"How is this...?" Jemi muttered in panic.
He was surrounded from all sides. Cold sweat flowed as he tried to withstand the pressure from three people who seemed much more relaxed than him.
Aswa, Arca, and Mondy stood calmly. They were teasing Mondy.
"Come on!" Mondy shouted with a mocking tone.
Jemi was surprised, too easily provoked.
"HAHAHA! You just got tricked!" Mondy laughed proudly, mocking his opponent's naivety.
Aswa frowned. "Why don't you just finish it right away?"
"Wait. Let's play first," Mondy answered with a sly tone.
Arca and Mondy began to move, as if trying to force Jemi out of his hideout.
Jemi's gaze locked on them. Tense. Focused. Unblinking.
But suddenly—
"If I were you, I'd just chase after them!" a voice whispered from behind.
Jemi froze. Slowly he turned, and his eyes widened.
"Y-You... behind me? Tha-that means... you w-win?"
Aswa ended it immediately.
He took a deep breath. "Huff... In the end... I failed too."
The three left Jemi, who was still standing frozen.
"Where should we go first?" Mondy asked casually.
They walked through the school gate.
"So where do we start?" Arca asked while looking around.
"Even though it's old, this school is quite big," Mondy muttered.
The SMA Srengseng building loomed darkly. Many corners. Many secrets.
"W-Wait! I'll come!" Jemi suddenly ran after them.
"Why are you coming?!" Mondy asked suspiciously.
"I just... want to watch you," Jemi replied, turning his face away.
Mondy snorted. "Fine. Just don't bother us."
Aswa looked back. "You can tell us about SMA Srengseng, right?"
Jemi didn't want to tell them. "I'm just watching here, not a tour guide!"
The three then gathered and discussed.
"All right. Aswa goes right, Arca goes left, I'll go straight ahead," Mondy said.
They agreed to split up to explore the unfamiliar school complex.
Without much question, Aswa and Arca immediately moved. Jemi, of course, secretly followed Aswa.
[ON ARCA'S SIDE]
BAM!
The sound of a door being kicked broke the silence.
Arca forcefully entered. The room was a GYM, still crowded with muscular students training.
Eleven pairs of eyes immediately turned to Arca.
They dropped their barbells and stepped closer. Their big bodies slowly surrounded him.
"Who are you?"
"Entering without permission?"
"And kicking the door? Huh, you got guts, kid."
Arca smiled awkwardly. His small body looked even tinier among them.
"S-Sorry!" He tried to put the door back — but failed.
Suddenly, his tank top was pulled from behind. In an instant—
*THUD!*
His body was thrown onto a pile of barbells.
Loud laughter erupted.
"Hahaha, you're so mean!"
"How could you throw a little kid onto a pile of barbells!"
"HAHA! Those barbells weigh 20 kilos each, his head must be leaking!"
Arca lay weakly, almost sinking into the pile of iron.
[ON ASWA'S SIDE]
Aswa opened the door slowly. But it wasn't locked. Safe.
The place looked like a playground.
"Like a play area, huh," he muttered.
"It is a play area, idiot," Jemi appeared from behind.
Aswa looked at him curiously. "You know this place?"
"Hahaha... Let me introduce myself! I am the King of Games—JEMI! And this... is my headquarters!"
Aswa stared blankly. Without saying anything, he immediately ran toward the back door.
"Hey! When someone's talking, at least listen first!"
*BAM!*
The back door was smashed. Aswa broke into the building behind it.
A two-story building. It was quiet... or was it?
Suddenly dozens of eyes turned. SMA Srengseng students stood around.
"An intruder?" one asked.
"Looks like it!"
"Hasn't been visitors for a long time..."
"I'm so tired of teaching middle schoolers. Are you high school or middle school?!"
Aswa swallowed hard. "Looks... bad."
-TO BE CONTINUED-