Cafeteria being hummed with chatter, trays clattering and footsteps echoing across the titled floor. But Eun-ak barely noticed. His mind being locked onto his upcoming battles.
Then, a familiar voice broke through his thoughts.
"Hey Eun-ak. "
He turned to see Ha-eun sliding into the seat beside him, her usual bright smile in place. For a brief moment, she hesitated. The question was on the tip of her tongue โ ๐๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐จ๐ช๐ณ๐ญ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ฏ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ? But asking felt... Wrong. Instead, she shiftee gears.
"So, what is next for you? "
Eun-ak leaned back, crossing his arms. "Ji-ho told me about the first-year hierarchy. If I take down the class Leaders, I cah become the top first-year and gain access for more fights.
Ha-eun's eyebrows rose. "That sounds reckless. And very ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ. "
He Smirked. " I don't have time to waste around. "
Curious, Ha-eun tilted her head. "Why the rush? "
Eun-ak hesitated for a fraction of a second. ๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐๐บ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฎ... "Let's just say there's something important I need to finish before it is too late. "
Ha-eun studied his face but didn't push. "Then I guess you will be fighting soon. "
Eun-ak turned to ji-ho. "Tell me about Yejun! "
Ji-ho adjusted his glasses. "He's... different. He is not the type to pick fights. He follows a strict personal code. He used to box for two years, but he quit after an incident. "
Eun-ak's interest sharpened. "An incident? "
Ji-ho hesitated. "No one knows exactly what happened. But since then, he refuses to step into the ring unless absolutely necessary. "
Eun-ak's lips curled into a grin. A boxer... Huh? This would be perfect chance to test himself against one before facing Ha-jun.
The lunch bell rang, signaling the end of the break.
"Where are you going? " Ha-eun asked as Eun-ak stood up.
"To challenge Yejun... ", he said simply, already making his way towards class 1-E.
Class 1-E became quite silent as Eun-ak arrived there. Students barely reacted as he walked in. At the very back, a figure was sprawled across his desk, a book covering his face.
Eun-ak didn't hesitate. He stepped forward amd threw a punch โ
But before it could connect, A hand shot up and caught it effortlessly.
For a moment , Eun-ak was stunned. Despite having a book over his face, Yejun had reacted in an instant. His senses are SHARP...
Slowly, Yejun lowered the book, revealing his face. He had hazel eyes, a sharp jawline and brown hair that fell into a neat medium mullet. He looked like a prince out of a fantasy novel.
With a lazy smile, he stood, stretching his arms. "You are impatient" , He noted.
"You knew I'd come? " Eun-ak asked.
Yejun smirked. "Here, even the winds has ears. News spread faster than anything. "
Eun-ak got straight to the point. "I'm here to challenge you. "
Yejun studied him for a moment before nodding. "Fine, but not here . I will arrange a proper fight in the gym after school. And since you are so eager, I will invite the others! "
Eun-ak stiffened. "The others? "
"The strongest first-year leaders", Yejun clarified. "You will have to fight them anyway, right? Might as well get it all done at once. "
For a split second, Eun-ak felt cold. I walked straight into lion's Den... But he quickly pushed the doubt aside. He had no choice but to move forward.
"Fine, I will see you there", he said before leaving.
As everything settled, everyone went to their classrooms for class. Miss Kim , the geology teacher, came in 1-C , and began her lesson.
"South Korea had a wide variety of soil types, ranging from volcanic soil in Jeju Island to fertile alluvial soil in the plains... ", she explained as with writing over the board.
Eun-ak barely listened. His mind was already in the gym, thinking about how to handle the fights ahead.
Miss Kim continued, "Understanding soil composition is crucial for agriculture and environmental management..."
The words drifted pass him. He had only ๐ต๐ธ๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด left to complete his quest. Failure wasn't an option.
As time passed, all classes ended. In between of it Eun-ak was getting restless. But now he was like free bull who can tackle his challenge. As everyone went out of class, Eun-ak ran towards Gym.
The Gym was dimly lit. The overhead lights were casting long shadows across the floor. A group of students had already gathered, buzzing the excitement.
Yejun stood in the ring, waiting. Beside him were other first-year leaders โ
๐๐๐ ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ง ๐ฟ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฝ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐พ๐ก๐๐จ๐จ "1-๐ฟ."
๐๐๐ค ๐๐ค-๐๐ฎ๐ช๐ฃ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐๐ก๐๐จ๐จ 1-๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ง๐ช๐ฉ๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐.
๐ผ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ข๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ช๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ช๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ข๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐จ ( ๐ข๐๐๐ฃ ๐พ๐ก๐๐จ๐จ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐จ). ๐ผ ๐ข๐ฎ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ค๐ช๐จ ๐ช๐ฃ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ๐ฃ ๐๐ช๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ฃ๐ค. 2 ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ'๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ช๐๐๐ฉ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฅ๐ค๐จ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ 1 ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฅ๐ค๐จ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ 2 ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐๐ก๐๐ข.
As Eun-ak came, Ji-ho ran upto him, panting. "Be careful! They are all tough. "
Eun-ak nodded, stepping into the ring.
Ji-ho raised his hand. "Rules are simple. A fighter loses if they get knocked out or tap three times. "
Yejun cracked his knuckles. "Let's see if you can handle a boxer or not. "
And the fight began.
Eun-ak moved to activate his system card โ
But before he could, a fist shot towards him, blurring through the air.
BAM!
Eun-ak hit the ground.
Yejun hit was so sharp that it peeled off the skin of face a little of Eun-ak's.
For a moment, he was dazed. Yejun's speed was no joke. He crossed the distance in an instant...
Yejun smirked, standing over him. "If you stay down, you will never reach the top. "
Eun-ak gritted his teeth and pushed himself up.
This time Eun-ak moved first. A medium kick โ fast and sharp.
Yejun dodged effortlessly, but Eun-ak tried to use a opening chance to close the distance โ
And then โ BAM!
Eun-ak strikee his elbow in face of Yejun but without any problem Yejun caught it with his hand and the he smirked.
Yejun striked three punches on Eun-ak. Eun-ak fell again over the ring mat.
The gym fell silent.
Blood dripped from eun-ak nose and chest as he was lay down. Yejun was looking down over him and smiling over Eun-ak petty condition.
"Your attacks looked more like dance to me, you need to do better than dance. "
Eun-ak was lay down over ground. Everyone took a heavy sigh thinking what will happen next. Will Eun-ak give up or rise again?