Chapter XV – Backbone

“I’ll make sure to give it to you during lunch break,” Arthur said over the phone.

“Thanks, Oppa. I completely forgot about the allowance, was too focused on meeting up with Ari and our plans for yesterday.”

“You had fun?”

Sophie stayed with Ari the entire weekend, only dropping by the house to pick up her school uniform and things she needed for class.

“Yeah I did, and Oppa. . . Before you even ask, I’m ready,” Sophie’s voice carried a great deal of confidence.

Arthur smiled, she was able to predict his worries.

“Then I guess there is nothing I need to say,” he sighed and smiled. “Sophie, I’m proud of you.”

The two ended the call.

Arthur took a deep breath.

“Was that your sister?” Grandpa asked.

“Yes, she is on her way to school with Ari right now. I’ll be leaving early as well.”

“You kids are wonderful,” he commented approaching Arthur and holding him by the shoulder. “I’m sorry that I’m not around so much.”

“You work hard for us. Please do not apologize. I just wish I could help. . .”

“Oh my dear Arthur,” Grandpa Ryung spoke gently. “I am just glad to have you two in my life. If you wouldn’t mind, I have a free day tomorrow, so I was hoping that the two of you would join me for dinner.”

“I’ll tell Sophie about it at school.”

“You’ll look after her, won’t you?” he asked worriedly. “Due to my absence, I was unable to help her. She seemed to have been carrying a lot of weight on her shoulders, far more than a child her age should. I’ve been on this earth long enough to see through a brave face trying to endure hardship, but recently she has her spirits high.”

“Grandpa,” Arthur interrupted. “Leave Sophie to me. I’ll never allow her smile to fade again. . .”

Ryung nodded.

“Hearing your confidence, I cannot help but place my trust in you,” he paused for a moment observing Arthur’s absentminded expression. “Your eyes, they are exactly like your mother’s. However, they seem to be looking into the same void as your father’s.”

Arthur was impressed and unaware of how he must have looked. At that moment he was recalling the emotions he felt when he saw Sophie tremble, as well as the suffering he endured in his previous lives. Something he’d never wish to relive. This comment made Arthur wonder just who was his father. A man who’d have the same look as him.

“I’ll be going now. Can’t wait for dinner tomorrow.”

Arthur turned around and started making his way out, avoiding any potential questions. Ryung waved him goodbye before returning to the living room.

That was the first time I’ve thought about what kind of people my parents are. Yet at the same time, I have no desire to find out. . .

It was a long walk to school. However, Arthur did leave early for that very reason. He still thought about every outcome that could occur at school. It was hard not to worry about what Hana might pull next. While the two guys she sent to beat Arthur up were not much, there was still the case of her older brother and his friends. Not that it would matter if they went after him as much, but if they were to go after her instead while he was not there, things could turn out ugly.

All the thinking was interrupted by a loud noise of metal clashing together within an alley Arthur was passing by. He could hear yelling, but the words were unclear due to the city noise of ongoing traffic. Shutting his eyes and focusing out of sheer curiosity, he recognized one of the voices. Granted, no matter how much he tried he could not say with confidence whose it was other than it being male.

He still had time to kill, so the curiosity got the better of him. Sneaking closer, he overheard a group of high schoolers arguing. The loud noise Arthur heard were the sounds of knocked-down trash cans that a student wearing J High uniform collapsed into. With a bloody lip, styled two-block with bangs dirty blonde hair, and black eyes, the student wearing J High uniform was a kid from Arthur’s class. He couldn’t remember his name though. On the other hand, he was surrounded by four male students wearing green uniforms with the letter W on their jackets. They seemed to be a year older too.

“I warned you, Max, get involved again and we shall beat you up. You didn’t listen, so here we are. . .” The obvious leader of the group spoke up.

They were athletic, and their leader had a haircut with a fade underneath which a wyrm dragon tattoo rested. Their builds weren’t necessarily large, but they did appear lean.

“And I told you. . .” Max, Arthur’s classmate, slowly got up. “That if he dares approach my sister again, I’ll beat the shit out of him, and now we are here. You blockheads can’t do anything on your own, which is why that punk now has a broken nose.”

“You should have avoided meddling in love affairs.”

“Don’t kid yourself, she’d never date a guy like that. . .”

“You got guts, I’ll give you that. Hope that pride of yours is worth it.”

The four began approaching Max who prepared himself for a fight.

“You need any help?” Arthur asked, leaving his hiding spot and standing out in the open.

The four students glanced back at him halting their advance.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Arthur. . .” Max mumbled in confusion. “Get the hell out of here.”

“Ah, so you know this kid?” The leader hummed pressing a thumb on his chin. “Same uniform too. Seems you got friends.”

Arthur just observed.

“I’m serious, just go away.”

Arthur chuckled and stepped a few paces closer.

“It's fine, I don’t want my classmate to be late for school.”

“This guy is even crazier. . .” the leader commented with a chuckle. “What’s your name?”

“If you’re going to ask for a name, isn’t it polite to give your own first?” Arthur argued.

“Yong, Park Yong,” he responded.

“I guess we share something after all. My name is Park Arthur,” he stopped in place. “So how about you let my friend go, and we forget ever meeting. For a fellow Park?”

“Where did your confidence disappear to?” Yong asked.

“I wonder, why is it that only you’re talking? Are the rest of your friends mute?” Arthur provoked.

“That’s true, I guess they aren’t much if they fear talking over a weakling like you,” Max joined in on the fun.

The other three gritted their teeth but remained quiet. It was obvious that they were being obedient but still wished for nothing more than to beat the two up.

“You dare provoke my subordinates? I’ll take this kid on, you three. . .”

Yong’s sentence was interrupted by one of the three students that joined him collapsing on the ground. Max took the initiative and before the fight started, threw a knock-out punch.

“I warned you to run. Don’t blame me if you get beat up. . .” Max said with a grin on his face.

“Get them!” Yong commanded.

Instantly the fight escalated, as one of the students began throwing punches towards Max. Though none of them had the precision to land. Yong turned towards Arthur but learned that he had already begun sprinting towards him. Gritting his teeth, Yong threw a power punch but was skillfully dodged thanks to Arthur’s flawless footwork. To Arthur’s surprise, there was hardly an opening in Yong’s defense even after such a careless opening attack, but luckily he wasn’t his target. Before one more could swarm Max, Arthur delivered a low kick behind the knee onto Yong’s minion which still hadn’t started fighting, who was too distracted to defend.

Collapsing to the ground, the fight was temporarily a one on one for both Arthur and Max. There was no time to worry about Max, as Yong already closed the distance and began throwing jabs and low kicks towards Arthur. None of the attacks managed to land, but it still kept Arthur at a disadvantage due to the reach difference.

Max on the other hand wasn’t having such a clean fight. He lacked training but seemed to be above average. The fight between him and the other student resulted in a wrestling match, but keeping his eyes open and analyzing the surroundings, Max shoved his opponent over the one already prone.

“You’re quick, but dodging won’t do you any good!” Yong yelled out, and he was right.

Dodging alone would not be enough to beat him. However, this was a street fight. Not only that, but it was a fight regardless. To Arthur, everyone who challenged him to a fight, if not a friendly spar, was an enemy. Though even Arthur had faults. His biggest weakness was overconfidence, a flaw that proved to be very detrimental just a few seconds into the fight. This was the first time Arthur had been clipped by an attack. The kick was powerful enough to knock him back into a wall and make his muscles ache. It was bound to leave a bruise or two, luckily not in a visible spot.

That guy huh. . .

Arthur analyzed what had happened since it all happened in a flash. Though his entire body was weak, Youg’s minion that was knocked out at the start of the fight regained a bit of consciousness and managed to grab Arthur’s ankle making him lose balance. Yong used that opening to land a devastating kick, but it was still recoverable. One more kick like that, and Arthur would be in serious trouble. Luckily, the man who grabbed his ankle was unable to get up. Seemed like Max delivered a fairly powerful blow.

“You’re still standing, I’m impressed.”

“Yong was it? You missed your only chance of beating me,” Arthur spoke with confidence as his eyes sharpened. “There won’t be a next time.”

Arthur finally focused fully on the fight at hand. With his current physical strength, Yong might be able to take a dozen blows before actually going down. In a narrow alley such as this one, Arthur couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t take a single punch in the meantime.

I didn’t think I’d have to use this. . .

Arthur was looking for an opening to deliver a decisive blow, but once again he was surprised. With a loud shout, Max tackled Yong to the ground from his flank. Arthur’s glance shifted to his left only to see both of the high schoolers that Arthur left for Max were incapacitated. Seems like Max utilized the opening Arthur made him. Yong yelled back, throwing Max off of him. The sheer strength Yong possessed was frightening for a kid his age. Arthur used this opening to rush forward and deliver a drive-through kick to Yong’s exposed face. With a single kick, the fight ended.

“Damn bastards,” Max insulted them as he spat blood to the side, slowly approaching Yong. “Fuck off from my sister.”

Max took a deep breath and regained his composure.

“Let’s go, Art, leave these punks in the dumps where they belong.”

The two left the alley and started to walk to school together.

“Thanks. . .” Max mumbled.

“No problem. You OK?”

“Yeah, you?”

“I’m fine. That kick was a menace, but nothing more than dull pain.”

“Sorry about that. . .”

“Told you, don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah, yeah. When did you get so tough?”

“Don’t know,” Arthur commented with a smile.

“Ah right, the name is Kim Mun-Hee. People tend to just call me Max,” he introduced himself.

“Arthur.”

“I know who you are,” he chuckled.

“Still polite to introduce myself, sorry for not remembering you.”

“Even if you didn’t lose your memories, we didn’t talk much together. No offense, but you were kind of dull before. We only chatted a bit during the first few weeks of school.”

“And now?”

“Now you’re a smartass during class,” he burst into laughter. “I saw DD and Nabi with you, the three of you looked like quite the fun trio.”

“DD? I thought most people call him Don.”

“I know him since we were kids. Didn’t know him that well, but they called him DD before high school.”

“I see, well. . . Why don’t you join us for lunch then?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“So, what was all that about?” Arthur asked curiously while his gaze looked over for any visible injuries on Max.

“Some dickhead kept on bugging my sister, so I beat the crap out of him when he wouldn’t leave her alone. I just can’t handle guys that can’t take a no for an answer.”

“Don’t you think they will make trouble for her now?”

“Nah, she is going to be fine.”

“Overconfident maybe?”

“Nah, trust me.”

“Well, alright then. . .” Arthur dropped the subject, though he respected him for defending her.

Arriving at school, the two walked into class together. Max typically sat in the back of the classroom. Whispers over the lip cut and the bruise on Max’s face started echoing.

“So lunch huh?” Max asked.

“Yeah, why not?”

“Sure, I guess. Thanks for the invite.”

As Arthur sat down, the whispering intensified.

“Did Max and Arthur just come into class together?” one of the classmates commented.

“Yeah, what’s a guy like him doing with that loser. . . He should be talking to us.”

The chatter continued, and from what Arthur could gather Max was the cool kid in class. Now that he had a better look, Max was quite a good-looking guy and his laidback attitude could attract attention. Matter of fact, it was always him who was surrounded by girls during breaks.

“So Max and you, what’s up with that?” Nabi commented as she leaned against Don’s desk.

“We bonded on our way here. I invited him for lunch. Hope you guys don’t mind.”

“Fine with me. . .” Don mumbled.

“Whatever,” Nabi played it off, but seemed genuinely glad that someone more popular would join their table potentially.

The class began moments later.

With the first class coming to an end, Sophie sat atop Ari’s table.

“So I was thinking that maybe after school we could go to the mall. I got to get Arthur a gift.”

“Oh right, it’s his birthday soon, isn’t it? What will you get him?”

“I’ll figure something out. . .”

“Not anything scary I hope.”

The two girls chuckled, but their fun was soon interrupted by the loudmouthed Hana.

“Having fun, are we? Shouldn’t you be fetching me something to drink?”

“What do you want now?” Ari complained. “Leave us alone.”

“Leave you alone? I should teach you some manners you little skank.”

Sophie jumped back on her feet, turning to Hana.

“Hana, your plan failed. You’ve already tried to harm my brother and he kicked your lackeys’ asses,” Sophie commented orotund, making sure that the whole class hears. “Had you tried to intimidate me more without firing your blank, you might have managed to shove me around some more. Your over-aggressiveness backfired and now you’re powerless.”

“Looks like you’ve grown a backbone. I might just have to shatter it while it’s still fresh.”

Ari rose to her feet and started marching towards Hana with the intention of hurting her. The two girls that always hang around Hana jumped up as well to defend, Rae remained neutral no longer wishing to be involved in this matter. Sophie intervened by blocking Ari’s path with her hand.

“I’m done being scared of you. If anything, I’ve never actually been scared of you, more so I was fearful for my brother,” she explained. “To think one would stoop so low and attempt to harm another who has suffered, simply put, you disgust me. . . Other than that fear which no longer exists, you’re nothing.”

The whole class was by now observed the conflict.

“What are you all looking at?” Hana yelled out to the rest of the class before her focus reverted to Sophie. “You think you’re tough? I fired a warning shot that failed to do as intended, but if you think that was the limit to my influence, you’ll be eating your own words soon.”

Sophie remained quiet for a brief moment. Ari just observed her getting ready to jump into the argument if needed. In Sophie’s mind, memories of Arthur and his request for her to believe in him flowed through her. She formed a fist in hand and with a confident smile gazed back at Hana.

“Then I will give you a fair warning as well. You’ll fail,” Sophie’s voice was empowering, enough to give confidence to others who remained quiet for weeks. “Now do not disturb me anymore. I have nothing to do with you.”

“Ha! You bitch, just you. . .”

“Pathetic,” Sophie interrupted coldly, turning around and walking back to her seat leaving Hana speechless.

Ari followed her with a beaming smile. Hana was utterly humiliated in front of her classmates as the power she once had faded in an instant.

That day marked the first day in a long time that Sophie was surrounded by other classmates who couldn’t wait to talk to her again. Sophie was back at the top.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.