Mr. No || NCT || Completed

21 - Where umbrellas are very useful

While Renjun was staring at Chaewon - who was suddenly nothing like the bubbly girl he had been around for the past weeks - the bullies continued to torment their victim.

"You bitch", now they were talking loud enough for Renjun to hear them, "I told you what would happen if you tried something dumb."

He looked over his shoulder just in time to see the third girl get slapped. It wasn't a loud, painful slap but more of a taunt - an act of humiliation. It wouldn't leave mark on her face but it would make her cover whenever she'd see them.

The tight grasp on Renjun's arm disappeared and Chaewon started heading towards the girls.

"Hey", he called out and placed a hand on her shoulder, "What are you doing?"

Chaewon ignored him and pushed his hand away, not letting it stop her. Renjun went after her, still confused by the change in her demeanour.

"I - I didn't mean to", the third girl was stuttering, trying to back away, "I don't understand what I did wrong but I'm sorry, I - "

"Shut up", the one who had slapped her snapped, "Now you're just making fun of us."

The other bully flicked the forehead of the girl backing away from them. "You were trying to tell teacher about our little arrangements, Minji."

Minji pressed a hand over her forehead to soothe the sting of the flick. "I didn't, I really - "
The girls exchanged a look. "Unbelievable, she's still running her mouth", the one who had slapped her huffed, glaring at their prey, "You've got some nerve, Minji."

Minji was going to defend herself but her mouth was left hanging when she saw Chaewon charging towards them. Without giving them any warning, Chaewon grabbed both of the bullies by arm and forced them to face her. The one who had flicked Minji's forehead squeaked, hiding her face before even seeing who it was.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Chaewon gave each bully a hard push, and the impact made them stagger backwards. The golden shine in her eyes probably freaked them out too. "You two pieces of used chewing tobacco."

"Who - ", the slapper cleared her throat, trying to overcome the surprise, "Who are you, lady?"

The flicker glanced at Minji behind them. "Is this your guardian angel?"

Minji shook her head, as surprised as the others.

"You better start behaving like human beings", Chaewon sounded like she was planning a trip to funeral home, "If you keep this up, you will regret it."

"What are you talking about, lady?" the slapper challenged her. She crossed her arms over her chest, and it seemed like she was done assessing their new opponent, "You must be mentally challenged or something. Just leave us alone, okay? This has nothing to do with you."

Renjun was standing few steps away from the scene, not knowing what to do to diffuse the situation. Even though bullying was wrong, he had never been one to interfere in others' lives.

The slapper took a step towards Minji and linked arms with her. There was a brief flash of pain on Minji's face, probably because of the aggressiveness of her bully's action. "Besides, Minji is our friend", the slapper announced through her teeth and flashed Chaewon an overly sweet smile, "We're just playing around a bit. Right, Minji?"

She moved her arm slightly, twisting Minji's arm in process.

Chaewon's shoulders tensed. "Let. Her. Go." Despite not seeing her face, Renjun felt her rage brewing and could only imagine the look in her eyes.

When the slapper didn't immediately comply, Chaewon yanked her away from Minji, forcing her to let go of the other girl, and then pressed the bully against the wall behind them.