The Genius Grandson of the Loan King - Chapter 8 (8/840)
< Mad Dog Mode ON >
#8
Mad Dog Mode ON
The monotonous school life made people feel bored. Going to school, attending classes, coming home, and studying various things at home—this was the ordinary daily routine.
Among the third-year students at Dongseong High School, half had already gone to the field for employment, and the rest were studying for the college entrance exam in a self-study atmosphere without any interference.
Meanwhile, the school had become the world of Hong Jinpyo, a second-year student who had transferred from Seoul.
Hong Jinpyo formed a club that didn't exist at Dongseong High School and started imitating gangsters, even recruiting first-year students.
"You're Myeongsoo, right?"
Hearing the voice from beside him, Myeongsoo lifted his head.
The transfer student, Hong Jinpyo, with an unpleasant smile, was looking down at him.
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Didn't you say you're close to Muhyuk? Is he just studying these days? I heard you two were good friends. I don't know anything about it."
"Leave me alone. Teenagers, geez, I've already calmed down. We won't have any conflicts."
"You're annoying me."
"Back off. Why are you bothering a kid who's focused on studying? Muhyuk hasn't done anything to you."
Their conversation continued until the break ended.
"I don't like it when someone is above me. But... the kids are more afraid of that Muhyuk guy than me. I don't like that."
"I told you to leave him alone."
"Hey, you little fish. Without Muhyuk, who would you be glaring at, stuck in that corner, crying? Can't you see?"
The lackeys around him started cursing at Myeongsoo. After a while, they stopped at Jinpyo's gesture.
"I always want what I want and step on what I want to step on. If I step on Muhyuk, you'd be the perfect bait. What did you do, Myeongsoo? Being friends with Muhyuk is your crime. Hey, take him away."
Following Jinpyo's order, the kids surrounded Myeongsoo. Despite resisting, Myeongsoo, being small and weak, couldn't win.
* * *
Bang!
"Muhyuk!"
"What? What's going on?"
The one who burst through the back door was a kid who was in the same class last year and is now in the same class as Myeongsoo.
"Myeongsoo was taken by Jinpyo. He seems to have gone to the band room."
"What?"
"For a few days, he's been provoking you by mentioning your name. Myeongsoo didn't say anything, right?"
"......Shit."
I clenched my teeth and stood up.
No matter how much you try to avoid it, some things don't change.
"Band room?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks. I'll buy you a meal later."
"Go quickly."
As I left the classroom and headed to the annex, Hyunseong, who seemed to have heard the news, was running down the corridor.
"Muhyuk, what's going on? Why is that guy taking Myeongsoo?"
"Probably because of me. Hey, you're in the sports club. Stay out of it. Don't get into trouble and ruin your chances of going to college."
"Fine. I don't need to go to college."
"You don't need to, huh, kid?"
Hyunseong, who had been training hard for a year, had risen to become a promising judo athlete in Busan. If he got involved in a violent incident now, he might have to give up his dream.
The anger that had filled my mind while walking had subsided. My head was cold, but my heart was burning.
'......This isn't something that can be solved by avoiding it.'
I saw a broomstick in front of the annex and picked it up.
"Hey, Hyunseong."
"Yeah?"
"Block anyone from coming in. Teachers, anyone. Can you do that?"
"Can you handle it alone?"
"Hey, I'm Kim Muhyuk. Did you forget who I am?"
"Ha, Kim Muhyuk is still alive? Got it. And thanks."
"Shut up. Friends don't need to say thanks."
"Be careful. I heard Jinpyo's father is a high-ranking official."
I know. I know.
Myeongsoo's father, who was a big shot in Busan, couldn't even speak up against him.
Starting as a prosecutor in the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, he came back to Busan to avoid a storm and is now the head of the Criminal Investigation Department at the Busan District Prosecutors' Office, a political prosecutor.
Hong Jinpyo's father was a prosecutor from Korea University, the cream of the crop.
Hyunseong stood guard at the entrance of the annex. I picked up the broomstick, which I had broken with my foot, and entered.
The band room in the basement of the annex.
Though it's called a band room, it's now Jinpyo's stronghold, where he has taken over the school.
As I walked down to the basement, the sound of my footsteps and the broomstick dragging on the floor echoed in the quiet annex.
I opened the door to the band room and entered.
The smell of cigarette smoke and musty men filled my nose.
"Wow, really. They say Muhyuk appears like Superman when someone touches Myeongsoo. He really came."
Fortunately, Myeongsoo was still conscious. He looked like he had been hit a lot, but it hadn't reached the point where his legs were broken, as I remembered.
"......Hey, if you want to see me, come directly. Why are you touching my friend?"
Hong Jinpyo, sitting at the back, laughed and looked at me.
"Why did I do that? Ha, just for fun?"
"Fun? Is this fun?"
He ignored me and asked the others around him.
"Hey, he's using standard Korean, which doesn't fit him. Hey, isn't Muhyuk from Busan?"
"Right. Born and raised in Busan."
"Send Myeongsoo out and play with me. I'll make it more fun."
Only then did Hong Jinpyo turn to me again.
"Ha, is this the righteousness of a Busan man? You look like you've got some guts. Send Myeongsoo out and play with me. Like a movie? Hey, take Myeongsoo to the nurse's office."
"Yeah."
One of them, looking at me, took Myeongsoo out. Myeongsoo, bleeding, looked at me with a worried expression as he left.
'Who's worrying about who?'
Once Myeongsoo was gone, I had the leisure to look around.
There were quite a few faces I didn't recognize, but most were familiar. The unfamiliar faces looked like first-year students.
"You're here too?"
Chulgu, who went to middle school with me, flinched and looked at me.
"Chulgu, I feel like I might kill someone today. Get out. If you don't want to die."
Chulgu, looking around, left the group and passed by me.
"Sorry."
"Shut up and get out."
Laughter erupted from Jinpyo's group, but Chulgu ran out without a care.
I locked the door as soon as Chulgu left.
"Ooh, Kim Muhyuk~"
Ignoring Hong Jinpyo's mocking words, I turned around.
"I don't care if you play gangster or not. I just wanted to have a quiet school life. But why are you bothering me, and even involving Myeongsoo? Is life so boring that you want to shake things up?"
I gripped the broomstick tightly.
"I'll show you how your half-baked gangster play collapses. Look forward to it."
"What? Hahaha. Is this guy completely crazy? Hey, do you see the goosebumps on my arm? This isn't a movie. What, is he a Terminator or something?"
The kids around Hong Jinpyo were slowly standing up.
"Hey, what are you doing? Beat him up."
But Jinpyo's gang hesitated and didn't rush in easily.
The only one who didn't know about the mad dog Kim Muhyuk was Hong Jinpyo. Just because I had been quiet for a while, it didn't mean my past had disappeared......
It's not like we're fighting with knives like real gangsters. A high school-level fight is just a dogfight, after all.
Hong Jinpyo, angry at the hesitant kids, shouted.
"What are you doing? Beat him up! I told you what my dad does, right? If that guy touches any of you, I'll make sure you spend the rest of your life in jail. Don't worry, beat him up."
Only then did the hesitation in the kids' eyes disappear.
"Let's go!"
The next moment, about ten kids rushed at me, each holding a baseball bat or drumstick.
The first one, a first-year student who looked similar in size to Hyunseong, ran at me with his hands outstretched, like a bull trying to grab my collar.
I hit his outstretched hand with the broomstick and simultaneously struck his ulna with the back of my hand.
"Keck, keck!"
Anyone who has been hit on the ulna knows. It doesn't matter if you're big or small; it's useless.
The kids who were approaching stopped for a moment as they saw him fall, clutching his arm and rolling on the ground.
"Come on. It's been a while since Kim Muhyuk's mad dog mode was on. Bastards!"
As I said that, I plunged into the group of kids.
Someone's baseball bat hit my back. The kid who had fallen tried to trip me by grabbing my ankle.
One hit for me, two for you. It was a literal dogfight.
A few moments later.
I wiped the blood streaming down my forehead. After about five minutes of fighting, the only one left standing was me, surrounded by the groans and blood of the fallen kids.
"Shit. It's been a while since I fought. Why are these kids so vicious?"
Hong Jinpyo, who had been standing aside, took a step back with a pale face.
"Hey! Don't come. Don't come here."
"Ha, why are you so scared? You called me out because you were confident, right?"
My eyes were stinging from the blood, so I kept wiping them with my hand.
But my hand was also covered in blood, so it didn't help much.
With no more room to retreat, Hong Jinpyo started babbling.
"Don't touch me. You'll end up in jail for life. Don't come. I'm sorry. I won't bother you again. Let's stop here."
"Ha ha ha. You should have done that from the beginning."
I couldn't tell if he was threatening or begging.
"Hey, my dad is a prosecutor, a chief prosecutor. You don't know, but a chief prosecutor can make you spend the rest of your life in jail. Let's stop here. If you stop here, I won't make a fuss."
"Prosecutor? What good is a prosecutor or a judge when fists are closer? That's why you called me here, right?"
Holding his trembling chin, I smiled.
"Jinpyo, let's have a little fight first."
"......Don't."
Ignoring him, I slapped his face a few times.
His mouth was bleeding, and blood dripped from his head as it turned.
"This is for hitting our good Myeongsoo. Cheap, right?"
This time, I hit the other cheek.
"This is for calling me out when I was minding my own business."
At that moment, the band room became noisy.
Someone was trying to break down the door.
"People are coming. We need to hurry. This is for breaking Myeongsoo's ankle."
I grabbed his arm. Jinpyo's eyes started shaking rapidly.
The kid, with a battered face, begged me.
"Don't...... Please, don't......"
"Eat with your left hand for the rest of your life."
Crack.
With a strange sound, Jinpyo's arm bent backward.
"Ah! Ah! Ahhhhh......"
At that moment, the band room door broke open. Teachers and Hyunseong rushed in.
The sight of over ten fallen students, Hong Jinpyo screaming and rolling on the ground, and me, covered in blood and smiling like I had returned from hell, left everyone speechless.
I bowed to the teachers, who were looking at me like venomous snakes.