Jin Taeho, a shabby man who seems to be in his 20s or 30s, dressed in dirty cloth garments, is walking toward the counter in a general store, a water bottle in his hand. Just as he’s a few steps of the clerk, an uptight lady walks into the shop, bringing behind her a particular salty and sticky breeze. The smell is partially masked by the dozens of scented candles placed throughout the store, but it isn’t enough to cover the abominable stench. Jin, however, seems to be unfazed by it. He yawns as the woman walks in.
The lady rushes to the checkout, cutting Jin before he gets there, and pulls out her perfume, spraying it an excessive amount of times. “My goodness! The smell never goes away!”
“Yeap. This is Seoultown for ya! Smelly as shit,” says the female cashier, wearing a face mask.
“Oops! I forgot to get my things!” the woman says, putting away her perfume. She turns around, and before walking down the aisle, she says to Jin, “Would you please hold my spot, dear? Stay right there. Thank you. Nice costume by the way. Are you a beggar in the Chinese parade?”
Jin ignores her and walks up to the counter. Before the cashier can ring him, the lady scurries back to the front of the line. She pushes Jin to the side and places a plastic box and a bottle of liquor on the counter.
“Could you get these scanned? Thank you,” the woman says, a big smile on her face.
“Sure…” says the cashier, glancing at Jin who yawns.
“Oh, one more thing,” the woman says. “I’ll be back in a second.”
The cashier gives Jin a weird look, but he doesn’t react in any particular way.
A few seconds later, the woman comes back to the counter with a stone hoop around her wrist. She places the ring-like object on the checkout table. “Whew! A mana loop. Almost forgot about one. My old one died just last night.”
“Is that all you’re getting?” says the clerk, a bored look on her face.
“Yes, please,” says the woman. “If you could please hurry. I have somewhere to be in fifteen minutes. Thank you.”
The cashier, looking at the lady with an annoyed expression, runs the scan gun over the items. A blue light beams over the merchandise and immediately after, the total price of the items appears on a glass screen over the counter.
“That’ll be seven hundred twenty-three dollars,” says the cashier.
The woman takes out a silver card from her coat pocket and hands it to the clerk. “Quickly, please.”
The clerk takes the card and inserts it into a small device on the counter. As the card is scanned, a tiny light on the machine blinks blue three times. Once done, the clerk takes the card out of the machine slot and hands it back to the woman. She says with a brazen face,“Have a nice day.”
“Could you get these bagged for me? Thank you.”
“Have a nice day,” says the clerk.
A few seconds go by and the look of the woman grows to be one of confusion. “The bags?”
“Have a nice day, ma’am,” the clerk says.
“The bags?” says the lady.
“Have a nice day?” repeats the clerk.
“Excuse me? Do you know who I am?” the woman says, boldly. “I am—“
“Don’t know, don’t care,” says the cashier. “Next!”
Appalled, the woman takes her things and stomps her way out.
Jin walks up to the checkout, and he places a gray bill marked with the number ’20’ on the counter. “Keep the change.” He opens up the water bottle in his hand and takes a few gulps, walking out the door.
As he is exiting, the cashier shouts, “We don’t take cash!”
Jin ignores her and continues walking.
“Stop!” the cashier says. She runs after him, but when she opens the door he’s already gone. “Damn, where did he go?”
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Jin is walking on the sidewalk near the edge of Seoultown. It’s the middle of the day and a siren is going off that can be heard for several city blocks. The sound loudens as he turns the corner into old stone steps that go uphill at least one hundred feet. He pays no heed to the screeching noise and continues walking up the steps.
On the street below, a man wearing a green hoodie and a black face mask is bolting through the avenue. As the sirens come closer, the man dashes up the steps and runs past Jin. He zips up the hill, hopping several feet every time he takes a step. As he approaches the top, a figure zooms in from the bottom of the steps and instantly appears behind him. The figure palms him in the back and sends him flying forward. He tumbles across old cobblestone and crashes through a worn-down wall, landing in the middle of a temple’s courtyard.
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A young man in a corporate suit with a trench coat over his shoulders walks forward. “Hand over the stone.”
The hoodied man takes off his face mask. He wipes away the blood oozing out of his mouth. “Fuck off.”
The man in the suit, who is probably only two or three years older, looks down with cold eyes. “If you hand it over, I’ll let you go.”
“Bastard. If I weren’t hurt, I would totally kick your ass right now,” the man in the hoodie says, spitting out blood.
The suited man glares at him. “Do you really think you can beat me?”
“You’re just a pampered brat who lives in the shadow of the fame of his family. How could I lose to you?” says the hoodied man.
The suited man reaches into his coat pocket and takes out a white pill, then flings it at the ground. “Take it.”
The young man on the ground looks down at the oblong-shaped pill. After a moment of hesitation, he swipes the capsule off the ground and ingests it. Just a few seconds after, his body twists and convulses. The blood vessels on his face and neck turn black and bulge out. He clenches his hands and grits his teeth, grunting as the medicine takes effect. Over the course of a long minute, the spasms lessen and eventually cease. His veins stop swelling and return to their normal color. He takes a few deep breaths and stands up. “I’m gonna beat you to a pulp, you damn prick.”
“Come then,” the man in the suit says, putting his hands into his pockets.
The hoodied man raises both his hands, forming fists. He hunches himself slightly and brings his arms inward, forming a tight stance. After readying himself, he rushes in and swings a solid punch at the man in front of him.
The man in the suit catches the fist. “That’s it? After all that talk, this is all you can muster? Pathetic.”
The hoodied man appears shocked. Before he’s able to react, the man in the suit twists his arm, and he lets out an agonizing scream.
The suited man gives him a stone-cold look. “If this is the extent of your martial arts, then I’m done here.” He contorts the arm even more, then shoves the hoodied man into the ground.
A small parcel wrapped in a black cloth falls out of the young man’s hoodie. He reaches out for it, but his hand is kicked away.
The man in the suit bends down and picks the item up. He pulls back the black cloth, which reveals a jagged stone that’s small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. He tucks the rock into his coat pocket and stands up, looking down at the beaten man. “Don’t you dare show your face in front of me again.”
As the suited man turns around, the man in the hoodie laughs. “I knew I couldn’t beat you. After all, you’re the great Kang Lee Kwon.” He pulls up his hoodie and shirt, revealing painted symbols on his chest. A red aura begins shimmering around him.
Kang Lee Kwon’s eyes widen upon seeing a hexagram. Without a thought, he crosses both his arms over each other in an ‘x’ pattern. He takes such a deep breath that all the nearby dirt particles and leaves gravitate toward him.
The young man on the ground looks at him with absolution and smiles. “This is the end for you.” The symbols on his chest burn red. A bright light is released from the written characters, sparking an explosion.
Kang Lee Kwon exhales and pulls his arms in. In a whisper, he says, “Weaving Demon Aura.” As the explosion goes off just mere inches of him, a dark-tainted energy envelopes him in a sphere. The self-destructing boom screeches against his aura and some of the energy pierces through, slicing him across the face. He’s forced back by the blast, barely managing to hold on. Losing his ground, he opens his arms and lets out a shout. His aura grows darker and increases in size. The fiery discharge is nullified, and as the aura expands, it decimates everything around. The walls are reduced to rubble, and the old cobblestone and temple building break apart and are blown off the hilltop.
Kang Lee Kwon drops to a knee and takes heavy breaths. After recollecting himself, he stands up, one of his arms dangling, and turns around. As he walks away, he sees Jin standing next to the old welcome pole, a water bottle in his hand. When he walks up next to him, he gives Jin a stern look, but little to his surprise, he’s ignored. He lets out a puff. Weakened and agitated, he staggers down the steps.
Jin walks up to the young man whose entire body is scorched. He tilts his head up and gulps down the last bit of water, then tosses the empty bottle to the side. He folds his arms against his back and gazes intently at the young man, seeing golden pins stuck all throughout the young man’s body.
Interesting. All of his meridians have been sealed with Golden Needles of Nirvana. Even his Meridian of Earth and Meridian of Heaven are sealed…
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As Kang Lee Kwon is mid-way down the hill, police officers and paramedics arrive and run up the hill. He looks up, seeing broken windows and charred brick buildings. Blood seeps from the corner of his mouth, and he takes out a clean cloth from his breastpocket to wipe it. He says to himself, “Damn punk. I didn’t think I would have to use Heavenly Demon Arts.” A ring jingles in his coat pocket. He takes out his phone but doesn’t bother checking who the caller is because he already knows who’s calling. “What?”
“Did you get it?” a deep voice says.
“Yes,” says Kang Lee Kwon.
“Good,” the voice says, pleased. “Deliver it to Master Shen once you get to HQ.”
Kang grunts and places his hand over his abdomen.
In a crude tone, the voice asks, “Did something happen?”
“Nothing,” Kang Lee Kwon says, plainly.
The voice scoffs. “Hoh? Is that so? Should I send David over?”
“That isn’t necessary,” Kang Lee Kwon says. “Paramedics have already arrived.”
“Very well,” says the caller. “Come home quickly.”
“Yes, father,” says Kang Lee Kwon, then hangs up.
An officer scurries down the hillsteps and directs himself to Kang Lee Kwon. “Young Master Kwon. The suspect is gone.”
Kang Lee Kwon turns his head toward the hilltop, his eyes glaring. He vanishes, which surprises the officers running up and down the steps, and appears up at the welcome pole. A gust blows across the dirty ruins, showing nothing but a destroyed temple around a scorched crater. The man has a stupefied look on his face, but it turns into one of extreme agitation. Flustered, he punches the wooden pole and shatters it off its post, which sends it flying across the street. The broken beam violently twirls through the air and slams into the window of a shop down below. Kang Lee Kwon furrows his eyebrows, then it rings to him: the man at the top of the hill from earlier.
Kang Lee Kwon scoffs. “Tch. Whatever.” He turns away and leaves.
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From the top of a skyscraper many blocks away, Jin is observing Kang Lee Kwon with some intrigue. “Heavenly Demon Arts, huh?” He looks back at the young man unconcious behind him, with even greater intrigue, and grins. “It seems like I woke up in quite the era.”