Strictly speaking, it was hard to label Shin Ye-rim as a bully.  

‘More like she got associated with the bullies because she’s pretty?’  

She wasn’t the type to assert herself much.  

It just so happened that the first group to approach her were the bullies, so she ended up blending in with them.  

You could call her a nice bully.  

And, as is often the case with girls’ cliques, it was a jungle where social isolation or outright bullying could happen at any moment.  

It was almost inevitable that Shin Ye-rim would be grouped with the bullies.  

In the 2010s, bullying was a widespread issue.  

Expecting a 14-year-old to shoulder the risk of social isolation was asking too much.  

‘But that’s beside the point.’  

I glanced down at Shin Ye-rim.  

Hic. Hic.

She was so terrified she couldn’t say a word. Shenjust hiccupped repeatedly.  

On top of that, she had wet herself, making the situation all the more severe.  

‘I wanted to just clear this up and get away.’  

But leaving them behind didn’t sit right with me.  

“Is anyone here close to home?”  

At my question, a slender wrist shot up into the air.  

Tremble. Tremble.

Hic. Hic.

Even while hiccupping, she answered earnestly.  

‘It’s decided then.’  

After gathering my thoughts, I nodded.  

“Alright. We’ll go to your house then. I’ll carry you. Kang-sik, you follow along.”  

“W, what, w…huh?”  

“W-what? Hic. Hic.”  

I looked at the dazed Shin Ye-rim and responded matter-of-factly.  

“We’re going to your house.”  

———

{Third POV}

Shin Ye-rim’s life was utterly ordinary.  

The only difference was that she was prettier and had a better figure than most.  

She realized this back in elementary school.  

When kids confessed their feelings to you without you doing anything, it was impossible not to know.  

That’s when the problems began.  

– Shin Ye-rim, you knew I liked him, and you did that?

– What?

– You did it on purpose, didn’t you? Just to mess with me.

Just because a boy someone liked confessed to her.

Shin Ye-rim faced group harassment for the first time that day.  

As a child, one thought naturally came to her.  

‘Oh. It’s because I’m alone, because I’m isolated. That’s why I’m a target.’  

‘I need to form a group too.’  

She realized that solitary living in this jungle of a class of around 36 students was poison.  

To survive this warzone of a classroom.

She didn’t turn down the first group that approached her.  

Even if that group was the bullies.  

At the very least, avoiding isolation was the priority.

Though she hung around with them, it wasn’t like she got into any seriously bad behavior.  

Some of the boys would smoke discarded cigarette butts off the ground to look cool, but she honestly didn’t find that impressive.  

Plus, since she’d been with them gradually since elementary school, it was hard to tell what was right or wrong.  

It just seemed like boys were always roughhousing, while the girls stood by and watched.  

They learned there was a hierarchy among their classmates and knew how to navigate it.  

When all that started to feel normal.

“We’re gonna go beat up that Kim Dong-hoo kid today. Ye-rim, you wanna come watch?”  

“What? Why would I?”  

Why would she go watch someone get beaten up?  

It was one thing to be around when a fight broke out, but to go and watch one on purpose? Why?  

Naturally, Shin Ye-rim wanted to refuse, but—  

“Hey. Why are you acting clueless? It’s Seok-gu, you know?”  

“Yeah, Ye-rim~ Seok-gu’s gonna win, and then we can go hang out at Deep Pang after.”  

“…”

She couldn’t resist the peer pressure and reluctantly joined.  

It had only been two days since the start of middle school.  

They were already out looking for fights; did they really think that was cool?  

‘Disgusting.’  

Especially the way Park Seok-gu kept glancing at her. It was sickening.  

He swaggered around just because he was bigger and knew how to throw a punch.  

He acted like he was naturally her boyfriend, and she couldn’t stand it.  

But what could she do? Refusing would mean instant isolation.  

So, Shin Ye-rim found herself tagging along with Park Seok-gu’s group after school.  

‘Wow… But he’s seriously handsome.’  

Usually, when you see someone good-looking, you feel something like admiration.  

But Kim Dong-hoo, who she’d only heard about in rumors, was like a gem.  

She wondered if she’d ever meet anyone more handsome in her life.  

Then she thought about how that face would soon be ruined, and she felt a pang of sadness.  

No. She wasn’t supposed to feel sad.  

But—  

‘W-what is this?’  

This went beyond just being a good fighter.  

The Temptation of Wolves!

Shin Ye-rim felt like she was watching the protagonist of an online novel come to life. 

Even more so than the movie adaptations.  

Each time he swung his fists, his loose school shirt fluttered like a scholar’s robe.  

‘He’s like Jeon Woo-chi.’  

{TN:- Jeon Woo-chi is a legendary character in Korean folklore, often depicted as a Daoist mage with extraordinary magical powers.}

Just as various movie scenes flashed through her mind, Shin Ye-rim found herself instinctively locking eyes with Kim Dong-hoo.

At that moment, she collapsed to the ground. 

Fear that she might also get hit, and the sudden realization that now was not the time to be admiring him, made her legs give out completely. 

“Hic. Hiccup.” 

Somehow, after a whirlwind of events.

“W-what?” 

She found herself back at her own house in the blink of an eye. 

“Does your house have two bathrooms?” 

“Y-yes.” 

“I’ll use this one then. I got urine on my hands from carrying you.” 

“O-okay…” 

Please stop talking about that. 

Why do you keep emphasizing that I wet myself?! 

She wanted to say, but a shower and change of clothes took priority. 

Shin Ye-rim hurriedly rushed into the shower in the master bedroom. 

‘What the heck is going on!’

The current situation was not something a 14-year-old girl in puberty could easily accept.

An incredibly handsome boy came to her house to wash up.

Why? What? Where did it go wrong?

While she was feeling so confused, she heard Kim Dong-hoo’s voice from far away.

“My pants are wet too. Can I have one of your spare sweatpants?”

“Oh yeah!”

His voice was magnetic too.

Her heart was pounding.

At first, it was just like a dream, but after exchanging a few words, everything felt real.

‘A handsome boy like that is talking to me right now?’

There were many celebrities, but Shin Ye-rim felt that none could match Kim Dong-hoo’s charm.

There has to be a limit to how handsome a person can be.

Normally, it wouldn’t make sense to let someone just come over to your house like that.

But she was completely captivated by his face.

‘But maybe this turned out to be a good thing.’  

Just looking at a handsome guy can make you happy.  

After quickly taking a shower, Shin Ye-rim handed Kim Dong-hoo a pair of pants.  

“Here, here.”  

“Thanks, I’ll wash them and return them to you tomorrow. What class are you in?”  

“I-I’m in Class 2.”  

“Got it.”  

Tap.  

‘Kyaah!’

Their fingers touched while handing over the pants.  

Her heart was fluttering. Is this destiny? Is this love?  

All these thoughts were swirling in her head when—  

“B-b-because of my academy time, I-I think I have to go.”  

An uninvited guest interrupted.  

To be precise, she had just realized he was there.  

What was his name again? Na Kang-sik?  

Still, since he was a guest in her house, Shin Ye-rim awkwardly waved him off.  

“O-okay? G-goodbye.”  

“Y-yeah. Bye.”  

At the age of fourteen, a prime age for being shy, Na Kang-sik and Shin Ye-rim awkwardly exchanged farewells, not even understanding why.  

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Ding. Dong.

The door lock sound had barely ended when an awkward silence quickly took over.  

‘Why do I feel awkward in my own house?’  

But this couldn’t be helped.  

Right in front of her was the person who had made all those kids vomit.  

Who wouldn’t feel nervous in his presence?  

And on top of that, he was unbelievably handsome.  

Even just watching Kim Dong-hoo breathe made her feel like she was shrinking.  

“Why do you hang out with them?”  

Kim Dong-hoo’s words broke the awkwardness.  

“Huh?”

“Why are you associating with the bullies and ruining your own image?”  

“M-me?”  

“Yeah, you. Are you doing it because you’re scared of being bullied?”  

“What?” 

 

“Think about the future. Sure, it might be tough now, but joining the bullies won’t do you any good.”  

Since she was in the first year of middle school, it meant there was still time to turn things around.  

There was only one thing Shin Ye-rim could say to Kim Dong-hoo’s sudden, blunt words.  

“You’re such an old man at heart. Despite how handsome you are.”  

“…”

———

{Dong-hoo’s POV}

Clunk.  

On the way back home from Shin Ye-rim’s house, her number was saved in my phone.  

‘I hope she gets her act together after hearing what I said.’

I didn’t have any specific feelings toward Shin Ye-rim.  

The reason I said all that was simply because I knew what her future held.  

‘Shin Ye-rim almost ended her life after her past was exposed.’

If she had been a bad person from the beginning, I wouldn’t have bothered.  

But that wasn’t the case, so I couldn’t just stand by and watch her head toward such a future.  

‘Now, maybe it’s time to focus on my own future.’

Now that I was in middle school, at fourteen years old, I had endless possibilities.  

There were still many restrictions because I was underage, but the advancement of smartphones had provided countless platforms to showcase talent.  

“Aple, Guggle, YouTube, FaceStorm.”  

In an era overflowing with opportunities.  

Being handsome alone is enough to aim for the top.  

While heading home, I made a FaceStorm account.  

It was 2010. The time when FaceStorm’s ‘ulzzang’ (best face) trend was at its peak, even leading to TV shows featuring these handsome faces.  

Snap.  

I casually took a selfie to set as my profile picture.  

Without adding any text, I just filled in the tags.  

Tags: #ulzzang #ShinBitMiddleSchool.  

It was the peak of embarrassment, but it was necessary.  

Now, all that’s left is to register the account.  

‘But seriously, where have I seen Na Kang-sik before?’

Since I was already on FaceStorm, I decided to search if he had an account.  

“Holy.”  

I froze in shock.  

Na Kang-sik.  

A middle schooler who wants to make games.  

This simple description struck me like thunder.  

“… Right, Na Kang-sik.”  

The genius who created a AAA game and won the GOTY (Game of the Year) award in Korea.  

That was Na Kang-sik.  

———-

At the same time Kim Dong-hoo was uncovering Na Kang-sik’s identity.  

“… Yes, hyung. We… We all got our butts kicked.”  

The flames of revenge were being rekindled.