Screech.
The door creaked open, and two figures stepped into the restroom: Edmund Cho, a Korean-American whose father was stationed with the U.S. Forces Korea, and Josh McDaniel.
Josh, towering over 180 cm and weighing 105 kg, was a 17-year-old who sported a beard, looking more like an adult than a teenager.
In contrast, Edmund, who stood at 167 cm and appeared relatively small, had a shaved head and fierce, piercing eyes.
Edmund glanced around to check if anyone else was present, then cracked his neck from side to side and flared his nostrils.
He reached into the inside pocket of his jumper and pulled out a silver jackknife, its blade gleaming sharply.
Standing casually with one leg cocked beside Josh, Edmund raised his chin slightly and called out to a man who was standing at a urinal.
"Hey!"
The man, who was zipping up his pants and straightening his clothes, instinctively turned his head at the sound — and instantly froze, his eyebrows shooting up in alarm.
It was impossible not to be startled: two rough-looking guys were standing there, one of them holding a knife.
"Uh, uh..."
As the man stammered in confusion, Edmund flashed a chilling smile and took a step forward. Josh, standing beside him, drawled lazily,
"You really gonna do it?"
Edmund licked the edge of the knife lightly with his tongue and replied,
"Yeah. I gotta show Michael that I'm not just all talk."
"It could get messy."
"It's fine. Even if it does, the Korean cops can't do anything to me."
Josh, his pierced eyebrow furrowed, let out a short snicker.
"Yeah, you got a point."
As Edmund advanced with the jackknife, the man, now pale with fear, stammered urgently,
"W-what are you doing? If you want money, you can take my wallet! Just stay away!"
"Pathetic bastard."
Edmund lunged forward, thrusting the jackknife toward the man's chest without hesitation—
but at that moment, a loud shout from behind brought him to a sudden stop.
"That's enough! Right there!"
Annoyed, Edmund turned his head to see three people blocking the restroom door: Seok-won, Baucus, and Ju Geunseong.
Edmund, who had just been about to enjoy himself, scowled and spat out a curse.
"Who the hell are these guys?"
His sharp eyes scanned the three newcomers one by one.
"What a bunch of annoying faces."
He could accept the big Black guy, but the handsome face of the guy standing in the middle made him want to slash it with his knife.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Josh suddenly swung a massive fist toward Seok-won.
"You bastards!"
Despite his massive build, Baucus moved with surprising speed, stepping forward and easily batting away Josh's swinging fist with one forearm.
At the same moment, he slipped deftly inside Josh's guard and drove his opposite elbow hard into Josh's face.
Crack!
"Urgh!"
A chilling sound of shattering bone echoed through the restroom as the hulking Josh, blood gushing from his face, was knocked back like a ball, slamming against the left wall and collapsing unconscious.
There was never any real contest: Baucus, a former Navy SEAL practically built as a human weapon, easily overwhelmed Josh, who was little more than a thug despite his street reputation.
Seeing Josh — famous among his friends for his fists — get taken down in an instant, Edmund's face went deathly pale.
"You... you bastard! Who the hell are you?!"
Edmund, waving his jackknife wildly, stumbled backward.
Though he tried to act tough, the fear was obvious in his trembling hands and wavering voice.
He was the typical bully: strong against the weak, but crumbling before real strength.
The thought that someone like this had caused the death of a young man whose life had only just begun made rage bubble inside.
Without taking his eyes off the jackknife-wielding Edmund, Baucus asked quietly,
"What should I do?"
Seok-won answered in a cold voice,
"He threatened us with a knife first, so it'll be considered self-defense. Make sure he never tries anything like this again."
"Understood."
Expressionless, Baucus stepped forward.
Edmund, now fully panicking, swung the jackknife wildly in the air and screamed,
"D-Don't come any closer!"
His eyes were clouded with panic and fear.
Even in the middle of his panic, his eyes darted around, clearly looking for a chance to abandon his friend and flee.
But Baucus moved in steadily, not even flinching.
"Goddamn it!"
Cornered, Edmund finally lunged forward, thrusting the jackknife toward Baucus's stomach.
Just as the blade was about to pierce flesh, Baucus twisted his body slightly to dodge, and with a fist like a rock, slammed it into the back of Edmund's head.
Thud!
"Agh!"
With a dull sound, Edmund staggered, dropping the jackknife to the floor.
Without giving him a moment to recover, Baucus drove his solid knee sharply into Edmund's abdomen.
Thump!
Eyes wide open, Edmund's body bent sharply like a folding chair, as if the breath had been knocked out of him.
Without hesitation, Baucus grabbed Edmund by the scruff of his neck and slammed his face with full force into the bathroom wall.
Crack!
"Ugh..."
When Baucus let go, Edmund — his nose and even his teeth shattered from the impact — collapsed face-first onto the floor, his eyes rolled back and blood pouring from his face.
Baucus calmly picked up the jackknife from the floor and crouched down next to the unconscious Edmund.
Despite having just demolished two thugs in an instant, he hadn't even broken a sweat.
"Kid, that's not how you use a knife."
Without a flicker of emotion, Baucus drove the jackknife mercilessly into the back of Edmund's right hand.
"Aaaagh!"
The cold blade pierced flesh, and the excruciating pain snapped Edmund back to consciousness with a piercing scream.
"What's going on?!"
"Eek!"
Hearing the screams, a staff member and a female customer rushed over and threw open the bathroom door — only to freeze at the bloody scene inside.
"B-Blood!"
The staff member, looking like he might faint at any moment, pointed at Edmund, who was writhing on the floor, bleeding with the knife still embedded in his hand.
Standing near the door, Seok-won smiled reassuringly at the terrified staff member and woman.
"Everything's under control now. It's okay."
But the two remained frozen, trembling violently, unable to move.
"They're clearly in shock. Take them outside for now, and call the police," Seok-won said.
"Yes, sir."
Calm as ever, Joo Geunseong immediately escorted the staff member and the woman out of the restroom.
Turning back, Seok-won approached the man who was still half-crouched in front of the urinal, looking dazed.
"Are you hurt?"
Startled, the man quickly looked up and nodded.
"N-No, I'm fine."
"Your girlfriend seems really worried. You should go out and reassure her."
"C-Can I really?"
The man hesitated for a moment before bowing deeply.
"Thank you... for saving me."
He shuddered at the thought of what could have happened if Seok-won hadn't intervened.
Just as he was about to thank him again, Seok-won gestured toward Baucus with a nod.
"He's the one who saved you. Thank him."
"O-Of course."
The man glanced nervously at Baucus, who stood silently by the two bloodied thugs, and then bowed deeply.
"Thank you very much."
Baucus gave a small nod without a word.
Though his massive frame was intimidating, the man realized with relief that Baucus seemed to be a good person after all.
"Well, I'll be going now..."
The man carefully stepped over the two thugs sprawled across the floor as he made his way out of the bathroom.
Just then, Seok-won seemed to remember something and called out.
"Wait. We'll need your statement to confirm this was self-defense. Could you stay in the store and wait for the police?"
"Of course," the man replied, nodding quickly.
Seok-won watched the man hurry out of the restroom, then casually walked over to Baucus with his hands shoved into his pockets.
Looking down at the wrecked thugs, Seok-won's gaze landed on Edmund, whose hand was still pinned to the bloody floor by the jackknife. He frowned slightly.
"He's bleeding a lot. Is his life in danger?"
"He didn't hit any major arteries. He'll live," Baucus answered.
"Good enough."
Frankly, Seok-won wouldn't have cared even if they had died.
Anyone willing to stab a complete stranger over nothing probably lived their life like trash anyway.
What concerned him more was the poor store employees, who would now have to scrub blood off the floor.
Baucus stared steadily at Seok-won for a moment before asking,
"Did you eat hamburgers for days just to catch these guys?"
After all, there were plenty of other options for a late-night meal — yet Seok-won kept coming back to the same burger joint every night, sitting there as if waiting for something.
"No way. I'm not a god. How could I have known this would happen?" Seok-won replied smoothly without batting an eye.
"..."
Though Seok-won denied it, Baucus clearly didn't believe him.
Given how Seok-won had immediately followed the thugs into the restroom after they targeted the man, his suspicion wasn't unreasonable.
Still, Baucus said nothing more.
He knew better than to pry — his boss had always been a man full of secrets.
Just then, the sound of wailing sirens echoed from outside, and Seok-won shrugged.
"Sounds like the police are here."
Before long, Seok-won and his companions, along with the young couple and the store employee, boarded a patrol car and headed to the police station to give their statements.
Meanwhile, the two battered thugs were taken directly to the emergency room due to the severity of their injuries.
Detective Yoo Hyung-sik from the Yongsan Police Violent Crimes Unit frowned as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and stuck it between his lips.
He had every reason to be annoyed — an incident had blown up during his shift, forcing him to spend the early morning drafting reports instead of resting.
Lighting his cigarette, Yoo exhaled a plume of white smoke and stared at Seok-won, who was sitting across the desk.
"So, you're telling me you just happened to walk into the bathroom and got into a fight after seeing those two guys — the ones who ended up in the hospital — trying to stab the man behind you?"
He gestured with his cigarette toward the man sitting nervously in the back with his girlfriend.
"Yes. As I said before, they were the ones who pulled the knife first. It was clearly self-defense," Seok-won replied calmly.
Yoo's frown deepened at Seok-won's composed tone.
"Self-defense? That seems a little excessive, don't you think? You completely wrecked them."
Yoo lifted the medical report sent from the hospital and deliberately read it aloud.
"Listen to this — facial fractures, eight missing teeth… Did you stomp on their faces or something? And one of them had a knife stabbed right through his hand. Took more than thirty stitches. It'll take at least eight weeks for them to recover."
"They're not as badly hurt as I thought," Seok-won said casually, lightly swinging his crossed leg.
The nonchalant attitude made Yoo twitch his eyebrow in irritation. He slammed his palm loudly against the metal desk.
"Listen, pal. Maybe you're not getting it. Even if it was self-defense, you should've shown some restraint. If those guys press charges, you could end up behind bars for assault. You're in serious trouble here."
At Yoo's threatening tone, there was a faint gasp from the young couple in the back.
Meanwhile, Seok-won and his companions looked completely unfazed, as if this had nothing to do with them.
"The ones in trouble aren't us," Seok-won replied with an easy smile.
"What the hell…"
Yoo, who had initially intended to go easy on them — thinking they'd just been unlucky bystanders trying to help — was about to lose his temper.
At that moment, the door to the Violent Crimes Unit swung open.
A middle-aged man in a sharp suit, holding a sleek briefcase, entered.
Even inside the police station, where most people shrank with nervousness whether guilty or not, the newcomer held his head high, his presence commanding attention.
He scanned the room quickly, then made a beeline for Seok-won.
"Who the hell are you? This is a restricted area. You need to leave immediately," Yoo snapped, frowning.
The man's expensive suit and polished shoes gave Yoo an ominous feeling that trouble was about to follow.
Standing in front of the desk, the middle-aged man smoothly pulled out a business card and placed it in front of Yoo.
"Seok Chang-geun, attorney at P&J Law Firm.
I've been retained to represent Mr. Park Seok-won and his associates.
I assume there's no issue with me sitting in for the statement?"
His voice was polite, yet carried undeniable weight.
Startled by the sudden appearance of an attorney from P&J — the most prestigious law firm in the country — Yoo Hyung-sik hurriedly picked up the business card to confirm.
[Seok Chang-geun, Partner Attorney, P&J Law Firm]
"...!"
He wasn't just some associate hired by the firm — he was a senior partner.
Momentarily stunned, Yoo looked up at Seok Chang-geun, then instinctively shifted his gaze sideways.
Seok-won, still seated with his usual relaxed demeanor, met Yoo's eyes and smiled.
At that moment, a chill ran down Yoo's spine, as if he had accidentally disturbed a hornet's nest he should've left well alone.