After Austin's words, the class went silent. No one dared to speak or mock him. The tension was thick, and the students could feel that Austin wasn't joking. The intensity radiating from him felt too real. Sweat beaded on their faces as they sat frozen in place, but there were still a few who felt irritated.
"O-Okay, if you both could take your seats, please." The teacher stammered, too intimidated to press further. He had already made up his mind. Austin was a madman, and nobody wanted to deal with a madman.
'Oh man, this guy is insane.' Daniel thought, casting a cautious glance at Austin before quickly looking away. He had never expected the other transfer student to behave this way. Austin had to be crazy, or worse, a bully. Daniel knew all about bullies, his original body had endured plenty of torment back at his old school. In this new body, he could only hope things would be different.
Austin headed toward his seat at the back, followed by Daniel, who took his place beside another student.
"H-Hey." Daniel smiled, giving a friendly wave to the student nearby, hoping to make a good impression on his first day. The student had slick black hair and dark eyes, his name was Zack Lee.
"Hey." Zack responded, resting his head on his hand. 'Damn… he's handsome.' Zack thought irritably, casting an annoyed look at Daniel.
"Even his profile is handsome."
"Is he a model?"
The girls nearby whispered as they stared at Daniel, captivated by his appearance.
'Tch, how annoying.' Zack's irritation grew as he heard the girls fawning over the new guy.
"He's handsome and dangerous, don't you think?"
"Look at his muscles."
"His eyes are beautiful too."
But some of the other girls weren't looking at Daniel. Their attention was on Austin, who sat in the back, gazing out the window. They found his aura different from the typical handsome boys. He exuded a mature yet wild energy that made him uniquely attractive.
'Tch, again?' Zack and some of the other boys shared the same thought, their annoyance and jealousy mounting. First Daniel, and now Austin. These transfer students were monopolizing all the attention.
Zack's irritation hit a peak when he noticed his childhood friend, Mira, the girl he liked, looking back at Austin with a blush.
'That damn transfer student.' Zack thought, glaring at Austin. Now, he had a grudge. Not only had Austin said those words, about beating people up for bothering him, but he'd also captured Mira's attention. 'I'll definitely teach him a lesson.' Zack thought bitterly. Anyone could talk big, he wasn't scared of Austin one bit.
Later, during the lunch break, girls surrounded Daniel, bombarding him with questions about his life.
Austin, meanwhile, got up from his seat, catching the attention of some students as he headed toward the cafeteria. But three boys stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
"Hey, Austin, right?" said Doo Lee, the leader of the three, with a friendly smile. "Want to grab lunch together?" Doo had pegged Austin as someone more dangerous than most and figured that getting on his good side would be smart.
"Move, idiot." Austin's tone was blunt and indifferent, startling Doo and his friends.
"Hey, what's the big ide-" One of Doo's friends stepped up, voice heated. He was tired of Austin's tough-guy act and didn't want to lose face by backing down. But before he could finish, Austin reached out, gripping the back of the boy's head and slamming his face into the wall above the lockers. The impact left a spiderweb of cracks and a bloody smear.
"I don't repeat myself." Austin said, releasing his grip as the boy's body slid down the wall and crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
The students around them gaped, horrified at what they'd just witnessed. Austin had acted with such ruthlessness.
Doo and the remaining friend, trembling, quickly stepped aside, allowing Austin to pass. But another voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Oi, bastard." Zack's voice rang out as he stood from his seat, the legs scraping against the floor. "Who the hell do you think you are, acting like that around here?" Zack approached Austin, stopping just a few feet away, anger flashing in his eyes. He was already annoyed with Daniel and furious with Austin for catching Mira's attention. This was his chance to take down Austin and show Mira that he wasn't all that impressive.
"It's Zack Lee. The boxer," someone whispered, and the students murmured in anticipation of a fight between Zack and the transfer student.
"What, not going to say anything?" Zack taunted, irritated by Austin's silence.
"What?" Austin replied, his expression unreadable.
"Huh? What do you mean wh-" Zack was beginning to lose patience when Austin cut him off.
"What?" Austin's voice grew louder.
"You little-" Zack fumed but was cut off once more.
"What?" Austin interrupted again, his voice booming this time.
'This bastard…' Zack shook with anger, his fists clenched as he prepared to throw a punch. He was ready to shut Austin up.
"What's wrong? Are you mad? What?" Austin stepped closer.
"Think you're something special? What?" Austin was now right in front of Zack, his face inches away, the smug look on his face making Zack's veins bulge with fury.
"What? What? What?" Austin taunted, repeating the word in Zack's face.
'This guy is insane,' Daniel thought, watching the tense confrontation with nervous curiosity. He had never seen anyone act like Austin before, only a madman would behave like that. He couldn't help but root for Austin, though, curious to see what would happen.
'Come on, Zack, teach this guy a lesson.' Doo and his friends thought, watching intently. They wanted revenge for their friend but knew they didn't stand a chance against Austin, so they pinned their hopes on Zack, a trained boxer.
'Wait… Mira?' Zack's rage flickered as he noticed Mira watching, but her attention was still on Austin, her eyes dreamy. 'This bastard…' Zack couldn't hold back any longer. With a furious shout, he threw a right hook, fast and precise, confident that Austin wouldn't be able to dodge at such close range. But to his shock, Austin vanished from his field of view.
'Wha-' Zack's eyes widened just before he felt himself being lifted off the ground. In a swift motion, Austin wrapped an arm around Zack's shoulder and neck, lifting up of the ground. With a hard twist, Austin drove Zack into the floor, landing him on his back and shoulders. A brutal impact echoed through the room as the floor cracked beneath Zack.
'Damn…' Zack gasped, his vision blurring as he lay there in agony. 'What kind of move was that?' He had never seen anything like it. The transfer student's strange technique had completely neutralized him in a single move. 'Damn it…' Zack thought, slipping into unconsciousness.
"Holy crap."
"The transfer student just took Zack down."
Students murmured in disbelief at how easily Austin had defeated Zack Lee.
Daniel swallowed nervously, wondering if Zack was even still conscious after that. The impact had been loud enough to make him question if Zack was alright.
'W-What the hell…?' Doo and his friend clung to each other, shaking. Seeing Zack, who had once beaten them up, lying defeated made them even more terrified of Austin. They stayed still, afraid they might be next.
Austin walked off as if nothing had happened, his expression annoyed. The other students continued to murmur, stunned by what they'd witnessed.
As the day ended and school let out, Daniel Park could later be seen in his original body, working a night shift at a convenience store. The job was thanks to his second body, which had helped him get hired. 'Looks really do matter.' Daniel thought with a sigh. Only his second body had been able to convince the manager to hire his original body as a friend.
Reflecting on his first day at school, Daniel felt lucky. It had been surprisingly peaceful, and he was glad no one had caused him any trouble.
Suddenly, the store's door swung open.
"W-Welcome." Daniel stammered, still not used to customer interactions. But his heart sank when he saw who had walked in. It was the other transfer student, Austin Lee. With slicked-back black hair, piercing aqua eyes, and a black T-shirt with bold white letters reading 'Fuck Fear' he looked both intimidating and casual. His muscular arms were bare, accentuating the definition in his forearms, biceps, and triceps. He wore black pants and athletic shoes as he approached the shelves.
Austin gathered a few items and made his way to the counter, dropping four packages of beer on it.
'What the…?' Daniel blinked in shock at the mountain of beer cans. Each pack held twenty cans. 'Is he going to a party or something?' Daniel wondered. Surely no one could drink that much alone.
'I should ask for his ID…' Daniel thought. Even though he was sure Austin was underage, he still needed to follow store protocol. But, given Austin's intimidating aura, Daniel was more than a little hesitant. Maybe he'd made a mistake. Austin did look mature enough to be a senior.
"C-Can I s-see your ID, p-please?" Daniel stammered, his words barely audible. He was nervous talking to people in general, and now he was dealing with someone like Austin.
"What?" Austin's aqua eyes fixed on Daniel, and the single word made his heart race. He immediately recalled the scene from earlier in class, how Austin had taken down Zack after repeating that exact word over and over. Daniel gulped, terrified that if he asked again, he'd end up slammed into a wall.
"Uh… That'll be 4,000 won." Daniel mumbled, deciding not to push his luck. He might get in trouble for not carding Austin, but that seemed a small price to pay compared to a potential hospital visit.
Austin paid without another word, took the four packs of beer, and walked out, leaving Daniel breathing a heavy sigh of relief.
"Phew…" Daniel slumped against the counter, still rattled. It had been a stressful day, but at least he'd survived it without provoking Austin.
As he locked up that night, Daniel couldn't shake the feeling that life with Austin around was going to be far from ordinary. For better or worse, he knew things would never be the same.