.

Trying not sound awkward, I continued speaking, “Now I come to think of it, Jooin’s cousin, Woo San… why did he get attacked all of a sudden? I heard he’s ranked 104th at the battle. Isn’t it too far from being a competitor for the Number one position? They say the guy named Suh Doh Gyum lost the fight against Kim Pyung Bum on purpose; that’s why he has a low ranking.”

Yoon Jung In opened his eyes wide and asked, “Eh, you really don’t know about it? Even I, who doesn’t have much interest in the Ranking Battle, am aware of it…”

“About what?” I tossed a question.

“Just like Suh Doh Gyum, Woo San, that person is also a living legend, the Undefeated. According to what I’ve heard, he fought a few times in the tournament, but when he reached a certain level in the ranking, Woo San suddenly felt bored and just gave up the rest of the matches and left the stage. Before it happened, he never got defeated, of course, and also avoided all the attacks from his competitors.”

“Oh…” I exclaimed softly, listening to his words.

The next thing that entered my head was none other than the sight of Jooin playing card games with us from time to time.

During the games, Jooin won most of the rounds like nothing, but when he lost his interest, he left the spot to go somewhere else. Flipping the cards that he put down on the table, we found all the Jokers and Aces there, in which we couldn’t find until that moment. Thus, we became bewildered or exploded in anger.

Ahaha… I burst into awkward laughter.

Yoon Jung In added, “Anyway, when it comes to Woo San, a lot of them say he’s a… weirdo… They wonder how he could be a cousin to Woo Jooin…” Glancing around, he whispered, “Don’t tell Woo Jooin what I just said.”

I nodded, but in my mind, I was like, ‘I seem to get why Woo San and Jooin are cousins…’

We shared our thoughts about the strong competitors for the Number one position, but since the topic wasn’t our usual interest, we just blurted out a few names then soon wrapped up the conversation.

Holding the empty tray in the meantime, Yoon Jung In dropped his last remark.

“Whatever’s going on, I wish there’s a conclusion ASAP. Once the ranking battle is over, the surprise attack will end too. How can we walk around the streets with ease when those threatening bastards are wandering around in groups?”

“True,” I nodded. Not only the sudden attack but, above all, relying on Eun Hyung for taking us back home was also making me the most uncomfortable.

Grumbling in my thoughts, I also got up from my seat, holding the tray.

/>

Around that time, Kwon Eun Hyung quietly opened the door to the empty classroom. Being unopen for a long time, the door made a squeaking noise.

Inside the vacant classroom, he read the scribbles on the blackboard or dusted off the thickly piled dirts on the desk with his hands.

After losing his interest in everything, he perched on the windowsill in a daze; that was when someone else arrived at the classroom.

Getting off the seat, he showed a smile of a model student and threw a question.

“You have something to talk?”

“Yeah.”

“Aren’t you busy preparing for the ranking battle, sunbae?”

The person’s face stiffened when Kwon Eun Hyung tossed the question as if he knew everything.

It was Kim Yool who came to see Kwon Eun Hyung in this classroom. As a senior, he was participating in the Ranking Battle while representing So Hyun High School.

Most of the people criticized that he wasn’t as good as Eun Kyum, who graduated last year, but Kim Yool was still the man of power in this school. Despite of his position, Kim Yool revealed a sign of nervousness on his face in front of his hoobae, Kwon Eun Hyung. It even looked like Kwon Eun Hyung was trying to comfort him instead.

That was when Kim Yool, clenching and releasing his fist in anxiety, suddenly threw a punch. Kwon Eun Hyung smoothly moved to the side while not even batting an eyelid. A threatening kick then followed, trying to strike Kwon Eun Hyung again.

This time, he didn’t avoid the attack; instead, Kwon Eun Hyung seemed to figure out the right timing. All of a sudden, he put Kim Yool’s leg between his arm and side then flipped him over to the ground.

With a loud thud, clouds of dust began to arise. Meanwhile, Kwon Eun Hyung spoke with a vivid smile, “Sunbae, I’d like to hear your explanation.”

Although his attempt to surprise attack Kwon Eun Hyung all failed, Kim Yool emitted a whoop, instead of showing disappointment.

“You avoided all my attacks without letting a single blow… Indeed! The rumor about your fighting skills were true!”

“Uh, sunbae…?”

Kwon Eun Hyung asked back still with a grin. His brows slightly met in the middle. He said to himself in a low voice, ‘I thought I was almost there catching the culprit of the surprise attack incidents…’

Well, as he had come to think of it, the level of Kim Yool’s fighting skills weren’t enough to get rid of both Suh Doh Gyum and Woo San. Realizing the fact, Kwon Eun Hyung retrieved the presence of mind.

Kim Yool suddenly insisted, “I made up my mind! The one who’s gonna participate in this year’s Ranking Battle is you, not me.”

“Excuse me?”

“You should be competent enough to keep So Hyun High School’s reputation! I accept that I’m not as good as you, so I’ll recede from my position without hesitation.”

“Uh… sunbae…” replying in a small voice, Kwon Eun Hyung pressed his knitted forehead. What Kim Yool just declared might sound good, but in the end, it indicated that he would pass everything over to Kwon Eun Hyung.

Soon, Kwon Eun Hyung recovered composure. Grinning, he uttered, “I appreciate that you’re having a good impression on me, but that’s overestimation.”

“Don’t be humble! How dare you deny me? I’m Kim Yool, who also has a good eye!”

‘Oh my… Wish he can either stay low or overflow with confidence,’ murmuring that way, Kwon Eun Hyung opened his mouth again.

“Ah, and personally, I have no interest in rankings. You made a difficult decision, but I sincerely apologize for not being able to follow your words.”

“If you listen to what I’m gonna explain, you’ll definitely get interested! Let me tell you about the privileges of becoming a ranked fighter. Especially, the Number one is… really incredible! And I do believe that you’re capable enough to win that position…”

“Then let me ask you one thing, sunbae. Talking about the privilege, does it also include getting a high score in academic performance?”

Kwon Eun Hyung’s question paused Kim Yool trumpeting the advantage. While Kim Yool stared at him absent-mindedly, Kwon Eun Hyung showed a cool smile like earlier and quickly continued speaking.

“Does it work as an extracurricular activity for college admission or have a special benefit for school records? If not, I don’t want to get distracted by the Number one position or something like that.”

“Ah… um… no…”

“I thought so too, and it was indeed true. I’m sorry, sunbae.”

With a clear response, Kwon Eun Hyung left the spot. Watching him leaving that way, Kim Yool looked like he had seen a ghost.

The moment when Kwon Eun Hyung slid open the backdoor, Kim Yool could barely drop a stammering remark.

“H…hold o…n, Kwon Eun Hyung…”

“Yes?”

“Why do you need something like good school records or extracurricular activities when you have that amazing fighting skills?”

Grinning, Kwon Eun Hyung replied, “Because I want to go to med school,” and closed the door.

With a sliding noise, the door closed quietly as if it was proving the serene character of the person who just left the space. Staring at the closed door, Kim Yool looked like he still lost his mind.

/>

As soon as the school was over, I went out through the backdoor and found Eun Hyung.

“Eun Hyung! Are you okay?” I shouted immediately. Looking around, I soon leaned myself toward him and whispered, “I heard that Kim Yool sunbae called you out earlier at lunchtime.”

It was today that I learned the name of the Number one in our school. His story came out while we discussed the nationwide Number one; everybody criticized him that he wasn’t good enough. They even added that Yi Ruda would, instead, do better and perhaps achieve a higher ranking in the fighting tournament. Anyway, I was taken aback when I later found out that the Number one in our school called Eun Hyung out.

With a smile, Eun Hyung nodded, “Yeah, nothing special.”

“But he might have called you out since he had something about you. What was it?”

“Um, that is…”

As if he didn’t want to respond, Eun Hyung hesitated for a moment but opened his mouth, eventually, as I didn’t step back.

“He told me to participate as a representative of our school on behalf of him.”

“What? So, what did you do?” Flinching, I tossed another question. “If we become the Number one or something like that in school, do we get to figure out other students’ hidden skills or abilities?’

Smiling, Eun Hyung replied without hesitation, “Of course, I refused it. You know I won’t accept those things.”