The new school year began, and Immersion High School students ran around greeting one another after being apart for a month. The new students were a different story, lugging their new-student orientation equipment and rushing toward the assembly field. The eleventh-graders and twelfth-graders merely watched from a distance before heading straight to their respective classes when they heard the school bell.
Nothing was different about Class 11 Social Studies 4. Its students sat in clusters with their own crews. Everyone's attention instantly turned to the person who had just walked in fifteen minutes after the bell. The boy everyone was staring at and his two friends strolled toward the back corner desks. Since tenth grade, the three of them had claimed those desks as their territory.
"You don't have to stare so hard. Miss me? It's only been a month since we saw each other," Dean said to the girls gossiping beside his desk.
"Shut up," R, the most conspicuous of the three, retorted.
Dean pretended to lock his mouth with a gesture that mimicked zipping his lips shut. Loen merely chuckled at how pathetic his friend looked after nothing more than R's threat. Still, they couldn't deny that whatever the boy said was the magic word. Everyone immediately sprang into action to carry out his orders.
"All he has is the attitude," one of the students muttered.
"Who said that?" R shouted, slamming his hand onto the desk. Even though the voice had been very quiet, he had still heard it clearly.
"It's true, isn't it? They're only brave when it's us. The second it's you, they shut right up!"
R immediately stood and kicked his chair aside. His desk mate reflexively grabbed R's arm, trying to stop him from causing trouble on the first day. But R wouldn't be R if anyone could restrain his impulses. The boy was already standing in front of the student who had dared mock his best friend.
"Can you watch your mouth when you talk?" R asked, emphasizing every word. He stared down at the boy sitting primly at his desk.
"I wasn't talking about you, R. I was actually complimenting you because they're like a dog that obeys its owner without question," the boy replied, glancing toward them as he said the word. He didn't dare look R in the face. That intimidating appearance had some effect on his opponent's confidence.
R slammed the desk again, startling the other students. Many of them rubbed their chests in concern. The new school year had only been underway for fifteen minutes, and R had already ruined their mood for studying. Megan and Loen immediately stood when they saw what their friend was doing. Though they had no intention of interfering, they were ready to take R's place if he wanted to beat anyone up.
"Apologize," R said.
"Huh?"
"I said apologize!"
"S-sorry, De."
R grabbed the stammering boy by the collar and glared at him. The boy being held chose to stare at the floor, avoiding eye contact with him. The other students simply watched in silence. To them, this was nothing unusual.
"Don't let me hear you insulting my friend again!"
Mia carried two bowls of meatball soup that she had customized herself. The cafeteria wasn't as crowded as usual because some students were handling new-student orientation, while the new students were eating the lunches they had brought from home. The girl immediately went over to her best friend, who was waving at her. They often split up the tasks, with one ordering food while the other found a place to sit.
"Three fritters, no noodles or tofu. Mia really is the best friend ever. Is there anything you don't know about me?" Vera said enthusiastically.
"Wow, what a sweet mouth you have. So what about you? Do you know what I want?" Mia asked.
"I'm speechless now."
Mia giggled softly and sat down across from her best friend. They had known each other since childhood, and their parents happened to know each other too. No wonder Mia knew so well what Vera liked and disliked.
"It's only the first day, and that guy's already looking for trouble."
Mia immediately turned toward the direction Vera was looking. She snorted when she realized that R and his crew were confronting one of the students. She strained her ears to hear their conversation.
"Are you a new student? Don't you know whose territory this is? Move along."
Vera shook her head when Loen shouted. He was her twin brother. She was tired of warning him to stay away from R. Having been together since middle school made it difficult for Vera to separate the two of them.
Mia nudged Vera's arm when she saw Loen pour a glass of liquid over the student's head. Vera immediately stood and walked toward them. The girl had had enough of her brother's behavior. Mia silently followed behind her.
"Loen, what the hell are you doing?" Vera snatched the glass Loen was holding. The boy looked startled and glared at his sister.
"Why are you butting in? Can't you see where they're sitting? This is our territory!"
"You guys can sit somewhere else. There are still plenty of empty seats," Mia cut in. Vera was still busy getting tissues for the unfortunate boy. She whispered to him and told him to leave quickly.
"See? Even you know there are plenty of empty seats. They shouldn't have sat here in the first place," Dean added.
"Forget it, De. There's no point arguing with trash like this." R patted his friend's shoulder. He intended to leave. Mia happened to be standing beside him and quickly caught his hand.
"Trash? What do you mean?"
"Let go of my hand," R demanded.
"No! Not until you apologize."
"Let go!"
R yanked his hand away. Mia fell hard, and Vera immediately helped her best friend up. Before she could curse, Kenand punched the boy first.
"The usual place."
Loen and Dean were enthusiastically fighting over the ball. R merely watched them from the bleachers. He smiled sweetly when Dean managed to sink the ball into the hoop. Loen rewarded his best friend with a kick to the butt. R immediately burst out laughing as Dean chased Loen because of it.
R wasn't in the mood to touch the ball, even though he was usually incredibly enthusiastic about battling it out beneath the hoop. The only sport he liked was basketball. He had briefly taken taekwondo lessons but quit halfway through. In his opinion, he didn't need special skills to beat people up. Besides, his mother had allowed him to take up martial arts. She said it was bad for his health.
This court seemed to have become his crew's patent territory. Every day after school, they spent their time playing basketball. When they got bored, they went to an internet café to play games or to a café just to hang out and talk. Only Kenand and the other basketball club members dared bother him on this court. They did it so often that Kenand and R were used to fighting there.
R waved for Dean and Loen to come over. He immediately snatched the ball from Dean's hands and threw it at Loen's head. Dean instantly burst out laughing and clapped. Loen rubbed his head.
"You're such a jerk, R."
The laughter stopped when Kenand and his friend approached them. R quickly got to his feet and walked toward the boy. Kenand immediately put on a scornful expression when he saw R approaching.
Everyone who had been at the school for a while knew that Kenand was the only one brave enough to stand up to R. You could say Kenand was the one person qualified to oppose him. As captain of the basketball team and a member of the fencing club, the boy was just as respected by the other students, even upperclassmen. The only thing was, he never looked for trouble and was very friendly toward other people. He simply disliked anyone who dared hurt his friends, especially his girlfriend, Mia.
"I've told you before, don't ever get near my girl," Kenand said.
He had been holding back his anger since the cafeteria. Kenand respected the fact that Mia disliked violence, so he had chosen to challenge R on this court instead.
"You can ask your girlfriend yourself. I wasn't getting near her at all. She was the one who touched me."
Kenand had already grabbed R by the collar. He couldn't accept his girlfriend being humiliated like that. Kenand already knew what had happened after Vera told him.
Dean and Loen were ready to beat the guy up, but R held them back. The boy everyone usually called the Big Boss merely grinned and waited to see what Kenand would do. As usual, R wasn't the aggressor when it came to Kenand. He preferred waiting until the boy was furious and worked up before letting him throw the first punch.
"Watch what you say! If you're a man, don't hurt a woman."
"Sorry my hand knocking your girl down hurt her. Next time, tell her not to ever dare touch me."
"You bastard!"
Kenand's fist landed squarely on the right side of R's face. His cheek immediately flushed red. Dean stepped in for R and punched Kenand back. Loen joined the fight, taking on Kenand's friend. R backed away and sat down at the edge of the court. He watched his two friends trade blows. Every so often, he rubbed his aching cheek. R pulled out his phone and called his driver to come pick him up immediately.
"What are you doing?" someone shouted from a distance.
R immediately turned toward the voice. A smile spread across his face when he saw who it was. Judging by the clothes the person was wearing, it was most likely the gym teacher.
Kenand's friend immediately pulled him toward the back exit. The boy knew that Kenand avoided scandals of any kind. Having gotten into the school on a scholarship and earned achievements everywhere, Kenand was very careful about his image.
Loen helped Dean to his feet. His friend looked absolutely wrecked after facing Kenand. They quickly went over to R, who was waiting for them at the edge of the court. They completely ignored the teacher standing there with his hands on his hips.
"Sorry. You guys got beat up like this because of me," R said. He handed his friends bottles of water.
"Relax, R. Two people are easy. Now it's your turn to deal with that old man!" Loen pointed at the teacher walking toward them.
"Easy."