4. Kenan

"Why? Who are you? Why do you want to help me?!" I said to the man.

I've asked for help from everyone close to me, friends, teachers, and relatives, but none of them wants to help me, why does this unknown man want to help me?

"Because a woman as beautiful as you is too fond of being bullied," said the mysterious man casually.

For some reason, I doubt what that man said. It didn't make sense for him to bother helping me just because I was pretty.

"Forget it, you won't be able to help me!" I cried desperately.

"So what? Are you trying to commit suicide again? Don't you have a family at home? Is there someone waiting for you at home? How do you think they would feel if they found out that you died in vain because of a useless bunch of humans ?!" cried the man as he stood up, and came back to me.

I was slapped by the man's words. He was right, Daddy worked all day long to provide a good life for me, and he would be very hurt if I died by suicide.

"And those bullies, they will never change, if it's not you, they will choose another target, another weak woman that they can play with as they please!" cried the man again.

I again agreed with the man's words.

"It's a loss if you die just like that because of them! After what you've been through all this time, do you want to just leave? That's an idiot! Respond to them! Become a new person, why did you bring your suffering to death?!" cried the man while looking at me sharply.

I was fixated on his beautiful eagle eyes. Such a sharp and intimidating gaze.

The man was getting closer to me, standing so close, and slightly looked down at me sharply.

"I'm Kenan, and I promise to help you get revenge on them!" cried the man earnestly.

To be honest, I'm still very confused as to why he did that, but if he wants to help me, I won't bother with the reason. This is what it takes. A favor.

***

When I got home, I immediately threw my bag home and dropped my body on the bed. I am really tired. Tired of heart, tired of mind, tired physically, there's nothing I want right now except to sleep on my soft bed while playing games.

But, somehow the mysterious man named Kenan keeps filling my head. An unemployed man who wants to help me for revenge. There were all kinds of suspicions I had about that man.

First, he was once a victim of bullying, just like me. Second, he's an enemy of the Aster Gang, so he's taking advantage of me. Third, he pitied me and was unemployed enough to bother helping me. Fourth, he likes me because before he said, I was beautiful.

So, which one is right?

Kenan said earlier that starting tomorrow I have to see him every morning. I don't know what he wants to do to me. Why do I have to meet him so early?

He also said maybe I should skip a few days. I didn't have a problem with that because, to be honest, I planned to never come to school again, I just had to find the right reason for my Dad, so that the old man wouldn't worry too much.

Should I pretend I'm not feeling well? Yeah, it's the only way I can skip school without creating a lot of drama with Dad.

***

As soon as Dad left for the office, I headed straight to the place where Kenan asked me to come. At five in the morning, the man called me and asked me to come to the abandoned building where we met before.

The man was already waiting upstairs. Kenan wore black knee-length shorts with a gray T-shirt. Maybe I didn't realize it yesterday, but it turns out that Kenan is handsome. Eagle eyes, sharp nose, also the shape of a jaw that is so firm.

"You don't know what time it is?!" exclaimed Kenan annoyed as soon as I approached him.

"I have to wait for my Dad to go to work," I said quickly.

Kenan took a deep breath. The man took out a lotion from his trouser pocket and put it on me.

"Don't be confused, this is sunscreen, don't let your skin burn from exercising in an open area like this," exclaimed Kenan casually.

I don't care about the sunscreen he puts on my hands. I'm still confused about why he asked me to exercise. What does sport have to do with revenge?

"Kenan, you said earlier that I have to exercise?" I ask. I'm still confused.

"Hey, revenge takes a lot of energy! You have to be strong and healthy enough to do it! Do you know why they target you? It's because you're weak! Bullies always target weak girls like you!" Kenan exclaimed after taking a deep breath.

I'm speechless. Yeah, I'm not going to deny that one.

"We have a lot of agendas, so don't waste time! First, we have to get your bodies used to something that is tiring, and heavy! Second, I have to train you how to defend yourself, I master the martial art of pencak silat, so I will train you with that one. Thirdly, your mentality is lousy! You must be very crybaby, scared easily, and give up easily! Do you know? You can't get revenge with that kind of mentality! So, before you go back to school, At least you should be able to defend yourself when they torture you! Do you understand?!"

I tried to digest every word that came out of Kenan's mouth. Everything he said made a lot of sense. But how strong do I have to be to be able to fight them?

"There is one guy in the Aster Gang, his name is Marko. He's big, and athletic, I'm not sure I can fight him," I said quietly.

"You don't need to use your physique to fight someone like that Marko! You need a smart brain!" said Kenan casually.

"Smart?"

"Hum! I'll give you some tips later. For now, focus on strengthening yourself first! Look, you just walk like a living corpse, it's taking too long! How come your body doesn't have any muscles? How come it's so soft?" Kenan exclaimed while looking at me with a trivial look.

Admittedly, I never do sports, I spend all my free time lying in my room and playing games.

"Why are you silent? Hurry up and warm up!" Kenan ordered.

Oh okay. I can do it.

I stepped back from Kenan's presence and started doing movement after movement to stretch my muscles.

"Gosh, you never taking physical exercise? If the warm-up is correct, don't just move!" Kenan grumbled as he approached me. The man corrected the position of my hands and feet.

"If you pull too hard, it will hurt!" I protested.

"Stupid, if you don't warm up properly when you exercise later, your hands and feet can get cramps!" exclaimed Kenan while hitting my head.