That was it. It was over.
When he saw the woman's form in front of him blur slightly, Seo Ji-hoo had already sensed it. He had already accepted his demise. In those last milliseconds, he knew he was going to die. He had even made peace with it.
He tried to accelerate his mind to see where the attack was coming from, but he couldn't see it. His thoughts raced: 'I'm going to die without even seeing how I die.'
His expression tightened, a grimace of acceptance forming on his face. He was being dramatic, of course—they wouldn't actually kill him for nothing, ig he wasn't so panicked then, he would have concluded such—but in that moment, it felt real.
Then, something stopped the kick.
A sound of impact echoed through the air. A gust of wind hit his face. He had closed his eyes, expecting the blow, but it never came. Slowly, he opened them.
'I'm not dead?'
He saw her foot, it was about a centimiter form his face, completely static, and around her ankle, a hand gripped her ankle, stopping the attack cold.
He followed the arm up to see who it was.
The woman pulled her leg back, retreating a step. "Who are you?" she demanded.
Han Joon-seong opened and closed his hand, his expression completely cold and blank, like a doll speaking.
"Han Joon-seong, of the Juhwang-pa. You're invading our territory."
She scoffed. "Juhwang-pa? As far as I know, this is just the edge of your territory. It's not technically yours."
He stared at her, his voice flat. "If we're going to argue about ownership of our defined borders, then I suppose we can start invading yours to claim establishments from there?"
Her expression turned serious.
The thug behind her watched the entire situation unfold, his body tense. He had seen Han Joon-seong stop the kick effortlessly.
---
Ervin's perspective shifted. He pumped his imaginary fist.
'Yes! Perfect timing!'
The truth was, Han Joon-seong had already been arriving. Cheon Seul-ah had only hesitated to buy a little more time. Fortunately, when she did, Han Joon-seong managed to appear. He had been at the end of the alley when she started swinging her leg toward Seo Ji-hoo. So she had to stall—stepping forward, asking if he could call the owner. Once Han Joon-seong was close enough, she threw the kick. And Han Joon-seong caught it perfectly.
It was a perfect performance.
He crossed his arms, satisfied. 'Alright.'
He looked at the thug. The man was clearly afraid and had also noticed Han Joon-seong's strength. Good. But he needed to show a little more force so Kang Dae-hyun wouldn't be upset with Cheon Seul-ah when she failed.
He let out a sigh. 'Well then. Go ahead.'
He released control of both bodies, letting Auto Pilot take over.
Han Joon-seong became like a doll—a killing machine. His face was completely blank, expressionless. Cheon Seul-ah's expression shifted to something arrogant, threatening, almost irritating. Both of their eyes glowed with a white light that illuminated the narrow alley for a moment.
They charged at each other.
CRACK!
Their fists collided. They engaged in a frantic exchange of blows—kicks, punches, strikes flying in every direction. The alley echoed with the sounds of impact.
Right as it was given permission, Han Joon-seong's Auto Pilot tried to activate Muay Thai, but Ervin immediately stopped him. He didn't want to damage Cheon Seul-ah. He just wanted to put on a show, make her retreat cleanly.
Han Joon-seong raised his stance, but hesitated for a moment. That oppening gave Cheon Seul-ah the chance to kick him in the face, sending him crashing into the wall. The wall trembled from the impact.
He pushed off and advanced, throwing normal, untrained punches and kicks. They exchanged blows, and Cheon Seul-ah saw an opportunity. She ducked and swept his legs, and as he fell she rose quickly to throw an uppercut. But Han Joon-seong managed to recover his footing and caught her fist, squeezing it with crushing force until her Auto Pilot made her abandon the attack and try to retreat.
But he used that moment—when her body wasn't focused on defense—to press forward. He shoved her to the ground using the momentum of her own movement and punched her in the chest.
*THUMP.*
Cheon Seul-ah's Auto Pilot glared at him, her eyes emitting a dangerous white light. She rose, kneeing him in the stomach. He took the blow without any expression.
The thug watched in horror. He could barely follow the fight. He had known Cheon Seul-ah was strong—Kang Dae-hyun only hired strong people—but this was on another level. She was like a lieutenant all on her own, and for her age, that was incredible.
On the other side, Seo Ji-hoo, Song Chae-won, and Park Tae-oh stared in disbelief. They couldn't believe two people were having this superhuman fight right in front of them.
Seo Ji-hoo blinked, shaking his head. 'Wait! i can't keep watching. I have to get out of here!'
He grabbed Song Chae-won's hand and Park Tae-oh's. "Let's get out of here!"
But as he tried to flee, Cheon Seul-ah appeared in front of them, her Auto Pilot judging that they needed to be stopped. Her expression was completely threatening, sending shivers down the back of the three of them. She raised her fist to strike them, putting some serious force behind it.
Sensing her intentions Ervin intervened.
He took control of her, softening the blow. Her expression returned to something more human for a moment. She blinked, and instead of a punch to the face, she delivered an elbow to Seo Ji-hoo's chest. He stumbled back, gasping, clutching his chest.
Her Auto Pilot wanted to press the advantage—to stomp on his stomach with her full weight. But Ervin overrode that too, turning it into a kick to his abdomen instead.
In that moment, her Auto Pilot made her speak, her voice cold and hostile. "Who gave you permission to leave?"
But while she was focused on them, Han Joon-seong closed the distance. He had pulled his fist back, and he swung it into the side of her face. She spun from the impact and hit the ground.
She fell a few metters back and quikly rolled to her feet. She rose slowly, a red mark forming on her cheek. A trickle of blood escaped the corner of her mouth. She wiped her lips with her hand, looked at the blood, then back at Han Joon-seong.
Her Auto Pilot spoke through her. "Don't think this is over. We'll meet again."
She started running, retreating.
The thug watched her go, confused. "Cheon Seul-ah-nim?!"
She glanced back, her voice sharp. "Retreat! Now!"
He didn't hesitate. He ran back into the corridor, where the two thugs Seo Ji-hoo had downed were starting to stand back up.
"W-Where am I? What happened?" one of them mumbled.
The thug grabbed his two companions. "Retreat! Let's go! There's a Lieutenant here!"
They scrambled to their feet and ran, shouting orders to the others. Soon, the entire group of thugs was fleeing, their voices echoing in the halls as they disappeared.
Han Joon-seong watched them go, then turned his attention to the three people on the ground. The blond-haired guitarist, the girl, and the drummer—they probably were the talents he had been sent to scout.
Ervin, floating above, nodded to himself. 'Yeah. Intuition pointing me in the right direction again.'
Seo Ji-hoo was still on the ground, clutching his stomach, struggling to breathe. Song Chae-won was crouched beside him, her face pale with worry. Park Tae-oh stood nearby, his body tense, ready to defend his friends if needed.
Han Joon-seong approached them slowly, his expression shifting from cold to warm and friendly.
"Are you okay?" he asked, crouching down beside Seo Ji-hoo.
Song Chae-won immediately stepped forward, blocking his path. "Who are you?! Stay back!"
Han Joon-seong raised his hands in a placating gesture. "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help."
Park Tae-oh eyed him warily. "How do we know we can trust you?"
Han Joon-seong met his gaze, his voice calm and sincere. "I just saved you from those thugs. If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have done that."
Song Chae-won hesitated, glancing at Seo Ji-hoo, who was still gasping for air. She reluctantly stepped aside.
Han Joon-seong knelt beside Seo Ji-hoo, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Take it slow. Breathe. You'll be fine."
Seo Ji-hoo nodded weakly, his breathing slowly returning to normal. After a few moments, he managed to sit up.
"Thank you," Seo Ji-hoo said, his voice hoarse. "You saved my life back there. I thought I was going to die."
Han Joon-seong waved a hand dismissively. "Ah, it wasn't that serious. She wouldn't have actually hurt you... probably. She was just trying to intimidate you."
Seo Ji-hoo shook his head. "No, no. Really. Thank you. Thank you so much."
Han Joon-seong smiled. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing."
Song Chae-won stepped forward, her expression softer now. "Who are you? How did you know those people?"
Han Joon-seong stood up, brushing off his clothes. "My name is Han Joon-seong. I work for the Juhwang-pa. I happened to be in the area and saw what was happening. Those thugs were from a rival gang. They won't bother you again."
Park Tae-oh frowned. "Rival gang? So you're a gangster too?"
Han Joon-seong foun it troublesome to explain, so he simply shrugged. "Something like that. But I'm not here to cause trouble for you. I'm just making sure you're safe."
Seo Ji-hoo slowly got to his feet, still wincing slightly. "Thank you again. I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't shown up."
Han Joon-seong nodded. "You're welcome. For now, you three should get out of here. Go home. If you can, don't come back to this club until the situation is resolved."
Song Chae-won looked at the club entrance, then back at Han Joon-seong. "What about the show? We've been preparing for months."
Han Joon-seong said plainly. "The show can wait. Your safety is more important. Trust me on this."
The three of them exchanged glances, then nodded reluctantly.
"Alright," Seo Ji-hoo said. "We'll leave."
Han Joon-seong smiled. "Good. Stay safe."
He turned and walked away, leaving them standing in the alley.