Chapter 11: How To Make It Worthwhile
After a really tough confrontation with Asuka, the young Korean, Hwoarang has decided to chill for the rest of the weekend and to his surprise... Asuka didn't start bothering him in any way, since that one beating she received the other day, must have tamed her vendetta against him, which relieved his heart, big time... so the rest of the week went by without any disturbances or anything else, that is considered bad... and on the following Monday morning... two days earlier, Hwoarang told Akira, what kind of job, he already made up his mind about to get for the time-being and the job is mainly about repairing vehicles of all kind and also gear them up, if it's wished by the costumer. Yes, a mechanic. And since Hwoarang is very familiar with the topic of vehicles and how to deal with them, shall they get any damage, may it be on the outside or inside, he can repair anything, that is mechanical AND a vehicle. And to his fortune, the next near workshop wasn't so far away from where he currently resides in and said workshop, that goes by the name "Car Paradise", didn't make a shabby first impression, when you look at the sign and the reputation it has... however, all this shall become for naught, as a bad surprise will await the Korean, once he sets foot into "Car Paradise"... what he didn't pay much attention to, was the fact, that aside from South Korea, other countries in the world, especially including Japan, are currently suffering the same fate of increased criminality rates, caused by the after-war-effects of the battle between the Mishimas... and once everything is, he shall encounter some really unpleasant surprises along the way...
Three middle-aged workmen, that are currently working on a car, that got into a crash with another traffic candidate, are whispering to one another, while replacing the bend car-front, in a really annoyed tone.
"Have you heard the news? A newcomer is on its way here. I don't know much, but what I do know, is that having one more workman here is too much for us to handle."
"Yes. Our boss may have good intentions, but whoever it is, that comes anywhere near our work, we shall beat him or her out of there. It would be better, than having to deal with another mouthful like that!"
"Come on, you two, don't be ridiculous! The new grasshopper hasn't even shown his face yet and you two are already insulting him behind his or her back. Maybe that newcomer wasn't able to find any other job and he or her just happens to run across our workshop, that has enough space for more employees... you know, that I won't blame anybody for choosing to come to us, after all... this town is already down the shitter, so it wouldn't make any difference for us..."
Then the workman with the blue overall, that started this conversation, begins to growl as he raises the raspy tone of his voice to scold the third man.
"Kenji, be quiet, alright?! You sure realize, if there are more employees, this means less cash for us three and right now, our situation hasn't gotten better, ever since this accursed war has ended and to be honest, NOBODY asked for your advice, so shut your trap!"
Kenji shook his head and folds his arms, while pulling his hat off of the top of his head.
"Then why did you even bother bringing that topic up, huh?! Am I the ape for your personal entertainment purposes?! Huh, Kazushi?!"
As the two fully grown workmen continue their heated argument in an almost comical way, the second of the three workmen, that goes by the name of had to let out a really frustrated sigh, as he scratches the back of his bald head.
"When will these two buffoons ever grow some balls? Am I living in a circus?"
"We heard that!"
"And I don't care!"
The three men growl at one another, attempting to then keep on bombarding one another with insults, but then... silence abruptly came among the three workmen, when they saw the man of the day entering the workshop... Hwoarang, accompanied by Akira Kazama. You should know, that the Korean really hates wearing clothes, that only very fine people wear, like smokings with fine slackers and bowties and so on and so on... but Hwo knew, if he wants to give a really good first impression, he needs to show, how much of good manners and style he has and the clothing is the first step and there he was, entering the dirty and quite messy garage, wearing a white buttoned shirt, black slackers with suitable shoes and having styled up hair... and by that, I mean he completely combed his hair flat, instead of letting hang like normally. You could clearly see, he completely despises the way he looks, but as mature as he tries to be about this, he knew, that if he screws this up, then looking for another job would be even more of a tedious mess, so he gave in and cut his loss... he greeted the three workmen in a friendly way, but for some reason, they simply stood there, dazed and confused, which even confused him. None of the three responded to his first attempt of trying to befriend the three and this gave him a strange feeling of uneasiness, as he could sense... their was a hint of a mistrust written in their eyes... but then, the chief came into the garage and asked for Hwoarang and Akira to come into his office. He waved goodbye to the three unfriendly employees, to which they didn't respond either by the way, and quickly follows the head of the little company into his bureau. And as soon as he left the garage, the three men then get back together and look quite surprised at who is to get the fourth place in their ranks... but they weren't surprised in a positive way, no. In fact, they were even more angry than before, but then... Kazushi got an idea. Since it was obvious, Hwoarang didn't quite make the impression of being familiar with the material here, and how could he, if it's his first time being here, they came to an agreement.
"Because of this little baby-face still being a rookie, let us take advantage of that and give him the hardest jobs to begin with, so that chances become higher of him getting fired! That will be just the ticket to get rid of this new nuisance without any issues waiting ahead of us!"
"But you forget one thing... our boss will have an eye on the boy, as long as he is here and who knows, how long he might take to then assure, the young one is ready enough to take care of himself in this business..."
Kazushi then starts smirking, as he lets his fingers clap together.
"That's why... we will ask him to let US have the responsibility for the newcomer! We have been working here for so long, our mastermind must have won so much faith in us, to the point where he must see us as his distant relatives... as long as we can guarantee him, that this cock-face will be safe under our wings, nothing can possibly go wrong with my plan!"
His gaze then falls on Kenji, who apparently is still not pleased with how he wants to treat Hwoarang, but Kazushi understood and so he puts his hand on his shoulder and had to show a confident grin of pride on his lips.
"I know, this seems cruel to you... but think about our families... what will they have, if we get less cash than actually requested? We feed them and assure the best for them... do you really want your wife and child to starve, because of your winnings being cut in half?"
"No... but..."
"Come on, do it for us and your loved one's sake."
Kenji was silent for a few moments, before then exhaling in a really frustrated and worn-out way and then scratching the top of his head again.
"Fine, whatever... do as you please then... but if you dare to put a scratch on this kid, I am going to tell our boss, that you were just using his trust in us all along, did I make myself clear?"
That blunt response made Kazushi sweat in a nervous manner, but he quickly dismissed it and starts grinning lightly.
"Trust me, my friend... you won't regret anything."
"I won't be so sure about THAT though..."
Then, Kenji looks at his watch, before then taking off his tool-belt and then his gloves, as his work shift is done for today and he shall return this Friday.
"Well boys, I am outta here... see you this Friday."
Then Kazushi and the second workman, that goes by the name Ugaki, then wave their best friend goodbye.
"See ya!"
After that, they returned to work on the car, they are supposed to fix, for the costumer to later pick up... and after a half hour, Hwoarang and Akira leave the office and both looked quite satisfied with their efforts of getting a job for the Korean, who was the most excited for the next day, as his first day at work starts tomorrow.
"Although I will predict this to become tedious later on, I am still so glad I finally got this job! And I was beginning to have doubts about all this for a second there!"
Even Akira was relieved with all this having gone so well for Hwo and so he proudly taps the young Korean on the shoulder.
"Your days at the military have just paid off today, sonny."
"You bet your ass they did! I just can't describe with words right now, how relieved I am feeling!"
But his good mood shall soon darken, as the two workmen approached Hwoarang, while having a serious look, written on their faces, which alarmed Hwo immediately.
"Listen, you green hopper... just so you know, we aren't the welfare here! As soon as you get here tomorrow, we want you to show us, what you are made of to prove your worth in this biz."
"Just what he said. You may be lucky to get the job here at last, but this is only stretching it... prepare for the harshness of life, that will await you here, the next day... we will be waiting and don't you dare being late."
The two then stare at Hwo for a few minutes, before then slowly walking backwards in a creepy way.
"We will keep a straight eye on you..."
Even though, they tried their best to intimidate the young Korean, they didn't quite pull it off, as Hwoarang felt more confused than scared, at what they just did... he points his index finger in the direction, in which the two men were just standing and asked with a really puzzled and awkward tone in his voice.
"Uhhh... One question... who are those weirdos? Are they working here?"
Mr. Kazama simply shrugs it off, as he also didn't feel threatened by the two workmen.
"Beats me..."
And as soon as he said that, the two workmen were shocked and both opened their eyes wide in a comical way.
"Well, that didn't quite work out with the mental warning..."
But they then stopped gaping at each other, before becoming serious again, while having quite malicious grins on their lips, as they knew, this was only the beginning, so it didn't quite feel too much as a loss to them...
"Heh, no matter, this young boob will soon see... how serious we are, with showing him the "harshness of life", hehehe..."
"Couldn't have said it better. Let's get to it right away... tomorrow. The poor thing will get thrown out, faster than you can say "Oops"! Hahaha..."
While the two baddies already start to plan something unpleasant for Hwoarang, the latter is already on his way to the car with Akira and the two make their way back home... along the road, they were discussing a little about their first little success of making this town like Hwo's second home.
"Looks like we are off to not an all-too-bad start, eh?"
"I definitely agree on this... especially considering, it has also become quite complicated to get a job here and you seemed to have pulled the long one today."
Then Akira had to think of these two ominous-looking workmen again... he was thinking, that Hwo might feel uncomfortable right now, because of these two workmen, a.k.a, colleagues as of now, perhaps having given him a scare with their strange behaviour... and in a fatherly attempt, he tries to comfort him.
"About these two men we met today... let me tell you something. Simply ignore and do your own thing, alright? No need to be scared of these goons."
But this gave Hwo a good laugh, as he now reveals, he wasn't scared in the slightest.
"Oh, you are referring to these two bozos we just encountered a few minutes ago, right? Nah, no probs, they didn't scare me at all, they did give me a good reason to not pay much attention to them though... and they looked ugly as hell."
"Hahaha, you're right! They did make the impression, as if they never used, let alone SAW, a shower before in their life... and they smelled like burned gasoline."
Akira then stops smiling, as he had to admit, despite the looks and the fishy demeanor of the two workers, they still left an unsettling impact on him... he didn't trust them in the slightest and so didn't Hwoarang..."
"I gotta say though... please be careful. Shall they dare to do anything bad to you, try your best to defend yourself without hurting these two... or better yet, tell your chief about this, this is also an option."
"Oh, come on, stop over-exaggerating already. I understand your concerns, but please, these two shepards don't look like they could put up a good fight, not even for a few minutes and this would BARELY even count as warm-up for me..."
"Forgive me, but it's just that I don't want you to lose your job, just because of two morons having bothered you..."
"Don't worry about me, gramps. I know just the right ways of how to deal with buffoons like these two, shall they get the stupid idea of messing with me."
"No violence please."
"Hehe, who said, that I am planning on beating up? I can act reserved when I want to."
"Fine then... do what you want."
He then taps Hwo on the shoulder, while grinning in a proud way.
"And I wish you the best of luck from today on."
Witnessing Mr. Kazama showing his genuine care for the young Korean, brought a smile to Hwo's lips and even more so, after he helped him getting a job here in Osaka.
"Thanks Akira."
Let us see, if Hwo will have luck in the next few days... as Ugaki and Kazushi prepare the worst for him... and will it succeed?
After they arrived, the day went past by, as Hwoarang resumes his daily training once again. Since the dojo is still active, students will sooner or later arrive with Asuka and Akira being the instructors for the students, so Hwo decides to train for a few hours, before it was time for the two Kazamas to get to work... and this evening, Hwoarang talked about how lucky he was to get the job. Asuka listened and she had to secretly admit... she was jealous. But as usual, she maintains her tomboyish behaviour and acts, as if she isn't respecting Hwo, when in secret, she actually does... but then, after Akira talked about the two workers in the garage, this is when Mitsuko takes the word, as she was slowly growing anxious from the way her husband described the two creeps. This peaked Asuka's interest. She was being quiet the whole time, but her ears are wide open about what her mother is going to warn her rival about.
"Hwoarang... did these two threaten you?"
"Huh? Oh, about these two! Um, no, not really... all they did, was making me question, what they actually wanted from me. For a threat, it felt weak as water and more like an epic fail of a threat, if you ask me."
"Please, listen to me and do it real good... you may never know, what kind of shady people you might encounter in places like that, specifically in the one, in where you found your job... Asuka has beaten up more criminals there than anywhere else in Osaka, so this pretty much reveals danger, that is waiting ahead for anyone that is in that part of town. You may say, their threat wasn't that much of a big deal to you, but I still say: Keep your guard up. Anything could happen..."
The way she talked about the area, in which Hwoarang has been, sent him a chill down his spine and he was silent for a few moments, which made Mitsuko giggle.
"Oh, did I scare you too much? My apologies, dear. But this doesn't mean for you to take all this on the easier side. These guys there can be unpredictable."
Then Hwoarang becomes cocky again, after feeling relieved for Mrs. Kazama's attempt to console him a little.
"Alright then. Thanks for the warning, because if any of these filthy thugs dares to mess with me... I am gonna give them a good thrashing."
Asuka interrupts him with a little smug.
"Hey, that's my line!"
But Mr. Kazama is the one now to then interrupt.
"Nuh-uh-uh, no attacking please. You don't want to lose your job, do you?"
"I wasn't talking about these two bozos this time, OK? I was referring to these cock-faces, that idle around on the streets, behind the dirtiest corners. And hey... maybe they only act all out-of-place, because I am new in town, and I am not from here, who knows? Whatever the case, I am not going to risk anything, while I am working and also... just saying, maybe they don't like that loathsome part of town as well, so... when I am in the best mood possible, I might lend them a hand, shall they get surrounded by you-know-who-I-am-referring-to-people."
"Oh no, Reddy. Taking on delinquents is MY specialty, YOU can stay on the sidelines and watch me going all out on them."
"You believe, I am not capable of handling creeps like that? Then just you wait, you might get surprises."
"That's enough fantasizing you two. Nobody is going to attack anyone, did I make myself clear? Remember the last time, when you were arrested, because of you "protecting" an old man, Asuka? I know, as always, you have good intentions, but good intentions can also cross lines you better do NOT want to cross, as that WILL get you into trouble."
The female Japanese sighs and slurps at her noodle-soup in a bored way, before answering bluntly.
"Alright Dad... it could have been fun though..."
"Thank you for your attention."
Hwo then finishes his evening meal and burps out, loud enough, that almost the next near neighbourhood could have heard it. When Asuka heard that, she had to smirk in a challenging way.
"...Was that a challenge of 'Who can burp the loudest'?"
"Maybe. I still have more to go..."
Both stare at one another in a cowboy-duel-like fashion, before eventually inhaling and then starting to burp out loud with Asuka then taking the lead and both repeated that ridiculous little competition for over ten times, until Hwoarang desperately tries to bring out one more belch and then, it all accidently results... in him letting out a loud fart instead, as he put too much pressure on his lungs and it literally "backfired", which made the entire Kazama family laugh out loud and Hwo blush in a really embarrassed way.
"Pardon me... well... thanks for the dinner... and goodnight everyone."
"Hehe, goodnight, winner!"
Then Hwoarang left with an awkward laugh coming out of his mouth, before quickly making his way to the bathroom to clean up and then finally getting to sleep.
The next day at the workship...
It was still past midnight and Ugaki and Kazushi have already arrived to start with the preparations of their plan to kick Hwoarang out of business... both meet up in the garage and you could see all the stuff, which they will utilize to get through with their plan of getting rid of the new worker...
"Alright Ugaki... we don't have much time to spare so let us get right down to business."
The man nods and then Kazushi explains to him, what kind of traps they shall build with all this junk on the table and where they have to be set up in order to work and as soon as that was done, the two delinquents start to carry out their mischievous plot by setting up traps in every place, to which chances are high, that Hwoarang would have the first idea of paying a visit to these places. The work took almost the rest of the night, until the two men were finally done with the preparations and then made their way to the locker room to prepare for the day... and as soon as they were finished, they couldn't hide their excitement any longer as it was slowly time for Hwo's part-time of the job to begin, in the earlier hours of the morning...
"First things first... let us start harmless enough... with a classic. The mystical string in the doorway. Hoho, this will be so good."
Both then casually start to finish the rest of the work they had to cancel yesterday, because of their boss wanting them to leave earlier, until... they then hear the door to the garage open up with a loud-enough squeaking for the two to hear... both then quickly crouched down behind the car and waited for the newcomer to feel their wrath for the first time... Water-Shower from above.
"Hahaha! He's coming!"
"Shhh! Be quiet, you idiot! He might hear us!"
And when they see Hwoarang coming around the corner, he suddenly dropped something by accident...
"Oops!"
He dropped his keys and much to their dismay, his one foot overlapped the string without him noticing the trap, that was connected to the trap and his other foot also came over the thin line, thus not triggering the trap like planned, making the two men growl.
"Damn it! We should have used a much wider string!"
The Korean does a few tricks with the keys by spinning it around in his one finger, before quickly putting it back into his pocket. He sighs in a good-mooded way, before going to the locker room to get his belt ready. He didn't notice the two workmen, so they quickly went over to examine the trap properly to check, WHY it went wrong, before Kazushi becomes horribly angry at Ugaki.
"Moron, why did you use THIS string?! You know, that we needed a wider one! Piece of crap!"
Kazushi then angrily kicks the trap, causing him to squeal in pain and clutch his foot, as the nail cracked one of his foot-nails and he starts comically jumping up and down, before the two then get showered in dirty sewer water. Their plan completely backfired. Ugaki is the first one to comment on their failure.
"Well, YOU are the moron here, not me..."
"Shut up, will you?!"
Then the two sniffed at each other and then plugged their noses shut in disgust of the stench.
"Ohhhh... that smell is making me ill..."
Just then, Hwoarang comes out of the locker-room, while wearing his biker-outfit and the belt around him, ready for action. When he sees the two men, or more like "colleagues", he greets them in a friendly way.
"Hey there. Guess it's time for work, eh?"
But then the stench of sewer water came under his nose and he waved his hand in front of his nose in disgust.
"Ewww, you better take a shower first, just a piece of advice."
Kazushi and Ugaki quickly calmed down and nodded in a really serious way, while having mischievous smiles on their lips. Then, Kazushi takes the first word.
"Welcome in hell. Now my boy, you better prepare, 'cause as soon as the first costumer arrives, we expect you to be the first one to fix, whatever problem this costume's vehicle has. If you need help, just call us up."
"No problem. But don't expect me to do this a lot, because trust me, I have been working with bikes and cars in one half of my life and this isn't the first time I am doing this, so... no worries, I will be just fine."
Then Kazushi thinks to himself, after having heard what Hwoarang just spewed, in a nervous way.
"What did that brat just say? Is he trying to say, he is used to repair broke-down machineries? He must be bluffing, there is just no way! How come we weren't informed about this? But it doesn't matter... even if he is bluffing, I am sure, he is just another lazy piece of shit, who spits big talk, but doesn't possess the brains to actually back up his claims. He will just wait and see!"
He then spoke again directly to Hwoarang, while faking a grin.
"Oh well, then I guess, we might also have a little fun here... or maybe not?"
And as soon as he said that, they heard a loud honking from outside, indicating the first customer is ready to take the car in. But then Hwoarang suddenly felt the urge to go for a leak.
"Excuse me for a minute, I need to go and relieve my bladder!"
"Yeah, yeah, go already! When you go down the stairs, take the door on the right. There is the bathroom, now go!"
"I owe you one!"
And with that, Hwo quickly left the garage to go for a pee. After he left, Kazushi grinned to himself in a mischievous way again.
"Ohhh, my boy, hope you don't burn yourself from putting too much effort into easing up your bladder..."
When Hwoarang reached the bathroom-door, he was about to enter the bathroom, which handle is burning hot in the literal sense, since Ugaki put a burning red ring around the handle on the other side of the door to make the other side burn as well, but before Hwo could even touch the handle, he realized in surprise, that this was the wrong bathroom. It was for female workers.
"Oh crap! This is the toilet for females only! Lucky for me, no female crossed my way here! Now where is it? Oh there! Thank god!"
Another plan completely gone wrong... Ugaki accidently chose the wrong bathroom, but they don't know yet, if their plan failed or not. And after Hwoarang was done with finishing his private business, he immediately returns to catch on the work, that was decided for him today... he shall repair the car of a business-man, whose tires received too many holes, because of someone having used something sharp to sting holes into his tires. The task was no problem for Hwo, as he knew, just the right tools to use and what to do, which both simply didn't expect in the slightest, which angered and frustrated them even more, as they watch the new member of their team go all out with his general knowledge of machinery. While Hwo was busy with the car, Ugaki and Kazushi quickly went downstairs to check, why the Korean returned without any injuries whatsoever and they quickly realized, as soon as they arrived... the trap hasn't even been touched once and so Kazushi angrily slaps Ugaki against the back of his head for his failure.
"Ouch!"
"Just- are you really that stupid, or are you pretending to be so?! Why did you choose the woman's bathroom?!"
"I forgot to put my glasses on, before I went down here and because of me not feeling like going back up, I decided to simply go for it, so I wasn't really able to see everything and you and I know all too well: Once I am without my glasses, I am as blind as a little worm!"
"Now get inside there and turn this stupid heater off, because-"
And it then ends with Kazushi grabbing the burning handle, as he wanted to open the door, while he completely forgot that it still burns and then he shrieks like a girl in pain, while trying to cool off his hand by blowing it frantically, before then rushing over to the male's bathroom.
"No worries, Kazu! I will take it, before-"
And Ugaki is the next to feel the wrath of the steamingly hot door-handle... and it ends with both having to bandage their burned hands, before going quickly inside the women's bathroom to turn off the heater and take the machine with them... and on their way back to the garage, Kazushi growls as his second best trap failed them as well the first. But he knows, all is not lost. There are still more traps to go...
"The second one wasn't so well-thought-out as I actually pictured it..."
Then he glances at their burned and bandaged hands.
"...but we are far from finished with this nuisance of a newcomer! Giving up does not exist in my textbook!"
"Yes, sooner or later, he WILL make a mistake and THEN, what can possibly go wrong?"
"He will soon learn, not to mess with us two old gits! He will be forced to leave, once he learns, what we have left in our good old brains!"
And before they knew it, one hour later, Hwoarang was done with fixing up the issues with the car and the customer soon arrived to pick up the now fixed up car and as soon as he inspected everything and started the engine, he was impressed, because for the first time, this business is actually doing its job perfectly... the man thanked Hwo for his help and both waved each other goodbye. The Korean even got a really positive compliment from his chief for his good work so far. But then Hwo explained, why it wasn't that much of a big deal for him and then the chief couldn't hide his positivity towards the newcomer anymore. When this sight fell upon the two old workmen, they couldn't help, but tense up in nervousness, because their chief has already witnessed Hwo's talent, which pretty much gave the two the sign to keep on the facade and keep on going with the traps.
"This is no good... and the worst thing is, we only have four days left, until Kenji returns, so we have to force him to leave as quickly as possible..."
"So let us get down right to business! These first two traps were only childish pranks! Now let us get more extreme!"
With that being said, the two waited for Hwo to pass through the other obstacles they set up for him and when it became evening and Hwo's job was done for the day, the third trap was awaiting him in the locker room. Above the door, was a bag, set upside down, while the string was connected with the zipper AND the handle of the door in question. Shall Hwoarang have the idea of opening the door too wide open, the zipper of the bag shall get pulled back and he shall get showered in workman-tools like hammers, pliers, screwdrivers and so much more... but again, the trap didn't work, as Hwoarang then remembered, that he forgot his workman-belt, so he quickly ran back, before he even had the idea of touching the door to get the belt, to put it into his own safe. Kazushi then realized, he forgot to close his own safe, so went back through the door, smashed the door open, forgetting his own set-up trap and he then finds himself getting many swollen bumps on his head by falling working-equipment. When Ugaki heard the noise, he immediately ran to the scene and soon his confidence faded away, the literal second he sees his comrade having been owned by his own creation.
"Heh! And YOU tell me, it's ME who is the stupid one here!"
"Shut up, OK?! Just shut the hell up! I don't feel like hearing your bullshit right now! Simply leave me alone, get your stuff together and come back tomorrow! We will continue this scheme as long as it takes!"
"Hmph!"
"And clean up this mess, before this little flame-boy returns and raises suspicion!"
"Why me?! You set this-"
"DO AS I TELL YOU, DAMN IT!"
And so Ugaki did as he was told, before, as expected, the Korean arrived to get his stuff ready, before leaving. He goes over to his safe and puts his workman-stuff into the locker, before then seeing Kazushi pressing an entire sack of ice against his head. The mere sight made Hwo hiss, as he did look awful with these injuries...
"Oh man... so this is what you get, when you overwork yourself, I guess?"
"Meh... THIS is only the beginning, my boy. It WILL get much worse later on, just you watch. Life isn't a playground."
"Heh, OK then, I am leaving! See ya!"
"Bye..."
And with that, Hwoarang left to get picked up by Mr. Kazama, who was waiting outside the gate... and just as Kazushi confirmed, as he watches himself in the mirror with a really malicious look on his face... today was only the starting point for his throwing-Hwoarang-out-of-business-scheme. It shall get worse... or will it?
TO BE CONTINUED...
