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I emerged from the back room, and all eyes, including Choi Su-yeon's, turned toward me.
"What's this? Are you different from the guy who was here yesterday?"
The gang members slightly loosened their siege around Choi Su-yeon at the checkout counter and turned their attention to me.
"Hey, we came here to buy cigarettes, but this part-timer won't sell them to us."
"Really? I heard they just check your ID and sell them right away."
"Ah, these idiots can't even communicate. It's so damn annoying."
"Are you talking about me?"
"Then who the hell else is here besides you?"
I had to give them credit for maintaining their tough attitude despite my height and size. Most students get scared just by looking at my intimidating appearance and physique.
"Listen, are you guys idiots? You don't even look like adults. Or are you so pathetic that you think you can push around a working person? A mental hospital is two blocks away."
"Why you little—"
"Senior! What's wrong with you!"
The gang members who had been facing Choi Su-yeon all at once swarmed me. The situation reached a boiling point. Choi Su-yeon, who thought I was doing something reckless, was shocked and tried to stop me, but it was too late. When the gang members heard Choi Su-yeon call me "Senior," they laughed out loud.
"Senior? What the hell? So this guy is trying to show off in front of a girl he already knows?"
"I guess you don't know that making jokes about things you don't understand can get you seriously hurt."
"Hmm, that's a harsh thing to say. Just by looking at you, you look like a kid, but I'm a third-year student. Would you mind speaking a little more politely?"
"Hahaha!"
The gang members burst into laughter at my words. Among them, the black-haired guy who seemed to be the leader laughed so hard tears streamed down his face.
"A third-year? No, you're a student at a higher education academy? You thought we'd go easy on you for that? We're from Eunbong High, and we're close to Kang Baek-san!"
"You know Kang Baek-san? Then you know. We're in the Eunbong area."
"Hey, we're the direct juniors that our brother Kang Baek-san looks out for, okay? If you don't want to get screwed, you should take back what you just said, get down on your knees, and beg like a dog, right?"
"Ah, I was wondering why you were so bold. So you're Eunbong High students. But since you didn't even know me, I guess you must be first-year freshmen?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
The first-year students at Eunbong High, who didn't understand what I was saying, became irritated and gradually narrowed the distance between us, ready to strike.
"Guys, I just started working here yesterday, and I don't want to cause a fuss in the store. Why don't we go outside and settle this through conversation? For your own sake."
"Ah, hell. This guy is putting on a show in front of a girl. It's disgusting."
Whoa!
The leader of the gang, the black-haired guy, punched me. The punch hit my cheek instead of my chin, so I only took a step back, but I was still standing. My mouth filled with a metallic taste. My cheek was cut and bleeding. I put my hand to my mouth, and there was blood on my hand.
"Aaaah! Senior! The emergency bell—"
"Choi Su-yeon, don't do anything and just stay still."
I stopped Choi Su-yeon, who was about to press the wireless emergency bell, and looked down at the Eunbong High guys. They were giggling, as if they hadn't figured out the situation yet.
"Oh, you didn't faint after getting hit by that? You must be tough."
"I thought I could handle anything, but now I'm starting to regret it, aren't I?"
"Choi Su-yeon, did you see that just now? Did you clearly see these guys were the first to use violence against me while I was trying to resolve the issue with words? It must have been captured on CCTV, right?"
"Yes? Oh, yes…"
"Then that's it."
I adjusted my posture by tilting my head to both sides.
"Guys, I told you earlier that you don't know that you'll be screwed if you make fun of me without knowing the topic, right?"
"?"
"I think you need to know who you're really messing with."
A Different Kind of Punishment
After a short period of time, the scene outside the convenience store looked strange to outsiders. Six boys were kneeling with their heads pressed to the ground and their hands behind their backs. In front of them, a large man was squatting with a candy stick in his mouth. It looked like a scene that could only be seen in the military, not in a normal society.
"Ugh…"
The gang members kept moaning and staggering as if the tops of their heads were in pain. Each time they did, I took the candy stick out of my mouth and asked.
"Guys, are you in pain? You keep twitching."
"Oh, no."
The guys, who had been beaten to a pulp, barely answered, trembling in fear. Among the six, none had bruises on their eyes or lips, but three had missing front teeth. Some had been hit so hard in the abdomen that they were still having trouble breathing, and those whose jaws had been rotated had barely come to their senses and couldn't stand straight.
"How do you think I feel about having to end up like this after getting beaten up by you guys so young?"
"S-sorry…"
"I was wrong, please forgive me this once…"
"Whether you knew it or not, if you get caught selling cigarettes to minors, the person who sold them will have to take full responsibility. Do you think I or that girl in there want to be called to the police station and have to pay a fine because of you?"
"Oh, no."
"And you, black hair."
"Yes, yes!"
The guy who seemed to be the leader answered with fear in his voice.
"You guys are not fourteen anymore, so you don't get the benefits of being a juvenile. There are witnesses who saw you hit me first, and it was all captured on CCTV. If I submit this to the police, you will all be sent to juvenile detention. Of course, there's evidence that I was hit first, so it's self-defense."
When I gave a somewhat exaggerated warning, the guys, who had no idea what was going on, trembled even more in fear, with their heads still on the ground.
"Well, I was wrong! Please just take a look!"
"Really? Did you really do something wrong? Do you want me to forgive you?"
"Yes, yes!"
"Everyone, get up."
The six guys suddenly got up at the same time. I sat cross-legged at a table outside the convenience store and held out my cell phone in front of me, like a boss disciplining an employee.
"Here, write down your names, grades, classes, and phone numbers in my phone. After I receive it, I'll call and check, so if you lie, I'll find you. Come forward one by one. Starting with the guy with the buzz cut."
One by one, they came forward without even making a sound. With trembling hands, they wrote down everything, including their numbers, in my phone book.
"Well, no one lied. I like honest guys."
"…"
"Now, I have a few things to ask you. First, from now on, tell not only you but also all your friends who aren't here. Don't even think about coming to this convenience store to smoke. From now on, the moment I see Eunbong High students, regardless of their grade, coming here and trying to smoke a cigarette, you will be the first to suffer. Do you understand?"
"Yes, yes!"
"And what did you do with Mt. Gangbaek earlier?"
When I pointed at my head while holding my phone, he turned his face pale and bent down.
"Well, I was wrong! I was wrong!"
"If you want to tell Kang Baek-san, tell him this. 'If your juniors come to this convenience store and try to smoke cigarettes, your friend who goes to Jinsoo will come and visit you.' Just say this, and he will understand."
"Oh, oh…"
"Now, secondly, is there anyone who can blame you for being wrong?"
"I was wrong, brother! I was really wrong!"
The six guys must have taken it as a sign that they should beg me, so they bent down and begged with their hands and feet. I immediately stopped them.
"Stop. I'll pretend that you've paid for the wrong you did by getting beaten so hard."
"…"
"You guys don't understand what I'm saying. I was so nervous because you were swearing at the girl inside and crowding around her. Furthermore, I wasn't shaking."
"I was shaking…"
"Should I ask for forgiveness from my sister inside, too? Everyone, follow me."
I lined up the guys behind me and went into the convenience store. Choi Su-yeon, who had watched me take out the guys one by one with a single punch, just looked at me with a bewildered expression.
"Senior…?"
"They have something to say to you. Now, guys. Shouldn't you be sincere and tell her that you did something wrong?"
"Well, I was wrong, sister… I won't do it again."
"I told you to be sincere."
When I lowered my voice slightly, they got scared and immediately fell to their knees and touched their foreheads to the ground.
"I was wrong! I was so wrong! Please forgive me this once, I won't do it again!"
"Huh? Uh, uh…"
"Okay, if you're going to ask for forgiveness for what you did wrong, you should do that. Everyone, get up."
They woke up at the same time again. And I put my arm around the black-haired man's shoulder and pulled him toward me. The guy, who had been beaten to a pulp, was dragged in, trembling in fear and unable to resist.
"Now, guys. I started work yesterday, so I'm quite busy, but honestly, going back and forth to the police station to submit this evidence and making things worse is a hassle, right? So, I'm going to make a suggestion."
"Yes, yes… Just… just say the word."
"Well, you have a good attitude. What I'm suggesting is that nothing happened here at the convenience store today. You've never been here, and we've never seen you. The reason you're like that is because you fought among yourselves. It doesn't matter what the reason is. Whether it's a fight over rank, a girl, or a gang fight with another academy, it's okay. What it means is, 'You guys have never been hit by me.' You can tell Kang Baek-san, 'He's a different person.' Understood?"
"Yes…"
I put a little more strength on the arm that was holding the black-haired man's shoulder. The scared guy was almost on the verge of crying, and his teeth chattered, with a few front teeth missing.
"Guys, I'm giving you a chance now. How should you respond in a situation like this?"
"Thank you, thank you…"
The six guys answered in hushed voices while looking at the ground, and it was only then that I loosened my arm around his shoulder.
"You're welcome. Now then, let's go. Keep in mind what I said earlier."
"Yes…"
"Then have a nice day."
"Oh, goodbye…"
Immediately instilled with courtesy, the guys ran away without even looking back.
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