A week had passed since Dae-hyun's unexpected victory over Cho Kyung-ho, and Daejin High hadn't stopped whispering since.
In the eyes of most students, he wasn't a threat—not yet—but he wasn't invisible anymore either. That made him dangerous.
Not to the strong, but to the system.
---
The crimson armband was just fabric, but to Dae-hyun, it felt like a chain. A brand.
He walked the halls of Daejin High with it on, eyes catching glances, faces turning. Some respected it. Others saw it as a joke. The boy who won with brains instead of fists? It disrupted the hierarchy.
But Dae-hyun knew the truth. One win wasn't survival—it was an invitation. He was now part of the game. And the next opponents wouldn't take him lightly.
---
After lunch, Chan-mi found him on the library rooftop. She leaned against the doorway, biting into an apple.
> "You look like you've seen a ghost," she said.
> "I feel like I've become one."
> "Welcome to the Crimson Division."
She walked over and dropped a folder in front of him.
Inside were profiles—students, fight records, notes.
> "What's this?" he asked.
> "Potential allies."
> "I thought you were training me."
> "I am. Step one: don't fight alone."
Dae-hyun flipped through the papers.
Name: Park Sun-woo
Age: 17
Specialty: Boxing
Record: 5–5
Reputation: Disqualified for headbutting a referee.
Name: Oh Min-ji
Age: 16
Specialty: Krav Maga
Record: 3–2
Reputation: Suspended for breaking another girl's arm in class.
Name: Kang Tae-yul
Age: 18
Specialty: None
Record: 0–6
Reputation: Wild, unpredictable, fights for attention.
> "These aren't fighters," he muttered.
> "They're rejects. Same as you."
Chan-mi squatted beside him and looked out over the school grounds.
> "The Division runs in layers. The top are the elites—clean, fast, brutal. But underneath that, there's chaos. Discarded talent. Broken students. Kids who don't play by the rules."
> "And you want me to collect them?"
> "No. I want you to lead them."
---
1. The Boxer
Park Sun-woo was first.
Dae-hyun found him behind the gym, hitting a sandbag taped to a steel pole. His hands were wrapped tight. His jaw was swollen on one side.
> "You've got good rhythm," Dae-hyun said.
Sun-woo didn't stop punching.
> "Not interested in fans," he grunted.
> "I'm not a fan. I'm building a team."
Sun-woo paused, turned, and spat blood to the side.
> "What kind of team?"
> "One that doesn't belong."
The boxer laughed. "Why me?"
> "You have power, but no control. You fight angry."
> "Is that a compliment?"
> "It's a weakness. But if you learn control, you'll be top ten in Seoul."
Sun-woo stared at him for a long time, then went back to punching.
> "You find someone to match my footwork, I'll listen."
---
2. The Ghost Girl
Oh Min-ji was harder to find.
She didn't attend regular classes anymore. Rumor was she broke someone's nose for touching her bag.
Dae-hyun found her sitting on top of the science building—legs dangling off the edge, eating tangerines. Her uniform was pristine. Her expression, empty.
> "Do you usually eat up here?" he asked.
> "Do you usually talk to girls who can dislocate your shoulder in two seconds?" she replied.
Dae-hyun sat beside her, leaving space.
> "I read about your fight. You used a binder clip as a weapon."
> "Improvisation. Not illegal."
> "I need someone like you."
She looked at him with flat, unreadable eyes.
> "Why?"
> "Because I don't want fighters. I want survivors."
Min-ji peeled a tangerine and handed him half.
> "No leaders. No rules. I don't follow orders."
> "Good," he said. "I don't give any. I ask for trust."
She didn't answer—but she didn't walk away either.
---
3. The Wild Card
Kang Tae-yul was in the detention room, sitting backward in a chair and humming loudly to himself.
His desk was covered in graffiti—symbols, words, drawings of snakes eating their tails.
When Dae-hyun entered, Tae-yul grinned.
> "You the brain guy?"
> "I guess."
> "I saw your fight. You were boring."
> "And you're loud."
> "You here to recruit me?"
> "I'm here to understand you."
Tae-yul tilted his head. "That sounds suspiciously teacher-like."
> "You've lost six fights."
> "Deliberately."
> "Why?"
> "Losing makes people forget about you."
> "But you still fight."
> "Because I like the way my blood tastes."
Dae-hyun didn't flinch.
> "I have a place for you."
> "What's it called?"
> "We don't have a name yet."
> "Boring. Call it something cool."
Dae-hyun thought for a moment.
> "How about… The Grey List?"
Tae-yul grinned wider.
> "Now that's interesting."
---
Assembly
By the end of the week, four students met in a broken classroom after hours.
A quiet strategist.
A volatile boxer.
A detached fighter.
A wild dog.
Chan-mi stood by the door, arms crossed.
> "You sure about this?" she asked Dae-hyun.
> "No."
> "Good. That means you're not cocky."
They sat in a half-circle. The desk lights flickered. Rain tapped against the windows.
> "Why are we here?" Sun-woo asked, stretching his hands.
Dae-hyun stood.
> "We're not the strongest. Not the most respected. But we all have something they can't control."
> "Instinct," Min-ji muttered.
> "Unpredictability," Tae-yul added.
> "And intelligence," Dae-hyun said.
> "Together, we can disrupt the ranks. We don't aim for the top. We aim for imbalance. To make the system shake."
> "So we're saboteurs?" Sun-woo asked.
> "We're a virus," Min-ji corrected.
Dae-hyun nodded.
> "We'll move between Divisions. Win small fights. Expose patterns. Use strategy, not ego."
Chan-mi stepped in.
> "I'll train you. But only if you listen."
They all turned to her.
> "You want to rise? You'll bleed. Not from fists—from discipline."
She pulled a stick of chalk and drew a circle on the board.
Inside it, she wrote:
Grey List.
> "This is your world now."
---
Meanwhile, Elsewhere
In another part of Daejin, inside a room that reeked of incense and sweat, Jin Do-won sat watching fight footage on a projector. His lieutenant, a long-haired senior named Na Jae-hyuk, leaned against the wall.
> "He's forming a team," Jae-hyuk muttered.
Do-won nodded. "I know."
> "The other Crimson Captains are talking. They're callin
g him the 'Tactician.'"
> "I don't care what they call him."
> "Should we shut it down?"
Do-won didn't answer. He stared at the footage of Dae-hyun dodging Kyung-ho's kicks.
> "Not yet."
> "Why?"
Do-won paused the footage.
Dae-hyun's face filled the screen. Calm. Cold. Calculating.
> "The more visible he gets…" Do-won whispered, "...the more satisfying it'll be to break him."
---
End of Chapter 4