Protect Hayeon (3)
At Baekgok Middle School, Baek Haon was like an insurmountable wall to anyone who came from there.
He might not be pulling any thug stunts these days, but if you could call him a friend, there was no safer guarantee.
That's why everyone from Baekgok Middle hustled to build some kind of connection with him.
But his defenses were like an impregnable fortress, locked tight...
And even Lee Seohwan, the one guy who'd actually gotten close to him, treated everyone else like bugs, so no one could even exchange a proper word.
But right now... Jo Youngbin was staring at a message that felt like a godsend.
He rubbed his eyes, wondering if it was a dream, and kept staring...
When the second message popped up, he finally realized it was real. Any normal person would be wary of an old classmate hitting them up out of the blue about money. But... the sender was Lee Seohwan.
Statistically speaking, the odds were high he was hanging with Baek Haon.
His instincts nailed it.
"Fuck, am I finally getting out of this school life shit?"
Jo Youngbin was on the fighting side of things, but even the toughest guy couldn't leapfrog those top three. But... if Baek Haon and Lee Seohwan had his back...
"That's a whole different story."
With fantasies of seizing control of Baekgok Boys High dancing in his head, he fired off a quick reply. He'd been sucking some sweet profits from this side hustle anyway.
The moment he got Lee Seohwan's reply, Jo Youngbin's face twisted out of control. His lips kept twitching upward, his mind swirling with delusions of ruling like a king.
"Fuck, my choice was spot on."
Back in middle school, even after Lee Seohwan decided to hit the books, Jo Youngbin trailed after him like a loyal dog. He'd given up on Baek Haon ages ago—knew he'd get his ass kicked—but Seohwan seemed to tolerate him to a point.
Everyone ignored him, but he believed his lackey position would pay off someday.
And now it was happening.
"So, who's the winner now?"
His sleazy grin wouldn't quit, and for the first time, the guy who always bailed after lunch stuck it out through seventh period.
"What if he wants to fight right off the bat..."
"You psycho."
On the way to Baekgok Boys High after school with Seohwan... a mess of complicated feelings churned inside me.
I was trying to channel my inner thug, but seeing real scumbags made my righteous fist itch like crazy.
Honestly, I didn't buy that these assholes could turn over a new leaf like some fairy tale. Unless they were a standout case like Seohwan... yeah.
"Hope it goes smooth."
Seohwan said it calmly from his seat by the bus window.
"Yeah. Best to keep our distance as much as possible."
In the original story, you had to be executive level to get handed the room admin account. But we couldn't waltz in as execs right away. If we pulled that shit, my reform record would get wiped, and those trash heaps would grope us all over.
"Best case? That Jo Youngbin punk. Snag his admin account or his phone."
"Think he'll hand it over easy?"
Middle school was all about raw power. High school? Money-making schemes counted as power too.
If Jo Youngbin had that, he was somebody at Baekgok Boys High.
What if he'd gone soft from not getting beat lately and turned into a prideful little shit? We couldn't resort to violence here, so I mulled it over as we pulled up to the school...
"Over here!"
This guy...
Acting like we'd been best buds forever, waving enthusiastically to greet us.
"Long time."
"Good to see you."
I didn't want to drag this out with this trash, but...
"No seriously, it's been forever~ How you been? Man, high school life's brutal. How's yours? Got any tough guys there?"
Seeing Jo Youngbin bouncing around like he'd spotted a celebrity, I almost felt bad for him.
Not really sorry, though. I'm here to use you, dude!
"Anyway, didn't expect it. The great Baek Haon reaching out first for cash."
"Nah, Seohwan messaged you."
"Pfft, same diff~ Glad you hit me up! I've got the golden info for you guys."
With a sleazy chuckle, he licked his lips and beckoned us into a shady alley.
"Hey, you fuckers. No smokes?"
He cleared a path through his delinquent crew like some wannabe boss the second we stepped in.
"Haon, Seohwan. Sit here... here! Want a cig? Take mine anytime!"
Doing all this unasked bootlicking.
Reformed my ass... just a brown-nosing lackey.
I was an idiot for hoping otherwise even for a second.
"Cut to the chase. No time to chat with you."
"Heh, right. Sorry, got too excited."
Jo Youngbin scratched his head sheepishly and showed us his phone.
"This is... y'know, the room managing all the hot chicks? It's called Telegram or whatever..."
"Looks more like a porn dump than 'managing girls.'"
"Hey! Not porn dump... say leaked content instead."
His serious face almost made my fist fly on reflex.
"This is for... uh, influencers? Or whatever. Room handles pics and vids of those types. Pull in one girl, pocket ten mil. Members? Mil each. Plus steady monthly pay!"
Exactly as I figured.
Commission-style recruitment, leak distribution, entry fees bumping ranks.
"So how do we make bank off this? You're staff. We're not."
Jo Youngbin pondered Seohwan's point.
"Well... shouldn't, but I'll talk to the boss! I reeled in a girl with big followers lately. She ghosted suddenly, bit of a snag... but with your reps, Haon, Seohwan..."
"Hold up. Who'd you reel in?"
"Yeah! Name was... Hayeon?"
Hearing that snapped something in me.
This fucker... was the culprit?
Begging me to kill him right here?
That it? That it? That it?
My fist rose on instinct...
But Seohwan slapped a hand on my shoulder.
"Don't care about your bragging. How long till it's set?"
He must've seen my wild eyes—steered it calm. His voice trembled; he was holding back hard.
Our goal wasn't wiping the root scum; it was killing Hayeon's contract.
I patted his hand like it was fine and pressed on.
"Worst case, it flops. We just wait forever?"
"Th-that's..."
Our faces hardened; Jo Youngbin scrambled to keep us hooked.
"Till then! Use my phone, split some profits? I've made plenty... good practice for you. I'll wire cash on the spot!"
"Boss won't catch you?"
"N-no way! No one knows if we don't blab! Meet the boss once a month, chat through a door—no face-to-face. Just saw him, no contact coming!"
Swallowed my rage once; got perfect evidence.
He handed over the phone.
"But no messing with chats or leaking! Boss would beat me dead."
"Don't worry about that."
Gonna dump all the evidence logs straight to the lawyer anyway.
"Oh, and Youngbin. One more favor."
"Yeah? Spill!"
Got everything we needed.
"Come when I call next time."
"Duh!"
Might block the account if spooked, so let it slide today...
"Definitely come?"
"Yep!"
Next time, beat him bloody for what Hayeon suffered.
On the bus home, Seohwan and I rode in heavy silence.
Just... complicated.
Even with solid evidence, picturing smooth sailing ahead... something felt like another mountain loomed.
Fuck, possessed into a romcom? Can't I just do normal school life?
Stuck in this moron thug's body causing this crap?
Then what's next...?
People around me keep getting hurt because of me?
Staring blankly out the window in despair...
"You held back well."
Seohwan murmured some comfort.
"Gonna smash him next time. Priorities now."
"Manage your headspace. Wasn't your fault."
"Huh?"
Didn't see that coming.
Mind reader?
"Saw your face back there... Thought your middle school shit caught up, huh?"
"...Can't deny it."
I nodded, conceding to Seohwan.
"Nah. Because you lived like that, we solved this."
"What bullshit. If we never thugged..."
"Couldn't find the perp or evidence."
Seohwan laid it out flat.
"You're Baek Haon, I'm Lee Seohwan—that's why Jo Youngbin spilled easy. Some Sungkyu-level punk? He'd blow us off."
"True..."
"So no self-blame. His reaction? Didn't target you. No interest anyway. Didn't even clock you in Hayeon's feed... Just happened."
Watching Seohwan advise seriously... felt kinda...
"Why's this guy so sappy today?"
"You nutcase? Saw you down, cheered you up. Duh... old Haon wasn't the brooding type. Unless it's dumbass problems."
Seohwan smirked at me and hit the bus bell.
"Hyung, I'm out. Your turn now—got your back."
"Fuck off."
He cringed out to the end.
Middle finger farewell.
"Not my fault... just what was gonna happen?"
His words helped; the knot in my chest eased.
"Hah, my mental game's tough... Vowed yesterday, now this?"
Get it together.
Twist the plot? Trials come with it.
If hurdles are inevitable...
"Crush 'em thorough."
Steadied my resolve, texted Lee Jihye.
Huh?
Now..?
No one's home...?