Mooyoung

Cheonma High School, West Gangbuk

On the roof of the school building, the school bullies had gathered around a small figure. This small figure was already in a bruised and battered state. His hair was dishevelled and his face was swollen, purple bumps and bloody gashes decorating it.

"Hey, Joonwoo." One of the bullies squatted beside the beaten-down figure and roughly seized his hair. He pulled upward so the bullied kid's face was visible. It was an ugly face even without the swollen nose and bruises, but now it was like the bully was staring at a pighead.

[Junhyuk Lee]

[Cheonma High's No. 24]

Junhyuk Lee had the ideal lean and tall figure. His face was also the usual pretty boy type. With curly red hair and a cold countenance, he was quite famous for being one of the best-looking guys in Cheonma High. If it wasn't because he was a bully and part of the Cheonma Crew, he would have been more popular with the girls. Even so, since he was subtle with his bullying, he wasn't too much of a hated guy among the normal and cool clique at school. Only the losers saw him as an absolute nightmare.

The pighead was known as Joonwoo Choi. Not only was his face as ugly as a pig's, even his body was fat. Others would call him 'Pigwoo' because of that, and he became quite famous for being the ugliest at Cheonma High, on top of being one of the Cheonma Crew's bread shuttle and everyday punching bag.

Today was just like every other. Joonwoo was dragged subtlely to the rooftop of the school building for the day's punching session. The location usually differed every day. Yesterday, they were at the bike shed while the day before they went to an abandoned construction site, which was a very dangerous place.

Junhyuk didn't want to waste too much time since he was going to a bar with a higher ranking member of the Cheonma Crew. To make it quick he just dragged Joonwoo to the rooftop and immediately gave him a good beating. "Never forget to discipline the losers serving the Cheonma Crew every day to let them know their place, but don't forget to give them the carrot," was what the great No. 2 of West Gangbuk Cheonma High always said. Junhyuk had stuck to this advice for a while now, and while he beat up Joonwoo, he also gave him a bit of hope so that he wouldn't break down.

"Joonwoo, you know why we give you a beating. As long as you can rise in position to become the lowest rank lackey of our Cheonma Crew, you'll be free of all this. You won't need to be our bread shuttle or punching bag anymore. Mr. 2 is very fair. Even someone like you has a chance to be a real member of our Cheonma Crew. Think of the everyday beating as a way to steel yourself and also to learn fighting," Junhyuk said passively as he let go of Joonwoo's hair. Then he stood up before directly walking to the stairs leading down to the school building. He didn't waste any more time with Joonwoo since today's lesson for him was all done. They also got him to do his bread shuttle job aside from the beating, and everything else was left for tomorrow. The Cheonma Crew was weirdly strict like that. Hierarchy was absolute, which also applied to him. Junhyuk didn't dare to be late for the bar meeting.

Junhyuk's lackeys also followed, saying stuff about 'Pigwoo' becoming the king of pigheads and all that.

"Hey Pigwoo, I want the special cup ramyun tomorrow. You better not forget!" One of them called.

They then proceeded to joke about viciously before sniggering. However before they could reach the stairs, a voice sounded from above them: "I've heard about the rules of the Cheonma Crew. So, like you said, if I'm strong enough I can get a high position, right?" The voice was suave and lazy, like someone who didn't care about anything. Even though a beating had taken place there, the person who spoke didn't seem to be affected in the least. But seeing that the person had heard what Junhyuk said to Joonwoo, it was safe to say that he had been there all along, just that he didn't bother to help Joonwoo.

"Huh?! Who the hell was that?!" The lackeys bellowed as they simultaneously raised their heads to look at who spoke. Dangling over their heads was a pair of legs wearing fancy slippers. A small shed-like building was built to protect the stairway leading to the rooftop of the school building from rain and wind, and this guy was sitting on the ledge of that small structure. His legs-in-slippers were swaying lazily, but his body couldn't be seen from where Junhyuk and his friends were looking from. It looked like the guy was lying on his back. His voice had come from over the shed, even though it was quite clear.

"Show yourself, bastard! What the hell did you just say, huh?! Are you challenging the Cheonma Crew?!" One of the lackeys shouted when they didn't get a response.

"Fuckin' noisy." The voice growled. It sounded gruff and intimidating, but it was still mostly laziness that could be heard. After that, a body slowly rose to view. When Junhyuk and his lackeys saw who it was, they couldn't help but flinch. The face looking down indifferently at them was extremely handsome. He was much more good-looking than even Junhyuk. That was enough to make them flinch, but what truly scared them was the fact that the guy had a monstrous background. If they'd known that he was the one who spoke, they wouldn't have dared to talk back. Especially the two lackeys who shouted at him. They looked like they just ate shit, and a horrified expression overtook them.

Junhyuk had been coldly looking up to see who was stupid enough to pick a fight with him, but now even though his face was still cold, it was more gloomy. His family background was also terrifying, but compared to the guy above, they were absolutely nothing. One word against him from that guy, and his family's business and power would be gone in less than a day. That was how powerful the guy's background was.

"Fuck."

Cursing quietly, he decided to ignore the guy. Pretending he didn't hear anything, he quickened his steps. It looked like he was running madly away from something too scary to mention. However he underestimated the source of his fear. He was just about to race down the stairs when a figure flashed past him and stood in his way.

Junhyuk stiffened and instinctively took three steps backward, until he was back atop the staircase. He was only on the third step down the stairway when he was blocked. The person appeared before him like a ghost, so fast that it was unreal.

"What do you want?" Inwardly freaked out, Junhyuk forced himself to appear unflustered and calm on the surface. He had an innately cold and cool disposition, so when he felt scared, his expression only appeared colder than usual. This would normally be quite intimidating, but to the monster in front of him, it was only cute.

[Mooyoung Jin]

[Youngest Third-generation Chaebol of Su-Yang Corp.]

Muyang Jin was his name. The first impression one would have of him was his height. He stood at 193 cm tall, making him a towering figure among the guys at Cheonma High. If it was only that, he would have simply been called a giraffe by the bullies of the Cheonma Crew. What solidified his monstrous reputation was obviously his fighting prowess; coupled with his perfect lean golden figure, he looked terrifying to the numerous other fighters of Cheonma High and his previous middle school.

The second impression that strongly singled him out from the crowd was his otherworldly pretty boy looks. He had long lashes that made him look like a girl if you single that part out, white skin which, no matter how you looked at it, would be more appropriate for a girl, and a slender frame. Of course, this didn't mean that he could be mistaken as a girl. It only made him look like a K-Pop idol; delicate and handsome.

Although Muyang stood straight and tall, it could be seen that it was only his natural disposition. In truth, Muyang seemed lazed and unbothered by anything. The way he was looking at Junhyuk, it was like he was looking at a mundane picture on the wall, which meant that he was really indifferent to anyone.

Muyang swept his bangs which covered his left eye back and tilted his head to the side. His hair was a silvery grey, but his eyes were pitch black, like an abyss sucking in the courage of anyone daring enough to look at them straight.

"What the fuck, man? You think you can just ignore me like that? Do I seem like nothing to you?"

The words seemed sharp, but there was barely any emotion in them. It was like Muyang recited them for the sake of it. He continued looking at Junhyuk impassively like an automaton.

Junhyuk clenched his fists. He was really scared now, but he refused to show his weakness. Looking at Muyang, he inwardly shuddered. The Muyang before him was so powerful that he defeated an entire crew by himself when he was a third year at middle school. His strength was already equivalent to a top dog of a high school. Not only that, he also had to be a third generation chaebol of the biggest conglomerate in south korea. His position and prestige was no different than the head of a syndicate that covered the whole country. Standing before such a person seemed like a nightmare for Junhyuk. And yet, Muyang had said that he wanted to take over the Cheonma Crew. Although he didn't quite say that, the Cheonma Crew was as good as Muyang's if he truly made a move on them. Even the top dog of Cheonma High was nothing before Muyang. After all, the Cheonma Crew only controlled the western part of Gangbuk and they had the smallest territory out of the four crews located in Gangbuk.

"You want our Cheonma Crew?"

Junhyuk gritted his teeth. Muyang was asking if he could get a high position if he was strong enough, but honestly, the Cheonma Crew was utterly insignificant for someone of his calibre. Even if he were to take over the crew, it wouldn't mean much. However this was a good opportunity for Junghyuk. Behind Muyang was the Suyang Group, the strongest deterrent in all of korea. Being under such a person would only mean endless benefits.

Muyang scoffed, "I don't want your measly little Cheonma Crew. What I want is simply the thrill of rising through the ranks. It would be boring if I simply declare that I will take over your Cheonma Crew, don't you think?"

Junhyuk frowned slightly after hearing that. He opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it. He thought, "In the end, wouldn't this bastard still take over the Cheonma Crew? Why bother dragging things out? What's the use of doing that? As expected, he's crazy."

While Junhyuk was thinking how he should answer Mooyoung's question, the man himself abruptly took a step forward, reaching a metre from Junhyuk in an instant. Junhyuk almost jumped out of his skin, but he managed to merely take a step back, his eyes contending with Mooyoung's.

"Shit…! Why'd he do that?!" Junhyuk cursed in his mind. I thought he wanted to sock me for no reason…

"You're a low-rank member of the Cheonma Crew, right?" Mooyoung asked in a low voice, still with that bored-like unenthusiastic look on his face. The way he took a step closer made for some good old dramatic effect as well as a presumable stance for intimidation and a fight, albeit… Mooyoung most likely didn't intend for anything like that. In his mind, he went closer because he wanted clarification of a conjecture, simple as that. When you ask someone, you go closer. It was common sense.

Junhyuk, sadly, didn't see it that way. The moment he heard those words rolling out slowly from Mooyoung's mouth, his body instinctively became tense. His mind whirled as he instantly caught on the underlying meaning hidden there. Without saying anything, he kicked his legs on the marble floor, propelling himself backwards at a fast speed that took less than three seconds. His reaction time was quite good, at 1.4 seconds. Being a high school fighter, that record put him at probably in the 1% among all the other crew members.

Junhyuk was fixated on Mooyoung's body movement, including his facial expressions, but what caught him off-guard was the slight look of confusion on Mooyoung's face. Junhyuk was already in a stance for a brawl. His fists were raised and his feet were poised for swift footwork. As an outboxer, he needed to be fast, whether to react to defend or counter. After seeing Mooyoung's apparent confusion, though, he faltered.

"Wait… is this what I think it is? Did I misunderstand?" Junhyuk thought as he felt cold sweat on his scalp as he realized… he was doomed, probably. No, most definitely, he was screwed.

Junhyuk swore he saw a nearly invisible smirk at the corner of Mooyoung's lips. The barely perceptible confusion had disappeared without a trace.

"What's this? You wanna fight? I only wanted to ask if you're a lower or higher ranking crew member…" Mooyoung loosened his joints as he straightened his body, "but you were actually so eager, heh."

"W-wait—no! I didn't mean—ack!?"

BOOM

A sound akin to a mini-explosion seemed to shake the entire rooftop with the shack as the epicenter.