Somehow, their numbers had grown since yesterday. It seemed that word of what happened in the faculty office yesterday, or perhaps the strange war of nerves with the homeroom teacher this morning, had reached their ears. Maybe it was both. After all the noise he'd made, it would be stranger if they hadn't heard.
Thanks to that, Doyoung was now in the position of rolling around on the ground, all alone, while everyone else was eating lunch.
[Doyoung ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Why are you so pitiful, really ㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [It's the established theory in academic circles that the author and Cha Doyoung had a fight.] [But isn't the protagonist of 'I Won't Forgive You' Cha Dohee? Lately, it's only been about Cha Doyoung.] [└ If you think about it, they're both protagonists.] [I feel like the author is going to split it into Part 1 and Part 2. The protagonist laying the groundwork for the narrative in Part 1 seems to be Cha Doyoung.] [Why are you kicking the kid ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Use your words, use your words.] [With Cha Doyoung's current attitude, they'd lose in a verbal fight.]
To make matters worse, the comments just had to pop up now, making him feel like the entire world was watching him get beaten.
Among them, one comment caught his eye, striking a chord.
[Don't you know the K-Webtoon law, you sons of bitches ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Feed him before you beat him ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
'Ah, that's what I'm saying.'
"Cough."
He was kicked in the stomach, and his inexperienced body must have taken the hit in a bad spot. He curled up, unable to stop coughing, and the sound of someone clicking their tongue, tsk tsk, came from above him.
"Doyoung is just too weak. It's no fun to hit him."
The sneering voice was incredibly grating. It seemed that Ji Dongkwon and Cheon Youngho, whom he'd met yesterday, had been the "mild" options, chosen just to scare him.
The new guys who showed up today, especially 'Go Jihoon' who had just kicked him, seemed to be the main "action leader." There was no hesitation in the rough hand that reached for Doyoung. He then yanked off the sloppy gauze on Doyoung's face and cackled at the purplish bruise underneath.
"What were you banking on to act up like that, when this is what happens after just one hit?"
'It was two hits.'
Doyoung's narrowed eyes went past Jihoon to Sangwoo, who was once again hanging back and observing leisurely. When their eyes met, Sangwoo flashed a smile. 'What are you grinning at?' he thought, and perhaps the disgruntled thought showed on his face. Jihoon roughly grabbed the back of Doyoung's head, forcing his gaze back to him.
"And yet, I hear you still haven't learned your lesson."
"Ugh."
"Heard you made quite a scene in the faculty office yesterday, huh? The guys were all worked up."
So it was because of that.
"Doyoung-ah. Why are you really doing this? This is so upsetting. We were on good terms, weren't we?"
"Who exactly was on good terms with…."
"Oops."
Contrary to the voice feigning affection, the action that followed was merciless.
A loud 'Thwack!' sounded right next to Doyoung's ear. With it, Doyoung once again rolled onto the dirt ground. When someone from behind warned, "Don't hit his face, I told you not to do unnecessary things," Jihoon just laughed shamelessly and replied, "It was his head."
"We were on good terms, of course. Compare it to now. We were being really good to you."
Jihoon spoke, staring off into the distance for a moment as if reminiscing.
"To think you'd betray our good intentions like this."
Jihoon's expensive shoe came to rest on the fallen Doyoung's chest. And then.
"But what should we do? Is it because nothing has changed? No, wait, a lot of things will be changing from now on."
He began to subtly put his weight onto his leg, pressing Doyoung down. The large body of Jihoon, who towered over Doyoung, pressed down with increasing weight. Eventually, Doyoung couldn't bear it any longer and was forced to let out a pain-filled groan, "Euheuk." At the sight, Jihoon's eyes lit up with enjoyment.
Doyoung gritted his teeth.
'No, I was willing to put up with it to some extent, but…'
This was just too humiliating and infuriating. He couldn't just let it pass.
"Get off, you bastard!"
Doyoung shouted, raising his fists to weakly punch Jihoon's leg, but with his slender arms, it seemed to just tickle him. Jihoon, looking down, wore an expression as if Doyoung's desperate resistance was hilarious, as if he were watching a party trick. It only made Doyoung feel even more pathetic.
That must have been what flipped a ferocious switch sleeping inside Doyoung.
Doyoung's gaze changed. His thoughts flew out of control.
'No matter how pathetically weak Cha Doyoung is, everyone's solid parts are the same, right?'
'I'll bite.'
It was a truly shocking decision, but his human dignity was already rolling in the dust. What was there to hold back? He felt like he wouldn't be able to breathe unless he grabbed that bastard's leg and bit it like a dog today. He grabbed Go Jihoon's leg, in the hair-trigger moment of just needing to sink his teeth in.
"Move."
Ha Sangwoo cut in.
Jihoon, who hadn't budged an inch even with Doyoung struggling beneath him, removed his foot without a word at that one command. "Where do you think you're going!" Doyoung yelled, grabbing his leg, but Jihoon brushed his hand off as easily as flicking dust. Doyoung glared at Jihoon like a predator that had lost its prey, but Jihoon just shrugged, turning away as if it were no big deal.
'You. I'm really going to bite you soon.'
While Doyoung's eyes couldn't leave Jihoon, Sangwoo strode over and yanked the fallen Doyoung up by the collar. Dragged up helplessly, Doyoung's gaze finally turned to Sangwoo.
Holding Doyoung's small, unsmiling face right in front of his, Sangwoo asked quietly. But it was a completely random question.
"What's your relationship with Kang Hyun?"
"…Ha, I get asked that a lot."
"I'm not interested in you changing the subject."
"Why are you curious?"
"Wondering if you're acting up because you're relying on that bastard."
A scoff escaped Doyoung's lips.
"Is he the type to have anyone's back?"
"He's not the type to carry someone around, either."
"Carry…?"
Mulling over Sangwoo's words, Doyoung's face flushed hot.
He'd heard he was moved to the nurse's office and had just assumed he'd been given a piggyback ride. 'What? He carried me? Is that why the nurse looked like that?' As Doyoung was lost in thought, Sangwoo's face crumpled. For whatever reason, he looked deeply offended.
He then grabbed Doyoung's chin forcefully, just as before, making him look up.
"So, your answer."
'Why is he so obsessed with an answer?'
It didn't seem like he would let go until he heard it, so an answer burst out in a "here, take it" frame of mind.
"We're nothing."
"You're nothing?"
Sangwoo sent him an overtly suspicious look. Doyoung felt a sudden surge of frustration and snapped back.
"I said nothing! Is that the problem? What more do you want?"
"..."
He suddenly fell silent.
"Fine, then."
He then shoved Doyoung away, as if throwing him.
Doyoung had no idea what "fine, then" was supposed to mean.
'Why does he care about Kang Hyun? Afraid he can't bully me if he's around?'
As Doyoung grumbled to himself about how thorough they were when it came to bullying, Sangwoo just stared down at him. In the meantime, Jihoon, who had stepped back, seemed to be getting antsy and cut in again.
"It really is strange. The Cha Doyoung who used to tremble if you just raised a hand is still running his mouth after getting beaten like that."
Just as Jihoon's hand went up again, Sangwoo, seeming to have decided that was enough for today, was also raising his hand to stop him. Suddenly, a booming voice rang out from nearby. "Teacher! Over here!"
At that, the bodies of the gathered bullies all flinched. No matter how much they acted like gangsters, they were still just high school students. They clearly didn't want the trouble, in case things got complicated.
Dongkwon, the most cowardly of the group, hurried over from the back, urging, "Let's go." Sangwoo, even in that moment, continued to look down at Doyoung, but when Jihoon beside him nudged him to go, he reluctantly turned.
"It'd be better not to do anything useless from now on."
After the guys who left the warning scattered away, only silence remained around the now-alone Doyoung.
He waited a bit, but there wasn't so much as a strand of a teacher's hair in sight. It seemed they were in a somewhat remote location, and the bullies had probably mistaken the voice of some loud-mouthed kid in the distance for someone nearby. Otherwise, there was no way someone would have intentionally shouted to help him.
Doyoung grunted and pushed his fallen body up.
As he sat collapsed on the ground in a complete mess, he felt that he had never had a more miserable day in his life. Sometimes on TV, he'd watch those over-the-top makjang dramas and find the protagonists who only took revenge with their words, saying "I won't let you get away with this" or "Just you wait," so frustrating and ridiculous. But now his own situation was just like that, and Doyoung was in agony.
The day he would finally screw those guys over felt so far away.
He felt like he would have no other wish if he could just get his original body back for one day, no, even just for one hour. It wasn't the right way, but at this very moment, Doyoung's greatest wish in life was to beat those bastards down with his own strength. …Of course, it was a wish the Author-nim would never grant.
Doyoung gritted his teeth, hard enough that he felt they would all wear down soon.
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