Isaac was the first to respond to her taunt. He rushed up from her right side, but Joan's vision was limited from her swollen right eye.
She parried his punch and landed one of her own in his gut.
Isaac grunted as he stumbled back, but charged at her with the same vigor he had before.
"Persistent, aren't you?" Joan's patience was wearing thin, and more people were beginning to approach her. She needed to end this little spat with Isaac.
The two faced off with each other. Each had their arms raised defensively. Joan doubted she'd be able to break through his defense to get a Muay Thai clinch on him.
Instead, she stepped forward, utilizing the momentum from her hip and shoulder to throw a sok ngad [1] through his defense. Her elbow swung upward like a sword, slicing through his defense, and connecting with his chin.
Isaac's head snapped backward, and he cursed in pain. By the time he'd refocused, Joan had struck his chin again using another sok ngad.
His teeth rattled, and the vibrations from her elbow traveled throughout his skull, numbing his brain.
Before he could react, Joan had elbowed him again. And again. And again.
Isaac fell backward in a daze, his head slamming against the concrete floor.
But before she could gloat in her victory, more boys rushed at her. This time, Mad Dog, Jackal, and Black Dog were in the group.
Five boys ganged up on her, throwing messy punches and unprofessional kicks. Clearly, they had never been trained.
Joan dodged their strikes, but her body was beginning to wear. Her sides burned with every step she took, and she felt her movements begin to slow.
She had to finish this before she completely ran out of energy.
Before her, Jackal rushed toward her.
She faced him with her arms raised defensively. But before she could intercept his punch, she felt her feet sweep up from beneath her. While she wasn't looking, King had taken the opportunity to drag her down with him.
Joan's body plummeted backward, and her head slammed against the pavement. Black spots danced in her vision, and she had to resist the urge to regurgitate her lunch.
Isaac stared down above her. He raised his leg and slammed his foot down on her stomach.
Joan's body convulsed, and the wind was knocked out of her.
"Take that as a warning and stop messing with the Jack of M High School," Isaac said before turning away.
Joan was clueless as to what he was talking about. Jack? Was that a boy? She had no memories of messing with anybody.
By now, Joan's left eye was nearly swollen shut. Her vision became obstructed by her swelling, and the bruises on her body were tender to the touch.
Twenty four pairs of footsteps retreated from her fallen body, and Navier's tearful face appeared above her.
"Rem, are you alright?"
Joan didn't answer. She was more focused on the holographic screen that displayed 'Mini-Mission 4: Failed.'
"That was pathetic," PK said as its floating form stared down at her. "It seems that even the strongest can't beat a few high school kids."
Her lips curled into a scowl, and her hand curled into a fist. Her nails carved half-moons into her palms, nearly drawing blood.
She raised her fist and slammed it against the concrete ground. A shock of pain traveled up her arm.
She'd been careless and underestimated her opponents. There was no reason she should've lost. If Li Bo or the Superhuman Division ever found out about her humiliating defeat, she may as well crawl in a hole and die.
It'd be better than listening to Li Bo's egotistical gloating. She could almost hear his mocking laugh echo in her head.
Viktor awkwardly stood by her side. A piece of him was satisfied Rem couldn't do everything, but with it, followed his guilty conscience.
"You should've accepted our help," he scowled down at her. "You're too prideful." But what could he say? He was just as prideful as she was.
Joan raised her head to spit out a clot of blood. "I'm going to bash his brains in," she angrily vowed to herself.
***
As Isaac scrubbed the blood out of his uniform, the doorbell to their apartment rang.
"Coming," he called as he wiped his dirt-covered hands on his trousers.
He opened the door without bothering to check who it was through the peephole. It was most likely the landlady coming to scold him for the fifth time this week.
Isaac pulled open the door. When he saw the man standing outside, he immediately slammed the door shut.
His heart pounded. What was he hallucinating?
"Isaac!" the man outside pounded on the door. "Open the door! It's your dad!"
Isaac shut his eyes, unable to tell what was real and what was just his imagination. Shakily, he reached his hand to pull back the door.
Indeed, his father, in all his glory, stood outside the apartment. The man's familiar stubble and warm, kind eyes resurface painful memories from Isaac's past.
"Dad," he said, attempting to hide the waver in his voice. "What are you doing here?"
The man endearingly looked at his son. "Son, I know I made a mistake." He lowered his head to stare at his quivering hands. "I know you won't forgive me. I can't forgive myself. But I hope you'll give me a second chance."
Isaac's lower lip trembled as the words he always wanted to hear came from his father's mouth. Tears cascaded down his cheeks. He launched himself forward, burying his disfigured face in his father's musty work jacket.
"We've been waiting for you," Isaac said through his tears.
His father rubbed gentle circles over his back and allowed Isaac's tears to soak through his shirt.
Not long after, Isaac's mother arrived at the door, puzzled by what all the commotion was about.
When her eyes landed on her husband, the beer bottle in her hands slipped and crashed to the floor.
Her shaky hands reached to cover her gaping mouth. Like Isaac, she was unable to tell if the man before her was a hallucination or not. She extended her hand to touch his cheek.
He was real.
"Ethel," she whispered.
Ethel gently smiled back at her. "Rui, I'm home… For good." He placed his hand over Rui's hand that rested on his cheek.
Following his father's reappearance, life seemed to change for the better. They had more money in the bank, and the apartment that once reeked of beer now smelled like spring rolls and Ma Po tofu.
It seemed that his good mood bled over into his streams. His fans noticed his brighter and more genuine smile.
And for once, life was good.
Warm hugs greeted him home from school, and the guilt that Isaac harbored from terrorizing easy targets had vanished into thin air.
It seemed that things had finally gone back to what they had once been.
***
A pained shriek echoed throughout Navier and Joan's hostel room.
"Are you trying to kill me?" Joan gasped.
Annoyed, Viktor's grip on her head became firmer. "I told you it was going to sting. Just stay still for once."
Before the alcohol-soaked Q-Tip in Viktor's hands touched her eye, Joan snatched it from his hands.
"I'll do it myself." She took Viktor's phone and stared at her reflection on the screen. At a snail's pace, she traced her cuts with the Q-Tip and winced at the burn.
"How pitiful," PK said. "I wouldn't think beating 24 little boys would've been hard for you."
Joan glared at it. "Do it yourself next time."
Viktor looked offended. "What did you think I was trying to do?"
"Not you."
"Huh, then who?"
Joan ignored him and continued cleaning the lacerations that marred her face. When she finished, she leaned back against Navier's bed frame.
"Sorry, Rem," Navier whimpered. "I dragged you into this mess."
Damn right, he did. If it weren't for Navier, she wouldn't have been sent back in time in the first place.
Pablo guiltily nodded at Navier's words. If they were stronger, maybe Rem would have accepted their help.
In front of her, Pablo couldn't help but feel slightly ashamed of his mediocre skills. He was neither smart nor athletic, and he was only one of the Grimm Bros because his last name was Grimm.
"We should've helped," Turner abashedly said. He rubbed his hands together guiltily. After all, they were partly responsible for this happening.
"I don't need your help," Joan insisted with a straight face, and her brows furrowed.
Her stubborn appearance warmed her friends' hearts, and her persistence only made the Grimm Bros and Navier feel even guiltiest.
[1] Sok gad - Muay Thai move. Uppercut elbow