Chapter 83: The Victims' Club

TL: LittlePeach

This body of mine shrugs off bullets, never mind explosions.

And these fists, with no fear of breaking, can pound through concrete if I keep them coming.

So the fact that he took a hit from them without blacking out spoke to one hell of a chin.

But it seemed he just couldn't bring himself to believe that reality.

"You... you fucking bastard!"

As if desperate to deny that he'd just backed away, the man spat out a furious curse and threw another full-swing punch.

Crack!

Where his fist met the crown of my head, there came a sound like concrete splitting.

Another round of horrified gasps rose around us.

"Fu...."

The gorilla of a man muttered it before he could stop himself.

My head had dipped slightly. That was all. Nothing about the situation had changed.

So I, without so much as a flicker of expression, returned my fist to his face along the exact same arc as before.

Thwack!

"Grgh!"

This time he must have braced for it; he clenched his teeth hard enough to twist his gums and held his ground.

Having been pushed back barely half a step, he now threw a punch with his full weight truly behind it.

Wham!

And I, refusing to give an inch, drove my fist into his jaw in return.

Thwack!

"Grrrgh!"

Wham!

Thwack!

Wham!

Thwack!

One punch. Then one punch.

A bizarre turn-based slugfest with no dodging and no blocking.

Somewhere in the crowd, someone swallowed hard as they watched this battle of pride.

While the punches kept flying, other banquet guests stepping out of their cars in the distance watched us, murmuring among themselves.

Wham!

Thwack!

"Hngh, ugh...."

Before long, his face began to cave in.

The skin over his cheekbone gave out and split open, and droplets of blood sprayed from his torn cheek and mashed lips.

Wham!

Thwack!

At some point I could hear his jawbone rattling, knocked out of joint.

His badly mangled fists were trembling now, and his tightly scrunched eyes slowly began to waver.

Then, at a certain moment...

"Haah, hah.... Fu... fuck...."

Thoroughly spooked, the man backed away, retreating.

The fear was written all over his face.

Honestly, I didn't feel great about it.

Gorilla exterior or not, from where I stood, it felt like twisting a child's wrist.

"Shall we call it here?"

"Haah, haah.... Hnnngh...."

The onlookers stared at me, barely daring to breathe.

A natural reaction, given that we'd traded the exact same punches and I was completely unscathed.

Not a single bruise, not one drop of blood from my nose. I must have looked like a walking horror movie.

"Haah, hngh...."

In the end, only after his cheeks had bruised deep blue and his face had crumpled did the man sink weakly to the ground.

Thud.

That was when Jin Weiliang stepped forward.

"My apologies. My subordinate got carried away by misplaced loyalty and made a regrettable mistake."

He approached with a courteous tone and deferential gestures, offering his greeting.

Sidling over to play mediator only after things had gone completely sideways.

This from a man who'd stood right there the whole time, calmly watching his own subordinate get beaten to a bloody pulp. A truly shameless piece of work.

"It was never my intention. Would you forgive my subordinate's rudeness?"

First, I wet my lips.

Because the only way to deal with someone this shameless was to be even more shameless.

"It wasn't my intention either."

"Pardon?"

"He was so big, I assumed he'd be solid. Turned out he was more of a water balloon. Shall we settle this as mutual assault?"

"...."

At my menacing stare, he gave a sour smile.

It seemed no one had ever looked at him like that in his entire life.

"I'd appreciate it if you dropped any thought of escorting Boss Yang Mi-ryeong anywhere against her will, effective now. Because I don't think what comes next would end as mutual assault."

I guided Yang Mi-ryeong back behind me.

She'd looked perfectly composed on the surface, but inside she must have been fairly tense.

Her fingertips, tracing lightly along my spine, carried a faint tremor.

"I quite understand your delight at receiving such an honored guest, but our boss has a fixed schedule today."

"Hmm...."

"Her timetable is simply too tight to accommodate unplanned engagements."

Of course, even if this standoff dragged on, I had nothing in particular to lose.

Behind the limousine we'd arrived in, a line of cars carrying other banquet guests was already backing up.

"...."

"...."

Some of them were already watching our little commotion with interest, whispering among themselves.

For Jin Weiliang, this was the moment for a strategic retreat.

"...I see. Would it be too difficult to spare even a little time?"

Even so, Jin Weiliang hesitated, unwilling to simply back down.

He really, really didn't want to let this chance slip away.

"I believe paying our respects to the boss of the Chongqing Society must come first. I ask for your kind understanding."

"Hmm."

I openly traded on his father's name.

It was my own brand of pressure, asking if he really meant to keep guests invited to his father's birthday party standing at the front gate.

Having lost the battle of justifications completely, Jin Weiliang finally stepped back, looking almost relieved.

"...Very well. I shall arrange a separate occasion with Boss Yang Mi-ryeong before long."

Having folded his plan away without much regret, he abruptly extended his hand for a shake.

"My name is Jin Weiliang."

So he wanted mine.

I clasped his hand without bothering to wipe the blood off my own.

"Nguyen Kodam."

"...Nguyen?"

"Yes."

Jin Weiliang's lips worked soundlessly, his face incredulous.

Faced with my sheer, unblinking confidence, he couldn't bring himself to press further; his gaze slid briefly over Yang Mi-ryeong standing beside me.

The two of them exchanged a single silent staring contest, and that was all; neither seemed inclined to trade words here.

"...Very well, Nguyen Kodam. Until we meet again."

"Yes. By all means."

Jin Weiliang led his men away.

The gorilla of a man, his face swollen and blue, shot me the occasional venomous glance as he retreated.

I saw them off, still keeping Yang Mi-ryeong behind me.

"...Are you all right? Here, let me have a look at you."

Only once it was all over did Yang Mi-ryeong spin me around to face her.

Her fingers came up without a moment's hesitation, kneading and prodding at my cheeks and jaw, and for no good reason my chest went all ticklish.

"Why on earth did you just stand there taking those punches?"

"One hit and I knew. All that size, and his fists were basically bouncy balls."

"...What? Bouncy balls?"

"Yes. Honestly, it didn't even tickle."

At my brazen nonsense, Yang Mi-ryeong looked utterly dumbfounded.

She examined every corner of my face and let out a hollow laugh.

"Do you even know who you were just trading punches with?"

"Who?"

"That big man is one of the Husheng Gang's enforcer brothers."

The Husheng Gang?

Yang Mi-ryeong added a brief explanation about the gorilla-like man I'd just brawled with.

"They're the Chongqing Society's core muscle. These days they're effectively Jin Weiliang's personal contract killers. The enforcer brothers are especially famous, and the man you just fought is the younger one, Hu Xiongsheng."

"If the younger brother is that size.... the older one must be even bigger?"

"Not that big, actually, but you'll know him the moment you see him. He looks just like a gibbon. His name is Hu Yuansheng."

A gorilla for a younger brother, a gibbon for an elder.

It sounded like a bizarre pairing, but either way, they seemed to serve as something like Jin Weiliang's trusted left hand.

One way or another, I'd be running into them again soon enough.

"By the way, that's not really.... your name, is it?"

"Of course it's an alias."

Nguyen Kodam.

I remember that when I came up with the name, the van I was driving around at the time happened to be steeped in coffee-and-cigarette breath. [TL Note: "Kodam" is clipped from keopi-dambae, Korean for "coffee and cigarettes".]

At my matter-of-fact answer, Yang Mi-ryeong let out an exasperated laugh.

"You really are something...."

With a look of disbelief, she reached out to touch my cheek once more, then, conscious of the eyes around us, quietly withdrew her hand.

Feeling awkward myself, I looked away and wet my lips with my tongue.

"Jin Weiliang is more worked up than I expected. I didn't think he'd try to abduct you this openly, right at the entrance."

"I know. I assumed he'd only strike and grab us on the way out. Honestly, I let my guard down a little."

"I'll stay close for the time being."

"Thank you. But once we're inside the mansion, even Jin Weiliang won't dare try anything more. If he pulled a stunt like that inside the banquet hall, it wouldn't end with the Chongqing Society merely losing face."

Inside, the mansion was every bit the palace it had looked from the outside.

Dazzling chandeliers stood everywhere, brightening the hall with a festive glow, and countless guests were already circulating the banquet hall, exchanging greetings.

Yang Mi-ryeong tipped her chin toward the head of the hall.

"First, let's go pay our respects to the boss of the Chongqing Society. There he is."

With that, Yang Mi-ryeong led the way, parting the crowd.

There sat a man sunk deep into an oversized chair.

"Please stop there."

A guard stationed beside Boss Jin Yao blocked our path, keeping us from coming any closer.

In other words, pay your respects from here.

"Boss Jin Yao. Happy birthday. Yang Mi-ryeong, Dandong branch chief of the Kowloon Society."

At Yang Mi-ryeong's graceful voice, Jin Yao's eyes snapped up.

A rumpled smile drifted across his face, which had been hazy, as if he were dreaming with his eyes open.

"...Oho. Boss Yang Mi-ryeong. I have heard a great deal about you. And beautiful indeed, just as they say. It was a long road here; I thank you for the trouble."

"Thank you, Boss. Your son is doing well at our hotel. He asked me to pass along his regards."

"You have my thanks. As it happens, we spoke on the phone today as well. Did you not encounter my other son on your way in? He went out to greet you when word came that you'd passed the front gate."

"We crossed paths, but there were no problems to speak of."

"Is that so?"

Observed up close, Jin Yao was a curious man.

Like a tiger holding its breath and biding its time, perhaps.

Inside that limp, drained shell of his burned a strange core of will.

His eyes suddenly tilted my way.

"And who is this man beside you? He seems less a mere bodyguard than someone you brought along with a mind to introduce him to me. Am I right?"

"You are. This is Nguyen Kodam, who handles my protection."

"Nguyen?"

"Yes. He's of mixed Vietnamese blood. And, for the record, he's the very man who wiped out the entire North Korean assassination squad in Dandong and rescued Young Master Jin Hao."

"...Mmh!"

At that, the old man who had been buried in his chair suddenly sprang to his feet.

Where that spindly body found such strength, no one could say; astonished stares gathered from all around.

Even Yang Mi-ryeong couldn't hide her surprise, so it must have been quite an extraordinary reaction.

"A pleasure. Ruixing told me of you, as it happens, and I had hoped to meet you at least once. I never imagined it would be face to face, in a place like this."

"It's an honor to meet you. Nguyen Kodam."

"Indeed. I am Jin Yao. You have my deepest thanks for saving my son."

He stepped in close and clasped my hand himself, with a grip that had no business belonging to an old man.

With countless eyes converging on me, I managed an awkward smile.

"From the rumors alone, I expected some fearsome tiger of a man; I never imagined someone so tall and fine-looking. Is it truly the case that you swept away the North Korean assassination squad single-handed?"

"Just got lucky."

"Hohoho. 'Just got lucky', he says.... Modest, aren't you. Our Chongqing Society owes you a truly great debt. I hope you will keep good ties with our Chongqing Society hereafter. No, with Jin Hao."

"I will. And happy birthday."

After releasing my hand, the old man returned to his seat, guards supporting him at either side, and dropped heavily into it.

In that single moment, he seemed to have aged just a little more.

"Thank you for the warm welcome, Boss. We'll take our leave now."

"Yes, yes. Go and enjoy the banquet at your leisure."

We turned and melted into the crowd not far away.

That brief exchange had drained real energy, what with keeping such a sharp watch on our surroundings, and I let out a small inward sigh.

"I see the Kowloon Society executives from Hong Kong over there."

Yang Mi-ryeong touched my shoulder lightly and tipped her chin toward one corner of the banquet hall.

Triads, Taiwanese businessmen, figures from politics and finance.

The banquet hall, gathering all these different sorts, was carved up by its own invisible boundaries.

Among them, at the hall's edge, five or six people with especially menacing faces sat clustered around a large table.

No one needed to tell me they were Triads.

"I'm going to go show my face for a moment. You stay around here and pass the time."

"You don't need me to come along?"

"There are already plenty of guards posted nearby. And I don't think introducing you to those people would be such a good idea."

Yang Mi-ryeong gave my shoulder a gentle pat, then strolled off at a leisurely pace through the crowd.

Given my true identity as an NIS black agent, it was her way of making sure my face didn't get needlessly exposed.

Grrrowl.

"Tsk."

Left on my own, I took the chance to start scoping out the nearby tables.

Olives, cheese, mini tacos topped with salsa verde, dim sum, and more.

I was picking at the finger food scattered around, about to make my way toward a suitably out-of-the-way spot, when it happened.

"Croak, you bastard!"

Thwack!

Crash!

It was all far too sudden.

"Ughk!"

Thwack! Crunch!

"Kyaaaaaah!"

Shouts and screams erupted at once in the banquet hall that had been so peaceful.

The moment I glanced up, I saw a man in a sharp suit have his jaw wrenched around at a grotesque angle.

Someone else was leaking streams of blood from a flattened nose.

At the sudden brawl unfolding right before my eyes, my body froze up on its own.

"Wh-what the hell?"

"It's an attack!"

A pack of attackers, eyes rolled red with fury, was swinging something around with wild abandon.

A closer look revealed thick wooden clubs.

They must have smuggled them in between their thighs to beat the metal detectors.

"Fuck! Rally up, hurry!"

"Forget the ones who are down! Block them with anything!"

The ambushed side scrambled to snatch up whatever was lying around and mount a defense.

Crash! Clang!

A champagne bottle from a table setting shattered into pieces against someone's skull, and thick hardwood tables tumbled across the floor as makeshift shields and barricades.

"Croak, you fuck!"

"Aaaargh! You bastard piece of shit!"

"Gaaahk!"

In the blink of an eye, the peaceful banquet hall had turned into sheer pandemonium.

What kind of history could possibly drive these men, veins bulging, to scream at each other with such hatred?

I was half rising, wondering if I ought to do something, when...

"Hongmen Society assholes! We'll kill every last one of you here today!"

Huh.

"Shanyuan Society scum, where the hell do you get off crawling out here with this bullshit!"

Uh-oh.

Before I knew it, shff.

Shff, shff.

Ever so naturally, ever so casually, I backed away through the gaps in the crowd.

"Kill them!"

"Kill them all!"

It was only when I heard the shouts erupting from both camps that I understood.

Why any of this was happening.

"I'll chew every last one of you up!"

"Gyaaaaahk!"

"...."

What was unfolding before my eyes was none other than my very own victims' club.

*****

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