Ma Yeonseo's Revenge
Time flew by relentlessly, and before I knew it, I was in sixth grade.
"Oh my. Yuchan, have you gotten even taller?"
"Yeah?"
"Let's measure you. Stand over there."
"...How is it?"
"Wow, you really have! Soon you'll be taller than me!"
After surviving the winter, I'd shot up in height, my arms and legs stretching out longer. I had to toss all my old clothes.
So, to celebrate the weekend, we headed out shopping for the first time in ages—not to the fancy department stores we'd occasionally visit back in the provinces, but to an outlet packed with affordable mid-range brands.
"Mom... isn't this stuff too expensive? I'll just grow out of it again anyway."
"Oh, come on. If we're buying, might as well get something cute. Let me see... how about this?"
"......"
Mom, out shopping with me, had a rare, beaming smile on her face.
She'd been exhausted lately, juggling her cashier job and housework.
But today, her expression was brighter than ever.
I quietly went along with whatever she wanted.
"Ha... our Yuchan is about to become a middle schooler soon..."
"I haven't even started sixth grade yet."
"A year flies by. Blink, and it'll be graduation."
"Yeah, maybe."
Just as Mom said, time sped on, and the new semester arrived.
And sitting right next to me was...
"......"
Ma Yeonseo, for some reason.
Did she choose this seat on purpose?
I already knew from the end-of-term ceremony that we'd be in the same class, but I hadn't expected her to pick the seat next to mine on the very first day. Maybe it was just habit from sitting together most of fifth grade.
She looks even prettier than before.
I was staring at her blankly, not thinking much of it, when...
"......"
Smoothly, she turned her head and met my gaze.
"What."
Her eyes were much gentler than last year.
But that sassy vibe was still there.
"Long time no see."
"...You stared like that just to say that?"
"Nah. Anyway, good vacation?"
"No."
"Why? Something happen?"
"None of your business."
Sigh.
Even in sixth grade, Ma Yeonseo was as rude as ever.
She answered a bit more straightforwardly than before, but honestly, not much had changed.
"...Okay. Well, let's get along this year too."
"......Yeah."
And so our sixth-grade life began, not much different from fifth. Classes were a tad longer, subjects slightly varied.
It felt like an extension of last year.
But I was struggling to keep up.
How the heck do you solve this?
Math was the issue.
I hadn't previewed anything or gone to cram school, so the brisk pace was hard to follow.
I haven't even gotten this yet, and we're moving on?
Meanwhile, Ma Yeonseo solved problems effortlessly.
Scribble, scribble. She barely wrote calculations, just the answers—and most were correct.
She must go to some top cram school.
"Hey."
"......"
"Ma Yeonseo."
"?"
She glanced back when I called her name properly. Why didn't she react to "hey" if she always knew it was me?
Swallowing my confusion, I cautiously asked.
"Um... can you teach me this problem?"
She glanced at the one I pointed to, then furrowed her brow like it was unbelievable.
"That one?"
It sounded like, you don't know this?
"I don't get it yet... Forget it if you don't want to."
Feeling my pride bruise, I quickly backed off.
Better to bash my head on the ground.
I gave up on the problem and was reviewing the theory page when...
Smoothly, Ma Yeonseo held out a highlighter.
"Mark the ones you don't know. I'll explain during break."
"!"
Maybe she was a good kid deep down.
"It goes like this from here..."
"Oh."
After that, I started getting occasional tutoring from Ma Yeonseo.
She taught with real sincerity, like she'd learned from some pro instructor—everything clicked right away.
Naturally, we spent more time stuck together than before...
"Those two are dating, right?"
"Birds of a feather. Perfect for a couple of friendless losers."
Before long, weird rumors spread through class.
Me and Ma Yeonseo were supposedly going out.
"No dad, figures. Likes that bitch too?"
"Freak as always."
I wasn't sure about other schools, but ours had this vibe where boys and girls dating was weird.
Maybe because I was the bullied kid at the center of it.
Man, so childish.
Ma Yeonseo acted like she didn't care about the rumors, so I planned to ignore them too.
...Or tried to.
"Hey, why you always talking shit behind my back?"
"The fuck, what's your problem?"
I confronted the ringleader of the main group—the toughest one.
I'd usually let it slide.
But dragging Ma Yeonseo, who'd been helping me, into it? No way.
"What do you care if me and Ma Yeonseo date or not? Cut the stupid rumors. Got something to say? Say it to my face, asshole."
"Wha... what?"
The guy looked flustered, staring blankly.
Then.
"You little shit...!"
"What, you waiting? Think I'm a pussy?"
"You fucker!"
They beat the crap out of me.
"...Ugh. Hurts like hell..."
"Told you not to jump in."
Ma Yeonseo looked down at me on the floor with pity.
I glanced at her and replied.
"But they were badmouthing you where everyone could hear."
"...Not wrong though."
"Can't stand hearing my friend get shit-talked."
"......Friend?"
"Yeah. Friend. Ugh... I'm really bruised."
I took a beating, but standing up to them paid off—no more weird rumors after that.
Instead...
Direct harassment started.
"...Huh?"
My textbook, left on my desk, was gone.
I definitely put it here...
Frantically searching before class, a girl from the back yelled.
"Hey! Someone threw a textbook in the trash!"
"!"
I rushed to check the bin.
[Kang Yuchan]
Sure enough, my textbook was in the trash—soggy and ruined.
"Heh heh."
"Loser."
"Can't even keep track of his own book."
The ringleaders laughed mockingly, making a show of it.
They'd finally touched my stuff.
These bastards?
I was furious, but powerless. Too weak to fight alone, no friends to back me up.
Class started anyway, and of course, I got reamed in front of everyone.
"Kang Yuchan! What's this with your textbook? Can't manage it properly?"
"I..."
Our sixth-grade homeroom teacher was irresponsible.
The kind of pathetic adult who ignored the obvious.
I couldn't tell my parents about the bullying either.
Didn't want to burden Mom, who was struggling enough.
Just hang in there. A little longer.
I swallowed my rage alone, waiting for them to lose interest.
A little more!
Then one day, during lunch when the teacher was out.
Thwack! Crash!
Sudden commotion from the back of the classroom.
"Eek!"
"Y-you psycho bitch! What the hell?!"
Recognizing the ringleader's voice, I glanced back and...
Huh?
Ma Yeonseo was swinging a baseball bat.
Thwack!
The guy who blocked with his arm screamed, rolling on the floor.
Another was already down beside him.
"M-my bone... my bone...!!"
"Hey! Ma Yeonseo! You...!"
The last one jumped up to face her, but her bat gave no openings.
Thwack! Thwack!
"Guhk!"
One out cold, twitching.
One clutching a broken arm, bawling.
The last collapsing in agony, terrified.
Ma Yeonseo looked down at the three with her usual expression, then calmly raised the bat again.
"You'll get hurt if you block."
The one-sided beating continued.
Thwack! Thwack!
"S-sorry...! My bone's broken...!"
Thwack! Thwack!
"Kek!"
Head shots from the relentless blows knocked them out cold.
But...
"......"
Ma Yeonseo showed no sign of stopping, raising the bat over her head again.
Anyone could see it was dangerous.
"Hey! Stop now! You'll kill him!"
I couldn't watch anymore and jumped in to stop her...
But she was still staring coldly at the boy sprawled on the floor.
It was a chilling glare that made me step back instinctively.
"Ma, Ma Yeonseo!"
"......"
Finally reacting to my voice, her face softened as she met my eyes.
She casually slung the bat over her shoulder, looking somewhat proud.
"I got revenge for you."
"...Huh?"
For a second, I thought I'd misheard.
Revenge? Ma Yeonseo avenged me? Why?
My mind went blank in confusion. Snapping out of it, I snatched the bat from her.
"N-no matter what...! You can't just... do this...?!"
She quietly took it back and murmured softly.
"Don't worry."
"What...?"
"It's fine."
I couldn't make sense of her words.
The three ringleaders, beaten bloody and unconscious, were carted off in an ambulance by the late-arriving homeroom teacher.
Naturally, Ma Yeonseo—who'd thrashed them—was summoned to the office immediately.
Left alone in the chaotic classroom, I was deep in worry.
What punishment will she get? Can she stay at school? Transfer again?
I didn't even have time to wonder why she'd avenged me.
Right now, I was just terrified about what would happen to her.
Aaah! What do I do!
The next day...
...Huh?
Arriving early, I couldn't believe my eyes.
Ma Yeonseo?
She was sitting in her usual seat like nothing happened.
How... what happened?
And soon, shocking news from the homeroom teacher...