Chapter 509: Chapter 509

.

Still knitting his forehead, Eun Hyung opened his mouth. And that was when I realized his true intention and exclaimed at Eun Hyung.

“You said you don’t want to be a shameful person to your little brother.”

“Oh…”

“You’ve let others harass and beat you on purpose to keep your promise, so you don’t want to break that all of a sudden like nothing, do you? Step aside, I’ll handle this.”

Speaking that way, Eun Hyung took a step forward. At my sight, he looked huge than anyone else in this gym.

The audience, on the other hand, seemed to have found the reason why Ban Hwee Hyul got beaten by Hwang Siwoo, at last.

“Oh… then that’s why he stayed low even though Hwang Siwoo treated him badly…”

“Of course, it was intentional!”

“Well, the difference between their physical strengths is too big to actually lose the fight…”

Amid those loud whispers, Ban Hwee Hyul just stared at Eun Hyung with deeply touched look in his eyes. Watching his reaction, I suddenly came up with a question in my head.

‘Hey, Ban Hwee Hyul, in the end, didn’t you already use your fist while attacking Suh Doh Gyum and Woo San?’

But I couldn’t say this out loud when everyone was watching the sight like a heartwarming tale. While I kept my mouth shut, Ban Hwee Hyul stepped aside as Eun Hyung motioned him away from the spot. With no hesitation, he left the first floor and came upstairs to sit beside us. I looked at him shortly in bewilderment but diverted my gaze back onto Eun Hyung.

Although he was one of the Four Heavenly Kings, I couldn’t stop being concerned about him. From the fight between Ban Hwee Hyul and Eun Hyung, I learned that something higher existed above the sky. No matter how strong Eun Hyung was among the Four Heavenly Kings, it was just another story irrelevant to the ranking.

At that moment, Jung Yohan’s voice pierced through the air. I lifted my head.

Looking at Ban Hwee Hyul sitting on the audience seat outside the court, Jung Yohan talked elegantly, but at the same time, sarcastically as he did earlier.

“I’m very disappointed. Didn’t you have any guts to defend your position? And now you lost your title to someone who can’t even keep that place.”

“Can’t even keep that place? Someone who?” asked Ban Hwee Hyul in wonder.

Jung Yohan turned his head to glance at Eun Hyung then continued speaking slowly and gently.

“Kwon Eun Hyung from So Hyun High School. He was on the list that Hwang Siwoo handed over to me, but I wondered if he was worthy of my attention.”

“…”

“That’s because every information I received about him was indicating the opposite direction of force or being strong. He’s been a model student who always ranked the top ten in So Hyun High School, the most selective school in this neighborhood. Every comment about him says how responsible and nice he is as a class president. Even the teachers like him so much that he stops by at the teacher’s office several times; there’s a rumor that he’s a son of one of the teachers…”

Despite the words dripping from Jung Yohan’s mouth, Eun Hyung kept a faint smile on his lips. Then the grin was gone after the following remark.

“The reason he was listed under the target-to-be-eliminated was simple. There were three attackers in the photo, but after Suh Doh Gyum and Woo San, I needed one more person.”

Jung Yohan was confessing in front of the crowds that he had manipulated the photo to stir up Ban Hwee Hyul. As I looked around, not only Dae Lisa and Jooin but even Ruda seemed to have become angry. Of course, the most enraged person was none other than Ban Hwee Hyul.

While he just clenched his fist with a cold expression on his face, Jung Yohan switched his gaze in this direction and spoke teasingly again.

“Oh, I do agree that having a high intelligence matters at some point, or else a person can’t be degraded to someone’s chessman even though he’s as strong as Thor, right?”

“Sorry to say this, but you also look quite irrelevant to a place like here.”

That was when Eun Hyung, who sealed his lips until now, suddenly uttered those words. I assumed that Eun Hyung was trying to take away Jung Yohan’s attention from Ban Hwee Hyul. Usually, Eun Hyung would never point out someone else’s appearance that way.

He continued speaking, “Sung Woon Science High School is also as selective as our school. Besides, you don’t look like a punk at all.”

Jung Yohan sneered at those words. He slightly lifted and put down his school jacket.

“Oh, you mean this school uniform? This is just a useful tool to camouflage the real me. In other words, it’s just a shell. However, I’m different from you. Isn’t that school uniform closer to the definition of who you are?”

“Maybe since I’ve seldom felt uncomfortable playing such a role under this uniform.”

Jung Yohan dropped a question as if he had waited for Eun Hyung to agree with him calmly.

“You hate fights, right?”

“I do.”

“You have no interest in defeating and dominating others.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“But everyone with power wants to dominate others. They want to show off their force and influence people with it. Isn’t that the fundamental reason why Ranking Battle is held?”

“I can’t agree with that,” refused Eun Hyung, shaking his head sideways.

Squinting his eyes, Jung Yohan shouted, “If you’re as strong as Hwang Siwoo and Ban Hwee Hyul’s trust on you, you would have never lived that quietly! You must have stood up and parade your strength and power!”

“Don’t you think survival of the fittest only applies naturally to the animal world? People have different personalities you know.”

I was astonished at Eun Hyung responding that way with a swiveling smile. ‘Eun Hyung, did you just throw a counterpunch to Jung Yohan with that grin?’ I cheered him in my thoughts. Indeed, Eun Hyung’s character was somehow tough, unlike his intellectual and model student-like appearance.

As if he also grasped it, Jung Yohan shut his mouth, looking dumbstruck. Staying silent for a while, he then opened his mouth with a sneer.

He seemed to realize that further quarrel would count against him. Then the only thing he could do now was to change the fight into something that he felt more confident about.

“Alright, then let’s watch what you call your strength.”

As soon as he uttered those words while being inflated with conceit, the lightings in the gym all went out with a spark. Like a vacant spot in space, darkness prevailed in the site. Shortly after, the light on the stage went on.

Under the bright spotlight, the host shouted, “Thanks for the long wait! Now, let’s begin the Ranking Battle! I’m your host, Kim Nam Soo, the 101st ranked fighter.”

Listening to his opening speech, I furrowed my brows. The boy looked quite run-of-the-mill; however, he was the 101st ranked fighter! Even the host was somewhat unordinary.

‘This Ranking Battle is indeed tight. I can’t just stay chill and watch the games…’ While I tried to retrieve tension, the host in front continued speaking.

“Then before we get to the actual match, let’s vote for the way to proceed with the ranking battle.”

“Did he say vote?” I murmured in wonder.

“First, the tournament. Draw the lots to decide the order and opponent then fight until only one’s left. The pros, it’s fair and able to avoid dogfight, but the cons, it takes a lot of time to prepare the lot and decide the order. And the second is…”

When the host addressed to that point, many people quickly raised their hands in the dark. Most of them were none other than Jung Yohan and his clique.

Watching that sight, I pulled the corners of my brows upwards, wondering, ‘What exactly is the second way? He didn’t even explain it yet…’

Then I became terrified at his following remark.

“The second way is having an unlimited competition by challenge. If someone on the stage calls the person who has his or her preferred rank, that person comes up and start fighting. The defeated goes down the stage; the winner stays here as long as he has other challengers.”