Chapter 36: Good luck, Good run!
The sun was rising on the day of the competition after a week of practicing their routine and determination to compete with his cousin and his pals to keep his promise to Yang. "He's definitely ready for the ultimate test of his abilities." Said Ji-an as he held his hands on his hips watching Derek perform the routine on his own. Duri sighed as he looked at Ji-an. "If he isn't ready for it by tonight, we might as well drop out, IS he ready, though?" Duri replied to his buddy then asked as he looked over at Derek himself. "That's not the face of a man who is ready, that's the face of a little boy!" Ha-yoon raised her voice attempting to catch his attention. "That's not the way to hype up anyone, Lady. I've got any test you can throw my way." Derek asserted to Ha-yoon before he showed off his confidence. Duri, Ji-an and Ha-yoon all gave him a grin.
The cousins and friends walked out of their dance studio and to what appeared as a random street for Derek, he was left anticipating the task they had in mind the entire way, beautiful businesses and very busy sidewalks on the block they stopped. "Don't let the beauty of this area fool you, this is the least welcoming spot in the city of fun and excitement. Folks getting to and fro work, the kind of street filled with internet hecklers if you post a video of you performing in public." Ji-an filled Derek in as he looked interested in the challenge already.
"Try to attract the biggest crowd that you can before noon, try to attract any crowd with some of the free stylin' we practiced as a matter of fact. The people here are exactly like the audience and judges that'll be at the event." Duri interrupted and finished for Ji-an. "Did you two practice that?" Ha-yoon asked Duri as she found their timing perfect. "Nope." Duri answered with his arms crossed and a slight cheeky smile as he watched Derek struggling with the task.
"We passionately practiced the tango once." Ji-an blurted out before cracking up. "We perfected that too, way too easily." Duri replied proudly as he stood staring and judging Derek's performance. "My friend Chung-Ae, he would be jealous hearing about this." Ha-yoon teased Duri, feeling amused by his disgusted reaction. After an hour, Duri, Ha-yoon and Ji-an left off to a nearby café as Ji-an was feeling hungry and the other two followed leaving Derek alone still performing on the heckler and business-folk filled street, a crowd eventually gathered around the observant dancer, he was enduring a few of the surrounding eyes that made him feel embarrassed and ashamed but as well hearing slight shouting and seeing beaming smiles as well. "Yeah, boy, throw it in a circle!" Derek heard from a familiar voice shouting in the crowd with an approving and ecstatic tone. The observer surveyed the area and saw pink hair from a short woman in the crowd, he didn't see her face while folks who were taller blocked her face. He kept wondering how she was able to see him since they should have blocked her sight of him as well. Derek's performance went on and combined his athleticism into it, performing a raiz into a shoulder spin leaving some of the crowd roaring and cheering.
Deeper into that day, entering almost late evening, the observant traveler took a lone stroll through the city and made it into one of its beautiful public parks in the center of the humongous buildings and streets with cars riding through. The woman with pink hair saw self-doubt on his face before he looked up and it changed into a confused expression. "Need a bit of company?" Said the pink haired woman from the hang-out and cheering for his street performance from earlier in a sincere tone. "Are you stalking me?" Derek asked with a confused tone and his facial expression still matching. "No— Um, yes. I just— didn't mean to but I have that tendency and— would you like to hang out sometime?" The woman stuttered until the end where she awkwardly shouted the question she's been dying to ask. "Why would I chill with someone who would hospitalize and do heinous crimes to get their way?" Derek asked in return, the woman's heart sank after hearing how convinced he was she was involved by his tone. "I lied, that was all my friends, I don't agree with what they did at all and I actually quit the team and the only reason why I know is because we are close but I never would have thought they'd do something like that ever!" The woman interrupted and argued. Derek gave her a firm look.
"Hey, hey, boys, we have our nice punching bag and ripe meat!" The two heard from a low voice behind Derek. The observant traveler jumped and hid the woman from the club behind him as he got into a firm boxing stance. "Seems you weren't my only stalker, huh?" Derek commented with a low tone as surveyed the men immediately. "My, my, I'm shaking and quaking Misthelle Tysthon!" Said another with a raspy, lisp and a smoker's cackle. "You know these dudes?" The woman asked Derek as he counted fifteen men, aged up to late twenties and early forties, from overweight to athletic stocky, all above five foot ten. "I met those two, my cousin embarrassed them. Do you guys have problems with a person if they even mention the surname Hyun?" Derek inquired as he grabbed the woman from the club's hand and firmly grasped it. "Yeah. That freak of a family had beef with our boss and she declared that it was on sight! What better way to describe how we were reunited, American boy?" Pi hae ja replied with a bloodthirsty tone as he inched closer. Derek's head abruptly began hurting, he felt dizzy and his ears were ringing like he had a bell of constant motion, he dropped to his knees as his pain followed through in his body. "Damn, short lasting symptoms, always at the wrong time?!" Derek said in his thoughts with his frustration. The woman knelt down with him. "I came here to get away from my chaotic life in New York and party. I'm sick of this!" The woman shouted out as she slowly approached the goons of Jang gang den, they replied with smiles with malicious intent as she got closer. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her wrist and realized it was Derek's who made the two retreat instead of fight. She almost tripped, not paying attention as she was blushing. "My hotel has incredible security and it's not far from here." The woman stated as she directed him as the two ran as quick as they could with Jang gang den hoodlums sprinting after them. As the observant descendant of ash left the woman from the club's hotel suite, he found the mysterious man in a black suit parked on the wall outside that wouldn't turn his eyes away from him to be very fascinating.
"You happen to be…?" Derek asked with nothing short of his utmost curiosity. "A close family friend of the Presence siblings and an agent in the retrieval division of the A.I.S. Wanna hear me out, Wiley?" Said Agent Opam with the most monotone voice Derek has ever heard from another human. Derek was taken aback by his reveal. "Vaguely remembering but I'm confident that Dustin told me that you agents identify each other by bursting your shoulders and head with golden flames that embodies some form of authoritative energy and agents use this energy to enhance themselves to overcome situations other agencies aren't equipped to fight against. Show me that you're legit before I can trust you." Derek responded with a stern tone. The agent holding his wound let out a short sigh as he got off the wall and lit himself up the way the hero remembering the south african investigator describing, leaving Derek's mouth gaping and his eyes as wide as his mouth.