Seongji and Baki sat beside each other on a couch. Seongji asked, "So? Where have you been the past month?" Baki munched on chips as he replied, "Just tying up some old loose ends. What about you? What's been going on? There are quite a few shoes outside."
Seongji shook his head. "Our landlord has had some of her friends stay here. They're trying to create some kind of organization that shelters runaways."
"It's a good cause, I guess. But wouldn't it be dangerous if they harbor someone they shouldn't?" Baki asked with curiosity.
"The kids are strong. Almost as strong as Vin Jin. They're rough around the edges, but with proper training, they'd become monsters."
Baki nodded. "What about money?"
Seongji shook his head. "That's what I'm worried about. They're just kids with no money. Even now they should be running out of cash."
"Oh... That's a problem then. But if they're as capable as you said, earning money will be easy for them," Baki said.
Seongji shook his head. "The past month, these kids have been treating me like an older brother. I don't want them to get into any bad business."
Baki nodded. "I got a job interview at a mercenary company. Wanna join? It should pay well."
Seongji shook his head again. "No. I want to stay away from fighting for now."
Baki nodded in understanding. Seongji had never been someone who liked fighting—it was just that his life had forced him into it. He got up. "I'm gonna go and sleep. Tomorrow is the interview. Can't be late, can I?"
---
The next day.
Baki was up on the terrace, shadow boxing. As he kept throwing rapid jabs and strikes, mist was forming in front of him.
Warren Chae, who was on the terrace, noticed Baki, but he didn't recognize the redhead. He froze when he saw what the redhead was doing.
The guy was moving—really moving. His fists shot forward in combinations so fast Warren could barely track them. But that wasn't what made Warren's eyes widen.
Something was forming in front of the redhead. At first, Warren thought it was just morning mist catching the early light, but no—it was too deliberate. The condensation appeared only where the strikes landed.
Warren watched as Baki shifted his stance. The redhead's muscles coiled, then exploded. A devastating right hook cut through the air, and for just a split second, Warren could have sworn he saw the outline of another figure—massive, defensive, guarding against the blow.
Baki pivoted, circling his invisible opponent. His footwork was flawless. Low kick, feint, slip, uppercut.
Warren found himself holding his breath. The intensity radiating from this stranger was suffocating.
A flurry of body shots. Left, right, left. Baki's breathing grew heavier but never ragged.
Then Baki threw a cross that made Warren instinctively lean back, even though he was meters away.
Baki reset his stance, his chest heaving slightly. The mist began to dissipate in the morning breeze.
Warren stood there, uncertain of what he had just witnessed. Baki looked at Warren. "Yo, kid! What are you doing this early in the morning?" Warren stammered, "I—I came to exercise."
Baki closed in on the kid and checked him from head to toe. Then he put his hand on his chin and said, "Hmm... Your body seems to have some raw power," then he shook his head, "but you don't seem to know any techniques."
Warren felt annoyed hearing this. He shouted, "Who the fuck are you?!"
Baki smiled and said, "You must be one of the friends of our landlord Sally. I'm Baki, Baki Hanma. I live downstairs."
"So you're the Baki-hyung that Vin Jin has been talking about all this time..." Warren muttered. Hearing that Vin Jin had been praising him all along, Baki felt good. "Yeah, I'm that Baki." But suddenly all his pride drained away as he heard Warren say, "No wonder your title is the Ogre. Though I've never seen one, you look just as I imagined it would be."
Baki chopped Warren's head with mock anger. "Tch! Kids these days have no respect for their elders."
Warren cried out in pain as he covered his head. He shouted, "What are you doing, bastard?!" But Baki laughed it off and started to walk away. "Kid, I gotta go now."
---
"Huh? You met Baki-hyung? Where is he?" Vin Jin asked Warren. Warren replied in a grumpy mood, "He said he had work."
"Oh... Hey, what's up with that tattoo on your forehead?"
Warren touched the 'H' on his forehead. "It's not a tattoo. It's henna. Though we're thinking of getting it tattooed soon."
"Oh. What's it for?" Vin Jin asked with curiosity.
"During that fight with the back door gang, Eli had an injury that had to be stitched. Now that injury has left a scar on his forehead. So Heather decided to apply this to his scar. Seeing this, we also got one, since it also matches our family's name," Warren replied with a smile.
Vin Jin asked, confused, "What's up with this family? Weren't you all orphans?" Warren shook his head. "Sally, Eli, me, Derrick, and Max—we decided to become a family. Our family's name will be HOSTEL. We'll take in runaway kids."
---
Baki reached White Tiger Job Centre. He opened the door to enter, but he wasn't ready for what he saw. A muscular man with a square face, small eyes, and long unkempt hair stood butt naked as two guys lay sprawled on the ground in front of him. Seeing the man, Baki seemed to recognize him but couldn't quite remember from where.
The muscular man grabbed some clothes as he walked towards Baki. He extended his hands for a handshake.
Baki grabbed his hand for a handshake, but immediately, he felt bone-crushing strength from the muscular man. Though surprised, Baki grinned and started to exert his own strength. This time Tom Lee was surprised. He looked at Baki with shock. "Hahaha! You definitely got the power and guts that I can't see in the youngesters nowadays!"
Cough... Cough...
"Sir, he's the new recruit. You gave him your signed recommendation," Sera suddenly interrupted.
Tom Lee laughed thunderously. "Hahaha! Good, good! I remember him." Saying this, he retracted his hand behind his back. His hand twitched a bit.
Baki suddenly remembered Tom Lee after hearing Sera's words. "AREN'T YOU THAT UGLY BEGGAR FROM THAT DAY?!"
Tom Lee's face seemed to drain of color. "WHAT DID YOU SAY? HOW AM I THE UGLY ONE?! CAN'T YOU SEE MY BEAUTIFUL MUSCLES?!"
Baki replied with confusion, "What was up with dressing up as a beggar that day?" Tom Lee replied, "That's just a side gig of mine. Let's leave all that behind, boy. Let's have a spar first. I gotta see how strong the new recruit is, right?"
Just as Baki was about to nod, Sera interrupted. "Sir, Mr. Charles Choi has been trying to contact you since this morning."
Tom Lee shook his head with annoyance. "We'll have a spar later. Let me grab this call."
Baki, who heard the name Charles, seemed to have heard it somewhere but couldn't quite figure out where.