10 Chapter 9: The 500 Won Man.

"So, I suppose something that would resolve the situation lies in Gyeongju?" On the surface, Ishii Takeo was keeping his cool. But underneath, something was boiling. In his previous existence…. Nothing like this had happened. Sure, the large union fights between schools were dramatic and large-scale, but nothing as intricate as this. Sugoi…?

"Yup. I need someone to help me beat a lot of people up. If our cover is blown." Liam stroked his non-existent beard, tapping the cane against the side of the block.

"What is this, some secret stealth mission or something?" Takeo rolled his eyes.

"So, you in?" Liam raised an eyebrow, the two of them staring at each other. Takeo nodded, and the two of them shook their hands.

"It sounds very exciting. You're paying right?" Slapping Liam on the back, Takeo yawned. They headed off, chatting like normal students on their way home from school.

Few Hours Later….

"We're taking the train at seven in the morning. Should be there by around nine-thirty. So we have plenty of time to explore and get ready!" Liam, acting like a typical tourist, was planning less for the actual purpose they were there, and more for…. Relaxation purposes.

Takeo wasn't complaining though, as he figured an ancient City like Gyeongju would indeed have sights to see.

Stuffing a teriyaki skewer into his mouth, he licked his lips. The juicy flavor of savory singed pork, alongside the tingling feeling of salt, pepper, and thyme along his tongue made for quite the combination.

The night air was cool, but a large iron brazier nearby radiated heat. Also near Jongsu Highschool, we're quite a few restaurants. In most countries around here, many restaurants, especially breakfast places, have opened up nearby.

This was one such place, a partially outdoor skewer shop, with absolutely delicious food. Stuffing more into his mouth, he shrugged. He'd ordered quite a lot, but Liam Ran was paying for it. The guy probably got a lot of money from his inheritance after all. A quick search revealed that Ran Conglomerate was a company based in the retail and fashion industry, with quite a few ties to the entertainment world too.

When the CEO had died, much of an uproar had been made, with a bit of instability, though it had been quickly solved, with a new "puppet" leader of sorts. The only thing stopping Ran Conglomerate from its true potential was the inheritance.

If Liam Ran was to accept everything, then he would possibly become the new CEO. At least that was along the lines of what the grey-haired teen had been saying. Takeo hadn't majored in the business field, so he didn't know much. Ran Kang-dae must have truly had a wonderful brotherly bond with Liam's grandfather.

Besides the thousands of wonderful assets within the inheritance, Liam had also spoken that both corporations were trying badly to make a foothold for themselves in the entertainment world, which would be greatly boosted if they were to seize parts of the Ran Corporation. These days some K-pop gigs did more than a few major food brands, which was quite insane.

(A/N: That's a lie.)

What the two of them were "mainly" going to be doing on Saturday was infiltrating a secret influential meeting of sorts. In broad daylight. A wonderful idea. Like he was some sort of secret agent with many connections, Liam had found some news of some fishy deals going on there, along with a few other things. Enough to land the gracious CEO of Maen-Wi Corporation into jail, which he claimed would put a stopper on those quote, "nagging losers".

He apparently said he had a plan to deal with YK Corporation too. Besides the whole "meeting" and such, both of the corporation headquarters were based in Gyeongju, which Liam had said, could pose some trouble.

Tossing an iron skewer aside, Takeo let out a satisfied sigh. Liam was still listing off the many hot tourist destinations left and right. He was quite notably proficient in this city's history, strangely enough.

After a while, they finished talking, both parties taking off in different directions. Liam lived near Jongsu High, in a small one-story house shared with a few other people. As the cane-man went off to do his own thing, Takeo did the same.

He went off on a late-evening stroll, heading down the dark streets of outer Seoul. A few street lamps flickered with white-yellow light, and he could see a small white moth dance around it. From what he could vaguely recall, moths were drawn to light due to some confusion in their internal navigational systems, whatever that meant.

A few cars sped by at times, but the streets were silent for the most part. Passing under the shadow of a large pachinko parlor, he found himself passing under a cluster of willowy green trees. A cold breeze blew through his hair, but he brushed it off with ease.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching from the side. It was around nine o'clock, so as Takeo turned around, he figured it was some delinquent or drunk person. Eyes blinking under the streetlight, he found the sight to be just as he anticipated.

A tall, pale-skinned teen walked into view, his posture cocky and his expression cold. He had short light brown hair cut back into a mullet, and his body was toned and muscular. His face was quite flowery, with long eyelashes and long tinted pink lips. His shaded eyes were sharp and mostly emotionless, and his mouth was open.

His nose was long and sleek, but what Takeo noticed the most was his long legs. Wearing a pair of loose black pants along with a plain white t-shirt, he was quite handsome indeed. Could probably be one of those billboard models or a god-forbid..... Idol.

Takeo narrowed his milky-gold eyes a little. He looked a little familiar... Shrugging it off, he closed his eyes, arms spread out across the bench, head turned towards the sky. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as the supposed "delinquent" came closer and closer.

=====================

Seong Taehoon walked down the streets of outer Seoul absentmindedly. He needed a change of scenery from his hometown, so he'd taken the bus off to Gangbuk. It had been an interesting trip, with quite some action, though there were a few strange encounters.

Leaving the district, he'd decided to wander about Seoul. He'd hit a few arcades, played some Taekwon 7, beat up a few losers. The day was coming to an end, and he'd have to head back to school tomorrow. Due to some major vandalism, Kangbuk Highschool had been closed for most of the week.

As he walked across the old pavement, hands pushed into his pockets, he noticed a lone figure sitting on a bench. His immediate thought was that it was just some random drunk dude that just got dumped or something. His mind changed when he grew closer.

Instead of the fat old guy in the tank top with a bottle of soju in hand, it turned out to be a teen about his age. Stopping for a second, his cold arrogant eyes traced over the sitting teen. That content expression on the guy's face sorta pissed him off.

It reminded him of a certain opponent he'd once faced. Someone that had wronged his honor and will as a practitioner of the "greatest" martial art. Well, that was a far stretch. He wasn't exactly that righteous of folk. He'd watched too many of those old Samurai flicks recently. There were just some people he despised to just look at.

Walking up to the bench, Taehoon raised his foot, slamming it against the side of its wooden frame, just next to the teen's head. It was obvious what he was going to do. In his life, he did what he wanted. Bending over, he smiled coldly, staring into the teen's eyes with the utmost contempt.

"Hey? You got 500 won?"

====================

(A/N: I've got quite a few webtoons planned as a part of this world....)