The Friends and the Brother Meets

Yeo Ri was pleasantly surprised to see Hyuk waiting by the school gates when school ended.

"Oppa~!" She broke into a large grin as she ran towards him.

"Hey! Don't run, or you'll fall!" Hyuk quickly caught her as she stumbled into his arms.

Behind Yeo Ri, Min Chae and Jang Mi jogged hastily to catch up with the girl. "Yeo Ri-ah, wait for us—!" Min Chae called out while she dragged Jang Mi who was running out of breath with her.

Yeo Ri ignored the onlookers as she wrapped her arms around Hyuk. "What brings you here, Oppa?" She looked around to see if he brought his motorbike with him. However, it was not around.

"Jin Goo dropped me off here earlier. Oppa is walking you home today," Hyuk says towards the puzzled girl with a suppressed smile.

"Oh!" Yeo Ri brightened, but then her nose crinkled, "but today I promised to go to the library with Gun-oppa and Jang Mi and Min Chae."

Hyuk's face darkened. 'That little...' he remembered that he specifically told Gun that he'd take Yeo Ri home today. However, his anger vanished at the thought of Yeo Ri spending less time at home. It was safer for her to be outside rather than be cornered in the house where that b*stard also lived in.

"Then, I'll take you to the library," Hyuk says.

"But what about your..." Yeo Ri paused. She scanned his body, staring at his chest that was still wrapped in gauze underneath his clothing. "Oppa, will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine. Besides, all I did today was laze around. I could use some exercise," he reassured her.

"Geez, Yeo Ri, you..." Jang Mi was about to scold Yeo Ri but halted when she took notice of Hyuk. Her face paled. "Ah... h-hello," she stuttered.

She remembered that this was the gangster that dragged away Park Jin Ae the other day. Min Chae wasn't with her at that time since she stayed behind to help a teacher with some tasks. Back when it happened, she was walking behind Park Jin Ae and her friends. Back then, Jang Mi was so scared that her legs almost gave out, though she wasn't even the target of Hyuk's baleful glare.

Seeing Jang Mi's anxiousness, Yeo Ri lets go of Hyuk and introduced him to her. Jang Mi had never seen Hyuk before so she thought that it was just Hyuk's usual delinquent aura that was scaring her friend. "Jang Mi-ah, meet my brother, Hyuk. Don't worry; he doesn't eat people, so you don't have to be scared of him," Yeo Ri smiled playfully.

' B-brother?!' Jang Mi gulped. 'So the one who exacted revenge on Park Jin Ae was Yeo Ri's brother...' She knew that Yeo Ri had another brother aside from Gun, but no one really ever talks about this other brother of hers. Though Yeo Ri does mention him sometimes, the things she said about him varied greatly compared to what she had witnessed that day.

"N-nice to meet you, Hyuk...-ssi. I-I'm Y-Yeo Ri's friend, Lim Jang Mi," she hastily bowed in greeting, gripping the straps of her bag tightly.

"Hyuk-oppa, nice to see you again." Unlike the first time she met him, Min Chae was more relaxed. She greeted him normally, glancing at Jang Mi with an understanding gaze. She knew just how intimidating it was to talk to him face-to-face for the first time.

"...Oh." Hyuk didn't know what he should say so he simply nodded back in greeting, acknowledging the two girls.

"Let's go, Oppa. Min Chae-ah and Jang Mi-ah, too. Gun-oppa might already be waiting for us," Yeo Ri urged the group to start walking.

Min Chae and Yeo Ri tried to initiate a few conversations that included everyone, but after a few sentences, the conversations staled. In the end, the group walked towards the bus stop in silence. The air was awkward yet nobody knew what to say, so they all simply kept mum until the library was in view.