When I woke up, it was already morning.
The sharp smell of iodine and medicine hit my nose immediately. My head felt heavy, and there was a dull pain in my hand.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
White ceiling.
White walls.
Then I realized where I was.
The school clinic.
I turned my head slightly and noticed the source of the pain in my hand. A drip needle was connected to it, the clear liquid slowly flowing through the tube.
I sighed quietly and stared at the ceiling.
This had to be the longest sleep I had gotten in a long time.
Ever since the bullies started targeting me, peaceful sleep had become something rare.
The nurse wasn't around. Maybe she was attending to another student.
The room was quiet.
Too quiet.
Just as I was about to close my eyes again, I heard footsteps approaching.
The curtain beside my bed suddenly moved aside.
And there he was.
Philip.
My good friend.
He stood there grinning like a fool, his white teeth shining like he had just won the lottery.
"Hey bro," he said cheerfully. "Feeling better?"
I blinked at him before answering.
"Yeah… I think so."
"You should be," he replied immediately. "Nothing can keep you down on a clinic bed for long."
I couldn't help but smile a little.
Philip placed a small bag on the table beside my bed.
"I brought food," he said proudly.
I looked inside and saw my favorite combination.
Rice and pork.
And a warm cinnamon drink.
"You're the best," I said.
"Of course I am," he replied confidently.
After resting for a while, the nurse returned and checked on me. Apparently, I had only fainted from "exhaustion."
Exhaustion.
Right.
Eventually, I was discharged.
Philip and I walked back to the dorm to change before classes started.
While bathing, something strange caught my attention.
I looked at my body carefully.
My eyebrows slowly frowned.
There were no bruises.
No cuts.
No swelling.
Nothing.
But that didn't make sense.
Last night those guys had beaten me badly.
I clearly remembered being dragged into the bathroom.
The punches.
The kicks.
The laughter.
And then…
Something else.
Something strange.
I remembered feeling angry.
Not normal anger.
Something deeper.
Something wild.
After that… everything went black.
I stared at my reflection in the mirror.
Maybe it really was just a dream.
But if that was true… how did I end up in the clinic?
And how could I punch the leader of the bullies?
Was I trying to get myself killed?
Shaking my head, I finished getting ready.
Philip and I headed to school together.
But something felt… different.
The school was unusually quiet.
Students whispered as we walked past them.
Some even stared.
After lectures ended, Philip waited for me outside the classroom.
I packed my books and stepped out.
We started walking down the hallway together.
That was when I saw them.
The bullies.
They were standing near the lockers like usual.
Normally, this was the part where they would block my path, shove me around, or throw insults at me.
But today…
They didn't move.
They just stared.
At me.
Their expressions were strange.
Confused.
Uneasy.
One of them even took a small step backward.
I frowned.
What was wrong with them?
The leader—the one I had supposedly punched—had a bandage across his nose.
His eyes locked onto mine for a second.
Then he quickly looked away.
I slowed my steps slightly.
That had never happened before.
I expected them to rush over any moment.
But they didn't.
They just stood there, whispering among themselves.
I couldn't hear everything, but one word reached my ears.
"…monster…"
My heart skipped.
Monster?
What were they talking about?
I glanced at Philip walking beside me.
He looked normal as always.
Maybe the bullies were just acting weird because Philip was with me.
Yeah.
That had to be it.
Still…
As we walked past them, I couldn't shake the strange feeling crawling up my spine.
Like something had changed.
And whatever happened last night…
The bullies remembered it.
Even if I didn't.