For once, the sun was merciful enough to hide behind the clouds, it was the perfect weather to play basketball. With a rather careless throw, Luhan yawned as the ball went through the hoop.

 

“Ah damn, Lee Jieun should’ve seen this skill of mine last time!”

 

Luhan grimaced at the embarrassing flashback of him unable to get the ball through the hoop for a few times consecutively. It had greatly bruised his pride especially when that petite girl was there to witness his numerous failed attempts to get the ball through the rim.

 

Picking up the ball, he drilled again before taking three big steps and jumped. That satisfying swishing sound of the ball in scoring made Luhan regained his lost confidence from last time. He snickered as he thought of calling the girl here again so that she knows his basketball skill is out of this world. Just then, some loud laughter caught his attention.

 

“We should’ve captured that on our phones! When else could we see her lying on the ground, twitching like a tortoise turned over on its shell!”

 

The shortest among the four figures laughed the loudest as he pompously recalled what happened earlier in the morning. Another friend tagged along clapped as he agreed with what his friend had said.

 

“And to think others said she’s not one to be pushed around. She didn’t even dare to make a sound even after what we did!”

 

The laughter grew even louder as the other two seemed to be re-enacting someone falling down and making exaggerated grunts and movements.

 

Luhan heard everything loud and clear, subconsciously he started biting his inner cheek. His gut instinct told him whatever these people were talking, it was definitely about the person he had in mind. His mind flashed through an image of the small figure falling and covered in wounds.

 

Bullied? Even injured?

Why…Wait, she…she probably deserves it.

She has such a foul temper and made everyone her enemies…

But the heck, why is everyone giving her trouble after all these years!

 

Luhan felt his temper rising and he could not understand why he had the urge to punch those douchebag and slap their smug look off their faces.

 

Turning on his heels faster than ever, Luhan distracted himself quickly by dialing Lee Jieun’s number, but there was only the unending ringing sound.

 

His fingers turned clammy upon the unanswered call. Cancelling the call and ready to redial again, Luhan’s phone vibrated with an incoming call so sudden that his hand almost shook off the gadget.

 

The caller behind the call was Minwoo with his enraged but supressed tone as he questioned Luhan rapidly.

 

“Luhan! Was it you? Don’t tell me you did this to Lee Jieun just to avenge for me?”

 

Baffled at his friend’s sudden accusation, Luhan’s voice raised, but not forgetting to ask what has been bugging him,

 

“What’s wrong with her? She’s hurt badly?”

 

Minwoo’s voice was lowered even more as he answered the question.

 

“She’s covered with injuries! Don’t tell me it’s you or I’m so gonna beat you into a pulp!”

 

“Of course not! Do I look like someone who would hit a girl?” Rolling his eyes, Luhan retorted. Then, he paused, seemingly noticed that he sounded a bit too fidgety as oppose to how he intended.

 

Minwoo would have said that Luhan looked more like a girl than a guy himself, but he bit his mouth and quickly glanced up at the limping girl ahead of him.

 

“Anyway, where is she now?” Trying to shrug off his uneasiness, Luhan tried to sound casual as he asked his friend.

 

“Walking right in front of me, probably just finished a lecture.”

 

“Bring her to the basketball court. Tell Junho and Dongho to come along too.”

 

Before Minwoo could ask what the occasion was, Luhan hung up the call. Minwoo sighed as he texted the double ‘Ho’ before mustering his courage to walk up to Jieun.

 

Slipping his phone into his pocket, Luhan easily caught up to the four loudmouths from earlier with his long legs.

Stopping in front them, he tilted up his chin and smiled,

 

“Let’s play a round of basketball?”

Of course, they recognize the one standing right in front of them. The face as pretty as a girl, snowy pale skin and the dazzling smile he just flashed at them. Involuntarily, their faces heated up. The shortest one, opened his mouth, stuttering.

 

“Sun-sunbae nim. You want us to pla- play basketball with you?”

 

“Huh? I saw y’all speak quite loudly, but your ears have trouble hearing words?”

 

Not really waiting for an answer, he started spinning the ball and his smile widened, but his eyes had another kind of gleam that was anything but friendliness. Out of the blue, he tossed the ball towards one of them and landed square in the face. Before the others could grab onto the ball, it bounced back into Luhan’s waiting hands.

 

“Argh! My nose!”

 

Putting his hand in front of his opened mouth, he faked a gasp,

 

“You okay?”

 

And again, without waiting for an answer, he faked a throw towards them, which in return they flinched and Luhan started getting bored of their dimwits’ reaction.

 

“So y’all gonna play a round with me or not? Or you all are such a coward who dare to bully a girl but all spooked to have a sporty match against me?”

 

Still unsure why this senior was suddenly picking on them, but one of them was quite offended when Luhan said they were cowards.

 

“Who you calling coward?”

 

“Obviously, you all…” Making a ‘duh’ gesture, Luhan eyed the shortest among them all who spoke up.

 

“Speaking of you, I can’t quite tell if you’re a guy or a girl.”

 

Minwoo heard this when they reached the basketball court and he thought what Luhan just said applied to himself perfectly. However, it would be upon his deathbed to admit this to the pretty boy.

 

Junho elbowed Dongho when they saw what was unfolding in the basketball court. They understood too well what the gleam in Luhan’s eye meant as he started spinning the orange ball. If all goes according to expectation, then the group of bullies would end up at the infirmary if not worse, the hospital.

 

At first, Jieun thought Luhan had summoned her to be his pick-up ball servant again. However, Luhan only spared her a glance before starting a game with four against himself. Right away, she noticed the ones Luhan was playing a match against was the group of people who pranked her in the early morning.

 

The thought that Luhan might be the one behind the pathetic episode of hers this morning crossed her mind, however, as the match began, it was quite the contrary to what she assumed. Playing against Luhan connoted doomsday, from beginning to the end. Other than scoring way ahead of them, Luhan put his flawless basketball moves into one sole purpose; smacking the ball at them and have them with their head spinning when it was nowhere near the end of the match.

 

Soon, those pricks were soon spotted with their faces either swollen or starting to turn purple and most notably, streaks of red flowing down from their noses.

 

Puzzled, but to Jieun, Luhan seemed to be taking up the cudgels for her. Coincidentally, when Minwoo was taking a chug of water from his bottle under this hot weather, Luhan pointed at Jieun as he peered down his battered opponents and bellowed out his words.

 

“Your eyes better open wide and ears listen carefully, whatever concerns her, it’s my business! If you ever dare to touch a single hair of hers again, I’ll let you have a taste how hard a life could be, especially when you mess with my person!”

 

Minwoo choked so hard that his eyes teared. Nevertheless, Junho and Dongho disregarded his condition and had him squeezed between them.

 

“You heard that? Boss Lu actually said-”

 

“Yelled” Dongho helpfully corrected Junho’s choice of word,

 

“Yes, yelled that whatever concerns her, it’s my business”,

 

“My person, he said Lee Jieun is his person!” Dongho dreamily added on and finally Minwoo was able to breathe properly. With a rather mixed emotion, he looked on as his pretty friend approached the petite girl beside them with a proud smile.

 

Luhan’s self-approving grin grew bigger and Jieun’s eyes twitched when he finally stopped right in front of her. She could feel the faint heat emitting from his body after the vigorous workout under the hot weather.

 

“So little girl, I avenged for you. So, you better treat me better!” Crossing his arms, he lowered his head as he tried to meet her gaze- at times like this, he sure like being taller.

 

Wordlessly, Jieun handed him a bottle of water and finally affirmed that Luhan was indeed taking her side. Which, she felt strange and unfamiliar to have someone sticking by her side, when all this while, she had been the one everyone would stand together to be against with.

 

“Lu Meizi, do you know what are you doing?”

 

Luhan’s vein on his forhead popped, when Jieun looked at him incredulously.

 

“How many times have I told you to stop calling me that? One more time I swear I’m gonna-”

 

“Lu Meizi. I’m Lee Jieun. I’m not Son Naeun.”

 

The name slipped out of Jieun’s mouth before she realised it. Then again, it seemed right to point out that she was completely a different kind of existence compared to Naeun. She was the bad everyone knows of, while Naeun was the absolute epitome of justice and good.

 

Luhan raised his eyebrows at the mention of Naeun, not quite grasping the meaning behind Jieun’s words. He did think that Naeun was a nice girl, polite and with good grades, the polar opposite of this petite girl in front of him. Yet, there were so many hidden qualities in her once you observe closely and her obvious candour, despite her straightforwardness stung at most times, it was refreshing and hard to come by.

 

“Yes, I know. You’re not anyone but Lee Jieun. I’m well aware of this.”

 

“Everyone hates me, the were worse off I am, the better for them.”

 

“I know, it’s like that for me sometimes too…”

 

“Then, what were you doin-”

 

“I can’t say much for my past actions, but I assure you, starting from now, no one touches you except for me. You owe me for this and I get to do with you however I want.”

 

Luhan nodded as he blabbered with a sense of pride growing in his chest. Then, the word of ‘Lu Meizi’ in her clear bell-like voice resonated in his mind as if she just said it again.

 

“And! Stop. Calling. Me. That!”

 

The conversation exchanged between the two of them fell into the trio’s ears. However, double ‘Ho’ were too busy being all giddy with Luhan’s words from earlier and thinking of ways to jeer him. Whereas, Minwoo thought Luhan might have yet to realise how all this would turned out to be.

 

“This simple-minded brawn really outdone himself…he can’t actually mean what he said…”

 

Minwoo muttered, decided that this semester was going to be full of drama ahead.

Hi lovelies......after eon years, here's an update....

Hope to be back very soon!