At a school in Seoul, there was a student named Hyunsoo. He was very weak, naive, useless, and even worse, helplessly bullied. His life was like a withered leaf, fragile and easily brushed aside. In the classroom, the bell rang.
*Criiinnggg!* The school bell rang.
Hyunsoo (happy to hear the bell):
"Yay, the bell! I hope there aren't any bullies or gangsters around."
Hyunsoo walked out to the cafeteria. In front of him stood the bully, Choi Daehoon, and his lackeys, Kim Minho and Kang Jiwoon.
Choi Daehoon (glaring at Hyunsoo):
"Hahahaha, look who it is! You, Hyunsoo. Where's your money, huh? Do you want to get beaten up or thrown into the school pond?"
Kim Minho (grabbing Hyunsoo's shirt collar):
"Hey, nerd! Why aren't you answering, a**hole?"
Hyunsoo panicked. This was the only money his grandmother had given him. A little backstory: Hyunsoo lived with his grandmother. His parents divorced when he was a baby. His grandmother found him crying in his room.
Hyunsoo's Grandmother (shocked to see Hyunsoo crying):
"Hyunsoo? Why are you suffering so much, child? Your parents have left you all alone."
Hyunsoo's grandmother picked him up and took him to her house. Back to the present, with Hyunsoo now a teenager.
Hyunsoo (answering in a panic):
"I'm sorry, Kim Minho! This is the only money I have."
Kim Minho (calling Kang Jiwoon):
"Hey, Jiwoon! Check his pockets, maybe there's more. If there isn't, Hyunsoo, get ready!"
Kang Jiwoon (checking Hyunsoo's pockets):
"Hahahaha, there's 5000 won! Why didn't you say so earlier, Hyunsoo?"
Choi Daehoon and his lackeys watched Hyunsoo cry. He couldn't fight back against the three bullies because of their size difference. Hyunsoo just cried in misery.
Hyunsoo (thinking to himself):
"Why? Why am I so weak? And why can't I live like other kids?"
The school bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Hyunsoo hurriedly packed his books into his bag. After getting out of his seat, he bumped into a girl because he was in a rush. The girl he bumped into was Choi Daehoon's girlfriend, Seojin. Hyunsoo panicked because he had bumped into Daehoon's girlfriend.
Seojin (with an angry and sullen face):
"Ouch... Hey, nerd! Do you have eyes?!"
Hyunsoo (panicking):
"I'm sorry, Seojin... I'll replace your drink!"
Hyunsoo immediately apologized to Seojin and offered to replace her drink, but... he had no money. He panicked even more, checking his pockets, and there was no money at all because Choi Daehoon and his lackeys had taken it.
Seojin (seeing that Hyunsoo had no money to compensate her, started crying):
"I don't care! You have to replace it!"
Seojin then complained to Choi Daehoon. She ran crying to the back of the school. A little bit of information: the back of the school was the hangout spot for Choi Daehoon's gang.
Hyunsoo (his heart pounding):
"Oh no... what am I going to do?!"
Behind the school, Seojin complained to Choi Daehoon, hugging him coquettishly.
Seojin (acting spoiled and crying):
"Honey! Look at my clothes! They're dirty! It's all Hyunsoo's fault. Teach him a lesson..."
Choi Daehoon (seeing his girlfriend crying and her dirty clothes, became furious and wanted to punch Hyunsoo):
"Damn it! Hyunsoo, you're dead! Hey, Jiwoon! Get Hyunsoo here."
Choi Daehoon was furious and wanted to hit Hyunsoo. Kang Jiwoon, his lackey, immediately went inside the school to find Hyunsoo. Inside the school, Kang Jiwoon yelled for Hyunsoo and dragged him to the back of the school. Hyunsoo resigned himself to his fate of being beaten up by Choi Daehoon's gang.
Kang Jiwoon (dragging Hyunsoo to the back of the school with a sharp look):
"Hey, nerd! Ready to get beaten up behind the school? Hahahaha."
Kang Jiwoon (approaching Choi Daehoon):
"Here he is, Choi Daehoon! What are we going to do with this rotten kid?"
Hyunsoo, looking down, saw the hangout filled with cigarette smoke and delinquents who looked at him as their entertainment. Hyunsoo felt despair because it was an accident.
Hyunsoo (with tears in his eyes and a pounding heart, pleaded with Choi Daehoon):
"I'm sorry, Choi Daehoon... I didn't mean to bump into Seojin! Please forgive me..."
Choi Daehoon (looking sternly at Hyunsoo, he was very angry and there was no room for apologies):
"Hahahaha, apologize? You see Seojin's clothes and her tears? Do you see them, a**hole?! Everyone, beat up Hyunsoo now!"
Choi Daehoon's lackeys approached Hyunsoo, their hands ready to beat him up. Hyunsoo helplessly watched them approach.
Choi Daehoon's lackeys (excited to have a punching bag):
"Hahahaha, this is so much fun, Choi Daehoon! You found us a punching bag. It's been a while since we've had a good punch."
Punches and kicks rained down on Hyunsoo. He saw Choi Daehoon's lackeys, crazed, oppressing a weak kid like him.
*Thud...* The sounds of kicks and punches.
Hyunsoo (enduring the pain):
"Mercy.... mercy! I didn't mean to bump into Seojin..."
After kicking and punching Hyunsoo, the lackeys laughed, a sound that was incredibly painful for Hyunsoo. Choi Daehoon, watching this, was gleeful, enjoying Hyunsoo's suffering.
Choi Daehoon (laughing happily at the sight of the bullying):
"This is so funny! Look at his face! And his rotten face looks like an anchovy! Hahahahaha!"
Hyunsoo ran as fast as he could from there, terrified and crying. He boarded the school bus.