The morning breeze brought the smell of damp earth. Damian walked towards school, feeling his body lighter, his legs firm and his muscles rigid. Yesterday's fight still echoed in his mind, but now not as a trauma — but as a victory.
As soon as he got close to the gate, Jisoo appeared leaning against a wall, arms crossed. Her gaze was serious and her expression calm as always. Damian already knew he was waiting.
"Damian," Jisoo called.
The temporary leader of the newly formed gang walked up to him.
"Speak."
Jisoo took a deep breath, looking directly into Damian's eyes.
"I saw what you did yesterday. You didn't fight well, but you won. That's more important." He paused. — I'm in. I'll be part of your gang.
Damian's eyes sparkled for a second, but before he could celebrate, Jisoo raised a finger.
— On one condition.
— You can talk. — Damian replied, maintaining his posture.
— When we take over the school's territories... I want my own territory. No one can boss me around forever. Got it?
Damian remained silent, processing that. On the one hand, it was risky to give away power like that. On the other hand... with Jisoo's strength, the chances of them taking over quickly would increase a lot.
"If we ever divide the school... I'll need strong guys controlling parts of it." — he thought.
Without hesitation, he extended his hand.
— Deal.
Jisoo smiled slightly, shaking Damian's hand.
— Don't disappoint me.
The next day, the school seemed like an anthill of buzz. In the hallways and courtyards, rumors were spreading faster than classes started. Everyone in the first year already knew about the beating Doohyun had received.
The weaker ones were whispering in the corners, looking at Damian and his friends with some fear. The more fearful bullies decided to avoid trouble — and the leaders of the first year classes, who were in the blocks further away, chose not to get involved... at least for now.
But the situation in the first year was not good for Doohyun.
The punishment was severe.
The leader of Doohyun's class, a guy named Minjae, known for being cruel to those who embarrassed him, didn't think twice before breaking Doohyun's arm at the back of the block, throwing his own ally to the ground like trash.
"You embarrassed our class, you useless bastard." Minjae spat before leaving.
Doohyun screamed in pain, but no one there had the courage to defend him.
Meanwhile, in Damian's classroom, the mood was different.
When the bell rang for recess, Damian was lying with his head on his arms on his desk, almost dozing off, while his friends talked about school gossip.
Suddenly, the prettiest girl in the class, Sora, slowly approached. She was the kind of student who always seemed unattainable — big eyes, fair skin, and dark brown hair falling to her shoulders.
She leaned discreetly over Damian's desk and spoke softly, almost as if in a secret:
"Damian... can I have your number?"
For a second, time stopped. His friends, who were distracted, immediately turned around, their eyes widening.
"WHAT?!" whispered Jinho, his mouth hanging open.
Damian slowly raised his head, looked at Sora and, unable to hide the slight smile on the corner of his mouth, took his cell phone out of his pocket.
"Sure.
They discreetly exchanged numbers, and she left, her face a little flushed.
As soon as she walked away, Jinho and Hyunwoo exploded:
— BRO, WAS THAT REAL?
— The hottest girl in the class asked for your number, man!
Damian leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms behind his head, and smiled.
— Looks like things are starting to change.
And in that moment, he knew: it was just the beginning.