[The Following Morning - School Corridors]
It was not an ordinary morning at Hanguk High School. Usually, the arrival of Kang Se-Joon through the main iron gates was an event that commanded a specific, ritualistic response. The "Red Sea" of students would part instinctively, creating a wide berth. A heavy silence, born of genuine fear, would descend upon the courtyard. Heads would bow, eyes would fixate on shoe laces to avoid accidental eye contact, and the only sounds would be the heavy, confident thud of his boots and the raucous laughter of his entourage echoing off the brick walls. He was the apex predator, and we were the herd.
But today... the "Law of the Jungle" had shifted. The hierarchy had cracked.
When Kang crossed the threshold of the gate, the atmosphere was wrong. A large, stark white bandage covered the entire bridge of his nose and spread across his cheeks, a glaring testament to his defeat. His usually pristine uniform was slightly rumpled, and he walked with a stiff, forced posture, as if his back was made of glass that might shatter. There was no silence. Instead, there was... noise. A low, buzzing hum that sounded like a nest of disturbed vipers. There were side-glances—not fearful ones, but brazen, curious stares. There were whispers that weren't quite quiet enough, and stifled giggles hidden behind hands and textbooks.
"Did you see?" a first-year student whispered to his friend, his voice carrying clearly across the cool morning air. "They say he ate a volleyball with his face last night!" "I heard he fell on his knees and cried like a baby!" the other replied, followed by a malicious snicker. "The King of the School turned into a clown overnight." "Look at that bandage! He looks like a mummy! Is his nose completely gone?"
Kang walked straight ahead, his eyes fixed on a point in the distance, his jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscles ripple. He was trying to hold onto the tatters of his shredded dignity, trying to project an aura of menace that no longer existed. But every whisper hit him like a physical blow. Every muffled laugh was a dagger twisting in his pride. His eyes were bloodshot, rimmed with dark circles that spoke of a sleepless night filled with pain and humiliation. Suddenly, a loud, sharp laugh erupted from a group of girls near the lockers. Kang stopped. His composure snapped. "SHUT UP!" He screamed, his voice hoarse and cracking. He slammed his uninjured hand against the nearest metal locker. "BANG!"
The sound reverberated through the hallway. The students fell silent instantly. But... the silence was different. Their eyes weren't wide with terror as they used to be. They were narrowed with something far worse: Schadenfreude. The looks clearly said: You aren't scary anymore. We saw your blood. We saw you fall. The glass throne he had sat on for so long had shattered. And in the wild, a beast that loses its dominance turns very quickly from predator to prey.
[The New Champion]
A few minutes later, I walked through the same gates. Beside me walked Jin, but he wasn't walking like a friend today. He was strutting like the manager of a world champion heavyweight boxer who had just secured the belt. His chest was puffed out, his chin held high, and he was waving to students left and right with a broad, beaming grin. "No autographs right now, guys, please... the Champ is exhausted!" Jin joked loudly to a group of students who were staring at us.
As soon as I stepped into the classroom, the energy shifted. Every neck turned. Every conversation stopped. I felt the weight of thirty pairs of eyes on me. Admiration. Fear. Intense curiosity. "That's him? Ray? The quiet kid?""How did he break Kang's nose with a volleyball? Does he have hidden muscles under that loose shirt?""I heard he knows martial arts... secret assassin training or something."
I kept my face neutral, ignoring the murmurs, and walked quietly to my seat by the window. I pulled out my textbook and draped my headphones around my neck, creating a barrier against the world. But I couldn't ignore that stare.
In the back corner of the room, Kang sat alone. His usual entourage had abandoned him, sitting at other desks, distancing themselves from the sinking ship. He was staring at me. It wasn't a normal glare of anger. It was a look of pure, distilled hatred. A cold, obsessive loathing. His hand unconsciously hovered over his broken nose, his fingers twitching as if reliving the pain. His mind was clearly replaying the tape of yesterday over and over: How did I move that fast? How did I read his spike? How did I hit him with enough force to drop him to his knees?
Our eyes met across the classroom for a single second. Deep in his pupils, behind the rage, I saw something no one else saw. Fear. He remembered the "Monster" he had glimpsed for a split second in the gym. He remembered that fleeting "Red Flash" in my eyes that he probably tried to convince himself was a hallucination. I watched his lips move, forming silent words directed only at me: "Just... luck... I will kill you."
[Lunch Break - The Cafeteria]
The cafeteria was loud, chaotic, and smelled of curry rice and fried pork. We sat at our usual table near the window, bathed in sunlight. Me, Jin, Lena, and Sarah had joined us today. Jin was in his element, retelling the story of yesterday's battle for the tenth time, and with every retelling, the details became more fantastical.
"And then..." Jin stood up, waving his spoon like a sword, "I looked Kang right in the eyes and said: 'Don't you dare touch my friend!' And then I pushed his giant goon back with just my left hand! He flew through the air and crashed into the wall!"
"Jin..." Lena interrupted, laughing so hard she had to cover her mouth. "I was there. You didn't push him with your left hand. You clung to his neck like a baby monkey and you both fell over and rolled on the floor!"
"Details... mere details!" Jin waved his hand dismissively, sitting back down. "The result is what matters! We defeated evil! We are the Avengers, the high school edition!"
Sarah laughed, stealing a piece of chicken from Jin's plate while he was distracted. "At least the Avengers don't scream like little girls when they see a rabbit in the woods." Jin's face turned beet red. "How many times do I have to apologize for the rabbit incident?! It surprised me! It had huge teeth!"
I watched them, a small, genuine smile playing on my lips as I ate my rice in silence. This warmth... these clear, happy laughs... Lena wiping tears of laughter from her eyes... Jin passionately defending his lost dignity... It was a beautiful scene. A fragile, perfect moment of normalcy in a life that was becoming increasingly strange. It was a scene I wanted to protect at any cost.
"Ray?" Lena looked at me, noticing my drifting gaze. She placed her hand gently over mine on the table. Her skin was warm. "Are you okay? You're very quiet today. Does anything hurt?" I looked into her worried, gentle eyes. "No... I'm fine," I lied smoothly. "Just... enjoying Jin's theatrical performance." Lena smiled warmly, squeezing my hand. "You're our real hero, Ray. Thank you for defending us."
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the cafeteria shifted slightly. An invisible chill crept into the warm air. I looked up. On the other side of the hall, near the exit, Kang was leaving. He hadn't eaten anything. His tray was untouched. In his hand, a juice box was completely crushed, the red liquid dripping from his fist onto the floor like blood. He was walking slowly, his eyes fixed on the ground, surrounded by a dark aura of suppressed rage. Two of his loyal followers (or perhaps just the ones too scared to leave him) trailed behind him like shadows.
Kang stopped at the double doors. He turned slowly... and looked directly at our table. He didn't raise a fist. He didn't shout insults. He just smiled. A small, twisted, sick smile that lifted the corner of his swollen lip. It was the smile of a man who had nothing left to lose. He pulled out his phone, typed something furiously, and then spoke a single, short sentence to his goons. I read his slow lip movement with terrifying clarity:
"Tonight... at the Isolated Turn. Bring the 'Tools'."
The blood froze in my veins. The Isolated Turn... the dark, narrow shortcut Jin and I took to get home. The one with the broken streetlights. The one with no security cameras. And the word "Tools"... He didn't mean his fists. He didn't mean a volleyball. He meant something that breaks bones. Something that cuts flesh. Steel pipes. Knives.
"Ray?" Jin waved his hand in front of my face, frowning. "Earth to Ray? Where did you go? Did you see a ghost?"
I snapped my head back to them, plastering a fake, strained smile on my face. "No... nothing." I glanced at the clock on the wall. School ended in two hours. "Are you guys okay?" I asked suddenly, my voice too serious. "Of course we're okay!" Jin laughed, confused. "Why the worry? We won! It's over!"
I smiled at him, but under the table, my hand clenched into a fist so tight my knuckles turned white. Winning a battle... doesn't mean winning the war. Kang hadn't retreated. He was regrouping. He had just decided to escalate this from a "school game" to an execution.
A burning throb pulsed in my left eye. And the System's voice in my head, which had been silent all morning, whispered a single sentence that made the hair on my arms stand up:
(Warning: Confirmed Killing Intent detected in the vicinity. Prepare for the Hunt.)