You don’t know who you’re Fighting against…

Jiho crying was not on Zoan's list of expectations. She sat up, ignoring the ice pack that had slipped off her back, and began patting Jiho on the shoulder like a child, hoping to help her calm down.

But instead, Jiho sobbed louder, wiping her face as Zoan winced.

"Hey, how about we relax? This isn't your fault, okay? Just calm down," Zoan said. Jiho frowned, sniffing loudly as she wiped her face with her arm, finally quieting down.

Zoan let out a relieved sigh. "I didn't know they would do that anyway. Besides, Ving already called for Miss Atiro; we should just let them handle it," she shrugged, laying back down.

Jiho frowned, staring at her lap, looking ashamed as if she knew something else. "About that—" she muttered, but the door opened suddenly, causing both her and Zoan to look at the person entering the clinic.

It was Miss Atiro. She looked frazzled, worried, and panicked as she walked over to Zoan. "Oh, to think they would do this to you, a transferee out of all people," Atiro said, her voice tired, as Zoan sat up once again.

"Wait, has this been happening to other students as well?" Zoan asked, noticing Atiro pale and divert her gaze with a small sigh.

"We have no proof as of now—but now that you've experienced what they do firsthand, Ving and I are hoping that you would testify to what they've done," she said.

Zoan let out a small 'Ah,' trying to process what Atiro was saying. It dawned on her that Jiho was most likely one of the students being bullied.

"Wait—" Zoan started, but before she could continue, the door opened again, and Ving walked in, closing the door silently and giving a polite bow to Atiro.

"Hello, good day everyone," Ving greeted, while Zoan waved her hand lamely.

"Ving, any news on the CCTV footage?" Atiro asked, as if she were accustomed to this kind of situation and already knew what to ask. Ving shook her head.

"It seems that it was already deleted. No students admitted to seeing them follow Zoan to the bathroom… I'm afraid the only proof we have is Zoan herself—that is, if she agrees to testify," Ving said, turning to Zoan, who looked surprised.

"T-Testify? What exactly happened, a crime?" Zoan asks, still quite confused. Everything is happening so fast.

Isn't this just typical bullying that occurs in schools? Or is Golden High too perfect to have such problems, leaving students to handle it themselves?

Atiro and Ving are acting like this has been happening for years!

They exchange a silent glance. "Perhaps Zoan testifying wouldn't be enough," Ving says, disappointment evident in her voice as she shakes her head.

"That's not fair! Zoan is a new student; they should at least believe her, right?" Jiho interjects, her worry palpable as she wrings her hands together like a nervous old woman.

—

In the end, Zoan wasn't able to grasp the full scope of the problem. She was sent home, not just because she was hurt—which was a lie—but because her uniform was no longer suitable for the day.

Her mind was a chaotic mess, and the only way to cope was to beat up her punching bag and drag herself through torturous training sessions, doing at least 500 push-ups and jogging around her apartment. Sol wouldn't let her leave the building after what had happened.

She worried that the students who had hurt her might be waiting for her outside, but the truth was, no one knew exactly where she lived, and she didn't look the same outside of school.

Sol's fears were misplaced, but Zoan couldn't bring herself to tell her that. Instead, she asked Sol to order her a treadmill. Around 3 PM, her father finally called; news travels fast, doesn't it?

"Hey," Zoan replied, pausing her sit-up to lay on her back, leaving her phone on speaker. "Zoan—I heard what happened. Are you okay?" Elias asked, concern evident in his voice. Zoan scoffed.

"I've been through worse, Father. You should know that. Instead, you should be proud of my self-control," she almost hissed, chuckling at his reaction.

She could almost picture the stress lines forming on his face, and that thought nearly made her laugh out loud—before biting her tongue. Laughing would definitely make him mad, and she wasn't keen on getting an earful when she was clearly the victim.

"I thought Golden High was supposed to be full of goody two-shoes?" she grunted, her upper body shaking as she neared her limit. But no pain, no gain, right?

"It's supposed to be. Look, Zoan, if you feel unsafe, I can pull you out and—" Elias started, but Zoan cut him off.

"No, I can handle this."

"Don't tell me you'll be using your fists again. The last time you did that, you almost—" His voice rose in anger before he caught himself, taking a shaky breath. Zoan narrowed her eyes, looking away from her phone.

"Look, we both made a promise, didn't we?" Zoan said, her tone still tinged with bitterness.

"That doesn't mean you'll be getting into fights! What even happened?" Elias asked, and Zoan sighed, lowering herself onto her back to stare at the blinding light from the ceiling.

"Tsk—don't even ask. Some bunch of… idiots just trying to show who's boss or whatever," Zoan grumbled, wishing she had buried her fist in the face of the girl with unicorn-puke hair who had torn the buttons off her blazer. Now Sol had to go out to fix it.

Zoan was furious about that, and the stains on her clothes only added to her anger. She clicked her tongue and clenched her fist. She definitely needed another round with her punching bag.

"They're pissing me off. I should show them who's boss for messing with me like that," Zoan exclaimed, standing up and delivering punch after punch to the bag in a fit of rage.

"Zoan... try not to kill anyone next time. Focus on your studies. I'll check on the school tomorrow to report the incident," Elias said before ending the call abruptly—clearly not interested in listening to his daughter vent her anger on that poor punching bag.

—

It was only now that Zoan finally learned their names. "The silver-haired girl is Aliani Santiago, the blonde one is Lorelai Paige, and the larger one is Saige Cohen," Jiho said, pointing at each image in the glass case.

Zoan hummed, nodding. It seemed the three of them were part of the cheerleading team—or was it just Lorelai? Both Aliani and Lorelai wore different outfits from hers and had no pom-poms in their hands.

"Aliani and Saige are both soccer players, … you should be careful of Aliani; her kicks are strong," Jiho shivered as Zoan turned to her, suspicious and worried. "Were you kicked by her before?" she asked for good measure.

Jiho shook her head. "No, no, but I… I saw someone get kicked in the face. They're still in the hospital."

Zoan exhaled sharply. "Wow… that's—Jesus," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "That's insane. All this time, I thought Golden High had no problems like that." She leaned back, scratching her chin.

Jiho leaned against the wall, a small frown playing on her lips. "It's always been like that…" she trailed off, gazing out the window while Zoan crossed her arms, staring at the picture frame introducing their soccer team.