Capítulo 9: Chapter 8: Met That Loser With A Cane.
Adjusting his blue coat, Takeo strolled out into the light, passing down a busy intersection. School was finally out, and he had begun to fully realize the peculiarity of the situation. The teachers were truly useless when it came to disciplining students.
Even when everyone was speaking about it, and two students had been visibly somewhat injured, the teacher hadn't said anything about it. Better for him, but it was probably why so many kids around here were so misfortunate.
The streets of downtown Seoul were a little more rundown than the city's center, but it was still quite atmospheric. Small apartment buildings and various offices on either side of the road, with tiled marble roads. Yellow taxis honked and drove about, and hordes of high schoolers left in all directions, some by bike, while others on foot.
His tall frame and physique attracted much attention as he walked, and many stopped to whisper and gossip. To most, he looked like some sort of k-pop trainee or singer and such, which pissed him off. At times, he had a certain disdain for those pretty-boy idols. Probably related to…. That bastard. Tokyo would have been better off without him. Takeo sighed wistfully. There was once a time when he tried to become a singer…. That was a while ago.
He admittedly had a surprisingly good voice for a delinquent. Shaking that thought aside too, he reached into his pocket and removed a pair of red earbuds. Above, the sky was a darkening blue, and the shops were all bustling with activities.
Plugging them into his ears, he hummed as he went on. It was an enjoyable experience. Walking down the populace roads, he stopped by, window shopping at a few stores, and all in all, having a great time. That is until his phone began to vibrate.
At this moment, Takeo became serious. It was either a scam call, advertisement….. Or one more thing. He only had one contact, who he'd just met yesterday. With a flick of his wrist, he stared down at the screen.
[Caller: Cane-Man]
"Goddamnit." Immediately, his mode soured as he swiped the screen, receiving the call.
"Hey~ Hey~ Hey~ This old man wants to meet up!" That irritating sing-song voice cracked loudly in Takeo's ear.
Takeo gripped the phone a bit tighter, his heart beating faster. This bastard…. He really wanted to shove a baguette into this guy's gut. He was just like the bastard Jacob (ROB), both had no decency.
"Sup, b*tch! How are you doing!" Keeping a straight smiley face, Takeo replied, leaning against the side of a brick wall nonchalantly.
"I'm doing great, my friend! I know we just met yesterday, but wanna hang out? Humor this old man for a bit?" Seemingly unperturbed, Liam went on over the phone.
"Lovely as always, man." Takeo swept his ponytail aside, before speaking up again after some consideration. "So, need my help again? I'll gladly help save a weakling like you from trouble. Damsel in distress, no?"
Liam paused for a moment, before speaking up, as unphased as ever. "Meet this old man at Jongsu Park in twenty minutes~ Since you're such a nice guy, you'll help me out, right?"
"No problem~" Takeo tossed his phone into the air and caught it, before resuming a more serious voice. "But if it's something stupid I will beat you the f*ck up."
"No problem~" The grey-haired cane-totting teen promptly hung up without a second word.
Reaching into his pocket, Takeo removed a sleek mp3 player. It was made from what seemed to be black plastic, with a small screen along with an earphone jack. A strange model that probably couldn't be found anywhere else in the world.
He considered it for a moment, before putting the gadget away. Music still playing in his ears, he shrugged. Jongsu Park was a good seven minutes from J-Highschool. Located next to Jongsu Highschool, it was a small park where quite a few high school friend groups hung out.
"What a drag…." Takeo twisted his hips about. He would have to walk uphill, and then downhill, and take a turn…. Scratching his head, he began his short trek to Jongsu Park. As expected, it was very irritating. Downtown Seoul was somewhat mountainous, making way for steep roads at some points.
He walked uphill, watching as a man on a motorcycle sped down without a care in the world. Literally flying down the black concrete, the guy hazardously waved his red helmet, whooping. No matter what country it was, there were always going to be the psychotic folk on motorcycles, causing road rage and terror wherever they went.
Taking another turn past an old office building, and over a stone bridge overlooking the streets, Ishii Takeo finally arrived. Raising his hands out over his head, he swayed his hips, stretching. His endurance and stamina were far beyond the capabilities of any normal person, which was to be expected of most street fighters who reached his caliber. The ups and downs of the area hadn't been much of a bother, simply a drag.
Jongsu Park was what one would call a piece of "abstract art". Meaning that it was really lame. A large field of grass it was, with most of the vegetation trampled and littered with various bottles and other litter.
A few thick stone blocks acted as benches, which were not made for the sake of being cheap, but instead for aesthetic purposes. Blocks of stone. Sure, Takeo was a fan of minimalist design, but this was just lame. A bunch of random stone blocks sitting in a random field.
This was literally the entirety of Jongsu Park. And despite the fact, that there was no shade, and nothing relatively interesting about the place, all the kids came here to do their homework in the burning sun, play baseball, and some other crap.
Stepping onto the field, Takeo kicked aside a can of apple juice. Making his way across the field, he passed by many groups of huddled people. A group of middle-school girls squealed as they took photos of each other. Another group, this time of elderly men, seemed to be doing yoga.
Eyes inspecting the area, he finally found the grey-haired teen sitting on a block, tossing his cane absentmindedly in the air. Walking up behind the cane-man Liam Ran, Takeo tapped him on the shoulder.
"Huh!?" The shorter teen jumped out from the block, before straightening up, cane propping across his wrist in an orderly fashion. A cheerful smile on his face, he waved. "Ishii Takeo, my friend…. Wanna head to Gyeongju on Saturday? I really need your help. Well... I mean, I don't, but it would be really helpful." Liam waved his hands in the air.
Takeo stared at him for a second, before nodding in understanding. And then, he tilted his head again. It was obvious that the cane-man had needed his help in something. Now, he knew it had something to do with Gyeongju, a coastal city to the southeast of Seoul.
Normally, following some shady dude with a cane was a horrible idea, but Takeo could tell something different about this guy. From the relaxed air and posture to the nonchalance, his intuition told him that the guy wasn't too bad. Besides their personality. Liam Ran was a cocky bastard.
"So… Tell me. What's up? You don't seem to wanna go there for fun. Are you gonna beat someone up? If you are, then I'm definitely coming. You seem like a right trouble magnet, after all." Answering the question in a single fluid motion, Takeo sat down on the stone block.
"Hm. It's sorta complicated…Well, this Old Man will grow tired if he goes on for too long." Liam patted his back, sighing before he said speedily:
"So, my grandfather was the brother of the deceased Ran Kang-Dae, billionaire CEO of Ran Conglomerate. When my granduncle died, he left most of his inheritance to me and gramps, which made us the target of many people. But most notably, Maen-Wi and YK Corporation. YK Corporation is just very buggy in trying to get us on their side, as we hold a bunch of assets and stuff I don't understand."
"On the other hand, Maen-Wi Corp….. Kept on trying to get us to sign shady contracts and other underhanded methods. Two years ago, my grandfather died of old age, leaving me with the full weight of the family fortune along with this old cane of mine. So, I'm sorta sick of them."
Takeo blinked before he inclined his head, sort of getting the gist of what he said. Something about the last inheritor of a family fortune that everyone wanted. So wasn't this kid…. Basically a main character of sorts?
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