▬ Chapter 1: The Delinquent of Dark Horse ▬

A man leisurely walked towards the entrance of a public high school in Busan, riding the wave of students who were also going in the same direction. Despite having assigned uniforms, he wore all black even in the roaring heat of the summer with only his white accented sneakers coloring his outfit. With a cigarette in his mouth, both hands placed in his pockets, and his head held high, he confidently took each step without having a care for those around him.

A student stopped by the building’s entrance when he saw a familiar figure cross his line of vision. He then pointed to the man and whispered to his companion, “Hey, isn’t that Hoya?”

His companion looked to where he pointed with an arched brow, “From Dark Horse?”

“Yeah. No one dares to challenge him. I heard he hasn’t lost a fight.”

“Really?” He scoffed. “I bet I’m stronger than him.”

The leisurely-walking man stopped as he heard the comment and twitched. With a smirk, he took out his cigarette and threw it to the ground with a stomp, making sure to extinguish the once lit sparks and smoke coming off of it. It’s been a while since he heard such a remark and as a prideful man, he doesn’t back down from a challenge.

“You idiot! What if he hears you?!” The first student smacked the second’s head which made the latter merely laugh at his friend’s agitated expression. “Even if you are a new student, he doesn’t care and will beat up anyone! Heck, he even beat up–”

“Hey,” a deep and irritated-sounding voice interrupted them. Once the two students turned around, they were met with a smirking face.

“Hoya…” the first student’s eyes widened as he said his name in a barely audible whisper.

Sensing that his friend was just playing games to scare him on his first week of school, the other chuckled. “Dude, why are you so afraid of him?”

His friend quickly covered his mouth and after a split second, he let out a forced smile. “G-Good morning, Hoya. We’ll be going now.”

As soon as the student took a step and unwillingly dragged his new friend away from the scene, Hoya quickly blocked the door with an arm and leaned against the wall in the process.

“Ah, ah, ah,” he smiled and swished a finger from side to side. “Is that how you greet someone who’s a year higher than you? You.” He pointed to the new student.

Freeing his friend’s hand from his mouth, he responded, “Me?”

“Yeah. Do you think you’re stronger than me?”

“Why not? I mean, I may be the very person who will break your winning streak.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Intrigued by his reply, Hoya snickered.

“Hey!” The other student warned him, “Don’t do it.”

A few students were now encircling them, considering that the three were blocking the building’s entrance. They began to whisper and stood by to watch the bloody – well, not yet bloody but soon to be one – battle unfold.

“Show me,” Hoya taunted and backed away from the entrance to give them more space to fight. He motioned for the student to start the attack by waving a hand as if he was calling over a dog. Accepting his challenge, the new student balled up his fists and charged at Hoya, only to be shoved to the side. “That’s all you have? Is that what you call an attack?”

The new student clicked his tongue and ran towards him again. This time, Hoya quickly moved an inch to the left and punched the student in the face... hard. The student tumbled over and hit the floor while he instinctively covered his face in the process due to the pressure. The crowd of