Chapter 209: Trolling The Trolls
Rohit already knew where this was heading.
The football. The shoulder bump. The loud taunts. Every move had been carefully staged.
It wasn’t meant to start a fight; it was meant to provoke one. Publicly. Especially while he was surrounded by some of the most popular girls in school.
It was a classic display of dominance. If he ignored them, they’d brand him a coward. If he lost his temper, he’d become the aggressive senior. If he fought back, the matter would inevitably reach the teachers—and eventually, his father.
He almost found it funny.
On his way to school, he’d beaten up grown men, spent time answering questions at the police station, and received another lecture about controlling his temper. Now, the first challenge waiting for him on campus was a group of schoolboys trying to play gangsters.
Quite the morning.
The irony wasn’t lost on him. For the first time, he understood why the old Rohit had tolerated so much. Sometimes restraint wasn’t weakness. It was simply... annoying.
Still, he had already decided to walk straight into the trap. Because the moment they chose him as their target, they had unknowingly stepped into a trap of their own.
Rocky, as the leader of the group watched him approach. The senior walked across the football ground with both hands tucked casually inside his pockets. No hesitation. No anger. No nervousness.
His brows slowly furrowed. He had confronted plenty of seniors before. Some acted tough. Some tried to negotiate. Most became visibly tense the moment they found themselves outnumbered. This one, however, looked almost curious.
It wasn’t the face of prey. It was the calm expression of someone assessing the situation before deciding how much force was necessary.
Without taking his eyes off Rohit, he spoke quietly. "That’s him?"
The boy standing beside him, Avesh, nodded. "Right. He is the same guy who talked to seo-yeon yesterday. I asked around—he was also the one who dealt with the ujjwal’s group inside the cafeteria last week. The suspension ended yesterday."
One of the broader players cracked his knuckles. "So what? There are eight of us. I’ll handle him myself."
Rocky raised his hand, stopping the broader guy immediately. "No."
Nobody moved.
"We don’t touch him first. We make him react." The group understood immediately.
If Rohit threw the first punch, they’d become the victims. Rocky smiled faintly. "Let him bury himself."
By then, Rohit had already reached them. He stopped a few steps away, and silence settled between both groups.
Then, he smiled. "Now then..." His gaze swept across every player before settling on the leader. "I’m curious. Which one of you geniuses thought calling a senior by his name was a good idea?"
The smile never left his face. "What class are you in? And while we’re at it... who’s your class teacher?"
For the first time that morning, the football team looked at one another.
That wasn’t the response any of them had expected. The football players exchanged confused glances.
One of them finally snorted. "...Did this idiot eat shit for breakfast?"
Another burst out laughing. "I think he did. Listen to the nonsense coming out of his mouth."
The entire group broke into mocking laughter.
Rohit simply smiled back, unfazed. He repeated himself as though he hadn’t heard a single insult.
"I’ll ask one last time." His eyes slowly swept across the group. "Which one of you thought calling a senior by his first name was acceptable?"
Silence.
"You’re talking about balls and respect..." Rohit tilted his head.
"Do you behave like this at home too? Or only when you’re hiding behind eight people?"
A few nearby students instinctively slowed their pace. More eyes turned toward the football ground.
Rohit continued calmly.
"Tell me your class. And your homeroom teacher. I’ll let them decide whether this is how juniors are supposed to behave."
The broad player finally stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "Enough with the lecture. Do you seriously think you can fight all of us?"
Rohit looked him up and down before giving a disappointed sigh. "So that’s your answer."
He shrugged. "You’re juniors. As your senior, correcting your behavior is my responsibility. But if you insist on acting like hooligans... I’ll have no choice but to involve your parents."
He smiled. "And trust me... I don’t think they’ll appreciate finding out their sons spend the morning threatening seniors in front of half the school."
By now, students had begun gathering in small groups around the field.
Several phones were already raised. Only then did a few members of the football team begin noticing the audience.
One quietly muttered, "...People are recording."
Rocky’s eyes flicked briefly toward the crowd before returning to Rohit. His expression hardened.
"And what if we don’t tell you anything?" A faint grin spread across his face. "What are you going to do?"
Rohit didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he walked straight toward Rocky.
The football players instinctively tensed.
Rohit stopped right in front of him, pointing directly at his chest. "You. Come with me."
Rocky frowned. "...What?"
"We’re going to the principal’s office. For publicly disrespecting a senior." Rohit stepped forward, inching closer with a calm but threatening presence.
Rocky laughed. "Seriously? Is that a joke?"
Without another word, Rohit grabbed him firmly by the front of his jersey. "I said..." He gave the collar a sharp tug. "...come."
Rocky’s teammates reacted instantly. "The hell are you doing?!"
The broad player lunged first, his fist shooting toward Rohit’s face.
At the last possible moment, Rohit yanked Rocky sideways and pulled him directly into the punch’s path.
Thud!
The fist landed squarely across Rocky’s cheek. He stumbled backward and crashed onto the grass.
Complete silence.
Even the attacker froze.
Rocky touched his swelling cheek in disbelief before slowly looking at his own teammate.
Rohit dusted off his hands as if cleaning dust from them. He clicked his tongue. "...Very violent bunch, aren’t you?"
Rocky’s expression twisted with rage. He pointed at Rohit, screaming at his team, "What the fuck are you all staring at?! Break his legs!"
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A/N//: In India, addressing a senior by their first name without using an appropriate honorific is widely considered disrespectful. In many schools and colleges, it is taken seriously, and arguments arising from it are often treated as a normal disciplinary matter rather than something authorities immediately intervene in. The custom remains common even in many higher educational institutions.