"Come on, Kyungmi, you can do it ..." the girl muttered to herself, anxiously twisting at the hem of her shirt. "Just go up and talk to him ..."

This girl was called No Kyungmi, just any other second year at Woollim High. With hair that was, if not hanging straight, then piled messily into a bun, and eyes hidden behind big glasses, she could easily blend in to the very walls. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact this girl was known as one of Woollim's top students and a regular genius, she probably wouldn't be noticed at all.

Not that being smart did anything to her social skills, though. Kyungmi quickly discovered that nobody wanted to be friends with an over-perfectionist who babbled random encyclopedia facts half the time. She couldn't help it, though -- she read so much that information just burst out of her sometimes, and ever since birth she's had the people skills of a porcupine.

Porcupines, incidentally, were in the Rodentia family and tended to live alone. Their quills --

No! That wasn't what she was supposed to be doing right now!

Her target was a handsome boy leaning against the gates, scribbling something down on a clipboard and looking completely detached from the world. Despite his very ulzzang face (which was sure to gain a crowd, she noted), he was given a wide berth by any students passing around the back of the school.

Normally, this kind of guy was exactly what Kyungmi would try to avoid. Heck; she tried to avoid most people. 

But she was on a mission, and he was the only one who could help her, she was certain of it.

Now, if only she could get the courage to actually go up and ask him ...

~*~

It all started on Monday morning, in study hall. Kyungmi was hunched up on her own, burying her face into her books. For once, she was glad everyone else ignored her in favour of chatting loudly with their friends. She didn't want anybody to ask her why her eyes were so red.

For once, Kyungmi didn't enjoy study hall. Normally, she relished the joy of being able to do whatever she wanted, and sometimes get some quiet if the teachers managed to get everyone to shut up, which was usually never. 

But today? She was miserable. She had been miserable all weekend, and today she had come to school so depressed a permanent storm cloud seemed to hover directly above her head.

That was when she got her idea. Ideas were strange things, and the best ones usually came to her when she was supposed to be doing something else. So while she was trying to recite all the mathematical formulas she knew in her head (it was a long list), a sudden overwhelming thought popped into her head and wouldn't budge.

A stifling desire for revenge.

Now, Kyungmi wasn't a particularly violent person. She never had bad thoughts about anybody -- mostly because nobody really bothered with her in high school. She hated sports that resulted in injuries. Heck, she cried when she was six years old and went to a circus because the animals looked sad.

But this was a special case. Over the weekend, Kyungmi discovered her best friend -- perhaps her only friend in the entire world -- had been gravely injured, and Kyungmi was out for blood. She knew trying to talk or reason would do nothing, and the only way to really, truly get revenge on the jerk who messed her bestie up was to reciprocate the favour.

But who was willing to beat up somebody for her?

Kyungmi looked around, and her gaze landed on a boy sitting nearby. He looked very wannabe-punk, with dyed blue spiky hair and lots of black leather. Kyungmi could see J-rock buttons and pins sticking out from his worn-out bag.

"Umm, excuse me?" She squeaked. The boy turned around, then started when he saw her, as if he never noticed she was sitting two seats away. He stared at her for a moment, before registering in his head that this was No Kyungmi, the same girl whose name was engraved on pretty much every subject's "top scores" list for the past two years.

"What?" He finally muttered.

"Umm, I was just wondering ... if, uh ... you know anyone who would be willing to assault someone?"

The punk-boy blinked at her. He certainly wasn't expecting THAT to be her question.

"What the hell would you want THAT for?"

Kyungmi flushed pink. "R-reasons."

Punkie scratched a pimple on his nose and shrugged his lanky shoulders. "Well, whatever. What about that gang, what's-their-face ... the Anarchists?"

Kyungmi made a face and readjusted her glasses. "I was hoping for something a little more ... discreet. I think bringing in a gang would cause too much attention. And it's not like I want him to die."

"A back-alley knockdown is what you're lookin' for, huh?" Punkie thought even harder. "Park Chinlee? He's okay with loosening some teeth, if you got the cash for it."

"Definitely not HIM." Park Chinlee wasn't the kind of guy who would willingly agree to beat up someone for a nerdy girl he's never so much as noticed before. Especially since he was on the basketball team and was friends with Kyungmi's revenge target.

"Are you kidding me?" A new voice joined in. It was a girl sitting just behind Kyungmi. She was chubby, had big glasses just like Kyungmi's, and wore a baggy, oversized T-shirt that was showcasing some sort of famous movie.

"What's your problem?" Punkie demanded.

"Park Chinlee's a total wimp. If you want to get a good mauling, you hire L."

L? Kyungmi could have sworn she's heard of that before. "I-is that his real name?"

"Of course it isn't, stupid. It's Kim Myungsoo. But nobody calls him that, not if they don't want to die."

"Um, sorry, but ... who is L?"

Punkie and T-shirt Girl both stared at her as if she was crazy.

"How can you NOT know L?" Punkie snapped. "Do you even go to this school?"

"I-I'm a second year ..." Kyungmi said, her cheeks flushing. 

"Of course she wouldn't know him," T-shirt Girl rolled her eyes. "L is Woollim High's most infamous hooligan, don't you know? He'll beat up just about anyone for some extra cash."

"I heard he sells drugs," Punkie said in a conspiratorial whisper.

"I heard he takes them."

"Is he r-really that good?" Kyungmi stammered, her eyebrows knitting together doubtfully.

"Good? He's a demon!" T-shirt Girl said excitedly. "This one time, a bunch of no-goods were bothering him, asking him for his wallet, right? He got them all sent to the hospital in three minutes."

"He's friends with a bunch of guys that are all kinda different types," Punkie added. "And they're the only ones who are brave enough to go near him. Nobody messes with L, man."

"But you probably shouldn't try him," T-shirt Girl said. "He's dangerous. He might hit you."

Kyungmi thought it over for a second, then squared her shoulders and took a deep, shaking breath. "I-I'll do it. I want this job done thoroughly. I'll get this L person to help me, n-no matter what!"

Punkie and T-shirt Girl stared at her in wonder. "Wow, you've got more spunk than I thought," Punkie said with a slight grin. "Who would've known YOU would want someone to get a smackdown?"

"Good luck, nerd, you'll need it."

~*~

And now here she was, nearly four days later, and she still hadn't bucked up the courage to ask him anything. 

Once Kyungmi knew his name, she suddenly realized it was rather hard NOT to know him. It seemed like his name was spoken in the halls at least twice a day. Some were exaggerated rumours ("don't talk so loud, you want L to beat you up?") and some were kids talking about seeing him at so-and-so's party, or one of his friends.

Kyungmi was confused. About half of the conversations she eavesdropped on were about how much of a deadly, cold-hearted monster he was. The other half proved him to be an overall nice guy who was kinda reserved and liked his space. Who just so happened to kick people's asses for money.

"Come on," she hissed to herself, rubbing her knuckles painfully into her forehead. "Come on, come on, it's not hard ..."

The last thing she wanted was to have to wait an entire weekend before trying again. The sooner she got revenge, the sooner she'd be satisfied. 

"What's your problem?"

Kyungmi gave a small, high-pitched scream and vaulted backwards. She was so caught up in her depression she didn't even notice the boy himself standing in front of her, frowning.

What surprised her was that this didn't look like the face of a gangster or a hooligan. It was a handsome, reserved face with the hint of a scowl. But he was much cuter than she expected.

"I know you've been stalking me since Monday, I'm not stupid you know." L's eyes flitted up and down Kyungmi's body, sizing her up. "And, uh, just so you know, I have a girlfriend."

"W-what?" Kyungmi's voice came out as a squeak, and her cheeks started to burn. "N-no, that's not ... no, I wasn't ... that isn't what I ..."

She lapsed into a mortified silence, wishing she could just crawl into a hole and die. L continued to stare at her, almost curious.

"... You're that No Kyungji girl, aren't you? The one who's got the highest grades in the school?"

"K-Kyungmi," she corrected him shyly.

"Whatever. So, what does a ninety-nine point three average girl want? I'm not exactly your kind of company."

I don't even HAVE a kind of company, Kyungmi thought. She cleared . "U-um, well, I ... I ..."

With trembling fingers, she ped her backpack and pulled out an envelope. L's frown grew deeper. "I told you already, I have a girl --"

"P-PLEASE BEAT SOMEONE UP FOR ME!!!"

L stared at the envelope that was ed in his direction by Kyungmi's shaking hands. He looked at the envelope, then back up at her. "Are you serious?"

Kyungmi nodded. Now that the original request was out of the way, she felt much more relieved. "I-I have fifty-three dollars in there, and seventy-five cents. I-is that enough to pay for your services?"

There was no glare in his eyes, or an annoyed scowl. L scratched the back of his head, thoroughly bewildered. "I, well ... I can't believe it. The smartest student in Woollim is asking me to kick someone's ?"

Kyungmi blushed even harder, but frowned and kept her gaze strongly on him, trying her best not to waver. "I-I don't think my grades has anything to do with this! Report cards don't make up a person's character, after all."

L's frown melted off his face, and he actually chuckled. It was a warm laugh, which surprised Kyungmi. He hurts people for money, so shouldn't he be a bad person? I thought bad people cackled evilly or something.

"No, you're right. But you don't look like the kind of person to want someone to get hurt, either."

Kyungmi winced. He got her point blank. "W-well, that's true too ... but this is an exception. Will you please accept?"

She certainly was a weird girl, L decided, and it was his general rule not to fraternize with weirdoes. But she got his attention. "Who is it?"

"Huh?"

"Who do you want me to maim?"

"Oh Saeryun."

L paused. "Oh Saeryun? The basketball captain?"

Kyungmi nodded, suddenly terrified that L would turn out to be the popular jock's friend and would hurt her. She should've gotten more information first!

"Well, can't say he doesn't deserve it. That guy's a ." Kyungmi sighed in relief, her shoulders sagging. L continued. "But he isn't the type to go around bullying tiny girls like you -- well, not unless he was provoked, anyway. What did he ever do to you?"

Kyungmi's mouth hardened into a tight line, and L could faintly see a small gleam of fought-back tears in her eyes. "He beat up my best friend. Have you ever heard of Lee Sungjong?"

L nodded. He, too, was one of the smartest students in Woollim. Made sense for numbers one and two to be best friends.

"Well, a few weeks ago, Saeryun asked him to help him cheat on the midterm exams. Sungjong refused, and said if he wanted to get a good mark he should study and work hard for it. And, and ..." she gulped, feeling an egg-sized lump appear in . "On Saturday, he cornered Sungjong near the convenience store ... and hurt him. Badly."

L felt bad for the guy -- Sungjong was part of the Student Tutors program and sometimes helped him in math. He was a nice kid, really bright and cheerful. His already-set dislike for the loud, bragging basketball team captain was growing immensely.

L was also starting to panic at the sight of No Kyungmi quite obviously fighting back the urge to cry. He didn't like tears. Sobbing girls were very high on the list of things he'd rather not deal with.

"How bad?" He asked quietly, feeling a wave of pity spread over him.

Kyungmi took a deep breath. "U-um ... two cracked ribs, a black eye, a split lip, a broken leg ... and so many bruises it'll take MONTHS for them all to fade." The memory was sending her back into sadness. She had done nothing but cry and tend to Sungjong's injuries the past weekend, and the thought of her best friend lying in pain in his room, unable to go to school (which was, they agreed, a terrible thing, because one learned so much in school), was horrible.

L repeated that under his breath, committing it to memory. "That much damage ... what an ..." 

He looked once more at the nerdy, meek girl in front of him. "Hey, uh, I'm ... sorry. Sungjong was a good guy."

Kyungmi, finally, looked right back at him, into his eyes. Although her own eyes were still b with tears behind her glasses, she was defiant and fierce when she said, "If I'm looking for sympathy and apologies, I would go tell the whole school! What I want is revenge. Will you help me, or won't you?"

She's got a hidden fire, that's for sure. L shrugged. "Saeryun needs what's coming to him. I'm in."

Relief suddenly bloomed all over Kyungmi's face, and she instantly lost the willful, strong gaze and went back to looking like a mouse. "Oh, will you? Really? T-thank you, thank you so much!"

She gesture for him to take the envelope of money. L shook his head and backed away, a small smirk playing on his lips. "I don't want the money."

She blinked at him, confused.

"You don't?"

"Nope." L turned to look the girl right in the eye. "I want you."

~*~

Ooh, suspense! LOL no, not really.

Anyway, wow! Less than 24 hours and I already have 60-something subscribers. You guys rock. Please feed me with comments, those make my day!

Anyway, I have a load of other fics to deal with, so I'm kinda screwed. But whatever. Since this is new and I have a self-policy of updating a new story quite a bit at first, I'll do my best to get the second chapter up as soon as possible.

Peace out!