Reincarnation Of The Bullied

I Am Not Jinwoo

Everyone in the part was now interested in Jinwoo and suggesting new ways to make him entertain them. The majority of them were his bullies when he was in high school. After high school, he thought he has heard the last of them and that if he eventually see them again in the future, he would be the one on top. 

"Come on Jinwoo, entertain us like you used to." Jung said in a bored tone.

"I am not Jinwoo." Jinwoo figured if he kept saying it, they would believe him and maybe let him go.

"You are still denying your name?" Hyun shook his head as if he had any pity for Jinwoo.

"You are such a bore, my pride is still hurt that you turned me down." The girl that opened the door pouted. Jinwoo hated her the most at this moment, if she didn't delay his payment all these wouldn't have happened.

"He turned you down?" Ji-Hoon gasped and the girl nodded.

"Jinwoo, how dare you hurt my girl's pride?" Jinwoo was surprised at the question. A normal human would be angry that his lover threw herself on a total stranger.

"It's not like that, I just asked for my payment." 

"Enough of all these, let's take things outside." Hyun said and dragged Jinwoo outside the balcony. This brought memories back to Jinwoo, memories he has kept locked away in his heart.

"Doesn't this bring back memories?" Hyun smiled as he also remembered the numerous times when would drag Jinwoo to the roof of the school and bully him with whatever means he can. 

"Come guys, this is dangerous." Jinwoo pleaded as they dragged him to the edge as if they want to throw him down the building.

"Don't be too serious Jinwoo, we just want to have fun." Jung chuckled. The ones that never knew Jinwoo was having fun with the whole issue.

"Maybe I will try to reach out to my bread shuttle and remind them of the fun we had." One of them said and they all laughed in agreement and Jinwoo pitied the young souls that would have to start suffering again. He thought he would succeed in life if he endured and studied hard. His teachers always tell him how intelligent he is and how he easily solve and understand problem others have a hard time figuring out. As a matter of fact, his intellect was the reason he was always bullied. Looking back on his life, nothing has ever gone as planned.

"Come on, since you turned me down I would like to see what made you so prideful." The girl said and they all agreed.

"Strip him." Jung said and Hyun didn't waste time ripping off Jinwoo's shirt. The motion made Jinwoo fall. They all laughed at the scene and at that moment Jinwoo saw Bora among the crowd. Bora was the only one that wasn't laughing and she is among his old school mate.

"Bora." Jinwoo muttered as their gaze locked. Bora has always been present whenever he was being bullied in the past. She never bullied him or encouraged them, but she never stopped them either. Once she gave him a handkerchief to wipe his face and told him not to be sad. That simple gesture of hers made Jinwoo see her as a saint and he couldn't ask for anything more, but today he needed her help.

"Help me." He tried to get to him but Hyun stopped him

"Where do you think you're going? You still have your pants to remove." Jinwoo kept struggling but all he did was entertain them more.

"Why are you fighting now, you never struggled in school." Ji-Hoon remarked.

"Maybe he has accepted reality." Jung answered

"What do you mean?" The girl that opened the door asked.

"In school, he would always accept whatever we threw at him with a smiling face. I knew then that he only accepted all that because he knew that it would end after high school. He never missed a day in school and always make sure to rank number one in school because he believed if he study hard, he would get a good job and escape his life of poverty and torture."

"So what is different now?" Hyun asked. Hyun, Ji-Hoon, and Jung have always been together since grade school. Hyun has been the brawls and Ji-Hoon has been the social butterfly while Jung has been the brain. Together they ruled their school and their friends.

"Now, he has realized that being a good student and enduring all those years didn't matter. He has now realized that the world is only favorable to the strong and accepting every adversity with hopes of a better future is not always right." Jung said what Jinwoo has realized the moment he saw them at this party.

Jinwoo now struggled because he realized that nothing will change if he just obeyed their every command. He has realized that the world is evil and only the strong and cruel survives.

"Well, it doesn't matter the epiphany that you just had, what mattered is the fact that we are the strong and you are the weak." Jung smiled and everyone laughed at Jinwoo except Bora.

Jinwoo stood up as he decided to stop accepting whatever they throw at him. If his fate is to always be bullied, he decided not to accept it anymore. He stood up and raised his fist towards his oppressors. His armature boxing posture made everyone laugh but Jinwoo was determined to go against them. They might not know this, even Jinwoo was oblivious to it too but whatever he puts his mind on or whenever he is determined to get something done, he always gets it done.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Jinwoo finally grew a ball." Hyun said with his hands spread apart.

"One's dignity may be mocked and cruelly battered, but it would still be intact if they refuse to surrender." Jinwoo muttered as he finally understood the meaning of the words that he had always been reciting like a mantra whenever he was being bullied.

"What are you mumbling?" Hyun asked while coming closer. 

"This." Jinwoo swung his fist and it connected with Hyun's cheeks.

"Fool." Hyun cried out as he never expected Jinwoo's punch to carry such weight. This was the first time Jinwoo has ever swung his fist so it hurts him as much as it hurts Hyun's cheeks. Maybe it hurts him more, but the exhilarating feelings made him numb to the pain.

"Today is the first day of the rest of my life." Jinwoo announced and ran towards Hyun. 

Hyun successfully subdued him and delivered several blows to Jinwoo's face, leaving him all battered. Jinwoo hasn't been able to connect any of his punches again but he never stopped trying.

"You can stop this, there is a clear difference between the strong and the weak." Hyun smiled as he sent Jinwoo flying with a heavy punch. Everyone expected Jinwoo to stay down but he stood up again even though he couldn't stop his legs from shaking.

"The weak can still become strong if he is determined to and the strong can be weakened if he becomes lax." He managed to smile and it hurts Hyun's pride. All this while, Jinwoo was thinking about who it was that made the bully target him in the past, who it was that got more joy from his endless torture. After careful thinking, only one person came to his mind and it was Jung. Though Jung never raised his feast against Jinwoo, he was only the ringleader and always inventing more ways to make fun of Jinwoo. Jinwoo searched for him and saw him leaning on the rails of the balcony smiling at the entertainment Jinwoo was giving. 

"Jung" Jinwoo muttered then looked over to Bora "If one stays silence in time of injustice, you are as guilty as the oppressor." He made sure Bora knew the statement was addressed to her. 

"Do not blink for if you do, you would be missing the greatest entertainment so far!" Jinwoo yelled and mustered all his energy and dashed toward Jung. Before Jung or anyone could realize what Jinwoo was trying to do, it was already too late. Jinwoo grabbed Jung and they both fell off the roof of the 70-storey sky scrapper. Jinwoo knew it was certain death for the both of them and he was not feeling remorse. His only regret was accepting all those tortures then with the hope of a better future.

"If I have a second chance, I won't stop until I am on top of it all." This was the last thought of Jinwoo as he hits the floor.

Jinwoo stirred around but his body felt so heavy and he was unable to stand up. He tried to remember what happened and why his body felt so heavy. He gasped as he remembered what happened and how he dragged Jung to his death.

"Is this the experience of death?" He thought as he tried his best to open his eyes. The sight that greeted him was the trees above shielding him from the sun.

"Is this perhaps heaven? Do I deserve heaven with the way I lived and ended my life?" Jinwoo was still contemplating and unable to move his body when he heard people calling a name.

"Aleric!"

"Aleric!" The name or the people calling it wasn't his greatest concern, his greatest concern was standing up. After a while, he was able to move his hands and wiggle his toes.

"Maybe I am like this because I died from jumping off a tall building."

"There you are." He heard a voice that was filled with worry say beside him. Jinwoo managed to turn his head to the voice and saw a beautiful woman with golden hair coming over to him. Her eyes were filled with worry and Jinwoo felt she was the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. The woman was indeed pretty but no sexual thought came to Jinwoo, all he wanted was to be in the warmth of the woman.

"Aleric," the woman gasped as she came closer. "who gave you that?" The woman pointed at the mushroom Alaric was holding. The woman's face was filled with fear as she realized that Jinwoo who she is calling Aleric has eaten the poisonous mushroom. She ran towards Jinwoo and picked him up with her eyes filled with tears. Jinwoo was surprised that the woman was able to pick him up like a child and he started to wonder if she was a giant leaving in heaven.

"You..." Jinwoo raised his hands to touch the woman's face as he couldn't resist it. As he raised his hands to touch the face of the woman that is looking at him with care and affection, he then saw his arms.

"What?" He muttered since he lacks the energy to shout. Jinwoo's arms and fingers were that of a five years old boy. Jinwoo managed to raise his head and look over his body and notice he has indeed become a child. His eyes widened in surprise and the shock made him pass out and that greatly shocked the beautiful woman as she carried Jinwoo out of the forest.