Chapter 2

They stared at me like I had lost my mind.

Hee-Won blinked rapidly, while Ji-Woo narrowed her eyes, trying to process what I had just said. But I wasn't joking.

The determination in my eyes must have been enough because neither of them tried to argue further. Instead, Hee-Won sighed, shaking her head. "You have no idea what you're getting into."

I smiled. If only you knew.

"I know him better than you think," I murmured, my fingers tightening around the strap of my bag.

Ji-Woo scoffed but didn't push the topic further. Hee-Won, however, gave me a wary look. "Just... be careful, Hera. Han-Wool isn't someone you can take down easily."

I let out a small chuckle, glancing back toward the stage where Pi Han-Wool sat, exuding an undeniable power. "Oh, I know."

The moment I stepped back into the classroom, I knew something was off.

The air felt tense, the usual noise of idle chatter now replaced with the sound of whispers. I glanced around, only to lock eyes with the girl who had been humiliated earlier—the short-haired bully who I'd slammed into the desk.

This time, she wasn't alone. She had brought her two friends. They were standing in the front row, staring me down, their eyes filled with malicious intent.

"Look who decided to show up," she sneered, crossing the room toward me, her friends following like a pack of wolves.

I didn't say anything at first, merely keeping my eyes on them as I slowly stood.

"You really think you can walk in here and do whatever you want, huh?" The girl's voice was dripping with venom. "You think you can just slam my head into a desk and get away with it?"

I stood tall, my arms crossed. "If you keep pushing me, you'll regret it."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Regret? You're going to regret messing with me." She snapped her fingers, and her friends stepped forward, trying to box me in.

The rest of the class had begun to notice. Heads turned, and soon, a small crowd had gathered around the desk, their eyes locked on us like they were watching a fight unfold.

Hee-Won grabbed my arm, whispering, "You don't have to do this. They're not worth it."

But I wasn't paying attention.

The bully's friend swung first, a wild punch aimed at my face. I dodged it easily, her momentum sending her crashing into the desk behind me. She yelped, and the crowd laughed.

The short-haired girl growled, grabbing a chair and swinging it toward me. But I was already moving.

In one swift motion, I stepped to the side, grabbed her wrist, and twisted it until she dropped the chair. I pushed her back against the desk with enough force to knock the wind out of her.

The crowd was silent now, but the tension was thick, the entire room waiting for me to make my next move.

One of her friends tried to tackle me from behind, but I spun around just in time. With a firm grip, I grabbed her by the collar, lifting her off the ground and slamming her onto the floor with a hard thud.

She gasped for air, unable to move.

The last girl, realizing the situation was getting out of hand, hesitated. Her friends were already sprawled on the floor, dazed and groaning, unable to continue.

"You've had your fun," I said, my voice cold. "Go. Back. To. Class."

The girl hesitated, looking around at her fallen friends. With one last glare, she bolted for the door, and the rest of the crowd slowly backed off, muttering among themselves.

Hee-Won gasped, looking at her phone. "Hera, look."

I glanced at her, and she was holding up the app—the one that Pi Han-Wool had created for ranking the students.

"Your rank... it's going up."

I blinked.

On the screen, Kang Hera had gone from Rank #72 to Rank #49.

I smirked, a little thrill running through me. Every fight counts.

As I stood there, still absorbing what had just happened, the door suddenly swung open. The teacher walked in, his eyes widening at the scene in front of him.

Three girls, sprawled on the floor, bruised and battered. And me, standing there, perfectly fine.

He blinked, twice, then sighed, rubbing his temples. "Kang Hera."

"Yep," I said nonchalantly.

"Office. Now."

The teacher's office was quieter than I'd expected.

I sat across from him, arms crossed, not showing any remorse. He, on the other hand, looked like he had just aged ten years in a matter of minutes. His eyes flickered nervously toward the door as if expecting someone to walk in at any moment.

"You know what you've done, right?" he said, his voice shaky. "You've physically attacked three students—one of whom is from one of the most influential families in this school. You've broken school policy. You've made this whole school look like a circus."

"I did what I had to do," I said, leaning back in my chair.

The teacher was about to speak again but the door swung open, and a tall man in a suit walked in.

My assistant.

The moment he entered, the teacher's entire demeanor changed. He quickly stood up, hands shaking as he placed my assistant's business card on the desk.

I didn't need to see it to know what it meant.

Without another word, he quickly straightened up and began babbling apologies.

"Please... Miss Kang, we'll forget this incident ever happened. Well... we'll handle it internally."

My assistant didn't respond—he simply nodded, and with that, the teacher dismissed me without another word.

When I returned to class, I couldn't shake the feeling that something else was happening. I followed the noise outside to the courtyard, where the next fight had already begun.

This time, it was between Hyun-Woo and someone else.

Yoon Ga-Min.

I watched the scene unfold in fascination as the two boys squared off in the middle of a circle of students, all eager to see the battle. Ga-Min looked calm, his posture perfect as he adjusted his glasses. Hyun-Woo, on the other hand, was grinning like he couldn't wait to get his hands dirty.

"What's going on?" I asked one of the guy.

"Hyun-Woo burned Se-Hyun's math book. Ga-Min is demanding an apology."

A book? That's what this fight was about?

Before I could react, the fight erupted.

Hyun-Woo threw the first punch, and Ga-Min effortlessly dodged it, using his quick reflexes to counter. The crowd gasped as Hyun-Woo found himself caught off-guard. Ga-Min didn't waste the opportunity, landing a clean hit to his opponent's side that sent him stumbling.

Ga-Min was methodical in his attacks—everything was calculated. He wasn't just fighting for the sake of it; he was fighting with purpose.

Hyun-Woo was struggling to keep up, his pride starting to crack. "You bastard..." he muttered.

Ga-Min barely flinched. "Apologize."

For a moment, it looked like Hyun-Woo was going to refuse. But then he glanced around, seeing the crowd watching, the rankings ticking up on the app.

Finally, he muttered, "Sorry."

I chuckled, watching the whole thing. Now this is what I call a fight.

Yunseong High wasn't a school for the faint of heart, but I was beginning to realize something.

It was going to be a lot more fun than I thought.