Chapter 17

Blood mixed with saliva dripped from the corner of Jang Woon’s tightly shut lips.

Seon Woo-baek, watching him with amusement, spoke with a grin.

“Wow! It actually works? What do you think of my skills?”

His lackeys burst into applause, cheering him on.

“As expected! You’re amazing!”

“Wasn’t this your first time testing it on a human? And yet you pulled it off perfectly. You’re a genius.”

Seon Woo-baek beamed at their praise, his ego swelling.

“From now on, this guy is Experiment No. 1. I’ve got plenty of things I want to test, and he’s just perfect for it.”

*****

The next day.

Yeon Woo-jin looked around, searching for Jang Woon.

No matter where he looked, there was no sign of him.

“Where is he? Is he late?”

Jang Woon was the first friend Yeon Woo-jin had made.

He’d been so excited to see him again that he couldn’t wait for the morning to arrive.

But Jang Woon was nowhere to be found.

“Did he oversleep?”

Even as class was about to start, Jang Woon didn’t show up.

Just then, Seon Woo-baek and his lackeys entered.

Walking beside him was Gok Yang-woo, who had fought Seon Woo-baek the day before.

The two seemed to be getting along well—

Or rather, Gok Yang-woo appeared to have acknowledged Seon Woo-baek and submitted to him.

“That’s the kid? The one who didn’t show up yesterday?”

“Yeah, that’s him.”

“But look at him. He has no idea what’s going on. He doesn’t even look scared of you. If he ignored your summons, he should at least look worried or nervous.”

“Huh? You’re right. What’s with this guy?”

Seon Woo-baek turned to face Yeon Woo-jin, who immediately greeted him with a bright smile.

“Hi!”

His eyes showed not a trace of fear.

“Why didn’t you come yesterday?”

“Hmm? Come where? What are you talking about? Did you invite me somewhere?”

Yeon Woo-jin tilted his head in genuine confusion, making Seon Woo-baek quickly realize what was going on.

‘Ha! This little punk is trying to act tough, huh?’

It looked like Yeon Woo-jin needed to be properly "educated."

But he decided to save that lesson for later.

“Never mind. Must’ve been a misunderstanding.”

Seon Woo-baek smirked and patted Yeon Woo-jin’s shoulder a couple of times before walking away.

Gok Yang-woo and the others followed, laughing.

“Lucky bastard.”

Someone muttered as they passed.

Yeon Woo-jin tilted his head again.

“Were they talking about me?”

He decided not to dwell on it and went back to waiting for Jang Woon.

*****

But even after an entire day, Jang Woon didn’t show up.

All Yeon Woo-jin heard was that Jang Woon was sick and resting at home.

He wanted to visit, but he didn’t know where Jang Woon lived.

When he asked the teacher, he was told that they couldn’t share such information without Jang Woon’s permission.

Seeing how worried Yeon Woo-jin looked, the teacher tried to reassure him.

“Don’t worry too much. He pushed himself too hard practicing martial arts and disrupted his qi flow. He’s just recovering.”

It made sense—especially after seeing Seon Woo-baek and Gok Yang-woo’s fight the day before.

Believing the teacher, Yeon Woo-jin decided to wait until tomorrow.

But something felt off.

His classmates were acting strangely.

Everyone kept their distance, avoiding him.

“Did I do something wrong?”

No one answered when he asked.

Instead, they quickly walked away.

Ever since yesterday, something had felt wrong.

“What is this?”

An uneasy feeling lingered.

He felt isolated.

“So this is why I need to learn social skills…”

Yeon Woo-jin assumed it was his lack of social experience causing the others to avoid him.

“I’ll just have to try harder.”

*****

“P-Please… stop…”

“Stop? We’re just getting started. Get up.”

“Please… Please…”

Jang Woon, battered and bruised, knelt before Seon Woo-baek, begging for mercy.

“It was my fault. I’m sorry… Please stop…”

“Wow. Acting all tough before, and now you’re begging?”

Jang Woon could only plead.

“Bring him here tomorrow. Then I’ll let you go.”

Jang Woon’s eyes wavered.

“Don’t want to?”

“W-Woo-jin… I can’t…”

“Hah! Still acting noble, huh?”

Smack—

Thud—

“Cough! Urgh!”

Jang Woon writhed on the ground, clutching his stomach after another blow.

“You’re flopping around like a fish. Drag him back here.”

Jang Woon was dragged and forced to kneel again.

“So your dad’s in the Security Guard Unit? Was it the Eighth Division? My uncle’s the division commander. If you listen to me, maybe your dad can get promoted to captain. But if you don’t…”

Despair flashed across Jang Woon’s face.

Why did the heavens grant blessings to scum like this?

Jang Woon clenched his eyes shut.

“You’ve got a little sister, right? I hear she’s pretty. Should we pay her a visit? No need to sneak off to a brothel when we can just play with her instead.”

“Pfft. That sounds fun.”

“N-No! Don’t!”

“Whoa. Don’t yell at me, punk.”

“P-Please! Stop!”

“Then bring Woo-jin here tomorrow. Got it?”

“…Fine…”

“See? That wasn’t so hard.”

Jang Woon stumbled to his feet, covering his bruised body with his torn clothes as he limped away.

After he left, Gok Yang-woo smirked.

“Wanna bet? Think he’ll bring Woo-jin tomorrow or not?”

Seon Woo-baek scoffed.

“Is that even a question? Of course he’ll bring him.”

“Yeah, this isn’t even a real bet.”

“Fine, then I’ll bet he won’t.”

“What? Are you throwing money away?”

“I just like taking risks. Come on, let’s bet.”

“Fine! I’m betting he’ll bring him.”

“Me too!”

“Same here!”

Gok Yang-woo looked at Seon Woo-baek.

“What about you?”

“Obviously, he’ll bring him.”

“Great. If he doesn’t, I’m hitting the jackpot.”

“Ugh. Even if we win, it’s barely worth it.”

As the others grumbled, Seon Woo-baek grinned.

“Let’s just enjoy watching that kid’s face when he realizes there’s no escape tomorrow.”

*****

The next day.

“Woon! What happened to you? What’s with all these injuries?!”

Yeon Woo-jin’s eyes widened as he saw Jang Woon’s battered appearance.

Jang Woon looked at him for a moment before forcing a smile.

“Why are you so shocked? Did you miss me that much?”

“Of course I did! I heard something about you messing up your qi flow while practicing martial arts yesterday.”

“You heard about that? Ugh, how embarrassing. Did you go around asking about me or something?”

“No, but seriously, what’s with these wounds?”

“Ugh. I must’ve overdone it during sparring. By the end, I was so tired I couldn’t even block properly. Took a real beating and barely made it out alive.”

“Why push yourself so hard?”

“A man has to aim high. I was just motivated, that’s all.”

“Ugh, and there I was, worrying myself sick. I thought something bad had happened.”

“You worried about me that much? I’m touched.”

“Wait here.”

“Hey, where are you going?”

Despite Jang Woon calling out, Yeon Woo-jin hurried off somewhere.

Moments later—

He returned with a bottle of Golden Wound Medicine (Geumchangyak).

Jang Woon’s expression stiffened.

“Take off your shirt.”

“What? I don’t swing that way.”

“Then go somewhere and apply it yourself.”

Yeon Woo-jin shoved the medicine into Jang Woon’s hand.

Jang Woon stared at it for a moment before turning away.

“…Thanks. I’ll hurry and put this on.”

“I’ll wait.”

Hiding from Yeon Woo-jin’s gaze, Jang Woon let tears stream down his face.

“Sniff… Sniff…”

The guilt of betraying a friend who cared so much for him overwhelmed him.

But as he wiped his tears, Jang Woon spotted their teacher and hesitated.

Then, as if making a decision, he walked toward him.

*****

That evening.

Instead of bringing Yeon Woo-jin, Jang Woon showed up with their teacher.

Seon Woo-baek and his gang froze, startled by the unexpected visitor.@@novelbin@@

No matter how arrogant they were, even they couldn’t defy a teacher outright.

Seeing their reaction, Jang Woon felt relieved.

He started imagining a future where Seon Woo-baek couldn’t touch him anymore.

But that illusion shattered almost immediately.

“Woo-baek, you need to get along with your classmates.”

“Uncle.”

Seon Woo-baek addressed the teacher as his uncle, smiling casually.

The teacher, in turn, treated Seon Woo-baek more like family than a student.

“This kid says you beat him up. Did you bully him?”

“Me? Come on, Uncle. Would I do something like that?”

“If I didn’t know you, I wouldn’t have asked.”

“We sparred yesterday. He lost and felt bitter about it, so he must’ve tried to get back at me by running to you.”

“Is that true?”

The teacher clicked his tongue and glared at Jang Woon.

“Are you seriously trying to frame a classmate just because you lost? If I didn’t know Woo-baek, I might’ve fallen for it.”

“S-Sir!”

“Quiet! I’ll let this go for now, but if you try something like this again, you’ll be expelled. Understood?”

It turned out the teacher and Seon Woo-baek were in on it together.

“I’m so sorry for bothering you, Uncle.”

“What are you apologizing for? It’s this punk who messed up.”

“Still, I may have gone a bit overboard yesterday. I’ll apologize to him and clear up the misunderstanding.”

“Hahaha! Such a fine young man. Your father must be proud.”

“You flatter me, Uncle. I still have a lot to learn.”

“Haha, humble too! Go on, enjoy yourself.”

“Thank you, Uncle.”

The teacher patted Seon Woo-baek on the shoulder and shot Jang Woon a sharp glare before leaving.

Jang Woon’s body trembled.

What he thought was his best move had turned into the worst mistake.

Once the teacher was gone, Seon Woo-baek’s friendly expression twisted into something monstrous.

“Haha! That was hilarious.”

Seon Woo-baek slowly approached Jang Woon.

Jang Woon tried to back away, but Seon Woo-baek’s gang surrounded him.

Seon Woo-baek leaned in close, gripping Jang Woon’s chin and forcing him to look up.

“I told you… to bring that little bastard here. Did I ever say to bring the teacher? Huh?”

Jang Woon stammered.

“I-I…”

“Pfft. Still trying to act noble? You’re not going home tonight.”

“S-Sorry. I was wrong!”

“If you’re sorry, you’re going to pay for it. Do you have any idea how much money I lost because of you?”

“W-What do you mean?”

“You don’t need to know!”

Whack—

“Argh!”

Thud—

Seon Woo-baek kicked Jang Woon hard, sending him sprawling.

His gang picked him up and held him in place.

“I gave you two chances, and you blew them both. Now it’s my turn to do things my way.”

Jang Woon trembled as Seon Woo-baek grinned.

“We know where your house is. Tomorrow, we’ll bring your sister here and have some fun. How about it? You can watch and see how we play.”

“No! Stop!”

“Shut up.”

Whack—

“Argh!”

“Hold him down.”

At Seon Woo-baek’s command, his gang began kicking and punching Jang Woon relentlessly.

“You owe us for losing our bets!”

“How are you going to pay us back?”

While the gang attacked, Gok Yang-woo sat in the corner, happily counting his winnings.

*****

The next day.

Once again, Jang Woon didn’t show up at the academy.

Yeon Woo-jin felt an uneasy chill crawl up his spine.

What should he do?

‘Wait… Didn’t Jang Woon say his father works in the Eighth Division of the Security Guards?’

Yeon Woo-jin suddenly remembered the resources he had at his disposal.

He looked up at the empty air and spoke firmly.

“Uncle, come out.”