When morning came, Hyuk left for school as early as possible.
As much as he hated that place, it was the only place where he could go without seeing Yeo Ri. It was like a safe haven for him.
"'Sup, friend!" Ji Yeong Gi came up behind him, slapping his back.
"F*c—" Hyuk glowered at him, feeling his back aching ten times more painfully than it already did. Was this guy trying to kill him? Did he have a grudge on him or something? Hyuk couldn't understand why he was acting this way towards him.
"You actually came to school?" Ji Yeong Gi laughed after seeing Hyuk's expression. He didn't think that the guy would be so hardworking. "How exemplary~"
"Are you making fun of me?" Hyuk growled, his voice dripping with warning. He sent a glare to the other guy before hobbling away.
Once he reached his classroom, he unceremoniously plopped his head on his desk and closed his eyes to catch up on the sleep he'd lost the night before. Getting into a fight was one thing, but staying in the same room with Yeo Ri made him restless. She was making him think strange things that no brother should be thinking about their sister.
"Hey, wanna hang out with me and my gang later?" Yeong Gi asked as he took a seat on the desk next to Hyuk. They were not in the same class but Ji Yeong Gi insisted on bothering him.
"..." Hyuk, as usual, ignored him. However, Yeong Gi was not flustered. He kept chattering to Hyuk even though he knew the guy would not respond to him.
It was only when the teacher arrived that Ji Yeong Gi finally left, saying, "Let's hang out together later, yeah?"
Hyuk spent the rest of the day sleeping in class. When lunch break came, he left his seat and headed to his usual spot at the rooftop.
It seemed awfully cliché, but students were not allowed to go to the rooftop so it was empty most of the time. It was a secret, but the door to the roof was actually busted. None of the school staff noticed it so it remained unfixed for some time, which was how Hyuk managed to get to the rooftop.
He sat down by the door and leaned his back on the wall. He was hungry, but he didn't have any money. It was a pity that he had skipped both dinner and breakfast.
Hyuk thought that he wouldn't get disturbed at such a secluded place, but Murphy's Law proved him wrong.
Within ten minutes of him resting, the door burst open, revealing a bunch of delinquents.
"Lee Hyuk, you're dead meat!" One of them announced, grabbing Hyuk's collar and throwing him to the center.
Hyuk hissed in pain, then glared at the group. He didn't recognise them, but judging from the wounds several of them were sporting, there was a high chance that he had beaten them up some time in the past.
"F*ck off!" Hyuk said, spitting out some blood from his mouth. His teeth had grazed his cheek, making the inside of his mouth throb with pain. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you sh*theads."
"Lee Hyuk, what kind of thing are you? Hey, *sshole, recognise this guy? You actually dared to beat up my little bro? You've got a f*ckin' death wish, huh?!" The person who had thrown Hyuk said, cracking his knuckles. He had came to look for Hyuk after his little brother complained about getting his *ss handed to him by Hyuk. He was one of the worst delinquents in school and since he was a third year student, not many people could be his match. It was simple to say that he practically ruled the school.
"Who the f*ck are you?" Hyuk frowned. He narrowed his eyes at the 'little bro' before smirking. "Ah, it's you. The loser who can't even land a single hit on his own. So you've brought your bro with you this time? So f*ckin' cheap."
"You—!" The 'little bro' glared furiously at Hyuk. This guy was surrounded by his gang, yet he still flapped his sh*tty mouth around like he was above him. He was definitely going to pay for his humiliation from the other day!
"Hyung, just destroy him! This f*cking piece of sh*t!" The 'little bro' screamed, kicking Hyuk who was trying to sit up.
"Tsk, so impatient," the senior snorted at his little brother. This dumb little sh*t ran away with his tail between his legs. But now that he had his back, the little sh*t actually acted like an arrogant tyrant. What is he, this paper tiger? He was annoyed that he had to clean up the idiot's mess, but it wasn't like he could say no since Hyuk had damaged his reputation after beating up his little brother.
"Get up, sh*thead," the senior said, dragging Hyuk by the collar. Then, he punched him.
Hyuk was already hurt from his fight the day before, so it was difficult for him to go against the group by himself. He gritted his teeth and mustered the last of his strength to fight them off.
"Yo, having fun without me?" A voice called out from the door. It was Ji Yeong Gi.
He stood by the door with his arms crossed, smiling like a Cheshire cat. He looked as if he was entertained by the situation even though the guy he wanted to befriend was currently being ganged up by several people.
"Who—?!"
The sudden arrival of Ji Yeong Gi had surprised the delinquents, but seeing as it was only a scrawny freshman, they relaxed.
"Are you his friend? Get lost if you don't want to join this little sh*t," the senior threatened.
"Aw, senior, you're making me feel scared. I don't like being scared, you know?" Ji Yeong Gi shook his head and raised his arms as if he was surrendering.
The group of senior delinquents smiled as if they understood that Ji Yeong Gi was going to abandon Hyuk. After all, who would want to be a hero if they'll end up in the hospital?
However, Ji Yeong Gi ignored their reaction and continued to speak, "Because when I feel scared... I'll bite."
With the same unfazed smile on his face, Ji Yeong Gi suddenly stepped forward, approaching the first guy in front of him and surprisingly... punched him!
The guy was taken aback by his sudden movement and did not have the time to dodge. As soon as the hit landed, he was sent flying to the side.
Ji Yeong Gi whistled as he shook his reddened hand which he had just used to hit the guy. "Wow! You're tough as f*ck, man."
"Wha—?!"
The seniors were surprised.
"Get him!" The leader shouted. The group of people swarmed Yeong Gi but he easily bypassed them and dodged their attacks.
Since they were no longer paying attention to Hyuk, he had the chance to stand up. He grimaced at the pain shooting through his whole body, especially his cheek. Taking advantage of their ignorance, Hyuk launched his own counterattack from behind.
"F*cking get lost!" He growled, returning a kick to the chump that had brought upon this whole debacle.
Hyuk managed to take down several guys on his own, and with the pressure from Ji Yeong Gi's surprisingly strong fighting skills, the rest were easily scared away.
Once all the threat had been neutralised, the two collapsed side by side, panting heavily.
Ji Yeong Gi bursted into laughter.
It was so sudden that Hyuk flinched from the noise. His brows furrowed, thinking, 'There must be something wrong with this guy's brain.'
He wondered if all the punching and hitting had somehow made a dent on the guy's head.
"That was fun," Yeong Gi said, chuckling. It wasn't the first time he'd gotten into a scuffle but it was definitely his first time meddling with someone else's fight. So having friends was this fun, he thought. He liked the feeling of wreaking havoc with someone else supporting his back.
"I didn't ask for your help," Hyuk said harshly.
"Pfft." Yeong Gi responded with another laugh, "I know. I must be crazy."
"...F*ckin' lunatic..." Hyuk muttered, sending a sidelong glance at Yeong Gi. After a long silence, Hyuk swallowed his saliva and mumbled, "thanks," in a small, reluctant voice.
Yeong Gi raised an eyebrow. "What? Say it again?"
"F*ck you," Hyuk said instead. He knew the guy was probably just teasing him. Although he didn't know him very well, Hyuk knew just from their short interactions that Ji Yeong Gi was a crazy guy that liked to play around as if he was a cat with nine lives. In any case, he'd already lowered his ego and said his thanks.
"You owe me a favour now," Yeong Gi said as he got up. "After school, Rockstar Pub. Come and hang out with me." After saying his piece, he did not wait for Hyuk's answer and simply left, flashing a fearless grin to his new 'friend'.
"..." Hyuk didn't reply and watched him leave.
He wasn't sure if he should go or not. But then again, he did owe him a favour. If not for Yeong Gi, he might have been sent to the hospital.
Little did he know, that this was the beginning of a very troublesome friendship.