"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.