Jed finally arrived at school, a few minutes late.
His encounter with the old beggar had delayed him just enough to catch the attention of his homeroom teacher.
"Late again?" she barked, arms crossed.
Jed said nothing. He simply lowered his head and walked toward his seat.
The rest of the class passed in silence. The cold stares from classmates didn't bother him anymore. He was already used to being alone.
But lunch… that was when everything changed.
As he passed one of the old, unused classrooms, he heard something.
Thud. Whimper. Pleading.
He looked through the glass.
His only friend — Yun — was on the ground, curled up as three older boys surrounded him.
Junior high students. Bigger. Cruel. Laughing as they beat him.
Something in Jed snapped.
He didn't hesitate.
Without thinking, he rushed into the room, his adrenaline boiling, fists clenched tight, teeth grinding.
He aimed straight for the nearest one's jaw.
But before his fist landed—
CRACK.
A heavy blow struck Jed's face.
His jaw lit up with pain.
His vision blurred.
The next thing he felt was a cold floor… and then a sharp kick to the back of his head.
Everything went dark.
---
Jed woke up in the school clinic, disoriented and sore.
A blurred silhouette stood by the bed.
It was the principal.
Her expression wasn't of concern — but disappointment, or perhaps annoyance.
"You're awake," she said coldly.
She handed him a document.
> "Sign this. You've broken school policy. There's zero tolerance for violence.
You're being expelled."
"What…?" Jed croaked. "I was just trying to help my friend… They were the ones—"
"Enough," she interrupted. "You attacked first. And he—"
Her tone dropped.
Jed froze. " -it was her son"
It was him…
The same boy he saw with Reina.
The boy who shattered what little he had left.
It all suddenly made sense.
No one would believe him.
---
That night, Jed sat silently as his mother tried to console him.
"It's alright," she whispered, gently stroking his hair. "I'll talk to them. We'll fix this, I promise."
But he said nothing.
Later, he slipped out to a nearby computer shop to message Yun.
"Why were they beating you?"
Yun replied:
> "Your ex crush… Reina. She was with that guy — the principal's son. He made a joke, spat on my lunch. I tried to push him away, and they started hitting me. I didn't even fight back."
Jed's blood boiled.
The same boy… again.
He rushed home and tore through his room, digging through his old pants.
"The paper…" he muttered. "Where is it?"
But it was gone.
He searched every pocket, every corner — nothing.
Did I drop it… in that room?
The thought made his chest tighten.
That paper was no longer just a symbol — it was his last thread of hope.
---
The next morning arrived far too soon.
Jed dressed in silence.
His mother waited by the door, worry in her eyes.
Together, they left…
To meet the woman who had already decided his fate.