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Taejin High School.

That’s the name of the school I attend.

Unfortunately, it’s an all-boys school.

It used to be called Taejin Comprehensive High School a long time ago, but at some point, the term “comprehensive” was dropped.

Occasionally, there were adults who slightly looked down on this school, calling it “Jonggo” (short for Comprehensive High School).

Just an average, ordinary school in Busan, South Korea.

Like most high schools with a mix of academic and vocational tracks, it wasn’t exactly known for its academic excellence.

“When will class be over?”

My name is Kang Jiho, and I sit in the back left seat, based on the view facing the blackboard.

An ordinary two-block haircut with hair of moderate length.

A height of 178cm and a weight of 72kg.

Large, cat-like eyes and a prominent, high nose, but with a subtly curved line reminiscent of an eagle’s beak.

A face that could be moderately popular with girls.

I was waiting for the end of the fourth period, eager for lunchtime.

“Hey, let’s quickly eat and go smoke a cigarette.”

Jo Hyun-jin, sitting next to me, suggested.

“Okay.”

I replied briefly, as it was a typical routine.

Soon, the bell rang, signaling the end of the fourth period.

Hyun-jin and I dashed out to the cafeteria before the teacher could even leave.

Having arrived first, we devoured our lunch in five minutes and headed to the school store.

Why go to the school store after just finishing lunch?

Because behind the school store, there was a secret smoking spot passed down through generations of students.

Of course, it wasn’t a place just anyone could go.

“Shouldn’t we study a bit now that we’re seniors?”

It was late March, before even the first midterm exams of the semester.

I barely managed to score half marks on mock exams, but I was the type who still had some worries.

Of course, that didn’t mean I actually studied.

“Nah, I’m just gonna apply for college through rolling admissions with my grades and aim for a decent four-year university.”

Hyun-jin had high hopes.

His grades were decent enough, but the reality was that even with good grades from a crappy school, it was difficult to get into a university in Seoul, let alone a prestigious national university in the provinces.

In reality, they weren’t very interested in academics, and they idly chatted about their futures while finishing their cigarettes.

After the boring fifth and sixth periods, we were supposed to eat dinner and then do mandatory self-study, but Hyun-jin and I didn’t do it.

With parental consent, we were able to skip mandatory self-study, and both of us had obtained that consent.

The reason was that we attended academies.

But the academies that they weren’t very interested in academics attended weren’t for studying, but for taekwondo.

Jo Hyun-jin was the son of the taekwondo master.

Hyun-jin and I had been doing taekwondo together since we were seven years old, training for over ten years.

We had been together since kindergarten, and we went to the same schools from elementary to high school.

Hyun-jin and I endured the fifth and sixth periods well enough.

It’s more accurate to say “endured,” since we didn’t really pay attention in class.

Around the end of the sixth period, Lee Sung-woo, the third member of our group, woke up from his desk in a daze.

This guy seemed like he had given up on life, not just math.

He was the type to just sleep the whole time until it was time to go home. What on earth did he do at night to be able to sleep for so long?

4:30 PM.

School dismissal time.

Since the academic and vocational students were dismissed at the same time, it was very crowded.

Hyun-jin, Sung-woo, and I always went home together.

These three didn’t go straight home; they always stopped by the smoking area behind the school store to have a cigarette before heading home.

This was because there often wasn’t a suitable place to smoke once they got home.

After finishing their smoke, the three of them strolled out together amicably.

Returning from the smoking area, there was a small hole in the brick wall. Usually, these three would use that hole to go home after smoking.

While heading home, someone approached us.

Baek Jin-ho, known as the best fighter in the vocational department.

Baek Jin-ho seemed to have something to say to me, as he called out to me.

“Hey, Kang Jiho, I heard you’ve been talking shit about our guys lately?”

That was true. It wasn’t just lately; I had always criticized certain groups in the computer science and civil engineering departments, calling them thugs.

“Yeah. So?”

As soon as I answered, Jin-ho’s fist came flying at me with a whoosh.

I quickly took a step back with my right foot to avoid it.

“No need for long talks, let’s fight.”

I just found it amusing, but I was slightly bothered by the group of about ten people behind Baek Jin-ho.

With my right foot back, I immediately struck Baek Jin-ho’s torso with a front kick, putting my weight into it, to create some distance. A kick was advantageous at that distance compared to a punch.

With about a meter of space between us, I struck Baek Jin-ho’s right temple with my signature left roundhouse kick, as he stood there awkwardly.

I didn’t put my full weight into it, so it wasn’t a fatal blow.

Baek Jin-ho staggered slightly and immediately tried to grab my left leg after being hit, but I, with a lot of fighting experience, immediately changed my trajectory and folded my leg.

Guys who know how to fight always try to grab your legs.

Having failed to grab my leg, Baek Jin-ho was hit by my right roundhouse kick again and started bleeding from his nose.

He wiped the blood away, but it didn’t seem like it would stop.

With his face a mess, Baek Jin-ho walked back to where his group was.

Whether it was because his pride was dominating his brain, he kept walking with his gaze behind him, even after being hit repeatedly, without fear.

“Hey, where are you going? It’s not over yet.”

I immediately followed him, grabbed Baek Jin-ho’s right shoulder, lifted my right leg, and kicked him again.

The angle was perfect, hitting him squarely in the face.

The impact was quite significant, and Baek Jin-ho hunched over, clutching his nose.

Now it was clearly time for an all-out assault.

However, Baek Jin-ho’s group didn’t just stand by and watch. Three of them approached and quickly stopped the fight, handing Baek Jin-ho tissues to buy time.

I was annoyed, but the opponents numbered about ten, and there were only three of us.

I thought it would be troublesome if I provoked them further and it turned into a group brawl.

Of course, the vocational students probably didn’t want to face me head-on either.

I was quite famous around here. I wasn’t exactly a bully, as I didn’t do thug-like things, but I had a few victories against well-known guys in one-on-one fights.

Taejin High School didn’t have a top dog, but everyone knew that I was the best fighter in reality.

The vocational students, who had a lot of thugs, called me the top dog of the academic department, but I didn’t really like it.

I thought it was a ridiculous title, and I wasn’t interested in that kind of thing in the first place.

Anyway, I was the best fighter even when combining the academic and vocational students, but since I didn’t play the bully game, it seemed like the vocational students had just given me that title on their own.

The fight had entered a lull, but Baek Jin-ho, with tissues stuffed up his nose, approached me again, who was just watching the situation blankly. He was holding a rock the size of a person’s head in one hand.

It wasn’t exactly a rock, but a hardened piece of cement, like debris left over from construction somewhere.

“You son of a bitch!”

Cursing, Baek Jin-ho immediately aimed the heavy rock at my head from right in front of me, trying to throw it.

Without being intimidated, I kicked the rock in mid-air.

The rock was quite heavy, and it easily fell to the ground.

Seeing Baek Jin-ho, who was using a weapon after only getting beaten, made me laugh.

Using a weapon is the hallmark of a skill-less loser.

Baek Jin-ho, having failed to hit me, picked up another large rock and tried to smash it into my head, but I quickly tilted my head to the right to avoid it.

There wasn’t any significant impact, but it slightly grazed the back of my ear.

I had been planning to fight moderately, but seeing this guy throwing rocks made me a bit pissed, so I didn’t give him any time to rest and started beating him like a dog on Dog Days.

I felt my wrist twist as my angry fist landed badly on Baek Jin-ho’s head, so I opened my hand and slapped him with the flat of my hand, kicked him, and just beat him.

I was unilaterally beating him for almost a minute when someone came running and shouted.

“The cops are here! Run!”

One of the guys who was keeping watch ran over, shouting that the cops were coming. Since they knew where the police station was, there was a guy who was waiting nearby in advance, anticipating the police’s arrival.

It seemed that someone watching from a nearby apartment saw the students fighting with rocks and thought it was dangerous, so they reported it.

大Taejin High School students all scattered quickly as one, without exception.

Our group of three ran away moderately and started walking slowly, thinking we had gone far enough.

“I can’t believe more than ten guys came…”

Hyun-jin said with a flustered expression.

“Jiho, you’ve been dissing the thugs a lot lately. Hehe.”

Sung-woo laughed, commenting on my usual behavior. Well, I admitted it myself, but I didn’t expect anyone to try to attack me.

“Jiho, wouldn’t it have been dangerous if more than ten guys had all attacked you?”

Sung-woo, worried, asked me.

“Then I’ll just go find them one by one and beat them half to death. What’s the problem?”

“I guess that’s true.”

We talked about what had just happened as we walked. Then, Hyun-jin suddenly felt like drinking.

“Sung-woo, I’m thinking of having a soju party at your place tonight, you wanna come too?”

Sung-woo was living alone, so his place was like a hideout.

Sometimes, girls from nearby girls’ high schools who hung out with us would drink with us too.

“You crazy bastard. I’m so grateful that you invited me to my own house.”

“Don’t mention it.”

In reality, Hyun-jin frequently broke into Sung-woo’s house without saying anything, drinking and hanging out with girls, using it almost like his own home.

I, who also liked to drink, naturally decided to join, and after quickly having dinner at our respective homes, we gathered at Sung-woo’s place around 8 PM.