Chapter 199 - Game of Pain

Jay-Jay's POV

"It's coming!" I screamed.

Let me see your courage now!

These guys are crazy! I'm going to be furious in the morning. They just stopped me while I was on my way to the Mini Mart.

This is all Percy's fault! If only he had picked me up in front of the house, none of this would have happened. I didn't want to run into these ugly people.

Their expressions are so irritating!

"Come on! No one said this girl knows how to fight!" one of them sneered.

"Do I?!" I shot back.

"Where is she? How can we get her?"

Get her?! Again?!

"What do you mean, get her?!" I asked irritably.

I looked down at my leg when I felt a hand grabbing me. It was one of the guys I had knocked down earlier. I immediately kicked him in the face, forcing him to let go.

Knockout!

"You're trying to take me?! Why?! To use me against Keifer?!" I asked, annoyed.

No one answered. They just exchanged glances as if waiting for someone to speak.

"What?! No one's going to talk?!" I yelled, stepping on one of their faces.

Ugh! His face is disgusting!

"Yes! We're going to use you to get revenge on Keifer! You're his girlfriend—"

I immediately cut him off.

"I'm not! It's not like we're together!"

They looked at me strangely. I knew they didn't believe me because they were idiots. I guess everyone who heard that rumor wouldn't believe me.

This is crazy! Here we go again...

Why do his enemies always come after me?! La Punyeta! I have a strong feeling this won't be the last time someone uses me against him. It's likely that even those guys on motorcycles were his enemies too.

You are the King of the Worldly Serpents! I curse you! May your damn luck run out!

I'm the Barakuda! Hhhaaaaahhhh!!

"Hey! Miss! We're not stupid!" one of them shouted. "...You can't fool us!"

"Hey! Mister! You're an idiot!" I mocked him, mimicking his tone. "...And I'm not trying to!"

I could see the anger in some of their faces. They weren't rushing at me because they knew the consequences—I had already knocked down four of them.

My fists hurt, and my hands were shaking, but I tried to hide it by keeping my arms close to my body. Only four of them were left, but I wasn't sure if I could handle them all.

I have to handle it!

Suddenly, one of them charged at me. I was caught off guard and didn't get into position in time, but I managed to dodge him. I countered with a powerful punch to his stomach.

He dropped to his knees, coughing as if his intestines were about to spill out. Now, there were only three left. I felt like I could take them on.

Where is Percy?!

That idiot isn't even worried about me. I still haven't reached our meeting place, and he hasn't come looking for me. Yesterday, I searched for him, but today, he just went to school as if nothing happened!

I looked at the fallen bodies around me. How long has it been since I last fought?! It feels like I'm exhausted, even though I've only been taking one step at a time.

Sweetie! I got used to them defending me. I got used to the fact that whenever someone hurt me, they would retaliate. But now, I'm the one struggling.

I need to train myself to be me again. Back in my old school, I was the only one fighting because no one else would step in. I won't ask for help anymore.

Suddenly, another opponent appeared. I thought he would charge at me, but he didn't. Before I could react, an arm wrapped tightly around my neck, choking me.

"I got her! I got her!" the one holding me shouted.

The others started advancing. I had to fight back before they could do anything.

Even though I was struggling to breathe, I forced myself to fight. I elbowed his side. At first, he barely reacted, so I struck even harder. The final blow made him grunt in pain.

His grip loosened, and I seized the opportunity to break free. Without hesitation, I followed up with a punch to his face, knocking him down.

I didn't waste any time. Everything was happening so fast, as if my body had taken over. I rushed toward the remaining opponents, exchanging blows.

"Aaaghhh!!" I screamed, landing the last punch.

They were all down. As I looked at them, I felt my body collapsing from exhaustion. I was breathless and completely drained.

I leaned against the wall for support.

"Nice…"

I turned toward the voice, already annoyed. Who else? My dumb stepbrother.

"Idiot! How long have you been standing there?!" I snapped.

"Not long, just a little," he answered, walking toward me.

"You look pretty, pretty!"

"Pretty handsome or just pretty?" he asked, pretending to be amazed.

The audacity!

"Pretty dumb and pretty annoying!" I shouted before storming off.

I could still hear his laughter behind me. He's so ridiculous. Maybe he's crazy.

I walked slowly, my body aching from the fight. If I'm being honest, it almost feels like my body craves this.

"You don't look like a girl..." Percy commented from behind me. "...just a fighter."

His words made me pause. It was embarrassing. He's a big guy—he could have helped me. At least I could've had some backup in case I got tired of fighting.

But no, he just stood there and watched.

"My brilliant stepbrother... Did you know that?" I said sarcastically.

"Of course! I'm smart too!" he bragged.

What a way to ruin my mood. I should just punch a wall. Maybe that would knock the craziness out of him.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

I stopped and looked at him. I honestly had no idea. Maybe the Mini Mart? But the crew there might think we're turning the place into a hangout spot.

"Let's go to Kingsground," I decided.

Percy suddenly frowned. "Oh no, not again…"

"Then where do you want to go?"

"The amusement park!" he said excitedly.

"You look like an amusement park!" I snapped and walked ahead.

I thought he was still following me, but after a while, I noticed his presence was gone. I turned back and saw him standing still, looking in another direction.

I followed his gaze—and what I saw caught me off guard.

Freya was standing there with Ella, both looking straight at us.

What are they doing here?!

I was about to exchange glares with Freya, but she looked away first and started walking off.

"Freya!" Percy shouted, crossing the road after her. "...Wait!"

I had no choice but to follow. He caught up with Freya, but she was clearly not happy to see him.

"Let's talk first... Please."

"Please talk to him."

"We talked, didn't we? What else do you want?" Freya replied lifelessly.

"You made me leave last time."

"Because there's nothing to talk about!"

"Freya..."

"Please... Percy. That's it!"

"Alright... It's too late. I won't come near you again. Let's just talk properly." His voice wavered, and I could see tears forming in his eyes.

Freya took deep breaths, still visibly shaking.

"It's too late. There's nothing left after this," Percy said, his tone edged with frustration.

I glanced at Ella and noticed she was already looking at me. She had no visible reaction, as if she was reading my thoughts just by observing my movements.

Then, without another word, she turned and walked away, following after Freya and Percy. I didn't know where they were going, but I followed them.

I hadn't realized Freya and Percy were talking again. He never mentioned anything to me, but from the look on his face, their last conversation hadn't gone well.

Percy's eyes were filled with sadness, while Freya's expression remained bitter. It was clear that Percy still had feelings for her, whereas Freya only harbored anger.

Felix must have felt the same when they met.

We arrived at a park. Percy and Freya sat on a bench, while Ella and I stood not too far away. We couldn't hear what they were talking about.

"I heard you're not coming in," Ella said, making me turn to her.

"What about you?" I replied, uninterested.

I had no problem with her, but my irritation was surfacing now. It was too late to pretend otherwise. Just like the last time she claimed to tell the truth—when she confessed that she truly loved Yuri.

That was a disaster. Then it all got twisted, and I ended up being used as a pawn for revenge against the King. Aries was furious.

"I'm trying to be nice here," she said flatly.

"Try harder," I shot back.

I was struggling to keep my annoyance in check. It was obvious she was close to breaking. I was just waiting for her to snap so my teasing would be worth it.

Ella! A little more! Just a little more!

I turned my attention back to Freya. She and Percy still had their backs to us. With a sigh, I searched for an empty bench and sat down. What I didn't understand was why Ella suddenly decided to sit beside me.

"Who told you to sit next to me?" I asked irritably.

"No one. Why? Does someone need to?" She replied casually.

I wanted to hit her.

"Don't stay here! I don't want to sit next to you," I snapped, pushing her away.

"I don't want to sit next to you either. You're the one who left," she countered.

What the hell? Is she trying to make me angry?

"I was here first, so you leave!" I said, annoyed, and gave her another push.

"You left first!" She argued and shoved me harder.

I nearly fell, but I quickly regained my balance. I shot her a glare, and she returned the same energy.

"You—"

"Go ahead! Swear!" She dared, smirking at me.

"Drink TANG, not MILO!" I blurted out before quickly covering my mouth.

I'm not scared of her! Just being careful—who knows what she might do? This girl is insane!

Frustrated, I adjusted my seat while she pulled out a book and started reading. Good. That meant I could ignore her.

Why was she even here? She and Freya were together, both still in their uniforms. They hadn't gone to class. How nice. Such responsible students.

Meanwhile, here I was. Alone.

Waiting was boring. I grabbed my phone from my bag and saw 68 messages and 32 missed calls. Ever since I found out the truth, my inbox and missed calls had been like this—sometimes even worse.

I opened my inbox, and the first message I saw was from Ci-N.

📩

From: Ci-N

Message: I miss you... I miss my partner!

From: Ci-N

Message: They took me away... I have no defense.

From: Ci-N

Message: Jay-jay! Come on! Rakki is forcing me! I'm not ready... I'm a virgin!

From: Ci-N

Message: eEoWw ppFfoOowwwsss!

From: Ci-N

Message: I brought chocolates! I'll give it to you if you come in.

From: Ci-N

Message: Is Percy your favorite now? Now there is no Ci-N and Jay-Jay?

From: Ci-N

Message: Jay...

I stopped reading when I noticed a drop of water on my cellphone screen. It took me a moment to realize that it was from me. I had burst into tears without even noticing.

This is probably one of the sacrifices I have to make—just to put an end to the pain they caused. I have to endure it.

"If it's that hard for you, why don't you talk to them?" Ella said, still looking at her book. "...You wouldn't cry while reading their texts if it didn't matter to you."

I was taken aback by her words. How did she know that they were the ones texting me?

"Don't ask me!" I snapped, annoyed, and looked at my phone again.

This time, I opened a message from Yuri—he had sent the most texts out of all of them.

📩

From: Yuri

Message: Let's talk... Please.

From: Yuri

Message: Jay-jay... I need to talk to you.

From: Yuri

Message: I miss you.

From: Yuri

Message: Aishiteru.

I didn't finish reading. Suddenly, Ella closed her book with a loud bang. I glanced at her, but she was staring blankly into space.

"Tell me..." she said without looking at me. "...Does Yuri still have a chance with you?"

A chance?

I turned away, unsure. That thought had never crossed my mind before. But when I finally admitted to myself who I truly loved, it was the King of the Little Serpents.

"I... I don't know," I whispered.

"I know what happened... I heard what they did to you."

I still couldn't meet her gaze. Everything was too fresh, too painful to talk about. No matter how much I denied it, the truth was, it still hurt.

"...I'm not taking their side, but I hope you at least listen to their explanation. Yuri is gone..." Her voice softened, almost pleading. "...I believe he couldn't have done that."

I wanted to believe it too!

I really did, but... what if they had already proven to me that he was capable of it? I didn't want to talk about it anymore. I stood up, intending to go to Percy, but Ella stopped me.

"Listen first," she said firmly but calmly.

"Why are you doing this? We're not even friends, so why do you care?"

"I'm not concerned about you. I'm concerned about them. I've seen them… they're not the same Section E that I knew." She paused. "...Although, to be honest, they started changing when you arrived."

"What are you trying to say?" I asked, my voice calmer now.

"I'll admit it—I was jealous of you. Maybe I still am." She glanced at Percy before looking back at me. "...Section E used to be full of real bastards. They even fought amongst themselves in the classroom. But when you came..." She lowered her head. "...without hesitation, they defended you. Something they never did for me. They suddenly stopped fighting among themselves."

That's why they once mentioned that things were different when Ella was still with them. For a moment, my heart felt something warm, but the feeling disappeared as soon as I remembered... it was all just an act.

"They even smile when walking home, like normal friends—something I had never seen before." She forced a small smile. "...I'm so jealous of you. I used to have their attention, but I could never change them the way you did. Then you came along, and in an instant... the impact you had on them was immeasurable."

Now I understood her. That's why she did that to Ci-N. She had orchestrated everything so the blame would fall on her—knowing it would affect me enough to take action.

What a mastermind! That's a talent in itself!

"But now... they're not like that anymore." We looked at each other. "...They've lost their way again. They're always fighting and arguing in the classroom. Three teachers have already refused to teach them because they keep causing trouble during class."

"W-what do you want me to do?" There was a hint of annoyance in my voice. "...Do you expect me to walk in and act like everything is okay? You want me to forgive them, don't you?"

"Just come in and listen to their explanation." She took a deep breath. "...Give Yuri a chance too."

I caught my breath in an instant. Why was she pushing Yuri on me? Did that red-haired nerd put her up to this?

"I thought you still loved Yuri? Why are you forcing him on me?"

"I was wrong." Her quick response took me by surprise. "...I thought I still did, but..." Suddenly, a tear fell from her eye. "...It wasn't until I lost Aries that I realized everything."

W-wait... are they gone with Aries?

But she didn't mention anything about Aunt Gema. I haven't seen them either, so I have no news about them. What I do know is that when Aries was in the hospital, Ella was there too. When did they break up?

"It's too late for me and Aries. It hurts, but it's the truth..." She wiped her cheek. "...Don't be like me. He had to leave before I realized I truly loved him." She smiled at me, and for once, it wasn't forced. "...Yuri also deserves to be happy after everything we've been through."

She slowly turned her back on me and walked away. I stood there, dumbfounded, watching her leave. My words and courage retreated just like that.

Despite my annoyance, I still felt sorry for her. At first, I really thought she still loved Yuri because of her confession. But in the end, Aries—the horoscope, the fate—turned out to be the true contents of her heart.

That's right! Midnight heart-to-hearts, huh? Ha! Ha!

I turned to look at Ella again and saw Freya with her. That meant they had finished talking. I immediately searched for my crazy stepbrother. I wasn't disappointed—he was walking toward me, his head hanging low.

It was as if the sky had fallen and crushed him to the ground. His shoulders slumped, and he looked like he was on the verge of crying out loud right in front of me.

"Y-you still want to go to Kingsground, don't you?" He asked without looking up.

I hope so, but you seem to need that trip more than I do!

"O-okay." I hesitated.

"Alright. Let's go." His voice was lifeless.

I had a feeling I'd be needing that wine from before. But not for me—this time, it was for my companion.