Chapter 162: America (4)

Translator: Dreamscribe

At the mention of a new Subordinate, Go Chun-seok's expression grew even more serious, while Ha Yeon-ji's previously bright expression abruptly turned grave. Go Chun-seok moved close to Commander Kang Jae-ha's side and asked quietly.

"Commander-nim, is there a new comrade here?"

The smile faded from Kang Jae-ha's lips as he nodded.

"Yeah. And pretty close, at that."

It was true. Kang Jae-ha's Sensing, part of his 'Ability', worked like a 30-meter radar. Meaning there was a new Subordinate somewhere within those 30 meters, and the red human-shaped silhouette visible to Jae-ha was...

'Right beside the hotel. Is it the alley right next to it?'

It was much closer than he'd expected.

Kang Jae-ha looked toward the red-tinted human shape he'd picked up through Sensing. In other words, toward the new Subordinate, and murmured inwardly.

'I figured there was a chance I'd run into one here too, but I didn't expect to get a bite this fast.'

For now, he put himself on alert. This was the first Subordinate he'd encountered in America. He had no idea what kind of guy would turn up. Still, Jae-ha avoided looking overly wary. Unlike before, Kang Jae-ha now had plenty of 'Abilities' at his disposal, and Go Chun-seok and Ha Yeon-ji were with him.

The Commander had to stay composed if he wanted that composure to rub off on them too.

Soon, Ha Yeon-ji asked Jae-ha.

"What are you going to do?"

Kang Jae-ha started forward as if wondering why she even had to ask.

"We should go take a look."

At the same time, an alley a short distance from the hotel.

The area around the hotel where Kang Jae-ha was staying was quite orderly and busy with foot traffic, but this nearby alley was desolate. There was barely any distance between them, yet the difference in atmosphere was night and day.

The alley floor was damp, with heaps of garbage piled here and there. Large rats squeaked and scurried around the trash.

The stench was terrible too.

No one passed through the alley, so despite it being daytime, the place felt utterly eerie. Around the middle of the alley, some distance from one of the garbage piles, a homeless man lay sprawled on top of a large cardboard box without moving a muscle.

"......"

At first glance, he was so still he could have been dead.

The homeless man wasn't particularly large, and his face was buried beneath a thick beard. His skin was deeply tanned as well. He wore a tattered jacket that was little better than garbage, and his grimy shoes looked as though their soles might fall off at any moment. On top of that, liquor bottles were strewn all around him.

His features were East Asian rather than Western.

Just then, a rat moved toward the homeless man. The moment it squeaked and climbed onto his leg.

-Tap.

The homeless man, who hadn't moved at all until then, stirred. He lightly kicked the rat away. Fortunately, he was alive. Since he'd opened his eyes anyway, he groggily glanced around.

"Mm."

After letting out the short sound, he lowered his head back to the ground and closed his eyes again.

Then noisy voices came from the entrance of the alley.

Looking over, three fairly young white guys were snickering and pointing at the homeless man. Even at a glance, all three looked like trouble, and they approached him with smirks on their faces. The swagger in their gait made them look like exactly what they were: punks.

One of the three, a guy wearing his cap crooked, took a photo of the homeless man with his phone before speaking. Naturally, in English.

"Is this bastard dead?"

The other two snickered.

"Doesn't look dead."

"Kick him."

"Good idea."

The white guy in the cap gave the homeless man a couple of light kicks. The homeless man's eyes slowly opened. The three white guys cackled.

"He's not dead."

"Shame. If he were dead, we could've posted it on social media."

"Hey, bum. Why are you lying here like some fucking idiot? You're in the way, so get the hell out of here."

Apparently, the three white guys had to pass through this alley to get to their hangout. The homeless man, on the other hand.

"......"

He simply closed his eyes again without much of a reaction. Irritated by the lackluster response, the smiles vanished from the three white guys' faces.

"Hey, can't you hear me? I said get lost."

One of the white guys kicked the homeless man hard enough to make a thud. Yet the homeless man remained lying there, and this time another white guy started stomping on him repeatedly.

"Is this fucking idiot deaf or something?"

"Maybe."

Despite being kicked and stomped on, the homeless man remained deathly quiet. Losing interest, one of the three white guys pointed at something lying near him. A backpack that looked little better than garbage.

"Search it. Maybe he's got some money stashed away."

"Good idea."

The white guy in the cap reached for the backpack and yanked it open. The homeless man showed no particular reaction this time either, and all kinds of junk were packed inside. While the white guy rummaged through it.

"Ah!"

The guy searching the bag shouted in English.

"There's a wallet! A wallet!"

He pulled out a cheap leather wallet that could have been found anywhere. Naturally, there was no money inside.

"This fucking idiot doesn't have any money."

"Not that you'd expect him to. Let me see it."

The wallet passed into another white guy's hands, and the sharp-featured guy looked through the things tucked inside. Nothing but useless cards. Among them, he found two IDs.

One was an ordinary driver's license of the kind commonly seen in America.

The other ID, however, was unusual. The white guy frowned as he looked at the card in his hand.

"What the hell is this ID? Looks like it's from another country."

"Ah, that's Korean. I saw it in a movie recently."

"Korean? Then this fucking idiot's Korean?"

"Who knows, maybe he just picked it up somewhere."

The ID they were looking at was a Korean resident registration card. It looked somewhat old. Curiosity getting the better of him, the white guy holding the ID started stomping on the homeless man again.

"Hey, idiot. Are you Korean? Say something."

"......"

The white guy, irritated by the homeless man's continued silence.

"This is pissing me off. I'm gonna kick this fucking idiot in the face."

He raised his foot high, aiming at the homeless man's head. He clearly intended to land a proper kick. At that moment, the dullness vanished from the homeless man's eyes, which had opened at some point. They turned icy. His gaze fixed on the white guy about to kick him.

Murderous intent filled his eyes.

That was when it happened.

-Swish.

A hand as large as a pot lid suddenly thrust between the three white guys. It clamped around the head of the one who had just raised his foot. Startled, the white guy grunted.

"Urgh!"

The huge hand mercilessly hurled him backward. The white guy crashed to the ground without putting up any resistance. The attack had come so suddenly that his two friends jolted in surprise and whipped their heads around.

Behind them stood the hulking Go Chun-seok.

He spoke to the two white guys in Korean.

"Get lost. Don't act up."

Naturally, they didn't understand him and stammered, scared out of their wits.

"W-what? Are you this fucking idiot's friend??"

"I said get lost."

Then another man's voice joined in from behind Go Chun-seok.

"Go Chun-seok, teach them a lesson."

"How do you want me to?"

"Keep it light."

"Yes."

One of the white guys was already groaning on the ground. After glancing at him, Go Chun-seok stepped toward the other two. Frightened, the pair edged backward, but.

-Whack!

Go Chun-seok's arms and legs were extremely long. He brought his fist down on their heads one after the other. Thump! Thump! The sounds echoed through the alley. Naturally, he wasn't using his 'Ability', but even so, a light rap from Go Chun-seok was anything but ordinary.

"Aagh!!"

"Ghk!"

With their heads ringing, the two white guys quickly went deathly pale, then fled for their lives while trembling all over. The one sprawled on the ground belatedly scrambled after his friends.

Kang Jae-ha, his face altered, said to Go Chun-seok.

"That's enough."

Go Chun-seok nodded at the Commander. Just then, Ha Yeon-ji's eyes widened slightly beside Kang Jae-ha. She looked as though she were staring at Go Chun-seok, but her gaze was actually fixed on the homeless man. Noticing where she was looking, Go Chun-seok turned back around.

Ahead of them, the homeless man had somehow gotten to his feet and was staring intently at Go Chun-seok.

The heavily bearded homeless man struggled to speak.

"Y-you...... How the hell did you get here?"

The homeless man's voice was extremely hoarse. Rough, as though something were lodged in his throat. Of course, he'd spoken in English, and whether Go Chun-seok understood him or not, he remained silent.

But Go Chun-seok knew the homeless man.

He had been a comrade in the Mercenary Corps. Naturally, Ha Yeon-ji seemed to recognize the homeless man's face too.

In other words, the heavily bearded homeless man was the new Subordinate Kang Jae-ha had found through Sensing. The homeless man's mouth fell slightly open as he stared at Go Chun-seok, then shifted his gaze to Ha Yeon-ji. Then to Kang Jae-ha, who was using Mask. Naturally, he couldn't immediately recognize Kang Jae-ha as the Commander.

In any case, with two comrades from the Other World suddenly appearing before him, the homeless man's eyes gradually widened until they looked ready to pop out.

"W-what. Am I back in the Other World?"

Kang Jae-ha, standing behind Go Chun-seok, answered for him. In English, of course.

"No. Nothing like that. This is still America."

"...Who are you?"

Kang Jae-ha gave no answer and picked something up from the ground. It was the homeless man's wallet, which the white punks had dropped. Kang Jae-ha checked the two IDs tucked inside one after another, one American and one Korean.

"American name, David Park. Korean name, Park Eun-jung."

The homeless man had two names. David Park and Park Eun-jung. Looking at the IDs, Kang Jae-ha murmured inwardly.

'Did he immigrate? Or maybe he got permanent residency.'

He met the eyes of the homeless man staring at him. No, of Park Eun-jung, or David Park. Despite his shabby appearance and thick beard, he was unmistakably one of the Subordinates Kang Jae-ha remembered.

Kang Jae-ha looked Park Eun-jung up and down.

"What happened to you?"

Jae-ha spoke to him in fluent English, and because he was using Mask, Park Eun-jung still looked utterly confused, unable to recognize the Commander. Of course, with Kang Jae-ha's face altered, the woman's voice didn't chime in.

Instead of Kang Jae-ha, whose identity he didn't know, Park Eun-jung, or David Park, spoke to Go Chun-seok standing in front of him.

"......What the hell happened? You guys were here too?"

His voice was still hoarse and rough. Seeing the liquor bottles scattered around him, Kang Jae-ha murmured inwardly.

'Is his voice like that because of the alcohol?'

Judging by the new Subordinate's reaction, Jae-ha figured this was the first time he'd seen any of his old comrades. Then Kang Jae-ha spoke to Park Eun-jung in English again.

"Can't you speak Korean?"

"...I can."

"Then speak Korean."

Kang Jae-ha tossed the wallet he was holding to Park Eun-jung. Park Eun-jung caught it on reflex, and Jae-ha slowly started forward. He moved toward the backpack a few steps away, the one the three white punks had rummaged through and tossed aside earlier. The ground was already littered with junk that had spilled from the backpack, and with one hand shoved into his pocket, something caught Kang Jae-ha's eye.

"Hm?"

Among the junk was a palm-sized white card. A business card. It must have been quite old, because the card was covered in stains. When Kang Jae-ha picked it up, the expression of the heavily bearded homeless man, no, Park Eun-jung, changed slightly. His face tightened.

Regardless, Kang Jae-ha paid no attention.

-Swish.

He picked up the stained business card and immediately read the English printed on it. Then Kang Jae-ha looked at Park Eun-jung, whose brow had furrowed, and said one word from the card.

"Lawyer?"

*****

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