Four Years Ago

Going back to four years ago, near an abandoned apartment building.

"Agh!"

A group of thugs were ganging up against a male student. However, the student was so unbelievably strong that he managed to hold his weight against the group of four or five people.

Thwack! Thwack!

The sound of flesh hitting flesh resounded in the empty area. The sun was setting on top of them, casting an orangey glow over their battered bodies.

"Piece of sh*t! Piece of sh*t!" The student muttered under his breath as he punched the opponent in front of him. A different person snuck up behind him and landed a hit on his back with a steel bat.

It probably hurt, but the student barely even batted an eye at it. He simply continued to fend off against the thugs like an undying soldier.

"You f*cking trash!" He roared.

Although it sounded as if he was cursing the thugs, in reality, that was not the case. His tone was laced with self-derision. Though, in the situation he was in, his opponents could not help but misunderstand.

"Say that again, you little sh*t!" One of the thugs yelled, incensed at the boy's constant cursing. This pig-headed fool was either fearless or stupid to have decided to offend them.

However, one person cannot match against so many people at once. Soon enough, the student became overwhelmed and ended up on the losing side. He crumpled on the ground, his body curled up like a foetus as he protected his vitals.

"Serves you right, you arrogant punk!" One of them spat, kicking him one last time.

"Kh...!" The student groaned. He gritted his teeth and bore with the pain. Although he wanted to pass out, he urged himself to stay awake. He didn't really want to die yet, after all.

After the thugs had left, a figure stepped out from the shadows.

"Yo, you still alive?" The figure asked, squatting next to the fallen student and poking him curiously.

The stranger was also garbed in the same uniform as the student, a clear indication that they were from the same school.

"..." The fallen student cracked an eye open with difficulty, glaring at the stranger. "What do you want?" He growled in an unfriendly manner.

"Ah, so you're still alive, huh? Wow, amazing~ You're pretty strong, ain'tcha?" The stranger said, grinning. His eyes curved in a lazy but playful manner, showing a glimpse into his rather careless personality.

"..." The beaten up student decisively ignored the stranger. Inwardly, he snorted at the guy's words. What strong, he thought. If he was strong, he wouldn't have been reduced to such a sight. He felt pathetic, but the feelings he was stowing inside him made him feel even worse.

The student's lips curled into a sneer. The action was painful, but he was really too annoyed to care. Without another word, he picked himself up after struggling for a bit, and limped away.

"Going already?" The stranger chuckled, his tone tinged with disappointment. "Hey, what's your name? Let's be friends~"

The student was too tired to focus on anything else other than his injuries. He didn't pay any attention to the other student but the other student kept pestering him.

"Oi, are you seriously going back? Like that? You're gonna collapse, y'know?" The stranger remarked. However, he still stood by idly, not showing any intentions to help the injured student. He only moved when the student was several steps away from him, inching closer to the guy but still keeping an arm's distance so that the guy wouldn't suddenly reach out and hit him. In any case, as much as he was curious about the injured guy, the guy looked dangerous so it was better to not piss him off too much. He'd seen the dude fight and he wouldn't really want to be his opponent, injured or not.

"..."

Ssk. Ssk. Ssk.

The student's response was to continue walking, dragging his tired and battered legs across the concrete ground as he continued to ignore the other guy.

"Hey, you're pretty gutsy... I like it," the young man chuckled at the pokerfaced student. Very easily, he stepped up in front of the student, grinning.

"Say, let's be friends," the stranger announced. "The name's Yeong Gi. Ji Yeong Gi. What about you?"