A strange scene came into view.
The creaking sound accompanied by flickering lights.
A humming noise, like a machine operating, came from nearby.
Startled by the unfamiliar place, I tried to sit up from where I was lying, but I couldn't even lift my head.
It felt like my head was fixed in place by something, and no matter how much strength I put into my neck, it wouldn't budge.
On top of that, my arms and legs were bound with something like ropes.
It was as if I were strapped down on an operating table to keep me from moving.
(What the hell is this?)
Who the hell kidnaps a perfectly normal person like this?
In a situation where my entire body was tightly restrained, I tried to shout to call someone, but no words came out of my throat.
As I inwardly cursed and squirmed, I sensed someone nearby.
"You're holding up well. Just bear with it a little longer, even if it's uncomfortable. We restrained you so you wouldn't accidentally hurt your eyes, got it?"
A soft voice with a clear tone reached my ears. I could easily guess the gender of the person beside me.
I wanted to yell, "Are you crazy? Why the hell would you tie up a normal person like this?" but, strangely, the urge to do so began to fade.
My heated, excited body cooled down, and my mind became calm and clear.
Soon, I heard rustling sounds nearby.
The noise of the machine grew louder.
I felt the presence of a woman drawing closer, as if something was about to begin.
A slender arm in a long sleeve suddenly entered my field of vision.
In her pale hand was a strange, vibrating device with a pointed end, approaching my face.
As if it were the most natural thing, I closed my eyes. Then her pleasant voice echoed through the room.
"Once this is over, we'll truly be family."
I didn't find anything strange in her words and kept my eyes closed, lying still.
The sound of the vibrating machine was vivid. I instinctively knew it was nearing my eyes.
"Welcome to this world."
With those words, she uttered a familiar name.
"Natalia Sasha."
At that moment, the scene swirled and shattered like a vortex, and soon, a different place came into view.
A chalkboard with faint marks at the front, students gathered in groups whispering to each other.
It was clearly a classroom, and I realized what I had just seen was a dream.
My vision still hadn't fully adjusted, and I could feel my back drenched in cold sweat.
Overwhelmed by a chaotic mix of emotions, I blurted out some of them.
But, by sheer coincidence, a voice that sounded like a man's cut me off.
"Hey, wake up. When someone calls you, you answer."
"What… the hell?"
I ended up responding as if we were having a conversation.
Then, sharp voices came flying at me.
"What did you say? Hey, what did you just say?"
"Minwoo, this guy's got no manners."
(What the hell is going on?) I opened my eyes properly.
Six male students were surrounding my desk, staring at me.
(What are these idiots doing? Why are they messing with me here?)
I was already in a bad mood from that damn dream, and now these burly guys were glaring at me, making me even more irritated.
I roughly brushed my bangs back and spoke to the guy closest to me.
"What do you want? Why are you waking up someone who's sleeping?"
As I yawned, the guy who seemed to be the leader spoke angrily.
"Hey, friend. You're talking pretty rough. I'm Shim Minwoo."
I gave him a look that said, "So what?" and the guys around him started hyping him up.
"Pfft! This guy's scared."
"Hey, apologize to Minwoo if you don't want to get beat up by the older girls he knows."
Seeing their smug expressions made me feel disgusted.
This Minwoo guy seemed like some kind of notorious delinquent around here, but all he did was hide behind girls and act tough.
It was so pathetic and laughable that I smirked and said,
"Idiot. I thought you were some tough guy, but all you do is hide behind girls and act big?"
I didn't bother hiding my snicker, and Minwoo, looking serious, said,
"Friend, I was going to let this slide, but now I don't think I can. I'll give you one last chance. Apologize."
"You barge in here as a group, wake me up, and expect an apology? Are you all insane?"
As Minwoo made threatening remarks, I provoked him further.
Even if these guys were men in this world, they looked like sturdy dudes.
Which meant I wouldn't feel much guilt if I beat them up.
Since they started this, I had justification, and I was sick of seeing these punks strutting around.
In my original world, I might've broken their faces, though as a fighter back then, I couldn't go that far due to fear of disqualification.
But here, I'm just a regular person with no restrictions.
I stared coldly into Minwoo's eyes, contemplating how to deal with these guys.
He must've been thinking something similar, because he looked at my face, let out a mocking laugh, and said,
"Look at this guy. He's got a tattoo near his eyes? Trying to act tough, huh?"
As he spoke, Minwoo rolled up his sleeve to show a slightly large tattoo on his shoulder.
"I'm saying this one last time. If you apologize now…"
I looked at the tattoo he proudly displayed with disgust and cut him off.
"That's a tiny-ass tattoo. Why'd you show it to me? Trying to gross me out?"
I didn't want to see some guy's skin, damn it.
As I grimaced, Minwoo muttered in a barely audible voice, sounding exasperated.
"…Ugh, I was going to go easy on you, but you're really pissing me off."
With that, Minwoo kicked my desk.
I was already sitting far enough away not to get hit, but that didn't help me stay patient.
"Hey, follow me. Unless you want to die."
With his cronies snickering behind him, Minwoo beckoned me with his finger.
I held back a laugh, along with the boiling anger.
Whether in that world or this one, there are always guys like this.
Animals who only come to their senses after getting a beating.
I stood up, taking in my surroundings.
Students gathered in groups, whispering and glancing my way, and kids beyond the classroom watching me.
You'd think at least one person would step in to stop this, but it seemed these guys were notorious enough that no one dared.
Some looked at me with concern but backed off under the gang's glares.
Even one of them, a female student, didn't intervene.
I casually scanned the group and said with a smile,
"Let's go somewhere empty. You guys know a place like that, right?"
"What, scared to get embarrassed here, so you want to beg us somewhere else? Don't worry. We're going to a place like that, but it won't go the way you want."
Minwoo shot back sharply and turned around.
His gang surrounded me like cops escorting a criminal.
Whistling inwardly, I followed them to wherever they were leading me.
---
____
"Sehwa… is working with Sia-unnie?"
"Yeah!"
Suyoung's trembling voice made Mina think her words had hit home, and she answered brightly.
In contrast, Hyemin and Suyoung felt their hearts sink.
Sooyoung, sitting limply on the bathroom sink, suddenly spoke up as if something occurred to her.
"Hey, Mina. Didn't Sia-unnie say she was looking for a guy to work with? Was that Sehwa?"
"Yeah, exactly."
At Mina's words, they let out a sigh of relief.
That meant Sia and Sehwa weren't on equal footing.
If Sia was asking a high schooler like Mina to find someone, it couldn't be a big deal.
Having imagined the worst-case scenario, they relaxed their tense bodies.
Given their family backgrounds, they had access to some information.
Especially for people like their parents, who roamed the streets, they took extra care to warn their kids.
They had to make sure troublemakers didn't mess with the wrong people.
Among the information they received was stuff about the underworld, and Lee Sia was a particular concern.
The only daughter of the woman who ruled the underworld, a key figure in Sung Yujin's operations.
They'd heard the two were close enough to be friends.
It was absurd. For an ordinary person to earn Sung Yujin's trust, they'd have to have done something significant.
And knowing the kinds of things Sia had accomplished cleared up any doubts.
Among the massive crimes occasionally reported in the news, some were surely Sia's doing.
At just 23 years old, she was on a completely different level from small-time delinquents like them.
They didn't know what she was up to now, but one thing was certain: she was a big deal.
And if Sehwa was working with someone like her, it'd make sense if he was some kind of underworld heir.
But Mina had said Sehwa was hired
That clueless idiot was grinning without even realizing what she'd said.
Thinking Sia was just some neighborhood delinquent was so pathetic it was almost funny.
How someone like her became friends with Sia was beyond them.
If it weren't for that, they'd have kicked her out of the group long ago.
Irritated, Hyemin snapped at Mina.
"So what? Sounds like that unnie is just giving him some harmless job.
Do you really think she'd ask you to find someone for a big job?"
Mina, looking troubled as if that wasn't what she meant, responded,
"No… I didn't connect them. Sia-unnie talked to Sehwa directly… Oh!"
Hyemin, about to press her further, stopped at Mina's exclamation.
"Sehwa's really good at fighting. Like, good enough to beat Sia-unnie."
"Stop lying. How could anyone beat her in a fight?"
Mina's words probably meant Sehwa was strong enough not to be messed with.
It was ridiculous. If she knew how Sia crushed people, she wouldn't say such nonsense.
As Hyemin scoffed, Mina, as if expecting disbelief, casually pulled out her phone, played a video, and showed it off proudly.
Hyemin and Suyoung leaned in close to Mina's phone.
The video showed Sehwa and Sia facing off in a ring, likely sparring.
Sehwa, wearing gloves, dodged Sia's fierce attacks with ease and countered with brutal strikes.
Sia was helplessly raising her guard, unable to keep up with the onslaught.
Hyemin and Suyoung exchanged glances, mouths agape.
*Am I seeing this right?*
Stunned, they watched the video again.
As the intense fight continued, Sehwa's body, previously obscured, became visible.
Tattoos covered his left arm and neck.
The tattoos he always hid with sleeves and tape were *massive*.
Far from small, they didn't look like something an ordinary person would have.
Seeing this, Hyemin and Suyoung's eyes shook wildly, while Mina grinned.
"You've never seen them, right? Sehwa's tattoos. Sia-unnie even asked if he was in the mafia. So funny!"
The two couldn't even react to Mina's cheerful words.
Hyemin, hands trembling, replayed the video, her mind racing with questions.
*Why? What made Sia ask if he was in the mafia? What the hell…*
"So… what did Sehwa say?"
Mina answered Hyemin's question.
"He didn't deny it… just asked why she thought that. He seemed pretty amused. Pfft!"
At that moment, their minds went into overdrive.
Someone who could overpower Sia in a fight, came from Russia, was covered in strange tattoos, and was discussing business with her.
That was the clincher.
How could a high school boy be connected to Sia like that?
It might be an overreaction, but Sia's reputation was too terrifying.
All the clues seemed to point in one direction.
A direction far darker than the world they lived in.
"Hey, Mina… do you know what job Sia-unnie gave Sehwa?"
"No idea. They talked without me. I was just there by chance, so…"
Hyemin, pale-faced, pressed Mina, who looked genuinely clueless.
In truth, Mina had lied because she thought if she said Sehwa was hired as a club bouncer, they might underestimate him.
But their minds were already spiraling with wild, paranoid guesses.
Would Sia approach someone for a simple part-time job? No way. There had to be something more.
"…Mina, what's Sehwa doing right now?"
"You're still hung up on him after all that?"
"No, no, it's not like that. Just tell me, quick."
As Hyemin urged Mina, the noise outside grew louder, and they left the bathroom to check what was happening.
"Minwoo's gang took the transfer student?"
"Why do guys always do this? Can't they leave cute kids alone?"
The commotion came from a group of girls gossiping.
Normally, Hyemin would've yelled at them, but instead, she tapped Suyoung repeatedly without looking at her, hands shaking.
"Hey, hey, Suyoung. Call Minwoo or whoever and tell him to stop."
_________________________________________
Translated by Reversalmanhwa.web.id
/ Reversalnovel.web.id