On Monday, during the flag ceremony, Ryujin lined up in my class's row. She stood just behind me. How did I know about it? Her perfume. Her sweet vanilla perfume caught my attention. Of course, it's against the rules. For me, it really didn't matter, because I actually like being close to my Ryuddaeng, but not for a teacher named Sang Min, or also could be addressed as Mr. Lee.
Sure enough, as soon as the principal was giving a speech, Mr Lee came to admonish her. Without a word, Mr Lee tugged at the back of Ryujin's shirt. He intended to pull Ryujin out of my class row. What Mr Lee did make Ryujin nearly fall on her feet as he dragged her harshly.
"What is this?" Ryujin tried to escape herself from being dragged by Mr Lee.
"Why? Do you want to fight with me?" I am shocked to hear what Mr Lee had said to Ryujin.
'Is he really a teacher? His actions are more likely comes from a thug.'
"Yes! I could fight if you wanted it to happen!" Ryujin shouted and that was loud enough, to make everyone turn towards us.
The headmaster also stopped from giving his speech. The square turned silent, watching Mr Lee and Ryujin's staring contest, not until when suddenly Mr Lee slapped Ryujin as hard as he could. I was shocked to see Ryujin fell from the slap.
I tried to help her from the fell but was stopped on my track as soon as she stood up and slapped Mr Lee back. The square was dead silent, watching nervously on what was happening on that morning.
"Oh my God Ryujin what had you done?!" I whispered to myself, earning a comforting rub on my back from Chaeryeong.
Before Mr Lee's hand reached her cheeks again, Ryujin hurriedly hit him with successive punches. The atmosphere got noisy. The lines fell apart, especially my classmates because each one of them avoided themselves from taking any stray hits. Everyone wants to watch the commotion. The flag ceremony automatically went awry.
I saw Mr Lee ran towards the centre of the ceremony field. Ryujin chased him with blaring eyes. There was roughly three meters between the two.
I saw Mr Lee fell near the small building where the flagpole was. He crawled for a while, then ran back. Ryujin continued to chase him who was trying to sneak between the lines of teachers who were in awe.
"Shin Ryujin, stop it!!" the headmaster shouted over the microphone.
There was a frenzy among the flag ceremony participants. Several male teachers tried to hold Ryujin in. The headmaster also stepped down from his rostrum.
"Sang Min! You coward!"
I saw Chaeryeong, Lia, Changbin and several others on the run, to help the teacher to restrain Ryujin from chasing over Mr Lee. I wish that I could help Ryujin to calm down from her raging state. But all I could do was standing there, staring at the angry and mad Ryujin. That was the day when I first saw her being very angry.
I totally understood, because I was angry too, but not to Ryujin. I'm angry with Mr Lee. You have to see by yourself, how rude was he to Ryujin.
Ryujin just kept quiet, listening to Chaeryeong and Lia's words.
"You should go to her." I turned to my left. Heejin was smiling at me.
"I don't think that she wanted to see me right now." I shook my head.
"She needs you now, Yeji. Ryuddaeng needs her Yeddeong." Heejin tapped my shoulder and motioned me to go in front and join them in calming Ryujin.
"Wish me luck, then!" I smiled to her after thinking for a few seconds.
"Yeji, good luck!" Heejin smiled again before making her way to her friends.
When I was on my way to meet Ryujin, my eyes met with Changbin's which then he whispered something to Ryujin. She quickly raised her head to meet my eyes. She gave me a faint smile.
"I am sorry, Yeddeong. Did I scare you?" she quickly said as soon as I reached her.
"You don't need to be sorry, Ryuddaeng. Are you okay right now?" I caressed her now bruised cheeks.
"She is okay as soon as you arrived here, Yej." Jisu answered while chuckling.
"Don't ever do that again, bro. You might get expelled from the school." Changbin said while putting some ointment on Ryujin's face.
The assembly had been dismissed a few minutes before. Me, Jisu, Chaeryeong and Changbin brought Ryujin to the teacher's room, per requested by Ms Yoo, our discipline teacher. There, we sat with the headmaster, Ms Yoo, Ms Im and Ms Son.
"I'm not against the teacher, ma'am. I'm against Lee Sang Min." Ryujin answered when she was asked by Ms Yoo on why she acted like that.
I kept my silent, don't know what to do. The teachers that sat together with us nodded and smiled.
"We got it. Just don't do that for another time. We don't want our ace to leave the school." Ms Son patted Ryujin's head, which earned a small smile from her.
"My mother is a teacher, my brother is also a teacher," Ryujin sighed.
"I know. Hence, you must understand on why he's like that, right?" Ms Im asked.
"I cannot tolerate a teacher like him, Ms Im." Ryujin replied sternly.
"Yes, I know that you must have a reason. I know that you won't make such a commotion without any reason. But whatever your reason is, you can't act like that. It won't do any good to you. I couldn't deny the fact that Mr Lee is also at fault. But you must not let your rage control you. We know that you are better than this, Ryujin." Ms Yoo hugged Ryujin from her side.
It feels good to see that despite the fact that Ryujin was a troublemaker, but her presence was welcomed by the teachers in front of me. They tried to comfort her, and at the same time, they gave her their advice and moral supports that she need.
"Respect others if you want to be respected." Ryujin suddenly said while facing all of us.
"Alright, Ryujin. Will bear that in mind." Chaeryeong saluted her while giggling.
"Whoever you are, let it be a teacher, if he doesn't respect other people, he won't be respected, neither appreciated." Ryujin continued.
The headmaster came, I stood up to give him a seat.
"Please come out of the teachers' room, the four of you." he gestured to me, Chaeryeong, Lia and Changbin.
We were on our way to leave the table, not until Ryujin stall us.
"Let them stay if you want to be safe. Only they are able to calm me down from my rage. I won't be responsible if anything happened to you." Ryujin said sternly, her eyes met the headmaster's.
"What's wrong, Ryujin?!" the principal asked her. He seemed to be trying to speak carefully, because he was worried that Ryujin would also attack him.
"I'm not against the teacher, I'm against Lee Sang Min."
"What is wrong with him? Can you explain it to me?"
"You should know how he is. He has been teaching here for years."
"We know. But still, he is a teacher. You don't have to be like that to him."
"Can he do that to us? He grabbed my shirt. It was like there will be no other way to get me back to my class's row. It's not just me. How many people he had slapped? Slapping students could become his daily ritual here."
"I am sorry for that. But maybe you are being stubborn?"
"Yes, I refused to go back to my line. But does that give him a license to do anything he wanted to? You also must know that a teacher should portray a good example to the students."
"If he taught me to slap, I will also slap." Ryujin added.
"I am not defending him, but maybe Mr Lee didn't intend to slap you. Maybe his rage had led him to act like that."
I lowkey rolled my eyes. The principal was obviously defending that Mr Lee.
"Then I am sorry that my rage had controlled me and thus, I acted like that."
"Ryujin..." Ms Im rubbed her back, wanting to calm her down after she sensed that Ryujin might blow up again.
Ryujin sighed.
After that, after everything was finished, we were dismissed from the teachers' room. We then parted ways, to enter our respective classes that already started the lesson.
Changbin left us as his classroom was in a different building from ours. Lia linked her arm with Ryujin's, meanwhile Chaeryeong's with mine.
I am happy that I was blessed with such a really good friend, and will be there whenever I need them; when Ryujin need them; or whenever any of us need any of them.