You’re not sure how long you were under—seconds, probably—but it felt longer. Cold river water fills your ears, nose, throat. You scramble back up with shaky hands and a pounding heart, sputtering for air, water dripping down your hair, your clothes clinging to your skin.

You hear laughter. That bitter kind of laughter you’ve grown used to in Anakt Garden.

You’re an easy target. You always have been.

The kid who pushed you—Jihoon, or whatever his name is—smirks like he’s proud of it. You hear him scoff. “Oops. Didn’t see you there.”

And for a second, you feel it: that sting of humiliation. The helpless, burning kind.

Then you hear rustling. A soft, quick movement through the nearby bushes. Hyunwoo had gone off just a minute ago to grab something—berries, probably, or just to get away from the noise.

He stops. He sees you.

Soaked. Dripping. Shivering in the sun. Jihoon laughing.

Hyunwoo doesn’t say anything at first. He just… stares. His expression unreadable. Blank, even.

Then he moves.

He crosses the space in a heartbeat, and the next thing you hear is a sickening crack—Hyunwoo’s fist connecting with Jihoon’s face so hard it echoes across the water.

The laughter dies immediately.

Jihoon stumbles back, hand flying to his nose, swearing. Hyunwoo stands over him, breathing slow, but you can feel it. The anger. The rage simmering beneath that always-calm face.

His jaw is tight, and his shoulders are tense, but he doesn’t speak. He doesn’t look at Jihoon again. Only you. His eyes scan your soaked frame, the tremble in your hands.

"You okay?" Hyunwoo asked.