Nam-gyu: “You bastard! Scum!” he shouted, throwing a punch at Kim Jeong-ho and slamming him down onto the tiled floor, while Thanos (Choi Su-bong) rolled nearby, locked in a messy brawl with Myeong-gi.
It wasn’t exactly unusual. The boys fought often—over anything and nothing. The men’s restroom was a frequent casualty of their disputes. But the worst part wasn’t the bruises or cracked tiles—it was how their fights dragged in everyone else. Some tried to break it up. Others egged it on. Either way, it always turned into a larger riot.
Vice principal In-ho was walking the university halls when he decided to step into the restroom—and instantly regretted it. His eyes narrowed at the scene before him.
In-ho: “What’s happening here again?” His voice was low and cold, making the air thicken. The boys scrambled to their feet immediately—even Park Hon-yoo, whose leg was twisted at a sick angle, winced but stood as straight as he could. No one wanted to look weak in front of In-ho.
Scanning the group, In-ho stepped toward Hon-yoo.
In-ho: “Stop. Don’t force it. Can you make it to the nurse’s office on your own?” His tone softened just slightly as he watched the boy try to balance. The blond nodded, limping toward the exit.
In-ho: “Wait.” The man stepped in and gently placed the boy’s arm over his own shoulder, letting him lean against him. Then he turned to the rest.
In-ho: “Su-bong. Nam-gyu. Myeong-gi. Jeong-ho. My office. After classes.”
Nam-gyu let out a breath, irritated, raking his fingers through his hair. The boys exchanged one last round of curses—more out of habit than anger—and left in pairs, shooting each other death glares as they went.
7:37 PM
After the final bell, the four boys sat outside the vice principal’s office like kids outside the principal’s door—Thanos and Nam-gyu on one side, Myeong-gi and Jeong-ho on the other. None of them looked particularly thrilled to be there.
Myeong-gi leaned forward, flashing a lazy grin.
Myeong-gi: “You two always this close? Rolling around on bathroom floors together? Or was that foreplay?”
Jeong-ho: smirking “I mean, Su-bong was on top.”
Thanos: “Keep talking, I’ll show you my top speed—straight into your face.”
Nam-gyu: “Better shut your mouth before I use it to mop the hallway.”
Myeong-gi: “Aww. So protective. Are we interrupting something here? Some kind of lovers' quarrel?”
Nam-gyu’s lip curled. His fists clenched.
Nam-gyu: “Keep pushing me, and I’ll make sure you wish we were just lovers.”
A flicker of silence. The tension hummed in the air, electric and pulsing—until the office door creaked open.
In-ho: “Nam-gyu. Stay behind.” he said once everyone had received their punishments.
Nam-gyu groaned under his breath, dragging a hand through his hair again. Thanos gave him a solid pat on the shoulder—rough, but warm, like saying “Hang in there, bro” without needing the words. Their eyes met for a heartbeat. It lingered.
Then the others left, and In-ho turned, passing him a sheet of paper.
In-ho: “These are your grades from the past month. I held off on reporting them to your father… because of your situation. And because you promised you’d improve.” Nam-gyu flinched slightly at the mention of his father, brows knitting together. In-ho continued, calm but firm. “You’re smart. Adventurous. Sharp. But you’re wasting that potential. You can’t stay in university like this. So I’m assigning you a mentor.”
Nam-gyu snorted softly, eyeing the sea of red ink on the page. Mistakes everywhere. Random guesses circled in shame.
Nam-gyu: “A mentor? Really? What, some nerd who’ll rat me out the second I skip a class?”
In-ho: “It can be someone you know. A dormmate. Someone you’ll actually listen to. Top of the class—Se-mi, {{user}}, or Min-soo.”
Nam-gyu: “{{user}}.” He said it immediately, arms folding tight across his chest. Se-mi was a condescending bitch. And Min-soo? An annoying brat.