Huh!
"What do you mean?" Jin-hyuk asked, caught off-guard. Getting a warning like this from most carefree girls in class felt wrong.
"Is he some kind of thug!? Mafia?"
Sigh!
Ha-yoon let out a sharp, frustrated sigh. "I'm serious! I know exactly what kind of person he is!" Her voice pitched higher, laced with a genuine fear she couldn't hide.
"If you're thinking of getting involved with him, be cautious."
Nod!
"I'll keep that in mind!" He nodded, but his curiosity quickly took over.
"But what exactly happened between you two?"
"You'll know soon enough! When he shows his true colours." She muttered, her eyes darting towards the right side to the sports complex.
"Anyway, have you seen Da-eun? I can't find her anywhere!"
Ugh!
Jin-hyuk replied, "No, she wasn't in the class."
Her expression darkened, "If you find her, tell her I'm looking for her!"
She turned on her shoes, and the rhythmic sound of her sneaker's tapping against the floor faded in the background as she disappeared around the corner.
Glance!
Jin-hyuk didn't waste a second. He remembered Je-wook heading towards the back of school earlier.
Scree…
He navigated the narrow alleyway until it opened up to an old, half built sports complex, which had been reclaimed by moss and weed.
Blink!
As he entered the building and headed towards the first floor, he saw two familiar silhouettes.
Tap!
He approached quietly while his heart rammed against his ribs. He reached out and tapped their shoulders.
"Gah! Jin-hyuk! You gave me a heart attack." Han-gyeol hissed, he bit his own tongue.
"What the hell are you doing in this old building!?" Jin-hyuk asked. The coldness of that place was screeching through his skin.
"This jerk Tae-joon ran here, so I was just following him." Han-gyeol lunged, trapping Tae-joon's head between his shoulder.
"Let me go!" Tae-joon flapped to get away from grip.
Han-gyeol looked at Jin-hyuk and asked, "But why are you—"
Aaa…
A sudden scream followed by an unsettling laugh stopped their conversation.
The voice made Jin-hyuk jump, "What was that!?"
All three of them followed the voice, which turned out to be a couple of voices as they reached near the origin.
Tae-joon looked in that direction and saw three familiar faces as they were a few meters away from them.
"Joon-young, the bully and his two accomplices, Hyun-bin and Sang-gu! What are they doing here?" Tae-joon muttered.
Push!
"So, you were going to tell the teacher?" Joon-young's laugh was cold.
He loomed over a sobbing girl on the ground. It was Da-eun.
"Don't forget I have those clips from the changing room. You want the whole world to see them?"
"Please… delete them." Da-eun begged, her voice fracturing along with the colour being drained from her face.
She rubbed her hand together again and again, asking for an apology.
Joon-young took steps back and hopped on the pile of broken benches.
He didn't flinch from her apology and turned towards his sidekicks, "Undress her! I'm filming."
Sang-gu hesitated, his skin losing colour, "Joon-young… isn't it too much. What if someone sees—?"
Push!
Joon-young grabbed his collar, "Did I ask for your opinion?" His eyes had no sign of mercy.
He pushed him towards her, "Do it. Now."
Sang-mu looked at his childhood friend Hyun-bin with his terrified eyes.
Aaa...
"I—I think Sang-gu is right. You are taking things extreme..."
"We can get in real trouble because of it!" Hyun-bin tried to convince him with all his might.
Sigh!
"I'm your boss, not the other way around! So just follow my orders rather than questioning it!" Joon-young glared at both of them.
Sang-gu got up and headed towards Da-eun. His whole body and especially legs were trembling violently.
STEP…
STOP!
He stopped near her and reached for her blazer.
Ahh…
"Please… don't!!!" Da-eun's voice trembling, coming out on pieces.
She grabbed on her blazer with full force, trying to protect herself against them.
A sharp rip echoed through the hall as the blazer was torn to pieces. Da-eun's scream was full of terror.
Tremble!
"Yaa! Why did you stop?" Joon-young jumped from his seat and stopped the recording.
"I—I can't do it!!" Sang-gu refused to go any further. He knew how wrong it felt.
Whish….
"Useless…" Joon-young hissed, and stepped towards Da-eun.
Every step he was taking, the whole hall echoing his stomping back, which created a trerryfing rhythm.
Shaaa…
A heavy stone skipped across them, narrowly missing Joon-young's head by an inch.
"Yaa!!!" A loud and sharp scream came from the same direction as the stone.
Tae-joon, Han-gyeol, and Jin-hyuk were charging from that direction. Their face was contoured with rage.
"I knew you were a jerk." Tae-joon roared.
"But you're a monster!!!" His eyes blazed as he clenched his jaw and pressed teeth together.
Huh!
"Oh! So heroes have entered the scene." Joon-young smirked, showing no sign of guilty for his act on his face like the monster he is.
Jin-hyuk rushed to cover Da-eun with his own blazer and wrapped her with it, "Are you okay!?"
He helped her get up and made her sit at the corner to be safe from them, "Rest here, we'll be right back."
Yank!
Tae-joon lunged, grabbing Joon-young's collar and yanking him closer, "Heroes!!!" He clenched his fist with all his power.
The next second, Tae-joon's fist rammed against Joon-young's jaw, making his vision blurry and step backwards.
"Aish! FUCK!!" Joon-young groaned. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.
Swing!
"You son of a bitch!" Joon-young counter attacked, swinging his leg in air.
"Yaaa…" Han-gyeol ran towards Sang-gu and slammed head against his.
"Ahh…" Sang-gu hissed, his head felt like being struck by a literal stone.
"Take this, bastard!" Han-gyeol turned his body and finding the opening to strike his rib by elbow causing him to back down.
Sang-gu groaned with pain but quickly started throwing punch and strike Han-gyeol's nose drawing blood.
Breeze…
Jin-hyuk and Hyun-bin were standing at a distance of few meters while looking at each other in eyes.
"Son of a dog!" Jin-hyuk shouted, filled with rage he held Hyun-bin's collar by one hand and threw the punch by other.
Joon-young got pushed onto the pile of garbage by Tae-joon's kick as he stumbled.
His hand got onto an old piece of rusted rod. He quickly picked it up and gripped harder.
"Now! Come…" He vigorously swings it, slashing the air between him and Tae-joon.
Whish! Whish!
Tae-joon stepped back, barely able to get away from the continued swinging of the rod, which nearly got struck on his arm.
"Such a jerk, using weapon—" Tae-joon spitted the blood which were rolling in his mouth for a while..
As Joon-young swung the rod, Tae-joon got the chance to get behind him and grip onto the rod.
The heat of Tae-joon's hand were flowing through one end of the cold pipe and reaching the other.
"Yaa…" Joon-young nudged him backward, but Tae-joon won't lose his grip and finally able to throw the pipe away.
He pushed him away and got in attack mode again as the adrenalin still helping him while breathing being heavy.
Ahh…
A few meters away, Sang-gu's face gad swollen from Han-gyeol's powerful attacks, making his head spin.
Han-gyeol wiped blood coming from his torn lips and cath breath while opponent shaking head to come out from concussion.
Thud!
Hyun-bin and Jin-hyuk were scuffling on the ground, both of them being covered with moss and dust.
One moment, Hyun-bin got on top, smashing Jin-hyuk's face, and in the next second, Jin-hyuk took control of situation.
"You're dead today!" Joon-young yelled as he lunged towards Tae-joon, both of them panting.
Just as Joon-young ready to throw another punch, a sharp authoritative voice cut through the adrenaline rush.
"STOP! All of you!!!"
Every boy froze in mid-motion— fist hovering in air and collars clenched with trembling fists.
Step! Step!
The clinking of dress shoes against the concrete sent a Shiver down their spine.
From the shadows two silhouettes appeared in front of them which were, Moon-ssam and Principal.
Moon-ssam rushed forward, his face had disappointment as he steeped between panting boys, pry apart everyone.
"What in the world are you doing?" Moon-ssam chirped, voice louder like no one had ever heard.
His gaze fell upon their bruised faces and shredded blazer on floor.
The principal stepped forward, her eyes scanning the whole situation from the moss green wall to the girl sitting in a corner covered with a blazer.
"Entery in this area is strictly restricted because its too dangerous." She started speaking in her usual tone, her gaze locked on Joon-young who was wiping the blood from corner of his lip.
Tsk!
"Yet you have made it a battleground. Trespassing, violence… do you have any idea what impact it will have on your future?
"Aish…" Joon-young let out a sharp sound with a last glare at Da-eun, who was shivering in a corner.
"To my office. Now. Each one of you!" She commanded and didn't wait for response and turned on her heel towards the exit.
Moon-ssam followed, herding the boys with him only letting the least bruised person Jin-hyuk help out Da-eun.
"Jin hyuk! Take her to the infirmary." He said, looking at the scratch on her feet, which were due to her being dragged by Joon-young.
Jin-hyuk nodded and swiped blood from his cheek and lowered to help her stand.
Tap! Tap!
In the wake of principal, Ha-yoon appeared, her face pale as she rushed to Da-eun's side.
"Walk slowly, I've got you!" Ha-yoon whispered, taking her from Jin-hyuk's hands and wrapping her arm around her trembling friend.
"I'll take her!" She said, turning towards the exit area from that dark area.
As they were leaving, Jin-hyuk caught her sleeve, "Wait! Ha-yoon! How did you know we're here? How did Principal find out?"
She didn't stop. she just looked at him over the shoulder, "Someone posted a live clip of fight on school's dashboard. Everybody saw it!"
Flash!
He pulled out his phone, his thumb hovering over the screen.
There it was. A video shot from a high-angle perspective shows the whole scene in crystal clear quality.
His eyes immediately shot up to second floor railing, a hooded figure standing there.
For a split second, their eyes met—that cold gaze before the figure disappeared in shadows of upper hallways.
"Je-wook!" Jin-hyuk shouted, bolting for the stairs as he knew that unforgettable gaze from earlier.
When he reached the hallway, it was empty. The only sign that anyone had been there was a single, smouldering cigarette butt crushed into the floor by the heel of a shoe.
Wring!
His phone vibrated in his hand. A notification from 'The Blank Space' appeared on the screen:
[Alert: You are in a restricted area. Please return to the mapped area.]
Jin-hyuk's chest tightened as he clicked on the map. A small, pulsing player icon appeared right next to his own.
Je-wook... is he a player, too? And why is the map showing my live location???