episode_0023

“Damn it!”

Jeong Gal-hwa, cursing under his breath, kicked the women groaning on the ground while shouting, “This wasn’t a patrol zone! You weren’t hiding any Blarkchi, were you!?”

“We heard it wasn’t a patrol zone….”

The girl he kicked explained earnestly through her tears.

Watching the conversation between the two women, Han Do-a sighed as she looked up at the sky.

“Blarkchi… Even the Guides had a traitor. I never thought the situation would deteriorate this much.”

Then she turned to me, the informant.

“If it weren’t for Maru’s junior, we would have been in big trouble.”

Jeong Gal-hwa listened intently to Han Do-a’s words and glared at me, as if asking if I was the mastermind behind all of this.

I smiled lightly and pointed my finger at Jeong Gal-hwa.

“You thought you could hide a spy? There might be a spy even at Ojakgyo.”

Of course, it was a lie. I could anticipate because I had read the original work. But no one else knew the truth except me.

My bluff would be convincing, and Jeong Gal-hwa would interrogate the female students under her to find the nonexistent traitor.

That’s my plan—to sow discord.

“You…!”

Jeong Gal-hwa angrily stretched her leg toward me. Her short skirt allowed for swift movement, so the kick came fast.

It was a threatening kick, but I was prepared and blocked it with both arms.

“Ugh!?”

Unintentionally, I let out a groan. The area I blocked stung fiercely and throbbed.

Just a few more hits like this, and I wouldn’t be able to walk properly the next day.

“As expected, facing off against the top ten on the Haktogal rankings is tough.”

Despite my groans, I stood firm, and Jeong Gal-hwa’s pupils shook violently.

“A man blocked my kick…?”

Behind the bewildered Jeong Gal-hwa, Han Do-a rushed forward, her eyes blazing.

“Jeong Gal-hwa! You knew he was trash, but you still lay hands on a man!”

However, there were several girls standing in front of Han Do-a—almost four.

Yet despite this, Han Do-a showed no hesitation, and instead, the four girls blocking her seemed intimidated.

The delinquent student of Hakdo, anyone fears the “Sky High Wooden Sword.” Even the flying bullies were mercilessly beaten by Handoa’s elegant swordsmanship.

Its reputation was no lie; Handoa thrust the wooden sword into a girl’s abdomen at an unseen speed. The pierced girl retched and collapsed.

“I controlled my strength. Don’t be so dramatic,” muttered Handoa, as the others rushed in. However, it was a narrow alley. Handoa could only handle two attackers at most, especially with the “wooden sword” in hand.

Handoa struck the closest woman’s forehead with the sword. As she fell, the other two hurled attacks at Handoa. She parried one with her sword and smoothly took the rest on her back.

Then, reversing her grip on the sword, Handoa struck a woman’s waist. Despite controlling her strength, the impact was immense.

The woman screamed as she collapsed in front of Nayuna. Nayuna recoiled, but saw another girl about to punch Handoa.

“Dangerous!”

Nayuna remembered her recent conversation with Kim Maru. She, a woman, had promised to help him. She didn’t want to keep living as a victim.

Nayuna forced her heavy body into the path of the girl’s fist.

Thud!

Struck, Nayuna crumpled. Taking advantage of the distraction, Handoa prepared to strike.

“You’re alone now.”

Handoa lowered the wooden sword and used a martial arts technique, striking under the girl’s chin. The girl staggered, moaning in pain.

“Ouch… it hurts…”

Handoa approached Nayuna, whose cheek was swollen, and extended her hand.

“Good assist.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“…I said, let go.”

“Right! Maru!?”

When Nayuna shouted, Handoa responded with an expression that seemed indifferent.

“Don’t worry. Jegal Hwarin just fled a moment ago. Maru’s junior held up quite well.”

‘Maru’s junior…?’

Nayuna tilted her head at Handoa’s strange tone and address, then erased her doubts and looked at Kim Maru.

Kim Maru’s clothes were disheveled, and there were bruises on his arms, but he had successfully endured against Jegal Hwarin for a long time.

Watching Nayuna spit out the saliva that had gathered in her mouth and roughly loosen her tie, Nayuna swallowed hard.

‘Boy Crush is insane….’

*

*

*

Watching the thugs collapse with just one shot from Handoa, Jegal Hwarin sneered.

“Useless women.”

Even though they were carefully chosen by Unni, they were no more than fallen leaves in the eyes of Handoa.

It wasn’t for nothing that the saying “If you see a sword in the street, run away” was widely spread among the top dogs of the school.

He had clearly chosen the workplace to avoid Handoa’s patrol route, yet Handoa appeared here as if to show off. But what was even more absurd was this.

“What the hell is this guy?”

Jegal Hwarin was bewildered as she looked at the young man standing in front of her. Were men originally beings who could openly resist women?

The men Jegal Hwarin had encountered were nothing more than those who clung to women and shed tears at the slightest provocation.

But this man was different.

Just judging by his appearance, he looked like a parasite and seemed like he would play rough with the female top dogs, but his actions were more extreme than most male top dogs.

When Jegal Hwarin threw a jab, he awkwardly moved but dodged it by moving his head. He even used his large build to counterattack her with a long reach punch.

Facing Kim Maru, Jegal Hwarin thought of a certain woman from Ojakgyo.

“Seoyoon, is this what it feels like to face her?”

This year’s school rookie, who entered the school with a monstrous physique and secured a high-ranking position in Ojakgyo’s top brass. She possessed overwhelming skills, enough to secure the 2nd place ranking on the school forum.

Of course, it’s unknown whether the man in front of her possessed skills comparable to Seoyoon. After exchanging blows a few times, it didn’t seem likely that she would lose to this man.

But…

“Darn it. If I stall, Handoa will come!”

Already, screams from female students echoed behind Jegal Hwarin. Naturally, the screams were not from Hanao. Eventually, Jegal Hwarin kicked the piled-up brick sand on the ground. The scattered dust flew in the wind and brushed against Kim Maru’s face. While Kim Maru tightly closed his eyes and took a defensive stance, Jegal Hwarin seized the opportunity and fled.

After running for a while, Jegal Hwarin arrived near the fountain at the academy. Gasping for breath, she approached a couple sitting on a bench side by side.

“Hey, I’m going to sit here, so scram.”

The couple looked puzzled at Jegal Hwarin’s sudden command.

“Damn it! It’s me, Jegal Hwarin!”

Upon hearing her name, the female student stiffened her expression, hugged the male student, and vacated the seat. Finally lying down on the empty bench, Jegal Hwarin bit her lip.

“I’m done for. Unni will definitely find out.”

Tortured by Jegal Yeonhwa’s authoritarian nature since childhood, Jegal Hwarin trembled. If it ends with just Jegal Yeonhwa, it would be a relief. Eun Yuri, Ojakgyo’s staff officer, wouldn’t overlook her mistake, and if Alice found out…

“But there’s still hope.”

The gang that had just caused a commotion is the “Hyunjangjo.” They’ve called in a standby team near the academy just in case. Joining them, they can take down Hanao and Kim Maru, who are now off guard.

While plotting revenge, someone approached Jegal Hwarin and admonished her.

“Hey, Jegal Hwarin. You shouldn’t lie down on the park bench. Others can’t use it.”

“What day is it today? These bitches have been bothering me since earlier…”

Cursing, Jegal Hwarin raised her head and looked blankly at several female students surrounding her, all wearing school uniforms. On their arms, they bore the badge of “Sundo.” Behind them, the female members of the standby team who had been beaten like dogs on New Year’s Day were bowing their heads.

“W-what is this…”

Feeling helpless, Jegal Hwarin thought of a certain man. The man who had brought Hanao to her workplace. Did he only call Hanao? Of course, he must have deployed the Sundo members to the academy, led by Hanao.

“Kim Maru, that damn bastard!”

“Jegal Hwarin, come along quietly. Your fate will be decided by the head of the department.”

Jegal Hwarin was dragged along by the students from Haneul High’s disciplinary committee.

The Korean High School students, who had been dragged all the way to Han Do-ah, looked ashen-faced and terrified. This was because the disciplinary committee members of Haneul High were staring at them with ghostly expressions.

At the center, Han Do-ah was glaring at Jegal Hwarin as if she wanted to kill her.

“In the future, you all cannot hold group gatherings in this school area. There is precedent, so if there are any suspicious meetings by Korean High students in the future, the disciplinary committee members of Haneul High will conduct searches.”

Upon hearing Han Do-ah’s words, I realized that the plan had succeeded even more than I had anticipated.

“In fact, it’s practically an expulsion of the Korean High faction near Haneul High.”

In the original work, the ones who harassed the students at Haneul High were from Korean High, a notorious group among the Ojakgyo. Since the second in command of Korean High had been exposed to the disciplinary committee, the damage to Korean High was significant.

Some of the Korean High delinquents frowned upon hearing Han Do-ah’s words, but they soon relaxed their expressions as they received a few more blows from the disciplinary committee members.

“And this also applies to Jegal Yeonhwa, that woman. She should never engage in dirty delinquent activities in this sacred place of learning again.”

At Han Do-ah’s words, Jegal Hwarin bowed deeply. Then she began to squirm.

“Hehehe…!”

She was laughing. After giggling for a while, she raised her head and stared at Han Do-ah.

“You should watch your mouth. Do you think unni will accept that?”

“If she doesn’t accept it, then I’ll make her accept it by force.”

“You? Force unni to accept it? Can you really do that?”

Han Do-ah no longer seemed interested in conversing with Jegal Hwarin. As Han Do-ah sheathed her sword and turned away, the disciplinary committee members released the Korean High students.

“I won’t say much. My warning goes into effect starting tomorrow.”

As Jegal Hwarin watched Han Do-ah walk away, she shouted out.

“Ee Ji-hye misses you a lot!”

As those words echoed, the air around them grew heavy. Even though it was still the first semester, it became chilly as if autumn had arrived prematurely.

This was because Han Do-ah was glaring at Jegal Hwarin with only half of her body turned.

Han Do-ah remained expressionless. There’s a saying that when people feel more than a certain level of anger, they end up with a calm expression instead.

Knowing the character settings for Han Do-ah and Lee Ji-hye, I could anticipate what would happen next.

“I’ll take the lead.”

Before Han Do-ah could turn Jeon Ga-rin into dough, I stepped forward and slapped Jeon Ga-rin’s cheek.

Smack!

Surprised, Jeon Ga-rin looked at me with a bewildered expression.

“Who do you think you are…!”

Smack!

Using force, I kept hitting her cheeks, and since Jeon Ga-rin had already exhausted her strength, she couldn’t resist my violence.

“I’m helping you.”

Getting slapped by me would hurt less than getting hit by Han Do-ah’s wooden sword.

I didn’t approve of the bridge of five openings, but if Han Do-ah caused trouble from the start, it would put me in a difficult position.

When blood started trickling from her mouth, Han Do-ah approached and grabbed my arm.

“Maru junior! Stop it!”

As soon as she grabbed my arm, I immediately stopped the violence. Han Do-ah looked at the bleeding Jeon Ga-rin with a troubled expression and quietly spoke.

“Disappear from our sight right now.”

“….”

Quietly, Jeon Ga-rin got up from her seat, blood dripping, and quietly left the alley with slumped shoulders. The rascals from Hanguk High also followed her quietly.

“You’ve all worked hard. Since today’s activities are over, go and rest.”

At Han Do-ah’s words, the members of the leadership team dispersed without a word. No one dared to contradict Han Do-ah. It was a scene that revealed Han Do-ah’s leadership.

Only Na Yuna and I remained, cautiously speaking up.

“…There was no need for Maru junior to get angry on our behalf.”

“Senior, you looked uneasy. Even if Jeon Ga-rin provoked you, such a clash goes against your character.”

As I confidently retorted, Han Do-ah stared at me blankly before eventually giving a faint smile.

“Junior, you’re quite thoughtful.”

Saying so, she patted my head.

It felt different from when Kim No-eul patted me.

When Kim No-eul did it, it felt like a girlfriend expressing affection to her boyfriend, while Han Do-ah felt more like an older sister praising her little brother.

With a mysterious expression, Han Do-ah looked at her hand that had been touched and withdrew it in surprise.

“I-I’m sorry. It was meant to be encouraging…”

“It’s okay.”

Having been stroked by Kim Noeul several times already, there was no particular thrill. My scalp had already been secondhand, chewed on, torn, tasted, and enjoyed by Kim Noeul.

“Since you’re quite injured, we should go to the hospital. I’ll take you there.”

“Thank you.”

Han Do-ah could easily pass for a modern-day knight. She wasn’t the type of woman to leave an injured man alone and head home by herself.

“There’s a hospital nearby that I know, so both of you come with me.”

Saying so, Han Do-ah headed out of the alley. I glanced at Han Do-ah’s swaying ponytail and then turned my gaze to Na Yuna.

“Senior Yuna, come with us too.”

The moment I said that, Na Yuna, who had been about to reach out towards my scalp, froze and her face flushed red.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I wasn’t particularly trying to stroke…”

Not knowing how to respond to Na Yuna’s words, I just closed my mouth and moved my feet.

“I want to stroke it too…”

Ignoring Na Yuna’s quiet murmuring from behind.