# Chapter 17
Of course, I don’t know what novel I’ve been reincarnated into. Still, usually those called the Four Heavenly Kings maintain their ranks firmly. So I thought the Four Heavenly Kings here would be the same. But when Baek Han changed the ranks as if it were natural, I couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Ah! Once again! Another unexpected turn has occurred! Rank 5 Baek Han! Has defeated Rank 3 Ahn Ji Yu! And now challenges Rank 2 Kwon Dojin!”
“…Really?”
It seems like only about ten minutes have passed, but he already defeated him? So were these Four Heavenly Kings actually pushovers all along?
I could imagine the MC who must be speaking with saliva flying everywhere, though I couldn’t see him. I stopped on my way to the bathroom and leaned against the corridor wall.
Not believing the MC’s commentary, I took out my phone and found the streaming site. It was broadcasting a situation where Baek Han and Kwon Dojin were facing each other.
“I’ll turn this off for now.”
I didn’t want to watch. Especially not two people I know fighting. So I put my phone away and ran my fingers through my hair.
I stood still for a while, leaning the back of my head against the wall. For some reason, I felt like the fight between Kwon Dojin and Baek Han would last quite long. But I hesitated to return to my seat for fear of seeing them fight.
“I don’t have anything to do, so maybe I’ll go buy some water.”
I saw a vending machine on the way here, so I should check it out. After feeling my uniform pants to make sure I had my wallet, I moved on.
Unlike those climbing the stairs to get to the auditorium where the fight was taking place, I was going down alone, so making my way through was quite difficult. But at some point, it became easier.
You could say order was established—people weren’t parting like the Red Sea, but those going up started to form a line, creating enough space for one person to pass through.
This sudden change felt strange, so I looked around but couldn’t notice anything unusual. Thinking I was being unnecessarily sensitive, I shook my head and diligently headed toward the vending machine.
“The water… is here.”
I looked for what I wanted in the shiny, gleaming vending machine and reached for my wallet to insert money.
“Huh?”
“That side profile—”
“Prices are so high these days. A thousand won for just one bottle of water?”
If I’d known it would be like this, should I have just walked around the field instead? While sighing deeply and taking out the blue bill, I felt someone tap my shoulder and reflexively turned around.
“It is you!”
“It’s Kwon Dojin’s bitch!”
“What?”
A single word struck my ears like a hammer. It’s bad enough to suddenly be pointed at by someone I’ve never met before, but what? There’s really nothing they won’t say right to someone’s face.
“I was already in a bad mood today—”
What does his bad mood have to do with pointing fingers at me?
As I started to get annoyed myself, I irritably swatted away the index finger still pointing rigidly at me.
“If you’re in a bad mood, what do you expect me to do about it?”
The other person took a couple of steps back, then, as if offended by that fact alone, frowned and stepped forward again, closing the distance.
“Unlike how you look, you’ve got quite an attitude?”
“And you’re exactly like how you look.”
I didn’t know what appearance had to do with personality, but I was already getting irritated by such remarks.
Honestly, I was scared by the threatening way they blocked my path, but I tried hard to hide it. In front of someone like this, you shouldn’t show that you’re frightened. The moment they know, they’ll become even more arrogant.
“I wonder if that mouth will quiet down a bit after being hit?”
“Hmm, I don’t think so?”
I talked back boldly, but if he actually raises his fist, I’m really done for. If he hits me, I’ll just take it, right? It’ll hurt like hell, but someone like me who can’t fight won’t be able to block it elegantly.
Instead, if he hits me, I’ll drag him to the police station by the collar. I’ll also make sure to convene the school violence committee and give him a taste of his own medicine one way or another. There are many ways to get back at someone, not just with fists.
While thinking this, I saw my impatient opponent raising his fist. Not having the courage to watch till the end, I shut my eyes tightly. It’s going to hurt, it’s going to hurt a lot.
“Kang Jinwoo.”
“B-Baek Han—”
Baek Han? At the familiar voice, I opened my eyes. Then I found myself inadvertently parting my lips as I saw Baek Han grabbing the arm of the person he called Kang Jinwoo, with his sharp eyes raised.
“It doesn’t look like you have any excuses.”
“No, I was just—!”
“If your rank gets revoked, you’d have nothing to say, right?”
Baek Han struck away the wrist he had grabbed and pushed the shoulder, separating Kang Jinwoo from me, and naturally wedged himself between us. I could only see Baek Han’s back now, so I didn’t know what expression Kang Jinwoo had, but from his voice alone, it was clear he was in trouble.
“I haven’t done anything yet—”
“‘Yet’? You even raised your fist but you’re saying ‘yet’? There’s a limit to how shameless you can be.”
A fierce voice echoed in my ears. Blink, blink, I just stood still behind Baek Han and only blinked my eyelids. It was obvious that stepping in would only make me a burden, so staying quiet was the best strategy.
“This has nothing to do with you in the first place!”
“A bastard who’s part of the ranking system trying to hit an ordinary person has nothing to do with me? Did you get hit in the head during the fight just now?”
Scathing words flowed continuously. Now that I think about it, it seemed Baek Han was quite good with words.
“Haven’t we always emphasized not to mess with ordinary people? You’re making a fuss because you can’t follow that one simple rule?”
“I told you I haven’t touched him yet!”
“Because I stopped you from doing so!”
As if he’d been holding back and finally exploded, Baek Han swung his fist. It was a punch with so much force that it made a brutal sound that made my shoulders flinch, to the point where I was momentarily concerned if Kang Jinwoo was okay.
“If you still have something to say, say it!”
Hearing groaning sounds from over the shoulder, out of curiosity, I grabbed the fabric near Baek Han’s shoulder blade to see the situation. Then I saw Kang Jinwoo sprawled on the floor.
“Shouldn’t you not say that after busting someone’s lip?”
“Hah… this is annoying.”
“Hmm, it certainly looks that way.”
I patted Baek Han’s shoulder, signaling him to calm down a bit. Baek Han quietly accepted the touch and then suddenly turned to look at me.
“Why didn’t you just stay in your seat!”
“I just wanted to get some water.”
“You could have waited and we could have gone together!”
“…I was wrong.”
As he seemed to get more heated the more he thought about it, I obediently apologized while looking at Baek Han who was huffing and puffing. Now that he calmed down a bit, it seems like that was the right answer.
Baek Han took a deep breath in and out to calm his anger. Meanwhile, Kang Jinwoo and his gang, who had been sprawled on the floor, hesitantly backed away.
“Tsk.”
If I noticed it, there’s no way Baek Han wouldn’t. When he clicked his tongue loud enough for them to hear, they jumped in surprise and their bodies stiffened.
“Just let them go.”
“What’s so cute about letting them go? Are you crazy?”
“Then what are you going to do if you catch them?”
“Beat them up.”
“Do you really need to do that in front of me…?”
It wasn’t a sight I particularly wanted to see. My mental state was very ordinary, so witnessing such violent scenes would surely weaken me. As I grabbed Baek Han’s arm and clung to it, he irritably ran his fingers through his hair but didn’t stop them from running away.
“What if they retaliate later?”
With just the two of us left, Baek Han leaned against the wall and looked down at me crookedly.
“Wow, but if they were going to retaliate, they would do it even if you beat them up, wouldn’t they?”
“…Now that you mention it, that’s true.”
Easily persuaded, Baek Han sighed and then suddenly raised his arm to flick my forehead.
“Ow!”
It seemed like he had controlled his strength somewhat, but it hurt so much that I whined while covering my forehead.
“What did you do right to be whimpering like that?”
“Regardless of that, pain is pain—”
“Anyway, let’s go.”
I stared at him blankly as he gestured toward the auditorium with his chin, then suddenly curiosity struck me and I tilted my head.
“We’re going, but why are you here? The rank determination? The fight? What happened?”
When I asked while tilting my head from side to side, Baek Han’s eyebrows twitched in annoyance in response. His reaction was like someone who heard something unpleasant, so I could roughly guess the result, but I pretended not to know because I wanted to hear it directly from him.
“Hmm? What happened, you ask?”
“Your eyes tell me you already know.”
“No, I don’t. I was held up by those guys, so I don’t know.”
To demonstrate my innocence, I deliberately blinked my eyelids slowly. Of course, I also didn’t forget to raise both hands up to my chest.
“Ah, shit! I lost, I lost! I lost to Kwon Dojin! Happy now?”
When Baek Han shouted so loudly that the building might have flown away, I was about to burst into laughter, but I briefly caught sight of what seemed to be a wound on his forehead and reached out my arm.
“W-What—”
“Wait, hold still for a moment.”
Because he kept backing away, I couldn’t see properly. Plus, there was a height difference that made it worse. Only when he was stopped by the wall did I place my hand on his shoulder, grabbed his cheek to fix his head, and then examined his forehead.
It wasn’t my imagination; there really was a wound. It wasn’t very large, but it looked painful enough.
“How did you get hurt? Do you have medicine?”
“…I don’t.”
“Why would you rush into a fight without even preparing medicine? That’s reckless.”
“I don’t want to hear that from you.”
As Baek Han swatted my hand away, I moved my body back accordingly. It was strange that he was turning his head away and not making eye contact, but the wound bothered me more than that.
“Are you okay? Does it hurt?”
“I said I’m fine. Stop worrying needlessly and let’s go for now.”
Baek Han waved his hand casually and then got on the path to the auditorium first. I pouted my lips at his grumpy attitude despite my concern, but remembering that he had saved me, I became more generous.
“Just go a little slower.”
When I called out to Baek Han’s back, which was already far away, his pace slowed down, making me smile inadvertently.
