“Ah, I’ve done it now.”
The original plan was just to secretly record it and hand it over to the teacher.
But I lost control for a moment.
This is a real mess.
“You… you… What were you thinking!”
Beside me, Yuna was trembling slightly.
Her voice soon lost its strength and shifted to a shaky tone.
“Be… because of me… I…”
Unable to finish her sentence, Yuna lowered her head deeply.
Her shoulders quivered slightly, revealing her anxiety.
“Hey.”
I placed my hand gently on top of her head and pressed down softly.
“It’s not because of you. I just didn’t like the look on his face, so I hit him.”
Startled by my words, Yuna snapped her head up.
“Even now, you think it’s time to joke around?”
“Yeah.”
I replied lightly, nodding my head.
“Ugh!”
Yuna stomped her foot as if furious but quickly let out a long sigh and lowered her head again.
“What if… what if you get expelled?”
She muttered under her breath, tugging nervously at the edge of my sleeve with her fingertips, looking deflated like a balloon with a slow leak.
I shrugged my shoulders at the sight.
“Well, if I do, then it can’t be helped.”
“What? Are you a grade-schooler? How is that comforting?”
Yuna shouted in a frustrated tone, but her face quickly turned dejected again.
“Because of me… I…”
“Seo Yuna.”
I called her name and started walking slowly toward the school gate.
“I didn’t hit him because of you. I hit him because he deserved it.”
Without looking back, I added, “I’m leaving.”
As I stepped outside the school gate, I spotted Choi Sunghum staggering, holding a tissue over his bloodied nose.
“Hey.”
At my call, he flinched and shrank back.
But with some pride left, he managed to respond in a voice laced with mockery.
“What?”
“Where’s Choi Gihoon?”
At my words, Sunghum’s face twisted.
“Wh-what? Why are you asking about Gihoon all of a sudden?”
“You said you wouldn’t let it slide. I want to see him in person.”
I slowly approached him, glaring.
‘So ugly. What a pathetic jerk.’
“Where’s your hideout?”
Perhaps still shaken from being beaten earlier, Sunghum trembled and avoided answering, rolling his eyes.
“I don’t know! It’s not like I’m glued to him all the time.”
I stared at him silently before leaning in close and whispering low into his ear.
“Think this is a joke? If Seo Yuna hadn’t stopped me, you wouldn’t be standing here right now.”
Sunghum’s body stiffened.
His eyes showed a flash of panic and fear.
I spoke calmly but firmly.
“Stop wasting my time and talk. Unless you want another beating.”
After hesitating for a long time, Sunghum finally dropped his head and muttered quietly.
“The old shopping building in the old town…”
Nodding, I turned and walked away.
‘Might as well wrap this up now that I’ve started.’
***
In a narrow alley, on the second floor of an old building, was their hideout.
The room was hazy with cigarette smoke.
Leaning back on a sofa, Choi Gihoon swung one leg casually as he fiddled with his phone.
“Kim Dohyun. Ignoring my warning, huh?”
He murmured the name under his breath, frowning.
Bigger than his peers since childhood, Gihoon had always resolved things with brute force.
It started in kindergarten.
He bullied kids to snatch the toys he wanted.
By the time he was a student, he was beating others and extorting money.
Soon enough, those around him learned to tiptoe and cater to him.
To Gihoon, Hanbit Academy was his kingdom.
One of his lackeys cautiously asked, “Are we gonna deal with that guy?”
Hearing the question, Gihoon let out a bitter chuckle and leaned back, staring at the ceiling.
“Yeah.”
Putting down his phone, Gihoon fell into deep thought.
‘Should I start pressuring him by targeting those around him, or go straight for him and force him to drop out?’
Lost in his thoughts, his phone suddenly buzzed.
[Just now, Kim Dohyun beat up Choi Sunghum lol]
Reading the message, Gihoon didn’t seem startled.
Instead, a relaxed smile spread across his face.
“This guy is completely nuts.”
Standing up from the sofa, Gihoon began pacing the room, extinguishing his cigarette with a twist.
Kim Dohyun.
From the first moment he saw him, he’d known Dohyun’s eyes were different.
Unlike others who cowered in fear, Dohyun had stared at him with an unreadable, emotionless expression.
‘At least he’s got guts.’
Recalling those eyes, Gihoon smirked slightly.
Even though he’d issued a warning and hadn’t made the first move, Dohyun dared to strike first.
And worse, he had laid hands on Seo Yuna, someone Gihoon had marked for himself.
‘Touching my property crosses the line.’
One of the lackeys, who had been watching Gihoon closely, hesitantly asked, “Why are you smiling? Something good happen?”
Gihoon glanced at him and smirked slyly.
“No. Just thinking.”
“But Dohyun beat up Sunghum, didn’t he? Was he always this bold?”
Another lackey asked curiously.
Choi Gihoon slowly sat back down and responded.
“He’s got guts, I’ll admit that. But let’s see how long it lasts.”
He picked up his phone again and sent a few messages.
[Everyone, deny everything. Make it look like Sunghum didn’t do anything wrong. Let’s use this chance to crush Kim Dohyun completely.]
After sending the messages, Choi Gihoon took out another cigarette and placed it in his mouth.
***
“Hah… looks exactly like some delinquent hangout.”
Standing in front of the rundown building, I was hit with a mix of the musty stench unique to abandoned buildings and the sharp smell of cigarettes.
The door was half-open, and faint laughter and conversations could be heard inside.
I stepped in cautiously, making as little noise as possible.
The creaky stairs felt like they could collapse any moment as I climbed them slowly.
As I reached the second floor, the view cleared up.
Inside the room, a group of seven or eight guys was gathered.
In one corner of the room, there was an old table cluttered with plastic bags and small pill bottles scattered haphazardly.
I paused, narrowing my eyes as I scanned the items.
‘These bastards… drugs?’
Even for a delinquent, this was a detail that wasn’t in the game settings.
At the center of it all, Choi Gihoon sat on a sofa, one leg crossed over the other.
‘What a bunch of idiots putting on a show.’
“How about you quit smoking? Your bones might rot away at this rate.”
The sudden voice made everyone in the room turn to look at me.
Choi Gihoon twisted the cigarette between his fingers, frowning.
“Who the hell are you?”
The lackeys standing around murmured amongst themselves.
“How did he find this place?”
“Does he have a death wish or what?”
“This guy’s completely nuts.”
Ignoring their reactions, I slowly scanned the room.
‘One, two, three… seven. Eight, including Choi Gihoon.’
There was no place to hide, but the room was full of objects that could be used as weapons.
‘This could get dangerous if I let my guard down.’
I carefully analyzed the situation, scanning the room.
Outnumbered or not, there was always a way.
Fear.
Instilling the fear that any one of them could end up like the first example would be enough.
‘One target.’
If I made an example out of just one of them, the rest would crumble on their own.
Just then, one of them stepped forward.
He shrugged his shoulders, sneering at me as he stared me down.
“Hey, are you insane? Do you even know where you are?”
His tone and relaxed demeanor.
He was the perfect choice.
“Yeah, I guess I am crazy.”
He scoffed at my words and took another step toward me.
‘Now.’
As soon as he got close enough, I lunged forward, lowering my body.
The moment his eyes widened in surprise and he raised his hands, my fist was already driving into his solar plexus.
“Ugh…!”
As he doubled over, gasping for air, I grabbed the back of his neck and slammed him into the ground.
Thud!
The sound of his head hitting the concrete floor echoed through the room as he let out a groan.
“I didn’t let go.”
Climbing on top of him, I raised my fist again.
“Hey, stop it, man! Can’t you see he’s bleeding?”
One of the lackeys shouted, but I didn’t care.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
With every punch, screams and groans of pain filled the room.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
His face was now a bloody mess, his nose bleeding and staining the floor.
Finally, I stopped and stood up.
Some of the lackeys, who had been holding their breaths, instinctively took a step back.
“Who’s next?”
I spoke calmly, looking at my bloodied fist.
The lackeys exchanged glances but didn’t say a word.
“What’s wrong? No volunteers?”
I grabbed the collar of the guy lying on the floor and lifted him up.
His pupils were unfocused, and his body hung limp.
“You call yourselves delinquents? Is this all you’ve got?”
I walked slowly toward them.
Their faces were pale with fear, their bodies trembling.
Even the so-called kings of the academy were just kids in the end.
“Did you really think grouping up would make you unstoppable?”
I shook the blood off my hand as I spoke.
One of them glanced desperately at Choi Gihoon, his eyes pleading for help.
“Gi… Gihoon…”
Choi Gihoon, still seated on the sofa, maintained a calm expression but couldn’t hide the trembling of his hands.
“Choi Gihoon.”
Slowly, he stood up, shrugging his shoulders and smirking.
“You’re completely nuts, aren’t you? I like you. How about joining us? I’ll even give up Seo Yuna.”
I ignored his smirk and approached him slowly.
The tension in the room grew thicker.
“Give up Seo Yuna?”
Stopping right in front of him, I stared him down.
“Shouldn’t you be saying that after you’ve won?”
Before he could respond, my fist struck his jaw with precision.
His eyes widened as he staggered back, crashing into the sofa and falling over.
As he tried to get back up, I grabbed him by the collar and threw him against the wall.
Crash!
He slumped to the ground, looking up at me in fear.
The smirk was gone, replaced by sheer terror.
I knelt in front of him and spoke in a low voice.
“Do you know what I hate the most?”
I looked around at the frozen lackeys.
None of them dared to move, their breaths shallow.
I stood up slowly and said, “Anyone who dares to annoy me.”
Picking up one of the pill bottles, I tossed it at Choi Gihoon’s face.
“I’m done for now. But if this happens again, it won’t be as fun.”
As I turned to leave, the room was deathly silent, the air frozen.
***
Hanbit Academy, Class 1-B.
As one male student entered the classroom, the lively chatter quieted.
The other students avoided him, whispering.
His body and face were covered in bruises.
“Hey, is that the guy who got targeted by Choi Gihoon’s gang?”
“Don’t talk to him. You might get dragged into it too.”
Amidst the murmurs, the boy walked to his seat without a word, his expression blank.
No one dared to meet his eyes.