Chapter 8

8. Oh, what's this?

"What the hell are you, you crazy bastard?"

The one who stepped forward approached Woo Jin-hyuk with a look of disbelief.

Jang Seok-hwan's instincts set off a warning light.

In fact, Jang Seok-hwan didn't really want to call out Woo Jin-hyuk.

But it was impossible for him, the school's top dog, to just back down like that.

His self-respect was at stake, and the other kids' gazes were secondary.

Woo Jin-hyuk's eyes in the classroom were definitely suspicious. The guy who had been so meek until now seemed to have transformed.

But Jang Seok-hwan wasn't afraid of anyone, even among the seniors in 2nd and 3rd grade.

The only person in this school who could stand up to Jang Seok-hwan was one person: Do Min-woo.

Seok-hwan was no stranger to fights. For someone like him, backing down first was rare.

And now, an even stronger warning light was—

Bang!

With a loud crack, the guy approaching Woo Jin-hyuk was sent flying.

"Ugh!"

He rolled to Jang Seok-hwan's feet.

'Damn.'

Seok-hwan glanced at the sprawled guy and bit his lip.

"Hey, all of you, attack together."

"What?"

"Attack all at once."

Unlike Seok-hwan, who maintained his composure, the gang members still didn't understand what was happening.

"Attack all at once, you bastards!"

Seok-hwan shouted nervously, and the gang members hesitantly stepped forward.

Woo Jin-hyuk wiggled his fingers and said,

"Come on, hurry up. I don't have all day."

Thinking, 'Does this guy think this is a drama or something?'

"Crush him!"

Seok-hwan ended up saying a typical villain's line.

The gang, who were destined to be crushed by the protagonist, attacked all at once.

Punch!

"Argh!"

The first guy who rushed in was slammed into the wall. Jin-hyuk's body moved with a spring-like elasticity.

Without giving any room for a counterattack.

Smash!

"Ahh!"

His hands and feet moved so fast they were invisible.

Punch! Smash!

"Aaaaah!"

Literally in the blink of an eye.

It took less than a minute for all seven to be completely sprawled out. What was even more infuriating was that

'He didn't even get a single hit in?'

Seok-hwan was almost doubting his own eyes.

He's strong. Stronger than anyone he's ever seen in the gym.

Even when he faced a mixed martial arts debutant, he felt a similar wall, but not to this extent.

Why was this guy like this all along?

With a bloody nose, Seok-hwan stared at Jin-hyuk, who said,

"More?"

The chilling gaze from the classroom.

"If you want more, this is where the fun ends."

The chill turned to a bone-chilling cold.

Seok-hwan had always thought the phrase 'wetting one's pants' was an exaggeration. But at that moment, he believed it could be true.

Killer intent.

He had never seen a murderer or a killer, but if he did, they would probably have that look.

This isn't the gaze of a young student. Seok-hwan thought.

'What the hell is this guy?'

Seok-hwan couldn't believe that the Woo Jin-hyuk before the break and the current Woo Jin-hyuk were the same person.

Then,

Bang!

"Hey, Jang Seok-hwan!"

Min Seo-yeon burst through the rooftop door.

"You really... what? Huh?"

Min Seo-yeon's eyes moved to the guys still groaning on the ground. Her eyes widened to the size of fists.

"What... what is this..."

Woo Jin-hyuk's gaze shifted from Jang Seok-hwan to Min Seo-yeon, confirming that the guys had no intention of fighting anymore.

"Let's go down."

Woo Jin-hyuk grabbed Min Seo-yeon's wrist and pulled her along. Seo-yeon was dragged away, flustered.

Jang Seok-hwan, watching their backs, punched the ground in frustration.

"Damn! Damn! Damn!"

It wasn't just because he lost the fight. Worse than being utterly crushed was the fact that Min Seo-yeon had seen it.

"Ah, damn. It really hurts. Hey, what the hell is that guy... Argh!"

"Shut up, you bastard!"

Seok-hwan's unused fist swung at the guy next to him.

That's how Seok-hwan vented his anger on the wrong person.

***

"Ah, it hurts. Let go of that."

When they had descended one floor in the stairwell, Min Seo-yeon's scream made Woo Jin-hyuk realize he had been gripping her wrist too tightly.

"Sorry."

"Forget it. Why did you drag me here?"

Seo-yeon rubbed her tingling wrist and looked at Jin-hyuk, who met her gaze and asked,

"Are you involved with those guys?"

"What?"

"Like in the classroom. And now."

Min Seo-yeon looked at Woo Jin-hyuk with a bewildered expression and then burst out laughing.

"Ha! You're really funny! What does that have to do with you? Why are you doing this to me, both in the classroom and now?"

"You were in danger."

"What? Danger? What danger? Are you talking about Jang Seok-hwan?"

"..."

"Hah! Ha ha ha!"

Min Seo-yeon laughed for a while and then said,

"You're really funny. Why, are you worried about what Jang Seok-hwan might do to me? What can those big, tough kids do to me?"

Seo-yeon leaned in close to Jin-hyuk's chin.

"But even if he did something to me, what does that have to do with you?"

Jin-hyuk looked at Seo-yeon with a blank face and said matter-of-factly,

"Don't do dangerous things."

Jin-hyuk turned and walked down the stairs. Watching his retreating back, Seo-yeon muttered quietly,

"What? That's such an adult thing to say. 'Don't do dangerous things.' Ha. Really funny. Who does he think he is?"

Despite her grumbling, a slight smile played on Seo-yeon's face.

"Really. So funny."

Seo-yeon wrinkled her nose and then walked back up to the rooftop.

***

It was just instinct.

Woo Jin-hyuk couldn't think of any other word besides 'instinctive.' Min Seo-yeon still reminded him of Sung Mi-ryeong.

'Leaving her on the rooftop is dangerous.' That thought just came to him, and his body moved before he even realized it.

Maybe, the me from my past life. Maybe I don't want to forget that me.

Even though I know she's not the real Sung Mi-ryeong, maybe I want to hold onto that faint thread through this girl.

Because my past life was hell, maybe the people, no, the family from that life, were even more vivid.

Jin-hyuk felt a pang in his chest. But he quickly shook it off.

I can't be stuck in the past.

If I am, this reality, which I am alive in, will only be a pain to endure.

His steps eventually led him to the door of reality. The classroom door.

Shaking off the lingering thoughts, Jin-hyuk opened the classroom door.

Click.

Do Min-woo, who had been listening to music, took out his earphones and said,

"Hey, constipated? What took you so long?"

Jin-hyuk quickly adapted to the unfamiliar reality.

"Sorry. Let's go."

The place Do Min-woo and Jin-hyuk headed to was a hamburger shop in the alley in front of the school.

Jin-hyuk thought of the franchise hamburger shop he had eaten at a few times before becoming a mercenary in his past life.

But here... Jin-hyuk unconsciously stroked his chin.

"Auntie! I'm here!"

"Ah, Min-woo, come in."

The shabby shop was already full of students.

Thanks to Do Min-woo's loud greeting, the students sitting there turned to look at them.

"Hey, hey."

"What? Why?"

"Look at them."

"Whoa!"

The girls who had been whispering about Jin-hyuk and Min-woo quickly averted their eyes when they met Jin-hyuk's gaze.

Do Min-woo, with a 'Ah, this guy's popularity,' expression, loudly placed the order.

"Auntie, two cheeseburger sets, please!"

Woo Jin-hyuk asked Do Min-woo,

"Do I come here often?"

"No."

Do Min-woo lowered his voice and said,

"Not you. You always said no when I suggested it. I was surprised you agreed so readily. Ha ha. Memory loss isn't all bad. I'll let you taste this amazing burger today."

While they were chatting, or rather, while Do Min-woo was talking, the burgers arrived.

"Here, try it. It's amazing."

Jin-hyuk picked up the burger.

'Burgers are just burgers, no matter how amazing...'

... Jin-hyuk thought.

He was really glad to be alive.

Finding the meaning of life in a hamburger shop in front of the school was something he never thought would happen in his second life.

***

Lee Young-jun's steps were excited as he headed home.

'Jackpot!'

The last time Woo Jin-hyuk took down the bullies in the playground, he had hastily recorded the video with his camera, but the lighting was too dark for a good shot.

'But this time, it's perfect!'

When he saw Jang Seok-hwan start a fight, Lee Young-jun immediately sensed that things would go down on the 'rooftop.'

He found a spot among the clutter behind the air conditioner and waited.

His heart raced at the risk of being caught, but he knew he had to take the risk for a good shot.

They say documentary directors approach lions bare-handed to get dynamic footage.

Compared to that, getting caught by Jang Seok-hwan's gang would just mean a few hits.

'This is nothing.'

The risk was worth it.

The action he saw was unbelievable. Even when he took down the bullies in the playground, it was impressive, but this time it was seven people, all taken down in an instant.

"Mom! I'm home!"

Lee Young-jun shouted and headed to his room on the second floor, barely acknowledging his mother's response.

He quickly removed the memory card from the camera and connected it to his computer.

Skipping the classroom sketch video, he was about to play the rooftop footage when—

"Dear nephew, what are you doing?"

A familiar voice burst into the room.

Lee Young-jun instinctively turned off the monitor, as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn't.

"U-Uncle! When did you get here?"

"Hey, I was on the first floor when you came in. What was so urgent that you didn't even look at me and rushed upstairs?"

"Oh, that, huh?"

"And just now—. Heh heh. What is it? What are you doing?"

Young-jun's uncle stared at the turned-off monitor and then smiled slyly.

"Young-jun, you've grown up! Yeah, yeah. Uncle understands. Let's see. What's so good that you rushed upstairs without even looking at me?"

"No, that's not it, Uncle. It's not like that!"

"It's okay, man. Uncle understands. Come on, turn it on. Let's see how exciting it is."

Lee Young-jun shook his head.

'Well, it's not like Uncle can't see it.'

Young-jun's uncle wasn't the type to be shocked or worried about such things. He was a free spirit, you could say.

He had given up a prestigious job after graduating from a top university and started wandering around the film industry, declaring he wanted to be a movie director.

He had been doing this for over a decade.

According to his father, he had been like this since college, but his grandparents didn't know and were still quite upset.

Now, he had appeared as a crew member in several famous movies, but that wasn't enough to convince his grandfather, a former high court judge.

If he became a truly famous director and made the front page of the newspaper, maybe.

That's why his uncle's free spirit found a home in Lee Young-jun's house.

His older brother, Young-jun's father, believed in and supported him, secretly from his grandparents.

Of course, Young-jun liked his uncle too. Thanks to his uncle, he developed an interest in movies and got his father to buy him several expensive pieces of equipment.

Young-jun turned on the monitor and pressed the play button.

"Huh? This is..."

The video showed the school rooftop. It started with Jang Seok-hwan's group settling in and Woo Jin-hyuk approaching.

"Oh, what's this?"

Uncle's eyes sparkled.