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Chapter Text

Just as usual, the hallways of J High School were nothing but a loud mess, with dozens of groups of students talking, joking or the worst, bullying some kids. No one was surprised by any of it, it was like that in any other high school at the end of the day. That year, J High School also managed to open a new section inside its walls, the Literature Department that got famous quickly. It was a bit of a surprise to people to see many students actually eager about reading, learning how to write and actually writing. But there they were, the aspiring future writers, ready to make their names famous in the future. Today, one more student was going to join them.
Only five more minutes were left until classes were supposed to start when Laura Yang made her way through the school’s gates, stopping for a moment and taking a deep breath. Her heart was beating out of her chest, but after closing her eyes and recollecting her thoughts, the girl turned up the volume of the music she was listening to through her earphones and made her way towards the school. She could feel the students’ stare on her, but she tried to ignore them. Truth be told, she wasn’t sure if they were judging her or admiring her and the girl didn’t want to know.
There were three groups of people when they saw her, those who couldn’t take their eyes off of her, especially the boys; those who were jealous of her and who were trying to find any means to pick on her, mostly girls out of jealousy; and then there were those who would look at her and mind their business. She was, in fact, beautiful, having both Korean genes from her father’s side, but also Russian genes from her mother’s side. Maybe the girls around did have a reason to be jealous of her.
Checking the time, she muttered a swear word and started to run across the hallway so she could make it to class in time, but she walked in right after the teacher, grabbing the entire class’ attention. The teacher also turned towards her and cleared her voice.
“Students, welcome your new classmate who just transferred here,” the teacher said, turning her attention towards Laura.
“Hello, everyone,” Laura said bowing in front of her classmates, then she smiled at them. “I hope we’ll get along well.”
Students around the class started to whisper to each other who knows what as Laura took a seat next to a girl, waving at her. Although a bit reluctant, the girl waved back. It was a fresh start for her, away from the life she’s been living up to that point. J High was a big change for her and she was pretty far from home, but a part of her told Laura that she was where she is supposed to be. With a smile still on her face, the silver haired girl took out her notebooks from her bag and placed them on the desk before taking a glance towards the window. She looked a bit troubled, but her line of thoughts was interrupted by the male student behind her and the little note he threw on her desk.
Raising an eyebrow, Laura took a quick glance at the teacher to make sure she can’t see her, then she read the note.
“Hey, beautiful. How about you, me, date?”
And a phone number at the end. Shaking her head, Laura ripped apart the note and left it on her desk. She planned to throw the pieces of paper at the trash can as soon as break would arrive.
As classes passed, the lunch break finally arrived and the students were making their way to the cafeteria. Laura was among them, carrying her bag with her since she had some of the most important stuff she owned such as her wallet, her notebooks with ideas for the stories she was writing and her trusted pen that she got as a gift from an old friend. She felt a bit sad to see how people were pretty much in groups, while she was all alone, but Laura knew that it was barely her first day in that high school.
Inside the cafeteria, among all of the students, there were Vin Jin and his group of ‘friends’, ready to make someone else grab food for them when their eyes landed on the door and on the new female student that just entered. Vin Jin’s eyes instantly widened and he turned around to fix his hair while looking at the camera on his phone.
“Are you just going to hit on that girl?” one of his friends asked.
“And I’m going to do it well,” Vin Jin responded, turning around once again.
Laura was looking around for any empty spot at one of the tables when Vin Jin made his way towards her, a smile on his face. For a second, the girl just looked at him before smiling herself. She was a little confused by his glasses, since she found it weird for someone to be wearing glasses inside, but she could notice the slight blush on his cheeks.
“Hey, there. I’m Vin,” he said stretching his hand for a handshake.
“Laura, nice to meet you,” she responded, going for the handshake.
“Would you like to hang out sometime?”
At first, Laura wasn’t so sure about it, but he didn’t approach her in an aggressive way, he was smiling, he introduced himself in a nice way. She didn’t give it too much thought, if she would have ended up not enjoying his company, if they were ever going to actually hang out, then she was going to just say it. So after a couple of seconds, the silver haired girl nodded her head to his question. Even Vin looked surprised for a second before he pulled out his phone and gave it to Laura.
“We should exchange phone numbers then,” Vin said with a wider smile.
In response, Laura giggled and pulled out her own phone before giving it to Vin. After the two exchanged phone numbers, the boy signed for her to follow him so they could eat together. The girl didn’t think much about it and walked after him. Vin seemed to have targeted a table where there was already a student, so Laura thought that he would ask the boy sitting down if they could sit as well. Instead, Vin went next to the boy and before she even knew it, Laura witnessed the glass-wearing student kicking the boy that was sitting down on a side, which made the poor student let out a scream of pain and almost fall on a side.
The cafeteria fell silent as the students were now staring at what was happening, but some ended up averting their eyes. And in a matter of a second, Laura regretted exchanging phone numbers with Vin. Her facial expression changed from a happy one to a blank one, ready to step in. She couldn’t stand people like Vin.
“What are you doing?” Laura asked letting her bag down on the bench in front of the table.
“Getting us a table,” Vin responded as he shoved his hands in his pockets. “And sending this pig to get us food so we don’t wait in line anymore.”
Hearing such a heartless and careless response, Laura raised her eyebrow and nodded her head. She noticed Vin ready to hit the boy at the table again so she put her hands behind her back and leaned forward to talk, which stopped Vin.
“What is your name?” Laura asked the boy with a smile on her face.
“It’s Duke…” he replied, looking a bit scared at Laura, then lowering his head.
“Duke, would you be so kind as to get up and leave the table?”
“What are you doing?” asked Vin, looking confused at Laura who just turned around him with the same smile on her face.
“Huh? Just making sure you and me can be alone and talk. Don’t you want that?”
Without thinking much, Vin nodded his head and took a seat at the table while Duke moved away from the table. He had his head facing the ground, expecting to be called back at any moment as he was also expecting for the girl to bully him. However, Laura went towards Vin, giving him the impression that she was going to sit next to him. In reality, the girl kicked Vin so hard on the side that she made him fall over the bench and from there, on the floor. It happened so fast that he couldn’t even acknowledge what just hit him, only that his side hurt like hell.
The commotion was so loud that it made the students in the cafeteria turn their heads towards the table that Vin and Laura were at. Duke turned around as well, widening his eyes as he saw Vin in that state and Laura looking down at him the same way a predator looks at is prey.
“What did he do for you to bully him?” Laura asked, approaching Vin and taking off his cap.
With that, she also took a hold of his hair, pulling him up and then turning his head so they could face each other.
“Fucking let go of me, you bitch!” Vin said trying to grab Laura’s hand and push it away.
“As you wish.”
And with that, she didn’t just let go, she pushed Vin forward so hard that he hit his head over the table. Looking around, she noticed that his phone had fallen on the floor so without a second thought, the girl crushed it under her leg. In the meantime, more people arrived in the cafeteria, among them being Daniel with his friends and Vasco followed by the Burn Knuckles. Without a doubt, their attention soon fell on Vin who was covering his nose with both hands as he got up and Laura who was walking towards him slowly.
“What is happening?” Daniel asked Duke in a whisper as his eyes didn’t get off of the scene in front of him.
“That girl… She took my side,” Duke told Daniel, looking up at him.
As he was close to them, Vasco overheard the conversation, his eyes falling on the silver haired girl who seemed to have just told Vin something else, but he couldn’t hear it from all the way there. Vasco also knew that Duke wouldn’t lie and he knew that Vin liked to start trouble, so he approached the girl with the thought of stopping her as Vin seemed to have learned his lesson.
Laura was two steps away from Vin and from grabbing him by the collar when she felt a hand on her shoulder. In an instant, she turned around and took a step back, expecting one of Vin’s friends to jump onto her. However, she remained a bit frozen as she spotted Vasco, all thanks to his appearance.
“Are you his friend?” Laura asked, getting in a defense position in case things got heated.
The response she got however was a smile.
“No,” Vasco said shaking his head and looking at Duke. “I am his friend. Thank you for helping him out. I’m Vasco.”
“Laura,” the girl responded, shaking Vasco’s hand before relaxing her shoulders.
“Can Laura eat with us?” Vasco asked his friends, turning only his upper body towards them.
It didn’t take long for the boys to respond with nods and smiles. They all seemed to get excited to meet someone new. And on top of it, it was nice to see someone step in for others, rather than use their powers to hurt others. Jace however seemed a bit worried, analyzing Laura from head to toe and trying to spot anything out of the ordinary about her, but all he came up with was that she seemed to work out well.
“You’re going to ask them, but you won’t ask me?” the silver haired girl asked, shaking her head with a smile before grabbing her bag and following the boy.
The first day of school seemed to be off to a good start.

Chapter Text

Since Laura’s arrival, a few things seemed to have changed around J High and the girl ended up being friends with more people than expected. The fun part? None of those people were from her department. Before she knew it, the silver haired girl became friends with people like Daniel, Jay, Zack, even Jiho and Duke, with girls, too, such as Myra and Zoe. Then, there was Vasco who seemed to be more than happy to be around Laura, despise Jace’s weird looks from time to time. Jace didn’t know what to think about the new student thanks to her fighting skills, but he decided to take it easy. He was wrong about Daniel as well, he could have been wrong about Laura, too.

With the passing time, the day of the famous festival came around as well. With each department preparing some sort of activity, the Literature Department had to do the same. Laura jumped in with ideas and at the end, they ended up with a stand for coffee, tea and sweets along with books for sell that were from the students of the department who didn’t need or want them anymore. True, she didn’t really make friends in her class, but people looked like they liked her. And they sure liked her enough to allow Laura to be head of their project. There was this constant smile on her face as she was coordinating their stand, moving left and right, getting coffee or tea ready and packing sweets for whoever wanted some. She was the most excited to see people buying books, but she still was careful enough to allow for her classmates to get involve and not live under the impression that she was trying to get all of the attention.

As she was pouring some coffee into a cup, she heard a familiar voice, the girl raising her head right away, seeing both Daniel and Vasco in front of the stand. It took her a second to also notice Jay in the back.

“Hey, guys,” Laura greeted them, giving the tea to the student that ordered it, putting the money into a little box.

“Sales seem to go really well,” Daniel said looking around with curious eyes before he finally noticed the little menu that was pretty much right in front of him. “Can I get some cookies? And some vanilla tea?”

“Good timing, we’re almost out of cookies,” Laura said turning around to grab a cup, but they seemed to be out of vanilla tea. “Anna, can you make some more vanilla tea?”

“Be ready in ten minutes,” Anna responded, turning around in a second and getting to work.

Vasco kept looking around curious, being attracted by every little thing there was around. The stand was nicely decorated and the varieties of sweets that were laid right in front of him just caught his eyes. On the other hand, Jay only asked for one dalgona coffee and two donuts. Jay, just like always, barely talked, but Laura, just like Daniel, had this little gift that helped her understand Jay. In fact, she seemed to be pretty close to the blonde boy, but far from how close he was to Daniel.

While Daniel and Jay went to sit down as they were waiting for their drinks, Vasco remained in front of the stand, still contemplating over what to get. Seeing him like that got Laura giggle, the girl walking up next to him with her hands behind her back.

“The honey pastries are really good, if you want to try some,” Laura suggested, looking up at Vasco as he was taller than her.

Looking back at Laura, all that Vasco could do was nod, his cheeks turning a bright red. The girl was blushing as well, but thankfully, it didn’t show all that much on her. Nodding back at him, she went back behind the stand and placed around five honey pastries on a little cardboard tray.

“How are things going at your department?” Laura asked, trying to make small talk.

“It… It went not so well,” Vasco answered, embarrassed as he remembered what happened.

It all went well until the moment they decided to change for something else. That was the main reason why he was there now. Reaching out to his sweets, the boy’s eyes widened as soon as he tasted the first one. He seemed to be enjoying every bite of the pastries.

“Did you try these?!” Vasco asked, looking down at the tray, then back at Laura.

“No, I can’t eat. We have to sell them.”

“You should try one.”

In his excitement, Vasco didn’t think much of his actions and took one of the pastries, stretching his hand towards Laura. The action took her by surprise, the girl remaining stuck for a few moments before smiling and gently taking the pastry from Vasco’s hand. She took a bit out of it, her eyes starting to sparkle thanks to the taste. But as she looked up at Vasco, she got shy once again, covering her mouth while chewing.

The two have gotten pretty close to each other during the time spent together and there was this connection between them that none of them could explain. But watching from behind, Jay easily understood that they liked each other as maybe more than friends. Not all that much time had passed since they first met, but they were pretty open to the other. In fact, there days in which Vasco would take Laura home to make sure nothing happens to her.

Getting even more shy all of a sudden, Vasco turned his head away, trying to think of something to say.

“Can I get some milk with these?” he asked while scratching the back of his neck.

“Sure thing.”

As soon as Laura set Vasco’s milk on the stand, Daniel and Jay’s drinks were done as well, so the Architecture Department’s president offered to take all of the drinks. He waved at Laura before doing so and with that, the trio left the area.

Around an hour or two later, the girls started to gather up in front of the stage that was set in the courtyard of the high school. The voice of that year’s MC could be heard all over the place, grabbing even Laura’s attention. The famous ‘slave auction’ that the school holds during each year. The girl found it a bit stupid, but at least the money was going to charity. The girls that helped her until then had already left the stand to go at the auction, leaving back only Laura and two of their male classmates. Curiosity got the best out of the silver haired girl as she asked the boys to watch over the stand before she made her way towards the stage.

Beom Kim from the Practical Music Dept went first, followed by Ho Jeong of the Baking Dept and Eli Jang from the Beauty Dept. Seeing the girls of the Beauty Department fighting together just to make sure no one buys Eli made Laura laugh harder than she intended, the girl having to turn around and cover her mouth. The auction went on and Laura was surprised to see Vasco coming up on the stage. She was expecting the girls to fight over him. How could they not? He was tall, handsome, strong and kind. However, all she heard around were the whispers of the girls saying that they are actually too scared to bid. Taking a glance at Vasco once again, she could see why they were scared. That boy was so stressed that his face looked straight up mad.

Checking her pockets, Laura pulled out her wallet and looked through it to see if she has any money left. Right in that moment, the MC’s voice could be heard once again through the microphone.

“Looks like there are no bids.”

Vasco’s entire expression changed from stressed to sad real fast in that moment and just as he was about to turn around and get off stage, Laura pulled out a bill.

“Ten dollars!” she yelled to make sure she was heard, then she make her way closer to the stage. “Ten dollars for that boy right there.”

“Sold for ten dollars!”

There was this sudden happiness showing on Vasco’s face, Jace watching from afar with a deep sigh of relief. He knew how depressed Vasco would have become if the auction wouldn’t have worked out for him. Truth be told, he was thankful to Laura. In response, the girl smiled back at Vasco and went to make the payment. She couldn’t help but stare at her wallet as she was walking, holding back a deep sight.

There goes my lunch money for this week.

The only way she could comfort herself was thinking that the money were going to charity. It wasn’t much, but she didn’t have more than that. Laura and her family were in a tight space when it came to money. Looks like she was going to have to put something together from home if she didn’t want to starve at school.

After paying, the girl took a deep breath and went around looking for Vasco. It didn’t take long to find him as he was surrounded by members of the Burn Knuckles. Students around the school seemed scared of the Burn Knuckles, but for Laura they had a familiar tone to their atmosphere. She felt safe with them, as if she was home. Sure thing, she wasn’t one of them, but the boys seemed to like her enough to even allow for her to hang out in their class.

Reaching the group, she tapped one of the guys on the shoulder, making him turn around. As soon as he saw who it was, the boy moved out of the way and so did everyone else who was blocking the path between Laura and Vasco. She saved them a lot of trouble for that day and she didn’t even know it.

“Looks like I bought myself a date with you,” she told Vasco, crossing her arms across her chest as she made it in front of him.

“When… When do you want to go on the date?” Vasco asked, being so shy that he couldn’t even look at Laura.

“How about… Saturday?”

“Saturday is fine!”

Vasco’s answer came before Laura even had a chance to finish her sentence. His response made her giggle a bit, but then she nodded her head. Looking back, she let out a small sigh and then pointing towards her stand.

“I need to get back to work, but I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Waving at each other, the two parted ways, each of them excited for Saturday to come already.

Chapter Text

Once Saturday finally arrived, Laura struggled to get up, sleeping through five alarms and almost kicking her little sister out of her room. She had only until six in the evening to spend with Vasco before she’d have to head out for her job. With that, they were going to meet around lunch time so they could have enough time to spend together. The problem at the moment, however, was that it was already ten in the morning and she was far from being ready. On top of that, she was also really tired.

Heading for the kitchen, she saluted her mother and made herself a strong coffee, spending around ten minutes on her phone while sipping from her coffee from time to time before heading to get dressed and do her make-up. Thankfully, she had her clothes prepared from the previous day, going for an over the knee, white with red flowers skirt and a light yellow shirt to go with it. For her make-up, she went for something as natural as possible, but she did struggle to hide her eye bags that she got thanks to the amount of sleepless nights she went through.

Since she was tired, she couldn’t hurry too much while getting ready so once she was done, she realized she had only fifteen minutes to get to the meeting place she agreed on with Vasco. Widening her eyes, Laura hurried to throw everything she needed in a bag, took her shoes on and rushed outside the door. Hopefully, she was able to run, but she tried to take breaks in between so she wouldn’t sweat too much. By the time she arrived in front of the mall, she could already see Vasco there. Throwing a quick glance at her wrist watch, Laura could see that she was already five minute late and she couldn’t help but wonder for how long Vasco waited for her.

“Hey there,” Laura said, stopping in front of her boy and taking a deep breath as she tried to calm down her beating heart.

“Hi,” Vasco replied with a smile before taking a better glance at Laura. “Are you alright? Did something happen?”

“No, no. I just had to run here, I hope you didn’t wait for too long.”

“I just got here.”

In fact, Vasco told a lie. He’s been waiting there for probably half an hour by then, he was so nervous that he ended up not sleeping well the night before and having way too much energy due to adrenaline in the morning. But his lie worked, as Laura smiled at him and nodded her head. She could finally take a better look at the boy in front of her, a small chuckle escaping her lips. He was a bit better dressed than usually, wearing a white shirt with black pants. His hair looked different, it was styled in another way from the one he usually had it in, but his moustache and beard were still there.

Hearing her laugh, Vasco hurried to look down at himself, wondering if there was something about him that made Laura giggle. His cheeks turned red instantly, even brighter as he couldn’t find any problem on himself. But seeing him agitated made the silver haired girl laugh even louder.

“I’m sorry, it’s just…” she said shaking her head, a smile still on her face. “I’ve never seen you like this. You look good.”

Her compliment made Vasco even shyer, the expression on his face looking like one of anger. Just like on the day of the festival, but thankfully, his date knew better than that. All he was was just nervous.

“T-Thanks. You, too,” Vasco answered, scratching the back of his neck.

Without much hesitation, Laura got closer to her date and hugged his arm. The gesture, although simple, made Vasco avert his eyes. It was fun for the girl to see such a guy being that shy, but she liked it more than she wanted to admit.

“Come on, we said we’re going to eat. I’m starving,” she said walking ahead of Vasco and taking both of his hands while walking backwards, facing the boy.

“Oh, I know a place!”

Curiosity sparked inside Laura’s mind and without thinking much, she followed Vasco. All she could hope for what that he wasn’t taking her to any expensive place, she didn’t have too much money with her. But the place they ended up going to was far more different than anything she expected.

The restaurant was almost hidden and the smell of food from the inside was pretty strong. It was far from the kind of place you go on a date, but there they were. Laura didn’t know Vasco for too long, but she knew for a fact that he brought her there because he thought of that place as the best. It was actually a kind gesture which she appreciated. Taking in consideration how the place looked, it probably wasn’t even expensive, so she only saw good sides in being there. Besides, company mattered more to her.

“You like it?” Vasco asked with a big smile on his face. “Me and my friends come here all the time!”

“I sure didn’t expect this kind of place,” Laura answered with a giggle, looking at the waitress who brought them their food.

Looking at the rather giant bowl of fish roe soup, Laura almost started laughing before she got her hair up in a ponytail. To her surprise, the food was actually good, so the choice of coming there didn’t seem bad at all. But as she kept on eating, the girl could swear that someone is looking at her, so she turned her head on a side, towards the window. No one was there, so Laura just stared for a few more moments before shaking her head and returning to her food.

From outside however, Jace was hiding underneath the window, keeping his eyes closed tight and holding his breath. He followed Vasco ever since his friend left for the date. He was trying to make sure that his friend doesn’t mess up somewhere and things seemed fine until the very moment that Vasco brought Laura to the place they use for meetings. Jace thought it will all go downhill from there on, but hearing Vasco and Laura laughing from the inside go him both confused and relieved.

During lunch, the two kept talking to each other, making jokes and telling stories. The atmosphere felt more and more peaceful with each moment passing and the two felt like they only got to know more about the other. By then, they also relaxed around each other, so the whole date was even better. Laura wanted to pay for their lunch since she was basically the one who asked Vasco on the date, but the boy didn’t give up until he didn’t pay for their food.

Leaving the restaurant, the two spent a few moments looking at each other and for some reason, they both started chuckling after a little while. Hugging Vasco’s arm again, Laura gently pulled the boy in the direction of the movie theater.

“I have a really good idea of what movie to see,” Vasco said, looking down at Laura, but the girl shook her head.

“How about I choose the movie? Because I already did it actually, I got tickets for us since yesterday.”

And after saying so, she pulled out two tickets for the movie ‘Unbroken’ that came out just that year. Laura has always been passionate by history and she wanted to share that with Vasco. They were already short on time, the movie was going to start around 3 and they had just twenty minutes to get to the movie theater. Hopefully, they weren’t all that far and they didn’t have to hurry either.

Vasco kept telling Laura about the Burn Knuckles and about his friends. About how he was trying to help Daniel lose weight, making Laura open her eyes wide when she heard how much they train every day. She even asked if she could join, to which Vasco was happy to accept her offer. It’s been a little while since last time she actually trained, but seeing how things were working in their school, she might as well start doing it again. She was just scared of how things would turn out if she lost control. It was bad if she lost control.

Once they made their way to the movie theater, the two occupied their seats and waited for the movie to start, with Vasco asking Laura what it was about. She went crazy about the story, about World War II, about the heroes and so, but she fell completely silent once the movie started. She couldn’t stop, but pull herself a little closer to the screen during each breathtaking moment or during each frame when her favorite actor, Garrett Hedlund, appeared on screen. And Vasco himself was taken aback by the movie and by the bravery of the people portrayed there. As soon as they left the theater, the two couldn’t stop talking about it, with Vasco asking Laura countless questions about the war. She seemed to have a lot of knowledge about the events.

“I truly didn’t think you’d like it,” Laura confessed, scratching the back of her neck a little.

“But I love it!” Vasco said right away, the excitement being easily readable on his face. “Especially the scene where he raised the log even higher. I want to be that strong.”

“I think you already are. Look at you.”

Vasco looked down at his hands, then back at Laura who only nodded her head before her date could say anything else. People around were giving them all kind of curious looks, some of them even calling them a really cute couple. But they were so lost talking in their conversation that they couldn’t hear anyone around.

The two spent the little time they had left on a stroll, Vasco even buying ice cream for him and Laura. They lost the notion of time, but as she looked down at her wrist watch, Laura’s eyes widened and she started to panic. It was already ten past six by then, she was going to be late for her job.

“Hell!” Laura said, looking up at Vasco. “I need to go, I have a part-time job. I’ll be late.”

“You work? Where?”

The question got Laura stuck for a second and she didn’t even know how to write. She didn’t have the kind of job that a teenager should be having and Vasco was the last person that needed to know about it.

“Ah, it’s just a little… Hotel, in Gangnam. They pay well. Let’s go on a second date some other time.”

And it that, she got on her tip toes and kissed Vasco on the cheek before starting to run towards the bus station. As she was getting away, the boy couldn’t help but stare blankly while he raised a hand to touch his cheek. He was pretty shocked, but also happy at the same time. But he finally came back to his senses when he realized that he left Laura alone, so he started running after her. He was pretty fast himself, but he wasn’t able to catch up to Laura and he made it to the bus station right as the bus that Laura got in left. All he could do was look at it disappear in the distance before he sighed and turned around to make his way home.

The trip to Gangnam took an hour and the silver haired girl still had to walk ten more minutes before arriving to her work place. Vivi Nightclub.

Chapter Text

With the start of another day, there came the news of a training boot camp. As the Literature Department’s homeroom teacher walked in and announced the class about the boot camp, he started passing around forms that needed to be completed by the parents in order to let the kids go. Like anyone else, Laura was excited for it as well, but the excitement died soon as she realized that she had to pay to go. Holding back a sigh, she let the form down and leaned back in her chair, looking around her classroom. Everyone was talking about the camp, even making plans as to how to stay together in rooms and so on. Some students even approached Laura, asking her to be their roommate. The disappointment on her face was clearly visible as she had to turn them down, telling them that she can’t pay for the camp.

Up until lunch break, the classes weren’t as silent as usually. The students were too excited about the camp, but their conversations kept getting Laura more and more sad. She was thinking that she could maybe go as well, take some of the money she put aside, but she soon put the thought aside. There were too many expenses to be paid, she couldn’t afford spending any extra money. She consoled herself with the thought that she needed to make a great good and that the boot camp wasn’t all that important. Besides, it would have meant missing work and she could not afford missing work at all.

At lunch break, Laura waited for everyone to leave class before she stared at the paper in her hand a second time. She was sure that all of her friends were going to go, she was probably the only one that would have to stay behind. Letting out a loud sigh, she hid he paper between the pages of one of her notebooks and after grabbing her wallet and earphones along with her MP3 player, she left the classroom. Poor Laura was so lost in her thought on the way to the cafeteria that she didn’t even hear Vasco and Daniel calling out for her and before they had a chance to catch up, the girl had already entered the cafeteria, which forced Vasco to take a run for it.

Thanks to the noise, he could sneak behind Laura and cover her eyes, the action making the girl get stuck in place and jump up a bit.

“Guess who?” Vasco asked just in time as Laura was ready to launch an attack against the boy.

“Euntae, you scared me like hell.”

After their first date, the two seemed to have gotten even closer. They were hanging out together during almost every break and you could see how their cheeks would turn red once they were around each other. With that, Laura wanted to see if she could be even closer to the boy and asked him if it was alright to call him by his actual name. It didn’t take Vasco longer than a second to accept.

Taking his hands away, the boy took a step forward so he could be side by side with Laura, a wide smile showing upon his face. It was actually contagious, as the girl started smiling, too. However, the excitement died down soon, as Vasco asked about the camp.

“Are you going to the camp? It will be so fun, I can already imagine. Pillow fights and staying up late…”

His excitement was cute from the silver girl’s point of view. And pretty innocent, as it made her giggle a bit hearing how Vasco was imagining pillow fights instead of anything else. She wouldn’t dare let him down by telling him she wasn’t going, so she decided to go along with it for the time being, until the actual day when they were going to leave.

“For some reason, I wouldn’t dare challenge you to a pillow fight,” the girl said shaking her head as she put her earphones in her pocket and turned her head to face the other boy that joined them. “Hey there, Daniel.”

“Hey, Laura,” Daniel answered with a smile, waving towards the girl even if he was right next to her. “Excited for the camp?”

“Yeah, it’s going to be great.”

Good thing she was good at lying and faking a smile worked even better for her. All she had to do was keep up the lie, she didn’t want anyone to feel bad for her and most of all, she didn’t want for her friends to think of paying for her trip. Daniel suggested for them to go after food, to which the other two responded with a ‘yes’ and followed their friend. Jay joined them just as they were about to sit at the table, Laura getting up to give the boy a hug.

Jay was still the closest to Daniel, that was never going to change, but for some reasons, a pretty strong connection seemed to have formed between him and Laura over time. Strong enough for Jay to be more than fine with getting a small hug each time they saw each other, he always hugged his friend back.

After Jay sat down, Jiho and Duke joined them at the table, soon followed by Zack, Mira and Zoe. Everyone seemed to be there, everyone talking about the boot camp. Laura tried to remain silent more or less, even if she was good at lying, she didn’t like doing it. The lunch break felt like it lasted forever and the girl felt just so relieved to see that it was finally over. After cleaning her things, she made sure she had everything she needed and hurried back to class where she remained locked for the rest of the day.

By the end of classes, Laura wanted to just grab her bag and hurry home, but Vasco was already waiting for her at the door. These days he was taking her home more often than usual. In fact, it was every day and he even came to pick her from the front of her house when they would go out for training.

“You’re going to give me a heart attack one day,” Laura said covering her heart with her hand.

“You seemed a bit sad today. Are you alright?” Vasco asked with a worried look on his face.

His words made Laura widen her eyes, the girl being unsure of what to say. She didn’t know if she should be honest with him or not and she was actually more scared of being heard by someone around at the moment. Looking at the hallway, the girl eventually sighed and started walking slowly towards the exit. Vasco was by her side.

“Actually, I’m not going to the camp,” she confessed running a hand through her hair, then she tilted her head on a side. “Me and my family are in a tight place with money, so we can’t afford spending it on anything, but what is necessary.”

To tell the truth, outside for her uniform, Laura didn’t even buy new clothes in a long while and if she wanted to go out with her friends, for example, there had to be something that she’d have to give up on. The situation was complicated and truly unfair.

On the other hand, Vasco couldn’t help but look at her with a sad expression on his face. He was actually excited to find ways to spend time with her during the camp, but now that entire idea died down in a matter of seconds. But Vasco was not ready to give up just yet, so he tried to think of a solution.

“What if we all put money together to pay?” the boy asked after clapping his hands to get Laura’s attention. She shook her head in an instant.

“No,” the silver haired girl answered right away, crossing her arms as they were making their way down the stairs. “I will never accept it. So, please, don’t tell the rest that I can’t go. Jay will find a way to pay for it all and I will just end up feeling bad.”

“We just want to help you, Laura.”

“I know, but help is when I go ask Jay to explain to me a subject I don’t understand, not when I ask you guys for money for my trip. Just tell me how it was.”

She said that with such a sweet, but painful smile that Vasco’s heart felt like it broke in two. He really wished he could have helped somehow, but he didn’t know how and she was clearly not going to accept the money from them. All he could do was offer her some sort of comfort and he did so by taking Laura’s hand, while also looking to the side. The action made the girl look at their hands, then up at the boy with a hand. She couldn’t believe that someone who looked like that was actually so sweet and kind underneath. With a smile, she tightened her grip on Vasco’s hand as they made her way towards her home without talking.

The silence between them felt so relaxing, as if they simply understood each other from nothing but their very own presence. Once in front of the house, Vasco had to let go of Laura’s hand as they said parted ways, but she didn’t go inside without giving the boy a quick kiss on the cheek. It made him remain frozen once again as his hand reached to touch the place where he got kissed. Vasco went all the way home with a big smile on his face.

***

The day that the trip started was a Friday. The students were all in front of the high school ready to leave, all of them carrying a suitcase. The only one who came empty handed was Laura. She was too ashamed to approach her class, so she went to look for her friends. It wasn’t hard to find them with all of the noise and she hurried to go see them off before the bus would go. The first one who saw Laura approaching was Mira, the girl turning around with a smile and waving her hand.

“Laura!” Mira asked looking at the girl, but confusion soon settled in. “Did you leave your luggage at the bus?”

“No,” the silver haired girl answered with a sigh and a shake of her head. “I’m not going, I just came to wish you a good time.”

“What?” Zoe said surprised, hurrying to come next to Mira as she looked at Laura with big eyes. “What do you mean you’re not going? But it will be so fun!”

Covering her mouth, Laura let out a small giggle before a soft sigh escaped her lips. She was happy to see that her friends cared so much about her, but there wasn’t much that could be done in her case.

“I don’t have money for camps, so you, guys, go and have fun. Tell me everything about it once you’re back.”

With the corner of her eye, Laura could see Jay approaching, a confused look on his face. The girls wasted no time in letting him know what was happening, but Laura shook her head before Jay even had a chance to say a word. It was too late for him to offer to pay anyway, since she needed the paper from her mother. Paper which her mother never wrote, the girl not giving it to her in the first place. She didn’t want to make her mother feel bad because she wasn’t going on the trip. They had more important things to do with the money.

Daniel joined in the conversation, his look being one of sadness as he heard the news, but he promised to tell Laura everything about it if she really wanted to hear. Vasco got around as well, but he had to leave fast thanks to his class and he didn’t leave without giving Laura a short hug. Soon enough, the teachers started calling out for everyone, so with one more hug from Jay, Laura took a few steps away and watched the buses leave, waving at all of her friends while they passed by. The moment she found herself all alone in front of the school was actually painful, the poor girl having tears in her eyes. How could she not be sad? All of her friends were going to have a fun time while she was stuck home. No, not even home, but at work. And she wasn’t a big fan of her job.

For maybe half an hour, the girl stood on the stairs in front of the entrance, genuinely crying, but trying to stop herself. At least there was no one there to see her. She felt left behind, but she knew there was no reason to feel so. Maybe she would go on a trip some other time.

Wiping away her tears with her sleeve, the girl checked herself into the camera of her phone before getting up and leaving the school’s yard. From there, the girl made her way home where she got in bed and decided to nap until later. She had to be well rested for the night, she needed to head to her job. A part of her wanted to stay awake so she could have more time until work, but the other part of her wanted for the time when she’d have to go to just come so she could go to work and be back home soon.

Before she knew it, the clock hit six in the afternoon and she found herself walking towards the bus station so she could take the bus to Gangnam. She had her earphones on playing some swing music, the only one that could calm her down well enough. She told her mother and little sister the same lie as always, that she was going to meet with friends for a book club and that she would sleep over at one of her friends. In reality, as soon as she got off the bus, her steps took her towards the back entrance of Vivi Nightclub, where no one could see her going in.

The music was already too loud for her and not of her taste, but she couldn’t control that aspect of her work place. With no one in the back, Laura walked towards her changing room, closing the door behind her and letting down her backpack.

This is where I ended up working.

Going close to the dressing table, Laura took a glance at the mirror and then down at the chair. Her outfit for the day was on the back of it, it was similar to a swimsuit, but it was actually lingerie. It covered what had to be covered, but Laura felt a lump form in her throat each time she came to work.

I’m desperate for the money. I’m pretty much the only provider of my family.

Shaking her head, Laura hurried to change her clothes, taking on the lingerie and sitting down onto the chair. Looking at the table, she took a deep breath before starting to do her make-up. She went for darker colors around her eyes and red for her lips. When she considered that she was done, she looked to a side as her eyes fell on the mannequin on which a red wig could be seen, the wavy, long hair being all natural, outside for its color. Laura decided to just cut to the chase and after pining up her hair, she put the wig on. After it, a ball mask covered her eyes as well and with that, Laura was no longer recognizable.

I fucking want another job…

Looking at the time, she noticed how she still had twenty minutes to waste in which she just spent some time on her phone. There was nothing better to do. The girl checked on herself one last time before getting up from the chair and moving away from the mirror. She hated seeing her reflection like that. Not much time passed before she could hear the DJ announce that she was to soon step on the stage. The people genuinely went crazy the day Laura stepped on that stage, she didn’t know exactly why, but she knew that they made the club owner want to keep her around for as long as possible. Business seemed to be the best in week-ends when Laura was there.

Pool dancing should be a sport… Sport, my ass.

Letting her phone down on the dressing table, Laura stretched her back a little, forced a smile on her lips and left the changing room. Walking up the stairs slowly, she could hear the enthusiastic screams from outside, followed by the DJ who was getting the whole place in the mood for the next performance.

“Ladies and gentleman, be ready to welcome the one and only… Black Swan!”

And there she was, Laura, looking nothing like herself. She stepped onto a stage in the shape of a square in the middle of which a pole was standing, waiting for her. Walking towards the pole, she grabbed it with one hand, letting herself fall forward after which she waved at the crowd, getting a wave of applause and screaming. On the hand she used to grab the pole, a tattoo of an actual black swan standing with its wings spread up and its neck stretched high could be seen. Pulling herself back, the girl started circling the pole, ready to start her performance for a long night.

I am the Black Swan.

Chapter Text

For a long while now, Laura has been training with Vasco, Jace and little Daniel, missing from training only on week-ends when she was too tired due to her job and had to sleep to recover. However, it was Thursday at the moment and she had all of the energy necessary to join them in training. Her resistance made Jace question the silver haired girl in his mind a lot, not only was she keeping up with the training as if it meant nothing, but she clearly was also proving to be stronger ever since starting it. It made Jace wonder who she really was, all he knew was that she was a transfer student, but who was she before that?

Once they reached the park, the four took a small break, each of them breathing heavier than the other, but Vasco and Laura seemed to get back in shape the fastest. In fact, Laura was even throwing some punches into the air, finally stopping into a jump and stretching her entire body. Working out sure helped her feel well. Jace also recovered soon after, but not before drinking some water. On the other hand, Daniel could barely catch his breath, resting his hands on his knees. He looked like he needed to take a seat.

“I’ll go do some pull-ups,” Vasco said turning towards his friends, but none seemed willing to join him.

“You have too much energy, Euntae” Laura complained as she sat down on the floor of a patio, stretching her back down as well.

With a chuckle, Vasco got the message and went alone, as his friends remained in the same place. Daniel and Jace took a seat next to Laura, the two boys looking at Vasco while Laura simply placed her hands under her head and she closed her eyes to relax some more. She couldn’t help but smile actually, being proud of both herself and the two boys that were with her for keeping up with Vasco’s insane training schedule. Thinking better about it, she could easy recall doing even worse than that, but she didn’t want to mention any of that.

“Vasco is really strong,” Daniel said out of the blue, making Jace turn his head towards him and Laura open her eyes as she reached only her head to glance at Daniel. “I want to be as strong as him.”

Jace, who only kept on expecting Daniel to give up, seemed rather taken aback by the boy’s words. He took a glance at his friend who was still working out before looking back at Daniel and shaking his head. He was disapproving of Daniel’s wish, he just had the image of how Vasco became who he is well stuck in his mind.

“He wasn’t always this strong,” Jace said placing his hands behind him, on the patio’s floor.

“Then how did he become this strong?” Laura asked pushing herself up and on her legs, turning around so she could look at both Jace and Daniel.

Looking Laura right in the eye, Jace wasn’t sure of whether or not he should start telling his and Vasco’s story to her and Daniel, but they both seemed curious, like little kids who were about to hear a bed time story. With a soft sigh, Jace decided to speak.

“Me and Vasco knew each other since we were little. We went to the same high school together, but he was a little weird ever since and we both ended up being bullied by this psychopath…”

And from there, Jace went on to tell Vasco’s story. No, Euntae’s story to the point where he became Vasco. He spoke of everything, from them playing together to going to the same school and meeting the bully who started making their lives hell. Laura could easily see the remorse and shame on Jace’s face as he talked about how he drifted himself away from Vasco and it only got worse as he explained how he was forced to bring Euntae to school and he was going to try and do it, desperate to not become the bully’s next target. There was even more embarrassment showing on the boy’s face as he explained the horrible things that had been carved onto Euntae’s body. That was the part that made Laura’s blood boil due to rage, the girl turning around to look at Vasco who haven’t stopped working out even then. She could already imagine all of the horrible things she could have done to those bullies if she ever met them.

As the story went on, Jace explained how they got rid of the bullies for good and how he helped Vasco get over his fear of needles by getting tattooed so he could trick Vasco into doing the same. It seemed to have also been the boy’s only way of covering up the scars on his body. The tattoo artist clearly did a great job with it.

“Looks like we both went to shitty schools,” Laura said crossing her arms and taking a seat back next to the boys.

“What school have you been to?” Jace asked right away, his eyes falling on the silver haired girl next to him.

“It’s a long story.”

“Hey, Jace,” Vasco interrupted the conversation, grabbing everyone’s attention right away. “Do you have any tissues?”

“Yeah, sure. We’ll be right back,” Jace told Laura and Daniel before leaving with Vasco. He knew for sure that his friend needed to use the bathroom.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Laura closed her eyes for a few seconds before stretching her neck until she heard it crack, getting rid of some of the pressure. Thank God Vasco came there right on time, she didn’t want to talk about her ex-school, especially not to Jace. She could feel his eyes on her, as if she’d ever done something wrong ever since coming to J High School, but the silver haired girl was aware that you can’t make everyone like you and she was alright with it. In time, maybe Jace would learn to give her a break. Besides, she was more than sure that she never met him before coming to the new school.

Taking her phone out, Laura wanted to show Daniel some of the funny videos she found in the morning while getting ready for school, but she barely managed to open it before she felt a hand wrap around her shoulders and the person who did it was neither Jace, Daniel, nor Vasco. But the look on that guy’s face was threatening towards Daniel, while he looked with a smile when his eyes would land on Laura.

“Come with me and no one gets hurt,” the boy said, Daniel getting up with his eyes facing the ground.

Taking a deep breath, Laura tried to keep her calm and think of a way to solve the entire situation peacefully, without anyone getting hurt. The boy brought both her and Daniel to a side alley where two other boys and two girls were, pushing little Daniel towards the wall while the guy kept the silver haired girl in place.

One of the boys, a blue haired one, threw his cigarette on the ground and got up on his feet, his eyes staying on Laura for a bit longer before he turned to face Daniel. ‘If only my girlfriend wasn’t here’ he thought to himself, but he couldn’t do much about it, other than release his anger on the little, chubby boy who wasn’t moving from his place.

“Today isn’t your day,” the blue haired boy spoke, leaning down with his hands in his pockets, closer to Daniel’s face. “We’ve got a beef with the guy with big ears. Are you friends with him?”

For a couple of seconds, Laura and Daniel looked at each other, actually not sure of what to answer. Jace didn’t seem to like any of them, so calling themselves his ‘friends’ could have been a bit too much. Laura was ready to answer in Daniel’s place when Jace’s voice came from behind, catching everyone’s attention.

“They’re friends,” Jace said walking calmly towards them, not showing any sigh of fear. “I see that nothing changed. Laura, Daniel, come behind me.”

“Is that thug with you?” the guy who was holding Laura, the bigger one, asked.

“Thug? I’m alone.”

That answer was enough to make the three boys laugh, thinking they were in no danger now that the ‘thug’ wasn’t there to protect Jace. Little did they know that Jace didn’t need to be protected, especially against that kind of people. The blue haired boy even stepped forward, pulling out a knife, action that quickly got Laura’s attention. Her hands were starting to hurt her, as if the flesh was tightening on its own. It was a dreadful feeling, but it was much better than it usually was.

“You see this scar on my face, you motherfucker? I’m about to give you some as well,” the blue haired boy spoke up.

“Jace, who are these guys?” Laura asked looking Jace right in the eye, waiting for a response before she could take action.

“Vasco’s bullies.”

That was when she exploded. As the blue haired boy launched forward at Jace, Laura punched the one who was holding in the stomach with such strength that he had to bend forward. It gave the silver haired girl the perfect opportunity to punch him in the neck, blood coming out of his mouth as he fell to the ground. The third boy was too focused on his blue haired friend who just got sent to the ground to pay attention to what was happening behind him. That gave her the perfect opportunity to catch him from behind, wrapping one arm around his neck and using the other to support the first one, pressing onto the boy’s neck, cutting off his breathing.

Jace was just about to launch the next attack when he saw one of the boys on the ground with blood next to him and Laura choking the other one. The blonde boy was struggling to push her hands away, but it wasn’t working, she seemed way stronger than him. He was starting to get weaker and weaker and each time he hit Laura’s hand in an attempt to stop her, she would just shush him and press harder. All until that boy lost consciousness as well, the silver haired girl laying him onto the ground.

“You should have told me that earlier,” Laura said stretching her arms a bit, looking down at the little gang who has just been defeated.

Turning her head towards Daniel, she caught the girls’ eyes, enough to make them run away from there while they could still do it. She didn’t even notice the terrified look in Daniel’s eyes as she offered him her hand and she sure couldn’t see Jace’s since he was behind her. However, the chubby boy looked way more surprised than the Burn Knuckle, unable to even more from his place.

What was that? Is Vasco’s training this effective?

“We… We should go,” Jace spoke up, trying to shake the image of Laura choking that guy from his mind. “Vasco will get mad if he sees this.”

“You can just blame me, I’m not a Burn Knuckle,” the girl answered, shoving her hands in her pockets, happy that the hurtful sensation was gone.

“Who are you?”

That question came from Daniel and it made Laura stop in her track and turn to face the boy. Tilting her head on a side, she actually tried to think of an answer in her head. Who was she after all? She tried to run away from her old life and from such encounters, but there she was once again, having to fun to protect herself and others. She was annoyed by it in a way, but also saddened and a bit scared.

“What are you talking about? I’m Laura Yang of the Literature Department, your friend.”

***

Arriving in front of Jay’s apartment building around the evening, Laura took a deep breath and looked down at her clothes and the bag that she was holding in her hands, making sure that she looks decent. It wasn’t the first time that she would have a sleepover at Jay’s, but usually Daniel was there as well. That time she asked her blonde friend if it could be just the two of them, she wanted to be able to talk more openly to him, she felt close to Jay and the boy seemed to show the same kind of approach.

After going up with the elevator, the girl finally made it in front of the apartment, ringing the doorbell. It didn’t take long for Jay to open the door, a smile on his face at the sight of his friend arriving there safe.

“I bought some snacks for us,” Laura said raising the bag as she made her way inside, taking off her shoes at the door before following Jay towards the living room where she put down the bag. “Do you mind if I go change into my pajamas first? It’s been quite a long day.”

Jay agreed with a nod of the head. Laura excused herself, grabbing her backpack and going in the bathroom where she hurried to change her clothes. She couldn’t help but check herself in the mirror for a few moments before leaving the bathroom and returning in the living room where her friend was already putting the snacks into a few bowls.

They didn’t have too many plans for the day, they already picked a movie which they wanted to see, so Jay was just getting everything ready for it, extending the couch while Laura was searching for the movie on a few platforms on the TV. They weren’t talking a lot while being just the two of them, but it was the best kind of silence that each of them could ever experiment. They felt safe in each other’s presence, like siblings. Laura actually found it quite funny how Jay, the one talking the least, was maybe the one who seemed the most understanding towards her. He never judged her in the slightest and always tried to help if his friend needed something.

But she felt a bit guilty towards her friend for hiding the secret of her job, but she was too scared to talk about it. She didn’t want for Jay to change his opinion on her or to show pity. She also didn’t want for Jay to help her, Laura was too scared of Jay thinking she could be using him as a means to make money. It was better if Jay didn’t know. However, there was something else she wanted to talk about with him.

“I think I’m starting to like Vasco,” she said when they were already halfway through the movie, the girl resting her head on the blonde boy’s shoulder.

Jay’s response to her claim was to stop the movie and turn his head towards Laura, the girl understanding right away what he was saying. It was maybe a talent of the people that Jay liked.

“Yes, I know he is a lost cause sometimes, but he is really sweet and caring,” the girl answered with a sigh, letting her head down. “You think so? He is so caught with training and the Burn Knuckles that I wonder if he even has time to notice me. Yeah, I know we went on a date, but… What? Ask him on another date? No way, it’s his turn!”

That last little comment was enough to make the both of them laugh, Laura even reaching out to hug Jay, the boy returning the hug right away.

“Thanks for being my friend, Jay. You’re really the best.”

As a sign of his affection, Jay reached forward and gave Laura a kiss on the forehead. She felt happy and relieved to have shared how she feels with someone else, even if it was something small. By then, both him and Daniel already knew about her sick mother, but she just wanted to trust Jay with one more little thing for the moment: her feelings for Vasco.

Soon after, they got back to watching the movie in silent so they could pay full attention. Once the movie was over, they played some music and started talking in the dark until the both eventually fell asleep on the couch.

Chapter Text

Usually, the Architecture Department class was pretty business and pretty loud during each break, but not that time. Jace walked in with some news that got everyone silent: Vasco said he likes Laura. And it didn’t end there, he wanted to invite her out for a date, but he had no idea how to do it or when. The Burn Knuckles leader was pretty sure that the girl would say yes, she already mentioned that they should have a second date. However, he wanted for it to go well and he didn’t know what he had to do for that.

“Does anyone have any idea how Vasco could ask Laura out?” Jace asked, standing in front of the class with his arms crossed.

“We should make a formation and carry him to the girl!” one of the students said, almost yelled actually, while slamming his hand against the desk and getting up.

“And get all of the people around to go away!” another one suggested, raising his fist in the air.

“We should make a formation for the girl as well and carry her to Vasco!”

“You, guys, are hopeless,” Jace complained with a sigh, signing for Vasco so they could both leave the classroom.

Just as Jace stepped out of the classroom, his eyes landed on a small group of four students who were making their way towards the cafeteria. At first, he didn’t pay too much mind to them, until he realized that one of the students was Laura and that their classroom was a hell of a mess with everyone screaming. He was just about to go inside and tell everyone to be silent when he briefly noticed Vasco running past him and right towards the silver haired girl.

Seeing him, Laura thought that her friend is just really excited for a hug, but instead she found herself being lifted up as Vasco kept running in the direction she came from with Daniel, Jay and Jiho. She wasn’t even able to scream for help, looking helpless at her friends until Vasco took a turn and they were out of their sight.

When Euntae finally stopped running, he let Laura down carefully and took a moment to catch his breath before smiling awkwardly at her. In response, all she could do was stare at him without really knowing what to say.

“I thought you might want to go to the cafeteria,” the boy said scratching the back of his head, the same smile on his face.

Blinking fast, Laura didn’t know if he was just kidding or if something got him so flustered that he took her away from near his class so she wouldn’t see what the reason for that was. Looking behind Vasco, the girl crossed her arms and looked down at the floor before raising her head towards Vasco.

“The cafeteria is in the opposite direction, Euntae,” she said fighting to hold back the urge to laugh.

It took that much for Vasco’s smile to disappear as he turned around in the blink of an eye, only to realize that Laura was right. His entire facial expression changed, the boy being too shy to turn and face the silver haired girl anymore. It also didn’t help when she started laughing or when she grabbed his arm, lightly pulling him so they could walk to the cafeteria together.

Their friends were in the exact same spot where they left them, expect they seemed to be talking something to each other, moving away as soon as they noticed Laura and Vasco walking back towards them. The two looked confused at their friends, but before they had a chance to say anything, Daniel took Laura by the arm and pulled her towards the cafeteria, while Jay was pushing Vasco in the opposite direction.

“Jay?” Laura called out, looking back for her blond friend who just waved at her.

“Jace?” Vasco called out as well, but his friend started pushing him as well.

“They just have something to do, we can go grab something to eat in the meantime,” Daniel said with a smile, excited for his two friends.

He knew what the situation was, Jace explained it to them and asked Jay for help. Without thinking much about it, Laura simply shook her head and left for the cafeteria with Daniel and Jiho. However, Vasco was still confused the more he got pushed all the way outside and into the gym, where there was no one else left.

“I asked Jay with help,” Jace spoke up before Vasco could say or do anything. “If there is anyone who can help us, it’s him.”

It took a bit for them to understand what Jay was saying, but after all Vasco agreed to ask Laura out after school and go with Jay to get ready for the date. The blond boy was a bit worried however, as Vasco seemed like a complicated person from his point of view so he couldn’t help, but wonder what he could do to help. The clothes and Vasco’s overall image was in Jay’s hands. The only thing that managed to calm him done a bit was the fact that he knew already that Laura likes him. That still didn’t mean that he didn’t want to help his friend and her crush to have a memorable date.

Until the end of the day, no matter how much Laura tried to talk to Vasco, the Burn Knuckles leader kept pretending like he was busy with something else or that he didn’t see her. He was scared that the girl will get mad at him, but he was simply worried knowing that he has to ask her out. Jay said to just ask her on a date, just like that, but Euntae wasn’t all that sure about his plan. Was it enough? Would Laura say yes? What if she says no? Oh God, what if she says yes?

Leaving his classroom after the last class, the boy hurried to grab his stuff and make his way in front of the school to make sure that he won’t miss Laura. He could have run towards her classroom, but he thought that it would be safer to be in a place that she would have to go through. He made it there among the first students to leave the school, looking left and right for the girl. His face was all red thanks to be flustered and the expression he carried seemed angry again, making people move further from him.

Finally, he spotted Laura walking out of the school with Jay, Daniel, Mira, Zack and Zoe, the silver haired girl constantly complaining to them about Vasco’s behavior throughout the entire day. She could forget about being carried out of nowhere away from the cafeteria, but she couldn’t understand why he felt the need ignore her he entire day. Her friends kept reassuring her that everything was going to be alright, but she was simply frustrated about it. However, her entire facial expression changed once she saw Vasco and she walked right in front of him, ready to run after him if he dared try to get away again. He didn’t.

“Are you mad at me? You avoided me…” Laura said, but she didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence.

“Would you want to go out with me?” Vasco asked right away, keeping his eyes closed the entire time, too scared of her response.

Laura however only raised her eyebrows, needing a moment to process his words before she finally understood want he meant. Suddenly, she was blushing as well, looking back in an attempt to catch a glimpse of her friends, but they had already moved towards the school gates, leaving her alone there. Traitors.

“Out as in...?” she asked to make sure Vasco didn’t want to hang out with her after school.

“On a date. If you’re free later.”

“I’m free after five.”

For a second, Vasco froze in place, opening his eyes wide and staring down at the girl who was looking at him with a smile on her lips and pink cheeks. He didn’t know how to act anymore, Laura accepted to go out with him. It was their second date, one way or another, but he felt even more flustered than last time.

“Let’s meet up at six? It’s a bit late, but we’ll sure find something to do!” the boy said suddenly more excited than nervous.

“At six, in front of the store Daniel works at?” Laura asked crossing her arms against her chest, her heart beating out of her chest.

“I’ll meet you there.”

And with that, they walked towards the school gate together where their friends were waiting for them, each of them going into a different direction. Through her entire walk home, Laura couldn’t help but think of what happened just a little while ago, her smile growing wider and wider. However, she had a little bit of a problem and it was that she really didn’t know what to wear for the date. Much to her embarrassment, it’s been a little over a year since last time she bought some new clothes for herself. All the money that she was making from her job she would use to pay the bills, give some to her sister and the rest were going into an account where no one could touch them.

She started to hurry to make it home, grabbing something to eat fast before making her way towards her bedroom to start looking for what to wear. Her little sister couldn’t help but ask what she was doing, refusing to go away until Laura told her what the fuss was all about. It was to no surprise that her little sister got excited as well all of a sudden, even helping the silver haired girl to pick an outfit for her date and do her make-up.

While it did take Laura a little while to get ready, Vasco was a whole other story. Jay had to go through outfits and outfits to find one that would suit the Burn Knuckles leader well, it helped a lot more once the boy got rid of his facial hair. Jay also had to struggle a bit to style his hair in a different way, but he kept telling himself that he was doing it for Laura. It was almost six when they were done and Jay just needed to take a seat and do nothing. He was proud of his work, but he wished to never go through something like that ever again.

“Jay, thank you!” Vasco said with a bow before checking the time on his phone, widening his eyes as he saw he was going to be late if he didn’t leave right away.

In response, Jay only raised his thumb up and remained on his chair. Jace, who has been with them for that entire time, also thanked Jay before both him and his best friend left. The two parted ways, Jace telling himself that Vasco could manage, after all, Laura accepted a second date despite the mess that happened during their first one.

Making it in front of little Daniel’s work place, Euntae could already see Laura waiting for him, the boy having to take a moment to just look at her. She was wearing a purple dress which reached just around her knees, her hair was flowing over her shoulders and the make-up on her face gave the girl a natural look. Vasco’s cheeks turned red in an instant seeing her, but he continued to walk until they were face to face.

For a mere second, Laura didn’t even recognize him without his facial hair and with his hair styled in a different way, but once she did, her eye grew wider and she found herself staring. It took them both a while to get back to their senses, each of them too flustered to even know what to say.

“You look really beautiful,” Vasco finally spoke up, trying to keep his cool as he showed his date a smile.

“You look… Wow,” Laura said looking him up and down.

“A good wow or a bad wow?”

“A really handsome wow.”

Her answer made both of them laugh, the atmosphere between them getting lighter than way. It was a bit late for them to go to a movie, it would have occupied almost all of the time they had together since they still had to make it to school the next day. So instead, they both agreed on going for a café, a place where they could talk and get to know each other some more.

While on their way, Laura moved closer to Vasco only to take his hand, making the both of them a bit flustered, but none tried to get away. Making it to the café after all, they sat somewhere next to a window, Vasco ordering some sort of cocktail without alcohol, while Laura went for a late macchiato as she had plans to go to Jay later, after the date. Her blond friend called her over because he wanted to know how the date went, but also because he wanted to make sure that his efforts weren’t for nothing, something that Laura didn’t need to know of.

“Is this why you avoided me the entire day?” Laura asked looking down at her cup before raising her head to face Vasco. “Because you wanted to ask me out?”

“I thought you might catch on it, so I got scared…” the boy admitted with an embarrassed smile.

Shaking her head, Laura reached over the table to take Vasco’s hand, a soft smile on her lips. From there, they just went on to talk about themselves as well as asking questions about each other.

“What hobbies do you have?”

“Why did you go to J High School?”

“Since when are you and Jace friends?”

‘Where did you go to school before?”

“What’s with the crazy training?”

The list went on and on, with Laura bringing in a few stories from her previous school, complaining how her friend from there was considered the ‘leader of the school’, but he was sleeping during almost break and how annoyed she was that there were barely any girls in her school. She also admitted to mostly having boy friends since she would get along better with boys than with girls in that place.

On the other hand, Vasco talked about him and Jace and how they used to play together a lot when they were little and how they stuck together through all kind of experiences, the boy even talking a bit about his ex-bullies. Laura didn’t dare say that she knew, she didn’t want for Vasco to feel like his privacy had been stepped on and besides, she wanted to hear the story from his point of view as well.

They didn’t even notice time passing by, but Laura almost jumped in her seat seeing how it was a little over eight.

“Ah, this is so unfair, it’s getting late,” she complained looking out the window, noticing how it was almost dark.

“I’ll take you home!” Vasco said without a second thought, getting a nod as a response.

After asking for the check, the boy insisted to pay for it, only getting the chance after promising Laura that she will be the one paying on their next date. She didn’t really have money, but that didn’t mean that she wanted for others to pay for her.

That time, Vasco was the one who reached out to take Laura’s hand, the tension being down this time between them. It was already starting to be a familiar feeling as well as feeling of safety for both of them. Even though the girl knew that she should have hurried home if she wanted to make it to Jay’s as well, she still didn’t try to move too much, she wanted to spend some more time with Vasco.

“Will your mom be okay with me coming at this hour?” Euntae asked, a bit worried.

“My mom loves you, don’t even worry about it,” the silver haired girl answered, leaning her head against Vasco’s arm.

“Your mom is really sweet.”

“And really sick.”

The words just slipped out of her mouth, but they were enough to make Vasco turn his head towards her in curiosity. Cursing in her mind, Laura straightened her back and tried to think of a way to explain the situation the best she could.

“She is pretty sick. It’s a form of muscle atrophy, she can’t really work anymore. Dad is not around anymore, my sister is too young, I… I ended up being the main provider of my family. It’s kind of tiring.”

“Your job is to support your family?” the boy asked, his eyes opened wide in shock.

“Don’t give me that face,” Laura said starting to laugh a little.

In reality, the laughter wasn’t a good sign. It was her coping mechanism, she didn’t want to cry over the things that were happening in her life so she was laughing instead. Vasco didn’t need to know that.

“I can work, earn money for my family and also go to school. It’s all good.”

Judging by her expression, Vasco could tell that Laura didn’t want to talk about it anymore, so he dropped the subject. They walked in silence from there on until they arrived in front of Laura’s home, the two of them turning towards each other.

“Today was beautiful,” she said with another soft smile on her lips.

“I want to be your boyfriend,” he spoke up, looking his date in the eye.

For a few seconds, Laura found herself frozen in place with her heart beating out of her chest. She couldn’t even tell if Vasco was for real, but seeing the look in his eyes helped her get an answer.

“Then how about I’ll be your girlfriend?” she asked with a giggle and reached forward to kiss Vasco on the cheek.

However, as she pulled back, their eyes met, the two staring at each other for a little while before they moved closer to each other until their lips met in a kiss. For a few moments, the world around them disappeared, the two of them being the only ones present. Pulling away slowly, they both had their eyes facing down, being too flustered to look at each other. Instead, Vasco gently took Laura’s hand and pulled her into a hug which lasted for longer than the kiss did. The girl felt safe there, as if no evil could ever touch her. It was such a relieving feeling compared to all of the stress she would usually feel.

Once they pulled away from the hug as well, they wished each other a good night before parting ways, Laura hurrying inside. As soon as she stepped in the apartment, she found herself bombed with questions from her sister about the date. She tried to answer as much as she could while packing her bag, her cheeks being constantly red as she thought about what just happened. A part of her was a bit worried about what Vasco might feel knowing that she is sleeping over at another boy’s house, but he already knew about it and he was fully aware that her and Jay were only friends.

“I’ll tell you more tomorrow,” the silver haired girl told Isabel, her little sister, while she was hurrying to get her shoes on. “Call me if anything happens. Make sure to sleep early.”

“You never sleep early,” Isabel complained crossing her arms, but it was enough for Laura to give her one look for the girl to agree.

On her way to Jay’s house, Laura thought about stopping by the store Daniel worked at to grab some snacks for her and Jay as she always did, but she couldn’t help but feel like someone’s eyes were on her. Paying attention to each turn she took, she managed to get a glance at the person following her, the girl calming down, but she continued to walk just to see how far her ‘stalker’ would go to keep his eyes on him.

Making it in front of Daniel’s store, Laura stopped in track and turned around, crossing her arms and letting out a loud sigh.

“Jake, you should come out now,” the girl said, looking down at her feet for a few seconds.

It didn’t take long for the boy to come out of his hiding place, looking a bit embarrassed for getting caught, but he kept his head high. As high as he could since he had to look down at Laura thanks to being that much taller.

“Your senses are as sharp as always,” Jake said closing his eyes for a moment and smiling.

“If you want to say hi, you should come and say it, instead of following me like a creep.”

“You weren’t too happy to see me last time I came to say hi.”

“I sure wonder why,” the girl added, raising both of her eyebrows.

“I didn’t think you’d be so angry at me for wanting to make money.”

“I don’t fuck with that.”

From inside the store, Daniel could see the two talking and he quickly recognized is friend. He didn’t know who the other person was, but Laura didn’t seem to be in trouble. He was ready to go out and try to do something if it came to it, even if he was intimidated by the tall figure of the boy. He also kept his hand on his phone, prepared to call the police if things went downhill. He almost jumped back seeing Laura push the guy she was talking to with her finger, a look of anger on her face.

“Samuel leave Big Deal, Sinu tries to sell it and you become money hungry. I don’t fuck with any of you,” the girl said, running a hand through her hair while taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

Her words left Jake speechless and quite mad at himself, but he kept telling himself that it was better that way. That Laura was protected as long as she was away from him and the business he was caught with. The last thing he wanted to see was his friend behind bars because of him.

“I don’t want you to come back, I just wanted to see how you’re doing,” Jake said, signing towards the store as if asking Laura if she wanted to go in. She just nodded her head and the boy quickly held the door for her.

“How are the boys?” she asked walking inside with her arms crossed, starting to feel calmer. “Probably mad at me.”

“No, I think they’re actually mad at me.”

“Hey, Daniel,” the girl said, waving at her friend as she went to grab some snacks from the shelves.

“Hi. How are you?” Daniel asked right away, trying to make sure his friend was fine.

Raising just one thumb in response, Laura continued to look around, grabbing some chips, chocolate, cans of soda and a few other snacks. Jake only grabbed something to drink before they both went to pay for what they got.

“Who is he?” Daniel asked, looking up at Jake.

Daniel couldn’t believe it, but he could swear that he had to tilt his head back even more than he did to look at Logan with how tall the boy in front of him was.

“Oh, this is Jake. A friend from my previous school. Jake, this is Daniel.”

“Nice to meet you,” Jake said reaching out for a handshake.

For a moment, Daniel got stuck in place due to fear, but quickly shook Jake’s hand before things had a chance to get awkward. While scanning Laura’s stuff, he couldn’t help but glance over at Jake from time to time. He didn’t know how to feel about him, he didn’t have the best feeling about Laura’s friend at the moment.

After Laura paid, Daniel also scanned Jake’s drink while the girl was waiting for him, still a bit unsure about the entire situation. At that point, Laura noticed how unsettled Daniel was and just signed for him to brush it off with a smile on her face. He had no reason to worry about it all.

After waving at Daniel, both Laura and Jake left the store, being hit by the chill air of the night.

“Do you want me to take you home?” Jake asked, looking around for any possible dangerous person in sight.

“I’m not going home, but if you want to walk with me, it’s fine,” she said starting to make her way towards Jay’s building. “How are the guys?”

“They’re doing well. They miss you a lot.”

“I thought you weren’t here to try and bring me back and now you tell me this? Very cruel.”

The air felt a bit heavy between them, a feeling that got them both a bit sad. Things used to be far more different than that, and now they were stuck into that atmosphere. Laura couldn’t help but wonder if they were going to ever be able to talk like before. The road towards her destination was full of small talk between the two of them, pretty irrelevant things said in an attempt to make the time pass. They were both happy that none of the people they knew were seeing them like that, it would have broken their hearts.

Arriving in front of Jay’s building, Laura stopped and turned towards Jake. For a few moments, she couldn’t help but just stare at him before a heavy sigh left her lips.

“Take care, Jake,” the girl said, throwing her backpack over her shoulder again.

“You, too,” the boy said, watching her walk until she was inside the building.

With a heavy sigh, Jake covered his face and looked around before nodding to himself. It was all for the best he told himself, starting to make his way back towards Gangseo.

Chapter Text

“I’ll see you tomorrow at school,” Laura told Vasco, leaning closer to him so she could leave a kiss on his cheek.

“Thank you for all the help,” Vasco said looking down at his textbooks.

It was a Sunday and the silver haired girl decided to offer her boyfriend a helping hand with homework. For being a writer, she wasn’t only good at literature, but she was an ace when it came to biology and physics as well. She was studying them first, for the stories she was writing, and second out of curiosity and of having a B plan for the future, despite the fact that she didn’t even think she could go to college after high school.

The girl was really tired after all the learning, but it wasn’t that easy to see as the coffee she drank was able to hide it all. She still had to attend work in a few hours, so it was better to end the session there.

Both of them got up as soon as the boy was done gathering his stuff, making his way towards the entrance door with Laura right by his side.

“Goodbye, Miss Yang!” Vasco told Laura’s mother as he saw her making her way towards the kitchen.

“Take care on your way home, Euntae,” the woman said with a smile, waving at the boy.

In response, he nodded his head. Getting his shoes on, the boy leaned down a bit and gave his girlfriend a soft kiss on the lips before the two of them said goodbye to each other.

As soon as she closed the door, Laura had to hold back a pretty loud sigh, pulling her phone out of the pocket of her pants and checking the time. It was pretty much time for her to start getting ready for work. She didn’t even say a word to her mother as she made her way back towards her bedroom, closing the door behind her and trying to calm herself down. Her mother and her little sister thought that Laura works as a receptionist at a hotel in Gangnam, they had no idea what her actual job was. But no other would pay as much and she was already struggling to save money for her little sister. Their mother… Her condition wasn’t getting any better, Laura was just preparing for the worst.

After cleaning her desk a bit and preparing her bag and clothes for the next day at school, Laura made her way to the wardrobe to get other clothes on and she looked for anything else she needed, such as her phone, earphones and charger. Once she was done getting ready, the girl took a seat on the bed, looking down at her hands, gripping her fingers into fists before slowly releasing them a few times. She had to tell herself to stay strong, that the job was temporary, all until she could publish one book and get money out of it, from there on, things would have gotten easier.

Nodding to herself, Laura got up, grabbed her bag and before leaving, she went to grab an energy drink from the fridge.

“I’ll be home late,” the silver haired girl told her mother, giving her a kiss on the cheek before leaving the house.

She didn’t even wait for an answer from her mother and as soon as she stepped outside, she started playing some music on her earphones while drinking the energizer all the way towards the bus station. At least she used to get off work earlier on Sundays so she could get a few hours of sleep before school.

***

Laura Yang wasn’t the only person who was struggling to make money for her family and little did she know that she and Daniel Park had this in common. The golden boy of J High School saw an opportunity of making some serious cash when he got approached by a man in a café and got told that he can really make money. He found it weird and maybe a bit unsettling how, on his second meeting with the same man, he got told to lie about his age and say he is twenty-one, but the boy didn’t back away from it. And now, there he was, in a car on his way to Gangnam as he had no idea what he was getting himself into.

When the car stopped at its destination, Daniel stared outside the window at the building in front of him, a knot forming in his stomach. The name of the place was written up front with big letter reading ‘VIVI NIGHTCLUB’. Noticing how he was alone in the car, he hurried to get up, fixing his clothes fast before following the man inside.

“What are we doing here?” Daniel asked, taking a glance back at the two bouncers who didn’t even bother to check his I.D.

“You’ll see, just trust me,” the man answered, going down the stairs.

With each step they took, the music was louder and louder, getting Daniel to frown a bit. But once inside, things changed a bit, as he looked down at the sea of people dancing the night away without a worry in the world. His heart was beating faster and faster as he didn’t have the best feeling about tonight. He wanted to at least see what the job was about before deciding if it was time to make his way outside out there or not.

What followed was nowhere near what Daniel expected. From the men who were flashing out the expensive things they got out of women who thought the men loves them, to the woman who seemed to like him so much to even promise to get him a gift and getting drunk, nothing worked out in Daniel’s favor that night. But with his drunk self being way more confident than normal Daniel would be, he managed to work his way out of the private room they’ve been in for so long and out with the rest of the crowd who was enjoying what was left of the night.

However, once outside of the room, it was easy for anyone to notice the crowd that had formed in front of the stage, getting Daniel’s curiosity to rise up and for the boy to look on the stage. And on the stage, there she was, the Black Swan, the attraction of the night. The boy was just about to turn around and leave, but something caught his eyes, a tattoo to be more exact. A tattoo of a black swan on the girl’s arm, a tattoo he’s seen before.

“You have a tattoo?” Daniel asked Laura, seeing the beautiful black swan which was drawn with such care to each detail that the boy kept on staring.

“Ah, yes,” Laura answered looking down at her hand before raising her head again.

It was the first time that he’d go out with his group of friends and the first time he saw Laura in a T-shirt instead of their school’s uniform. The tattoo was easy to notice.

“I had a really ugly scar that I wanted to hide. My mom wasn’t too happy, but the tattoo was already there,” she explained with a chuckle before she pulled her hand closer to herself so her friends would stop looking.

For a few seconds, all that Daniel could do was stare, unable to move an inch. He came back with his feet on ground when the music stopped and the crowd started cheering. That was when he saw his friend waving at the crowd before making her way towards the opposite end of the stage and down some stairs, until she couldn’t be seen anymore. Shaking his head, Daniel struggled to make his way through the crowd and towards Laura, pushing aside anyone that got in his way. Two men were keeping their eyes on Laura so no one would try to approach her, but none of them were fast enough to stop Daniel from grabbing the girl’s hand as she was making her way out of the club and towards her dressing room. Her plan to leave earlier failed that night, so she clearly looked quite tired, but the girl jumped as soon as she felt the grip that Daniel got on her.

In the blink of an eye, the silver haired girl turned her head to see who approached her. She soon wished she never looked up, as seeing Daniel’s face got her frozen in place. She didn’t even know what to do or what to say and she wished the earth would have opened up beneath her and swallow her whole.

“What are you doing here, Laura?” Daniel asked, his eyes having in them a spark that the girl never saw. He looked way more serious and rather annoyed at the moment than she’s ever seen him, but there was also a hint of worry in them.

“Let go of me,” she said calm, looking down at her arm.

In an instant, the two men who were supposed to watch over Laura jumped over, each of them grabbing one of Daniel’s arms, but the boy didn’t look surprised by it at all. Instead, he tightened his grip on the girl’s arm, but she didn’t flinch either. She was just staring at him.

“You can’t be serious about working here,” the boy said looking Laura in the eye. That time, the girl was looking back at him.

“It’s none of your business where I work,” she answered pulling her hand back to suddenly that Daniel was forced to let go.

It was the perfect opportunity for one of the men to pin him down to the floor and for Laura to take a step back and away from him. She was already imagining the worst of scenarios in her head. Daniel talking about what he saw, the entire school finding out, the teachers finding out, her head was a spinning mess and she had to hold her calm through it all. She was hoping to make the boy in front of her believe that he got the wrong person, find a way to lie about being home actually the night before. Maybe even blackmail him by asking how did he even see her in such a place, by asking what was he doing there. Anything to make her friend shut up.

“You’re dancing almost naked for these people!” Daniel shouted, trying to release himself from the grip of the two men. “It’s like you’re selling your body!”

“Can you, please, just take him out?” Laura asked the two men, trying to avoid any kind of conflict.

“What would Vasco think?!”

‘What would Vasco think?’

How was she supposed to know? Why did she have to know? What did Daniel have to make her think about it at all? In order to not step in and start a fight herself, Laura had to grip her hand in a fist and close her eyes, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She didn’t give an answer to Daniel’s question and by the time she opened her eyes, the bouncers were already carrying him outside of the club.

Looking around, the music was suddenly sounding really muffled and all she wanted to do was to hurry out of there. Almost running to her dressing room, Laura got rid of the mark and the wig, starting to wipe off the makeup that was covering her face and as soon as she got her clothes on, she took her backpack and left there.

***

Ever since she stepped foot on school ground that day, Laura’s heart started to beat so hard it felt like it was trying to get out of her chest and it continued to beat like that during every single break. She refused to leave her classroom, scared of confronting any of her friends. Maybe Daniel wouldn’t come to school, maybe she was scared for nothing and she could clear the misunderstanding. Her heart skipped a beat when Vasco came to visit her during one of the breaks, but all he did was hug her and hold her hand while the two talked about any random subject that came to their mind.

Things took a sudden turn once lunch break arrived. By then, not only did Laura find out that Daniel was in school, but the entire school knew that he came to classes drunk. Vasco was the only one who didn’t know about it just yet, but word got to him as soon as they made their way inside of the cafeteria. It took one teacher to smell the alcohol on that boy for things to get heated fast. Everyone was surprised by each word that Daniel was saying, Laura hearing it all from a side as she was paying all of her attention to her friend. After all, everyone else was doing the exact same.

The very moment that the teacher left the place however, everything escaladed ever higher up. Vasco wasted no time in starting a fight right then and there, going straight for a punch, luckily just grazing Daniel’s nose, but it was enough to cause it to bleed.

“You drank?” Vasco asked, his voice suddenly way more serious than it was the entire day. “I’m disappointed. To straighten you out, I’m gonna beat you.”

As Vasco got in position for a fight, things started to get messy in Daniel’s head. All of his frustrating from years of getting bullied combined with the confidence that the alcohol gave him made the boy be in the mood for a fight. In his mind, he was only protecting himself.

“Vasco, did you just hit me?” Daniel asked, wiping the blood away from his nose.

Without a second thought, Vasco tried punching Daniel again, only for the boy to dodge it with a spin, his elbow just centimeters away from the Burn Knuckle’s face. Thankfully, the ladder dodged it as well, trying to punch Daniel under the chin only to graze his nose a second time. Laura, who was watching from a side, was biting her nails, wondering whether or not she should get in. Her line of thoughts was stopped the very moment Daniel tried to kick Vasco using a Brazilian kick, only for the ladder to block it. It was time for Laura to step in.

As the two boys were about to launch an attack on each other, Laura ran towards them at such speed that no one noticed her. The first thing she did was catch Vasco by the arm and pull both him and herself out of Daniel’s punch’s way. Unable to process what was happening, the drunk boy was still going forward, offering Laura the perfect opportunity to grab him using only her fingers which she used to apply pressure to the lower part of Daniel’s upper arm. She knew exactly what she was doing as the boy felt a sharp pain in his arm, only for it to feel paralyzed a few seconds after.

“What are you two doing?” the silver haired girl asked, looking at the floor for a second before letting go of Vasco and turning her attention towards Daniel.

Her quick intervention grabbed everyone’s attention, a few people even gasping. They expected the worst to happen, but they were surprised by the way the girl acted.

“Daniel came to school drunk,” Vasco said straightening his back. He attempted to walk towards Daniel again, only to be stopped by Laura who put her arm out in front of him. “I was teaching him a lesson.”

“Teaching me a lesson?” Daniel asked, having on his lips a smile that didn’t look like it was his own. “How about teaching your girlfriend a lesson? Do you even know where she was last night?”

Those words got chills running through Laura’s body and her arms started to hurt again. She was getting angry and she could feel all of the anger in her arms, begging her to hit something or someone until the pain and the pressure would go away. That was what she did. Just as Daniel seemed to want to open his mouth again, Laura grabbed his by the arm which was still moving, pulling the boy towards her so suddenly that he lost balance. With that, Laura used her right hand to punch Daniel in the side of his head, sending him down on the cold floor, causing the boy to lose consciousness.

“Lesson taught,” she said looking down at Daniel with pure anger and a bit of panic in her eyes.

Silence fell over the cafeteria until Jace stepped in, going closer to Vasco. Seeing how Daniel got knocked out like that, she considered that it was best to carry him to the nurse’s office. The president of the Architecture Department quickly got a hold of Daniel, carrying him in his arms, ready to make his way towards the nurse’s officer. However, what he did first was grab Laura’s attention and sign with his head towards the exit of the cafeteria. Understanding the message, the girl quickly followed her boyfriend.

“What was he talking about?” Vasco asked the girl while they were walking, paying attention to Daniel every other second to make sure he is still fine.

“I don’t know, but I didn’t want to hear him talk anymore,” Laura said without hesitation. She was too good at lying by then.

Euntae didn’t hesitate to shout for help the very moment he stepped foot into the office. A doctor stepped in soon after, telling Vasco to put Daniel in one of the beds and asking him and Laura to leave the room while he was checking on the passed out boy. With a heavy sigh, the silver haired girl turned around and started walking towards the door, the frustration being maybe too easy to read on her face.

Seeing her like that, Vasco followed her soon, stopping after he closed the door behind him to glance over at Laura who was leaning against the wall, covering her face with her hands. Holding back a sigh of his own, the boy walked in front of her, leaning against the wall as well, next to his girlfriend. He gently reached out to take one of her hands, grabbing the girl’s attention.

“What is it?” he asked tightening the grip he had on her hand.

“I just feel mad,” she confessed with another sigh, pushing herself away from the wall just so she could hug Vasco, hiding her head in the space between his shoulder and his neck.

Just as gently as he took her hand, Euntae wrapped his arms around Laura’s waist, giving her a soft kiss on the top of his head. Sometimes, he couldn’t help but wonder how did he even think of being like this, of holding his lover’s hand with such tenderness, or knowing when to offer comfort. He didn’t feel fully prepared for a relationship at first, but now there he was, knowing exactly what to do to help the person he loved. His hug was even helping Laura to get rid of the painful sensation in her arms.

“I think he must have seen me when I went to work last night,” Laura spoke up again, turning her head on a side so she could talk. “Or maybe while I was at work and he got things wrong.”

“He’s drunk, he can’t think straight right now,” Euntae told her, carefully rubbing her back to sooth her.

Their little moment was interrupted by little Daniel who came running down the hallway, grabbing the couple’s attention as the two pulled away from each other. The short boy quickly asked about big Daniel, taking breaks in between words as he was out of breath. The more he talked, the more Vasco’s facial expression would change, from the anger he felt earlier to regret.

“So he got tricked into drinking and escaped when he was drunk?” the boy asked with wide eyes, his focus quickly being on the office’s door.

On the other hand, Laura remained still, showing an expressionless face. She tried to think it all through, reaching the conclusion that Daniel was innocent enough to not know what he was getting himself into. That still didn’t solve the issue which raised on that night, the girl knowing that she had to make sense of the situation.

The three of them walked back inside, Vasco getting on his knees next to Daniel’s bed and starting to apologize. Little Daniel was just watching him, not saying a word, but having an awkward smile on his face. Laura was eyeing big Daniel, taking the decision to stay there and solve the misunderstanding. With that, she pulled a chair next to the bed, sitting on it and crossing her arms.

“I’m staying here until he wakes up,” the girl said, closing her eyes for a few seconds.

“You don’t have to!” little Daniel said fast, shaking both his head and his hands. “I’ll carry him home.”

“He’s not going anywhere until he wakes up.”

“But I really can just carry him home-“

In an instant, the girl’s head turned towards little Daniel, her eyes screaming of danger. It was so obvious that the boy took a step back before looking down at his other body. He felt scared for his dear life, Laura looked really mad and ready to beat him up really well as soon as his other body would wake up. The bell also rang at the perfect time, signaling the students to go their classes.

“Don’t you have classes? You should let big Daniel rest,” Vasco told the girl with worry in his voice.

“I’ll excuse myself later, just go, please,” she answered, taking the boy’s hand for a moment, but she soon let go.

Although a bit reluctant, her boyfriend nodded his head and gave the girl a kiss on the back of her hand before starting to walk towards the door. Little Daniel remained frozen in place, eventually following Vasco, but he stopped just as he was about to walk out.

“Are you sure you want to wait for him to wake up? I carried home before.”

“Daniel, if you don’t get out, we’re gonna have a problem.”

Feeling a cold chill run through his body, Daniel decided to listen and he left the room, scared for his other body. He felt bad for everything he did and for all of the things he told Laura. He planned to apologize for it all as soon as he woke up. Thinking it through over and over again, he realized that he just assumed everything without asking her why she was doing it. There could have been a good reason behind it.

Leaning back on the chair, the silver haired girl tried to think about how to explain the situation in a way that would convince Daniel to not tell anyone about it. She was scared of the entire school finding out, her friend almost told her boyfriend what was going on. She really hoped that Daniel wasn’t that kind of person, that he wouldn’t tell anyone else as soon as she explained herself.

With wild thoughts running through her mind and her eyes closed, Laura didn’t even know when she fell asleep on the chair. It took the boy a few hours to wake up, not because of the blow, but all due to exhaustion. The first thing he saw when he woke up was the ceiling of the room he was in, but he quickly remembered the situation he was in. Taking a glance at Laura, he saw her asleep. It looked like the perfect opportunity to try and escaped. He slowly pulled the blanket off of him, pushing himself up and making it only on the edge of the bed before the girl woke up.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked, still keeping her eyes closed as she yawned.

For a second, Daniel could swear that his soul left his body, his face turning pale. Forcing a chuckle, the boy scratched the back of his neck and faced the floor, too ashamed to face his friend.

“I saw you were asleep, so I decided to let you sleep,” he answered, wanting to get up, but it was as if something was stopping him.

“What you saw last night…”

“I won’t tell anyone!”

His reaction finally made Laura look up at him, the two staying silent for a few seconds. It was so easy to see just how tired she was from the lack of sleep. The tiredness also made her way calmer.

“I won’t deny what you saw, because it was really me,” she spoke up as she was eyeing the bed instead of her friend. “Do you have your parents?”

“I only have my mom,” he reluctantly answered, not knowing where she was trying to get with that question. Laura knew exactly what she was aiming for.

“Me, too. Do you have siblings?”

“I don’t.”

“Well, I have a little sister. Is your mother healthy?”

“What kind of a question is that?” the boy asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Is your mother healthy?” she repeated it, tilting her head on a side.

“She is.”

“That’s good. My mother isn’t. Can your mother work?”

“I’m trying to work more so I can give her money-“

“Daniel, can your mother work?”

“Yes, she can.”

“My mother can’t. Are you starting to understand now?”

Suddenly, it was as if someone had hit him with a bat over his head for Daniel. The anxiety of the events from the night before was building up in his body, making him feel more and more guilty over what he said. It was all making sense now. Laura needed the money for her family, there was no one else who could bring money for her, her mother and her sister.

“I’m so sorry for everything I said, that wasn’t me,” Daniel said, shaking his head before covering his face with both hands.

“Who you saw also wasn’t me, so let’s not talk about it, alright?” the girl asked, forcing a smile on her face and she slowly got up.

Laura didn’t even wait for an answer as she left the room. All that Daniel could do was watch her from afar, the guilt still going higher. That wasn’t how he wanted to find out more about his friends. And for Laura, she simply didn’t want for her friends to find out. It was all one twisted turn of events, but the girl decided to trust Daniel when he said he wouldn’t tell.

No one else had to know.

Chapter Text

“Hey, guys,” Laura told Daniel and Zoe, walking inside the store and waving at them with a smile on her face.

It was already dark outside by the time the silver haired girl made her way to the store, but she wanted to grab some snacks and head back home to study. The walk there was also a good way to relax for a bit, she always had to learn beforehand to make up for the time she lost due to work.

“Hello!” Zoe said with a smile and a wave from behind the counter.

“Hi, Laura,” Daniel said waving as well.

“Hey, there,” said Crystal with yet another smile.

Things settled down between big Daniel and Laura, the boy keeping his words and not telling one word to anyone. They never talked about it, it was as if it never happened. However, Daniel couldn’t help but feel guilty each time he looked at Laura. He regretted drinking that night.

Just as the silver haired girl was looking around the store, the entrance door flew open, grabbing everyone’s attention and inside the store walked Jiho, having no clothes on him and falling onto the floor, his knees pressed against his stomach and his forehead staying over his hands which were laid on the cold floor. The four people who were already in the store froze in place.

Without giving anyone a chance to talk, Jiho started explaining everything that happened, from the moment he started betting, to asking for money from his parents and losing it all, all towards the loan he took by bringing a homeless man who impersonated his father and to losing contact with the people that owned him money. No one knew what to tell him, but Laura’s heart was beating faster than it did before. An illegal gambling site… She knew someone who was caught in such business.

“That’s what happened,” Jiho said, his head still bowed all the way down. “I’m ashamed. I will call the cops and get punished! I’ll pay you back the money!”

“Did you meet up with the people who run the site?” Laura asked, taking off her jacket and covering Jiho with it. She felt bad seeing him like that.

“I did!” he answered right away, raising his head that time. “I met their boss and I was friends with John and he presented this other guy to me.”

“What other guy?”

“His name is Jake Kim.”

For a moment, Laura had to stay frozen in place just to avoid showing any kind of emotion. She closed her eyes eventually, biting onto her finger and muttering a ‘fuck’ under her breath. The girl wished she could have done something to help Jiho. Maybe in a way, she was able to, but calling Jake and asking him to help Jiho was out of the question. She was too sure that she’d get turned down and on top of it, letting everyone know that she knew Jake didn’t seem like a good idea.

“Don’t go to the cops yet, you’ll be punished, too,” Crystal spoke up, crossing her arms across her chest. “My sister knows someone who can help.”

With that sentence, the girl gave off the excuse that she didn’t have her phone on her and she needs to go home to call her sister. Crystal didn’t even wait for an answer, she just ran out the door and into the distance. However, her older sister came in fifteen or maybe twenty minutes later, saying that the person she called was already on his way towards them. There was nothing else to do, but wait.

From a side, Laura couldn’t help but keeping thinking about the situation at hand. Jiho seemed desperate and she didn’t know what to expect from the person that was supposed to help them. She didn’t want for Jake to get in trouble, but she sure didn’t want for Jiho to lose more than he had already lost. None of the things that were happening made sense in her head, Jake was never that kind of person. He was… For her, Jake was caring and kind, he was just and respectful. The Jake that ran the illegal betting site just wasn’t the Jake she knew.

“I’ll go out for a moment, I want to call my mom,” Laura excused herself and pulled her phone out of the pocket of her pants.

Once outside, she took a glance back at her friends and decided to walk a bit further, just to make sure that no one will hear her. It wasn’t her mother who she wanted to call, but Jake. For a few moments, the girl was too scared to press the dial button. She didn’t know what to tell him, but in her heart, she hoped that a part of the old Jake was still there. She hoped that the Jake from now was a fake. After taking a deep breath, she pressed the button, bringing her phone closer to her ear and she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And nothing.

Jake wasn’t picking up his phone, but he could clearly hear it calling. In fact, he actually got to stare at it for a second, at the name on the screen. Laury. That was the nickname Jake would usually call Laura by. On a normal day, he would answer that phone call right away, but today wasn’t the day. He had other things to take care of, such as getting into a fight with Vasco.

Laura tried calling a few more times, but with no success. With a heavy sigh, she started messaging him, hoping that he will eventually see the messages before it would be too late to fix the situation.

‘I know that the moment I decided to leave, you felt betrayed, but please, pick up…’

‘You probably also feel like I disrespected you, but I didn’t know what else to do.’

‘The Jake I know isn’t like this. Bring him back, please.’

‘I want to help both you and my friend. Please, pick up.’

Reading the messages a second time, the girl sighed again and shoved the phone in her pocket, walking inside the store. Once in, she noticed a fifth person, getting her to raise her eyebrows. She just pointed her finger at the kid, grabbing everyone’s attention, Kouji’s as well.

“I’m right here,” the boy said crossing his arms.

“I want to know who you are,” Laura said tilting her head on a side.

“He’s the one that will help us get back Jiho’s money,” Crystal answered, getting Laura to turn around to look at her.

Although still confused, the silver haired girl decided to not question it any further. All she could do was sit back and wait. At some point, Daniel came up to her to ask if she could get a hold of Vasco. Confused, Laura tried calling her boyfriend, but he wasn’t answering either, getting her more and more frustrated. It felt as if no one wanted to talk to her that night.

Soon after, Jay walked inside the store, confusion being quite easy to read on his face. After waving at everyone, the next thing he did was go and hug Laura, like he always would. Zack followed him soon after and since Vasco was nowhere to be found, they decided to move forward with the plan without him. Without any warning, Kouji pulled out a bunch of laptops and gave one to everyone, a rather evil smirk showing on his face.

“Here starts the plan,” he said taking a laptop for himself and going on the gambling site.

The boy started explaining the plan for everyone, the group grabbing a laptop each and logging into the site. It was only Laura who stood on a side, looking at everyone else. She didn’t know what to do, it was one of the worst situations she found herself in. Who was she even supposed to help? Jiho, who she met that year and who clearly needed help recovering his money and stopping from gambling, or should she help Jake, who used to be her best friend after all and with who she spent years protecting each other? How was she even helping Jake anyway? Everyone else was going to go ahead with the plan even if Laura wouldn’t have helped.

“Guys, I don’t know about this,” she said slowly shaking her head.

Her friends turned their heads towards her, only staring at the girl for a little bit before Kouji gave her a look of disbelief, saying how he knew exactly what he was doing. The more that boy talked, the more stressed Laura would get. If she could have run away right then and there, she would have done it, but she wasn’t that kind of coward.

Daniel gave her a look of worry, seeing the distress in the girl’s eyes. He felt sympathetic towards her since he knew the struggles Laura was going through. He understood that his dear friend couldn’t risk getting caught into anything illegal under no circumstances. If something happened to her, her family would suffer.

“Kouji, let her be,” Daniel said, shaking his head in a disapproving manner.

“This is very dumb, I know exactly what I’m doing,” Kouji said crossing his arms. He clearly didn’t like being questioned when it came to his knowledge.

Just as Daniel was about to say something else, Jay got up and gave the little boy one death glare. It was enough for him to stop bothering Laura, mainly because he saw in Jay an opportunity to get more money as the blond boy was clearly rich.

With a nod of the head, the silver haired girl thanked her friend. There was even a small smile on her lips as she did so, happy to see that someone’s got her back like that. As much as she got along well with Daniel, she wished that it would have been Jay the one who saw her at the nightclub that night. Jay would have probably been more understanding and for sure not drunk.

“I’ll help with anything else you need, I just can’t help with that,” she said taking a deep breath and pointing at the laptops.

“Then stay around, I’ll need you and Jiho later,” Kouji said plugging more laptops in.

And so, the plan began. Minutes eventually turned into hours as the tension in the room seemed to grow bigger with everyone else, especially for Jiho who claimed twice that he will just go to the police, but he got stopped before he could leave the store. However, him and Laura were sent around town, to different ATMs to withdraw money. Even that part of the plan felt a bit illegal for the silver haired girl, but she wanted to help somehow. Her hands were shaking each time she got her hands on money and she really wished she could just take them and go, but she wasn’t that kind of person. She needed that money, but she was going to get them by working, not by stealing.

By the time they were done, there was a kind pile of money on the counter, To be more precise, three hundred thousand dollars were standing on that table as if they were nothing. As if they were mere pieces of paper worth nothing. Laura was probably the person staring at them the most, but she held herself back. She dreamt of making that amount of money one day, through her own hard word. She just had to be patient.

After giving Jiho the money he owned everyone, Kouji got everything else and left the store, disappearing out the door.

“Thank you everyone…” Jiho said with tears running down his cheeks, holding the money tight in his hands.

No one said another word, they just stared at the boy for a few moments. Checking the time on her phone, Laura let out a heavy sigh. There went a day of studying, it was a bit too late t pick up her books and notebooks and learn. She didn’t want to go to school tired.

“Take care from now on, okay?” she told Jiho, leaning over to offer him a hug.

Without much hesitation, the boy hugged her back. He clearly needed the comfort. The two pulled away pretty fast and Laura gave Jay one last hug before paying for the snacks she wanted to buy and leaving the store.

***

“What… What do you mean he got arrested?” Laura asked Jerry, looking at the boy with eyes wide open.

A little after the incident with Jiho, the girl decided to go and check on Jake. She knew for a fact that her messages from that night went through to his phone, but her friend never answered. Worried, she wanted to go and make sure that he is fine, only to get the news that Jake was going to jail.

“He got caught by the police after fighting Gun, ma’am,” Jerry answered her with respect.

It was the same respect he used to show her before, the same respect that the boy had for Jake. It remained unchanged, even after Laura left. It was all because she didn’t leave without telling and she didn’t leave just so she could join another one of the crews, she left trying to protect her family. No one blamed her for it, no one hated her for it and no one lost one drop of respect for her for it. 

Tears built up in her eyes and the anxiety was settling inside of her mind, making her tremble. How much time was Jake going to spend in jail? Could he get away? What was he going to do once he got out? So many questions were running through her mind and no one had answers for them so far.

“I was going to see him now,” Jerry added, reaching his hand out for Laura. He was inviting her to come along.

“Let’s go, Jerry,” she answered taking a deep breath and following the boy.

On their way, none of them talked. In a way, Laura couldn’t even look at Jerry. It didn’t matter to her how many times she was told that no one saw her any different for leaving, she still felt guilty and kind of like a traitor. But she was too scared to stay from the moment Jake introduced his money making scheme.

Laura didn’t even ask how were they supposed to get to see Jake. Normally, one would have to be some sort of family of the inmate to visit or have an adult with them since they were all minors, but that wasn’t the case when it came to seeing Jake. They were simply allowed to go in.

Jake was already sitting down in front of the glass which was separating his side from the visitors’ side, raising his head when he heard footsteps. He showed no emotion on his face seeing Jerry, but that changed soon as his eyes landed on Laura who popped up from behind the boy. There was shame in Jake’s eyes and he had to look down for a few moments, unable to look at his old friend.

As Jerry remained standing up, Laura took a seat on the chair in front of the glass, looking at Jake with sad eyes. They were still wet from the tears that were trying to get away earlier and seeing Jake only brought her closer to crying, but she remained taught. Instead of crying, she raised her right hand and placed it over the glass.

“Please, look at me,” she said taking a deep breath and letting her head down.

“I’m sorry you have to see me like this,” Jake answered shaking his head, but he didn’t move an inch in his seat.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. Are you mad?”

“I am.”

His answer made the girl only more anxious. Who was he angry on at the end of the day? On her friends for draining him of money? On Gun for contributing to his arrest? She was too scared to ask.

Seeing her like that, Jake let out a sigh and leaned forward, placing his hand on the glass, over Laura’s. The action grabbed her attention, making the silver haired girl look up at him, then at their hands. That one simple gesture managed to calm her down more than Jake could have imagined. There was anger in his eyes combined with that shame.

“I’m mad at Gun and I’ll make sure he knows it once I’m out,” he answered, gripping his other hand into a fist.

“I wish we could have taken care of him when we had the occasion,” Laura said running a hand through her hair.

None of their confrontations with Gun ever went well and since the silver haired girl didn’t know why Jake was so eager to take his place, she couldn’t help but think that it was all a mistake. That they should have done everything to stay away from trouble. It was too late now, Jake was already in prison.

Looking Laura in the eye, his expression softened up a bit, the boy even showing her a smile to reassure her.

“I will be alright,” he said slowly pulling away his hand from the glass. “You should go home, your mom might get worried.”

“But, Jake…” she spoke up with a heavy heart, but she couldn’t finish her sentence.

“Please.”

Sighing again, she nodded her head and got up, remained frozen in place. She felt as if she was abandoning him again, but what could she even do? Jake was going to spend some time in jail and she couldn’t take him out of there as much as she wanted.

“I’ll wait for you to get out,” Laura told him, turning around and leaving the place.

Chapter Text

Just like every day, Vasco was waiting for Laura to exit the school so they could both go home. Well, it wasn’t really every day, since he would usually get himself busy with the Burn Knuckles, but the boy was trying to spend as much time with his girlfriend as he could. However, at some point there was no one coming out of the school anymore, but Laura was still nowhere to be seen. Confused, Vasco decided to wait a bit more, finally pulling out his phone from his pocket to call her, only to hear a very familiar voice calling out for him.

“Euntae,” Laura said looking around, hurrying towards the boy and taking his hand. “Are you busy?”

“I need to go train, but there should be enough time,” the boy answered rather confused. He was ready to ask what was happening, but got no chance to do so as Laura spoke up first.

“Follow me, I’ll show you something.”

And without hesitation, she pulled her boyfriend after her, back inside the school. Vasco had only two theories about what was happening, she either forgot something in her class or wanted to show him something. He kept asking questions about where are they going and so on, but Laura would only respond with a ‘just wait’ and continue to walk ahead.

The two came to stop suddenly, as Laura’s steps stopped in front of a door and the girl opened it without much thought, pulling Vasco in. She only let go of his hand once they were inside and she closed the door behind them. The place was a dance practice room, with the opposite wall from the door being covered in mirrors, the place was pretty much empty, but really clean. Laura looked like she knew exactly what she was doing there, but her boyfriend was only looking around curious, waiting for an explanation.

“What are we doing here?” he finally asked, turning towards Laura.

The silver haired girl was already connecting her phone to the set of speakers in the room, looking for a song.

“We’re here, my love, because I wanted to dance and I wanted you to join me,” she answered, a smile spreading on her face as she found a song she knew the choreography to.

Laura Yang used to be an A+ student and that statement remained valid for each school she went to. Although she was now in the Literature Department of J High School, the girl had more skills to show than just writing. She loved to dance, the music making her happy, making her forget about the mess happening in her life. It was just random dancing, she knew the actual choreographies of the songs and was always eager to learn more. People were soon to find out that she was also a great fighter.

“I don’t know how to dance,” Vasco said shaking his head slowly, but the look in his eyes clearly stated that he was curious to learn.

“I’ll teach you, come here,” Laura said with a smiling face, grabbing her boyfriend by both hands and bringing him in the middle of the room.

She let go of him so she could go and play the song, running back as fast as she could.

“How about I just watch you for now and then I can try?” the boy suggested, eventually getting a nod from Laura and with that, he went to sit down on the floor, somewhere near a corner and near the mirrors.

The song Laura chose was ‘Warrior’ by B.A.P, a song to which she learned the choreography of in around three days. She wasn’t shy to dance in front of her boyfriend, after all, she would do it in front of other people every week, to all kind of music. The thought made her stomach turn, but she just shook her head and decided to brush it off.

She closed her eyes for a moment before starting to dance. The song sure sounded aggressive, but her moves would flow, the girl showing no sign of being stiff. She knew exactly what she was doing and she moved to the rhythm with such ease that it all looked natural. Vasco, who was watching from a side, couldn’t help but be taken aback from what he was seeing. It was another part of Laura which he didn’t know of, but which he already started to love. She was passionate about it and she showed it.

Neither her, nor Vasco, noticed that at some point, the door opened. They also didn’t notice the two students who remained stuck in place, watching the girl dance with passion to one of her favorite songs. For a few moments there, the silver haired girl even forgot that her boyfriend was in the room. All she knew was that she could finally enjoy some good music and great company. As the song came to a stop, so did the dance and Laura was facing herself in the mirror, breathing a bit heavily. Then, all of a sudden, a big smile spread on her lips and her attention was focused towards Vasco.

“What do you think?” she asked, only then being a bit nervous since she was hoping for a positive answer.

Silence fell in the room for a few seconds, which only got Laura to feel more and more nervous until Vasco started clapping his hands happily, looking like an excited little kid who just watched his favorite show. His set of applauses was followed by a second one, getting the couple to turn their attention towards the door.

At the door, the two familiar faces which also followed Laura dancing were Duke and Daniel. The two boys also learned about the existence of the room and would use it to practice from time to time. It was really funny how they never met up with Laura there until that very day. And for some reason, it was their presence which made the silver haired girl nervous.

“That was amazing!” Daniel said walking inside the room with a big smile.

“You dance so well,” Duke continued, following his friend inside the room.

The compliments made Laura feel flustered, the girl scratching the back of her neck before she bowed her head as a ‘thank you’. She wasn’t sure how to react to that, she only wanted to show Vasco for the moment, but that plan clearly failed.

However, in that moment, an idea popped up in Daniel’s mind. Duke was streaming rap on Kwitch TV and sometimes, Daniel would join him. The boy knew of the amount of money that could be made from that streaming platform and Laura had both the skills and the look to join in. Maybe like that, his friend could quit her job and aim for something less dangerous. Sometimes she could be proud of, because Daniel could see in Laura’s eyes that she didn’t truly enjoy dancing in the nightclub. That wasn’t a passion, it was a necessity.

“Why don’t you try streaming?” Daniel asked, looking at everyone in the room one by one.

By then, Vasco had also gotten up and walked close to his girlfriend, taking her head. It was easy for him to notice how flustered she was and he wanted for her to know that he is right there, by her side.

“I’m not sure…” she answered bringing herself closer to Vasco for comfort. “I don’t really have much time for that between school, studying and my job.”

“Do you… Do you want to join us?!” Duke finally asked, stuttering there for a second since he felt scared to ask.

Laura never gave Duke a reason to dislike or fear her, in fact, her presence made him feel safe. Especially after she took his side against Vin Jin, as the two became friends after that encounter. But for some reason, he was still nervous to ask his friend to join them for one streaming session.

Looking up at Vasco for help, Laura had this look of uncertainty in her eyes. He was able to notice it really well and he knew how to help. First, he showed her a soft smile and then leaned forward to leave a kiss on her forehead.

“You should give it a try,” the Burn Knuckle said in a soft voice. It was as if that man was a whole new person around her.

“Alright,” the girl answered, nodding her head and then she turned to look at Daniel and Duke. “When is your next streaming session?”

***

The very next day, right after school, Laura didn’t go home with Vasco. In fact, she didn’t go home to begin with. Instead, she left school with Daniel and Duke to go to Duke’s house. She was a bit worried about the way things would go. What was she supposed to do? What to say? How to act? At least when she was the Black Swan, there was a wig and a mask covering her face, now there was nothing there to hide her identity.

Arriving at Duke’s place, the boy served his two friends with some juice and water and started setting the desk so they could start streaming.

“We wanted to try and cover ‘Spine Breaker’ and I was wondering if you know the choreography to that song,” Duke said, turning around in his chair to look at Laura. Truth be told, they didn’t fully think things through.

“I can do more than that, I can even sing it,” she said leaning closer to the computer and taking a look at the screen. “Give me V’s part.”

For a second, Daniel and Duke just looked at each other, a bit unsure of what to do. They didn’t know if that part suited the girl too well and she could see the looks in their eyes. Raising her eyebrows, the girl straightened her back and crossed her arms. She cleared her voice and closed her eyes and before anyone could add anything, she started singing exactly the part that she wanted, a lower voice to give it more credibility. To add to it, she even started dancing stopping with a long ‘yeah’ and crossing her arms again.

“Is there something you can’t do?” Daniel asked actually impressed.

“You’d be surprised of the amount of stuff I can’t do,” the girl answered, starting to laugh and she took a seat on the chair Duke brought for her. “So, can I have V’s part?”

“It’s all yours,” the short boy answered, putting his second microphone between her and Daniel so they could share it since he didn’t have a third one.

And so, they started the live stream. As Duke and Daniel saluted the people who were joining to watch them, Laura followed their example, trying to adopt a more cheerful mood that could be more suited for what they were doing there. And it worked well, more and more people were joining in, especially during and after the covered ‘Spine Breaker’. It was as if someone was spreading the word around to the entire community to go and see the trio.

At some point, they were just talking to the viewers, reading and responding to comments. During that break, Laura asked about the balloons, a surprised expression taking over her face when she learned that the balloons meant actually money. Her reaction to the balloons was deemed as so cute by the people watching the live stream that they sent even more balloons along with positive comments. There were some hateful ones as well, just as expected. Not aimed only at Duke, but aimed at all of them. They chose to ignore them. Why give attention to the haters when so many people seemed to love them?

Soon after the reading session, the three agreed on a song that the boys could sing and Laura could dance to. At that point, all of the nervousness was gone and the three were just having fun.

By the end of the stream the three made a little over five thousand balloons. In other words, a lot of money. There was a part of Laura that felt bad when the boys suggested splitting the money, in fact, she actually insisted that they don’t, at least not with her. They didn’t accept that, so in the end she walked home with around a thousand and four hundred dollars. Her hands were shaking as she was given then money and she bowed in front of her friends three times before they stopped her. There were tears in her eyes, tears that made Duke worried, but Daniel happy. The ladder understood very well why Laura was so emotional about it, she stated it clearly before, she needed the money.

“I will never be able to thank you enough for this,” she said wiping away her tears as she struggled to calm down.

“You don’t have to thank us,” Duke said shaking his head fast. “It was a team effort.”

“You two are a great team,” the girl added with a giggle.

“Want me to take you home?” Daniel asked, receiving a nod in response.

The two parted ways with Duke, waving at the boy before they turned on their way. Silence fell for a few moments, none of them knowing what to say. They were both acting normal around each other when there were more people around. But now that it was just the two of them, they weren’t sure of what to say.

“Do you think I can be successful with this? With streaming?” Laura asked, finally raising her head to face Daniel.

“I’m sure you will,” the boy answered without hesitation. “Look how well everything went today! You can do so well on your own.”

“You think I can do well enough to quit my job eventually?”

The question got Daniel stuck in place. In fact, he even stopped walking as his eyes were following his friend until the girl also stopped, turning towards him. With how well things went for the day, he had a good feeling, but it was the way she asked that question that got him to freeze. There was this sorrow in her words that broke his heart. It was enough to break anyone’s heart.

“You will,” Daniel answered nodding his head. He was doing all he could to make up for how big he messed up when he found out Laura’s secret. “I have no doubts about it.”

“Euntae has no idea about it,” the girl said, signing for Daniel to follow her further. He started walking again. “I’ll never have the guts to tell him.”

“It’s Vasco. If anyone can understand why you had to do it, he is the right person for it.”

“No. He never has to find out. You made a promise.”

“And I’ll keep it. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Thank you, Daniel.”

Finally arriving in front of Laura’s home, Daniel was ready to just wave at her and go on his way, but the girl pulled him into a tight hug. We all do mistakes, she knew that very well and she could forgive her friend’s behavior as long as he would keep his promise.

Taken by surprise, Daniel didn’t do anything at first until he eventually wrapped his arms around her, returning the hug. They pulled away from each other after a few moments, only then waving. Daniel went on his way and Laura walked inside the house.

The first thing she did was go to her sister’s room and give her some money. The confusion on the girl’s face was unimaginable, she even started making theories about Laura stealing the money. She barely believed her older sister when she claimed she made the money out of streaming.

The most worried one was the girls’ mother. She sure was happy for the money, but she wanted to know exactly how her daughter got them.

“Mom, I promise, it was all legal,” Laura said taking the woman’s hand. “Me and my friend sang and danced and the people liked it, so they paid. I can show you.”

“I believe you, dear,” the woman said eventually, showing her a little smile. “Put these money on the economy card, alright?”

“I will, first thing in the morning. Now, I’ll go wash and do my homework.”

Getting up from the chair, Laura gave her mother a kiss on the forehead and made her way towards the bathroom. However, after taking a quick shower she didn’t go straight to study.

The first thing she did was make a Kwitch TV account.

Chapter Text

The gates of J High School were opened once again, welcoming in all the students, new and old ones. It was the beginning of a new school year after the holiday went on pretty smooth for everyone. It was the same for Laura, outside for her busy weekends, she would spend maybe everyday with her friends, especially with Vasco. The two even got to go on a little vacation not too far from home for two days, with some of their other friends as well, of course. But now, everyone was back to school.

Since she had already made her way to school with Vasco, Laura decided to go visit the Fashion Department’s class before classes would begin so she could say hi to her friends. Just as expect, they were all there. Zack was happily taking to Mira while Daniel, Jay and Zoe were all in one corner, talking about who knows what. Jiho was standing at his desk, looking a bit upset. Seeing so, the silver haired girl approached the boy, hugging him from behind and putting her chin on his head, looking down at his phone. The action made Jiho flinch and drop his phone.

“Now just what were you watching that you got so scared?” Laura asked raising one of her eyebrows, but she started laughing.

“Nothing, you just scared me,” Jiho said, even taking back his phone so he could prove that he was just scrolling through Instagram.

Rolling her eyes, Laura let go of the boy and sat on his desk instead, before asking if she can do so, of course. In response, Jiho pulled his hands away from it and signed for his friend that it was alright. The noise made the rest of their friends turn around as well, all of them waving at Laura. In response, the girl waved back with a smile on her face before crossing her arms.

“How are you all, my fellow sophomores?” the silver haired girl asked, actually jumping off the desk and going to hug Jay the same way she hugged Jiho earlier. In response, the boy took one of her hands, a smile spreading on his lips.

“Laura, I finally finished the book you wrote!” Mira said, standing up to go closer to her girl friend which left Zack staring at her back before he gave Laura a threatening glare for taking Mira away from him.

“You did?” Laura answered, her smile growing wider. “Did you like it?”

“It was great! You should try publishing it.”

It wasn’t the first time she heard those words. She kept on trying, but so far, the only place she was ‘lucky’ about finding was one that required for her to pay for the book to be published and she couldn’t afford that at the moment. But she was confident with that book, she just had to look through it one more time, maybe twice, and then start sending it to publishing companies. She would have been the happiest person alive to have one of her books on the shelves of stores and libraries.

“I will try, I promise,” the girl answered nodding her head. “I should go, classes are about to start soon.”

And with that, she waved at her friends and left the classroom. However, outside of the classroom, the president of the Architecture Department class was waiting for her, a big smile showing on his face as he spotted his girlfriend. The girl smiled in return, but she tilted her head on a side. She had a questionable look on her face, which made Vasco understand right away what she was trying to ask him.

“I know you told me to go to class, but I thought I should take you to yours first,” Vasco answered, reaching out to take Laura’s hand.

“You’re such a tease, Euntae.”

By then, the entire school knew that the two were dating. They were some sort of big thing for everyone with most of the guys being jealous on Vasco and most of the girls wondering how Laura could date some as scary as Vasco, at least at the beginning. Now the girls were wondering if the Burn Knuckle was always that sweet of a person, wishing they could have known about that side of him earlier. It was too late now, he was taken.

Once they made it in front of Laura’s classroom, the girl placed her hand on her boyfriend’s right cheek and leaned forward to kiss his left cheek, letting go of him and going inside the class without saying anything else.

Soon after however, things started to go a bit crazy. First, word got around that a new transferred student beat the living hell out of Vin Jin, which one enough to make everyone start talking about whatever happened, each of them having a different theory. And things didn’t seem to end there.

During the lunch break, Laura remained in class, sending Vasco a message to ask if he could bring her something to eat in class. She felt sick due to the lack of sleep and she didn’t want to leave for the cafeteria, but she hoped that eating a bit could have helped her. Her boyfriend didn’t hesitate to agree and took Jay with him towards the school’s cafeteria. On their way there, however, they started hearing all kind of noise and it didn’t take long until they realized that a fight was happening.

As they made their way inside, the easily spotted Zack fighting against a boy who they never saw before in their school. And just as Zack was about to launch another attack, Vasco grabbed the new student by his shoulder, from behind.

“Friends shouldn’t fight. You should get along,” the Burn Knuckles leader spoke up.

The entire cafeteria started talking about the current fight, not one student paying attention to their meal anymore. The boy that Vasco had his hand on turned his head around, a clear look of anger on his face, but he had no time to do anything. Vasco squeezed his shoulder, putting the boy on his knees. For a second, it felt as if the fight was over, the student gasping due to Vasco’s sudden action. But the transferred student didn’t stop there, trying to twist his opponent’s ankle. He remained in shock as Vasco didn’t just keep his foot in place, but also raised the boy in the air, despite him looking massive in weight and height.

For a second, the new student seemed scared, but he clearly wasn’t going to stop there. He tried hitting Vasco in the face, but got stopped before he even had a chance by Zack who felt like the fight wasn’t over. But Zack didn’t get to fight any further as a third person walked in, the same who got beat up earlier in the day: Vin Jin. Now, the new student was facing three boys who were more than willing to fight him.

However, right outside of the cafeteria, there was Daniel standing leaned against the wall, shaking in fear. There were a thousand wild thoughts running through his mind, but the loudest one was a question: what was Logan Lee doing at his new school? His main bully, the one he tried to run away from, was now in that school with him.

“Daniel?” Joy called out for the boy, reaching out to place her hand on his cheek. “What’s wrong? You don’t look good.”

“Yeah, I feel sick,” Daniel answered, pushing himself away from the wall. “I’ll go to the nurse, eat without me. Sorry.”

And he left without waiting for an actual response. By the time he made it into the nurse’s office and even sat himself on a bed, Laura, who only started feeling sicker sent Vasco a message that she will go to the nurse and left the classroom. She was moving a bit slower than intended on the hallways, holding a hand at her temple and taking deep breaths to try and calm herself. She had a horrible headache and even a stomachache that seemed to want nothing, but to ruin her entire day.

Going around a corner, she started hearing voices in the distance. Curious, Laura raised her head and spotted three people, two of them walking towards her and another one looking at the first two. What completely caught her attention was the biggest guy speaking, having an angry face plastered on his face.

“You stop,” Logan told Daniel, ready to fight him. “You are fucked.”

Usually, Laura would have tried to step in, try to talk to the people involved and calm the spirits. She didn’t like jumping into a fight first thing. On that day, however, she wanted to avoid it all together. By the time she made her way towards them, Logan’s hand was already on Daniel’s shoulder and the boy was on his knees.

“Guys, you should stop,” Laura spoke up, unable to turn a blind eye. First, because it wasn’t like her to do so and second because the door to the nurse was blocked by them.

“Bitch, get out of my face,” Logan spoke up, turning towards her with angry eyes. His stare did nothing to Laura.

“No, you let go of Daniel and move away from the door. I’m sick.”

Laura’s words and her lack of fear got Logan more and more mad. So mad that he let go of Daniel only to turn around and grab her by the hair. Although he was pretty much pulling on it, Laura tried to keep her calm.

“Fucking let go,” she spoke closing her eyes.

“Please, let her go,” Daniel try stepping in, although still scared by the whole situation.

“You dare talk back to me?” Logan asked, pulling even more on the girl’s hair.

That was enough for Laura. Opening her eyes, she looked forward and started analyzing the situation. Quickly, she gripped her fist and punched Logan so hard in the chest, right over the diaphragm, that she managed to cut his air flow. Taken by surprise, Logan loosened his grip on her hair, giving Laura the chance to glance over at his arm. She did some quick calculations in her head, recounting the pressure points of the human body and before her opponent could realize what was coming in his direction, the girl hit him in the arm, in one certain point which made the boy’s entire arm go numb and with that, he also let go of her hair. From aside, Daniel and Zoe were watching in shock, their eyes being wide opened.

“What did you fucking do?!” he asked, raising his head towards Laura.

However, she didn’t pay attention to him. Her arms were starting to hurt again, the same painful pressure that she felt when she was angry taking over. With it, her mind got clouded as well and the adrenaline was on a level so high that she didn’t feel sick anymore for the second.

Laura was fast, crazy fast, so it took her maybe less than a second to move behind Logan and kick him in the knee, bringing him down on one knee. Since her eyes moved to look down now, she grabbed a glance of the jacket she had tied around her waist. The silver haired girl was just about to pull her jacket when she noticed Logan turning his body around and trying to grab her. With no success, as Laura grabbed his wrist, pulling his arm and hitting it in the same spot that she hit his other arm, letting go of it and watching it just fall next to Logan’s body.

“What the fuck are you doing, bitch?!” Logan asked, some fear being heard in his voice. Anyone would be scared of their limbs just stopped functioning.

But his words had no impact on Laura who pulled her jacket from her waist in one swift movement and put it around Logan’s throat while holding it by the sleeves. She formed an X with her hands, pulling harder and harder as she was choking Logan. But it didn’t feel like enough for her, so she pulled her hands back to hard that her opponent got sent to the ground. And with him, she also fell on her knees, but just to be closer to him.

“I told you,” she said, punching Logan in the face with a blank expression, “to let go,” and she punched him again, “of Daniel.”

She wasn’t punching his cheeks, she was going straight for the around his nose and in between his eyes. Her punches were landing straightforward, similar to the way you let go of a heavy object and it falls in a straight line. The impact that she created made her arm stop in place for a second, a tremor being sent through her entire arm, all the way to her shoulder.

“And I told you to move,” she continued, breathing heavily.

“Master!” an unfamiliar voice called out, not making the girl stop.

“Laura!”

But the voice calling out for her did make her stop, helping the girl snap back to reality. Looking back, her eyes met those of Vasco and Laura looked down, right into Logan’s eyes. Although she was strong and her punches did land right, Logan was pretty resistant so all of that didn’t mean all that much to him. However, getting knocked on the ground with what looked like little effort did make him angry and even a bit scared.

But at the moment, it wasn’t Logan who Laura was worried about. It was Vasco and it was her friends who saw her losing control. The adrenaline wore off in a matter of seconds, the girl feeling even sicker than before moving around from Logan, she also took her jacket and tried to get up, but it didn’t work in her favor as she soon started throwing up everything she had for breakfast right onto her jacket.

More worried about his girlfriend than the fight she’s just been in, Vasco ran towards her, getting on one knee and gently getting a hold of the girl’s hair, keeping it away from her face.

“I’m sorry, I should have come with you the moment you said you feel sick,” her boyfriend said, feeling guilty about the situation, as much as he had no blame to take.

“It’s no one’s fault, love,” Laura answered in a faint voice, getting a hold of his hand for support.

“Let’s get you in.”

Vasco helped her get up, the silver haired girl folding the jacket and preparing to ask for a bag to put it in. She wasn’t going to wear it again until she would have washed it at least three times.

It wasn’t Laura who Vasco was blaming for the fight, not in the slightest, but Logan. Logan created problems then entire day and now, in the eyes of the Burn Knuckles’ leader, Logan Lee was as scumbag who would even try to beat girls. Vasco couldn’t accept that and on top of it all, it was his girlfriend the one he went for.

“Did he hurt you?” Euntae asked in a gentle voice, helping Laura lay on of the beds.

“He just pulled my hair… I’m alright, Euntae,” the girl answered, reaching out to take his hand again, but she wasn’t fast enough. Her boyfriend left to go grab the nurse and by the time they both came to her, she was already better after the throwing up session.

On the other side of the door, Logan was still on the floor, staring at the ceiling. He needed a few moments to recover before he would try to get up. Struggling to move his arms again, he realized that his fingers were slowly, but surely, starting to work so he was calmer. What he wasn’t calm about what the beating he just got. No one ever beat him and now there he was, on the school’s floor, after a girl moped with floor with him. He wanted his revenge.

Daniel and Zoe left the scene as fast as they could, but while the girl tried to calm down Daniel, all he could think of was the way Laura fought. She landed just three hits before Logan was on his knees while no one else he’s ever seen fighting Logan managed to hurt him. Looking down at his fist, Daniel was trying to understand what his friend did, curious if he could copy it. However, he had a bigger concern at the moment. Laura fought with no fear and without holding back.

Who was Laura Yang?

Chapter Text

What started off as a normal day seems to have taken a turn for the unexpected. Laura and Vasco were just out on a date around town when they both got a call from Zack to meet an internet café. No explanation, nothing. It made the couple look at each other before they both set off for the place. And now, there they were.

“So, what now?” Laura asked crossing her arms and looking curious at Zack.

Taking a look around, she noticed that all of their friends were there, along with Jiho too, who she almost missed him as the boy was already at one of the computers.

“This idiot messed up again, so,” Zack started talking, walking closer to Jiho’s desk where everyone else gathered. “Let’s help him. Since we’re his friends.”

And then it had begun, the mess. Zack started explaining to everyone what happened, from the moment Jiho befriended this so-called James and his friends, to the point where Jiho made a bank account for the same person and to the present moment, where James sold the bank account and got Jiho and all kind of problems there are. It was truly a mess and it made Laura struggle to hold back from sighing as she looked at her little friend.

The silver haired girl couldn’t help, but wonder what was he thinking when he made a whole bank account under his name for someone else. But at the end of the day, Laura considered herself someone with no right to judge others. She had her fair share of bad decisions, Jiho’s could still be solved one way or another.

As soon as Zack was done explaining, everyone got on a computer and started searching up the IDs found by him in hopes that they’ll find any kind of information.

Nothing on the first one.

Nothing on the second one.

Nothing on the third one.

Nothing on the last one.

Leaning back on her chair, Laura turned her head towards Zack, thinking of what to say. They just wasted more than an hour on nothing and by the looks of it, Jiho was becoming more and more anxious about the whole situation. For a good reason, too, it was certainly a bad situation.

“That’s strange…” Zack said with a short, forced laugh as he kept staring at his keyboard. “It should work…”

“If they made it to scam people, there’s no way they’d leave a trace,” Zoe spoke from behind the boy, staring down at him with a judging expression on her face.

“That’s okay, we’re only just getting started!” Mira said, trying to lift the mood.

Pushing herself away from her computer, Laura turned her head towards Zack and crossed her arms. She seemed pretty determined to help Jiho, since she couldn’t properly do it last time.

“What’s the next plan, captain?” she asked tilting her head on a side.

“There is none,” Zack answered, putting his head on the desk.

What followed was a wave of voices, each of them saying something else, but the one that could be heard the best was Jiho’s who was now more panicked than he’s been all up until then. It was only Laura who kept quiet, staring at her computer screen. How could they even catch a scammer of such level? There were offers over offers on the internet with all kind of articles, they couldn’t report them all or comment that they were scams. The situation seemed to have reached a dead end.

That until a different voice from the ones of her friends could be heard behind her, making Laura turn around and meeting eyes with a purple haired boy, younger than all of them and whose face was more than familiar. Kouji, the same kid that helped them last time. And Kouji had no problem calling them out on their failed attempts.

“You dumb asses,” the boy said, looking down on all of them, before his eyes landed on Jiho. “Did you mess up again? I save your ass last time, too.”

And from there, he went on to scolding Jiho. It was an unusual image to see, someone younger scolding someone older, but maybe Kouji had every right to do so. It wasn’t the first time Jiho messed up, but his friends could only hope that it would be the last.

“Yo, Jiho,” the youngest spoke up again, after a while of analyzing every single face that was in front of him. “Normally, I’d take a fee, but I’ll do it for free. The real plan starts now.”

And so, the boy walked towards them and took a seat at one of the computers. Everyone else got up and gathered around him, curious to see what Kouji was up to. Calling him a genius was sure not a lie, the boy started typing right way, with a clear idea in mind of what he has to do to solve this entire case. In the process, he also explained how useless it was to look for the emails online. Of course there was no guarantee that they would lead to the owner or even actually show up at all.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long for the little devil to get a lead on the culprit, going on Steam and just as the questions started coming, Kouji turned around with a devilish smile.

“What do you think?”

Looking closer at the scream, the thing that stood up was an ID under the name ‘Power Gumdam2’. So much struggle and Kouji found a trace in such a short amount of time.

“His game ID,” Laura spoke up, straightening her back.

“You need an email address for a game ID,” the boy answered, leaning his head against the back of the chair. “These guys have hundreds, so if they’re good for something, that’s…”

“Smurf accounts,” the silver haired girl answered before Kouji could.

“Smurf accounts,” the boy confirmed, snapping his fingers and getting up from the chair.

Looks like the little devil wasn’t done there. Everyone was completely focused on him, which from a side was maybe the funniest image to see. And so, Kouji went on about how illegal dumpers are afraid of witness, so they throw the evidence way early in the morning, when no one can see them. Their mistake is that they also throw the receipts away, which could easily help someone find them.

That’s when the ID came into conversation. A flaw in the scammer’s plan, which was the ID that was similar to a receipt. And from there, Kouji went back towards the computer and looked up the name on Naver and soon enough not only did he find the culprit’s blog, but with it he found the real ID of the scammer.

“And we’re just getting started,” the purple haired boy said, opening up a bag of chips. “Use that ID to find his Facebook, Kakao, anything there is. There has to be a few things he forgot about.”

Cracking her fingers, Laura got to work right away. Since she was writing stories on her laptop, she was typing the fastest. She was used to computers, video games, streaming, writing, reading, anything there was to do. She spent a lot of time on her laptop, even for homework.

But after a while, not much came up. Sure, they found his social media accounts, but they were private. Laura tried to see if there’s any way to access them, but with no success, so she sighed and turned towards Kouji. She was sure that the boy would have an idea.

“Everything is private, I just found a photo used for his verification,” the silver haired girl said, shaking her head.

“I found the same,” Zoe said, going for a high-five when Laura raised her hand.

Raising one eyebrow in curiosity, Kouji walked up towards them, stopping at Zoe’s computer since it was the closest to him and he started looking at the picture. That little information even with his real email? That was one really well prepared scammer, but unfortunately to them, Kouji was even better prepared. He wasn’t a genius for nothing.

Sitting down at his computer, he ate some more of the chips while clicking on some things regarding the picture. It was the second time that everyone gathered around him.

“Found him,” Kouji said, turning around as he hugged the bag of chips. He did as if someone would’ve tried to steal it from him.

“Huh? You did? Only with that picture?” Mira asked really confused, staring at the screen, but not really understating. However, her crush seemed to have an idea.

“I see!” Zack shouted all of a sudden, getting everyone to turn towards him. “We just need that photo! Now we have to look for the store in front of it and we’ll find the place! They seem to be somewhere on the second floor.”

While everyone was praising Zack for his ‘genius’ idea, Vasco stared at the screen with a blank expression on his face the entire time before he suddenly rushed outside.

“What the, Euntae!” Laura shouted after him, but the boy was already out the door. “Call me when you find the location, I’ll go after him.”

And with that, she ran outside as well, catching a glimpse of her boyfriend just as he was about to take a corner, so she rushed towards him. He must have known something, since he left in such a hurry, but he could have at least said it. Laura shook her head as she tried to run faster, both curious and worried for her boyfriend. He couldn’t have possibly left to look for the store, could he? There were too many of those in town to look for all of them!

Finally catching up with Vasco, Laura caught him by the arm, forcing the boy to stop and turn around her. She needed a second to catch her breath, but just as her boyfriend opened his mouth to talk, the girl did it before him.

“Where did you go like this?!” she asked in a voice louder than intended.

“The dart in the picture is a sign, I know where we have to go,” he answered right away, grabbing her hand and starting to run again.

Laura had no other chance to say anything else, keeping up with the Burn Knuckle with much ease than anyone else would expect, but she was worried that they were only wasting time. What could one dart even represent? They might as well just run in circles, and seeing as Vasco kept frantically looking left to right.

The silver haired girl was just about to stop him, but the boy stopped himself in front of a place called ‘Dart Princess’. Although her first intention was to ask where were they, she had an idea to turn around, which she did, her eyes landing on the same store from the picture they found. Vasco really managed to find the place. It was now Laura’s turn to feel bad for doubting him, but she had no time to linger on the feeling as her phone started ringing in her pocket, the girl pulling it out in a matter of seconds.

“Laura, we found them,” Daniel said from the other end of the line, putting the phone on speaker so he could go to messages. “I’ll send you the address.”

“We found the place,” she answered before her friend even got a chance to find her contact number again. “Euntae did, actually.”

“Hey, stay where you are!” Zack yelled, taking the phone from Daniel who barely had any reaction time.

“I don’t think that will be an option,” Laura said, seeing Vasco take a step ahead.

She hanged up the phone, putting it back in her pocket and she was just about to walk up to the entrance when her boyfriend put a hand in front of her to stop the girl from going any further. That action made her raise her eyebrows in confusion, looking up at him and waiting for an explanation.

“You should stay here, it’s dangerous,” the boy said, turning towards his girlfriend.

As much as she could understand his concerns, Laura only shook her head and slowly pushed Euntae’s hand down. Dangerous? She’s seen enough danger up until then. It looked like her boyfriend was still not aware of her fighting skills. The girl wished it would have stayed like that, but she promised herself to help Jiho so she could stay back and do nothing. Their target was inside.

However, just to avoid wasting time there, she raised her hands and took a step back. If she let him go inside first and followed right after, Vasco couldn’t push her out anymore. It made her feel a bit guilty seeing the relief in the boy’s eyes, but there was no other way around it.

Nodding his head, Euntae went right inside, not even wasting time to take a look around. He was more than ready for a fight at any moment.

“You bastards,” the Burn Knuckle called them out, getting everyone’s attention.

Euntae didn’t have any chance to continue talking, stopping as he noticed someone walking right past him and stopping one step ahead from his position. He recognized the person right way, he needed to see the white hair to know who it was.

“Which one of you is Power Gumdam?” Laura asked, putting a hand on her hip. “We want back a bank account.”

As soon as people saw them, they started talking to each other, either mocking the two or wondering how they even found that place. The silver haired girl took that time to look around, sensing nothing but problems. What made it worse was the fact that they were all wearing hoodies with the same logo on the back, God Dog. A fight was mostly inevitable, so she got into position as well.

“All of you will be punished,” Euntae said walking in front of his girlfriend to protect her and he raised his guard.

Seeing him, Laura raised her guard as well, ready to show Vasco that she was actually a great fighter. The girl sensed danger as soon as one of the guys in that place approached Vasco, claiming he was ‘Power Gumdam’. The real guy wouldn’t show up so early, so the girl didn’t allow him to make any move before stepped forward in the blink of an eye, punching the guy in the chest and cutting his airflow. After that, she quickly punched him under the chin, sending him to the floor.

Taken by surprise, Vasco did nothing but stare at first, doing so as Laura moved onto her next target, grabbing another boy by the hand and greeting him with a punch in the fact, followed by a kick in the stomach as she was still holding his hand to make sure he would fall down as well. It was then that she turned around to see what her boyfriend was doing, slightly tilting her head when she saw he wasn’t moving.

“Fuck them up!” she shouted at him, turning back to fighting.

As if woken up from a dream, Vasco’s head raised up in an instant, hearing a loud shout. It was then that he saw someone try to kick him with the leg, but the Burn Knuckle grabbed them by the leg and hit four other guys in the process. In that time, Laura waited for her enemies to approach her, kicking the first one in the upper leg, in one of the pressure points which cause for his leg to go completely numb, forcing the boy to fall on one knee. With that chance, she kicked him over the head to make sure he stays down.

They both got caught from behind at the same time, but each of them had their own way of getting away. Vasco remained unmoved as he grabbed his opponent by the back of their head and pushed it forward, in perfect timing with his fist. Laura however used his elbow to hit her opponent in the ribs, making his loose his grip on her, moment in which the girl grabbed the boy by his clothes and she bent forward, pulling him above her head and slamming him onto the floor.

As the fight continued, each of them was surrounded by opponents, but it didn’t seem like a problem to them. Vasco was throwing punches left and right, while for Laura it was enough to hit one pressure point before getting rid of whoever attacked her in the blink of an eye. Soon enough, the floor was covered in people lying down in pain and the only ones left standing were Laura and Vasco.

The silver haired girl had to take a moment and calm down her heated body, she could feel the pressure in her arms. It was such a bad sign, but it was surprising how she held on for so long. There seemed to be only two people left untouched, a girl and a boy, but Laura didn’t give them attention just yet, she was focused on her boyfriend.

I know what I am, but what are you, Vasco? Are you a beast or a monster?

Laura had a pretty interesting mindset when it came to people who were able to fight like crazy. That some were beasts and some were monsters. A beast is born a beast. Beasts have something different, something to tell them apart, the way she had her killer instinct. Monsters, on the other hand, were created and raised, thanks to all kind of harsh circumstances. Whether other people created them or they raised themselves, it didn’t matter.

Laura Yang was a born a beast, but her boyfriend, Euntae Lee, was raised a monster.

“You’re better than I thought, Burn Knuckle” the other boy in the room talked after getting up from his couch. “You here to wipe us?”

“Laura, get behind me,” Vasco said, stepping in front of his girlfriend.

He still had this instinct to protect her, so Laura decided that for once, she can stay back and let him take control of the situation. She trusted Vasco, he was a strong fighter, and he wasn’t at all easy to take down. However, his act of protection got their opponent laughing a bit as he took off his cap.

“I think you should exchange places with her,” he said rolling his shoulders twice. “You don’t even know who your little girlfriend is.”

Hearing his words, Laura crossed her arms and tilted her head on a side, staring at the boy. He knew about her? How the hell did he know about her? But taking a second look at him, the girl recognized him. If only Vasco wasn’t in the room, she would have told him a few things, but she had to keep her mouth shut. And thankfully, her boyfriend didn’t pay attention to his opponent’s words either.

“Give me the account,” Vasco said in return, raising his guard up again.

“Come and take it,” his opponent spoke up, wasting no time in raising his leg and kicking the Burn Knuckles’ leader right in the face.

Laura had to grip her fists to not jump in action as well. Euntae would have been happy if she got involved any further and she also didn’t want to underestimate him, but the situation looked bad.

The first punch that Vasco tried to land was dodged, and instead he got hit in the stomach. Thankfully, he was quite strong and he could hold on for long, but his next punch failed as well, causing for his opponent to simply trip him and send Vasco on the floor. His opponent was so calm about the entire fight, while the Burn Knuckles’ leader was trying to give his all and take down his enemy, it was just now going great.

As soon as he got up, Vasco tried to punch and kick over and over again, but he wouldn’t land even one hit. Instead, his opponent was landing hit over hit, making Euntae even bleed in the process. At one point, the God Dog’s member even got him down on the floor again, but the boy still got up, all covered in his own blood.

“You’re as tough as I heard,” the other boy said, casually lighting himself a cigarette.

That was it, Laura wanted to step in and take over from there. She couldn’t watch her boyfriend get hit one more time, but she barely managed to take two steps before being stopped again.

“Don’t get involved,” Euntae said, taking a deep breath after.

“Look at you before talking!” the silver haired girl answered, widening her eyes.

“If you step in, it means I lost and in Muay Thai losing is unacceptable.”

And that was when, hoping to land yet another hit, Vasco’s opponent was taken by surprise with a low kick. It was enough to restore Laura’s faith in her boyfriend and step behind. That boy was anything, but weak. He was a crew head, after all, he couldn’t lose that easily and Laura knew that.

Fuck him up, Euntae.

However, his opponent wasn’t all that impressed with Vasco’s one hit and it showed on his face.

“That was surprising,” the other boy said, straightening his back. “You had that trick up your sleeve?”

And that was where the mess started. The Burn Knuckle made it clear that he wasn’t going to lose, because losing meant disrespecting his master and if anything, Euntae Lee was a man of promise. The turning point was when the God Dog offered the Burn Knuckle the possibility to work for him. The Burn Knuckles getting swallowed? Laura started to wonder if the crews were trying to pull move on central Seoul or if it was just the God Dogs doing so.

She didn’t need to be curious for a response from Vasco, she knew it and it was a very strong and clear no in the form of a hit in the face, that his opponent dodged. Jin Jang of God Dog, such an annoying fella. And the worst part was that he would always analyze his opponent before starting to fight them, so he was now trying to analyze Vasco’s skills in Muay Thai, pretty sure of himself that he found a pattern. Big mistake.

Vasco landed one good knee in his side, followed by the strongest hit wit the back of the hand that Laura’s ever seen. So strong that Jin Jang went flying in the wall and he barely had any time to fall down as well, before he got hit with the knee a second time, but now in his stomach.

“The Burn Knuckles will never get swallowed by you,” Vasco said, taking a step back from Jin Jang who collapsed, unconscious, on the floor.

“Euntae!” Laura shouted right away, running towards him and turning the boy’s head towards her. He was so full of blood that she could barely even see if he had exterior injuries.

“See? I told you to trust me.”

And with those words, he gave her a smile as well. As nice as his smile was, it didn’t help calm the silver haired girl. So she pulled him to sit down and looked around for a bottle of water, which she found pretty fast. Along with it, she took a dart off the table and went to the first person she saw, using the dart to pock some holes in their shirt so she could rip it.

Coming back to Vasco with the piece of material and the bottle of water, the girl started to clean the blood off of him, as best as she could while trying to not hurt him any more.

“What did he mean earlier?” Euntae eventually asked, one scene from earlier popping in his mind. “That I don’t know who you are.”

“I don’t know either,” the girl answered with not too much struggle in lying, as she went on cleaning his wounds.

But the question was a good one. She didn’t remember meeting Jin Jang and not many people knew about her before she moved to J High, so something was off. But Vasco didn’t insist, so neither did she.

Soon enough, their friends arrived as well, taken aback by the image in front of them, but something else was the matter. Jiho’s account, which they found pretty fast and completely canceled. Everyone thought that things would end there, but everyone noticed that Jiho stopped going to school anymore.

Just what was he doing?

Chapter Text

It’s been two weeks since Jiho last came to school. His friends tried to contact him, but he wouldn’t pick up his phone no matter what and he didn’t want to see them when they came to his house, so everyone eventually gave up. They were left with the hope that he would come back on his own.

The most notable thing that happened ever since was Laura’s birthday. She had a small party over at her house with all of her friends, she prepared the music, the snacks, her mother even helped her make a cake. Jay and Vasco brought a lot of board games, which turned into the main activity of the day, with everyone sitting down on a blanket on the floor to play. The girl also got a lot of gifts from everyone, such as a necklace made out of silver with a small feather as a pendant from her boyfriend. Daniel and Duke each bought her a music album and Mira and Zack put money together to buy Laura the most expensive, but also the most beautiful pen she’s ever had. Zoe gave her a set of five rings and Jace got the girl a book she’s been talking about for quite a long time now. And maybe the main attraction of the day was Jay’s gift: a whole suit, the most expensive clothes Laura’s ever seen, she was even scared to find out the price. The girl was complaining about not knowing what other outfits to wear during her livestreams and how long it’s been since last time she’s bought any new clothes. So, her best friend took care of the matter.

The suit’s pants and jacket were black, same for the dress shoes and the tie and the shirt was white. On top of that, the jacket gave off a bit of a military vibe, having decorations on the shoulders, along with two crosses, one strapped to the jacket and another one being a bit higher on the right side and caught onto another decoration in the shape of a weird star with a blue stone in the middle and everything was well completed with a red belt. She wanted to refuse the gift, under the pretext that Jay’s already been giving money in each of her livestreams, but the boy didn’t accept the refusal. At the end of the day, Laura was crying tears of happiness.

But that day passed, and today she had plans for the night. She was going to meet with Daniel to go play some billiard, her treat. It was her way to thank him for giving her the idea of livestreaming, she was getting close to making the same amount of money she was making from her job. Unfortunately, Duke couldn’t come as well, so it was just the two of them for the night, but she promised to also treat Duke some time later.

“You’re already there?” Laura asked Daniel with who she was talking on the phone, just as she was passing the street.

“I was a bit faster than you,” the boy answered with a chuckle, going up the stairs of the building.

“Take over one of the tables. I’ll be right there.”

“So you can make me pay instead?” Daniel asked in a joking manner.

“Hey, I promised to pay,” the girl said back, laughing a bit.

“I’ll go at one of the-. Jiho?”

“Jiho?”

But Daniel didn’t answer back, no matter how many times Laura called out for him. Was Jiho there? Maybe they could talk! Convince him to come back to school, he couldn’t run away from everyone like that. For some reason, however, the silver haired girl had a bad feeling about that whole situation and she felt it under the form of a knot in her stomach. So, instead of walking, she started running towards the place.

Finally seeing the building, she tried to pick up the pace, but she stopped in her tracks, hearing a loud BANG coming from above her and what she saw when she looked up was the most terrifying view of her entire life: two people falling down with glass from the window that had been broke surrounding them. She couldn’t even scream in terror before the two hit the ground, her eyes following them the entire time. It was then that she recognized one of the two people.

“Daniel!” Laura screamed so loud that you’d think her vocal cords would break, running towards the two.

Daniel was lying flat on the ground while the other boy was on top of him. Her hands started to shake as she reached down and only touched her friend’s hand to check for a pulse. He was still alive! She did the same for the other boy and then pulled out her phone, desperately calling 119. People started gathering around the scene, a few more calling for an ambulance as well. For Laura however, the world stopped right then and there. Even when the ambulance came and she was taken away from the two injured people, she was still lost in her thoughts.

Only when the ambulance left did she come back to her senses, looking mindlessly around before pulling her phone out and looking for Jay’s phone number. As soon as she found it, she pressed the dial button and started running towards the hospital. She was in such a bad state of mind that she lived under the impression that taking a taxi was going to take way too long, she trusted her own legs better.

“Jay!” the silver haired girl shouted, stopping at a red light, cursing in her mind. “You need to come to the hospital, it’s about Daniel!”

As Jay tried to ask what happened, clearly scared about the situation and already getting dressed up to leave, Laura just told him to hurry up and that she’s on her way before she hanged up. She also called Vasco, asking him to come as well, in the same scared voice as before, but with more difficulties when it came to talking as she was running while on the phone.

When she made it to the hospital, the silver haired girl ran towards the reception, asking for Daniel Park, but she was told that she can’t go see him yet since she’s not a relative of his, so Laura had to wait there. Pacing around, the adrenaline in her body was slowly fading away and it was then that Laura noticed how much she was shaking and she felt her legs weak, making her way towards one of the chairs so she could sit down.

With a loud sigh, she covered her face and tried to think positive, that Daniel was still breathing, that he should be fine. Everything should be fine, right?

Hearing footsteps approaching her, the girl raised her head and immediately noticed Jay in front of her, looking all scared and waiting for an explanation. However, seeing him got Laura to feel tears in her eyes and she got up just so she could hug her best friend.

“He fell…” she spoke up, her voice cracking with each word as tears were running down her face. “He fell from so high, I don’t know if he’ll be alright.”

When Jay asked if she saw how it happened, the girl only shook her head.

“I just… I just got in front of the building and I heard a loud noise, and when I looked up, he was falling from the sky. Jay, what are we going to do?”

The situation at hand and his best friend crying in his arms just got Jay to hug Laura tighter and start crying as well. It wasn’t long until Vasco arrived as well, running towards the two and desperately asking what happened, but he barely understood anything from Laura’s answer and he couldn’t really understand Jay, so poor boy was left staying on a side and waiting, but nothing looked good. Laura and Jay wouldn’t be crying crocodile tears if Daniel was fine, so even Vasco knew that something terrible happened.

And from there, only more havoc took place. Little Daniel’s mother showed up because she was mistaken for big Daniel’s mother for a reason no one knew of. Even little Daniel was there and Jay left the reception in the meantime, going to talk to some doctors. It was only Vasco and Laura left, the girl being calmer now and being able to explain to her boyfriend what happened. It was easy to see the fear in his eyes, but he knew that there was nothing he could do, except trust the doctors and wait for Daniel to get surgery.

No one knew if their friend will ever wake up.

***

“Just how could he..?” Laura asked, shaking her head as she reached to take Daniel’s hand.

It’s been a little over two weeks since their friend got surgery and since Jay made a fool out of the devil just to move him to a V.I.P. room, ever since he and the rest of his friends would visit him on a regular basis, but it was Jay, Zoe, Laura and Vasco who came the most. Outside for school, they made sure that Daniel is never alone, since his parents were aboard.

And on that day, they found out what happened to their friend. Jiho happened. Jiho who, in maybe a fit of rage, pushed Daniel and James towards the window and down to the cold concrete. No one knew what to make out of it.

“Jiho will get his punishment,” Euntae spoke up, reaching out to take his girlfriend’s hand.

It was just the two of them watching over Daniel for the night. They forced Jay to go home and get some sleep, he’s been coming to the hospital for long hours on a row for the past three days. Laura wasn’t going to let him off with this for the fourth day.

Ever since Daniel got injured like that, it was as if nothing ever worked out anymore. Little Daniel ran away from home and they couldn’t get a hold of him no matter how much they tried, Zoe was now dating Logan and no one knew why and if they knew, no one was telling the reason why, Jay was even more reserved than before, only speaking to Laura so far. Everyone was hoping that, if Daniel wakes up, things will go back to normal.

“He was our friend,” Laura added, shaking her head and taking a deep breath. “Daniel was always so kind to him, he was always the first one to invite Jiho to join us and he thanked him by… Trying to kill him.”

The anger was growing inside of her and the girl could feel it in her arms, but she was doing her best to not let it take over. Thankfully, Vasco was there and, in an attempt to help her feel better, the boy leaned forward and left a kiss on her cheek. And it worked, because Laura turned towards him with a small smile.

“You never told me how you learned to fight,” Vasco said, trying to make small talk, anything to make time pass.

At first, the girl didn’t even attempt to answer, she just stared at the sheets on Daniel’s bed and tried to think of a way to tell Vasco the truth while avoiding it at the same time. He just didn’t need to know a few things, such as her killer instinct which was, unfortunately, a family heritage only she got. Her sister was safe from it.

“I used to go to this private school before, somewhere close to Gangnam,” Laura started explaining, pulling the blanket over the Daniel just a bit more. “But it was expensive, my mom couldn’t work for a while with her illness, the money wasn’t enough for both me and my sister to keep attending so… I told mom and dad that I want to go to a public school. And let me tell, I ended up in the toughest school I’ve ever seen.”

She even laughed a bit as she said so, leaning back in her chair. The old days when she and Jake would attend the same school. She was safe back there as long as she was around Jake, but unfortunately, that couldn’t be all the time and before she knew it, Laura had to learn to protect herself. Besides, she didn’t want to burden Jake with such things, as much as her friend insisted that he was always there to protect her.

“It was a mess. There were fights every day, broken windows, the desks were all so old, so many mean people as well… The girls were no exception. You see, my friend from back then said that if anyone bothers me, to tell him, but I never had the courage. My bullies were a whole nightmare, I just couldn’t take it anymore. But my father didn’t want to teach me to fight, so I had to ask my uncle, but he also turned me down. Then I went to our neighbor, an ex-US Marine, who eventually gave in and taught me Krav Maga.”

All the time Laura was talking, Vasco’s eyes never left her, the boy paying attention to each and every word she spoke. There was genuine admiration in his eyes for the girl in front of him. Not only did Laura take over the responsibility to take care of her family now that her father was gone, but she even took care of herself, becoming stronger so she could put up with her bullies and now protect others. Just like how Vasco himself did, worked so no bad guy could ever hurt him or anyone else around him.

“What?” the girl asked seeing the looked in his eyes, even giggling a bit.

“You’re so strong. You should teach me Krav Maga!” Vasco said, looking as excited as ever.

And his excitement made Laura laugh even louder, having to cover her mouth. Good thing they were in a private room.

“Sure, if you teach me Muay Thai in return.”

“Deal!”

“Alright, Mr. leader of Burn Knuckles, we should try to get some sleep, we still have school tomorrow,” the silver haired girl said standing up and making sure one last time that Daniel was comfortable in bed.

All that time, they would look for the most comfortable ways to sleep in that room. After all, except for some chairs, all they had was a couch with was, thankfully, pretty long, but not all that wide. Sometimes, one would take over the couch and one would sleep on a chair with the upper part of their body on Daniel’s bed. Other times, they would find ways for everyone to have enough space on the couch. For that night, Vasco and Laura agreed to take over the couch.

To ensure that his girlfriend would be as comfortable as possible, Vasco sat down on one end of the couch and he patted the couch twice to sign for Laura to take over the rest of it. She looked at him a bit concerned, asking him from stress if it was alright, to which the boy only nodded his head. Holding back a sigh, the silver haired girl got closer to the couch and put her head on her boyfriend’s lap, stretching on the rest of the couch as much as she could.

“Wake me up if you’re uncomfortable,” the girl said, looking up at Vasco.

“You don’t need to worry. I’m really strong.”

Rolling her eyes, the girl nodded her head and moved around a bit until she found a comfortable position and finally closed her eyes. She fell asleep pretty fast, being tired after attending school that day, Monday, right after having worked the night before. Vasco however spent some more time awake, either on his phone or just staring around before he went to sleep as well.

***

It was break time at school, all students spending their little free time in their own way. Laura took her phone and earphones and went to Fashion Department’s class to see her friends, but mostly to make sure Jay doesn’t just spend his time alone, doing nothing but stare out the window. She wasn’t met with the nicest view when she stepped inside the class, seeing Logan well bent over Zoe, covering the girl almost fully from behind. She looked so fine with it, too, smiling as if it wasn’t the creepiest thing in the world. It made Laura believe further that she had a reason to put herself through this, but Zoe wouldn’t talk and she knew what trying to keep a secret was like. So, instead, Laura went and sat down next to Jay, offering him an earphone and leaning her head against his shoulder.

The girl could tell when her best friend didn’t want to talk, but at least he was willing to stay with her. He even took her hand, despite his head still facing the window. Laura only raised her head to stare at him for a few seconds before she squeezed his hand a bit and put her head back, closing her eyes.

However, it didn’t take much for the silence in class to be disrupted. At first, Laura paid no mind to it, just Logan and Zack fighting, it was nothing new. She didn’t even bother to open her eyes, trying to focus on the music and ignore the sound around. But it didn’t work and she could hear each and every word being thrown around. It got her so annoyed that she sighed loudly and took out her earphone, getting up from her seat. Even Jay turned around, reaching out with his hand to grab her, but with no success.

Zack was just about to talk again, but he got stopped by Laura’s hand on his shoulder. It was then that they got a different type of reaction from Logan. Logan, who was never defeated by anyone, was now standing in front of the only person who ever got him down to the ground, a girl. A girl humiliated him, he hated everything about that.

“You annoy me,” the girl said, looking up at Logan with her eyes opened wide and a dead stare. “I’m fucking tired, so you either shut your mouth or you have my word, I will make sure you’ll need a week of recovery when I’m done with you.”

“You bitch-!” Logan said, raising his hand, but he got stopped by Zoe in an instant.

“Logan, stop it. Let’s go to the cafeteria,” Zoe said with a wide smile on her face, as if nothing ever happened.

It left everyone staring in confusion as the two were making their way towards the exit, but Laura gave up trying to understand. She just went back next to Jay and took the same position as earlier, crossing her arms as well that time.

That day, it was Laura and Jay’s turn to take care of Daniel. The two agreed to meet at night, after they both got some homework done and ate a little. To make sure that her friend wouldn’t try to get away, Laura actually hurried home to shower and change her clothes before she made her way to Jay’s apartment, the two doing homework together and the blond boy ordering food for the both of them. And at evening, they set off for the hospital.

Making their way inside, Jay got his best friend’s attention, asking a question to which answer she didn’t really have, so the girl only shook her head after getting inside the elevator.

“I really hope he will wake up soon, but I really don’t know, Jay,” she answered with a sigh.

As the elevator stopped, Jay let his friend get out first, like the gentleman that he is, and then he followed her, walking next to the girl in silence. It was Laura who opened the door to Daniel’s room, but the imagine inside of it made them both stop dead in track: Daniel, out of bed, all dressed up and able to move like never ever happened.

“Ah!” the nurse said, leaning on a side and looking at the boy and the girl who were stuck by the door. “There they are!”

Daniel turned his head towards the door as well, a smile spreading on his lips as soon as he saw his friends. He didn’t even realize how much he missed them until that very moment.

“Guys. I’m back,” he spoke up, looking as happy as ever.

Jay started smiling as well, but there were tears running down his cheeks and all the books he carried there were now on the floor. Laura, however, had to cover her mouth to not cry too loudly and she took a moment to calm down before running towards Daniel and jumping at his neck for a tight hug.

It took the boy by surprise for a moment, but he kept his balance just fine, returning the hug. He needed that hug, the comfort and the feeling of having someone so close to him, of which he deprived himself for a long period of time. Laura was now giving them all. Even Jay found the courage to move closer, hugging the two of them and letting his head down so he could keep on crying in silence.

“I was so scared,” Laura spoke up, pulling back just enough to wipe away her tears. “I saw you falling from such a height, I thought you died in front of me…”

Her voice was cracking with each word she was speaking, Daniel feeling guilty as he saw the honesty in her eyes. But he knew it wasn’t his fault and knowing Laura, she knew the same, so he didn’t apologize for it. Instead, he just pulled her closer, as he didn’t wan to let go of that hug just yet.

After a while, Jay pulled back, trying to fully calm down and that was when he noticed little Daniel on the bed, all knocked out. So, he decided to ask about, which made big Daniel scratch the back of his neck, looking for a response.

“It’s a long story,” the boy said with a small giggle.

***

They were all right to believe that everything will go back to normal if Daniel wakes up. Thanks to him being back, Zoe stopped going out with Logan or more like Logan stopped bothering Zoe, little Daniel was back home and even back to work, people were smiling again and this time, even if Jay remained in his seat during breaks, he wasn’t doing so because he was down. To Laura, everyone had the courage to turn their lives around for the better and she decided it’s just about time she does he same.

Streaming was working wonders for her, she was almost making the same amount of money like how she’d make from her job. It was exactly what she wished for, a door to escape working in that night club ever again and she had it. All she had to do was go there and tell this to Vivi, tell her she quits, that if she wants another Black Swan, to look for one. Laura was already feeling the freedom as she arrived in front of Vivi Nightclub in the evening, since she knew it was the only time to find the owner around. Thankfully, she knew exactly where to look.

After walking inside the club, Laura looked down at all of the people who were already inside, shaking her head. Rich bastards, coming to have fun in the most disgusting place she’s ever seen. Turning around, she started making her way towards the V.I.P. room, already seeing Xiaolung at the door. By the looks of it, he saw her, too.

“I need to talk to Miss Vivi, please,” Laura said, looking up at the bouncer.

For a moment, Xiaolung only stared down at the girl before turning around and knocking on the door. Luckily for Laura, Vivi was free, all sober for the time being. The silver haired girl couldn’t be more grateful, the sooner she was done there, she faster she could go home.

Opening the door for her, Xiaolung stepped on a side and allowed Laura to go in, but he followed as well, closing the door behind him. To show respect, the girl still bowed a little, but Vivi didn’t do the same. She only kept on eating whatever it was that she was eating.

“What is it?” Vivi asked, raising her eyebrows in curiosity.

“I will keep it short,” Laura answered, straightening her back. “I quit my job here. If you want to keep the shows going, please, look for someone else.”

The decision seemed to have taken Vivi by surprise, the girl only widening her eyes and staring at Laura. She didn’t want for the star of the show to leave the stage like that so she was going to try and persuade her to stay.

“How about you sit down and enjoy a cookie or two with me? So we can talk about you quitting,” Vivi said with that Laura could only call the fakest smile, but since she didn’t want to cause trouble right as she was about to walk away, she nodded her head.

Holding back a sigh, the silver haired girl took a seat and even reached out for one of the cookies, starting to chew on it. One cookie and she would go, that was the plan. Make it clear that she was leaving, there was no contract or deal tying her to that place, only her need for money and that need was now met through way easier means.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t keep doing this,” Laura said after she finished eating, putting her hands together. “I’m even underage, as you already know. Me leaving is best for everyone.”

“Are you sure about that?” Vivi asked, taking a cookie as well.

There was something in her eyes and her voice that made Laura really unsettled. She was starting to feel anxious and she just wanted to leave there as soon as possible. To ensure her exit, the girl even got up from the couch and bowed one last time.

“I’m very sure. Goodbye, Miss Vivi.”

And with that, Laura started walking towards the door, but Xiaolung blocked it with his body. Raising an eyebrow, the girl only stared at him, gripping her hand into a fist. She was ready to fight if she had to.

“Move,” Laura said, looking up at the man.

But he refused, so she tried to punch him, but Xialoung avoided the punch. Actually, the punch avoided him, as Laura lost her balance and hit the wall instead. She started to feel the room spinning around her and when she looked at the wall, she could swear they were melting. The last thing she heard before passing out was:

“I’m afraid we cannot let you leave like this.”

Chapter Text

Slowly, but surely, Laura started to open her eyes, being hit by a dim light immediately which allow for her to adapt and wake up easily. It took a moment for her to also start hearing the voices around, all of them being muffled at the beginning, but they were starting to be louder and louder with each second passing. What scared her the most was the fact her view was blocked in parts by metal bars, sight that made the girl hurry to get up.

She felt the mask she had on her face right away, pulling it off and grabbing two of the bars with her hands, looking through them. She seemed to be in such an elegant room, like an opera house or anything along the lines and the seats were filled with all kind of people, most of them men, all of them wearing masks as well, all of them falling silent when they noticed her being awake.

“Why am I here?” Laura asked, feeling her heartbeat go up faster and faster. “Let me out!”

“I see you finally woke up,” a voice said coming her way, which made the girl turn her head around right away.

In that moment, she met eyes with Xiaolung, the man also wearing a mask just like everyone else, but he was easy to recognize for her. He was holding some pieces of paper in his hand and he made his way to the stand which was set in the middle of the stage where Laura was also on, inside a cage. They were holding her there like some sort of animal. Looking around the place, the silver haired girl couldn’t spot Vivi anywhere, but that witch was just as guilty as her bodyguard.

“It looks like we can start the auction, ladies and gentlemen,” Xiaolung said, speaking into a microphone so he could be heard by everyone.

“Auction?” Laura asked widening her eyes and she moved to a side, where she was closer to her abductor. “What the fuck do you mean auction?”

But the man completely ignored her, it was as if he couldn’t even hear her in the slightest. In reality, he couldn’t care enough to hear her. He was there to do his job and nothing more.

“Tonight’s main attraction, as everyone knows already, is the famous Black Swan of Vivi Nightclub. The bidding starts at five hundred thousand dollars.”

Laura’s eyes widened so much, they almost looked like they were about to pop out. As soon as Xiaolung was done talking, the bidding started, people in the hall rising their paddles and offering more money than the person before them. The silver haired girl remained silent due to shock, staring down and trying to think of a way to escape.

I knew then…

“Stop!” Laura yelled, gripping her hands on the bars and trying to break free. “Let me go, please! Please, help!”

No one listened to her, the people were only raising their paddles constantly. The price put on her was now set in millions of dollars.

It was me they were bidding for.

“Ten million,” a young man from the public said, raising his paddle.

Only whispers could be heard into the room as no one seemed to want to take things further. Laura locked eyes with the man, begging him to let go of her as she slowly shook her head. However, the man only smirked, which was enough of a sign for her to understand that he wasn’t going to spend all that money just to let go of her.

I’m fucked.

“Ten million, once…” Xiaolung said, looking through the public for anyone else raising their paddle. “Ten million twice… Sold for ten million to the gentleman in the third row!”

Scared and feeling her heart beating a million times faster, Laura took a few steps back and brought her hand to her chest. There was nowhere for her to run to, no way to escape. She was already imagining the worst of scenarios in her mind. What will happen to her? What will that man do to her?

Her thoughts were interrupted the moment someone grabbed her hair from behind, pulling her until she hit her back against the metal bars. With a scream, she reached out to try and push the person’s hand away, but the man moved to a side and allowed someone else to grab Laura by both arms, pining her in place. The girl started screaming in terror, try to pull herself away with all her might, but it made no difference. She soon felt a sting in her neck and the men let go of her.

For a matter of seconds, she seemed fine, but soon her vision started getting blurry and the last thing she saw was Xiaolung approaching the cage she was in and unlocking it, right before she collapsed onto the hardwood floor.

***

Early in the morning, Vasco was happily making his way towards Laura’s home, having in his pocket a little box with a necklace which he got for his girlfriend. He saw it while he passed by a store the other day and didn’t leave there until he had the piece of jewelry with him. It wasn’t gold or silver, or really anything precious. It was a small crystal-like stone, pastel blue colored. He knew just how much Laura loves necklaces and rings, so he was sure that this one would go with her style.

Although, he was also a bit worried. Laura told him yesterday that she needs to go solve something at her work place and she will message him once she gets home, but that message never came. Instead, Vasco tried to contact her, but nothing. She wouldn’t respond to his messages and she wouldn’t pick up his calls. Poor boy was worried that he did something to upset her, so the necklace was also a way to apologize for anything he did wrong.

Knocking on the door, he was greeted by his girlfriend’s mother, but after bowing to her, his smile just dropped. She looked so tired and so worried and her eyes looked red from crying.

“Miss, are you alright?” the boy asked, letting go of his backpack which he was holding only onto one shoulder, movement that cause for it to fall down.

“Vasco, it’s so good to see you!” the woman said, looking up at him with the last bit of hope she had. “Please, tell me you know where Laura is. She didn’t show up last night, I’m so worried.”

“She didn’t show up last night?”

Now he was more worried than before, hating to shake his head in response to the woman’s question. Where could Laura be? She always let her mother know where she is, she even told Vasco where she goes all the time, but now nothing. The fear was installing inside the boy’s soul at an alarming pace and he reached out in his pocket for his phone. He could only think of two people with who the girl might be, so he called Daniel right away. He only had his phone number, he didn’t have Jay’s as well.

“Good morning,” Daniel answered in a cheerful voice as he was just leaving his home.

“Was Laura with you last night?” the Burn Knuckle asked right away, leaning down to take his bag.

“Laura? No, I didn’t see her since Saturday. What happened?”

“She wasn’t home last night. Can you call Jay and ask if she was with him?”

“S-Sure, count on me.”

Staring down at his phone, Vasco shook his head and threw his bag over his shoulder again, looking down at his girlfriend’s mother.

“I need to go, miss. Please, call the police. We’ll find her.”

And with that, he bowed one more time and turned around, starting to run towards their high school. Maybe she made a new friend and her phone’s battery just died and she was going to show up at school. Yes, that sounded like a good explanation. Anything that didn’t imply his girlfriend being hurt was a valid explanation, Vasco just hoped that any of them was the actual explanation.

While he was running though, he got a call back from Daniel, with bad news. Laura wasn’t with Jay either. Maybe with one of the girls? But he didn’t have their phone numbers. Worried out of his minds, the boy started running even faster towards school, stopping only to change into his shoes after walking into the building, before he hurried to the Fashion Department’s classroom. His girlfriend had most of her friends from there.

“Mira, Zoe!” Vasco shouted, getting everyone attention.

The two girls even jumped in their seats when they heard that boy shout like that and they got scared when he started walking towards them. But he barely took more than two steps before Zack stepped in and pushed Vasco back.

“What do you think you’re doing, screaming at Mira like this?”

“Was Laura with you last night?” Vasco asked, not caring in the slightest about the way Zack talked to him.

With his question, spirits calmed down a bit, Mira and Zoe looking at each other before they both shook their heads. Vasco’s heart dropped. She was nowhere.

Without saying anything else, he rushed out of the class and towards Laura’s classroom. He was desperately asking any student that passed him if they saw Laura, but with no success. Not in the Fashion Department’s class, not in her class, not even anyone from his class knew anything. She was missing without a track.

Everyone was worried now, each of them trying to get a hold of their friend somehow. Call her, message her on any social media account she had, think of the last time they saw her. By the time lunch break came, all of her friends gathered in the gym room, trying to come up with a plan to find Laura.

“Who was the last person who saw her?” Zoe asked, looking at everyone in the room.

“Probably me,” Vasco said raising his hand. “I met with her right before she said she has something to solve at her work place.”

Work place.

Those two words were enough to make Daniel open his eyes wide. Laura’s work place, he knew of it too well. He was the only one who knew and he remembered very clearly being out for a walk with Laura just two days ago, when she told him of her plans.

“I’ll go quit my job at that nightclub,” Laura said out of nowhere, holding her hands behind her back with a big smile.

The news took Daniel by surprise, but in a good way. They were good news, great news in fact! So good that the boy jumped in front of her, leaning down a bit to be on her level. She could swear she wasn’t that short, but sometimes she was proven completely wrong.

“That’s great, Laura! You’ll do so much better after you’re out of there.”

His enthusiasm got the girl laughing, but she couldn’t stop her smile. She was happy to finally put an end to that chapter of her life.

“I have a lot of money saved, actually, and I’m almost making as much from streaming as I do from working there. I’m sure I will do more very soon.”

“When do you go there?”

“Tomorrow.”

Her tomorrow was now yesterday. He had a bad feeling about the nightclub ever since the first time he stepped foot inside, knowing that his friend went missing after going to quit her job there only got him more and more worried. They surely did something to her.

Lost in his thoughts, the boy didn’t even hear Mira asking if anyone knows where she works. Of course, no one knew so far, so when Jay shook him a bit to ask him the same question again, poor Daniel jumped back in surprise. He didn’t know if he could just tell them or keep Laura’s secret. Vasco was there and she made it very clear that she didn’t want Vasco to ever find out about it. At the end of the day, he wasn’t supposed to know either.

“I… No, I don’t know,” Daniel replied after all, shaking his head. He planned on working around the question as long as it didn’t stop them from finding her. “But she told me the area, something about working pretty much next to a nightclub in Gangnam.”

“We should go there!” Vasco said right away, getting up from the floor.

And no one seemed to want to stop him. The boys tried to stop the girls from joining, but they had no luck and on their way towards the exit of the school, there was another familiar face that they ran into. Crystal.

“Where is everyone going?” she asked confused, looking up at everyone since she was that much shorter than them all.

“To look for Laura. She went missing last night,” Daniel replied, signing for everyone to go ahead.

Truth be told, Crystal and Laura weren’t that close. Maybe it was the way Crystal looked at every good-looking person, maybe it was Laura’s intuition telling her that they wouldn’t get along so well, there wasn’t really a reason to it all. But there was one think that made Crystal a bit wearier of Laura and that was the fact that her father didn’t only tell her to keep an eye on Daniel, but to also keep an eye on Laura. She had no idea why Laura was of any importance to her father, but she gave up looking after her a bit ago as she didn’t find anything out of the ordinary about the girl.

Maybe not until now.

“Let me come help,” Crystal said, stopping Daniel just as he tried to move further. “The more we are, the faster we can move, right?”

Although he wasn’t too sure about it, Daniel eventually nodded his head and took Crystal along. The group took a bus to reach Gangnam and from there, they started following Daniel since he seemed to be the only one who knew more about where Laura’s work place was than they did. The boy still remembered where to go after his one-time job that led him to finding out where Laura works, so he had no problem reaching the nightclub.

“She mentioned working close to a famous nightclub,” Daniel lied, pointing towards the said place. “Maybe we can ask someone from there if they’ve seen her.”

At his suggestion, Vasco was the first one to make his way towards the club’s entrance, but the doors were locked and there was no one outside. What were they expecting? It was a nightclub, after all, and they came in during the middle of the day. But if there was no one there, who were they going to ask for help?

As Vasco kept trying more and more to get someone’s attention, Daniel turned around and looked for the one thing that could help them, security cameras. The best one seemed to be a camera coming from a store across the street which was just a bit to the right compared to the club, hopefully offering a better view over the entrance to the place.

“We could go there and ask to see the recording from yesterday,” Daniel suggested, pointing his finger towards the store.

And with that suggestion, Vasco was the first one to rush ahead, but he got quickly stopped by both Jay and Daniel, the boys each catching him by his arms and pulling him back. If he just barged in like that, they would never get help and Vasco seemed to understand that as he stopped and let the two walk ahead.

In that time, Crystal remained behind the group, watching them make their way towards the store as everyone was too focused on finding Laura to notice she didn’t join them. Good, it was what she needed to make a phone call.

“Hey, dad,” Crystal said once the person on the other end of the phone call answered. “That girl you told me to keep an eye on… She disappeared near Vivi Nightclub.”

“Hm, is that so?” the man said, turning around in his chair to admire the view of Seoul. “I’ll send Gun over there to investigate. Try not to get involved until then.”

“I’ll do my best.”

There were many things her father was hiding from her, but Crystal trusted that man and didn’t question his decisions. He always knew what he was doing, so he must know what he was doing then as well. But the girl did hope that they would find Laura soon, she’s already been missing for a day, it was bad news and the police would probably not move all that fast.

By the time Crystal also walked into the store, everyone else was just waiting around, except for Vasco, Daniel and Jay, along with the employee, the four of them being somewhere in the backroom, checking the CCTV camera. The girl didn’t say anything either, taking a deep breath and waiting for the group to get reunited, but judging by their faces as they returned, the news weren’t good.

“Did you find something?” Mira asked first, bringing her hand to her heart.

But Vasco shook his head, covering his face and actually staring to cry. He was beyond worried and he felt sick to his stomach. He had this strong feeling that something bad will happen to his girlfriend if they don’t find her fast, but it felt as if there was no hope to do it on their own.

“Many cars left, we don’t know which one to follow,” Daniel said shaking his head.

They also saw all kind of cars, sport, smaller ones, even two vans who looked just a bit more suspicious than the rest, but all they knew as the direction of the cars, as they disappeared within seconds as soon as they started moving.

“None of the cars looked out of place?” Crystal asked, trying to get some sort of lead on their problem.

“There were two vans who left a bit later, but they’re not the last cars to leave the group, so I don’t really know,” Daniel answered, sighing loudly.

Laura, where are you?

It felt like their hope just got buried under all of their efforts to find Laura. There was no lead in finding their friend and like that, they all left the store one by one, after bowing to the employee who helped them. Vasco just couldn’t stop his tears at that point, while everyone just looked hopelessly at him. And in that wave of emotions, none of them realized when Crystal left the group, pulling her phone one more time to make another call, that time not for her father.

Just as expected, when it came to offering help, Kouji could never do it for free, even if it means that someone’s life was on the line. That time was no exception, but he accepted to help as soon as Crystal brought up paying him. Laura was too important to everyone and she’s even been nice to her, as well, in both of her bodies. There had to be something good about her, there were so many people who cared for her.

The whole night did Kouji work to try and break the CCTV systems on the streets and get a lead on the car that Laura could’ve possibly be in, but it was way too much work and following two cars was far from easy. Soon enough, both of the two vans they were following entered in areas without security cameras and got lost from there. It was officially the end of the hunt, all they could do was talk to the police about what they knew and hope that they had more means of finding Laura.

It was the first time that they couldn’t help one of their friends.

Chapter Text

WARNING : rape

The sounds in the room were muffled and nothing around look clear, it all appeared blurry and out of place. The light felt like too much to handle, so Laura closed her eyes for a few moments before she tried to open them, repeating the process a few times before her eyes adjusted to the change. The images around started looking more and more clear and the sounds she heard until them seemed to come from a TV which was left on a rather low volume. Suddenly, she felt her head aching, so the white-haired girl tried to bring her hand to her forehead and massage it a bit, but she realized soon that she can’t move her right hand. Being too out of it to offer it too much thought, she tried moving her left hand, but that one was also unable to move. It was then that she moved her head to a side, seeing that her right hand was tied to the frame of a head and when she looked the other way, she saw that her left hand was in the same situation.

Adrenaline started building up in her body. Laura was starting to regain her consciousness and her last memories were coming back to her. Xiaolung, the auction, the price that she’s been sold for, they were all making her muscles tense. The fact that she wasn’t able to move her legs either didn’t help and the situation got worse as Laura felt way too exposed. Looking down, her eyes widened as she noticed just the lower part of her body being covered by a white blanket, while her chest was fully exposed. In that moment, she got desperate and started pulling on both of her hands as hard as she could, trying to release herself. All of her efforts stopped the moment she heard a door opening and she saw a man entering the room.

He looked rather young, somewhere in his middle twenties, he was quite tall and his back was kept straight with each step he took inside of the room. As he ran a hand through his black hair, the features of his face became clearer. The white shirt and black pants he was wearing surely suited him, but how handsome he was didn’t make up for how evil he felt and his smirk, as he noticed that Laura was awake, confirmed that. He seemed to have the vilest of intentions and that only made him ugly.

“Good evening, darling,” the man said in Korean, but with a rather heavy accent, one that sounded Russian. “Did you sleep well?”

Laura couldn’t focus on anything he was saying and the closer he got to the bed, the faster her chest would go up and down. She felt like she was suffocating, as if her lungs were getting crushed under the weight of the world.

“Please, let me go…” she whispered, tears starting to build up in her eyes.

“Ah, you’re even more beautiful from up close,” the man said, that time in Russian as he sat down on the bed.

But Laura could understand him, she knew Russian really well from her mother and she tried to get back all of her knowledge and beg the man to stop, but she swallowed her words as the man put a hand over her leg, but on top of the blanket. It made her react right away, the poor girl trying to pull her leg away, but it could barely move a bit to a side. Nowhere near enough to escape being touched.

“Please…” Laura said in Russian, closing her eyes and having to swallowed her own saliva to be able to talk further. “Please, let go of me, please…”

“No one told me you also know Russian. This just make you even more worth the trouble.”

Laura felt a cold shiver run down her spine as soon as she saw the man unbuttoning the first four buttons of his shirt. Her breathing became ever faster and she felt like there was not enough air entering her lungs, it felt like a panic attack or at least the beginning of one. As much as she tried to not think about it, the fact that she was naked only meant one thing: something bad was going to happen to her.

“Please, I’m underage, let go of me, I’m begging you,” Laura said, trying so hard to persuade that man to not get closer to her. The smirk on his face felt less than reassuring though.

“Underage?” he asked moving his hand high up, until he was touching Laura’s body without anything else blocking him, tracing it on her side and stopping somewhere right under her chest. “With this body and dancing in a nightclub? Lying doesn’t suit such a pretty face.”

And as if to punish her, he pushed away the blanket that already barely covered anything, making Laura gasp and close her eyes as she started shaking her head. His hand was going up and down on her side and she hated how close he was getting to her.

“Get off me, please,” Laura asked of him, trying to retreat herself into the mattress, but of course there was nowhere to run. “Get of me! Help!”

“The walls are soundproof, but scream if you feel like it,” the man said getting on his knees on the bed just so he could take off his belt.

It was then that desperation took over for Laura, she started pulling her hands as hard as she could, but with no success. She was struggling to move her entire body just in hope that she could escape, but the man who stood over her got annoyed at some point, grabbing her hips and pinning her down. And as if he would’ve punched her in the chest, Laura gasped for air.

All the functions in her brain stopped for a moment there, but soon enough the girl started pulling her hands again, crying out for help, but no one was coming to her rescue. No one could hear her and she was wondering if they’d care if they could hear. Before she knew, a piercing pain went through her body which made her stop altogether and stare at the ceiling before her mind took her away from there. Somewhere where she was safe and it was day time. Some place where there was no one who could ever hurt her and where Euntae protected her. Euntae… She could remember his sweet embrace and the little kisses he would leave all over her face when he got too excited over a date and she never stopped him. She could hear his voice as he called out for her on the school’s hallway before lifting her up and starting to laugh. That sweet, sweet laugh.

Time just passed next to her, Laura not feeling one second as it came and went. Once she realized that no one was touching her anymore, the girl’s mind pulled her back to reality, but she felt so tired, so scared and vulnerable and worst of all, she felt sick.

“I think I’ll throw up,” she said in a faint voice, looking to a side and closing her eyes.

The man heard her as she spoke, turning around to look at the girl right after pulling his pants back up. What an evil, evil man, feeling so powerful and in control as he looked down on Laura who looked as if she was on the brink of dying. He saw her as weak and unable to protect herself, unaware of how big of a mistake that was.

“There, there, you’re just too tired,” he said, untying her legs at first before he moved up to let go of her hands.

Laura saw an opportunity in that, her very first chance to escape and get help. But she couldn’t do it right away, she could barely pull herself on the edge of the bed, let alone fight. And what she hated more was the fact that she actually needed help from the devil in the room to get up and walk towards the bathroom. She hated herself more and more with each step she took, letting go of the man as soon as they entered the bathroom and she saw the toilet. She rushed towards it, getting on her knees and moving her hair away with only one hand, starting to throw up.

As if trying to seem kind, the man sigh softly and shook his head, walking closer to Laura. Her muscles tensed up again once she felt him closer, her hand gripping tight on the toilet when he touched her hair. She felt fear again and the fear fed her body with adrenaline. It was her chance to free herself, so when the man took a hold of her hair, Laura let go of it, but instead her hand grabbed her back by the nape. He barely had time to act in surprised and saying something was out of the question as Laura pulled her with all of the strength she had left, making the man hit his head over the toilet. That was all it took to knock him out, the girl letting go of him and only watching him for a moment as he laid on the ground, blood pouring out of his open wound. She wished she could sit right there and cry, but there was no time.

Pushing herself up, Laura looked for something to cover up, her eyes instantly falling onto a bathrobe hanging from the wall. Without thinking twice, the girl grabbed it and took it on, making a knot on it to keep it in place before she walked out of the room. She wanted to run, push every door open in her way and get the hell away from there, but she felt pain in her entire body as it was. Running was just too hard to do at the moment.

However, her energy level changed the moment she left the bedroom, only to end up in a hallway that was clearly still part of what seemed to be an apartment in a hotel. It was there where she saw two other men, bulkier than the one she knocked out, turning towards her at once.

Laura only took one step back, before her adrenaline level went up. She wasn’t going to be a victim that time as well, she was going to get out of there and reach safety. When one of the men walked towards her, Laura grabbed him by the hand, hitting him in the joint where the shoulder and the arm meet, making the man’s entire arm paralyzed. Seeing his confused and surprised face, the girl took that opportunity to kick him in between his legs with all of her might, watching him fall on the floor. One more man left.

The second man tried to be more careful, avoiding Laura’s first punch, but she was faster. She plunged forward, punching the man in the chest and making him gasp for air. Good. Grabbing him by the hand, the girl kicked him in the knee, the man crumbling on the floor like a sand castle during a rainy day. Fast and with no possibility to get up fast. She could run now.

Laura pushed the door open, finally reaching the hallway of the hotel. Confused and disoriented, she looked at the other door number. First, she looked at the number of the room she just walked out of, 234. In front of it, there was room 233 and next to that 231… The stairs were to the right. She felt so light as she ran down the hallway, grabbing the railing, Laura rushed down the stairs, looking back from time to time to make sure she wasn’t being followed. She didn’t cross paths with any stranger on her way down, but that changed once she made it into the lobby. She looked so out of place there and the terrified look on her face didn’t make things any better. The people around were staring at her, but she didn’t even notice them, running towards the reception where two women worked.

“Please, call the police, I’m begging you,” Laura said looked back at the door she came out of.

“Ma’am, what seems to be the problem?” the receptionist asked, but Laura shook her head and interrupted her right away.

“Call the police, please! I got kidnapped by someone in this hotel, you have to call the police!”

The woman looked reluctant at first, wondering if Laura wasn’t perhaps under the influence of something, but maybe that was an even better reason to contact the police. She nodded her head, grabbing the phone and dialing 112. She even took Laura behind the desk, offering her a cup of water and a seat. Poor girl was shaking like crazy and she could finally let go of her emotions and cry. The woman working at the reception was starting to believe her more and more then.

Laura was so lost in her own thoughts that she almost failed to notice the two police officers who walked in, but once she finally saw them, the girl stood up right away. However, she regretted her decision as the lower part of her body felt as if it got stabbed, making Laura covered the lowest part of her stomach. She was in so much pain.

“Please, help me…” was all she could tell the police officer, biting her lower lip when she started crying even more than before.

The police officers felt pity right away as they saw the white-haired girl in such a state. What made things worse was noticing the blood trail on her legs, making the older officer assume that was going to turn out as true later, the girl got raped.

“Call for an ambulance and for backup,” he told his partner before he hurried to the girl’s side. Seeing how she could barely stand, the man gently took her hand and helped her sit down once again. “We’ll help you, you’re safe now. You think you can give me some leads?”

“Room…” Laura said, sobbing violently, having to cover her mouth to not be too loud. “Room 234.”

“Good, good. Stay here with these nice ladies and we’ll go check that room.”

All she could do to answer was nod her head before being left alone with the two receptionists. One of the officers took the elevator up, while the other one took the stairs so they could be sure that none of the suspects could get away. What they found in room 234 left them speechless at first, but coming from someone so desperate to escape, it just made sense. The hotel was soon surrounded by police and a second ambulance was called, but from another hospital so they could avoid having the victim and the predator in the same place.

Being taken into the ambulance and laid on the stretcher felt like the biggest relief for Laura. She had no idea what the medical staff were doing to her, but she trusted them. She preferred to keep her eyes closed and trying to run to another happy place again, but it wasn’t as easy anymore. And on the way to the hospital, one of the ladies inside asked her for her name and the name of her parents, for which she only gave the name of her mother and their address, since she didn’t know her mother’s phone number. Should’ve learned it when she had the chance. But she couldn’t think of that now, all she could think of was that she was getting away from the hotel, but no matter how far she was, she couldn’t be the same as before.

***

From the very first moment that Laura made it into the hospital, doctors already started checking up on her. They were taking blood samples, checking her pulse, put her an IV, all the necessary procedures. Poor girl was just starting to calm down when she heard her mother’s voice in the salon. Her mind started spinning in guilt and shame and the girl wished she could get up and run somewhere far, far away, where no one knew her. However, at the same time, she needed her mother’s support, she was desperate for a hug and for some comfort.

Moving the curtain that was surrounding Laura’s bed to a side, her mother stopped dead in track and covered her mouth as she looked down at her daughter. And Laura looked back at her, covering her mouth and closing her eyes as she started crying right there and there.

“Mom…” the girl called out in a faint voice, wrapping her other hand around herself.

Without hesitation, the woman rushed towards her daughter, pulling Laura into a tight hug while she also started crying. What else could she do? She got a phone call that her daughter was found, only for the doctors to inform her upon arrival at the hospital that Laura was far from safe and sound.

“I’m so sorry,” Laura said, wrapping her arms around her mother as well, scared that she might get left alone.

“Sh, you did nothing wrong,” the woman said, covering Laura’s head with her hand while trying to calm down for the sake of her daughter. “You did nothing wrong, dear. You’ll be alright.”

Isabel, Laura’s little sister, remained on a side, unsure of what to do or say. The news took her by surprised and made her feel anxious and scared for her older sister. They always had their little fights, just like all siblings do, but Isabel knew how hard her sister worked and how much she cared for their family, so seeing her like that broke her heart. She started crying right there and then, hurrying towards Laura’s side and hugging her along with their mother.

One of the nurses pulled the privacy curtains for them so they could be away from people’s curious eyes. It took well over an hour for Laura to calm down eventually, feeling safe enough to even fall asleep at some point. She felt exhausted, both mentally and physically and holding her mother’s hand proved helpful at the moment. However, hours later, she was easily able to sense that her hand had been let go of, making Laura wake up right away and look around for her mother. The woman was there, but instead of sitting on a chair, she was standing up and a few nurses surrounded Laura’s bed.

“What going on?” the girl asked scared, leaning on her elbows, almost ready to jump out of bed.

“We’re moving you to a private room,” one of the nurses answered, gently putting a hand over Laura’s shoulder to try and calm her down. “Your friend insisted on it.”

“My… Friend?”

And looking behind them, she could see a blond boy talking to one of the doctors, worry being shown all over his face. It was the second time something like that happened to Jay, seeing one of his dear friends in hospital. A third time and he felt like he’d have a heart attack. When he heard Laura’s voice, the boy turned around and rushed to her side, scared to touch her, but the girl reached her hand out to him.

“Jay…” she said with tears building up in her eyes again, the poor girl starting to cry once more. To try and comfort her, the boy leaned down and hugged her tight, covering her head with one of his hands. “Jay, they sold me… They sold me like how they sell paintings at auctions. And the man… The man who bought me, he… He just…”

She was sobbing so much that she could barely talk anymore. All the calmness abandoned her a second time as she tried to grip tighter onto her friend. She was so scared of being let go of. And by then, she wasn’t just crying in silence, she was really loud, which broke the blond boy’s heart.

The nurses had to pull Jay back after all so they could move Laura, but the poor girl didn’t let go of his hand. Jay was strong, Jay could protect her, she needed him next to her for a longer. And Jay stood, taking one of the nurses’ places and helping with moving the bed. It was also him who convinced Laura to lay down and rest her body with the promise that he won’t leave her side.

With a little nodded, the girl did as told, gripping her hand even tighter on Jay’s. She was still crying, but she closed her eyes in an attempt to calm down. No matter how much she tried, all she could think about was everything that happened. She didn’t know what was next, how she should prepare for the future now. She couldn’t help but wonder how things will be from there on, what will people think about her. Was she ever going to be just Laura again or will she be ‘the girl who got sold and raped’? What will her friends think? Oh Goodness, Vasco… What will Vasco think?

Taking a deep breath, Laura used her other hand to cover her eyes, continuing to cry, in silence that time. Instead of hitting the Russian’s head against the toilet, she now wished she crushed her own skull instead.

Chapter Text

Warning: self-harm

It was early in the morning when Vasco could be seen running around like his life depended on it, ignoring any taxi, bus or anything along these lines that could make up for a faster means to help him reach his destination. He felt like none would be fast enough, he trusted his own legs better than he trusted anyone and anything else. He was on his way to the hospital.

It was Jay who told him. Him and nobody else. Vasco also didn’t speak a word, but the news about what happened at the hotel broke on the internet and on TV. Everyone found out and now everyone was on their way to the hospital either by bus, by taxi, by subway, anything that was closer to them and that got them fast at the hospital. Fate made it so that they all got there at the same time, with Vasco being the first one. He didn’t even hear the others shouting for him, he ran inside the hospital and only stopped at the reception desk to ask for Laura Yang.

As it usually happened, the nurses were scared of his presence. Tall, muscular, with tattoos, no wonder they were scared, and even reluctant when he claimed to be the girl’s boyfriend. Luckily for him, Isabel was just on her way out of the hospital so she could buy something to drink and they spotted each other at the same time. With that, the nurses finally told him what room his girlfriend was in. Their friends were right behind him, but when Daniel tried to put his hand over Vasco’s shoulder, the Burn Knuckle was gone in a second. The rest of them didn’t hurry that much, expect for Daniel who told them to walk on their way to Laura’s salon while he took a run for it in an attempt to stop Vasco.

“You can’t just rush in her room like this!” Daniel shouted, grabbing his friend by the shoulder and turning him around.

In his fear and pure blindness caused by it, Vasco wasted not a moment before he grabbed Daniel’s hand back and pushed it away.

“Don’t you fucking stop me!” he practically yelled back, taking Daniel by surprise.

It was the first time he ever heard Vasco cuss and it was not a pretty sight to see. Daniel felt a shiver down his spine and he even took a step back, but he came back to his senses rather fast. There was no time to lose himself like that, he couldn’t possibly let Vasco run around the entire hospital like that.

“You’ll scare her!” Daniel said looking his friend in the eye.

It finally seemed like enough to stop him, but it also made Vasco break down as tears started running down his face. However, he felt like it wasn’t his place to cry, not when he felt like he failed his lover and that led to her getting hurt in such a manner. In reality, he had no blame to take whatsoever, everyone from the outside knew it, but there was a train of thoughts in his mind and all of them were messing with him. Taking a deep breath, the boy nodded and wiped away his tears, turning around to continue on his way, that time walking.

When he found himself in front of the door, poor Vasco had to stop and take a few deep breaths before he found enough courage to knock on the door and walk inside. Out of the three people that were in the room, Laura was the first one he spotted, the girl sitting on the bed with her mother and Jay by her side. Curious to see if Isabel returned, they all turned their heads towards the door only to meet eyes with Vasco. Seeing him made Laura’s mother happy, the woman getting up and walking by his side. Laura wasn’t that happy, she was ashamed, she felt dirty and she miserable and she started crying again.

“Why are you here?” she asked in a faint voice, covering her mouth with one hand before she turned her head towards Jay. “Why is he here..? You told him?”

“Are you alright, Laura?” Vasco asked after he bowed in front of Ms. Yang, walking by Laura’s side. All the girl did was grip Jay’s hand and look down.

“I don’t want you to see me like this…” she spoke up, closing her eyes tight and curling up in a ball.

“Laura…” poor boy said, gently reaching for her hand.

His hands were always rough thanks to all the work out he did daily, but the white-haired girl always found comfort in holding his hand. And when she thought that she’d pull away if he touched her, she did just the opposite and tightened her grip around his hand. Letting go of Jay’s hand, Laura reached out to hug Vasco and the boy leaned down, wrapping his arms around her as to protect her from the rest of the world. And there they stood, for a long time, while the rest of their friends were waiting outside. Laura’s mother even signed for Jay to follow her outside so Laura and Vasco could be alone for a moment.

No matter how many times Vasco told his lover that she was safe now and that he was going to protect her from harm from then on, Laura couldn’t find the means to calm down. She tried to tell herself that she needed time, that she needed to take it easy and give herself time to understand what happened and make sense of it all, put it on a side. Deep inside her heart, however, in a hidden part that she wasn’t even yet aware of, she knew the truth.

A big part of Laura Yang died last night.

***

A month it took for Laura to return to school. No one was letting her walk alone anymore, reason to why she found Vasco, Jay and Daniel waiting for her in front of her home on the day she decided to return to high school. Her case was ruled as self-defense thanks to the amazing team of lawyers Jay hired for her. He didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer, in fact he didn’t ask to begin with, he hired them and told them to make sure his friend gets the justice she deserves. The man that bought her had been sentenced to prison and deported back to Russia, along with his bodyguards. He didn’t get all that many years in jail and while he would eventually get out and return to his life, Laura was never going to enjoy the same freedom.

“Hey,” she said with a little smile, going ahead to hug Vasco first, wrapping her arms around his neck pretty tight.

“Good morning, love,” the boy said back, burying his head in her shoulder for a few moments, in fact, for as long as Laura kept the hug.

He didn’t pull back unless she did. Vasco, despite not being the smartest in the group, understood very well that his girlfriend needs space, love and compassion and that she needed to feel back in control of what was happening around her.

After Vasco, she gave Daniel a hug before doing the same with Jay, who pulled her a bit closer and struggled to hold back a sigh. He was so worried for her. She was skinnier, she could barely eat lately and most of what she ate, she threw up. Her hands were shaking like crazy because of how weak her body had become. It was a sad sight to see. Laura Yang, the girl who used to fight for everyone in school, was now so weak and scared that her friends were scared of leaving her alone.

For a while, Laura walked while holding Vasco’s hand. It was rather silent between them all, just some little chatter here and there, but it was as if they didn’t want to bother her too much. The white-haired girl kept her head facing the ground, hating the simple idea of eye contact. Somewhere in the middle of their walk, the girl slowly let go of her boyfriend’s hand and got closer to Jay, hugging his arm and even closing her eyes for a few seconds.

“Let me stay here for a bit,” she told him with such a heartbroken voice that Jay couldn’t say ‘no’ even if he wanted to. Good thing he never planned to do so to begin with.

Watching that little scene unfold got Vasco feeling a sting in his heart which he couldn’t really describe. He looked down at his hand before looking back at her girlfriend and her best friend, taking such a deep breath that his back straightened. He felt jealousy and some sort of anxiety that he was still not strong enough for her to feel safe with him, to the point where she went to someone else looking for protection. The Burn Knuckle leader didn’t know the actual truth and he wasn’t ready for it.

When they finally made it to school was the moment when the whispers started. People knew the big picture of what happened and seeing Laura at school triggered them to talk about the incident. At least they were silent enough for her to not hear them, but it was too obvious that she was the subject of their conversation, they were looking right in her direction like idiots.

Jay and Daniel stopped at their class, while Vasco volunteered to take his lover to her classroom to ensure her safety to the very last moment. None of her close friends were in that class and that only made things harder for poor Laura, but she knew she couldn’t change that in any way. The best she could do was accept it as it was and try to go through the day.

“You’ll come see me in break, right?” the girl asked, holding Vasco’s hand so tight, you’d think her life depended on that.

“I’ll be here before you get a chance to look for me,” the boy said, leaning down so he could kiss the top of Laura’s head before leaving class and taking a run for his own class.

And just he promised, Vasco came around in every single break to keep Laura company and help her feel safe. Her classmates were giving her all kind of looks, either too scared to approach her or not caring enough to attempt to do it. She could feel their glances and even with her earphones on, she could see them talking while looking at her. She felt so lonely and vulnerable, so weak and easy to hurt. She felt all eyes on her no matter what she did to try and keep herself busy.

When it came time for lunch, both Vasco and Jay went to grab Laura so they could go to the cafeteria together. It took a bit for the boys to convince her, she didn’t feel like eating, she just wanted to stay in class, but seeing how worried they were because she wasn’t eating eventually got her to get up and go grab something to eat.

On their way there, they took a little stop when bumping into the rest of their friends from the Fashion Department. They all stopped for a moment to talk, everyone showing visible concern for Laura, but the girl did her best to reassure them that she was slowly getting better. Very slowly, but there was some sort of pace to everything. And it all went well until the moment Logan Lee appeared on the hallway, pushing Laura on a side on purpose as she was the one staying more to the middle of the hallway.

“Get out of my way, slut,” Logan said with anger in his voice.

Slut.

It took that one word for everyone to get tensed up, but the one who reacted the fastest was Vasco. In less than a second, he grabbed Logan by the shoulder, making him turn around and using all of his strength to punch him in the face. Jay took off his jacket and stepped forward, ready to fight Logan as well. Daniel and Zack stepped in from a side, Zack throwing at Logan the bottle of water he had in hand, his eyes screaming of rage. They were all sharing the same feeling.

Laura saw none of that. She remained in the exact place where Logan pushed her, keeping her head down as she started to shake. The girls moved in front of her, asking Laura if she’s alright, but she couldn’t even hear them.

Slut.

Logan Lee called her a slut. Did Logan Lee know about what happened to her? He must have known. Logan Lee who couldn’t care less about what happens in their school knew what happened to her. Logan Lee who never paid attention to anyone unless they got on his nerves knew. If Logan Lee knew, it meant the entire school knew. And now, because of the commotion, the entire school was gathering on the hallway to watch the fight, but poor Laura felt all of their eyes on her and her alone.

Her breathing was getting heavier by the second, it felt like she was suffocating and her entire body was sweating like crazy, yet she felt so cold it was almost as if it was the middle of winter there. Her heart was beating so fast that it got her dizzy and she felt so sick all of a sudden. At first, Laura covered her ears and closed her eyes, but as she got sicker, she moved one hand over her stomach and ran away from there, pushing her way through the crowd of students and straight towards the bathroom.

“Laura!” Mira shouted for her, trying to catch up with her girl.

Laura slammed the door to the bathroom open and hurried inside one of the stalls, getting on her knees and starting to vomit, her body trembling even more violently.

I hoped that I would start vomiting blood. A lot of blood…

Entering the bathroom, Mira started looking around, noticing the one stall that had the door open, approaching it with small steps and covering her mouth in shock when she saw Laura on the floor, looking like she was fighting for fear life. She hadn’t even eaten that day, she was vomiting water and whatever else her poor body felt the need to take out.

And that it will tear something and cause me to bleed on the inside…

When she managed to calm down, Laura turned around, her eyes falling onto Mira who was waiting for her friend to be able to stop before getting close. Mira looked down at her friend with such a pitiful and worried look in her eyes that it caused for Laura to immediately break down crying. Without wasting more time, Mira hurried by her side, pulling the white-haired girl into a tight hug so she could comfort her. In return, Laura wrapped her arms around Mira tight and buried her head in her shoulder, crying loudly and sobbing violently.

I wanted to die.

By the time Laura was able to walk out of the bathroom with Mira, all of their friends had been waiting outside for them. Seeing his girlfriend in that state put Vasco on high alert, the boy lifting her up and hurrying for the nurse’s office. She was so light and the fact that she was still trembling made the poor Burn Knuckle leader to swallow his own saliva in fear. In that time, Laura was getting comfortable in his arms, hiding her face in his chest as much as she could.

“Please, help her!” Vasco almost yelled, kicking open the door to the nurse’s office.

At first, the doctor present there wanted to scold him, but seeing that Vasco was carrying another student got him to stop and sign for the boy to put his girlfriend down so he could check on her. Time passed by so fast that the young student had to return to class, but he trusted that his girlfriend was on good hands. He made sure to give her a kiss on the forehead before leaving for class, with the promise that he will come see her during the rest of the breaks.

And so he did, Vasco being also the one who brought her home that day. The walk home was so silent, he didn’t know what to talk about and she didn’t want to say another word. There were so many thoughts running through her mind, she just wanted for them to stop and give her a break. She felt like dying. Pick up a knife and stab her own heart, but she didn’t have the courage for such a thing.

“We’re here,” Vasco spoke up once they were in front of the house, even looking around to see if maybe her mother or sister was anywhere around.

“I hate everything,” Laura said, covering her mouth since she felt like she would cry again just from that.

At that sight, Vasco pulled her close and into a tight hug, closing his eyes so he could stay calm. He also wanted to cry, he wanted to cry so badly, but he didn’t want for Laura to see him like that and blame herself. He just had to wait to get home and he could tell let it all out, in the comfort of his room.

He didn’t know what words of comfort to use, but there was something telling him that his girlfriend didn’t want to hear any, she just wanted for that hug to last for as long as possible. And just as it happened in the morning, he didn’t pull back until the very moment she did so. Her eyes were tearing up, but she managed to hold it all in.

“Thank you for taking me home,” the girl said, sniffing her nose and fully letting go of her boyfriend.

“I love you,” her boyfriend said, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

“I love you, too.”

And with saying so, she finally turned around and started walking towards the house. Vasco didn’t leave until the very moment he saw her inside the house and the door closed. She was safe there, so he could go home as well.

***

As the day passed, all that Laura could think about was the first encounter she had with Vivi and Xiaolung, the day she went to apply for the job at the nightclub. Most importantly, Xiaolung’s words, words so sharp they were similar to a double edged sword.

“That won’t do,” Xiaolung spoke up, pointing to the only scar Laura had on her entire body, a scar on her arm.

“Huh?” the girl asked, looking down at her hand so she could understand what her employer was talking about before she soon spotted her scar.

It wasn’t that big and it happened when she was smaller, one day when she was playing with one of her friends and they started running into the kitchen. Kids aren’t known for being incredibly smart, so they accidentally hit the table and a knife that was seated too close to the edge fell and cut Laura over the hand.

“What is wrong with my scar? You said you liked my dance,” Laura spoke up, looking at Vivi that time. However, it was still Xiaolung who spoke up.

“Cover it or we can’t offer you the job. A scar on a woman’s body drops her value.”

Her entire life, Laura learned that the life of a human-being is priceless, that you can’t put a money value on people, that they’re greater than that. Her life was worth ten million dollars, it was a well-known fact for her now. Her life, which she was always taught can’t be bought with all the money in the world, was worth ten million dollars.

Ever since the day she returned home, no matter how many times poor Laura took a shower, she felt dirty. She felt like there was some sort of filth on her body that won’t wash off no matter how many times she scrubbed her skin or what soap she used. Today, she was left home alone, her mother and sister having left to see Laura’s grandparents, her father’s parents. She refused to go, she didn’t want to see them, she didn’t want to see anyone anymore, she was desperate for the comfort of her home.

Today, she felt dirty again and the words of that man were even louder than usual.

She was so caught onto what happened, on the way she got sold and used that she needed to find a way to change it. She didn’t want to know what price there was on her life, she wanted to be clueless about it once again. She didn’t need for her life to worth more, no, she needed for the price that would be paid for her life to be unknown to herself.

Those were her only thoughts as she made her way towards the kitchen and opened one of the drawers, taking out a knife that wasn’t so big, but it was more than sharp enough. Her mind was a dark, dark place and there seemed to be no light coming in as Laura walked towards the bathroom and just to be sure she had all the privacy she needed, she locked the door behind her. She avoided the mirror with all her might, especially as she took off her clothes. She hated her naked body, she always covered up as much as she could, which led to showers being a terrible experience.

As she finally stepped into the shower and turned on the water, Laura lifted her head up and closer her eyes for a few seconds, only letting the water drip down on her body for a good minute. The falling water wasn’t loud enough to cover her loud mind and soon enough, her eyes fell on the knife that she let down on the sink and for which she reached out after opening the shower door. Looking down at it, Laura’s hands started to shake, and her mind got louder and louder by the second.

A scar on a woman’s body drops her value.

She hated being there, she felt dirty and like she didn’t belong where she was anymore. No matter how much she tried to make sense of the situation, all Laura ended up with were more bad thoughts running through her mind. And now, with the knife in hand and the door closed once again, Laura had one thought in mind.

She needed to be out of there.

Chapter Text

“Let’s break up.”

It is true what they say, that words hold power. It was those three words that instantly broke Vasco’s heart, the poor boy widening his eyes and staring at his girlfriend. Laura wasn’t saying anything more, she was simply staring down at the floor, thinking of what to do next. How did they end up here? How did she end up taking this decision?

Ah, right.

The Logan Lee incident was yet another open wound for Laura to deal with. She didn’t attend school for three days after all of that. No one at school talked about what happened, at least no one she was particularly close to. Her friends talked about it at first, just because they didn’t know where the girl was, but as soon as they got an answer, the discussion came to a full stop. No one wanted to bother her any further, they just sent her messages to check on her, Jay and Vasco even offered to drop by and spend some time with her, but Laura refused the offer, claiming she got sick and needed time to recover. In a way, it wasn’t a lie.

Along with those three days, the weekend also passed with Laura not leaving her home. She refused to go out with her friends, only finally accepting Vasco’s offer to come see her. When Laura asked that he lets her be the one to hold him first in any way, Vasco didn’t think much of it. He just thought of it as his lover’s way of being in control of what was happening to her, so he simply let the girl do everything first.

And things calmed down for a little while, until one certain day. She was in the Architecture Department class, hanging out with Vasco. She felt safe there, she didn’t know what it was about those boys, if they were, by any chance, completely oblivious about all that happened to her, although that was beyond impossible, or if they just respected her so much that they didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable in any way, but they were acting the exact same way they always did. Those boys even moved out of the way and made a whole show the moment she stepped into class, carrying Vasco all the way towards the door. It brought a smile on her face. Even Jace stopped by Vasco’s desk so he could talk to the couple. He still thought that Laura is far more than she lets others see, but he wasn’t skeptical about her anymore. They were friends, she clearly had no ill intentions and so far, she’s only fought to protect those who needed it in school. She was a good person.

Their conversation got interrupted the moment Daniel stepped into class, waving at the three of them, before making his way towards the trio.

“Jace, you know a lot of stuff, right?” Daniel asked, perhaps a bit awkward.

“I like to think so,” Jace answered, raising his eyebrow. He knew there was more following after that.

“Do you happen to know about the ‘Big 4 Crews’?”

Big 4 Crews. Laura knew of that name oh, too well. Her eyes widened hearing the name, but she was able to hide her surprised reaction since everyone was focused on Daniel and Daniel was still looking at Jace. She had an uneasy feeling, but she couldn’t jump into the conversation, she had to let it go on and just see where it gets to. Just mind her own business and listen to what Jace had to say.

“Are you asking me what ‘Big 4 Crews’ are?” Jace asked, raising one eyebrow in confusion.

“Yeah… You know them?” Daniel asked, scratching the back of his neck.

“Why are you asking me out of the blue?”

“You seem like you’d know about that…”

“Wait, do you think I work at some kind of gangster office?”

Before Daniel could even apologize, Jace was already up, by the whiteboard and taking on a teacher stance. It took everyone by surprise, especially Daniel. No wonder, he didn’t expect for Jace to actually know anything judging by his first reaction. Now there he was, already explaining all he knew, starting with the regions of the crews.

Big Deal in Gangseo, west of river Han.

God Dog in Gangbuk, in the north side of Han River.

Hostel in Gangdong, to the east of river Han.

Workers in Gangnam, the south side of Han River.

Then Jace went to explain how every crew seemed to have some sort of illegal business going on for them. Big Deal, the crew led by Jake Kim, had the illegal betting ring, while God Dog, whose leader was Johan Seong had a yet unknown business going on for them. There wasn’t much to be told about Hostel, just that they were in the middle of a major make over. The Workers appeared to be the most sophisticated ones, literal teenagers running entire businesses, appearing so business-like that they were hard to find.

“Wait,” Daniel said, grabbing everyone’s attention once again. “Does this mean the Burn Knuckles are like a fifth Big Crew?”

“Crew?” Jace answered with another question, tilting his head on a side. “We’re just some guys that gathered ‘cause we like Vasco.”

It was there that Daniel noticed fully the Burn Knuckles’ devotion and respect for Vasco, especially as each of them started telling their story of how they ended up joining the Burn Knuckles. It got Laura just as curious, making her look up at her boyfriend who seemed rather embarrassed by all the praise he was getting, but didn’t say anything. He felt proud of himself, sure that he did good taking all of the boys in. They were all doing a lot better now and it felt like they finally had something to fight for. Looking at Vasco, Laura saw a true leader.

“But if I were to be honest,” Jace spoke again, making Laura turn her head towards him, “the Workers and Big Deal are the most dangerous ones.”

Hearing the name Big Deal made Laura’s muscles tense up, her back straightening a bit. Vasco could feel the tension as well, since his hand had been constantly around her waist.

“Are you alright?” Vasco asked with worry in his voice, leaning his head down to be able to look at Laura.

“Yes, sorry,” she answered right away, showing him a little smile while she tried to relax. “I’ve just heard about Big Deal before.”

“How come?” Jace asked, raising his eyebrow.

Oh, he had no idea. And fortunately for Laura, there was no one there able to tie the loose ends. Little Daniel did see her together with Jake, but he didn’t know who Jake is. Vasco, on the other hand, met and even fought Jake. However, Vasco didn’t know that his lover knew Jake and that Jake was the friend she told him about.

“I lived in Gangseo before moving here,” the white-haired girl answered, that time actually straightening her back and putting her hands on the desk in front of her. “I heard about them a few times. Why do you think they’re so dangerous?”

Her heart was beating out of her chest as she waited for an answer. She couldn’t help, but think back, to the old days. To Jake, to Samuel. To how much things changed and how now Big Deal was deemed as one of the most dangerous. She wanted to hear the reason why, from Jace’s point of view. That boy always knew what he was talking about.

“First of all, the illegal betting ring is a good reason,” Burn Knuckles’ number two started explaining his reasoning. “Second of all, they’re very well organized and they stand their ground even now, with their leader in jail. Jake Kim is already a big threat, we got lucky the Devil of Big Deal isn’t around anymore.”

“The Devil… of Big Deal?” Laura asked in a faint voice, her eyes a bit widened. Whoever would look at her would easily think she was taken aback by the name, to which they weren’t wrong. Where they were wrong was that she wasn’t scared or worried by the name, but rather hurt to hear it. It was all wrong, there was no Devil of Big Deal.

“The Burn Knuckles had barely formed when I heard the name. Apparently, there was someone in Big Deal able to defeat their enemy with one, precise blow. No one has ever seen the face of the Devil, they just knew to stay back if Big Deal called for them. Some people believe that the Devil of Big Deal was the real number one of Big Deal.”

It felt as if another part of Laura’s world had fallen apart with that explanation, and she wished she never asked for it to begin with. It would’ve been better had she never knew about it. That’s what the people believed...? The Devil of Big Deal. That name made her sick to her stomach.

The girl stood silent for a few moments, trying to come up with something to say. She was at a loss for words, but she did her best to keep her calm. Laura didn’t want to explain anything, to anyone. Most of all, she didn’t want to have to lie again. She was tired of lying, she just wanted for all the questions to disappear, to leave her alone.

“It’s almost time for class,” she said, completely changing the subject as she got up. It was a good excuse to use to leave there as soon as possible. “Daniel, can you walk me to my classroom?”

“I can do it!” Vasco spoke up right away, even getting up from his chair.

With a little smile, Laura put her hand on her boyfriend’s cheek and got up on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek.

“You’ll be late for class. Daniel has to pass my class to get to his anyway. Bye, guys!”

And with that, she waved at everyone and left the classroom with Daniel.

The boy could sense that she was distressed from the way she kept staring at the floor while walking. Daniel had to ask Laura to hold onto his arm in order to make sure she doesn’t bump into anyone. It wasn’t new for her to walk like that, not even since she returned to school, but something felt different that day. Thankfully for Laura, her friend knew better than to ask questions so he just dropped her off in front of her classroom and went on his way, taking one look back before shaking his head and taking a run for it.

***

Yesterday’s discussion was the turning point for Laura. She couldn’t handle being there anymore, so now there she was, following the police officer inside the prison so she could go talk to Jake. He was her only way of escape, the only person who could help Laura make some sense of her life.

As she sat down in the chair waiting for Jake to be brought on the other side of the glass, the girl kept thinking of how to convince her friend to help her. She had such a hard time finding the right words, so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t even notice Jake approaching her and taking a seat on his chair.

“Hey, Laura,” the boy said with a smile, happy to see her. Just seeing her was enough to make Jake’s day better, but he was not prepared for what was to follow.

“Take me back,” Laura said right away, pushing aside any attempt to go around words. She couldn’t face her friend as she spoke, looking down at her lap, ashamed. “Please.”

Her words got Jake confused, the boy raising his eyebrows in surprise. He wasn’t sure of how to approach her request. Jake simply thought she was more protected being away from him.

“Laury… I think you’re safer now that you’re not involved in this. It’s already a mess that I’m here and the Workers are winning a lot of connections and money. One of their affiliates are getting a lot of money thanks to this Black Swan-“

“It’s me,” Laura said, interrupting Jake before he ever got a chance to say something he could regret later. “It’s me, I was the Black Swan. I wasn’t part of the Workers, I was just trying to win money to take care of mom and Isabel.”

“Laura, wait,” Jake spoke up, widening his eyes in shock.

However, it was almost as if Laura couldn’t even hear him. She was freaking out and there were tears forming in her eyes. She had nowhere to turn to if Jake refused to help her and she couldn’t continue like that. With each day passing, she felt more and more like she was losing her mind.

“And I tried to leave, but those bastards drugged me. I got fucking sold to some man. He...!” With every word, Laura was feeling weaker and weaker and that time, she actually started crying. The crying, thankfully, was able to help her calm down a bit and allow her to keep talking. “I was raped… Please, take me back. I don’t care if I’ll be the last of Big Deal, I need to come back, Jake. I’m begging you.”

Raped.

That was the word that got stuck in Jake’s mind. He could only see red in front of his eyes as he heard that, getting so angry he felt like he could punch his way through the glass and leave there with Laura to go kill the bastards who hurt her like that. It took every muscle in his body to calm him down so he wouldn’t freak Laura out even more. What she needed now wasn’t a blood bath, but closure. A place to belong to, back in Big Deal.

No one was upset at Laura for leaving. Things got complicated and she couldn’t afford to be part of the mess, she had too much to lose. She didn’t run away, she came in front of everyone and told them she has to go. The whole crew was there when she gave Jake her coat and left, not before bowing in front of everyone and apologizing. If anything, they missed her.

“The boys miss you,” Jake spoke up, trying to sound soft, but he was clearly as angry as it gets. Even his smile was betraying his true feelings. “Sleep in the trailer, it has everything you need. And when I’m out, we’ll crush them all.”

As he said his last sentence, the anger in his eyes was as clear as day. And he made sure to point out that he won’t be out there hunting for the Workers alone. It was up to Laura how she wanted to approach the problem, and seeing how she is there, trying to return home, he was sure that the girl will surely do something about what happened to her. Jake knew her better than anyone else, perhaps better than Vasco. He knew how strong Laura is, how well she could fight. What happened to her… It was unforgivable. She was one of the people he cared for most in the entire world and she was hurt like that. Big Deal was out for revenge.

“I got some things to take care of beforehand,” the white-haired girl said, after taking a few deep breaths and wiping away her tears.

“Take your time. And get in contact with Jerry so he can prepare everyone for your return.”

“I’m scared…”

“Big Deal will always welcome their Angel with open arms, Laura.”

With a nod of the head, Laura got up from the chair and waved at Jake right before the officer came in to let her know their time was up.

***

And as she said, she started taking care of things. Got in contact with Jerry to help her have a smoother welcoming and… Tried to not leave any loose ends. So now, there she was, in front of Vasco, breaking both his and her heart.

“Let’s break up.”

“Did I do something wrong?” Vasco asked, not even noticing the tears in his eyes. He was just confused as to why his vision got blurry.

“No. I just… I can’t. No matter how much I try, everything feels wrong.”

Out of pure instinct, Vasco reached out, trying to take Laura’s hand, but the girl pulled back and even took a step behind. It was then that his heart broke in even more pieces as he remained stuck in place, unable to move or speak.

“I’m sorry.”

And with that, Laura turned around and left, leaving Vasco behind, in a corner of the hallway, staring at the ground while his eyes were getting filled with more and more tears. His head was spinning, and he didn’t know what to do anymore. There was a part of him telling him to run after Laura, but the other half of his heart forced him to stay in place, fully aware that being chased was the last thing that she needed. Along with al of these feelings, he could also feel fear. He was losing someone so dear to him, someone he loved so much. Laura didn’t even mention staying friends, she just broke things and left him there. Vasco felt abandoned and like he was alone in the world.

“Have you seen Vasco?” Jace asked some of the first-year students, interrupting their conversation.

“Jace, sir!” one of the boys said, as passionate as ever. They were always like this, so full of life, so happy to follow Vasco without a second thought. “We saw him talking with Laura right around the corner. We didn’t dare eavesdrop.”

Turning his head around, Jace could notice Laura crossing the opposite hallway in a hurry, her head facing the ground as she hurried on her way. Curious, Jace straightened his back and started to walk fast towards the direction Laura came from, finally noticing Vasco with his back turned. Jace didn’t know what happened, there was no way for him to know, but he felt that something was wrong. Vasco had been so happy the entire day and now, suddenly, he was standing still like a statue. Approaching him, Jace put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, showing him a smile as he leaned forward to look at him.

“Hey, Vasco,” he said, but his smile dropped as soon as he saw his friend crying. “Are you okay?”

“She…” Vasco said, sniffing his nose. It was then that he realized he was crying and that made him cry even more. “Laura broke up with me.”

Widening his eyes, Jace remained stuck in place for a few seconds before he left out a loud sigh and pulled his friend into a hug. Without hesitation, the Burn Knuckles leader hugged his friend back, continuing to cry. It was going to be hard calming him down, so for the moment, all Jace planned on doing was let Vasco let out all of his tears and try to sooth him.

Of course, he was a crying mess. He was so in love with Laura, he was talking about her a lot to the rest of the Burn Knuckles, he was asking them for advice on where to take the girl out for a date or what gift to buy Laura. He would always check his phone with such speed every time he would get a notification, hoping for it to be a message from his lover. It was Vasco who would take Laura from and to her house before or after school, they were even working out together.

Now he couldn’t call Laura his lover anymore.

Vasco’s heart felt lonely as he thought about all of their memories together, blaming himself for not being able to protect Laura and for not being able to help her feel better after what happened to her. He wouldn’t listen any time someone told him otherwise.

And while Vasco was struggling to deal with his emotions, Laura kept on taking deep breaths so she wouldn’t start crying as well, going to class to grab her stuff and make her way towards the sports hall. That was her escape, she was one class away from making a run for it and never look back.

Ever since the incident, her classmates, people she became friends with, were afraid to approach her. The girl felt lonely going into class and each time she went to talk to someone, they seemed a bit reserved, as if they didn’t want to talk to her. That was the impression she was getting, at the very least. Yet another reason to desperately look for a way out of there.

She said nothing on the way to the sports hall or in the locker room, talked to no one. Neither did she talk too much during class, she just did what the teacher told them, counting the minutes until the end of class. When the moment finally came, she didn’t hurry back to the locker room. Instead, she was the last one to make it there, some of the girls having already changed their clothes and preparing to leave.

Laura was moving slowly, just gathering her clothes. She wasn’t even trying to get changed and the girls weren’t questioning any of it. She would always change in the bathroom now, so they were all assuming that she was just about to make her way into the bathroom to change. And when the locker room was empty at last, there she was, Laura, all alone, staring into the mirror there. No fear, no regrets, there was nothing holding her back.

The time was passing by, so the girl started changing her clothes as well, but not into her school uniform. That day, Laura made it to school early into the morning. So early that she was the first student to make it to school, walking straight to the sports hall. When she made sure that there was no one around to see her, the girl shoved the clothes she packed into her locker and only kept the two notebooks she needed for the two classes she had before P.E. Throwing her notebooks into the locker, the girl quickly changed into a new set of clothes and shoved the others in her backpack. Laura also hurried to braid her hair into one long braid before fitting her hair into the hoodie she was wearing so she could hide her face. Looking into the mirror again, Laura could hardly recognize herself. She couldn’t see Laura Yang, the J High writer, she couldn’t see the Angel of Big Deal, she didn’t know who she was anymore.

Fixing the hoodie a bit more, the girl pulled her phone out of her pocket, looked at it a bit, turned it off and threw it into the locker before closing the door. Classes already started, it was time to leave.

Slowly leaving the locker room, Laura looked around to make sure there was no one else coming before she took a run for the backdoor. Once outside of the sports hall, she took around again before getting closer to the fence. Walking out the front gate was, as anyone could guess, one terrible idea. Now, being at the back of the school, she tightened the straps of her backpack before jumping up and over the fence. Laura was finally out of the school ground. Hurrying into a side alley, the girl took one last look back, holding back a sorrowful sigh.

Nodding to herself, the white-haired girl took one step forward, deciding to walk all the way to Gangseo.

***

“I thought that sending Jake Kim to jail would be enough to humble Big Deal.”

It wasn’t the pool cue hitting the white ball that grabbed Goo’s attention, but rather Gun’s words. He was one curious character, so he wasn’t going to miss on an opportunity to find out anything that could be of use.

“They’re still following his orders, aren’t they?” Goo asked, with his characteristic smile on his face. It was one bad sign to see that smile drop off his face. “You like to think you’re smart, you sure expected this.”

“They’re getting their other leader back,” Gun spoke up, preparing for another shot as he moved around the pool table to find a better position. “Laura Yang is back with Big Deal.”

“That girl returned?!” Goo asked so loudly, that it caused Gun to miss his shot. Enough of a reason to get Gun mad while Goo only shrugged his shoulders and pushed his ‘friend’ away with his hips. “How is she a leader anyway? I thought Jerry Kwon was Number 2 of Big Deal.”

It was no surprise to Gun that Goo had no idea how things with the Crews worked. He wasn’t interested in them, he was dealing with other things. Left Gun to take care of all the hard work, what a traitor.

“Jerry Kwon is Number 2 of Big Deal,” Gun answered, leaning on his cue as he was waiting for Goo to hit the ball already. “When Sinu Han left, Big Deal got two new leaders, instead of just one.”

“So you’re telling me that you considered as your successor someone who isn’t even strong enough to be a crew head?”

Goo’s laughter could be heard through the entire room. He wasn’t trying to be subtle at all, in fact, he was taking joy in being so loud.

“Your stupidity doesn’t cease to surprise me,” Gun answered in consequence, doing well in keeping his cool.

“Well, aren’t I right? If Big Deal needs two people to form one crew head, it means they’re nothing without each other! But that’s weird, Jake Kim seemed very strong the last time I encountered him. And so was that girl.”

“You’re a fucking idiot. It’s not a case of a duo being as strong as a crew head.”

“Then enlightened me.”

“When Sinu left Big Deal, the only two people fit to lead the crew were Jake and Laura. None of them really wanted the place and Big Deal couldn’t choose between the two of them out of respect, so they decided to lead together.”

“So you allowed for a team to have two crew heads. The only idiot here is you.”

“Well, if you wouldn’t have left me to take care of everything, perhaps things would be different!” Gun finally snapped, hitting the pool table with his fist so hard that it caused it to shake and ruin the entire game.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Goo asked, taking his cue and attempting to hit Gun.

A failed attempt, as the boy blocked the attack with his hand. Now they were at each other’s necks.

And in that mess, a part of Gun’s mind still had enough focus to think about something else. About the fact that things will get interesting from there on with Laura back in the game.

***

At the entrance on Big Deal’s territory, Jerry was waiting for Laura just as they had talked a few days ago. The boy was doing his best to not show it, but he was excited for the girl to return. Big Deal felt incomplete without their Angel, now she was back and everyone was waiting for her with their arms opened.

Seeing the girl approaching him, Jerry straightened his back and waited patiently until Laura was right in front of him. Only then did the girl pull down her hoodie, revealing her face and showing Jerry a little smile.

“Hey, Jerry,” she said waving at him.

“Hello, Laura,” he answered right away, even bowing as well.

“You just left school, didn’t you? How were classes?” the girl asked, signing for him to follow her. As anxious as she was, the girl didn’t want to waste anymore time lingering around.

“I have an upcoming test next week.”

“You better start studying for it.”

“I will, you have nothing to worry about.”

With a little giggle, the white-haired girl nodded her head. They discussed a bit more on their way to meet everyone else, on the street it all started. The place was so crowded when they got there, every member of Big Deal was present, old and new. The moment they noticed Jerry, everyone fell silent and they all moved to a side to make room for the two of them to go in front of everyone, next to Jake’s trailer (really, Sinu’s old trailer).

When the two of them made it in front, the corridor created by the members disappeared and now everyone was looking at Laura, only at her. For the first time, she felt overwhelmed being in front of a crowd. And they weren’t just any crowd either, they were her people, people she fought for, people who followed her. The girl was so worried they wouldn’t accept her back, but she had to try. Jake said they missed her, perhaps they were right.

“Big Deal, I’m sure you all know me,” she spoke up, pretty loud so everyone could hear. Even the newer members knew her, they would talk about her. “And I know I left you while you were going through hard times. I owe you one big apologize. I’m sorry for leaving and I ask that you allow me back in.”

And with saying so, Laura also bowed down, at a perfect ninety degrees. Her hands were held tight into fists and her eyes were closed. The girl stood like that for a good few moments before she heard a bit of commotion going on around and she felt something being placed on her shoulders.

Opening her eyes, Laura straightened her back and turned her head on a side, her eyes finally falling onto her coat, the same coat she gave Jake when she came to tell everyone she would leave. Looking up at Jerry, the boy didn’t say anything and just bowed his head in the same manner as she did.

“Welcome back, boss!” Big Deal’s number 2 said.

“Welcome back, boss!” everyone else followed, making Laura turn her head towards them.

Then she saw them, all bowing, all perfectly organized with Jason, Brad and Lineman among the people in the front row. It was as if a stone had been lifted off her heart. She felt relief, she felt happy. Letting out a little sigh, a smile appeared on Laura’s face as the girl took on the coat. She was back in business.

“Lineman, do you have a cigarette?” Laura asked, the boy raising his head right away.

“Yes, ma’am!” the boy responded, hurrying by Laura’s side while taking out his pack of cigarettes.

Stretching his hand with the pack towards the girl, Lineman waited until Laura took one before also lighting it for her. It’s been more than a year since last time she smoked, so it took the girl a moment to get used to the smoke filling her lungs. It felt right, she was where she should’ve always been. And looking at everyone, her heart couldn’t help but fill with joy. She never realized how much she missed them until that moment. If only she never left… But that was already in the past. Things were almost back to how they used to be.

Laura Yang, the Angel of Big Deal, was back home.

Chapter Text

The first night spent in Jake’s trailer wasn’t that easy to go through. Laura felt safe there, that wasn’t something to question, but she covered all of the windows of the trailer to make sure she had all the privacy she needed before laying down on the bed and trying to catch on some sleep. She couldn’t fall sleep, however, getting up and walking around a bit, finding a book to read and trying to keep herself busy with it. It felt like home to be there and the little sounds from outside didn’t scare her anymore, she felt at peace, she felt like she was getting her mind back and most importantly, she felt strong again. Yes, she wasn’t just Laura Yang, she was the Angel of Big Deal. More than that, she was Number 1 of Big Deal and with that thought in mind, she knew she would have to start training the very next day.

“Thank goodness for all that training with Vasco,” she spoke softly, turning the page of her book.

Vasco.

She really thought he was the one, despite how young they both were. She heard of high school sweethearts, they were sure going to be the same if only she could erase that one night from her life. Since that wasn’t possible, she had to let go of Vasco. It was for their own good that things went that way.

She didn’t even realize when she fell asleep, but all that Laura knew was that she woke up in the morning thanks to a knock on her door. A bit confused and taken by surprise, the girl got up and shook her head to fully wake up, taking a glance around to take in her surroundings.

“Right, I’m back home,” she told herself, going to open the door to the trailer.

“Good morning, ma’am,” said Jerry, greeting the girl as he took a step back.

“Good morning, Jerry, guys,” she said stretching her back and waving at everyone.

Taking a better look, she could notice that everyone was there, the entirety of Big Deal waiting for their boss.

“Perhaps this is not the best attire to greet you all in,” she said looking down at her clothes and taking a deep breath. “Let me change and I’ll be with you in a bit.”

Closing the door again, she went to her backpack and pulled out the few clothes she brought with her, among which there was a white shirt and a pair of black pants. After all, it was Big Deal’s attire, and it wasn’t going to be their boss the one to break the dress code. To add to her looks, the girl braided her hair as well, leaving out just a few strands of hair in front and she checked herself in the mirror before taking her shoes on, putting her coat on her shoulders, and leaving the trailer.

Taking another deep breath, Laura closed her eyes and showed a soft smile to everyone before looking at her people. It was good to see them all there and she couldn’t be more grateful that they welcomed her in as their leader, the way things used to be before her departure. Now she made it a plan to never leave them again, she was better there, with Big Deal.

“Did you all gather here because you have something to say or did you already miss me that much since last night?” the girl asked putting her hands in her pockets and looking out at the boys, waiting for someone to talk.

“We prepared a welcoming breakfast for you, with everyone from Big Deal,” Jerry broke the silence, getting Laura to look at him with her eyebrows raised, before she nodded her head.

“Let’s go to breakfast then.”

And so, she followed them without a second thought, finding out that the boy set countless tables together to make a big one, along with some smaller ones on the sides for the whole gang. Simply out of respect, Laura walked towards the end of the table, taking her seat at the head of the table and looking around at the dishes they had prepared for breakfast that day.

Not only was she not picky, but everything looked so good that the girl didn’t know what to try first, but her heart filled with joy seeing everyone sitting down. She only started eating once everyone was sat, Big Deal following her right after. Eating altogether didn’t take that long, but what took longer was the chatting. With Laura back, her people had a lot of stories to tell her. So much happened since last time she’s been there that they all had something to tell and Laura listened with a smile on her face and her heart open. However, there were also more things on her mind at the same time. Crazy how she was able to be careful at their words, but also put her thoughts in order.

With breakfast over, and with enough time having passed since they all finished eating, it was time for the boss to take on her responsibilities. It didn’t matter that it was just her first day back, she couldn’t slack off and lose precious time. Just like Jake, she also had someone she wanted to take revenge on.

“Time to clean, boys, and then get to work. I want a hardcore training session,” Laura announced everyone, getting up from her seat and fixing her coat.

Without wasting another second, all the men got up and started cleaning the tables, putting them aside exactly wherever they took them from and cleaning the street as if nothing ever happened. Well educated boys, the Angel liked to see it.

Seeing everyone ready to go, the girl led them to the same old, abandoned, and secluded area in which they used to train back in the days. She assumed they still used it taking how the park was still there and the grass was as tall as always and the basketball field looked even rustier than before. Someone was probably going to fix all of that one day, but today wasn’t that day.

Once on the field, the girl took off her coat and unbuttoned the sleeves to her shirt so she could pull them up. She wanted to fight, to see where everyone from Big Deal got and where exactly was she left behind. It’s been quite a while since last time she had a real training session and also quite some time since she picked on any new moves. Except for the little bit of Muay Thai learned from Vasco, all Laura focused on were dance moves, not combat ones.

“I want you all to come at me at once,” the girl finally spoke up, turning towards her people.

It was that short sentence that got them all confused, concerned, looking at each other in search for a way to approach what she ordered them. Perhaps she’s been too straightforward or perhaps it was too early for that, but Laura wasn’t backing away from it. She needed to put her limits and knowledge to test.

“If any of you holds back, I will just assume that if you can’t fight me, you’re not fit to fight anyone else,” Laura added, turning her head a few times until she heard one little crack. Good enough to release some of the pressure she felt.

Following her example, the rest of Big Deal took their coats off as well and surrounded Laura, yet none of them knew what to do or how to approach the entire situation. The Angel of Big Deal could see that as well, since a little smirk appeared in the corner of her lips, and she launched herself forward in Lineman’s direction. While Lineman was too taken by surprise to even attempt to dodge, but another one of the members stepped in front of him and brought his hands up in an ‘X’ stopping Laura before she could reach her target. That was exactly what she hoped to see from her men, teamwork and loyalty.

With a slight nod of the head, the girl instead tried to hit the man who protect Lineman, only for Lineman to pull him back and instead attempt to hit his leader back. It ended up bad for him, as Laura took a step on a side and grabbed Lineman’s arm, hitting one important spot on the joint between the shoulder and the arm, paralyzing his arm completely. When she was ready to deliver the ultimate blow, Lineman got pulled out of the way and from there, the game was on.

One did Laura get hit the entire time, when she got taken by surprise as three of the Big Deal members came towards her at once. Her plan was to grab one, pull him towards another one and like that block the third man as well. The plan failed when a fourth man caught her from behind which activated fear in Laura’s entire body. It reminded her of… Of the time she got sold, when she was in a cage and she got pulled from behind only to get shot with some sort of tranquillizer. As if getting caught like that during her current training wasn’t enough, she also got hit in the stomach pretty badly.

That punch along with the fear and all of the adrenaline in her body, woke in Laura what was well known in her family as a ‘killer instinct’. It made her arms hurt and her entire body felt like it was burning up. What else it did was make her suddenly a lot faster and stronger, the adrenaline playing a major role in this. Without even thinking about it, Laura hit the person holding her with the back of her head, forcing him to let go. When the two boys who came from a side tried to grab her arms, the girl quickly punched one of them before doing the same with the other. The one in the middle was completely in danger, since the white-haired girl punched him under the chin before hitting him in the chest, cutting his air flow, as well as weakening his entire upper body.

No one was able to stop her anymore and while she was the one who told them to come at her, it was now a dangerous thing to do because Laura felt cornered and she fought back to regain her freedom. Those who got bloody were pulling back, while the Angel’s knuckles were going purple due to how tight her grip was. Out of everyone, the one to realize that something was off was Lineman. He couldn’t express it in words, but there was something about the way Laura fought and acted, about the way her eyes were careful of even the slightest of details, that made him fear for both her and their members. The second one to notice was Jerry.

Just when one of the members was about to go after her, Jerry stepped in and pulled the man behind him.

“Everyone move back,” he ordered, taking a step back as well.

“But boss didn’t-,” someone tried to argue, only to get interrupted right away.

“Training for today is over.”

With people moving back, all that remained in the middle was Laura, her bloodies hands and the drops of blood that got on the ground due to her punches and kicks. She was strong, scary strong, but what she lacked was control over her body. And there was someone there who knew that already.

Clapping his hands from the gate to of the field, Gun nodded along while staring at the image in front of him. Laura Yang’s clothes were bloodied, but not by her own blood, there was this menacing look in her eyes, and she eyed him right away, starting to come back to her senses. Her chest, which was going up and down at a fast pace, pulsing with more adrenaline at the sight of the man.

“You will kill one of them one day,” Gun said, reaching in his pocket to grab his pack of cigarettes and light one.

“I will kill you and myself first before I ever do that to any of them,” Laura said with anger in her voice, but she feared Gun’s words. She feared them enough to step in front of her people. “Everyone, behind me!”

“Ma’am-,” Jerry tried stepping in, just to get yelled at.

“Now!”

Loyalty and teamwork. Two of the most important traits of Big Deal and Laura was showing them well, just like a leader should. Just like a crew head should. Even Gun appreciated it and despite him trying to disband Big Deal, he was going to stay out of their business. At least for now and at least for as long as they didn’t cause troubles for him. Besides, looking at Laura at that moment, she reminded him of Big Deal’s old leader.

“The fuck you want?” Laura asked straightening her back and already analyzing Gun from top to bottom.

“It’s just a friendly visit. I wanted to see how the Angel of Big Deal is doing since she came back home,” Gun answered taking a step towards her. Laura didn’t move an inch.

“Oh, I’m more fit than ever apparently, just lost a few pounds.”

Should he bring out the fact that he knew what happened to her or should he keep his mouth shut about the incident? It was one thing that Gun didn’t mean in a bad way, he wasn’t happy about what happened to her thanks to the Workers. Seeing her like that, he knew that Laura Yang wasn’t going to let that go. Especially since she didn’t tell everything to the police.

“I don’t want anything from you,” Gun stated, getting his free hand in his pocket. “Interesting to see Big Deal still standing when Jake has been in jail for long enough already.”

“Believe me, Gun, we’re not going anywhere,” Laura said confident, that time her being the one to take a step forward. “Big Deal has more than one leader.”

“So it seems.”

Looking at her, the man expected her to be nothing but trouble. She’s always been trouble for him, but a big help for her crew and Jake. It was to no surprise that Big Deal had two crew heads and unfortunately for Gun, he knew that stirring up problems for them won’t get him to break them. Jake and Laura were never going to go against each other.

With a little sigh, Gun shook his head and pulled out from his pocket a role of bandages, throwing it in Laura’s direction. Out of instinct, the girl caught it, looking at it curious before her eyes looked back up at Gun. That was one peculiar thing to give her. Was it an allusion to tell her to patch up the members she hurt too much during training?

“Restrain your arms or you’ll actually kill one of them one day,” Gun said as he was already walking away, waving his hand Laura and her crew.

Restrain your arms.

The more she looked at the bandages, the better she understood why Gun told her that exactly. In the part, Gun gave Eli Jang a weapon in an attempt to put a restrain on him and make him hold back from going totally feral on his opponents. Now, the same man gave her a role of bandages for her arms so she could fight back that hurtful sensation in her arms and keep her with her feet on ground. She didn’t want to say it out loud, but she was actually thankful that someone came up with an idea to help her.

Her outbursts, the mindless fighting, the adrenaline. They’ve been scaring her for a while now and she hoped that making it back home will help control the fear and the instinct. Looking back at her men, that surely wasn’t the case, so she hoped that Gun’s idea was going to prove useful, otherwise she could’ve become… Maybe worse than him.

“Is everyone okay?” Laura called out, looking at her people.

A wave of answers came her way, all of them positive. Good, that was one good thing that day. She wasn’t that behind in her fighting abilities, but she was just where she left. Maybe slightly up, but it was barely noticeable, things couldn’t stay that way. Looking down at her arms, she brought her fingers into a fist before letting go, repeating the same motion a few times. She needed discipline and control, it was time to look for someone who will help her achieve it.

“Seyoon, come help me with these,” she called out for one of the people in front, the boy hurrying by her side right away. “I’ll tell you how tight to wrap them but go all the way from my shoulders to my palms.”

“I’ll try my best, boss,” he answered, just happy enough that he got called for help.

“Everyone else, you’re free to go.”

With that, they all bowed their heads and slowly made their way out one by one. The only ones left were Jerry, Lineman and Seyoon who started bandaging Laura’s arms, starting with the left one. Looking up at the first two man, the woman noticed that they both were starting to regain control of their paralyzed arms, a good sign that she didn’t do too much damage to them.

While her arms were being bandaged, she seemed to have fallen deep in her thoughts. She barely made it back home, but it looked like she would have to be on the road again. That time, however, she was going to return no matter what. That time she wasn’t leaving Big Deal, she was just going to train to protect them better. And she heard of a man on Jeju Island that could help her perfect her skills of her most important martial art…

***

“Varma Kalai and Krav Maga,” Gun spoke up, answering Goo’s question as they were waiting for their food to be served. “At first, I didn’t think much of it, but she just needs one well landed blow before she can beat you to death.”

“What the fuck is Varma Kalai? Is it that weird thing she does when she hits you and you can’t move your hand or leg anymore?”

“It’s a martial art practice aiming for the vital points. If you know how to hit them precisely, you can paralyze your opponent. And then she hits you with Krav Maga. I wonder who taught her all of this.”

“Why didn’t you consider her as your successor?” Goo asked, grabbing his bowl of Japanese ramen, starting to eat right away. He had no problem speaking with his mouth full either. “Or are you a sexist and you didn’t tell me?”

“She was gone before I had a chance to even think about it. Laura Yang used to not like big trouble. I guess that changed since she’s back.”

Compared to Laura, Jake stood and Jake always had a stronger sense of authority than Laura had. However, when it came to their abilities, while using different fighting styles, they were both strong and there was no saying which one of them was stronger. They were so strong that they decided to lead together, but it didn’t last for too long unfortunately.

For Gun, it was quite interesting to see Big Deal get back its missing leader. The moment Jake would be out, they were going to be the only crew with two members this strong. In Gun’s eyes, the other crews were better off watching their back, especially Workers. Laura was back because of them, their fate was pretty uncertain now that she was surely out seeking more than refugee. Laura Yang was seeking revenge.

“Will you consider her as your successor now that she’s back?” Goo asked, going for another bite of his food.

“No, Big Deal are on their own now. Too bad, she had big chances of overpowering all the other candidates.”

“Leaves more space for me to get a new secret friend. Hm, come to think of it. You paid her a visit today.”

“I gave her some advice.”

“Advice?”

“How to not end up killing her own members.”

“You’re so fucking vague, why do I bother talking to you?”

And while Goo was having a crisis over that conversation, Gun continued to eat, thinking to himself if Laura Yang took his advice or not.

***

“Do you really have to go, boss? You just returned,” Jerry asked Laura as the girl was packing her belonging in the same backpack she took when she ran away from home.

It’s been already a week ever since Gun came over and it took Laura a lot of thinking before she took the decision to pack for the road. She just needed a few weeks to get her Varma Kalai skills on the track. Regarding Krav Maga… Thankfully, she just needed to train more, but she remembered everything. The only two people who could help her were going to tell her mom about her whereabouts anyway, so she had to do it on her own.

“I’ll be back before you know it, Jerry. And if anything happens, I got a new phone. You have my phone number, give me a call and I’ll rush over here.”

“You’re not leaving Big Deal again, are you?” Jerry asked, kind of worried about that. It would’ve been cruel to see her back just for her to already walk out the door.

“I’ll only ever leave Big deal when I’m dead.”

“Don’t die, boss.”

“I won’t,” Laura answered with a chuckle, zipping up her backpack.

With that answer, Jerry moved away from the door of the trailer so Laura could get out. She got greeted by all of the members once again, thing that made her let out a small sigh.

“Why is everyone looking so down? It’s not like I’m the only girl around.”

“We’ll miss you, boss,” Lineman spoke up, stepping up so he could get her attention.

“Take care of the girls while I’m away. And Jerry.”

“Boss.”

“Keep me updated. Stay safe, Big Deal,” Laura added, bowing in front of everyone.

“Save travel, boss!” the entirety of Big Deal all spoke at once, bowing in return.

Waving at them one last time, Laura finally walked away and out of their sight, going to take the bus and from there, the ferry to Jeju Island. A long journey, which she hoped to not do for nothing. Besides, she barely had any money with her, so she had to manage that later. Perhaps it was something to worry about once she made it onto Jeju Island.

***

It took Laura Yang a total of ten hours to get to her destination and from there, she had to start asking around for the person she was looking for. A Varma Kalai master on Jeju Island… There was a chance that people would know him, but there was also a bigger chance that no one ever heard about him. She just knew to look for an Indian person by the name of Khurana Tanya. And so, her search began.

“Excuse me,” she asked an elder lady, bowing before she continued to speak. “Do you know someone by the name Khurana Tanya?”

“Oh, I’m afraid not, dear,” the grandmother answered with a little smile, although with a little disappointment as well.

“Do you know someone called Khurana Tanya?”, “Excuse me, do you happen to know a person called Khurana Tanya?”, “Do you happen to know a certain Khurana Tanya?”

The most she asked around, the most she started feeling like there was no more finding that person. That until luck finally smiled in her way when a man who seems to be in his mid-forties finally gave her a positive answer. Just at the right time, too, the man was making his way towards Master Khurana Tanya’s house, so he accepted to take Laura there.

“Why are you looking for her?” the man asked, looking back at Laura who was walking a bit slower to take a moment and admire the view.

At the sound of the word ‘her’, Laura felt a weight being taken off her shoulders. The master was a woman, that was such a relief. The only men she trusted now were those of Big Deal.

“I want to ask her to train me.”

“Train you? Ah, that martial art she’s practicing! I don’t know what luck you’ll have, but she seems like a nice woman.”

Truth be told, she went there hoping to be accepted without a problem. She didn’t think for a second that she could get turned down, while she did think about the possibility of not finding the woman. There formed the knot in her stomach, now she was worried she walked all that way, found the right person, and would be forced to return home.

Swallowing her own saliva, Laura picked up the pace and continued to follow her guide until they made it up a hill and a house appeared in front of them. It looked like your traditional Korean house, a bit old, but the woman living inside seemed to take great care of it, so there was not a thing to complain about. Being fascinated by the view, Laura found herself being taken by surprise the moment her guide just shouted Tanya’s name out of nowhere, making the poor girl jump in surprise.

“Mrs. Tanya! There is someone here who wants to see you,” the man announced, putting down by the porch the two bags with groceries which he’s carried so far.

“You’re always so loud, Mr. Kim,” a woman’s voice spoke up from the door.

There she was. Khurana Tanya, the woman Laura traveled so far to see. At first, she found herself just looking at that woman, but when Tanya started getting closer, the young girl quickly bowed her head.

“Good evening, ma’am!” she said slowly straightening her back again.

“Well, good evening there. Here is the money for your trouble, Mr. Kim. Thank you again,” Tanya said, handing the man the money who, with a bow of the head, said goodbye and went on his way. “Who might you be?”

“My name is Laura Yang, ma’am. I heard that you’re a Varma Kalai Master, I came here to ask you to help me strengthen my skills.”

“Is that so?”

Looking up and down at Laura, without a warming, Tanya went ahead and tried to attack her, going for a pressure point in her shoulder. Much to her satisfaction, Laura quickly grabbed her arm and deviated it, enough for her to move out of the way. Out of instinct, the girl tried to counterattack, tightening her grip on Tanya’s arm so she could attempt to hit her in another pressure point. Failed attempt as the woman was able to quickly break free, but she was happy enough with what she’s seen.

“Who taught you so far?” the Varma Kalai master asked, gently letting go of Laura’s hand.

“I taught myself, ma’am.”

Herself? No help from someone? She learned about the pressure points and how to hit them by herself? Now that was a first one, even for Tanya Khurana who’s been performing and perfect her Varma Kalai for so many years now.

“Your accent… You travelled from afar,” the woman spoke up again, nodding to herself. “Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Will you train me?” Laura asked, taking a step forward when Tanya started walking towards her home. Her question made the older woman stop walking.

“I will train if once I get to know you a bit better. Come on.”

A bright smile appeared on Laura’s lips, the girl hurrying to catch up with her new master. She felt proud of herself already for making it that far and for convincing Tanya to take her in, but most importantly, she felt proud for not letting Big Deal down.

Now it was time to gain that knowledge she was searching for.

Chapter Text

Two months.

Two slow passing months have gone by ever since the day Laura went missing. It was an insane day when they discovered she left without telling a soul and no matter where they looked for her, there wasn’t a sign of the girl. To make it worse, the police weren’t successful in finding her either, to the point where it made everyone feel like they weren’t even looking for her. Perhaps the Angel of Big Deal was too good at hiding that no one was able to get a hold of her.

“Laura! Laura, where are you?!” Vasco yelled at the top of his lungs, looking into a side alley for his lover who left him that very day.

Laura’s mother called him that day, asking him if he knows anything about her daughter. The girl promised to make it back home from school as soon as classes were over, but not only had an hour already passed since then, but to make it worse, Isabel discovered a letter in her sister’s room. A little letter in which Laura spoke about how ashamed she feels and how she can’t bear to be there another day. About all of the information for her savings debit card which she left with the letter and how to spend the money carefully so they would last them for until Isabel would be out of college, perhaps for longer.

The phone call Vasco received was more than enough for him to call everyone and ask them if they’ve seen Laura, the boy being hysterical as he couldn’t help but keep thinking about the fact that the last time she went missing, the worst of things happened. It didn’t put his heart to rest to know that the girl he loved so much left on her own.

“Laura!” Daniel shouted as well, running a hand through his hair and stopping to take a rest before he could continue running again.

“Laura!” Vasco yelled again, desperately running around any corner, in any alley, on any street coming up in his way. “Laura!”

“Vasco,” Daniel called out for him, trying to get his attention.

He was thinking about that day again, especially with the current events at hand. Jasmine’s father desperately asked them for help to find his daughter. Vasco, Daniel and Jay were so familiar with the pain of a parent losing his child so suddenly, so out of nowhere, that they volunteered to help the man find her. Perhaps it was going to help them find any clues about Laura as well, while they were at it.

Shaking his head, Vasco came back to his senses only to see Vin Jin and Logan Lee together, apparently heading the same way as they were. It was a good timing to wonder if that was a good or a bad thing. After a brief exchange, it soon came to their realization that they were looking for the same thing, but with different purposes.

“Perhaps that means we’re not enemies, at least,” Vasco spoke up, getting everyone’s attention with his words. “But I can’t let you get Hostel first.”

Hostel was known for the runaway families, it seemed like the right place to find Laura in, despite their previous attempts, but he hoped that maybe they missed something the first time, a little detail placed in plain sight, anything to take him to his past lover.

“Finders keepers,” Vin Jin said, already starting to run so he could be ahead of the other four boys. Everyone followed right behind him.

If only the boys would’ve known that they were willingly stepping into a trap, perhaps they would’ve stopped for a moment and thought of a plan.

“Good for us that Eli Jang won’t want to go back,” no other than Jin Jang spoke up, a terrible smirk on his face. “I’ve been thinking of him as a game-changer as good as Johan Seong. Then I can carry out step two of three from my big picture.”

They were ignoring James no matter how much he tried to ask them questions about this so-called plan of theirs and about the people involved. The most he got as a response was being told to keep his mouth shut and just wait for things to unravel the way Jin Jang has planned them.

“To carry out step two of the big picture, your job is critical,” Jin Jang said, moving closer to a well-familiar face, “Jasmine.”

***

Perhaps Jin Jang’s plan wasn’t bad at all. Perhaps he had made all of the right calculations, predicted all that would happen, took measures in case things went a different way, he thought of all scenarios possible. It worked so far, Daniel was fighting Zack, Vin was fighting Vasco and Logan was fighting Jay. The boys who should’ve come together and go against Hostel were now at each other’s throat. Jin Jang’s plan was successful.

Up until now.

Looking out the window of the bus she was in, admiring the stars for a moment, was the true game-changer of the plan. The one element Jin Jang never took into consideration, and she was just making her way from all the way on the other side of the city, into Gangdong. She was to return the next day and go to Gangseo, but one call from Jerry was enough to make her change her plans.

She couldn't catch a break, really, and things looked like they were going to only get messier from there on. Good, let all of her anger out, she needed to. She ran to the bus station, sighing deeply when she finally made it inside the bus, on her way to Gangdong, where Hostel's story started. Where Hostel's story should've stayed.

“Go home, Jerry,” Laura told her friend as soon as he picked up the phone. She knew about his whereabouts too well.

“But boss Jake said-,” Jerry spoke up, only to be interrupted.

“I’m also your boss and I order you to leave there. I’ll take care of things on my own.”

“…Alright, ma’am.”

We should've taken Olly in back then.

That's what she thought on her way there. That they made mistakes back in the past and that's how it all got to such a mess. From the moment her bus came to a stop, Laura jumped out of it, hurrying on her way. She knew exactly where to go, running on the street, taking some shortcuts and before she knew it, she made it there. She felt a bit out of breath, but she didn't have much time to do anything about that. The fight was long on, and to her surprise, her friends were there. Daniel, who worked in such mysterious ways, such as Johan, was hurt and tired, too. Zack was looking terrible. There was blood on Vasco's face and clothes... There were no words to explain her anger as she saw that and what woke up every single string on anger on her was seeing two men going after Daniel as Jay was rushing to step in.

It was impossible to explain how she ran so fast, but Laura made it between Jay and the two boys, grabbing their bats with her hands before looking up at them. There was such a dark aura surrounding her at the moment and before anyone could take in what was happening, she let go of her right hand, punching the boy on her left. With the same swiftness, she kicked the one of her right with her leg in the stomach, forcing him to let go of the bat and before he could fall down, she made sure to hit him again with the bat, on the side of his head.

Breathing heavily, the girl let the weapon fall on the concrete and fixed her hair a bit.

"Is Jay okay?!" she asked, turning her head around.

Jay.

Jay was the sweetest boy she ever met. It was Jay who helped her keep up with classes, even get ahead. He could easily afford to attend academies and he offered his materials to Laura without the girl even asking for them. He even studied with her, taking from their time together to help Laura understand all there was to understand. It was Jay to whom she first confessed that she liked Vasco. It was Jay with whom she had the best sleepovers. Jay was the one who first made it to the hospital after the Vivi Nightclub episode. Jay hired the best lawyers for her. It was Jay they tried to hurt and that wasn’t going to happen even over her dead body.

"Laura..." Daniel spoke up, widening his eyes.

He felt stuck and dumbfounded. Two months of searching for her and she appeared on her own, just like that. Laura with now black hair instead of her iconic white hair, but still the same Laura. Just where has she been?

"Is Jay alright?!" the girl asked again, looking at Daniel a bit furious. And thankfully, she got a nod from Jay himself. Good. However, looking at Vasco, she couldn't say the same for him. Her sweet, sweet Vasco.

Oh, love...

Vasco who was the first of her friends to talk to her. Vasco, one of the few who saw her as an equal, who saw her as strong. Her sweet Vasco, who took her on the cutest and stupidest dates, with whom she'd have the most fun. Vasco, who was so shy the first time he slept over at her place, to the point where he even refused to sleep in the same bed as her and preferred a mattress on the floor. Vasco, who ran like crazy to the hospital when she escaped from her 'buyer'. Vasco, who walked her to and from school every single day and who did his best to comfort her and love her. Her sweet, kind-hearted Vasco who wasn't hers anymore was now hurt.

"You fuckers really signed your death sentence today," Laura said, taking off her coat and letting it fall on the ground before pulling up her sleeves, revealing her bandaged arms. “Bring me Jin Jang or I will show you all a little piece of hell.”

And when the men started laughing at her, the Angel of Big Deal didn't hesitate to start a massive fight. They were nothing next to her and it proved in each of her strikes. Two, three, more enemies than that would come to her at once and yet it would take Laura one strike to take them out. One hit to the shoulder, another one to the neck, a kick to someone’s sternum in a very specific place, this one enemy pulled towards her and used as a shield. A blood bath while her friends got injured like crazy trying to fight everyone there. In their defense, they were weakened after fighting each other.

It was… Terrifying. Looking at the fight, Laura’s friends weren’t sure who they were actually looking at. They did see her fight in the past, but like that? It was insane, she seemed almost as strong as… No way.

“Jin Jang!” Laura yelled at the top of her lungs, reaching under her sleeves so she could let her bandages loose. All of that fighting was just a warm-up for her, she was preparing to go after the big fish. “Come out, you bastard!”

“Laura!” came Vasco’s turn to yell, seeing how his previous rival was aiming for her.

And she had such an easy time stopping him, too. Seth Lee, an absolute coward, couldn’t even fight her head on, he tried to punch her in the back of her head instead. The girl moved away just in time to dodge and to catch his fist into her palm. As she turned her head around, there was the most shit-eating stare on her face, Laura quickly turning around and preparing her hit. Seeing her fist come from below, Seth Lee moved his head back, smirking as he was convinced he avoided her hit, only for realization to hit him in the head instead of the girl’s punch. She was never aiming for his face, she was aiming for his arm that fell limp right away. In a swift movement, Laura rushed behind him, choking the boy with his own arm. When Seth attempted to hit her with his good hand, Laura didn’t waste another second and kicked his knee, sending him to the ground, now unable to stand up even if he wanted to.

“What do I do with you?” Laura asked in such a sly voice that it sent a shiver down her adversary’s spine. “Should I choke you to death? Oh, should I punch your face until you give out? You see, those are my friends you beat up like this and I really don’t like what I’m seeing.”

The more she spoke, the more pressure she put onto his throat, cutting Seth’s air flow more and more. The only moment she stopped was when he stopped opposing, sign that he passed out. She wasn’t gentle in letting him down either, even pushing him away from her. By then, however, her friends weren’t taken aback by her powers anymore, but rather by her arms. They were full of scars, some deeper, some more shallow, some smaller, some bigger.

Laura, you…

No matter how much he tried, Vasco couldn’t take his eyes off of Laura. Her presence, her stance, her strength, and abilities. Why was Laura Yang fighting like a crew head? As his mind was lingering to all of these questions, the girl turned around towards him, the two of them making eye-contact.

Did you do those to yourself?

“Where are Olly and Eli?” Laura asked, remembering that she couldn’t waste any more time than she already had.

“They went up to the rooftop,” Daniel answered right away, hoping that since she was here, she could do something. They were clearly not enemies, right?

With one quick nod of the head, the girl headed towards the building that served as Hostel’s hideout. Hideout… It was their home. Just as it happened to anyone who tried to enter it before her, Warren Chae was there, set on not moving for the world. She didn’t want to fight him, what did Warren do wrong for her to fight him? But she needed him to move out of the way and understand that he was friend, not foe.

“Nobody walks in,” Warren said, although so weak now after having fought so much. Big words from someone on the verge of collapse.

“If you don’t let me go in, one of them will die. I’m trying to help you,” Laura said walking closer to him.

It seemed like the mention of death did something for Warren, but he was still unsure. It was their story, he didn’t want anyone else involved into their story and although the name Devil of Big Deal circulated among the other crews, nobody knew who Laura is exactly. The world was just now starting to get to know her. Warren’s stubbornness, however, made the girl grit her teeth and walk even closer to him.

“Warren, move! I’ll be out of here as soon as-“

Thud.

That sound… So loud it made Laura widen her eyes, but she knew exactly what it was and she didn’t want to see it. For that exact reason, she turned her head on a side and closed her eyes for a moment.

“Call an ambulance,” was all she said before pulling out her pack of cigarettes and lighting one.

All of that rushing and running for things to still end up tragically. Fuck.

Fuck.

And she wouldn’t have been involved into that situation if it wasn’t for Jin Jang trying to use Big Deal. She was supposed to go home the day after, not on that day. She was so lost into her own thoughts that she didn’t even notice her friends as she approach them on her way, but Vasco was quick to stop her. Not only that, but he was just as quick to pull the cigarette out of her mouth and throw it away. He didn’t care about anything else, other than making sure she is fine and that she didn’t get harmed more.

“We looked everywhere for you,” he spoke in such a soft voice that it broke her heart right away. “Where were you? No, it doesn’t matter. You’re coming home, right?”

“I am going home, but not home where you think,” Laura said, gently pulling her arm away from him, before looking at all of her friends. “I’m happy you are alright, everyone.”

“Where are you going?” Daniel asked, stepping in front of her. He wanted to stop her and bring her back home, where she belonged. Where he thought she belonged.

“My old home,” the girl answered again, looking over at Jace. This was as good of a moment as any to tell them the truth about herself. They were wounded enough to not be able to follow her and Laura wanted for her friends to hear this from her, not from someone else. “You are the brains of Burn Knuckles, right? May I update your information a bit?”

“What do you mean?” Jace asked, using Vasco’s help to get back on his feet.

“There was never a Devil of Big Deal. I’m the Angel of Big Deal.”

The moment she finished her sentence was the moment she started walking away, without looking back, without listening to another word. And for her friends, the moment she spoke up, was the moment the world shattered around them once again. Laura… The Angel of Big Deal? Laura Yang was part of Big Deal? Has she always been part of Big Deal? Was she with them while attending J High School? Or when Jake Kim was running the illegal gambling site that got Jiho through so much trouble? Did she use to be a member and left and now went back to them? Was that her home? Laura called it her ‘old home’.

Only one thing was brought up to light now, that Laura Yang, the Angel of Big Deal, was officially back.

And she was right, they were too tired to follow her, so her path back home was one without trouble. Hostel… If only they did some things different back then. If they took Johan Seong and Oli Wang in, perhaps things would’ve been different. Maybe Sinu would’ve never tried to sell Big Deal and Laura would’ve never left Gangseo for Central Seoul. If only…

Too late to worry about that now. She was finally back and she needed to start preparation for Jake’s release soon enough.

May you rest in peace, Olly.

Chapter Text

“We’re back from sending Olly Wang off,” Laura spoke as she took a seat on a chair, crossing her arms as she looked up at Jake through the glass separating them.

The more she thought about the events from the past couple of days, the more eerie is all felt, almost like a dream.

“You did what to who?” Jake asked, leaning back on his chair.`

For a second, the girl raised her eyebrows and just blinked at her friend, trying to understand if he was serious. From the look of it, he meant his question, so Laura explained what happened to him. Luckily enough, it didn’t take a lot of explaining for Jake to understand the situation.

“I don’t know what you were thinking with Jin Jang, but he’s out of the picture and he better stay out,” Laura told Jake with no sign of holding back.

And without even thinking about it, her dear friend nodded his head. In response, the girl did the same, then looked up at Jerry who escorted her to prison so they could visit Jake together. They were both wearing all black.

“Should I send flower from you, boss?” Jerry asked Jake, looking down at his, but still keeping his back straight.

“No,” Jake answered, pulling out and lighting a cigarette. “Flowers are for strangers.”

“I’ll make preparations for your release,” Laura interfered in the conversation, looking down at her lap before sighing and looking up at Jerry. “Can you leave us alone for a moment, please?”

“Of course, boss,” Jerry answered, bowed his head towards the both of them and walked out.

Now, being alone with Jake, Laura found herself falling silent for a moment. There was this lingering question in her mind and no matter how much she thought about how to ask it, there was never a good answer in her mind. By then, she figured that the best thing to do was to just ask it already.

“Why did Sinu leave us?”

There was a look of shock on Jake’s face for a second there, long enough for Laura to notice it right before her friend wiped it off to try and play it cool.

“Sinu tried to sell Big Deal to Workers,” Jake answered with the ‘truth’ that everyone knew. Truth that wasn’t a good answer for Laura.

“I don’t fuck with that. I could understand Samuel leaving us, but Sinu trying to sell Big Deal? You with your illegal gambling site? No, the two of you are pulling something. You have a terrible habit of carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. We’re both leaders, how can I help you if you don’t show me what you’re pulling with you?”

“Laury…” Jake spoke, looking her in the eye.

He couldn’t lie to her anymore. He couldn’t look the girl he was so in love with in the eye and keep lying.

“Sinu didn’t sell Big Deal to Workers. He sold himself. The betting ring was to make money to bring him back, his ass is quite expensive.”

Sinu sold himself.

Those words stuck to Laura and as she looked up at Jake for confirmation that he wasn’t lying, he saw this genuine look on his face. Slowly nodding her head and trying not to make a scene out of hearing those news, the girl looked down at her lap. The Workers seemed to be out to destroy everything she’s ever had. Her own life, dignity and peace of mind were robbed by them. Now she stood faced with the fact that Sinu himself was a captive of theirs. A new reason to ruin them, crush them under her feet and spit in their faces.

“We’ll get him back, together. Stop doing everything alone. And with him back… Maybe we can by like back in the good, old days.”

And she said it with a smile, a hopeful smile. There was a lot to take care of, they both knew it, but if there was even the slightest of chance for Big Deal to be back to its former glory, then Laura was willing to wait. In response to her claim, all Jake could do for a moment was look at her surprised, then he slowly nodded his head again.

“Maybe we can be like back in the good, old days,” he repeated, giving her a small reassuring smile.

Tragic.

It was just tragic to look at them. Two heads of the same crew, carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. And the weight was so crushing that the spark in their eyes was barely flickering at that point, but it seemed to still be desperate to burn.

“Can’t wait to see you out, Jake,” Laura said as she got up from the chair, putting her hand on the glass separating her from her friend for a moment before she pulled back.

With a wave of the hand, she was out of there, lighting herself a cigarette as soon as she made it out. At least it was a nice day outside.

“You should go home, Jerry, you got homework to do,” Laura told the boy, patting him on the arm with a smile.

“Will you be fine going back on your own, boss?” Jerry asked, looking down at the girl. The respect and admiration in his eyes for the girl in front of him was simply unmatched.

“Just like always. Go home.”

***

To clear her mind and process what Jake told her that very day, Laura decided to take a detour on her way home. She was so deep in her thoughts that she was walking mechanically, knowing every step of the way. After all, she knew Gangseo better than anyone might’ve thought. And yet, even with how much she was drowning in her own mind, one thing pulled her out of it: a familiar voice. No, two familiar voices. Soon enough, with the simple raise of her head, the familiar voices turned into familiar faces. And unfortunately for her, she had no chance to make an escape as the two familiar faces spotted her as well.

“Laura!” Vasco said, the worried expression on his face softening slightly as he started to run towards her.

“No!” the girl answered, taking a step back and straightening her back.

That ‘no’ wasn’t loud or harsh, but it was so determined that it got both Vasco and Daniel stuck in place, looking at her scared as if they were looking at a ghost.

“What the fuck are you two doing here?” she asked them, a glimmer of anger being visible in her eyes. She couldn’t believe them!

“Please, come home,” Vasco asked her, taking one step towards the girl. Laura remained unmoved.

“I am home, and you should go home, too.”

“Laura, you don’t know how dangerous Big Deal are. Whatever protection you think you’re getting from them, it’s not genuine,” Daniel interfered, worried that Vasco will just stay stuck in place, unable to more, speak and perhaps even breath.

“You don’t know shit about us, Daniel Park,” the girl spoke up, shaking her head.

Us, not them. Laura Yang was no guest in Big Deal and from the looks of it, her friends didn’t know that. She wanted them on their way, she felt on the verge of tears just looking at them. Her life with them was dead and gone, she was back with the people who always kept her spot, her second family. She was worried that another Big Deal member might cross paths with them, and hell would break lose in Gangseo, exactly what she needed on such a beautiful day.

“I know I didn’t protect you from the bad guys,” Vasco spoke up, fighting the tears that were forming in his eyes.

He was so heartbroken just thinking about her. She vanished for two months, then came back out of nowhere and left again. He felt like he was about to go insane if he had to watch her get away from him again. And no matter how much he thought about it, no matter what anyone told him, Vasco felt guilty for what happened to her. If only they were sharper, faster… If only he would’ve went to her to quit her job, despite not knowing that she was going to do that, if only Laura trusted him enough to tell him the truth, then maybe things would’ve been different.

“But, please, Laura, come home. I’ll become the strongest man the world has ever seen, no one will ever hurt you again. Please…”

“This is the last time I say it, go home, please” Laura demanded in response, fighting every urge to not start crying right then and there.

 And soon enough, her eyes moved from Vasco to Daniel.

Daniel Park, always in the middle of a mess, always up to something, once again up in her business. She liked him, she truly liked him for the way he was, for how much he was trying to help everyone, for actually being kind and patient, for making friends with good people, not pretty faces. However, she didn’t like it when Daniel was barging into her life like that once again, because Laura could swear it must have been his idea to come to Gangseo looking for her.

As a response to her demand, Daniel also straightened his back and shook his head.

Alright.

With the swiftness of a tiger, Laura moved past Vasco and straight towards Daniel. Unfamiliar with her fighting style, the poor boy found himself not knowing how to dodge and it cost him falling right in the girl’s trap.

We do it your way then.

It took one well placed hit in Daniel’s chest to turn his entire upper body weak and cut his breath for a second. However, Daniel’s mysterious body was exactly that, a mysterious body. As if out of instinct, the boy started thinking of all the times he’s seen her fight, trying to copy her fighting style and defend himself, maybe even stop Laura for good and take her home. His right arm moved up and tried to hit Laura in the shoulder, and although the hit did land, it didn’t have the effect Daniel hoped for. Instead, the girl’s eyes flickered and she quickly grabbed his arm, pulling her friend closer and kicking him in the knee to force him to fall to the ground. To keep him in place, the girl put her knee on Daniel’s back and pulling his arm behind, locking it at his back. When the boy tried to lift himself up, Laura was quick to hit in the back, further weakening his upper body and that time, enough to make him unable to push himself up.

Witnessing all of this, Vasco didn’t know what to believe anymore. He fought Daniel himself, two times for that matter, but there was something about watching Laura fight Daniel that didn’t sit right with him. She looked angry, angry like he’s never seen her before, and almost angry enough to fight anyone trying to get in her way. He still remembered the scars he saw on her arms, the fear that someone did them to her, someone from Big Deal, ran through his body like a lightning and angered him that time, because all he could see was that once again he was incapable of protecting the girl he loves so much.

Without thinking much, Vasco launched himself forward, running towards Laura and just when she was prepared to protect herself, shaking a bit seeing her own lover attacking her, the boy took her in his arms, hugging her like there was no tomorrow. And that’s when she got stuck in place, not knowing what to do or what to say, but when she opened her mouth, she could feel tears forming in her eyes, and so she kept her mouth shut. However, she knew that standing there will lead her nowhere.

“Please, come back home. I miss you so much, please,” Vasco said with tears already running down his face.

It killed her soul to hear him talk like that. Laura almost hugged him back and jumped in his arms, but she knew there was no home for her where Vasco wanted to take her. She was never going to feel safe there and she knew she didn’t belong anymore. She wasn’t Laura Yang from the Literature Department anymore, she was ‘the girl from the Literature Department who got sold and raped’. Here, she was Laura Yang, the Angel of Big Deal, and nothing was ever going to change that.

“Let me… Go!” she screamed, raising her arms to escape Vasco’s grip.

As much as it hurt her, she hit Vasco in the chest as well to slow him down before running back towards Daniel and lifting his head up, wrapping her arm around his throat. There were clear tears in her eyes, but she kept looking angry.

“Take Daniel and go! Fucking go already!”

“Laura, listen to me,” Daniel spoke up, closing one eye to put up with the pain.

“No, you listen to me,” she said in a low voice, moving her head closer to him so she could whisper. “If you ever cared about me in the slightest, you’ll take Vasco and leave her. Please, I’m begging you, go already…”

To hear her talk like that made Daniel second think everything. Were they wrong about Laura’s new home all along? What if they were disrupting her peace? What if she was recovering and they were messing with the process?

“I’ll come find you and explain everything, so go,” she whispered before raising her head and looking at her lover.

Her poor lover who was stuck in place, tears running down his face while all he could do was look at her. He was still able to move, but he could feel that he was way weaker out of nowhere, and yet he didn’t focus on that for a second. All he focused on was that he couldn’t help but think he scared Laura enough for her to fight him back. He was there to try and convince her to go home, and yet he scared her enough to not want to go home with him.

On the other hand, Daniel kept rethinking the entire plan. He could wait for explanations, Laura clearly knew more about Big Deal than they did, and it was going to help him moving forward in his plan to take down all of the Four Crews. Even if that meant coming after her later, if there was truly no way of getting her away from the Gangseo crew.

“Vasco, let’s go back home,” Daniel said, and hearing that was just enough for Laura to lift him up and push him towards Vasco.

Although with a weakened body, Vasco caught his friend so that he wouldn’t fall seeing how his center of balance was all messed up. His eyes looked back up at Laura who was still catching her breath after that encounter and whose guard was still all the way up. With how determined she knew them to be, it wouldn’t have been a shocker if Daniel only agreed to it just to try and trick her.

Poor Vasco opened his mouth to talk again, but he felt like he had no right to do so. And with the way things looked, he almost felt like he did to her what all those bad people did: jumped her. They came there just to talk, but things didn’t end up in talking alone and that scared me in a way he’s never felt fear before. Was he bad?

“Did we just hurt you?” the boy asked, wrapping his arm around Daniel’s shoulders to make sure he can have a good hold on him.

“No,” Laura asked, just as honest as ever. “But I hurt you, I’m sorry. Now I need you to go home, or I will actually start feeling hurt. I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry. I should’ve protected you-“

“You couldn’t,” she cut him off. “Nobody could, because nobody knew. I brought this onto myself. Stop talking, go home.”

And although he was still unsure about it, Vasco decided to not argue anymore. It wasn’t the time, perhaps it was too early. Maybe… Maybe she would come back home on her own, one day when she feels ready to do it. When she would get away from Big Deal, according to Vasco’s beliefs.

“And Vasco,” she said pulling out her pack of cigarettes, but her eyes were still focused on Burn Knuckles’ Leader, “next time you come to bring me home, make sure you are prepared to beat me up to a pulp. Unless you pull me home by the fucking leg, I’m not coming back,” and with that, she was on her way, away from them.

With her words, died Vasco’s hopes that she would return home any time soon.

***

“Why is Daniel always up in someone’s business?”

That was the question Laura’s been asking herself for the past few days. She was convinced that they’ve been looking for her ever since she left, that was no surprise. But why was it always Daniel leading all of these searches? Where did this sense of making justice for all come from? What could she do to keep him and everyone else away from trouble and away from Gangseo?

Daniel Park…

What did she know about Daniel Park?

1. He’s a copycat like Johan Seong
2. He signed up for J High School in the same year as she did
3. He has a mysterious body that seems to take too much, more than others ever could
4. Not much known about his family life
5. He is a good person, made friends with really good people
6. Live with a roommate

Roommate… Daniel Park lives… With Daniel Park. How big of a coincidence is that? When is the last time she’s seen these two together? Well, it sure happened, but when is the last time she’s seen these two together AWAKE? If big Daniel Park isn’t a piece of shit undercover, then why else are the two Daniels only ever together when little Daniel Park carries big Daniel Park?

One goes to school at day, one goes to work at night. Sure enough, that makes enough sense, but little Daniel talks nicely about big Daniel, so they have to hang out outside of their shared space, too. And why do they always know the whereabouts of the other?

“Am I fucking insane..?” Laura asked herself, reaching a crazy conclusion. Crazy enough that she needed to verify it.

Grabbing her jacket, Laura pulled out her phone out of it right away and started searching for a certain phone number. Someone Daniel’s never seen… There!

“Lineman? I need you to do something for me.”

***

Sure enough, getting called to help was great, but never in his wildest dreams did poor Lineman think he would be out in the evening, on a random Tuesday, looking through the window of some stranger right at him sleeping.

“What is boss thinking? What should I even be looking for?” Lineman asked himself with a sigh.

And just as he spoke, he heard steps approaching, so he moved away to hide in a place that still allowed him to look around. That’s when he saw big Daniel approaching and entering the place Lineman was made to observe. With the door closed, he moved closer to the window and quickly took a peek inside, only to see big Daniel move around and little Daniel still sleeping. To avoid getting caught, Lineman let himself down next to the window so he could at least listen into the conversation, if there was any. But for a while nothing, and finally when he was just about to check the window again, he heard a voice inside.

“It’s time to get ready for work,” big Daniel said, and then nothing once again.

Waiting a few more moments for any kind of response, the Big Deal member was met with further silence. With that, he decided to finally check the window again, only for that time to see big Daniel fast asleep and little Daniel go to the bathroom. Confused, Lineman stared for a bit longer, before letting himself down.

After a while, he heard little Daniel get ready to leave the house and that was his signal to get away and hide. And with little Daniel out of the house and away, he could take one last look through the window. Big Daniel fast asleep.

“This is weird,” Lineman told himself, pulling his phone out to report to Laura.

Wednesday went the same way, and so did Thursday. Three days in a row with the same behavior, no talking, no interacting, always taking turns while sleeping as if they were keeping guard for each other. But even doing that would’ve had them talk, yet that wasn’t happening. And when Lineman reported all of this to Laura, she almost felt crazy for a moment, insane for that matter. One last test was what she needed to have Daniel himself confirm whether she was losing her mind or she was too right for her own good.

One last test…

“You have him in your sight?” Laura asked Jerry on the phone, taking a seat on the floor, and crossing her legs.

“Yes, boss. And he’s all alone now,” Jerry answered keeping an eye on Daniel, on big Daniel who was walking home from school.

“Good. Don’t get scared, but he might fall asleep out of nowhere. Now…” the Big Deal leader spoke, putting the phone down so for a moment Jerry couldn’t hear her.

She looked down at little Daniel sleeping peaceful on his bed, unbothered by her talking or walking around.

“Wake up.”

And with that, she started shaking him real good, so good that he woke up right away with a fright, widening his eyes when he saw her and moving back.

“Laura?!” Daniel said, breathing heavily from the shock.

“Boss!” Jerry raised his voice on the other end of the phone call, making towards the now asleep Daniel Park. “He fell asleep. Should we do something?”

“What is going on?” Daniel asked hearing Jerry’s voice as well, his heart beating as fast as possible.

Laura woke him up… It meant that his other body was asleep on the streets somewhere! And with Jerry claiming that he fell asleep, Daniel couldn’t help, but think this is about him.

“Jerry,” Laura spoke up, looking Daniel in the eye with a little smile on her face, “wake him up.”

“No-!” was all little Daniel could do before waking up in his other body, just as startled.

He attempted to get up and he managed, getting in a fighting position, while Jerry remained unmoved in place with Lineman right next to him.

“Do we fight him, boss?”

“No, give me a moment,” the girl said, reaching out to shake little Daniel and wake him up.

And there he was, back in his original body while his mysterious body was once again asleep on the streets in Big Deal’s custody. All Daniel could do was look terrified at the girl in front of him, while Laura had a smirk in the corner of her lips.

“I got you, Daniel Park.”

Chapter Text

“I got you, Daniel Park.”

That sentence kept ringing through Daniel’s mind over and over and over again, like it was part of his biggest nightmare that just came true. He wanted to play it dumb, pretend he has no idea what she’s talking about, ask her what she’s doing there.

“Got me with what?” he asked with a forced chuckle as he put his glasses on.

Raising her eyebrows, Laura stood silent for a moment and gave him time to change his answer, but Daniel seemed set on his course of action. With a little nod, she grabbed her phone and straightened her back.

“Jerry, wake him up again,” Laura said, looking Daniel in the eye once again as she spoke.

“No, wait!”

“Hold up, Jerry,” she said, putting a hand over the phone. “Can we talk now?”

“Yes, okay, but please, don’t wake him-, me up, please.”

Taking her hand off the phone, Laura looked down at it for a moment.

“Then we got some things to talk about.”

And with that, Laura hung up the phone and put it down, raising her head to look at her friend. He was all pale in the face, almost as white as a sheet of paper. If she were to be honest, the girl’s never seen him look that distressed. Even his breathing wasn’t regular anymore, his chest going up and down at a rapid pace.

For a few moments, she stood in silent, hoping that he will calm down, but the silence was only making Daniel more and more panicked over the situation. He was overthinking everything. How did she figure it out? What made her figure it out? Did anyone else notice whatever it was that she noticed? Did this make an enemy out of Laura? Or maybe an ally? Did this mean he would have to fight Laura?

No, no, no, this is not happening.

“Do you happen to have some tea?” Laura asked, trying to straighten her back, but she knew she would fall back into a more slouched position.

“Y-Yeah, I think I have some tea,” Daniel said, getting up, only to trip and fall back down.

It was such a little thing, it even got Laura reaching out to help him, but her friend was back up on his feet in the blink of an eye and already putting some water to boil. He was genuinely shaking, this felt different from that man knowing, this was a friend of his. And last time they met, Laura was pretty angry at her, so Daniel feared that his secret would come out with one wrong move.

“You’re fine,” Laura said suddenly, looking towards him.

Her voice made Daniel turn back, a bit confused about her words. He was so panicked that he overanalyzed anything she said.

“What do you mean?” he asked, holding onto the counter.

“The other you, you’re fine. We just need to talk and you know that.”

“Yeah, I think we do,” Daniel said, gaining some confidence from her words.

Once the tea was made, Daniel brought two cups to the little table he had in his room, giving Laura one and keeping one for himself. The girl reached out for some sugar, still silent while her friend was looking at her, eager for the girl to talk already. He didn’t know what to ask her, if he were to be honest. But, he had to put his serious face on and look her dead in the eye while talking.

“Do you want the long story or the short story?” Laura asked, not giving Daniel a chance to talk first. Again.

“I want to know everything,” Daniel said, holding the cup with both hands, only to pull his hands away when the cup became way too hot for him.

“Growing up, my dad never let me join any sports that had anything to do with fighting,” Laura began her story, stirring the sugar into the tea. “Which is kind of fucked up when you think about it, seeing as I’m a girl, but I was pretty protected, so I guess I didn’t need it. At least not for a while…”

***

“… The treatment will become more and more expensive,” Laura’s mother said, sitting down at the table in the kitchen talking to her husband.

Laura Yang, 14 years old, student at St. Bernard Private Catholic School in Gangseo, Seoul, was just near the door, hiding from her parents while listening in to their conversation.

“Private school for the girls also got more expensive,” her father added, the man standing up for a while now. He was so agitated he couldn’t bring himself to sit down. “I really don’t know how we will manage…”

“I’ll try to take more hours at work, while I can still work,” the mother said, picking up the cup of tea she was drinking.

“I don’t want you forcing yourself.”

“The disease is barely at the beginning, I need to make the best of the strength I have left.”

It was around that period that Laura’s mother started to fight with a disease which was causing her muscles to slowly go into atrophy. It was going to take quite some years for it to become bad, but that meant she needed treatment for it as soon as possible and neither of the parents knew what to expect.

As the older sister, Laura from behind the wall couldn’t help but start pulling her fingers while thinking of a solution, anything. She knew her mother was sick, although they still didn’t let her younger sister know that. She was way too young to work, that was for sure, but from her parents’ conversation, she realized that there was one thing she could say something about: private school.

“I’ll go to public school,” Laura said, coming out from behind the wall, surprising both of her parents.

“What are you doing up? It’s way past bedtime,” her dad said, walking towards her, but Laura walked inside the kitchen where they were talking, closing the door behind her.

“I’ll go to public school. We can save money like that, right?”

With heavy hearts, her parents looked at each other, not having the courage to answer her question. ‘Yes’ was the obvious answer, but how could they deprive their daughter of a good education? Especially when Laura was doing so well in school, first in class, too. And since the school had a high school institution as well, it could’ve secured the girl a scholarship for college later.

However, no matter how much they thought about what the right thing to do was, Laura seemed to have already made up her mind. Private school was expensive, she could study on her own, too, after all, the material should’ve been the same, no matter what school she went to, right? She could just come home and do extra if that was needed, and it sure was going to.

“What about Gangseo Middle School?” she suggested with a smile, still leaving her poor parents unable to say another word. “Jake goes there, I always hoped we would somehow go to school together. And with him there, I’ll have someone to show me around and such, I’m already on a good path.”

Jake Kim was Laura Yang’s best friend since… Heck, since forever. Their fathers went way back, the two men knew each other since they were around their age and they were still friends to that very day. Her family knew Jake well, and his family knew Laura well. They could count on each other for that matter.

“Let’s talk about this tomorrow,” her father said, giving Laura a kiss on the forehead and opening the kitchen door for her.

***

“What did you do?” Daniel asked, going back to holding his cup with both hands since it wasn’t burning him anymore.

“I went,” Laura answered, taking a sip from her drink. “We needed the money for everything else, so my parents couldn’t pull back no matter how much they wished for it.”

“Your friend…”

“You know who Jake is, Daniel, let’s not play stupid anymore.”

Right, he did know. He knew who Jake Kim of Big Deal was, and he even had the privilege of shaking hands with the man that one night when both he and Laura came by to the shop he works at. To think that Jake was, or perhaps still is, Laura’s best friend was really a hit over the head. With the image of Jake that Daniel had in his mind, he didn’t think that Jake changed for the worse at some point in his life, but instead he thought that Laura changed for the better and ran away from Big Deal at some point. He couldn’t explain it, but as things stood now, it made sense that she was bad like him and changed herself when it became too much.

Laura’s words, however, were about to hit the bell in his head that things might’ve not been the way he imagined them to have been.

“I wish you met that Jake. Well, he’s still the same, to be honest, he just… Lost his way a bit with everything that was on his shoulders,” the girl spoke, taking a deep breath.

She felt so guilty that she left and abandoned him, leaving him to take care of everything on his own. If only he spoke, too, if he told her why he was so money hungry out of nowhere, maybe they could’ve found a better way to solve things. And for Daniel, the way she talked about him, the way her voice softened up and her shoulders relaxed was enough to make him pay even more attention to her than before.

“So, I went to Gangseo Middle School,” Laura added, looking down at her cup of tea.

“Was Jake happy to see you?”

“Oh, thrilled.”

***

“Are you out of your fucking minds?” Jake asked as soon as he saw Laura approach the gates of the school.

He had been waiting there since he got to school, that after finding out just the night before that Laura was now coming to his school. His fucked-up, vandalized, mess of a school that started to look somewhat better in the last few years because he changed from an all-boys school to a mixed one. The problem for Jake was that this was no place for his best friend, the girl from the private catholic school didn’t belong there and he was ready to fight his case. He truly thought she had lost her minds, he was ready to pick her up and take her to a therapist himself.

“I’m happy to see you, too,” she answered raising her eyebrows as she looked up at him. “Where is my hug?”

How bad could it be, right? It was school after all, so how bad could it be?

“Where is my explanation? Catholic school girl pops up in this place, this makes no sense” Jake demanded, crossing his arms.

Laura was pretty tall herself, but Jake? Jake was towering over her without a problem, and he looked quite mad at that moment. How else could he feel? Laura, in that place? How could he protect her when their classrooms weren’t even on the same floor? And would she think any different of him if she saw the God forsaken school he was going to?

“We’re doing bad with money. We’re doing so bad with money since mom got her diagnosis that I had to change schools, so can I have my hug now?”

Now she was the demanding one, while Jake took a deep breath and let it out in the form of a sigh. All of that scolding just to find out she didn’t have a choice after all. With that, he also gave in and went for a hug, covering Laura’s head with his hand and closing his eyes for a moment.

“Tell me if anyone bothers you. I’ll take care of them,” Jake said, giving the girl a kiss on top of the head before pulling back and signing for her to follow him.

Once they made it inside the school, things were just back to normal for that place. A lot of guys talking and laughing way too loud, someone fighting on the hallway, someone drawing stuff on a wall somewhere, a teacher looking his mind over that mess, cigarette smoke coming out of the bathroom on the first floor and groups of girls gossiping here and there. And in the middle of it all was Laura, standing up from step one with her long, white hair pinned up in a ponytail.

Laura has always been beautiful, that was undeniable and it showed as even the guys stopped fighting to stare at her, simply mesmerized. It was like a mermaid in human form walked inside of their school, but the girls didn’t feel the same. The little groups would start whispering to each other while looking right at Laura and the girl could see them well.

“Don’t pay attention to them,” Jake said, putting his hands in his pockets. “They’ve just never seen an actual pretty girl.”

“My, Jake Kim, since when do you talk like this?” Laura asked with a chuckle, nodding her head as an answer to his advice.

Since I fell in love with you.

“Here’s your classroom,” Jake spoke up, stopping in front of the door. “Mine is under yours, on the next floor. Come over next break.”

“I’ll be there. Good luck in class!”

Getting inside the classroom, the girl could already notice the two kinds of people there: the boys who couldn’t keep their eyes off her, and the girls who were shooting her death glares or making snarling comments. If she were honest, she didn’t know which group she preferred, but she didn’t waste time thinking about it before sitting down at an empty desk. So began her first day at a new school.

First and second class went well, the girl even going to visit Jake in his classroom during break. With him there, none of the guys had too much courage to approach her, so she felt safer. Things took a turn for the worse during her second break when she made her way towards the bathroom. There, by the window, was a group of three girls smoking and gossiping, but they interrupted what they were doing the moment their eyes fell on Laura.

“My, my, my, look who’s here. Do you need any help taking a piss, grandma?” one of the girls asked, blowing the smoke from her cigarette in Laura’s direction which made the girl cover her nose.

“The smell doesn’t bother you at all?” Laura asked waving her hand in the air, trying to get rid of the smoke somehow.

She wasn’t all that sheltered, but she has been pretty protected so far. Surprisingly enough, bullying wasn’t a big thing in her school, at least not as far as she knew, and there nobody picked on her even with her white hair standing up. The kids were minding their own business, and everyone was too busy to have time to pick on others for stupid reasons. Here, things weren’t the same, there were no things such as praying hours or doing group work together for the school. Here, everyone had time to do whatever the hell their hearts desired.

Hearing her question, the girls looked at each other before busting out laughing. The tallest girl, the sure leader of the group, jumped off the windowsill and walked towards Laura. She inhaled smoke from her cigarette again, and that time blew it right in the white haired girl’s face. Taken by surprise, Laura tried to take a step back, but the girl caught her by the hair to keep her in place.

“Going somewhere, grandma? Can’t hold your piss?” the girl smoking asked, pulling even harder on Laura’s hair.

“Let go of me!” the girl demanded, grabbing her hand and trying to push her away.

She was getting angry, but at the same time she was scared. She didn’t know if she should scream for help, or if she should keep her mouth shut. Was it wiser to tell a teacher after this was all over? Poor girl didn’t even know how to fight back, her parents never allowed her to do it and the worst part was that she knew exactly why.

Because her parents were too scared she would be just like her father.

“Here you go, freak,” the girl holding Laura said, pulling onto her again, that time down and so hard that the girl fell down on her knees, and only then she released her.

Scared and in pain, the girl screamed, but her airflow got cut off soon when she got hit with the leg in her stomach, making her gasp for air. Crouching down on her level, the other girl took one more smoke from her cigarette and hitting her cigarette over Laura’s head, making the ashes go down on top of the girl’s head.

“I don’t know what all of these idiots see in you, but you make for a pretty ashtray,” the girl added, at least throwing the rest of her cigarette out the window. Good thing she wasn’t there ready to set Laura’s hair on fire.

With that, the girl and her group left the bathroom, chatting happily as if nothing bad ever happened. All while it took poor Laura a few good minutes to even understand what happened. She only snapped out of it when some other girl saw her, touching her back to try and check on her, but that got the girl so jumpy she quickly pushed the girl’s hand away and got up on her own feet.

“Don’t touch me!” Laura said, putting a hand up to try and protect herself.

“I’m sorry, I was just checking to make sure you’re fine…” the other girl said, bringing her hand to her chest. “Are you-“

“Don’t you dare ever touch me.”

Looking in the mirror, Laura sniffed her nose, not even realizing until then that she had been crying from the pain. She felt some sort of pressure in her arms, pressure she couldn’t explain, but that almost felt like burning. Shaking her head, she tried to get rid of the ash in her hair and she quickly washed her face before fixing her clothes. She was determined to tell a teacher, no matter what. Just like the good Catholic school girl she was.

And oh, how luck smiled in her way. A teacher was just walking down the corridor, Laura making her way towards him as fast as possible. She didn’t hesitate to tell the man all that happened, giving the description of the three girls. However, she got in trouble as well, due to her clothes and her hair smelling of cigarettes, and no matter how much she tried to explain to the man that she didn’t smoke, he wasn’t having it. She was just happy to see that he promised to take care of the issue with the girls, too, so maybe a bit of detention was going to be worth it after all.

Her parents kept telling her to not get in troubles at her new school, to study well and focus on what was important. Don’t get swayed by the bad kids, listen to your teachers, stay out of trouble. No matter what, stay out of trouble. Always stay out of trouble, don’t get angry, control your emotions. Stay out of trouble.

Stay out of trouble.

“You got detention?” Jake asked his best friend with wide open eyes, not believing his ears.

“There were these three girls in the bathroom who were smoking and who found it funny to blow their smoke all over me. When I went to complain, I got detention, too, but so did they.”

Thinking back at it… Why didn’t she tell Jake about the blow to the stomach she got? Ah, right. Because she already felt like Jake was taking so much care of her, spending all of this time with her instead of being with his other friends, buying her little snacks every time they would hang out outside the school, which she knew would turn into little snacks at school, too, and now he promised to always walk her to and from school every day, and to keep the guys away from her. She felt like she could at least keep the girls away. Too bad she was absolutely wrong.

Since she had detention, she sent Jake to go home without her. It was rather uncomfortable to be stuck in detention with the same girls who got her in trouble, but she really thought that the problem had gotten solved and that she stood out of trouble. Once detention was over, the three girls left ahead of her, Laura being the last one to leave school that day. She was barely out of the school ground when a hand pulled her by the hair into a side alley. The poor girl didn’t even have time to scream before her mouth got covered. When she kept trying to fight off her attacker, someone else punched her in the stomach a second time that day, weakening her legs in the blink of an eye. The second blow was a slap over the head, making Laura dizzy with fear once again, but unable to say or do anything. Her attackers could see that, too, since she was let go of only to fall down again. Now her knees were bruised for sure. Slouching in pain, the girl couldn’t find the strength to look up, but that was easily solved when her hair got pulled back and she could see the very girl who hit her earlier that day.

“Did you think you could get away with this, bitch?” the girl asked, slapping her twice over the cheek, not hard that time. “I said you would make for a pretty ashtray, but now I have to make you into a whole boxing sack.”

And with that, she kicked Laura on the side, making her fall down for good. The girl didn’t stop there as she kicked her two more times, before running a hand through her hair and looking down at the poor girl, gasping for air on the cold cement.

“You’re fucking lucky I have a date to go to, otherwise you and me would have a lot more fun. But I’ll see you tomorrow, same place, same time.”

Just like that, they were gone, leaving Laura to fend for herself.

It hit Laura only then that she wasn’t, in fact, in Catholic school anymore.

The poor girl couldn’t stop her crying. The pressure in her arms was back, this time even stronger than before and she was gritting her teeth in anger at everything that happened that day. And the more she stood there, the more she kept thinking about her parents telling her to stay out of trouble. Why did trying to stay out of trouble put her in more trouble? Stay out of trouble…

Slowly pushing herself up, Laura sniffed her nose and reached out for her backpack, seeing her wallet on the ground and her money gone. With a loud, exasperated sigh, she grabbed it and threw it in her backpack, almost ripping the zipper as she zipped it back up. The girl almost fell when she got up, but she found the strength to walk and make her way home. She was going to do as told and stay out of trouble.

There was no trouble if no one knew about it, right?

***

“You didn’t tell anyone…” Daniel concluded, feeling a knot form in his throat.

Never, in a million years, did he imagine that Laura went through something so similar to what happened to him and never in another million years did he think that girls could be capable of doing something like this. Looking at her now, standing so calm in front of him and talking about what happened almost like it meant nothing and seeing how far she came and how viciously she fought for justice made Daniel think of one person: Vasco.

“It wouldn’t solve a thing if I told anyone. I didn’t want to bother Jake with this, and I knew then that telling my parents would just bring more trouble for me with those girls. Two months.”

“Huh?”

“I took that abuse for two months before I decided this shit cannot go on any longer. If they wanted to fight so badly, then I just had to find someone willing to help me without telling my father.”

“Why was your dad so against you fighting?”

“We’ll get there. So, as I was saying, I looked for someone to help me without my dad knowing. It took a bit of convincing, though.”

***

With a heavy sigh, Laura couldn’t help but beat herself over being stupid enough to even consider her uncle, her father’s younger brother, as an option for someone to help her fight. Of course that man wasn’t going to help, but at the very least he promised to not tell her dad about it. She was starting to become more and more desperate for help and in her desperation, she had an epiphany: their next-door neighbor, Mr. Pierce, an ex-US Marine who retired to Korea.

With her parents out of the house and her sister still at school, Laura took some comfortable clothes on, some yagkwa cookies and left the house, hurrying next-door. Once in front of the house, she took a deep breath and found the courage to knock on the door, eagerly waiting for an answer.

“Yes?” the man said, opening the door and looking down at the girl, raising his eyebrows when he recognized her. “You live next-door, don’t you?”

“Laura Yang, it’s a pleasure to meet you, sir!” the girl said with a big smile, bowing her head. She even spoke in English with the man to make it easier and more comfortable for him. “Yakgwa?”

“Where are your parents?”

From the looks of it, that man wasn’t really in the mood to deal with her. No, no, no, this couldn’t be it, she had no one else to go to!

“They’re out of town, visiting my grandparents,” the girl answered, but she quickly changed the subject. “You were in the military, right, sir?”

“I don’t have time to tell stories to a little girl. Go back home.”

With that, the man took a step back and tried to close the door. Laura wasn’t going to have it, however, as she quickly put her hand on the door to stop it.

“No, please, hear me out! I need help,” she said, looking up at him with desperation.

“Ask your parents for help,” the man said, trying to close the door.

“I want to learn how to fight!”

For some reason, that got the man opening the door once again, but he looked down at Laura with annoyance in his eyes. That didn’t make the girl back down however, in fact, she straightened her back and gripped her hand over the little container with the sweets.

“Then pick a sport,” Mr. Pierce suggested, crossing his arms.

“My parents won’t allow me.”

“Then why should I teach you?”

“Because I can’t protect myself. There are people bullying me at school, I tried to tell teachers, but it only made things worse. I’m the only one who can protect myself, but I don’t know how.”

Even if he felt a bit of empathy for the girl in front of her, Mr. Pierce still took a glance towards her house before looking back down at her. It was, truly, none of his business. He was there to retire and live peacefully, not become someone’s teacher. So, he tried to think of something to give Laura to do so she would be out of his business and maybe build some muscles for herself. A bit of strength could go a long way, especially when it meant having his peace.

“Do a hundred push-ups, whichever way you can do them, a hundred sit-ups, a hundred squats and a hundred bicep curls every day for two weeks and we’ll talk after. I’ll go back to my movie now.”

“Wait!” the girl said, stopping him once again. “Have these, please.”

And with that, the girl gave him the sweets, bowed her head, and went home. Straight home and into her room, getting to work.

For Mr. Pierce, this could have two outcomes: either Laura gave up a few days into the workout or she would build strength on her own and let her be. He was never prepared for the real outcome, which was that, after two weeks of constantly training religiously, just the way she was instructed, and watching her diet while at it, the girl was back on his front porch, knocking on his door again.

When he opened the door and saw her, he didn’t know if he should’ve been annoyed or curious, so he didn’t say a word, just crossed his arms again and let her speak first. He was quite the imposing man, but for some reason, the girl didn’t feel scared or intimidated. She was there, looking up at him with a big smile and sweat on her forehead.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Pierce! It’s been two weeks!”

Raising his eyebrows, the man was kind of waiting for something more to follow, but Laura wasn’t saying anything else. Truth be told, she was happy that she reached the end of that training, but she was also happy that she got to spend the day without anyone picking on her and even spend some extra time with Jake after school, at his house. Now it was finally time to get serious.

Mr. Pierce kept silent, looking down at her and hoping that the girl would turn around and leave, but she just put her hands behind and waited patiently for him to talk or to do something. She wasn’t backing up for the world, if she would’ve had to do an insane training, climb a mountain with no equipment or Hell knows what else, just to have this man train her, then she was ready to do so. And since she was wearing just a t-shirt, he could see the little bit of muscle she grew in those two weeks. Laura truly held onto her training.

With a loud sigh, the man nodded to himself. A promise was a promise, after all.

“Have you ever heard of Krav Maga?” Mr. Pierce asked, moving out of the way so the girl could walk inside.

“No, sir,” Laura said, walking in and taking her shoes off right away.

“Then you’ll have a lot of work to do,” the man said and closed the door behind them.

So began Laura’s training period. Five weeks of constantly working out and following close instructions from Mr. Pierce who wasn’t speaking much about his time in the military, or himself for that matter. Yet he was very strict about it all and he cut Laura no slack, even on behalf of her being a girl. If she were to go to the military, nobody would’ve cared that she was a girl, and for that matter, she was going to get treated way worse than Mr. Pierce was treating her, his words. Five weeks, yes, but that because somehow, to the ex-marine’s surprise, Laura assimilated the information of a 13 weeks boot camp in just that short of a period of time.

No matter how much he looked at it, it was insane. Her age couldn’t have been the answer, there were young recruits in boot camps all the time, sure, not as young as 14, but as young as 17 for that matter.

“Come at me,” the man said on their very last day of training. Last day and he was done on his part.

Without waiting for a second invite, Laura launched herself forward, starting to throw punches at the man’s head. He was blocking them without a problem, until he also reached to attack her, moving forward. However, his movement allowed the girl to grab him by the shirt and elbow him in the back, before she kicked the man three times in a row in the abdomen. It was a mock fight, so the man felt like he didn’t need more than that, so he raised his arms in defense.

That was it. Breathing heavily, the girl straightened her back and looked up at her instructor, and the man looked back at her. Five weeks of seeing each other daily came to end right then and there, she should’ve been more than ready to fight off anyone trying to bully her. After all, Krav Maga was built to not care about your opponent’s wellbeing. Mr. Pierce would’ve found out later that this proved to be a problem for someone like Laura.

“This is it,” Mr. Pierce spoke up, fixing his clothes a bit and grabbing a bottle of water. He also made sure to throw Laura one.

“Thank you for everything,” the girl said, bowing a full 90 degrees bow.

“Now go home, my show starts soon.”

Right. Same old Mr. Pierce, but Laura couldn’t help but smile at his words. She was done bothering him, so with a second bow, the girl took her jacket on and walked around the house, since they were in the backyard, and straight towards her own home.

Dinner with her family was rather lovely that night. Her dad was still around home for five more days before he would have to leave for work. His unit was getting deployed soon, so he was going to be gone from home for a while. For now, however, his family was just happy to have him home. The next day, Jake showed up to their house just the way he always did since he and Laura started going to the same school, but her father volunteered to drive them that time.

“Did you prepare for your test?” Laura asked her best friend as they walked inside the school.

“Right, I had a test,” Jake said, lacking just as much interest for his classes as usual.

“Why do I remember that you have a test, but you don’t? Do you plan to finish school at this point?”

“You worry too much. Worst case, I’ll just repeat the year.”

“How is repeating the year a viable option?!”

Jake’s only response was to start laughing from the bottom of his heart. He wasn’t impressed in the slightest when Laura hit him over the chest, instead, he pulled her closer and gave her a kiss on top of the head to try and calm her down. It warmed his heart to see her try to motivate him to study, but he couldn't bring himself to care about school. Maybe he would’ve actually gotten the hang of it if he went through it all a second time. Or he would’ve found it to be even more useless eventually.

Once they reached Laura’s floor, the two of them split, but not before she wished him good luck on his test while shaking her head. She was so ready to use all of those new fighting moves she learned on his ass if he didn’t get his act together and stopped being so stupid. For the moment, however, all she could do was sigh and go to class.

First class went by without a problem, and when break hit, Laura made her way towards the bathroom. There, just as expected, was the group of the same three girls who terrorized her since the first day she stepped foot into school. Ignoring them, the white-haired girl tried to walk into one of the stalls, but the same girl who would always beat her up the worst called out for her.

“Hey, pretty ashtray, come here,” the girl said, putting a leg over the other, while her two friends laughed.

“You can go fuck yourself, Amber,” Laura answered, looking at that girl with her eyebrows raised.

Instant annoyance could be read on Amber’s face, since her smile dropped and she hopped off, walking towards Laura. With no warning he grabbed her girl by the hair and pulled her closer, but Laura was still able to keep her cool.

“The fuck did you just say to me, you fucking freak of nature?” Amber asked, taking a smoke from her cigarette and blowing it in Laura’s face.

“This is your very last chance to let go of me.”

Now it was Laura getting angry and with that anger came the pressure in her arms, making her feel as if her own skin was pulling inwards. It was hurtful, and to ease the pain she stretched her palm and then slowly pulling her fingers into a fist while fighting against that at the same time. It was a way to try and deviate the pain into her fingers instead.

“You think you’re fucking funny, don’t you??

Now angry, Amber looked over at her cigarette and started bringing it closer to Laura, intending to put it out on the girl’s neck. That wasn’t going to happen. The white-haired girl grabbed her opponent’s arm and twisted it in such a manner that it allowed her to wrap her other arm around Amber’s neck, moment in which she pulled her to the floor. Laura was still holding onto Amber’s arm when she kicked her in the stomach, so hard that the girl screamed in pain and let go of her cigarette.

One of Amber’s friends yelled at Laura and launched herself forward to try and protect the girl on the floor. She attempted to grab Laura’s hair, but the white-haired girl was way too quick for that, grabbing the girl’s arm and pulling her closer, grabbing her clothes and kicking her with the knee in the stomach twice. As she let go of the girl, she kicked her to a side, doing a full spin in the process.

Laura Yang wasn’t present in the moment anymore. Her mind had gone blank, and she was looking at those three girls as if they were her prey for the day. The scariest thing about it all was that Laura felt like she was out to kill them.

With wide open eyes and nothing but fear in her entire body, the only girl still standing ran past the white-haired girl, straight for the door to try and escape.

“Help!” she yelled at the top of her lungs, holding onto the door frame.

“What the hell?” Jake spoke to himself, hearing the girl’s scream and even seeing her.

He was just on his way to tell Laura that he took the physics test. That’s where it all stopped, though, no guaranteed that he would pass it, too, but at least he tried to write some things down. Now his mind wasn’t thinking about that test anymore at all, and as he started to make his way towards the girls’ bathroom to see what’s going on, he found himself watching in shock as Laura came behind the girl, wrapping her arm around the girl and putting her other hand on the back of her head.

“Laura!” Jake screamed at the top of his lungs, gritting his teeth and running for it.

He was scared of where that will go, but his best friend didn’t even seem to have heard him. Laura was just about to take a step back and pull the girl back into the bathroom, but luckily Jake reached her in time, grabbing both of her hands and pulling them away from the girl’s third victim. Her bully fell to a side, covering her neck as she was struggling to breath, while Laura was trying to break from Jake’s grip and finish her job.

“Laura Yang!” he called out for her again.

It worked that time, the girl snapping out of it and looking into nothing for a few seconds before raising her head to look at her best friend. Mad? No, Jake wasn’t mad, he was worried out of his minds. He couldn’t understand just what happened, but he knew his best friend well enough to know she would never pick up a fight.

None of them were capable of saying a word as they looked at each other, until Jake slowly let their hands down, but didn’t let go. Laura turned her head on a side, taking a good look at her bully who was still on the floor before looking up at Jake.

“You won’t believe the shit that just happened,” she finally broke the silence, feeling her arms shaking a bit.

.

.

.

“She attacked us out of nowhere!” Amber spoke up in front of the school’s principal, trying to play victim.

All four of the girls were there, along with one of their parents, except for Amber who had both of her parents there. It was Laura’s dad who came on her behalf, the man standing behind his daughter who was sitting down on a chair, arms crossed and waiting patiently to see where the conversation would lead. He deeply refused to believe his daughter a bully, but there was no hiding that Laura did in fact beat those other three girls up. All he wanted to know was who taught her how to fight and what was she thinking to even consider fighting.

“This monster of a girl hurt our daughters! What are you going to do about it?!” one of the mothers yelled at the principal, the man trying to keep his cool about the situation.

“My daughter is no monster, ma’am, be respectful,” Laura’s father spoke up, straightening his entire body.

“Respectful?! You are raising a beast, she belongs in the woods, not in a school!”

Now it was him getting angry, the man gripping his arms a few times to try and keep his cool. Everyone was lucky that his disappointment well overtook his anger.

The fighting kept going on, mostly between the principal and the other parents, Laura and her father were silent and waiting for everyone to lower their voices or to shut up for a second. The girls even tried to blame Laura for them smelling of cigarettes, but all the white-haired girl had to do was tell everyone to smell their fingers and figure out which of them smokes and which one doesn’t. At least that shut them up for a bit. Enough for Laura to pull out a little recording device and start it. It grabbed everyone’s attention, making them both confused and curious, listening in silence.

“My favorite ashtray is here, look, girls,” came Amber’s voice from the device, making the girl widen her eyes in her seat and freeze in place.

“Please, leave me alone,” Laura’s voice sounded next, her shoes making a sound as she took a step back.

“Don’t be shy, come here.” A pause followed, then the annoyed voice of Amber. “Come here, bitch.”

A loud thud followed, and then laughter, while Laura’s exhausted voice could be heard gasping for air. Every day since the beginning of school was like this, she couldn’t go to the bathroom or to the gym hall without this kind of abuse following, it was time others knew about it as well.

Considering that everyone heard just enough, Laura stopped the recording from playing and straightened her back. Her three bullies were dead silent, while their parents looked at the device with wide open eyes, not knowing what to believe anymore.

“What is this?” Amber’s father asked, the man feeling angrier by the second. “My daughter would never do that, you must have tampered with the recording!”

“This is from yesterday,” Laura answered in her defense, looking towards her father, asking him from looks if she should talk further. One glance was enough for her to keep speaking. “And I have a lot more from previous days, one after the other.”

To bring further proof of the abuse to the table, Laura started unbuttoning her shirt, revealing her white t-shirt under it which he raised up enough to show her abdomen. A giant, purple bruise was beyond visible on it. There were even red spots here and there, blood vessels that burst open recently.

Laura’s father leaned forward to see them as well, stared for a moment and turned towards the girls and their parents with pure hatred in his eyes. He was shooting lightnings out of looks and the only thing that helped him calm down as to look back at his daughter, push her hand down so she could cover the bruise and give her a kiss on top of the head.

“What is your next argument?” the man spoke up, eyeing the parents more than the girls. “Did my daughter do these on her own? Are there any others?” he eventually asked, looking back down at his daughter.

Taking a moment to calm down herself, Laura slowly nodded her head in agreement. Her father was one step away from seeing nothing, but red in front of his eyes.

“My back is full of them. I have some on my legs, too, and my scalp really hurts,” the girl spoke up. “The one on my abdomen hasn’t healed up since the first day I stepped foot into school.”

Her bullies were still silent but shaking in fear. They weren’t sure who to fear more now, their parents, Laura’s father or perhaps Laura herself.

“Well then, what do we do now, Mr. Principal?” the father spoke up, crossing his arms again and looking down at the man who was just as shocked as everyone else in the room. “Perhaps we should call the fucking police to take care of this, since your incompetence wasn’t able to solve shit, clearly.”

“Sir, please, contain your language,” the principal said, leaning back in his chair.

“I am containing my anger as it is, you’ll have to put up with my fucking language.”

On the other side of the door of the principal’s office was Jake, sitting down on a chair and waiting for the outcome of that meeting. He could hear snippets of the conversation, especially when one of the parents would yell demanding justice. He was stuck between listening to that and to his own thoughts, trying to understand what happened. Laura would never be a bully, so the only logical explanation was that she fought in self-defense. And if it was so bad that her only solution was to actively go after the girls when they tried to escape her, then he could only wonder when this whole thing started. He was even blaming himself for not knowing, but his best friend didn’t speak a word either. He told Laura so, so many times to come to him if anyone bothers her, that he will protect her no matter what. After all, Jake knew that school all too well and he fully expected someone to pick on his best friend for the sole reason of her hair color. It was something he absolutely loved about Laura, but something he didn’t expect others to view the way he viewed it.

Letting out a loud sigh, the boy ran a hand through his hair and let his head down. He even promised her parents that he will watch over her, and yet every time he asked Laura how things are, she always said everything is fine. How was he supposed to know? But no matter how much he thought about it, he just reached the same conclusion: he should’ve known.

When the door opened, Jake quickly got up on his feet, watching as the three girls that Laura fought left first with their parents, looking down at the ground and not daring to lift their heads as well. After them, it was finally his best friend leaving the principal’s office, closely followed by her father. The father and daughter looked towards Jake, but the girl soon let her head down and sighed silently, while her dad closed the door behind him and signed for Jake to follow them.

“Come on, Jake, I’ll give you a ride home,” the man said, walking down the hallway without waiting for an answer.

The man went ahead, while Laura waited for Jake. She even signed for him to hurry up before her dad would lose his last drop of patience, so her best friend ran to catch up with them and the three of them walked away from there in silence.

It was still silent once they left the parking lot of the school, and it kept being silent until they hit the first red light. Laura and Jake were in the back seats, him looking out the window, while she was looking down at her lap. None of them knew what to say anymore, and truth be told, they weren’t sure if they should talk at all. From the driver’s seat, Laura’s father looked back at the two of them before shifting a bit in his seat.

“Did you know about this, Jake?” the man asked, starting the car once the light turned green.

“He didn’t,” Laura answered in her friend’s stead, not even letting poor Jake register the question.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t know, sir,” Jake said right after.

And he truly was. He kept thinking back to any signs that should’ve given it away to him that something was wrong with Laura, that she wasn’t having the time of her life in his school. He was beating himself up over the entire situation, if he noticed that something was off, he could’ve stopped this long ago. Instead, he let his best friend, the girl he was head over heels for, suffer all of that abuse.

“I’m sorry, Laury,” the boy added, turning towards her and taking her head.

Laura’s father didn’t even need to look at Jake to know that his words were genuine, so he simply nodded to himself, satisfied to at least know that his best friend’s son didn’t just let his own daughter get beat up like that. After all, Laura fooled both of her parents and her little sister. Fooling Jake as well wasn’t impossible.

“Here we are,” the dad said, stopping the car in front of Jake’s house. “Say ‘hello’ to your mom from me. Maybe we can meet one more time before I leave.”

“I’ll let her know, sir. Good night,” he said getting out of the car and looking at Laura with regret in his eyes before he closed the door and watched the car drive away.

The drive home was silent once again and that time it stood silent until they got home. With the car parked in front of the garage, the two of them got out, the dad letting his daughter walk ahead, but he still opened the front door for her. Once inside the house, Laura’s mother was already waiting for them, worry all over her face.

“What happened?” the woman asked, walking closer to her daughter and trying to look at her, but the girl avoided her eyes.

“Bring some ointment and help Laura with it. Our daughter is getting bullied at school,” the dad spoke up as he took off his shoes, then proceeded to put his jacket on the hanger.

“What?!”

“Shh, help her with the ointment and then we’ll all talk in the living room.”

With that, the man went ahead, straight towards the kitchen and from there, outside to smoke a cigarette and fully calm down his nerves. Laura’s mother looked at her daughter with even more worry in her eyes, but since the girl refused to speak, the two of them just walked to the parents’ bedroom where they were also keeping all of the medicine.

For a mother, seeing all of the bruises her daughter has been hiding all of that time felt like a punch in the gut, and even worse, it felt as if someone pulled her lungs out because for a moment she couldn’t breathe. She kept trying to make conversation with Laura, but the girl’s mind was long gone somewhere far away, trying to think of happier thoughts and forget that today ever happened. Most importantly, forget that she ever lost control like that.

“Here you go, sweetie,” the mom said being done with Laura’s back.

“Thanks, mamma,” the girl answered, pulling down her shirt and letting out a loud sigh.

Now came the hard part: talking to both of her parents about this entire mess. She almost wanted to pretend to be sick, but her dad was more than willing to let her get in bed and have a conversation like that. It was better to go downstairs and talk about this once and for all.

Was he mad at her? That was the question that she couldn’t get out of her head. He sure looked upset, angry like how she’d never seen him before. Was all of that anger only towards her bullies and their parents, or was a part of it directed at her, too? She was surely about to find out and there was no wasting time, either. Her father was already in the living room, sitting on an armchair in silent, but he raised his head when he heard Laura and her mother approaching him. The girl sat down on one end of the couch, while her mother sat down on the other, the girl between right in between her parents.

“When did they start to hurt you?” her father asked, looking right at her. Laura didn’t have the strength to look back at him.

“On the first day of school,” she answered, playing with the edge of her shirt.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“I told someone. I told a teacher, but he proceeded to send me to detention as well because I reeked of cigarettes from them and he wouldn’t listen when I said I didn’t smoke.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“And what, dad?” Laura asked, raising her head to look at her father. There were tears in her eyes and talking already became harder, but she needed to talk about that. “After detention, they left first and waited for me outside. I got the worst beating of my life. If I told you, you would’ve come to school, have them bring their parents, and probably the day after they would’ve beaten me up again. If I told Jake, all he could’ve done was go talk to them, hell, threaten them, and they would’ve still waited for me in the bathroom after. It doesn’t help that they would fear someone around me, they need to fear me directly to leave me alone. So, I beat them up.”

“You lost control,” her dad said, raising his voice a bit which made the girl cry even harder, but she was gritting her teeth through tears. “You know you can’t lose control, you know what can happen if you lose control.”

She knew she had that in her, her father’s genes. He knew it, too, that’s why he was so against Laura ever practicing a sport involving fights. He knew his daughter was just like him and the moment she would lose control, without someone to pull her out of it, she would be capable of killing. Generation after generation after generation of the Yang family had this in them, this killer instinct. It was a curse, one long passed from generation to generation, always to the firstborn. Laura was the firstborn now, before her it was her father and before her father it was her grandfather and many before. It was her turn now to carry the curse, and all that her father wanted was for her to control it, to bury it, to get rid of it. Today proved that such a thing can’t happen.

“Who taught you how to fight?” the father asked, gripping his hand into a fist.

“Minhyuk,” Laura’s mother called out for her husband.

“I need to know, Yana. Laura, who taught you how to fight?”

As an answer, the girl just shook her head, refusing to answer. She couldn’t get Mr. Pierce in trouble as well, and truly, if she said another word, she knew she would cry even more. What else was she supposed to do? There wasn’t always going to be someone by her side, she was the only person she was going to have with her all the time. She needed to protect herself.

“Why are you mad at me?” Laura asked, wiping her nose with the sleeve of her shirt. “Isn’t it enough that I got beat up for months?!”

Hearing her, Minhyuk’s heart shrank into itself, and the man could feel all of the guilt building up in his stomach.

“Come here,” the dad said, getting up from his seat and going to hug his daughter. “I’m not mad, I’m dead worried. Was it your uncle?”

“He-He turned me down right away,” the girl answered, sobbing as she tried to stop crying. “I’m n-not telling. I want t-to go my ro-, to my room…”

Holding back a sigh, Minhyuk gave his daughter a kiss on top of the head before pulling away. Dad’s little girl, that’s who Laura was. She was extremely close to both of her parents, but she was closer to her dad, no matter how much she tried to deny it. There was such a bond between them, perhaps triggered by their common condition which got Minhyuk watching over the girl closely since the day she was born. Now, he was watching her hug herself with one hand and holding onto the rail with the other as she made her way upstairs.

Laura could barely sleep that night, but she was lucky enough for the next day to have been the weekend. Her father shared the sentiment, except he actually didn’t close one eye the entire night. Instead, he remained in the living room, thinking and rethinking everything. His approach to the situation, what he should’ve done instead, if he should withdraw Laura from school and move her back to the private school, even if the money was tight at the moment. He didn’t want his daughter fighting anymore, not when there was a chance she might lose control and go crazy on her adversary. The spirits should’ve calmed down for now, people surely knew now to mess with Laura and Jake knew now to keep an even closer eye on the girl.

By morning, Minhyuk reached a conclusion, perhaps he shouldn’t have thought about what he should’ve done, but think about what’s the right thing to do next. With that thought in mind, he got up from his seat around ten in the morning and went upstairs, towards Laura’s room. He softly knocked on the door to check if the girl was even in, or if she was asleep, but he heard her say ‘come in’ before he pressed the door handle.

“Hey, kid,” the man spoke in a softer voice, guilt building back up in his throat as he noticed his daughter’s puffy eyes from all the crying.

“Morning, dad,” Laura answered, getting up in a seated position and running a hand through her hair.

Her head really hurt, and she felt a bit nauseous. The only good thing was that her bruises weren’t as painful as before, so she was ready to go take a shower and put some more of that ointment on and hope for the best. However, right now she was waiting for her dad to say something, praying that he wouldn’t ask again about who trained her.

“How about we watch some Transformers cartoons today?” the man suggested, opening up his palm and waiting for her to take it.

Surprised, Laura raised her eyebrows and looked at his hand before looking up at him. For someone who goes on a killing hunt when he loses control, her father was surely a sweet man. With a light nod, the girl took his hand in agreement with his suggestion.

“And how about you and I go on a hiking trip when I return from my deployment? We ask mom to make us some good food for the hike, too. Maybe some of that crab kimbap we both love, we buy some snacks, too. And… We try to find you a sport that will help you gain control over yourself. How does that sound?”

For some reason, Laura felt her eyes fill with tears again. When was the last time she spent time with her dad like this? Too long ago, that’s for sure. And for him to suggest it now filled her little heart with such happiness that she had to take a few deep breaths to calm down before she smiled and nodded her head with more energy.

“Did mom make breakfast? I’m hungry.”

***

“How was the trip?” Daniel asked curiously.

He felt so many mixed emotions, happiness, sadness, resentment, anger, maybe even a bit of pity. Most importantly, he felt like a fool again. He thought he and Laura were similar to some extent, that they both went through hell, but reality hit him again. They weren’t similar, she was better than him. That’s how Daniel saw things at the time, he saw that Laura stood up to her bullies, while he ran away from him. Coward.

“It never happened,” the girl answered, finishing her tea which had gotten cold long ago.

Raising his eyebrows in confusion, Daniel was trying to figure out just what could’ve happened that had them cancel their plans. Laura made it seem like nothing in the entire could ever stop them from going on that trip, nothing other than…

A little memorize ran through the boy’s head, shooting him like an arrow and making him open his eyes wider. Back when he came to school drunk, and they had a talk in the nurse’s office in his other body.

“Do you have your parents?”

“I only have my mom.”

“Me, too.”

Laura felt like she couldn’t look up at her friend, staring down at her empty cup with a heavy heart. Then, a loud sigh left her lips and a little gasp for air could be heard from the girl.

“He died before we could go on the trip,” the girl finally spoke up, slightly pushing herself away from the table.

Now Daniel’s eyes were even wider, the boy remaining stuck in place, unable to speak another word. All he could do was reach to take Laura’s hand and rub it a bit, trying to comfort her somehow, to the best of his abilities. It did something, as the girl found a bit of courage to keep talking.

“Two weeks into his deployment, mom got a call from his unit. He was training with a friend, when that friend decided to pick up a semi-automatic rifle and dispose of half of the bullets into the back of my dad’s head.”

“I’m so sorry, Laura,” was all Daniel could mutter in a soft voice, now holding her hand with both of his.

“The world just came crushing over my head when I found out. You won’t fucking guess who was by my side, day and night, throughout everything that followed.”

“Jake.”

“Ah, you guessed,” the girl said with a little chuckle, a way to try and keep herself from crying. “Two weeks after the news, every day, Jake was with me. He slept over every night, made sure I don’t do anything crazy. Here.”

Laura pulled her hand back so she could reach into the inside pocket of her jacket and pull out two pictures, which she gave to Daniel.

“This is my family on my first day of middle school. Can you tell who I got the white hair from?” Laura asked, chuckling a bit as she looked at her mother who had the same straight, long, silver hair. “And this is me and Jake when I started going to Gangseo Middle School. We were so happy, even when I was being bullied, I was happy to finally spend all this time with Jake. No happiness lasts for too long.”

Gently picking the pictures up, Daniel analyzed them carefully, this time being the one to try and hold back a sigh. Laura’s story was heartbreaking, just when he thought there was a glimmer of hope, something came and ripped it from her. He even found himself so angry at her bullies, but there was nothing he could’ve ever done. Her father’s death was the worst of it all. Did he judge Jake wrong then? Laura made him sound like the bestest of friends anyone could ask for. Was it all an exaggeration or was she genuine? But thinking back at it, she never praised him too much, she never went overboard, she just… Talked about her best friend. And yet, there were still too many questions to be answered about Jake Kim and Big Deal, so Daniel was still holding back on making a new opinion of them.

“Krav Maga… Is that..?” Daniel asked, not sure how to explain what he wanted to know. But Laura knew.

“This?” she asked, raising her left arm and without blinking, she hit it with her right one in the forearm, making everything down from that point go limp. “No, this is not Krav Maga. This is what I picked to learn to control myself.”

“What is it?”

“Varma Kalai. All you need to know about it, Daniel, is that it’s something people like you or Johan can never copy.”

Straightening his back, Daniel felt a bit threatened by her words, but he knew she was right. He tried, but nothing happened. Just what kind of martial arts was Laura Yang practicing?

But there was no time to think about that, so Daniel was ready to move onto the next topic of conversation: Big Deal. However, before he was able to open his mouth, a growling noise filled the room and silence fell over them for a moment.

“Well, this is embarrassing,” Laura said with a little laugh, covering her stomach. She was starving.

“Do you want something to eat?” Daniel asked, already getting up on his feet.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about me.”

“No, no, you should eat. You need to have a good diet to keep your strength. My mom brought me some food yesterday, let’s eat together.”

And with a smile on his lips, the boy already ran towards the fridge. It was a bit funny to hear him talk about a good diet, when his body was so chubby, but Laura was not going to judge. Instead, she reached back for her pictures, staring at them for a few moments. With a heavy heart, she reached down and placed a kiss on the picture of her and her family. She missed them like no tomorrow, she felt like an orphan, and yet her mother was alive and praying for her daughter’s return, and her sister was probably still waiting for Laura to walk inside their shared room any minute now.

“Sure, let’s eat,” the girl said, carefully putting the photos back into the inner pocket of her jacket. “And then I can tell you about the tragic history of Big Deal.”

Chapter Text

Another day, another dollar, right? At least, that’s how the saying goes. Well, more like, another day, another fight somewhere in the corridors of Gangseo Middle School. The ruckus was so loud that Laura had to put down her pen and lean back in her chair with a loud sigh. Jake, who was paying more attention to her, rather than the English book in front of them, leaned back as well and glanced towards the door.

“It’s barely the first break and they’re already making this much noise,” Jake pointed out, putting his hands in his pockets.

“What? Are you shocked?” Laura asked, turning towards him with her eyebrows raised. “It’s way easier to believe they’re fighting, than to believe we’re in the same class because you’re repeating the year.”

“I’m here being nice to you every day, and you’re so mean.”

“Then study, and I will stop being mean,” Laura said poking him in the forehead twice before she pushed herself up. “This exercise better be finished by the time I’m back from the toilet.”

And before she left, she even made sure to point at the exact exercise they were working on, just to be sure Jake wouldn’t have the excuse that he forgot what they were working on. The girl even closed the door behind her to block some of the noise from entering the classroom and off she went.

To no one’s surprise, Jake took a glance at the English book, moved it a bit further away from him, put his hands on the desk, head over them and he fell asleep right away, as if he was in his own bed.

Laura was gone for, how long? Maybe around four or five minutes, but by the time she was back to class, the door was open, Jake was sleeping on the desk and there were two boys she never saw before making their way towards the door. When the two boys saw her, however, they stopped dead in track, and so did Laura. However, while she was looking at them confused, the boys were looking at her with red cheeks, unable to mutter a word.

“You’re not from our class,” she pointed out, looking around the class to see if there was someone they might’ve come to visit, but there was only Jake.

“We came looking for him,” both of the boys answered, moving to a side and pointing at Jake.

Seeing her best friend asleep made Laura cross her arms, a little vein looking like it was about to pop on her forehead. Five minutes and that boy already got his ass in trouble. Fantastic. The only thing that got his attention away from her best friend was one of the boys, the one with the long hair, talking.

“I will be the next head of Gangseo Middle School!” the boy declared, trying to impress the white-haired girl in front of him.

Raising her eyebrows, Laura looked at him in silence for a few moments, then at Jake, and finally a sarcastic laugh left her lips. Of course, why was she so surprised? The entire school was out to get her best friend, when that boy couldn’t care less about who was in charge as long as he got his beauty sleep.

“You will, won’t you?” Laura asked, covering her mouth with her hand. “And you are going to tell me the same line, right?” she asked, looking towards the other boy that time, letting her hand down and showing them a little genuine smile. “Good luck, boys. It will be easier for you to achieve this than it will be for him to recover once I’m done with him.”

With that, Laura walked past them and stopped in front of the desk, thinking of her next move. Brad and Jason looked at her for a moment, then left the classroom and closed the door behind them. They were convinced that the ‘lanky ex-leader’ was about to get the beating of his life from his girlfriend. Good luck, ex-leader.

Looking at her textbook, Laura grabbed it and hit Jake’s desk, making him wake up in a way calmer manner than what she hoped to achieve. He was more confused, rather than scared, looking a bit around before he looked up at his best friend.

“Hi, Laury,” the boy said, stretching a bit and yawning at the end.

“Did you finish the exercise?” the girl asked, raising one eyebrow, prepared to fight him as soon as she heard the inevitable ‘no’.

“I got interrupted by some guys. I even lost the page.”

“You’re full of shit, Jake Kim.”

“Did you bring gum?” he asked, changing the subject when he saw the two packs of gum on his desk.

Raising her eyebrows again, Laura looked down and then shook her head in response. For a second, she thought about who it might’ve been from, then the image of the two boys pointing their fingers at Jake crossed her mind. At least they had some respect to offer, she had to give them that much.

With a sigh, she took a seat at her desk and opened the English book back to the page they were on. While she opened her textbook again, Jake grabbed the two packs of gum and stretched his arm towards Laura to offer her some chewing gum. At first, she just looked up at him, but quickly gave in and grabbed the one with grapefruit on the package, taking a chewing gum out. Jake took one from the other pack and got closer to his best friend for some more tutoring. However, Laura could do just one exercise with six subpoints before looking at the door one more time.

“How long do you think they’ll last?” she asked about the two boys.

“Probably not long,” Jake said, getting up from his seat while making a balloon out of the chewing gum.

“Where are you going?”

“The gum is really good.”

“No.”

“You can stay here if you want. I’ll be right back.”

“Shut up,” the girl said with a loud sigh, getting up from her chair as well.  “I’ll give you homework for this and you better do it this time.”

And with that, Laura started making her way towards the classroom door, while Jake looked at her with a smile. Ever since her father died, Laura had a lot of built-up anger and sorrow that she was still putting up with. It was way better now, a year after the funeral, his best friend being almost back to the way she used to be. The only reason he was so fine with her fighting here and there was because he didn’t know any better way of letting Laura let go of her anger. Sure, he could let her beat him up, but he knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t do that, even with all the times she would hit him because she was always soft in those moments. And such, he was always by her side whenever someone called for trouble, keeping his friend in check and taking the blame if they got in trouble.

It was almost too easy to follow the loudest noise in the school, leading the two of them in a classroom full of boys and in the middle of it were Jason and Brad, down on their knees, and yet still looking ugly at each other instead of doing it towards all of those boys around them.

“Stop,” Jake spoke up, stopping everyone dead in the track and catching their attention. “It’s not cool to gang up on people.”

Bats, pipes, it looked like everyone was equipped with some sort of weapon. It made Laura scoff and shake her head while looking down at her shoes for a moment. She would’ve thought that since the school became mixed a couple of years back, the boys would rather spend their time finding a girlfriend. Instead, they were causing everyone a headache.

“Are you seriously defending these punks?” someone asked, grabbing the girl’s attention as she missed a few lines of dialogue there.

“You trying to be some kind of hero?” another boy asked, even taking a step closer to Jake and Laura.

“Are you saying I’m not?” Jake asked popping a gum balloon. “I wasn’t trying to make an entrance, but by the looks of it, I guess I did.”

“You all know what?” Laura spoke up, stretching her back and arms before taking a few steps ahead. “Let’s just be done with this, I have a test in two hours.”

Still on their knees, Jason and Brad were left with their eyes wide open, looking at Laura and Jake with worry. They couldn’t understand what they were trying to do, but all they saw were a coward and his supposed girlfriend who wasn’t going to have the same authority over everyone else the way she did over her supposed boyfriend. Their eyes widened even more when the boys who attacked them surrounded both Laura and Jake in separated circles. Jason and Brad tried to get up and at least go take the girl out of there, but they were soon pushed right back on their knees.

“You know what, you two?” the ‘leader’ of that alliance spoke up, hitting his bat over his palm. “You’ve always gotten on my nerves. I think it’s time we brought down the head of Gangseo Middle School and his little knight friend.”

“I’m not interested in fighting or being the leader,” Jake said, a little grin forming in the corner of his lips.

“And I’m no little knight, just tired of all of you,” Laura continued, putting her hair in a ponytail.

“Hey buddy,” Jake spoke again, pointing towards a blond guy, the one with the biggest mouth. “Why don’t you do all the fighting instead?”

And as soon as he asked his question, Jake grabbed the boy by the face, pushing him into one of his friends and then both of them strong against a wall. The moment Jake made his first move, Laura did the same, using her left hand to grab by the collar a guy who was too close behind her, pulling him down and striking him under the chin with her right hand. She didn’t let go of him, pulling him down a second time and hitting him in the chest with her knee, pushing him aside. And so, the massacre started.

None of them were shy when it came to fighting, and despite being against a large number of guys, none could even touch them before being laid cold on the floor. Blood was getting on their clothes, and they both ended up getting rid of their jacket sometime during the fight to allow them to move more swiftly.

“What the fuck are you all doing? Grab them!”

“Fucking psychos!”

By the end of the fight, Jake’s white shirt was all bloody and he was holding a different guy by the hair in each of his hands, while a third one was passed out under his armpit. Laura’s shirt was a bit bloody, too, but she managed to be more careful with her clothes, and she had just let go of a guy after choking him until he passed out.

“…Oh. There’s no one left,” Jake said, letting go of the guys and reaching out for his jacket. “Get up. Might get a cramp, ya know?”

“The plan to take over the school didn’t work out, did it?” Laura asked, offering a hand to each of the boys, chuckling a bit.

Widening their eyes, the boys blushed right away, more in embarrassment than anything else, taking the girl’s hands and pulling themselves back up. By that time, Jake was already out the door, but he turned around to wait for his best friend. Waving at Jason and Brad, she also grabbed her jacket and left the classroom, hooking her arm with Jake’s on the way back towards their class.

To think that when she first stepped foot there, she didn’t have the courage to even raise her hand, let alone hit someone, and she had dreams of making more friends. And now there she was, fighting to make some sort of order in that school, and having only one friend. Good, she didn’t need any other.

***

“Why did you help them?” Daniel asked, pouring him and Laura a second cup of tea. It was a long story, might as well have something to sip on while at it.

“Jake made up some bullshit about how you’re a vermin if you gang up on people, if I remember right,” Laura answered, turning on a side so she could stretch her legs a bit. “To be honest, Jake just liked the gum they gave him, and I was stressed for the test.”

“That…”

“I liked to fight,” she confessed, shrugging her shoulders with indifference. “The girls didn’t have the courage to fight me after the incident with those three bullies, and the boys wouldn’t step up to say another guy beat them up, imagine the way their pride shattered when a girl did it. So… There were no consequences.”

“How did you manage with your anger? You said you, your dad, your grandpa… You said you would lose control.”

“Jake would keep me in check, but I never had another fight at that school that got me that angry. A month after dad passed away, I started looking into something to help me manage my anger. I found out about Varma Kalai through some articles online and started learning it on my own. It fucking worked wonders, so everyone was terrified of Laura Yang, the girl who can paralyze you.”

“What happened to Jason and Brad?”

“We became friends. Things at school became calmer, and then came Sinu Han…”

***

“It’s impressive that they actually renovated the school since last year,” Laura whispered to Jake from behind him, tilting on a side so she could take a better look at the principal.

She was already lost by his speech and if she were to be honest, she didn’t respect the man that much. He couldn’t keep his students in check for one moment, it fell on her and her best friend to do that part of his job. Looking to Jake’s left, and then to his right, she smiled a bit at Jason and Brad. The first time the two boys came to her and Jake after getting saved by them, Laura was convinced they were there to pick up another fight, but she quickly let her guard down and before she knew, Jason and Brad were around her and Jake a lot. Her best friend wasn’t too on board with the situation and he seemed rather annoyed by it. Laura however… She would talk to them. Yes, she didn’t need other friends, but that never meant that she wouldn’t welcome anyone wanting to be her friend. And she loved to tease those two, they were getting really flustered every time.

Pouting that Jake didn’t even respond to her, Laura straightened her back again, only to turn around, together with her friends, at the sound of everyone talking out of nowhere. It got quite noisy in a matter of seconds and no matter what the principal was saying, no one listened to him anymore. The gate to the school yard opened up, and through them a black car drove in, stopping only a few inches away from Jake and Laura. Unphased, they waited patiently for the drive to get out, while Jason and Brad were just a step behind them.

“It sure is hard to drive in a school zone,” the man driving the car spoke up with a subtle smile, his dark glasses hiding his eyes. “Good to see you, head of Gangseo Middle School, Jake Kim, and his best man, well, woman, Laura Yang.”

Raising her eyebrows, Laura crossed her arms across her chest and kept quiet. She didn’t feel like explaining how, for her and Jake, there was no hierarchy, and as such, she was no one’s “best woman”.

“I want you to join Big Deal,” the man continued, showing a wider smile.

Silence.

Jason and Brad looked at each other, while Jake and Laura kept eyeing the man in front of them. There was some sort of tension in the air, but it got cut when the white-haired girl let out a little scoff.

“I’m not going to join Big Deal,” Jake spoke up, finally breaking the silence.

“Count me out, too, Chief,” Laura added, shaking her head.

Gang shit wasn’t her cup of tea. There was enough to take care of as it was, more trouble was the last thing she needed.

“My, my… So assertive, both of you. And your reasons are..?”

“I’m not into gang shit,” the both of them answered at the same time, only Laura decided she was done talking from that moment.

“I’m not a gangster though.”

“Bullshit,” Jake said, continuing the talking for the both of them. After all, he had more of a right to talk about that matter. “Everything about you basically screams ‘gangster’.”

“Dang, you got me.”

“Stop messing with us and leave. I’m sick of dealing with you, thugs.”

While Jake turned around and left with that, Laura bowed her head towards the man trying to recruit them, then followed her best friend. With the commotion, the principal’s speech was also ruined and now everyone was walking back towards class without listening to a word any of the teachers had to say. Jake wasn’t in the mood to talk, and Laura fell just as silent in response, but she still took him by the arm and to make sure that she won’t let go, the boy pulled his arm closer to his body.

When classes finally came to an end, Jake asked Laura if she wants to grab something to eat on their way home. Sure enough, she would rarely ever refuse him, so she grabbed her bag and left school with her dear friend, and as usual, closely followed by Jason and Brad.

“Here,” Jake said, offering Laura one of the two skewers he got for them.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to get them one, too?” she asked, looking back at Jason and Brad, a giggle leaving her lips.

Even her little giggle was enough to make those two look away embarrassed. Really, have these boys ever talked to a girl before?

“Are you really not going to join Big Deal?” Brad asked, trying to change the subject.

“Why are you always following us?” Jaked asked, trying to not give them too much attention.

“It’s our job to take care of the head… Heads? Heads of Gangseo Middle School.”

“Whatever you say.”

In the meantime, Laura pulled out her own wallet to buy the guys something to snack on, too. She didn’t really have a chance to do it as Jake gave the lady selling the food the money before his friend could even reach for them in her wallet. He let her give the food to the boys following them though.

“Are they really that big?” Jake asked, and his question was enough to make Jason and Brad go on a rant.

Big, scary gang, owns a street, asks for protection money, rival gang: The Black Bear, everyone in Gangseo Middle School would kill to be part of it, yada-yada. It was a bit funny how they even ended up on the very street that Big Deal supposedly owns. Laura tried to make the boys stop talking before they would annoy Jake further, but it became impossible to get to them as the girls from the shops were all over them, trying to sell their clothes. Yeah, Laura was now convinced that her new friends never talked to a girl before, especially after Brad agreed to buy a little shirt for his future child from one of the girls.

“I ain’t joining,” Jake answered, trying to get the girls off of him.

There was no swaying that boy away, especially not when his crush was right next to him. He was not interested in clothes, and he surely didn’t care about other girls.

“Guys, it’s time to stop,” Laura tried to talk to Jason and Brad once again. Nothing was getting to them still.

“Why not? Because you hate gangs?” Brad asked, as lost as ever.

“Bro, if you join Big Deal, you’ll probably make it big there!” Jason jumped into the mix, the two of them making Laura frustrated, too, now. “And by the looks of your tattoo, you’re pretty much a thug already.”

“I told you to stop-,” the girl spoke up again, but it was already too late.

“Nope, not doing it,” Jake said, being way ahead of the three of them. “I’m sick of gangsters.”

“When I tell you to shut the fuck up, do it,” she told Jason and Brad on a way harsher tone than she’s ever used to talk to them, running ahead so she could catch up with Jake.

That was it for hanging out that day. Laura did her best to cheer Jake up, and as always, it worked. By the time they made it to the girl’s house, the boy wasn’t that upset anymore, making sure to give her a kiss on the forehead before leaving. It was when he was left alone that he started thinking about his father and his life, along with the way it ended and the way he was never home.

Next day at school went by smooth, and with the weekend around the corner, Jake and Laura decided to hang out again, and as it became habit, Jason and Brad were right there as well. The oldest in the group was well over yesterday’s main topic of discussion, and so the four of them were just making small talk, with Laura throwing a silly joke here and there, or hitting Jake over the shoulder, never with too much force. A peaceful Friday, until the peace died down with the noise of students from his school yelling for Jake and Laura at the top of their lungs, blaming them for something, but instead of naming the something, they continued to yell that they are not getting involved.

Confused, Laura and Jake looked at each other, trying to understand what could’ve happened that their entire school was running for their lives, and most importantly, they were trying to figure out how was that their fault in the slightest. Jason and Brad were just as lost, trying to see if the other did something. In that confusion, Jake turned around when he noticed that the noise from their schoolmates got replaced by noise from dozens of older students, split in three groups and each wearing their own uniforms. To add to the tension, it wasn’t hard to see that they were looking for a fight.

“So, guys…” Laura spoke up, straightening her back.

“Who did this?” Jake asked the question, shoving his hands in his pockets.

And from among all the other students, one dressed in a red suit walked up in front of everyone, with the confidence of a tiger, and some sort of subtle anger in his voice that Laura caught onto right away. It made her raise her guard right away, feeling in her bones that they were not walking away from there without a proper fight for that matter.

“I thought about why I wasn’t acknowledged,” the boy spoke up, trying to hide his anger. It worked for the most part. “The answer was simple. I took over all high schools in Gangseo… But I forgot to take care of the middle schools. So that’s what I’m going to do from here on out. Are you Jake Kim?”

Laura preferred to stay silent and analyze the situation, trying to see if there was any window to escape, an area left unsupervised through which they could take a run for it. And while she was trying to make a good plan for them to get out of that mess unharmed. And if not, she planned to talk first and try to understand just what was going on. Jake had his own plan to escape.

“He is,” Jake himself said, pointing his finger at Jason who jumped in surprise.

“Aww, c’mon, Jake!”

Seeing Laura so silent, the leader turned his attention towards her for a moment, a smile on his face, but one far from friendly.

“And you must be Laura Yang.”

To try and save the situation that was, in Laura’s eyes, already beyond salvation, Brad stepped up, making up a story about how they were from Gangseo Girls Middle School. The story got so ridiculous, that the white-haired girl had to turn around and hide her embarrassment, hitting her forehead with her palm. She was just about to turn towards Jake and tell him that they should have a talk with the boy in front and see if there wasn’t any misunderstanding in the middle. She clearly forgot for a moment that her best friend wasn’t the brightest tool in the shed.

“Yes, my friend Brenda is right,” Jake said, making poor Laura widen her eyes in utter shock. “I’m Jane Kim, not Jake Kim.”

“Sorry,” the boy looking for them said, putting on a pair of brass knuckles and getting up and personal with Jake. “I don’t like jokes. The only way out of this is to fight me. I just love fighting so much.”

  His eyes shifted towards Laura once again, the girl noticing how the intention behind his smile changed once their eyes met, which in response made her furrow her eyebrows before he even had a chance to talk. Yet, that didn’t stop him.

“Once I’m done with your boyfriend here, how about you come to my side? I look out after actual pretty girls.”

For some reason, that kind of sentence wasn’t what Laura expected from him, and so her eyebrows raised on their own when he was done talking. It fell silent for a moment, before she scoffed and crossed her arms again. It was his turn to be surprised by her answer, the boy raising one eyebrow before turning back to Jake.

“I hope you will laugh once I’m done with him, too. So, be honest with me, it’s just you four, right?”

“Yeah, just four boys,” Laura answered, while the corner of Jake’s lips turned up in a smirk.

And right when she spoke, on a bike too small for his frame, the very Jerry Kwon popped up. Big boy for someone only 15 years of age.

“And one hell of a girl,” Laura continued, showing their attacker a smile as well. “Split,” was all she said, and Jason, Brad and Jerry followed right away.

Just as expected, while her friends were being taken seriously (well, more or less with their rivals making fun of them), Laura didn’t get to share the same experience at the beginning. Three guys came to her, trying to flirt, one even made the mistake of putting his arm around her shoulder. Bingo. With that, she grabbed his wrist with both hands and pulled him to the ground, continuing to hold him as she hit him in the stomach with her leg. His friend tried to save the boy, but Laura quickly turned towards him, hitting him in the sternum and making his entire upper body go weak. So weak that his punch landed longer than intended, and it barely hit. With a devilish smile, she decided to take this opportunity to finally have a bit of fun.

Suddenly, with no one daring to come her way, Laura finally had a chance to turn towards her best friend and see what the hell he was up to. As expected, Jake was fighting the leader of their spontaneous rivals, everyone staying away from the two, but also away from Laura. Too many boys were desperately yelling about being unable to move their limbs, holding onto their paralyzed arms, or dragging themselves on the concrete.

“Boss, aren’t you going to get in?” Brad asked Laura, hoping that since they didn’t have the courage to get in between the two, she will.

“No,” she answered shortly. “I will wait to see who’s left standing and I will beat the living hell out of that one.”

Hearing that, Jason smirked and was just about to return to what he started, only to be interrupted by getting hit under the chin. It was only then that everyone fell silent, everyone but Jake and his fighting buddy who kept going at it, ignoring the world around them.

“Hey, kiddos, you shouldn’t be fighting here!” the man, much older man, yelled at everyone. “Go home and read some comic books.”

“Don’t make us get involved,” one man spoke up. “We’re getting too old for this.”

Throwing looks at each other, everyone took a run for it, leaving behind the two boys who were still fighting, Laura and their other three friends, and one boy who followed this Samuel who seemed to refuse to leave. The man who interrupted the fight made their way towards Jake and Samuel to get them to move as well. Laura was just about to tell Jake to stop and leave there, only for the idiot to hit the very man who was talking to him.

“Ah, shit,” she said, crossing her arms and letting out a loud sigh.

Just as they were about to get in big trouble, their salvation came from a bald man who stopped the rest of his ‘friends’ from starting a fight with the kids. However, the more the adults kept talking with each other, the more the teenagers were growing restless and quite upset themselves. Their chance to get away was right in front of them, and yet instead of taking it, they went from enemies to friends between each other. Stupid kids.

“Who the hell are you guys?” the bald man asked.

As they looked at each other, the teenagers didn’t need one word to understand the person next to them. They were clearly not out to get looked down on, and it showed since they came together and spat out the worst possible answer:

“We’re the Big Deal,” they answered, enough of an answer to get the adults all worked out and pulling out knives.

And with that, the kids seemed to be getting ready for a fight, too. They all seemed calm, but Laura’s eyes were never leaving their opponents. She wasn’t ready to get surprised with a knife in the back like that.

“Huh, who would’ve though?” Laura spoke up, with a little sarcastic smirk in the corner of her lips. “Stupidity is contagious.”

“You know what you gotta do, Jerry,” Jake told his younger friend, standing just as on guard as his best friend.

“I can’t believe we’re doing that for real,” Jerry complained.

Among them all, it was only Samuel truly getting ready for a fight, putting his brass knuckles back on his fingers. To think he was even so kind as to offer one of them to Laura first, then to Jake, only for both of them to refuse him. The only problem was that, just as Samuel was about to throw the first punch, both he and his little friend, Alexander, got grabbed by their necks and pulled away as everyone else took a run for it. They were stupid, but not crazy! They weren’t just about to fight grown men with knives.

It was a rather wholesome image to see Samuel arguing with Jake while they were running, but he clearly didn’t seem to have any intention of going back to fight those guys all by himself. To make sure they were in a safe area, the kids ran until their legs gave up on them, stopping on a little street where they thought they’re safe. Jason and Brad literally fell to the ground, while Laura caught her breath watching over Jake fixing Jerry’s bike.

However, just as Jake was done, Samuel decided to give him some extra work by kicking the bike. While her friend remained unmoved and unphased, Laura stepped in front and pushed the other boy away.

“Hey, fuck off,” the white-haired girl said on a completely different tone, frowning at Samuel.

“Move out of the way, I have unsolved business with your boyfriend,” Samuel answered, completely ignoring the girl in front of him, most he did was move his head on a side. “Get up, Jake. We’ve still got to determine who’s stronger. I don’t fight girls, but I will assume you two are on the same level since Sinu Han acknowledged you. Yet you just lead three dudes?”

“I’d rather have three loyal dudes, than a hundred traitors,” Jake answered, slowly pushing himself up, while Laura slightly moved on a side. “At least these three would never ditch us.”

“Nice speech, Jake, but terrible timing,” Laura spoke up, grabbing everyone’s attention, Samuel’s included, right before he was about to explode, too.

With the boys’ attention finally off each other, they could finally see that they got surrounded by a bunch of way older people. Everyone muttered a swear word right before they basically got swatted out of there.

***

“We were submerged in water before we even knew it,” Laura said, tapping her fingers on the table, trying to regulate her heartbeat since thinking back to that memory scared her to that day. “This old man started talking all kinds of bullshit I can’t remember. But they had a van used for funeral services, so you can imagine what are out fates were about to be.”

“Just how much trouble could you get into in one day?” Daniel asked with eyes wide open. His reaction made Laura laugh.

“All of it when you’re surrounded by such guys. It got really scary, I never thought I’m going to die before that moment.”

“How did you escape?”

“Big Deal’s leader decided to show up…”

***

“Too bad we don’t run that prostitution ring anymore,” the leader of Black Bear spoke up, looking Laura in the eye.

At the sound of that sentence, the girl widened her eyes, feeling her hands shake under the water as she remained frozen in place. Jake was trying his best to not lash out right then and there, there was anger in Jerry’s eyes, and Brad and Jason were simply left speechless, but they tried to move closer to Laura as a way to protect the girl.

In that moment, she fell so out of it that she didn’t acknowledge what was happening around her anymore. She didn’t realize it when Jake got pulled out of the water, nor when Samuel threw a tantrum over claiming to be the leader. She only returned with her feet on the ground when she heard a slightly familiar face, making her raise her head. And there he was.

Sinu Han.

“You’re not killing anyone!” the man said, making his ‘grand’ entrance. “I’m here, I’m here. It’s me, Sinu. Your biggest crush.”

While Jake made it very clear that no matter what, he wasn’t going to join Big Deal, Laura decided to continue to remain silent and see what Sinu Han of Big Deal was going to do to get them out of that situation. The last thing she didn’t expect was that man getting on his knees and begging the Black Bear leader to let them all go. The poor girl had to turn around slightly, taking a deep breath and try her best to not just start screaming at everyone involved. However, she finally saw Sinu fight back, she gained a bit more hope that they weren’t stuck with someone who was going to get them killed.

And would you look at that? Maybe Sinu Han did live up to his name, since he came there prepared. There was a prerecorded video of him talking about his plan and what possibly happened to him, in case he went missing. He was even ‘nice’ enough to offer Woong of Black Bear the offer of setting a proper date for a fight. Almost out of the blue, there they were, walking out of there and into Sinu’s car. Laura decided to jump in the front, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

“Holy crap,” Sinu said, sitting over the guys in the back, shivering all over. “That scared the shit outta me.”

Hearing that, Laura blinked fast a few times before turning around so she could get a look at the man. She felt like punching him, but that was way too rude to do to the person who took them away from death’s hands. However, she did plan to give both Jake and Samuel a beating they would never forget.

“Where did your courage go?” Laura asked, raising her eyebrows while looking at him all confused.

“Did you see those guys? They all had knives, what courage?!”

With a loud sigh, the girl turned around, looking out the window while letting the boys talk.

“…Anyway, I’m glad you kids are okay,” Sinu added, having finally calmed down. “Stop by our street and get something to eat.”

.

.

.

“Enjoy your meal!” Sinu said loud enough for the entire giant table to hear him talk.

Looking towards Jake, Laura put her hand on his shoulder, trying to check on him. When he felt her touch, the boy turned his head towards his crush, smiling her way to let her know everything is alright. He even put his hand over hers and started rubbing circles on the back of her palm to help her relax. Nothing scared or angered him on that day the way seeing Laura in danger did. He was considering going back by himself just to teach those old men a lesson, but he wasn’t going to worry her like that.

With one last reassuring smile, the two of them finally turned towards their food, paying attention to the conversation happening around them, but not interfering. One question in particular was what finally grabbed their attention, the two of them hoping for a good answer.

‘Why are you protecting this street in particular?’

And just like that, the place fell silent for a few moments, then Sinu’s radiant smile took over everyone.

“Well, obviously… Because the girls who work here are so pretty,” the man answered.

Answer that did not sit well with neither Laura, not Jake. The ladder felt especially angry over those words, hearing in his mind the words of that old man. ‘Too bad we don’t run that prostitution ring anymore,’ that’s what he said with no shame or remorse. And now Sinu was hearing talking about pretty girls like that, it angered him to his core, to the point where he turned his bowl upside down, all the food falling out. Laura had a better approach to the situation, simply putting the food down. Today’s incident didn’t fall in place with Sinu’s words, so she decided to not get angry over it and just remove herself from that place.

The girls didn’t seem to mind it, in fact, they were playfully scolding him for it. It was just no the right time or place for neither Laura, nor Jake. Sure enough, the boy’s reaction wasn’t well received by the members of Big Deal, but he couldn’t care less for their reaction.

“I thought the gangs around here would be different,” Jake said, his eyebrows furrowed like never before.

“Come on,” Laura said in a softer voice, offering her hand for her friend to take. “We’re going home, guys.”

And they didn’t even wait for the rest of their friends, Jake just gently putting his hand on Laura’s back to let her go first, the boy following right after. They just stopped on some chairs in a more secluded area at some point, the both of them letting out a heavy sigh as they sat down. They didn’t even want to talk about today, but the girl put her head on her friend’s shoulder and closed her eyes for a second. Taking care of matters at school was one thing, but almost getting killed outside of that was totally different. All because they were stupid enough to start a fight with the wrong people.

“Don’t pay too much attention to what he says,” the voice of a girl spoke up, grabbing their attention right away.

Her presence made Laura pull back her head and straighten her back. The girl just made her way on the stairs, taking a seat between the two friends so she could talk freely to the both of them and clear this stupid misunderstanding that Sinu created with his cool act.

“’A real man loves his ladies’, ridiculous,” the girl continued, even laughing at the statement. “He’s probably never even held a woman’s hand, he’s just trying to act cool.”

“…Act cool?” Jake asked, putting his hands on his knees and turning his head towards the girl.

“Do you want me to tell you about Big Deal in the old days?”

“Not if-…” but Jake got interrupted by Laura, who fully covered his mouth before he could be stupid again.

“Yes, I would love to, actually,” the girl said, wanting to understand just what Sinu Han was up to.

Big Deal in the old days were no protectors, they were villains, together with their best friends, the Black Bear. The street full of shops and restaurants wasn’t under any protection, but rather a quick source of money. That, until this famous ‘boy of promise’ appeared, and vowed to protect the street without wanting anything in return.

Sinu Han, the Boy of Promise.

With that story, Laura and Jake wanted an explanation from Sinu now. What was he up to, why did he protect that street with no gain in return, who was he exactly? It didn’t feel like the right moment to ask any of that, seeing how that man was busy… Relieving himself after drinking and eating so well, which was exactly what made Laura raise her head and move back behind the wall so she wouldn’t catch a glimpse of something she didn’t really want to see. Jake had no problem remaining exactly where he was, facing Sinu.

There came the questions from Jake.

‘Why are you protecting a random street without wanting anything in return?’

‘Do you think people will look up to you for pretending to be a nice guy?’

The same questions that Laura had on her mind, too, as she crossed her arms across her chest and waited for the older boy to respond. Her entire view on that man was based on his simple answer.

“It’s called passion, you little punk,” Sinu said with a smile, turning his head towards Jake as he was zipping up his pants.

Passion. Romance? Not a good answer for Jake, as long as far as Sinu could tell. However, from behind the wall, a little smile appeared on Laura’s lips. He was playing stupid, plain dumb, yet he sounded like he had a warm and kind heart. If he used that answer to trick them, well, he did a good job on the white-haired girl who pushed herself away from the wall and showed her friend a little smile. Unfortunately for Jake, he knew exactly what that smile meant. To make it worse, the rest of their friends also finally found them and seeing Laura happy, although with the context of her happiness, made them smile as well.

“Come on, all of you,” Jake said, shaking his head and going up ahead. With a little chuckle, Laura walked up next to him while their three friends followed behind them.

“What do you think of him?” Laura asked, holding her hands behind her back.

“I think he fucking sucks,” her best friend answered, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Maybe… But I think he’s a good person.”

“No.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“I know exactly what you’re thinking.”

“ I will go without you if you don’t want to try this.”

“Shut up.”

***

“And you two went,” Daniel concluded, interrupting Laura from her story for a bit.

“Of course we did,” the girl answered with a little chuckle, pulling on her jacket a bit before letting go of it. “We went the next day after school and got our jackets right away. Samuel and his friends were also there, I guess all of us found something we liked in Big Deal.”

“But… If there is Sinu, then what’s with you and Jake?”

Taking a deep breath, Laura tried to put her thoughts in order. She could see all of the memories rushing in front of her eyes, completely zoning out for a moment.

“From here, we started climbing the mountain before the avalanche buried all of us…”

Chapter Text

Starting from this chapter, ‘Laura’ will turn into ‘Lara’ for more or less personal reasons.

“Go out with me.”

That little question made Lara raise her eyebrows and cross her arms as she looked up at the boy in front of her. She couldn’t tell if there was any hint of nervousness in his eyes or voice, but he was good at hiding it, or if he was just too confident that she would surely say ‘yes’ for some reason. However, the girl just shook her head and let out a little sigh, before looking him dead in the eye.

“No.”

No? He wasn’t sure he heard well at first. Did he just get rejected or did he not hear her right? How did he get rejected? The answer surprised him so much that the white-haired girl finally saw a change in his expression, his wide eyes and raised eyebrows making her laugh a bit.

“What do you mean ‘no’?”

“Why would I say ‘yes’? The first time we met, you attacked my best friend for no good reason. And you look down on me, too, I’m fine. See you tomorrow, Samuel.”

And with that, Lara waved at the boy with a little smile on her face, turning around and making her way towards the other side of the street where Jake was waiting for her so they could go eat something together.

Lara Yang, No. 4 of Big Deal. Ever since the first day she put on her coat, she started to look out for everyone. She was helping the girls with their stores when there wasn’t much to take care of around, which always earned her little gifts here and there. When she was more on the field, she helped the other members with training, making sure to keep them fit and always ready to protect Big Deal and their street. And for sure, she always gave them a run for their money, never going easy on them and scaring the poor new guys every time she pulled out her Varma Kalai skills.

Lara Yang, the Angel of Big Deal. Her soon-to-be name. There weren’t really many other girls in the crew. In fact, Big Deal had two other girls, girls that Lara didn’t get to meet too often, or who weren’t that connected to the guys, so it was easy for them to grow closer to her. She always dragged Jake with her, too, which started a few jokes here and there. And those jokes were what prompted Samuel to even consider asking Lara out, only to be left all alone and with a rejection. Too bad that it actually sparked some real interest in him.

Like that, the days of Big Deal became more and more fun with each day passing. Everyone could see how well they all improved, how all of the members found their place within the crew, how each of them felt like they had a purpose and how certain members quickly went up the ranks. Lara wasn’t No. 4 of Big Deal from day one, she just climbed the hierarchy fast. Neither were Samuel No. 3 and Jake No. 2 with the snap of fingers, they were just talented, skilled, crazy strong, and always inspiring respect from those around them.

Yes, this was Big Deal in the good, old days. A bunch of people having fun, being friends and protecting what Sinu Han fought to protect from the first day, all in the name of passion. Not the thugs that Jake Kim hated so much and tried to get away from. It was the nicest breath of fresh air to see him and Samuel being friends, too.

***

It’s been a few months since then, and as it always went, another day, another dollar, as Samuel had just arrived on Big Deal’s territory. Other members were rushing to greet him, despite the boy not really saying anything back as he was smoking his cigarette. It wasn’t until he noticed that one of the members was missing his jacket that he finally started to talk.

“Where’s your coat?”

“Oh!” the poor boy answered, all embarrassed. “I left in a rush and forgot to wear it, sir!”

“Is that so?”

And in that moment, he raised his hand, ready to strike the other boy. The only thing that stopped him was seeing with the corner of his eyes a very familiar figure leaning against one of the stores’ walls and looking right at him. The girl was patiently waiting for his next move, and her burning stare was more than enough to make Samuel lower his hand and clear his voice.

“Make sure it doesn’t fucking happen again,” he said, turning around and going on his way.

Happy, Lara nodded to herself with a chuckle and put her hands behind her back, starting to walk towards Samuel. She would’ve lied to herself if she said she didn’t find that boy attractive, she just wanted him to fix his behavior before anything else. It wasn’t fitting for such a pretty face to always be so violent, especially towards his own people. And in her happiness, she didn’t notice Sinu watching over her and Samuel from inside one of the buildings, a little smile on his face. He fully expected the boy to smack the poor member who forgot his coat, it was a change of pace to see Samuel put down his hand and take a peaceful approach to an honest mistake.

“Someone’s in a good mood today,” the silver haired girl pointed out, stopping in front of Samuel, thus making him stop in his track, too.

“I don’t like to waste my energy on useless shit,” he answered, keeping his cool as he would always do, even pulling out his pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

“Is that so? I don’t know, Samuel a few months ago wouldn’t say the same thing.”

“I guess I got smarter. Did I get smart enough for you to go on a date with me?”

With that question, he lit himself a cigarette, trying to still play it cool, while on the inside he was cursing himself out for his heart starting to beat faster out of nowhere. Lara, on the other hand, fell silent, but as soon as the boy in front of her tried to put his pack back in his pocket, she snatched it out of his hands, taking a cigarette for herself. Without another word or an ounce of shock, Samuel leaned down and lit the cigarette for her, still eagerly waiting for an answer.

“Sure,” the girl finally said, as calm as ever. “How about Saturday?”

Her positive answer took him by surprise, enough for Samuel to lose his cool and widen his eyes. With that, his cheeks also turned red and he was still in too much of a state of shock to notice anu of this. Lara, on the other hand, was so calm that she picked on everything right away, making her laugh. She still kept silent as she took a smoke from her cigarette, turning her head on a side to let it out before her attention was finally back on Samuel.

“No, not good?”

“Perfect!” Samuel finally spoke up, closing his eyes and straightening his back, trying to not make a fool of himself any further. “Sounds good to me. I’ll meet you here.”

“Make sure to text me the time and where we’re going. A girl needs to look pretty when going out.”

And with that, Lara turned around and started walking away, still fighting back her laughter. Cute.

***

“You started dating the dude who was so ready to beat both you and Jake?” Daniel asked, looking at Lara rather dumbfounded.

“He did change, the three of us became good friends by then, so… Why not? It helped that he’s good looking,” she answered, shrugging her shoulders. “It was short lived, however. I think he was looking for something specific from this relationship more than he was looking to be with me.”

“You two broke up in the end.”

“It was a bit worse than that, if I’m honest. He changed back to his old ways.”

“How exactly?”

At the sound of that question, the silver-haired girl looked down at her hands and tried to put her thoughts in order. There was a lot to say about Samuel, but Lara wasn’t there to tell Daniel about her love life. Besides…

“I have a terrible feeling you will meet him at some point. Be careful when that shit goes down. We dated for around five months and then… I don’t fucking know.”

***

“Do you mind if I go ahead? Samuel promised to take me out tonight,” Lara told Jake as they were just walking around, close to Big Deal territory. Last minute patrol before heading home.

It was becoming more and more complicated to always put up a brave face, and then play a joke about Lara going on dates with Samuel. Poor Jake’s heart was breaking down little by little each time any of them mentioned yet another date they were going on, while he had to bite the inside of his cheek and accept that he brought this onto himself. Maybe he should’ve confessed his feelings to her if he liked her so badly. Just what held him back exactly? It was, maybe, a bit too late to contemplate that.

“Sure, love bird. Give your boyfriend a kiss from me,” Jake joked, him being the one who actually started to walk ahead while waving at her.

“Gross, dude,” Lara complained, shaking her head only to put a smile on her face, wave back and take a run for it.

Well, the run lasted only for so long, the girl meeting on her way a girl and a boy in uniforms she didn’t remember seeing around that part of Seoul. Pink skirt, pink shirt on her, long pants and a blue shirt on him, making her wonder where they were from. Out of curiosity, she stopped for a moment and turned around to take a better look at them, seeing the girl tugging on the boy’s shirt, trying to convince him to get out of there. It made her laugh for a second, but she didn’t mind seeing how they were going in Jake’s direction. He could take care of it.

Funny enough, just as she was taking one last turn to enter Big Deal’s territory, she met a third new face that day. A boy dressed in simple clothes, with a black backpack and a white dog in his arms. He looked a bit scared and distressed, but when their eyes met, he smiled at her, and Lara did the same back, even waving a bit. Ultimately, all she could do was keep watching him leave, wondering who he was and how he ended up there.

“Maybe he got lost…” she concluded to herself, hearing some voices nearby, prompting her to hurry and see who was around. “Everything good here?”

The atmosphere was a bit heavy, Jerry, Brad and Jason being all silent and lined up, while Samuel was smoking a cigarette leaning against a wall. Only Sinu was smiling as usually, clapping his hands twice to try and cheer everyone up.

“My, how y’all got silenced for nothing!” the man said, putting a hand on Lara’s shoulder to try and reassure her that everything was fine.

“Everything is fine, love,” Samuel said, walking in front of his girlfriend and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

Sweet, sweet Samuel. Only ever so sweet for as long as Lara was around. A totally different man, really.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked, throwing the cigarette on the floor and stepping on it.

Just to make sure, Lara leaned her head on a side, raising her eyebrows when looking at her three boys, asking them from stares if all was indeed good. All three of them gave her a thumbs-up, with Brad and Jason even smiling. Sinu solved it, so it was useless to tell her when it didn’t matter anymore. With that confirmation, the girl nodded her head, hooked her arm with her boyfriend’s and started pulling him away from there.

***

“Why did you mention this?” Daniel asked, clearly confused over what seemed like a mundane detail. Some new kids, why did they matter? Especially if she said she just walked past them.

“Olly Wang and Johan Seong,” Lara answered, her face changing once again as she was looking down at the table in pure disbelief to that very day of how things went down.

Surely enough, at the sound of those names, Daniel’s eyes grew as wide as the full moon, the boy even slamming the table with both hands and pushing himself closer to her. He was so shocked that he was starting to sound like a chicken trying to tie together two words and say something. Lara started doing the talking for him.

“I keep wondering if… If I stayed a bit longer with Jake, just one more minute, or if I actually ran all the way back to our street, maybe… Maybe things would’ve been fucking different and those two would’ve ended better, not our enemies.”

“Why were they turned down?” Daniel eventually managed to speak, blinking fast, still in disbelief.

“We didn’t have enough money for any new members. At least that’s what the boys said. I know they were not lying, but I can’t help thinking that we could’ve taken two more boys in. I feel like turning them away was our turn away point, too.”

Taking a deep breath, Lara tried to calm herself down. She was feeling tears building up in her eyes. She couldn’t help, but keep wondering what she had to do different for things to be good for Big Deal, instead of them dealing with all this hell they’ve been through for so long.

“Samuel always aimed for higher,” Lara spoke up again, changing the subject. “He talked about going to Gangnam, he just… Didn’t really do it to me.”

“But… You were his girlfriend,” Daniel said with pity in his voice. Lara, is there a happy part to your life..?

“I was. And Jake was my best friend, and Samuel thought that talking to Jake about leaving Big Deal together would give him my answer on the same topic, too.”

“And was he right about it?”

“…Yeah. Yeah, he was.”

***

“Is he really going to Gangnam..?” Lara asked her best friend, taking a seat and looking down at the floor, too shocked to raise her head up.

Jake wanted to talk to her about the situation as well, convinced that Samuel surely already spoke to her. Judging by her reaction, her wide eyes, the tears building up and her shaky breath, the boy realized that the silver-haired girl had no idea what her boyfriend was up to. Holding back a sigh of his own, Jake walked closer to her, putting a hand on her shoulder to try and offer the girl a bit of comfort.

“He looked pretty determined,” Jake eventually answered, not wanting to lie to her.

“Are you joining him?” the girl asked, turning her head towards him, wanting her best friend to look her in the eye when answering that question.

“No. I’m staying right here.”

“Okay, good… Good. Don’t… Don’t tell him I know. I want him to come to me himself, please.”

“I won’t say a word.”

Nodding to herself, Lara took a few deep breaths, fixed her hair, wiped her eyes and got up from her chair. They had to go meet up with Sinu and Samuel, she couldn’t be looking like that. Simply pointing to her face without a word to ask if everything was alright, Lara for an answer. In response, Jake just brought his thumb and index finger to each corner of his lips, moving them up while doing the same to his lips to show a smile. The girl did as told, putting on a little smile and following the boy out of there.

They were close by, so it didn’t take long to find their friends. Sinu was already eating an instant ramen, but happily waving at them when Jake and Lara walked in. As always, Samuel walked up to his girlfriend, gently taking her hand and kissing the back of it. With the news she just heard from her best friend, the silver-haired girl expected herself to want to pull away from her boyfriend, but instead all she wanted was for him to pull her in his arms and keep her there for a bit.

“Everything alright, love?” he asked, putting two fingers under her chin and raising her head.

As always, Jake found himself having to fight his emotions at the sight of the girl he loved with someone else. He couldn’t bear to keep on looking for much longer, so he walked closer to Sinu, keeping his back at his friends. Sinu was looking at him with a bit of pity. It wasn’t hard to see how much Jake loved Lara, she was probably the only one oblivious to it all.

Lara, on the other hand, was feeling too lost to be able to pay good attention to her surroundings. All she could look at was Samuel who didn’t seem to have any intentions of telling her the same words he told Jake not long ago. However, she didn’t want to be the one to start the conversation. She wanted him to be brave and talk to her first. If he could do it to Jake, why couldn’t he do it for her, too?

“I’m alright,” she answered with a little smile. “I think I’m just a bit tired, that’s all.”

And with that, she got on her tip toes so she could leave a kiss on his cheek. In return, the boy kissed her on her forehead and gave her a little hug before putting her hand on her waist as they both turned around.

They weren’t there to discuss any kind of business, they were only there to keep each other company. Samuel would’ve called it a waste of time if not for Lara being right next to him. They were just talking at random when the door to the room swung opened and two unknown boys walked in. The quartet all turned their heads towards the door, only one of them looking more concerned, rather than confused. It didn’t help that the strangers started talking nonsense, something about some ‘major crews’. The chaos only grew when a big part of Big Deal showed up out of nowhere, too, and the confusion reached the rooftop when Sinu started yelling at the top of his lungs for everyone to get behind him and stay there.

It was Sinu’s yelling that got Lara to straighten her back, starting to look the strangers up and down, trying to get anything about them like that, something to help in case everything fell down.

“Hi, my name’s Joongoo,” one of the boys, the blond one, presented himself, even reaching for a handshake. “We’re trying to make something called ‘The Four Major Crews’-“

Bam! came Sinu’s fist right in the boy’s cheek and nose, sending him flying a few steps back.

“I know why you guys are here,” Sinu said, his breathing getting heavier and heavier thanks to the adrenaline. “Big Deal protects this street. We’re not gonna pay some stupid fee to join your group. So you can just forget about it.”

“Huh, you punch like a girl… Huh?” said Joongoo, wiping the blood off his nose. “Wait, that actually hurt!”

With Sinu pointing out to everyone to stay out of the fight for one last time, people started to talk left and right. You could see the nervousness on everyone’s face, even Samuel and Jake slightly moving one hand closer to Lara who was in between them, ready to protect the girl if it came down to it. Force of habit.

That wasn’t like Sinu at all. He looked threatened, almost scared, and deadlier than anyone’s ever seen him. He looked ready to kill and it showed with each move he took towards Joongoo, giving the boy no chance to fight back. It became almost hard to figure out what exactly was scarier. Was it Sinu, all out to kill his opponent? Was it Joongoo who was enjoying every single swing Sinu was taking at him as if he was into some weird kink? Or was it the other guy, sitting down and observing the fight as if he was in the park watching passer byes?

“Go away!” Sinu yelled at the top of his lungs, throwing his opponent in the other corner of the room. “Big Deal isn’t gonna join the Four Major Crews.”

However, that was also the turning point. Joongoo was done playing, and he made sure to let Sinu know by easily getting up and grabbing one of the chopsticks the Big Deal leader used to eat with earlier. Still trying to keep the upper hand, Sinu grabbed the blond boy, tossing him to the ground. It was too late when he finally realized his mistake, the chopstick now being in his foot. The next blow got done by Sinu’s other chopstick stabbing him in the neck. For the next blow, Joongoo sharpened the chopstick right as he was about to get hit again, making a giant cut across Sinu’s entire upper body.

“Big Deal of Gangseo,” Joongoo said with a smirk on his face, “is hereby disqualified from the Four Major Crews. As of this moment, I’m disbanding Big Deal.”

However, Sinu got right back up, trying to continue fighting. The floor was getting stained with his own blood and the murmur of the people was getting drown in his own screams as he kept trying to hit his opponent one more time. One last, strong time to end the fight. One last…

“What the hell is so special about this street to you?” the blond asked the now knocked out Sinu.

Annoyed, yet also entertained about the situation, Joongoo started to walk towards Sinu, playing with his chopsticks in the meantime. He was spewing all kind of nonsense while approaching Big Deal’s leader, and as he was about to send his finishing blow, he got stopped by the image of three of Big Deal’s members. Samuel’s hand was over Sinu’s, protecting him from getting hurt further, while the chopstick impaled Jake’s hand, and from a side, Lara hit Joongoo in the forearm, watching it go limp as she remained on position.

“Hey…” Joongoo complained, his smirk having washed off his lips. “Who the hell are you guys?

“Y-You guys…” Sinu tried to speak, although he was unable to move. “I told you to stay outta this… Y-You’ll get hurt…”

“That’s enough, boss,” Lara said, straightening her back and watching Joongoo try to figure out what happened to his arm.

“How much longer are you going to carry this burden all by yourself?” Jake asked, not even flinching when Samuel pulled the chopstick out of hand and casually threw it on the floor.

“Hey, is this permanent?” Joongoo asked, still trying to move his arm while Samuel’s left hand slightly reached for Lara, ready to pull her back if something happened. “Ah, whatever, wait your turn. I’ll come for you in a minute.”

The silver-haired girl was just about to start fighting uninvited. However, it was Gun, who has been sitting down and observing all that time, that stopped it all. Simply stated he likes Big Deal, took a phone call, threw them into the ‘Four Major Crews’ mix and then asked them to come up with a hundred million won within a month, in a legal way, and lastly made it clear that if they popped out without the money, they’ll be eliminated. And just like that, Joongoo and Gun were out the door, letting Jake, Samuel and Lara to tend to Sinu’s wounds.

It was then that everything went down. Life in Gangseo changed all of a sudden, word got out to all of the Big Deal members that their boss lost against a total stranger and certain people saw this as the perfect opportunity to take command, pretending to look for Big Deal’s best interest. It was also when Samuel started to spend more time around Old Face than he did around Lara, unlike how things were just a week before this mess went down. And yet, the worst of it all was the fact that he still hadn’t talked to Lara about his wish to leave for Gangnam.

Restless and hating the situation they were in, the poor girl could barely sit down, listening to Old Face and Jason fighting. One purely desperate to understand the situation and bring everyone back with their feet on ground, one too cocky for his own good. You can guess which one was which. Looking to her right, she could see Jerry and Jake, both with their heads slightly down, listening into the conversation. To her left, Samuel was drinking his tea, not caring too much about the situation at hand. It was almost scary to see how indifferent he was, to the point where poor Lara’s heart was truly hurting. It was messed up enough to hear Old Face proudly talking about using the girls’ money to pay off Gun and Joongoo. The most fucked up thing at that table was the look on Samuel’s face and his words, however:

“Sit the fuck down.”

Hearing those words, the girl’s eyes widened up as her head remained down, facing the floor as she tried to understand just what happened to that man who she’s been dating for a good while now. Sure, he was rough sometimes and he cursed a lot. But in that moment… That was the worst.

“Old Face isn’t done talking yet. Don’t interrupt him.”

“Samuel, are you really just gonna sit there and listen to this bullshit?” Jason asked, calmer now than he’s been during that entire argument.

“Jason,” Jake and Lara said at the same time, enough to make their friend sit back down and apologize.

Thinking that his girlfriend was on his side, Samuel smiled in the corner of his lips, trying to reach out for her hand. She saw his shift in movement right away, gently pulling her hand away before Samuel could touch her. It was now his turn to be shocked, but he just pulled his hand back as well, holding back his anger.

“Are we really going to make this important decision without Big Boss present?” Jake asked, still in the same cool voice, not raising his tone a bit.

And there went Old Face, going off about how they wouldn’t be in that situation if their Big Boss was strong enough, that Jake should help them, that this is such a great and unique opportunity for Big Deal and whatever bullshit that Laura stopped listening to long ago. It was only when Jake started to get up, that she was also done with that meeting.

“It’s just like they say…,” Jake spoke up.

“Help me up,” Laura interrupted him for a second, reaching her hand for him. Just as expected, her best friend took her hand and helped her up, the both of them starting to walk towards the door.

“When the cat’s away, the mice will play,” the boy finished his sentence, stopping in the door frame let Lara go first and to add one last comment, a smile on his lips. “I guess in this case, you’re all just a bunch of fucking rats.”

A bit of commotion could be heard from the room, and just as expected Jerry, Jason and Brad followed. They were all silent until they made it outside, moment in which each one of them took a moment for themselves. Jake was more annoyed than anything, while Lara was looking into the distance, reaching for her cigarettes and putting one in her mouth.

“We need to talk to him,” she spoke up, addressing only Jake and he knew it. He could feel it in the way she spoke that it was a conversation just for the three of them to have.

“He still hasn’t come clean about leaving for Gangnam, has he?” Jake asked, taking the pack from her.

“Nope. Fucking coward… Let’s wait for the council to finish their meeting.”

And with a sarcastic laugh, the girl turned towards the left and made her way towards the first set of stairs she set her eyes on, using them as a seat. Truthfully, not much talking was done from there on, just Laura and Jake telling the rest of their friends to go home. Two hours into their long wait, the two of them came to a very simple agreement: that they were going to get an answer as to why Samuel would go working for someone else when he was trying to become big, and Lara was going to find out just why was he not talking to her as he should. It was also enough time for the ‘council meeting’ to come to an end.

Samuel walked way ahead of them, but the best friends let him be. He seemed to be in need to put his thoughts in order just as much as they were. They knew exactly where to find him, so no reason to follow him around like some stalkers.

Just as expected, there he was, lonely by the lighthouse, looking out at the vast ocean in front of him with a bottle of booze in hand and a million thoughts in head. Lara started walking slightly faster, getting ahead of Jake. Yet, it was Jake who spoke up first.

“Samuel,” Jake spoke up, making his friend slightly turn his head around by instinct. “You said you were gonna become the leader of Gangnam but now you’re gonna work for that douchebag instead?”

“Why would you not talk to me about this, too?” Lara asked, still walking towards her boyfriend. Her heart was tightening around her chest, and with that, it put a pit in her stomach. “You talk about making a hundred million like it’s nothing. Let’s just go together and-…”

But he cut her off. He cut her off to, subconsciously, make up for her pulling her hand away when he tried to take it.

“Fuck off,” Samuel said, making both Lara and Jake stop in place.

Her heart just sank into the pit in her stomach right then and there, and she couldn’t explain why, but her eyes got watery, too. He never spoke to her that way, not even way at the beginning when they clearly weren’t friends. And that angered Jake who frowned his eyebrows and walked ahead on his best friend, and right next to Samuel.

“I got nothing to say to any of you. Just get lost,” Samuel added, taking another sip from his drink. “You need to stop pretending you’re my friend and you can take his hand and go away since you follow him every step.”

“What’s wrong, man?” Jake asked, taking a seat next to Samuel and putting a hand on his shoulder. He tried to calm down his friend, understand where this behavior was coming from. “Did I do something wrong-?”

“I take it back,” Samuel said, pushing Jake’s hand away and getting up. Jake got up. too. “I take back what I said about us leaving together. You wouldn’t understand. You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, son of Gapryong Kim.”

“What are you talking about?”

“And you,” he continued, turning towards Lara who was now holding a hand over her heart. “I’m breaking up with you. I don’t need a girlfriend who needs her best friend every step of the way. You’re never fucking joining me unless Jake is there, too.”

“Samuel…” Lara said, trying to take his arm, but he pulled it away and walked past her. “Samuel, get back here and talk to me!”

“About what?!” he asked, turning around and opening his arms wide. “Fine, I have one thing to talk about! Choose, are you coming with me or are you staying with him?”

“You… Don’t do this to me. Please…”

“Then I don’t have one single fuck to tell you. I’m bored of you, you’re just in the way.”

“I… You fucking asshole!” she yelled at him, gritting her teeth as she was fighting back her tears. “Fine! Fuck off, you piece of shit!”

And he did just that, walked away from there without saying another word anymore. Left Lara there, crying her eyes out the more she tried not to. Hearing her cry like that made Jake’s heart break a little bit more, the boy walking to his friend and wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

“Shh, I’m here,” he spoke up in a sweet voice, wrapping both arms around the girl when she turned around and hugged him tight. “He didn’t mean it.”

“You heard him loud and clear,” Lara answered, talking only making her cry more. “That son of a…”

He let her cry as much as she needed, holding back a heavy sigh. While comforting her, Jake was also trying to figure out the next step, both his and Samuel’s.

***

“I asked Jake to handle matters without me for a few days,” Lara said, bringing her long braid on her shoulder. “I didn’t want to face Samuel, I was just coming by with meds and some home cooked food for Sinu. From what Jake told me, they were prepared to fight Gun and Joongoo when they came for the money. But… Samuel got it all.”

“How was he able to do that?” Daniel asked, putting his hands under his chin.

“Who knows? I just know he didn’t let those two take that money easily. Called upon the Black Bear, made them fight each other to ‘test’ Gun and Joongoo.”

“Wasn’t that risky?”

“And smart. We never heard of Black Bear ever after. On that day, when things settled, Jake left Big Deal. I stopped going there, too.”

“But that was short lived, too.”

“See? You’re also smart, Daniel,” Lara said with a giggle. “Yeah, that was short lived as well. Sinu needed help fixing things there…”

***

“We’re not going back to Big Deal,” Jake spoke on behalf of both him and Lara.

The girl was right next to him, her arms crossed as she looked down at her shoes. Maybe she should’ve been more annoyed to let others do the talking for her, but in this case Jake couldn’t be more correct.

“Oh, come on, we need you two!” Sinu said desperately, holding way too many snacks in his arms as an offering. “Please?!”

“Sorry, Chief,” Lara said, shaking her head. “Some of us have school to deal with. And I don’t want to see that ass yet. Besides… Gangs aren’t for me.”

“To be honest, I always wanted to quit,” Jake explained his reasoning for refusing to come back. “I don’t want to get involved in that mess anymore. I know it’s selfish of me to quit now but I got my reasons. You can call me a coward if you like. I don’t change my mind.”

Just as they were ready to continue on their way home, Sinu spoke words that made them stop dead in track.

“Jake, you’re afraid that the more you fight, the more you’ll resemble your dad, aren’t you? Son of Gapryong Kim.”

So, Sinu spoke about Gapryong Kim, about how respected he was by those around him, by how he treated everyone with fairness, and how despite all of this, his son hated his guts. He went on about how heard that the son ran away from home in an attempt to not end up like the father

Sure enough, both Jake and Lara remained frozen in place, but the girl turned around when she heard Sinu speak her name.

“You are scared that you’ll hurt someone you care about if you continue fighting, right?”

Just as expected, he knew some things about her, too. He knew about the fights that would go down at Gangseo Middle School, and about the girl whose hits would make one’s body paralyzed. From there, it wasn’t hard to tie the knots and connect her to Jake, and then connect the both of them to their fathers, who they resembled more than they wanted to admit.

“Well, then, there’s no more explaining to be done,” Jake said with a cocky smile on his lips. “Come on, Lara. It’s just like Sinu said, we don’t want to be like our fathers. I’m not joining Big Deal.”

“I’m not joining again either, Sinu, I’m sorry,” Lara said, turning around so she and Jake could leave.

“You don’t have to join Big Deal,” Sinu said, falling to his knees, dropping all the snacks in the process. “Just protect the girls, please.”

Shocked, the best friends turned around to look at Sinu, listening closely to his words. It got Lara’s blood boiling to hear just what was happening in their absence, how Samuel and Old Face were exploiting the girls. And yet, something was still holding them back.

“We… We’ll need time,” Lara said, looking at Sinu for a few seconds longer before she hooked her arm with Jake’s and started walking away.

***

“We both went home and took some time to ourselves. To… Make a decision,” Lara said, slightly bowing her head to thank Daniel for the glass of water he offered her.

How many hours has it been since she started telling this story? The sun seemed to slowly start to set, but she wasn’t done just yet. She almost couldn’t believe that she’d been talking for so long that her throat got all sore like that. To think she never realized just how long their story is because she never told it to anyone. All that time, she thought that the first person who would hear that tale would be Vasco, but it was actually Daniel.

“The next day, Jake went and talked to his mother, while I went to dad’s grave with my mom. Dad was never able to control this curse, no matter how many times he tried. And yet… That man never backed away from a fight if it meant standing up for someone, even if he knew he risked losing his senses in the middle of it all. I’m not dad’s little girl. I’m my father’s daughter, Daniel.”

“You two went back,” Daniel spoke the obvious, gaining a nod from Lara. “And what happened then?”

***

“Please, don’t make me choose, too,” Lara said as they were getting closer to Big Deal’s street. “I don’t want to be between you and Samuel, so please, just… Don’t make me choose the way he did.”

Her father’s daughter, his father’s son. They were mirroring their parents almost perfectly, even with the way Lara was always walking on Jake’s left side, the way Minhyuk used to always walk on Gapryong’s left side. And now, Jake was putting on his father’s gloves, while Lara was playing with her father’s ring, which she was wearing around her neck, too big to fit any of her fingers.

 For a moment, her words took Jake by surprise. He looked at her with the corner of his eye, before fixing his gloves with a little smile on his lips. In his eyes, that worry was more than easy to put to rest.

“I would never. I’m dealing with Samuel, you keep your energy for Gun,” he said, turning his head towards her with a big smile, even giving her a thumbs-up.

And it worked to calm her down and even make her smile back, but her smile left a few seconds later, when she heard one of the girls yell at the top of her lungs, instantly making Lara straighten her back, while Jake picked up the pace.

“Stop,” he said, gripping his fists. “That’s not cool.”

“Passion, huh?” the girl said, slightly shaking her head.

“Passion, my ass. I seriously didn’t want to come back. But here I am, about to do another stupid thing I’m going to regret, all because of that one damn word.”

At the sound of their voices, Samuel turned around, widening his eyes when he saw the two of them, together the way they always were one. Where there was Jake, there was Lara, and vice versa. It made his blood boil once again, angered at the simply sight of the two of them together. Gun and Sinu didn’t acknowledge him, his girlfriend cared more about Jake than she did him. Samuel was simply full of rage.

“Samuel,” Jake called out to his friend, walking right in his face to the point where their foreheads were touching. “I forgot that we never decided who the leader is.”

“Back, Jake handle this,” Lara told her friends, signing for them to take some steps back while facing them. She remained facing them.

“You’re not going to watch how it ends, boss?” Jason asked, raising his eyebrows in curiosity.

“I know how it ends,” the girl answered, crossing her arms and closing her eyes.

She didn’t want to watch it go down. She didn’t want to meet eyes with any of them and get put in the situation of choosing once again. With that, Lara never found out that Samuel’s eyes actually searched for hers, his heart breaking when he saw her facing away from him. His anger only grew as everyone around him started talking about Jake.

Gapryong Kim’s son.

The more Samuel tried to keep his calm, the madder he felt like he was going. Jake, the leader? When he worked so hard? They didn’t like his methods now, after going along with his plans all this time? Jake just got to walk in and become everyone’s hero. No, no, no.

Shut up…

“Just shut up!!” Samuel yelled as loudly as he could.

His yell made Lara feel a shiver down her spine and let her head down. She heard the gasps of those around her when the first punch got thrown, and she sure heard the punch itself, too. With each punch, Samuel’s voice also got louder and louder, the boy letting out all of his feelings of jealousy. He almost fighting blindly, just pure ragging coming out of his fists. Once again, poor Lara found herself having to hold back tears. Once again things were going south, almost as if nothing in her life could go well for too long before getting crashed to the ground.

And then silence. It all fell silent as Jake forced Samuel to pass out. Yet, it wasn’t until she heard Gun clap his hands that Lara finally turned around, taking a deep breath when she saw her ex-boyfriend on the ground like that. The white-haired girl had to fight every single cell in her body to not run over to him. Jake did the right thing.

“That was a pretty sweet MMA fight,” Gun said, a big smirk on his face. “Jake, did you say?”

What Gun didn’t notice was Lara approaching him from Jake’s left, kissing the ring around her neck before hiding it under her shirt.

“Does this mean Gapryong’s son is gonna run Big Deal now?”

First, Jake made sure that Lara was where she was supposed to be, then he heard steps behind him right in time.

“You’re late,” Jake spoke up, looking behind him.

“Sorry, I was taking a dump,” Sinu answered as calm as ever.

“No one needs to know that information, chief,” Lara commented, shaking her head.

“Now, will someone please tell me, what’s going on?” Gun asked, keeping his smirk on his lips.

“Alright…” Sinu said, raising his head high. “Here comes my deadly move.”

***

“Did you do it?!” Daniel asked, pushing himself up and closer to Lara once again.

Her story proved to be plot twist after plot twist, it got his adrenaline going. Going enough that he fully forgot about his passed-out body in the hands of Jerry and Lineman.

“No,” she answered, shaking her head and massaging the bridge of her nose for a few seconds.

The memory of how all of that went down irritated her to that day, despite the fact that she knew the truth now. Sinu, you…

“Sinu lied to us. And he further lied about only using us just to get rid of Samuel. He said he does have a plan, that we just have to wait. That fucker, the more we waited, the least he talked, it was driving both me and Jake insane. He was making my arms hurt every time we talked, at some point I wanted to fight him more than I wanted to fight Gun.”

That answer got Daniel settled back in his seat. It was a bit of a shock to hear Lara talk like that, too. He had heard her cuss before, but there was something in the way she did it that was just filled with so many emotions. Still full of curiosity, and now more eager than ever to hear the end of the story, Daniel tried to sign for his friend to go on with her story, that he was listening to every word she was saying. He had a feeling that no matter the end, the new eyes with which he was looking at both her and Jake now won’t change again.

“Sinu started gathering a lot of Big Deal members, we had no idea why. Then some of the girls ran to us, all upset and looking for help. Sinu, he… The girls told us that he sold Big Deal to the Workers.”

“What?!” Daniel asked, opening his eyes wide.

Something, somewhere, surely went wrong. Big Deal was independent from Workers as far as he knew. Taking a careful look at Lara, she knew it, too. So there must have been yet another plot-twist.

***

“What brought you two here?” asked one of the two guys guarding the entrance to Sinu’s trailer.

“We need to talk to Sinu,” Jake answered still walking towards them, a subtly angry look in his eyes.

Next to him, Lara had long decided that the only one she wanted to talk to was Sinu and no one else. All these guys had to do was move out of their way, and everyone was going to be left out of a conversation that simply did not involve them. Too bad the guys at the door failed to understand such a simple concept.

“Sorry, guys, but you can’t see him today. Come back some other time,” the same dude answered, a tone of cockiness in his voice that did not sit well with the taller boy.

Without a warning, and almost without being seen, Jake punched the guy right in the face, sending him to the ground with such power you would’ve thought he fell from the sky. Distracted, the second guy graciously failed to see Lara’s strong punch hitting him right in the stomach, before she elbowed him in the back of the head, making him pass out. That little bit of commotion was enough to make a big part of the guys that Sinu gathered on his side come running to protect their dear leader. A lot of bodyguards for a guy who is supposed to be the strongest in the team.

“Jake and Lara are on the move!” one of the boys yelled at the top of his lungs, trying to grab the attention of anyone who might’ve not heard what was going down.

“They’re gonna go after Sinu!” another one yelled, forcing his legs to run faster.

Jake and Lara turned towards each other for a split moment, both of them looking more annoyed than they already were. When their eyes returned back on all of the guys coming at them at once, however, all of that annoyance turned into anger in a flash. They both threw their second fist at the same time, while guys kept gathering around them. All they managed to do was separate them, convinced that it would be enough to bring their power level down, but it all backfired when it simply made them even more mad.

It was then that Lara Yang lost control for the second time in her life.

It was somewhere between the fourth time she hit a guy so precisely in the shoulder that their arm went limp, and the second time she got punched. She couldn’t handle being hit anymore, not after everything she went through with her bullies. A first hit was fine, she could take it, but the second hit sent her down a spiral. Her arms started to hurt so much she felt like they would burst, so the only way to escape that pain was to hit again, and again, and again, until all of the pressure would finally be relieved.

From there on, the only problem was that she couldn’t remember anything. Not another punch, not another kick, or hit. She couldn’t remember picking one of the guys up by his shirt and throwing him against the wall, nor could she recall grabbing the limp arm of another one of them and starting to spin around, keeping others at bay. And in that time, Jake was throwing punch after punch with such force, they almost felt inhuman. In Lara Yang’s book, Jake was a beast, just like her.

“What happened here?” Jerry’s voice suddenly resounded, bringing Jake back with his feet on ground.

Under one armpit he was holding a guy by the neck, and with his other hand, he was strongly keeping another one in place by the hair. An image strangely familiar.

“It’s nothing,” Jake answered, his face and clothes all bloodied. “Get back inside and do your homework.”

From his left side he could hear the merciless punches of Lara continuously hitting the very last guy unlucky enough to stand up and fall into her arms. If she continued like that, it might’ve just been enough to kill him.

“Lara,” Jake called out for her.

It was not enough to stop her.

“Lara Yang!” Jake shouted that time, letting go of the guys he was holding.

That time she heard him, snapping out of it and taking a few seconds to regain her senses. She was on top of one of the guys, poor dude’s face looking like he got hit by a train and not a girl, while her face and clothes were also all full of blood. Her heart skipped a beat, the girl leaning down to check if the guy was still breathing, a loud sigh of relief leaving her lips as she felt his pulse still there. It was also enough to make her drop any hint of worry and go back to being angry, but this time in control of herself.

“Jerry, why are you here? Who’s that?” Lara asked, looking at the boy that their younger friend was carrying in his arms.

“You’re late,” a well too familiar voice spoke with the same arrogance in his voice that he always had. “You say you’re the sword of Jake and the shield of Lara. You shouldn’t be late.”

There he was, Old Face, with the same smug face that always left Lara with a bitter taste in her mouth. As she turned around to fully face him, she turned her neck until she heard a crack, releasing some of the tension in her body. She was preparing for yet another fight, and Old Face better believe that she had a lot of strength left to deal with him and with whoever he brought to the showdown.

“Cut off Jake and Lara before they grow any stronger,” Old Face continued, approaching the pair until he was merely a few steps away from him. “Big Boss said so.”

Absolutely not impressed, the white-haired girl continued to keep her silence in talking to him or to any of his ‘friends’. Jerry was an exception, Jerry was on their side, until the ugly in front of them. Sinu was the only one from the other side that she wanted to speak a few words to.

Jake, on the other hand, took the role of the interpreter for the both of them. He understood Lara better than anyone, which meant he also figured out long ago that she was going to continue to stay silent. For a few moments, he was tempted to do the same, but he just couldn’t keep his mouth shut. For him, there was just too much to be said.

“Our Big Boss tried to sell Big Deal to Workers,” Jake said, reaching out to fix his hair so it would stay out of his way during what was about to follow. “I don’t blame him. We failed to correct him, it’s our fault.”

Taking his speech as a sign of arrogance, the people on Old Face’s side jumped to fight. The best friends were just about ready to counterattack when Jerry stepped in, taking all of the hits just like a wall, showing no signs of pain.

“Didn’t you two teach me that we should never abandon one another?” Jerry asked, looking down at his bosses.

It put a smile on Jake’s face to hear him say that, feeling a bit of ease in his heart that he had such an ally on his side. It warmed the white-haired girl’s heart, too, despite her slightly shaking her head in response.

“I’ll deal with things here,” Lara told her best friend, although she kept her eyes on Jerry for a few more seconds. “I don’t wanna see that ugly son of a bitch you’re looking at ever again.”

Jake smiled in the corner of his lips, slowly shaking his head before he let out a rather mocking sigh. Finally, the fight he’s been looking forward to for quite a while was now waiting for him with open arms. Well, more like with arms crossed as Old Face kept his smug look, sure of his upper hand.

“... I’ve always wanted to see for myself. One who got to where he is now with nothing but his fists,” Jake said, looking way more relaxed than you would expect someone to look when about to start fighting.

“Why the hell would I fight you?” Old Face answered, now opening his arms in what he believed to be triumph. “My reinforcements are here.”

At the sound of the word ‘reinforcements’, Lara turned around by instinct, raising her head a bit higher up than it already was. And just like the good friend that she was, she walked to Jake’s side. Looks like she couldn’t avoid seeing Old Face no matter how much she wanted to.

Big Deal’s Team YB. They had quite the dark looks on their faces as they were looking at Jake and Lara. There was a bit of disappointment on his face to see Jason and Brad up front, but there was nothing he could do about it, and neither was he too worried about taking them all on a fight. Lara, on the other hand was more sad than disappointed. To think they would claim for so long that they have to protect them, only for them to now stand next to Old Face. However, the two of them didn’t even have time to start getting ready before the entire YB Team bowed at a ninety degree angle, with Jason speaking for everyone.

“From now on, you’re not our bosses. You’re our Big Bosses.”

And so went away the mocking smirk on Old Face’s lips as he turned around to face the ‘traitors’. He failed to realize that he was never betrayed, for Team YB was never on his side to begin with. The fear on his face grew the moment Jerry approached him as well, already all covered in bruises.

“I’m not No. 1 of YB, I’m No. 2 of Jake Kim and Lara Yang.”

Seeing everyone gathered up there, and in reality, on their side, Lara put a little smile on her lips before straightening her back and making sure that she still had her father’s ring secured on her necklace. She let out a scoff when she saw the state her poor, white shirt was in, all bloodied up and dirty. Good thing she learned to carry a back-up with her, she couldn’t let her mother see her in such a state or that poor woman was going to have a heart attack. The daughter couldn’t hurt her mother more than she already was hurt.

Turning her head towards her best friend, then back towards Old Face and those outside of team YB that were still on his face, she realized that they had to split if they ever hoped to bring this chase to an end.

“Go after Sinu,” the white-haired girl told Jake, buttoning up another button on her shirt to make sure that she was as hard to grab as possible. “We will handle things here.”

It took Jake a moment to let her words sink in. At first, he didn’t want to listen. How could he let her and their other friends to deal with this mess alone? And then it hit him that before their friends showed up it was him and Lara that fought everyone like it meant nothing and won. His feelings for her always made the boy worry more than he should’ve, when his crush was more than capable of taking care of herself.

“Don’t go crazy while I’m not around,” Jake said with a smirk, turning around and waving at his team. Lara couldn’t see him, she had his back on him, too, facing her soon-to-be opponents.

“On these guys? Please, I’m a woman with standards.”

“Have a safe trip, sir,” Jerry told Jake, waiting for the moment Lara will give the signal for them to fight.

“… I won’t be long,” Jake added as confidence was building up inside his body. “You gotta get ready for school.”

And then he left.

With Jake finally out of the picture, Lara felt bold enough to let out all of the anger, frustration and disappointment she had. Perhaps it was stupid and reckless, but she didn’t want any member of the team involved, so the girl stepped in front of everyone, letting go of her hair only to put it up in a new ponytail.

“Everyone, stand down. I got it,” she ordered them, raising her head while facing the enemies.

“But ma’am, there is a lot of them,” Jerry protested, although he didn’t dare move from his place.

“Jerry, you really need to stop calling me ‘ma’am’, that is for married women.”

That was the last thing she said before she started swiftly running towards her opponents. She was so fast that they didn’t have enough time to understand what was happening before she punched one guy on her left with her right fist, then another to the right with her left fist, and grabbed a third man standing on front of her by the collar of his shirt, and promptly kicked him in the knee, sending him to the ground.

She could feel the flesh of her arms getting tighter and tighter, every vein pumping so much blood that she could hear it in her ears. Her adrenaline was on another level as she dodged on a side, then hit the guy who tried to hit her in the arm, paralyzing it, before she grabbed his arm and strongly pulled him over her shoulder, slamming him onto the hard, cold concrete. Jerry, Brad and Jason were watching in pure disbelief as the fight went on, contemplating whether or not to engage, but they had clear orders to wait. Jerry was prepared to hop in at any moment, shall something bad happen to Lara.

It felt like merely a few minutes when the fight was over, Old Face having evaporated and abandoned his men. Coward, just a fucking coward trying to be king. The pile of unconscious boys, all beaten up until they passed out, surrounded Lara from every direction. She stood like a lonely monarch in the middle of that massacre, almost like the sole survivor of a cataclysm. In reality, she was too stubborn to let her team join in. She had agreed with Jake that this problem was only for the two of them to fix. All Lara did was make sure they both keep their word.

“My poor shirt,” she said, looking down at her now more bloodied up shirt.

Her heavy breathing was in-your-face obvious, as she was struggling to stand up. She had used up all of her stamina and power, and she was wobbling as if drunk. Yet, she still found the strength to locate her backpack which she always carried away and thrown on a side at the beginning of the fight, pulling out from inside it a new white shirt, although wrinkled.

“Turn around,” the white-haired girl ordered her men, and they did as told without a second though. They even let their heads down, and some went as far as closing their eyes.

Too tired to care, Lara changed her shirt, throwing the dirty one inside her backpack. No blood could be visible on her black pants, just some dirt here and there, but that was just fine. Her hair was rather messy, but she could take care of that, too. Just… Later.

“Is Jake back yet?” she asked, starting to walk towards her friends.

They took her talking as a sign that she was done changing, so they turned around. There was something… Something about her, about her aura at that moment and about the lights on the street that gave her some sort of magical look. White hair, white shirt, white skin. Almost like an angel. There wasn’t enough time to think about her aspect, though, as Lara took one more step and then her vision blackened in a second, making the girl pass out.

Merely a day passed after that incident, Lara taking a bit more time the next morning to let everything sink in. She felt like she had no strength to get up, it felt surreal. Samuel left her like that, Sinu tried selling Big Deal… She and Jake were done. They tried to straighten things out, but Sinu won against Jake, and Lara was already passed out by the time the ex-leader left for her to try and chase him down. If he could just up and leave, why couldn’t they do the same? Too much happened in too short of a time for them to wish to continue being part of Big Deal. At least that’s what the best friends told each other just the evening before while Jake was taking his crush home. The older boy was going to pick his stuff up from Big Deal’s street, and from there they were going to meet and go play at an arcade, or just kill time somehow.

However, as soon as she made it to the street, the white-haired girl started to have doubts about that decision. Sure, a lot of hurt took place there, but the happy memories were in a bigger number. Could they just leave like that? Were they fed up to go, now that even Sinu betrayed them? The team’s number of members also went down a lot with all of the traitors out of the picture. But… Could they take anymore of this?

Knocking on the door to the room Jake used to stay in, Lara slowly pushed it open and found her best friend looking at Sinu’s jacket. She had carried her own jacket with her, planning to leave it there. Seeing her best friend like that, the girl looked down at the jacket in her hands and closed her eyes for a moment.

“Having second thoughts?” Lara asked, walking closer to the boy.

“I fucking hate the word ‘passion’,” Jake answered, gritting his teeth.

His answer made her smile a bit, before she nodded her head in agreement. Yeah, fuck passion.

“I don’t want to be no damn leader,” Jake added, taking the jacket and putting it on.

Their conversation was half words, half actions. They didn’t need to say it out loud that they were having massive seconds thoughts about leaving, it was clear even to a blind eye. Lara just followed him and took her jacket on, as well.

“Me neither, trust me,” she answered, fixing her jacket a bit, then running a hand through her hair.

Looking up at her friend, she took a deep breath, then turned towards the door. Little did she know what burden Jake took upon his shoulders without even considering to share it with her. A part of him hoped she would take over leading Big Deal so he could focus on taking care of other matters, like bringing Sinu back somehow, but another part of him wanted her to have nothing to do with this anymore. The only problem was that Lara was as stubborn as he was.

“Should we let the guys decide?” the girl asked, already making her way towards the door.

Without a word of protest, Jake followed her outside, the entire crew already waiting for them. It was rather overwhelming to be in front of everyone, especially after what happened just a day before. And yet, it was her who spoke up first, trying to change the mood somehow.

“Big Deal, we will hold elections for the new leader position!” she shouted to make sure everyone could hear her.

It took Jake slightly by surprise, but you couldn’t really see it on his face. It wasn’t that unexpected of her to do so. Perhaps being there was going to make it easier for him to protect her. And besides, he knew her. She needed a place to belong to, and Big Deal was the only place that could offer her that as of then.

“Everyone in favor of Jake Kim being the leader, raise your hand!” the girl shouted once more.

Merely two seconds passed. That’s how long it took for the entire crew to raise their hands up, not one person opposing that proposal.

“Auch,” Lara said, half joking, half serious.

It did hurt her pride a bit to see not one person on her side, but which middle school guy was going to let a girl lead him? Jake was, after all, a born leader. It made sense for him to take over. The boy, on the other hand, was also taken back by surprise to see everyone raise their hand up. A part of him, however, was relieved. Lara could stay, of course, but at least like this all of the weight of bringing Big Deal back to the good, old days was only going to rest on him. He was prepared to carry the cross for all of them. Fuck you and your passion, Sinu.

“Congratulations, boss,” Lara told her friend with a chuckle.

The celebrations didn’t last for long, though, as Jerry stepped in. Confused, Lara raised her eyebrows, then she crossed her arms and laughed a bit.

“Come on, big boy, you have to at least let me keep second place here,” she told the younger boy, looking up at him with a smile.

“We didn’t have a chance to vote for you, yet,” Jerry said, keeping a serious face.

“Wasn’t I humiliated enough? What did I do to you?”

Silence from Jerry.

A sigh from Lara.

“Alright, let’s count those votes.”

“Everyone in favor for Lara Yang to be the new leader of Big Deal, raise your hand,” Jerry said that time.

Merely two seconds. Once again, it took merely two seconds for every single member to raise his hand up. Widening her eyes, the girl looked at all of them, then the two best friends looked at each other. What now? Fight for the title? That would’ve been stupid. Give it up? None of them wanted it, and none of them wanted to put that position on the shoulders of the other.

Maybe… Lead together? Two leaders for one crew. Why not? They could make their own rules. Big Deal would not bend to anyone. If the guys wanted both of them as leaders, then they were both ready to lead as such.

“Congratulations, Big Bosses!” the crew said at once, bowing altogether.

***

“So that’s how you both ended up leading the crew,” Daniel said, nodding to himself.

“Good, old democracy,” Lara answered, stretching her back a bit.

“You said Big Deal calls you ‘The Angel of Big Deal’. Why do others call you ‘The Devil of Big Deal’ though?”

A little shiver went down Lara’s spine when she heard that nickname again. The way her world fell even more over her head months ago when Jayce mentioned in after such a long time… What were her sins? What did she do so wrong to be called a devil? To suffer like this? At that point in life, the poor girl was starting to wonder if it had anything to do with her previous life. What karma did she carry from a time before she was born that she had to pay for in this?

Ah. Right.

Her familial sin.

“When Big Deal opened the numbers racket, I was there.”

“What?!” Daniel shouted, even getting up on his feet.

No surprise in that reaction. Goodie two-shoes Park Daniel would never take such information lightly.

“But… It messed over so many people! Lara! What about kids like Jiho, or…”

“Jiho was not my responsibility. Us closing the site threw Jake in jail before Jiho showed all of his true colors.”

Despite not being able to hear that with an easy heart, Daniel knew that Lara was… Right. He kind of hated to even think about it, but she was right. Jiho messed up more time after that. He still hoped that one day Jiho will make up for what he’s done, and be good again. Lara saw no hope in that. She didn’t see much hope in anything these days.

“The others started calling me ‘The Devil of Big Deal’ because when Jake was busy with something else and problems rose, I was the one called to handle it…”

***

Ever since the chase for money begun, Lara had started to regret ever coming back to Big Deal. She would look at her best friend, and almost fail to recognize him. Who was this boy, so hungry for power and money? Where did her care-free best friend go? Did Sinu’s betrayal mess him up enough that he followed in his steps wishing for more? Why?

Those thoughts accentuated themselves even more any time she would get a call from her friends. Those days, she had started to feel anxious when her own friends would reach out for her, scared that it was trouble again. Jake always did his best to solve these before they reached her, but sometimes he simply couldn’t be fast enough. Now it was one of those times.

“Boss, some guys came here all yelling at us. What should we do?” Jason asked over the phone.

“Wait for me,” Lara answered, hanging up with no other word.

She took a deep breath, redid her ponytail, pulled her hoodie over her head, mask up and sunglasses on, and took a light jog towards her destination. It didn’t take long to reach her boys, nor was it hard hearing the screams. Just like Jake, she didn’t want her friends too involved in this, that was why she ordered them to find Jake or her if any problems showed up at their doorstep. It was, however, beginning to be too much for her.

The Big Deal leader was angry at her best friend for ever creating this mess, but she was also mad at the idiots falling for it. The anger would, as always, gather up in her arms, and unfortunately, it was always the idiots yelling for justice at the top of their lungs that would end up with the short end of the stick.

The group of four boys didn’t even hear her coming before the girl grabbed two of them by their heads and slammed them against each other, breaking open their skulls as blood started to flow down the side of their faces. When the other two turned around, one of them was brave enough to try and defend himself, however, he wasn’t strong enough to carry the task to the end before Lara grabbed him by the arm and punched him in the throat, watching as blood spilled out of his mouth due to the impact. To make sure that he would fully learn his lesson, the girl grabbed him by the clothes and kicked him twice in the stomach with her knee, sending him on top of his other two now passed out friends. With one last boy standing up, his adrenaline was high enough for him to also attempt defending himself, but he couldn’t land one hit before Lara hit him in a very specific spot in his sternum, making it hard to breath for the boy, and making his entire upper body all weak. Without remorse, she hit him with her right fist right in the cheek, then again with her left fist, then under the chin, being done with him, too.

She could feel her arms hurting like hell by the time she was done, and now the boys were screaming in terror, trying to run away.

“D-D-Devil! It’s a devil, run!” one of them yelled.

Those words again. The last drop that made the glass spill over. She didn’t even hear Jason trying to talk to her as she turned around and left.

“I can’t keep living like this,” Lara muttered to herself, starting to run.

It didn’t take long for her to find Jake just returning to Sinu’s trailer. If you didn’t know it was, you wouldn’t recognize the girl. Her clothes were baggy, her hair and face were covered, you could mistake her for a boy. No wonder no one ever knew she’s a girl.

“Are you alright, Laury?” the boy asked, seeing as she was keeping her head down, even after taking off the glasses and mask.

It took her a little while to pull her hoodie down as well. She was a bit ashamed of her outfit. The jacket didn’t go well with a hoodie, at least not for Big Deal standards, but she was terrified of anyone outside of Big Deal figuring out who she is. She had been, however, more terrified of not helping her friends to stay out of it.

“I… I can’t do this anymore,” she spoke up, finding the courage to look up at her friend. “I’m… Scared every time the phone calls and it’s one of you. I’m scared of what might happen to us, and I’m terrified of getting caught by the police. My mom and my sister can’t handle losing me, too. I… Jake, I just…”

“I understand,” he said, trying to take away the burden of speaking further off her shoulders.

He was happy, more than happy to hear her say that. It was sad to see her like that, but he wished she would be out of this mess for so, so long. It was finally happening. She could rejoin the team once Sinu was back, for the time being, she could just live a normal life.

For Lara, however, the soft and gentle smile on his face didn’t make it any easier for her to take that decision, but she knew there was no other way around it. The money from her father’s life insurance wasn’t going to last them forever, her mother’s sickness wasn’t getting any better. She needed to look after her family first.

“Please, call the guys here,” she told him, gripping her fists so tight, the nails dug into her skin and left a little trail of blood. “I won’t leave them without telling them first.”

With a nod of his head, Jake pulled out his phone and called Jerry, then Jason, then Brad, ordering all of them to gather the entire crew on their street. With each member coming there, Lara’s heart felt heavier and heavier. They were simply confused, and maybe curious of what was happening. Those closest to the two leaders hoped for news that they were going to drop the gambling site. When everyone was finally there, Lara took a step forward, took a deep breath and raised her head.

“Big Deal, I have taken a decision that was not easy to make in the slightest. I hope one day you can forgive me, but as things stay right now, my mother and my younger sister need me more than anything in the world. Therefore, I, Lara Yang, retire from my position as Number 1 of Big Deal.”

As she announced this, all of the boys fell silent. They were filled with mixed feelings, but more than anything, they were… Relieved. They all saw how the past few months turned her. Their sweet, gentle angel shouldn’t suffer like that. They couldn’t help, but respect her for taking the decision to talk to them, to respect them back by letting them know what was happening. Family was more important.

Taking a deep breath, the white-haired girl turned towards her best friend, took off her jacket and handed it to him.

“Forgive me,” she whispered to him, holding back tears.

“You didn’t do anything that needs my forgiveness,” Jake answered, giving her a short hug.

Turning back towards the boys, Lara took only one step before all of them bowed their heads at a ninety-degree angle. It made her cry right then and there, but she raised her head up, and tried to hurry away before she would start violently sobbing, as she knew she will soon.

“Take care, boss!”

***

It fell a bit silent as Lara came to the story’s ending. Daniel wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. What was left untold? He had so many questions, he didn’t know where to start.

“Why did you go back if Jake just wants money?” the boy asked, his heart heavy with worry.

“Sinu never sold Big Deal,” Lara answered, putting her elbows on the table. “He sold himself so that Big Deal could have money to pay Gun. Jake needed the money to buy Sinu back. It just… Didn’t happen yet.”

Daniel swallowed his own saliva hearing that. In his eyes, it still didn’t make Jake a good guy, but… Perhaps he wasn’t that bad, either. Maybe scared was a good way to describe him.

“What will happen to you now?” the chubby boy asked, losing more and more hope that Lara will ever come back.

“I go back to Gangseo and get things ready for Jake’s release. I took twenty million won (≈ $14.000) with me when I left home. We have some money for a little party.”

Opening his eyes wide, Daniel watched Lara get up and stretching her back. She was preparing to leave, having concluded what she came there to say. The boy followed up as well, trying to think of what to say now. That was a lot of money? That wasn’t the main worry he had. She was really going to leave and not return home. Until when? This couldn’t be forever. Her family… Her family!

“What about your family?” he asked, reaching his hand and grabbing hers.

“I left them with over seven hundred million won (≈ $500.000). They will do well without me.”

Hearing that, Daniel tried to quickly think of something else to say to convince his friend to not leave. She could see it all over his face, the fear of letting go of her. Perhaps similar to what she felt when she left Big Deal. It put a little smile on her face to know he still cared so much about her, but things were never going to go back to how they were. At least not for her. At least not in the center of Seoul.

“We are not bad guys, Daniel,” the girl spoke up, taking her friend by surprise with those words. He was expecting himself to talk first. “The world is not black and white, we’re all some shade of grey.”

Although Daniel actually started letting those words sink in, the girl laughed a little, shaking her head. It took him by surprise again.

“That sounded pretentious,” the Big Deal leader added, reaching down for her phone. “I’ll go home now. Daniel, last warning. No word about anything, to anyone. Or I will talk about you, too, and between you and me, you are the only one experiment worthy.”

Those words sent chills down his spine, remembering the first time he woke up in his “mysterious” body. He imagined all kinds of doctors, with all kinds of needles and machines, all coming towards him at once. The fear made him nod his head right away, and Lara nodded in agreement. She opened the door and moved on a side, showing Jerry and Lineman carrying his other body, making little Daniel scream at the top of his lungs like a little girl.

“Were they listening?!” he yelled, too scared to hurry and check on his other self.

“My boys? No, they had ordered to stay at an out of hearing distance. We will meet again, Daniel.”

With that, she let Jerry set down Big Daniel, then he together with Lineman bowed their heads, while Lara just slightly bowed her as goodbye before the three of them left. Daniel rushed over to check on himself, sighing relieved when he made sure that he was fine. Now, however, he was worried for Lara, but one thing was sure now. Lara never ran from home to Big Deal. No. Lara Yang ran from Big Deal to them. She was now back home, where she planned to remain.

“Did everything go well, boss?” Jerry asked the girl just as she lit a cigarette.

“Yeah, just checking up with an old friend.”

Looking into the distance, Lara took another deep breath from her cigarette, letting out all of the air in what appeared to be a sigh. Jake, Samuel, Vasco… All of her boys pulling her in a different direction, and yet she somehow always ended up back with the first one. Maybe all she needed was her best friend.

“Let’s get ready for Jake’s return.”

Chapter Text

The long wait was finally over. It was the day of Jake’s release from prison and all of Big Deal was prepared to welcome their leader back. Lara was the most excited, although her face didn’t show it. Even with all of the boys there, she still felt lonely and all she kept thinking about was just how happy she was going to be once her friend was out. In fact, her face might’ve failed to show it, but her actions surely spoke otherwise. She prepared a big table with food, snacks for everyone, there were some decorations around, and the street had never been that clean before. It wasn’t a lot of money, as white-haired girl got smart right before coming back and started investing some of her money through Jerry. She couldn’t use her old phone, or her name for that matter, but since it was nothing illegal, there was nothing to worry about.

Since her last prison visit, after Olly Wang’s passing, the police searches for her got more intense, so the girl couldn’t risk visiting her friend anymore. With that, she couldn’t join Jerry, Jason and Brad in going to pick Jake up without surely getting held back and taken to her mom. The wait was killing her, the girl checking her watch every two minutes and feeling like time just wasn’t passing anymore. Everyone else was busy making sure that things were in order, while Lara was pacing around, sighing louder and louder each time while running both hands through her hair that, for once, not up in the same long braid she started wearing since she dyed her hair black.

“They’re here!” one of the members shouted.

In an instant, Lara raised her head and took a few long steps before she ran in front of everyone. She came to an abrupt stop when she saw her boys, Jake in front, with Jerry one step behind on his right and Jason and Brad on each side of their leader, two steps behind. An all too familiar image that made the woman tear up. She couldn’t contain her feelings anymore, and without a second though, she started running towards them, or to be more specific, towards Jake. She jumped in his arms, and without much effort, the boy caught her, hugging her back just as tight as she was hugging him. His back was bent down as he hid his head in the crevice of her shoulder for a few moments, letting out a little sigh, only audible for her.

“I’m back,” he whispered, covering her head with one of his hands.

“Welcome home,” the girl whispered back, pulling back just enough to look at him.

A smile grew wide on her face, smile that no one has seen in forever, and smile that in turn made Jake smile. When they finally pulled away from each other, the whole of Big Deal was standing up almost like soldiers, and the moment their leaders turned towards them, everyone bowed at a ninety degree angle and shouted at once:

“Welcome home, boss!”

“So, what is all of this?” Jake asked, not shying away from taking a seat at the head of the table, looking at all the food.

It wasn’t anything fancy, but it wasn’t just instant ramen either. Kimbap, kimchi jeon, pajeon, fried chicken, tteokbokki and all the possible sides you could dream of. Fancy? No, but a feast for Big Deal for sure.

“Welcome party. I didn’t think the prison food is too good, so I had to make sure you eat well for dinner,” Lara answered, taking a seat at his right side. Sure, it was her right to seat at the other side of the table, but they had too much to talk about for her to give a shit about that rule.

“Out of what money?” Jake asked, reaching for the chicken. Perfect sign for everyone to sit down and start eating as well.

“That is my problem. Now shut up and eat,” the girl said, reaching for an entire kimbap just for herself, along with soy sauce and kimchi on the side.

The girls running the stores on the streets contributed as well, with drinks for that matter, and with snacks. No matter how many times Lara tried to refuse them, they just wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. With each minute passing, the atmosphere became more and more lively, filled with smiles, chatter and laughter. A luxury Big Deal hasn’t been able to enjoy in a long time now.

Lara and Jake talked to each other the most, despite the fact that everyone wanted a chat with their freshly released leader. They understood that it could wait for a bit longer, or that it could be cut short. They were happy to have the entire crew back and for the moment, that was enough. The two best friends talked lightly, telling fun stories to each other, reminiscing about their past and just keeping the mood up. Why bring in the heavy stuff? It was a day to celebrate and rejoice.

By the time they were done with the party, the tables were quite messy, but everyone started to clean up, packing up food together for whoever wanted to grab something to eat in the oncoming days. There was a fridge there that needed some stocking up, and there were around five extra boxes of fried chicken left, even with all of those big boys around. Perhaps Lara got a bit too excited. With everything cleaned up, and the tables out of the way, night settled in and everyone came to say good night to Jake and Lara before heading home.

“Looks like we’re about to be roommates,” the girl said crossing her arms while she was already making her way towards the trailer.

“Am I sleeping on the floor?” Jake asked, putting his hands in his pockets just so he could feel around for his pack of cigarettes. When he found it, he pulled it out and offered Lara one as well.

“I’ll let you take the bed tonight, but don’t get too comfortable there,” she joked, although they did need to take turns for that bed.

She bought a nice inflatable mattress for the trailer, plus an extra pillow and blanket, so they should’ve been fine. Space was going to be a problem, but you can’t really start complaining in their situation.

“How are things?” Jake asked, the atmosphere getting a bit more serious with his question.

With a little sigh, Lara took a seat on the steps of the trailer, looking around the street. It wasn’t a lie to say ‘good’, nothing really happened. Nothing other than her encounters with Daniel for that matter. But somehow, it felt like Jake wasn’t just asking how she’s been doing lately. It was more of a way to ask about everything, about herself and how she’s handling being back there. It was silent for a few moments before she scoffed and shook her head, this sad smile lingering on his lips making her look so pitiful that Jake had to hold his breath for a moment.

“What happened to us?” Lara asked finally looking up at him, ignoring her cigarette that was smoking itself.

Now it was Jake’s time to scoff, but unlike her he inhaled another smoke of his cigarette to try and put his thoughts in order. He almost blurted out the words “You should’ve stayed at Saint Bernard”, and as much as he believed in those words, it was way too late to turn back time. Besides, he knew why she did it, so there was truly no reason to dig the blade deeper into her wounds.

“I think your fears became reality,” Jake said, taking seat on the first step of the trailer, Lara moving a bit on a side to make room for him.

“What do you mean?” she asked raising her eyebrows, more confused rather than curious.

“Stupidity might be contagious, ‘cause otherwise I got no idea what is going on with us.”

“You’re fucking stupid.”

She answered him right away, and she did so while hitting him over the head. He knew it was coming, but he didn’t try to dodge it at all, instead he started laughing, then he turned towards her as much as he could. He wanted her back, but not like this. His best friend looked so strong, and yet he lived under the impression that if he touched her in any way, she would crumble right in front of him. After taking a smoke from his own cigarette, Jake looked down at his fist which he kept tightening more and more, to the point where, under his shirt, his muscles were all tensed up.

He knew exactly what he had to do. What he trained for in jail, to kill Gun and bring things back to normal for Big Deal. He hoped that the sense of familiarity and belonging will bring Lara’s real smile back on her lips. The boy eventually let go of the fist, and instead raised his head to look up at the sky. It was fully dark outside, yet he couldn’t spot any stars on the sky. Just a normal night in Seoul where the light pollution was so big, it covered the stars. He didn’t even realize that Lara was looking for the same thing, but they both looked away at the same time, throwing the remnants of their cigarettes on the ground.

“Go take a shower before coming in. I don’t want the prison stench in the trailer,” the girl said, stopping him from walking any further.

“You’re always mean to me,” Jake complained straightening his back.

He was just about to leave, when his best friend turned back towards him with a set of new pajamas for him. A little ‘welcome back’ gift that she could afford thanks to the investments she kept making ever since returning. Now, with a little smile on his face, Jake left to do as told.

In the meantime, Lara changed her clothes as well while she still had the intimacy of the place. She also took off the bandages restraining her arms and left them on the little counter that served as the ‘kitchen’ part of the trailer. She also made the other bed, putting out the mattress and filling it with air, before covering it with sheets, putting the new pillow on it and topping it all with a fluffy blanket. She was stretched on the bed, listening to music, when the older boy finally came back, first hair still wet after the shower.

“Finally, a not-stinky boy,” she teased him, getting up in a seated position. She did promise him the bed after all.

“I’m quite clean, but I don’t know what to say about you. I haven’t seen you take a shower,” he teased back, taking a seat next to her.

For a moment, the girl just stared ugly at him, holding back from hitting him again. She could let it go for once, besides, it was a good comeback now that she thought about it. It was good enough that it made her laugh a bit, before the girl shook her head. It was peaceful, but also a little awkward for them to be back together like that. Maybe because they were never ‘like that’, sharing the same living space with nowhere else to go. In Lara’s defense, that was the only place she had to come back to, and in Jake’s defense, he lived there first.

Getting back up on her feet, Lara stretched her back a bit before she turned towards the mattress on the floor. They both knew what the plan for tomorrow was, it was just that none of them was speaking it out loud. Workers. They got away for too long, with too much. They first took Sinu’s life, now Lara’s. How much more did they think they could put their hands on before it came to bite them in the ass?

Lara was just about to take a seat on the mattress on the floor, when Jake got up as well and grabbed her arm.

“I’ll sleep there. You take the bed,” he said, trying to move past her.

“No, I said you sleep comfortably tonight, you need it,” the girl countered, pushing him back on the bed.

“It looks more comfortable on the floor,” he said, trying to get back up, only to get pushed even harder, Lara’s hand remaining on his chest.

“Jake, for fuck sake,” she complained, frowning at him.

Jake couldn’t put his finger on it. Was it because that banter was familiar to how they used to act before? Was because he was so close to her and she was keeping her hand on his chest? What was it exactly that made his heart start racing like that? All of those feelings he tried to put away, ever since she left, or after he went to jail, even when he found out she has a boyfriend, they were all coming back to him. White hair or not, those eyes were still hers and so was the voice arguing with him. He couldn’t help, but put a hand over hers as he looked up at her.

“I missed you,” he said before he even realized it, but he felt no regret after the words escaped his mouth.

Those words, however, took Lara a bit by surprise. She missed him, too, but she felt so stuck in that moment that she couldn’t open her mouth to speak. The way he was looking at her, together with the way his voice softened with that confession, made her head spin a bit and her mind got cloudy. She couldn’t explain what got into her, but before she knew it, she was bent down, her lips glued on Jake’s lips. At first, his eyes widened like crazy and he thought his heart stopped for a moment, but the only thing that brought him with his feet on the ground was Lara putting her hands on his cheeks and kissing him stronger, deeper, and with more lust by the second.

How many times did he fantasize about that moment? And oh, Lord, how long did he wait for it? He gave in fully, moving a bit back so he could have more stability when the girl moved even closer to him, sitting on his lap. His hands found their way around her waist, bringing her closer, but Lara moved back just enough to start unbuttoning his shirt as fast as she could. Jake couldn’t recall when she did it, he just knew that he moved his hands away for long enough to allow him to take the shirt off altogether. The girl didn’t stop there, starting to unbutton her own shirt that time, moment when Jake pulled back ever so slightly, but he noticed two things right away: the necklace she was wearing, the one Vasco got her for her birthday, and then the scars on her collarbone, on her neck and just everywhere he looked. It felt like a blow over the head and guilt rushed in right away making Jake grab Lara’s hands to stop her.

What was he thinking? Lara would never act that way, no matter how much time passed, no matter how things changed. The writer in front of her, the one creating a love story in every single one of her works, would never start acting with such lust out of nowhere. As much as it pained him that it wasn’t actually him whom she wanted, it pained him even more to think of the real reason she acted that way, the only reason she found plausible: to replace a memory with another.

“Laury,” Jake called out to her, looking down to gather up all the courage he needed. “I don’t think you want this.”

Lara looked at him confused for a moment, almost as if she couldn’t comprehend what he was telling her. Then her moment of clarity hit, making the girl quickly get up and try to button up the buttons she left undone just a few seconds ago. Her face got instantly flushed, and she didn’t know which feeling was more crushing, the guilt, or the embarrassment. She even turned around fully, trying to find any words to say after all of that.

“I’m so sorry, I-… I don’t know what I was thinking, I-…” she said, feeling her heart beating so fast that it was muffling all the sounds around her.

“You were thinking how irresistible I am, you can admit it,” Jake joked, a proud smirk on his lips.

He didn’t mean it. He couldn’t mean those words less, but he just wanted her to laugh or to get angry at him being stupid, anything to keep her mind distracted from the reality of the situation. She was aware of it, too. It was a spur of the moment, a chance to try and replace what happened to her, to try to prove to herself that there was nothing dirty or disgusting about herself just because of what that man did to her. Jake was aware of that, too, and that was exactly why he was acting dumb, because he didn’t want her to know that he figured it out.

He took that chance to hop on the mattress on the floor, grabbing his shirt and putting it back on.

It was way too hard, wasn’t it..?

“Next time you can’t resist me anymore, you can just ask,” he continued with the banter, buttoning up his shirt before he got more comfortable. His words didn’t reflect his thoughts.

“Jake Kim!” Lara shouted, still red in the cheeks.

That was it. Call him dumb and stupid, hit him over the arm or the head. Forget about it, Lara. It’s Jake, he would never judge you for anything, so just go along with the funny remarks and forget all that happened tonight.

I will be the one to protect the Angel this time, I promise you.

Jake put his hands under his head, looking up at his friend. The girl just gave him the ugliest frown she could muster up, before she reached out to turn the light off and jump in bed. His chances of ever sleeping on that bed died that night. She was going to sleep comfortably there, and if she got lucky enough, she would snore to make sure Jake has the worst sleep of his life and she would even sleep in just to spite him.

The playful banter worked.

It got silent for a little while, Jake not moving much, but keeping his eyes closed, while Lara was close to the edge of the bed, looking at her friend. Her expression softened up by then, the guilt building up inside her again.

“I’m really sorry,” she spoke up, letting out a loud sigh.

“You have nothing to apologize for. Try to sleep,” Jake answered, turning his head towards her.

“But I…”

“If you want to try it again, I hope it comes with a confession next time. Or I can give you one first, if it makes it easier.”

“Just who raised you?” Lara asked, gently slapping his arm.

“Good night, Lara.”

“Good night, Jake.”

Luckily, the lights were off and with that, none of them could see just how much they were both blushing. Jake confessed just like that, and still tried to play it off. Since when did he have feelings for her? Is that why he went along with everything a little ago? Now Lara was feeling more guilt having toyed with his feelings like that. She wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, but in an attempt to try and make up for it, she reached her hand out to take his before she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

I love you, Lara Yang.

***

“Let him sleep in,” Lara told Lineman once she made her way outside to meet with everyone.

For once, she slept well. She didn’t wake up at all during the night and she didn’t have any dreams, just a long night of well deserved sleep. Now, since she had so much time on her hands, she decided it was time to make one important change: cover up the black swan tattoo. No matter what excuse she tried to find, none were good enough to explain why she didn’t already do that longer ago. She just hoped that the ink will catch onto the scars she was carrying on her arms, since she didn’t keep away from the tattoo when desperation struck.

“Can you find Hyunsoo? And tell him to bring his kit,” Lara ordered Lineman, pulling out a cigarette from the pack.

Hyunsoo was somewhere between top 20 and 30 strongest Big Deal members, and luck also had it that he was a master of stick and poke tattoos. That boy started drawing from a very young age and by the time he became 15, he was so skilled that he wanted his drawings engraved into his skin. Of course, his parents wouldn’t allow him to get a tattoo, and he didn’t have the money for one either, nor the age, so he started to work on his skills of stick and poke tattooing. Luckily enough, he was more than good by then and she trusted him to hide that ugly part of her past as best as he could.

“You were looking for me, ma’am?” Hyunsoo asked, bowing when he got close enough to his leader.

“I need you to cover up a tattoo for me, please,” Lara said, taking off her jacket, followed by her white shirt, which revealed the sleeveless turtleneck she was wearing. After that, she also took off the bandages covering her left arm, letting the sunlight hit the black swan tattoo along with all of the scars which she kept hidden away.

Sure enough, for a split second, Hyunsoo was about to gasp and open his eyes wide, but he stopped himself before he even knew it. It was unnecessary, and it would’ve only brought more hurt upon Lara if he gave that much importance to her scars. She was still Lara Yang, the Angel of Big Deal, and he knew that she must’ve been through a lot for all of those scars to be covering her arm. His job wasn’t to ask questions, his job was to cover up the black swan, so they went somewhere inside and sat at a table, across from each other.

Hyunsoo took out everything he needed from his kit, while the white-haired girl just put her arm on the table, looking at him all curious. Years ago, she never thought she’d be one for tattoos. Sure, she liked them on others, but she wasn’t sure she would like them on herself. Now there she was, getting a second one. Perhaps she could get more, but later on.

“What would you want, boss?” the boy asked, taking out a pen so he could start making a sketch.

“I’m not sure… An angel, but I have no idea what I envision exactly,” the girl asked, looking down at her arm, only at the tattoo while ignoring everything else around it.

Taking a moment to think about it, the boy raised his hand to analyze Lara a bit better, inspiration striking him like a lightning. He started to work on the sketch, while the girl waited patiently for him to finish it. It took the boy quite a while, he wanted to make sure he got the details right, but once he was done, he showed his boss the tattoo idea he had.

Curious, and rather fascinated, Lara gently took the sketch from his hands and looked at it closer. A warrior angel, a woman, with what seemed to be a Greek helmet on her head, her hair flowing while she held a spear in hand, ready to throw be thrown, while only one of her wings was stretched on a side, in front of her, longer than her spear could reach, and a veil around both of her arms. A familiar figure as far as Lara could recall.

“Do you like Greek mythology, Hyunsoo?” the woman asked, giving him back the sketch with a nod of the head. A clear sign of approval, and more clear was her giving him her arm to start working.  

“I just thought Athena would suit you well, boss. You’re our protector, along with boss Jake,” Hyunsoo answered, starting to work on the tattoo.

Four hours it took the boy to make the outline, along with certain details. By far, the tattoo wasn’t going to be done in just one session, but that didn’t mean he was going to waste any time. He was working efficiently, both fast, but also careful and without mistake. Jake woke up at some point, but after changing his clothes, he just went to grab some leftover food from yesterday’s party and talk to some of the members he ran into. Sure enough, he did ask about Lara, getting rather curious when Lineman told him that she was getting a tattoo. However, he decided not to bother her. A little bit of suspense to see what she was getting done was enough to keep him entertained for the day. After that, with nothing to do for the moment, he ordered Lineman to gather everyone there in a few hours, before he went back inside the trailer.

Lara’s tattoo was going to need two more sessions to be done, but for today, that was it. Hyunsoo made sure to wrap it well, before the girl could cover her whole arm with the bandages again and getting dressed with her shirt and jacket. In a way, it wasn’t going to matter, the bandages would still cover the tattoo most of the times, but shall the time come when she was ready to kill someone, she wanted them to know that it was the Black Swan that killed them, but the Angel of Big Deal.

She thanked Hyunsoo, the boy smiling as wide as possible and bowing to her at a ninety degree angle before gathering up his stuff. They had a meeting soon, so he needed to move fast. The sun was setting by the time Lara went outside, the girl taking out her pack of cigarettes so she could light herself one. It was rather funny that she couldn’t find her light, but one of the members ran to her aid, the girl thanking him while the boy bowed before running to take his place. They were all gathering up in front of the trailer, and when Lara got there, only one of the members was missing, one she knew won’t arrive for that meeting.

 “Lineman, please, go wake Jake up,” Lara told the boy after she stopped in front of everyone else.

Without another word, the No. 6 of Big Deal went inside the trailer, bringing their other leader out. Perfect timing as Lara just finished her cigarette, stepping on the butt to put it out for good.

“Good morning,” she told him in a mocking tone, looking at him with a sarcastic smile.

“Good morning, indeed,” Jake answered, putting his hands in his pockets and then looking at everyone. “Wow, look at this. Our first rally in years. Thank you for waiting all this time. I’m sorry I took so long to come back, guys.”

It seemed to be a Big Deal staple for their leader to go away at some point, only to come back where they belonged. Jake in prison, Lara in J High, Sinu… God dammit, Sinu.

“I had a dream!” Jake yelled at the top of his lungs, going down the stairs of the trailer.

He offered Lara his hand, inviting her to walk alongside him. They were leaders together, but Lara had all of that time to tell them what she wished to say. Now, Jake had a lot of words left unspoken, so the girl kept her mouth shut and just walked on his left side, exactly where she belonged all along.

“I dreamt of the old Big Deal, back when Sinu was with us!” he continued his speech, putting his hand on the shoulder of one of the members while continuing on his way. “When we were all happy! Before we joined the Four Major Crews! But someone ruined that, and you all know who did!”

“…Gun,” both Lara and Jake said at the same time. She couldn’t hold back. She didn’t know where everything went down anymore, but Gun walking into their lives was surely the biggest factor in her fate, their fate.

“Revenge is all I have left,” Jake continued, taking out his father’s gloves.

Seeing him, Lara checked around her neck to make sure she still had her father’s ring. She hoped that he was looking down at her from Heaven, and not scolding her too harshly for how things turned.

“I don’t know where he lives. I don’t even know when we’ll get to see him again. But… I know how to get him to come to us. We’re going to shoot down to birds at once, and bait Gun to show up by attacking Workers.”

Workers sealed their fate when they hurt Lara. Jake couldn’t see well in front of his eyes, he was full of anger and he was ready to take it out on all the people that ever hurt Lara. The girl, on the other hand, was still building up courage on the inside. It wasn’t the third affiliate they were after, at least not yet, as Jake made up his mind to only deal with them once Lara was ready, that business was more than personal. They were aiming higher, to make sure Gun would come out of his hiding spot. They just didn’t make it too far, getting stopped in their track by an all too familiar voice.

“Really? Workers? That’s bullshit.”

Lara, Jake, Jerry, Jason and Brad, all of them widened their eyes at the sight in front of them. Samuel Seo, appearing out of nowhere as if this was still his home. Lara was the most taken aback, remembering right away how the last time they saw each other was far from pleasant. It shook her for a moment to see him, to hear him. She had so many questions to ask that her mind got cloudy. Jake could feel right away that something was wrong with her, so he stepped in front and took the lead to give her time to come back to her senses, all while everyone else who came after Jake and Lara took over started whispering among themselves about Samuel.

“Long time no see,” Samuel told his old, good friends.

“You’re looking good, Samuel,” Jake said, closing his eyes for a moment, a sarcastic smile on his lips. “You never came to visit me in prison, but it’s nice to see you.”

“Now that you’re out of prison, you need to work out in a more intelligent way,” Samuel countered, keeping this smug look on his face. “Work smarter, not hard. But I know you’re not that competent in this area, so I truly expected Lara to set you straight.”

Hearing her name finally gave Lara the impulse she needed to recover from the initial shock. Samuel’s comment made her scoff and cross her arms.

“I was too busy to pay you a visit, but at least I’m here now, right?” Samuel continued, looking back at Jake.

“Sure,” Jake said with a little smile, and before anyone knew it, those two jumped at each other’s throats. “I heard you’re with Workers now.”

“B-Boss!” Jason yelled, but Lara put out her arm to stop everyone from taking another step.

“Don’t. Stay where you are,” she said, paying more attention to the car behind the fight, rather than to the boys.

The fight came to a weird stop as the conversation picked back up, Samuel putting his brass knuckles on, a sign that he was ready to keep escalating the conflict.

“…I came here to make you two realize how ridiculous it is to even consider attacking Workers. What you don’t know is that if you go after Workers, you’ll only be helping Gun.”

The second shock hit both Lara and Jake that time. They looked for any signs of insincerity from Samuel, but he looked and sounded as honest as one could be.

“Gun wants us to attack Workers?” Jake asked, the shock not settling on his face, while Lara’s expression was slowly coming back to normal.

“Yup. You two must have heard the rumors…” Samuel answered, walking closer towards the two of them. “The reason why the Four Major Crews were created was to help someone’s business get off the ground,” and he continued to walk further among the ranks of Big Deal.

While still listening to Samuel talk about the Four Major Crews and why they’re all in trouble now after attracting too much attention to themselves, Lara started to walk towards the car Samuel came with, her guard up just in case. Despite the windows being tinted, the closer she got, the better she could make out a silhouette in the backseat, unbothered, reading a book as if nothing was happening outside. With yet another scoff, the girl leaned on the car, making sure her presence was known.

“This is no time for Workers and Big Deal to fight,” Samuel said, returning to the car. He looked down at Lara, but when he realized that she won’t move, he decided to not bother her and just moved on her side, leaning his hand on the car. “We have to work together.”

“So… What are you trying to say?” Jake asked, trying to weight in all of the possible outcomes.

“Workers would like to offer Big Deal an alliance.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jake asked, keeping his cool, but he wasn’t fucking with that whole situation. “Then I’ll finally get to see his face.”

“Isn’t it only respectful that if you came all the way here to make an alliance, you should at least come out, Mr. Head of Workers?” Lara asked, knocking three times on the window as loud as possible.

Seems like stepping out of the car was too much for said Mr. Head of Workers, as all he did was slide the window all the way down, so he could talk to the leaders of Big Deal. Lara’s face was full of anger, and her arms were starting to hurt like crazy. She wanted to pull him out and punch him until his face was caved in and there was nothing to do to save him, but she knew that it won’t solve their problems. She needed to be smart about this, she couldn’t just act on her feelings. Not when it meant bringing things back to normal, and eventually getting the revenge she deserved.

Lara and Jake had one more thing in common: they both only had revenge left.

“While Gun is still out, we’re in danger,” the head of Workers spoke up, pushing his glasses up. “We need to work together to secure our safety. We can fight among ourselves later, don’t you agree?”

Jake also felt like pulling that boy out of the car and ending his very existence right that instance, but he waited for Lara to say something, do something. They needed to bring Sinu back, save him from his Hell, but Lara was in Hell, too, and Jake couldn’t help, but feel like an alliance with Workers would only keep her in Hell for longer. It felt like he was the one locking the exit door for her. They could still save Sinu, but he couldn’t betray her.

It made him widen his eyes when she nodded her head, pushing herself away from the car. She was on board with it? He almost regretted waiting for her response. That man gave way for Vivi and her lapdog to hurt Lara in ways nothing else could ever hurt her, and she was letting him walk out of there? It felt like back with Sinu… Jake couldn’t understand them.

“Get the fuck out of here now,” Lara told Samuel, signing for Jake to follow her back to their man.

“I missed you, too, darling,” Samuel said, more or less mocking her.

Lara looked back at him, analyzing her ex-boyfriend from head to toe, before she said the last word he had to give him: “Dog.”

With that, Jake and Lara took their men away, and later on, only took Jerry, Lineman, Brad and Jason in for a talk. They couldn’t understand what their leaders were thinking, and their leaders couldn’t explain their actions.

“We’re forming an alliance with Workers,” Jake said, keeping his cool, but he couldn’t really look at his friends.

What about Lara? They knew she got hurt by Workers, everyone fucking knew. They knew all that happened, the kidnapping, the auction, the rape. The boys’ faces were almost screaming ‘Boss Jake, how can you let this happen?’. And Jake had no way of telling them, not yet, not without the fear that they will go berserker if they find out why he and Lara were holding back on going after Workers.

“But can we really trust them..?” Brad asked, feeling this tight feeling in his chest. Everything that was happening was wrong.

“It’s just a temporary alliance, not a permanent one,” Jake defended their choice, taking off his jacket and putting it on a hanger. “Our common enemy is Gun. We refuse to benefit Gun by fighting Workers.”

“We can’t act on emotions, there is too much at stake,” Lara interfered into the conversation, sharing the burden of Sinu’s secret with Jake.

“Yes, boss,” everyone answered towards the both of them.

“Go home. It’s late,” Lara said, turning away from them.

With a bow, everyone turned around and left. No other words were spoken, not even among the boys as they were far enough for their bosses to not hear them anymore. There was, however, still tension in the air as tonight wasn’t over just yet.

Unspoken understanding.

This always happened between Lara and Jake. They knew they couldn’t go for Workers as Big Deal anymore, but they also knew that they couldn’t sit on their asses and do nothing from there on. But there was a tremor going through the girl’s body, this fear trying to swallow her up whole, and drive her mad once and for all.

“I can’t go there. Not yet, I can’t,” she spoke up, letting her head down and shaking it.

She wanted revenge, more than anything. For what happened to her, for how her life was turned to shambles for the greediness of a billionaire, spoiled bitch. And yet, now that the chance was in front of her, her heart was racing, trying to burst out of her chest and run away. Poor Lara was on the verge of crying.

“I know,” Jake answered, going towards her and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “And you don’t have to, let me handle it.”

“No, you can’t go there alone,” she protested, raising her head towards him. Her vision was blurry, there was tears in her eyes.

“I’m stronger than you think,” he said with a chuckle, trying to cheer her up.

Please, don’t let those tears fall…

“Jake, I’ll come with you,” the declared, determined to not let him go into the bear’s cave like that.

“No, you’ll stay here and make sure our guys don’t try something stupid. I’m dumb enough for all of us. We can’t risk another me, right?”

He was trying his best to cheer her up, to not let her think about this for another second.

“I’ll go look for Sinu and be back before you know it. I promise.”

Please, if you again cry…

Lara continued to look up at him, the tears trying to escape her eyes no matter how much she was fighting them. Jake could feel another part of his soul being ripped apart. She had no idea what a grip she has on his heart, how she was holding it on her palm and doing with it exactly as she pleased, and how he was never going to reach out for it and stop her.

I will really murder everyone in that fucking club.

“If you get in trouble, call me right away. Promise!” Lara said, the tears pulling back as she raised her pinky finger.

He raised his eyebrows, a bit taken aback by her reaction, but he ended up chuckling and nodding his head.

“I promise,” he answered locking his pinky finger with hers. “I’m gonna look for Sinu.”

Chapter Text

“Vivi is the leader, on paper at the very least,” Lara explained to Jake, preparing him as best as she could become he would walk into the bear’s cave. “What I’m trying to say is that she has the money. She’s blonde, stands out a lot, dresses in colorful clothes, and there is a big chance she is high out of her mind, bitch has a pacifier.”

She couldn’t just let her best friend walk in there like that. Not when she wasn’t joining, and not when the idiot didn’t even have a proper plan, as much as he tried to lie to her about it. ‘Trust me, I know what I’m doing’. She trusted that he can handle himself, but she didn’t know how much trust she had in this ‘plan’ of his that didn’t even exist.

“And you will always see Xiaolung with her. Tall motherfucker, always wears two braids, wields a spear for a weapon. Watch out for the people talking Chinese, they’re all fucking Chinese.”

“A blonde girl, with a twin braided bodyguard…” Jake said, trying to make some sort of image in his head, but he was sure he will recognize them when he sees them. He couldn’t wait for the occasion to rise when he could ripe them both apart.

“If you have to make it to the hotel, Vivi lives in the penthouse, you’ll need a badge from Workers to get there.”

“A badge?”

“Workers have badges, small ones. In ascending order they go: plain gold, gold with their symbol, white, and black for VVIP’s. The first one won’t help you with anything, you need anything above it.”

“Anything else?”

“I don’t even know… There are more bodyguards, Xiaolung is just special, up and personal, has a massive crush on her. He’s more intelligent than her, by a lot. She’s a spoiled bitch, and her bodyguard makes sure she is always happy and gets what he wants.”

Motherfucker would give her a human soul. Already handed her mine on a diamond plate.

Lara kept those thoughts to herself, but in a way, without her knowledge, Jake was thinking similar words. He just didn’t voice them, hoping she wouldn’t be reminded of what happened to her.

“Jake, come home safe,” the girl told him, watching him walk away from the trailer.

“I’ll be back before you know it. Get some sleep,” the boy answered, turning around and walking backwards so he would wink at her before being on his way.

It’s been several hours since he went AWOL on her, and calling him wasn’t an option for the simple reason that she didn’t want to somehow compromise his mission. Lara found herself looking for his phone number several times, but with people knowing her there, she couldn’t risk someone hearing their conversation. She dreaded the thought of returning there, but with each minute passing, she dreaded the thought that Jake might get hurt more. He was strong, insanely strong, but it didn’t matter with how much she cared for him.

With a deep sigh, the Big Deal leader hurried towards one of the drawers, looking for some clothes to change in. She left home with barely anything, she had to buy some stuff. God bless Goto Mall for existing with its cheap, pretty clothes. The girl pulled out a pair of cargo pants, bandaged her arms well before taking on one of her three sleeveless, black shirt, put a hoodie over it, followed by braiding her hair as she did most days and a pair of sunglasses. She was getting in one way or another, her feelings were not important, not when the fate of Big Deal, of Jake and Sinu could end up in her own hands.

It felt gut wrenching to be in front of Club Vivi again. Poor Lara didn’t know if she wanted to throw up and run away, or take off her bandages and murder every single person working in that circle of hell. She opted for none of those options, walked towards the entrance, and took off her glasses when she didn’t recognize any of the bouncers at the door. As expected, she got in without a problem, and she shoved the glasses inside one of the large pockets of her pants before descending down the stairs. For a moment, she felt like Dante when he went to Hell to bring back his lover.

The deafening sound of the music made her gag twice, the girl having to stop for a moment and cover her mouth. The gagging was strong enough to bring tears to her eyes and her stomach was twisting and turning. Her adrenaline levels were escalating with each step she took down towards the club, and by the time she finally reached the end of the stairway, she threw up a bit in her mouth. She could feel herself sweating, but she couldn’t afford drawing attention to her by taking off the hoodie.

Lara could feel it. She was having an anxiety attack and she was slowly, but surely building up to a panic attack. She couldn’t afford it, so she slapped her cheeks a few times to try and come back to her senses. Analyzing the crowd from above, she couldn’t spot Jake anywhere, but there was still a chance he might be inside the club. She also couldn’t find Xiaolung, nor Vivi, and she wasn’t sure how good that was. Now then, she just needed to make her way down and take a better look at everyone, before she would start hunting for an executive.

It was easier to go down all the way to the club that time, but now instead of dread, Lara was feeling anger with each step she took. All of those people, coming there to party, spend their money like it was nothing… And there was no doubt that a big part of them saw her dancing up on the stage that was now opened to the public, for anyone brave enough to show the entire club some moves. Seems the Black Swan wasn’t replaceable. Lara didn’t know how to feel about that.

Once down, the girl took a few looks around from where she was, trying to catch a glimpse of her friend somewhere. With no luck once again, she took to walking around the club, feeling her heart beat so fast it muffled the sound of the music to such an extent that she was almost deaf to it.

“Jake, where are you..?” she whispered to herself, half regretting her choice, half knowing she did good coming since her friend was nowhere which could mean trouble.

Lara was about halfway through the club, when someone wrapped their arm around her shoulders from behind. Instantly, her preservation instinct, together with her heightened fear kicked, forcing the girl to act in consequence. She grabbed the arm of the idiot who approached her, quickly bending forward and slamming them against the floor. A guy, of course, but that was her last worry. There was nothing worse you could do to Lara Yang, than put your hands on her from behind, whether in a friendly, or threatening way. It made it so much worse that it happened in the same place that took her soul, and as such the girl punched the guy in the face once, twice… Even the music stopped in that moment as the crowd tried to move away from the scene. Security was approaching her, about to make the biggest mistake of their lives, but being stopped right before she delivered her third punch by a Worker with a white gold badge.

The boy came to Lara from the front so that she could see him, and crouched down, catching her fist before it landed. It made him close one eye in pain, and he had to stop her other fist from punching him that time.

“You’re safe,” he said, not sure how to break her out of that state. 

Lara managed to pull back, about to go for his neck when she grabbed her wrists again.

“I said you are safe,” he repeated, although a bit more annoyed that time.

The pressure on her arms sent some sort of shock through her arms, rendering the bandages to force her to snap out of it. Still breathing heavily, the girl looked at the boy in front of her, pulling back and getting up on her feet as soon as she recognized him.

“We’re good here,” Samuel told the bodyguards, sending them on their way.

“No, we fucking aren’t!” the guy on the floor protested, having just woken up after passing out when Lara slammed him like a slab of meat on the floor. “This bitch needs to be taught a lesson! Look what the fuck she did to me!”

“Should I make sure you never walk ever again, or would you rather I take your eyes?” Samuel threatened the man, leaning down on his level and very creepily turning his head on a side, with a big, big smile.

“I will rip you apart,” Lara said, looking down at the man with eyes wide open.

It made the man freeze in place, and the only movement he was able to make was to nod his head after a while. Wanting him out of the picture, Samuel picked him up, put him on his feet and shoved him towards the exit.

Lara was still trying to calm down, taking calculated deep breaths and fixing her clothes. As if it was just a normal Saturday, her old friend signed for the DJ to restart the music and clapped his hands very loudly.

“Time to go back to the party, everyone!” he said, signing for Lara to follow him towards the upper level of the club.

Although a bit hesitant at first, the girl eventually took off on his trail, the two of them making their way up, where they could better see the entire club and where, despite the music, Lara had more space. He never knew how to help her calm down, and neither was he interested in learning now. In his defense, she’s never been in such a state before for him to have to do anything about it.

The girl turned away from him, taking a couple more minutes to regain her composure before she turned back towards her ex-boyfriend. The fight did her well, she was feeling better to have let out some of that stress.

“You became more fucking terrifying,” Samuel said with a chuckle, taking out his pack of cigarette and lighting out. He had the decency to offer her one, too, but that time Lara refused.

“Why did you step in?” she asked him, gripping her arms into fists a few times to make sure all of the pressure was gone, the bandages getting tighter each time she flexed her muscles.

“Sure, I could’ve let you kill that guy, and then go to jail, but then you wouldn’t find your precious boyfriend.”

There he was, back with the same shenanigans. She couldn’t believe he wasn’t over that even years later, and out of pettiness alone, Lara was one step away from telling him she almost slept with Jake. Luckily, she was smarter than that.

“Where is he?” she asked, straightening her back.

“The hotel, where else? I’m shocked it took him that long, to be honest.”

“Fuck… Fuck!”

Lara started biting her nails and she took over analyzing the room again. If Jake headed for the hotel, it was more than possible than all of Executives were there as well.

Fuck.

“Here.”

“Huh?” the girl looked down at the badge in his hand confused, then up at Samuel. “I… Why?”

“Because you need it to access the entire hotel. I thought you were the smart one here, darling,” the boy answered, taking her hand and putting the badge in her palm.

“You know exactly why I’m asking.”

“Well, I was supposed to help, but you know I fucking love me as much chaos as fucking possible. I’ll catch up with you, later, if you’re that worried.”

“I won’t thank you, you owed me.”

“Be careful when you go in. Jake is not exactly subtle, there is a chance the Bicheon Gang is out in the hotel.”

“The what now?”

Right, Lara wasn’t with Workers after all, she was just unfortunate enough to work in their environment. She still knew more about Vivi and Xiaolung than anyone else in her position could say, proving once again that she was smart.

“You can’t miss them, they come in a big number. Not great at fighting, but fucking crazy.”

With that, Lara made sure to have a good hold of the badge and started walking towards the stairs to get out of there. She only took two steps before Samuel talked again.

“I was a dog once,” he said, leaning on the railing, looking towards her.

A clear reference to their recent reunion.

“But I was only a dog for you.”

Surprised at the sound of those words, the most romantic confession he’s ever made to her, Lara raised her eyebrows and remained silent for a few seconds. The girl looked down at the badge in her hand, then a little, nostalgic and sad smile appeared in the corner of her lips. She didn’t even look back at Samuel again, resuming on her way out of that hellhole.

But you wouldn’t have been a good dog and stayed if I told you to sit down back then, am I right, Samuel?

Her romantic feelings for him were long gone, he was now just part of the sad story of Big Deal and the tragic story of the Angel of Big Deal. He somehow felt like a ghost to her.

Lara was close to the hotel when she noticed the first out of order sight, a boy lying motionless right in front of the entrance, clearly knocked out after a fight. She slowly approached him, only to start recognizing his clothes as she got closer, then the back of his head was a good enough getaway. Zack was still passed out after having fought Johan, although Lara had no idea about that as she leaned down to check on his pulse. Still alive and kicking, thank God.

Taking a deep breath, Lara took off her hoodie, tying it around her waist, then got rid of her bandages which she gently laid down next to Zack. He was going to need them later, but for now she didn’t have the time to tend to him further, and Zack was a big enough boy to handle this mess. The only problem was that she expected to see more familiar faces as she continued on her way. Reunion night.

The girl walked inside, wanting to head straight for the elevator, only to notice the trail of bodies right away. It didn’t take long for her to notice their unusual features, coming to the realization that they all suffered burn marks as she approached them. Lara leaned down next to the knocked out person closest to her, but held back from touching the man.

“So, this must be the Bicheon Gang…” she concluded, getting up and taking a look to her right.

It was then when her eyes opened wide, and the girl made her way towards the second face she recognized. Lying motionless on the floor, all bloody and, for some reason, with no t-shirt, was Vasco. The girl leaned down, taking his pulse as well and letting out a loud sign when she felt the blood pumping through his veins as strongly as ever. Looking at him, she gently moved the hair out of his face, feeling her heart tightening in her chest.

“Oh, love…” Lara whispered, closing her eyes as she felt the pressure in her arms becoming more and more persistent.

She was going to fight tonight, and her family’s curse might just win and take her in as well, if she were to find Jake like that, too. Without other delays, the Angel of Big Deal made her way towards the elevator, using the badge to make her way all the way up, to Vivi’s penthouse. Once out of the elevator, however, shock ran through her spine as first, she saw all of the enemies in front of her, all with burn marks, then recognized not one, but three familiar voices.

The only problem was that the sound from the elevator prompted the Bicheon Gang to turn towards her and charge at full speed. The first thing Lara did was press a bunch of buttons on the elevator, before stepping out, the doors still open. The girl got in position quickly, picking up the first guy that reached her, and throwing him right inside the elevator. For the next two, she grabbed them straight by the head and knocked them hard into each other. Her fourth victim got her special treatment, quickly finding his arm useless after Lara hit it, the girl grabbing it and using it to spin the guy and force him to hit some of his buddies, a part of them falling inside the elevator. Right on time, as the doors closed and sent them down.

“Big Deal!” Lara yelled at the top of her lungs, Jake open his eyes just as wide as she did a moment ago.

She didn’t need help fighting, but she needed to make sure they were fine and that was the fastest way to call for all of them. It was bad timing that her scream offered Xiaolung an opportunity to go for Jake, but luckily her best friend recovered fast after the hit. The problem was that the Big Deal leader now had a new cut on his face which was surely going to leave a scar. Lineman was passed out on the floor, just like half of that God forsaken hotel, while Jerry simply didn’t have enough strength to get up anymore. It did not help at all to not hear any response from them, but at least Jake was thriving from the sound of it, as he started fighting more aggressive while taunting Xiaolung. Luckily, the boy with braids didn’t seem to recognize her voice.

With each punch, knee kick, and calculated move, the pressure in Lara’s arms was only growing at an alarming rate, rendering her vision blurrier by the second, and just like always, she couldn’t recall the moment she lost control. Her Varma Kalai was useless in those moments, but Krav Maga proved to be both useful, and at the edge of becoming lethal. Two guys she punched right in the neck, making them spit out blood before she spun around and delivered the last blow with her elbow. Her next victim found his demise when he attempted to grab her, only for the girl to quickly move out of his line, then force him to lean his head all the way to the back by pushing his chin before she actively punched him in the back of the head. Another one tried to punch her, but Lara was faster and deadlier in moving out of the way, only to go for his now exposed cheek and send him flying away from her, into two other boys. When another one tried to grab her, just like his unfortunate friend earlier, Lara didn’t move out of his line, but instead grabbed his arms and lifted them over his head, proceeding to quickly kick him in the stomach three times before letting go. The next unfortunate boy first got a kick in the stomach as Lara moved away, then two punched in the back of his neck, followed by the girl grabbing his arm as he was actively falling and breaking it right as he hit the ground.

It was all a bloody mess by the time she was done with everyone, and she couldn’t hear, nor see anything. The only movement was in front of her, where Jake and Xiaolung were fighting. Lara unconsciously made her way there, prepared to kill her next target, but the metal gate that Jerry and Lineman pulled down before she arrived there was in her way and she couldn’t move it.

“Lara!” Jake yelled at her, trying to help her snap out of it while still fighting Xiaolung.

She wasn’t the only one ready to kill. All her best friend could see in his enemy was one of the two people that hurt her in ways nobody else ever did, and nobody else ever could. He couldn’t let it pass, he couldn’t look over the shoulder, and from the moment Daniel told him that there are hostages up in the hotel, all he saw was red. Right now, however, he just needed her away from the gate so that Xiaolung wouldn’t attempt something, seeing as he was still fighting so valiantly even with a broken arm.

“Lara Yang, wake the fuck up!” he yelled again, and that time it worked.

The girl stopped motionless in track, looking down at her hands as the state of frenzy went away. Her best friend needed one quick look back to see that she wasn’t moving around anymore to know that she came back with her feet on earth. Now his attention could be fully focused on Xiaolung, but that brief pause made his body aware of all of the pain he was feeling. At least she was safe on the other side of the gate. Crazy thing to think about when not long ago an army was trying to grab him.

“I thought I told you, you can’t get past me unless you’re prepared to die,” Xiaolung spoke up, trying to straighten his back.

It was his voice, his cursed voice, that which made Lara widen her eyes as she felt a hot rush run through her entire body. Was it fear, anxiety, or anger? Or perhaps it was a mix of them all. As she turned her head to look at the scene on the other side of the fence, the girl felt her heart drop seeing Jake in that state, and their boys on the floor, now both awake, but badly hurt.

“Jake..!” she called out for him, grabbing a hold of the gate and shaking it.

The damn thing wasn’t budging no matter how much she tried. It made it worse that Jake remained unmoved, making her think that something really, really bad happened to him, which further made her curse herself for not being faster, and for not coming with him from the beginning.

“Damn it,” Jake finally spoke up, unknowingly helping Lara feel slightly calmer. At least he didn’t pass out standing. “That Cheon Hohuigong stuff is so unfair. That hurt like hell.”

Xiaolung remained silent, prepared for Jake’s next attack if he still got it in him.

“I didn’t want to have to get this serious, not without her approval,” Jake continued, keeping his head low to gather all of his senses and strength. “Ever since I got out of jail, I’ve forced myself to smile and joke around. I felt like I’d go crazy otherwise. I’ve been so determined to get revenge for her that I almost forgot about my own plans for revenge. It’s time to get serious now. I didn’t get out of jail to come all this way just to lose to the piece of shit that hurt the girl I love. I will fuse our revenge stories. From now on… I’m going to pretend you’re Gun.”

Before anyone knew it, Jake launched himself at Xiaolung like a missile, aiming straight for his face. When he was about to throw the second punch, his opponent thought he could avoid it, only for the Big Deal leader to aim for his chest, breaking several of the bodyguard’s ribs. It was rather scary how calm and collected he was. He didn’t flinch even for a split second as Xiaolung still tried to come for him, only for Jake to grab his arm and twist it, dislocating the shoulder completely, followed by bending his elbow the other way around.

From the other side, Lara felt like she was getting a taste of her own medicine. The only difference was that, unlike her, Jake was fully aware of all of his actions. She was almost mesmerized by the fight, to the point where she couldn’t bring herself to say a word. The girl didn’t speak even when Jerry forced himself to get closer to her, in fact she simply failed to notice him as he wasn’t blocking her view. Next thing she knew, Jake was breaking Xiaolung’s other arm as their enemy’s screams of agony were resonating around the entire place. It was madness when even in that state, the bodyguard still thought he had a chance, only for Jake to let himself fall on the ground just so he could grab his opponent’s legs and force him to fall flat on the ground.

“You’re not the only one with a story,” Jake spoke up again, never taking his eyes off of his opponent. “But you should’ve never dared alter hers. I won’t let you walk out of here.”

“I have no intention of walking away without protecting the girl I love,” Xiaolung countered, only to get a scoff from Jake.

“I guess we have one thing in common.”

One thing was sure, Jake didn’t want to make it any easier for Xiaolung. In his eyes, even if he broke all of the bodyguard’s bones, it still wouldn’t have been even close to the pain Lara must’ve felt when her world came crashing down. It was that thought that drove him to get a crazy hold on his opponent, keeping him in place on a side with his legs and arms around one of his enemy’s legs, pulling until the knee snapped. Only then did Jake let go, getting up on his own feet, not getting away from Xiaolung who was now on his stomach on the floor. He tried to use his last good leg to turn around, but Jake put his foot on his lower back to keep him in place. Eventually, he leaned down, grabbing his opponent’s foot and twisting it around, ripping his Achilles’ foot completely, leaving his foot facing the other way. Now, with him completely unable to move, the Big Deal leader had one thought left in his mind: to snap Xiaolung’s neck and get it over with.

When he straightened his back so he could move on with his plan, Lara finally started seeing sense in front of her eyes.

“Jake, no!” she yelled at the top of her lungs, trying to reach for him through the bars.

“He deserves to die,” Jake said still calm, but he didn’t dare move anymore, nor did he look at his crush.

“Not by your hand,” Lara answered in a raspier voice, as if the words came right from her soul.

Then did Jake look at her, seeing the girl he loved grip the bars with all her might while this fire was burning in her eyes, piercing him, burning him. He didn’t want her to end up like that, a killer. She talked so much about breaking her family’s curse, that he wasn’t sure he could handle watching her destroy that promise while being fully aware of her actions.

It took swallowing his saliva to force down arguing with her for him to approach the gate. The boy leaned down, grabbing it and trying to lift it up. Jerry, who recovered some of his strength, jumped in to help right away, followed by Lara who didn’t just want to sit by and wait for the boys to do everything for her. Lineman forced himself up, although he was stumbling on his feet. And yet, he made it to the gate, putting in all of the strength he had left in pulling that gate up enough to make room for Lara to come on their side. The mechanism probably broke somewhere as the gate remained stuck halfway opened.

Jake didn’t know what to say, or how to convince her that she shouldn’t dirty her hands like that. All he could do was watch as Lara walked past Xiaolung and towards Vivi’s apartment, opening the door at full force. To her surprise, the girl she was looking for was sitting on the floor, right by the door.

“Do we know each other?” Vivi asked, leaning her head on a side.

Only hearing her voice got the hairs on Lara’s nape stand right up, and with nothing but hatred in her eyes, she got her hand right in Vivi’s hair, gripping on it so hard her nails were also digging into her own skin. She ignored the girl’s screams as she pulled her out of the room and closer to Xiaolung.

“Miss Vivi!” her bodyguard yelled, making her look at him with tears in her eyes from the pain.

“Xiaolung..?” she said, forgetting about the pain when he saw the state he was in.

She tried to run towards him, but the strong hand of the Angel of Big Deal pulled her right back, and to force her to behave, the Angel swung her arm, hitting Vivi against the wall. She could feel the pressure in her arms building up once again, along with how her vision was trying to blur again, but the girl shook her head to drive away that feeling.

The bodyguard immediately widened his eyes at the scene, starting to pull himself closer and closer with his chin, but he could only get that far. Perhaps in another set of circumstances, this could’ve been heartbreaking. Perhaps almost romantic. Not in that set of circumstances, though. Not when they tried to make a victim out of Lara, to turn her into an object and act like they own her, selling her away when she wasn’t serving her purpose anymore. No, the story of Vivi and Xiaolung wasn’t heartbreaking, it was justice.

“Woof… Woof, woof! Woof, woof!” Xiaolung started barking out of nowhere.

Weird, unexpected, and surprising enough to help snap Lara out of the trance that was trying to pull her back in. She still had her hand in Vivi’s hair as she watched Samuel approach them.

“You’re actually barking?” Samuel asked, looking down at Xiaolung as he was trying to keep a neutral expression. “I barked… Just like you said…” the bodyguard tried to speak up, despite barely being able to bring himself to breathe.

“If you want me to do something else… I’ll do whatever you want. Just, please… Protect Vivi…”

“Don’t want to,” Samuel answered, putting a hand on Xiaolung’s head. “Do you get it now? Me and them… Are on the same side. I just wanted to check if the great, proud Xiaolung, Director of the Third Affiliate, would really bark for someone he hates like me just to protect some girl. And you did.”

“So you mean, you’re not here to fight, right?” Jake asked, taking his jacket back on.

“Yeah. I’ll sit and watch for longer, it was getting interesting.”

“I wanted to check something myself,” Lara spoke up, looking back down at Vivi. “Where does your heart lay?”

The Angel let go of the girl, watching her try to reach her bodyguard, but Samuel decided to butt in. Well, Eugene never said to bring Vivi completely unharmed, so he didn’t feel any shame, or guilt as he grabbed her by the hair, too, offering to help his ex-girlfriend just so he could watch the show unfold further. Jake didn’t like it, so he took a step closer to the two of them, ready to jump in any moment.

The leader of Big Deal made her way towards her ex-employer, then looked at his crush who had widened her eyes so much you would think they would pop out any moment. The girl then looked back down at the boy on the floor. Without hesitation, she kicked him in the stomach, forcing him to turn around on his back.

“No, please!” Vivi shouted, starting to cry as he was pleading with Lara.

She didn’t even recognize the girl with the braided hair, that was just… Fucked up. Fucked up on so many levels, which only made the girl angrier.

“So that’s where your heart is,” the Angel concluded, kicking Xiaolung again, so she could turn him back on his stomach.

As Vivi continued to scream and plead, Lara went behind the boy on the floor, grabbing him by the hair. All she could see in her mind was the moment Xiaolung grabbed her from behind, deeming her incapable of seeing what was about to happen to her, and doing exactly as he pleased. He saw her as an object, some piece of art to sell at an auction, something he and Vivi owed, something that didn’t need any explanation to what was about to happen. Now, that was how she saw him, as she put an arm around his neck, bending him backwards more and more.  

“Not by my hands either,” she said, and she pulled harder, further, until a terrible snap was heard, and then she finally let go.

That time, however, the pain was big enough that Xiaolung simply passed out. No functioning arms, no functioning legs and now a broken spine. He was never going to walk on his own two feet, and yet Lara let him live. There was a fire burning inside her, chaos ragging behind her eyes and a million voices yelling at her to end what she started, and yet the girl stopped right then and there. She didn’t want to end up like her father. Someone had to break her family’s curse. Those who came before her weren’t capable of doing it, so another responsibility fell on Lara Yang’s shoulders.

As she straightened her back, the girl’s attention turned towards Vivi. How she wanted to grab her by the hair again and slam her against the wall until her face turned into mush, just as twisted and disgusting as the images created by the drugs that girl would take. Yet, Lara knew she couldn’t. Not without bringing hell unto herself and Big Deal. Vivi was loaded and well protected, with a father owning so much money, he probably didn’t have what to do with them anymore. If his precious, demonic daughter were to get hurt, surely it would’ve bitten Lara in the ass later. For now, seeing her cry her eyes out and scream until her voice became soar was enough.

The Angel of Big Deal was just about to walk towards Vivi so that she could ask her about Sinu, only to see Samuel start pulling her away. She didn’t have a chance to react, as Jake was one step ahead of her. A very rare image.

“What are you doing?” her best friend asked with a big smile on his face, making Samuel turn around all confused.

“I have to take her with me,” the boy answered with a rather sweet smile. Too sweet. “We can’t let anyone find out about the hideout.”

“Leave her here. I have to ask her about Sinu,” Jake countered with the same smile on his face. So fake.

“Sinu Han? I’ll tell you about him later.”

That was when Lara stopped listening to any of them. Samuel knew where Sinu was? It left her baffled, eyebrows raised as she wondered whether or not to trust that boy. It wasn’t until the two boys started going at each other’s throats that she came back with her feet on ground. Vivi was trying to crawl back to Xiaolung, but Lara wasn’t having it, making sure to kick her in the stomach hard enough to send her rolling on the floor, curling up in a ball and holding her belly with both hands.

For a moment there, it felt like being back in the good, old days, with the boys fighting like idiots for no good reason, and Lara sighing as she crossed her arms. Jerry and Lineman were watching the scene unfold all shocked, but before any of them could ask if they should interfere, their Angel raised her hand.

“Leave them. That’s how they greet each other.”

There was that usual craziness in Samuel’s eyes as the fight progressed, while Jake had this aura. Dark, strong, and determined, taking over his entire body. Lara was ready to just let them fight all they wanted, but it all got interrupted by a boy flying right between them. It was then that the girl got into position, turning her head to check on the victim. She got this feeling that he looked familiar, only to put her finger on it when the source of the attack came out. Daniel Park! And… Daniel Park?

“What the fuck?” she whispered to herself, straightening her back.

“Run…” little Daniel whispered, only raising his head. “You have to run.”

In a matter of seconds, the light started to go out and come back. It felt like a horror movie, and the hand grabbing onto the doorframe only added to the creepy atmosphere. How was it possible? She confirmed that they were the same person, and there was no mistaking. They were both Daniel Park, so how were they in the same fucking place, awake at the same time?

Everyone’s eyes were widened, but they weren’t all sharing the same reason. There was… Nothing behind big Daniel’s eyes. Almost as if there was no one home. She swiftly turned towards little Daniel for an explanation, but as he looked back at her, she could tell that he had no idea what was happening either. The sheer panic and fear in his eyes also told her that he didn’t know how to stop his other body.

After him, Vivi’s friends soon followed, but they didn’t get too far as Lara punched one of them, kicked another into the wall, and grabbed the last two by their necks, slamming their heads against each other. They weren’t going anywhere. But right now, they had another issue on hand.

“Stay back!” both Jake and Samuel shouted at Lara, going for big Daniel.

They could feel the danger, too. If left unbothered, who knows what that psychopath would’ve done, and their instinct to protect the girl they love kicked right away, paired hand in hand with the instinct to kill or be killed. As the fight progressed, the Angel of Big Deal was aware of one thing: her best friend was too tired after fighting Xiaolung to continue like that. Samuel wasn’t in any better of a shape either, as big Daniel was throwing them both around like they were ragdolls. She couldn’t keep standing on a side, and she stepped in right on time. Samuel was about to throw a good punch, all unfortunately anticipated by their opponent. Lara jumped in, pushing Jake down before he would end up taking the punch himself, making room for Samuel to hit big Daniel.

The Angel of Big Deal looked up at her opponent, angry that he dared get between her and her goal. She came there to make sure her friends were alright, and to make sure Jake’s mission was achieved. By any means did she not come there to get interrupted by her already noisy friend, who needed her to threaten him before he finally stepped off her tail. She was about to hit him in the stomach, trying to immobilize him, only for Jerry to get into the fight as well, changing the trajectory of her punch thanks to big Daniel leaning forward to stop the hit with his own forehead.

Lara Yang knew she had to put a quick end to that mess. Whatever was happening to Daniel’s other body, it was bad news, and she knew that, without the bandages to restrict her arms, she would fight the monster in front of her until one of them ended up dead. It wasn’t her destiny to die by Daniel Park’s hands, but it wasn’t Daniel Park’s destiny to die by her hands either. She just needed to stop him, or if she got lucky enough, get him out of that state. Things were too complicated with all of the boys fighting together, and just when big Daniel was about to send Jerry flying across the corridor, Jake stepped in, winking at his younger friend before getting thrown into the wall at full speed.

Just as expected, Lineman and Jerry saw nothing, but red in front of their eyes following that, both jumping to fight Daniel at the same time. In a split second, Lara rushed in between them, grabbing the boys by the collar and pulling them down.

“Stay back,” the girl ordered the two of them, then she took two steps ahead and looked big Daniel dead in the eye. She didn’t look about to fight, she kept a rather relaxed frame, but she knew she could protect herself any second if it came down to it. “One of you, fucking talk now.”

Little Daniel knew that she was talking to both him and… His other body, that became sentient on its own. It had to have been the drugs, that’s the only explanation he found to it.

“We need to run out of here!” the boy protested, getting back up on his feet.

“You run from here, Daniel. I ran to get here. That bitch owes me… Everything.”

It was when she said that, that another figure made his appearance. It earned a sigh from Lara Yang to see Johan Seong joining the party, a look in his eyes to rival that Jake had when she told him what happened to her when she quit her job.

Perhaps Samuel’s praise that night, calling her the ‘smart one’, wasn’t for nothing as Lara raised her hands in defeat, took a step back, and then two on a side. It would’ve been dangerous for her to fight Daniel, because she knew deep down that if she jumped in, one of them would end up lying dead on the floor. Knowing her family history, it was scarier to think that the one down on the ground could’ve been Daniel, rather than consider herself a possible casualty. It was better for everyone that Johan took over, whatever the outcome of that was going to be. She knew that look the God Dog was carrying. Even if he would’ve lost that fight, he was going to walk out of there nevertheless. He had unfinished business.

It took a few seconds for those two to start fighting, the Angel taking that chance to go to Jake and check on him. He woke up rather confused, looking around to get his mind on the right track, then he looked up at Lara. For a second there, he felt the same way he did every time she would wake him up during recess in school.

“Are you alright?” she asked him, not really knowing what to do to check on him.

“What happened?” he asked, his hearing slowly coming back, making him aware of the fight that was taking place.

“Jake,” Samuel called out, a lit cigarette already in hand. “Go get us some popcorn.”

Shaking her head, the girl moved on a side and took a sit on the floor in between the boys. She brought her knees closer to herself so that she could rest her forearms on them, then she let her head down for a few seconds. When she looked back up, it wasn’t Johan and big Daniel that had her attention, but Vivi and Xiaolung. She was back over him, crying her eyes out, while he was still passed out from all the pain.

Hold onto your heart, Vivi.

Lara failed to notice the two boys sitting beside her talking to each other. She only started to pay attention to them when Jake called out her name.

“Are you friends with him?” he asked, pointing towards big Daniel with a gesture of his chin.

“I am,” the girl answered, leaning her back against the wall. “But something is wrong with him right now. Fuck knows what, though.”

Johan was, for lack of a better word, getting his ass handed to him. And yet he refused to back away, continuing to fight the monster-… No, the beast in front of him. It was enough to catch her attention as well, but she watched in silence, whereas her friends almost felt like commenters to the entire scene. It was rather sad. Sad to have something you want and need so badly that you would put yourself through something like this. Torture, almost. Masochism, if Lara were to be honest.

It wasn’t long before Johan was the one lying on the floor, with big Daniel just about to step on him like he was nothing short of a bug. Moment interrupted by a familiar voice. Familiar, and well hated.

“I’m here!” Goo announced his presence, making Lara get up on her feet right away. Jake followed right away. “Doesn’t this belong to Xiaolung?” the blond asked, leaning down for the bodyguard’s spear. It was when he straightened his back that he saw the state in which that man was. “Xiaolung? What’s he doing on the floor? Ah, miss Vivi. How is the president of T Group doing? But wait, I thought the fight was over. That’s why I came just now.”

The Angel of Big Deal quickly turned her head towards the blonde girl, making sure she wasn’t going anywhere. They weren’t done with her yet. Jake’s eyes were already on her. The boy put a hand on his best friend’s arm, reassuring her that everything was alright.

“She’s not going anywhere,” he told her, the two of them nodding at each other.

You all know how the story went from the moment Joongoo laid eyes on big Daniel. As if that psychopath wasn’t always looking for trouble. At least Gun was more collected than that, but he was, in Lara and Jake’s eyes, on a higher level for psychopaths than his counterpart.

What you don’t know is that, while those two were fighting, the leaders of Big Deal walked back towards Vivi. Jake remained one step behind, deciding he needed to let Lara let it all out. Whatever his best friend had in store for the hotel and club owner, the older boy wasn’t going to step in and stop it. He did, however, not want Lara to end Vivi’s life. It wasn’t fair on his best friend, the girl who told him quite some times before, that she will be the one to break her family’s curse. No one was worth breaking that promise for, much less the daughter of a bitch in front of them.

Lara crouched down, grabbing her ex-employer by the hair again, raising her head so they would be facing each other.

“Who am I?” the Angel of Big Deal asked Vivi, the grip she had on the girl’s hair only tightening by the second, the more she tried to get away from Lara. “Take a good look at me, and tell me who I am.”

“I don’t know,” Vivi cried out, finding herself forced to keep her eyes on Lara. “I truly don’t know. Please, let me go…”

How lucky you must be…

“Where is Sinu?” the leader of Big Deal asked, nothing but hatred in her eyes.

“Who are you talking about? Please, let me go, please..!”

“Wrong answer.”

Without remorse, Lara swung Vivi against the wall, making sure she hit it pretty good. It made her whine in pain, but the girl with braided hair felt nothing.

…to feel not even half of the pain I’ve been feeling for so long.

“Tall, stupid, long hair and blind in one eye. Where is he?” Lara asked again, prepared to hit Vivi again.

And Vivi could see it. She could see all of the anger Lara was carrying for her, and it made her heart beat faster and her head spin. And spin it did until the blonde girl passed out, making the Big Deal leader sign a heavy sigh and let go of her. It was supposed to be temporary, until she noticed the big dude walk past her and attempt to take Vivi away. Without taking another look at his face, Lara hit the hunk in the arm, paralyzing it and making him take a few steps back.

He remembered this all-too-well, that feeling of hopelessness, he approached her so carefully, so ready to fight back and in one instant Lara made Logan move away. He knew the feeling was going to fade away eventually, but it made him angry. And yet, it took the girl turning towards him and giving him that stare, that oh, so deadly, so mad and out of it stare that made him grit his teeth and stay in place.

Jake tried to put himself back on his feet, but he could barely move towards her. He was feeling desperate to reach his best friend before someone provoked her enough to drive her to the point of snapping out of it.

“Lara,” two voices called at once.

The two boys who loved Lara Yang, both calling for her at the same time, both with their own concerns. At first, the girl turned towards Jake, but then her eyes moved towards Samuel. All that boy did was subtly shake his head, trying to tell her to drop it and let him take care of it.

Could she trust him? Why would she trust him, when he abandoned them, when he abandoned her like that? And yet… What right did she have to scrutinize him, when she did the same to two people she cared about. Perhaps she was, in some aspects, worse than Samuel Seo.

You deserve to die.

Her glance fell on the passed out girl on the floor. Too many times had she fantasized about the ways in which she would end her life, and every time Vivi deserved it. She earned it, she brought it upon herself, and to keep her true to her spoiled nature, Lara was only going to give her the best treatment. Now, with the girl in front of her, when she only needed one single, strong swing to deliver upon the blonde the fate manifested, she didn’t feel up to it anymore. She looked down at her hands, at her still clean hands, just some dirt on them, but no blood, not a drop, and she couldn’t imagine having Vivi’s blood on them for the rest of her life.

It was that thought, that wish to keep herself clean, like how those before her weren’t able to, that made Lara grab Vivi from the hair one time, lifting her head up and slapping her a few times to wake her up. There was nothing but terror in that girl’s eyes when she realized that everything was real, that she was in actual danger and Xiaolung couldn’t protect her that time.

“From this moment, your every breath is a gift from me,” Lara spoke with spite and venom, watching as the terror made Vivi pass out again.

But not by my hands.

That time, however, she moved on a side, letting Logan take her, and Xiaolung away. She paid no mind to Daniel trying to stop Logan, only for Joongoo to knock him out cold. All she did was pull out her pack of cigarettes, lighting one and walking next to Jake, on his left side as always, from where he could protect her. And the danger was right in front of them, yet another blond. You know what they say, if they’re blond, they’re crazy.

“Long time no see, you two,” Joongoo said, sounding less excited than the girl expected him to.

The Big Deal leaders didn’t speak a word to him yet.

“I’ve heard lots about you two. You were obsessed with revenge in prison, huh, Jake? And you got yourself into some really fucked up problems, Lara. Oh, on that note, welcome back! I guess you want revenge just as much, then? Probably mostly against me and Gun, but can you two leave me out of it? Gun is the one who handled Big Deal.”

“Don’t worry,” Jake broke the ice first. “I won’t kill you till after I’m done with Gun.”

“Come on, Jake! There aren’t any hard feelings between us,” Joongoo protested right away. “If anything, I’m trying to help you and everything you have. Come on, Lara, give me a helping hand here.”

“Jake will make it less painful than what I have in mind for you two,” the girl answered, exhaling the smoke right in his face.

“Look, think big picture for a moment,” Joongoo changed the strategy to try and make them listen. “Look at what’s happening to the Four Major Crews. It’s time to put aside our differences and work together for a while. Put your claws away for now. There’s going to be a major war soon.”

Lara took a deep breath, straightening her back at those words. It must’ve been the most serious she’s ever seen that guy in her entire life. It even made her rub the cigarette against a wall to put it out, but she shoved the butt of it back in her pack.

“What are you talking about?” she asked, taking a step forward.

“That’s all I can tell you,” the blond boy confessed, moving to the elevator. They let him walk. “Just do one thing for me, guys. Let me go just this once.”

And go he did, leaving the Big Deal leaders to deal with their own feelings now. They both gripped their fists tightly, not even noticing that the other was doing the same. However, Jake relaxed while Lara remained tensed up. They were both lost in their own thoughts, wondering if all of this was for nothing. It was only when they heard Samuel’s voice again, that the two of them finally got out of that state of mind. Jake wasn’t too in the mood for his old friend, so he went to check on Jerry and Lineman. Lara, on the other hand, was boiling with anger by the second, not giving any attention to her best friend, to their two other friends, to the two Daniels both passed out on the floor. All of that attention that Samuel wanted from her long ago was now his.

“One fucking minute,” she spoke up, gripping her fist so much, blood was slowly flowing on her palms, escaping through the gaps in her fingers. “Explain why the fuck you had me let Goo take Vivi in one fucking minute.”

For five seconds, all Samuel did was look down at her while inhaling a smoke from his cigarette. He and Jake were different in many aspects, and another one of those was the whole Vivi situation. On the one hand, Jake didn’t want Lara to dirty her hands with Vivi and Xiaolung’s blood because, in his eyes, they were not worth her breaking such an important promise she made to herself, nobody was. He was willing to take that fall for her if she ultimately decided they had to die.

Samuel, on the other hand, couldn’t begin to explain to her how much he wished she could get the revenge she deserved. It was more than fair in his eyes that they, the ones who destroyed everything she worked for, died a death decided by her hands. He couldn’t tell her that, and neither could he tell her that he saw nothing but red in front of his eyes the moment he found out the Black Swan’s true identity many months ago.

Oh, Lara Yang, how you got three boys, so different from each other, hooked around your pinky finger as if it is nothing. Samuel could’ve a day prior that, if someone were to ask him about her, he would tell them that he wasn’t going to feel anything if he ever saw her again. He denied his action when he found out what happened to her at Club Vivi, despite the consequences of that being that he moved from the Fourth Affiliate of Workers after a meeting with the CEO, convincing that boy that he was too important to be stuck so lowly in the association. He left long before Daniel Park took down Workers’ Fourth Affiliate, and he made sure to give Alexander a punch-good-bye, run some sense through him. In reality, he kept denying it to himself that he left because he felt sick to his stomach every time he walked through the doors of ONE MCN, having the knowledge of everything going on behind hidden doors, especially to female streamers stupid enough to sign the contract. Workers were still to important and powerful for him to consider walking out, but it was his act of solidarity to leave the Fourth Affiliate.

And now, he was denying it to himself that he felt jealous to the teeth seeing that Lara was still following Jake everywhere. Just like in the good, old days.

“This is the most revenge you can get without a Chinese billionaire sending an army after you and everyone you love,” Samuel answered, offering her a cigarette as well. She refused it.

“Thirty more seconds, motherfucker,” the girl answered, the adrenaline numbing the pain in her palms.

“Do you two know what’s under Club Vivi?”

It was then that Jake also turned around, opening his eyes wider. Lara’s body also tensed down a bit, and her eyes became gentler.

“Only the Executives have access to the basement,” Samuel continued. “You haven’t seen him in ages. Wanna go see him?’

“Move,” Lara said, a fire starting to burn in her eyes.

The three of them knew exactly who Samuel was talking about. The former Big Deal No. 1, Sinu Han. The exact person they were trying to save, the person they risked so much for coming here tonight.

With just a nod of the head, Samuel made his way towards the elevator, Jake being no more than one step behind. Lara was just about to follow, when Jerry called out for her.

“Boss, what should we do?” the boy asked, helping Lineman up.

“Do you remember my friends, Eun-… Vasco and Zack Lee?” she asked, getting a nod from Jerry. “Take these two boys down to them, just say a friend sent you, then wait for us downstairs.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

In silence, Jake and Lara followed Samuel, keeping a better eye on him than a predator who’s gone hungry for days keeps on its pray. The Worker would’ve lied if he said he didn’t expect it, so everyone kept their mouth shut, letting the elevator take them lower and lower. And from there, back to the club and more lower.

It started to get dark and creepy really fast, the walls were covered in poorly done graffiti, leakage, dirt. It looked like the premise of an abandoned building from one hundred years ago.

“You better not be lying,” Jake called out to Samuel, keeping an almost scary serious expression on his face.

“Just follow me,” Samuel answered, keeping himself calm and collected.

When the light started to shine brighter, the Big Deal leaders started to hurry down the stairs, only the image in front of them to get them frozen in place for a few moments. When he noticed how much it affected his crush, Jake decided to take the first steps forward and inside the cage, starting to look around.

“This is probably the first time someone uninvited has been allowed in here,” Samuel said, moving somewhere between Lara and Jake.

Old, dry blood on the floor and walls, a rusty fence, strands of hair stuck in the fence. So many signs of all the fights that happened there. The girl could still see all of them even from where she was, she just felt like if she approached that cage, if she stepped foot in it, she would lose her last bit of sanity. Out of all the things she could’ve had in common with Sinu, what they checked on the list was ‘get locked up in a cage by Workers’.

She could almost hear the murmur of the crowd from that time, the classical music playing, she could see the spotlight that was on her, and she could almost feel the hands grabbing her from behind before that syringe went into her neck.

Lara failed to hear Jake telling her that he will be right back with Sinu, and would’ve failed to realize she was crying if not for the fact that she started loudly gasping for air. She started frantically looking around, crying even uglier when she realized she was alone.

“Jake?” she called for him, lifting a hand to the base of her neck. “Jake!” she shouted loudly, wanting to run away from there, but her legs refused to cooperate.

She was so scared that she did not hear the ruckus happening not far from there, how her friends were fighting each other again. They did, however, hear her loud and clear, Jake pushing Samuel away and running out of there.

“Jake!” the girl yelled again, feeling how she couldn’t breathe anymore, and her vision was blurring by the second.

On that shout, her best friend was already there before she was done screaming for him.

“Lara!” he called out, trying to grab her attention as she was with her back at him, and scaring her even more was the last thing he wanted to do.

The girl heard his voice, turning around in the blink of an eye just to make sure he was truly there. Poor Jake remained frozen in place when he saw her crying, shaking and gasping for air like that. He wanted to approach her, but he was too scared that she will run away if he does so. Samuel came running, too, but he remained a few steps back, in Jake’s shadow, exactly where he felt he was a few years back, too.

“Take me home,” she said in one breath, her voice getting a high pitch at the beginning before being stolen away by a gasp. “I want… I want to go… To go… Home. I want… Home.”

It was only then that he finally got close to her, wrapping an arm around her waist to let her know he was right there and nothing could happen to her. When he touch her, her crying only got louder, but all she did was grip his shirt as tight as she could, leaving blood on it from how she ripped her skin open earlier. She didn’t recognize the fact that he seemed to have cried, too, and she completely forgot about Samuel who was right there. She just wanted to leave that place as fast as possible. Her best friend could feel it in her grip, so he started to hurry towards the stairs.

“Tomorrow,” was all he told Samuel, but it was enough to let their friend know what he had to do from there on. It looked like they struck a deal while she was having a panic attack.

It wasn’t until they were outside of the building, and the cold air hit her face, that Lara was able to let it all out at once, pushing herself away from Jake and throwing up on the side of the building. Gently, the boy went to hold her hair up and away from her face while patting her back to try and calm her down.

Once she finished, she wasn’t gasping for air anymore, and the tears were slowly stopping, but she was clearly still distressed.

“Can you two get home safe?” Jake asked Jerry and Lineman, not moving away from Lara. He felt like she needed him to be there in order to feel safe.

“Of course, boss,” Jerry answered, while Lineman quickly nodded his head in agreement.

“Then go home, rest and no words about tonight.”

“Yes, sir!” both boys answered, then bowed their heads, and made their way far from there, towards their homes.

Jake wanted to give Lara a few more minutes to calm down further, but she gripped his T-shirt again and started weakly pulling him away from there. A clear sign that she wanted to go home, which he obeyed.

They didn’t talk on the way, there was nothing to talk about in the state they found themselves in, lost in thoughts, confused about their next step, and feeling empty.

Lara Yang felt unfulfilled, sad and angry. Samuel was right, she couldn’t go after Vivi the way she wanted to, it was safe for everyone that the blonde got away with what Lara did to her as it is. She didn’t want to think about it anymore, or at least not for tonight.

What Lara Yang didn’t know was that karma was real, and one day she was going to feel this sense of peace in her chest, and not know where it is from. She won’t know that it comes from the fact that her actions left Xiaolung paralyzed from the waist down, which in consequence will lead to him being disposed of the way the T Group Cheon Guards deems fair now that he became useless. She won’t know that it also comes from the fact that Vivi won’t have the happy ending she so much thought she deserves, running away with her beloved Xiaolung, but instead get trapped in an arranged, abusive and loveless marriage, which will drive her mad day by day.

Lara Yang will just wake up one day and feel lighter in both mind and soul, and karma would have been served.

Chapter Text

Lara Yang couldn’t sleep for even five minutes that night. As soon as they returned to the trailer, she hopped into the shower and stood there for half an hour, trying to wash away everything and anything that came from that place, make it all go away and pray that the morning sun will bring with it the disappearance of both Club Vivi and Hotel Vivi.

Jake couldn’t sleep either, but he turned away from Lara, still on the floor on his mattress, and tried to pretend that he was sleeping. He heard her every sigh, twist and turn, her everything little curse under her breathe. And they stood like that until around six in the morning when the sun started to appear on the horizon. Having had enough of staying in bed, Lara got up, grabbed her pack of cigarettes, and carefully walked out as to not wake her friend. Jake followed her not even a minute after she left their little home, taking a deep breath as soon as he walked out, making her jump in surprise.

“Can you not scare me like that?” she asked, taking out a second cigarette and offering it to him.

“All I did was breath, but I can try to hold my breath, if you want me to,” the boy answered, grabbing the cigarette and doing as he said, holding his breath.

Lara just looked at him for a few moments, before his silly act made her laugh before she had a chance to light up the cigarette. Good, that was what he hoped to see from her, and in consequence, it put a smile on his face as well, as soon as he let out a long breath of air.

“Did I wake you?” she asked, taking a seat on the stairs of the trailer.

For a second, he opened his mouth and almost confessed that he didn’t sleep at all, but he quickly cleared his voice and shook his head.

“I woke up five minutes ago, don’t worry about it.”

With a light nod of the head, the girl ran a hand through her hair, taking a hold of some of it and smelling it to make sure none of the smell from that cursed place remained. She washed herself maybe a bit too aggressively last night, but it proved worth it. She smelled nice, like vanilla and lavender, which put her mind at ease.

“Would you… Like to go visit dad with me?” she asked, not finding the courage to look up at him.

Jake’s smile instantly dropped off his face. He very slightly turned his head towards his best friend, enough to allow him to look at her with the corner of his eye. A part of him was actually surprised she didn’t suggest this any earlier.

Lara used to visit her father whenever her heart felt heavy. However, she hasn’t been to see him ever since her world spiraled down, too embarrassed to show up even in front of her father’s grave. Too much time has passed since then, and after last night’s events, she felt… Cleaner. She still felt some of that disgusting mud that just refused to go away on her, but she felt cleaner, as if some of her sins had been forgiven. Enough of them to give the girl the courage to visit her dad.

When the girl turned her head towards him, Jake also looked at her, trying to figure out how she felt. She didn’t look sad, not pitiful in any way. She just looked content, calm, maybe a bit tired after missing a night of sleep.

“When do you want us to go?” Jake asked, inhaling another smoke from his now half-smoked cigarette.

“I’ll go get dressed after this, and we can make our way to the cemetery.”

Jake just nodded his head, turning his head to look at the empty street. A little smile appeared on his face, slowly feeling like things were falling back in place. If only they could get Sinu back home, everything would be back to normal. Soon.

After Lara finished smoking, she made her way back inside, putting on the usual attire: black pants, black, sleeveless turtleneck covered by her white shirt, then her jacket and lastly her shoes. She didn’t even bother to do her hair, it was fine just like that. The girl made sure to grab her wallet as well, together with her phone, and of course the pack of cigarette before giving up the trailer so Jake could get dressed as well. He also grabbed the Big Deal uniform, leaving three of the buttons on his shirt unbuttoned, and once he stepped out, they made their way towards the subway station.

They decided to walk towards the next station, watching as the streets were filling with people now that the sun was higher on the horizon. It fell silent between the two of them, but if they were honest, they didn’t need any words. Instead, Lara got a bit closer to Jake, taking his hand for some comfort. It made him straighten his back, taken by surprise by the act as his heart started beating way faster and louder. That was the last thing he expected from the same girl who misses no opportunity to hit him. And yet… He didn’t say anything, just squeezed her hand so she knew he was right there if she needed anything.

Once they made it to the subway, still too early for any other shops than CV’s to be open, they got lucky enough for a little self-serving flower shop to appear in their way, Lara stopping to grab two bouquets of flowers for the both of them to leave at her father’s grave. In the meantime, Jake grabbed some coffee for the both of them from a 7/11, then they made their way down towards the line.

Another thirty minutes, and there they were, in front of the cemetery, Lara taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. She was worried that there was a chance to run into her mother and sister, but it was too early in the morning for any of them to be all the way there. In fact, as they walked down the main alley to reach her father’s grave, it quickly became evident that there was no one else there. It also became evident that it started to snow, it was, after all, the middle of January.

There he was. Minhyuk Yang, loving father, devoted husband, caring son, and kind friend. Poor Lara couldn’t help, but feel her heart grow heavier the more her eyes lingered on the grave. She sniffed her nose, put down her coffee, then gently laid the bouquet on top of the grave.

“Hi, dad,” she spoke up, her voice breaking from the first word. “It’s, uh… It’s been a while. I could really use a hug from you right now.”

She couldn’t stop the tears forming in her eyes no matter how much she tried, and she tried. She closed her eyes so tight her head started to hurt, all while biting her lower lip to try and keep her cool, to no avail. Being back in that club brought to the surface a lot of pain she’s been bottling up, and in consequence, now that she was in front of her father’s grave, she moved closer to the gravestone, leaning against it as she pulled her knees closer to herself. She was fully aware that Jake was there and he could see her, but she didn’t care. He’s seen her in some of the worst moments of her life, that was nothing. And Jake knew to give her space, setting down the second bouquet of flowers, grabbing both coffees, and starting to walk towards the exit to the cemetery. He could still see her from there so, while keeping an eye on his best friend, the boy lit up a cigarette, admiring the snow gently falling from the sky.

Lara, on the other hand, remained silent, allowing the tears to fall now that she was alone. Every time she opened her mouth to speak up, her words got choked up by the tears falling more aggressively. Her last resort was to let them fall for a while, maybe around twenty minutes of silent crying and getting covered in snow, wiping away her tears with her margins of her shirt. She had to keep the jacket clean. She was slowly calming down, so the girl moved the snow from on top of her father’s gravestone, before sitting back in the same position.

“Some bad things happened to me since you left, dad… I had to make money for us, your insurance money wasn’t going to cover the expenses forever, and Isabel deserves to go to college. That chance doesn’t really exist for me anymore. Do you think mom is upset with me? Probably a bit, but she must be way more worried than angry, right, dad? But I’m fine, I’m… I’m working to be fine.”

She needed a moment to gather her senses and let out a heavy sigh, one coming from the bottom of her heart.

“I became strong in the way you always feared I might. I wish you spoke more about this curse, only telling me that one of our ancestors did something bad and a shaman cursed him really doesn’t help my case. I really wish I could go home to you, mom and Isabel, but you haven’t been there for years now…”

She had to cover her mouth, her tears starting to rapidly build up again. It took a lot of strength to fight against them, swallowing her pain the same way she’s been doing for so, so long. Her thoughts and words were all over the place, all paired with the guilt of how long it’s been since her last visit.

“I took revenge for what happened to me. I know you know, mom came to visit a lot after the incident. I’m stronger than you thought, dad, I didn’t kill anyone. I can’t say I didn’t hurt a lot of people, but they deserved it and they’re all still alive. I’ll take care of my friends, and break this curse our family dealt with all these years. You just… Watch over mom and Isabel, I can take care of myself, okay?”

With that, she turned towards the gravestone, living a little kiss on it. She had to close her eyes tight again, letting her head down and taking a few deep breaths. It took more strength than she expected to get up, but once on her feet she noticed Jake far away, but watching over her.

“Looks like I also have Jake to take care of me, so don’t worry. I’ll go now, dad, but I’ll visit more often, I promise. I love you.”

Lara bowed deeply in front of the grave, before she cleaned her clothes a bit and made her way towards her best friend. Anyone could tell she cried, Jake included, but he’s also witnessed it. When the girl got in front of him, the boy didn’t tell anything, just handed her the coffee back, and the two of them started walking back towards the subway station.

She couldn’t explain what got into her, but Lara felt this sudden urge to go and check what came of Club Vivi and Hotel Vivi after last night. They had to change the subway one time to make it to Gangnam, and when she suggested they take a walk around the area, Jake raised his eyebrows and let out a heavy sigh.

“That sounds like a terrible, fucking idea,” he answered honestly, looking around at the people, a lot more of them now. It was going to be a bit crowded on the train.

“Please? Do it for all the times I helped you with homework,” she answered, trying to be a bit funny in her response to try and get a laugh out of him. It usually meant he was convinced if he laughed.

“We’re both dropouts,” he responded, rubbing the top ridge of his nose.

“Damn, low blow even coming from you. Now I’m gonna force you to come with me to make up for that.”

Said and done. Lara already scanned her public transport card, leaving Jake behind with no option, other than hurry and join her. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, if she hoped that the place would’ve gone to ruins overnight, if police were investigating the place, if… If what? She was going to figure it out once she was there, and so, she kept her eyes focused on the screen announcing the stations, hurrying to change the line at some point and fighting for their lives in the crowd. It was still a bit better than usually, no students that time as it was winter vacation.

The entire trip took almost an hour, and now there they were, in front of the club, a bunch of people taking out everything from within. It left Lara a bit shocked to see what effect their actions from last night had, but the image of her breaking Xiaolung’s back, and then the one of her banging Vivi’s head against the wall resurfaced in her mind. Looked like the blonde’s daddy took care of things fast, or at least that’s what it looked like until Lara heard one of the man carrying things shout at the others.

“Come on, faster! Young master Jay said we should be done by lunch!”

Young master Jay..? The same Jay she knew? After all, what other Jay could be sending a cleaning team? Wouldn’t be the first time he looks after them, cleaning their mess without saying a word or asking for anything in return. For a moment, Lara thought that this was what she came there for, to be sure no traces of her were left behind, and just as she was about to tell Jake they could leave, her eyes laid on an antique chest being carried out of the club. The girl’s eyes widened, and despite the fact that she was convinced she never wanted to lay eyes on that cursed thing ever again, she rushed towards the man, trying to grab the chest.

“Wait, I need this!” she protested, but a second man quickly got in front of her, pushing the girl away.

“Miss, we’re cleaning. I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you need to go,” the man spoke calming, Jake rushing towards his best friend and putting a hand on her shoulder from the side, so she could see him.

“No, wait! Jay Hong sent you, right? I’m his friend, this thing was mine!”

The first man put the chest down, but then the two workers looked at each other, unsure of what to make out of her words. They couldn’t just hand out stuff to everyone claiming they knew their boss, but at the same time, how did she make out it was Jay Hong who sent them there? Ah, right! She heard them earlier, what a sly girl.

“Nice try, miss, now I need you to go.”

“I’ll prove it to you,” Lara frantically answered, pulling out her phone.

It was an old phone, good only for making calls, not even a smartphone for that matter. However, Lara didn’t leave home without saving all the phone numbers she previously had on a new sim, Jay’s included. Curious to see what tricks she had up her sleeve that time, the workers waited for her to take whatever phone call she was going to make, all while Jake was trying to talk her out of it, to no success. She moved away from him, leaving her poor best friend baffled at her behavior, watching as she was pacing around, until the person on the other line picked up.

“Jay? Jay, it’s Lara. I’m sorry, I know it’s been a long while, but I need a favor. Fucked up to only call when I need a favor… Please, just help me out this once, I’ll explain later, I promise. You have a team of people cleaning a place. Yes, Club Vivi, that’s right. They’re carrying this chest with stuff, and I need it. No, I tried explaining that we’re friends, but they don’t believe me. You’ll make a phone call? Jay, you saved me, thank you. I’ll see you soon. I miss you, too.”

Merely seconds after she hung up, the phone of one of the workers started ringing. Confused, and rather baffled for that matter, the man pulled out his phone from his pocket and picked up as soon as he saw who the caller was, none other than Jay’s butler.

“Yes, sir! We will give the girl the chest right away, we are so sorry!” were the only words the man got to say, before the call ended just as fast as it started. “Miss, you can take it, we are very sorry!” the man quickly told Lara, even bowing his head. When he saw that his colleagues were still baffled and not moving, he turned towards them angry. “What are you doing?! Give her the chest, right now!”

“Why the hell do you need this?” Jake asked, grabbing the chest for her.

At first, Lara wasn’t sure what to answer. She didn’t want to open the thing, at least not with so many people around. What was in it? Some of the costumes she would wear on stage, most of them since it was mainly only lingerie, make-up, hair accessories, and of course, the wig and the mask. The Black Swan’s wig and mask. The chest itself was heavier than its content. Now that everything was over for that part, perhaps she wasn’t so mad at this part of her anymore. Perhaps she didn’t want for the Black Swan to get thrown who knows where. Perhaps… It was time to come clean.

“For a funeral,” Lara answered, finally finding the answer she was looking for, the answer she came there for.

“Whose funeral?” Jake asked, looking confused at the box, following when his friend signed that they should go.

“The funeral of someone I used to be.”

***

Seohyun-dong is the wealthiest and most developed district in the entire Bundang area of Seongnam, right next to Seoul. You just need to take the subway, and change until you’re on the Suin Bundang line, and from there you get off at Seohyun station. It also has this beautiful, peaceful park called Yuldong, connected to a forest and some hills, very fitting for Korea. Coincidentally, in that forest, Lara’s family from her father’s side owns land where some of their ancestors are buried. Not coincidentally, that was where Lara wanted to bury the Black Swan, in a nice, peaceful place, where she could hopefully get some rest.

She didn’t explain much to Jake neither on their way back home, nor once they arrived. Just told him to make sure they have no plans for tomorrow, and to wear all black. She also messaged Jay, asking him to bring everyone there at around 4 pm. Everyone… Vasco, first of all, Daniel, the girls, Mira and Zoe, and Zach. The only friends she made at J High School, and the only people from that place who deserved an explanation from her, once and for all.

Lara and Jake were there first, going to leave the chest on her family’s land, then wasting some time in the park while waiting for their friends. It was snowing again, the same gentle snow like yesterday. There weren’t many people out, it was colder than it looked, so it was easy to spot the gang when they were finally visible from a distance. It has been so, so long since last time they saw her, that the girls and Jay couldn’t help but wave at her and start running towards their friend. Lara expected it, so she made sure she was holding herself well when all three of them attacked her at once, hugging her tight.

“Where have you been all this?!” Zoe scolded her right away, being the first to pull back, happy tears falling from her eyes.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt?” Mira followed, pulling back as well to look at the girl, but Jay was holding her too close for the girls to be able to see anything.

The Big Deal leader couldn’t help it, starting to giggle looking at them. She continued to hug Jay for a bit longer, until the boy also pulled back, grabbing her by the shoulders.

“I’m fine, Jay. No, I’m not cold, I layered up well, don’t worry. I really missed you, too.”

He hugged her again for a bit more, until Vasco, Daniel and Zach reached them as well. Zach was, as usually, not one for hug, unless your name was Mira. Daniel wasn’t sure what to say or do, taking into consideration their last encounter just two days ago, so he ended up only waving his hand. Vasco, however, remained one step behind, admiring her, feeling tears building up in his eyes, and fighting back the urge to run and lift her up and run away with her. His heart felt like it got pierced when he finally noticed Jake, having been too focused on his ex-girlfriend until then to notice the other boy who was keeping a bit of distance.

When Jay released her, Lara’s eyes met Vasco’s, the two of them remaining silent for a few seconds. Did she still have feelings for him? Of course she did, he was her ‘right person, wrong time’. She was still fighting to get over him, but it wasn’t going great, and if she were to be honest with herself, having Jake back and living with him was messing with her mind in some ways. The girl eventually shook her head to get those thoughts out, then leaned her head on a side.

“Hug?” she asked Vasco, feeling like she owed him at least this much.

It took that one word for the boy to rush forward, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her up. It took the girl a moment to get over the shock before she hugged him back. It was now Jake’s turn to be the one who’s heart felt like it got pierced, but at least he was more used to that feeling, so he could mask the pain he was feeling. Oh, Lara, if only you knew how you got these boys wrapped around your little finger, ready to lay down their lives for you any moment.

It took the two ex-lovers a little over a minute to finally pull back from each other, the girl trying to fix her hair a bit. She took a look at all of them, nodding to herself when she saw everyone dressed in all-black, just how she asked them.

“This is my best friend, Jake,” she quickly introduced the boy, who just waved and smiled at everyone.

“Jake… The same Jake who-..!” Zoe asked, but she quickly got cut by Lara.

“We’re not here for that,” the girl said, even raising a hand to stop her friend from talking any further. “Come on, I have something to confess,” Lara spoke up, looking up at Jake who nodded at her before the two of them walked ahead.

Without any words of protest, everyone followed in silence, taking a few looks around from time to time. It was everyone’s first time there it seemed, and it also seemed that the place gave all of them the same sense of peace it gave Lara. They had to cross the park, then go up through the forest for a bit, down through a little piece of land that someone else owned who would plant vegetables in summer, then up a bit more until there it was, three graves belonging to three of her ancestors, and then the chest belonging to her.

Still thinking of what to say, the girl walked to the chest again, finally opening it. It marked the time she decided her secret was a secret no more, not from any of them. She looked a bit through all the stuff inside, her friends getting closer, shocked to see all the pieces of lingerie. It was enough to make them turn around embarrassed.

“What the hell, woman?! Whose clothes are those?! Can you even call those clothes?!” Zach was the first one to speak up his mind, not only turning around, but also covering his eyes. “Mira, I barely saw anything, I promise! She’s to blame!”

Lara didn’t defend herself. She just pulled out a pair of scissors she used long ago to style the wig, then put the wig on top of everything else, and lastly the mask. Straightening her back, the girl turned towards all of her friends, and cleared her throat to get their attention. Jake already figured out what she planned to do, so he moved to her side, but still gave her enough space only for herself. He didn’t belong with the rest of her friends either way.

“I asked you all to come here because I wanted to be with you for the funeral of Black Swan,” Lara said out loud, making her friends slowly turn towards her, curious as to what she was talking about. “I was never honest with any of you months and months ago. I didn’t work ‘close’ to Vivi Nightclub, I worked at Vivi Nightclub. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night I was there, wearing whatever skimpy outfit my boss came up with, putting on a wig, a lot of make-up, and a mask. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday I would go up on a stage, with a pole in the middle of it, and dance for everyone present there. I made a lot of money in the time I worked there, enough to keep my family living well for a long enough time. And then I dared try to quit my job, when it was bringing my boss so much money.”

“Lara, what are you talking about?” Mira asked, understanding her words, but having such a hard time believing them.

Vasco already had tears in his eyes. Stupid as he was, he wasn’t an idiot. He understood. He understood that Lara was in a place for adults, that she had to dress in very revealing clothes in front of them to make money for her family, and he understood that it cost her. He understood everything before she was done talking.

“Her name was Black Swan, because of a tattoo I have on my arm. You don’t really know her, but I do. That is who they kidnapped the night I went to quit my job. That is who they sold, and unfortunately, it is me who they killed more than they killed her. And now, I’m the one burying her.”

Lara looked down at the ground, seeing the snow starting to settle. She eventually looked on a side towards Jake, who just softly nodded at her, letting her know everything was alright, that he was there, and that if it was too much for her, he was ready to carry on whatever she planned to do. In response, she nodded her head as well, and took a deep breath.

“I was Black Swan, and for a while, Black Swan was me. I hated her for a long time, cursed her every single night I had to work, and wanted to set her on fire once my job was no more. Now… Maybe there are things I should thank her for. She helped me take care of my family, and she took on the work so that the name Lara Yang was never spoken in that club. It’s about time there is only Lara Yang, and the name Black Swan is never spoken of again.”

With that, the girl pulled out her pack of cigarettes, lighting one and taking a deep smoke. She turned towards the chest, inhaled smoke a second time, then threw the cigarette in the chest. The wig caught on fire right away, and the fire quickly expanded to the mask, and below to the rest of her clothes, make-up and brushes. Lara put her hands together, starting to pray, one of the many prayers she learned in school.

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.

You have faith in God; have faith also in me.

In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.

If there were not,

would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?

 And if I go and prepare a place for you,

I will come back again and take you to myself,

so that where I am you also may be.

Where I am going you know the way.”

Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going;

how can we know the way?”

Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. 

No one comes to the Father except through me.”

“Amen,” the girl ended the prayer, doing the sign of the cross and opening her eyes to the burning chest, now all engulfed in flames.

None of her friends knew what to do, what to say, they were all just looking at her. Only Mira brought her hands together when her friend prayed, but her eyes remained on Lara the entire time. And yet, the girl was not done surprising her friends, reaching down to grab the pair of scissors, looking down at them, moving the scissors from hand to hand.

“I haven’t cut my hair since I got that job…” she whispered to herself, grabbing her braided hair, and with not much thought, running the scissors through quite high up.

Everyone widened their eyes, taking one step towards her, but there was no saving her hair anymore, so Lara kept cutting and cutting, until she ran through it all the way. She got left with the hair in one hand, and the scissors in the other. With cold, yet oddly compassionate eyes, the girl looked back at chest, throwing the hair in it as well, followed by the pair of scissors.

“May you rest in peace,” she said to that part of her burning up, then spun around to look at her friends. “I am Lara Yang. I am the daughter of Minhyuk Yang and Yana Krylova. I am the Angel of Big Deal. I am… Lara Yang.”

They remained silent still. Lara turned towards the flames, straightening her back, but her eyes never leaving the fire. Jake found the courage to approach her first, and soon after everyone else followed, forming a circle around the burning chest.

For once, they were not going to try and convince her to come back home. For once, they didn’t want any kind of explanation for her. For once, they just wanted to sit there with her, in silence, watching as the flames took away that part of her past, purifying her soul evermore. For once, they didn’t look at her with pity, but with kindness, and with some sort of happiness that she reached out to them for the funeral of who she was at one point in her life.

They let the flame die out naturally, as night fell and snow kept falling. And may tomorrow bring out a new you, Lara Yang, a better you, a healed you. To Lara Yang, the Angel of Big Deal.

[Welcome to the end of Part I of my story. You can find Part II here: https://ao3-rd-18.onrender.com/works/73152081 ]