepped through the automatic doors. Gun stopped at the front of the store, as he turned to look down at you for only a brief moment, explaining what the plan was going to be while the two of you are there.

“I’ll go get the eggs, since it’ll be faster. If I send you off on your own, I already know that you’ll get distracted from anything around you and it’ll take way too long for you to even grab just a carton of eggs. Just wait around here for a bit while I go get them. And once I pay for them, we’re leaving.”

Gun didn’t hesitate to go off on his own, as you watched him leave while you flashed him an indignant look from behind. Around you, you noticed all of the women who were standing around in the makeup and beauty products area stopped to check out Gun as he walked past them. You heard some of them gasp and squeal at how tall and handsome he was. Not to mention, his attractive style, with his expensive and eye-catching clothing.

One young woman tapped her friend on the shoulder as she pointed at him, “Oh my god, look at him! He’s so attractive! Who is he?!”

Her friend gasped at the sight of Gun as she shrieked, “AHHHH! He looks like a celebrity! And did you see the clothes he was wearing?! He must be stinking rich!”

Just by hearing the women around you fawn over Gun like that made you cross your arms and roll your eyes. “Psh, please. If only you guys knew what an asshole he truly is, then you’d totally be turned off by him in a heartbeat.” You said to yourself while shaking your head, feeling sorry for the women who had fallen in love at first sight to an actual douchebag. While remembering where you were at, you remembered that a certain old man that you’ve recently befriended could be here today, so you went to where his little shop was located at. When you arrived at the front door of his shop, you called out, “Mr. Nam! Guess who’s here to see you?!” From behind the counter, you saw Mr. Nam putting a new batch of neat ties in the glass display. His head looked up and just the sight of you in front of him already brought great joy in his eyes. “Ms. Sasaki! You came back for more ties?”

Mr. Nam walked around the transparent counter to greet you at the front of his store. Happily, you gave a cheerful laugh. “No Mr. Nam. I came here to buy groceries.”

“What? Then how come you’re not getting them right now?”

“It’s because someone is doing it for me right now.”

Mr. Nam’s eyes squinted at you while a sly smile formed on his mouth. “Oh, I know who it might be. It must be your ‘friend’ right? The well-dressed young man.”

“Huh? How do you… know him?”

“Oh, I met him yesterday. Specifically, a few hours later after you came by my shop. He looked like he was searching for something when he was walking around, so I stopped him to see what he was trying to look for. And I was surprised that he was trying to look for someone, and that someone was actually you!”

Your ears couldn’t believe what Mr. Nam was saying, as you stood there in front of him, stunned. Yesterday when you couldn’t even contact Gun to try and find you, you thought that he must’ve went all around the area just to try and search for you.

He… he must’ve gone through so much just to try and look for me. That explains how he knew about the guy who stole my phone, and where it happened. I need to thank him and apologize to him properly, once I get a chance to do so. I must’ve been a huge bother for him, if he had to do all of that just for me. Man, I feel bad for even asking him last night to tell me everything about himself and HNH Group. He must’ve been tired from trying to look for me…

“Oh, Ms. Sasaki?”

“Yes?”

As you were snapped out of your thoughts, Mr. Nam asked, “Have you given him the gift yet?” Your eyes widened as you shook your head, realizing that you forgot to do it last night. The old man sighed, as he mumbled, “You kids, and your foolish hesitance. Just make sure that you give it to him. Alright, (Y/N)?”

However, now, you came up with the solution that you’ll give it to him when you have that serious talk with him. The anticipated conversation, where you planned to confess your feelings to him.

“It’s fine, Mr. Nam. I plan on giving it to him once I get the chance to tell him how I feel. I want it to be special, and at the same time, it’ll be a symbol that shows that I’m ready to accept what he has to say to me.”

“That’s very straightforward of you. Yes, yes, I approve! Ah, I feel bad for you Ms. Sasaki.”

“Why, Mr. Nam?”

“It’s because you’re the one who’s direct about it so far. Yet, that young man doesn’t seem to quite get it. He’s still not sure about how he feels from the inside, and he doesn’t seem to be the kind of person to be direct when it comes to things like this. You just have to be careful and accept what he has to say, since you never know what he’s thinking.”

Man, how does this old man manages to know about what’s been going on in my life? He must be some sort of psychic…

In a reassuring manner, you gave Mr. Nam an appreciative grin saying, “Don’t worry about me, Mr. Nam. I’m a strong gal! I can take whatever that guy says, any time and any day!” While the conversation shifted from love advice to daily matters, Gun was already done with purchasing the eggs, as he can be seen carrying a plastic grocery bag that’s full of the pack of eggs in it. As his eyes scanned the view of the market’s interior right in front of him, he then spotted you happily talking to someone and to his surprise, it was the old man that he had encountered from yesterday. Gun strolled towards you as he called out, “(Y/N)!”

When you turned around to greet him with a wave, you said, “Gun! You finally bought the eggs?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s good! Oh and, I heard that you and my friend have already met. Mr. Nam, I’d like you to meet Gun Park. Gun, meet Mr. Nam.” You gestured for Gun to greet Mr. Nam as Mr. Nam greeted Gun with a graceful bow.

“Hello young man, we meet again. And it is nice to meet you, Mr. Gun Park.”

Gun gave a small nod, saying, “Likewise.”

Without saying anything further, you said, “Mr. Nam, we’ll be taking our leave now. It was nice to see you again! I hope to see you again sometime soon.” Right when both you and Gun turned to walk away, Mr. Nam said, “Wait! I have something to give to your friend…” as he walked back into his store to grab onto a box full of, what seems to be, a box full of men’s clothing. With a puzzled look on both of your faces, you and Gun watched as he brought the box over to the two of you while he gently bent over to set the box down right in front of you. When he came back up to straighten his posture, he pressed both of his hands on his lower back then pushed on that spot, to crack his back in a pleased way. He released a satisfied sigh, before pointing at the box full of clothes before you.

“I’m giving away these clothes, since no one wants to buy them at all. You may choose anything from this box young man, and you can get as much as you’d like. I’ll gladly allow it, since I’m just trying to get rid of these clothes without having to throw them away. It would’ve been a shame if they were to burn in the landfill, so I might as well just give them.”

You smiled at Mr. Nam as you said, “Aw, that’s very sweet of you Mr. Nam. Right, Gun?” You looked up at Gun to see him staring blankly at the box of clothes until he reluctantly gave in knowing that it’ll take longer to get out of here if he refused, so he said, “Yeah.”

Mr. Nam nodded generously as he gestured for him to look through them. You went ahead and crouched over the box to see what he had to offer. Most of these clothes seem like clothes you’d find at the “Clearance” section in a clothing store, as the clothes were mostly colorful and out-of-this-world. As Gun watched you rummage through the pile of clothes, he’d watch you hold out a shirt or any other piece of clothing right in front of him, trying to visualize how well it actually goes with him. You’ve been doing this for about ten minutes, while Gun stood there as his patience was starting to get thinner every time a minute passed by. Until finally, you held out a white and black leopard printed long-sleeved shirt in front of his body. When you stood up, you held it out at an arm’s length away from yourself and more towards him, to see if this shirt really is the one. Surprisingly, you gave a chuffed nod, as you said, “Hmmm… not bad. This one definitely suits you the best. You’d look good in it if you actually wear it. I can actually picture you pulling off this look, right here.” Gun’s eyes looked skeptical at first, until he announced to the old man, “I’ll pay for it.”

Mr. Nam immediately shook his head while holding out his hands in front of him for Gun to stop what he’s doing. “No young man, you don’t have to pay me! I said it was free-”

“It’s fine.”

Gun persisted onward with the payment as he took out his wallet from his pocket and handed Mr. Nam a yellow fifty-thousand won bill. Both yours and Mr. Nam’s eyes widened at the huge amount of money that Gun was offering to him. Mr. Nam lightly pushed back Gun’s hand as he refused to take it from him. “Mr. Gun Park, I can’t take this! It’s too much!” Gun was still holding the money out for Mr. Nam, looking at him with stern eyes. Mr. Nam couldn’t manage to shake Gun’s stubbornness, so he had no choice but to take it from him. Hesitantly, Mr. Nam grabbed the bill from Gun’s hand then gave him a deep grateful bow. As Gun watched Mr. Nam intently, your mouth was just hanging open, while examining the exchange between them in awe. Gun laid out a hand towards you, gesturing for you to hand the shirt over to him. You obliged, as you gave it to him, letting him hold his new shirt. At that moment, it was time to say goodbye to Mr. Nam. When you said your goodbye to him while walking away with Gun, Mr. Nam waved back from behind you crying out, “Goodbye and thank you, Mr. Park and Ms. Sasaki! Please feel free to come again!”

After you and Gun exited the supermarket, you brightly beamed up at him and said, “Who knew you had such a nice side to you?” Gun grunted as he said, “‘Nice side’? What are you on about? I only did it because I was obligated to pay for something from a shop.” You squinted your eyes suspiciously at him, while a cheeky smile started to lay on your face. “Really…?” Gun clicked his tongue, now in an irritated mood, as he quietly put all of the stuff in the back of the trunk while you giggled to yourself in a pleased way. While following behind him, he stopped to turn around and face you, ready to inform you about the rest of today’s other plans.

“You said that you wanted to transfer money, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Okay. We might as well do this then. You’ll go to the money transfer place while I get your new phone. It’ll take a while to wait in line until it’s your turn to deposit your money for the transfer. The same goes for buying a phone. Not only will I be purchasing it, but I’ll also give you a phone plan for it and a new phone number. Both of those tasks will take a bit of time. So to save time, we should just do them on our own than just doing them individually while waiting for the other to finish.”

“That’s not a bad idea. But, I don’t have a working phone with me, remember? What if I get lost again like last time?”

“You shouldn’t get lost since the money transfer place is just right there.” From the supermarket’s left hand side, he pointed to a place that displayed “Western Union”, on the very front of the building.

“Dang, it’s been here all this time…”

“Yeah, you just weren’t looking carefully enough.”

“Whatever. Anyways, where are we going to meet up at after we’re both done?”

“We’ll both be meeting up here in front of the market again in a about three hours. I’ll pick you up once I come back from the phone store.”

“Okay, noted. I wish you the best of luck in finding me a, uh… good replacement.”

Gun started to walk to the driver’s side, but couldn’t resist another final comment as he articulated out loud, “You better not wander off again and get yourself lost!”

Infuriated by his unnecessary remark, you turned on your heel then speed-walked towards the money transfer place while crying out, “I won’t, Stupid!” Before getting in the car, Gun stood there watching you scurry inside the building, chuckling to himself at how goofy you looked rushing in there while unintentionally drawing attention to yourself from the bystanders who were walking by.

“Idiot.”

Gun finally went inside his white modern luxury car, then immediately started it, as he continued down the street on his own.

It has already been an hour, finally exiting out of the building with a relieved stretch as you stopped right in front of it.

Finally! Now that the money has been sent to Mom, I just have to kill some time out here for a bit. I’ll probably just do some window shopping, and- wait, is that a child?

From a few feet away, you found a small child walking on two feet, like an independent little lady. The child’s chestnut colored hair was pulled back into a high bun. She had on the cutest little yellow dress with white laces on them and from underneath, she had a poofy underside that was attached to her dress. She even had white frilly socks with yellow shoes that matched her dress. The cute baby was just having fun, walking down the sidewalk without a care in the world, letting her little legs take her wherever she may go. The sight of her made you smile at how cute she was giggling to herself with whatever imagination that she had in her mind.

Awww, now that’s just too cute to even look away from.

You were watching her from afar, until she decided to step off the sidewalk and cross the street, chasing after a butterfly that she just saw, that zoomed past her. In horror, you reacted by chasing after the small child to get her off of the street right away, afraid that something bad might happen to her.

“WAIT! DON’T GO THERE!!!”

Your feet dashed towards her into the street and from the corner of your left eye, you could make out the blurry image of a car from up ahead heading straight towards you and the child who crossing the street unawarely, going at a speed of about forty miles per hour. With such velocity, you quickly grabbed onto her and carried her in your arms, as you ran across the street to make it to the other side. The child was clueless about what was going on, but was still able to smile throughout that terrifying event of almost dying.

While still holding the baby in your arms, you were breathing very hard from the anxiety that you felt in those 0.5 seconds of your life flashing before your eyes. You could still feel your heart hammering through your chest from that. The adrenaline had already kicked in, making yourself listen to your own heartbeat through your ringing ears and your head starting to feel light from the limited amount of oxygen seeping into your blood cells. You had to catch your breath somewhere but this small child was still with you. Eventually, you found a bench to sit on to rest for a bit. When you sat down on the bench, you placed her small figure gently on the the seat, in which she is now sitting beside you. Her cute twinkling eyes looked up at you then smiled, babbling baby nonsense to you while reaching her arms out towards you, hoping for you to lift her up again.

“Oh, you want me to carry you?”

When your hands firmly reached for her sides, you placed her on your lap, watching her try to sit up from how she’s positioned. Her hands started to press against the center of your chest, lightly patting it with her cute tiny hands, while looking up at you in interest. The look of fascination coming from the child’s eyes made you chuckle in delight as you told her, “Kid, I’m not your mom. But, speaking about your mom… where is your mom? Or dad? They must be around here somewhere. We should go and look for them…”

After that little break you just took, you finally stood up while lifting the baby girl with you then started to stroll around the area, hoping to see a sign of people searching for their missing daughter. For about an hour, you repeatedly walked around the same block. Every time you made it back around to where the market was, you couldn’t help but feel sorry for the adorable toddler in your arms, that still had that joyful smile on her face. All of a sudden, you felt the child’s stomach grumble while you still had your arms wrapped around her tiny body. Her facial expression converted from a happy-go-lucky cheer to a needy tearful countenance, resulting in her to start whimpering in hunger.

“No, no, please don’t cry! Let’s go get you something to eat first, okay? How about some… jello! Oh, wait, crap. What if you choke on it? Uhhh… do you like… apple sauce? We’ll go buy some at the market real quick! I might as well get myself some snacks too. I’ll be staying here for a little while.”

With the little girl still in your arms, you took her for a small trip back to the supermarket that you went to with Gun. You got two small sipping packets of apple sauce and a bag of honey butter chips that you always wanted to try from those commercials you saw on TV. Once you gladly paid for the snacks, you left the supermarket and set her on a nearby bench. Right away, you opened one of the apple sauce packets and fed it to her gently, while guiding her hands onto the packet to feed herself. You sat beside the cutie, watching her sip on the packet eagerly as her puffy cheeks started to expand from taking in a lot of applesauce. You crossed your arms and rested your head on one of your hands, watching her slurp away at her sweet applesauce.

“Hehe, you’re so adorable. I’ve never babysit before, but I guess this is going pretty well for my first time. Your parents must feel very lucky having a cute little girl like you as their kid- WOAH, you finished that so fast! Do you want another one? We have one more…”

From your small plastic grocery bag, you took out another applesauce packet then handed it to her while exchanging it for the empty one to throw it away in a nearby trash bin. While gently patting her back to help her digest her food, you heard frantic calls coming from the distance.

“Yenna! Yenna, where are you?!”

What’s going on?

When your ears caught the sound of calls, your head was now focused on two teenagers frantically running around, asking bystanders questions.

A young teenaged girl with light brown hair, went up to a couple asking, “Hi, have you seen a small baby? She’s cute. She’s got this… yellow cute dress. And she has her hair tied up! Like… a small bun on her head!”

Huh? Why does that look like…

For a second, you peered at the child next to you who for some reason, matched the description that the young adolescent girl laid out for them. When the two people shook their heads, the teenager let out a frustrated groan. She turned her head around and called out to her friend, “Warren! Have you asked around yet?”

A male teenager appeared from behind the corner of a building, walking towards the young lady, nodding his head. “Yeah, I did. But they said that they haven’t (seen her anywhere).”

The girl looked at her friend with a grimace, replying to him with, “Man, where could she have gone? I only let go of her for a second while we’re shopping for the girls’ clothes. They said they needed new ones, so as their Big Mama, I’ll do it. And Warren, I already told you not to omit your words!”

Aw man, they must have been searching for this child for a while now. I need to return her back to the people she came here with. Also, “Big Mama?” Is she ACTUALLY A MOM?! Well, it does happen to young people sometimes, so I understand. But she’s so young!

At last, you carried the precious child in your arms along with your snack bag then approached the two teens.

“Um, excuse me. Is she the one you’re looking for?” You held out the babbling baby to the two of them. When their eyes locked onto her, their eyes lit up in excitement.

“Oh my- Yenna! We’ve been worried sick about you!” The brown haired teen scooped her up into her own arms, as the other young teenaged boy who’s apparently named Warren, joined in with her to carry the little girl.

While marveling at them being complete, you said in a touching tone, “You guys are such a cute family! I’m glad that I get to meet your wonderful daughter. She’s so cute!”

Instantaneously, the two of them looked at you as their faces started to blush in deep bright red. They both immediately shook their heads as the brown haired girl tried to explain, “Oh, no, we’re not a couple- I mean, family!” Warren nodded agreeing with the girl also joining into the conversation saying, “Yeah, we’re (just friends) that’s all!”

With a confused look at how they were both panicking while trying to explain at the same time, you couldn’t quite understand through their jumble of words being said simultaneously until you heard someone call them from behind.

“Sally! Warren! Where’s Yenna?!”

The three of you turned to look at a tall handsome blonde guy running towards you, wearing a familiar school uniform. His hairstyle somewhat reminded you of DG’s with a very trendy K-pop look, as his face was very good-looking as well, kind of similar to Daniel Park and DG. But, the thing that caught your attention the most was his “H” tattoo that was displayed on the side of his head. Now, you even noticed how the girl also had a similar tattoo, but near her collarbone. Even Warren had it placed on the side of his neck. It made you wonder if it symbolizes something that they share in common with. When the attractive stranger caught up to the three of you, his face showed a look of anxiety in his eyes until he caught the sight of the baby girl entangled in their arms. His worried demeanor shifted to a now calmer form, as his arms encircled the active toddler to hold her into his arms. “I came running to this place, after Sally sent me a text saying that she couldn’t find Yenna anywhere. Good thing my boss let me out from work because of an emergency. Since you guys already found her… how did you guys manage to do it?”

The young woman who’s classified as Sally, pointed at you in a gratified way saying, “It was all thanks to her.”

The blonde stranger focused his attention towards you as he gave you a huge grateful bow then smiled. “Thank you so much for finding her! I don’t know what I would do to myself if I ever lost my precious treasure. I’m so ashamed to have lost her, AGAIN. I couldn’t possibly call myself a proud father if I couldn’t even be there for her when she needed me…”

Ah, so this is her father. He’s pretty young like the other kids who are with him, but he seems like a good and caring parent to her.

You gave him an encouraging smile as you said in an admiring manner, “Don’t be too harsh on yourself. I can already tell that you care for her so much and you truly do love her. As someone who sees that, I think that’s very admirable of you. For someone who is still young, such as yourself, your maturity is very inspiring. I wish those who are experiencing the same kind of life experiences, could learn from you on how take responsibility… Oh, also, I bought her some food! I hope apple sauce is okay. She got hungry while I was trying to look for her rightful guardian, so I decided to get her something to eat.” During your explanation, you pointed at the apple sauce packet that was still in her tiny hand.

The young man looked down at Yenna who was shaking the packet in her hand then centered his attention back at you, now possessing a soft look in his eyes. Eventually, he said, “You’re a very kind person, thank you. I didn’t think that I’d hear such nice words right now, and I really appreciate it. And for Yenna here, say ‘thank you’ to the kind lady!”

Yenna turned her head at you, fluttering her long eyelashes at you before trying to come up with some “words” to say.

“M…”

“Is she going to speak this time?”

“Oh my god, I can’t wait to hear what she has to say!”

“She must be trying (to think of something).”

“M… Ma…”

As you and Yenna both stared deeply into each other’s eyes, you couldn’t help but melt in the inside at how adorable she is trying to form words on her own. Her little arms were reaching out towards you in a needy fashion, saying, “Ma… Ma…? Mama?”

Uhhh… huh?

All four of you fell silent as you stared at her curious gaze, still looking up at you. Right away, you snapped out of it as you began to shake your head feverishly, leaving you in a panic. “No, no, Yenna! I’m not your mom! Please, don’t mistake me for your mom!”

Concerned, your eyes shifted to the rest of them as they were all left speechless. Especially Yenna’s father, whose face had a scarlet tint on his cheeks. He had to apologize immediately as he said, “I-I’m sorry, I really don’t know what she’s been saying recently. It must’ve been those kids’ cartoons that I always show her…”

“A-ah, I see… Well, don’t worry about it! I’m sure she didn’t really think of it much when she said that. She’s still young, after all.” All of a sudden, your mind remembered Gun and his crankiness, afraid that you might miss him near the market at around this time. “Oh, I just remembered that I have somewhere to be right now! What was your name again?”

“Oh, of course. We’ll be leaving too. And my name is Eli, by the way. Eli Jang. Thanks again for finding Yenna. You really helped us a lot.”

“You’re welcome! I’m just glad that she’s finally with her true guardians. Bye bye, Yenna! Until we somehow meet again!”

The young child gave you a small, “Buh!” in which you took it as a “Bye!” in baby language. As you traded your thanks and goodbyes to Eli and the rest of his friends, you and Eli’s group parted ways. While you were returning back to the spot in front of the supermarket, you already spotted the “Shiro Oni” parked in front of the massive store. You sprinted all the way to your side of the car, giving it a light knock on the door for Gun to unlock the car door. From inside, Gun rolled down the tinted window from your side as he said in his usual smart-ass tone, “It’s been open.”

He never fails to give you the sudden urge to smack him, making you enter the car with a cold expression. After rolling up the window again, he started the car at once, leaving the supermarket and the entire street behind, as the sunset gradually starts to sink into the skyline of the Earth.

[End of Ch. VIII]

[squishyneet]

Let us review the major players of Lookism as of late . . .

Charles Choi

Wants to keep running HNH Group, will step on anyone to get his way. Wanted to eliminate the 4 crews since he no longer needs them. Same as ever, pretty straightforward.

Eugene

Similar to Charles Choi, with the exception of being more careful and considerate of his employees and negotiations and such. Achieved the goal of uniting the 4 crews. Wants to get rid of Daniel Park.

Daniel Park

Wants to stop Eugene and Charles Choi, currently working to find the secret of the two bodies and the history of Jinyoung Park. Also working with DG but does not completely trust him.

DG/James Lee

Has been working against Charles Choi from the beginning. Waited for Daniel to prove himself, currently working with him to uncover the secret of the two bodies. Was blackmailed by Charles since killing Gapryong Kim.

Goo Kim

Has been working with Eugene since before the series started. About to be fired by Charles. True motive unknown. Said he might kill someone.

Whose side are you on?