Chapter 4: 3. Finding out
'.....'= Thoughts
"....."= Conversations
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Everyone in the cafeteria turned their attention to Jin-soo's table, now surrounded by the three boys. The usual din of chatter and clattering trays fell into an uneasy silence, broken only by the hushed whispers of students speculating on what would happen next.
At a nearby table, a group of students watched the scene with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. One of them, Su-hyeok, had a particularly worried expression. He didn't know Jin-soo personally, but he was familiar with the three bullies surrounding him: Son Myeong-hwan, Yoon Gwi-nam, and Park Chang-hoon. They had a reputation for terrorizing their classmates, and Su-hyeok disliked them intensely for their cruel behavior.
Jin-soo took a moment to survey the situation, his eyes moving from one adversary to the next before settling on the leader, Son Myeong-hwan. He read the name tag pinned to Myeong-hwan's chest and asked coolly, "What?" His tone was casual, almost bored, as if he were discussing the weather rather than facing a potential brawl.
Myeong-hwan's face twisted in anger at Jin-soo's nonchalant attitude. He sneered, "You think you're tough, huh? Just because you got lucky once?" He gestured towards Yoon Gwi-nam and Park Chang-hoon, who stepped forward with menacing looks.
Gwi-nam, still nursing the bruises from their earlier encounter, hesitated, but with Chang-hoon by his side, he felt emboldened. They moved to flank Jin-soo, hoping to intimidate him with their superior numbers.
Jin-soo's mind raced, assessing the potential threats and the items within his reach. Despite the weak body he now inhabited, his mind was that of an experienced international boxer. He knew he had to use his surroundings to his advantage. His eyes fell on the food plate in front of him, the chair he was sitting on, and the trays stacked nearby.
Myeong-hwan barked an order, "Get him!" Gwi-nam and Chang-hoon lunged towards Jin-soo simultaneously.
With a swift, practiced motion, Jin-soo grabbed the food plate and hurled it at Gwi-nam's face. The impact of the plate splattered food everywhere, momentarily blinding Gwi-nam and causing him to stagger back with a yelp. "Ah, damn!" Gwi-nam cried, wiping food from his eyes. Using the distraction, Jin-soo rose from his chair and swung it towards Chang-hoon, who barely had time to react. The chair struck Chang-hoon in the side, knocking him off balance and sending him crashing into a nearby table with a loud thud.
The cafeteria erupted in gasps and murmurs, students watching in stunned silence as Jin-soo effortlessly handled the two attackers. Myeong-hwan's eyes widened in disbelief, and he hesitated, unsure whether to advance or retreat.
Jin-soo turned his attention back to Myeong-hwan, his stance calm yet ready. "You want to try your luck next?" he taunted, his voice steady.
The whispers among the students grew louder, and it became clear that Jin-soo's reputation was quickly shifting from a perceived weakling to someone not to be trifled with. Even the staff in the cafeteria seemed too shocked to intervene, their usual authoritative presence conspicuously absent.
Myeong-hwan, realizing the precariousness of his situation, clenched his fists. He glanced at his fallen people, Gwi-nam still wiping food from his face and Chang-hoon groaning on the floor. The bully leader's pride was at stake, and he couldn't afford to back down now.
"Fine," Myeong-hwan snarled, stepping forward with determination. "Let's see how tough you really are."
Jin-soo braced himself, ready for the next wave of attack. He could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins, his senses heightened. The cafeteria seemed to hold its collective breath, waiting for the inevitable clash.
Myeong-hwan charged, aiming a wild punch at Jin-soo. With reflexes honed from years of boxing, Jin-soo dodged to the side, grabbing another chair and using it as a makeshift shield. Myeong-hwan's fist connected with the chair instead of Jin-soo, eliciting a pained grunt.
"Ugh!" Myeong-hwan groaned, shaking his hand in pain.
Seizing the opportunity, Jin-soo swung the chair in a wide arc, catching Myeong-hwan in the ribs and sending him stumbling backwards. Before Myeong-hwan could recover, Jin-soo followed up with a precise kick to the knee, causing him to collapse to the floor with a cry of pain.
"Argh!" Myeong-hwan shouted, clutching his knee.
The cafeteria was now in an uproar, students standing on chairs to get a better view of the action. The shock of seeing Jin-soo dismantle his opponents so effortlessly had everyone buzzing with excitement and fear.
Among the students in the cafeteria, a lot of them hated these three. After all, they were famous bullies of Hyosan High School. But none of those students dared to show any form of happiness as they were worried that if they were found doing so, they would definitely be bullied worse than before.
Of course, there were also students who weren't afraid of these three and didn't hesitate to share their opinions openly.
Those students in the cafeteria exchanged looks of astonishment. They had always thought of Jin-soo as a weak, introverted kid. Seeing him now, standing tall and unafraid, challenged everything they thought they knew about him. Whispers of admiration and curiosity buzzed through the crowd.
"Did you see that?"
"Who knew Jin-soo could fight like that?"
"I always thought he was so quiet and weak."
Among the murmurs, Su-hyeok's face broke into a relieved smile. He had always hoped that someone other than him could teach a lesson to these guys. As he had somewhere else to be, Su-hyeok quietly gathered his things and slipped out of the cafeteria, after giving some excuses to his friends.
The trio who were beaten by Jin soo too left the cafeteria not wanting stay here after the humiliation they had suffered.
The cafeteria slowly returned to its usual noise and activity, but the students continued to cast curious glances at Jin-soo. He had shown them a side of himself they had never seen before, and it left a lasting impression.
Despite the chaos, Jin-soo's mind remained focused on the guy who had just left the cafeteria. His face seemed to be vaguely familiar to him. Also the guy sitting beside him at the table felt familiar too.
Jin-soo tried his best to recall where he had seen them both in the previous life.
'Webseries? Movie?' Jin soo was running his mind like crazy.
As Jin-soo was deep in thought, his attention was abruptly diverted by a sudden knock on the glass doors of the cafeteria. The sound reverberated through the room, causing heads to turn. Jin-soo looked over to see what had happened and was met with a disturbing sight: three to four students with blood smeared on their faces were acting bizarrely, while knocking themselves fiercely on the glass doors.
The entrance to the cafeteria quickly started filling with more of these students, all displaying the same eerie, erratic behavior. The scene was chillingly reminiscent of the small clips Jin-soo had watched, and in that instant, everything clicked in his mind.
'Shit, I've transmigrated into 'All of Us Are Dead,' Jin-soo thought, his pulse quickening. The realization hit him like a tidal wave, bringing with it a mix of dread and urgency.
Although he had never watched that show in his previous life, he had often come across small clips of them on the YouTube shorts and Instagram reels. These clips would often show the main characters of the show and some zombified kids running around the school.
As he processed this terrifying revelation, a blue panel suddenly appeared before his eyes, translucent yet distinctly visible. It seemed to hover in the air, and Jin-soo's heart skipped a beat as he read the words written on it: "System Initiating."
Moments later, the message changed to: "Host, welcome to the universe of 'All of Us Are Dead' web series."
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Characters yet introduced:
1) Yoon Gwi-nam
2) Son Myeong-hwan
3) Park Chang-hoon
4) Su-hyeok (Nickname- Bare-su)
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