Shun POV:

“Ugh...”

I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom and wiped the blood away from my face. A foul stench emanated from my clothes as I stared at myself.

Ever since I tried to fight Brad that day, the bullies changed their approach. They systematically caught me off guard, ambushing me in the least expected places. Whenever I went to the bathroom, there’d always be someone else coming in seconds after me. I had tried to ignore them, but while I was peeing, they pushed me off balance and I ended up wetting myself multiple times.

The stench alone forced the teacher to send me home, which only served to further embarrass my parents. They questioned me on what was going on, but how could I tell them when I knew that moving here was already a difficult choice for both of them? I just needed to endure it... I had to.

I brushed it off as an accident, apologising multiple times for letting them down and promising it wouldn’t happen again. Whenever it did happen, I’d take my clothes to a nearby lake that was partially blocked with an overhead bridge, pull out a spare bar of soap and wash my clothes by hand.

I would then go to the abandoned woods nearby and light a small fire to dry them. I had to be discreet in order to not draw any more attention to myself, but the payoff was worth it; my parents no longer received such embarrassing calls.

Today was no different. I slipped out of class, completing all the work in advance and carried out the same routine. I sat by the small fire, applying anti-inflammatory medication to the hundreds of bruises scattered all over my body.

‘...’

I pulled out a random book and began reading. It was the best way to pass time—to take my mind off the real world around me. I always had a passion for reading, but the circumstances I was in only served to push that passion to newer heights.

“Hehe... That’s funny.”

I chuckled to myself while flipping through the pages of a book. I remembered to check my clothes regularly and once they were dried; I put them back on. I blew out the small fire and made my way home.

***

“Hey, Kuro. Come over here.”

Brad beckoned me over towards an area of the playground that the teachers often overlooked. I didn’t want to go, but it’d only make things worse if I didn’t listen.

“Um... Do you need something?...”

I scratched the back of my head, avoiding eye contact as my arm trembled. He grabbed my top and threw me behind the wall where the rest of the guys were waiting.

“As you all know, Shun is a bit of a smarty pants and we don’t like that. Right, guys?”

“Yeah!!”

“I personally don’t mind.”

Brad and my gaze shifted to Oliver in unison. He leaned against the wall with his arms folded.

“...Oliver, it seems like you have something to say?”

His eyebrows twitched as his hands balled into fists. The one thing Brad hated the most was when either someone didn’t agree with him or they talked back to him, and Oliver seemed to be doing both.

“Not really. Just whether he’s smart or not has nothing to do with wanting a human punching bag around. In fact, him being smart is a benefit to you, Brad.”

“...How so?...”

Oliver let out a sigh that agitated Brad further before standing up straight. He held up one finger and tapped the side of his head.

“If he wasn’t smart, the teachers and parents would have all been involved by now. You do know there’s no way we could get away with this normally, right? Shun has been choosing to stay quiet and my guess is... Embarrassment and fear.”

The rest of the boys looked at Oliver with somewhat puzzled expressions. It was hard to believe a 9-year-old was talking in such a mature way, but what made matters worse was that he hit the hammer on the head!

That was exactly the reason why I had kept quiet!

“I don’t get it. We only beat him up in secluded places anyway, so why are you praising Shun?”

Brad lifted me up by my hair and smashed my head into the concrete wall.

“You know, Olivia, I’m starting to think you have a crush on our little friend here.”

“Olivia?”

“Huh? Isn’t Oliver a guy?”

“I mean... He always looked super feminine, and he never once went into the boy’s toilet with us...”

“So... She was pretending to be a guy to hang out with Brad then?...”

I slid down the wall and shifted my gaze to Olivia? who had slipped her hands back into her pocket. A faint shade of red tinted her cheeks as she glared at Brad.

“You promised not to say anything!”

“...I guess things change, right? Now that everyone knows you’re actually a girl, let’s see whether you actually like Shun or not!”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Her eyebrows quivered as she stared at my bloodied face. Everything suddenly clicked as I recalled her words from the day I first fought Brad.

‘Jack, don’t beat him too much...’

Has she been trying to look out for me all this time? Was that why some days felt much more manageable than others? I guess in her position she couldn’t flat out say stop. Otherwise, maybe she would become the target instead.

‘...’

“I hate you! You’re the worst!”

I got to my feet and dashed towards Olivia while shouting. Her eyes shook as I tripped, making my head land against her shoulder. At the same time, I grabbed her arm, blocking the view of the others and thrust her fist into my stomach. I jumped as soon as the blow landed and sucked up all the blood in my mouth.

“Keuk!”

I spat it out in a circular motion as I flopped to the floor in front of her. I replayed the scene from every angle and was convinced that nobody would notice the act I had put on.

“...She’s worse than Brad...”

“Y-yeah... No hesitation...”

“I guess... I made a mistake. My bad.”

I heard the others shuffle off in a hurry while Olivia’s feet didn’t move. She bent down and pulled out some tissues that she placed in my hand.

“Shun... You’re too nice...”

She walked off and my lips curved into a thin smile as tears rolled down my cheeks. It was at that moment that I knew I couldn’t hold on for 2 more years unless I changed something, so...

That’s what I did.

***

4 months later.

“Heuk!”

I crashed into the corner of the table as a bolt of pain shot through my body. I not only knocked the book out of a girl’s hand, but some of my blood had splashed onto the open pages.

I ignored the shooting pain coming from my bruised side and bent down to pick up the book. Wiping the drops of blood would just make the smear worse, so I had no choice but to leave it the way it was.

“I’m sorry. I’m a book lover too, so I know how important it is to keep a book in mint condition...”

The girl adjusted the large glasses that sat on her nose and shook her head. I barely made out a thin smile appear on her face as she took the book out of my hands.

‘I don’t remember seeing her before?...’

I racked my brain trying to figure out who she was when Brad’s foot crashed into my cheek. I flew across the classroom and rolled back to my feet.

“Nice kick, Brad.”

I gave him two thumbs up as his face contorted. Snickers spread out around the classroom and the veins on the side of his head popped in response.

“You’re dead, Shun.”

“I feel quite alive actually.”

“Pffttt.”

Marly covered her mouth as Brad’s eyes quaked. He put his hand to his face and let out a deep sigh before glaring at me.

*Ding dong*

School was over and I had no reason to hang around. I dashed out of the classroom before Brad could get a hold of me, swiftly making my way to the main gate only for my feet to come to a halt.

Olivia was standing near the front gate away from the school staff. Her eye was swollen, and her lip busted open.

‘...They actually hit her? No... They wouldn’t, right?’

“Oh, good job, Olivia. You stopped him from running away. Why don’t we all have a nice long talk together?”

Brad’s hand gripped my shoulder, steering us away from the parents approaching the gate. He took us to the spot underneath the bridge by the lake and forced me to sit on my knees.

The rest of his group was already there waiting for us, and I somehow knew that today wasn’t going to end well at all. That was confirmed when Brad handed Olivia a small plank of wood and pointed at me.

“Beat him like the trash that he is.”

“Ah... Brad, isn’t that going a bit too fa–”

His foot smashed into my cheek, whipping my neck to the side as I fell over. Out of all the times Brad had hit me, that was the hardest by a long shot, and I finally understood why. Despite everything he said, he always held back; he was aware of his strength.

‘...I messed up.’

I had unintentionally embarrassed him in front of Marly several times, which led to him beating Olivia, which now led to Olivia needing to beat me to prove that she truly was on his side. It was a vicious cycle caused by Brad’s unhealthy obsession with being in control of everyone and everything.

“Yeah. I’m not joking around anymore. Olivia, hit him.”

Dennis walked over and propped me back up onto my knees as Olivia approached me. She bit her punctured lip and mouthed an apology towards me before swinging the plank of wood directly down on top of my head.

It snapped in half from the force of the impact, and my head flopped to the floor. My vision blurred and I could barely make out Brad approaching me with a bucket of water.

“...I’m sorr–”

“I don’t want an apology. I want you to disappear.”

He dunked my head into the bucket of water as I struggled to breathe. I thrashed around, but Dennis held my arms tight, and soon my consciousness began to fade.

“Heuk... Ugh...”

It took me a minute to realise I had been pulled out of the abyss. My sight stabilised, and I saw Brad’s lips curve into a devilish smile. That was the last thing I saw before my head was forced back into the water.

“S-stop...! Brad, you’re... You’re going to kill him!”

*Slap*

“B-Brad... You’re going too far...”

“Y-yeah... I think we should stop...”

“You’re all useless.”

The grip on the back of my head tightened and the water in the bucket rushed into my mouth. A sharp throbbing pain assaulted my mind as I felt the danger level of my situation rise to the highest stage.

I mustered up every ounce of strength that I could and pushed away from the bucket, breaking free from his grip in the progress. Everything around me was a blur; I couldn’t tell right from left, but I did see a pale hand shoot forward, grab my neck and throw me down to the ground.

“Shun, you’re going... To die today...”

The numbness over my body prevented me from registering the blows raining down on my face. I felt my feet rise after every strike, reminding me of how powerful Brad was despite his age.

“...Sorry...”

My head smashed against the earth beneath me, and a mouthful of blood splattered across the ground. I barely made out the image of Olivia and some of the others pushing Brad off of me. She grabbed hold of my hand and we fled into the nearby abandoned forest.

‘...’

I saw her lips move, but I couldn’t hear anything. Something warm pressed against my cheek, followed by the slight sensation of the squeezing of my hand. Olivia disappeared out of my view and I closed my eyes.

‘...Stick to myself... Don’t get involved... Don’t speak... Read... Read... Just... Disappear...’

***

The incident caused a huge uproar among both the teachers and the parents. The school fired Ms Strong. They pleaded with my parents to have mercy upon their establishment.

Brad was expelled while his parents dropped to their knees in front of mine, begging for forgiveness for the actions of their stupid son.

It wasn’t just them. Their entire family begged for this action to be overlooked. Brad was so shaken by all his relatives, by the school teachers and principal kneeling, that he looked at me in a different light.

A scene like this shouldn’t be necessary for him to treat me like a normal human being.

Dennis and Jack were also expelled, and their families did the same. As it turned out, Olivia’s family had plans to move to Spain, so she only had a few days left here, anyway. My head was so messed up that I don’t even remember how our last interaction went; I wasn’t sure if she hugged me or not, but I do know that she cried.

She cried a lot.

I had to spend a few days in the hospital and during that time; I endured a merciless lecture from both my parents about the importance of being transparent and not hiding things from them.

I was just grateful neither of my grandparents would hear about this.

Once I told them that I didn’t want to embarrass them with my issues, my mother broke down, and my father pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose.

“...You’re just a child, Shun. It is our duty as parents to protect and support you.”

Once everything was said and done, I stayed away from everyone. I only spoke if I was spoken to, never saying any more or any less than necessary. I immersed myself in the world of books because, to me, that was the world I wanted to be a part of.