episode_0042

“Could you watch my back here!”

“That girl’s asking for trouble!”

“Argh, you damn b****!”

In an instant, a brawl erupted on the street near the school. As the sounds of students clashing filled the air, bystanders quickly scattered.

Na Yuna and Jung Soyeon were under the protection of the student council members. They blocked Yu Hana, a troublemaker trying to approach the two.

“Hey, Jung Soyeon! Long time no see!”

“I really missed you!”

Mocking voices directed at Jung Soyeon made her lips tremble. She had a look that seemed ready to charge at any moment.

“So, Soyeon. Hold on. If we get into trouble…”

“I know, I know.”

When Na Yuna tried to stop her, Jung Soyeon clenched her fists in frustration.

After restraining Jung Soyeon, Na Yuna assessed the situation.

The student council was severely understaffed. At first glance, it seemed like a ratio of 1.5 to 1.

Although they were elite selections by Handoa, it wouldn’t be easy to overcome such odds. Moreover, Yu Hana’s gang knew how to overpower others with their numbers.

“Doa, behind you!”

Na Yuna spotted a female student attempting to strike Handoa from behind and shouted. Handoa swiftly twisted her elbow backward, landing a precise blow on the girl’s vital point.

“Ouch!”

The girl collapsed lifelessly after the strike. Watching this, Yu Hana whistled.

“You didn’t climb up the ranks by being gentle, huh? But you’re not using your sword?”

“We don’t use it in one-on-one situations.”

“Oh, is that your style? If you keep that style with me, you’ll be done for, won’t you?”

Yu Hana taunted Handoa, trying to provoke her. Handoa calmly responded without taking the bait.

“You said you’d face me alone, right? Why are your companions attacking me?”

“You believed that? You have the upper hand in numbers; you should use that advantage confidently.”

“That’s not confidence, it’s cowardice.”

“Your father’s the coward! In a fight, winning is all that matters!”

Suddenly closing the distance, Yu Hana threw a jab. Handoa dodged the punch and countered with a swift knee kick.

Yu Hana blocked the kick with her other hand, frowning.

“Ouch! That stings!”

Refusing to lose momentum, Yu Hana attempted to raise her punching power by twisting her waist.

To counter this, Handoa targeted Yu Hana’s abdomen with a kick. Upon receiving the blow, Yu Hana momentarily doubled over but managed to throw a punch forcefully.

Once again, Handoa evaded the punch and delivered another kick.

Yu Hana gritted her teeth and blocked the kick.

Taking a brief step back to catch her breath, Handoa observed Yu Hana touching her abdomen.

“Geez, that hurts…”

Muttering to herself, Yu Hana locked eyes with Handoa, who was calmly watching her movements.

‘What is she up to? Are all student council leaders like this?’

Initially underestimating those playing in the narrow well of the school, she now realized that the power dynamics within the school were beyond her imagination.

Rather than engaging in street fights, Handoa continued to fight with trained and refined movements.

The street thugs swaggering outside the school gates would be no match for Handoa.

‘Some of the Ojakgyo gang leaders are stronger than this student council leader?’

Despite having a certain reputation outside, as she gradually fell behind against Handoa, Yu Hana’s perspective on the student council began to shift.

‘I’m starting to understand what Jegal Hwarin warned about.’

Yu Hana dropped her guard. To confront the glaring face of Jung Soyeon staring at her from a distance, she would need to deal with the student council leader in front of her.

“I get it now. The level of the student council.”

“…What?”

“There’s only one thing left to do now!”

Yu Hana leaped towards Handoa after finishing the banter. Just like last time, Handoa assumed a striking stance.

Yu Hana simply took the punch coming towards her face. She slightly turned her head to absorb the impact.

Then, she forcefully dove into Handoa’s arms, gripping her legs tightly.

“What…!”

“Fall, you b****!”

Yu Hana squeezed out every ounce of strength she had, lifting one of Handoa’s legs. Off balance, Handoa tumbled to the ground.

Yu Hana tried to grab Handoa’s arm joint by pressing against her body.

However, Handoa didn’t yield easily.

She resisted being pinned down by intertwining her arms to prevent joint manipulation. Yu Hana gritted her teeth and struck Handoa’s empty face with her elbow.

“You’re so annoying!”

“Gah!”

“I’ll mess up that pretty face of yours!”

Even as her face was being hit, Handoa managed to open her eyes and wrapped her legs around Yu Hana’s waist with both legs, squeezing tightly.

“Aargh!”

Unable to bear the pain, Yu Hana writhed, allowing Handoa to leverage the recoil to push her away.

Subsequently, Handoa delivered a knee kick to Yu Hana’s face once more.

Screaming, Yu Hana fell backward, and Handoa mounted her, pressing her neck with her knees.

“Ugh…!”

“Give up. If you keep resisting, I’ll knock you out.”

“Argh…! Try it, you b****…!”

Despite her throat being constricted, Yu Hana resisted with a strained voice. She even spat on Handoa’s face after mumbling obscenities.

With Yu Hana’s saliva on her face, Handoa closed her eyes tightly, showing vulnerability.

“Get lost!”

Suddenly, a female student from the side grabbed Handoa’s ponytail.

Yanking her hair, the student kicked the back of Handoa’s head.

“Ouch…!”

Hit in the back of the head, Handoa groaned and staggered. She felt a ringing in her ears for a moment.

Taking advantage of Handoa’s weakened state, Yu Hana punched her chest and slipped away from below.

As another student prepared to strike Handoa from behind, a senior member of the leadership team intervened.

“Captain! Are you okay!?”

“Don’t worry about me, protect Yuna and Jung Soyeon!”

This was Kim Maru’s command. The two models should not get involved in this fight. It would be detrimental in the long run.

‘My junior said reinforcements are coming. When will they arrive…?’

They were falling behind.

Even with the limited number of Sky High’s leadership members, they managed to hold on only because they were from Sky High. However, in a prolonged battle, they would be at a disadvantage.

It was already difficult for Handoa to stand properly. The blow she received earlier on the back of her head stung.

“Do you think you have a chance if you hold out?”

Yu Hana opened her mouth, rubbing her neck.

“I’m sorry, but by now, the rest of the Sky High girls must have been detained at Yushin High, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

Handoa decided to play along with Yu Hana’s rhythm.

“They’ve been patrolling the route from Yushin High to here lately, right? They must be waiting for the patrol to come all the way here. Jegal Hwarin went over there.”

“….”

“So, there’s no one coming to help your girl, do you understand, Captain?”

Handoa shut her mouth and glared at Yu Hana. Sensing something unsettling from deep within, Yu Hana felt a sense of unease.

“Yeah, girls like you suit that expression. When your arrogant facade crumbles and distorts… that moment. I worked hard during the construction to see that expression on Jung Sohye’s face.”

“…No one is coming to help me?”

“Yeah, that’s right. So show me that expression even more.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Huh?”

Only now did Yu Hana realize that the surrounding noise had disappeared. Also, she noticed that Handoa’s gaze was directed not at her but behind her.

In a safe place, Nayuna and Jeong So-yeon both stared blankly at where Handoa was looking.

A familiar figure appeared in Jeong So-yeon’s sight.

She was a high school girl whom she both truly wanted to meet and resented at the same time.

Approaching with her long hair swaying, covering only half of her forehead, the high school girl was notably tall.

She seemed to be at least a head taller than the women gathered here.

Yuhana’s entourage trembled without anyone speaking up about knowing the high school girl.

“Seoyoon….”

Jeong So-yeon murmured as she looked at the high school girl’s face.

“I clearly warned you.”

Seoyoon muttered coldly.

“What warning, nonsense!”

One of the entourage growled and lunged at Seoyoon. Seoyoon reached out her long arm and grabbed the face of the entourage member who rushed at her.

And when she exerted force, the girl’s face was lifted into the air. Overwhelmed by the tremendous strength on her face, the girl went into a frenzy.

“Aaah! Aah!”

After struggling for a while, the girl soon seemed to lose all strength, hanging limply in the air. Seoyoon threw the limp girl to the ground.

The women around the girl, now lying on the ground, recoiled in horror.

Yuhana spoke with a trembling voice.

“Why did you….”

“Let me repeat myself. I clearly warned you.”

Seoyoon approached Yuhana and looked down at her. Yuhana, whose complexion had turned pale, lost the will to resist against Seoyoon’s massive build.

“I warned you not to appear in Soyeon unni’s life, Sohye’s, or mine… You ignored the warning.”

Seoyoon hoisted Yuhana onto her back. Yuhana was lifted as lightly as a newborn baby.

Then Seoyoon slammed Yuhana to the ground with a kick.

Yuhana, knocked out with a single blow, didn’t move again.

As the situation was swiftly resolved, the students who were fighting slumped down in relief. However, Handoa blocked Seoyoon’s path.

“Seoyoon. Were you an accomplice?”

Seoyoon looked around at the sky and the members of the Sunflower Society before answering.

“The informant that Veritas’ chief broker mediated was from the Sunflower Society. You’re probably right.”

“Why did you help us?”

Under Handoa’s questioning, Seoyoon briefly closed her mouth. Then she replied simply.

“You don’t need to know.”

Saying so, Seoyoon turned away. As she tried to leave, Jeong So-yeon shouted.

“Wait!”

Seoyoon paused briefly at the shout.

“You’re going to stand out like this and run away again? Absolutely not!”

“….”

“You must declare right here that you’ll stop Ojakgyo! Stop tormenting yourself with that incomprehensible guilt!”

“I didn’t know you were here.”

Seoyoon spoke in a surprisingly soft tone, quite different from her low voice just moments ago.

“I came here just to stop Yuhana. Now that I’ve finished what I came to do, I should go back.”

“You, until the end…!”

“I will atone for not protecting Sohye from now on.”

“No one… no one expects that from you… neither do I, nor Sohye….”

“Enough… I’ll be going now.”

As Seoyoon attempted to move again, this time Handoa stood in her way.

“I have a lot to talk to you about.”

“Step aside.”

“As a member of Ojakgyo, I want to know why you helped us.”

“It might be difficult to stop me in that manner.”

As Seoyoon’s expression disappeared, cold sweat ran down Handoa’s back.

Even in full condition, facing her was a daunting task. Let alone in her current exhausted state, confronting her was suicidal.

Handoa decided to change his persuasive approach.

“I may not know the details of what happened with Jeong So-yeon, but she wants to have a conversation. Could you spare a little time for that?”

“That is not something for an outsider like you to meddle in.”

Seo-yoon passed by Han Do-a. Han Do-a couldn’t catch Seo-yoon. It was because the outcome was obvious no matter how hard he tried to catch her.

“Se… Yoon….”

Watching Seo-yoon’s figure getting farther away, Jung So-yeon dropped her head and sobbed quietly.

Seeing Jung So-yeon crying, Na Yu-na hesitated before gently patting her shoulder.

After Seo-yoon disappeared from his sight, Han Do-a finally relaxed his body and sat down on the ground, covering his face with both hands and biting his lip.

“Nothing has changed from the past. Like this…”

*

*

*

Walking down the street, Seo-yoon felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. Taking out her phone to check, she saw that the caller was Jegal Yeon-hwa.

Seo-yoon sighed and answered the call.

“This is Seo-yoon.”

“You got into a fight in my territory? And even disrupted my sister’s business.”

“I had personal reasons. It won’t happen again in the future.”

“If apologizing like that could solve things, why have rules? Are you trying to make me really angry right now?”

“If discipline is necessary, I will accept it sweetly.”

There was a moment of silence between the two women. Jegal Yeon-hwa was the first to speak up.

“…Your reaction is boring. You lack the taste for a good fight.”

“Why did you call?”

“Eun Yu-ri called for an end-of-term meeting. Just letting you know.”

“I will not attend.”

“Alice has returned.”

Seo-yoon’s steps halted upon hearing those words. Her hand holding the phone trembled slightly.

“You’re skipping this one too?”

“…I will attend.”

“Good choice. Both you and I have done things that make it awkward to face Alice, right? If you skip out in this situation, who knows what might happen.”

“Sigh…”

“Probably the recent Heaven and Earth incident will be the main topic. Prepare your answers in advance.”

“Since when have you been so attentive?”

“As a comrade who might break alongside Alice during the meeting?”

“I’m hanging up.”

Ending the call, Seo-yoon looked into the distance where Shinsung High School was located. And she remembered that day.

Her close friend had suffered an indelible wound, and she had met her while living like a mad beast.

A woman with shining golden hair and deep blue eyes.

In terms of power, her help was desperately needed.

In terms of powerlessness, resistance against her was impossible.

At the moment she came to her, the option to reject her didn’t exist anymore.

Lost in contemplation for a while, Seo-yoon resumed her steps.