Lee Jun Zhou had tears in his eyes as he watched the news of Pai winning $10,000. He was already envious of those who had won $100, but this was too much!! It was as if the universe was teasing him for quitting RREV. It had been pretty difficult on him letting go off Elementarem Vim especially during the summer break. It also did not help that his mom bought him power up coupons for RREV as his birthday gift. When summer break ending, Lee Jun thought the worst was over…but he was mistaken, RREV was growing in popularity in one way or another. It was always on the news and then his classmates constantly talked about it during class…
Lee Jun let out a sigh as he packed his tablet in the locker and changed into sportswear. He hated PE class; it wasn’t because he was terrible at physical activity (which he was) rather because he was the target of constant bullying.
He gazed into his locker, it was just the right size for him to hide in….he wondered if he got in and hid would anyone notice? The only problem would be getting out…He let out another sigh as he leaned into close the locker.
“HEY! JUN! SEE YOU ON THE COURT!” Roared a nearly six feet tall muscular build child. Skin white as snow, black hair, unibrow and hands big enough to cover Lee Jun’s face. Everyone called that him Tall Sam for his extraordinary height at the age of fourteen.
Lee Jun believed that Sams genetic history could be traced back to gorillas. For those more realistic would go with the fact that his height could be explained by the fact he was of foreign origin. His dad was Dutch and mom was Japanese (an extremely odd combination). However, there were still others who believed he had been repeating seventh grade for 3 years now.
Either way, Tall Sam attracted attention where ever he went. His hunk like looks attracted the attention of his female seniors and juniors. If it wasn’t enough for some that he gifted with an extremely athletic build, Tall Sam was also brilliant at academics. His rank was consistently second in his grade, just below Lee Jun. Compared to Tall Same, Lee Jun was only good at academics. He did not have a physical build like Sams and being on an accelerated programme, at age eleven, Lee Jun was the shortest and youngest child in his grade.
Both students attracted the attention of their peers for their distinct uniqueness. While Tall Sam would be sought after, Lee Jun would be shunned. The distinction in fact was so deep their very personalities could be compared as light and dark. Sam was cheerful, loud, and talkative. In short a complete extrovert. Lee Jun on the other hand barely ever spoke to anyone. His socializing skills were terrible, maybe owing to the fact that he had often accelerated through grades he never really had the chance to make friends. Whatever the case might be, Lee Jun would find it discomforting to interact with others. If anything he would avoid people’s attention. Nobody other than bullies would probably notice Lee Jun. His presence was almost ghost like. Over the course of time, Lee Jun learnt how to skillfully hide from bullies as well, that is until Tall Sam showed up. It never mattered how much Lee Jun tried, Sam would always see him and be able to pick him out from the crowd. Why? That was a question Lee Jun desperately wanted answered. He had no idea, but it just so happened to be the case Tall Sam had thing for little things. Lee Jun who happened to be petite was his favourite toy.
Bullying in during class was impossible since everything was VR. As everything was recorded it only meant that students couldn’t physically or verbally torture / bully another student (not that anything like strength or pain existed in VR classrooms). That however didn’t mean that there was no other means of bullying in the class. Students always had the option to ignore the very existence of the victim during VR class. No student could be forced to interact / talk with another. One could say that at least it is not painful, but there still existed more ways to bully. Names or faceless drawings, gifts with double meanings given student imagination there was a plethora of ways to by-pass the system. If questions of effectiveness of such a system were posed, it could be a well debated topic. The VR classroom system did not protect the students from physical bullying as during PE (which happened in RL), students had to attend school. So what did the VR system of classrooms accomplish? That is a question that is still being debated amongst the politicians. One set saw it as nothing more than a cost saving measure, others saw it as a way to enhance teaching. Whatever the politicians may have argued, it didn’t change the fact as long as PE was happening, Lee Jun was Tall Sam’s favourite target. Regardless of which sport, Tall Sam would crush Lee Jun with his massive body. Even if Lee Jun wanted to sit out, Tall Sam would act all friendly in front of others and drag him to the court.
The teachers present would see no bullying. In their eyes, they saw a cheerful student dragging a gloomy student to court. If anything they applauded Sam for being so thoughtful and caring.
‘Ah, there he is, including everyone in fun and games. What an excellent model student.’ Is what most PE teachers would think. Even the students would think the same, not that any of them actually bothered to become Lee Jun’s friend.
Today was no different, Lee Jun crouched against the wall hoping Sam and his followers would miss him. He hated the attention every time Sam would call him out to play, he would become the center of attention. Whispers of how pathetic he is to what an outcast he is would flood the grounds. It wasn’t just about him being an outcast, those who were envious of his intellect cracked jokes about it, those who knew about his failures in Athenos would talk about it but the worst of the lot were those who knew him the longest. These children would talk about him being adopted from an orphanage. Jokes of him being an abandoned child were the ones that hurt Lee Jun the most.
Hence, overtime Lee Jun developed the sacred art of avoiding attention. He would never ask questions in class, never talk to anyone and never do anything out of the ordinary. That was also the reason why he changed his appearance in RREV. He didn’t want anyone from school or Athenos to know it is him. He only performed academically well so that he could quickly skip through school and avoid the torture. Unfortunately, the cloak of invisibility that Lee Jun tried so hard to maintain would dissipate in an instant with Sam’s badgering to get him to play and instantly transform him into the target of bullies. Short, weak, young, timid and never complained, the perfect dream target of every bully in Seoul.
“JUN!” Sam shouted out while dribbling the ball on the court.
Lee Jun who was crouching on the ground, holding his knees, ducked his head between his legs like an ostrich. ‘Argh! Not again!’
Lee Jun was already finding it difficult to hide his presence given that everyone was talking about his absence from VR classrooms. He simply hoped that Sam would ignore him. Then again Sam never ignored him.
“What’s up dude!” Sam shouted out as he continued to dribble the ball near Lee Jun.
Lee Jun timidly looked up at the predator. Sam was soaked in sweat, his shirt was drenched wet sticking to his muscular frame, making it stand out more. If men had a would drool over women’s wet shirt, then the same was true here except women were drooling over Sam as his muscles gleamed in the indoor court lights. Everything about him, including his mix of foreign features just added to attraction that both sexes felt for him (yes both!). Approaching Lee Jun directed all that attention towards Lee Jun as well. Of course, Lee Jun reciprocated a different reaction, girls turned sour seeing him and boys felt like bullying him.
“I see you still haven’t turned up for classes?”
“…”
“What you ignoring me?” Sam asked with his voice revealing his lack of patience and irritation for being ignored.
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
“No….” Lee Jun meekly replied.
“Good.” Sam’s eyes gleamed with elation as he maintained his control over Lee Jun. “Why don’t you join my team, we are one player short.”
“…” Lee Jun quietly got up. It was time to be crushed. Sam wrapped his long arms around Lee Jun’s neck almost choking him and dragged him on to the court. However, before they could take a single step forward, a girl stood in front of them blocking their way. She had a bob haircut, black hair and a thin frame. Her striking features were not her wide big eyes with long lashes or the dimples on the cheeks or her foreign features but the gothic or princesses-ly air around her that she possessed. Whatever it was, by any boy’s standard, she would be classified as very pretty.
“LET HIM GO.” She shouted.
Sam raised an eye brow. “Huh?”
“I said LET HIM GO!” She repeated herself.
“Silvia Ji Woo, right?” Sam prodded his memory. She had joined school as a transfer student somewhere after summer break. He already tried wooing her once and failed at it epicly. Since then he never bothered approaching the girl.
Lee Jun hadn’t been logging onto VR classes, so he had never known of the transfer students existence, not that it was likely he would know any of his classmates names (though he did recognize a few faces…like Sams). Either ways, the girls intrusion was as unwelcoming as Sam’s. Now Lee Jun attracted the hateful and jealous stares of all the boys on the court.
Sam let go off Lee Jun’s neck. “Is the princess happy?” Sam bent down to level face to face with the girl. His voice was laden with sarcasm. Although she was very pretty, Sam who received enough attention from the opposite sex displayed an air of indifference to the girl. He only let go off Lee Jun since he didn’t want to tarnish his reputation or gain the wrong attention. After all he was a model student in everyone’s eyes.
Unfortunately, for Sam, the young girl who stood in front of him was not used to such behavior. Her princess-ly air was a reflection of her background and not something that she faked. It perplexed her that Sam was unmoved by her beauty. She was used to being adored and fussed over. Sam’s response was discourteous and irritating her. She did the only thing she knew when something irritated her, get physically violent.
What happened next was too fast for most to see (though Lee Jun saw it all). Ji Woo kicked Tall Sam right in the nuts. The impact was devastating; Tall Sam went down on his knees and muttered curses at Ji Woo.
Ji Woo grabbed Lee Jun’s hand as he stood in awe over what just transpired and pulled him over to her side. “Let’s go.” She whispered to him.
As they began walking away, Sam’s long arm reached out and he grabbed Ji Woo by the shoulder.
“Now just….where …..do….you…think you are running off too?” Sam asked while still kneeling. He was in deep pain. Most men would be groveling on the ground from a kick that powerful, but Sam was stronger than most men….even if he had been knocked in the nuts; a kryptonite for men.
“You are strong, I acknowledge that.” Ji Woo whispered. “BUT WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TOUCHING A FAIR MAIDEN LIKE ME!”
Sam had no idea what just happened next but he found himself flying through midair .
Lee Jun stared at Ji Woo in shock. “Did you just hurl him 5 feet across the air?”
Lee Jun was not the only one who was staring at the girl in shock. Everyone present was as shocked as he was. A small girl who was not even five feet just grabbed Sam’s arm and flung him over her back, across feet….those boys who saw Ji Woo as a fragile pretty girl in need for their protection now saw her in a different light….a flower which was really a beast from the inside.
“Let’s get out of here.” Ji Woo said as he grabbed the timid Lee Jun by the arm and dragged him away. She just created unnecessary and unwanted attention for herself and it worried her. She didn’t intend to do so. Her only intention was to help Lee Jun out who seemed to be in need for some help…not become famous for her monstrous strength. The whole point of transferring schools had been ruined! Ji Woo cringed her face as she cursed her own stupidity.
“Ummm…” Lee Jun mumbled.
“What?” She asked him angrily.
“Could you let go off my hand?” He asked with a soft voice.
Ji Woo immediately let go of his hand as if she was holding a cockroach. She was just as embarrassed as he was. Given their fair skin, the blushing was very much visible.
They both stood quietly staring away from each other, near the school gate. With an awkward moment of silence passing them by, Ji Woo finally broke the silence.
“You could at least say thanks!” She snapped.
“Thaa…..” Lee Jun stood still with his mouth open. He had almost said thanks…. Coming to his senses, Lee Jun quickly analysed the situation. Receiving help from Ji Woo was the worst possible outcome! Not only would he be targeted by Sam but also fan groups of both Sam and Ji Woo!!! Sam’s followers would blame him for Sam getting hurt and Ji Woo’s would blame him for stealing her heart or something ridiculous….his hopes of graduating from school without any major troubles diminished…
“YOU!!!” Lee Jun screamed at Ji Woo in anger taking her by complete surprise.
“What?”
“Do you have any idea what you have done!”
“I saved you from the bully? I have been seeing him for the last few months how he always picks on you in PE. I thought I would save you from him. Is that why you stopped coming to classes?” Ji Woo angrily replied back. She was really expecting a thank you at the very least.
“Are you insane?” Lee Jun replied in horror. He was just completely shocked how dim witted this girl could be. While taking on the role of a justice salvaging marauder she overlooked the difficulties she created for him in the future!
“How will I deal with Sam and the others in the future?” Lee Jun asked while continuing to vent out his anger at his savior.
“Just become stronger?” Ji Woo casually replied.
“…” Lee Jun was convinced this girl was an idiot.
Ji Woo grabbed his hand and began dragging him.
“Wait, where are we going?” Lee Jun asked as he tried resisting her dragging him out of school. Sadly, Ji Woo much stronger than Lee Jun, no matter how much he resisted her pull was to strong. It almost felt like his arms were going to be yanked out.
“Training!” Ji Woo cheerfully replied.
“Eh?”
“I know this amazing Dojang!”
“…”
“Taxi!” An orange imported car stopped in front of the pair. “Please take us to Kumdo dojang!”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authors Note:
1. :) Ah exciting is it not?
2. Happy Diwali everyone! - Its the Indian version of xmas mixed with guy fox....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?YesNo
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------