The night was still hot when Damian pulled Dongcheol, the defeated leader of 9thA, by the hair, dragging him in front of his own henchmen who were either passed out or groaning on the floor. The bully tried to keep his pride.
— That's not yet…
BAM! Damian slapped him across the face, cutting off his sentence in the middle.
— Shut up. From today on, you and your trash work for me. Got it?
Dongcheol gritted his teeth, but the humiliation was greater than his pride. He just nodded.
Damian threw him to the floor and looked at his own, taking a deep breath.
— First room, done.
Jisoo smiled, adjusting her sweaty shirt.
— Four to go.
The next morning, the school was buzzing with rumors. The kids from 9A were walking around with their heads down, and Damian and his group's fame was only growing. During recess, gathered in the courtyard hidden behind the gym, Damian, Jisoo, Minho, and the others decided: "After we take down C, who's in charge of it?" Damian asked, arms crossed. "Leave it to Hyunwoo," Minho suggested. "He's cold-blooded enough." "Right. And then, when we go to first grade, we'll already have three classes in our pockets," Damian added, outlining the plan. But in the middle of that serious conversation, the pretty girl from Damian's class appeared, all blushing, looking at the floor and playing with her hair. It was Soo-min. "Damian... um... would you... go on a date with me?" she said so quietly that almost no one heard. The circle fell silent. Damian, who until a few weeks ago had only known rejection and beatings, was frozen. His heart raced and he thought:
"Damn... is this happening?"
His friends laughed and started shouting:
— ACCEPT IT, DAMMIT!
— GO ON, YOU IDIOT!
— DON'T GET BACK, KID!
Damian took a deep breath, hiding his surprise with a tough face.
— Okay... after school. — he answered, trying to sound natural.
Soo-min smiled, blushing, and almost ran away.
Damian stood still, staring at the others.
— What's wrong?
Minho slapped him on the back.
— Look who's getting it on now! The kid didn't even know what a kiss was last month!
Everyone laughed. Damian's morale was not only high among the bullies, but now among the girls as well.
But the war wasn't over yet. And they knew it.
Damian then looked at the horizon and said:
— Tonight, 9ºC
. That puppet from 9ºD will see who's in charge.