His Reason to Fight (Weak Hero Class 1)

1

*WARNING* This story contains violence and sexual harassment.

One punch to the face. One punch to the gut.

The poor boy collapsed and curled up on the gravel. It didn't stop. The kicks to his stomach were wild and unforgiving. His glasses lay crumpled beside him. Shouts of anger soaked the air with the occasional pleas from the fragile boy on the ground.

The sunny day felt like an opposite world to this messy alleyway. Three tough boys towered over their classmate, who they had dragged away as soon as school had ended for the day.

The soft pit-a-pat of footsteps came speeding in. The culprit was a short girl with the same uniform and her straight, black hair swaying around her shoulders.

"Jeon Youngbin!" the little girl cried out. "Stop! Please."

She ran in front of the tall boy to shield the one on the floor. Even though she featured the same sharp eyebrows and defined jawline of the person facing her, the girl's innocent, round eyes were pleading for the violence to end. Youngbin, the seemingly leader of the three, frowned down at her with his face still filled with fury.

"Move, Yoojin," he demanded with only a pinch of tenderness.

The 9-year-old girl shook her head furiously. Her friends had always told her what Youngbin did, but it was her first time witnessing it in person. She didn't want to believe he was a bully but deep down, she knew the undeniable truth.

Jeon Yoojin and Jeon Youngbin were twins, but Yoojin was the younger one – always subject to the protective nature of her parents and brother.

"That's enough, Youngbin," Yoojin begged. "Please, let's just go home."

Youngbin scoffed, his eyes flitting around to control himself in front of his younger sister. "He was talking about you. This loser wanted to date you."

The venom in his voice made it sound like their classmate had committed a murder. In Youngbin's mind, no one could date his sister unless he approved. The girl was too young and innocent, always being nice and finding friends in everyone.

"That's not a reason to beat someone up," Yoojin protested before turning behind her. "Go. Now."

The boy on the floor gave a shaky nod before picking up his glasses and stumbling away. Yoojin let out a small sigh of relief before facing her brother again. He tilted his head, displeased.

"You know I'm just looking out for you, right?" Youngbin said softly.

"I know, but you can't scare away everyone," his sister replied. "What good does violence do? Don't be like how dad used to be. We're all humans who should treat each other as friends. And you can't stop people from dating me – I'll do what I want. If you care about me, you'd listen to me."

With one last look, she walked away. Youngbin's friends rubbed the back of their necks awkwardly and decided to head home too. The tall boy remaining kicked the wall before following.

Of course, the bullying didn't stop. Youngbin simply made sure Yoojin wouldn't see or hear about it, but he did take it a notch down.

While occupied with her studies and hanging out with her friends, she spent a lot of time drawing. She was fond of the arts and hoped to go to an art academy or university when she was older. 

Just a few weeks later, she was spending a peaceful day in her room, adding to her sketch of a bouquet of camellias. Yoojin adored flowers, and as a romantic, they were her favourite to draw. With a delicate stretch and need for a snack, she stood up and exited her bedroom. As soon as she stepped out, she bumped into someone.