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Daniel wanted to strangle the other Doctor with his own bare hands. Collin may have agreed to work with Daniel during the tournament, but it didn't mean the brunette would make it easy for him.

For all parts of when Daniel was giving him a tour, Collins would ask questions that were either just backhanded slander or just meant to be plain rude.

'Did you really make this room look like a school nurse room because you weren't afforded the luxury of attending an actual school?'

No. It already looked like this for the most part.

'The Director favours you so much that he probably sent you all this first-class stuff didn't he?'

The Founders, not his uncle provided all the resources and materials. Also, Daniel didn't even need to ask for the stuff, James wouldn't dare give anything less than the best to use.

'Must be nice to be the nephew of the Director, to be given such a mundane and unimportant role. Do you sit on your ass doing nothing most days when the CC isn't operating?'

Judging by the gruelling past couple of weeks organising for this one tournament alone on top of his usual work, no, Daniel didn't just sit on his ass all day.

All in all, Daniel was ready for Collin to leave.

After explaining to the elder what his role and job would be during his stay at the CC for the third time in that hour alone, the door to the medical room opens to let Jay in. Daniel made a show of introducing the two and explaining to the blonde about why they had an extra Doctor. Jay took it all in stride, offering Collin a friendly smile and handshake.

The brunette had immediately sized up the nurse, looking him up and down noticing his young age and then glancing back at Daniel before taking the hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Nurse Hong. I'm Doctor Collin Yu" The pleasant smile on his lip was polarisingly different to the looks of hatred he had been giving Daniel earlier. "My, there are a lot of young prodigies nowadays but it's great to see so many people wanting to get into the medical industry" He muses and Daniel wanted to gag.

Jay must've noticed the sour look Daniel had been making so he hesitates to accept the praise but Collin must've noticed it as well and instantly he turns on Daniel.

"Daniel and I went to the same university and we both interned at SNMC. Despite this I'm way older than him" Collin chuckles as he pats Daniel's back.

Daniel wanted to recoil at the fake attempts of being friendly but he powers through and smiles.

"Nonsense, you're only what…in your mid-twenties?" Daniel replies. "You're not that old, hyung" he makes sure to enunciate the last word.

A sharp glare passes through Collin's face but just as quickly as it appears it disappears and melts into the fake mask he'd put on for Jay. No matter, the blonde seemed to register the tension between the two doctors with or without the pleasantries.

The same introduction and air of awkwardness is put on for when Mira and the other employees arrive later in the day. After several hours of Daniel showcasing the list of fighters to the other Doctor and Collin immediately complaining about how many there were when Jay left to go to the bathroom. Collin had surprisingly gotten through the list of people, memorising the most important details within an instant.

Daniel had been sceptical of this but after questioning Collin's about it the brunette merely snorts before responding with a 'Just because I wasn't a prodigy doesn't mean I'm shit at my job. If you paid attention to anyone else except just yourself you'd know that' before listing off a couple of medical details. Details that included Olly's condition and a couple of other notable past injuries and medical conditions from other fighters.

So despite being a bully, Collin was quite proficient at his job.

"So you and Doctor Park went to the same university? Cool!" One of the employees calls after Collin's simple introduction.

"Yes, very cool" Collin grins before giving a thumbs up. He was such a two-faced jerk that Daniel wanted nothing more than to throw up but he kept his feelings under wraps. So long as the jerk of a Doctor was civil to everyone else he didn't have any qualms.

"Were you and Doctor Park friends?" Someone asks and this time Collin's eyebrow twitches.

"No, we had separate friend groups," Collin replies casually.

Again Daniel wanted to scoff. The truth was Daniel had no friends and Collin was friends with everyone else, a bully that was a social butterfly and popular.

"But it doesn't mean I didn't notice how talented Dr Park was, after all, he was the youngest in our class and with every theory or practical class he aced everything that was thrown at him. He inspired me to work harder" Collin explains and this time Daniel does gag at the words.

"Nonsense Hyung, I struggled occasionally" Daniel inputs with a strained smile. "Anyways, with introductions out of the way let's go over the process of tonight" He announces and this time everyone pays attention.

Daniel notices Collin's observing the scene but keeping quiet. When he was assigned his group of people to help him out in his section of space it wasn't dissimilar to being handed over a group of interns. Even Collin seems to notice this, raising a brow at the happy gaggle of ex-volunteers trot over to the new, handsome Doctor to pester him with questions.

He luckily responds to them in kind.

If this were an actual hospital Daniel was sure that Collin would already be barking orders at interns.

Making sure everything was in place, ensuring that materials and resources were in range as well as noting down that everyone knew their roles was a difficult task to determine because the minute something went wrong everything could crumble. So of course Daniel worries, especially with the memories of the first tournament coming to mind.

Daniel receives a message from Taejin stating that he and his people were around a couple minutes away from the CC, slightly late due to traffic. Daniel heads out to receive the CEO and his men, letting Collin and Jay know that he'd be back soon. The doors to the CC would be open in a couple of minutes but the Tournament doesn't start until another half an hour. It gave people time to come in and fill up the seats and stands, gave everyone time to settle in, make their bets and even for the views on the stream to accumulate.

Daniel waits in the lobby for the First Responders, patiently using the time to take a breather. He hadn't been able to rest at all the last couple of weeks with all the appointments, testing and going through every safety procedure he could come up with taking his time in the morning. He still met with Gun at night which also continued to drain him. And now this entire morning with Collin by his side. Daniel couldn't catch a break.

"Stupid tournament" Daniel huffs, kicking his feet against the tiles when the gentle thrum of crowds starts to fill Daniel's senses. The CC must've opened up to the public, he had seen the crowds gathering out the front of the building over an hour ago but being able to hear them from the other side of the area was crazy.

Daniel hoped that Taejin would get there soon, he didn't necessarily want to deal with the crowd even if the majority of the time they gave him his space.

It takes a few moments of Daniel mentally going over his last-minute list of things to do when footsteps approach him.

"Excuse me, do you happen to know where the bathroom is?" A voice asks and Daniel snaps back to reality, ready to put on a calm smile to reply when he falters.

A…monk?

"Um…" Daniel couldn't help but be utterly baffled by the sight of the large man. With his grey and orange robes to the stretched ear lobes…it was a monk. What the hell was a Buddhist Monk doing in a place like the CC arena?

The Monk must have noticed his utter confusion as instantly he's chuckling.

"It's an odd sight to see, isn't it? But I promise that I do have a purpose being here" Despite the kind smile on his face, Daniel couldn't help the wary feeling that was growing in his heart. This guy couldn't just be a regular Monk.

"It seems like you're scaring him with your presence, Gongseob" A voice intervenes and Daniel catches sight of someone who looks even scarier.

A man who was built like a Brickhouse approaches them, dressed in a navy blue pinstripe suit surrounded by an air of confidence. Numerous scars were etched into the man's forehead and his right eye seemed to be a milky white colour, exhibiting to Daniel that he was blind in that eye.

"Ah Seokdu, I didn't think I'd see you so soon but here you are, it seems like everyone from our time is gathering here" The Monk, GongSeob calls, his grin tightening slightly as he eyes the man.

"You make it seem like we're old, we're only in our mid-twenties" Seokdu huffs and Daniel internally gapes. These guys were only in their mid-twenties?! "Also if any of us were to not be here it would be you, how did you even manage to come here?" Seokdu sighs.

"I took a taxi" GongSeob smiles.

"I think he meant how did you find out about Crew Corporation" Now that was a much more familiar voice. Daniel brightens at the sight of Taesoo who for once wasn't with Public. It must have been because the trio were going to be competing in the tournament.

"I watch the streams just like most other people" GongSeob frowns.

"Aren't you supposed to give up on most of those worldly things since you're a Monk? Do they even have Wi-Fi at the monasteries?" Taesoo snorts, nodding at Daniel before coming to stand by his side.

"Oh please, GongSeob may be a 'monk' but let's be honest, he enjoys too many things like women and money to give them up '' That was also another familiar voice.

"Jichang!" Daniel smiles as the officer who wasn't dressed in his uniform approaches the odd group. With him were two guys who looked like him with similar matching silver eyes, the only oddity was their younger appearance.

"This really is a reunion" Seokdu announces.

"A very unplanned and sudden one," Taesoo adds although from the way he was looking at the other men and exaggerating the tone of his voice, it seemed as if he was lying about it. Daniel had no clue as to why he would lie about meeting up with other people at the CC.

"I just wanted to use the bathroom" GongSeob grumbles under his breath. "But if there's any problem with my being here, we can settle this outside" His gaze turns dangerous and the others tense.

"Always quick to anger" Jichang crosses his arms. "There will be no fighting amongst us today, I thought we were past the days where we would challenge each other on sight," The officer remarks with a disapproving look.

"You would be the one to tell us off if we got into a fight nowadays, wouldn't you? Officer Kwak" Seokdu grunts.

"I may be off duty right now but I won't hesitate to arrest your asses if you get on my nerves" Jichang replies.

The tension was growing and whatever underlying animosity existed between the group of men fades as Daniel interrupts them.

"Um as much as I'd love to continue watching whatever this is, I'm going to have to stop you right there. No one is getting arrested because no one is going to be fighting out here in the lobby, the only fighting that will be going on tonight is the fighting in the arena, okay? So please if you're here to watch make your way into the seating areas before they're all filled up. The bathroom is down this hall and to your left, you won't miss the signs. Everyone good with that?" Daniel directs and they all pause to turn and look at him.

The first one to break the uneasy silence was surprisingly Taesoo who let out a soft chuckle.

"You second generation are so brave" He comments before nodding. "But Doctor Park is right, we should get going before we end up making a commotion out here. I'm sure James wouldn't hesitate in making an example of us again if he catches wind of us fighting, especially on his turf" At the mention of James' name the group of people sour.

"Tch, fine" Seokdu relents, he's the first to move, walking towards where Daniel had pointed. Taesoo follows after him, flashing Daniel a meaningful look before turning away.

"I'm going to head to the bathroom before the tournament starts" GongSeob mutters as he walks away, this leaves Daniel with Jichang and what the Doctor presumes to be his two younger brothers.

"Officer Kwak" Daniel greets and the older man lets out a soft sigh before smiling tiredly at the Doctor.

"Doctor, you should be more wary around people you don't know" Jichang states evenly.

"Thanks for the s-tier advice officer, I'll make sure to jot that down somewhere so I don't forget" Daniel muses before nodding to the disappearing figures who were going up to the second floor. "Friends of yours?" He asks.

"Rivals at best" Jichang responds.

"And at worse?" Daniel presses on.

"Enemies" The police offer indulges which encourages Daniel to give the elder a confused look. Jichang doesn't make any effort to clarify anything so Daniel lets it go, instead, he turns to the two individuals who were eyeing them in curiosity.

"So what brings you here, Officer Kwak? What happened to that speech about disliking the CC?" Daniel changes the subject and Jichang's jaw clenches.

"My brothers decided that they wanted to come by and watch the Tournament, it's not like I want to be here" The man shrugs only for a thick arm to wrap around his shoulder.

"Oh come on Hyung, it's not like we're forcing you to be here" The taller and broader brother whines.

"Yeah, you insisted on coming along with us" The leaner, younger brother sighs before turning his gaze to Daniel. "So how do you know the Doctor? You two seem pretty casual" He smirks and Daniel couldn't help but flush.

"Boys don't be rude" Jichang warns and the two pull away from their eldest brother, standing at his side with similar teasing looks. "Doctor Park, these are my two brothers, Jibeom and Jihan" He gestures respectively to the two.

"It's nice to meet you guys" Daniel greets back in return. "Also I've met your brother a couple of times simply due to his work. Moreover, Officer Kwak has helped me out on every occasion that we've seen each other so I do appreciate him" He informs them and the two have the audacity to chuckle lowly to each other.

Jichang sighs, taking off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose.

"You must be busy, we'll leave you to your devices and head to the arena to find seats. God knows there won't be many left seeing how many people are attending to watch today" Jichang announces and Daniel hums.

"You could sit upstairs with your friends, I'm sure Taesoo wouldn't mind the company," He tells the man who could only grunt in annoyance.

"No thank you, I'll see you around Doctor" With that Jichang turns to leave, his two brothers trailing after him, bickering and teasing the elder with soft nudges and punches. Daniel watches them leave, a soft smile on his lips when he catches sight of a figure bumping into Jihan as he walks.

Said man didn't even turn around to apologise, simply heading straight for Daniel.

"Taejin" Daniel greets, finally meeting up with the man that he came out into the lobby for.

"Sorry for taking so long, it's hectic out there" Taejin sighed, there were four other guys behind him. Three of the four wore the same uniform as Taejin, from the black vests with the words 'First responders' written on them to the navy blue collared button-downs and dark slacks. The only person who didn't seem to fit in was the handsome man in a doctor's coat who came to stand beside Taejin.

"Doctor Park, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person" The Doctor greets, his hair and glasses framing his face perfectly. "My name's Hangyeoul Baek, I'm No.1's handler" He introduced himself and Daniel couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion, even as he accepted the handshake.

"Handler…" Daniel hums out before raising a brow. "Handler?" He poses again as a question.

"Yep," Hangyeoul nods before letting go and turning around to gesture at something.

No. At someone.

Daniel couldn't help but gape as he stared at the behemoth of a human, guarded by a couple of other individuals who wore workers' uniforms. Bulging muscles, a plethora of surgical scars and a mask over his face. It wasn't a man that Daniel was staring at. It was a monster.

.

.

.

"What the hell?" Daniel hisses once he's back in the confines of the medical set-up, returning with the first responders in tow. "How the hell did James even agree to letting…letting that thing into the arena?" He asks no one in particular.

Hangyeol had left with the Workers and No.1 to settle him into the waiting area for the fighters but just because he was gone and out of sight didn't mean that Daniel felt particularly safe.

"He was quite the sight," Taejin shrugs. "But seeing as it's Workers I'm not too shocked by it" The first responder CEO adds.

Daniel wanted to question the man about Hangyeol and No.1 but restrained himself from diving into the topic. Instead, he focuses on settling the group into their spots.

"Everyone, gather around" Daniel claps his hands and the group of bustling workers from Jay to Mira and even Collins follow the order. "Alright, tonight is going to be chaotic. I'm not going to sugarcoat anything and I'm not going to hide it either. The amount of fighters that entered the Tournament this time round seems to have doubled maybe even more than that, whether that's because the Founders want to capitalise on the popularity of the CC or because more people want the chance to win money or beat up a Founder, I have no idea why. What I do know is that tonight is going to suck, but it's not going to suck too badly so long as we follow the procedures that we should all have memorised" He speaks.

There was a murmur of agreement.

"It's going to be busy, very busy in here so we have to be mindful of this. Everyone should know their assigned places by this point but just a reminded, Nurse Hong will be in the Medical room, Mira will be handling patients in the waiting room across the hall and Doctor Yu and I will be in here on our respective ends of this room" Daniel then steps closer to Taejin, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We've also got a couple of other people that are here to assist us. This is CEO Taejin Cheon, along with his men here are first responders who are on standby to take any patients who are in critical condition to a hospital but otherwise whilst they are here they will be helping us tend to patients. Mr Cheon will be assigned to me whereas Mr Jo will be with Doctor Yu. Any questions as of so far?" He asks.

The room was silent except for the sound of the crowd which was practically filled.

"Good. Make sure to stay hydrated and be vigilant. Take a step back to calm down if you become overwhelmed. I'm not one to go on about CC pride and I'd rather not quote James Lee of all people but Vivere militare est. They may be fighting their battles out there but we'll be fighting our war here. I have faith in all of you that everything won't go to shit. Alright, dismissed" It wasn't Daniel's best speech, not that he'd given many in his lifetime, but it would do for now.

Most of them have gone through numerous tournaments, and some have been around far longer than Daniel has been so he's sure that they were strong enough to deal with most situations including in dealing with pressure. They just needed to be confident in themselves.

Collin whistles, sliding up next to Daniel with a smirk.

"Nice speech back there, maybe after today they'll make you chief of general surgery or something like that" Collin grunts, his look demeaning as always but to others, it must've just looked like simple teasing, Daniel knew what the Doctor meant.

"If a speech is all it takes to be chief then we'd all be chief" Daniel waves off before directing the first responders over to Collin's. "Try not to fumble, seeing as it's your first time here I won't fault you for making any mistakes" Daniel snarks back at the other Doctor who bristles.

"I won't be making any, If I can work 8 hours in the emergency department then this should be a breeze" Collin retorts before turning away with two first responders following him.

"He seems…nice" Taejin remarks and this time Daniel allows himself to snort.

"Right," Daniel replies before heading to his station.

The waiting game doesn't take long and sooner than later the swell of music, the roar of the crowd and Goo's voice penetrates the entirety of the arena.

"WELCOME TO THE 18TH TOURNAMENT OF THE CC ARENA!" Instantly there was cheering, cries and screams from the crowd to encapsulate everyone's excitement. "WELCOME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, TO RETURNING VIEWERS BOTH IN PERSON AND ON THE STREAM!"

Goo was making a show of revving up the people, pointing to sections of the seats before directing his gaze to the large screen. His smirk was wide on his face and his eyes twinkled with mischief as he continued speaking.

"I'm your host, Joon Goo and here alongside me are of course my wonderful co-hosts, the great James Lee and our lovely, grumpy Jong Gun!" He introduces them as if people didn't know who they were. "And we're here to bring to you the most epic of fights you'll ever get to witness in your lifetime, so strap in and get ready for what's to come!"

Daniel couldn't help but cross his arms and stare at the Founder in amusement.

"Well, that was different" James states after Goo finishes his little moment.

"And dramatic, Goo what the hell was that all about?" Gun questions. "I'm sure the viewers didn't need any of that shit. They know what they're here for" he grunts.

In an instant, Goo was dramatically whining and punching Gun in the shoulder repeatedly.

"Oi, I'm just trying to get people excited and to accommodate any newbies that are watching either the tournament or the CC for the first time. Not that you would know anything about being nice" Goo replies, the banter between the two flowing smoothly.

"You're right, I'm never nice" The sharp grin that appears on Gun's lips has Daniel holding back a snort.

Right. Whatever you say, Gun.

"Anyways if you're both done I'd like to get into the Tournament now" James butts in and the two nod. "Most of you who have seen our tournaments before understand how exhilarating it is as well as how most of it works. For the 18th Tournament the Founders and I have had to change some things around due to the ever-growing number of participants" James announces which has people whispering to each other in glee.