Chapter 8: The Return of Kim Mu-hyeok

The monotonous school life had become tedious. A typical routine of going to school, attending classes, returning home, and studying various subjects.

At Dongseong Technical High School, half of the third-year students had already left for internships, while the rest were left to study independently for the academic aptitude test without much supervision.

In the meantime, the school had become the domain of Hong Jin-pyo, a second-year transfer student from Seoul.

Hong Jin-pyo had created a circle that didn’t exist before at Dongseong Technical High School, and began recruiting even first-year students, mimicking gangster behavior.

“You’re Myeong-su, right?”

Myeong-su looked up at the voice beside him.

The transfer student Hong Jin-pyo was looking down at him with an unpleasant smile.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“I hear you’re close with that kid Mu-hyeok? Is he just studying these days? I heard he used to be quite the troublemaker, but I don’t know him.”

“Leave it alone. He’s not some angsty teenager anymore. He’s got his head on straight now, so he won’t be causing you any trouble.”

“He’s bothering me.”

“Let it go. Why mess with someone who’s trying to study? Mu-hyeok hasn’t done anything to you.”

The conversation between Myeong-su and Jin-pyo continued until the break was over.

“I don’t like anyone being above me, you know. But… the kids seem to fear this Mu-hyeok or whatever more than me. I don’t like that.”

“I told you to leave him alone.”

“Hey, you little Busan trash! Who are you glaring at? You’d be cowering in a corner pissing yourself if Mu-hyeok wasn’t around. Want me to gouge your eyes out?”

The lackeys standing nearby started hurling insults at Myeong-su. After a while, they fell silent with just one gesture from Jin-pyo.

“See, I always have to get what I want and crush what I want to crush. But to get to this Mu-hyeok kid, using you as bait seems perfect. What’s your crime, Myeong-su? Just being friends with Mu-hyeok. Hey, drag him away.”

At Jin-pyo’s command, the boys began to surround Myeong-su. Myeong-su fought back, but he was too small and weak to win.

* * *

Bang!

“Mu-hyeok!”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

The one who burst through the back door was a kid who had been in the same class last year and was now in Myeong-su’s class.

“Jin-pyo took Myeong-su! I think they went to the band room!”

“What?”

“He’s been mentioning your name for days, picking fights. Didn’t Myeong-su tell you?”

“…Shit.”

I stood up, grinding my teeth.

Seems some things never change, no matter how much you try to avoid them.

“The band room?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks. I owe you a meal later.”

“Hurry up and go!”

As I left the classroom and headed to the annex, I saw Hyeon-seong running from the end of the corridor, apparently having heard the news.

“Mu-hyeok! What’s going on? Why is that bastard dragging Myeong-su away?”

“Probably because of me. Hey, you’re on the sports team, right? Stay out of this. Don’t risk your college prospects over some incident.”

“I don’t care. I don’t need to go to college.”

“Don’t be stupid.”

After a year of intense training, Hyeon-seong had emerged as a promising judo athlete in Busan. But if he got involved in a violent incident at this crucial time, he might have to give up on that dream.

As I walked, the anger that had clouded my mind dissipated. My head was cool, but my heart was on fire.

“Hah… Avoiding it wasn’t going to solve the problem.”

I spotted a mop in front of the annex and picked it up.

“Hey, Hyeon-seong.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t let anyone in. Teachers, anyone. Can you do that?”

“Can you handle it alone?”

“Hey, I’m Kim Mu-hyeok. Did you forget whoI am?”

“Ha, so Kim Mu-hyeok isn’t dead after al? Alright. And… thanks.”

“Cut the crap. Friends don’t need to thank each other.”

“Take it easy. I heard rumors that Jin-pyo’s father is someone important.”

I know, of course I know.

Even Myeong-su’s father, who’s quite influential in Busan, was silenced without a peep.

Starting as a prosecutor in the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Public Security Department, he briefly stepped down to avoid some turbulence, and now serves as the chief prosecutor of the Criminal Division 2 at the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office – a political prosecutor.

Hong Jin-pyo’s father was a prosecutor from Korea University, considered the cream of the crop.

Hyeon-seong took his position guarding the entrance to the annex. Meanwhile, I broke the mop handle with my foot and carried it inside.

The band room in the basement of the annex.

It’s called the band room, but now it’s Jin-pyo’s hideout where he controls the school.

As I walked down to the basement, the sound of my footsteps and the mop handle dragging on the floor echoed through the quiet annex.

I reached the band room and opened the door.

The stench of cigarette smoke and the musty odor of boys assaulted my nose as I entered.

“Wow, it’s true! They said if you touch Myeong-su, Mu-hyeok would appear like Superman, and here he is!”

Thankfully, Myeong-su still seemed conscious. He looked pretty beaten up, but thankfully it hadn’t escalated to the point of broken legs like in my memory.

“Sigh… Hey, if you wanted to see me, you could’ve just come yourself. Why drag my friend into this?”

Hong Jin-pyo, sitting at the far end, looked at me and cackled.

“Why did I do that? Haha, just for fun, I guess?”

“Fun? You find this funny?”

Ignoring my words, he turned to the others and asked,

“The guy’s speaking standard Korean, which doesn’t suit him at all. Hey, isn’t Mu-hyeok from Busan?”

“That’s right. Born and raised in Busan.”

“Let Myeong-su go and play with me instead. I’ll make it more fun for you.”

Only then did Hong Jin-pyo turn back to me.

“Huh, what’s this? Busan man’s loyalty? Trying to look cool? Hey, someone take Myeong-su to the infirmary.”

“Okay.”

One of them cautiously led Myeong-su out. Even as he was being taken away bleeding, Myeong-su shot me a worried look.

“Who’s worrying about whom?”

Once Myeong-su left, I had the chance to look around.

While there were quite a few unfamiliar faces, most were ones I knew. The unfamiliar ones looked like first-years.

“You’re here too?”

Cheol-gu, who I went to middle school with, flinched and looked at me nervously.

“Cheol-gu, I feel like I might really kill someone today. Get out if you don’t want to die.”

Cheol-gu, who had been watching the others, broke away from the group and said as he passed me,

“I’m sorry.”

“Shut up and get out.”

Laughter erupted from Jin-pyo’s group, but Cheol-gu ignored it and fled outside.

As soon as Cheol-gu left, I locked the door.

“Oh~ Kim Mu-hyeok~”

Ignoring Hong Jin-pyo’s mocking tone, I turned around.

“I don’t care if you want to play gangster or not. I was really trying to have a quiet school life. But why did you have to bother me when I was minding my own business? Dragging Myeong-su into this too… Was your life so boring that you wanted an exciting way to die?”

I gripped the broken mop handle so hard it nearly cracked.

“I’ll show you how your pathetic little gangster play falls apart. Look forward to it.”

“What? Hahahahaha! This guy’s completely insane, right? Hey, look at the goosebumps on my arm! What are you, the Terminator? This isn’t a movie, you know.”

The kids around Hong Jin-pyo were slowly getting up.

“What are you guys doing? Get him!”

But Hong Jin-pyo’s gang hesitated, not rushing in easily.

No one here except that idiot Hong Jin-pyo was unaware of Kim Mu-hyeok the mad dog. Just bcause I’d been quiet for a while doesn’t mean my past disappears…

It’s not like we’re fighting with fish knives like real gangsters… A high school level fight is just… well, a dogfight, isn’t it?

Hong Jin-pyo yelled at the hesitating kids, his face red with anger.

“What are you doing? I said get him! Don’t you know what my dad does? If that bastard so much as touches you, I’ll make sure he rots in jail for life. Don’t worry and just get him!”

Finally, the hesitation disappeared from the kids’ eyes.

“Let’s go!”

The next moment, about ten of them rushed at me. Each was holding something like a baseball bat or drum sticks.

The first to charge was a kid who looked like a first-year, about Hyeon-seong’s size. He came at me barehanded, reaching out as if to grab my collar. His charge was like that of a raging bull.

I swatted away his grasping hand with the mop handle. At the same time, I struck his Adam’s apple hard with the back of my hand.

“Kek kek!”

Anyone who’s been hit in the throat knows. This works regardless of size.

The others approaching paused for a moment, watching him collapse and roll around clutching his throat.

“Come on! Kim Mu-hyeok the mad dog is backon, you bastards!”

With those words, I plunged into the midst of the remaining kids.

Someone’s baseball bat struck my back hard. A fallen kid was trying his best to grab my ankle and bring me down.

One hit for me, two for you. It was, quite literally, a dogfight.

A moment later

I wiped away the stream of blood trickling down my forehead. After about five minutes of fighting, all that remained in that place were the groans of the guys sprawled on the floor, blood, and me still standing.

“Shit, I’m dying here. It’s been a while since I fought. Why are these kids so vicious?”

Hong Jin-pyo, who had been hanging back, started backing away with a pale face.

“Hey! Don’t come near me! Stay away!”

“Why are you so scared? Weren’t you confident when you called me out?”

My eyes were stinging, probably from blood getting in them. I kept wiping them with my hand.

But my hands were also covered in blood, so it didn’t help much.

With nowhere left to retreat, Hong Jin-pyo started rambling.

“Don’t touch me! You’ll really rot in jail! I was wrong, okay? I won’t bother you or your friends again. Let’s stop here.”

“Hahaha, you should have done that from the start.”

I’m not sure if he’s threatening or begging.

“Hey, my dad’s a prosecutor. A chief prosecutor! You might not know this, but a chief prosecutor can make someone like you rot in jail for life. Let’s stop here. If we stop now, I won’t press charges either.”

“Prosecutor? What good is a prosecutor or a judge right now? Fists are closer than the law, isn’t that why you called me here?”

Grabbing his trembling chin, I said with a smile,

“Jin-pyo, let’s get beaten up a bit first.”

“…Don’t.”

Ignoring him, I slapped his cheeks a few times.

Blood trickled from Jin-pyo’s mouth as his head snapped to the side. His inner cheek must have split.

“This is for beating our kind Myeong-su. You got off easy, right?”

This time, I struck the other cheek.

“This is for dragging me out when I was minding my own business.”

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the band room.

It seemed someone was trying to break down the door since it wouldn’t open.

“Looks like people are here. I’ll have to hurry. Lastly, this is for Myeong-su’s ankle that you destroyed.”

I grabbed his arm. Jin-pyo’s eyes began to shake rapidly.

The guy begged me with his face all messed up from the beating,

“Please don’t… Please don’t do this…”

“Eat with your left hand for the rest of your life.”

Crack!

With a grotesque sound, Jin-pyo’s arm bent backward.

“Aaargh! Aaah! Aaaaaah…”

At that moment, the band room door was smashed open. Teachers and Hyeon-seong entered.

The scene before them: over ten students sprawled on the floor, Hong Jin-pyo rolling around screaming, and me, covered in blood from head to toe, smiling like I’d just returned from hell.

Everyone seemed at a loss for words.

I bowed my head toward Viper, who was staring at me.

“I’m sorry, teacher.”