Epilogue Chapter 52 - Back to School (3)

“So...”

A boy sitting on an empty plastic box looked down arrogantly at another boy in front of him in a desolate alley not far from the school’s rear entrance.

“Did you do what I told you?”

“Y-Yeah! I put it in her desk drawer!” answered the boy, panting heavily as if he had sprinted here.

Jeon Yeong-Woong, the boy sitting on the plastic box, smiled nastily and nodded.

“Good job.”

“Umm... Y-Yeong-Woong.”

“What?”

“If I get caught for this... won’t I, uhh... b-be in huge trouble?”

Kim Si-Ah was the only daughter of Martial God Kim Si-Hun, the man who saved humanity. The culprit of this malicious prank was bound to be punished severely.

“Come on, man~ I told you there was nothing to worry about,” Yeong-Woong smirked as he stared at the trembling boy. “How old are you?”

“M-Me? Nine...”

“Yeah, you’re nine years old. Not even ten. Children like us are protected under the Juvenile Act so we won’t be punished no matter how big of a crime we commit.”

“R-Really? There’s something like that?”

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to search it up.”

The wide-eyed boy quickly took out his smartphone to search

Juvenile Act

. It indeed said minors were not punishable by the law.

“Wow...! Th-This is amazing!”

“Right?”

“B-But isn’t Si-Ah’s dad the leader of Guardians? Can’t Guardians completely ignore laws?”

“Guardians can only ignore laws when it comes to Player criminals. Are you a Player?”

“N-No.”

The boy shook his head dumbfoundedly.

Yeong-Woong smiled nastily and continued, “Then Guardians can’t do anything to you.”

“Wow... I see. How do you know all of this, Yeong-Woong?”

“Have you forgotten who my dad is?”

“He’s an executive member of the association... Oh, right! You said he was a former Guardians member, didn’t you?”

“Yup,” Yeong-Woong replied proudly as the boy’s eyes sparkled. “In any case, you don’t have to worry about anything and just do as I say. It wasn’t even the first time.”

“O-Okay.”

This wasn’t the first time Yeong-Woong

pranked

Si-Ah by placing letters filled with curses, dead bugs, and various other trash in her desk drawer and shoebox. He couldn’t during the break since they weren’t at school but he had been consistently doing it even before the break.

‘Today’s envelope is a warning.’

It was to warn Si-Ah that his pranks were not over yet, in case she had forgotten about them over the break. Yeong-Woong smiled nastily as he imagined her frozen face as she discovered the envelope tomorrow.

Just then, a low voice echoed from the alley entrance, “It was you?”

Yeong-Woong turned toward the familiar voice. A red-haired boy was standing at the entrance.

“Ngh.” Yeong-Woong flinched after locking eyes with Oh Kang-Hyun.

‘Wh-What the hell?’

He felt like he saw a hideous

demon—

one with two horns, giant bat wings, a long tail, sharp fangs, and golden eyes blazing with hellfire— overlapping with Kang-Hyun for some reason. He also noticed something peculiar.

‘Chains?’

A giant door, exuding unsettling energy, was behind the silhouette of a demon. It was tightly sealed with red chains wrapped all around it. Yeong-Woong was more annoyed than afraid by the unrealistic sight.

“Fucking hell.”

Yeong-Woong seemed to have seen wrong because the demon overlapping with Kang-Hyun was gone after he rubbed his eyes. He sighed in relief.

‘Oh Kang-Hyun, a demon? Yeah, get real.’

A demon was the last thing one would imagine in combination with Kang-Hyun. He was such an honor student that even his friends had gotten sick of him.

“What’s Mr. Honor Student doing in a run-down alley like this?”

“Did you put this in Si-Ah’s desk drawer?” asked Kang-Hyun as he raised the envelope in his hand.

Yeong-Woong shrugged and answered leisurely, “Nope, never seen it.”

“What?”

“Let’s see... Oh, maybe you mistook me for him,” said Yeong-Woong as he turned to the boy next to him.

“H-Huh? Me?”

“Yeah. Remember? You told me there was this stuck-up girl in your class and so you stuffed a bunch of squashed bugs in an envelope and put it in her desk drawer.”

“Huh? I-I only did as you—”

Yeong-Woong wrapped his arm around the flustered boy’s shoulders.

“Only did as I what? Did I force you to do something?”

“N-No! Not at all!”

“You heard him, right? What he did is completely on him.”

Yeong-Woong smirked as he turned back to Kang-Hyun.

“...” Kang-Hyun’s expression crumpled. “This is your big idea? Placing the blame on someone else and watching as you suck on your thumb?”

“Hm? I have no idea what you’re talking about~”

Yeong-Woong cackled and shrugged.

“Haaa,” Kang-Hyun sighed deeply.

He knew Yeong-Woong would retaliate somehow but did not expect such a petty move.

‘And he even said it wasn’t the first time.’

Kang-Hyun gritted his teeth and glared at Yeong-Woong. He did not know when the harassment started but it had been continuing even before the summer vacation.

‘Si-Ah... wouldn’t have known Yeong-Woong was behind it.’

Even Kang-Hyun would have had no idea as well if he had not followed the boy and seen him meet up with Yeong-Woong. Si-Ah acted cold and cruel but was just an innocent girl in many ways.

“But you’d want to play with your classmates, wouldn’t y—”

“I don’t have friends.”

Kang-Hyun recalled his conversation with Si-Ah at the beginning of the break and her sorrowful expression. She had likely misunderstood that she was hated by her classmates as she continued to receive such letters filled with curses. Kang-Hyun boiled with rage as he thought about how she had likely been intensely pained but acted as if nothing happened when she was with him.

“Since when?” he asked.

“Hm?”

“Since when have you been doing this shit?”

“Haha. Like I said, I have no idea what you mean.”

“Jeon Yeong-Woong.” Kang-Hyun glared at Yeong-Woong with deeply sunken eyes. “You’d better answer me now. Since when?”

“Hah...” Yeong-Woong scoffed.

He couldn’t believe a nobody like Oh Kang-Hyun was acting so fearlessly to him. His father had warned him not to lay his hands on Kang-Hyun no matter what but his patience was running out.

“Who the hell do you think you are? Why do you care so much about Kim Si-Ah’s matters?”

“That’s...”

Kang-Hyun couldn’t think of anything to say. He wondered what Si-Ah was to him. A childhood friend? His master? Or...

“...”

However, it did not take him long to find his answer.

He glared at Yeong-Woong and answered, “Si-Ah is someone precious to me.”

“What...?” Yeong-Woong was left dumbfounded. “Pfft, kek, Hahahaha!”

He burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! The likes of you? With the Martial God’s daughter? Pfft! Did you fall in love with her just because she helped you that one time?”

“...”

“Do you seriously think she’ll give you any attention because you’re doing something like this? Huh? Stop acting like a hero and fuck off!”

Yeong-Woong clicked his tongue as he mocked Kang-Hyun. Kang-Hyun could easily figure out why Yeong-Woong was overreacting.

“Do you like Si-Ah?” he asked.

“What...?” Yeong-Woong’s expression crumpled.

“It just seemed like you were overreacting.”

Children their age commonly expressed their interest in someone by teasing or harassing them.

‘Though the stuff he’s doing is way too nasty to call an expression of his feelings.’

However, Kang-Hyun more or less understood why. Yeong-Woong had become famous as a prodigious Player since he was little. He was from a well-off family, was far taller and larger than children his age, and was fairly talented. His confidence couldn’t soar any higher.

‘Until he... met Kim Si-Ah.’

Si-Ah’s genius was on another level compared to Yeong-Woong. He had likely been showered with inferiority as the attention he had received all his life gathered to Si-Ah instead.

“M-Me? Like Kim Si-Ah? Where the fuck did you get that from?!”

There was a fine line between love and hatred. Kang-Hyun could easily tell how Yeong-Woong felt about Si-Ah from how he was frantically shaking his bright red face.

“...”

Kang-Hyun could barely contain his displeasure. He felt the same emotion when he saw the boy secretly place a love letter in Si-Ah's desk drawer, although he later found out it wasn’t. He felt sharp pain in his chest as if he were being stabbed. He thought of a good idea as he thought about alleviating this feeling.

“Want to know something?” he asked.

“Know fucking what?” answered the frowning Yeong-Woong.

Kang-Hyun smirked and continued, “Si-Ah and I kissed.”

Yeong-Woong’s eyes widened.