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Chapter 4 - Chapter 4: The Grey List

A week had passed since Dae-hyun's unexpected victory over Cho Kyung-ho, and Daejin High hadn't stopped whispering since.

In the eyes of most students, he wasn't a threat—not yet—but he wasn't invisible anymore either. That made him dangerous.

Not to the strong, but to the system.

---

The crimson armband was just fabric, but to Dae-hyun, it felt like a chain. A brand.

He walked the halls of Daejin High with it on, eyes catching glances, faces turning. Some respected it. Others saw it as a joke. The boy who won with brains instead of fists? It disrupted the hierarchy.

But Dae-hyun knew the truth. One win wasn't survival—it was an invitation. He was now part of the game. And the next opponents wouldn't take him lightly.

---

After lunch, Chan-mi found him on the library rooftop. She leaned against the doorway, biting into an apple.

> "You look like you've seen a ghost," she said.

> "I feel like I've become one."

> "Welcome to the Crimson Division."

She walked over and dropped a folder in front of him.

Inside were profiles—students, fight records, notes.

> "What's this?" he asked.

> "Potential allies."

> "I thought you were training me."

> "I am. Step one: don't fight alone."

Dae-hyun flipped through the papers.

Name: Park Sun-woo

Age: 17

Specialty: Boxing

Record: 5–5

Reputation: Disqualified for headbutting a referee.

Name: Oh Min-ji

Age: 16

Specialty: Krav Maga

Record: 3–2

Reputation: Suspended for breaking another girl's arm in class.

Name: Kang Tae-yul

Age: 18

Specialty: None

Record: 0–6

Reputation: Wild, unpredictable, fights for attention.

> "These aren't fighters," he muttered.

> "They're rejects. Same as you."

Chan-mi squatted beside him and looked out over the school grounds.

> "The Division runs in layers. The top are the elites—clean, fast, brutal. But underneath that, there's chaos. Discarded talent. Broken students. Kids who don't play by the rules."

> "And you want me to collect them?"

> "No. I want you to lead them."

---

1. The Boxer

Park Sun-woo was first.

Dae-hyun found him behind the gym, hitting a sandbag taped to a steel pole. His hands were wrapped tight. His jaw was swollen on one side.

> "You've got good rhythm," Dae-hyun said.

Sun-woo didn't stop punching.

> "Not interested in fans," he grunted.

> "I'm not a fan. I'm building a team."

Sun-woo paused, turned, and spat blood to the side.

> "What kind of team?"

> "One that doesn't belong."

The boxer laughed. "Why me?"

> "You have power, but no control. You fight angry."

> "Is that a compliment?"

> "It's a weakness. But if you learn control, you'll be top ten in Seoul."

Sun-woo stared at him for a long time, then went back to punching.

> "You find someone to match my footwork, I'll listen."

---

2. The Ghost Girl

Oh Min-ji was harder to find.

She didn't attend regular classes anymore. Rumor was she broke someone's nose for touching her bag.

Dae-hyun found her sitting on top of the science building—legs dangling off the edge, eating tangerines. Her uniform was pristine. Her expression, empty.

> "Do you usually eat up here?" he asked.

> "Do you usually talk to girls who can dislocate your shoulder in two seconds?" she replied.

Dae-hyun sat beside her, leaving space.

> "I read about your fight. You used a binder clip as a weapon."

> "Improvisation. Not illegal."

> "I need someone like you."

She looked at him with flat, unreadable eyes.

> "Why?"

> "Because I don't want fighters. I want survivors."

Min-ji peeled a tangerine and handed him half.

> "No leaders. No rules. I don't follow orders."

> "Good," he said. "I don't give any. I ask for trust."

She didn't answer—but she didn't walk away either.

---

3. The Wild Card

Kang Tae-yul was in the detention room, sitting backward in a chair and humming loudly to himself.

His desk was covered in graffiti—symbols, words, drawings of snakes eating their tails.

When Dae-hyun entered, Tae-yul grinned.

> "You the brain guy?"

> "I guess."

> "I saw your fight. You were boring."

> "And you're loud."

> "You here to recruit me?"

> "I'm here to understand you."

Tae-yul tilted his head. "That sounds suspiciously teacher-like."

> "You've lost six fights."

> "Deliberately."

> "Why?"

> "Losing makes people forget about you."

> "But you still fight."

> "Because I like the way my blood tastes."

Dae-hyun didn't flinch.

> "I have a place for you."

> "What's it called?"

> "We don't have a name yet."

> "Boring. Call it something cool."

Dae-hyun thought for a moment.

> "How about… The Grey List?"

Tae-yul grinned wider.

> "Now that's interesting."

---

Assembly

By the end of the week, four students met in a broken classroom after hours.

A quiet strategist.

A volatile boxer.

A detached fighter.

A wild dog.

Chan-mi stood by the door, arms crossed.

> "You sure about this?" she asked Dae-hyun.

> "No."

> "Good. That means you're not cocky."

They sat in a half-circle. The desk lights flickered. Rain tapped against the windows.

> "Why are we here?" Sun-woo asked, stretching his hands.

Dae-hyun stood.

> "We're not the strongest. Not the most respected. But we all have something they can't control."

> "Instinct," Min-ji muttered.

> "Unpredictability," Tae-yul added.

> "And intelligence," Dae-hyun said.

> "Together, we can disrupt the ranks. We don't aim for the top. We aim for imbalance. To make the system shake."

> "So we're saboteurs?" Sun-woo asked.

> "We're a virus," Min-ji corrected.

Dae-hyun nodded.

> "We'll move between Divisions. Win small fights. Expose patterns. Use strategy, not ego."

Chan-mi stepped in.

> "I'll train you. But only if you listen."

They all turned to her.

> "You want to rise? You'll bleed. Not from fists—from discipline."

She pulled a stick of chalk and drew a circle on the board.

Inside it, she wrote:

Grey List.

> "This is your world now."

---

Meanwhile, Elsewhere

In another part of Daejin, inside a room that reeked of incense and sweat, Jin Do-won sat watching fight footage on a projector. His lieutenant, a long-haired senior named Na Jae-hyuk, leaned against the wall.

> "He's forming a team," Jae-hyuk muttered.

Do-won nodded. "I know."

> "The other Crimson Captains are talking. They're callin

g him the 'Tactician.'"

> "I don't care what they call him."

> "Should we shut it down?"

Do-won didn't answer. He stared at the footage of Dae-hyun dodging Kyung-ho's kicks.

> "Not yet."

> "Why?"

Do-won paused the footage.

Dae-hyun's face filled the screen. Calm. Cold. Calculating.

> "The more visible he gets…" Do-won whispered, "...the more satisfying it'll be to break him."

---

End of Chapter 4 

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