Lookism: King's Ascension

The karaoke bar at the border wasn't much to look at. 

A faded neon sign flickered over the entrance, and the smell of cigarette smoke clung to the walls. Inside, the floor was slightly sticky, the leather seats worn down from years of use. 

It wasn't exactly a hotspot for entertainment anymore… it was a front, one of Anyang's outposts near the border. A place to gather intel, move supplies, and keep an eye on what was coming in from Ansan.

Taeyang and Daehyun pushed through the door, the dim lights buzzing overhead.

A few guys were inside, scattered across the booths. 

Some were drinking despite the early hour, others were quietly chatting in the back. When they walked in, the atmosphere shifted slightly… not hostile, but aware.

Then someone grinned from one of the booths.

"Well, look who it is."

A man in his school uniform stood up, rolling his shoulders as he approached. He had a lean build, sharp eyes, and a cigarette dangling from his fingers. His blazer was just wrapped around his shoulders, revealing a tank top underneath.

"Baek Daehyun," he drawled. "Finally decided to show your face, huh?"

Daehyun smirked. "You missed me, Kangjun?"

"Like hell," Kangjun snorted, before nodding toward Taeyang. He didn't react, just stared back.

Kangjun's lips curled. "You live up to the stories?"

Taeyang's expression remained unreadable. "Depends what you've heard."

Kangjun exhaled smoke, smirking. "That you're Minho's attack dog. That you don't stop once you've got someone between your teeth."

Taeyang's gaze hardened immediately.

He took a slow step forward, the shift in the air almost tangible. No words, no theatrics… just a quiet, sharp-edged presence that made Kangjun stiffen, just a little.

"Say that again," Taeyang said, voice calm, but deadly cold.

Kangjun's grin faltered.

The silence stretched.

Daehyun snickered. "Ah, shit. You really don't like that one, huh?"

Taeyang didn't look away from Kangjun. Didn't blink. Didn't smile.

Kangjun finally scoffed, flicking ash from his cigarette. "Alright, alright. No offense meant." He jerked his head toward the back. "Come on. We'll talk inside."

The back of the karaoke bar led to a storage area... a dimly lit room stacked with crates. Some were filled with basic supplies. Others… not so much.

Weapons. Reinforcements. Everything they needed to make sure Anyang didn't get pushed around.

A few guys were already inside.

Seokjin, stocky, with a scar down his jaw, sat on a crate, arms crossed. 

Next to him, Jungho, one of the younger guys, tapped his fingers anxiously against his knee. The moment they walked in, both looked up.

"You're finally here," Seokjin grunted.

"Yeah, yeah," Daehyun waved a hand. "So tell us… how bad is it?"

Kangjun leaned against one of the crates, flicking ash onto the floor. "They've been pressing in from the south for weeks now. At first, it was just random fights… guys looking for trouble, testing the waters. But lately? It's been organized. Too organized."

"Meaning someone's leading them," Seokjin muttered.

Daehyun raised a brow. "Any idea who?"

Kangjun shook his head. "That's the thing. It's not just one guy. We've been dealing with different groups, different fighting styles. It's like they're all trying to stake their own claim in Ansan, and we're just caught in the middle of their shit."

Jungho finally spoke up. "We thought Choi Hyeok was behind it at first, he was the only one who cared about territory after all but then Nam Giseok started showing up. And now we're hearing whispers that Jinhwan is moving too."

Daehyun let out a low whistle. "Already two of them, huh? Guess Minho was right to send us."

"Yeah, no shit," Seokjin muttered.

Taeyang stayed quiet, processing. The information lined up with what they'd heard, but something still felt off.

"Anything else?" he asked.

Kangjun hesitated for a moment before exhaling. "Yeah. There's one more thing."

Daehyun's grin faded slightly. "Spit it out."

Kangjun glanced between them. "There's some new guy stirring up trouble. Not part of any of the main Circles, but… he's been fighting anyone and everyone. Doesn't seem to have a side, doesn't seem to care about territory. He just keeps picking fights."

Taeyang's expression didn't change.

"Don't know his name yet," Kangjoon continued. "But people say he only throws punches with his right hand. Keeps his left hand in his pocket the whole time."

Silence.

Daehyun exhaled. "Well. That's new."

Taeyang didn't say anything.

So. Taesoo Ma was already making moves.

And nobody realized it yet.

He glanced at Daehyun. "Guess we'll have to introduce ourselves."

Daehyun grinned. "Wouldn't want to be rude."

Kangjun shook his head. "You two are crazy."

"Crazy is what survives these days." Taeyang rolled his shoulders. "Where do we start?"

Kangjoon stubbed out his cigarette. "Tonight. If you're looking for a fight, you'll find one."

Taeyang nodded once.

Daehyun cracked his neck, his leather jacket shifting.

"Sounds like fun."

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***

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The night air smelled like oil and cigarette smoke.

Joo Sangpil rolled his shoulders, pipe slung over one shoulder as he walked at the front of the group. He grinned, the anticipation thrumming in his chest.

Fifteen guys.

All in light grey and white uniforms… standing out like sore thumbs against the dark streets, but who cared? They weren't here to hide.

They were here to break shit.

The karaoke bar was ahead, neon buzzing, flickering dull reds and blues against the pavement. A known Anyang spot. A place that their people had been pushing around for a while now.

Sangpil scoffed.

Not anymore.

Tonight, there wasn't going to be anything left to push around. Not after that man had given his orders. 

"You ready?" One of his guys, Jinho, grinned beside him, cracking his knuckles.

Sangpil smirked. "Ready to wreck some shit."

A few of them laughed. Someone swung a bat over their shoulder. Confidence ran through their group like a current.

This was gonna be easy after all.

They were the ones with numbers.

They were the ones attacking.

They were the ones—

The first scream barely had time to leave Jinho's mouth before he was gone.

No… not gone.

Dropped.

Folded like a ragdoll.

One second, he was beside Sangpil. The next, he was crumpled on the pavement, body twisted, unmoving.

Silence.

Then—

Someone moved.

Fast.

Too fast.

The night shattered like glass.

One by one, they fell.

Joo Sangpil had walked in here certain… cocky. They had numbers. They had bats, pipes, fists ready to crack skulls.

And then something ripped through them.

Feral. Relentless. A beast set loose in the dark.

Someone swung, a full-force bat strike. It should've caved in a rib, maybe a skull.

But the bat only hit air.

A blur, and the guy was gone.

CRACK!

Slammed sideways into a wall.

Another moved forward. Tried to fight. He threw a punch… it never landed, as his forearm was torn apart.

Sangpil barely saw it. Something was moving through them, cutting them down before they could even raise their weapons.

Someone cried out. "What the f—"

A foot crushed his ribs before he could finish.

And then—

Then came the second one.

Not like the first.

Where the first was feral, ravenous, like a beast that had caught the smell of blood… 

The second was something else entirely.

Sangpil felt his breath lock in his throat.

Because while the first one tore through them, the second one just walked.

Casual. Almost lazy. Hands in his pockets, a faint smirk on his lips.

A bat came swinging… he didn't dodge.

Just shifted, lightly. Barely moved. Like it was a joke.

Then he struck.

One hand.

One hit.

And the guy's body folded.

No sound, no time to react… he just dropped.

Someone swung at him… a mistake. Everything was a mistake in front of him

The second one caught the arm, gripped the wrist, and with the same ease as flicking away a cigarette…

Snapped it.

CRUNCH!

A short scream. Then silence.

Sangpil couldn't move.

He couldn't breathe.

Because this wasn't a fight. This was something else.

Sangpil had been in fights before. He knew the rhythm of a street brawl, the clash of fists, the shouts, the chaos. The rush of pain, the satisfaction of landing a hit, the give-and-take of violence.

But this?

This wasn't give-and-take.

This was a massacre.

They weren't fighting men.

One was a demon.

A thing made of blood and hunger. He moved like something feral, something starved, tearing through their ranks with an unrelenting viciousness. 

He wasn't just attacking… he was hunting. Every step, every movement was a predator cornering its prey, and Sangpil could see it, see the way he enjoyed it.

The blood, the gasps of pain, the fear.

And then… there was the other.

The grinning one.

The one who didn't fight.

Because gods didn't fight.

They decided.

He moved like someone who had already won. Who had never even considered losing. His hands stayed in his pockets, his posture relaxed, like none of this even required effort.

Someone rushed him with a bat—he didn't flinch. Just turned his head slightly, bored, amused, above it all.

Then, with a single gesture, the bat-wielder's body collapsed, hitting the pavement like a puppet with its strings cut.

Sangpil felt his own hands shaking.

His heartbeat pounded in his ears, his pulse hammering against his skin. His instincts screamed at him to run, to get away from this. But his body wouldn't move.

Because the demon's eyes had found him.

Through the blood and the broken bodies, they locked onto him with a hunger that made his stomach twist.

The neon flickered.

The grinning god tilted his head, watching.

The bloodied demon took a step forward.

Sangpil took one back.

His breath caught.

His vision blurred.

And then—

Darkness.

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"Y'all got any good writing?"

"We've got hype moments and aura."

Thought it'd be fun to write again from the pov of a regular first gen guy... especially when they're fighting at night and can't even see what's going on.

Taeyang is terrifying at night, holy shit. Evolves from Hound to Demon type shi

And Daehyun is just too strong to even consider a mere 15 people as a fight. My Boy of Liberation is stronk.

Anyways... the Ansan arc has officially began.

Enjoy, my children.