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"Why
do I have to sit out this year's
KOF alone, buddy boy?!"
"You said it! And why do I have to
be Master Jhun and Master Kim's lackey?"
The high-pitched wails and low bellowing
of the two echo out alternately.
Choi Bounge and Chang Koehan, who
have continued their program of rehabilitation
for a number of years at Kim's tae
kwon do gym, are miffed. The two
who only a few years before did nothing
but plan their escape have become
quite commendable citizens. It seems
that Kim's heartfelt program of rehabilitation
has paid off...then again, maybe not.
The abandoned Choi thinks:
(Not only do I have to do all the
housework during the Master's absence,
I have to watch after his kids...and
boy they've really become a couple
of brats recently. Simply put, I've
want no part of that babysitting
gig!)
Meanwhile, Chang concludes...
(Stuck between the two masters constantly
at each others heels, being pulled
this way and that....I won't be able
to take it!)
"Ha, ha, ha. I'm glad to see you
working so hard, Choi. But this time
I have to give in to Jhun's earnest
entreaties. Well, make the best of
it and watch over the fort."
"But, buddy boy!"
"I said, watch...over...the...fort!"
With his arms crossed, Kim bears
his teeth, which emit a blinding
gleam.
One more word of protest, and Choi
would be feeling the full force of
a Phoenix Kick in the name of rehabilitation."
"...O-OK. I got you, buddy boy!"
"Ha, ha, ha. If you express yourself
with sincerity all will come to see
things your way."
"Yeah, and the bruises you'd give
me on top of your 'sincerity' are
nothing to sneeze at either, buddy
boy."
"Yes indeedy-do."
The two whisper to each other in
hushed tones as if a pair of mosquitoes,
but Kim doesn't fail to catch their
remarks.
"Did either of you have something
to say to me?"
"Yeah, we were just talking about..."
"...how much we love our daily training.
Yeah, that's it."
Chan and Choi answer unflinchingly.
Their faces beaming with forced grins
are pathetic.
"Ha, ha, ha. You said it. You said
it."
The two shrink away from Kim and
let out a small, brief sigh. Their
humility and timidity would make
one doubt that they were once the
evilest of the evil.
It is hardly necessary to mention,
but Chang Koehan, with his trademark
iron ball and chain, is the escaped
convict with superhuman strength.
The guy with the charming iron talons
is the former mad slasher, Choi Bounge
Kim is the one who has devoted countless
years to rehabilitate these two through
the discipline of tae kwon do and
"return them to the path of righteousness."
He has yet to complete their rehabilitation.
And then there's Jhun Hoon, Kim's
rival who gets along with him as
well as a trench coat complements
Mai.
It is Jhun who comments:
"I'm sorry, Choi. But I just have
to take part in this year's KOF."
"But Master Jhun, why are you so obsessed with this
KOF...just what gives?"
Chin draws in his sharp chin and closes his eyes.
(Hoo, hoo, hoo. Maybe it's got something to do with
the introduction of the new rules, like the free tag-offs!)
This is Jhun's scheme.
Even though tournaments up till now were 3-on-3 team
battles, contestants fought individually, but this
time there's the free tag-off Multi-Shift rule.
In other words, when Kim finds himself in a fix, Jhun
will gallantly jump in, and along with saving his butt,
make the world aware of the difference in ability between
Kim and him by magnificently mopping up the mat with
the opponent. But this, of course, goes against all
his professed principles.
"Look, somehow Kim's team is the only one to participate
from our country. So the members of this team must
be, more than anything, the best. Isn't that right?"
"Well, yeah, most indubitably."
"Choi, you've shown a lot of improvement these few
years, but you still can't hold a candle to me. Chan's
in the same boat, but his fighting style is way different
than ours, and it's just the right touch to a diverse
team."
"Hey, Chang."
"What is it, Choi."
"About this year's team line-up...It just may be our
big chance, buddy boy."
"What do you mean, chance? Given the personalities
of our two masters, there's no way I'll see any free
time, much less freedom, no matter how hard I try this
KOF. So naturally the odds of you and me both getting
out of this pickle is impossible, and I guarantee that
200 percent.
"It all depends on how you use your noggin, buddy boy."
Choi's scheme is thus:
Everybody's a sucker when it comes to sports, sympathy,
and friendship.
So, when this KOF comes to a close, Choi, who everyone
believes is stuck at home watching Kim's brats, shows
up out of nowhere and gives them the old, "I was frantic
with worry and couldn't help but come to watch over
you buddy boys." If Chang plays along with him just
right, it'll be a cinch to pull the wool over the eyes
of that rube Kim.
"So, that'll casually make the point that we're rehabilitated."
"Yeah, I got you. An appeal to the emotions, and with
the media there making a spectacle of it...That just
may work."
"It can't fail, can it, buddy boy? This time we'll
put these pious pinheads behind us for sure."
"If we decide to go for this, I'll really have to go
gonzo during this KOF."
Meanwhile, Kim is uneasy.
It is clear that teamwork will be a crucial factor
in this year's KOF.
With Chang and Choi, he would be on familiar ground,
but he can't seem to get along with Jhun. If other
teams take advantage of this, defeat will quickly follow.
However...
Kim's scheme goes a little like this:
It's definitely difficult to take full advantage of
the team's maximum potential with Jhun thrown into
the mix.
But this just might be able to be surmounted with the
efforts of the world's mightiest tae kwon do athlete,
the one and only Kim himself.
He'll conversely use the new tag-off rules to his advantage
and silence from hereon Jhun's grating criticisms by
"saving his backside and putting him at his service."
And by doing this in public, the effect will be amplified
because it will create an undeniable obligation.
But this, naturally, goes against everything Kim stands
for.
"Well, if Jhun insists on joining our team..."
In spite of this team devoting their battles to justice,
each of it's members appear to entertain some fairly
wicked thoughts, but in a way they all seem unified
(?) in their intentions.
"Master, I have come to see things your way, buddy
boy. This time I'll root for you from a distance, buddy
boys."
"So you've seen the light, have you, Choi?"
"Most indubitably, buddy boy. Even if we're not always
together, we're still a team."
"Yes! That's the spirit that gives testament that your
long years of rehab are paying off!"
"And I'll make up for Choi's absence myself!"
"Chang's got the spirit too...If you put things that
way, I can't afford to lose either."
"Don't forget about me, buddy boys, because you can
count on me waiting for you at the awards ceremony."
"Of course we won't forget you. Ha, ha, ha, ha."
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha."
Four members, with four (rather sinister) motives hidden
in their hearts. The team sets out for the familiar
stomping grounds of KOF. Their entry into the competition
(barring a shipping problem with Chang's iron ball
and chain) apparently goes off without a hitch. |
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SNK
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