Bloody Hell, I Just Returned

Author's Note: Mark's POV

It seemed like an eternity, yet in reality, only a short span had elapsed. Nonetheless, returning to class only to find the periodic exam scheduled for next week feels rather unfortunate.

Thankfully though, I have people that care a lot about me, and hence I wasn't truly left behind in class. Eli-chan, Mary, and Jeremy sent me a copy of their notes for classes I missed.

“Ow, my head hurts... I didn't get much sleep,” I groan. Shoveling all that dirt in the middle of the night under a heavy rain made me feel a bit sick.

I think I will catch a cold...

“Ooohh~ Welcome back, Mark-kun!” Behind is Mary who looks rather happy to see me. Worried, she asks, “I heard you were... um, hurt.. Are you okay???”

“No,” I will tease her a bit. “The doctor said I only have 3 weeks to live.”

“Eh? —Eeehhh?!” Mary is obviously shocked. Panicking, she says, “W-w-what?? Well... Err.. how am I supposed to take this news? This is too sudden!! Maaaark!”

“Fufu,” I chuckle.

“!” Mary looks confused. And then angrily, she hits me with punches as soft as cotton, “What are you laughing?! We're talking about your life here, idiot!”

“Hmmp,” a familiar person sneers. “How stupid are you to be fooled by him, Tellisha?”

“R-Rose? Don't be mean! I'm not stupid,” Mary  becomes defensive. “Mark-kun said that he's gonna die soon. Aren't you worried? Don't you like him?!”

“He's not gonna die. He was just— Wait wha— Bitch! What are you saying?! Like? Love? Who's in love to who?! I don't l-love Mark!” Rose is so cute when angry. She can't blame me if I keep teasing her. “Bastard, you're thinking of something bad aren't you?! Do you want me to send you back to the hospital?!”

“Try it,” a very cold voice comes out from behind me.

“Hecate? Hmmp. Haven't you broken up with him?” Rose simply rolls her eyes in response. She doesn't feel threatened at all.

And ‘broken up’ huh? Did they notice the crack in our relationship or did Eli-chan spread it to others?

We haven't even broken up yet, but she's already... Geez.

“Hmmp,” Eli-chan looks annoyed for a moment. However, she goes back to her robotic face and walks away from us.

“Tch,” Rose goes to her seat as well. Mary follows suit.

I follow after Eli-chan but someone— a tiny, soft, and petite lady bumps on me, “Oh sorry... Mark. Wait. Mark? You're back? How are you doing now?”

It's Mae-chan.

“Oh hello there Mae-chan. My wound still hurts but I am already doi—” I can't even finish my words. Eli-chan pulls me away. She looks pissed.

I make another attempt to talk with Mae-chan, “Err... Let's talk later Mae-ch—aagh!” but Eli-chan firmly grips my arm and shoots me a stern glare. I chuckle, “Fufu, Didn't you say you hate me? Why are you jealous?”

“Shut up,” she utters softly, her voice trembling. Yet, with an assertive tone and a cold stare, she asserts possessively, “You're still mine.”

“How selfish. Even though you're already telling everyone that we've broken up...” I say, expressing my disappointment.

Elizabeth stops on her track and angrily says, “I didn't. That bitch simply assumed it herself.”

“Well, even if you haven't, with the way you're being cold and distant, it's natural for people to assume things. It's evident you're falling out of love with me. Separation feels inevitable,” I say with a bitter edge, teasing her about the situation.

“I am not!” she suddenly shouts, drawing the attention of everyone in the classroom. Even I am taken aback, but hmm... So you still love me after all? She adds, her words hiding a tinge of frustration, “You don't know anything... So please, just shut up.”

She emphasized the ‘please’. Fufu.

“Then tell me what the problem is,” I say, shrugging my shoulders in resignation.

“.............” With a resolute silence, Elizabeth shoves me into my seat and walks away without a word. I meet Mae-chan's gaze, and she offers me a wry smile before settling into her own seat.

“Good morning class.” After a while, a gorgeous woman with gorgeous silver hair walks inside the classroom.

Here comes another ice beauty.

With a blank expression and monotonous tone, she tells everyone, “Kindly settle down.”

She looks around the room with a dead but very chilly expression. When she happens to meet my gaze, she freezes for a moment before turning her eyes away.

“We... Today, we'll be reviewing everything we learned for the past few weeks. Your first periodic exam is approaching,” she says.

“Ma'am I thought we still have one last topic to discuss today,” a classmate wonders.

“We'll tackle that lesson tomorrow. For now let's review everything.”

“Okay po ma'am.”

Is ma'am Iris being considerate to me?

“Let's start the class. Prayer leader, come forward and lead the prayer.”

And just like that, I slip back into my normal routine. After the end of the first half of our morning class, I head to the canteen to grab some snacks.

Eli-chan doesn't want to go with me saying her stomach hurts. It's obvious she's avoiding me as much as she can.

“Mark!” a loud voice calls out, drawing my attention. He's a red-haired, athletic young man. It's Al. He sprints toward me, brimming with excitement, “You're back! I heard you were shot. Are you okay?”

What are you acting worried for? You didn't even bother to check up on me. What is he up to this time?

“Oh hello Al. What's up?”

I don't feel any sincerity.

“I know you're very excited to meet the boss of the gang I joined but...”

When did I became excited?

“They kind of rejected me..” she seems dejected.

That's good for you.

“Why? I thought you said you were already a part of them?”

“Well, yeah... I wasn't lying! I was already a member of their group... but...”

But what? Bloody hell... I'm growing impatient. Why does he keep trailing off mid-sentence?

“If you keep beating around the bush, I'm going to leave,” I give him a warning.

Break time is limited. I don't want to waste it to this guy's nonsense.

“Okay okay. Be patient sheeesh..” He clears his throat, “Those bastards rejected me after they found out about my military lineage.”

Not surprising.

“Alright I get it. I don't really mind not meeting them. If you only came here to apologize, don't worry about it. I don't really care,” I say with great emphasis.

Before I can leave, Al grabs my arm, “Wait. I am not done yet.”

“.............” I say nothing but wait for whatever this guy wants to tell me.

“You're not part of any gang are you?”

“.............” He's probing answers from me. I say, “Honestly Al, you should give up. What you're trying to get yourself into isn't a very good idea.”

And you're dragging me— an innocent civilian, into it.

“What's good and what's bad anyway?” He continues, “In any case, you should hear me out first. Remember Schadenfreude? Turns out they're a very big syndicate. They're only weak in the Philippines because of Twilight-something.”

“.............” I remain silent.

“But if those Trash bastards don't want me in, then I'll just join that Twilight group. It's our country's very own underworld organization anyway. What do you think?” Al looks at me with an expectant gaze.

Just why is he so eager to join an underworld organization? It's not like it will do him any good.

If he truly wants a backer like he said, he can just ask his family for help. The military is more or less more powerful anyway.

And despite his apparent knowledge of Viper and his gang, he seems unaware that Viper Gang falls under the jurisdiction of the Twilight Rose Syndicate.

And we clashed with Yellowhead last time, a member of that gang. Essentially, he's attempting to join the syndicate that oversees the very gang with which he's embroiled in conflict.

I should discourage him now.

“Stop dipping your toes in murky waters, Al. What makes you think it's wise? And dragging me into it too? You're walking a shady path right now. Don't you understand?” I remark, grabbing my snacks from the vendor without delay. I refuse to entertain him any longer. He'll only continue pestering me.

Al stands there frozen, can't tell what's going on in his mind...

While I'm on my way back to the classroom, I see Eli-chan talking to someone in a corner of a building. She has her arm stretched towards the wall, preventing— eh— Mae-chan?

Bloody hell... Eli-chan is confronting her right now! What the hell are you doing my sweet girlfriend?

I cautiously edge closer to them, hoping to catch some snippets of their conversation. Eli-chan appears visibly angry and hostile, while Mae-chan is keeping her head down, her expression obscured. However, the way she purses her lips suggests she's restraining herself from speaking out. Is she angry too, or is there something else going on?

“...you better stay away from Mark!” Eli-chan speaks with a threatening tone.

“.............” Mae-chan says nothing, just waiting for Eli-chan to stop.

“Bitch!” Annoyed of her indifference, Eli-chan pushes her into the wall. Considering that Mae-chan is just a weak girl, she loses balance and she falls down to her bum. Irritated, Eli-chan says, “Tch. If you want to say something, say it!”

I doubt Mae-chan will say anything. She's not really that type—

“...wrong... you..” Mae-chan mumbles something.

“Huh?”

“What's wrong with you?!” Mae-chan stands up to push Eli-chan away. Eli-chan is a strong woman so she is only pushed back a few steps.

“You—”

“What? You're going to hurt me? You insecure little bitc— you damn woman!” Mae-chan glares at Eli-chan. Even though she's mad, she seems to be trying to keep her politeness. Mae-chan pats the dust off her uniform, “I don't know what's going with you and Mark, but we're just friends! Don't tell me that you can't even trust your own boyfriend?”

Oh hell. A cat fight will begin.

“I trust him! It's because of you... You're the one to blame here.”

“Why are you so unreasonable? What did I even do to you, Ms. Hecate?”

I agree with her, Eli-chan.

“You don't know? Stop trying to get close to him! You shouldn't even be talking to him yet you're so shameless...”

“What?”

“You betrayed him remember?!”

Err.. bloody hell. Don't bring back the past.

“How did you know...?” Mae-chan looks surprised. “Well, it doesn't matter.. But that's mine and Mark's problem. Why are you getting involved?”

I see guilt in Mae-chan's eyes.

“Because I am his girlfriend!”

“Yet you can't trust him?” Mae-chan reasons, “Just because we had a history doesn't mean I'm going to steal him from you. I have my own boyfriend, I love him, and I will only be faithful to him!”

Love... Al and Mae, huh...? Why's she being so loyal to him..? Even though he's being such a jerk to her...

Elizabeth sneers, “I can't trust you. It's not like your mind won't change at one point..”

“You... You're really unreasonable!” Mae-chan is getting pissed. “Very well fine.. Let's say I'll steal him from you... So what? If Mark truly loves you, will he leave you for me?”

“!!”

“The way it looks to me, Ms. Hecate, you don't seem to trust Mark at all. You should really just break up with him. Your relationship with him is becoming very toxic. You behave as if you don't want him yet you don't want anybody to get closer to him? What did he even see in you?” After saying something that leaves Eli-chan speechless, Mae-chan casually walks away.

“.............” Eli-chan remains motionless. I can't see her facial expression but I have a feeling, her mental state is going to get worse.

I can't do anything but watch her from here. If I show up now, it will just complicate our matter.

Bloody hell... What will happen now?