Chapter 15

Days of studying endlessly becomes a blur, and before we knew it, exam week had passed . I had high hopes that our study group had done their best. Although we wouldn't get our results just yet, I could tell that everyone had put in real effort. Especially with the bickering we have been going on lately.

"I'm telling you, the answer was 142!" Lee-Joon insisted, crossing his arms.

Ji-Woo scoffed. "Are you dumb? It was 157. I double-checked my calculations."

They glared at each other, neither willing to back down.

Se-Hyun sighed, finally stepping between them. "You're both wrong. The correct answer was 163."

A heavy silence followed.

"...Wait, what?" Lee-Joon blinked.

Ji-Woo gasped. "No way—" She hurriedly pulled out her notes, while Lee-Joon groaned in defeat.

I couldn't help but laugh. Typical.

Before Ji-Woo could double-check her notes, Lee-Joon huffed and waved his hand. "Whatever. The exam is over anyway."

Ji-Woo shot him a smug grin. "Admit it, you were wrong."

Before another argument could break out, Hee-Won suddenly smirked. "Speaking of things that are wrong... Hera and Ga-Min, are you two still pretending nothing happened?"

My stomach dropped.

Ga-Min, walking beside me, cleared his throat. "What are you talking about?"

Lee-Joon grinned, eyes glinting mischievously. "Oh, come on. The way you two keep avoiding eye contact? The way Hera 'accidentally' trips and Ga-Min is always there to catch her?"

Ji-Woo gasped dramatically. "Wait—did something else happen?"

I felt my face heating up. "Can we not do this right now?"

Se-Hyun chuckled. "You guys are making it too obvious."

Ga-Min ran a hand through his hair, trying to act nonchalant. "You're all overthinking."

Lee-Joon wiggled his eyebrows. "Sure, sure. But hey, maybe next time, you should try to keep your distance like the ring."

Ga-Min and I stiffened.

Ji-Woo's eyes widened. "Oh my god. Did you guys—"

"Enough!" I cut in, flustered, marching ahead to the study group room.

Despite the teasing, there was an air of tension in the group. We all knew what was coming. The day before the school disciplinary committee meeting, we had to be prepared.

That night, Ms. Lee had gone to the school to discuss matters with the vice principal. However, something felt off.

Following our instincts, we secretly watched from afar—and what we saw made our blood run cold.

Han-Wool and his gang, including Min Hwan, were there. And they weren't just talking. They were cornering Ms. Lee.

"This is bad," Hee-Won whispered.

"No," Ga-Min said, cracking his knuckles. "This is war."

Without hesitation, we charged forward. Chaos erupted in the school hallway as we clashed with Han-Wool's gang.

Lee Joon and Suncheol immediately rushed to Ms. Lee's side, attempting to get her to safety while Ji-Woo and I stayed back to fight.

I barely had time to react before a punch came flying toward me. I ducked, countering with a swift strike to my attacker's stomach. He staggered back, but another opponent was already charging at me.

Ji-Woo flipped a guy over her shoulder and landed a sharp kick to his ribs. "Try harder," she taunted.

Min Hwan sneered at me, raising his BB gun. "Didn't think we'd let you off easy, did you?"

I moved fast, grabbing a broken chair leg from the floor and knocking the gun from his hands before he could fire. He swung at me in retaliation, but I caught his wrist, twisting it until he cried out in pain.

"You're pathetic," I spat.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Ga-Min and Han-Wool locked in a brutal fight. Ga-Min swung at him, but Han-Wool dodged, countering with a hard kick to Ga-Min's ribs.

"You think you can beat me?" Han-Wool growled.

Ga-Min wiped blood from his lip, smirking. "I know I can."

With newfound determination, Ga-Min lunged at Han-Wool, their fight growing fiercer by the second.

Suddenly, a loud noise erupted from outside. I turned toward the window and my heart swelled with pride.

Hee-Won had brought backup.

A flood of students from Yeonseong High—those who had been wronged, those who were tired of living in fear—charged forward, engaging with Han-Wool's remaining men outside the school.

Victory was ours.

By the time the police arrived, the fight was over. Ms. Lee stood tall, holding up her phone. She had recorded everything—Han-Wool's threats, his admissions of past crimes.

The next day, officers arrived at the school to take him into custody.

As Han-Wool walked out in handcuffs, his expression was unreadable. The vice principal, caught in his corruption, was also being taken away.

But as Han-Wool passed us.

"This isn't over," he said to Ga-Min.

Then he turned to me, his voice dripping with warning.

"Just because I won't be here for a while... doesn't mean Ryeowook won't catch up to you."

A cold chill ran down my spine.

Was this truly the end of Han-Wool? Or was something even worse waiting for us?