34 - Chapter 32: Specter of the Past
Jeong Yu-mi's punches were typical of someone who had never learned martial arts.
Pulling her fist back, then throwing it forward with raw force.
Han Su-in timed it perfectly, striking Jeong Yu-mi's face before she could even extend her arm.
"Fuck...!"
Reeling from the unexpected blow, Jeong Yu-mi stumbled back, covering her face instead of throwing her punch.
Though Han Su-in's technique was still clumsy, a fist backed by B-rank mana was highly destructive. If she had landed a clean hit, Jeong Yu-mi would have probably been knocked out cold.
She didn't miss the opening created by the shock of the blow to her jaw. Snapping her extended hand back, she threw her other fist in a fluid motion, smashing it directly into the bridge of Jeong Yu-mi's nose.
"Gah...!"
Jeong Yu-mi clutched her nose, unable to even think of fighting back as blood seeped through her fingers.
'It... It's working...!'
In a way, it was only natural.
Jeong Yu-mi was only a C-rank. No matter how rushed Han Su-in's boxing lessons had been, she was bound to have a technical advantage over someone who had never trained at all.
With both a higher mana rank and superior technique, she was bound to dominate.
She had simply underestimated herself because, until now, she had done nothing but fail and run away.
Feeling her own strength for the first time in her life, Han Su-in shoved the staggering Jeong Yu-mi, knocking her flat onto the ground.
"This fucking loser...!"
Han Su-in mounted the fallen girl and began raining down punches indiscriminately.
"Ah...! Ah...! Wa...! Wait...!"
Jeong Yu-mi struggled desperately to block the blows raining down on her.
Since Han Su-in hadn't properly learned how to strike from the mount, her punches were clumsier than her earlier one-two combo.
Even so, Jeong Yu-mi couldn't break the mount, and the damage steadily piled up.
'I'm... I'm completely overpowering that Jeong Yu-mi...'
The realization made her heart race—not from fear, but from sheer excitement.
People often say that revenge is empty.
But there were certainly cases like this, where revenge was a way to reclaim lost self-confidence.
If things kept going like this, Jeong Yu-mi's defeat was a foregone conclusion.
If only there wasn't one problem.
Namely, that this wasn't a one-on-one fight.
While she was absorbed in raining down punches, she suddenly heard the rush of wind slicing from the side.
'Shit...!'
Perhaps her years of acting as a human punching bag in middle school hadn't gone to waste, because she instinctively realized someone was swinging a pipe at her.
Of course, realizing it didn't mean she could dodge it.
"Ugh...!"
Taking a direct hit to the head with an iron pipe made the world spin. If there hadn't been such a massive difference in their mana ranks, it would have been fatal.
The problem was that the attack didn't stop at just one blow.
"I don't know who the fuck this is, but beat her ass!"
The gang rushed in like a swarm of hornets, swinging iron pipes, baseball bats, and nail-studded wooden planks from all directions.
Thud, thud! The brutal sounds echoed continuously. Han Su-in had never learned how to handle a situation like this.
Unable to endure the pain and shock, she lost her mount and rolled onto the ground.
"Ugh... ah..."
"Haha! I don't care if you were born with a silver mana spoon in your mouth, you can't beat a crowd."
"But who the hell is this bitch anyway?"
"Showing up out of nowhere... and she seemed to know Jeong Yu-mi, didn't she?"
With the tables turned, the gang relaxed, snickering as they kicked and beat Han Su-in while she curled up on the floor.
"Hey, move aside. Let me take a swing too, u—huh?"
As one of the girls on the outer edge of the circle spoke, someone grabbed her shoulder.
"Who..."
She couldn't finish her sentence.
The moment she turned around, a fist slammed into her face, sending her flying.
"Whoa!"
"What the?"
When their unconscious friend came flying toward them, the gang stopped the beating and turned around in unison.
Standing there was Jin Seo-yun.
She was desperately trying to hold back an expression that threatened to distort with pure rage.
"What the hell is..."
Before they could even react, Jin Seo-yun rushed them, knocking out the closest girl with a single punch.
Snatching the iron pipe from the fallen girl's hand, Jin Seo-yun easily blocked and dodged the wave of attacks coming her way.
With every swing of her pipe, teeth shattered, noses broke, and limbs cracked. Ribs splintered, puncturing internal organs.
It couldn't even be called a fight. It was a one-sided massacre.
'Today is just one thing after another.'
Ironically, the only one who escaped without a broken bone was Jeong Yu-mi, who was already lying on the ground.
As her friends were systematically crippled, she pretended to be unconscious, biding her time.
The moment Jin Seo-yun stood near her with her back turned, she crept to her feet.
Grabbing a baseball bat that had rolled nearby, she lunged from behind, aiming straight for Jin Seo-yun's head.
"Ha."
But Jin Seo-yun, who had already fallen for that trick twice before, blocked it effortlessly.
"Delinquent pieces of shit can't do anything but this, can they?"
"Uh..."
With her sneak attack blocked, Jeong Yu-mi realized she was utterly fucked. Cold sweat broke out across her back.
Jin Seo-yun tossed her iron pipe aside, grabbed Jeong Yu-mi by the collar, and began beating her, pouring raw, murderous intent into every single punch.
"Gah...! Ugh...! Cough...! S-Stop...!"
Broken teeth spilled from her lips as she pleaded desperately, her nose already shattered and caved in.
Satisfied, Jin Seo-yun let go of her collar and delivered a brutal kick to her knee. Jeong Yu-mi's leg joint bent at an unnatural angle.
"Ugh..."
The pain hit a moment later.
"Aaaaaaaaargh!"
Jin Seo-yun didn't stop there. She grabbed Jeong Yu-mi by the hair as the girl writhed on the ground like a bug, tears and snot streaming down her face.
With bloodshot eyes, she spat her words out through gritted teeth.
"Don't you ever...!"
Her voice trembled slightly with rage. To suppress it, she lowered her voice to a harsh whisper.
"Don't you ever touch my friend again."
Jeong Yu-mi nodded frantically, desperate to survive.
Only then did Jin Seo-yun let go of her, walking over to Han Su-in, who was still curled up on the ground.
"...Hey. It's been a while, Su-in. How've you been?"
With that, she hoisted her old friend onto her back and walked out of the warehouse.
As Jin Seo-yun carried her on her back toward the hospital, Han Su-in felt utterly miserable.
She had finally mustered up the courage, yet the result was exactly the same.
'I failed again. Just like always. I failed, and someone else had to save me. How pathetic.'
Drowning in her own misery, Han Su-in spoke without thinking. She just wanted to talk, to pour her heart out to anyone who would listen.
"You know..."
"Yeah?"
Like someone in a therapy session, Han Su-in poured her heart out, rambling about everything that had happened and how she felt.
Jin Seo-yun listened quietly to her old friend's confession. Once Su-in finished, she finally spoke.
"I don't think so."
"If you're just trying to make me feel better, you don't have to..."
"No, I mean it."
There was no lie in Jin Seo-yun's voice. It was firm and steady.
"Because you gathered your courage and acted, Su-hyeon didn't become a murderer."
"That might be true, but..."
"And you wouldn't have met me, either."
"...Yeah."
"And because of that, you got revenge on the girl who tormented you."
Pausing for a moment, Jin Seo-yun adjusted her grip, shifting Han Su-in higher on her back.
"You know, Su-in."
"Yeah...?"
"Thank you for keeping Su-hyeon from going to prison."
"...."
"Thank you for meeting me."
"Wha... what is that even..."
"...And thank you so much for finding your courage today."
At some point, Jin Seo-yun felt her back grow damp, but she didn't mind.
"No matter what anyone says, today was a victory because you didn't run away. You found the courage to face it."
Hearing those words, Han Su-in leaned in closer, resting her head against Jin Seo-yun's shoulder.
"Ah... seriously..."
Her voice was thick with a complex mix of emotions.
"Geez... seriously... you really know how to make things sound nice..."
Muttering those words, Han Su-in smiled for the first time in a very long while, even as tears streamed down her face.
"Haah...!"
It was only after several hours had passed since I was forced to take those sleeping pills that I finally opened my eyes.
Ignoring my dull headache, the first thing I did was check my phone. I had one unread text.
It was from Seo-yun. I opened it to read:
[Su-in's situation is all sorted out, so don't go doing anything stupid, okay?]
...I see. In the end, Seo-yun had stepped in again.
With a bitter smile, I ejected the magazine of the pistol tucked inside my clothes.
As I was popping the bullets out of the magazine one by one, another text arrived.
This time, it was from Natalia.
[Hey, get your ass out here right now.]
A summons with absolutely zero consideration for my schedule. Classic Natalia.
I glanced out the window at the pitch-black night sky and let out a sigh.