Maya tilted her head as she stared at the man’s face.
‘What? Maya knows him too?’
Frank growled, pulling the man closer by his collar.
If both Frank and Maya knew him,
he had to be someone from their school days.
“What’s your name? Spit it out.”
Frank shook the man roughly.
Maya did as she was told and went to the counter to place her hand on the call button.
However, she couldn’t press it.
Both of them knew that the order to call the police wasn't sincere.
Frank gave her a sign with his eyes to stop.
“My... my name is...”
‘Ah, damn it.
If this were back in the day,
my fist would have flown already.
I’m just afraid someone might see.’
The man’s silence was frustrating.
Frank kept glancing at the entrance,
fearing that children or other customers might walk in.
He had to deal with this person before that.
“I said, what’s your name!”
Frank shook the man even more violently.
The man swayed like a sheet of paper,
staring into space with unfocused eyes.
He looked terrified.
Frank could feel the man trembling in his hands.
The man let out a meaningless groan,
then mumbled in a voice Frank could barely make out.
“Zaydan... Al-Muradi...”
In that moment,
fragments of an old memory fell into place in Frank’s head.
Zaydan Al-Muradi.
He was the brother of that damn Chazra,
the very guy who used to beat Frank up for no reason whenever they ran into each other in an alley as kids.
Frank looked down at Zaydan,
who had practically crawled into his hands himself,
and twisted his lips into a smirk.
He didn’t need long to decide what to do with him,
and the answer felt sweet.
***
Autumn 2012. Behind the school.
Fourteen-year-old Frank cornered Chazra that day, just like always.
In that place behind the school,
where the smell of damp mold filled the air,
Chazra was being jumped while surrounded by Frank and his crew.
Unlike the others,
seeing Chazra defying him with glaring eyes
until the end made Frank’s anger flare from his toes to the top of his head.
That tenacious gaze,
refusing to give up until the end,
drove him even crazier.
Frank hated everything about him.
Whenever he was bored,
he would catch Chazra and torment him.
“Hey, you’re really persistent.
I told you to keep your eyes down, you brat.”
Frank mercilessly kicked the face of Chazra,
who was bleeding on his knees.
Chazra collapsed sideways without even being able to scream.
“Not the face.
He’s already a bloody mess;
this is going to be a problem again.
Are you going to take responsibility if this goes south?”
Kimi snapped sharply at Frank.
“Why? Is it because of his high-and-mighty father?”
Max asked provocatively instead of Frank.
“Kimi is just saying that because she’s worried about us.”
Simon quickly stepped between them,
fearing that Max might lay a hand on Kimi.
Seeing the atmosphere among the three turning tense,
Chazra mumbled something softly while still collapsed.
“Hey, what did you say? Stop mumbling and speak up.”
Frank shouted, stomping on Chazra’s stomach again.
Chazra let out a painful scream, gasping for air.
“Does it feel... good... knowing you can’t even... beat me... alone?”
Chazra’s mockery instantly shattered the standoff between Max and Simon.
Sensing that Frank was about to snap,
the two hurried over to his side.
“There’s just one thing I like about this guy.”
Frank grabbed the collapsed Chazra by the hair as he spoke.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“He’s not the type to go tell on us after getting hit. Right?”
Frank slammed Chazra’s head against the cement floor.
Chazra groaned as he clutched his head,
but even then, the glare he fixed on Frank remained fierce.
“Look at this brat.
He’s got some grit.
Is it because he’s a terrorist bastard?”
Furious, Frank began to kick him again.
“I feel sick every time I see this brat.
Didn’t I tell you to stay out of my sight?”
Thump— thump—.
Against the continued violence,
Chazra could only curl up in defense.
“Hey, what are you doing? You guys stomp on him too!”
Frank urged his crew, gasping for breath.
Max, Kimi, and Simon exchanged glances before following Frank’s order,
stomping on Chazra.
Thump— thump—.
“Why aren’t you doing it?”
After beating him for a while,
Frank pointed at Maya,
who was trembling in the corner.
“Maya, Frank’s calling you. Come here, quickly.”
Kimi dragged Maya over to Chazra’s side with a mocking tone.
Kimi crouched down with Maya,
grabbed her wrist tightly,
and slapped Chazra across the face with it.
Slap—!
Maya gasped in surprise,
but Kimi’s iron grip left her no choice but to strike Chazra repeatedly.
“Hey, that’s enough.”
Frank approached and stroked Maya’s hair once.
Seeing this, Kimi smiled at Maya and gave her a meaningful look,
as if saying, 'See?'
Maya stood up,
clutching her trembling hands.
She thought her own hand,
which had done the striking,
felt more swollen than Chazra’s face.
A clear handprint remained on the arm Kimi had grabbed.
Yet she was flustered but pleased that Frank’s touch made her heart race.
“Get him up.”
Simon hauled Chazra to his feet.
“Whew... huff... whew...”
Chazra struggled to breathe, his face badly swollen.
“Hey, look at his face. He’s so ugly.”
Everyone snickered at Kimi’s words.
Frank sat down in front of Chazra and stared blankly at him.
‘He’s a disgusting guy, no matter when I see him.’
He tapped Chazra’s swollen cheek with his finger, crushing his pride.
“What... did I ever... do so wrong... to you...”
Chazra refused to break.
“Ha, look at this brat.”
Frank stood and drove his knee straight into Chazra’s face.
Chazra collapsed sideways once more.
“Ah, damn it. I got his blood on me. So annoying.”
Frank wiped the blood off on Chazra’s clothes.
“Hey, don’t get cocky.
Know your place.
How does a criminal dare to walk with his head held high?”
Max gave Chazra’s stomach one more kick.
“Let’s go now,”
Simon said, placing a hand on Frank’s shoulder.
“Who do you think you are, giving me orders?”
Frank roughly brushed off Simon’s arm and glared at him.
Simon flinched, apologized, and glanced at Kimi.
Kimi just twisted her hair, watching with interest.
“Hey, what are you guys doing?”
Just then, a man appeared from behind the wall.
He was intimidating, all hard-earned muscle.
“What is this? Who are you bullying?”
As the man slowly approached,
Frank’s crew stepped aside,
feeling an instinctive fear.
His expression changed as he saw Chazra lying there.
“Wait, Chazra! It’s Chazra!”
Frank and Max exchanged looks, preparing to run.
The man slowly stood up and glared at them as if he wanted to kill them.
“Who are you people?
Who did this to my brother!”
He quickly blocked the narrow passage so Frank’s crew couldn’t escape.
‘Dammit, Chazra’s brother? Is that Zaydan with those muscles?’
Even to Frank, Zaydan was an object of fear.
Five years older and a football player with a confirmed college spot,
Zaydan’s name was a neighborhood legend.
‘He’s much bigger than the rumors, isn’t he?’
Max lunged at Zaydan first.
But Zaydan lightly dodged Max’s punch and tripped him.
After subduing the fallen Max by stepping on him,
he glared at the crew again.
“You. Are you Frank?”
Frank’s heart clenched.
Cold sweat ran down his spine.
“Simon!”
Frank signaled Simon and lunged forward at the same time.
“Aaargh!”
Frank lowered his waist and attempted a tackle,
aiming for Zaydan’s knees.
It was a success.
But the one who fell was Frank.
Zaydan didn't even budge;
he just drove his elbow down and pinned Frank’s back.
Simon couldn't even bring himself to lunge,
and Kimi and Maya screamed and backed away.
“Why are you bullying my brother?
I heard you’re the one calling us terrorists and criminals.
Aren’t you the real criminal here?”
Zaydan snapped at Frank and Max,
who were sprawled on the ground.
Frank trembled with humiliation,
but the physical gap was hopeless.
“Dirty Muslim bastards.”
It was Frank’s last stand.
Zaydan smirked and lifted Frank like dead weight.
“Let go of me! You dirty bastard!”
He struggled, but it was useless.
Zaydan tucked Frank under his arm
and pressed down on Max with his foot,
lowering his voice.
“Hey, you guys.”
Then, he smacked Frank hard as he held him under his arm.
Slap—!
“Aargh!” It was humiliating.
Slap—!
“One more time.”
Slap—!
“My brother.”
Slap—!
“If you touch him.”
“Aaaargh!”
His pride crumbled long before the pain set in.
Slap—!
“Then next time.”
Zaydan threw Frank onto the floor.
“This isn’t over.”
Unable to resist,
Frank’s crew had to watch Zaydan support Chazra as they walked away.
Frank, unable to even stand up from shame,
just glared at Simon, mouthing words.
‘Hey! Attack him now! You idiot! What are you doing!’
But Simon was merely shaking like a leaf.
Zaydan walked away without looking back.
Even after that day,
Frank didn’t stop bullying Chazra.
Since Chazra never told on him,
all he had to do was avoid Zaydan.
But the humiliation of instinctively avoiding Zaydan every time
they crossed paths haunted him like a scar.
He vowed that he would get his revenge one day.
He couldn’t lose to those ‘dirty bastards’ who had taken his father
and made life hard for his mother.
And now, that once-mighty Zaydan had crawled into Frank’s territory on his own,
desperate for a single piece of candy.
Finally, the opportunity had arrived.
Frank looked down at Zaydan,
who was whimpering like a beast,
and twisted his lips into a smirk.
It took him only a second to decide what to do with him,
and the conclusion was so satisfying it made him shudder.
With a twisted smile,
he led Zaydan toward the warehouse where Max was.
“Max! We have a new customer!”
Trembling, Zaydan followed Frank into the warehouse.
Frank’s castle was solid indeed.
This place was his greatest stroke of luck—
the sweetest and cruelest wall in the world.
Title: [Notice] End of Serialization & Important Update
Artistea: The Indelible Reminiscence.
