Euri could sense several figures appearing at his back with a threatening aura. After all, he had just challenged the authority of their leader, calling him a liar.
But Bennet waved them off, eting Euri's placid gaze with an equal calmness.
"Go on, then. Tell us what happened afterwards."
So Euri fed him the narrative he had prepared for this very eting. In this story, Euri had been forced to entertain the thug until dinner. But after dinner, a call from soone broke the 'peace'.
The thug had robbed his parents' cash savings and left in a hurry. Euri speculated that it might have been a creditor's call.
"...How much did he rob from your house?" Bennet asked, his eyes flashing with deep suspicion.
"About twenty thousand," Euri shrugged. "Give or take a couple. If you don't want another slap on your reputation, try to redy this fast. Just contact your guy and tell him to return the money."
Euri knew Bennet's calls wouldn't reach the thug. Bennet, judging by his calculating face, might also have guessed sothing about the thug's fate.
"I'll see what I can do-"
"Twenty thousand is a lot of money for my family, big brother," Euri said, his tone returning to its respectful shell.
"I have never missed paying protection fees. But I still got beaten up. I have tried to cooperate with your unruly n, but I still got robbed. If you're going to be so dismissive about the whole ss, then..."
Threatening those who banked on others' fear was never a good idea. So Euri did not voice the full sentence. But Bennet acted like a snake with its tail under soone's foot. In a flash, Euri's collar was grabbed, and-
Smack! A backhand changed the direction Euri was facing. The resounding noise hushed the entire cafeteria.
More than a dozen students were dining there, and several small groups were hanging out nearby. Almost everyone focused their attention on the two of them. Several miniscreens were activated, probably taking videos or contacting the disciplinary office.
His nose burning, Euri turned his face back towards Bennet and presented the other cheek.
"Yeah, yeah, beat up. I'm sure that will convince and everyone who knows to pay you protection fees next month."
Bennet backhanded him again, but this ti the force was a lot softer. Releasing his collar, he gestured at kyle. "Take this motherfucker behind the cafeteria. Teach him so manners."
For a mont, Euri was tempted to fight back with the three underlings who had just grabbed him from behind. But he reconsidered.
Sothing didn't seem right. Bennet's father was influential, but it wasn't to the extent where Bennet could act so high-profile inside the campus with everyone watching.
This was just a scaring tactic to let the audiences understand the consequences of taking a rebellious tone with his authority.
Sure enough, instead of beating him up after dragging him to the deserted backyard of the cafeteria, kyle began to lecture him in a kind tone.
"Look, Euri, I see you guys in my class as my brothers. I don't want to beat you up any more than you want to get beaten up. Bennet just got pissed because of your tone. Trust , he'll resolve the problem for you once his head cools down. Just don't let him see you on campus for the next four or five days."
It was a good tactic, Euri thought. On one hand, Bennet could strengthen his notoriety over the campus. Euri's absence would also make it easy for them to explain this little scuffle in their own way.
Then, if Bennet did help Euri take revenge, or at least 'compensate' him with so money, Bennet's image would be awash with a layer of positivity.
The psychological impact on Euri, the stepping stone at the mont, would also not cause a big problem once that happened. But none of them probably realized that Euri had gotten a good grasp of their sche. And the compensation he might receive was entirely made up...
kyle attentively collected information about the three unknown thugs and noted down the total monetary loss Euri had suffered, including the dical expense. Then he even escorted Euri to their classroom after his fellow brothers loudly inford Bennet that Euri had been taught a good lesson on humility.
Unfazed by the sympathetic looks he received on the way, Euri entered his classroom and imdiately noticed sothing odd.
The students were divided into two distinct groups, one crowding the front of the room while the other spread across the back of the class. Everyone in the forr group looked excited, so smiling ear to ear. In contrast, those in the back looked like they had missed out on a lottery by one digit.
The truth, as it turned out, was not far from that. The mont Euri tracked down his buddy Jaakie, the mystery was cleared up.
"After that surprise test yesterday—" Jaakie began, only to be interrupted.
"It was a surprise only to you, but sure, go on."
Giving Euri an incensed look, Jaakie continued. "We got the results and discovered that the trust fund that's financing this scholarship project declared that they'd take anyone with a score over 60%! Can you believe that? Just 60%!"
Euri felt a little regretful. That benchmark was too damn low. Even Jaakie might have gotten that much, if he was given a month to prepare.
"What was this scholarship about, again?" he asked, eyeing the thirty-sothing students chatting giddily at the other end of the room.
"Diploma courses, attribute testing, opportunities to volunteer for safe experints, and for those who excel there, they are even willing to provide internships in dinsion-diving stations! And then there is..."
Jaakie listed off several more opportunities so fast that it seed he had morized an entire leaflet. While so of them sounded a little sketchy, Euri knew most students here wouldn't turn down anything on the list.
This was a public school ant for the poorest students of the district. Their prospects after passing the final year were bleak. Forget becoming a superhuman, even ordinary jobs weren't easy goals for them.
"So those guys up ahead are the ones who crossed 60%?"
"Yeah." Jaakie clicked his tongue. "You can almost see the smug superiority leaking out of their eyes. Even started making fun of the rest of the class in group chats. God, I wish soone smacked so humility into them. Just imagine how they'd feel if this scholarship program got shut down..."
Euri wanted to smack the jealousy out of his buddy, recalling the unpleasant experience just half an hour ago. But the class teacher suddenly burst into the room, face all red, clothes ssy and sweaty as if he had just fought with soone.
Facing the surprised students, he rearranged his clothing and declared loudly, "Students, I regret to inform you that the scholarship program from yesterday's test has been canceled. The project has instead chosen Yellow Sun School to select another batch."
Dumbfounded, Euri turned to look at Jaakie, who was holding a palm over his wide-open mouth.
"Fuck! Don't tell anyone what I wished for just now!"
Reviews
All reviews (0)