# Chapter 92
Moon Seoheon had to be seen as having raised his elbow to block the third-year student who was swinging his fist. It was hard to say he had attacked at all, but the problem was that it ended up colliding with the third-year’s forearm. The guy who screamed grabbed his arm and stepped back.
“Hey, you little bastards!”
Following the guy who was shouting loudly with his upper body hunched, I could hear students who were secretly watching inhale sharply.
With mixed feelings of bewilderment and perplexity, I looked back and forth between Moon Seoheon and the third-year guy. Then, realizing this wasn’t the time to just stand there, I quickly checked on Moon Seoheon.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
Even though the guy had swung hard, and it must have hurt considerably despite blocking it with a solid elbow, Moon Seoheon acted like nothing was wrong.
Fortunately, it didn’t look like it would bruise. I swallowed a sigh and briefly looked at the third-year who was complaining of pain.
The guy who had seemed ready to attack first earlier must have come to his senses, as he started spouting nonsense about reporting us for violence. I just laughed emptily, too dumbfounded to know whether to get angry or question him thoroughly about this situation.
“Why are you hitting me and making a fuss?”
Now he was even accusing us of hitting him, making me feel like what little anger I had left was fading away. Thinking that he might have cornered Yoon Taeho the same way, I moved Moon Seoheon aside and stood in front, facing the third-year who was acting so confidently.
“Where’s your proof that he hit you?”
“Hey, are you joking? Can’t you see where I got hit?”
Unlike Moon Seoheon who seemed fine, the guy’s forearm clearly showed a dark red mark that was likely to bruise.
“You were trying to hit him first, and he blocked it. If he hadn’t, he would have been the one hurt.”
“Got any proof?”
Well, well. I almost blurted out a mocking response to his reply. I noticed the guy’s lips tightly shut with one corner of his mouth raised.
His shameless attitude in the face of this sudden situation was almost admirable rather than shocking. Wow, he was being so childish but also making me quite angry, leaving me feeling stifled.
What was he trying to do? I wanted to let it go, but judging by his attitude, it would be better not to expect him to go along nicely, right?
“What’s going on there?!”
The commotion had apparently been heard, as a teacher came running over, making the situation seem to be escalating. Unlike me, who was getting a headache, the guy’s demeanor became even more confident. With his large build and face marked with a scar, he only looked more intimidating.
The approaching teacher yelled at us. Then the situation took a turn for the worse when the guy showed his injury and pointed us out as the culprits.
With the three of us in the faculty office, each grade’s head teachers stepped forward. Unlike his appearance, the third-year seemed to manage his grades well, as the third-year head teacher took his side.
The teacher did question why a third-year was in a second-year classroom, but seeing the bruise on his face must have evoked sympathy, as the blame soon shifted to us. Plus, they started suggesting that Moon Seoheon and I had also caused the bruise on his face, so I quickly spoke up.
“As I said before, he was just blocking when the other guy tried to attack first. We can check the CCTV to confirm.”
There was definitely a CCTV installed at the front door of the classroom, so we could check that. However, my words made the teachers make strange expressions. Even the third-year guy, whose name I now learned was Lee Seongcheol, looked at me as if I was ridiculous before smirking as if this was all beneath him.
Moon Seoheon, who had been quiet as if nothing was wrong, informed me in a low voice.
“The camera only records the classroom, so it won’t capture what happened in the hallway.”
An involuntary “Ah” escaped my lips. Does that mean we just have to watch Lee Seongcheol put on this pathetic act? As I stood there with a hardened expression, Moon Seoheon spoke up.
“It was just a simple altercation. We’ll be more careful next time.”
My heart ached momentarily at the sight of Moon Seoheon bowing his head properly, as if he’d done this many times before. I wanted to shout that he shouldn’t be the one apologizing, but I couldn’t get the words out. Instead, I was about to bow my head alongside him.
After all, it was true that an altercation had occurred, so it was better to let it go nicely now. Judging by the teachers’ attitudes, they didn’t seem to want to make a big issue out of it either.
But Moon Seoheon grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him. It was a small force, but due to my steps that moved involuntarily, the voice of apology I was about to utter was swallowed back.
“That’s right. It’s enough that you’ve reflected. It doesn’t seem like Seongcheol spoke nicely either.”
“No, teacher.”
“Be quiet, you. Do you want to fight with your juniors as a third-year student?”
Lee Seongcheol, who tucked in his protruding lips with annoyance, glared at us for a moment. It was so irritating I wanted to punch him for doing this behind the teacher’s back. He might be a year older than Jo Youngmin or Ye Abin, but he didn’t seem any more mature. Perhaps it was just his personality.
The second-year head teacher, who told us to go out, hesitated before adding to Moon Seoheon.
“Seoheon, I understand you’re trying to be careful as you said, but let’s not escalate things further. You have a competition to attend during the break, right?”
“…I understand.”
Following Moon Seoheon who left after nodding his head, I also greeted the teachers and followed. Unlike me with my stifling chest, Moon Seoheon’s straight back looked so unbothered that it was making me feel even more unsettled.
“What was that about what the head teacher mentioned? Do these kinds of things happen often?”
Anyone could see that Lee Seongcheol had been trying to mess with me. But when the head teacher stepped forward as soon as Moon Seoheon entered the faculty office, I realized this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.
I already knew there would be many students who picked fights, but actually seeing it happen in front of me made me feel quite terrible.
“Occasionally. Nothing serious, but I get called in often because people try to provoke me.”
“And every time, you apologize and leave like this?”
It certainly wasn’t a fight serious enough to warrant disciplinary action, and it could be considered a childish altercation among high school students, so it was hard to say much.
Moon Seoheon simply shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal, perhaps having experienced many similar incidents. Though I didn’t want to pry further into his casual dismissal, The Four came to mind—I had thought they would protect him flawlessly—so I asked.
“Don’t Sunbae Junhee or the others say anything? Since they’re High Class, they should be able to help.”
Considering they even lowered Yoon Taeho’s rank by giving him disciplinary action, their influence must be substantial. Ah, perhaps because of that, students don’t openly bully him?
“I can’t rely on their help every time. Besides, provocations just make them more determined to climb up. It’s better to just let it be.”
“Uh… I guess so.”
I was momentarily taken aback by Moon Seoheon’s excessive expression that I was hearing for the first time. As my fast-paced steps gradually slowed, Moon Seoheon urged me, saying the bell was about to ring.
Our classmates glanced at us as we entered the classroom with an uncomfortable feeling, then whispered softly among themselves. Even though there was nothing I could do at this point, I cleared my thoughts, thinking it would be better to stay quiet as Moon Seoheon had said.
Looking at Moon Seoheon who was quietly opening his book, I felt I should say this, so I whispered softly.
“I’m sorry. That third-year picked a fight because of me, but you’re the only one who suffered for it.”
So you didn’t do anything wrong. The latter part became increasingly smaller as I felt embarrassed. Despite my faint voice, Moon Seoheon seemed to have heard me well, as he chuckled softly and replied.
“It’s not because of you. …The guy who barged in is the one at fault. And I think I know why he did it.”
Moon Seoheon spoke in a gentle tone but ended by glossing over his words. It was a meaningful statement, but I also thought I knew why Lee Seongcheol had done it, so I kept my mouth shut.
* * *
“That bastard came at you?”
At the fierce voice, I couldn’t raise my upper body that was lying down, and just listened to the following words with my eyes closed.
“Yes. What did you do?”
I could hear Byeon Seungha, who would be frowning with sharp eyes, sighing softly. When I slightly opened my eyes, I saw Byeon Seungha irritably scratching his head.
“I didn’t do much. I just went to see his face, to know who he was.”
“But he was saying some strange things about getting pushed around. I don’t even know that senior, and I haven’t had any contact with him.”
“Hey, that’s…”
Byeon Seungha chewed on a curse word at Moon Seoheon’s words, which were plainly but clearly reprimanding. It seems he went because of me. Now I finally understood clearly why Lee Seongcheol had come looking from the morning. Honestly, this incident wasn’t related to Moon Seoheon, so there was no particular reason for Byeon Seungha to do this, which made me wonder, but I felt somewhat guilty.
Suddenly, Byeon Seungha looked at my face, and I closed my eyes tightly and turned my head. Judging from the burning sensation on the back of my head, he was undoubtedly staring intensely.
“Why are you looking here?”
At that moment, a shadow fell over me and the desk shook. I felt Moon Seoheon’s elbow touching mine. My body flinched automatically, and fearing they might notice I was awake, I made a low sound and sluggishly moved my upper body.
It was good that I had laid down to get some sleep as soon as break time started. But because of Byeon Seungha’s sudden arrival, I missed the timing to get up and wasn’t even able to rest properly.
He seemed to have rushed over after hearing what had happened in the morning, but not knowing the detailed situation, his actions of pressing Moon Seoheon were quite natural. The same went for Moon Seoheon, who was trying to gloss over it.
“…I wasn’t looking at him.”
Byeon Seungha mumbled quietly as if hesitating. Anyway, that guy is only weak around Moon Seoheon. More than that, the atmosphere seems to have become more subdued, possibly because of me, and I’m not sure if I should continue pretending to sleep.
“Anyway, what happened with that senior? I saw a bruise on his face. Did you hit him?”
“…We just exchanged a few words. I never hit him.”
It didn’t seem to be a lie, as his tone felt sincere. But still feeling uneasy, Byeon Seungha, who had been moving his lips, soon explained as if making an excuse.
“He fights a lot at the beginning of the month. He probably got beaten up by someone he has a grudge against.”
I see. But he was clearly blaming me. His talk about being pushed around must have referred to the warning Byeon Seungha had given him.
Could it be that he came to threaten me, thinking he’d been marked by Byeon Seungha? Even if that’s true, it’s laughable to imagine. I involuntarily sighed, and although I covered my mouth in alarm, Byeon Seungha spoke in an incredulous tone.
“I know you’re awake.”
