Mercenary Black Mamba

"Wow, it's magic!"

Someone exclaimed.

"Really!"

"Amazing!"

The atmosphere changed all of a sudden. People tend to decipher what's happening based on their own experiences. When faced with an event beyond those experiences the said event transforms from a fact into 'something similar to a fact'. Nupchi, who knew his way around a blade, was at a loss for words but the other thugs and students thought of it as a magic show.

"Hey, take your shirt off!"

"Off, sir!"

The thug who responded had definitely been in the military. He repeated the order and presented his shirt. First aid is one of the most important subjects you learn in Castelnaudary. Spend enough time as a mercenary and you eventually become a doctor yourself.

Mu Ssang tore the shirt into strips and fixed the supports on Nupchi's arm and chest. The whole process took less than 5 minutes. The onlookers couldn't help but look surprised at how fast he treated the wounds.

Mu Ssang took out his wallet and gave Nupchi whatever amount was in it.

"It's for the medical bills."

"Ah, no need, sir!"

Nupchi shuddered. They say "feed the pig you're about to slaughter." The way Mu Ssang was speaking to him was making him experience heaven and hell back and forth.

"Hey, take it when your Hyung tells you to. I broke your bones off clean then put them back in place the same. You should be alright but go see a doctor anyway. You have to take care of your goods too."

It was unprecedented for Mu Ssang, who hates thugs, to treat and give money to Nupchi. This, of course, would never have happened if he wasn't carrying a sketch of Mu Ssang's mother. This was why they say the lucky ones could come out of landslides unscathed.

"Thank you, hyungnim!"

The more simple the person the weaker they are to kindness. Treat them like you should a human and watch them drop their guard. Tears welled up in Nupchi's eyes. The nightmare was actually a dream of a good omen. He wanted to crush all those who called Mu Ssang 'the nightmare' and 'the Three Abstensions'. How could they say to not get close to, look at, or come across someone so humane and benevolent?

"Does that make any sense to you?"

Sungshik and the rest looked at each other incredulously. They didn't expect to see someone carry fire in one hand and water in the other quite so literally. The criminal world they witnessed today was a harsh reality where the victim stifled their cries as they had their bones broken and moved to tears when given money for treatment.

"Nupchi, do you still want the bike?"

Mu Ssang smiled.

"Ah! Forgive me."

Nupchi tumbled down on his knees. The other thugs who were gauging the situation in the corner also kneeled down right after.

"You can't get back the time you spend. Doesn't it feel like a waste throwing away your youth on violence and threatening others? If you continue to see only what you want to see, hear what you want to hear, and feel what you want to feel, then you are animals- not human. Right now, you are the sum total of all your past selves and your future is decided by how to talk and act today. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"...."

Mu Ssang looked around at the thugs. The ten pairs of eyes didn't even budge. He didn't know whether they were listening or just pretending to.

"Did you think you looked cool cracking your knuckles and spitting on the ground? You lived as a thug, so you're a thug right now. And since you're still a thug you'll just be a thug in the future too. Have you ever encountered someone who was happy to see you? Smiled at you? You, who's a thug? You want to be happy, don't you?"

"Yes, sir!"

"At least you're answering me now. Happiness isn't a goal, it's reality. Would it make you happy if you took candy from a child? Or would it be more fulfilling to see a smile on that child's face from the candy that you've given him? Happiness isn't something that can be achieved by yourself. True happiness lies in others' smiling faces that you've contributed to. Smiles and violence- we're responsible for spreading them."

The atmosphere changed. The thugs were focusing on Mu Ssang's words with sparkling eyes and the students fell silent.

'Damn, it's like I've started a cult. Ddubaiburfa rubbed off on me!'

Mu Ssang thought sheepishly.

"Do you know what the difference between thugs and Gundals are? (Gundal: Korean gang, romanticized and glorified through media similar to how the mafia was through movies like The Godfather) Gundals know their place while thugs have no shame. If you're going to use violence, live as a gundal. If you have a hard time surviving out there, come find me at the largest house in Bulrodong. I'll make you gundals myself. Understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Now get out of my sight. Dismissed!"

"Thank you, sir!"

Nupchi and the thugs ran down the mountain with lightning speed.

The classmates huddled around him after the thugs disappeared.

"Hyungnim, are you a reverse-aged martial arts master? Doctor? Both?"

"Kid, anyone can do this."

"Wha- Who's that 'anyone'?"

"Someone, man!"

The male students' jaws dropped at the indifferent response. The female students looked at him with sparkling eyes.

"Are you human?"

"Shit, man. What do you think I am then?"

"Batman or Superman maybe?"

Mu Ssang smacked Sungshik on his head.

"You little- Didn't you say I'm Darth Vader before?"

"Hehehe, did you know?"

"How could I not when you say it all the time? But I'm just a normal student."

"Eh? If you're a normal student what would that make us? Single-celled organisms?"

Sungshik cried out.

"Oppa, you were really cool. 'Do what you will with your miserable lives'. Whew! What a killer line. I'm gonna use that one."

Minja jumped up and down.

"What are you saying? What he said afterward was what really struck a chord with me."

"What? You mean what he said about how your past makes who you are now and your future is determined by your present?"

"No. When he said 'Come find me at the largest house in Bulrodong'. That really struck a chord with me."

"Get outta here!"

"Jin-sook, you've finally gone insane."

"Look, what a golddigger."

Criticism ensued.

"Hyungnim, you should run for congress."

"What are you talking about. Hyungnim should run for the presidency."

30 people spoke their minds all at once. Mu Ssang shook his head.

"Ugh, so noisy. I have a favor to ask from all of you."

Mu Ssang looked around seriously.

"Keep our mouths shut, right? We know."

Sungshik interrupted him and turned to his classmates.

"You guys see anything today?"

"No, we just had fun at the welcoming party. We did have to pay off some thugs though."

Chulsoon took this chance to recover from what she said earlier.

"Right, we didn't see anything."

"We don't want to experience the dark force."

"You know Mu Ssang hyungnim holds grudges right? We're all responsible now. Everyone keep your mouths shut."

Sungshik shook his fists threateningly.

"Ah, come on! We already said we didn't see anything. Stop fucking with us."

The students broke out laughing and joking. Mu Ssang smiled. They weren't too clueless. Well, it wasn't as if anyone would've believed them.

"Anyway, let's get this party started. All this running around's got me starving."

Sungshik and the rest looked at him dumbfounded. Mu Ssang just swung his arms around a couple of times during the whole ordeal. There was no running of any kind.

"The food's all prepared but the kimchi soup is somewhat off. Give it a taste."

"I don't know anything about cooking."

Mu Ssang lied. He didn't want any more work at the moment.

"Eh, that's a lie! You even brought all the right sauces."

Jin-sook took hold of one of Mu Ssang's arms and dragged him over. Minji fed him the soup with a ladle. Mu Ssang frowned. The taste was neither here nor there. He only tasted the sourness of the kimchi. Even their youngest, Woosoon, would have done a better job.

"You used tap water with no stock. I bet you didn't brown the meats or fry the kimchi either and just put it straight in boiling water."

"Wow! How'd you know that?"

"Anyone could tell."

"Eh, that 'anyone' again!"

"Let's just make it edible flavor-wise since you all look hungry."

There was too much pressure from the starving hyenas to cook it again using stock. Mu Ssang fished out the meats and kimchi and fried them together on a pan using perilla oil. He added sugar during the process to counteract the sourness of the kimchi. Something that he learned from Jinsoon.

They re-boiled the soup using stir-fried ingredients. They also added onions and curry powder to make up for the lack of proper stock. When you use onions and curry powder together the curry flavor is neutralized while amplifying the flavor of the soup. Also, something that he learned from Jinsoon.

"What do you think?"

"Wow, this is it! Didn't you say that you don't cook?"

Minji shouted with joy. The sour flavorless soup was reborn. The deep flavor of the soup and the kimchi came alive. The girls rushed to grab a bowl themselves.

While at it, Mu Ssang decided to make his specialty- chicken chips. Chicken chips were his own recipe that was inspired by British fish and chips.

An Epimedium body requires significantly more meats than average due to its raw horsepower. Chicken breasts are a good source of energy but are dry and easy to get tired of. The recipe for chicken chips is astonishingly simple.

Slice the chicken breasts into thin pieces, season them with salt and pepper, then leave it out to dry. Fry them in oil without any breading before serving. These crunchy chicken chips are a great snack and go very well with beer.

"Sungshik, isn't the Darth Vader hyungnim becoming too popular? The girls are all over him. Damn, what, did he save the world in his past life or something?"

Chulsoon said filled with jealousy.

Bam- Sungshik smacked him on the head.

"Geez, man. That's why you're such a scrub. Those girls are barking up the wrong tree. Hyungnim is already taken."

"What! Who's the lucky girl?"

The boys' faces lit up.

"I don't know. Just know that he's taken."

Sungshik said bluntly. Mu Ssang pushed his urgent needs aside and spent his time with his younger classmates. There was a youth, plenty of food and drinks, and endless stories. A small break for the angel of death Black Mamba.

The events of this day made the identity of Darth Vader even more clouded in mystery. A baseless rumor about him being a top-level chef spread around. Some said that Darth Vader was orphaned as a baby and adopted by a couple in France. The absurd story concluded with the assumption that he came back to Korea to steal the secrets to Korean traditional cooking.

"Weird. Did the nightmare hyungnim feed me drugs?"

Nupchi asked himself. He didn't feel any pain even after having three of his bones broken. It was questionable now whether his bones were actually broken or not. He hadn't even drank water let alone consume drugs as of yet, but this was the nightmare they were talking about. It was possible that he gave him drugs without him even knowing.

"Where did you get treated?"

The physician asked while looking at his x-rays.

"Why do you ask?"

"The bones have mended already. A clean break is treated by a professional. Almost no signs of damage. This was obviously treated by a skilled doctor at least two weeks ago. Why are you lying?"

The doctor said, annoyed.

'Does this guy have a death wish?'

Nupchi was also annoyed. He desperately wanted to turn in after this. He thought about punching this doctor in the face who was spouting nonsense and refusing to treat him.

'Ah!'

A sudden chill ran down Nupchi's back as he glared at the doctor. He was reminded of the absurdity of a certain someone cutting down full-grown frees with a kitchen knife. Just the thought of it made his stomach clench.

Mu Ssang's words about how they were responsible for spreading smiles and violence-hit him like a truck. Those words struck him harder than his threat to cut off one of his limbs. He had always lived with a frown.

'Smile! Let's try to make him smile.'

Nupchi smiled as if his life depended on it. His never-used facial muscles twisted into form. His slit-like eyes opened up vertically like a lizard's and his nostrils flared. His upper lips rolled up showing his boar-like canines. It was a live depiction of a textbook fantasy orc.

"Ah! What the hell?"

The surprised doctor pushed away from the desk to distance himself from Nupchi.

"What's wrong?"

Nupchi said, confused. He was acting out on his own.

"I just wanted to ask the doctor who treated you about the treatment process. Why are you getting angry?"

"Angry? What are you talking about? The nightmare gave me first aid."

"Eh? Nightmare? Like a bad dream? First aid?"

Nupchi's answer gave the doctor more questions. Nupchi closed his mouth. It was no use talking to the doctor. The purpose of a cutting knife was to cut fish. Cutting knives and other blades were also often used to cut human flesh, but certainly never to cut down trees.

"Don't tell me if you don't want to. There's nothing to treat. The bones have been mended and I don't see any inflammations. Stop joking around and go home."

The doctor said curtly. Nupchi wasn't sure but he looked like his pride's been hurt.

Vroom-

The heavy noise from the exhaust made Nupchi break out in cold sweats. The nightmare is the Three Abstentions. He was bound to be pulverized by his boss when he finds out that he brought the Three Abstentions, the one he wasn't even supposed to look at, to the office.

'Ah, fuck it! What's he gonna do, kill me?'

Nupchi decided to let it go. He could always heal back up even if his boss were to 'pulverize' him but a single blow from the nightmare and he could quite literally be pulverized. There wouldn't be anything left of him to heal back up. It wasn't really a choice, to begin with.

"Hyungnim, we're here. Do you see the five-story building, the third one on the second street? It's right there."

Mu Ssang stopped his snakehead and looked up at the building. A small sign with 'Samshik Services' written on it could be seen on the 3rd floor. He climbed up the stairs and went in through the fire escape.

There were only a few desks inside the large mostly vacant office. Two goons who were eating takeout noodles on the couch leaped up and bowed at a 90-degree angle.