mine
PARADOX"you realise what will happen to you now after what you've done to us, right?" asked simon. jinhwan stood beside him, barely standing.
you and byulyi stayed on your spot, both in defence position.
"we can prove you started all this mess," you said. "the principal will know i'm telling the truth."
simon laughs, and devilish one. "the principal is just a puppet to the board. jimin controls the board because of her dad. i know it sounds ugly, but that's the reality of life, my friends. if you have the money, you have the influence."
you felt your stomach flipping at what simon said. you knew the principal for years and you know she's a good person. but if what simon said is true, then you really have to prepare yourself to look for another school.
"then we don't care about the rules anymore!" roared byulyi, eyeing them with utmost loathing. "you cowards don't deserve any respect!"
jinhwan looked uneasy. simon just laughed.
"take it easy there, byulyi," he said. "you don't have problems because your parents are rich. but your friend over there, whose parents are working hard in the province to support her studies in our exclusive university, will surely suffer if you both get kicked out."
byulyi eyed you with worry.
"the scholarship doesn't matter to me now," you told her. "what i want is to give these s what they deserve." you turned to simon and jinhwan. "this has been going on for quite a while now. why don't we just end this rivalry, right here, right now?"
"yeah. i'm surely gonna end this with you going out of school," said simon. "too bad, irene's not here to save you, huh...?"
you squinted your eyes, not sure what he meant.
"don't you ever think you can beat me because your kung fu experience won't help..." he added.
"i don't care if i get kicked out of school. i want is to beat you, simon." you pointed at him. "fight me, man to man. let's see who'll win. doesn't matter if we'll get punished by the school later. but whoever gets knocked out first wins."
"hmm? fight you? man to man? that's a mismatch. you know that i am physically stronger than you."
"i don't care. i swear i'm gonna have your face kiss the floor."
that irritated simon more, but it worked. he balled his hands into fists. "let's see then."
simon and jinhwan attacked you. you rolled to the side, dodging them. jinhwan attempted another attack but byulyi held him up.
getting distracted, you didn't notice simon launched his second punch. you blocked it with your arms. your shield was almost blown away when the pain in your left arm went back in full measures. you evaded instead and ran behind him in a swift.
he swung an elbow at you which you blocked with your right hand. you grabbed his wrist and pushed him away.
the gap between you was enough for you to launch a flying kick (which you and byulyi have been practising in the dojo during your free time). your shoe hit his chest and his body flew on the pile of woods, scattering them on the floor.
jinhwan flew on the other side after receiving an uppercut from byulyi.
you forgot she has boxing classes too outside school.
poor jinhwan.
simon still got up, although struggling. "damn you..." he said, his voice hoarse.
he spits, and you heard something hard hitting the wood. he looked back at you and realised his lips are bleeding. one of his front teeth is broken.
you felt nervous knowing you were the reason for that. this is the first time you've used your skills outside the dojo, against a person who's not your teammate, with no rules or regulations to follow.
"look at what you've done!" he shouted, blood and spit flying from his mouth. "i'm gonna make you pay for this!" he pulled out a jackknife from his pocket. "you'll lose one of your limbs for the tooth i lost."
simon sounded different this time, like he's possessed by an evil spirit. you can tell his dizzy as he was wobbling while walking towards you and byulyi. even so, that knife he's holding can injure you--or worse, kill you--if you won't be careful.
to make things worse, jinhwan stood up, his gums bleeding. he looked around and pulled out a jackknife too. he smiles as he follows simon.
". . . i think this is the time to run!" byulyi retreated her steps right away and you followed along.
there's no way you can beat two full-grown men with knives.
but they were fast and was able to catch up with you even before you can exit the alley.
simon pulled you by your shirt, slamming you to the ground after. he stabs, and you dodged. you rolled away to make sure he won't reach you.
. is he really planning to kill you?
once you're in a safe distance, you stood up. you were worried about byulyi for a second but simon commences his attack. you intercept his wrist and blended in. you then dragged him in a circular motion and executed a takedown. you snatched the knife with an armlock and threw it away.
"agh! dammit!" he shouted when you pinned him facedown on the ground.
you looked at byulyi and felt relieved when she finally disarmed jinhwan, throwing the knife away out of his reach.
but that slight distraction became your weakness. simon, with all his might, pushed you up, and you got tossed to the ground again.
"damn you!" he attacked you again. you can see the frustration on his eyes as he keeps punching the air.
you keep on moving around while looking for a great angle to pin him down.
"ugh! !!! you're just running!" simon spit on the floor.
you were studying what his next move could be so you could plan your offence too. but then he did something unexpected: he stopped and kicked sand towards your face.
the surprise attack caused you temporary blindness. you can feel the dirt smearing across your eyes. you knew the attack will come soon so you keep kept moving around while waiting for your vision to regain.
you lost your balance and fell on your when you stepped on an uneven floor.
"you're a coward, !" you said, eyes still closed.
simon grabbed you by your shirt. "i don't care."
he raised his right hand, ready to smack you. you tightened your facial muscles in anticipation of the attack.
"simon, stop that!"
no fist collided with your face. you opened your eyes, blinking until you saw an image of a woman approaching you in a hurry.
it was irene, and she looks mad.
"simon, what the hell are you doing!" she said, pushing him. "we've already talked about this, right!"
it surprised you to see how simon's demeanour shifted from a killer to a child.
"but, irene--"
"no buts. this is over!"
your vision is okay again. you can see simon's shocked face. irene helps you get up and dusts your shirt.
"are you all right?" she asked, her voice trembling. she scans you for any injury. "gosh! your arm is bleeding!"
"ah?" you looked at your left arm and found a cut on your sleeve. blood is gushing down. maybe he was able to hit you with his knife but you were too busy to notice.
"did he stab you???" asked irene, more worried now.
the approaching vehicles caught your attention. sooyoung and yerim went out with the disciplinary officers.
you looked around and saw yongsun walking towards byulyi who's very much safe. two officers went to byungho directly.
"what the ! you can't do this to me, irene!" said simon. "i didn't come to her first. she came here and picked a fight with me!"
irene's worried face shifted into glare when she turned to simon. "i don't care anymore... i have to report you this time."
"are you serious?"
"yes, i am. you almost killed these people!"
simon couldn't believe what he's seeing. "you can't do this to me..."
"i'm sorry," is all that irene said.
the officers took care of byungho. simon and jinhwan were asked to come to the principal's office.
"we know you need to investigate seulgi and byulyi for this," irene told one officer. "but can we bring them to the infirmary first?"
the officer nods. "the other kid's state doesn't look good. we're bringing him to the nearest emergency room outside the school," he said, referring to byungho. "we do have a doctor and a nurse in the infirmary. once your friends got treated, proceed to the principal's office." he gestured towards you and byulyi.
irene chances a glance at you with her worried face. she sighs. "okay."
you parted ways with the officers after that as you're heading a different direction.
"i told you to avoid him, right?" said irene, as she walks beside you.
"b-but i was just--"
"i would never forgive myself if something happens to you, do you know that?"
"i... i'm sorry..."
while you were walking, something on the floor caught irene's attention. she stooped down to pick it. you stopped as well to look at what she had seen.
but what you saw after frightened you to the bones.
"is this yours?" she asked, raising the yin necklace carefully so you could see it.
---
the moment you decided to confess to irene, you've always imagined it to be in a place where you could be alone with her.
somewhere with no distractions
it could be your usual unexpected talks--the ones you always least expect to happen--or a place where you could have some privacy, without worrying that others would see you.
of course, in your daydream, she'll be as nice and sweet as she's always been. she'll accept your confession happily and you'll be together.
you know it's too dreamy, like a drama series, but that's your idea of admitting your feelings for her.
not in this way.
not right after she saw you bathing in dust, almost getting smacked by her psychopath boyfriend.
ugh. tough luck.
---
"is this yours?" asked irene, raising the yin necklace carefully so you could see it.
you felt the urge to check your pocket, hoping for the tiniest chance that the necklace is still there, that the one irene is holding isn't yours.
but you know it's the one. how could it not be? irene picked it up from the spot where you fell earlier.
irene raised an eyebrow at you, getting impatient for your answer.
you slightly shifted your body to avoid her gaze. "that necklace is--"
"s-seulgi...?"
you turned your attention to the voice from behind and saw hyojung wobbling towards you.
"i... i'm glad you're okay..." said hyojung, smiling faintly.
you should have noticed that something is wrong with her. you did though, but you didn't bother because you were already panicking.
the last time you were alone with irene and hyojung things didn't turn out well between them. you don't want another catfight now.
but before you could do something about it, just right in front of you, hyojung suddenly collapsed.
---
a torn shirt, a knife wound, and three surgical stitches--you never thought you'd get these during the fun run day.
at least you only suffered bruises from the wood hit you got.
luckily for byulyi, her injury isn't serious. she's left with a gauze on her head.
"phew. i'm sure my folks will panic once i go home with this," said byulyi, waiting for you to finish up as the nurse is applying the last bandage on your wound.
"i'm just glad my parents are in the province," you said.
"well, yongsun says the disciplinary committee will contact our parents about this incident."
"what?" worry washes over you. the last thing you want to happen is for your parents to worry. "i was planning to hide this to them."
byulyi shakes her head. "it's better to let them know now just in case we get expelled, at least they won't get surprised."
that just drained all the energies left in you. "do you think we'll get expelled?"
byulyi shakes her head. "i still hope not. i mean, we just defended ourselves, right? if we didn't, they could have killed us."
"but it's school's policy," you said, sighing. "plus, they mentioned jimin's dad is in the board."
"yongsun told me not to worry, though. she said irene will take care of it for us."
you felt hope. "how?"
byulyi shrugs. "i don't know. what i know is they are outside still waiting for us."
the nurse finished patching you up and excused herself.
"not sure of what i saw, but i think she was crying," added byulyi.
"because of simon?" you slipped down the hospital bed.
"no. she was worried about you," said byulyi. "you heard what jimin told simon earlier, right? she said you and irene like each other." she chuckles. "i was right all along, huh..."
"hey, are you two all right?" yongsun came in. "the doctor says hyojung is conscious now. it was an asthma attack. we're free to check her."
you all went to her room and saw hyojung's faint smile. "hey there..." she said.
"hey yourself. how are you feeling?" said byulyi, approaching.
"i'm fine. gosh. what did simon do to you two?"
"it's just a minor scratch." byulyi waved her hands. "we're fine as we are. right, seulgi?"
you nodded. "they used weapons against us. we had no choice but to defend ourselves."
"you should have seen his face, hyojung. he was so infuriated!" byulyi boasted.
"i'm glad you two are okay. i was so worried." hyojung turned to the other two ladies in the room. "thank you for responding right away."
"anytime." yongsun smiled. "these two are no different to us, anyway."
"i'm sorry for troubling you just to save these two," said hyojung.
"nothing much trouble," said irene. "like you, we consider them as friends."
you gulped at what irene said, thinking about hyojung's revelation earlier.
"and since we're already in here," yongsun started, stepping forward, "i would like to take this opportunity to apologise for our behaviour towards you, hyojung."
you and byulyi smiled at each other.
"i know there is no perfect excuse for what we did," said yongsun, giving irene a quick look, then turning back to hyojung. "or what i did specifically because irene, sooyoung, and yerim weren't a part of it. i know what i've done is wrong and i would understand if you won't forgive me right away, but i'm hoping you'd accept my heartfelt apology."
you felt your eyes getting warm because of yongsun's sincerity.
"don't blame it all on yourself, sun-ah," said irene. "i'm also at fault. i'm very sorry, hyojung. i hope you'll forgive us."
hyojung smiles and shakes her head. "apology accepted."
feeling everything is falling into the right place, you were so happy that you wrapped hyojung in your arms.
"thank you for helping us, hyojung. thank you."
hyojung tapped your back. "no need to be so dramatic now, seul. i know you two will do the same thing for me, right?"
you pulled back. "of course, i would."
"i won't let you get in trouble like that in the first place," said byulyi.
"thanks, byulyi and seulgi. thanks for being great friends," said hyojung.
"and because of that, no more marathon running for you next year, okay?" you said, pinching her cheek.
hyojung chuckled at that. "okay. okay. if you say so."
blag!
out of nowhere, the clinic door slammed shut. you looked back and irene disappeared from where she was standing earlier.
"was that irene?" you asked, turning to them.
"definitely her." byulyi nodded.
you kind of felt weird seeing their calm faces even after irene stormed out of the room like that. "something wrong with her?"
"i think you should follow her, seul," said yongsun, sighing.
"follow her? why?" you asked.
hyojung and yongsun exchanged glances before hyojung spoke up, "yes, you should follow her."
"b-but why me?"
"time is running, man. just go after her," byulyi said this time.
you don't know how it happened but their forces just pushed you out of the room.
---
you saw irene striding down the hallway. you called her up but she wasn't looking back. you end up running, trying to catch up with her.
when you were finally close, you grabbed her by the arm. "hey, what's wrong?"
irene yanked her arm away. "don't touch me..." she looked mad and teary-eyed.
afraid for your own life, you obeyed. you tried to catch up to her phase instead.
"irene, what's wrong?"
she said nothing, but she continued walking.
"what's wrong? are you mad at me?" you asked.
"just stop following me. okay?"
"i will if you'll tell me what's wrong!" you said, getting a little impatient.
irene stopped walking. she took in a deep breath and stared at you like she will kill you.
"go back to hyojung. she needs you," she said.
too confused, you don't know what to do anymore. irene resumed walking, faster than before, and you're running out of ideas on how to tame her.
until you remember one thing you're sure will catch her full attention.
"irene!" you called out. "remember that yin necklace you found earlier? it's mine!"
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