Chapter 17: Hanging out with friends

Suho Kang's POV

"So, where are we going to hang out?" I ask, walking slightly behind the group.

After waking up towards the end of class, Yu Ijin suggested going out with his classmates, and of course, I agreed.

I couldn't live on just training and studying; I'm human after all.

"We're going to the cybercafe. I hope you're good at games," Yeongchan declares, slightly embarrassed for some reason.

He must be the type to be ashamed of his passions in front of others. It reminds me of the time when my middle school buddy was criticized for reading manga.

Unlike him, I managed to keep my otaku side safe and preserve my social life.

Now, I understand that I acted like a jerk towards my friend back then. I shouldn't have hidden that side of me to preserve my reputation, but should have supported him instead.

"Yeah, I'm pretty good," I say nonchalantly. In reality, I can't really lose at any game with my eyes.

We finally reached the cybercafe without any trouble on the way.

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"Dude, are you sure you're a beginner?" Yeongchan asks, squinting at me.

"Yeah, I remind you that you saw me create my account at the start," I say simply. I couldn't help but smile looking at their shocked faces.

"Yeah man, you destroyed everything out there," Hyeokjin JU declares, smiling with excitement.

"You should have started this game earlier. I'm sure you would have reached the top of the rankings," Lee Jaehyung says respectfully.

"On the other hand, Yu Ijin was completely useless, haha," I say, mocking the teenager endowed with supernatural physical and mental abilities but who has no gift for games.

Nature is really well-made; there's finally some justice in this ungrateful universe.

"I just need to establish a better strategy," Yu Ijin responds seriously. I can see in his eyes that he's not joking.

I must have pushed him too far with my provocations. It seems he's starting to confuse fun with a real mission.

"Dude, relax, it's just a game," I say, getting up from my seat.

"I'll leave you guys. I need to go somewhere before heading home," I say before separating from them despite their protests.

"In the end, he's a nice guy," Yeongchan mutters, observing my back. He didn't know I had heard and seen him because of the glass at the entrance and my abnormal senses, but I ignored it.

"I had really forgotten the feeling of simple fun," I mutter, walking towards a bike shop indicated by the GPS.

"I hope they'll have bikes of excellent quality."

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"Why are you here?" I ask Joonwoo, removing my bike helmet from my head.

I had finally arrived at Chunwoong to continue my training with Wang Hao, but I had an unknown face and a person who shouldn't be here in front of me.

"He insisted on following me," Rira Seo declares in an annoyed tone.

"I wanted to know... why Rira had certain injuries on her, so I insisted on coming," Joonwoo says hesitantly. It seems his trust issues aren't completely resolved.

"Stop playing Romeo," I say, smiling at him. Despite me altering the timeline of events, he still developed connections with Rira Seo.

"And you, who are you?" I ask, turning my attention to a young man about my age eating a pastry in the corner.

"Me, I'm Gyeongchun Rim, and your friends invited me into their group in exchange for money and a place to sleep," he says nonchalantly.

"Oh! They finally found the former North Korean agent," I say, approaching him.

*slash* sound of the knife hitting the hard surface of my bike helmet.

"Who are you, asshole?" Gyeongchun Rim declares, without a trace of the innocent and naive expression from earlier.

I could easily dodge the attack, but at the last minute, the jerk changed the trajectory of his knife and aimed for my neck, but I blocked it with the bike helmet.

"You should calm down. We're not in the North anymore, and I just want to talk business with you," I say, smiling at him.

"Hansol, why wasn't I warned about him in advance?" I say to her, frowning.

"I wanted to warn you, but he's extremely wary of phones," she says, shrugging her shoulders.

It seems our little North Korean doesn't trust me and my group yet, which is normal since they only met recently.

"Don't look at me like that, asshole," he says, attacking me again with his knife. His style doesn't resemble Kali Arnis or Kenjutsu.

"I see, you've improved your fighting style in real situations and not through a proper combat sport," I say, dodging all his blows before grabbing his forearm and throwing him to the ground with Aikido.

"You're definitely an important element of our group. You can call me big brother," I say, extending my hand to him.

He's probably the best recruit I've had in the "phantom troupe." He clearly has killing experience, and he's strong too.

I can say he's weaker than Yu Ijin, but he has the same look in his eyes when he fights. I could feel that if I wasn't strong enough, this kid would kill me without hesitation and continue eating his pastry nonchalantly.

"I refuse, and you haven't answered how you know about me," he says, getting up.

"I thought you knew that the loser has no rights. I could have killed you the moment your knife stabbed my helmet," I say, half-serious.

"I also know about you thanks to certain black market informants. Did you really think that by doing anything for money, you wouldn't attract attention?" I say, looking at him like an idiot.

I didn't lie. In the original story, Baek XX's protagonist contacted him through the black market, and the idiot was doing almost anything for money.

"I see, but there's no way I'm calling you big brother," he says firmly.

"Okay, okay," I say nonchalantly.

"Hey Myeong Seong, avoid bringing new recruits here next time," I say to my temporary second-in-command.

"I don't want too many subordinates to know about our training," I explain, walking towards Chunwoong.

"I understand. I'll avoid it in the future," he says, following me.

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*bing* sound of metal against the helmet.

"DAMN BITCH, couldn't you throw your stuff somewhere else?" I say, slightly angry. I could see that my bike helmet is completely ruined now.

The moment I entered Chunwoong, I was greeted by a kukri knife strike.

I couldn't dodge, or Hansol and Rira could have been injured, so I had to sacrifice my brand new helmet.

"Who are you calling a bitch, kid?" Xiuren says, coming out of a dark corner with a knife in hand.

"You're right, you're not a bitch but a cook, and if you continue, I'll send you to your place: the kitchen," I say in a haughty tone, walking towards her.

Xiuren only respects the strong, and for her, there are only two types of strength.

The first is similar to the current puppet of the Chunwoong gang, so kindness and leadership.

The second is similar to Wang Hao, so overwhelming force.

I don't know why she's on edge right now, but I don't like having a knife thrown at me for no reason.

"XIUREN, STOP!" a voice shouts from inside.

"You already know it's decided by Wang Hao. You can't change anything anymore," Cha Yu-Hwa declares, sighing in frustration.

"SHIT!" she shouts in rage.

"You'll see, kid. I'll show you the power of the butcher one day," she says before leaving.

It seems I've missed a few episodes here.

(Image)