Chapter 1: Prologue (1)

Sizzle…

The pork ribs gave off the distinct scent of caramel as they cooked.

It was a typical barbecue restaurant that could be found anywhere. It was a little shabby and reasonably large; even the taste of the meat was average. Even so, on most days business was quite good, namely due to the location.

Today, four friends were sitting around table 7 at this everyday restaurant: a handsome guy, a big guy, an average-looking guy, and a guy wearing a hat. Among them, the one with the hat wore a darker expression than the other three.

“Jinu, why are you in such a bad mood? We ordered this food because you like it,” the handsome friend asked the friend wearing a hat. Exasperated, Jinu sighed and took off his hat, revealing crew-cut hair that was less than half an inch long.

“Do you think a guy about to go into the military should be happy? Do you think these pork ribs would slide so easily down your throat if you were in my shoes?”

Quite upset, Jinu sighed again. The big, muscular man picked out some nicely grilled meat, placed it on Jinu’s plate, and said, “You should still eat well before you go. You won’t be able to get food like this at the training center, no matter how much you want it.”

Jinu covered his nearly-bald head with his arms and whined, “Hey, Sheriff, I really don't want to go into the army. Just the thought of being stuck there for almost two whole is freaking awful. Ugh... I can’t just go back with you guys, can I?”

“You complained enough when you were drunk yesterday, bro. It’s time to give up and accept it. Now, open wide-”

The friend they called Sheriff used his huge hands to make a lettuce wrap and shoved it into Jinu’s mouth. Even while Jinu was chewing, he kept shaking his head.

“Tasty meat or not, I just don’t get it. Why was I the only one who got a draft notice this early? This is so unfair!”

“Ah, right. Hey, this ssamjang made me think...” the handsome friend interjected. “It probably doesn’t happen very often, but I heard some jackasses will make you pick up poop and eat it with your fingers if the bathroom isn’t cleaned properly. So when that happens, just shut up, touch it with your index finger, and then suck your middle finger. Like this.”

He continued demonstrating with his fingers, dipping them into the ssamjang. The other three friends made the same disgusted expression at the same time. Jinu had to forcefully swallow the meat he had been chewing.

“Thanks a fucking lot, Samshik, you bastard. I wasn't feeling well from the start, but now you even showed me how to eat shit.”

“You’re welcome.” Samshik dipped his index finger in ssamjang again and sucked his middle finger as if it were a delicacy. The fact that he still looked handsome made Jinu even more frustrated, so he turned his attention to the TV on the wall. The TV suddenly cut from the music program that had been airing to show breaking news.

“Huge explosion in Aptechnaya, a city in Georgia located on the Russian border…”

“Parts of Adler in Russia engulfed in flames…”

“Russia and Georgia accuse each other of missile attacks…”

“UN responds cautiously…”

The subtitles on the bottom of the screen continued scrolling. The announcer stuttered and sweated as they read off all the rapidly incoming information, but it was only an extension of what was already being shown in the text. For Jinu, it was just a story about a far-away country without any video footage. It was boring.

He was about to change the channel when the breaking news ended and the music program continued. Two celebrities came onstage and greeted the audience. It was the most popular duo, Pink Punch.

“Oh! Pink Punch!” Sheriff screamed joyfully. He wasn’t alone: among the four friends, three of them stared at the TV with bright smiles on their faces.

“You are so beautiful, Jenny! Oppa loves you so much!”

Brown-haired Jenny got a close-up, and Sheriff was mesmerized by her. The average-looking friend muttered about it being pathetic.

“Stupid guys always like girls with big tits. Sheriff, you dumbass! The prettiest one is Terra! Right, Jinu?”

“Hmm, yeah, that’s true.” For a moment, Jinu could forget all his sadness about the army and nodded his head solemnly. “Skin so pale it’s almost transparent, long black hair, as pure and innocent as a comic book character. Terra... is love itself.”

“Well, I guess kids like you guys can’t handle Jenny’s sex appeal,” Sheriff retorted. “Jenny’s the hot one!”

“No, it’s Terra!”

Who was better-looking between the two? Really, it was the most useless topic to fight over. Jinu suddenly became depressed again.

“Ha… This is so great. I can hardly believe that now I have to say goodbye to this world...”

The three other friends shook their heads. “Hahaha, you asshole. You sound like the end of the world is coming. But it’s just you who can’t see the world for a while.”

“Yeah right, you bastards. Just wait until you enlist under me later. I’ll turn around and make your lives a living hell.”

“That’ll never happen. The army’s no place for a reunion.”

Unlike the four friends who kept talking at table 7, the families at tables 9 and 11 were gulping down their meat even before it was fully cooked. Without a single word, they were eating as if they were having a race.

The father, mother, son with an army haircut, and his little sister who had come to see him off... all of them were eating silently with their heads down. Their strange behavior was because of the eight burly men who occupied the table near the entrance.

“Hahaha, you bastards. If you’d been to the slammer already like me, you wouldn't have been dragged here. Hehehe, stupid bitches. After a year in jail for violence, the DOD doesn't even want to see me.”

“Haha, isn’t it obvious? I’ve earned my stripes, so I don’t need to hang out with these little shits. A member of the great Manbaepa group should never have to enlist in the army, haha!”

Short hair cut at a straight angle, black suit pants, tattoos visible through their undershirts. Anyone could see that these boisterous people taking up two large tables were obviously gangsters.

“Still, you bastards should be honored. Our chief, Mingu, has personally come all the way here to say goodbye to you youngsters going to the army. You know that, right?”

“Yes! Thank you, sir!”

The two men who seemed to be the army recruits stood up and bent over, their waists at 90-degree angles. They paid no attention to anyone else, as if they owned the place.

“Ah, those bitches. Look at them shaking their asses! I should just fuck both of them together! Hahahaha!”

One of the gangsters boomed over the sound of the TV, while the others laughed at his antics.

“Those bastards. They don’t have any respect...”

As soon as the pissed-off Sheriff turned to stare down the gangsters, the average-looking friend quickly grabbed his head and turned it towards the meat.

“Hey, hey, be cool. Just let it go, alright? Think about the get-together we’re having tonight. Would you rather spend the night with a bunch of strangers in jail, or have a nice time drinking with some girls?”

“What? Get-together? While one of your friends is going off to the army, you guys are meeting girls? Ha... should I even call these assholes my friends?” Jinu couldn’t hide the indignation on his face.

The restaurant door opened and a family of four came inside.

“Oh...”

Seeing the eight gangsters, the family stopped in the doorway.

“Hey, what are you doing there, mister?! Close the door and come inside already!” a gangster with a koi tattoo said angrily.

The whole family stood still, hesitating. They didn’t want their son’s last meal before going to the army to be a bad experience. They also couldn’t just leave. They were worried that the gangsters might follow them outside and start a fight.

Nobody moved for ten long seconds. As everyone stared at the door, the middle-aged mother quietly asked the restaurant owner, “Do you make jjajangmyeon?”

“What?” The restaurant owner shook his head. “No, this is a barbeque restaurant.”

“Ah, we must have misread the sign. I’m sorry. My son said he wants to eat jjajangmyeon before he goes to the army, so...”

The family closed the door respectfully and escaped the crisis, using their son’s choice of food as an excuse. The gangsters suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hahahaha, hey, look at them! They want to eat jjajangmyeon in a barbecue joint! What a stupid bitch. Hahahahaha!”

“Hahaha, I think that father was more pathetic, frozen in front of his kids! Isn't he ashamed of himself? Hahaha.”

The gangsters roared with laughter and pounded on the table. As their guffawing grew louder, the families at tables 9 and 11 seemed to shrink down even further and kept their heads low. That was the moment when it all started.

“Hey, you fucking bastards! Just shut the fuck up and eat!” Sheriff, who had been simmering with rage for quite a while, slammed his fist on the table and shouted out loud. The gangsters, other customers, restaurant workers and owner, and even his friends were startled as they stared at him. Jinu sighed again.

“Ha… seriously, I should have known when that son of a bitch came along. He’s gotten us into fights so many times, and now he’ll stop me from joining the army.”

“You motherfucker, what did you just say? Are you a fucking moron? Say it again!” The man with the koi tattoo jumped up, glaring at Sheriff.

Sheriff, still sitting down, continued to scold him. “Eat quietly, you fucking idiot! If you bothered the other customers, you should at least apologize!”

“What a fucking asshole. You’re gonna die today.”

The nervous owner hid in the kitchen as the tension grew, knowing a fight might break out. He secretly went to call the police. But the four friends were still sitting down as if it was nothing.

“Hey Yubin, what happens if I go to jail and can’t go to boot camp? Do I get any punishment for that?” Jinu asked the average-looking friend, concerned.

Yubin hurriedly pulled out his phone to search. “Is this it? Not appearing for military service without permission... violation of article 88 of the Military Service Act... whoa, you could get up to three years in prison. I don’t think you should do it.”

“If I asked the police, wouldn't they contact them? Then it’s not at least ‘without permission’.”

While they talked it over, the man with the koi tattoo approached table 7. He grabbed the back of Sheriff’s neck, his lips twitching on one side. “Hey! Say it again! You were just yelling your damn head off. Why are you so quiet now? Huh? Why? Do you regret it? You little shit.”

The man with the koi tattoo gripped him tighter. He was confident in his strength. With this momentum, he was about to smash Sheriff’s face on the grill. “You’re gonna spend the rest of your life regretting this with burn marks on your face.”

But Sheriff didn’t even budge. As the confused gangster tried again to push his body weight on his neck, Sheriff used his left hand to grasp his wrist. Then he twisted it outward as he stood up.

“U-ugh! Y-you motherfucker, l-let go of me!”

Koi Tattoo’s shoulder was almost fully twisted around. He sputtered threats and pleas for mercy mixed with groans of pain. He tried to punch back, but he just couldn't reach.

“Wake up and get a life, you bastard. Pieces of shit like you shouldn’t go around in groups bullying the weak.” Only after Sheriff finished talking did he let go of Koi Tattoo’s arm with one final, hard twist.

“You fucking bastard!”

As soon as his body was free, Koi Tattoo started trying to kick at him. Whoosh—Sheriff dodged the attack by rocking back onto his left foot, then stepped forward and shot out a straight punch.

Wham. Koi Tattoo’s jaw twisted with the sound as he turned a full circle and fell back onto the table. Crash! The round metal chair made a racket as it collapsed underneath him.

“W-what the-? Hey, dude!”

The surprised gangsters called out to Koi Tattoo, but he couldn’t reply. He was already passed out with his arms draped across the table.

“You son of a bitch!”

Two men stood up at the same time. A guy wearing an undershirt threw a soju bottle. Sheriff turned his back to dodge the flying bottle, which flew past him and shattered against the wall.

“Ahh!” The other families scrambled and hid under their tables. In the meantime, a guy with a gold necklace grabbed a pair of meat-cutting scissors. Gold Necklace and Undershirt ran towards Sheriff.

“Go to hell, fuckface!” Gold Necklace shouted and swung his scissors with the blade facing down. Sheriff pushed the scissors aside with his left hand as he pulled Gold Necklace’s back and shoved his knee into his stomach.

“Ugh!” Gold Necklace stumbled as he let out a pained moan. Not missing the opportunity, Sheriff attacked him in the back with his elbow twice more.

“Aaaah!”

Undershirt shouted and threw a hook towards Sheriff’s face. Sheriff, who didn’t even make a face while dodging the attack, slammed his fist into Undershirt’s neck.

“Ugh!” As soon as his Adam’s apple was struck, Undershirt could only scream with a cracked voice like screeching metal.

As he tripped Undershirt at the ankle, who had not come to his senses, Sheriff said, “Stop, you bastards. You guys can’t do anything to me.”

As they gasped for air sprawled out on the floor, Undershirt and Gold Necklace were thinking the same thing. They thought he was just a bitch who believed his large size would save him, but he turned out to be extremely fast and strong. Every hit rattled their bones and made it hard to breathe.

But they were gangsters. They had to be violent for their job, and running away after losing would mean the end of them. If fists didn’t work, they grabbed a knife. If a knife didn’t work, then they had to jump someone from behind. The two clenched their teeth as they stood up again.

“You son of a bitch. You messed with the wrong people.”

Gold Necklace spewed these cliché lines as he slashed his own arm with a broken bottle. His arm was instantly covered in blood. If he was willing to hurt himself and draw blood, most weak people would be afraid. Then, if their focus was broken, even experienced fighters could be slowed down.

“Did you think this would end with just fists? You have no idea who I am, do you? Hahaha!”

To make the effect of the blood even stronger, he licked the bloody bottle shard as he laughed maniacally. This was all a calculated action. But nothing he could do would make these damn bastards show any sign of horror. Not only the big one, but the other three didn’t show any signs of emotion as they looked at him, either. With this, the ones who felt more unsettled were Gold Necklace and Undershirt. The two gangsters gripped the broken bottle pieces and began swinging as they charged again.

“Ha… these motherfuckers, trying to be dirty until the end…” Annoyed, Sheriff swung a hook without hesitation—not even a right-left combination, but two right hooks in fast succession.

Bam! Smack! Gold Necklace and Undershirt fell down as they each got hit by a right hook. Almost comically, their noses started to swell up and blood began to gush out of them. Eeeeek! They tried to stand, painfully, but fell back to the floor again. Their legs were weak and wouldn’t respond.

At this point, the gangsters relaxing at the other table became flustered. A man with a fancy leopard-print silk shirt inside his suit shouted, “I can’t stand this, you fucking bastards! Guys!”

As soon as they heard Silk Shirt’s order, three out of the five gangsters left jumped to their feet. Crash! Smash! The sound of bottles breaking filled the room. Everyone was ready to fight armed with broken glass.

At last, the man with the silk shirt stood up and smashed a beer bottle on the wall. The broken bottle reflected the sun shining through the window and glinted sharply.

Silk Shirt shouted, “You son of a bitch, I’m gonna rip out your guts and tear them to pieces. Hey! Lock the door!”