A wet spitball landed right on my cheek. It only took a dozen other attempts before they were able to do it. I wiped it off with my jacket sleeve. It is not like it mattered anyways, all I had to do was ignore them. Stay immersed in my book... I just have to study hard, get in a decent university, and leave all of this behind.
After a few minutes, they started calling for me. I ignored them as usual.
"Ryu... Ryu Park... answer me!"
They were shouting across the entire classroom. Not that it mattered—no one else was here besides me and then. I had nowhere else to study. The library was always packed with people, and it wasn't like there were any empty classrooms or offices available.
By them, I was referring to a group of three boys in the back. Whenever the teacher is around, they acted like saints, pretending to study and be on good behavior. The moment the teacher left, they started tormenting the entire class.
"Hey grab that real quick." One of them spoke. Although I don't think they have the balls to hit me with something hard... you never know.
I turned my head just in time to see them holding a dodgeball—a very inflated one at that.
The one holding it was Lee Kang. Tall, well-built, and a multi-sport athlete. Baseball, basketball, wrestling, track—you name it, he did it. He wasn't ugly by any standard, but I wouldn't call him attractive either. Yet somehow he managed to be dating the queen (most beautifully rated lady) of the first grade.
Lee Kang smirked. "Oh so now he wants to pay attention. But it's a bit too late, you see... I already pre-fired it."
From my perspective, the ball had just suddenly teleported and slammed into my face, shattering my glasses. I didn't care for the fact that he hit my face, nor the fact that I had a nosebleed, but the glasses were bought with money I had worked extremely hard for.
I do not come from a well-off family. When I was 5, my Father, who was a raging alcoholic, was arrested for drunk driving. He killed someone during that incident, landing him in prison with a life sentence. Other than that, I do not have much information on him, and all of my memories with him are hazy. Whenever I asked my Mother, she abstains from speaking about him, telling me that I do not need to know nor should I affiliate myself with a scumbag like him.
My Mother on the other hand, is a deeply religious woman and a hard-worker, yet, she can't seem to find a good paying job. As a result, she has to work two different jobs all day long, so I rarely ever get to see her. I respect and love her a lot, I just wish she was able to spend more time with me as I've grown up.
Other than her, there were only three things I could truly rely on to get me through life—my studies, video games, and my one and only friend, Noah Jang. He was average in height, shared my passion for video games, and like me, focused on studying to get into an above-average university. He had so much potential to do more than just that. If he put even a little effort into his appearance, he'd probably have a girlfriend by now. Instead, he just complains about it every day, choosing the "easier lifestyle" (a lazy one) his parents had worked so hard to give him.
I stood up and picked up my glasses, inspecting them. Yep, completely shattered... the frame was bent beyond repair.
Lee Kang walked over and swiped them from me. "Hey man," he mocked, "I didn't mean to break your glasses, how about we eat some food and then say we made up, yea?"
I mumbled, "Shut your fucking mouth..."
He smiled and leaned in, "What was that? I couldn't hear you."
This time, I made sure he could hear me. "I said, shut your fucking mouth!" I shoved him away from me and charged at him. I cranked my fist back behind me. Anyone could tell I haven't fought before. If I had to say, I probably looked as if I was about to throw a javelin.
"I'm tired of you beating on me for no reason!" I yelled.
He smirked, "Oh? But we're just playing around... isn't that right, teacher?"
My head snapped behind me toward the door. Of course there wasn't any teacher, lunch break still had fifteen minutes left. When I turned back, his fist was already flying toward me. Strangely, it looked... slow. But my body wouldn't move the way I wanted it to. I was tall, sure, but I was also skinny. I had never played sports, never practiced martial arts, and never lifted weights—none of that had ever mattered toward me. What's the point of doing something if it doesn't progress you toward your goal anyways?
His punch connected square on my nose, breaking it and busting my lip. I landed hard on my tailbone.
He walked by me and picked up the dodgeball he threw from earlier. "Come on Ryu... I thought you were smarter than that. Why would a teacher be here so early? And man... to think you would try to punch me." He scoffed. "I thought we were friends, huh!?"
In a sudden fit of rage, he hurled the dodgeball into my face again as hard as he could. The speed, along with the force of the overly inflated dodgeball hit my head hard. It felt like I was hit by a metal bat. My head slammed down on the ground, and my vision slowly began to become blurry.
Lee squatted down beside me and began waving his hand in my face. "Well, I could tell you were becoming cheeky with me lately anyway. It's good I took care of it before you got any bright ideas. I'm demoting you to be my food shuttle... no, from now on I'll make you transport me throughout the school on all fours. Enjoy the nap, see you next week." He socked me right in the chin and I was knocked out cold.
. . .
When I woke up, I was in the infirmary. The blinds were open, and the sun was setting. My head and face, covered in bandages, was aching and throbbing with pain.
I groaned as I was massaging my temple, "Ahh, it hurts really bad. How do people do this for fun?"
I threw off the covers and sat at the edge of the bed. As I moved, a small note slipped off my body. I picked it up and read it. "Ryu, you're going to regret what you did. Starting from next week, every day, be at the school by 7:30..." I tore up the note before I could finish it.
I went to the classroom, packed up my things in my bag and began walking home. When I arrived, I slid open the door and called out, "Anyone home?"
No response.
I sighed, "It seems my mother isn't back yet..." I went to my room and collapsed on my bed. I put my arm over my eyes. I clenched my teeth and fist in anger, and began tearing up. "Shit... dammit! Why can't I be stronger, why do I have to live like this... it's not fair! It's not fair!"