The Fallen Tyrant
Fourth floor corridor of the High School Division Building.
A crowd had gathered in front of an empty classroom.
Gu Minjae, with his neon-orange hair bright enough to hurt the eyes, and the group that always hung around him.
One of them took one look at Gu Minjae's swollen face and burst out laughing. "What the hell happened to your face, Minjae?"
"...Nothing."
"Hey, did you tumble down the stairs or something?"
"Unbelievable. And why are you clutching your stomach like that? Need to take a dump?"
Gu Minjae's face twisted viciously. "Ah, fuck, shut up already. I'm in a shit enough mood as it is!"
"Why? Did Seol Jihyo hit you?"
He froze.
Gu Minjae went rigid. How did these bastards know about that...?
"Didn't you know you can see the Incinerator Area from this window?"
...Ah, fuck.
"You idiot, there's talking shit and then there's whatever the hell you're doing."
"God, this is hilarious. This punk said he was gonna collect on his shoe debt, and instead he comes back whining like a sick dog."
"You got the shit beaten out of you by a girl like that, and you're bragging about it? Out loud, no less."
The longer the roaring laughter went on, the more Gu Minjae's face flushed red and blue.
They had it all wrong.
Seol Jihyo hadn't 'just' beaten him.
There had to have been some kind of trick to it. It was the only explanation. Otherwise, how could the fist of such a skinny girl possibly have hurt that much?
But he couldn't just come out and say that.
His pride. His dignity. Something far bigger than both would shatter into pieces if he did.
One of the group gave Gu Minjae's shoulder a light tap. "You know how fucking pathetic you look right now?"
"......"
The atmosphere turned icy in an instant.
Gu Minjae stood frozen stiff, not moving a muscle.
The same boys who'd been cackling moments ago were now staring at him like he was something they'd found crawling on the bottom of their shoe.
"You got beaten like a dog by Seol Jihyo. You think Jo Bitna doesn't know?"
"......"
"What do you think she'll say when she finds out, hm? If I were you, I'd just go crawl into a hole and die."
Over the frozen silence drifted laughter laced with mockery.
"Oh? Speak of the devil and she shall appear."
"Hey, Jo Bitna!"
Gu Minjae flinched. His shoulders trembled.
Heavy footsteps were approaching from behind, and with every step, his heart pounded harder and harder.
"There you all are."
A bright, breezy voice.
He turned—and there stood a girl with long, thickly waved hair.
Shimmering lip gloss, lush eyelashes. A school skirt cut dangerously short and a jacket that clung to every curve.
She had the dazzling, adorable look of an idol straight off a TV screen.
"B-Bitna..."
At Gu Minjae's feeble voice, a pair of sharp, rose-thorn eyes flicked briefly toward him.
Their eyes definitely met.
They met, and yet—
"We're heading to a noraebang after class. Anyone want to come?"
Jo Bitna swept past Gu Minjae as though he were empty air, asking the others instead.
"Which noraebang? I didn't know there was one on campus."
"One on the west side of the grounds. The café owner's wife just opened it. She said an hour's free if you come with me."
"Total steal. Let's grab everyone and go."
"I'm in."
"Me too, me too."
The crowd lining the corridor scattered in a rush, everyone clambering to follow.
Not a single one of them spared a glance for Gu Minjae standing there.
Jo Bitna was no different.
"Bitna!"
Gu Minjae grabbed the wrist of the girl walking past him.
"I did everything you told me to. Everything. How can you just—just do this out of nowhere?!"
"......"
"Jo Bitna. Just once—please, can't you just listen to me for one—"
"Minjae."
Jo Bitna laid her hand gently over the back of his.
"Don't shout my name in the middle of the hallway. It's embarrassing."
She yanked her hand free of his grip and walked away without so much as a backward glance.
* * *
A week had passed since Jiwoo started attending school as 'Seol Jihyo.'
Gu Minjae had gone conspicuously quiet since the incident at the Incinerator Area.
That was a little unexpected. He hadn't seemed like the type to fold that easily.
And yet...
"Ugh, I dropped a tier yesterday, I'm so tilted."
"Fiving later? I'll carry you."
"Oh, then after class today?"
Those were the boys who used to run with Gu Minjae's pack.
But somehow, lately, Gu Minjae seemed to be drifting to the outskirts of it.
"......"
Gu Minjae lay slumped over his desk—whether sleeping or pretending to, it was impossible to tell—and whenever lunchtime came, he'd vanish somewhere in a flash.
Whatever the reason, with Gu Minjae suddenly so docile, the bullying in the class seemed to have died down somewhat.
'When the class tyrant goes quiet, everyone else starts watching their step, I suppose?'
Except Gu Minjae seemed oddly isolated, in a way that didn't quite fit that theory...
Not that Jiwoo had any need to care.
And so, lunchtime arrived.
Jiwoo headed down to the school cafeteria to eat.
A school cafeteria was like a miniature map of the world.
Each of the tables packed into that cavernous hall was its own sovereign nation, with its own distinct culture.
By the windows sat the big-framed boys with their sleeves rolled up—the turf of the athletic prodigies.
Beside them, quietly moving their spoons, were what you'd call the model students.
And a little apart from them—
"Lend me that tint, will you?"
"You know second-year sunbae Minseong, right? Word is he just broke up with his girlfriend."
The loudest table in the entire cafeteria.
A group with their legs propped up on the table, chattering at full volume.
The kind of kids, apparently, that people called delinquents.
Gu Minjae had been one of them.
'Where do I sit?'
Even sweeping the whole cafeteria with my tray, there wasn't a single empty table.
Maybe I should've just bought bread from the school store and made do... but what was I supposed to do when today's menu was sausage and vegetable stir-fry?
As I drifted around at leisure for a while, someone suddenly called out to me.
"Jihyo! Over here!"
A boy waving both hands furiously from across the room.
Bae Hankyul.
"There's a seat here. Come sit with us."
Ever since their encounter outside the Incinerator Area, Hankyul had been playing up the friendly act more aggressively every time Jiwoo crossed his path.
In the hallway, between classes, after school—he didn't care about the place or the time.
Not that it was a bad thing.
The problem was that Bae Hankyul and Moon Yoojin were close friends.
Look, even now. Moon Yoojin was sitting right beside Hankyul.
Ever since their non-argument of an argument during Core Application class, things between him and Yoojin were still awkward.
The timing kept slipping away, and she still hadn't managed to thank him.
'...Not that I have a reason to avoid him.'
There was no other empty seat in sight, so there was nothing for it.
Jiwoo strode over and sat down beside Hankyul.
"Hey, so..."
Every eye in the vicinity swung toward them.
All because of Bae Hankyul and Moon Yoojin.
After a week of attending this school, it was impossible not to notice.
These two drew attention wherever they went.
As it turned out, Bae Hankyul was every bit as famous as Moon Yoojin.
Outstanding results across every sport, regardless of event.
A warm, kindhearted personality.
A sturdy body built by training, and impressive height.
Paired with a soft, boyish face that didn't quite match.
Rumor had it that professional sports organizations were already courting him before he'd even graduated.
Bae Hankyul, everyone said, was guaranteed a national team spot in whatever he chose. It was only a matter of which one.
"Yoojin, you don't mind if Jihyo eats with us, right?"
"Do whatever."
Moon Yoojin moved his spoon with his usual impassive face. A face that couldn't have cared less whether Jiwoo sat down or not.
Jiwoo, likewise, didn't look his way and simply picked up her spoon.
"Oh, right, Yoojin. Remember that day I fell out of the tree? I thought my face was all scraped up, but when I checked that evening, there wasn't a single wound?"
"Is that so?"
"Look, look. Right under my eye. Not even a scar."
Hankyul chattered on in wonder while Yoojin paid him hardly any attention. Beside them, Jiwoo was busily shoveling rice into her mouth when Hankyul suddenly leaned in close to her.
"Jihyo, look. You can't see the scar at all, right?"
...Of course not. I used my Core.
She couldn't exactly say that, so her mouth snapped shut for a moment—
"Ah, sorry!"
Hankyul jerked back.
What was that about?
He'd been the one to shove his face in close, and now that their eyes met, he got flustered?
He was clearly well over 180 centimeters tall, and yet the sight of him fidgeting with a flushed face was like watching some small, skittish herbivore.
"You don't have to apologize..."
Jiwoo was just about to respond to him somehow—
"Hey, mind if I eat with you guys?"
Someone had approached.
She turned—and found herself locking eyes with a girl as pretty as a doll.