Then the punches came.
Left.
Right.
Another to the ribs.
Another to the face.
A furious storm of blows rained down on Giryang's body and face without pause.
Seolhyo watched in horror.
Seojin kept punching again and again showing no sign of stopping.
"Jin stop it! That's enough!!"
She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him from behind.
She clung to his back, desperately pulling at him, her voice shaking with panic.
Her whole body trembled when she saw Giryang's condition.
His face was a complete mess so covered in blood it was hard to even recognize him.
Even Seojin's hands were smeared red.
A few broken teeth scattered onto the ground.
The moment Seojin felt Seolhyo holding him
his rage immediately faltered.
The last thing he wanted was to hurt her.
His fists slowly loosened.
Just then, someone else arrived.
Seol Minsu.
He stopped a few steps away, his gaze sweeping over the scene.
First, the guy on the ground his face bloodied beyond recognition.
Then the other guy his hands smeared with blood.
And finally
his sister, hugging that man from behind as if trying to stop him.
Minsu's expression darkened.
He looked visibly irritated seeing his sister holding a guy like that so intimately.
His eyes then shifted to the man on the ground who was struggling to get up.
Without looking at him directly, Minsu spoke coldly.
"Seol Hyorim… why were you running earlier?"
Seolhyo noticed him too.
She quickly let go of Seojin and stepped forward, placing herself in front of him as if shielding him, afraid her brother might do something after seeing her hug him.
She glanced briefly at Giryang.
"It's.."
Minsu's glare sharpened.
"Seol Hyorim. Answer."
She hesitated.
For a moment, she thought about telling him everything.
But looking at Giryang's current state already beaten badly she decided against it.
"…Nothing. I was just in a hurry. I had to pee really bad."
Minsu's eyes slowly dropped to her wrist.
It was red.
Clearly from being gripped too hard.
"Nothing?" he repeated coldly. "Then why was your boyfriend beating him so badly?"
Seolhyo faltered and flustered.
"That's…"
By now, Choi Giryang had managed to stand up.
He glanced nervously at Seojin, clearly shaken.
"Y-you… why were you suddenly beating someone out of nowhere…?" he said weakly.
Seojin, who had just barely calmed down, let out a quiet sneer.
"Out of nowhere, huh?"
Without warning
He kicked Giryang again.
Giryang stumbled back, clutching his stomach as his back slammed against the nearby wall.
Seojin stared at him coldly.
"Then why were you running after her?"
Giryang clutched his stomach, breathing raggedly as he forced himself to look up.
"T-that's… I… I didn't even realize I was doing it…" he stammered weakly.
Seol Minsu had already pieced together what had happened.
Without a word, he walked toward Giryang and suddenly kicked him in the back.
"You didn't realize?" Minsu said coldly. "Then I guess I won't realize it either when I beat your ass."
He grabbed the back of Giryang's uniform and lifted him up effortlessly, as if he weighed nothing.
He turn his body around facing him.
Giryang's expression seemed straight out of a horror movie when he saw the look of fury on Seol Minsu's face.
Then his fist drove straight into Giryang's stomach.
The impact made a dull, sickening thud.
Giryang choked, spitting out what little remained in his stomach as his eyes rolled slightly.
Seolhyo gasped, covering her mouth as her brother continued mercilessly, slapping Giryang across the face.
Seojin only watched, arms at his sides, a faint hint of amusement flickering across his expression.
Meanwhile, Giryang covered his eyes desperately.
M-my eyes…!! I have to protect my eyes…!!
He cried bitterly in his mind.
Why is the one getting beaten up me…?!
This isn't how this was supposed to turn out…
Seolhyo finally snapped out of her shock.
If her brother kept going like this
Giryang might actually die.
"Oppa, stop it!!" she shouted.
Then she turned to Seojin.
"What are you doing just watching?! Stop him or he might really die!"
Seojin sighed quietly and reluctantly stepped forward toward the rampaging gorilla.
"Uh… hyung, I think that's enough.."
But the moment Minsu's furious eyes met his something in him snapped even further.
Without warning, he swung his fist straight toward Seojin's stomach.
Seojin barely managed to cross his arms in time to block.
The blow slammed into his guard, sending a violent shock up both of his arms.
For a moment it felt like his bones might crack.
Minsu didn't stop.
He turned his full attention toward Seojin now.
His punches came faster.
Sharper.
Each one fueled by raw, blind rage.
Seojin dodged and blocked as best he could, but the skin on his forearms was already throbbing, bruising under the relentless hits.
"Stop it, why are you hitting him too?!" Seolhyo shouted, her voice trembling.
In desperation, she tore her bag off her shoulder and swung it at her brother, smacking him across the back.
"What are you doing, hitting him too?! Stop it, you gorilla!!"
Minsu snarled.
"Move!"
He shoved her aside roughly.
Seolhyo stumbled backward, her knees scraping against the pavement as she fell.
"Ah!"
The moment Seojin saw her hit the ground
he immediately stopped paying attention to Minsu and rushed to her side.
He knelt beside her quickly.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice suddenly filled with concern.
Seol Minsu stood there, his fist still raised, ready to strike at any second.
But the rage in his eyes faltered slightly.
Right in the middle of the fight, Seojin had ignored him completely rushing past him without hesitation just to check on his sister.
As if nothing else mattered.
Minsu slowly loosened his fist.
A few steps away, Choi Giryang limply tried to sneak away, dragging his battered body down the street while those two "monsters" were busy with each other.
Minsu quietly watched him.
Just as Giryang tried to pass by him
Minsu's eyes narrowed.
His expression suddenly turned cold.
He recognized him from that day.
"You," Minsu said slowly. "Aren't you the bastard who used to date her?"
Giryang answered without even thinking, too dazed to realize he had just dug himself another grave.
"Yeah… I am…"
-
One year ago - Yongin.
Choi Giryang, before his surgery, was standing with Jang Jihoon and Jung Seung-hyun.
Seung-hyun looked around the area with obvious boredom.
"Yongin is such a countryside dump," he complained. "It's just far. I can't believe I came all this way just to see Choi Giryang's girlfriend."
Giryang shrugged.
"It's not like you had anything better to do."
Jihoon glanced at Giryang, noticing something.
"Why aren't you smoking?"
Giryang had both hands tucked casually into his pockets.
"She'd smell it if I smoked before seeing her."
Seunghyun snorted.
"Oh, cut the crap. Have you kissed your girlfriend yet?"
Giryang chuckled lightly.
"It's only been three days, right? Besides, this is her first time dating a guy."
Jihoon smirked as he inhaled from the cigarette between his fingers.
"Oh, her first…? HAHA. A lot of pretty girls are surprisingly shy, you know?"
Seung-hyun scoffed.
"She's way too good for you, man. Heard she's kinda famous Seol Hyorim, right? Ugh, I should've gotten her number when I had the chance."
A few meters away, Jang Woo-hyun, a first-year and one of Seol Minsu's juniors, perked up the moment he heard Hyorim's name.
He glanced toward them and quietly began eavesdropping.
Jihoon exchanged a knowing look with Seung-hyun.
"With a face like that? Honestly, that's brag-worthy for life."
Seung-hyun smirked.
"Nah, you can't brag if he hasn't even kissed her yet."
He turned to Giryang with a teasing grin.
"Fuck, at least feel her up or get her into bed or something. That's when it becomes worth bragging about, right?"
"HAHAHA!"
Giryang scratched the back of his head, laughing along with them.
"Hmm~"
Then he said jokingly, in a cocky tone.
"Right. That's when it becomes brag-worthy, huh?"
His grin widened.
"Then I'll just take her first! HAHAHA!"
"Damn, lucky bastard!!"
Giryang waved it off casually.
"Anyway, I'm having lunch with Hyorim later. I'll bring her over."
Seung-hyun nodded.
"Okay. Come to the PC bang after?"