Chapter 4: The Five-Minute War

Come here, come here.

Kim Hyunsu was beckoning Kang In over with his finger, as if he had just discovered a new toy.

Kang In calmly walked toward the back of the classroom and stood in front of him.

The students watched the situation in a suffocating silence, not daring to make a sound.

“Did you buy it?”

“Buy what?”

“Ha-ha-ha! This guy is pretty funny.”

Kim Hyunsu looked at Kang In, who was staring straight at him, then turned toward his friends and burst out laughing.

Then he suddenly raised his hand.

Kang In immediately focused all his attention on Hyunsu’s palm.

Whoosh!

Hyunsu swung his raised hand straight down.

For the first time in his life, he felt air resistance against his palm that he had never experienced before.

“Huh?”

He turned his head with a puzzled expression.

Kang In was leaning his upper body backward.

“???”

Kim Hyunsu’s eyes widened slightly.

Was that just my imagination?

For some reason, it felt as though Kang In had known the attack was coming and moved in advance.

No way.

It must have just been the desperate reaction of a frightened weakling.

The students around them also assumed it was simply a coincidence.

But they could not help feeling that something was strange about Kang In’s unexpectedly calm attitude.

“…Why are you acting like this?”

“What the hell are you saying, you bastard?”

Kang In slowly backed toward the door behind him.

Just hold out a little longer.

It’s almost class time.

The next class was mathematics.

The math teacher’s name was Yoo Gongsik.

His nickname was Ultralisk.

Usually shortened to Ultra, Yoo Gongsik was famous for his intimidating appearance, huge body, and terrible temper.

He had a frightening kind of charisma and was known for giving students some extremely painful beatings with his wooden stick.

Because of that, most students did their best not to get on his bad side.

“Where are you going? Come here. Hey, grab that bastard.”

Park Sumin, one of Kim Hyunsu’s lackeys, glanced nervously at Hyunsu before slowly moving according to his order.

Screech.

Kang In soon opened the door and began backing out into the hallway.

Grab!

“What the hell are you guys doing?”

The moment someone grabbed Kang In by the collar, a deep voice came from beside them.

Kang In turned his head.

Yoo Gongsik was standing in the hallway, holding a thick wooden stick and staring at Kang In and Park Sumin.

Park Sumin immediately released Kang In’s collar, smoothed out his wrinkled clothes, and pretended nothing had happened.

“Ah, no, sir. We were just fooling around…”

“……”

Yoo Gongsik silently stared at Park Sumin and Kang In for a moment.

Soon, the bell signaling the end of the break rang.

“Get inside, you bastards.”

“Yes, sir.”

And so, the class passed without anything happening, and another break came.

For some reason, Kim Hyunsu and his group did not bother Kang In at all after math class.

Maybe they had sensed that something was strange about him.

But they were not the type of people who would simply let things go.

They were definitely planning something.

Meanwhile, the students gradually forgot about Kang In.

That did not matter.

The important moment would come after school.

There was no way Kang In would be able to go home safely.

Whether it was the school rooftop, the area behind the school, or even the road home, nowhere was completely safe.

Kang In thought about Kim Hyunsu and Park Sumin.

Even though Hyunsu had clearly been furious, he had not confronted Kang In himself.

He had realized that math class was coming up and sent one of his friends instead.

Whether it was instinct or intentional planning, Hyunsu had avoided a situation that could cause trouble as much as possible.

In a way, perhaps that was proof that he possessed an animal-like instinct for danger.

Eventually, seventh period ended.

Kang In noticed that Kim Hyunsu’s group, including Park Sumin, was no longer sitting in their seats at the back of the classroom.

Hyunsu himself, however, was still sitting at his desk.

This is bad.

Are they really going this far just to catch me?

It seemed excessive, but apparently they had made up their minds.

As soon as school ended, Kang In decided to leave through the front door of the classroom.

Then he would head home as quickly as possible.

He could take a long detour along a main road crowded with people instead of his usual route.

Or he could even go in a completely different direction from his home, hide somewhere, and only come out later.

Kang In thought through as many possible situations as he could while waiting for class to end.

A little later, as soon as the final class meeting ended, Kang In immediately put on the bag he had already packed and left through the front door.

He quickly went down to the first floor.

He did not need a bus, subway, or any other form of transportation.

I just need to get away from the school as quickly as possible.

Step. Step. Step.

“Ah, shit.”

As he hurried downstairs, he saw a group of people approaching from ahead.

There was no doubt about it.

They were Kim Hyunsu’s group.

Their footsteps were steadily getting closer.

Kang In checked the time.

It was 5:00 p.m.

It was still a little early for office workers to leave work, but he needed to head toward the crowded main road as quickly as possible.

Kim Hyunsu was definitely behind him.

Turning around would be stupid.

Just as Kang In changed direction and tried to blend into the crowd—

Grab!

“Ah!”

Someone grabbed Kang In by the neck from behind.

He felt the strength of a large, hot hand squeezing his throat.

Screeech.

Kang In was dragged somewhere.

“Ugh!”

His airway was gradually being squeezed tighter.

With pressure being applied to his throat, he could not even make a proper sound.

Bang!

He was dragged into an alley he did not recognize.

Someone slammed Kang In hard against a wall.

He could feel the rough texture of the bricks against his back.

His school uniform was undoubtedly torn in several places.

Kang In raised his head.

It was Oh Mincheol, another one of Kim Hyunsu’s lackeys.

He had a short sports haircut and a huge body comparable to Hyunsu’s.

Park Sumin was also standing beside Oh Mincheol at an angle.

“You fucking bastard!”

Bam!

A fist immediately slammed into Kang In’s face.

Oh Mincheol held Kang In by the neck with one hand while mercilessly punching him in the face.

The attack came without any warning.

Kang In did not even have time to use his ability.

“Ghk!”

Blood began covering Kang In’s nose and mouth.

Blood bubbles rose from his lips.

“Obviously we’d be waiting on your way home.”

Kim Hyunsu, who had apparently been following Kang In from behind, casually walked up beside them.

“I thought you were just an idiot, but you’ve got pretty good instincts.”

Hyunsu grinned and lightly slapped Kang In’s cheek several times.

With his neck being held, Kang In could not dodge.

“You know, you really fucking embarrassed me earlier. You’re dead today, you bastard.”

The moment Kang In saw Hyunsu raise his hand, he tightly shut his eyes.

Then he desperately remembered what his unharmed self had looked like five minutes earlier.

Flash!

“Huff… huff…”

Kang In looked around frantically.

He was standing in front of the school gate.

The time was 4:55 p.m.

Kang In touched his face.

It was completely fine, without even a scratch.

The pain had disappeared completely.

“I absolutely can’t go down. I have to go up.”

Kang In raised his head.

This time, he had to go in the exact opposite direction from his house.

The school he attended was located at the foot of a mountain.

Because of that, a steep uphill road continued above the school.

But that did not matter right now.

Kang In quickly began walking.

Kim Hyunsu’s group would probably already be coming up from below, while Hyunsu himself would be leaving the classroom and following him by now.

“Huff… huff…”

After walking uphill for quite some time, the red glow of sunset began spreading across the sky beside the road.

Sweat formed on Kang In’s forehead.

Where am I supposed to go?

As far as he remembered, there was nothing further up this road.

He would have to cross one hill and walk downhill for quite a while before reaching anything resembling the city.

By now, Kim Hyunsu and his group would probably have realized where he was going and started following him up the hill.

His breathing became heavier, and the sound of his increasingly fast heartbeat echoed in his ears.

The difference between the walking speed he imagined and his actual speed was so great that it was driving him crazy.

I have to stay calm.

Kang In took a deep breath, steadied himself, and continued walking while opening the map app on his phone.

“On this road…”

A police station appeared on the map.

However—

“It’s far… way too far…”

The map said it would take thirty minutes on foot.

Kang In suddenly became overwhelmed with anger.

He could not understand why he had to go through all this trouble.

But there was nothing he could do about it now.

I just have to get there quickly.

“Huff… huff…”

Vroooom!

Suddenly, the irritating sound of an engine came from somewhere far behind him.

Kang In immediately had a bad feeling and turned around.

“Ah, shit…”

It was a motorcycle.

And riding it was Oh Mincheol, with Kim Hyunsu sitting behind him.

Park Sumin was nowhere to be seen.

The motorcycle was getting closer and closer.

Kang In deliberately did not run.

He simply continued walking calmly.

He knew they would catch him anyway.

Running desperately when he knew he would be caught would only make him look pathetic.

Those punks would probably enjoy seeing him panic even more.

“Hey! Where the hell are you going?”

The motorcycle soon pulled up beside Kang In.

“Home.”

“Ah, bullshit. But how the hell did this bastard know we were below him?”

Oh Mincheol glared at Kang In as if he wanted to kill him, apparently feeling like he had been outsmarted.

“I thought you were just an idiot, but you’ve got pretty good instincts.”

It was clearly the exact same line he had said earlier.

The situation was different, but some parts could apparently repeat themselves.

“I have somewhere else to go.”

“Where? We’ll go with you.”

Kim Hyunsu’s tone suddenly became much gentler.

“……”

“Hey, come hang out with us too. Huh? We can hang out together, can’t we?”

Kim Hyunsu laughed as he lightly patted Oh Mincheol’s back.

“Aren’t you tired? Want to ride the motorcycle?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“Why walk all the way there? It’s okay, get on. I’ll take you somewhere nice.”

“……”

Oh Mincheol, sitting in the driver’s seat of the motorcycle, glared at Kang In as if he could beat him to death at any moment.

Behind him, Kim Hyunsu wore a friendly-looking face and an unpleasant smile.

Kang In’s walking pace gradually slowed.

The light from the sunset was fading, and deep darkness was beginning to settle over everything.

He had four chances left for the day.

Can I really get through this situation safely within those four attempts?

He considered using his ability to return to the school gate again, but he could not think of another solution after that.

Without realizing it, Kang In looked up at the pitch-black mountain ridge to his right.

Would I be lucky if I simply got beaten somewhere in those mountains and wasn’t found as a corpse?

He lowered his head.

Can I really fight back?

Against two people?

That’s impossible.

Kang In remembered Oh Mincheol’s fist.

His grip had been so powerful that when the punch came down, Kang In could not even turn his head.

If they grab me, it’s over.

“Hmm…”

Kang In finally made a decision.

He decided to go with Kim Hyunsu.

There was nothing to gain by provoking him any further in his current situation.

Just as Kang In raised his head and was about to say something to Hyunsu—

Whoosh!

A headlight suddenly swept across Kang In’s face from somewhere nearby.

Then, behind the motorcycle, a large black SUV pulled onto the roadside near where Kang In was standing.

“Huh?”

Click.

The door opened.

And Ultralisk jumped out of the vehicle.

“Hey, you bastards! Where are you going? This isn’t the direction you guys live!”

At the unexpected appearance, Kang In’s mouth slowly fell open.

“Te… Teacher?”