Park Dong sat alone in the cafeteria, poking the braised pollack with his spoon.
"…tastes like crap," he muttered, chewing anyway.
But his mind was somewhere else.
The teacher's words replayed clearly.
"Dropping out?"
"Yeah, after talking to his parents it really seems like they're just going to let him drop out. Try and stop him, would you?"
Park Dong had scratched his head. "What can I even do? He probably wasn't planning on graduating anyway…"
The teacher crossed his arms, frustrated.
"Even kids who plan things out usually don't do well after dropping out. You think Jinsu has some master plan or something? Just talk to him. You're his best friend. He might actually listen to you."
Back in the present, Park Dong exhaled in defeat.
…he's seriously going to regret this.
***********
Suwon grabbed Jinsu by the collar, his other hand planted firmly against Jinsu's cheek.
Jinsu felt something break inside him not physically, but deeper.
Look at this bastard.
How dare you look down on me.
How dare you fight back.
How dare you!!
His glasses fell, hitting the floor with a crack. Jinsu stepped on them deliberately, grinding the lenses under his heel.
I get beat down a few times, and now a prey thinks he can too?!
This cringe loser…
With a snarl, Jinsu slammed a fist directly into Suwon's cheek. Suwon's head snapped sideways, but he didn't fall.
Jisung watched, frozen. I… I should stop this. But if I step in… it'll happen again. He remembered losing to Jinsu his fear planted. His legs wouldn't move.
He turned toward your seat. Y-yeah… Seojin. He can stop this!
But when his eyes landed on me. I was still asleep, head on my folded arms.
Jisung stared in disbelief. H-how could he still sleep in this situation…?!
"Shouldn't we stop this?"
"No way. It's been a while since we've seen a fight."
"Who do you think's winning?"
"Obviously Yang Jinsu. How is Yadong supposed to beat him? Just look at the height difference. That alone decides it."
"And seriously, Yadong looks like he's never even been in a fight before."
Suwon was desperately covering himself with both arms while Jinsu kept swinging. The punches weren't even that painful what hit harder were the eyes watching. A crowd had formed, whispering, judging, enjoying the show.
Suwon caught the glance of everyone around.
All those looks… I don't care about those. I'm done being labeled a loser. All this frustration I'm slamming it into this bastard's face.
Suwon threw a punch finally landing cleanly on Jinsu's cheek. But it barely made him flinch.
Why…? I keep landing hits… but why aren't they anything like Seojin's punches…?
Another blow from Jinsu cracked into Suwon's left eye. Again with the eye!!
"Fucking bastard," Jinsu growled, driving an uppercut straight into Suwon's jaw.
Weaker than Yoon Seojin, weaker than Jung Chulgyu, weaker than Yang Jinsu.
but... that's okay
Suwon's head snapped upward, but he didn't fall. He stayed standing, wobbling, eyes sharp with something Jinsu didn't expect.
Meanwhile, I woke up to the commotion. Blurry at first, then clear the sight of Suwon getting pummeled by Yang Jinsu. I moved to stand, ready to stop it… but I froze.
Suwon's eyes weren't the same anymore. Right now it was burning with courage.
I decided to not do anything since he finally decided to stand up for himself.
He pulled his arm back, fist trembling not from fear, but from everything he'd been holding in.
It's fine. Even if I get punched a hundred times by Yang Jinsu… this one punch from me…
He drove his fist straight into Jinsu's face. It connected squarely on the nose.
Jinsu stumbled backward, clutching it, as sharp wince slipping out of him.
"Urgh..!!"
"You little piece of shit!" Jinsu recovered, his hand reached forward, grabbing Suwon's shirt and yanking him close, hurling curses at him with each breath.
Before the situation could spiral further, a sharp voice cut through the classroom.
"HEY!"
Park Dong stormed in, eyes blazing. "Cut it out, you asshole!" He shot a glare at Jiseong, who had been frozen on the sidelines. "Why the hell didn't you stop them?"
Jiseong lifted his hands, stammering, "I-I was about to..!!"
Park Dong stepping right up to Jinsu, Facing him. His voice was heavy with disappointment. "Is fighting the whole damn world your life goal or something? Why are you getting dumber by the day?"
Jinsu let out an arrogant laugh. "Don't worry about me, fucker. I won't be seeing you anymore anyway."
Park Dong's jaw tightened, his voice dropping low. "I can't believe I ever called you a friend."
He clenched his teeth, frustration leaking into his voice. "I can't believe I ever called you a friend Hah… forget it. I'm the idiot here."
Jinsu let out a small smirk. "Yep, you are the idiot. And what 'fight' are you even talking about?"
He spoke casually, not even noticing the drop of blood dripping from his nose.
"This wasn't a fight," Jinsu scoffed. "This was just me beating the crap out of him."
Jinsu finally noticed the warm trickle running down his upper lip. A drop of red hit the floor with a soft tap. Park Dong's eyes widened same with everyone else crowding around.
More blood slid down, staining the front of Jinsu's uniform. He raised a hand to cover his nose, but it soaked through instantly. When he pulled his hand away, it was smeared dark red.
Jinsu blinked, confused.
"Uh… what" his voice cracked slightly, "what the hell is this…? Fuck."
He stared at his blood-stained fingers, the other hand still pressed against his leaking nose, as if his own body had betrayed him.
Out in the hallway, Kim Inseop and Ono were walking when Inseop noticed a crowd gathering outside a classroom
Inseop, still chewing on his Fire Burger, mumbled with his mouth full, "What the… why are they all crowded over there?"
Inseop frowned. "Looks like someone's fighting…" He leaned in for a peek, eyes widening.
"Whoa… Jinsu's got a nosebleed."
"So Yadong wins? "
"It's not Yadong who got the nosebleed?"
"He was definitely losing, wasn't he?"
"Then who won?"
"Ji Suwon got hit way more."
"Yeah, but Yang Jinsu's the one bleeding."
Inseop and Ono pushed through the crowd, eyes widening at the scene.Inseop thought, They actually fought…?
"Considering their size difference… isn't Ji Suwon kind of insane for holding out like that?"
"Honestly… Ji Suwon's kinda impressive.""Right? So does that mean Suwon won?""Damn… Yadong's really is something else."
Yang Jinsu's jaw clenched as he caught the whispers. The moment the words Suwon won floated past him, something snapped.
"You…"
He suddenly lunged toward Suwon.
"BASTARD!!"
I stepped in front of Suwon, blocking Jinsu's path. He glared at me with raw fury, but I didn't move, just stared him down.
"MOVE!!! YOU BASTARD!!"
Before he could swing, Park Dong rushed in and seized Jinsu's right arm.
"Stop it, you idiot!"
"L-let go!! I SAID LET GO!!!"
Jinsu tried to swing with his left arm, but Ono grabbed it tightly."Ugh…!!" Jinsu snarled, feeling the iron grip locking him in place.
"You fucking idiots!!!! DON'T STOP ME!! IT'S NOT OVER YET!!!!"
Inseop slid in from the doorway, slipping his arms around Jinsu's torso and pinning him in a desperate bear hug.
Seolhyo and Irina arrived at the doorway just in time to see Jinsu thrashing like a wild animal.
"I WAS WINNING!!!! FUUUUUCK!!" Jinsu roared, struggling against all three of them.
If this goes on… if it ended like this then… everyone's gonna think I lost…!!!
************
We decided to go to Advanced classroom seeing our classroom were crowded.
Inseop broke the silence first, turning to Suwon. "...Why did you guys' fight?"
Suwon stood, shoulders rising and falling, chest still heaving from adrenaline. He didn't answer, just stared down at his curled fists.
When the silence stretched, Inseop shifted his eyes toward Park Dong.
Park Dong sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know either." Then his gaze moved to me. "But you why didn't you stop them?"
I was leaning back against the window, arms folded, wind rushing. For a moment, I didn't say anything. My eyes traced the view outside before I finally turned my head toward him.
"I was about to," I said calmly. "But then I saw Suwon stand up… and for once, he wasn't backing down. So I let it happen."
Inseop blinked, tilting his head. "Why?"
I unwrapped a candy, popped it into my mouth, and let the silence hang for just a beat longer. Then I smirked faintly.
"Why would I stop him," I said, voice low and steady, "when he finally decided to fight back?"
The words hung heavy in the room. Park Dong and Inseop exchanged a look, then look at Suwon that's still standing, heart still pounding, replaying the fight over and over in his head.