Strangers

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___________A few hours before

From Taegeun and his friend's side.

After the fight between Taegeun and Hyunwoo ,the court was quiet now, save for the rustle of wind through chain-link fences and the occasional distant horn from the city streets.

Taegeun sat on the court, leaning against the fence with a cold bottle of water pressed to his cheek — the swelling had already begun to form.

"Well," he muttered, breaking the silence, "that could've gone better."

Nam Jihwan sat beside him, knees up, arms draped over them like a kid after PE class. "You got dropped, bro. Clean. Not even a flashy way. Just... boom. Hook to the jaw."

"Yeah," Taegeun winced. "Thanks for the play-by-play, Jihwan."

Min Dojin leaned against the fence a few feet away, flicking his butterfly knife open and shut in slow, steady rhythm. He hadn't said a word since the fight ended, but his eyes had followed Hyunwoo until he vanished around the corner of the school building.

Ha Yuri hadn't moved. She stood, arms crossed, eyes narrowed, tracking the last bit of motion where Hyunwoo had disappeared.

"...He's walking fast," she said, almost to herself.

Taegeun looked up. "Huh?"

"Hyunwoo," she clarified. "He's not walking like someone who just won a fight. That's not a victory strut. That's... something else."

Dojin closed his knife with a soft click. "He's not done."

Jihwan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Don't know," Yuri answered before Dojin could. "But he's moving like he's headed somewhere. Like he doesn't want to be followed. Which makes me want to follow."

Taegeun groaned and got to his feet, stretching out his shoulder. "You think he's got some kind of secret? Or maybe a side quest?"

Jihwan gave him a blank look. "Bro, you just got knocked out. Maybe sit this one out?"

But Taegeun was already walking toward the exit. "Nope. Now I'm interested."

⸻

Following Hyunwoo

They slipped out the side gate of the school, shadows lengthening across the pavement as the sun dipped lower.

Hyunwoo had already crossed the main street and was weaving through alleyways between blocks, head low, pace fast. He didn't look back once.

"Why's he walking like someone's chasing him?" Jihwan whispered.

"No," Yuri said quietly. "Like he's chasing something."

They followed from a distance, careful not to draw attention.

But Hyunwoo didn't take the main roads. He cut through a narrow alley, then ducked under a metal barrier into an old industrial lot. Rusted fences. Abandoned bikes. Stray cats scattering in the corners.

Then he was gone.

"What the hell?" Taegeun muttered. "Where did he go?"

They looked around — but the lot split in three directions, all covered in overgrown weeds and scattered junk.

"Yuri?" Taegeun asked.

She shook her head. "Can't see him. He moved faster than expected."

Jihwan looked around nervously. "Okay, so... we lost him. Great."

Dojin clicked his tongue once. "We split?"

"No," Taegeun said. "Too risky. If we lose each other in this maze, we're screwed. Stick together."

The group wandered deeper into the lot, then up a small slope that led to the edge of a forested park. The city noise dimmed. It was quieter here. Eerily so.

They kept walking.

Ten minutes passed. Then twenty.

Jihwan started grumbling. "I swear, we should've just gone home..."

"No," Taegeun replied, voice low. "He came out here for a reason. I can feel it."

"But what reason?" Jihwan asked. "Dude just won a fight. What, now he's on a spiritual walk?"

Yuri, unusually, answered. "It's personal. His posture changed the second the fight ended. He didn't care about us after that. Something else is on his mind."

Taegeun nodded slowly. "Gabryoung Kim's kid... I wonder what kind of weight he's carrying."

⸻

Meeting Again

Eventually, they emerged from the far end of the woods, through a path of cracked stone and old shrine markers. The sun was nearly gone now, orange light bleeding into a dull purple sky.

And there — sitting on the railing of an old bridge — was Hyunwoo.

He was still in uniform, shirt untucked now, arms resting on his knees as he stared down at the slow-moving stream below. His face was calm, unreadable. Like the fight never happened.

He didn't turn when he heard footsteps.

"You guys again" he said quietly, voice almost lazy.

Taegeun raised a hand. "Not gonna lie, it really hard to find you."

"You could've just gone home instead of wasting time ."

"We could've," Taegeun replied. "But we didn't."

No one spoke for a few seconds.

Then Hyunwoo finally turned, giving them a slow, unreadable look. "You want another fight?"

"Nah," Taegeun said, cracking his neck. "Not today."

Jihwan added, "You fight too clean, man. It's exhausting just watching."

Yuri stepped forward, eyes sharp. "Why'd you come out here?"

Hyunwoo looked at her for a long second.

Then... shrugged.

"No reason."

Taegeun tilted his head. "That a lie?"

"Does it matter?" Hyunwoo asked, his tone not defensive — just tired.

"...Nah," Taegeun muttered. He took a few steps forward and leaned on the railing beside him. "You're weird, man. Strong, but not loud about it. Not proud. Just... carrying it."

Hyunwoo said nothing.

Dojin sat on the edge of the concrete near the bridge, flipping his knife again. Jihwan cracked open a can of soda he brought from somewhere and offered it silently to Hyunwoo.

Hyunwoo took it without a word. Opened it. Drank.

The silence wasn't awkward now. Just... still.

Taegeun finally spoke again.

"You're not what I expected. I thought you'd be all bark and trauma. But you're just... doing your thing."

"Is that a problem?" Hyunwoo asked.

Taegeun shook his head. "Nah. Kinda refreshing."

Another pause.

Then Yuri muttered, almost too quietly: "You can't carry it all alone, you know."

Hyunwoo's eyes didn't move from the water, but he let out a short breath — something between a sigh and a chuckle.

"...Someone said that to me before," he murmured.

"Acting like I'm carrying the weight of the world."He shook his head slowly. "Truth is... there's nothing to carry. I'm just walking."

Taegeun looked over at him.

"You sure about that?" he asked.

Hyunwoo didn't answer.

But his grip on the soda can loosened.As He walked away.

After a few minutes walking, Hyunwoo slowed down, finally noticing the footsteps trailing behind him.

He turned his head just slightly.

"...Why are you following me?"His voice wasn't harsh — just puzzled."We're not exactly friends. We just met. And I kinda... beat you up."

Taegeun raised an eyebrow, smirking as he shoved his hands into his pockets."Yeah, you did. Guess that's why we're following you."

Hyunwoo blinked. "...That doesn't make sense."

"Exactly," Ha Yuri cut in, her sharp eyes scanning their surroundings as they walked. "It's kind of bothering me."

"Bothering you?" Hyunwoo asked.

"Someone who fights like that. Doesn't brag. Doesn't even look satisfied. Just walks away like it didn't happen," Yuri said. "That's rare."

Min Dojin flipped his butterfly knife open, then shut it with a click. "Also... you dropped this."He tossed something — a cloth bandage, partly unwrapped — toward Hyunwoo.

Hyunwoo caught it mid-air and stared at it.

"You were bleeding," Dojin said simply. "Back when you left."

"It's not even my blood."

Nam Jihwan, who had been trailing behind them, finally spoke up."You're strong, but you looked kinda... tired. Like, really tired. I thought you were gonna pass out."

Hyunwoo glanced at all of them, their faces half-lit by the streetlight.

He looked down, pocketing the bandage.

"...You guys are weird," he muttered.

Taegeun grinned. "Takes one to know one."

Hyunwoo let out a breath through his nose — not quite a laugh, but close. He turned back around and kept walking.

"Whatever. Go home before you get lost."

"We actually did," Taegeun said behind him. "Tried following you, ended up circling the same block for like fifteen minutes."

"Ha Yuri refused to ask for directions," Dojin added.

"I didn't refuse. I just said we should keep observing the pattern of your route," Yuri replied flatly.

Jihwan yawned. "Can we observe it with some food next time?"

Hyunwoo stopped again, then turned just enough for them to see his expression — neutral, but not unfriendly.

"...You guys hungry?"

They blinked.

Taegeun grinned. "Are you buying?"

Hyunwoo shrugged. "I didn't say that."

Dojin chuckled for the first time.

As the four fell in step with him, the tension from earlier melted just a little.

It wasn't friendship yet. But it wasn't hostility anymore either.

Just... something in between.

A local late-night eatery, not too crowded. A quiet corner table.

The five of them sat around a table cluttered with trays — tteokbokki, fishcakes, kimbap, and bowls of hot ramyeon steaming in front of them.

Hyunwoo quietly took a sip of his broth while the others were already halfway through their food.

"Damn," Jihwan muttered with his mouth full, "I didn't know I was this hungry."

"You always say that," Ha Yuri replied, picking out a bit of scallion from her soup.

"It's always true."

Taegeun leaned back with a grin, eyes drifting toward Hyunwoo.

"So... not that I'm complaining, but what made you say yes to food with a bunch of strangers?"

Hyunwoo didn't answer immediately. He stirred his noodles slowly.

"I'm not sure," he said, finally. "Guess I was hungry too."

Dojin glanced at him, flipping his chopsticks between his fingers. "You looked more like someone who doesn't eat with others."

"I usually don't," Hyunwoo replied. He wasn't defensive — just stating a fact.

"But you are now," Yuri said without looking up. "So either you're trying to be polite... or you don't mind us."

"...Maybe both."

There was a pause. Taegeun raised his brows at the honest answer.

"You're hard to read," he said. "You fight like a beast, but talk like you're trying not to bother anyone."

Hyunwoo gave a small, dry chuckle. "Maybe I am."

Taegeun leaned in, resting his arms on the table. "You always fight like that? With... that kind of calm?"

Hyunwoo shrugged. "Only when I have to."

"And today?" Yuri asked, sipping her drink.

"Today wasn't supposed to be anything," he said. "Just one thing led to another."

Jihwan slurped his noodles and wiped his mouth. "You really are confusing."

"Then stop trying to figure me out."

Taegeun smiled. "Too late for that."

Hyunwoo stared at him for a moment, then looked down at his tray. "...Right."

Silence fell for a few seconds, but it wasn't awkward.

Dojin finally spoke up. "I don't like hanging around people."

Everyone turned to him, surprised he spoke at all.

He continued without looking up. "But this isn't... too bad."

Taegeun grinned. "Coming from Dojin, that's a love letter."

Yuri chuckled softly.

Jihwan lifted his drink. "To not-too-bad."

Hyunwoo looked at them. A group of misfits, probably dangerous in their own ways, casually joking over street food like normal kids.

He found himself holding his chopsticks a little looser.

"...To not-too-bad," he echoed quietly.