Sujin waved.
"See you later."

Then her voice lowered.
"If we're alive… We'll definitely meet again."

She turned her head toward the red-marked side.

We see some people standing in the distance,
dressed like members of a secret organisation.
They carried swords.

She narrowed her eyes.
"Looks like I have some work to do."

Gun and Reon were walking down the street.

"Reon, what do you want me to say then?" Gun asked.

"What?" Reon blinked.

"About my mom acting like your mom. What did your mom even do to you?"

"Oh, that," Reon sighed.
"If you really wanna know, listen up."

"After you called me..."
He began explaining what happened that morning.
"You know, after all that, she started lecturing me again."

Gun burst out laughing after hearing his words.

"What did your mother do to you this morning?" Gun asked, trying not to laugh.

"Don't laugh at me. Someday, you'll be in the same position."

"My mother would never do that."

"Well, we'll see in the future."

Just like that, they finally arrived at school.

Busan Kenton High

Busan Kenton High School was infamous across the city,
not for its academics,
but for its ruthless hierarchy.

In the crowded hallways and shadowy corners,
cliques fought for control like territorial gangs.

From the top-tier elites to the bullied outcasts,
everyone knew the rules: survive or get crushed.

The school was a battlefield where fists spoke louder than words,
and reputation meant everything.

Here, power wasn't just about grades or sports—
it was about respect, fear, and who could throw the hardest punch.

Gun and Reon entered the school.
Reon was shocked to see it.

"What? Our school looks…"

Gun interrupted,
"Looks normal today."

Reon replied,
"No, it looks abnormal."

"Why? Look, there's no one outside. No one is bothering us today."

"That's why I said it looks abnormal. You know our school can't be this quiet. Something must be happening inside."

Hearing this, Gun suddenly remembered something.
"Oh no," he said.

"What now?" Reon asked.

"You probably don't know because you missed school yesterday.
They announced that a prominent businessman would be visiting today to deliver a speech. Everyone is probably there."

A silence fell between them.

Then they looked at each other and shouted,
"That means we're late!"

They ran quickly to their classroom.

While running, Reon said,
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Gun replied,
"I forgot about that. So how could I tell you?"

"Idiot."

"Okay, I'm an idiot. But at least I don't miss school like you."

"You know our family's condition. So why are you saying this now?"

Talking like that, they finally arrived at their classroom.
They quickly put their bags down on their desks, both panting.

"Huff… huff…"

"I got here first," Reon said.

"No, me."

As they started fighting about it, Reon said,
"Oh, we have to go to the auditorium. The lecture might be half finished by now."

"Let's go."

"Okay, this time we'll see who wins."

They both ran toward the auditorium.

Their classroom was on the fifth floor,
and the auditorium was all the way down on the first.

Reon groaned,
"Shit, we have to go all the way to the first floor."

Gun asked,
"Wait, why don't we just head straight to the auditorium?
If we do that, we might still catch the lecture."

Reon replied,
"That's why I call you a fool. We still have our school bags with us.
If any teacher sees us then, we will be finished by then!"

"Oh…" Gun muttered.

They kept running—past rooms A-1, A-2… B-1, B-2…
from the fifth floor to the fourth, then the third.

Just like that, they finally reached the first floor.
The auditorium was now in sight.

Gun ran ahead and reached the door first.
"See? I win," he said proudly.

He grabbed the door handle and tried to open it.
Then he turned around to see why Reon was taking so long.

But Reon wasn't behind him.
He was standing in front of a classroom door, not moving.

Gun let go of the door handle and walked over.
"Why are you standing in the middle of the hallway? What are you trying to—"

Before he could finish, Reon raised a hand.
"Shhh. I hear something."

Gun frowned.
Here we go again…

"Reon, we have to go to the auditorium for the lecture. Did you forget that?
Look, if you're doing all this just to win, fine—I admit defeat. You win. You entered first."

But Reon suddenly shouted,
"Stop! I'm serious. I hear something… a girl crying."

Gun stopped talking.

Reon continued,
"It's a girl… hmm..." He paused, trying to focus.
"Her mouth… I think it's tied up. I also hear something else—maybe her hands are tied too.
She's scared… and crying in fear."

Gun froze.
He knew Reon wasn't the type to joke about something this serious.

"So what should we do now?" Gun asked nervously.

Reon replied calmly,
"First, we need to stay quiet and observe. Come with me."

They slowly moved closer to the classroom door, the one the noise was coming from.

Gun could now hear it too—a faint, muffled sound.
"Yeah... I can hear it now," he whispered.

Suddenly, the girl let out a loud, muffled scream.
"Mmmm!!!"

Gun jumped back in fear.
"W-What should we do now?! She just screamed!"
He turned to Reon, his voice trembling.
"I'm scared, Reon… should we call everyone here?"

Before Reon could answer, another scream erupted—this one louder—
and it was followed by the chilling sound of clothes being torn.

Reon's eyes widened.
He immediately understood what was happening.

"You go to the auditorium—quickly! I'll handle it here!" he ordered.

"But—" Gun hesitated.

"No buts!" Reon snapped.
"We don't have much time! Just go and call the others!"

"I want to stay and fight!" Gun insisted.

"Don't make me angry. Do you even know how to fight?
You'll only get in the way. Just trust me—I can handle whoever's inside that room."

Gun stayed silent.
Deep down, he knew Reon was right.

"Alright… I'll go call for help!" he said, then quickly ran toward the auditorium.

Meanwhile, Reon prepared himself for a fight.

He approached the classroom window quietly.
It was closed, but as he gently pushed, it creaked open.

He slipped inside without making a sound.

But as soon as he entered—
someone hurled a knife at him.

Reon dodged it and caught the knife mid-air with his bare hand.

His expression darkened.
"So you want to attack me with a knife first?" he muttered coldly.
"Then I won't hold back either."

He glanced at the blade… and froze.
There was blood on it.

His heart dropped.

Slowly, he raised his head and looked around the room.

What he saw…
traumatised him.

His voice trembled with fury and horror.