Worst debrief ever

I stepped outside.

The night air was crisp against my skin, cooling the blood still thrumming beneath the surface.

They were waiting.

A dozen men, maybe more, stood in a loose semicircle, heads bowed. Some had their eyes shut tight, others simply stared at the ground as if afraid to look at me. Their suits were wrinkled, ties loose or undone entirely. 

A pathetic attempt at professionalism, the kind of sloppiness that came from men who'd long abandoned pride in their station.

Gwangmyeong Kim's gangsters.

Cloudy stepped up beside me, his riot gear still scuffed from the earlier brawl, his Taser drained dry. His presence was silent, watchful. He didn't need to say anything. We both knew what had happened here.

One of the gangsters, a squad commander if his stats were anything to go by, hesitated before stepping forward. His face was tight with nerves, but his voice, forced into calm, rang out clearly.

"We apologize for attacking you, sir! If we had known you were the Boss's nephew here to test us, we would have exercised more restraint!"

I let my gaze sweep over them, taking in the tension in their shoulders, the way their fists clenched and unclenched. They were afraid, but not of me. Not yet.

I waved a hand dismissively. "No, no. If you had doubted the situation, it wouldn't have been a proper test. You did exactly as expected." My tone was measured, casual. Like this was all a formality, a natural occurrence.

Their backs straightened, a ripple of relief passing through them. They believed it.

"There have been changes to your work," I continued. "Go inside and see to it."

"Yes, sir!"

They scattered, rushing back into the building to follow orders they hadn't even heard yet.

I exhaled slowly, feeling the tension that had been wound tight in my shoulders finally unravel.

Gwangmyeong Kim was mine now. His people, his operations, his resources… all mine.

I took a step forward, and Cloudy moved with me, falling into stride like a shadow.

And then–

CRASH!

The metal gate leading to the room salon practically exploded as someone kicked it off its hinges.

"YOU FUCKING–"

Sehee stood there, breathing hard, fists clenched and eyes blazing with determination. It was my first time seeing those eyes as well.

His hair was tied back up… and he was practically one of the best looking guys I'd seen. What the fuck?!

He scanned the area, taking into account the bowing gangsters and me standing in the centre with Cloudy, basically unharmed.

His fists lowered.

"...bastards?"

Silence.

Cloudy coughed. I stared at Sehee. Sehee stared at me.

The now-lopsided gate creaked as it hung by a single bolt.

I sighed, rubbing my temple.

"Did you already take care of everything?"

I gestured vaguely to my surroundings to the bowing gangsters and the shattered door. "What do you think, man?"

Sehee exhaled, tilting his head back to stare at the night sky. He stayed like that for a long second before muttering under his breath, "Of course you did."

"You know, sometimes you could wait for me."

I shrugged. "I could."

Sehee sighed. 

"Let's just go back to the restaurant."

***

We sat at our usual table in the restaurant. The food was hot, the air smelled like grilled meat, and nobody had tried to kill me in the last fifteen minutes.

All things considered, a good night.

Except Sehee was sitting across from me, arms crossed so tightly I was half-worried he'd cut off circulation to his own limbs. He hadn't touched his food, which was probably the biggest red flag. Normally, he inhaled his meals like someone was about to snatch them off his plate.

Instead, he was staring daggers into the table, his jaw tight with something too heavy to name.

"So…" he finally spoke, voice carefully measured. "Do we still have to pay?"

I blinked mid-bite. "Huh?"

"The protection money," he clarified, looking up at me. His voice was tense, like he was forcing himself to stay calm. "My grandma's restaurant… do we still owe them?"

I chewed, swallowed, and set my chopsticks down. "No. They won't be asking for money anymore."

Sehee's fingers curled around his knee, knuckles whitening. He looked like he wanted to say something else, maybe a lot of something else, but in the end, he just pressed his lips together.

Siyeon, who had been quietly watching this whole time, suddenly spoke. "What exactly did you threaten them with?"

I exhaled. "Enough."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the one you're getting."

She clicked her tongue. "If this comes back to bite us, I'm breaking your nose."

"Duly noted."

Across from me, Sehun finally joined in, eyes lighting up with interest. "So how strong were they?"

I turned to him. "What?"

"The gangsters," he repeated, leaning forward. "Did they put up a fight?"

I thought back to the gun.

"One of them shot me."

Silence.

Sehun blinked. "Wait, what?"

Siyeon straightened, her eyes narrowing. "Excuse me?"

I lifted my arm. "I blocked it."

"With what?"

"This."

Sehun stared. "You blocked a bullet. With your arm."

"Yeah."

Siyeon pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's physically impossible."

Sehun, on the other hand, looked personally offended. "That's bullshit, but okay."

Sehee, who had been quiet again in his thoughts, finally spoke. His voice was quieter this time. "And you're sure they won't come back?"

I met his gaze. "I promise."

He swallowed, his shoulders loosening a fraction. "Okay. I trust you."

A flicker of a smile broke out across my face before it returned to its previous state. Too much had happened today.

Then Sehun suddenly raised a hand and pointed.

"Is no one going to mention that we have a guy in fucking riot gear sitting with us?"

I carried on eating.

Sehee blinked, glancing at Cloudy like he was just now realizing a fully-armored man had been sitting next to him the entire time.

Siyeon sighed through her nose and took a sip from her glass.

Cloudy, who had been sitting in complete silence this entire time, suddenly spoke. His voice was perfectly even, devoid of anything resembling emotion, slightly muffled through the helmet.

"The gangsters were adequately skilled for their environment."

I gestured vaguely. "This is Cloudy."

Sehun's eyes twitched. "That explains nothing."

Cloudy continued. "I am Dowan Ha's summoned entity. I exist to serve."

Siyeon turned to me, her expression screaming what the actual fuck?

I stuffed another piece of pork belly into my mouth.

Sehun just kept staring between me and Cloudy, his brain visibly buffering. Then, after a long pause, he pointed again.

"Okay, but can he fight?"

Cloudy responded before I could. "Yes."

Sehun grinned, turning fully to him. "We should spar."

Siyeon muttered, "Of course you'd say that."

Sehee groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "I feel like I should be way more concerned about all of this."

I clapped him on the shoulder. "Just eat your food, man."

He groaned louder.

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The more I write my lookism fic, the more I realise how much harder it is to get stronger somewhere without something telling you what to do.

It would've been much easier with a system but no. Writing challenge is good.

Overcoming adversity is how greatness is made.

Also, writing the first gen is fun. I may have gone slightly overboard with it but... it's super fun. 

Anyways. Back to reality quest. You guys will have an interesting next chapter coming up tomorrow.

Patreon: Teddartic