Round 2 (9): Blackmail in the Alley
Yuna trailed Eunjae from a safe distance.
Without knowing where Eunjae was headed—or even where she herself was going.
Damn it, what am I, some pot-bellied pervert stalker uncle? Why the hell do I have to tail a high school girl late at night? It's hot as balls. That damn coach is gonna buy me the most expensive protein shakes.
Yuna scrolled through her protein order list on her phone nonstop while doggedly following Eunjae.
His expression had looked dead serious when he asked her to do this, but chasing after Eunjae's tail with no clear goal was starting to make her feel like a total idiot.
Eunjae finally stopped walking about ten minutes after leaving the building.
A group of girls spotted her and waved excitedly. Eunjae headed toward them without much reaction.
What the—? She's just meeting up with friends, for real.
Judging it to be nothing serious, Yuna snapped a screenshot of her protein order for Yuseong, grinning wickedly.
"It's hot and humid as hell, and you send me on a tail job for this? Heh heh heh, time to pay up, Coach. Let's see... Eunjae is... just meeting... friends... Protein cost... 69,000 won... Pay up in cash... when I get back... Huh?"
Mid-text, Yuna sensed something off and glanced back at Eunjae.
Eunjae's friends were bursting into high-pitched giggles, clearly thrilled about something.
But Eunjae showed zero reaction.
That's kinda weird.
If they were close enough friends to skip practice on a weekday, you'd expect hugs or cheers right away—but Eunjae's response was lukewarm at best.
And those girls... They clustered together but none approached Eunjae warmly.
It looked like they were subtly keeping their distance, sizing each other up.
Yuna paused her texting and kept watching Eunjae intently.
Soon, the friends gestured for Eunjae to follow them into a quiet alley with few passersby.
Eunjae stood still for a moment before lagging behind into the alley.
Yuna leaned against the opposite corner wall, straining to listen.
"What the hell do you want from me?"
It was Eunjae's voice. Not her usual spaced-out tone.
Eunjae not using her ditzy speech? That's new.
A fresh experience in its own way.
"Oh come on, don't be so cold. We're friends from middle school, remember?"
"You still think we're friends? I don't."
"Why are you so prickly? You still hung up on that idiot thing?"
The conversation cut off there. A wet ptui echoed faintly from the alley.
Then.
"Don't talk shit about my friend."
"Ha, this bitch really thinks she can—"
Slap!
A sharp crack rang out, startling even Yuna who was watching.
One of the girls grabbed Eunjae's long, luscious hair and yanked her head up.
"Eunjae, if you act like this to your friends, it hurts our feelings."
"Fuck off, you trash bitches. Hanging with scum like you was the biggest mistake of my life."
"Keep talking shit? If you act up, we'll have to use the same trick we did to drag you out here."
The girl gripping Eunjae's hair pulled out her phone and played a video.
Yuna couldn't see it, but Eunjae could—and she knew exactly what it was.
A group of girls bullying another in school.
It wasn't just bullying.
- Aaaah! Hot, it's hot!
- Eww, the smell!
- Holy shit, does it always stink this bad?
- Damn, it lit up fast.
- Lmao, doesn't she look like a squid doing the body wave?
The pack lit a lighter on the end of a girl's hair for fun—until it caught fire. Flames raced up her locks as she thrashed in pain, grabbing at it with bare hands before collapsing, rolling on the ground, sobbing.
The bullies pinched their noses and cackled at the crying girl on the floor. And at the back of the pack? Eunjae.
"...Delete it. Now."
"Nah."
"Delete it!"
"What, scared it'll tank your pro career if they find out you bullied that otaku bitch?"
"...I never bullied Sejin."
"Haha, sure. Then who's that Eunjae lookalike?"
"I told you guys not to do that shit so many times! But you..."
"Ugh, playing the good girl again. Gross."
Thwack!
Another girl kicked Eunjae in the face. Eunjae clutched it but didn't scream, glaring daggers at them.
"Look at those eyes—like lasers. Don't worry. Just do what we want, and we won't tell anyone you were there bullying her."
"Yeah, typical."
"Hmm... What first?"
"Remember that pension trip with the XX college guys?"
"Oh yeah. Lend us a pension in Chuncheon? We're staying a while—say 500k for lodging? Plus expenses, rounds to about a million? You're loaded anyway. That... what was it? Famous pro doing aerial acrobatics or whatever?"
Ha.
A vein throbbed in Yuna's temple.
No one would mistake that for friendly chit-chat. Classic schoolyard thugs. Whatever they showed her, they were blackmailing Eunjae—and yanking her hair, kicking her face to boot.
Even if she'd chewed Eunjae out over collective punishment from her laziness, Yuna didn't hate the human Kim Eunjae.
She was pissed as a teammate at the slacking and collateral damage.
But this? Blackmail and assault? Unforgivable.
Yuna pocketed her phone, rounded the corner, and strode into the alley.
"Hey."
The thugs flinched, releasing Eunjae's hair.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Realizing it was just one girl, they puffed up again.
"Who the fuck's this?"
"Y-Yuna unnie?!"
"Oh, a friend of Eunjae's?"
"Wait, Yuna? She knows my name! That's the Shining Star offlaner!"
"What're you doing?"
"Oh~ Pro gamer Cha Yuna? We're just talking to our friend."
"Bullshit."
Yuna's gravelly curse hung in the air, silencing the alley briefly. But outnumbered, the thugs sneered openly and spat on the ground.
"What a foul-mouthed bitch."
"Says the double-wide trash."
"You little—"
"Listen up, you fucking bitches. Normal to yank hair and kick faces during 'friend chats'? Mind if I join as your friend?"
"God, what's with the good girl syndrome? Her too?"
The hair-grabber spat phlegm and marched up to Yuna.
Yuna was taller, but the thug didn't back down, getting right in her face and staring up.
"Mind your business and fuck off?"
"You fuck off first, and I'll go."
"Such a pain."
She pulled her hand from her pocket and patted Yuna's cheek.
"Hey, Cha Yuna. Be nice and walk away. Unless you wanna get wrecked."
"Ha."
###
"So you got into a fistfight with them?"
"...Yeah."
"Got reported by a passerby and dragged here?"
"...Yeah."
"Too busy punching to answer my calls."
"...Yeah."
This was the police station near the dorms.
Apparently, a citizen reported the brawl in the alley—Yuna vs. the thugs—and cops hauled everyone in.
Thankfully, neither Yuna nor Eunjae was badly hurt. Eunjae had a bruise on her face from the kick; Yuna had scrapes and scratches from the fight. Compared to the thugs groaning in the corner, they were fine.
Yuna topped the team in raw athleticism.
She hit the building gym religiously, kept in peak shape. Even at the dorm, she did calisthenics or ring fit.
The others swore even in real life, Yuna would be a nightmare matchup—no guarantees of winning.
Poking that bear? The thugs got wrecked, naturally. Nosebleeds still flowing, one couldn't even sit, faces a mess of bruises.
"Sorry, Coach... Sorry, Yuna unnie..."
Eunjae teared up nonstop, apologizing. Her normal speech—not the usual ditz—felt off, but her guilt ran that deep.
"Damn right you're sorry! You just stand there like an idiot taking hits from those bitches?! Argh, so frustrating!"
"What're you yelling for? You got a pro dragged into an assault beef mid-season."
"Then what, watch?!"
Yuna fired right back. I clicked my tongue, glancing at the thugs. They ground their teeth, glaring daggers—plotting revenge.
Cops said mutual assault meant punishment for both, but their injuries were worse, so we'd get hit harder.
Settlement was the only way out.
"Stay put. Quiet."
"Why?"
"Settle with them."
"Settle?! Didn't you hear what they did to Eunjae—"
"Quiet."
I smacked Yuna's head and approached the thugs. She grabbed my collar, glaring, and handed me something. I nodded, gripped it, and stood before them.
"Fuck... Feels like my teeth are loose."
"Jaw's busted. Fuckin' hurts."
"You lot fought Yuna, right."
"Who're you?"
"Their team coach."
"Whoa! The violent bitch's coach! See this?!"
"What're you gonna do? Hospital bills in the millions!"
Not even close to millions.
"Why come to us? Oh, to settle!"
"No way we're settling."
"Pros get suspended if this blows up, right? We know!"
"We're minors—no jail. She's 20? Jail time! Eat shit in prison, bitch."
"You should settle."
"Fuck off. Know what she did?"
"One mil each to settle!"
Swarm in, bully and blackmail, then demand a billion won total?
Thugs gonna thug—learning the worst from the worst.
"You in a position to demand settlements? You hit Eunjae first."
"Nuh-uh."
"Cha Yuna hit first."
"Talking without proof? We'll sue for false accusation."
False accusation my ass. Even in victim-blaming Korea, let's see you strut with this evidence.
"Still no proof?"
I pulled out what Yuna gave me.
Her phone.
Video from before she charged in: Thugs slapping Eunjae, yanking her hair post-fall, kicking her face. Crystal clear.
Edited? No spit scene from Eunjae.
"Think we're scared? Sue us."
"Some of you prepping for Eternal Combat pro, others idol training?"
They flinched.
"So?"
"Think bullies who smoked since middle school and tormented one girl can go pro or debut? Companies drop anyone with school violence or personality issues these days."
"Funny. Who're you? CEO?"
"Don't know me? Kang Yuseong, Eternal Combat solo queue #1. Division 1 offers daily. One word from me, and the rumor mill churns in pro circles."
"......"
"Know whose team we're under? The Shine Entertainment CEO founded us. Our manager's high up there. Tell him? Idol agencies blackball you forever—no debuts."
"Threatening us?"
"You threatened Eunjae."
They gnashed teeth, glaring.
"We'll sue for threats!"
"Go ahead. Eunjae and Yuna get match bans maybe. But your first punch outs you—no heavy penalties for them. Court? Same. You lose.
Saw our academy league? Even with forfeits, we hit promotion. But I'll compile your dirt—bullying, all of it—for PR/marketing.
Company posts it all to protect ours. Bans for them, your lives ruined. Want that? Sue. Otherwise, settle."
Bluff city.
Cops said we'd get worse punishment; public? Possible harsher bans. But braindead thugs wouldn't know—and selfish scum hate losses.
Silent, glaring, they huddled, then gritted out:
"...We."
"Can't hear."
"We'll settle!"