Warm light spilled from the lounge entrance as another group of customers walked inside laughing.
Ryan remained rooted to the pavement.
His feet refused to move.
Antonio noticed.
"You coming?"
Ryan forced a smile that looked more painful than anything.
"...I have to."
"If I don't go back now... it'll only get worse."
He took a deep breath before leading them toward the entrance.
The closer they got, the louder the music became.
The security guard at the entrance glanced at Ryan, then at Antonio and Nick.
"You know them?"
Ryan nodded nervously.
"They're... with me."
The guard barely cared.
He stepped aside without another question.
Antonio looked around as they entered.
The lounge wasn't packed, but every table was occupied. Expensive bottles lined the shelves behind the counter while waitresses moved quickly between customers.
Toward the center...
Noise.
Not from the music.
From a group of teenagers who clearly believed the entire place belonged to them.
A large sofa had been pushed into the middle of the lounge.
Several boys stood around it, laughing loudly whenever the young man sitting in the center spoke.
Girls from the same school sat nearby, forcing awkward smiles whenever he looked their way.
Even the waitresses wore polite expressions whenever they approached his table.
Not because they respected him.
Because none of them wanted trouble.
Ryan stopped walking.
"...That's him."
Antonio followed his gaze.
A young man lazily leaned back with one arm stretched across the sofa.
His school blazer hung over the backrest instead of being worn.
His tie had long since disappeared.
One foot rested on the table without anyone daring to complain.
He looked completely at home.
John.
He laughed loudly at something one of the boys said before reaching over and casually taking a glass from another student's hand without asking.
Nobody objected.
Even the waiter pretended not to notice.
One of the boys even laughed as though it were an honor.
Antonio watched quietly.
Nick leaned closer.
"...He's enjoying himself."
Antonio gave a small nod.
"Too much."
Before they could move any closer, John noticed Ryan.
His eyes immediately searched Ryan's hands.
The smile on his face slowly disappeared.
The entire group turned.
The chatter around the table died almost instantly.
Ryan's face turned pale.
John remained seated.
He didn't raise his voice.
He didn't need to.
"...You're late."
Ryan lowered his head.
"...Sorry."
John drummed his fingers against the armrest.
"My beer."
Ryan's lips parted.
Nothing came out.
John looked behind him.
No bottle.
His expression darkened.
"...Where is it?"
"I..."
Ryan's breathing became uneven.
"I..."
John stood.
The laughter around him vanished.
Even his followers instinctively stepped aside to give him room.
He walked over without rushing.
Every step echoed against the wooden floor.
Ryan instinctively took half a step back.
John stopped less than a meter away.
"I asked you something."
His voice remained calm.
"My beer."
Ryan clenched his fists.
"It..."
"It broke."
Silence.
John stared at him.
Then smiled.
Not because he found it funny.
Because he had already decided what was about to happen.
"It broke."
He repeated the words slowly.
"As in..."
"...you failed."
Ryan hurriedly shook his head.
"It wasn't my—"
John suddenly grabbed the front of his uniform.
"You had one job."
"It wasn't—"
"I gave you a order."
"...."
"I told you exactly what to buy."
"...."
"And somehow..."
John tilted his head.
"...you still failed."
The boys standing behind John laughed.
One of them folded his arms.
"Looks like Ryan wants another lesson."
Another smirked.
"He never learns."
Ryan closed his eyes.
He had heard these words too many times before.
John released his collar with a shove.
Ryan stumbled backward.
Only then did John notice Antonio and Nick standing a few steps behind him.
His eyes narrowed.
"...Who are they?"
Ryan instinctively looked toward the two.
Before he could answer—
Antonio spoke first.
"We're the reason the bottle broke."
John looked him up and down.
His expression carried open contempt.
"And?"
Antonio met his gaze without changing expression.
"So I thought we'd come to explain."
John laughed.
Not loudly.
Just enough for everyone around him to hear.
"You?"
"Explain?"
He looked at his followers.
"Did anyone invite these two?"
Several boys immediately shook their heads.
John looked back at Antonio.
"Then you've made a mistake."
"You walked into something that doesn't concern you."
Nick finally spoke.
"We're standing here now."
"So I think it does."
John's smile slowly disappeared.
Around the lounge, conversations had begun to die down. Customers quietly turned their attention toward the confrontation.
Nobody recognized Antonio or Nick.
John cracked his neck once before looking at Ryan again.
"You've been making interesting friends."
This wasn't going the way Ryan had hoped.
John let out a quiet laugh
The kind of laugh someone made after deciding they were completely in control.
He looked Antonio up and down once before dismissing him entirely.
"You know..."
He slipped both hands into his pockets.
"I've never seen either of you before."
Antonio shrugged.
"I've never seen you either."
A few of John's followers chuckled.
John smiled wider.
"Then you should've asked around before sticking your nose into my business."
Nick yawned dramatically.
"We were busy."
John's smile twitched.
Ryan stood between them, looking as though he wanted the floor to swallow him whole.
"John..."
He forced the words out.
"It wasn't their fault."
"I bumped into them."
"The bottle fell because of—"
John didn't even look at him.
"Did I ask?"
Ryan immediately lowered his head.
"...No."
The atmosphere around the table shifted.
Nobody dared interfere.
John looked back at Antonio.
"You broke my beer."
Antonio nodded once.
"Looks like it."
"We can buy another."
John laughed.
"You think this is about the beer?"
Antonio remained silent.
John took another step closer until they were barely an arm's length apart.
"It's about respect."
"If I let people ruin my things and walk away..."
He glanced toward the students standing behind him.
"...what do you think everyone here will start believing?"
Nobody answered.
John answered his own question.
"They'll think I'm weak."
One of the boys behind him immediately spoke up.
"Exactly."
Several others nodded immediately.
"Nobody disrespects Brother John."
Ryan's shoulders trembled.
Nick leaned slightly toward Antonio.
"...Loud."
Antonio gave the smallest nod.
"Very."
John frowned.
"What was that?"
Nick looked at him innocently.
"I said your friends are loud."
Several boys immediately stepped forward.
"What did you say?"
"Watch your mouth."
"Do you even know who you're talking to?"
Nick looked between them before turning back to Antonio.
"They all speak at once."
"I can't tell who's important."
A few students nearby failed to hide their smiles.
John's expression darkened.
The boys around him noticed it immediately.
One of them cracked his knuckles.
Another rolled up his sleeves.
Ryan's breathing quickened.
"No..."
He looked toward Antonio.
"You should leave."
"Please."
"Go."
"Just go."
John laughed.
"Leave?"
He shook his head.
"They're not leaving."
He slowly looked around the lounge.
"Everyone here saw them interrupt me."
"If I let them walk out..."
"What kind of example would that set?"
One of the boys immediately pointed at Antonio.
"He's right."
"They've got to apologize properly."
Another added,
"Get on your knees."
Several others laughed.
Ryan shut his eyes.
He already knew what happened next.
It always happened next.
Someone would refuse.
John's followers would rush in.
The victim would be beaten.
Tomorrow...
Everyone at school would talk about how another person had learned not to disrespect "John Moretti."
Antonio looked at the group surrounding them.
Then at Nick.
"Think there are... what?"
Nick counted casually.
"Ten."
"Twelve if those two behind the sofa come."
John finally lost his patience.
"I've given you enough chances."
He looked over his shoulder.
His voice remained calm.
"Teach them some manners."
One boy stepped forward.
The others quickly followed.
Ryan's face turned completely pale.
"...No..."
He instinctively reached toward Antonio's sleeve.
"You have to run."
Antonio looked down at the trembling hand gripping his arm.
Then he looked back at the circle slowly closing around them.
A faint smile appeared on Nick's face.
"It finally got interesting."
The first boy charged without thinking.
He expected Antonio to panic.
He came in fast, throwing a wide right hook that relied more on confidence than technique.
Antonio didn't move until the last second.
His head tilted a few centimeters.
The punch cut through empty air.
The attacker barely had time to realize he had missed.
Antonio stepped inside his reach.
A short elbow drove into the boy's ribs.
A dull thud echoed through the lounge.
The boy's eyes widened.
The air left his lungs all at once.
Before he could bend over, Antonio grabbed the back of his collar and redirected his momentum.
His face slammed across the edge of a nearby table.
Glasses rattled.
The entire table lurched sideways.
The boy collapsed to the floor, coughing violently, unable to stand.
"Don't just stand there!" John barked.
"Get behind him!"
Three more rushed forward together.
Nick clicked his tongue.
"...Too slow."
The one on the left tried to wrap both arms around his waist.
Nick simply stepped sideways.
The boy stumbled past him.
Nick planted one hand on the back of his neck and shoved.
His face smashed into another attacker charging from the opposite direction.
The two crashed together and rolled across the floor.
A third swung a chair.
Nick caught the chair before it completed its arc.
"...Really?"
He yanked hard.
The attacker instinctively held on.
That was his mistake.
The chair flew out of the boy's hands, dragging him forward.
Nick drove his knee into the boy's stomach.
The chair clattered away.
The attacker folded over, vomiting onto the floor.
Someone screamed. A waitress dropped her tray with a clatter. Customers scrambled backward from nearby tables.
"Don't stop!" John shouted. "There are only two of them!"
His voice was noticeably louder than before.
One student looked at his unconscious friends before tightening his fists and charging anyway.
Five more surrounded Antonio.
One circled behind him.
Another picked up a bottle.
Antonio watched each of them without turning his head.
His expression never changed.
The bottle came first.
It whistled toward the side of his head.
Antonio ducked.
Glass exploded against the wall behind him.
Before the man holding the broken neck of the bottle could react, Antonio caught his wrist.
Twist.
A sharp cry escaped the attacker.
The broken bottle slipped from numb fingers.
One boy froze at the sight and instinctively took a step back.
Antonio kicked the back of the first attacker's knee.
The boy dropped to one leg.
Then Antonio drove a straight punch into his jaw.
Crack.
The boy spun once before collapsing unconscious.
"Use the bottle!" John yelled. "Grab him!"
Another tried tackling Antonio from behind.
Antonio shifted his weight.
Instead of resisting...
He pulled.
The attacker's own momentum carried him forward.
His shoulder slammed into a support pillar hard enough to shake the decorative lights above.
Before he could recover—
Antonio's forearm struck across his chest.
The boy crashed onto a table.
Wood splintered beneath him.
Across the room—
Nick laughed.
"You guys are terrible."
A heavyset student roared as he swung wildly.
Nick leaned backward.
The fist stopped centimeters from his nose.
The second punch came immediately.
Nick slipped outside it.
Third.
Fourth.
Each one missed by inches.
"You've got power."
He smiled.
"No aim."
The heavyset boy lost patience and rushed him.
Nick stepped forward instead.
Their shoulders collided.
The larger boy expected resistance.
Instead—
Nick rotated his hips.
The boy's balance disappeared.
His own momentum lifted him off the ground.
For one brief moment...
His feet left the floor.
Then his back slammed into the polished tiles with a thunderous crash.
The sound echoed through the entire lounge.
The remaining students stopped.
Nobody wanted to be next.
Not because they wanted to.
Because they had just watched the biggest among them thrown down like he weighed nothing.
Nobody moved.
Heavy breathing filled the room.
Broken chairs lay scattered across the floor.
Several boys groaned where they had fallen.
Others crawled away, clutching bruised ribs or swollen jaws.
Antonio brushed invisible dust from his sleeve.
Nick cracked his neck.
"...Is that everyone?"
Neither of them sounded out of breath.
John stood frozen near the sofa.
The arrogant smile he had worn since they arrived had vanished.
He looked at another follower. The boy lowered his eyes.
For the first time that evening...
A flicker of uncertainty crossed his face.
His followers slowly looked toward him.
Waiting.
Waiting for the fearless "John Moretti" to do something.
To save face.
To prove everything he had claimed.
John swallowed.
Very quietly.
Very carefully.
He took one step backward.
Ryan blinked.
For the first time...
He had watched John retreat.
Nobody in the lounge spoke.
Every eye was fixed on John.
The fearless "Brother John" had just taken his first step backward.
The room waited to see what he would do next.