School of Evil - School of Evil Chapter 2

That event is still vividly remembered.

It was lunchtime. Students, who had eaten their fill, were chattering excitedly. Kim Hyunsung was just another student, blending into the typical scene. Engaging in casual conversation with his friend, unaware of what was about to unfold. They talked about game ranks, homework for the next class, and more. Then, a sudden incident disrupted Kim Hyunsung’s life.

Clang!

“Assh*le!”

A sharp voice rang out. Kim Hyunsung, mid-conversation with his friend, involuntarily turned his head in the direction of the commotion.

A violent scene unfolded before his eyes.

The one spewing profanities was a guy named Park Mincheol, a typical bully in the school, who always tormented friends while pretending to be attentive in class. Under his feet lay a slightly chubby friend. He had fallen, his glasses crookedly perched on his nose. Before his friend, named Lee Jungmin, could react, he was subjected to an indiscriminate kicking.

“What’ did you say? You want me to take care of it myself now? If I’m going to do that, why do I have to tell you to do it, f*cker”

Thump, thump, thump.

It was a dismal sight.

Park Mincheol was fond of a game called “Legend Online,” and he had Lee Jungmin help him with the character development process. The problem was that Lee Jungmin was considered a poor student at school. Starting to play the game, Lee Jungmin’s grades dropped, and when Park Mincheol demanded money for in-game items, Lee Jungmin rebelled for the first time. Attempting to look him in the eye, contrary to what he had imagined, Lee Jungmin was immediately slapped and fell to the ground. Thump, thump, thump.

“St-stop! Ack! I-I won’t do that again!”

A cry resonated through the air.

In fact, it was the first time that Kim Hyunsung had witnessed violence in such a direct and open manner.

He generally avoided causing trouble, but he couldn’t ignore the fact that Lee Jungmin was the victim.

In the past few days, he had been studying with Lee Jungmin. Seeing Lee Jungmin’s efforts to help him with various things, Kim Hyunsung couldn’t just stand by.

As Kim Hyunsung began to move forward, suddenly his friend, who was in conversation, grabbed his wrist.

“Hey, don’t do it.”

“But this isn’t right.”

“Damn it. It’s that guy, Park Mincheol. You’ll just tire yourself out if you mess with him.”

He understood the implications but didn’t care.

That’s who Kim Hyunsung was.

He was always good at sports and physically superior. He hadn’t avoided fights at the beginning of the semester. Given Kim Hyunsung’s reputation in the pecking order among boys, Park Mincheol’s name didn’t instill as much fear in him.

He wrenched his hand free.

Or rather, when his friend loosened his grip, Kim Hyunsung walked towards the back of the classroom and stood beside Park Mincheol.

“Stop it.”

Kim Hyunsung stopped walking.

“…What?”

Park Mincheol’s gaze was fixed on Kim Hyunsung.

However.

His expression was somewhat peculiar.

It was like a fierce gaze that discovered prey, scanning Kim Hyunsung.

Then he spoke.

“How interesting. Kim Hyunsung, Do you think you’ll be able to deal with this situation?”

At that time, he didn’t know.

The meaning behind that laughter.

The teacher was arriving, so the situation was wrapped up hastily. However, from that day on, the harassment led by Park Mincheol started. Even Kim Hyunsung, who was good at fighting, couldn’t handle the relentless harassment led by the group.

* * *

Kim Hyunsung stopped walking.

When the recollection ended, the same scene as back then unfolded before Kim Hyunsung.

“Stop it.”

“…What?”

Park Mincheol’s gaze was fixed on Kim Hyunsung.

He chuckled.

Just like the image ingrained in Kim Hyunsung’s memory, he scanned Kim Hyunsung fiercely and spoke sharply.

“How interesting. Kim Hyunsung, Do you think you’ll be able to deal with this situation?”

Park Mincheol turned around.

As he prepared to retaliate after hitting Lee Jeongmin, revealing his stooped posture, the sight of his towering, nearly 180cm physique glowering down at Kim Hyunsung was shown. He had a rough-cut head and a messy complexion. Park Mincheol had all the conditions to overwhelm people with just his appearance.

“Hyunsung. You must think that he’s different from you,  but don’t kid yourself.”

“Someone like you-“

Smack!

“Gasp.”

“Whoa.”

He snapped his head around.

The watching students gasped, nearly screaming.

Kim Hyunsung slapped Park Mincheol’s cheek.

Momentarily stunned, Park Mincheol turned his head, his face reddening.

“You son of a-“

Thunk!

He grabbed Park by the hair and slammed him into the desk.

It happened in an instant.

Despite the fact that they hadn’t exchanged any words, Kim Hyunsung acted violently without adding anything to the conversation. The sudden attack knocked the wind out of Park’s sails. As if that weren’t enough, Kim Hyunsung immediately followed up with a series of punches to Park’s cheeks.

Smack!

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Everyone’s mouths dropped open.

It was a sight they couldn’t comprehend.

Kim Hyun-sung.

To his friends, he was never like this.

He was an all-around good guy who attended school diligently, had a good relationship with his friends, and was good at sports. The kind of person people talk about. Kim Hyun-sung represented the image of sincerity and uprightness to the point that he was now the class president, but his assault on Park Mincheol was anything but.

This moment.

This situation.

I don’t know how many times Kim Hyunsung thought about it.

His friends saw him as a terrorizing figure, but in reality, he wasn’t that strong.

‘A typical style of fighting that relies on physicality. He’s not used to getting hit, so if you give him the lead, he’s bound to collapse.’

From the moment I spoke to him.

In my mind’s eye, I pictured the situation.

He realized that there was a desk right next to him, and he calculated that he would grab Park by the hair as he was about to react to the slap and slam him into the desk. It would not be accidental. The blood gushing from Park Mincheol’s face would have been enough to stop the violence, but Kim Hyunsung didn’t stop the beating.

Thud.

Kwadang!

He hooked his leg.

As Park Min-cheol fell to the ground, Kim Hyun-sung immediately stomped on his head.

Puck!

His head slammed into the locker.

Even Park Mincheol, like Lee Jungmin, could only crouch and block.

Does he know?

How long he had been waiting for this moment.

Not just a day or two.

In the decades of his life as a vegetable, Kim Hyunsung replayed in his mind the moment he beat Park Mincheol like a madman. He had already died countless times in Kim Hyunsung’s world. Whether this beating would kill him or not. He didn’t care. When he raised his face, he kicked him in the face, and when he raised his hand to stop her, she stomped on it, intent on breaking it.

Then it happened.

Quang!

“Stop! You son of a B*tch!!”

“Mincheol!”

A chair slammed into a locker.

Kim Hyunsung didn’t dodge the blow, and as it narrowly missed him, he looked in the direction the sound had come from.

The entrance to the classroom.

Three male students pushed through the crowded hallway, their faces furious.

They were Jung Minho, Kang Changseok, and Choi Soo-taek.

They were the same group of guys as Park Mincheol, and as soon as they saw him being beaten, they intervened by throwing chairs at him. It was a variable. Kim Hyunsung’s expression was calm, even though he might have panicked in the face of a one-versus-many situation.

It was expected.

That they would show up.

In the first place, bullying is also done in groups, so the situation after touching Park Mincheol was in the expected category.

Therefore.

“What if I don’t want to?”

Kim Hyunsung looked at them with a cold expression.

* * *

One of the gang.

Jung Minho swallowed dryly with a puzzled look on his face.

“…… Has this bastard really gone insane?”

He was puzzled.

Park Mincheol’s gang.

The group, although not the top-ranked bullies in their grade, had established enough presence to walk with a bit of swagger. Even though they hadn’t officially claimed dominance, they carried a certain swagger. Therefore, the current situation couldn’t help but confuse. They were well aware that provoking Park Mincheol would lead to the gang stepping in. Despite this, Kim Hyunsung did not show a hint of hesitation.

Kang Changseok, who had thrown the chair, unlike the thoughtful Jung Minho, looked like he was going to jump out at any moment with a red face.

“Have you gone crazy? Right, I’ll kill you today.”

He also possessed a rather imposing physique.

As Kang Changseok, who had once practiced judo, strode toward him, so did Kim Hyunsung.

They laughed.

Seeing that he was outnumbered and not backing down, Kang Changseok decided that even if he had to be suspended, he would do it right.

The situation was urgent.

It was then.

“Teacher is coming soon!”

A loud shout came from the hallway.

Suddenly, as the students were getting back to their seats, Kang Changseok glanced over at Park Mincheol and shouted profanities at Kim Hyunsung.

“Hey, just know that you are fucked. I’ll ind you as soon as class ends. So don’t even dare to try running away.”

“Look forward to it.”

I couldn’t fight anymore.

The teacher’s presence was there, but he needed time to properly discipline Kim Hyunsung.

Park Mincheol’s group retreated.

Barely able to compose himself, Park returned to his seat, and he didn’t show his face to the teacher for the rest of the class.

* * *

A series of circumstances.

Park Mincheol couldn’t quite remember.

The next thing he knew, he was curled up on the floor, being beaten indiscriminately. The whole class. Park gritted his teeth. The thought of being beaten by Kim Hyunsung in front of his classmates was too much for him to bear.

‘I’m really going to kill you’

Fast and furious.

He gritted his teeth.

In fact, he wasn’t the strongest member of Park Mincheol’s gang.

They were called Park Mincheol’s gang because they were all bullies, but in terms of actual fight rankings, Kang Chang-seok was stronger. After class, his entire clique would swarm the classroom. Kim Hyunsung would never be able to handle it. In fact, if he hadn’t let his guard down, he wouldn’t have fallen victim to a nerd like Kim Hyunsung.

His stomach churned.

The front row.

There was Kim Hyunsung.

The back of his head, which seemed to be listening intently to the lecture, completely turned Park Mincheol’s stomach.

‘Is this guy crazy?’

I didn’t understand.

This wasn’t the Kim Hyunsung I knew.

Even though he was the class leader and intervened in things, there was no reason to bully him because he had a line with himself. In hindsight, that line was his own idea. Kim Hyun-sung was the kind of person who would cross the line at any moment, but since he hadn’t seen Park Mincheol’s true colors, they wouldn’t clash.

One thing was certain.

The line had been crossed.

To make up for the fact that he had been trampled on by Kim Hyunsung, he would have to take revenge on him.

‘I’m really going to kill you’

He waited for the moment.

I didn’t care about the pain.

The teacher’s explanation, the pain in my face, and the revenge on Kim Hyunsung didn’t matter.

The long class ended.

The bell rang, and the teacher left.

He was about to get up from his seat when, to his dismay, his sneakers filled his field of vision.

A snap.

Kwadang!

He was kicked in the face.

He fell to the floor, his head spinning from the force of the impact.

It was then.

With his hair hanging down, Park Mincheol met Kim Hyunsung’s eyes as he looked down at him.

“We should continue where we left off,right?”

Goosebumps rose.

I was sure.

Unlike the others, this one didn’t flinch at the prospect of dealing with a group.