"Hey Miran, thanks for joining us for lunch", I acknowledged to her as she pulled a chair and sat down by my desk, or more like an impromptu table we made by joining a few desks together.
"Oh, hi - Miran. Hey, Jenn, how did you even get Miran to come?", Jihee asked me with genuine surprise. After all, Miran was recognized and left alone as the bookworm. Everybody just saw her and accepted her that way. Nobody tried to chat her up and nobody tried to get close as she seemed so lost in her own world as she spent all her free time reading, and she seemed to be happy that way.
"I just asked nicely", I answered with a smile and no one was buying it, but people just left it at that.
"Uh-", Miran let out a grunt but didn't elaborate any further either.
"Anyways, it's cool you join us, Miran", Jiho tried bro-fist with her but all he got was Miran's look that said 'What are you even doing?'. Well, it is possible that Miran just never bro-fisted anyone before. Jiho laughed a little awkwardly and pulled his hand back.
"Hey, can I join you guys too?"
It was Ajin.
Although she helped me around the school and hence was probably the person that I'd talked to the most at school since I came back here, I realized we never really had lunch together.
"Sure! Grab a seat"
"Thanks"
Just as I saw Ajin sit down, I felt something really cold on the back of my beck.
"Kyaa!"
"Pffttt… you make such funny sounds, Jenn"
I looked back and it was Danbi, holding a can of soft drink.
"Gees, how did you even keep it that cold?"
"I asked the cafeteria lady to keep it in the freezer for me for like twenty minutes"
That sounded so like what Danbi would do. She just approaches and asks people for random things so nonchalantly, and she gets away with it because she never comes across as meaning things in a bad or imposing way. She was just a quirky and outgoing girl.
"Did you bring lunch?"
"I did, but I already ate it during the morning break, te-he"
Yup. That also sounded like what Danbi would do and feel no shame admitting it as such.
"Is this seat free?"
As we all turned to see who it was, we were all kinda surprised it was Chin from the Manga Club. He wasn't exactly a loner or an outcast as he had his share of otaku friends in our class, but he just wasn't someone you'd expect to hang out with, well, someone like me.
"Sure! Everyone, move a bit please, and let Chin squeeze in"
"Thanks", Chin was all smiles as he got his place in our group too.
"This is really a funny group of people isn't it?", Jihee pointed out laughing.
"Yeah, I don't think any of us has ever expected to sit and eat together like this", Jiho agreed.
"Uh-".
Well, that was Miran letting out just another grunt.
"All thanks to Jenn, I have to say", Ajin chimed in.
"Thanks, everyone. Let's all enjoy our meal"
I cheerfully suggested and everyone opened their lunch boxes and started to dig in. There was an air of awkwardness as we were a group of people who never really interacted with each other before, but I was happy to be part of this unlikely group of friends. This was the kind of school life that I wished I could enjoy before and now it was finally happening for me. I was glad I went out with Jihee and Jiho that weekend, walked around the school with Ajin, paid a visit to Chin's manga club, invited Danbi over to my house, and approached Miran to talk about the book she was reading. All these small things were so hard for me before but now everything was clicking naturally.
I just hoped that things would continue this way and that I could grow and expand this unlikely group of friends.
However, just as I was enjoying the nice get-together with my new unlikely group of friends, something unpleasant was starting to take place behind me.
"Yo, pig - have you gone deaf? You didn't hear what I said?"
Not again… this was Hechan and Donsu. I knew this would just never end and Donsu talking so big the last time he 'confessed' never amounted to anything. I gave him credit for at least saying it to me because that was braver than I had ever been, but there was an overwhelming difference in mental and physical strength between Hechan and Donsu, not to mention the fact that by now Donsu had been bullied for so long that being submissive to Hechan was like a mental condition he couldn't overcome.
:Slap:
"Hey, you just hit my fist with your face"
:Slap, Slap:
"Stop it you pig, stop hitting my hand with your face"
:Smack:
Then I heard a crashing sound as Donsu must have fallen to the ground after getting punched hard on god knows where.
:Stomp, Stomp:
"Hey, I said stop. Stop head-butting my foot, you pig"
:Stomp, Stomp, Smack:
Hechan was giving Donsu a proper beating and although I never turned back to look, I could clearly picture what was happening and it made me wince.
"Jenn, don't."
Ajin was quick to read my expression and stopped me, probably worried that I might try to step in again like last time.
I looked around to see the other guys that were sitting with me and they all just carried on with what they were doing. Chin was just munching on food, Jiho and Jihee were chatting with each other, and Miran was reading a book - hey, wait, that's not what you were supposed to be doing -, only Danbi looked somewhat uncomfortable with what was happening behind us but she was purposefully looking away by acting as if she was checking out something outside the window. I looked at Ajin again and when our eyes met she just shook her head a little, giving me another sign of 'no'.
:Sigh:
They were right, and I stood by what I said last time. I can't help a pig if he's not helping himself. I couldn't help myself before either, and nobody helped me. I felt sick to the stomach this was happening again but on the other hand, to be completely honest, I would be lying if I didn't feel at least a tiny bit of comfort from the fact that I did not have to go through such things anymore, probably never again in my whole life.
"Right, that's it! I had enough of you. You better apologize for hitting me so many times now"
Yeah right, Donsu has been hitting Hechan's fist and foot with his face for a while now.
"Only a naked dogeza will do"
That made something snap in my mind, as it brought back some memories I didn't wish to carry over to this life - but no, I'm not gonna get involved.
"Take off your clothes, right now"
Hechan was commanding Donsu but by the sound of it, Donsu didn't seem to be complying.
"Have you gone fucking deaf?! Take off your clothes now, you pig"
"Aaaahhhhh!"
Huh? I heard Donsu's primal scream, followed by a quick scream of "Noooo! Hechan!" from Soojin.
We all instinctively looked, and I was shocked to find that Donsu was holding a small knife in his hand pointing and pushing toward Hechan, and Hechan was grabbing Donsu's wrist hard and stopping him from moving. It looked like Donsu didn't make it, for better or worse.
"What. The. Fuck?!"
Still grabbing onto Donsu's knife-holding hand, Hechan swung and landed a massive hook on Donsu's face, which made him collapse to the ground immediately. He was probably out cold before he even hit the ground.
"You motherfucker! You dare to try to stab me?! You? Me? What in the fuck?!"
Hechan was in full rage and started kicking Donsu lying on the ground. Donsu's body wasn't even reacting to the kicks. As I suspected, the previous big punch from Hechan put Donsu to sleep and he passed out. That didn't stop Hechan from keep kicking him though.
"You fucker, what were you trying to do!"
Soojin joined in and started to kick Donsu as well.
This got nasty real quick. I couldn't believe either Donsu was concealing a knife and tried to stab Hechan. Was this his way of trying to fight back? Did he really think he could pull it off? And if he did pull it off, how was he gonna get away with stabbing someone in the class?
Yet, there was a mad guy and a girl that was continuously kicking a boy passed out on the floor and they were and will be getting away with it.
Everyone in the class was watching, but I don't think this time people 'didn't care' what was happening. Everyone must have been thinking this had gone too far, but no one dared to do anything about it.
"You fat pig! Why don't you just go and jump off a bridge like that creep? Or should I throw you down from here? You wanna end up like that fucking brain-dead cripple?!"
"Stop."
I don't know how or why, but my body and mind kind of moved on their own to get up and walk over to where it was all happening, and I told them to stop.
"What do you want, bitch?", Soojin stopped kicking Donsu and squared up to me.
"Hey, stay out of it", Hechan hissed, but he did also stop kicking Donsu.
"Just stop. I had enough"
"And why should we listen to you?", Soojin got closer to me, probably forgetting what I did to her friends last time.
I was ready to defend myself, or even initiate a quick attack of my own to stop this bitch, but I suddenly felt someone grab my shoulders from behind and pull me back.
"Guys, please stop now"
It was Ajin.
"You are gonna kill him at this rate"
"Didn't you see HE was trying to stab me?!", Hechan shot back at Ajin.
"That will be reported and dealt with. He shouldn't have brought a knife to school and shouldn't have tried to use it"
"But Ajin-"
"Shhh, Jenn, stay out of it", Ajin waved me off.
"Hechan, Soojin, calm down now. Donsu will be punished by the school for this… knife incident. But if you hurt him any more than this then it will be out of the school's hands and become a matter for the police. So please, calm down and stop now"
It was grossly unfair what Ajin was saying, but it did make sense to Hechan and Soojin finally and they backed off.
"Yo, bring this pig to the infirmary"
Hechan even ordered two of his henchmen to carry Donsu.
"Thank you"
Ajin even thanked them for it?
"Man, I need a smoke", Hechan said as if HE was the one who got stressed out here.
"I'll come with you"
With that, Hechan and Soojin left the classroom together.