Tae sat at his desk, staring out the cracked classroom window, his mind a tangled mess of static and thoughts.
The world outside blurred as his focus drifted further and further away from the teacher's droning voice. Not that it mattered. Half the class wasn't paying attention anyway, and the teacher? They couldn't care less.
It was like no one came to Habil Technical High School to learn.
This place was just another Dalcheon underfunded pit, crawling with gang members and kids who had already given up on life. If you weren't part of the chaos, you kept your head down and prayed no one noticed you.
Fights broke out daily, contraband got sold in the halls, and broken noses were as common as bad grades. The teachers knew better than to intervene. You see a kid getting stomped? Look the other way. You hear about drugs moving through the lockers? Don't ask questions.
The unspoken rule was simple: mind your business, keep your head down, and leave with your paycheck.
The bell rang, snapping the teacher out of their half-hearted lecture. Without a word, they packed up their materials and shuffled out of the room like they were making a prison break. Tae barely noticed. His body was in the classroom, but his mind? It was somewhere else entirely.
Hana… Mom… What the hell am I even doing here?
He clenched his fists under the desk, nails digging into his palms as he thought about his sister's lifeless body, the way it swayed from that ceiling. His mother, gone without a trace. And the gun... the empty gun, mocking him even when he tried to put an end to it all.
He wasn't here because he wanted to be. He was here because the organization said so. Because if he didn't show up, they'd expose him as a murderer and call it a wrap.
"Tae-jide!"
The voice snapped him out of his trance.
He blinked, turning his head lazily toward the hallway. Standing there was Cho Ah-jin—or just Cho to everyone else. Five-ten, average build, and a face that screamed smugness. Cho wasn't just any schoolyard bully.
He was affiliated with Jin "Snake" Su-min, the guy who practically owned Habil Technical. Tae didn't know the full details of their connection, but the rumor alone was enough to keep most people in line.
Not Tae. Not today.
Cho's voice cut through the room again. "Tae-jide, you deaf or something? Get your ass to 9-D. Now."
Tae's eyes turned back to the window, watching a bird hop along the edge of the sill.
Not today, Cho.
"I'm talking to you!" Cho barked, stepping further into the classroom.
Tae didn't even flinch. "Not today," he said flatly, his tone dripping with indifference.
The class fell silent. Heads turned, mouths hung open. This wasn't like Tae. He was the kid who kept his head down, avoided trouble, did whatever he could to stay invisible. But now?
Now he didn't give a damn.
"The hell did you just say to me?" Cho's tone shifted, sharp with disbelief. He stomped toward Tae, standing over him, trying to cast a shadow of authority. Tae didn't even look up.
"I said," Tae repeated, still staring out the window, "not today…just walk away."
Cho's nostrils flared. "You must've hit your head or something. I'm gonna—"
A flash of red interrupted Cho's tirade.
Tae's vision filled with a system alert:
[ALERT: INCOMING ATTACK]
[ Direction: Overhead. Weapon: Padlock. ]
Really? A padlock?
Tae's instincts flared before his mind could catch up. His body moved on its own, ducking out of the way just as the padlock swung past his head. In one fluid motion, he grabbed Cho's arm, twisting it until the other boy froze, locked in place.
"Why'd you have to give me this chance?" Tae said, his voice low, almost a growl. His grip tightened on Cho's arm, and for the first time, Tae looked up, his eyes dark and empty. "I told you to walk away. I wanted you to walk away."
Cho struggled, but Tae didn't let go as he stood. "You did this to yourself."
Before anyone could process what was happening, Tae smashed Cho's head through the window. The glass shattered, sending shards flying everywhere as Cho let out a guttural scream. Tae didn't stop. He yanked Cho back and slammed his head into the metal locker beside the window.
Clang.
Blood smeared the gray metal.
Clang.
More screams, weaker this time.
Clang.
The classroom was dead silent except for the sickening sound of Cho's face meeting the locker again and again. Tae's classmates sat frozen in their seats, wide-eyed and pale. No one dared to intervene.
Cho's face was a mess of blood and cuts, but Tae kept going, his movements mechanical, almost detached. His breaths came heavy, his knuckles aching, but the rage inside him wouldn't let him stop.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something.
Through the shattered window, across the schoolyard, a figure stood watching. Her round glasses glinted in the sunlight, and her face was impossible to mistake.
Tae froze, his grip still on Cho's collar, blood dripping onto the floor. His eyes locked onto the figure outside.
"Rein?" he muttered under his breath.
And just like that, the chaos stopped.