Chapter 1

Inside a colorfully painted ice-cream parlor, a girl with shiny long hair and thick straight bangs smiled as sweetly as the ice-cream in the display freezer. “Kamsahamnida (thank you), come again soon!” She lowered her head slightly to bow as a polite gesture and watched the young family leave in happy spirits.

“Bommie Unnie!” Minji waved by the entrance while her boyfriend opened the door. “It's so hot outside so Daesung and I are craving for some ice-cream.” She merrily skipped towards the bar area and took a seat on a stool.

“The usual?” Bom picked up a scoop and looked at Minji for confirmation before digging away into the tub. As soon as she placed the bowls of ice-cream in front of her friends, the phone next to her on the counter started ringing. “Yeboseyo (hello)?”

A soothing voice pleasant to the ears greeted over the line, “Hi Bommie, it's Youngbae, I'm really sorry to tell you this on such short notice, but I don't think I'll be coming in for the evening shift.”

“No problem,” Bom said in an understanding tone, “You have your mid-semester exam tomorrow and you need all the time you can to study. Don't worry about the shop, I'll be able to handle it on my own. Just get a good score and make everyone proud!”

Ever so thankful, Youngbae was glad to have such a considerate friend. “You're the best, Bom. I'll make it up to you soon. Bye!”

“Bye. Youngbae hwaiting!” She added before putting the phone down. At once, she saw Minji and Daesung staring at her with identical mischievous grins. “Is there something on my face?” She touched her hand to her cheeks in embarrassment.

Minji leaned forward over the counter, her grin growing wider. “'Youngbae hwaiting'? You and oppa have been getting very close lately. Are you two dating?”

“Ooh, Bommie-unnie and Youngbae-hyung dating?” Daesung clapped his hands together and smirked, “When and how did it start?”

Speechless, Bom couldn't believe how off track they were, “Just because you two are dating, doesn't mean everyone else in the world needs to be dating too. Besides, he just called in to take the night off because he needs to study for an exam tomorrow, hence the 'hwaiting'. We're just friends.”

Exchanging unconvinced looks, Minji and Daesung only nodded, keeping their grins. “Of course, but Youngbae-oppa's such a sweet guy. If I didn't already have Daesung, I'd fall for oppa for sure!”

“But you won't fall for him because you already have me, right?” Daesung asked with a puzzled expression that only changed back into his trademark smiling face when Minji nodded. “So Bommie-noona, do you need some extra help for tonight? Minji and I can stick around if you want.”

Touched by her friends' thoughtfulness, she shook her head and smiled. “Even though Minji works here after school, it's her day off today. Plus I don't want to see or hear all those lovey-dovey things you two do and say to each other. My ice-cream is sweet enough, I don't want to get diabetes! Now eat your ice-cream before it melts, I'm going to go serve my other customers.”

++++++

Standing by a large fence that surrounded a high school, Seunghyun looked over to each of his friends, wondering what their purpose was for being there. As the youngest in the group, Seunghyun had already graduated from high school for a few years, it made no sense for them to visit, especially since school was dismissed hours ago.

Suddenly, a male student in uniform ran out from the school building towards their direction. “A copy of the exams and answers are all here,” The student showed the group some papers and a folder while trying to catch his breath. “Just photo copy them and start selling them tomorrow. You'll be sure to make lots of money. I'll secretly advertise for you guys too.”

The leader of the gang named Teddy smirked, “Excellent, I'll be expecting a line-up of high school kids at the secret hideout tomorrow looking for these. Kid, you did well.”

As if relieved, the student chuckled nervously and asked, “So does that mean you guys will help me get rid of my bully? Just teach him a lesson and tell him not to beat me or insult me again, that's all I ask.”

Nodding his head, Teddy agreed, “Of course, if you've got our backs, we've got your back. Oh, and remember how I mentioned we might have a new member in our group? Say hello to Seunghyun,” He turned to Seunghyun and smirked.

“Seunghyun-shi!” The student gasped and bowed as though worshiping Seunghyun, “I've heard that you secretly train with professional boxers and that you have the arms of steel. Your punches must be deadly. If you team up with the others, the bullies at school will never touch me again!” He jumped in joy at the thought but quickly settled down when his cell phone began to ring. “Oh no, it's my mom calling. I better get home before I get into trouble. Thank you so much for agreeing to protect me and teach my bully a lesson. You guys are such honorable heroes. Bye!”

The gang watched as the student ran off down the street as though he had just won the lottery. For the first time in a long time, Seunghyun felt like he was somebody. Gone were the days when classmates would pick on him for being dumb and teachers looked down upon him for his low marks. Even his mom was starting to nag him less about not being an all-rounded, perfect son like Jiyong. Out here with these guys, it was a whole new world, and one he could see himself fitting quite nicely into.

“That gullible kid, he'd believe anything you tell him.” Teddy shook his head and laughed, “Come on guys, it's still so early. Let's find something to do.”

++++++

Bom tapped her fingers gently on the counter as she waited impatiently for the last of her customers to ask for the bill. The group of men had entered for some ice-cream earlier, but it was now long passed closing time already and they didn't seem to have any intention of leaving. Just when she was about to tell them to finish up quickly, they finally stood up from their seats. Heaving a sigh of relief, she put the bill on a plastic tray and waited for them to walk over. Yet much to her surprise and dismay, they headed towards the exit rather than the cash register. “Wait, you guys haven't paid yet!” She called out before they could walk out the door.

Seunghyun turned around quickly and took a step forward, but Teddy immediately held him back. Confused, Seunghyun didn't understand what was going on.

“If you're going to join our gang, the first rule you need to learn is this.” He said to Seunghyun, then turned to face Bom. “We never pay for anything we're not satisfied with.”

Furrowing her brows, Bom refused to accept their behavior and pressed on. “If it wasn't satisfactory, then why did you guys finish all the ice-cream? You better pay up or I won't let you leave.”

“Ooh, she's a feisty chick,” Teddy grinned and chuckled evilly, “So you think you can stop us from leaving? Guys,” He lifted his hands up and snapped his fingers, “Time for some fun.”

Aside from Seunghyun, each member of the gang darted off into a random direction and began kicking and knocking over the furniture inside the ice-cream parlor. Bom screamed and shouted at them to stop, but no one would listen.

Though Seunghyun had been out with the gang a few times before, he never once was placed in a situation like this. All around him, he could hear the others encouraging him to join in their actions, yet it was like his feet were cemented to the ground. He couldn't lift a finger, and he didn't want to.

Not until Bom ran to pick up the phone did the men eventually stop. “She's actually calling the police. Let's go!” One of the guys from the group alerted and they all ran towards the door. Before the last man left, he kicked a chair that skidded across the floor and hit Bom, making her cry out in pain.

Seunghyun spun around abruptly, trying to catch a glimpse of the helpless girl but was pushed from behind to keep running. “Is she okay?”

“Who cares? Just keep running before someone sees us and we get caught.”

While all the guys looked as though they were running for their lives, Seunghyun found himself slowing down each step he took. By the time he got to the end of the street, he was almost half a block behind everyone else. The day had started out quite well, but he never expected for such a drastic turn of events to happen. He couldn't quite tell if what he felt was guilt, but there was certainly something in him that made him feel very uncomfortable.

A car honked and startled him from his thoughts. It wasn't until then he realized he was standing in the middle of the road. Hurriedly, he backtracked to the curb when Jiyong's voice suddenly echoed in his head.

“You may not realize this tonight, but there's more to life than alcohol and violence. Let's just hope you'll understand soon before someone gets hurt and it's too late!”

“That girl in the ice-cream parlor,” Seunghyun whispered to himself, “What if she's hurt? I just wanted to join the gang to have an identity and be somebody, I didn't want to hurt anyone.” Worried for the girl, he turned around and began running once more. Only this time, he was determined to go back to the ice-cream parlor.