Life at school ran smooth after that. Flattening a couple of troublemakers into a bloody mess set a clear example, keeping most bullies from messing with Hajun. In the dog-eat-dog world of hot-headed teenagers, that kind of force worked like a charm. A real jungle.
Aside from blowing up the science lab twice with zero casualties, causing a campus-wide blackout with zero casualties, beating the gang of bullies harassing Fred Turner to a pulp with a few casualties, and throwing pudding at a guy who mocked his background to give him a bloody nose—with the owner of the pudding receiving compensation later—high school life was peaceful. Sound hard to believe? For him, this counted as peaceful. Either way, the final summer break of high school approached, and starting in September, senior year would demand more focus on college applications. Seeing how this timeline kept running without a sudden reset, though the reset intervals seemed to grow longer and letting his guard down remained a big mistake, he figured he might make it to college this time. Where to go? Engineering still meant MIT.
Walking down the hallway with a laptop in hand, Hajun drew eyes from every direction. The Mad Dog of Beverly High, Demon, Disaster. Carrying all those wild nicknames and rumors like tags, his popularity grew by the day. Crazy antics and gossip failed to scratch his distinct charm, adding a distinct edge to his presence instead. No one felt surprised that the notorious troublemaker received the most chocolates on Valentine’s Day.
“Hey, Damon. Have you picked a partner for the Junior Prom?”
Isabella Anderson was far from the only girl eager to approach Hajun, though none matched her persistence.
Hajun looked down at the blonde girl fluttering her long eyelashes. His gaze remained cold, as if blind to whether a stone or a pretty girl stood before him.
“Isabella. If you want a partner to act as your trophy, bad news. Out of stock.”
“Who bought you out? Your little princess?”
“Why? Planning to drag her to Santa Monica Pier and push her in?”
At his sharp sarcasm, the corners of Isabella’s mouth dipped before she restored a sweet smile, pretending nothing happened.
“What a scary joke. Why would I do that?”
“Is that so? Then stay out of my partner plans and pay attention to those fools over there who would lick your shoes for a chance to go to prom with you.”
Hajun pointed toward a guy who got rejected by Isabella a few days back, watching from a distance. Hating the topic, Isabella ignored his words and shifted the conversation.
“…Fine. It’s Junior Prom, so taking your younger sister makes sense. I get it. But can I reserve you for Senior Prom next year? Don’t tell me you’ll take Katy as your partner then too?”
“And if I do?”
Isabella Anderson lowered her head. Students watching from around the hall held their breath, stealing glances. Pausing to gather herself, Isabella raised her face. Not a single tear stained her cheeks.
“Are those rumors real? That you hold… special feelings for your sister?”
“Everyone has rotten brains, thinking along those lines. Sickening.”
“Then why? Are you gay? Is Alex Keeper your secret lover, and Bryce just a cover for you two?”
“That stale gossip still circulates? Impressive. You know those two have been dating for two years, right?”
Hearing rude, dirty rumors to his face caused zero damage to Hajun. Katy inherited a strong mind like him, while Angelina enjoyed teasing her boyfriend, so rumors meant little to them. The only person clutching his neck in distress over such talk was Alex. Meaning it deserved no real concern.
Biting her trembling lip, Isabella met Hajun’s gaze with eyes full of spite and greed, though her voice came out delicate.
“Then why not me? I like you. I really like you… Pushing me away hurts me too. I threw away my pride to build up courage, and you make me feel miserable…”
Hajun crossed his arms in silence, eyebrows drawn into a scowl. Feeling the entire school watching this teen drama play out proved exhausting.
“I said no. Hard to get? Let me spell it out. N-O spells NO.”
Tears welled up in Isabella’s large eyes. Ignoring the sharp glare from a few brave male students and her two constant followers, Hajun looked down at her trembling frame. Tired.
“Drop the act, drama queen. You don’t like me. You just want me because I look good on your arm, like your diamond earrings or expensive handbags.”
“Why… why speak so mean…”
“Too bad your rich dad can’t buy me for you. How about asking him to fix your head instead? Pretty sure Anderson Medical Center has a psychiatry department.”
“Just because you dislike me, you deny my feelings and call me crazy?”
“Sincere advice. See ya.”
Turning around, the crowd parted left and right to clear a path. What a farce.
Bella, don’t cry over a guy like him! Who does he think he is, some prince…?
Voices comforting Isabella echoed behind him, fading into silence as he walked away.
Stepping into the quiet annex building, Fred Turner popped out of nowhere, eyes shining behind thick glasses as words spilled out fast.
“Hey, Damon! Popular as ever! How many times have you rejected Isabella Anderson now? I heard seventeen times! Rejecting a beauty like her, incredible!”
Gossip moved fast.
“Just like Hikaru, the male lead from The Campus Ice Prince Falls in Love With Me?! ~Doki Doki♡Heart Flutter~! Ahem, romance manga isn’t my main taste, but mixing comedy makes it fun. Want to borrow it?”
“Get to the point.”
“Ah, right, point. What was it… Wait! Don’t go! I remembered!”
Ever since Hajun dealt with his bullies, Fred acted like his best friend. Aside from making his ears bleed with endless chatter, Fred posed no harm, so Hajun let him be.
“A new club member brought a movie… Want to watch if you’re free? Not anime! A Korean movie. You said you came from Korea, right?”
Why Fred treated him like a phantom member of a manga club he never joined remained a mystery.
Hajun raised an eyebrow in skepticism. Fred shook his head, insisting it wasn’t anime.
“Real talk! A famous thriller movie that hit ten million views in Korea a few years back. What was the title… anyway, super famous!”
“Ah. The one with the child mudang?”
Ten million viewers, thriller. One movie came to mind. Hajun wasn’t big on movies, but he recalled visiting a theater with his mother in elementary school. Why did they go? A vacation assignment to submit a ticket stub and review? Something like that.
“Ah, you watched it already…?”
“Can’t I watch it again?”
“What? No, you can! Let me take you!”
Fearing Hajun might change his mind, Fred hurried toward the club room, his mouth moving without a pause.
“Like thrillers?”
“Not really.”
“What genre then? What do you watch?”
“Whatever Katy wants to watch.”
Hearing that cold, firm answer, Fred gasped. The legendary siscon!
“Rejecting girls… because your sister gets jealous?”
“Jealous?”
Letting out a scoff, Hajun glared at Fred.
“Listen. Don’t tell me you believe those rumors too? Katy and I are brother and sister. Bound by blood. Not whatever dirty stuff people love to gossip about.”
As for rejecting confessions… inside this body sat no fresh teenage boy. In his place resided an old soul worn down by endless resets, fading even basic human desires. Aside from that, living over a century meant dating kids made zero sense. At least wait before reaching adulthood, right? Of course, rotten people like Isabella Anderson remained an easy pass regardless of age.
Hajun scowled, hiding no disgust, prompting Fred Turner to jump.
“Of course!”
“Dogs in heat know nothing. Minds filled with sex, drugs, money, sex, drugs, money… Gross.”
Hajun knew not everyone was like that—starting with the guy in front of him, whose brain contained only manga, games, and anime. Yet like a drop of ink clouding clear water, malice carried strong presence and contagion. Some malice even arrived wrapped in good intentions. Case in point: a chunk of Valentine’s chocolates contained strange drugs. Receiving so many anonymous chocolates made catching the culprits tough. Facing no harm from eating them made raising an issue awkward. He let it slide to save trouble, though it still left a bitter taste.
“Wish people would leave me alone.”
Tired. Hajun muttered in a low voice, running a hand over his face. Watching him, Fred swallowed hard, thinking:
That line sounds right out of ‘Ordinary Me Transmigrated as an SSS-Rank Hunter?!’
Checking on quieted Fred, Hajun walked forward. He liked the quiet air.
The movie proved fun. The child actor’s mudang performance impressed him again. Good raw talent. Taking advantage of ditching class, Hajun headed to the rooftop with his laptop. He wanted to test code written in his head, working on an AI program in secret to check something. Which was…
“Knew you’d be here, class skipper!”
Hajun rolled his eyes toward Alex, who opened the rooftop door. His typing speed never slowed.
“What?”
“Mr. Smith is looking for you.”
“Not for skipping class on the day before break, so why?”
Alex sat beside Hajun, leaning against the tall wall casting a shadow to block the sun.
“Because of the lab mouse you freed last week. Looks like it touched Mr. Smith’s cheese collection.”
“I see.”
“‘I see’? If the school turns into a rat nest, then what?”
“Fine. Not a sewer rat, just a cute mouse. Katy isn’t scared of mice.”
Alex sighed, looking at his friend whose every thought revolved around his sister. Hopeless guy.
“Right… While your sister isn’t scared of mice, Max Robert—the guy you hate most—foaming at the mouth over a mouse is just a coincidence, huh?”
“Did he faint?”
“No. But he screamed bloody murder during PE after making eye contact with a mouse.”
Hey. Don’t look that disappointed.
Alex shook his head.
“His family holds political clout. Don’t mess with him too much.”
“Just a side branch. Plus politicians chase money. I win.”
“Win or lose, stop starting fights! Lay low!”
Hajun raised a hand to block his ear facing Alex. Frustrated by Hajun’s rude attitude, Alex thumped his chest. Then the troublemaker turned around and snapped back instead.
“Focus on what you’re wearing to prom! If you wear some terrible suit and get dumped by Angelina, I’ll kill you.”
“I won’t!”
“What do you know!”
“My line!”
In the end, Angelina and Katy had to search all the way up to the rooftop when the two didn’t show up by the bell. The girls held leash on the barking boys, exchanging warm greetings. High above them, a picture-perfect cloud drifted across the clear blue sky.
The start of their final summer break.
