Hyuk tapped his foot impatiently.
He glanced at the time on his phone, his mood worsening with every passing minute.
He had been standing near the school gates of Yeo Ri's school for some time now, waiting for the kids to be released. However, it seemed like they would be released later than he expected, as not even one kid came out yet.
Finally, after waiting for another fifteen minutes, the bell rang for the nth time, and the students poured out of the school as if they couldn't wait to get out.
He grabbed the first kid that came out, dragging him away by the collar. "Hey, do you know Lee Yeo Ri?"
He was about to lash out at the man for dragging him so rudely but upon seeing that Hannya-like face, he thought twice. "L-Lee Yeo Ri? Of course! Who doesn't know who she is!" The boy stammered.
"Something happened to her yesterday. Tell me about it, or else!"
"Y-yesterday? Yesterday..." the boy averted his eyes, looking around as if trying to recall his memory. "Ah, the cafeteria incident? Some girl tripped Lee Cheonsa and she got hurt."
"What girl?!"
"S-some girl! I don't know her name but a-apparently she was in the same class as Lee Cheonsa!"
"Give me her name!"
"I-I don't know! P-Park something!"
"Hey, you there! What are you doing with our student?!" The security guard noticed Hyuk's behaviour and came to chase him off.
Hyuk immediately lets go of the boy, but he did not learn his lesson. After a few minutes of hiding, he came back out, searching for another kid to threaten.
It was only after the third person did he find out that Yeo Ri's bully was named Park Jin Ae. The last person even generously pointed out which one was the girl, though he looked as if he was about to piss his pants.
Almost immediately, he locked on to his target, and without any consideration for the fairer sex, he dragged her away and threw her roughly into a secluded alleyway. Her friends hurriedly followed the two but after seeing Hyuk's fierce glare, they didn't dare to approach them.
Park Jin Ae slammed into the wall. Her instincts made her glare at the offender, but seeing Hyuk's frightening face, she cowered. She kept up her glare, but the fear was evident in her eyes. "W-what do you want from me!?"
"You're Park Jin Ae?" Hyuk tilted his head, grinning coldly.
"S-so what if I am?!"
His smile grew. Without a word, he choked her and slammed her against the wall again. "Stay away from Lee Yeo Ri." He released his hold, letting her crumple on the dirt.
Park Jin Ae wheezed and coughed, her body trembling. Once she had calmed down somewhat, she smirked derisively at Hyuk. "What the f*ck? So you're also one of Lee Yeo Ri's mindless fanboys?"
Hyuk narrowed his eyes but did not reply.
Park Jin Ae laughed sardonically, "Ha! What's with that b*tch, Lee Yeo Ri?! Why is everybody on her side?! She's even got a gangster to do her bidding! See, I knew she wasn't as innocent as—"
"Shut up," Hyuk unhesitatingly kicked the girl.
"Uhk—" Park Jin Ae groaned. Pain travelled across her body, making her dizzy.
Hyuk was about to land another kick to the girl, but was stopped by someone else. "That's enough, Hyung," Gun's icy voice rang loudly in the empty alley.
He had came to Yeo Ri's school as soon as he could; he had a half-day and took advantage of it. But when he arrived, the kids were whispering something about a Park Jin Ae getting dragged away by some gangster. From these points alone, he could easily deduce what happened. With the help of Park Jin Ae's friends, he quickly found out where Hyuk had taken the girl and hurried over before he could do something drastic.
"F*ck off, you little sh*t."
Park Jin Ae visibly relaxed at the arrival of the other person. She thought that a good samaritan had come to save her from the gangster. "Help! I'm being assaulted!" She immediately tried to crawl towards the voice.
"Stay where you are, b*tch!" Hyuk kicked her again.
Gun eyed his brother with annoyance, but did not move to stop him. He sent a glance towards the girl. "You must be Park Jin Ae." Then, he looked at Hyuk again, "I'm surprised you found her earlier than me."
"Y-yes! That's right! How did you know my name?!" Park Jin Ae felt a spark of hope. She ignored the pain to look up at her saviour. Then, she froze. Why did it feel like his words were not right?
"Even though I told you to let me handle it," Gun sighed exasperatedly. "Now I have to clean up this mess." He glared at the man.
Gun ignored Hyuk and bent down to meet Park Jin Ae's eyes. "Listen. Even if you report to the authorities, the odds wouldn't be good for you. As long as you do as I tell you, I guarantee you won't be harmed by this person. Understood?" Though Gun's words were gentle and nice, his face was cold. He looked at her as if she was a bug. Clearly, he was not helping her, but threatening her instead.
Park Jin Ae nodded hastily. She was too scared to think straight.
"Good." Receiving her agreement, Gun smiled. He was originally a good-looking person, so even in this kind of situation, his smile was charming enough to make Park Jin Ae forget where she was and allowed herself to fall for it.
Hyuk snorted at Gun's method. 'As if talking could fix anything,' he thought.
"First, apologise to Lee Yeo Ri."
"Lee Yeo Ri? Why should I apologise to her?" Park Jin Ae snapped out of her daze and growled.
"I told you to listen to me." Gun narrowed his eyes.
"But why do I need to apologise to that b*tch?!"
Before Gun could say anything else, Hyuk had already gone to slap the girl's foul mouth. She fell to the ground from the strength behind the blow. "Call her a b*tch one more time, and we'll see what happens, c*nt."
"That's why I told you to listen." Gun shook his head, sighing. Not an ounce of pity could be seen in his eyes.