The rooftop victory made noise.
Too much noise.
By Monday morning, the school was buzzing. Posters had shown up overnight on hallway walls—slapped across lockers, bathroom doors, even the cafeteria window:
> "Grey List – 3 vs Division 3 – 0"
"Brains beat Brawn"
"Next: Division 2?"
Most students hadn't known what the Grey List was before that night. Now they couldn't shut up about it.
> "They're nobodies."
"No—they beat Red-Eye's team."
"The strategist's different. He plans like a military officer."
"They won't last. Someone will crush them."
Dae-hyun didn't care about the posters.
He cared about the message they sent: We're not background characters anymore.
---
The Grey List Room – Monday
Sunlight filtered through the busted blinds of the abandoned AV room—their new base of operations.
A whiteboard had been nailed to the wall. On it, a crude bracket was sketched out—a tier system showing the five major Divisions within the Crimson ranks.
Chan-mi circled the second-highest tier with a red marker: Division 2.
> "You've been challenged," she said. "Someone from Division 2 wants to test your credibility."
> "Already?" Sun-woo grunted, massaging his knuckles. "They must be desperate."
> "No," Dae-hyun said, pacing. "They want to control the narrative. If they beat us now, we become a fluke."
Tae-yul nodded while balancing a chair on his chin.
> "And if we win again?"
"Then we're a problem."
Min-ji finally spoke from the corner.
> "Who's the opponent?"
Chan-mi pulled a photo from her coat and pinned it to the board.
A cold-eyed girl with black lipstick and a scar running down her jaw.
> "Her name's Seo Mi-rae. She's Division 2's second. Specializes in pressure-point strikes and pain endurance. Former judo prodigy. Also known as 'Black Vein.'"
> "Wait, I've heard of her," Sun-woo muttered. "Didn't she take down two seniors at once?"
> "Yes," Chan-mi replied. "They're still in rehab."
The room fell silent.
> "She's not testing you," Chan-mi continued. "She's scouting. If you pass this fight, she'll report to the Division Captains—and then you'll be hunted."
Dae-hyun stared at Mi-rae's photo.
> "Then we win. Loudly."
---
Elsewhere: Upper Division Lounge
Inside a private lounge reserved for top-ranked students, Seo Mi-rae sat across from a slender boy wearing wire-rimmed glasses.
He sipped lemon water while scrolling on his phone.
> "They've been posting memes," he said. "One shows the strategist photoshopped as Napoleon."
Mi-rae didn't laugh.
> "I don't get it."
> "You wouldn't," he replied. "You're violence. I'm information."
Mi-rae tapped her fingers on the table.
> "I want to test his head. Not his fists."
> "Then hit where it hurts."
She nodded.
---
The Fight Setup: A Twist
Two days later, a message arrived on Dae-hyun's desk.
It was written on a folded math worksheet:
> "Park Rooftop. 6:00 p.m. One condition: Solo."
"Seo Mi-rae vs. Shin Dae-hyun. No team. Just strategy vs. instinct."
Tae-yul read it over his shoulder.
> "She wants to break the brain."
Sun-woo slammed his fist into the locker beside them.
> "That's bait!"
Min-ji stayed calm.
> "She's removing his safety net."
Chan-mi appeared in the hallway without warning, arms folded.
> "You're going."
> "I figured," Dae-hyun said.
> "But we'll follow."
> "No. I need to show them that strategy isn't about hiding behind others."
Chan-mi's eyes narrowed.
> "If you fall, we all fall."
> "I won't fall."
---
6:00 PM – City Park Rooftop
The rooftop wasn't part of the school. It was a public building near the train station—flat, empty, open to the wind.
Seo Mi-rae stood near the edge, dressed in a black tracksuit. No red armband—Division 2 didn't need to wear theirs anymore. They were known.
Dae-hyun stepped up, calm but alert.
> "No team?" Mi-rae asked.
> "Just me."
> "You're either confident or very stupid."
> "I study before I sit an exam."
Mi-rae rolled her neck, cracking it like she was uncaging a monster.
> "This exam will break your ribs."
Mr. Yoon stepped out from behind the access door, surprising both of them.
> "Neutral ground. No interruptions. One-on-one. You can't run, Dae-hyun."
> "I won't."
---
The Fight Begins
Mi-rae wasted no time.
She came in fast—low stance, judo grip. Her hand aimed for Dae-hyun's elbow, twisting his balance.
He spun away. Barely.
She shifted mid-step and swept his legs. He landed hard on his back. The air shot from his lungs.
Mi-rae smiled.
> "First point."
> "You're efficient," he coughed, rolling to his feet.
She came again—targeting his inner thigh this time. Not for a takedown, but for a nerve point.
Dae-hyun winced but pushed through the pain and grabbed her wrist mid-strike. He turned with her body and shoved her into a short railing.
Not strong. But redirected.
She staggered. Her eyes narrowed.
> "You learn fast."
> "I do."
> "Let's see if you learn while bleeding."
She struck again—this time aiming for pressure clusters under the jaw. Dae-hyun twisted, but she nicked the edge.
Pain blossomed. He staggered, vision blinking.
Mi-rae closed the gap and elbowed him in the gut.
Then she whispered:
> "You don't belong in this world. You're a calculator in a cage match."
> "Maybe," he rasped.
> "Any last strategy?"
> "Yes."
He bent forward—and baited her with a limp step.
Mi-rae lunged in for a grapple.
And Dae-hyun rolled backward and kicked up from the ground, hitting her in the chest with both legs. She flew back, off balance.
Then he stood—bloodied, shaky, but calculating.
> "You said I was a calculator," he said. "But calculators only make sense when you feed them chaos."
---
Meanwhile: Below the Rooftop
The rest of the Grey List watched through the stairwell crack.
Sun-woo clenched his fists.
> "If she goes for the throat, I'm jumping in."
Chan-mi placed a hand on his shoulder.
> "He's got this."
> "You sure?"
> "No."
---
Final Exchange
Mi-rae's smile vanished.
She switched stance—closed fists now. Not judo. Brutal striking.
She rushed.
Dae-hyun sidestepped the first elbow, ducked under the second, and headbutted her square in the collarbone.
She gasped—more from surprise than pain.
He followed up with a knee. Not a clean one, but enough to rattle her balance.
Mi-rae swung wildly. Dae-hyun ducked.
Then—he didn't strike.
He spoke.
> "You're better than me."
She paused.
> "Stronger. Faster. Smarter in combat. But you underestimated me."
She blinked.
> "Why?"
> "Because you thought I needed to win."
He stepped back.
> "But I just needed to last."
Mi-rae looked at her watch.
6:10.
> "Ten minutes..." she whispered. "You're still standing."
Mr. Yoon stepped forward.
> "Time match. Draw."
She exhaled.
> "Tch."
---
Aftermath
Dae-hyun limped toward her.
> "I don't want your pity," he said.
> "This isn't pity."
She handed him something—a card.
> "Take it to the fourth-floor locker room. It's a key. Division 2 headquarters. You earned the right to look inside."
> "What's inside?"
> "The system you're trying to break."
---
Back at the AV Room
The Grey List regrouped.
Dae-hyun laid the keycard on the table.
> "Mi-rae didn't beat me."
> "You didn't beat her either," Sun-woo pointed out.
> "That's not the point. She respects us now. That's better than a win."
Chan-mi added,
> "The other Divisions won't like it."
Min-ji leaned back.
> "Good."
Tae-yul chewed gum and smirked.
> "So, boss... what's next?"
Dae-hyun stared at the keycard.
> "Now we dig."
---
End of Chapter 6