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Mari held her breath as she pressed her back against the wall, not wanting anything to give her away. She had heard the high pitched scream two more times after the first, but it was silenced after the third. She listened carefully for anything else but nothing ever came. It was worrying, alarming even, how quiet the outdoors had gotten after the panicked shrieks had suddenly stopped. Curious by this sudden change in atmosphere, Mari felt an urge to began searching for clues to figure out what had happened. It was almost too quick and too swift for someone to stop screaming from fright just like that.

So she had quite literally dropped everything to start her search. Ditching the helmet and her own phone to began her investigating. Mari's mind was too preoccupied with the many scenarios that played on repeat in her head. What could have happened? Why did it happen? And so awfully close to her school no less? She had already concluded that it had something to do with the biker students that (assumably) attended the school, who else could it be? It was too convenient for their motorcycles to be parked right outside the school and for a scream to come from around the back.

Though... what if it wasn't? What if her assumption was totally wrong? Mari feared that it might be the two clashing mafias she grew to know so well. That somehow, someway they were creeping into her sanctuary of normalcy. She could only imagine how much harder it would be for her to continue during the day as a student when the Kim Faction is so close to her. Yet it wouldn't be hard to believe that if it was them, she'd be transferred to another school completely in a desperate attempt to keep them away from her.

Thinking about the Kim Faction gave her a headache, especially knowing how aggressive they are going to become now. The loss of a Underboss is a difficult one, after all. He's the cover up for the true leader, who is almost never revealed at all times. He has almost all the power in the hierarchy, calls all the shots and commands all the soldiers in their ranks. The Seo Faction has a Underboss as well, seeing as the true king of the faction has more important things to handle and a family of his own to protect. Truth be told, Mari isn't very close to the Underboss of her own faction.

She shook her head violently, trying to shake herself out the trance she had put herself in. Mari had more important things to do at the moment. With a deep breath and a small pep talk in her head, she slowly peered around the corner of the wall. Her eyes immediately began to lock on and scan the scene in front of her. A very inclosed and messy scene it was really. Pressed up against the wall was a furious boy, growling and scowling at his attackers. He was beaten and bruised, scarred up and bleeding from the corner of his mouth as if he really tried to put up a fight.

His attackers didn't seem as injured as he was, one of them only covered in small bruises and scratches while the other stood there untouched. One of them crouched down to the injured boy, grabbing his shirt and pulling him close to whisper something to him. Whatever it was scared the devil out of him, failing around wildly and shoving his attacker away as if he was diseased. Somewhere nearby was the girl who had screamed from earlier, probably a witness to the fight that broke out between the boys and yelled in retaliation. Of course, that didn't end so well for her since she was passed out on the ground like a rag doll.

"Well isn't this a nice surprise. We just keep getting more and more guests as time flies by." Mari felt her skin crawl as she turned around, almost giving herself whiplash at how fast she went. Towering over her was a boy, a helmet held in between his bandaged up hands that were stained with blood. The height was intimidating, having to tilt her head up in order to even meet his eyes. Mari wasn't even that short, she was just being faced by the green giant himself. "You shouldn't be out here, if you don't want to end up like her, that is," He spoke, eyes darting towards the other girl through his black hair.

The girl couldn't help but scoff, no longer shook by his sudden appearance. "You think I'm that weak? Honestly that's a very offensive comment m, how could you say something like that?" She scoffed, slipping away from him. Though he grabbed her wrist, restraining her from getting any farther from him. She huffed, curse tall people with their awfully long arms. "If you even try to hurt me, you'll regret ever even taking a single glance at me." Mari threatened, her eyes narrowing into a sharp glare of displeasure.

He grinned slyly at her as he threw the helmet to the ground, pulling out a phone from his back pocket. "Who's going to come to your aid when you don't even have this on you? How clumsy of you to leave it alone for anyone to pick up really." Her eyes were glued to the phone in his hands, resisting a groan of frustration. She was stupid for even thinking it wouldn't be taken. That was a very expensive phone she had in her possession after all, and it was her only way to contain Wooyoung at the moment. Did he even receive her text in the first place?

"Seonghwa? What are you doing?" She stopped her squirming to curse under her breath, knowing that her existence had been found out to them completely. Just her luck really, she had gotten out of that detention room too easily for something not to happen later on. It may have not been with a teacher, but Mari could put this on the same scale couldn't she? Both of them were trying to stop her from doing something. The boy practically dragged her over to the person who had called his name, she wouldn't be surprised if he had forgotten she was even in his grasp.

She finally gathered enough strength to yank her wrist away from him, rubbing it softly to soothe the pain. "I hope you never get married to anyone," she hissed under her breath, turning to face the boy with a frown. Yet she was greeted by one of the boys from earlier, who also towered over her like a skyscraper. Are all the rude men tall enough to touch the clouds? Is that why she wasn't ever going to get any taller than what she was? "Who even are you?"

Despite being dressed in black from head to toe, he smiled at her. It wasn't like the devilish smirk that the first boy— Seonghwa —had adorned not in any way, shape, or form. It was bright and beaming as if he didn't have a purple bruise dangerously close to his left eye. "Don't tell me you lost your way too? Jesus, did you people never grasp the concept of directions in school?" He asked, making both Seonghwa and Mari roll their eyes at his statement.

"Look, just give me my phone back and I'll be on my way," she told them, holding her hand out for her wanted item. However, Mari's eyes couldn't help but dart over to the injured boy every so often, a disgusting feeling filling up her chest. She had seen this situation before, experienced it first hand even. The whole thing felt like déjà vu to her. Probably because this was an almost identical situation she had been in years ago as a kid.

She wasn't the one being attacked, but a bystander to what was happening. A child around her age was being antagonized and threatened, yet everyone had turned a blind eye to it. It was odd, given the fact that it wasn't bullying from other children, but blatant harassment from adults. Being extremely brash and impulsive in every action she took as a child, she just... jumped in to help without thinking.

Of course she almost got killed in the process, she was an elementary schooler after all. She didn't have all the skills she acquired in her life now. Mari was just trying to help out someone else was innocent in their situation.. But it all worked out in the end though, so does that really matter? Mari was still alive to this day, and now Wooyoung was her best friend. See? Good things could happen from throwing yourself into the heat of danger!

And that was exactly what she was about to do now, expect she had more experience and didn't have a chance to possibly from die being reckless. The boy resisted a giggle as Seonghwa handed her phone to him, waving it around the air like it was some sort of toy. "You expect me to believe that? Please, I wasn't born yesterday you know. I bet you're here for him, right? How heroic of you! Heroine coming to save the "civilian."" He taunted, bitterness seeping through his mouth as he spat the word "civilian".

Mari frowned, opening her mouth to retaliate in the quickest and rudest she could possibly could. Yet before she could even clap back, the two behemoths attention was suddenly turned to something else. Someone new that she had spotted earlier. "Aw, don't look so mad. They're only messing with you." He had explained to her, stretching his arms as if he had just woken up from a slumber. "It's all in good fun, is it not? No need to feel so offended."

The boy leaned up against Seonghwa as the taller of the three nodded vigorously. Great, she was being ganged up on by all three of them. Two of them on the taller side of the spectrum and what seemed like the leader is the bunch. Mari's eyes narrowed as she watched his very move, trying to figure out how much a threat he really wise. You'd be surprised by how much he truly embodied the "badboy" trope. The one in stories that every girl falls head over heels for despite knowing he's in deep shit?

Faded blue dyed hair, piercing practically littering his ears, and tattoos covering his entire neck and forearm from what his shirt and jacket would allow her see. Perfect "badboy material". He would probably make any of the girls in her classes swoon and faint over him. Though Mari found it to be pathetic if she had to be honest. It was like he was desperately yelling at people to pay attention to him! She didn't find that attractive at all. "What's wrong, princess? Cat got your tongue?"

Her skin crawled at the name, almost forcing her to vomit at the mere sound of it. "Okay, you know what, just give me the phone so I can leave. I won't call the cops and I won't tell a teacher. Just, give me the phone and leave the boy alone." Mari tried to convince them, trying to stay as calm as possible. The girl didn't have the shortest fuse in the world. Actually, she thought of herself to be somewhat patient with others. And yet now she felt as though she was going to lose her mind sooner than later.

He shrugged, complying to what she wanted quite quickly. He reached over to the tallest of the two, urging him to hand over Mari's phone without arguing. With a pout dawning tallest boy's face, he reluctantly dropped it into the ringleader's palms. The boy smiled brightly at him for complying and then turned around to look back at Mari. "I can give you the phone back," He told her, holding it out for her to take. And yet when she tried to snatch it from his hands, he held it back. "However, I cannot that boy's safety, princess. He doesn't really deserve it."

"And that's not up for you to decide." She snapped, clearly annoyed by the three. Though with one quick glance to check up on the boy she was going attempt to save, she noticed something was off. That the boy was gone. He had completely disappeared from where the trio had left him, as if he wasn't there to begin. A clock ticked in her head as everyone began to add up and she noticed a figure slowly creeping up behind the ringleader. "Ah hell." She mumbled, realizing how wrong she really was.

Without thinking she grabbed the leader by his jacket, pulling him towards her in an attempt to get him out of harms way. The injured boy had tried to save had lunged forward, reaching out to choke out the leader. The two taller boys reacted as quickly as Mari did, restraining the injured boy swiftly with a deadly glare in their eyes. The leader's eyes widened at their close proximity, shocked by the sudden turn of events. Though his expression quickly changed as a smirk played on his lips. "What's not up for who to decide, princess?"

She gagged in response, shoving him away as fast as she possibly could. "Okay I was wrong, whatever. Give me the phone so I can go. I won't be in your way anymore." The leader was practically beaming at her, dropping the phone in her hands with an innocent smile on his face. All three of them batted their eyes and smiled at her widely, expecting some more words to come from her after proving her wrong. "Go get a job or something, stop messing with people. That badboy stuff isn't cute at all."

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