Painting a Target on a Bully

When it comes to Yeo Ri, Hyuk and Gun had almost similar sentiments; they both cared deeply about her.

Thus, after the girl surrendered herself to sleep, the two tacitly understood on what they should do.

Gun knew informing the authority wouldn't do much. Her school probably wouldn't take it too seriously and bury it under the carpet, just like what his school usually would do. They were poor and had no powerful parents behind them, so convicting the bully using the law was futile. However, he was not going to become like Hyuk, who only knew to use his fists when dealing with matters.

He made a mental note to contact Min Chae, whom he knew was best friends with Yeo Ri. The girl would definitely know what was going on.

He glanced at Hyuk, who was sitting at his spot again, with a face that demanded revenge. He could hear the man grinding his teeth as he was sitting, slowly tumbling his phone in his hand, deep in thought. As rough as he was, Gun knew that he had a soft spot for Yeo Ri, just like him.

"Don't do anything rash. Let me handle it," he reminded the man.

Hyuk responded with an indifferent glare, "F*ck you."

Gun did not bat an eye at his insult, instead going back to his revisions. He tapped his fingers on the desk, brewing up a plan in his mind.

The next day.

Gun called Yeo Ri's school, informing them that Yeo Ri would not be coming due to sickness.

"We'll inform her homeroom teacher," the school clerk replied before ending the call.

"Yes, thank you very much."

Gun looked through his contacts, searching for a certain number. Once he found what he was looking for, he put away his phone. It was not the right time to call her, he thought.

"Yeo Ri, I'm going," he whispered as he patted the sleeping girl's head. He exited the room as quietly as possible.

Then, he glanced at the locked door of his father's room. The door was closed, showing that the man was either sleeping inside or did not return home the day before. His shoulders slacked, thinking that at least Yeo Ri could get some rest before the b*stard comes around.

Gun acted normally as he left the house. It was still rather early so none of the neighbours were outside. It saved him the trouble of greeting them, which was nice since he did not like interacting with them.

Now that he was far from the house, he took out his phone and dialled Min Chae's number.

It only took a few rings before the girl picked up, "Yeo Ri, what's up?"

"It's Gun."

Min Chae paused. She knew that Yeo Ri didn't have her own phone, so whenever they wanted to talk on the phone, she would borrow Gun's. It was rare—no, it was unprecedented that Gun would actually be the caller this time.

"Gun-oppa? What is it? Did something happen?"

"Yeah. I should be asking you that. Did something happen yesterday, at school? Yeo Ri was crying."

"What? Yeo Ri was?!" Min Chae gaped. It seemed like the incident traumatised Yeo Ri more than she thought. "Park Jin Ae, you crazy b*tch—" Min Chae accidentally cursed Park Jin Ae out loud.

"So you know what happened?" Gun's face darkened but he maintained his neutral tone.

"Ah? Yeah... there's this crazy b*tch called Park Jin Ae who keeps picking on Yeo Ri lately. It's usually just verbal insults and petty pranks, but yesterday, that b*tch crossed the line. She purposely tripped Yeo Ri in the cafeteria. I didn't know what happened because I wasn't there with her but according to Jang Mi, it wasn't good. You know how Yeo Ri is; she wouldn't tell us if she's hurting."

"I see..." Gun narrowed his eyes. "Thanks for telling me."

"No sweat. How's Yeo Ri?"

"Sleeping, I think. She's taking a day off today."

"Oh, okay..." Min Chae wilted at his words. She was going to be all alone at achool without her best friend for the whole day. It was already hard enough to see her outside of school, but now she couldn't even do that thanks to Park Jin Ae, Min Chae grudgingly thought.

"Ah, that's right. This Park Jin Ae... do you know why she's picking on Yeo Ri? And what else has she done? Anything physical?"

"Something about stealing her boyfriend or another... which isn't true! Gun-oppa, you should know, right? Yeo Ri isn't that kind of person. She's too sweet and innocent. Besides, she already has Gun-oppa with her! And Hyuk...-oppa too... I guess?" Min Chae easily blabbed to Gun about the matter. She knew that Yeo Ri probably didn't have the heart to badmouth others, so she took on the task herself. "As for the things she's done... pushing, pulling her arm, purposely running into her, spreading false gossip... the usual."

"'The usual'? Does this sort of thing happen a lot?!" Gun widened his eyes. Judging by Min Chae's words, it was clear that this wasn't the first time it happened.

Min Chae, noticing her blunder, panicked. "Ah, that's not it, um, uh..."

"Tell me right now." Gun used a threatening tone, pressing for answers.

"That... Gun-oppa, Yeo Ri told me to keep it a secret, but since she entered middle school, a lot of girls have been outcasting her." Min Chae opened up uneasily. "As for bullies... Park Jin Ae is probably the third one? Before this there was a senior, and before that was this other girl..."

"..."

"And... anyways!" Min Chae shouted. "I dealt with them the best I could, and if you want the details, you should be asking Yeo Ri directly instead of me. I wasn't in the same class as her last year, after all."

"...Got it. Thanks, Min Chae." Gun pursed his lips. "Can you send me a picture of Park Jin Ae later?"

"A picture? Sure! I'll send one to you right now."

Moments later, a picture was forwarded to him through text.

"Thanks again, Min Chae. Bye."

"Okay, bye! Tell Yeo Ri to get well soon for me."

"Okay."

After getting the info that he wanted, Gun hung up. He decided that he would deal with the girl later, after school.