.  Ruda and the black guy were having a big match in front of us. Holding my breath, I stuck my head out.

  Just getting a single blow on Ruda’s slim body would have changed the whole situation; however, he didn’t let any attack coming into him while moving rapidly. Watching Ruda avoiding the fatal attacks by a hairbreadth and throwing a punch at the guy, I emitted a whoop.

  “Wow!!”


  Then I turned to look at the all-black guy. Though he got beaten by Ruda a couple of times, he never showed any tottering movements.

  ‘How strong is he to endure all that? He may not be wearing armor in that hoodie though……’ Narrowing my eyes, I tried to figure out his silhouette in his broad shoulders, then at the moment, I shook my head upon the person overlapping on his bulky physique.

  ‘No, that’s impossible,’ I murmured to myself.

  As the attacks didn’t work at all, Ruda, took a step back as if he became a little exhausted. Suddenly, he grabbed a sign nearby and swung himself to do a big half turn. Increasing his kicking power that way, Ruda’s hard kick went straight toward the guy and struck him on his stomach.

  “Wow!!!”


  Even Jooin, who always teased Ruda so enthusiastically, exclaimed at the spectacular view.

  The guy seemed to take some steps back, losing his balance for the first time, then soon fell on the ground. The cap on his head got off; his facial features were revealed for a moment.

  My eyes widened as the guy’s face came into view. Although he was still wearing his face mask on, I could see his dark eyebrows, red eyes, and chiseled nose ridge.

  The guy quickly put himself together. Picking up his cap, he soon jumped up the wall again. It was the same escape pattern as before.

  Ruda shouted, “AGAIN? Why you always surprise attack and run away like a rat, loser?” Gnashing his teeth, he added, “You’re a dead meat this time!” then he also jumped up the wall immediately. It was such a dramatic move that ordinary people like us couldn’t even attempt to do so.

  The two disappeared all of a sudden that way; the four of us left on the spot just looked up at the wall, feeling like we’re on the sidelines.

  Turning my head, I dropped a question.

  “What should we do?”


  Yeo Ryung switched her gaze to Eun Hyung, suggesting, “For now, Eun Hyung, just go inside and stay at home. We’re almost there.” With that said, Yeo Ryung pushed Eun Hyung’s back with all her force. Though he looked unpleased to follow her suggestion, Eun Hyung went inside his house obediently.

  After we checked Eun Hyung stepping into his house through the door, we turned around to leave the spot.

  I asked again, “Now what should we do?”


  Jooin replied, “I guess we should split up and look for the guy. As soon as we find him, we must tell hyeong…… no, Ruda.”


  What a surprise! Since his cousin, Woo San, got attacked by the all-black guy, Jooin had stressed how dangerous the man was, but now, he was insisting on something more active to us.

  While I stared at Jooin in wonder, he added, “During the fight, the guy didn’t attack other parts of San hyeong’s body but just broke his limbs. Even when he fought with Ruda just now, the guy didn’t use any dirty tricks although Ruda was prevailing over him. I guess the guy isn’t causing trouble to someone irrelevant.”


  Looking in the direction where Eun Hyung just left, Jooin continued, “And even though the preliminary round is over, the guy attacked Eun Hyung, which means something else exists behind the situation. We can’t just be like this all the time, so I think we must catch him and hear what’s going on.”


  ‘That makes sense though,’ I nodded. If the guy’s actual goal wasn’t about stopping Eun Hyung from taking the Number one position, we should keep on going back and forth between our school and home, feeling uncomfortable, without knowing when all this would come to halt.

  When we all had the same opinions, we quickly scattered away. It seemed like the four of us could better find the guy as soon as possible.

  Before scattering away to search the guy, I thought about telling the kids about my assumption of the guy’s identity, but I stopped to do so at this moment. It seemed better to ask the guy in person about things I had in mind. After that, I could let others know who he was. Although I wasn’t sure if the guy would respond to my questions……

  ‘Why do you keep skipping classes and not showing up at school? Do you know if all of us are worried about you? You said you won’t use your fist to fight someone anymore, but why are acting like Jung Yohan’s hunting dog?’


  The moment I turned around the corner, having those questions in mind, the view of someone’s wide back appeared like a lie.

  I shouted loudly, “Ban Hwee Hyul! Please stop right there for a sec!”


  Having heard his name slipping out of someone else’s mouth, the guy hesitated for a moment, but shortly after, he began to run much faster than before. I also chased after him with all my strength, clenching my teeth.

  I yelled, “Hey, I’m gonna tell our classmates that this is what you’re doing outside the school skipping all the classes!”


  However, he still didn’t respond.

  Gasping, I shouted again, “Everyone’s worried about you! We even reported to the cops that you’re missing! We went to your house several times, but you weren’t there!”


  “.……”


  “We also have a mock exam soon. What are you gonna do?!”


  Still, there wasn’t any response. Although I shouted to him that way, even I started to get confused that he wouldn’t be the only person with red eyes in this world.

  Then the words that I dropped, at last, slowed down his pace.

  “.…… Your brother……” I hesitated for a second but continued blurting out, “I’m gonna tell your brother……”


  The moment I finished that sentence while wiping out the sweat on my chin, he stopped running out of the blue.

  That was when the two of us could, eventually, stand and face each other. A heavy, grim air seemed to flow above the alley that we were standing inside.

  ‘For some reason, the background always seems to be in a dark alley, whenever I’m with Ban Hwee Hyul……’ Rambling such thought in mind, I detached my lips.

  “Why are you here? Why did you attack Eun Hyung?”


  “.……”


  Instead of responding back, Ban Hwee Hyul just scowled at me with his red eyes under the cap.

  His fierce glance made my shoulders hunch instinctively. It seemed like I was confronting a beast that recovered wild nature after returning to the jungle from the zoo.

  Ban Hwee Hyul, who utterly realized his killer instinct throughout the recent fights, didn’t look like the same person whom I used to know. Even though I had seen him sitting quietly in his seat in the class so many times before, all those moments were unimaginable at this moment.

  Feeling suffocated, I barely continued speaking, “It isn’t just Eun Hyung, right? Suh Doh Gyum, Woo San, and Gang Han…… you attacked all of them too, right?”


  “.……”


  “Why did you do that? You told me you’ll never gonna use your fist anymore, but why…… all of a sudden?”


  “.……”


  “I thought it wouldn’t be you at all, but now it turns out to be you, Ban Hwee Hyul! Tell me, why did you do that?”


  That was when I began to get anxious about Ban Hwee Hyul who was remaining unresponsive to my questions. He seemed to finally pout his lips that I began to feel slightly delighted, but his following words kind of struck me dumb.

  “You…… what do you know about me?”


  “Ah…… hey…… I……”


  How dare could he speak that way to me? While I asked myself, Ban Hwee Hyul raised his voice again.

  “What do you expect from me?!!!”


  Being in a daze, I murmured in my thoughts, ‘What on earth is happening to you? Why are you suddenly going through a stormy period of adolescence?’


  While I felt absentminded, Ban Hwee Hyul leaned himself to me and shouted out loud.

  “You know nothing about me!”


  Suddenly, I felt like a parent who knew nothing about her kid but urging him to do all kinds of things. Being vacant again, I mumbled to myself, ‘But it’s you, who attacked us first, isn’t it?’


  However, listening to his words, I started feeling guilty for some unknown reason. While I was lost in the wave of indescribable guilt, Ban Hwee Hyul turned around abruptly and ran far away like a boy dashing toward the sunset.

  Hey, boy, where you going……??

  To the view of his back, receding away from me, all I could say was something that a mom living in a hometown might usually put out to her son whom she had met after a long time.

  “K…… eep in touch……”


  Feeling very ashamed, I spoke so timidly that I was doubtful whether Ban Hwee Hyul had heard it or not. Well, it would be better if he didn’t hear it. While I rambled those thoughts in my head, Yi Ruda suddenly appeared from the direction where Ban Hwee Hyul just disappeared.

  He had something big and heavy loaded on his shoulder, which looked too huge to call it a sack of rice. Blinking swiftly, I took a closer look. It was a person……!