"Who are you?"
As our blades clashed towards one another, he asked the same exact question.
"Answer me. Who are you?"
And while I was getting annoyed of it already, I answered him in a cocky voice.
"I am you."
_______________________________________________
Tununununu! Tununununu!
The alarm is unusually loud, my bed is cold and warm at the same time, and the birds are chirping endlessly. I get up from bed, make some coffee, eat bread, and brush my teeth. I get ready for school, and I come home at 5 PM.
The same perpetual routine carried on for as long as I can remember. Throughout my entire high school life, this has always been the same ol' me. And now, I have arrived at school, about to open my classroom door.
Even during middle school, I couldn't really remember what had happened. My life was boring, and all I did was sit on my desk and create a story. Though, I was certain of one thing.
"Hey everyone! Mister 'Writer' is here! Hahaha!"
"I bet he's gonna make some fantasy webnovel again? Hahaha!"
I was a writer.
I was bullied. My mom and dad said that I had no future, while my brother said that It would be difficult. Same went for my friends in middle school, they said that becoming an author was a hard path. But still, I believed in myself.
"Didn't he release a new chapter yesterday? And the fact that it was copied by another work!"
"Jungyoo, you're a loser."
"Stop writing. You're pathetic."
The same old insults. I was a third-grade writer, and every work I published originally got copied by another author. But, I couldn't sue that plagiarist. I could only stand still until my novel gets serialized.
"Can you all shut up?" I say in a calm voice.
"How about you shut your writing career down?"
It was Kang Joksi, one of my biggest bullies. Ever since middle school, he had always been there to criticize me, and he's the sole reason why the stories of me being a writer had spread.
"And who the f**k are you to tell me that?" I responded.
"Ya wanna get your head blown off? Huh?"
"Joksi, you're a coward."
That was the last thing I said before lying on the ground. Joksi had punched me.
"Open your mouth again and I'll kill you, nerd."
"F**k you, Joksi."
I woke up in the school clinic, and a bandage had been applied to my cheek.
"Byeo-si, are you still gonna hang out with Jungyoo?"
"Yes. And if you're here to say anything bad about him, then leave at once."
She then entered my area and sat down. Byeo-si was seating next to me.
Yin Byeo-si, the school's campus beauty, was next to me in the hospital room. The only reason why she was here was because of what happened during my sophomore year.
"Byeo-si! Look out!"
Kukukukuku!
"Byeo-si, are you alright!? Huh? Wait, who's that guy?"
"I'm alright. Hurry up and help him!"
"Ambulance! Call the ambulance!"
That was all I could remember. I had saved her from getting runned over by a car, and ever since then, she'd been insisting about paying off her debt.
Of course, this was only a mere 'debt'.
"Byeo-si, you can stop being with me you know."
"Jungyoo, shut up."
"Yes ma'am."
We shared this kind of relationship. Even though she was paying her debt, it felt as if I was her assistant.
"Jungyoo, stop fighting with Joksi. You know he's ruthless."
"Sorry Byeo-si. I just got irritated."
"He's always like that"
"I know."
There was an awkward silence before she said something.
"Be careful, Jungyoo."
"Thank you, Byeo-si."
After that, Byeo-si left the room and I was all alone. The peacefulness of the clinic was not to be messed with. It was quiet, warm, and cozy that I fell asleep again.
When I woke up, it was 5 PM already. I went back to my classroom to get my bag when I heard Byeo-si and Joksi's voices.
"Byeo-si, go out with me. I'll protect you, and I'll treat you better than anyone else. You know that, right?"
"Joksi, shut up. I don't plan to go out with a reckless, braindead guy like you" said Byeo-si in a cold tone.
"Byeo-si, come on. I know you want me, everyone wants me."
"Not me."
Joksi, enraged by this, tried to hold Byeo-si's hand. Byeo-si was startled as she tried to break free. But, Joksi's other hand had already reached Byeo-si's waist.
"Byeo-si, you're powerless right now, you know? I can just traumatize you right here right now."
This was Joksi. He lived the life he wants to live, and does what he wants to do. Normally, he would've been suspended and reported already. However, his father was one of the school's biggest sponsor. Thus, he was treated special.
Even when he was reported to the police, he still had the upper hand. Kang Joksi's father, Kang Pukso, was one of Korea's richest and privileged man. The police didn't want to mess with them after all.
"You really are braindead, f**k you." said Byeo-si in a cold, angry voice.
I was standing, looking at this sight.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!"
I was mad enough to wanna punch Joksi, but I was also scared to get killed.
So why? Why was I standing in front of Byeo-si?
"Jungyoo? What are you doing here!"
Before I knew it, I had punched Kang Joksi in the face. He laid down on the ground, shocked.
This was a fantastic view. The tough, scary Kang Joksi was on the ground with a shocked expression.
Though of course, circuses come to an end.
He got back up and rushed towards me. I tried to dodge but he had already caught my hand.
"Die Jungyoo."
That was the last thing I heard before he grabbed a pocket knife out of his vest and stabbed me.
And before I knew it, I was dead.