Chapter 9: Chapter 08: Meeting with Jaeha Han and Awakening (2)
Author's Note: It seems I haven't written about awakening or transcendence in Chapter 0. I apologize to anyone who hasn't read Questism, I hope this oversight doesn't detract from your reading experience.
===================================
Jaeha Han's POV
For as long as I can remember, I've always hated rules. Whether at school or in taekwondo competitions that prevent me from using my full strength, rules have always been a nuisance.
"I heard some seniors who graduated opened a karaoke place recently and are making bank," said some random unimportant guy.
"Oh really?" I said, not hiding my smiling lips which seemed to scare those idiots.
"Let's just take their karaoke place," I expressed as I stood up.
"Show me the way, idiot," I said after exhaling a puff of cigarette smoke.
That was the day I understood the value of strength and that rules are only made for the weak who need support or a safety net.
But I'm different, I'm Jaeha Han and for me, rules are like toilet paper, only good for wiping my shit, nothing more.
"What's wrong?? Why aren't you answering anymore?" Hanju Gu asks me with a mocking smile.
I can't lose here, especially not to him, never to him. He's completely my opposite. I have to beat him even if I'm ruined because of it.
"I wonder if I can take over your territory more easily if I drag you to your subordinates," he says, lifting me by the throat to his eye level.
Fear overcomes me, a feeling I thought I'd long discarded but seeing it resurface again. No, I refuse this end.
After having this last thought, I felt a strange sensation. It wasn't fear, pain, or any other negative emotion caused by Hanju but a firm resolution.
As soon as I had this feeling, it was like my whole body got a second wind, as if all my past pain and anguish were just an illusion.
"Hanju... I.. I'm going to destroy you right here," I say with difficulty because of his tight grip on my throat.
"Speak up, idiot. I can't hear well with your schizophrenic mumbling," says Hanju, tapping my pocket to take out my lighter and light his cigarette.
"Even if I lose my life today, I WILL KILL YOU!" I yell the last part not only to reaffirm my resolve in this fight but also to destabilize Hanju who is extremely close to me.
As I thought, Hanju slightly loosened his grip on my throat. It was the perfect time to create some distance between us.
So I gave Hanju a kick to the torso to make him stumble back but surprisingly I felt my leg exert more force than usual.
"You've gotten stronger??" he says, looking at me seriously and not with his earlier carefree gaze.
"It's better... this way, you'll understand the difference between us better but before getting serious..." he says, flicking away and crushing his cigarette.
"Tell me, Jaeha Han," he starts, looking at the clouds drifting by in the crimson dusk sky.
"Why do you fight?" he asks in a calm voice containing none of the mockery or provocation he was showing until just now.
"Isn't it a bit late to ask me that now?" I say, spitting blood mixed with sand on the ground, probably from Hanju's shoe.
"You're right, my bad," he says, shaking his head as if dismissing an unpleasant thought.
"I must looking for an answer by myself, forget it," he says, taking up a stance similar yet slightly different from mine.
"You wanna face me in taekwondo?" I ask, not hiding my anger at his behavior.
"Yes... at least for now," he says, still with a serious look.
After finishing speaking, Hanju wasted no time. We exchanged various taekwondo techniques in a short time but unfortunately, I had to accept the harsh truth presenting itself to me.
"Bastard, why'd you hide being so skilled at taekwondo all this time?" I say, blocking a kick clearly aimed at my knee. Hanju surely wanted to remove my kneecap and cripple me, what a piece of shit.
"Because it's fun making you believe you're at my level," he says, striking me with a Sonkal Taerigi (or knifehand strike).
(Author's Note: Sonkal Taerigi are hand strikes executed with the edge of the hand. They're often used to target sensitive areas like the opponent's throat or eyes. To show Hanju wants to finish Jaeha Han quickly.)
Although I was already at a disadvantage initially in our leg match, adding punches put me in real trouble.
"Damn, he must've figured out my attack patterns," I thought, frustrated by the situation becoming increasingly difficult for me to handle.
While visually I'm blocking and occasionally counterattacking, Hanju overpowers me in strength, speed, and I can see he's far from exhausted.
"The worst is he hasn't taken any real critical hits," I could only curse my recklessness in personally dealing with Suhyeon Kim.
As I'm thinking about my stupidity, I take an elbow strike to my forearm. I couldn't help a pained groan escaping my bloodied lips.
"I know now I'm better than you at taekwondo, so I can finish this right?" he asks with a condescending look.
Hearing those words, I was bombarded by a mix of punches and kicks from various types of boxing - sometimes Muay Thai, sometimes just Western boxing, savate, and kickboxing.
If it was that straightforward I could've withstood it but the bastard occasionally switched back to taekwondo to confuse me.
"Monster" was my last word before losing consciousness.
Author's POV
"Didn't think I'd have to get serious with him," thought Hanju, picking up a pack of cigarettes from Jaeha's jacket before putting Suhyeon Kim over his shoulder to leave.
"I really want to take over his territory directly but Sigyeong Ryu is there. Hate to admit it but I don't think I can take him currently," thought Hanju bitterly and dissatisfied with himself.
Upon leaving the scene, he couldn't help but ponder the question his taekwondo teacher had asked during their last session.
"Why do I fight?" he thought, exiting the alley and leaving an unconscious Jaeha Han on the ground.
.
.
.
Hanju eventually arrived at Suhyeon Kim's place thanks to the information from his ID card.
"Always good to know where Suhyeon Kim lives," thought Hanju, pressing the doorbell.
Even if Suhyeon Kim likely had a spare key, he didn't want to break in without permission and possibly frighten the family.
"It'd be kind of funny to see his mom's face when she sees me carrying her unconscious son," he thought with a small evil grin.
After a while, he heard footsteps approaching the door, surely to open it.
"What are you doing here and why are you carrying my brother like a sack?" asked Dahyeon Kim in a clearly surprised tone and slightly worried expression upon seeing her brother.
"Nothing serious, your brother just had some bad luck and since I was passing by, I helped him a bit," said Hanju calmly.
"Otherwise, can I come in and put your brother down? Or will I keep getting interrogated?" asked Hanju in a slightly annoyed tone.
"Oh!... Sorry, wait a minute," she said, going inside for a few minutes before coming back sighing in relief.
"It's fine, mom's already in her room since my friends are coming soon," she explained, signaling me to enter.
After placing Suhyeon Kim on his bed, I promptly headed for the door. After all, I have a lot to do at home.
"You're forgetting something???" said Dahyeon Kim in my direction, slightly frowning.
"What?? Didn't I return your brother properly?" said Hanju, pondering what she's referring to.
"I mean my service creating accounts for you on various social media," she said indignantly.
"Oh right! Here, and I look forward to continuing our collaboration," I say, handing her money.
"Hold on a sec," she quickly says, rapidly moving to block Hanju's path.
"My friends are organizing a small party this weekend which is also why we're meeting here today," she explains, clearly nervous.
"And??" I ask, fully aware of where this conversation is headed.
"My mom doesn't want me going alone and I don't want my brother embarrassing me so I... I wanted you to accompany me," she says, looking left and right, clearly uncomfortable and too embarrassed to meet my eyes.
"Here, take your money, see it as me hiring you and let's meet the day after tomorrow, ok bye," she quickly expressed while shooing me out of the apartment.
"So this is how Haru Seong gets stuck with her at a girls' night out," thought Hanju, slightly surprised by the young girl's initiative.
Author's Note: Now we have confirmation the protagonist is stronger than the Gangbuk South crew head and it's also time to tackle an important question in the Lookism universe (if you want to know more about this, you must read Chapter 0, the section on the path to mastery, and also on awakening).
And yes, Dahyeon Kim is a girl who goes all in when she's interested in a guy (Haru Seong can attest) lol 😂. It's a similar case with her best friend Soha Yang (except Soha is more perverted).
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone