8 Misunderstandings, New Mission & More

"You dumbass," Chaerin huffed in front of me, "Did you spread a rumour that we're dating?" she asked with her hands akimbo on his hips.

Hearing what she said, I looked around, looking for Hyundong, "Nope, I didn't. But I think I know who did...and I'm gonna beat him for spreading rumours. First it was that I beat everyone up at the Summit and now I'm apparently dating someone--I'm getting fed up with him making rumours," I said in an even tone despite my actual annoyance.

The people around us were whispering among themselves, but I paid them no mind and looked back to Chaerin, "Calm down. We both know it's nothing but a rumour so take some deep breaths, yeah? There are worse rumours he could've spread."

"...Did you know they have a secret baby?" someone said a little too loud and Chaerin went completely red in the face. I won't lie, I'm annoyed at the rumours but getting to see such an innocently embarrassed side to Chaerin is kinda worth it. I'm still gonna hit Hyundong though, regardless of the sight he has provided me. Just as I had that thought, I saw the idiot approaching with a few other idiots behind him.

"Oh," he said, holding a bouquet of flowers, "Aren't you Miss Chaerin? The one who fell for boss Soohyun after he protected your honor in front of a bunch of delinquents from East Gangbuk?"

I grabbed my face to cover my eyes, because if I couldn't see him I couldn't try and murder him, "Fucking hell, Hyundong..." I groaned and Chaerin gave an aggravated growl of frustration before she spun on her heels towards me.

"Get your fucking underlings under control, Kim Soohyun!" she basically shouted before turning to Hyundong with a red face, "I don't like him one bit! Stop coming up with weird assumptions! Why would I like a perv like him anyway? Huh?! Hold on, how do you even know about what happened last night anyway?" she furiously asked.

Hyundong rubbed his nose like he was being complimented and answered, "Of course I know about all my boss' exploits. Don't underestimate my information network."

"Hyundong," I called out, dropping my hand and walking toward him, "Stop dragging innocents into your rumours, you nitwit," I grabbed him and pulled him into a headlock, "Sure, there are worse rumours but it's damn annoying to deal with 'em regardless!" I gave him a brutal nuggie to his scalp.

[A Main Quest Is Being Generated.]

[Make a Crew. Members Recruited (0/4). Rewards: Gold Card (x1)]

...Huh. I was wondering when I'd get this quest. "Hey, Hyundong?" I asked, still holding him in a headlock, "You wanna join my crew? But if you do join, you've gotta promise to stop making up baseless rumours otherwise I'll kick you out after kicking you."

Hyundong froze and I let him go where he quickly got to a single knee and had his head down, "I'd be honoured to join you, boss--"

"Yeah, yeah," I waved a hand about nonchalantly, dismissing his entire servitude act - was it an act if he was being 100% serious? - and spoke up again, "Do you promise to stop making baseless rumours? Answer me, Hyundong."

"...Yes," he took a little too long to answer but I knew if he backtracked on me, I could just beat him up so it was fine.

[Members Recruited (1/4)]

"Good, then get up," I said before turning to Chaerin, "Happy? He won't be making any rumours about our non-existent romance anymore," I gave her a smile before stretching and yawning, "Man, it's way too early in the morning for all this shit, right?"

Chaerin yawned as well, that pesky little reaction when you see someone yawn you feel compelled to do it as well, "Yeah," she answered before turning away, "Thanks for sorting that out, Kim Soohyun."

"You can call me Soohyun, you know?" I called after her with a grin, "No need to be so formal."

She replied with a middle finger over her shoulder but I could tell we were getting a little more comfortable with each other. Good thing too. She seemed like an interesting girl to hang out with.

Now, who else to recruit?

. . .

[Members Recruited (2/4)]

"Thanks Kuza," I said as I slapped my long time friend on the shoulder, "You can have a small cheat day today when it comes to desserts. Wanna stop by that pastry place after school? I know you love that stuff."

Kuza smiled at the thought of eating those deliciously fluffy pastries and gave a nod, "...Yes, we can go there on the way back."

At that point I'd lost him to dreamland. No doubt that dreamland consisted of all the stuff I'd told him not to eat. What? You need a proper diet if you wanna burn off fat and get stronger. You can't eat bad stuff otherwise it basically ruins the effort you put in during your workout. Basically Exercise 101, really.

I offhandedly heard someone entering the classroom but I didn't pay attention to them until they stood behind me like some sort of ghost. Looking over my shoulder, I was surprised before I broke out in a smile, "Hajoon. You skipped a bit of school after out fight, huh? How are you, man?"

He looked at me, his gaze serious before he gave a slight smile and sat on the empty desk next to me on the opposite side of where Kuza was sitting, "I'm alright. You've got a strong roundhouse kick. Were you hiding that shit from me to catch me off guard? If so, it was a good strategy."

"Yeah," I gave a slightly embarrassed laugh, "I knew you were stronger than me in pure physicality, so I had to have something up my sleeve, right?" I admitted unabashedly. Hajoon hummed in response before things went silent between us and I decided to speak up again, "You wanna come with Kuza and I after school today? We're heading to a pretty nice pastry shop."

Hajoon gave a shake of his head, "I'll have to pass...but thanks for offering, Soohyun."

"Say," I leaned back into my chair, crossing my arms, "Do you wanna join my crew, Hajoon? There's barely anyone at school who's strong enough to go about fighting with me. You're basically the only one. Besides, we're buddies, right? So I thought I'd ask."

"...Your crew? What the hell does that mean?" Hajoon asked with an utterly confused expression across his face. His somewhat blank eyes looked curious though.

"I just explained it," I said with a smile, "While I'm the boss, everyone else is under me, right?" I asked and he nodded, "Then my crew are basically like the captains who I can delegate tasks to. They're basically like my second-in-commands. They're also the guys I'd call on if I ever needed backup in a serious fight."

Hajoon hummed at that before shrugging, "Sure. Just don't go ordering me about for stupid shit."

[Members Recruited (3/4)]

...That was easy, huh? I guess it falls in line with what I know of Hajoon's character. He's a pretty chill guy when he's not fighting or being provoked, and he seems like one of those 'go with the flow' guys more often than not. He wasn't the boss of West Gangbuk because he wanted to be either - he was just the boss because he was strong enough. It wouldn't surprise me if was actually waiting for someone to come and take the responsibility away from him.

I guess it doesn't hurt that he's decent enough buddies with me either. Then there's that promise we made to each other before the fight about not being angry or hating each other after it, regardless of the result.

Hajoon takes promises seriously, then. Good to know.

"Noted," I laughed before getting up, "I'm feeling hungry. You guys wanna hit the cafeteria before lunch ends?" I asked Kuza and Hajoon, who both nodded, and we were on our way.

. . .

"Boss! There's big trouble nearby!" a random guy under Hyundong came running up to me and Kuza while we were waiting for the bus, "East Gangbuk sent a few guys over and they've cornered Hyundong!"

And there goes my peaceful afternoon of eating pastries with Kuza. Fuck.

"Where are they?" I asked before turning to Kuza, "Sorry man, but you're gonna have to eat pastries on your own. Don't eat too many carbs or it'll effect your workout tomorrow."

"They're near the school! I can take you there, boss!" he urgently said and I gave a sigh before readjusting my bag and giving a wave to Kuza just as the bus turned up. A few seconds later and I would've been on the bus, carefree and on my way to eat some delicious treats. Yet what kind of boss would I be if I let Hyundong get beat up? He's an annoying twat at times, spreads rumours like nobody's business and has such a flair for the dramatic that you'd think he's constantly on the edge between life and death...but he's also my subordinate.

I'm the only one allowed to beat him up.

The two of us picked up into a sprint - more of a jog for me - and we arrived in an alleyway just as Hyundong hit some fat dude in the stomach with a pipe. The fat dude was completely unfazed. One of the fat guy's underlings tried to kick Hyundong while he was still shocked by the fat guy's durability but I deflected the kick and spun on my heel and sent out a devastating back kick at the guy's face.

"Hyundong," I said in the silence provided by my kick instantly KOing that guy, turning to my downed subordinate, "What's with your sorry state?" I sighed before shaking my head and looking back at the four guys plus the one fat guy opposite me, "It's settled then. You're gonna start coming to the gym with me and Kuza. I can't have a weak crew after all, can I?"

Using Observe, I looked at the fat guys stats.

[Name: Hwang Daesung]

[Height: 184cm]

[Weight: 119kg]

[Strength: B+]

[Speed: B]

[Potential: C]

[Intelligence: C]

[Tenacity: A+]

119kg? Damn, that's one beefy boi. Decent stats too. Especially his Tenacity. I smiled at that one thing - Hadn't I been wanting a good mob to grind my skills against? This dude is perfect for that.

"I'll sort this out, Hyundong, so get back and out of the way," I said confidently flashing a grin back at the downed guy. Psychological warfare 101, always smile. Smile like nothing matters. Not their numbers, not their words--smile like you don't have a care in the world. It'll surely get to your opponent and lower their confidence.

Well, I don't really need tactics like that. I'm just trying to put Hyundong at ease. I can beat these guys with Jabs alone, never mind the rest of the skills I have in my arsenal.

"Ha," the fat one, Hwang Daesung, gave a guffaw in response to what I said, "You think you can take us all on? You might be the boss of West Gangbuk but that's always been the weakest side of Gangbuk. Mad Dog Kim Soohyun or not, you're about to get pummelled."

I rolled my eyes, still smiling, "Says who, fatty? You? Get over yourself. All I see in front of me is a bunch of weaklings with a slightly stronger weakling. Let's just get this over with," I chuckled, settling into a stance.

Incensed by my smiling, laughing and words, one of the mobs I couldn't be bothered to Observe rushed at me, "You cocky bastard--" and was promptly silenced by an Axe Kick that quickly introduced him face first to the ground. Then he went silent. I gave the rest of them a 'I'm waiting' gesture, tapping at my imaginary watch.

The remaining three rushed at me while Hwang Daesung just stood back and inspected me.

I took my time with these three, using at least two attacks to down them. Each of the attacks was either an Axe Kick or a Back Kick.

[Karate - Axe Kick - Has Ranked Up To B-Rank!]

[Karate - Back Kick - Has Ranked Up To B-Rank!]

[Due to reaching B-Rank in all related skills, your Karate skills will now combine to create a Gold Card and corresponding more complete skills.]

[Silver Cards have been combined to create Kyokushin Karate!]

[Attack Card, Kyokushin Karate (Complete) - You're now a complete practitioner of Kyokushin Karate. Current skill rank: B 0/100]

I smiled to myself when I saw this, feeling the full knowledge of Kyokushin Karate entering my brain and filling my body with the necessary muscle memory. I'd just gone from a guy who only knew the basic kicks from Karate, to a professional practitioner who knew basically everything he'd need to know to participate in a National Tournament and win.

This was the point at which Hwang Daesung decided to speak up, "You've definitely got some skills, Kim Soohyun. But can you beat--"

"Shut up," I held up a hand to stop him, "I'm currently basking in my own brilliance and I don't need to fight you anymore," I looked up at the thin slice of sky I could see that wasn't blocked off by the buildings either side of us. Though it didn't seem like it, I still kept an eye on the fatty. I was just messing about at this point because I didn't need him to grind up my skills to B-Rank...though I could use him to christian my newly gained Kyokushin Karate, "Wait, hold up, yeah, I still wanna fight."

"You little bastard," he said through grit teeth, trudging over to me with heavy steps until he stood within arm's reach of me. His protruding stomach nearly made up half the distance - I don't have a problem with fellas or gals who have a little extra meat to their bones but this dude is straight up pushing obesity.

Nodding, I looked down at his stomach, "I guess I could be considered little when compared to you, huh?"

That pushed him over the edge and he walloped a punch right into my gut.

...Unfortunately for him, the style of Karate I just learned was the full-contact kind. A style of character that was all about being able to get hit, handle it and then return the favour. So a quick defensive maneuver of hardening my stomach muscles, put together with my innate Tenacity, and I barely even felt him hitting me. But he felt it. His fist was already turning red, his knuckles looking sore like he'd just punched a sheet of metal. Abs of steel, specifically.

"Let's see what's better: Your fat or my muscle. Ready?" I asked and settled into a Karate stance before firing off a very basic lunge punch to his stomach. My fist dug into the fat before my arm had been fully extended and that allowed me to use my back foot to push through it even as it tried to absorb the force of the punch and as a result my punch sent a lot of force through to his vulnerable organs. But I didn't stop there, twisting myself in the other direction with my hips, I sent out a reverse punch and hit the exact same spot.

Hwang Daesung's face went pale, his eyes widening and his brow becoming covered in sweat. The veins across his face bulged from the pain and he stumbled back once, then another step and then a third. Then he fell back on his ass.

This Karate stuff is pretty great for body hits, huh? Makes sense. Kyokushin doesn't really focus on punches to the face. In a tournament, it's even prohibited to punch your opponents face. Though kicking is fair game. But because of that, punches to your opponents body are pretty great in Kyokushin Karate. And against a dude like Hwang Daesung who relies on his belly fat to absorb the force of punches? Very effective.

I left the karate stance and turned back to where Hyundong was, "So, let's talk about that gym membership you're gonna be getting, Hyundong~"

. . .

"Wow," I deadpanned, looking at Dahyun doing some stupid Tiktok dance, "Here we go again with your bullshit.*"

(*A/n - I feel his pain as a guy with younger sisters. This comes from the heart as the author who wrote it.)

Dahyun froze before turning her head to look at me like she was actually made of frozen material. Then her face went completely red at being caught doing such a stupid dance, "You said that you'd be late, asshole brother!" she shouted before quickly untying the knot in her shirt that kept it pulled up enough to show off her navel and stomach.

"What the fuck did I just watch?" I asked no one in particular before shaking my head and pinching the bridge of my nose. Eyes closed and shaking my head in disappointment, I sighed, "We're both victims here, so let's just forget what happened."

And with that said, I walked to the kitchen to make myself something to eat.

"All my classmates do it too!" she said after me in embarrassment, her need to validate her actions pushing her to follow me into the kitchen.

"I have no answers. Well, certainly none you'd like," I didn't look at her and just went about making myself a simple salad. Some chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and then lightly seasoning it.

Her embarrassment boiled over as she shoved her phone in front of my face, "Look!" she said urgently, "Look and see how many followers I have. You're the weird one, Soohyun! I'm just a great content creator who follows the trend!"

I wilfully ignored her, pulling on prior experience of being visually challenged and pretended not to see the phone she was waving in my face, "Woah, I've suddenly gone deaf and blind. Crazy how those types of conditions can just sneak up on you," I deadpanned before picking up my salad plus a fork and then walked out of the kitchen and toward my room.

"I'm normal!" Dahyun shouted after me.

I nodded despite her not being able to see and shouted back, "Painfully so, yeah."

Ah, the joys of having a younger sister. And by joys I mean opportunities to tease them into aggravated states.