Chapter 4
Chun-Ji pushed the door of her apartment open and threw her books onto a nearby chair. Once again, her mother was on a business trip, so she didn't have to worry about being caught fighting and being told all the "start acting like a girl" shit.
She stalked into her room and gratefully reached for her cargo pants, black tank, and army boots. Being in a skirt all day could really get on someone's nerves! You can't do anything in them; can't run, can't kick, can't even sit comfortably. How any girl could stand wearing them on the streets was beyond her. Especially with all the boys continuously checking out her legs; damn them. Now if it was Ghoon-Hahn…
'Stall it', she reminded herself, 'you have to put all those feelings behind you. Anyway, word is he's got a girlfriend. Right now, you have to get your territory back from that asshole Kai.'
Tossing her uniform into a laundry hamper, she grabbed her fingerless gloves and newsboy cap and slammed the apartment door shut behind her. The breeze blew her hair into her eyes, but she just jammed her cap on. Time to check out the neighborhood.
The Pure Water High neighborhood seemed to have stayed clear since her last fight; word must have gotten around pretty quickly, and with her reputation still in mind, it seemed that most gangs had decided to steer clear of anything that she deemed was hers. Most gangs.
She decided to move on to the territory right beside Pure Water High, a territory that she had nicknamed Prosperous because of the many people she had beaten within its boundaries; very prosperous indeed. Ever since she had moved to Japan, she had wondered about just which jacked-up gang would get the territory; word was, it was the Yi Won. Shit.
As she passed the invisible "gang territory boundary line", she noticed an immediate change in the mood. Something was not quite right, she could feel it, and something was going to happen. Sure enough, just seconds after the thought ran through her mind, a small noise caused her to turn around, barely in time to duck a flailing fist aimed straight for her face. It whistled over head and its owner doubled over in pain as she kicked out and caught him a bit higher then she had meant to. Whoops. Another kick to the back of his knees caused him to land flat on his ass while she pushed down on his stomach with her boots.
"You're Yi Won crap aren't you?"
The gangster, a spiky haired teen wearing a red tank, struggled to answer as she bore down hard on his gut. She bent down and punched him in the nose, yelling at his face.
"Answer me!"
"Y-yes…"
Another punch. "Yes what?"
"Yes I am from the Yi Won."
"Hmmph." Chun removed her boot and stared down the narrow street. Dusk was falling quickly, and the shadows darkened the dark corners of the road. The gangster, Red she remembered, was still gasping for breath, but a sly smile spread slowly across his face.
"You bitch; the boss knew you'd fall for it."
"What?!"
Even as she shouted, seven others stepped out from a corner just down the street: a blond, Yeon-Joon the fairy-boy, Dar Jay, and ten others that might have been hired thugs. Sudden realization dawned on Chun as she kicked Red in the ribs. "You asshole, you're just the bait aren't you? This is a trap isn't it?"
Red just grinned.
"Damn you all to Hell!"
Seven of the new arrivals launched themselves at Chun, each from a different angle. She whipped around with her foot and caught the blond high in the cheek, then hook-kicked and hit Dar Jay in the shoulder. To four others, she landed many punches, drawing fountains of blood. Yeon-Joon, however, managed to get past and landed a numbing blow to her neck. It was enough to cause her to keel over.
Red had recovered by now; he attempted to punch her in the stomach, but Chun rolled out of the way and his hand collided with the sidewalk. He screamed in pain, blood dripping down his knuckles.
Chun's agility was her second strength; she moved like a ghost, weaving in and out of the shadows, landing a blow there, tripping a thug here. Even with the odds against her, she could still hold her best against them, but not for long. Eventually, she started slowing down out of exhaustion, her blows weaker, and her moves slower. She stood alone, which meant there was no one to relieve her exhaustion, while in the case of the Yi-Won, if one fell, two of the hired thugs would take his place. Finally, Dar Jay caught her in the ribs, and with a crack of bones, she hit the wall with her head and slid unmoving to the ground.
As the thugs closed in around her, she dimly saw other figures running up to her, stopping to lay about with a stunning array of kicks and punches. Gangster after gangster fell to the ground, adding to the number that she had already beaten. At last, the last one slumped to the ground.
There were four figures standing above her, and in the dim light, she could not make out much of their shadow-covered faces. Then a familiar voice sounded out from the figure at the far right.
"No way, is that you Chun?"
The figure stepped forward into the light, and Chun's beaten face slowly pulled into a grin. She knew who this blond girl was. Chun accepted the hand offered to her and pulled herself up to face the chick.
"Hey Tae!" Tae smiled back.
"You're back finally; it took you long enough."
"A hell of a long time." Another figure stepped forward and Chun recognized him as the model Kun Kang. She replied sardonically, "Nice to see you too Kun. And where's our buddy Ga-Woon?"
"Right here." Ga-Woon Kim stepped forward, dragging another boy with him. "And somehow, Tai and I are an item, thanks to a crazy mix-up she pulled Jung-Woo into. Ain't that right, pretty boy?" Jung-Woo purposely pried Ga-Woon's fingers off his arm and knodded.
"Nice to see you all again, never would have thought you'd all come together though." Chun tested her limbs, checking that nothing was broken. "Some coincidence that you all turned up just as I was being pulverized by these turds."
"Not really; Min-Ryoung and his gang challenged us to a game of basketball in the park two blocks down. Turns out we need a fifth man, that's why we saved your hide-Ow! Just joking Chun-Ouch!"
Ga-Woon sprinted down the street, with Chun right behind him, whacking his head with her cap, and three laughing friends right behind.
Ghoon-Hahn surveyed the damage and spat bitterly at his gang members stretched out on the street. This was going to be tougher than he thought.
