“HANEUL AH!!” Seungho yelled as he crashed into the bookstore.

A sniffing Haneul stood up from behind the table, clutching the note in her hand.

“Shhh~ He’ll be fine.” Seungho said, hugging her to calm her down.

“What happened? Did something happen to you guys?” He asked.

Haneul told him everything; from the bullying to the kitten incident. Seungho listened with clenched fists, anger building up in him.

“Too much. Those people are too much.” He mumbled, slamming his fist into the table.

“Junhyung…” Haneul begin to cry again.

“I know where he is.” Seungho said.

“You know!?” Haneul exclaimed, hope flashed across her face.

“I know. But I’m afraid he would get hurt. Let’s go.” Seungho said, dragging her along.

“Where are we going?” Haneul asked as Seungho sped.

“Junhyung and I once went to search for the bullies’ hideout. No, actually, I took him there. I wanted to revenge for him, but he stopped me. Then we joked that one day when we have nothing to fear anymore, we’ll go there to bash those s up.” Seungho said as he made a sharp turn.

“You took him there!?” Haneul shouted.

“I’m sorry! At that point of time, I really wanted to bash those people up. They were.. really.. really mean.” Seungho said.

“Junhyung, why are you so stupid?” Haneul mumbled, burying her face in her palms.

Seungho looked at her and then awkwardly pat her head.

“He’ll be fine. Junhyung may look frail, but Junhyung can fight.” Seungho said.

“What?” Haneul asked.

“Junhyung can fight. Your Junhyung can fight.” Seungho said with a slight smile.

“BUT I DON’T WANT HIM TO FIGHT!” Haneul yelled, startling Seungho.

“Omo! Alright, alright.” He said as he focused on the road.

***

“Seems like you’re quite a fighter huh?” The man said, smirking at Junhyung.

“Why? Surprised?” Junhyung said, panting.

He was bleeding from his arms and face, but he never once let himself fall.

“I should have talked about your girl earlier, then we can fight. You know, it’s boring bullying you all the time. You never fight back. How uninteresting.” The man said.

The man was bleeding on his arms and forehead.

“Uninteresting. Suits someone like you perfectly well.” Junhyung said.

The man suddenly swing a kick across Junhyung’s cheek, but unfortunately for him, Junhyung caught his leg in time, sending him crashing onto the ground.

The two men continued to fight, throwing punches at each other blindly. Both were exhausted and in pain, but neither wanted to stop.

“Your girl, she isn’t the prettiest, but her tigress kind of attitude makes it attractive in bed.” The man said.

“!” Junhyung cursed as he charged towards the guy, grabbing him by his waist.

The man took the opportunity to punch Junhyung’s back. Junhyung was in no position to move. He had fallen into the man’s trap unknowingly.

“That’s why we say, a man should never let his woman affect him.” The man laughed as he continued punching Junhyung.

Junhyung bit the man hard on his waist. Despite the man’s yelling and endless punching, Junhyung never let go.

“YOU CRAZY DOG!!! LET GO!!! OUCH!!! !!! AGHHHHH!!!” The man jumped in pain.

Junhyung bit down harder as thou he was out to tear off a piece of flesh from the man. He bit down so hard he could taste the man’s blood in his mouth.

“AHHHHHHHHHHGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! YOU YONG JUNHYUNG!!!!!!!!!” The man shouted, elbowing Junhyung hard on his neck.

Junhyung choked, causing him to release the other man. The man pushed him away roughly.

“You want to be crazy huh?” The man said, holding onto his waist.

He grabbed Junhyung by his hair and pushed him against the concrete wall.

“We’ll see who is crazier.” He mumbled, kicking Junhyung on the back of his knees, forcing him to kneel down.

Just as he was about to hit Junhyung, the door flew open. Junhyung took the opportunity to slide away.

“Run? We’ll see where you can run to.” The man smirked. Behind him, a group of eight other men were closing in onto them.

Junhyung knew he couldn’t win, neither could he leave. So he thought, if he were to die today, he cannot and will not die without a fight. He clenched his fists, bracing himself.

“Take him down, but I want him alive. I want him to beg for forgiveness.” The man said, signaling the other men forward.

They charged towards Junhyung, grabbing him and hitting him like nobody’s business. Junhyung fought back, throwing aimless punches at whoever he could hit. But of course he was hurt more. He was on the ground before he knew it.

He couldn’t fight back, so he curled up into a ball, protecting himself from the kicks. As he got bashed up, he thought about Haneul. He wanted to see her now. He wanted to tell her how much he love her. He would give up anything to see her now.

“Ha.. Neul..” He mumbled as he received a kick on the back of his head.

A few times he successfully managed to grab a random leg, sending someone crashing onto the ground, but in return, he received harsher kicks, but he was happy about it still.

Suddenly, the beatings stopped.

Junhyung was a bloody mess on the floor. The man walked towards him and lifted his head by his hair.

“Joker? Really?” The man said in a mocking tone.

Junhyung smiled and spat onto the man’s face, angering the man. The man gave him a full punch on his nose. Even with a bloody nose, Junhyung still smiled.

“You.. can kill me now. It’s fine. Because.. I left scars.. On this hideous face.. of yours.. I am.. satisfied.” Junhyung choked out.

The man seemed shocked. He turned to the broken glass mirror at the side and stoned at how he looked like; bruises and cuts covered his face.. Junhyung spot onto the man’s weakness; his face, therefore he kept throwing punches on the man’s face only.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” Junhyung screamed as he pushed the man away.

He picked himself up with whatever strength he has left and headed for the door. The other men in the room were all shocked, and by the time they came back to their senses, Junhyung was already out of the door.

“GET THAT BACK!!!!!” The man yelled.

The club was empty and dark, of course, it was owned by them. Junhyung ran aimlessly, he couldn’t see anything because of the dim lights and he didn’t have much strength to run. He kept falling, but he picked himself up, determined to head for the door.

“JUNHYUNG AH!!!!” He heard a familiar voice yell.

He stopped and turned back, looking around.

“JUNHYUNG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” He heard the voice yell again.

“Ha… Neul..” He mumbled, looking frantically around.

The lights went on suddenly, blinding everyone.

When Junhyung finally adjusted himself to the brightness, he broke into a smile when he saw Haneul at the foot of the staircase. She cried when she saw him.

“Haneul..” Junhyung mumbled as he dragged himself down the stairs.

“JUNNIE!!!!” Haneul yelled, but she didn’t sound like she was happy to see him, she sounded more like she was warning him of something.

Before Junhyung could register anything, he felt a hard hit on the back of his head. He felt himself go limp and then all he heard was Haneul’s deafening scream before blacking out.

***

Haneul watch in horror as the man behind Junhyung raised a baseball bat. She screamed at him for attention, but before he could react, the man swung the bat onto the back of Junhyung’s head, causing him to collapse.

Haneul watch blankly as Junhyung rolled down the flight of stairs, leaving a trail of blood behind. Seungho appeared out of nowhere, shocked to see his dongsaeng in a pool of blood, unconscious on the floor.

“You.” Haneul said, pointing at the man who hit her Junhyung.

“YOU!!!!” She screamed as she charged upstairs.

Seungho tried to hold her down but he was shoved away. The man holding the bat stood at his ground, unable to move.

“WHY!? WHY!?” Haneul screamed as she ran over.

The man swing his bat in front of her as a form of defense but unfortunately for him, Haneul’s fast reflexes allowed her to grab his bat in time.

“WHAT DID JUNHYUNG DO TO YOU THAT YOU NEED TO HIT HIM LIKE THIS!? WHAT!?” Haneul yelled, grabbing the man’s neck.

The man struggled and choked, his face turning purple from the lack of oxygen. No one dared to near her for she acted as thou she had the words ‘I will kill you’ written on her face.

“HANEUL!!! JUNHYUNG!!” Seungho yelled, distracting her.

“Later.” Haneul mumbled as she roughly pushed the guy away.

“Dar..ling..” Junhyung choked out.

“Stop bleeding!” Haneul cried as she cradled Junhyung in her arms.

Her clothes were all soaked with his blood.

“Sor..ry.” He mumbled.

“No no no! Don’t apologize!” She cried.

“I.. I.. couldn’t protect..you.” He said.

“NO! You’re my hero! Please, stay alive!” She begged.

“I can’t.. I.. don’t think.. I..” He mumbled, but she covered .

“YOU CANNOT DIE UNTIL I SAY YOU CAN!!!” She screamed.

“Be.. Happy.” He mumbled as he tried to catch his breath.

“Please, Junhyung! Please! I beg you! Please!!! You cannot leave me! Who is going to protect me in future!? WHO!?” She screamed as she felt Junhyung go limp in her arms.

***

“Where do you think you’re going?” Seungho appeared suddenly in front of the man who was trying to escape.

“After you do this to my dongsaeng, where do you think you’re going?” Seungho asked again.

“Get out of the way, stupid celebrity.” The man spat.

“We’ll see.” Seungho said, grabbing the man’s arm and twisting it.

“I’ve been wanting to do this to you since the day I realize what you have been doing to my dongsaeng. You were lucky that my dongsaeng is a nice person. But he is too nice, therefore he got hurt now. But me, sorry, I was never nice.” Seungho said, twisting the man’s arm further despite the man’s pleads.

Seungho only released the man when he heard the sound he wanted to hear; the sound of the man’s dislocated arm.

“Shall we do it for the other side?” Seungho smirked, pressing the man’s injured arm hard.

“ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” The man yelled.

The pain was so unbearable that he pee his pants. Seungho watched with raised brow as pee seeped out of the man’s pants.

“Interesting.” Seungho said.

“Being rotten yourself is already a bad thing, you were still such a bad influence to your sister? The both of you, did you think that you could own the school by bullying?” Seungho asked.

The man trembled in fear.

“ANSWER ME!!” Seungho roared.

“N.. N.. No.” The man startled.

Seungho made a mental note not to scare the man further because he wasn’t interested in seeing the man himself.

“Then why? Why pick on Junhyung? Because he is an easy target? Because he is too nice? WHAT FAULT IS IT OF HIS THAT HE IS NICE!? WHAT FAULT IS IT OF HIS!?” Seungho yelled.

“None!! NONE!!” The man shouted.

Just as he was about to yell, the door burst open, revealing five other men. Three headed towards Junhyung while two charged towards Seungho.

“SO IT’S YOU!? IT’S YOU WHO HAVE BEEN BULLYING OUR JUNHYUNG! WHAT DID HE DO TO YOU!?” Doojoon shouted, grabbed the man’s collar.

Seungho stepped aside, letting Doojoon grab the man.

“Our Junhyung is such a good boy, what did he do to deserve such treatment from you!?” Doojoon yelled, swinging his fist across the man’s cheek.

“WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO JUNNIE!? YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIM, WHY DID YOU MAKE HIM SO MISERABLE!?” Yoseob shouted.

He grabbed the man from Doojoon and punched him aimlessly. He punched him so many times that Doojoon had to pry him off.

“Seobie, stop. This man isn’t worth your strength.” Doojoon hugged Yoseob who was crying uncontrollably.

“What did Junnie do to you!?” Yoseob kicked the man.

The man couldn’t even answer.

Seungho smiled when he heard a sound delightful to his ears, but dreadful to the man; the police siren.

“LET ME GO!! PLEASE!!! MY FUTURE WILL BE RUINED!! PLEASE!! I’LL PAY FOR EVERYTHING!!” The man was practically on his knees.

“I had given you almost three years to stop this, but you went on and on, and finally, you crossed the line. And what did you say? Future ruined? MY DONGSAENG MAY DIE!! JUST LOOK AT HIM!! LOOK AT HOW INJURED HE IS! LOOK AT HOW DEVASTED HIS GIRLFRIEND IS! DO YOU THINK I’LL BOTHER ABOUT YOUR FUTURE!? And who wants your money!? We have lots! We earn it on our own!” Seungho shouted, kicking the man in anger.

“If anything happens to Junhyung, I promise you, you’ll never see the sunlight again, because you, your sister, and everyone else, would be locked up for life. I promise you. I’ll make it happen. If I have to pay people to do it, I’ll do it.” Seungho said dangerously.

“You messed with the wrong people. Next time, just in case you decide to bully someone again, don’t just look at him, look at the people around him as well. For all you know, they may be as crazy as I am.” Seungho said before letting the police take the man go.

The three of them rush to Junhyung’s side. The medics were having a hard time, not with Junhyung, but with Haneul. She refused to let Junhyung go, she kept hugging him.

“Miss, if you don’t let him go, he may die! Miss, please!” The man pleaded.

“NO!!!!” Haneul screamed.

“Haneul ah! Don’t be stubborn! Please.” Hyunseung begged her.

Haneul kept kicking and crying like a spoilt child.

Dongwoon and Kikwang tried to hold her down but got punched instead.

Suddenly, Haneul was lifted up and dragged away. She screamed as Junhyung left her arms.

“Be quiet!” Seungho commanded.

“Junhyung!!!! WHY DID YOU PULL ME AWAY!! WHY!?” Haneul screamed into Seungho’s face.

“DO YOU WANT HIM TO DIE!? You behaving like this will only kill him!” Seungho shouted into Haneul’s face.

“DO YOU THINK I WANT TO LET HIM GO!? I DON’T WANT TO TOO!” Seungho shouted, tears flowing down his cheeks.

“But what choice do we have!? If I had a choice, I would gladly take the blow for him! All of us here would! I know you would too! But what has been done has been done! Get a hold of yourself!” Seungho shouted, wiping away his tears but they kept flowing.

Haneul looked down, weeping softly.

“I’m sorry.” Seungho said softly, pulling her into his embrace.

“I’m so sorry.” He apologized, her back.

“Junnie… What am I going to do without him? How can I live without him?” She cried.

“He’ll be fine. That boy is very strong. He has been through so much, he’ll pull through. He has you to come back for.” Seungho hushed her.

The other boys stood there, watching Seungho comfort Haneul. They too were unable to control their tears. They walked towards the two of them and hugged the two tight. The entire group was a crying mess, as embarrassing as it may be, but what could they do now apart from cry?