The monotonous school life made people feel empty. Attending school, classes, going home, then studying various things on my own—a normal daily routine. Half of the third-years at Dongseong Technical High had already gone out to work, while the rest were left alone to study for the college entrance exam.
In the meantime, the school had already become the world of Hong Jin-pyo, a second-year transfer student from Seoul. Hong Jin-pyo had created a circle, something Dongseong Technical High never had before, and even had first-years join, starting to imitate gangsters.
“You, your name is Myeong-soo, right?”
Hearing the voice from beside him, Myeong-soo raised his head. The transfer student, Hong Jin-pyo, was looking down at him with an unpleasant smile.
“Yeah. What?”
“Well, I heard you're close with a kid named Mu-hyeok. Is he just studying these days? I heard rumors he's a good fighter. But I don't know him.”
“Mind your own business. He’s not some rebellious teenager anymore, he’s come to his senses. He won't have any reason to clash with you.”
“Because he bothers me.”
“Leave him alone. Why mess with a kid who's focused on studying? It's not like Mu-hyeok did anything to you.”
The conversation between Myeong-soo and Jin-pyo continued until the end of break time.
“I hate it when someone is above me. But… the other kids seem more scared of that bastard Mu-hyeok, or whatever his name is, than me. I don't like that.”
“I told you not to touch him.”
“Hey, you worthless little bastard. Who do you think you're glaring at, you punk who'd be crying in a corner without Mu-hyeok? Lower your damn eyes.”
The lackeys standing nearby started swearing at Myeong-soo. After cursing for a while, they shut their mouths at a single gesture from Jin-pyo.
“That's how I am. I always have to get what I want, and I have to crush what I want to crush. And to crush this kid named Mu-hyeok, using you as bait seems just right. What sin have you committed, Myeong-soo? Your only sin is being close to Mu-hyeok. Hey, drag him away.”
At Jin-pyo's command, the boys started to surround Myeong-soo. Myeong-soo resisted, but he was too small and weak to win.
Bang!
“Mu-hyeok!”
“Huh? What's going on?”
The person who kicked open the back door was a kid who had been in the same class last year and was now in the same class as Myeong-soo.
“Myeong-soo was dragged away by Jin-pyo. I think they went to the band room.”
“What?”
“He's been picking fights for a few days now, bringing up your name. Didn't Myeong-soo tell you?”
“...Shit.”
I gritted my teeth and stood up from my seat. It seems some things just don't change, no matter how much you try to avoid them.
“The band room?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks. I'll treat you to a meal later.”
“Hurry up and go.”
As I left the classroom and headed for the annex, Hyeon-seong, who must have heard the news, came running from the end of the hall.
“Mu-hyeok, what's all this? Why did that bastard drag Myeong-soo away?”
“It's probably because of me. Hey, you're on the sports team. Stay out of it. Don't get yourself into trouble and jeopardize your chances of getting into university.”
“Forget it. I don't need to go to university.”
“What do you mean you don't need to go, you punk.”
Having trained hard for a year, Hyeon-seong had emerged as a promising judo prospect in Busan. But if he got involved in a violent incident at a time like this, he might have to give up on that dream. As I walked, the anger that had filled my head subsided.
My head grew cold, my heart burned hot.
‘Ha... This wasn't a problem that could be solved by avoiding it.’
I saw a mop handle in front of the annex. I picked it up.
“Hey, Hyeon-seong.”
“Yeah.”
“Block anyone from coming. Teachers, anyone. Block them. You can do that, right?”
“Can you handle it alone?”
“Hey, I'm Kim Mu-hyeok. Have you forgotten who I am?”
“Ha, so Kim Mu-hyeok isn't dead after all? Got it. And thanks.”
“Don't be ridiculous. No need for thanks between friends.”
“Don't go too far. There's a rumor that Jin-pyo's father is someone important.”
I know.
Of course, I know. Even Myeong-soo's father, who was a big shot in Busan, couldn't say a word and was suppressed. A political prosecutor who started in the Public Security Department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.
He came down here to lie low for a while and is now the Chief Prosecutor of the Second Criminal Division in Busan. Hong Jin-pyo's father was a prosecutor from Korea University, the cream of the crop. Hyeon-seong stood guard in front of the annex.
In the meantime, I broke the mop handle that was in front of the annex with my foot and went inside, holding the piece. The band room in the basement of the annex. It was called the band room, but now it was a place Jin-pyo had taken over and made into his hideout after seizing control of the school.
As I walked down to the basement, the sound of my footsteps and the mop handle dragging on the floor echoed through the quiet annex. I arrived in front of the band room, opened the door, and stepped inside. The smell of cigarette smoke and the stale scent of boys inside hit my nose.
“Wow, it's true. They said if you mess with the kid named Myeong-soo, Mu-hyeok appears like Superman. He really came.”
Fortunately, Myeong-soo still seemed to be conscious. He looked like he had been beaten up quite a bit, but it hadn't reached the point where his legs were shattered like in my memory.
“Ha... Hey, if you wanted to see me, you should have come yourself. Why mess with my friend?”
Hong Jin-pyo, who was sitting in the innermost part of the room, chuckled as he looked at me.
“Right, why did I do that? Haha, maybe just because it was fun?”
“Fun? You think this is fun?”
The bastard didn't even pretend to listen and asked the other guys next to him.
“The bastard is speaking in standard accent, how unfitting. Hey, isn't that Mu-hyeok kid from Busan?”
“That's right. A guy born and raised in Busan.”
“Send Myeong-soo out and play with me. I'll make it more fun for you.”
Only then did Hong Jin-pyo look back at me.
“Huh, is this some kind of Busan man's loyalty? Looks kinda cool. 'Send Myeong-soo out and play with me.' Keh~ Like a movie? Hey, someone take Myeong-soo to the nurse's office.”
“Yeah.”
One of them glanced at me before taking Myeong-soo outside. Myeong-soo, bleeding, gave me a worried look as he left.
‘Look who's worried about whom.’
Once Myeong-soo left, I had a moment to look around. There were quite a few guys I hadn't seen before, but most were familiar faces. The unfamiliar ones looked like first-years.
“You're here too?”
Cheol-gu, who went to middle school with me, flinched and glanced at me nervously.
“Cheol-gu, I feel like I might actually kill someone today. You should get out. If you don't want to die.”
Cheol-gu, watching the others, broke away from the group and said as he passed me.
“Sorry.”
“Shut up and get lost.”
Laughter erupted from Jin-pyo's group, but Cheol-gu paid it no mind and left as if he were fleeing. As soon as Cheol-gu was out, I locked the door.
“Ooh~ Kim Mu-hyeok~” I ignored Hong Jin-pyo's sarcastic remark and turned back around.
“I don't care if you play at being school bullies or whatever. I was really trying to live a quiet school life. But why did you have to mess with me when I was minding my own business, even dragging Myeong-soo into it? Was life so boring that you wanted to die in a new and exciting way?”
I gripped the mop handle I'd brought so tightly it felt like it would shatter.
“I'll show you just how your pathetic little school bully game comes crumbling down. Look forward to it.”
“What? Puhahahaha. Isn't this guy a total lunatic? Hey, can you see the goosebumps on my arm? It's not like we're shooting a movie. What is he, the Terminator or something?”
The kids around Hong Jin-pyo were slowly getting to their feet.
“Guys, what are you doing? Get him.”
But Hong Jin-pyo's gang couldn't bring themselves to charge in easily and hesitated. The only person here who didn't know about Kim Mu-hyeok the Mad Dog was that bastard Hong Jin-pyo. Just because I'd been quiet for a while didn't mean my past had disappeared...
It's not like we're gangsters fighting with sashimi knives. A high school level fight is... well, it's just a brawl anyway, isn't it? Hong Jin-pyo got angry at the hesitating kids and yelled.
“What are you doing? I said get him! I told you who my dad is, didn't I? If that bastard lays a single finger on you guys, I'll make him rot in prison for the rest of his life. Don't worry and get him.”
Only then did the hesitation disappear from the kids' eyes.
“Let's go!”
The next moment, about ten of them rushed at me. Each was holding something like a baseball bat or a drumstick. First, a guy with a build similar to Hyeon-seong's, probably a first-year, rushed at me bare-handed.
He charged forward with his hands outstretched as if to grab me by the collar, looking like a bull. I smacked his outstretched hands away with the mop handle. At the same time, I struck him hard in the throat with the back of my hand.
“Gak, gak!”
Anyone who's been hit in the throat knows. It doesn't matter if you're big or small. Seeing him fall, clutching his throat and rolling on the ground, the approaching kids paused for a moment.
“Come on. It's been a while. Kim Mu-hyeok's Mad Dog Mode is ON. You sons of bitches!”
With those words, I dove into the rest of the group. A baseball bat swung by someone struck my back hard. A fallen bastard grabbed my ankle, trying to pull me down.
One hit for me, two for you. It was, quite literally, a brawl. A moment later.
I wiped away the stream of blood trickling down my forehead. After about five minutes of trading blows, all that was left in that place were the groans and blood of the guys sprawled on the floor, and me, standing.
“Ha, shit. It's been a while since I fought, I'm dying. Why are these kids so vicious?”
Hong Jin-pyo, who had been standing off to one side, turned pale and started backing away.
“Hey! Don't come here. I said don't come any closer.”
“Ha, why are you so scared? Weren't you confident when you called me here?”
Blood must have gotten into my eye because it stung, so I kept wiping it with my hand. But my hand was also covered in blood, so it didn't do much good. With nowhere left to retreat, Hong Jin-pyo started rambling.
“Don't touch me. You could really rot in jail. I told you not to come. I was wrong. I won't mess with you or your friends again. Let's stop.”
“Hahaha. You should have said that from the beginning.”
I couldn't tell if he was threatening me or begging.
“Hey, my dad's a prosecutor. A Chief Prosecutor at that. You must not know, but a Chief Prosecutor can make someone like you rot in prison for life. Let's stop. If we stop here, I won't make an issue of it either.”
“Prosecutor? What good is a prosecutor now, what good is a judge? The fist is closer than the law. Isn't that why you called me here?”
I grabbed his trembling chin and said with a smile.
“Jin-pyo. First, let's have you take a few hits.”
“...Don't.” I ignored him and slapped him across the cheek a few times.
The inside of his mouth must have burst, as blood trickled from his lips as his head snapped to the side.
“This is for hitting our good Myeong-soo. You got off cheap, didn't you?”
This time, I slapped his other cheek.
“This is for calling me here when I was minding my own business.”
Just then, it suddenly got noisy outside the band room. Since the door wouldn't open, it seemed like someone was trying to break it down.
“People are here. I'd better hurry. Lastly, this is for Myeong-soo's ankle, which you shattered.”
I grabbed his arm. Jin-pyo's eyes began to tremble rapidly. The bastard, his face a mess from the slaps, begged me.
“Don't... Please, don't...”
“Eat with your left hand for the rest of your life.”
Snap.
With a grotesque sound, Jin-pyo's arm was bent backward.
“Aaargh! Aak! Aaaaaah...”
Just then, the door to the band room burst open. Teachers and Hyeon-seong came in. The sight of about ten students lying on the ground, Hong Jin-pyo screaming and writhing in agony, and me, covered head to toe in blood, smiling as if I'd just returned from hell.
Everyone was speechless, their mouths clamped shut. I bowed my head toward Viper, who was looking at me.
“I'm sorry, Teacher.”