Characters / Weak Hero

The character page for the webcomic Weak Hero.

Warning: the series is complete, thus spoilers will not be hidden.

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Protagonists

As a Whole

• Animal Motifs:
  • Gray's underhanded fighting style and quiet nature earn him the reptilian moniker "White Mamba".
  • Hot-Blooded Ben's unstoppable power has had him compared to a raging bull. Later on his ferocity and intimidation gets him likened to a lion.
  • Alex was known as "The Pitbull" back in middle school due to being a small scrapper who constantly picked fights. The name is even more appropriate since, like a real pitbull, Alex is a lot nicer than his reputation would suggest.
  • The speed that Gerard is capable of, thanks to his long limbs, has led to him being called a cheetah, a comparison he seems to like.
  • With his prominent canines, slitted eyes, and bright red hair, Rowan certainly evokes the image of a fox, which fits with him being something of a con-artist whose talent is over-exaggeration.
  • More subtle, but Teddy Jin's aloofness and willingness to remain sinister and proud despite his Heel–Face Turn matches quite well with the cats he's so fond of.
• Badass Crew: You have Gray, the hero of the story and the most brutal, cunning fighter in it; Ben, a juggernaut with near unmatched strength; Alex, a fearless brawler who fights with speed rather than strength; Gerard, unmatched in his footwork; Teddy, a former bully turned formidable ally; Rowan, a one-trick pony who nevertheless prevails with his killer elbow and endless bravado; and Eugene, who makes up for his complete lack of fighting skills by being incredibly knowledgeable and always determined to stand up for his friends, regardless of how badly he's beaten down for it. The more that they fight together, the deeper their friendship grows, until their loyalty is unmatched by any of the other fighting groups.
• Bash Brothers: While they do tend to fight solo more often than not, in situations where they've been ganged up on, they fight together and make good teams. Bonus points to Gray and Rowan, who display very effective teamwork against Grape's mob despite barely knowing each other at that point. It probably has to do with their similar fighting styles.
• Big, Thin, Short Trio: Ben is stocky and one of the strongest brawlers in the series; his best friend Alex is short and thin, and makes up for it by being quick on his feet; and then there's Gerard, who's extremely tall and skinny and takes advantage of it with his kick-based fighting style.
• Epiphany Therapy:
  • After a year of avoiding rooftops due to associated trauma, Gray is forced to fight against Wolf atop one. Though initially too shaken to fight, he eventually gains his Heroic Second Wind and comes out victorious. This, coupled with a previous heart-to-heart with Ben where he opened up for the first time about said trauma, allows Gray to overcome his phobia.
  • Fighting against Jake re-awakens Ben's deep-seated trauma from losing horribly against Donald Na, as Jake gives Ben the similar sense that he simply can't be beaten. However, Ben's growth as a person since he fought Donald prompts him to approach the fight from a different perspective, and it's because of this that he's able to overcome his fear and emerge victorious against Jake.
• Fire-Forged Friends: Gray first becomes properly acquainted with Gerard, Ben, and Alex after the trio help him stave off a gang of bullies. They're gradually drawn closer through the various battles they face as Gray climbs the hierarchy's ladder, until he's eventually able to admit to himself that he sees them as friends.
• Little Hero, Big War: There's a whole territorial dispute going on between the two halves of Seoul, with Eunjang High right at the centre of it. The protagonists are largely unaware of this, however, and are only involved insofar that they have their own, unrelated conflict with the southern half.
• Odd Friendship:
  • Of all the gang, the timid Eugene is the first to befriend Teddy- first because Teddy stepped in when Eugene was being attacked by another school, and then because they both looked after a homeless kitten.
  • Teddy gets another odd friend in Rowan. Despite Teddy being a reclusive sadist-turned-good-guy, and Rowan being a boisterous exaggerator, the two end up hanging out a lot since they're in the same classroom.
• Red Baron:
  • Thanks to a gossipy student at his cram school, Gray earns the moniker "White Mamba" that propels his reputation into The Dreaded territory.
  • Ben's imposing figure and more imposing reputation has gained him the nickname "Big Ben".
  • Gerard's proficiency with his feet earned him the nickname "Hot Foot Jin". He was also known as the "Mad Hound" back in middle school, doing whatever it took to win regardless of how brutal.
  • Rowan tried to invoke this by dubbing himself the "Sydney Guillotine" while intimidating another student. It doesn't actually mean anything, besides that Rowan lived in Australia for a few years.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Excluding Teddy, the group can be split neatly between those who are red and those who are blue: on one side you have the boisterous Ben, trigger-happy Alex, and loud-mouthed Rowan; on the other you have the quiet Gerard, stoic Gray, and timid Eugene. This dynamic is most clear between Rowan and Eugene, who knew each other in middle school and thus spend a lot of time together.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man:
  • Ben is stocky, muscular, and as strong emotionally as he is physically, whereas his best friend Alex is a slender Bishōnen with a lot of self-doubt and angst rolling around his head.
  • Though they both started out as nerds, Rowan grew up to be a boisterous, loud-mouthed bruiser while his buddy Eugene remains a staunch Non-Action Guy and an emotional anchor for the group.
• Vitriolic Best Friends: As you'd expect from a group of teenage boys, the protagonists spend as much time ribbing each other as they do watching each other's backs and strengthening their bonds. Ben and Alex in particular have been friends since childhood, but that doesn't stop them from picking petty fights with each other all the time.

Gray Yeon

Gray Yeon (연시은; Yeon Sieun)

"Underhanded? Did you call my ways underhanded? My body, a skeleton barely walking around. My height, just over 5'2. A fight couldn't even start on equal grounds to begin with... I'm well outnumbered and outclassed, you disgusting meatheads."

The titular weak hero of the webcomic. Despite what his bony stature and gentle looks would suggest, Gray is a brutal fighter who will do whatever it takes to win. His cold-hearted determination stems back to an incident in middle school where his best friend was hospitalised due to the cruelty of bullies and the cowardice of bystanders. Vowing to never get hurt again, Gray closes himself off to the world and learns everything he can to give him an advantage against the bullies who would try to keep him down. His cunning in battle eventually earns him the moniker "White Mamba", and brings him to the attention of the Yeongdeungpo Union. As his reputation grows, so too are people drawn to him, until he finds himself embroiled in Ben's gang and is slowly, slowly brought back out of his shell. A graduate of Byuksan Middle School.

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• Awesomeness by Analysis: In the battle against Jimmy, Gray is able to read his movements by watching the way his muscles contract. As Jimmy's style is based entirely on landing accurate hits, the sudden evasion knocks him off-kilter.
• Badass Adorable: A beautiful Bishōnen that’s capable of beating fifty shades of hell out of anyone who crosses his path.
• Badass Bookworm: Gray's expertise in battle is all thanks to his extensive studying on fighting techniques, the human anatomy, and any other subjects that could possibly earn him an advantage in battle, which all makes up for his thoroughly unimpressive physique.
• Batman Gambit: Gray's real weapon is psychological warfare and predicting his enemies.
• Beat Them at Their Own Game: Gray employs this on occasion, usually against more cunning or subtle opponents. Early in the series, he employs this brilliantly against Teddy Jin, mirroring many of Teddy's actions against him while isolating him and making him angry. Much later, a schoolmate named Minsu Gong attempts to kiss up to Gray, while bullying Eugene behind his back and attempting to wedge himself into the Eunjang group and take Eugene's place. Gray turns Minsu's own tactics around on him, in the process putting him squarely on Colton Choi's shit list, erasing the problem with a few lines of dialogue.
• Berserk Button: Gray is usually a terrifying individual, but he's frozen with fear when he's taken to a rooftop (his personal Trauma Button) to face Wolf. Things look bleak as Wolf gives him a thorough beating without Gray fighting back at all. Then Wolf makes the dreadful mistake of threatening to throw Gray off the roof, the same thing that happened to Gray's best friend and left him with his trauma. Wolf doesn't stand a ghost of a chance after that.
  • Harming his friends, especially those who can't even fight, is an even bigger trigger for Gray. After Bryce remorselessly caused Stephen's hospitalization, Gray in turn hospitalizes him. Later on after Dongha assaults Eugene, Gray hunts him down and gives him a brutal beatdown that traumatizes him.
• Bitch Slap: One of Gray's favoured tactics for putting bullies in their place. When getting revenge on Bryce, he slaps him so many times that his hand ends up bloody- and he doesn't even stop there.
• Blood Knight: Wasn't one at first, but after defeating Wolf Keum he seems to actually be looking forward to the next time someone challenges him. Jake Ji calls Gray out that he's turning into this whether he realizes it or not.
• Broken Bird: Gray's unsympathetic, ruthless side only came about after his best (and first) friend was constantly bullied and eventually hospitalised with little chance of recovery. This is what sent him on the warpath against Eunjang's hierarchy of bullies, and it takes a long time for his newfound companions to break through his hard shell and give him back some sense of happiness.
• Broken Tears: After Stephen is hospitalised, Gray visits him and stoically stands by his side for an hour. It's only after he leaves that he breaks down, collapsing to the ground and crying uncontrollably.
• Combat Pragmatist: Gray's bread and butter. To make up for his lack of muscle, Gray employs every nasty trick in the book in order to win his battles- attacking an opponent's sensitive areas, using everything he has on hand as a weapon, restraining them so he can pummel them while they're helpless, the list goes on.
• Cowardice Callout: He calls out the schoolteachers for going above and beyond to cover up the school bullies' violence because they feared the bullies' influential parents would damage the school's reputation if the bullies were brought to account.
• Death Glare: He gets a hell of a mean look in his eye when he's crossed, which more than makes up for his otherwise unintimidating figure.
• Defrosting Ice King: Gray was always a stoic and unapproachable person, but his barriers increased tenfold after his first true friend was hospitalised. He gradually ends up getting closer to Ben's gang, however, until he's eventually able to admit to himself that they're his new friends.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Back in middle school, Gray studied extensively because he didn't know what else he was supposed to do in his life. His pursuit of knowledge was his way of filling the emptiness in his heart.
• The Dreaded: Anyone who goes toe-to-toe with Gray ends up absolutely terrified of him. His underhanded, humiliating methods of defeating his foes are far worse to them than the beating they'd expect from any other person.
• Establishing Character Moment: Though he looks weak, Gray quickly demonstrates his cunning strength when Colton tries to bully him; he restrains the bigger boy and slaps him into submission in front of the entire class, threatening to gouge his eyes out if he acts up again.
• Even the Guys Want Him: Multiple male characters have commented on how beautiful Gray is- including his friends Alex and Eugene, who have ended up blushing because of him.
• Expecting Someone Taller: For a long while he's able to remain incognito cause no-one ties the legendary, bully-killing White Mamba to the scrawny pretty boy who can barely manage a pull-up. 90% of the time, the reaction people have upon learning his identity is "Really? That guy?"
• Extreme Mêlée Revenge: To cap off his brutal beatdown of Bryce, Gray punches him over and over until his face is nearly unidentifiable under all the bruises and swelling. Then Gray tapes Bryce's body together with his two "buddies" before kicking him in the face repeatedly to the point of near death, while wearing steel-toe boots. Bryce deserved every second of it.
  • Gray systematically wrecks Dongha, using whatever he could use in the alleyway. After getting Dongha at his mercy, Gray savagely knees him in the face several times until he broke most of his teeth out then proceeds to beat him into a coma. Throughout the beatdown, Gray focused on breaking Dongha's face to ensure he could never laugh and screech again.
• Face Your Fears: His battle with Wolf takes place atop a rooftop, forcing Gray to deal with his phobia of them. After the fight is over, and Gray recovers from his injuries, he makes his way to the school rooftop and realises that he's not so afraid of them anymore.
• First-Name Basis: Gray calling Eugene by his first name is a sign that he's starting to regard him as a friend. When Eugene realises this, he blushes.
• Good Is Not Nice: Though Gray is the protagonist, and the story is ultimately about him taking down a hierarchy of bullies, that doesn't mean that he's a kind person. Due in large part to the trauma of his past, Gray is stoic at best and a cold-hearted demon at worst.
• Improbable Weapon User: One of Gray’s main tactics is to take whatever is nearby and beat hell out of his opponent with it, whether it be curtains, a book, a bucket, his bag, or even a Coke can.
• Invincible Hero: Gray has won every single fight that he's participated in. In fact, it's his philosophy to never engage in a fight if he isn't certain that he'll win. His fight with Wolf, over eighty episodes into the webcomic, is the first time he suffers anything more than a scrape. When Gray fights, it's not a question of if he'll win, but how he will.
• Naïve Newcomer: Having transferred from a prestigious school, Gray knows next to nothing about the hierarchy of Eunjang High and the workings of Yeongdeungpo's gangs in general, leaving it up to Eugene to explain most of it to him.
• Nerves of Steel: When it comes time to battle, Gray forces his emotions to the side so that he can think logically about the steps he needs to take to win. This leaves outsiders with the impression that he's completely stoic, even though he does genuinely feel fear when he has to fight.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown:
  • After taking out Oscar and his lieutenant, Gray gives an especially brutal one on Bryce for his betrayal of his and Stephen's friendship. After pulping his face, Gray then duct tapes Bryce together with the beaten forms of his clique before proceeding to kick him in the face repeatedly long after beating him unconscious.
  • Against Wolf, after Wolf threatens to throw him off the roof. With his Berserk Button triggered, Gray rises from his beating, incapacitates Wolf, and then beats the ever-loving hell out of him, continuing long after Wolf has fallen unconscious.
  • Against Dongha in revenge for assaulting Eugene minutes earlier. Gray systematically beats the ever-living shit out of Dongha
• No Sympathy: Gray makes it clear that he holds no sympathy for those who follow a bully's orders out of fear of being hurt. His lack of sympathy is elaborated on in a flashback; not only did he show sympathy towards the boy who'd end up responsible for hospitalising Gray's best friend, but his classmates all stood back and let it happen out of fear that they'd be targeted next. From then on, he reasons that sympathy is highly unnecessary.
  Gray: Delusional idiots who think their situation will improve, if they just follow the orders of their oppressors without even trying to fight back. I haven't a drop of pity for such idiots.
• Not So Stoic:
  • After he beats down Teddy in front of the whole class, Eugene is the only one to notice that, despite how fearless Gray seems, his hands shake violently after the fight. The realisation that Gray was fighting in spite of his fear, rather than not experiencing it at all, makes Eugene feel awful for giving in to his own cowardice, and prompts his Character Development.
  • When Stephen is hospitalised, Gray first appears to be as emotionless as ever. He stays at Stephen's side for an hour, watching over him with a blank expression. Then, on his way home, he collapses in the middle of the pavement and cries uncontrollably.
• Not So Weak: Inverse, especially in the beginning of the story. Gray will retaliate if bothered even once, and he runs on self-preservation above all. This changes later on as he gathers a group of friends who he is also willing to defend.
• Out-of-Character Moment: Gray recognises Dean as a tough opponent and goes through a series of steps to disarm him first. The first is provocation, which Gray enacts with a haughty chuckle. Rowan and Eugene, who have never heard Gray laugh before, are completely freaked out.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Gray was done trying to peacefully resolve issues with bullies. Ever since Stephen got hospitalized by bullies who had connections to evade punishment, Gray dishes out violent retribution on them, giving them exactly what they deserve. He even mentally says that he doesn't care about crossing the line. From that point on, Gray responds to arrogant bullies in the only way they can understand, through immense pain.
• Pretty Boy: He's a beautiful young man, with silky silver hair, purple eyes, and long lashes. The story's inciting incident is Colton groping Gray to confirm that he's not actually a girl.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Against the bullies responsible for hospitalising his best friend Stephen. After training his body to the point that he's able to make use of the various techniques he's studied, Gray lures them into the classroom and then utterly demolishes them. Gray freely admits that he's crossing the line with how brutally he beats them up, and also that he doesn't care.
  • Against Dongha after he assaults Eugene in an alleyway that he needed to be hospitalized. Gray hunts Dongha down and subjects him to an even more brutal beatdown to the point he didn't seem to care if he kills Dongha with his bare hands.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: Gray responds to anyone trying to give him or his friends a Breaking Speech with a sudden attack, as he sees it as pathetic whining from bullying losers. He's not interested in what they have to say since as far as Gray is concerned, rantings from scumbags is nothing but hypocrisy and don't mean shit to him.
• Significant Birth Date: His birthday is May 15th, or 5/15, which as a number symbolises opportunity and change- the same number is used for Stephen's hospital room, and it's his hospitalisation which provides the catalyst for Gray to become a Bully Hunter.
• The So-Called Coward: Despite his reputation, Gray sees himself as a coward since he only engages in fights he knows he can win. Gray also is afraid when getting into fights, but he has since conditioned himself to never show fear to his opponents at all costs in order to score a victory.
• The Stoic: Gray is naturally reserved and rarely shows emotion that isn't the occasional flash of anger directed towards his bullies. It takes many battles with Ben's gang at his side for Gray to acknowledge them as his friends and slowly open himself up to them.
• Talk to the Fist: Another tactic of his combat pragmatism.
  • When Philip Kim tries to intimidate him with more of his bullshit, Gray shuts him up using Rowan's tactic, elbowing him suddenly in the face.
  • Jeongmu tried to alienate Gerard from his friends by blabbing about his past. Gray simply kicks him in the face to shut him up, not giving a damn about his whining rants.
• Time to Unlock More True Potential: Gray was already one of the most effective fighters in the series, but his battle with Wolf is the first time that he takes a serious beating before he comes out victorious. In the hospital afterwards he's shown running combat simulations in his mind, optimising himself to become an even better fighter than before. It's shown in his next fight that his enhanced analysis combined with adrenaline allows him to predict opponent's moves almost before said opponent even knows what they're doing themselves.
• Tranquil Fury: Whenever Gray would mercilessly beat down on those who have wronged him, he’d do so with cold efficiency.
• Underestimating Badassery: Even those who are aware of Gray's fearsome reputation often find themselves underestimating the skinny, pale kid when they meet him in the flesh. They always, without question, come to regret it.
• When He Smiles: Gray is a stoic person who doesn't have much to smile about. When he does, the other characters tend to make a note of it.
• Wife-Basher Basher: With the memory of how his friendship with Stephen was shortened, Gray is very unforgiving towards those who destroy friendships. He's merciless when he attacks Jeongmu, who hurt Julia, Lily's best friend.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Gray has an intense fear of rooftops ever since his best friend was pushed off one and hospitalised. When Ben discovers this, he relocates the gang's hangout spot from the rooftop to an empty schoolroom. Then Wolf demands that Gray be taken to a rooftop for a fight; this is how Gray suffers his first serious beating in the series, as he's too afraid of being on the roof to retaliate. Not at first, anyway.

Ben Park

Ben Park (박후민; Park Humin)

"If that's your strongest attribute, and fighting with strength is the game you wanna play, you've made the wrong damn choice."

The undisputed strongest fighter of Eunjang, though he doesn't place as much stock in his reputation as everyone else does. What Ben lacks in intelligence and ambition, he more than makes up for with the strength of his body and his heart. After suffering a long-term injury due to Donald Na, Ben has tried to keep himself off of the Union's radar. This changes when the Union goes after those that he cares about- including his childhood friend Alex and the slowly defrosting Gray. Once the Union crosses that line, Ben decides that he's had enough and vows to take them down. A graduate of Eunjang Middle School.

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• The Ace: Incredibly powerful, emotionally strong, down-to-earth and always confident, loved by his friends and respected or feared by his foes. Ben is overall a great guy, which makes it suck all the more that he's so often targeted by the many jerkasses and bullies of Yeongdeungpo.
• Ambiguously Brown: He has notably darker skin than the rest of the cast. He can speak Spanish and has made reference to a Portuguese football player, but his exact ethnicity hasn't been stated.
• Art Evolution: Ben's design changes the most noticeably from the start of the comic. In the beginning◊ he had long, curled hair and exaggerated lips that were borderline caricature. His hair is shortened twice throughout the comic, and his lips are toned back so they aren't to the point of absurdity.
• Barbarian Longhair: In middle school, Ben sported hair that went down to his shoulders. Though he tried to avoid fighting where possible, he still demonstrated a ferocious fighting spirit when pitted against Jimmy and Donald. The image of him with blank white eyes and untamed hair is a striking one.
• Beware the Silly Ones: Ben's a goofball, and most of the time doesn't seem to have a worry in the world. Even as the rest of the school labours under the influence of the Union, Ben can be seen having a great time messing around with his friends. That isn't to say that he doesn't care- as soon as the Union try to mess with the ones he cares about, he more than demonstrates how he earned the nickname Big Ben.
• Big Eater: Ben has a healthy appetite on him, capable of eating six slices of pizza in a single go. Eugene nicknames him the Devourer because of it, and jumps on the opportunity to order food without Ben around.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: Fitting for the biggest bruiser in the series, Ben has a fierce pair of bushy brows.
• Boisterous Bruiser: There's nothing Big Ben enjoys more than a good fight, and he's as energetic in one as he is out. He's also the buffest of the main characters, and while he's not exactly Dumb Muscle, he does excel more with emotional intelligence than he does in academics.
• Broken Hero: Throughout middle school, Ben faced constant jeering by his peers who believed, due to his non-confrontational nature, that his strength was all for show. This ended with his best friend Alex becoming distanced from him and getting involved with the wrong crowd. When Alex got in trouble because of it, Ben came to his rescue and not only got thoroughly beaten by Donald Na, but suffered from a severe arm injury while protecting Alex. Though he has every reason to angst about it, Ben barely seems to care, and instead it's Alex who blames himself for what happened and beats himself up over it.
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: Yes, Ben is one of the strongest boys in the webcomic and has no reservations about beating thugs into a pulp if he needs to. He's also one of the most compassionate, cares deeply about his friends, and goes out of his way to look out for others when he can. Forrest successfully riles Ben not by targeting Ben himself, but by targeting his fellow students, guilting Ben into hunting him down.
• The Chains of Commanding: Though he rarely shows it, Ben suffers under a lot of stress as a result of being the leader of Eunjang, and the main force keeping the school safe from the Yeongdeungpo Union. Whenever the school or his friends are targeted, Ben is quick to blame himself and fly into a rage against the attacker. In Season 3, Gerard realises how much he's taken on his shoulders and resolves to be his supporting pillar.
• Cuddle Bug: It's very common to find Ben with his arms slung around one of his buddies, particularly Alex and Eugene.
• Determinator: Ben is very difficult to take down in a fight, not only because of his impressive strength, but because he just never gives up.
  • After fighting Jimmy Bae, Donald Na, four of their mooks, and protecting Alex from falling construction with his own body, Ben is still able to stand through the power of his instinct alone.
  • After a fight with Jake that goes on for three entire episodes, the bloody and beaten Ben is smashed over the head with a wooden beam. This still doesn't down him; when his attacker starts fighting Alex next, Ben gets right back up and starts pounding him.
• Friendly Address Privileges: Though he's loosened up about it in the present day, middle school Ben didn't like people calling him Big Ben if they weren't his friend.
• Handicapped Badass: Downplayed with his arm injury; though it's not a severe disability, it's still shown to be a hindrance to him in battle. Doesn't stop him from emerging victorious in the end, though.
• Heroic Sacrifice: While protecting the downed Ben, Alex is kicked into a pile of wooden planks by Donald. The pile begins to collapse on top of him and Ben uses his last ounce of energy to run forward and protect Alex. This is what caused his arm injury that has persisted through into high school.
• Heroic Safe Mode: Jake is one of the only fighters (besides Donald) to cause Ben to doubt whether he can truly win the fight. In order to succeed, Ben forces out his emotions and instead laser focuses on the battle, thinking only of what he needs to do to win.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Alex. The two have been inseperable friends since childhood, and hurting Alex is the one sure-fire way to piss Ben off. Gerard teases them about it in their first meeting, saying the two look good together.
• Idiot Hero: He isn't the smartest cookie in the jar, but Ben makes up for it with his stupendous strength and upbeat personality that garners people's respect and keeps him strong even when the going gets tough.
• It's All My Fault: Something of a character flaw for Ben; though he can handle it when he's the one taking a beating, he can't stand the people around him getting hurt, and feels responsible for it even when it isn't this fault. In middle school, Alex keeps silent about fighting for Ben's honour, knowing that Ben would blame himself for it if he found out.
• Just Ignore It: Ben's response to the Gilshin bullies in middle school, choosing to ignore their taunting so long as they aren't physically hurting people, and also his reaction to the Union, preferring to live as peacefully as he can at Eunjang rather than confronting them. This changes when Alex and Gray are both hurt deeply by the Union, firing up his resolve to take the Union down.
• Large and in Charge: Unlike many of the other fighters in the webcomic, Ben's prowess in fighting is readily seen in his large, stocky frame. When others discuss Ben as the designated king of Eunjang, their image of him often has him towering over them.
• Mighty Glacier: Ben isn't as quick as his peers, and thus more susceptible to attacks, but it doesn't matter much when he can soak up hits like a champ. And that's nothing compared to his raw power output, which has been compared to a sledgehammer and an avalanche of boulders.
• My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Gray and Ben end up going on a road-trip to Busan, during which time the Mok-Ha Duo close in on Alex and Gerard. Though they're a city apart, Ben still gets a bad feeling in his chest when Dongha overpowers Alex and threatens to break his arm.
• "Not So Different" Remark: When Ben finally goes face-to-face against Jake, he admits that something about Jake strikes him as familiar, and that maybe the two of them are the same after all.
• Simple-Minded Wisdom: Ben is a simple person who doesn't bother hiding his emotions and doesn't seem to suffer under any complex issues. That said, he has an emotional depth to him that's partially responsible for drawing the rest of the gang to him. He's the first person that Gray opens up to about his traumatic past, and is well experienced in counseling Alex from their ten years of friendship.
  Ben: Do you know what my motto is? It's "the tougher the situation you're facing is, the more simpleminded you have to be."
• The So-Called Coward: Unlike the rest of the big names in Yeongdeungpo, Ben is defensive rather than proactive and usually only ends up fighting when people mess with him or his friends. This started a rumour back in middle school that he was all talk, which eventually led to many students talking shit about him behind his back. This was put to a swift end when he effortlessly took down Jimmy Bae and even managed to hold his own for a while against the invincible Donald Na. Nowadays, no-one at Eunjang doubts that Ben is the strongest in their school.
• Supporting Leader: He's the head of the small group that Gray is eventually integrated in- he doesn't do anything to enforce this, but his natural magnetism causes the others to automatically think of him as their leader. He's also one of the strongest characters, and has personal beef against the Union that's upholding the school hierarchy. That said, it's still Gray that's the protagonist of the story.
• This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: When Timothy laments that Jake wouldn't be able to fight against both Ben and his friends, Gray calls him out for assuming that Ben would use numbers to his advantage; he's too honorable for that. Indeed, when the fight goes down, Jake and Ben both insist that it be one-on-one.
• Took a Level in Badass: Inverted; after his fight with Jimmy a year ago, Ben underwent physical therapy and lived a life of relative peace afterwards. This leaves him under-prepared when Jimmy rears his head again, though the disadvantage still doesn't stop him from winning.
• Unstoppable Rage:
  • Upon finding Alex beaten to a pulp by Forrest, Ben's eyes go completely white and he pummels Forrest so viciously that it's described as an assault rather than a fight. It's only Alex regaining consciousness and telling him to stop that brings Ben back to his senses.
  • History repeats itself after Naksung attacks the already-beaten Ben with a wooden beam. Alex intervenes, beating Naksung in a fury, only for Naksung to grab the broken beam and retaliate. Ben, at that point thought unconscious, gets back on his feet, downs every one of Naksung's Mooks with a single blow, and then starts laying into Naksung so badly that the others are certain Naksung will die. With Alex unconscious, Jake stops his rage instead by stepping in front of Naksung, knocking Ben out of his one-track bloodlust.
• Worthy Opponent:
  • So far he's the only character who's been shown to impress Donald Na, who admits that Ben has guts for fighting him for so long despite the impossible odds.
  • He and Jake see each other as worthy opponents; for Ben, Jake is the first person to get him to focus entirely on the fight, putting aside all extraneous feelings or thoughts.

Alex Go

Alex Go (고현탁; Go Hyeontag)

"I'm proud that Ben's my friend... I always have been. That's why I really want to be someone who can help him. Since friends should be able to count on each other."

A fiesty kid that's been Ben's best friend since they were toddlers. Constantly being underestimated by his peers has left him with something of a quick temper and an eagerness to prove himself in battle. This led to him getting involved with the wrong people in middle school, which in turn brought him into conflict with Jimmy Bae. The ensuing battle left Ben with a long-term arm injury, which Alex still blames himself for. He has a target on his back due to his friendship with Ben, though hurting either of them is a very bad idea if you don't want the other raining hell down on you. A graduate of Eunjang Middle School.

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• Affectionate Nickname: His best friend Ben calls him "Gogo", which catches on with the rest of their friend group as they slowly get closer to the two.
• And Your Little Dog, Too!: It's a well-known fact that the easiest way to get to Ben is to target his best buddy Alex. This has lead to him suffering two severe beatdowns from Jimmy Bae and Forrest Lee.
• Characterisation Marches On: His initial characterisation as a slightly unhinged hothead falls to the wayside in lieu of a more serious, introspective personality, particularly come Season 3 where his insecurities are at the forefront.
• Chuunibyou: According to Ben, Alex went through a chuuni phase in middle school, with his given example being when Alex went to the beach and melodramatically stated "not to look for him".
• Defeat as Backstory: In the past he squared up against Jimmy Bae and ended up getting thoroughly beaten. It wasn't the defeat that affected him the most, however, but Ben stepping in and suffering a long-term injury because of it. This lead to his fear of Jimmy in the present, and when Jimmy beats him again he isolates himself so that Ben won't get hurt again.
• Dissonant Laughter: Sometimes, when Alex is overwhelmed in battle, he'll break out in highly inappropriate laughter that serves to disturb his opponents.
• Distressed Dude: You could make a drinking game out of how often Alex lands himself in hot water. In the backstory he's attacked by Jimmy Bae and needs Ben to rescue him from both Jimmy and his boss Donald. Jimmy beats him up again in the present day in order to piss Ben off. Forrest does the same thing, beating Alex into unconsciousness so that Ben will come and face him. Alex tries to protect Ben from Naksung when Naksung attacks Ben with a wooden beam, but Naksung overpowers him and the heavily-injured Ben gets back up to protect Alex instead. Then Dongha dislocates Alex's arm in their face-off, with Gerard coming in at the last minute to stop him from doing worse. Suffice to say, the repeated losses have a nasty effect on Alex's self-esteem, and starting from Season 3 he's determined to toughen himself up so that his friends won't always have to save him.
• Dramatic Dislocation: Dongha briefly dislocates his shoulder during their fight, leaving Alex with only one arm to work with. While all the fights in the series are brutal, this marks the first time that one of the protagonists has lost the use of their limb during a fight. He still manages to get in some good hits, but Dongha keeps targeting his injured shoulder and would've forced him into a defeat if not for Gerard's intervention.
• Fragile Speedster: Alex's main strength in battle is his speed, but he's not as powerful or durable as Ben, and is liable to get ganged up on since he has a bad tendency to rush into every battle.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Alex has a large scar across the bridge of his nose that marks him as a delinquent without sacrificing his good looks. He's shown with a bandage there before entering middle school, implying that's the timeframe that he earned the scar, but the details of it have yet to be revealed.
• Height Angst: Alex used to be taller than Ben when they were kids. He's shown pouting when Ben starts to outgrow him, and drinking many a milk carton in the hopes of growing taller. All he gets is a long trip to the bathroom with Ben laughing at him.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Ben. The two of them have been best friends since they were toddlers, and are near inseperable. Insulting or otherwise attacking Ben is a very easy way to tick Alex off.
• Honor Before Reason: Letting himself get beat up by Jimmy, refusing the help of his friends and deliberately concealing it from the much stronger Ben. As his previous altercation with Jimmy led to Ben suffering an arm injury, he refuses to get Ben involved again. Of course, Ben finds out anyway, and gives Jimmy the beatdown he deserves.
• Hot-Blooded: Alex always fights with 100% guts and grit, and rarely thinks before throwing himself into battle. This was especially true before he suffered a beatdown from Jimmy, which tempered his fire a little (but not completely).
  Alex Go, or more appropriately, Alex FuckOutMyWay...
• I Am Not Left-Handed: At the start of Season 3, a kindly stranger points out to Alex that he actually is left-handed and has been fighting in the wrong stance for the entire series. When he switches stances, he realises how much more natural it feels.
• The Load: By Season 3 he's really started to beat himself up for how little he's been able to help Ben in battle- and, in fact, has often needed Ben to bail him out when he's been targeted by opponents stronger than him. He realises that it's a mental problem as much as a physical one, and so takes on the deadly Dongha Baek in the hopes that doing so will help him get over his mental block.
• My Greatest Failure: Alex holds himself responsible for Ben's arm injury, as not only was Ben protecting him, but it was Alex getting involved with the wrong crowd that led to them both being at the construction site in the first place. Even though Ben constantly tells him not to blame himself, Alex can't help but do so.
• Not Worth Killing: Seongmok, known for only fighting strong opponents, passes up Alex without a second thought, which Dongha mocks him for. This doesn't help with Alex's existing self-doubts about not being strong enough to help Ben.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Alex is always quick to get into fights, especially when someone badmouths Ben. However, he was the one who had to physically restrain Gray when he was beating Dongha to near death, begging Gray not to sink to their level.
• Overshadowed by Awesome:
  • He's a competent fighter in his own right, but he just can't hold a candle to the insurmountable Ben and cunning Gray. Even Gerard managed to make his way onto the in-universe fighter ranking where Alex did not. When Alex realises it, he wonders if he's supposed to be a meter for power like Yamcha.
  • While initially brought up as a joke, Alex constantly being overshadowed by his friends is portrayed more seriously in Season 3. He feels terrible that Ben always has to save him while he can't help Ben in turn, and so trains harder than ever so he can be on equal footing to the rest of the gang. When he still ends up losing to Dongha, it has a devastating effect on him.
• Pride: Alex's Fatal Flaw. He's overly sensitive to his reputation as "just Ben's lackey", and is quick to fly off the handle if someone accuses him of riding off Ben's coattails. This was even worse in middle school, where he got involved with the wrong crowd after they appealed to his strength.
• Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Alex's go-to move. What he lacks in raw strength he makes up for with the speed that he can launch punches, smacking his opponents too quickly for them to react.
• Slasher Smile: Colton taunts Alex by saying that he's scared of fighting when Ben isn't around to help him out. Alex's response is to burst into Dissonant Laughter and flash a very toothy, very unhinged smile.
• Take Me Instead: When Donald says that he might actually end up killing Ben, Alex steps up and begs Donald to fight him instead, taking his best friend's place. It's only a conveniently timed phone call that stops either of them from facing Donald's wrath.
• Tears of Remorse: After Ben takes a beating from Donald Na and protects Alex from falling debris, Alex rushes him to the hospital while crying and apologising for landing them in that situation in the first place.
• Trauma Button: The incident where Ben suffered an arm injury while standing up for Alex. Being reminded of it causes Alex to either freeze up (when he encounters Jimmy) or lash out in a frenzy (when Jack taunts them about it).

Gerard Jin

Gerard Jin (진가욜; Jin Gayool)

^{Click here to see the Mad Hound}

"I don't have the time to care about anyone else's business..."

An unusually quiet, unusually tall, and overall unusual student. Known as 'Hot Foot Jin' for his proficiency using his feet in battle, and also the 'Mad Hound' for events that happened back in middle school. Though he keeps to himself and very little is known about him, Gerard proves to be a stalwart ally and good friend once he's brought into Ben's gang. A graduate of Do-Eui Middle School.

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• And Your Little Dog, Too!: Being Ben's friend and a placer on the Shuttle Patch rankings, Jake deliberately targets Gerard for a beating in order to provoke Ben into fighting Jake with no holds barred.
• Beautiful All Along: In the present day Gerard sports an unflattering green bob that covers his eyes and gets him nicknamed variations of Broccoli Head. A flashback in Season 3 reveals what he looked like back in his Mad Hound days- fangirls in-universe and out lost their mind over the boy with beautiful eyes, stylish hair, studded ears and a leather jacket. It's understandable that he'd change things up though, given the trauma (both mental and physical) that he went through in the past. Gerard eventually gets a far more flattering haircut after dealing with Jeongmu, showing off his good looks.
• Berserk Button: Moving aside his bangs which hides his burn scars.
• Chick Magnet: When he slicks back his hair, that is. Back in his band days, the concert hall was full of girls going gaga over him, which contributed to the band's overall popularity.
• Cloudcuckoolander: He's a pretty weird guy once you get to know him, with his odd sleeping habit, old-fashioned tastes, and cadre of other weird quirks like his interest in tarot and weakness to slapstick comedy.
• Despair Event Horizon: An escalating series of traumas causes Gerard to hit this in his backstory. An agency targets his band for a scam, causing Hyeonjin to quit. Gerard begs him to return, enamoured as he is with Hyeonjin's music, only for Hyeonjin to reveal that he never liked the band or the music that Gerard cared for so much. Meanwhile, a bully at school gets so obsessed with Gerard that he beats Gerard's friend into a pulp and then sets their practice room on fire. Gerard leaps in to save Hyeonjin's music, only to get caught in an explosion that hospitalises and scars him. It's because of all of this that he completely loses the will to play the music that he once loved. Fortunately, a year later, he becomes a True Companion to Ben's gang and rediscovers his love of song.
• Et Tu, Brute?: Though Gerard never got along with his old bandmate Hyeonjin, he was thoroughly enamoured with Hyeonjin's music and connected to it in a way that no-one else did. This made it hurt all the more when Hyeonjin revealed that he never cared about the band, and the music he made meant nothing to him.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Back in middle school, once he decided he was tired of being bullied, he slicks back his hair to match his new status as "Mad Hound". After spending most of the series with a distinct bowlcut that covers his eyes in order to hide his burn scars, Gerard finally gets a haircut, symbolizing how he has moved past his trauma and no longer hides himself.
• Extremity Extremist: Gerard uses his noodly frame to his advantage by fighting almost exclusively with his legs. He even uses his feet against a punching machine, and manages to outpower Ben's fist because of it.
• Eyes Out of Sight: His current thick fringe covers his eyes most of the time. It's commented that he has nice eyes and would look much better with a haircut, which he did in the past.
• Good Old Ways: One of his charming points is his old-fashioned sense of taste; he enjoys a canned fruit drink that the other teens turned their noses at, and bought the gang a type of ice-cream popular with their dads.
• Height Angst: Middle school Gerard hated how tall he was: he doesn't like standing out, but his height made him an easy target for gossip and insults. He's more relaxed about it now that he's hit high school.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: Once he became the Mad Hound, Gerard threw himself into the role entirely... or tried to, but he still wouldn't hesitate to do good deeds like stopping little kids from being run over.
  Gerald: [to himself] Don't look so nice. Put on your scary face. Mad Hound. Mad Hound.
• I Am Not Left-Handed: He struggles in his fight against Seongmok until he pulls out a card he's been keeping close to his chest; he doesn't fight with his feet because it's his specialty, but because he made a promise not to use his fists for a year. With that year expired, he effortlessly pummels Seongmok into unconsciousness.
• I Gave My Word: It's revealed in his backstory that he made a promise to his ex-bandmate not to fight with his fists for an entire year. Despite the rocky relationship between them, and how beneficial for Gerard it would be if he'd broken said promise (especially in his fight against Jake), he resolutely kept his word until the end.
• Mysterious Past: How did Gerard earn the nickname "Mad Hound" back in middle school? Why does he sleep in such strange places? Why does he know how to play guitar like a pro? Where and why did he learn how to read with a personalised tarot deck? What's his part-time job? The more that's learned of Gerard, the more questions that are raised about his history. Even when he gets his own backstory arc, it doesn't answer everything about him.
• An Odd Place to Sleep: Gerard has been found sleeping in the classroom (and not at his desk, but across a row of them before class starts) and in a bush, which only contributes to the general mystery surrounding him.
• Pastimes Prove Personality: The mysterious, reserved Gerard is shown to be an excellent singer and guitar player, though it's a talent he's hesitant to reveal to others. This is because of his past at the guitarist for a former rock band called Slam, where he and fellow band member Hyeonjin clashed over plans to sign with a major production house that eventually screwed them over. The band split, Hyeonjin abandoned his friends and all of their music was destroyed in a fire, breaking his spirit and his desire to ever play music again.
• The Quiet One: He doesn't speak much, and when he does it's usually to the point. At least, that's how he generally acts- once he becomes friends with Ben's gang, he opens up more and shows a more excitable side.
• Rage Breaking Point: He goes along with Jimmy's gang when they forcefully drag him to the school's incinerator; however, when they start making fun of his hair, he gives up on remaining calm and starts to lay into them with his vicious kicks.
• The Reliable One: Though not as pronounced as Ben, Gerard is an exceptional fighter and helps to keep Eunjang stable and safe from the Union- at least, he does after his Character Development leads him to actually start caring about his newfound friends. When the stress of leadership becomes too much for Ben, Gerard vows to be his supporting pillar and encourages him to share his troubles.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Because he's such a quiet person, Gerard has a habit of suddenly appearing in scenes, much to the shock of those who are already there.
• Tranquil Fury: After middle-school bully Jeongmu vandalized his sheet music, Gerard decided the bullying had gone unpunished for too long and beat up Jeongmu and his minions, all with a stone-cold look on his face.
  Gerard: I think...that's when I thought to myself...that if I can't avoid conflict anyway...I might as well flex my power...and stop people from picking on me before they got the chance to.

Eugene Gale

Eugene Gale (서준태; Seo Juntae)

"I'll go with you. I may not be able to help at all, but I still want to go!"

A nerd and bully target that, by some stroke of fate, finds himself seated next to Gray in high school. Gray fighting back against the bullies inspires a change in the formerly timid Eugene, and slowly he finds himself integrated into Ben's gang alongside Gray. His biggest asset is his wealth of information on Yeongdeungpo's gangs, which he uses to predict their movements and otherwise assist the group with fighting against them. A graduate of Daehyeon Middle School.

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• Awesomeness by Analysis: Thanks to his extensive knowledge of Yeongdeungpo's gangs, Eugene is able to accurately predict their future movements. He first shows off this ability after Ben's gang defeats Jimmy Bae, and he assumes correctly that Jimmy won't mount a counterattack.
• Book Dumb: How he manages to be both The Smart Guy of the group and lacking in grades enough that he requires cram school; he's interested in any sort of knowledge that's not related to school.
• Bully Magnet: Eugene spent most of middle school as part of the "bread shuttle", with all of the bullying that entails. When he enters Eunjang High, his goal is to be as quiet as possible so that he won't be targeted again.
• Character Development: Though Eugene starts the series with a fear of confrontation and determined only to fade into the background, seeing Gray's fear after a battle convinces him to step up to the plate. Afterwards he's one of Gray's most stalwart allies, sticking by him regardless of the danger.
• Cool Kid-and-Loser Friendship: Eugene becomes friends with Gray since they sit together, and through him becomes pals with Ben, Alex, and Gerard. When his middle school friend realises that Eugene has somehow befriended the toughest fighters in Eunjang High, he's amazed.
• Determinator: Once he becomes friends with Gray, there's nothing Eugene won't do to help him out. Teddy tries to steal his bag? Eugene clings to it until Teddy beats him down. Hyeongshin students gang up on the two of them? Eugene offers himself up to be beaten instead of Gray. Wolf starts to brutally beat up Gray? Eugene gets up from his own severe beating and clings to Wolf, begging him to stop. What Eugene lacks in muscle, he more than makes up for in spirit.
• Fanboy: He's a self-described "delinquent fan", hence his extensive knowledge on all the ones that Gray comes across.
• Foil:
  • Eugene draws parallels to Bryce, the boy responsible for Gray's friend being hospitalised in middle school. Both start as bespectacled geeks who are eager to befriend Gray, but whereas Eugene grows to be a better person after becoming closer to Gray, Bryce goes in the opposite direction and ends up as a jealous jerkass.
• The Heart: His non-confrontational but courageous personality lends itself well to the group, and he's surprisingly good at pulling the others together after they get out of a tough spot. He's the reason that Teddy ends up becoming a friend after previously being a bully, and later on Alex feels comfortable enough with Eugene to confess his insecurities to him. When Donald ordered his men to beat him to a bloody pulp, everyone in the group made it their mission to take Donald and any of his associates down.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: Teddy finds a kitten protected from the pouring rain by a cardboard shelter. It's then revealed that Eugene was the one who built the shelter, and was off buying food for the poor thing. After Teddy adopts the cat, Eugene frequently checks up on it.
• Loser Friend Puzzles Outsiders: The other students at Eunjang are shown to be confused as to why such formidable fighters as Big Ben and the White Mamba hang around a random loser like Eugene. Unlike them, Eugene doesn't stand by and do nothing when his friends are bullied, which earned him the respect of the gang.
• Mirror Character: Eugene's relationship with Gray comes to mirror Stephen Ahn, being his closest friend who understands him best and does the most to pull him out of his shell. Tragically, Eugene also follows in Stephen's footsteps by getting hospitalized in an act of senseless violence.
• Mr. Exposition: He's one of the most knowledgeable when it comes to information about the various gangs, and is usually the one to get Gray up to speed on their backgrounds and workings.
• Mundane Made Awesome: Thanks to his years working as a bread shuttle, Eugene has the amazing passive abilities to correctly guess people's drinks and locate the nearest supermarket.
• Nerd Glasses: He's an obvious nerd and Mr. Exposition, and sports a pair of square browline glasses.
• Non-Action Guy: He's the only protagonist who lacks any sort of combat prowess- even his fellow nerd Rowan ends up being a semi-decent fighter with his elbow jab. Gray advises him to focus on his studies instead of learning how to fight, and Eugene takes his words to heart and declines Alex's offer of boxing lessons.
• Progressively Prettier: Eugene starts out looking like an obvious nerd◊, but ever-so-steadily he's drawn with longer hair and a less blocky face which, combined with the general upgrade in artstyle, ends up with him looking like a regular pretty boy in glasses◊.
• Taking the Bullet: When Gray, Eugene, and Rowan are ganged up on by Hyeongshin students, Eugene offers himself up to get beaten in place of the other two, hoping that he can endure it long enough for the cavalry to arrive.

Rowan Im

Rowan Im (임주양; Im Juyang)

"Be brave, hit first! Bam! Hit it! You have to hit first. You know, it's a piece of cake."

Originally a middle school classmate of Eugene's and fellow member of the bread shuttle, Rowan moved to Australia along with his family for a few years. He returns in high school with a whole new look and attitude. He now attends Eunjang and the same cram school as Gray and Eugene. A graduate of Daehyeon Middle School.

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• Boisterous Weakling: Double Subverted. Rowan talks big, but Eugene is convinced that he's all hot air and couldn't actually handle himself in a fight- an assumption that's backed up by Rowan mysteriously disappearing when a conflict does seem to be stirring. Then he actually gets in a fight and wins with a single blow from his elbow. Very impressive... and also his only decent move. He's pretty much useless in a fight if he can't use his elbow, and relies on posturing to get him out of sticky situations.
• Crippling Overspecialisation: Rowan's "Hyper Elbow" is the only good move in his arsenal- if he can't quickly KO his opponent with it, then he's left with nothing else to defend himself. Grape compares him to a fighting game player who can only pull off one move, who becomes a laughing stock when placed against actual opponents.
• Cute Little Fangs: The mischievous Rowan has a pair of particularly sharp canines that can often be seen even when his mouth is closed.
• Hidden Depths: Rowan is introduced as a motormouth friend of Eugene and seemed to be nothing more than another potential bully victim, especially when Helmet drags him into the alley. The sudden one-shot Hyper Elbow he unleashes that drops Helmet shows that there's definitely more to him than what was initially shown. It's also shown later that he has a MeTube channel. When he fights alongside Gray, the two practically move as one unit: Rowan pulled a juice can and popped the top even as Gray was reaching for it to use to blind one of their opponents.
• Motor Mouth: He's a careless guy who talks constantly, and his speciality in battle is both verbally hyping himself up and effortlessly mixing lies with the truth to make himself seem more intimidating.
• Remember the New Guy?: He's a close friend of Eugene's that isn't introduced until Episode 47, explained as him having temporarily moved to Australia prior to the start of the story.
• Self-Serving Memory: Ben assures Rowan that he could probably become the No. 1 of his class if he tried. Rowan's recollection of his words is a little more biased than that:
  Ben: You have the potential. Destroy Phillip with your amazing ultra elbow skill, and become the king of Class One!
  Note: Never said anything like this.
• Spiky Hair: He has bright red hair that sticks up like a fan, which certainly makes him stand out in a crowd and helps with his constant posturing.
• Sympathy for the Devil: He feels genuinely bad for Phillip Kim after seeing how far he's fallen from being the top dog of the class. Teddy calls him out on assuming that everyone has a secret kind-hearted side, and advises him against always showing people his sympathy.
• The Trickster: Rowan's specialty. He makes up for his lack of strength by constantly exaggerating the feats of himself and his allies, escaping fights by intimidating his foes with tales that are a mix of fact and fiction.
  Hopping between facts and lies, it was the exaggerating trickster Rowan Im's chaotic bullshit party!
• Youthful Freckles: Though Rowan has changed a lot since middle school, what hasn't changed is his spattering of freckles or the immaturity they're associated with.

Teddy Jin

Teddy Jin (진태오; Jin Tae-oh)

"No, is there really a need for us to exchange names-? Booyah, bitches."

A sadistic bully set on Gray's trail by Phillip Kim. Originally a slave to consumerism, Teddy went through a drastic change after Gray thoroughly humiliated him. Craving a genuine sense of friendship, Teddy finds himself striking up an unusual camaraderie with Eugene, and then the rest of the gang following off that. He still enjoys tormenting others a little too much though. A graduate of Seong-Il Middle School.

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• Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: Being the only member of the gang who used to be an antagonist, Teddy is willing to stoop to the bad guy's level and dole out a beating where the others would not. Not just because he enjoys being a little evil, but because he thinks the others are too nice to get their hands stained in his brand of dirty business.
• Berserk Button:
  • Messing with his backpack. When his teacher in middle school touched it, Teddy beat the shit out of him and ended up suspended because of it. You can imagine how pissed he got when Gray stole it and left it out in the rain.
  • Later on, being mean to cats. Teddy was ready to beat up some lowlifes that had (unwillingly) assisted Wolf Keum in the battle against Eunjang, but Rowan convinced him they were not worth his time. However, as they were leaving, he noticed they were abusing a stray kitty he'd been caring for. He was... not amused. Seems to share this with Rowan as he angrily got up to give the three lowlifes a beating himself after Teddy explained what had happened, but Teddy held him back, saying it wasn't necessary after what he himself did to them.
• Bully Turned Buddy: Originally one of the bullies set on Gray by Phillip, Teddy re-evaluates himself after getting his ass kicked and realises that Gray and his friends have a genuine loyalty to each other that he doesn't share with his own "friends". It's because of this that he ends up gravitating back towards Gray's group, and is eventually integrated into them after he helps them out against the other bullies.
• Conscience Makes You Go Back: He learns that the Naksung Fam are targeting Ben, but the only way to pass on that information is running all the way to Gray's cram school. Initially he shrugs his shoulders and walks off - but then he remembers Ben thanking him for protecting Alex, and starts running to the school in a huff.
• Edible Theme Naming: His endearingly silly way of naming kittens; his own one is called Co, after his favourite drink Cola, and the stray he finds at Eunjang gets called Sprite.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: After he starts developing into a better person, Teddy switches his unflattering bob for a more practical, attractive ponytail.
• Greed: Teddy's fatal flaw that contributes to his humiliating defeat at Gray's hands. He obsesses over brand names and superficial possessions, so he loses it when Gray messes with his expensive backpack and is easily taken down in the ensuing fight.
• I Shall Taunt You: Teddy gains his advantage in battle by taunting his opponents beforehand, riling them up and shaking them mentally so that he can more effectively take them down. Unfortunately for him, he's not prepared for it when Gray turns the tables and taunts him before their showdown.
• I Was Just Passing Through: After getting thrashed by Gray, Teddy later comes upon Eugene getting beaten up by students from another school. He intervenes, claiming it's just because he doesn't want a Eunjang student embarrassing themselves, but it's clear from his flashback to Eugene defending Gray that it was for personal reasons.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: On his way back home in the pouring rain, Teddy comes across a poor little kitten in a cardboard shelter. He feeds it, takes it home, and eventually adopts it as his pet, which is the biggest showing of his secret soft side. Afterwards he's often seeing reading books and magazines about cats, and always makes sure to leave out food for the cat he finds hanging around school.
• Sadist: Unlike many of the other bullies, Teddy torments the weak because he gets a kick out of it. Even as he's working his way to the good guy's side, he can't help but resist the urge to be nasty here and there.
• Shaking Her Hair Loose: Tends to do this when he intends to humiliate someone, temporarily resorting back to his bullying roots.
• Smug Smiler: When bullying others, Teddy sports a comically huge, comically smug smile. You can tell the artist had fun with him.◊
• Torment by Annoyance: Teddy's bread and butter back when he was a bully. He never directly fought Gray (at least until Gray deliberately riled him up), instead favouring more roundabout bullying techniques like messing with his possessions, tripping him up in the hallway, etc.
• Trademark Favourite Food: Teddy is often seen with a bottle of cola in hand. At least until Gray violently beats him up with a cola can, leading to him avoiding soda for a while due to the traumatic memory.
• Trauma Button: Played for Laughs. Gray asks Teddy if he likes cola after the fight with Hyeongshin, completely forgetting he did the same thing before pummelling Teddy with a soda can. Teddy reacts with appropriate horror, leaving Gray confused.

Eunjang High School

Phillip Kim

Phillip Kim (김필영; Kim Pilyoung)

"It'll work as long as you support me right. You know who I am. I'm Phillip-Fucking-Kim."

A scheming bully with a reputation built on lies and manipulation. Unable to fight himself, Phillip instead picks his targets carefully and relies on his money and connections to take care of anyone stronger than him. A graduate of Imdo Middle School. Used to be part of the Union before Ben got him kicked out.

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• Boisterous Weakling: Phillip isn't actually strong at all, and instead relies on his money to bribe stronger people into fighting for him. He still upkeeps the facade of being a tough guy, but is quick to crumple when he actually ends up in a fight. Teddy finally exposes him for the fraud that he is by picking a fight with him in the classroom. When he was about to deck him, Phillip turns away bracing himself in fear. Teddy notices this and correctly calls out Phillip as nothing more than a shit-talker who can't back up his claims.
• The Bus Came Back: He slowly fades into the background after Gray humiliates him at the start of Season 2, only to pop back into existence in Season 3 when Donald requires his knowledge of the Mapo area.
• Cool Mask: Subverted. Though Phillip is rarely seen without a face mask, usually black and sometimes with nice decals, most of the characters are aware that he just wears one to seem tough, and see him as a tryhard rather than a cool guy.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: After Gray and Teddy dethrone him from being top dog of Eunjang High, Phillip stops styling his hair into spikes and instead it droops depressingly over his face.
• Hate Sink: Phillip is a cowardly Boisterous Weakling who constantly stirs up rumours so that everyone else will do his fighting for him. After sixty chapters of enjoying his unearned reputation and putting the protagonists into danger, watching Gray beat the snot out of him is quite satisfying.
• Malicious Slander: One of Phillip's main weapons. Since he doesn't have any fighting prowess to his name, he instead spreads rumours and lies so that others will end up fighting his enemies for him.
• Opportunistic Bastard: Phillip has a general plan to take over Eunjang High, and sets about it by manipulating others to fight each other so that he can come out on top of them. Much of the early episodes show his thought process in deciding who to rile up into a fight and when. It's because of his scheming that Donald ends up paying attention to Eunjang in the first place.
• Small Name, Big Ego: He acts like his name is one to remember but, as Ben points out, being a graduate of Imdo Middle School doesn't mean much. Most of his power and influence comes from him bribing others; strip that away from him, and he's pretty pathetic.
• Torment by Annoyance: Another of Phillip's favoured bullying tactics. He steals Gray's bag after Teddy already messed with it, knowing that the repeated abuse would hurt Gray more than garden-variety bullying.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Even more so than Helmet, who ratted Jimmy out to Donald Na. If Phillip hadn't called Jimmy, the whole plot may have not have happened, as there had been no point of contact between the two schools and no reason for Jimmy to search out Ben. It may have happened later, but up to then there had been no reason for Jimmy to do so outside the apparent slander happening Phillip made up.

Colton Choi

Colton Choi (최효만; Choi Hyoman)

"I'm telling you that fucking idiot was my bitch after just a few blows to the dome."

A small-time bully of Eunjang High. Picks a fight with Gray in the first episode, which kicks off the webcomic with a bang. A graduate of Eunjang Middle School.

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• Barbaric Bully: He's loud and crude, and relies on his brute strength to hold sway over the rest of the class.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: He pops up at the start of Season 3 to recap events up until that point, and then finishes it off with:
  Colton: Ugh, feels like my cheek is still sore from getting smacked by Gray in the first episode.
• Bully Turned Buddy: Downplayed. During Season 3 Ben reaches out to Colton for help training. Colton isn't part of Ben's gang, but he's certainly accepted the gesture of good will.
• Establishing Character Moment: Introduced while bragging about winning a fight, and then spits on a fellow student and expects them to play along with it, quickly cementing him as a cruel bully.
• Meta Guy: Seems to have settled into this role in his sparse Season 3 appearances. He comments on how weird it is that Teddy's friends with Gray after all that they put each other through, calls out thugs that are stupid enough to try and provoke Gray, and thinks about how getting underestimated is going to be a common problem for the White Mamba.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Colton beats the shit out of Minsu Gong, a wannabe bully, when he tried to scare him into thinking he and Gray are "buds". Minsu tries to claim it was all a misunderstanding and tried to prove he and Gray are friends. When it became evident Gray thinks nothing of Minsu, Colton drags him off to get a severe beating.
• Thin-Skinned Bully: After Gray smacks him around the first time, he spends the rest of the story cowering away, absolutely terrified that Gray will hurt him again.

Chad Jang

Chad Jang (장수찬; Jang Soo-chan)

Once Teddy Jin's best friend and fellow bully, Chad cuts off ties when Teddy gets humiliated by Gray.

---

• Heel Realization: Downplayed. Chad feels guilty about ghosting Teddy, but it's clear that he's still a Jerkass and hasn't really learned his lesson.
• We Used to Be Friends: Was best friends with Teddy Jin up until Gray humiliates the latter, after which Chad ditches Teddy, partially to save face with Phillip Kim but also out of frustration with Teddy's antics.

Minsu Gong

Another small-time bully who targets Eugene simply because he's an easy target while trying to kiss up to Gray.

---

• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Acts friendly with Gray in an attempt to get an in with Ben's group, but is really just a cruel and arrogant jerk who bullies Eugene.
• The Chess Master: Minsu thinks he's this, saying that manipulating Gray is "child's play". Instead, he was the one who was manipulated into a trap where he gets a beating from Colton.
• Hate Sink: Like Bryce, Phillip, Jared, and Jeongmu, Minsu is a Dirty Coward who targets people he knows can't fight back and is nothing more than a parasite with absolutely no redeeming qualities.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Made the wrong assumption that Eugene is nothing more than a slave for Ben's group, never thinking the possibility that Eugene is friends with the toughest students of the school.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Minsu thought he became buddy-buddy with Gray and was suckered into having a run-in with Colton who beats the hell out of him for daring to name-drop Gray in an attempt to intimidate him. He gets another beating when Colton finds out Minsu was never friends with Gray to begin with. Later, Teddy comes up and bullies Minsu in the exact same way he bullied Eugene.
• Small Name, Big Ego: He's just a no-name bully and wannabe who intends to get into Ben's group in order to garner fame for himself. Minsu gets his ass kicked when trying to punch way above his weight class.
• Thin-Skinned Bully: Minsu bullied Eugene and a random student for his own amusement and to assert his supposed superiority. When he gets his ass kicked by Colton, then later bullied by Teddy with his own methods, he cowers away. He immediately dropped any notion of payback on Eugene when Teddy sadistically warns him that he'll wreck him if he ever gets out of line again.

Yoosun High School

Jimmy Bae

Jimmy Bae (배지훈; Bae Jihun)

"I'm feeling real pissed, for multiple reasons today- and that's why I decided. I'ma have to kill everyone here, right now."

The lowest-ranking head of the Union. A crass bruiser who delights in tormenting others. Has a personal grudge against Ben and Alex after he challenged Alex to a fight back in middle school, leading to him suffering a humiliating defeat at Ben's hands. A graduate of Gilshin Middle School.

---

• Always Accurate Attack: Jimmy's speciality. By focusing on landing hits, and sacrificing the need for feints, Jimmy develops a style focused on accurately landing every hit. The weakness to such a style is that, if someone like Gray can read his movements, then they'll reliably be able to dodge each hit without worrying about falling for a feint.
• Bullying a Dragon: In Episode 105 he goads Wolf into a fight, knowing full well that Wolf is an objectively better fighter than him. Jack realises this is because it's the only chance for Jimmy to regain some standing after his loss to Ben.
• Character Tics: Shaking out his fist after he's let loose with one of his killer punches.
• Defeat as Backstory: Before the story began, Jimmy beat down Alex and ended up getting beat himself by Ben. Though Donald stepped in to stop Ben, Jimmy still considers it a defeat and has been chomping at the bit to get revenge on Ben for it.
• Establishing Character Moment: As with most of the bullies, Jimmy is introduced while in the middle of tormenting some hapless students. In his case, he forces them to pose for two hours while stepping on their hands and using them as an ashtray.
• Lightning Bruiser: Jimmy's punches are incredibly powerful, and he has the speed to keep his moves unpredictable. On top of that, he surprises Ben when he's able to immediately recover from a straight punch to the jaw. His only weakness is his lack of endurance, which becomes his downfall when he faces off against Ben.
• The Mole: After being humiliated by Ben and screwed over by Donald, Jimmy sides himself with Myles and the Manwol gang while pretending to still be loyal to Donald. Donald being Donald, Jimmy is extremely paranoid that he somehow knows about Jimmy's betrayal.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: He's ranked seventh on the Shuttle Patch and is recognised as an incredibly strong fighter, but often ends up losing by virtue of going up against opponents that are unquestionably stronger than him. Though one of these losses is against Doyun, his strength is still acknowledged and Doyun is intimidated by how strong the rest of the Union must be if Jimmy is their lowest rung.
• Starter Villain: He's the first antagonist to pose a serious threat to the heroes after the schoolyard bullies they'd been dealing with up until that point. Despite that, he's only the lowest-ranking head of the Yeongdeungpo Union.
• Token Motivational Nemesis: His grudge against Ben and Alex is a personal one, as he's responsible for the incident that left Alex traumatised and Ben with a long-lasting arm injury. However, after he's thoroughly beaten by Ben in the first arc, he goes through the rest of the series barely being a blip on their radar.
• Troll:
  • Little else so accurately describes his decision to leave his phone ringing for the sole purpose of pissing off the other people in the room.
  • In battle, he has a nasty habit of getting up into his opponents' faces and screaming at them to provoke them into unthinkingly throwing a hit.

Jack Kang

Jack Kang (강정연; Kang Jeong-yeon)

"Set things straight? Soon? Why wait at all? Set it straight, right here, against me."

Jimmy Bae's loyal right-hand man. Usually collected, unless Jimmy's honor is being threatened. A graduate of Gilshin Middle School, which is where he first crossed paths with Jimmy.

---

• Berserk Button: Throughout most of his introduction, Jack is stoic even in the face of a violent battle. Then Ben shows up and he absolutely flips his lid, screaming like a madman and threatening to break his arm.
• The Creon: He's content to serve as the right-hand man to Jimmy Bae, seemingly out of respect for Jimmy and steadfast belief in Jimmy's ability to succeed.
• Defeat Means Friendship: It's revealed by Hugo that Jack introduced himself to Jimmy by challenging him to a fight. Though he doesn't reveal the result, it doesn't change that Jack now happily serves as Jimmy's right-hand man in the present day.
• Number Two: Even introduced as such. He's the number two to Jimmy Bae, and fittingly has a calm disposition to contrast Jimmy's hot temper.
• Perpetual Frowner: He usually sports an impassive frown, which makes it stand out more when he smiles ever so slightly when Jimmy starts acting like himself again.

Helmet

Harper "Helmet" Ha (하희철; Ha Heechul)

"A peasant hunting quest? Well that's right up my alley, isn't it?!"

A bully and low-ranking member of the Union. Despite his best intentions, he keeps crossing paths with Gray after his first unfortunate encounter with him. Initially a member of Jimmy Bae's gang, before Helmet sold him out and switched over to Hyeongshin High.

---

• The Chew Toy: Most of Helmet's appearances involve him getting his ass beat, freezing in terror at Gray's presence, or having the other characters mock his weakness. As he's a horrid bully who never learns his lesson, his various misfortunes come off as comedic rather than sympathetic.
• Gonk: With his tiny black eyes, widely set mouth, and grey skin, he barely even looks human in some shots.
• Kick the Dog: Brutally beating up one of the cram school students for the crime of asking politely to walk past him. His ensuing panic attack at Gray's presence was well deserved.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: He's only ever called Harper once or twice in the series. Unlike Grape, who doesn't like his given name, Helmet seems to prefer the intimidation factor of his nickname.
• Professional Butt-Kisser: Tired of being Jimmy's underling, Helmet rats his defeat out to Donald and then switches over to Hyeongshin High, where he takes on any task they set him so that they don't kick him out again.
• The Stool Pigeon: Tired of the verbal abuse heaped on him by Jimmy Bae, Helmet reports Jimmy's loss against Ben to Donald Na, which in turns end with the Union turning their attention to Eunjang.

Hugo Yoon

Hugo Yoon (윤호영; Yoon Hoyoung)

"I'm the great Hugo Yoon! You ever see me tell a lie?"

A Yoosun student who attends the same cram school as Gray. Has a big mouth that he puts to work spreading any rumours or gossip that come his way. A graduate of Gilshin Middle School.

---

• Everyone Has Standards: Hugo is visibly unsettled when Helmet begins beating a student without provocation.
• Gossipy Hens: Most of the rumours in the story can be traced back to him. Much of Gray's reputation as a fearsome badass is thanks to him running his mouth to anyone who will listen.
• Innocently Insensitive: Downplayed. Hugo tends to overstep boundaries without realizing it (or caring about it), but he's not a bully.
• Professional Butt-Kisser: Though he normally acts like a stuck-up braggart, he's quick to pull a 180 and become a simpering sycophant to get into Helmet's good books.
• Small Name, Big Ego: As soon as he forms a connection with Helmet (who's barely more than a Mook for Jimmy's gang) Hugo's ego inflates tenfold and he starts bragging about his greatness to anyone who will listen. He even claims he could take Gray in a fight.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Though he's less than a two-bit thug, he's also the one responsible for Gray's iconic "White Mamba" title- a fact he's quick to brag about.
• Smarter Than You Look: While he's one of many two-bit thugs in the story, he's actually very intelligent, a fact he lords over Wesley when the latter starts acting too cocky.

Hyeongshin High School

Forrest Lee

Forrest Lee (이세한; Lee Sehan)

"In a fight, who wins and who loses is all that matters."

The second head of the Yeongdeungpo Union after his predecessor was excommunicated. Relying more on his cunning than his strength, Forrest will do whatever it takes to win. Rather than sending all his men after Ben's gang, he realises it will be more fruitful if he splits up the gang first, taking them down one at a time.

---

• Art Evolution: Though Forrest's general design doesn't change, the way he's drawn changes quite drastically between his first appearance and his later ones. In his first appearance◊ he has normal eyes and appears quite gaunt- afterwards, he's established as a physical brute with constantly bloodshot eyes.
• Combat Pragmatist: Forrest isn't above underhanded tactics in order to achieve a win. He splits up Ben's gang so he can take them down one at a time, targets Alex specifically knowing that it'll anger Ben, takes Teddy as a hostage when it seems like Alex is about to escape, and then, when it seems like Alex might be able to take him in a fight, he gets his mooks to hold him in place so he can't fight back.
• Dragon-in-Chief: He served as Number Two for Hyeongshin High up until Myles Joo was excommunicated by the Union, after which he becomes the new Number One and reveals that he was the one who was keeping things running anyway- Myles was no more than a figurehead.
• A Father to His Men: Villain though he may be, Forrest is shown to genuinely care for Grape and Robin. He lets Grape hang back when they go to meet Wolf, knowing Grape is terrified of him. Later on, after suffering from a beating, he forces himself conscious and gives Wolf the information that he's been trying to beat out of Grape.
• The Generic Guy: Of the Union heads, Forrest doesn't stand out a lot. He doesn't have a personal stake in things like Jimmy Bae, isn't as bloodthirsty as Wolf Keum, and is nowhere near as talented as Jake Ji and Donald Na. Though cunningness is supposed to be his defining trait, he can't hold a handle to Gray, or even Jared from the next arc. Donald even comments that, compared to Myles, Forrest lacks any sort of presence.
• Gone Horribly Right: He targets Alex because he knows that doing so will lure Ben to him. He more than gets his wish when Ben arrives, sees Alex beaten up, flies into an Unstoppable Rage and beats Forrest into a pulp.
• Humble Pie: Getting beaten up by Ben causes the once-aggressive Forrest to go through a drastic change, and for the rest of the series he timidly takes any orders or beatings from his higher-ups.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: A variation in that Forrest constantly seems to have bloodshot eyes, making his entire eyes look red while he goes around violently beating people up.

Grape

Sam "Grape" Lee (이공삼; Lee Gongsam)

"What the hell's wrong with you? You just fucking kick people without warning? You wanna die?"

One of Forrest Lee's right-hand men. A crafty kid who's vying for the top Number Two spot. He's also a middle school classmate of Wolf Keum, and is terrified of him because of it.

---

• Awesomeness by Analysis: Grape shows that his strongest asset in battle is his ability to read the opponent and suss out their weak points. He was the one to realise that Rowan was a one-trick pony without any fighting moves beyond his elbow strike.
• The Baby of the Bunch: Forrest and Robin treat him like this sometimes, requesting he stay out of more serious fights that they know he might be gravely injured in.
• Cigarette of Anxiety: While Forrest and Robin deal with Wolf, who absolutely terrifies Grape after beating the shit out of him in middle school, Grape is seen outside with a dozen cigarette butts around his feet.
• Embarrassing First Name: Though Sam is a common name, he doesn't like being called by it. Naturally, Wolf calls him by it specifically to rile him up.
• Kill Steal: Thinks Gray commited this by defeating Wolf before he could do so himself and take revenge for Wolf's relentless bullying.
• Not in the Face!: He hates getting hit in the face above anywhere else. Makes it satisfying when not only does Gerard deck him with a kick, but then Gray pelts his head with a soda can.
• Number Two: Both he and Robin see themselves as the right-hand man to Forrest Lee. They fight against each other for the position.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name isn't even revealed until the end of the arc that he's first involved in- instead he gets called Grape all the time due to his curly, purple hair.

Robin Ha

Robin Ha (하민조; Ha Minjo)

"I was just wondering- would you like to fight me?"

One of Forrest Lee's right-hand men. An imposing boy who's addicted to fighting, who has a somewhat inflated opinion of his skills.

---

• Blood Knight: He's a street fight addict, according to Grape. When he's first introduced, he's hounding some strangers on the street for a fight.
• Number Two: He and Grape both see themselves as the right-hand man to Forrest, and fight against each other for the position.
• Older Than He Looks: You couldn't tell from looking at him that the tall, broad-shouldered guy with a suit and crewcut is a high school freshman.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: He has narrow eyes with small red irises, and is a Blood Knight that thirsts to take on anyone in a brawl.

Myles Joo

Myles Joo (주승진; Joo Seungjin)

^{Click here to see him without the hood and cap}

"I thought you threw me over and took control over Hyeongshin for some great cause. But all that was just to become Wolf's pet?"

The former #1 in Hyeongshin until he was overthrown by Forrest Lee and kicked out of the Union by Donald Na. Though excommunicated, his former rank of Number 4 in the Shuttle Patch means his name still carries a lot of weight.

---

• Bait-and-Switch: He's set up as a possible thorn in Donald's side with his give-no-fucks attitude about the Union and the remnants of the dangerous Manwol crew backing him up, but ultimately him and his thugs are eradicated by the Mok-Ha Duo within a matter of minutes. Whether he comes back from this or is written out completely remains to be seen.
• The Dreaded: Despite being overthrown and kicked out of the Union, some Hyeongshin still talk about him in somewhat hushed tones. Even Forrest still seems to have a bit of fear and awe around his former #1.
• The Ghost: Hasn't been seen or heard from since the beginning of the comic. Ultimately subverted by Chapter #128 when he shows up with a reformed Manwol crew, beats Forrest, Grape, and Robin into unconsciousness, and steals the money and plans that Donald had given them to deliver.
• Large and in Charge: He's one of the few characters, alongside Ben and Dean, who averts Muscles Are Meaningless by having a big, stocky frame that lets him tower over others. He's even more intimidating with the hoodie and hat that constantly frames his face in shadow.
• The Mole: It's revealed upon his return that Myles made some deals with the surviving strains of the Manwol Gang, which is part of what put him against Donald and eventually led to his excommunication.
• Oh, Crap!: Forrest has this reaction when he hears Myles yell out his name. All three Hyeongshin students have the same reaction when they see his Manwol crew backing him up.
• Sacrificial Lion: His first in-person appearance has him as The Dreaded, backed by Manwol thugs and carrying an air of danger in #128. The comic seems to be setting him up as a major threat to everyone involved as well as Donald's empire, but by chapter #131, him and his Manwol crew have been utterly decimated by the Mok-Ha Duo, possibly never to be seen again.

Ganghak High School

Wolf Keum

Wolf Keum (금성제; Geum Seongje)

"Have you forgotten who I am? I'm Wolf Keum. Wake the fuck up. I'm Wolf Keum. If it hadn't been for the rules of the Union, you would've already been long gone."

The third head of the Yeongdeungpo Union, and ranked fifth in the shuttle patch fighter rankings. He appeared at the beginning of the school year and took over Ganghak High School with his overly cruel, barbaric fighting style. Unlike the other heads, he has little ambition and only cares about satisfying his own bloodlust.

---

• Animal Motif: Natch. Though, notably, as more of his true nature is revealed, he starts being equated more to a rabid dog on a chain than a true wolf.
• Ax-Crazy: He acts entirely on instinct, fights whenever he feels like it, and doesn't stop until his opponent is a bloody mess. Sometimes he doesn't even enjoy fighting, he just does it out of compulsion. His unpredictable violence has lead to him being known as the most psychopathic of the Union.
• Bad Boss: After his lackeys lose a fight and come crawling to him for help, he merely beats them up further and chastises them for not winning. Anyone who serves Wolf does so out of fear, not because they enjoy the position.
• Berserk Button:
  • Stare at him for longer than three seconds and he'll beat you into a pulp. This has become known as "Wolf's 3-Second Rule" in-universe.
    • In Korean culture, it's considered rude to make eye contact with superiors. As such, this rule is a twisted display of dominance.
  • To a lesser extent, Wolf hates people who fight dirty. He flies off the handle when Gray employs his usual Combat Pragmatism, and part of the reason why he wants to quit the Union is because he's sick of people like Donald and Jared who use trickery to get what they want.
• The Berserker: His one-track bloodlust translates into a fighting style where he'll absorb all of his opponent's hits so that he can get up close and pummel them in return, and in fact seems to get stronger the more that he's beaten up.
• Blood Knight: It slowly becomes clear that not only does Wolf love fighting, but the thrill of the battle might be the only thing he loves; whenever he isn't fighting, he's thoroughly disinterested in the world around him, regarding it all with half-masted boredom. It's because of this that he doesn't hate Gray after losing to him, because Gray actually gave him a decent fight.
• Blood Lust: He only really starts to get excited about a fight when he's beaten his opponent so badly that their blood flies everywhere. When beating down Gray, there's a close-up shot of him delightedly licking off the blood that's spattered on his face.
• The Coats Are Off: When about to punish Rowan for (purportedly) stealing his bag, Wolf strips himself of his school blazer. The intimidation factor is increased even more by him slowly emerging from the shadows as he does so.
• Combat Sadomasochist: It's quickly made clear that Wolf loves fighting and gets a kick out of beating his opponents to a pulp. His loss to Gray and his fight between Giju also make it clear, however, that violence itself is what he finds fun, and he doesn't care if he's the one who receives it. This is also shown in the way he treats battles as a series of "turns", where he'll happily take a beating so long as he can return it without interruption.
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul: It's no coincidence that the brutal and cruel Wolf has a pair of aviator shades that frame his keen eyes.
• The Glasses Come Off: If Wolf's about to lay into a victim then he'll remove his glasses first so that they won't get blood on them.
• Graceful Loser: Surprisingly, given how crazy he is, Wolf graciously accepts the defeat he suffers at Gray's hands, thinking with a chuckle that Gray is a "funny bastard".
• Hold My Glasses: When facing off against Jimmy in the parking lot, Wolf announces his intent to battle by telling his right-hand man to hold his glasses for him.
• Horrifying the Horror: Giju is established as Cheongang's resident psycho with a creepy obsession towards Wolf. Then, when they finally face off, Wolf reveals that his idea of "fun" is to beat each other to death, which creeps Giju out and puts him on the back foot.
• Inconsistent Spelling: His surname Geum is translated as Keum in English, as "ㄱ" can be interpreted as both a "g" or a "k". In Episode 172, however, it's spelled as Geum again.
• Laughing Mad: Wolf has so much fun beating poor Rowan into a bloody paste that he breaks out into hysterical laughter, freaking out even his subordinates.
• Leave Me Alone!: After his defeat by Gray's hands, Wolf comes to consciousness and immediately tells his underlings to go away- he's not a patient in a hospital bed, and he doesn't need their help.
• Lost in Translation:
  • His surname Geum means "gold", meaning that, in the Korean version, he had "GOLD" stitched onto his belongings as a personal brand. This isn't clear in the English version, with the "GOLD" branding seeming more ostentatious as a result.
  • As seen above with Berserk Button, the nuance of his "three-second rule" can be lost on someone unfamiliar with Korean culture.
• Meaningful Name: The boy called Wolf is, unsurprisingly, one of the most savage and animalistic characters in the cast.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Gray outright ignores Wolf, fully focused on beating the shit out of Dongha. Wolf could only mentally comment that Gray's focus is similar to his own, ignoring everything else to beat up the opponent in their sights.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: When Wolf finds out that Jared was the one who stole his bag and pinned it on Rowan, he beats the ever living shit out of him. Things went downhill for Jared from there.
• Pride: Wolf's greatest flaw besides his bloodlust is his arrogance. His defeat at Gray's hands comes about from him pushing Gray to the point that his Berserk Button goes off, mistakenly assuming that he was stronger than whatever the feared White Mamba could dish out.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: When Wolf is shown proof that Rowan was the one who took his prized bag, an aura flares about him and his eyes go bloodshot in rage. Jared compares it to a rabid dog being given meat.
• Slasher Smile: When Gray violates his 3-Second Rule, Wolf gets a hell of an expression on his face◊. His smile is wide and toothless, and his shrunken pupils are piercing.
• Smarter Than You Look:
  • As crazy as he is, Wolf demonstrates that he isn't all muscle when he's able to piece together that Jared is the one responsible for stealing his bag, based only on minor clues like Jared's lack of injuries after a fight, his odd choice of words, and that Rowan, the supposed "thief", didn't even take the bag or its contents when he left.
  • In Season 3, when he isn't overcome with a one-track bloodlust, he demonstrates a deft understanding of what kind of person Donald is, and what kind of business deals are happening between Yeongdeungpo and Mapo.
• Take This Job and Shove It: After getting beaten by Gray, Wolf declares that he's sick of working for Donald and wants out. Donald doesn't let him.
• Token Evil Teammate: After getting kicked out of the Union, Wolf decides to side with Eunjang in their war with Donald Na.

Jared Sun

Jared Sun (선종원; Seon Jongwon)

"Fuck, I'm so fucking tired. Don't you feel sorry for me? With the student council and school work, my life is so fucking busy!"

A member of the student council and the closest thing to Wolf's right-hand man. Possessing no power of his own, he sucks up to others so he can pull himself up the social ladder. In a bid to turn Wolf's anger onto Eunjang, Jared cobbles together a scheme to put them on the radar.

---

• The Chessmaster: As much of a braggart as he is, it is genuinely impressive how he's able to manipulate events so that Eunjang seems responsible for stealing from Wolf, even though it was actually mooks that Jared got to work for him in exchange for an answer key given to him by his uncle. He only gets found out due to a minor slip of the tongue.
• Dirty Coward: Jared is nowhere to be seen in the Ganghak vs. Eunjang battle, too busy making his escape down the emergency ladder. It ends up being his undoing, as his lack of injuries alerts Wolf to something being off with him.
• Eyes Always Shut: His constantly shut eyes gives him a cunning, fox-like appearance. When they open, it's usually a sign that he's deeply upset or deeply smug.
• Hate Sink: Following in the heels of Phillip Kim, Jared is an Opportunistic Bastard who uses his connections to excel at school while bullying all of the hard-working students. He forces Toby to serve Jared and his gang food and alcohol at his family's chicken shop, leading to it getting suspended- Jared reported the shop to authorities just because he could, with no consideration for Toby's earnest, hard-working father. He then devised a plan to frame Rowan for stealing from Wolf, which leads to him, Eugene, and Gray all receiving a nasty beating from Wolf's hands. He's such a vile character that readers started to like Wolf more simply because he was the one who delivered Jared's well-deserved punishment.
• I Never Said It Was Poison: How Wolf susses out that Jared was the one responsible for stealing his bag, not Rowan: after the battle, Jared makes mention of "additional companies" while talking about Donald Na. Said companies were only ever mentioned in the documents that Wolf kept in his bag.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Wolf beats the hell out of Jared after finding out his scheme. Next, his reputation gets thoroughly ruined by Toby who reported on the school message board all the things he did and pointing out the signs that Jared was just coasting on his connections and didn’t have any intellectual talent whatsoever. He also didn’t have any physical talent either since when he tried to physically assert his superiority over Toby, Toby beats the hell out of him for what he did to his father’s shop. When Jared saw Wolf's underlings come by, he demands they beat Toby up. They scoff at him then warn him in dangerous tones that Jared better have the money and files he's stolen returned to them or there will be hell to pay. The underlings then tell Toby to resume beating up Jared before leaving. The Humiliation Conga continues as Jared is later dragged by the underlings to Wolf to return everything he's stolen from him, then gets another sound thrashing from Wolf as another object lesson to never cross him again before being ultimately kicked out of the Union and from its protective influence. It was later revealed by Toby that Jared got kicked out of the school and his uncle, the dean of education, was jailed for his corruption, completely cutting off all his advantages.
• Moral Myopia: Jared reported Toby’s Family shop to the authorities under false charges of “serving alcohol to minors” which gets said shop closed down and ruining Toby’s family, simply for his own amusement. Later, Jared’s reputation gets ruined by Toby’s message board postings about his coasting through school through internal connections. He gets furious about this and confronts Toby demanding why he did that. Toby beats Jared up and calls him out on his hypocrisy: so he can ruin a family’s livelihood with lies, but he’s not allowed to tell the truth? Screw that.
• Nepotism: His uncle is the head of school affairs, which explains why Jared gets such good grades even though his intelligence is rather mediocre.
• Opportunistic Bastard: Jared can't fight well and isn't even that smart; his position as Wolf's Number Two came about by him latching on to anyone that was strong and steadily pulling himself up the ladder that way.
• Teacher's Pet: He's a member of the student council and goes out of his way to suck up to the teachers, making him popular with them but not with the other students. That is, until he gets caught for cheating and expelled.

Toby Kim

Toby Kim (김도식 "Kim Dosik")

The son of the Ttosikki Chicken Shop's owner.

---

• Grew a Spine: After Toby exposes Jared for his bullying and cheating, the bully tries to beat Toby in retaliation. Toby doesn't flinch, calling out Jared before paying back all the physical abuse he received in full.
• Nice Guy: Toby's the only named Ganghak student who isn't part of the Union, and is on good terms with the main gang.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: When Jared's bullying culminates in his family's shop being closed and his father falling ill from the stress, Toby hits his breaking point. He publicly exposes Jared's crimes and (rightfully) accuses him of cheating, which leads to Jared's losing his reputation and getting expelled.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: Toby's life takes a massive uphill turn once Jared's out of the picture. He's earned his peers' respect for giving Jared what he deserved, his father's business and health recovers, and the bullying has stopped altogether.

Hwangmo Ju

Hwangmo Ju (주황모)

"This really feels like the calm before the storm..."

One of Wolf's underlings, who becomes close to his right-hand man once Jared is rousted from the position. Despite his silly appearance, he's one of the most grounded of the group.

---

• Ascended Extra: Originally little more than an Elite Mook for Wolf, Hwangmo rose in prominence in Season 3 after Jared was rousted from the gang, becoming the closest thing that Wolf has to a Number Two.
• Butt-Monkey: Wolf tasks him with currying a favour from the Naksung Fam, unaware that Hwangmo has beef with them from a past encounter. Caught between the Ax-Crazy Wolf and the antagonistic Naksung leaves poor Hwangmo in a precarious situation that's played for comedy.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: In the past he had a coiffed hairstyle that, while silly, was at least somewhat respectable. Now that he's fully become Wolf's mook and the Butt-Monkey of Ganghak, he has his bizarre and unflattering undercut mullet.
• Meaningful Name: His name can be translated as "orange hair"- indeed, his most distinctive trait is his bright orange fringed-mullet-undercut-thing.
• Only Sane Man: Between the bloodthirsty Wolf and egocentric Hayden, Hwangmo serves as Ganghak's voice of reason, advising Wolf on the best choices to make to avoid getting themselves in hot water.

Hayden Ma

Hayden Ma (마석희; Ma Seokhee)

"I could totally beat the shit out of that little fucker. I can make any girl go head over heels for me."

One of Wolf's underlings. A superficially-minded bully whose bark is far worse than his bite. Attended Gilshin Middle before graduating to Ganghak High and aligning himself with Wolf's crew.

---

• Bit Part Bad Guys: Originally a nameless mook serving under Wolf, Hayden gets slightly more relevant after Wolf is taken down. Unfortunately for him, that takes the form of getting his ass handed to him by Gray to demonstrate how the latter has taken a level in badass.
• Casanova Wannabe: He's convinced that he's a ladies man who can get any woman that he wants. Like the rest of his boasting, it's all talk.
• Never My Fault: Hayden turns against Wolf for not being included in a Ganghak Union meeting, ignoring the fact that he ignored the invitation.
• Small Name, Big Ego: He's one of many who's confident he can take Gray in a fight, even after being told that Gray was the one responsible for taking down his Ax-Crazy boss Wolf. When they finally square up, Gray doesn't even break a sweat when wiping the floor with Hayden.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: He shows up not long after the similarly masked, similarly egotistical Phillip is dethroned and humiliated into retreating to the background.
• Thin-Skinned Bully: Hayden thought he could beat up Gray, the one who took down Wolf. He mocks to Gray not to cry when he hits him, but Hayden is the one crying when Gray beats the shit out of him effortlessly. When Gray orders him to get back over and take his beating like a man, Hayden runs off in fear like a coward.
• Underestimating Badassery: When Gray steps up to fight Donald, Hayden gets in his face, arrogantly saying Gray is a small fry not worthy to even be there (and this was long after Gray had beaten the shit out of him before). Gray responds by taking him out with two hits.

Daehyeon High School

Jake Ji

Jake Ji (지학호; Ji Hakho)

"I always stay a page ahead of others in everything."

The second ranked head of the Yeongdeungpo Union. A talented and powerful young man who danced to his own beat in middle school, only joining the Union in high school. A graduate of Daehyeon Middle School.

---

• The Ace: Not only is he one of the strongest fighters in the series, second only to Donald Na himself, but if Eugene is to be believed then he's also loyal, kind, talented, and just overall perfect.
• Affably Evil: Best shown when he applauds Gray for taking down a mook and offers him a genuine compliment. And then, while still smiling, shocks Gray with an Armor-Piercing Question about Gray giving in to his bloodlust, followed by the casual reveal that he beat up Gerard in order to provoke Ben into attacking him. His outgoing nature doesn't go away when he starts to play dirty, which just makes it even more eerie.
• Animal Motif: His backstory compares him to a tiger, both for being quiet and reserved despite his strength, and his ability to remain at the top of the food chain just by existing.
• Beware the Nice Ones: As amicable and extroverted as he usually is, Jake shows himself to have a savage side that only comes out in battle. In fact, he might be the only main character with an actual kill count, given the last thing he said to Changyeon ("Both Manwol and you will be gone without a single trace.")
• Boring, but Practical: It's noted that there's nothing flashy or unique about his style of fighting, but it doesn't matter when he's so superbly talented at it that he can crush his opponents regardless.
• Comical Overreacting: One of his first scenes has him screaming and sobbing hysterically. Why? Because a character in his favourite manga died.
• Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: His appearance and name are inspired by Woo Ji-ho◊, also known as Zico from Block B, with some of his lines even referencing Zico's lyrics.
• Foil: Much like Ben, Jake was a powerful but pacifistic boy in middle school who only got involved with the Yeongdeungpo hierarchy for the sake of a loved one (brother for Jake, friends for Ben). In a twist of fate, Jake is even the one to stop Ben getting killed by Donald, as his agreement to join the Union brought Donald away from his fight against Ben. When the two meet up, Ben thinks that they're similar to each other. Their Animal Motifs (tiger and lion) also play off each other.
• Ineffectual Loner: Jake fights alone, both to protect his friends and at the behest of his brother, who once told him that "men walk alone". This contributes to his defeat at Ben's hands; Ben has the experience of fighting to the death for someone he cares about, which gives him the subtle edge he needs to remain the last one standing.
• I Owe You My Life: Or, more accurately, Jake owes Donald for helping him get revenge on the gang who hospitalised his brother. When Donald commands Jake to fight Ben for him, Jake complies without a hint of protest, saying simply that he owes Donald.
• I Work Alone: Jake cares a lot about his friends, and it's because of it that he so often takes on fights himself so that his friends won't be put in danger alongside him. His closest buddy, Dean, is constantly frustrated by this tendency of his.
• Personal Horror: Even Jake himself is disturbed by his ruthless side, as shown in his battle against Gerard- when he goes out all and starts beating Gerard into a pulp, his conscience starts screaming in his head for him to stop.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: After Juwon insults his disabled brother, Jake drops a hell of a one-liner before laying into him:
  Jake: Keep in mind... it isn't because of Cheongang, but your tongue that you will die today.
• Relative Button: Insulting Kenny, Jake's brother who lost use of his leg trying to protect Jake, is unsurpisingly an easy way to get on Jake's bad side. Juwon calling Kenny the "bad apple" of Manwol is what turns his fight with Jake from an equal-footed bout into a curb-stomp battle.
• Revenge Before Reason: Even knowing that it's suicidal, and knowing that it's against his brother's wishes, Jake is consumed with revenge against the Manwol after they permanently cripple his brother. It's only Donald's intervention that stops Jake from putting a gigantic target on his back.
• Slasher Smile: He sports a wide, toothy grin when he realises that his fight against Ben is going to be a lot more vicious than he initially thought.
• Token Good Teammate: Beware the Nice Ones aside, Jake is a normal and nice guy. He's not ambitious like Donald, cruel like Jimmy, cunning like Forrest, or borderline psychopathic like Wolf. The only reason he joined the Union was to get revenge against the Manwol gang for crippling his brother.
• Worthy Opponent: He and Ben see each other as worthy opponents. Ben is the first opponent Jake has fought against who doesn't fall unconscious or wimp out just when the fight starts to get tough.

Dean Kwon

Dean Kwon (권혁진; Kwon Hyeokjin)

"If you fight till death, so will I. Don't even think about leaving me behind, you asshole."

Jake's second-in-command and his stalwart companion. Brusque and headstrong, but with a genuine and deep loyalty towards his friends.

---

• The Coats Are Off: He sheds his jacket when facing off against Gray, signalling that he's gotten serious while also giving the readers a look at his muscular frame for the first time.
• Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: His name and fashion style are inspired by Korean R&B singer Kwon Hyuk, commonly known by his stage moniker DΞΔN.
• Extremity Extremist: Though he does use his fists, Gray clocks that Dean is most comfortable with using his legs to fight, and works it into his counter-strategy.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: It's very easy to set Dean off, and he's one of the most likely characters to start a fight without stopping to think of the circumstances.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's hot-tempered and spends a lot of time needling Jake, but he also makes it abundantly clear that he cares about Jake and Timothy a lot and is fiercely loyal to them.
• Lightning Bruiser: He got to the Number 9 spot by having strength and speed that work in tandem. Gray recognises that he doesn't have a particular weak point, and has to create one himself in order to take Dean down.
• Number Two: He's the right-hand man of Jake Ji. Though he plays the straight guy to Jake's comedic antics, their positions are switched in combat, with Dean as a temperamental hothead while Jake is better at keeping his cool.
• Undying Loyalty: Towards Jake, naturally. When Jake tries to fight Manwol, Dean reprimands him not for the idea being suicidal, but for trying to do it without Dean by his side.
  "I can already see what kind of shit you'll be facing, but you expect me to just let you go there alone?! No fucking way. I'm coming with you."

Timothy Park

Timothy "Big Data" Park (박태기; Park Taegi)

"Of course, ordinary people wouldn't know... but who am I? I'm Timothy Park, the information collector! Even the deepest hidden secrets are in my hands!"

An information gatherer for Jake Ji. Specialises in data collection, analysis, and prediction.

---

• Cool Kid-and-Loser Friendship: Timothy doesn't believe that cool guys like Jake and Dean would ever pay attention to him, and is shocked when not only does Jake take a genuine interest in Timothy's hobby, but the two of them immediately start treating Timothy as a friend.
• Knowledge Broker: If you need information on any of Yeongdeungpo's fighters, he's your go-to guy. He'll even arrange it in an easy-to-understand diagram!
• Nerd Glasses: He's an information gatherer for Jake Ji, and totes a pair of oversized square glasses.
• The Smart Guy: Not only is he a whiz with computers but, much like Eugene, he's adept at analysing people's past actions and predicting how they'll act in the future.
• Technobabble: When Jake asks him how he was able to scout out a rooftop with such a nice view, Tim goes into a long explanation involving data fragments and statistical probability that doesn't actually explain anything at all.
• Wingding Eyes: A variation where his glasses shift while calculating data. First numbers scroll down them à la The Matrix, and then "Calculation complete: print results" appears with a tick.

Eunchan Hong

Eunchan Hong (홍은찬)

"I said I'm sorry. Now get lost. Or do you want a taste of my... Wings of Peace attack!!!"

A hyperactive young man whose friends with Jake's group. Starts the story being suspended from school, which explains his late appearance.

---

• Early-Bird Cameo: Jake mentions in passing that he was suspended from school long before he shows up in the flesh.
• Glass Cannon: Eunchan had Rowan on the ropes as he beat him down with numerous attacks. However, Rowan takes out Eunchan with only two consecutive hits.
• I Shall Taunt You: His introduction has him mocking two bullies he finds out in the street, all for the purpose of making them lower their guard so he can get in some quick hits and scare them off.
• Keet: He's often chipper, constantly runs his mouth, yells a lot, and makes silly gestures while fighting random people.
• Noodle Incident: Whatever he did to get suspended isn't explained- though given that he'll pick fights with random strangers on the street, it's not hard to extrapolate.
• Remember the New Guy?: He's a close friend of Jake's group and is buddies with Grape as well. He only appears a good hundred episodes into the webtoon however, which is explained away as him being suspended from school.

Naksung Yoon

Naksung Yoon (윤낙성)

"While you guys were dilly-dallying, we were doing all the dirty work."

Leader of the Naksung Fam, a group of fearsome fighters who were slated to take over Daehyeon until Jake put them in their place. They now serve under him, though with a secret direct line to Donald Na. A graduate of Daehyeon Middle School.

---

• Just Following Orders: Jake's reason for protecting Naksung from Ben's wrath, even after Naksung had just proven himself to be a scumbag, is that he's just following orders from Donald and can't choose to act against him.
• Kick Them While They Are Down: Ben is barely left standing after a brutal fight against Jake. Naksung takes the opportunity to strike Ben with a wooden beam across the head, a play so dirty that everyone in the vicinity, both on Ben's side and against, are aghast. In the end, Naksung gets subjected to this by an enraged Ben who beats the shit out of him long after Naksung had already been beaten unconscious.
• The Mole: The Naksung Fam serve under Jake Ji, but also have a direct line to Donald Na and ultimately take his orders over Jake's.
• Sentimental Drunk: Though normally pragmatic to the point of being an asshole, it's revealed that he can't hold his drink and becomes much friendlier once he has some alcohol in him. Hwangmo takes advantage of this to get a favour out of him when they'd otherwise be at each other's throats.

Yeo-Il High School

Donald Na

Donald Na (나백진; Na Baekjin)

"Haven't I been telling you since last year? I'm not the type to ask for impossible things without backing it up."

The leader of the Yeongdeungpo Union. Donald came out of nowhere in middle school and quickly made a name for himself, using his unmatched power and intelligence to unify the middle schools and lead them as their head. When he went after the high school union of Manwol, not a single one of his men doubted that he'd win. Now that he has Yeongdeungpo under his thumb, Donald has left the gang's workings to the other heads while he sets his sights on greater financial gains.

---

• Animal Motif: In the confrontation between him and Wolf Keum, he's equated to a massive white lion towering over a cornered wolf.
• The Chessmaster: Not only is he intelligent and strategic enough to be running his own company and gang at the tender age of seventeen, but Season 3 delves into the business side of things and shows how effortlessly Donald is able to manipulate events so that he always gets what he wants, even when he has to deal with unintended setbacks or unruly dissidents.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Brief flashbacks have suggested that he used to live in poverty, if not in outright homelessness, and was bullied at school for being top of the class. Having been at the bottom of the social hierarchy before, he decries systems where only the distributor benefits, and now utilises his smarts to reign at the top of the food chain.
• Deaderthan Dead: His cremation assures this.
• Dragon-in-Chief: Not technically in charge of the Yeongdeungpo Union, but his boss Chungil is so impressed with his talents that he allows Donald free reign. In fact, Chungil doesn't even show up outside of phone calls until the third season, and even then he still only acts a supervisor while Donald does all the heavy lifting.
• The Dreaded: It takes a while for Donald to show up in person, but his presence is still felt by how thoroughly intimidated all of the other characters are by him.
• Evil Counterpart: To Gray, both of them being devastatingly intelligent, ruthless in battle, and with an unbroken winning streak. What separates them is that Gray fights against a hierarchy of bullies, whilst Donald is the one who reigns atop it. Jake realises this similarity when he sees Gray becoming a Blood Knight in the same vein of Donald, and warns him that said bloodlust will never go away.
• Evil Genius: It wasn't just Donald's fighting and leadership skills that landed him as head of the Union, but also his unmatched business savvy that brought order to an otherwise chaotic group.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: He slicks his hair back into a more business-like cut once issues with the Union become serious enough that they're no longer beneath his notice.
• I Miss Mom: Near the end of his life, Donald reflects and admits the root of everything he did was that he was trying to protect the little boy inside who missed his mom, his mom being the only person who unconditionally loved and supported him as a child.
• Invincible Villain: Not only has Donald never lost a fight, but he's never been hit period. When Ben faces off against him in middle school, he's unable to land a single one of his punches- and that he manages to last more than a few minutes against Donald is considered an incredible accomplishment in itself. One can only imagine how the inevitable throwdown with Invincible Hero Gray will end.
• Laughing Mad: When Wolf tries to resign from the Union, Donald breaks into laughter so maniacal that it sends chills down Wolf's spine. And that's saying something, considering what Wolf is like.
• Manipulative Bastard: He couldn't become leader of the Union without knowing how to manipulate people, after all. He knows exactly how to use his underlings to keep each other in check, not only to minimise their weaknesses but also to stop them from ever turning their ire on him.
• Master of All: Donald Na has it all. Overwhelming charisma, leadership skills, and strength; prodigal business savvy; unstoppable ruthlessness; and a knack for manipulation. When he first set out to take over the Union, not a single one of his lackeys doubted that he'd succeed.
  Donald Na was overwhelming, in everything. And that's how Yeongdeunpo was completely taken over by a measly 17-year-old Donald Na.
• Memorial Photo: Donald had one at his funeral. His urn is placed next to his mom's urn, which also displays a photo of her when she was healthier.
• Posthumous Villain Victory: Through his death, he guaranteed that no one would ever defeat him in a fight.
• Rags to Riches: Going by a brief flashback that showed a young, dirty Donald eating bread he'd stolen from a shop, he wasn't always the financial juggernaut that he is in the present day.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: He's one of the nastiest characters in the story, and his blood-red eyes combined with paper-white skin give him the appearance of a vampire.
• Shirtless Scene: Episode 145 has him shed his shirt while talking to Wolf, revealing that his entire upper body is covered in a menagerie of tattoos.
• Significant Birth Date: He was born on Christmas Eve, and some of his tattoos indicate that he's either Christian or has a religious background.
• Surprisingly Sudden Death:
  • Fresh from single-handedly taking out Myles Joo and his entire crew, Donald walks down a seemingly empty road and finds Gray and friends at an overpass. He asks Gray to come down so they can have a rematch, but fails to heed Gray's warning to move out of the way and is hit by a large semi truck, which sends him flying and ultimately leads to his death.
  • His death shocks the Eunjang students, the Union, as well as the rest of Yeongdeungpo, none of who expected an actual death to result in their battle, much less the death of someone as invincible-seeming as Donald Na.
• Tattoo as Character Type: His body is coated in a whole variety of tattoos. Some allude to his lofty aspirations and position of top dog ("KING" printed on his knuckles, a lion over his heart, and two dragons across his back and arm) while others point to a possible religious background (the Lord's Prayer printed on his chest, angelic figures on his other arm, and a pair of angels wings at the back of his neck).
• Tattooed Crook: If his reputation wasn't enough of a hint that Donald is a bad dude, he's revealed to be covered head to toe in tattoos, including across his knuckles. It's later revealed he actually despises tattoos but got them to bolster his image as a threatning person.
• Tragic Keepsake: The loving messages Donald's mom wrote for him on a series of choclate wrappers served as this for Donald.
• Villainous Breakdown: He suffers this when his entire empire is in danger of crumbling down because of someone's little mistake that has potentially exposed everything. It's the first time we see him not in control and he's worried he'll go back to his time of eating stolen bread.
• Visionary Villain: Though most of the characters are motivated by the Yeongdeungpo Union and its hierarchy, Donald has his vision set much higher. It takes a long while for him to get involved with the plot because he's too busy with larger ventures like expanding his finances and business to care about a high-school turf war.

Kingsley Kwan

Kingsley Kwan (관석현; Kwan Seok-hyeon)

"Donald, that's enough... I think you need to calm down."

Donald's right-hand man. Excessively composed and keeps himself busy dealing with the business side of Donald's empire.

---

• Characterization Marches On: When he's initially introduced, he sneers and chuckles at Harper while cursing out Yoosun High. This is the most emotion he'll ever show.
• Identical Stranger: He has a striking resemblance to Hyeonjin, Gerard's former bandmate, which leads to Gerard nearly accosting him on the street.
• Number Two: He's Donald's right-hand man and serves as the affairs manager for all the schools in the Union.
• The Stoic: He's always composed, with a constantly blank expression and a calm, business-orientated thought process.

Mok-ha Duo

The Mok-ha Duo

A pair of deadly fighters who attempted to take over Yeo-Il and were thoroughly beaten down by Donald. They now serve as his direct underlings, introduced in Season 3 after being kept in the wings.

---

• Dual Boss: The two of them are decent fighters separately, but what makes them so terrifying to others is how nigh-unstoppable they are when they're together.
• Odd Friendship: Seongmok and Dongha are opposites in almost every way; skinny and buff, loud and quiet, pale-skinned and tanned, provocative and reserved, etc. It's because of this that they're so powerful as a team, complimenting and covering each other's weaknesses.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Dongha is an excitable lunatic who picks fights for fun, while Seongmok barely speaks at all and only fights those that he thinks are worthy.
• They Call Him "Sword": The two of them together are referred to as the Spear and the Shield, their offensive and defensive might becoming unstoppable when they're paired.

Seongmok Do (도성목)

One half of the Mok-Ha Duo. An extremely quiet but extremely powerful boy who only fights those that he thinks are strong. A graduate of Doshin Middle School.

---

• Challenge Seeker: Unlike Dongha, who'll pick a fight the second he gets bored, Seongmok only gets worked up when he knows that his opponent is strong enough to present a challenge. It's because of this that he's fixated on Ben Park.
• Mighty Glacier: As you can guess from his size, Seongmok is as sturdy as he is powerful. Gerard reasons that the best way to fight him is to stay at range and hit fast when he gets close- however, he hits a snag when Seongmok easily absorbs his blows and counterattacks with greater force.
• Perpetual Frowner: Always has a deep-set frown on his face, marking him as the serious one.
• Red Baron: Besides being called the Spear and Shield alongside Dongha, he's also introduced with the title of "Totem Pole", fitting his immovable stature.
• Spam Attack: Of a sort. During fights he concentrates most if not all of his attack on his opponent's face and head, over and over and over again
• Suddenly Voiced: As Gray was beating Dongha unconscious, a crawling Seongmok weakly begs Gray to stop hitting him. Wolf gets surprised that Seongmok can actually talk, but then silences him by stomping his head.
• The Quiet One: He barely speaks at all, allowing his partner Dongha to fill up the silence with his constant chatter.
• What Is This Feeling?: A Gerard without handicap proves to be such an overwhelming opponent that the imposing Seongmok, for the first time in his life, experiences fear.
  • Seongmok experiences a new kind of fear when he tried to fight against Wolf. Despite the fact Wolf was ignoring him as he was busy beating the shit out of Dongha at the time, Seongmok was completely shocked that no matter what fierce attacks he rained on Wolf, he just tanks them and continues his beating on Dongha as if nothing happened. He realizes that true fear is felt not from an opponent's overwhelming strength, but rather when one give them their strongest attack and it doesn't even make them flinch.

Dongha Baek (백동하)

"Why do you look so serious? Hahahaha."

One half of the Mok-Ha Duo. A childish but dangerous lad who revels in chaos. A graduate of Doshin Middle School.

---

• Ax-Crazy: Even moreso than Wolf. The guy is incredibly insane whenever he fights and would laugh about it.
• Blood Knight: Always seems to be spoiling for a fight, or at least itching to cause some sort of trouble. One chapter has him get tired of the posturing between rival schools, so he sprints down the hill to the basketball court where the standoff is happening, punches a dude in the face, then sprints back up the hill when the two sides start fighting. All the while with a look of joy on his face.
• Break the Haughty: Dongha was a laughing psychotic bully who takes sadistic glee in beating people up for no reason. Then Gray shows him he's not as high on the food chain as he thought. Dongha gets traumatized after Gray furiously beats him to near death while completely helpless to do anything about it.
• Combat Sadomasochist: He makes it clear how much he loves fighting when he goes around starting brawls for no reason. Then, in his fight with Alex, he constantly talks about how fun it is to beat up someone so persistent. When Alex gets the upper hand and hits him with a rapid flurry of punches, Dongha starts screaming joyfully for more, which disturbs Alex so much that it gives Dongha the opportunity to flip the tables again.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: At Donald's funeral, Dongha's hair has been cut short, due to the trauma of fighting Gray who used his hair against him in brutal fashion.
• Hated by All: Pretty much everyone but Seongmok hates this guy.
  • He terrorizes the Eunjang students, especially earning their wrath after Dongha mutilated Eugene's street light project and beat him up to the point Eugene lost teeth and ended up in a coma..
  • The other Union members have a distinct distaste for him, considering him unecessarily wild and unhinged.
  • Wolf especially sought to personally beat him up after Dongha taunted him at an assembly and broke his three-second rule.
  • Myles more than likely holds a grudge, as Dongha and Seongmok teamed up on him right after he was expelled from the Union. Dongha aimed right for Myles' weakened leg bone Donald broke, cheating to win the fight.
  • He also goes around picking fights with strangers purely for entertainment.
  • Attacking Eugene nearly proved to be Dongha's last mistake as this put him in Gray's crosshairs who came very close to killing him in response.
• Maniac Tongue: While mocking Alex for his pride, there's a shot of Dongha's long tongue flailing around as he giggles to himself, followed by him licking his lips at the prospect of beating Alex to death.
• Perpetual Smiler: Always has a wide, giddy smile, marking him as the unstable one.
• Psychopathic Manchild: He's short-sighted, laughs all the time, can't sit still, and will run up to a group of strangers and start beating them up just because he's bored. Unfortunately for his victims, he's as powerful as he is unpredictable.
• Red Baron: Besides being called the Spear and Shield alongside Seongmok, he's also introduced with the title of "Ghost". This seems to be in reference to his long black hair- he certainly gives off a spooky vibe◊ when introducing himself to Alex.
• Slasher Smile: Goes hand in hand with his Perpetual Smiler motif. His unhinged grin as he beats the snot out of opponents brings to mind The Joker more than anything.
• Sissy Villain: As opposed to Seongmok, who's quiet and extremely buff, Dongha has long, luscious hair, an equally long build, and giggles madly with every sentence.
• Too Dumb to Live: Dongha had already been thoroughly beaten by a vengeful Gray in response to his assault on Eugene. Despite getting another beating from Gray and basically at his mercy, Dongha made the mistake to taunt Gray that it isn't over, laughing that he'll recover and once he does, not only will he go after Gray, he'll also go after Eugene and laughs that he'll hurt him even worse than what he did earlier. Instead of intimidating Gray, he only pissed him off further, prompting Gray to take it upon himself to personally ensure Dongha will never be able to carry out his threat by savagely smashing his face in until he breaks nearly all his teeth out. Gray continues to violently break Dongha's face long after beating him unconscious with full intention of traumatizing and crippling him at best. From Wolf's observation, Gray would've beaten Dongha to death had Alex not come and stopped him.

Byuksan Middle School

Stephen Ahn

Stephen Ahn (안수호; Ahn Suho)

"It's formulation one, of Kant's categorical imperatives. Act only according to that maxim which you can, and it will become a universal law without contradiction- something like that, haha."

An eccentric student from Byuksan Middle School who became Gray's best friend. Though incredibly intelligent, he was content to cruise on average grades until Gray came along. His constant achievements and subsequent donations to the school made him very popular with the teachers, but not so with the students, until the tragic day where their hatred reached a peak and he was pushed off the school roof. He is currently comatose in the hospital, with only a slim chance of recovery.

---

• The Ace: He's incredibly smart, even if he keeps it hidden, and he's constantly given awards at school for his achievements in various events. He donates the prize money from said events back into the school, which makes him extremely popular with the teachers.
• Back for the Finale: In the finale episode of the main series, thanks to a tip off from Jeremy, Gray finds Stephen working in a Gangnam coffee shop, alive and well.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Sees school as nothing but a game as he looked like an average student judging by his ranking in school. Despite this, he says to Gray that he can score first place any time he wishes, and does.
• Cavalier Competitor: Stephen treats his education like a game, cruising along with average grades unless he's challenged- in which case, he'll soar to the top with next to no effort. This casually excellent attitude ends up backfiring horribly when it pits Bryce, and by extension the school bullies, against him.
• Convenient Coma: After being pushed off the roof, Stephen ends up in a coma with low chances of returning to a normal way of living. The possibility of him waking up and even making a full recovery isn't completely off the table, however.
• Deliberate Under-Performance: Stephen is usually ranked around the 20's when it comes to exams- however, when he wants to make a point to Gray, he immediately shoots up to first place to demonstrate his hidden genius.
• Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Stephen's face is obscured in Gray's initial flashbacks to him, but he is shown to have dark, slightly unkempt hair. When he actually makes an appearance later on, he has a light brown side-swept bowlcut.
• A Friend in Need:
  • Stephen gives Gray his performance evaluation homework after Bryce steals Gray's copy, leading to Stephen taking a corporal beating for him while also preserving Gray's GPA.
  • When he realises Gray is at risk of being targeted by bullies, Stephen draws all of their attention back to himself. It ends tragically, as Stephen is hospitalised with a low chance of recovery.
• Good Feels Good: When Gray asks for an explanation for why Stephen goes so far out of his way to support the school, his answer is simply that it makes people happy, which in turn makes him feel happy himself.
• It's Not You, It's My Enemies: After he starts getting targeted by Oswald's gang, Stephen deliberately distances himself from Gray so that Gray won't get involved and hurt.
• Mysterious Past: Though his time in middle school is elaborated on in a flashback, Stephen's personal life is still a mystery beyond some off-hand comments that he doesn't come from wealth.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: His selfless decision to sit next to Bryce Oh at lunchtime dominoes into Stephen getting thrown off the school roof, all thanks to Bryce's festering jealousy and hatred.
• Obviously Not Fine: He tries to keep up his usual chipper attitude even after becoming a target of Oswald's gang, but it's obvious to both Gray and the readers that the constant bullying is having a devastating effect on him.
• Put on a Bus: It's explained that Stephen was transferred to another undisclosed hospital, leaving Gray with no idea where his friend could be or his current medical condition. However, according to the doctor, Stephen is definitely alive, and Gray consistently references Stephen present-day. We get a definitive answer to his status in the finale.
• Tall Poppy Syndrome: Stephen is relentlessly excellent at anything that he puts his mind to. This causes a sense of resentment not only in his homeroom teacher- who doesn't like the busywork his pro-activism causes- but in his fellow students who mock him for acting like a saint.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: It's easy to forget that he's in middle school when Gray reminisces about him, given how mature and intelligent he was. It's not every day that you find a middle schooler casually bring up Laurens van der Post and Kant's categorical imperatives in a discussion about finding meaning in life.

Bryce Oh

Bryce Oh (오범석; Oh Beomseok)

"Come on man, why are you busting your balls buried in those books all the time? You should take it easy."

An unassuming student from Byuksan Middle School who becomes Gray and Stephen's friend. However, his envy towards Stephen gets the better of him, and he drifts off to instead align himself with the school bullies. By stirring up the conflict between them and Stephen, he causes Stephen to fall off the school roof and end up hospitalised.

---

• Dirty Coward: Bryce hangs out with the bullying crowd to assert his superiority over others. As soon as he saw Gray had beaten the shit out of the top leaders of his clique, he panicked. Gray lampshades this as the behavior of a no talent coward pretending to be strong.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: When he notices girls crushing on Gray and Stephen, Bryce ditches his glasses and starts styling his hair back to look more desirable, marking his change from shy nerd to jerkass delinquent.
• Foil: Much like Eugene, he's a bespectacled nerd who ends up befriending Gray and changing himself drastically because of it. However, while Eugene learns to be courageous and becomes a steadfast, dependable friend, Bryce instead becomes a jerkass who eventually ends up betraying Gray and Stephen.
• Hate Sink: Bryce is a lying, scheming Ungrateful Bastard who's petty jealousy against the kindly Stephen leads to the latter getting horribly beaten, eventually to the point that he ends up in hospital with permanent damage. No one feels sorry for him when Gray retaliates so viciously that it gets him suspended.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: When he starts badmouthing Stephen, insulting his intelligence and try-hard attitude, Gray quickly pegs that he's lashing out due to his long-standing inferiority complex.
• Laser-Guided Karma: After betraying Gray and Stephen’s trust then becoming responsible for the latter’s hospitalization (and being remorseless about it), Bryce gets taken completely by surprise when he sees Gray has brutalized the top leaders of the bully crowd he hangs with. Taking advantage of the shock, Gray proceeds to violently beat the shit out of Bryce for his betrayal and for causing Stephen’s accident. Despite all his talk, Bryce has proven to be nothing but a coward when faced with someone who can and WILL fight back. Even after Gray beats Bryce unconscious, he takes it further by duct-taping him to his other two “friends” to a desk then continues to brutally kick the bastard’s face in, not caring if he might accidentally kill him.
• Thin-Skinned Bully: Enjoyed the feeling of superiority when he bullies people who don't fight back, but Bryce nearly pissed his pants when faced with an angry Gray who proceeded to brutally beat the shit out of him for his part in Stephen's hospitalization, all the while crying and begging Gray not to hurt him.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: When Stephen first approaches Bryce, he's receptive to the attention and happy to join the friend circle between him and Gray. But the longer that he stays at Stephen's side, the more that his inferiority complex gets the better of him, until he's mutated into a full-blown jerkass.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Despite Stephen treating Bryce with nothing but kindness and respect, Bryce's raging inferiority complex causes him to turn against Stephen and revel in him getting beaten up by bullies.
• Villains Want Mercy: Bryce took sadistic glee in bullying those weaker than him (or can’t fight back) just to establish his supposed superiority. When he saw Gray had brutally beaten Oswald and his lieutenant to pulps, Bryce panicked. He gets on the receiving end of a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown by Gray, where Bryce tearfully and pathetically begged Gray not to hurt him. Considering what he had done, his plea was rightfully ignored.

Hero Cram School

Lily Nam

Lily Nam (남정아; Nam Jungah)

"The mysterious nameless boy... Just you wait. Big sis here will be sure to protect you."

A girl in the same cram school class as Gray. Her infatuation with him has led to a very misguided opinion on who he is.

---

• Act of True Love: Lily ditches cram school to run to Julia's rescue despite knowing she'd likely encounter not only Lala, but several members of the gang holding Julia hostage. She doesn't end up fighting them herself thanks to Gray, but she was willing to confront them to save her friend.
• Anger Born of Worry: Julia was hunted down by the Union and seriously hurt by Jeongmu when attempting to go it herself. Of course Lily is livid Julia wants to go off by herself again.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Gray's mysterious past and opposing attitude are just some of the reasons that Lily finds herself so hopelessly attracted to him.
• Business of Generic Importance: Attended a middle school with Julia and Lala named "Girls' Middle School".
• Confetti Drop: The visual representation of how it felt when Gray noticed her art.
• Friendship Moment: Lily chastises Julia for pushing her away, Julia is moved to tears by Lily's affirmation of their relationship, and they share a reconcillatory hug.
• Girly Girl: We get a closer look at Lily's overall fashion and taste when she wakes up snuggled under her pink comforter, next to her cute pink-accented plushies, right next to her pink desk, which has pink flowers, in her pink room.
• Giver of Lame Names: Lily's refreshingly PG-13 insult is calling Hugo Yoon and his buddies "squid face".
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Has mid-length blonde hair, usually up in a ponytail. Not knowing Gray's skills, she wrongly assumes he is a Distressed Dude. She's very reluctant about violence, but she'd already determined to look after him, concerned when he seemingly walks into the lions' den when approaching Helmet at the cram school.
• Inconsistent Coloring: Her eyes change color based on the lighting of the scene, ranging from brown, to amber or green.
• Insult of Endearment: Calls Julia "dummy", although she'd resent Lala for doing the same.
• Internal Reveal: One of these occur when Gray beats up Jeongmu and Friends at the karoake right in front of Lily, and she finally learns Gray isn't as fragile as he looks.
• Jump Scare: Accidentally slams her book shut on her hand when her classmate suddenly walks up to her, fearing her doodles of Gray would be seen.
• Love Doodles: While admiring Gray's looks from afar, she doodles his likeness into her student notebook.
• Mysterious Past: Despite her rare appearances in the series, it's continously hinted that she has loose connections to the Union. Additionally, the narrator once stated she was "deceptively strong", making readers wonder if she might also have any type of fighting prowess. She might, especially if her mere slaps are powerful enough to result in smoke wafting from the area of impact.
• Oh, Crap!: When she realizes that the notes she loaned to Gray contained said doodles, she sits bolt upright in bed and screams, then hides her head under her blanket in embarrassment. Subverted since Gray liked the drawings and even wrote her a little note complimenting her art style.
• Thinks Like a Romance Novel: She's got it in her head that Gray is a poor, pitiable soul in dire need of protecting from all of the cram school's bullies, and that it's up to her to be his protector. The truth is quite the opposite.
• Tranquil Fury: After saving Julia from the Dropout Gang, Lala tries to explain to Lily that everything was Julia's fault and should take her side since they were friends longer than Lily was with Julia. Lily coldly blows Lala off, saying that after what had happened, she wants absolutely nothing to do with Lala and effectively cuts her out of her life. Lily adds in the fact she's not cussing out Lala is her final kindess to her now former friend and warns Lala to never show herself in front of Lily again.
• Trying Not to Cry: Holds back tears when Gray asks if she needs help.
• Youthful Freckles: Early chapter designs of her character sported a spattering of freckles, alongside her pigtails and round spectacles, make her appearance as childish as her romantic thoughts about Gray. However, her current design lacks the freckles and opts in for a single ponytail instead.

Wesley Song

Wesley Song (송백규; Song Baekkyu)

"These Eunjang morons are getting in my way. Guys like that'll end up flipping burgers for people like me someday, haha."

A pompous student of Byuksan High who attends the same cram school as Gray and friends. He was one of the many students of Byuksan Middle who stood by and allowed Stephen to be bullied, which Gray is none too pleased about when they cross paths again. A graduate of Byuksan Middle School.

---

• The Bus Came Back: He first shows up as a minor character that prompts the flashback to Gray's middle school days with Stephen. Then he drops off the map for a good hundred episodes, only to come back seeking revenge against Gray for humiliating him.
• Casanova Wannabe: Acts cocky when a hot girl is around, and his egotism makes him think he actually has a chance. His attitude is only seen as annoying, however, and contributes to his overall jerkassness.
• Know-Nothing Know-It-All: He spends a lot of time mocking cram students from less affluential schools, only to get beaten out by those students in the mock exam and, ultimately, gets demoted from the advanced class due to his failing grades.
• Never My Fault: He blames all his problems on Gray humiliating him, ignoring that some of those problems (like his dropping grades) are obviously not Gray's fault, and also that Gray only humiliated him because he was complicit in Gray's friend getting bullied and hospitalised.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: While he was one of the many students complicit in Stephen's bullying, he wasn't outright a bully himself. When he re-appears in Season 3, it's revealed that his hobby is falsifying pictures to stir up fake rumours, which he uses to fake a picture of Stephen to traumatise Gray.

Mapo

Yongbae Jo

Yongbae Jo

"Those kids have nothing to lose. They could change their minds and decide to screw you over anytime. How could you trust people like that?"

Head of Magyeong Construction over in Mapo. It's his meddling in Yeongdeungpo affairs that sets the Union against the Cheongang.

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• Corrupt Corporate Executive: He's the head of a construction company and will go to any lengths to ensure its success, whether it's sending out hooligans to threaten other businesses or hiring goons to rough up the kids who stand in his way.
• Slimeball: He's a smarmy, corrupt asshole who pretends to be jovial while delighting in threatening or scamming others into bending to his shady business practices. What's more, he's a Dirty Coward who calls in the local gang to help him out when Jake threatens him with even a little violence.
• Small Role, Big Impact: He's nothing more than a sleazy business owner, but his attempt at stealing documents from the Union is what sets off the spark that pits the Union against Cheongang, their rival across the Seoul River.
• Villainous Gold Tooth: He is specifically drawn with an open mouth in his introduction so the readers can see his golden tooth. Tactics he's willing to stoop to for the success of his company include sending out hooligans to threaten other businesses or hiring goons to rough up the kids who stand in his way.

Jaeryeong Lee

Jaeryeong Lee (이재령)

"Anyone can cause a mess... But who's going to clean up after?"

Leader of the Cheongang action team, called in to settle frontline disputes.

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• Faux Affably Evil: He's all smiles and cheer when he first rolls up on his victims, an attitude that quickly becomes cocky when he switches from being polite to hurling insults with the same smirk.
• Red Baron: Known as "The Stone Fist" of Mapo, one of the most promising new fighters for the Cheongang gang and their first line of offense.
• The Worf Effect: For all his introduction paints him as a formidable fighter, he goes down easily to Jake's fists. The poor schmuck seems to have been introduced for the sole purpose of reminding the reader how strong Jake is even after his loss to Ben.

Doyun Kim

Doyun Kim (김도윤)

"Allow me to show you how I pay back to anyone who tries to mess with us. Bring it on, motherfuckers!"

The fourth executive of Cheongang. Originally the leader of his own small gang, he was convinced to join Cheongang thanks to the strength of its members.

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• The Brute: He's muscled, hot-tempered, and is the lowest on the Cheongang's executive order. He even gives Donald a disparaging nickname and has to be held back by Juwon, who's much more collected and recognises Donald's obvious strength.
• Fanboy: He was convinced to join the Cheongang due to a deep admiration for Juwon and his immense strength- the panel where Juwon brings him on shows him with a starstruck Luminescent Blush.
• Foil: His immense pride and low standing amongst the Cheongang executives makes him a counterpart to Jimmy Bae, who's similarly prideful and aggressive.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: There exists a rivalry between him and Giju due to them being the same age. Doyun is the masculine to Giju's Sissy Villain, bearing large muscles, a shaven head, and a generally brutish attitude.

Giju Seol

Giju Seol (설기주)

"When I thought they were just wimpy ass newcomers... you proved yourselves as pretty wild things!"

The third executive of Cheongang. Has an intense desire to win, which helped him eradicate the Sungsan gang at Cheongang's orders. A graduate of Guro Tech High.

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• Blood Is the New Black: He single-handedly took down half a dozen of Sungsan's men, emerging from the battle with a wide-eyed smile and rivulets of blood running down his face.
• Combat Pragmatist: As opposed to Wolf, who fights for the fun of it, Giju fights to win, and employs dirty tricks like feigning defeat or distracting his opponent with loud sounds or feints to gain an advantage.
• Foil: He's the Cheongang counterpart to Wolf, both being bloodthirsty maniacs. What makes them differ is that Giju fights to win while Wolf fights for the thrill of the battle, which becomes evident when they eventually come to blows.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: There exists a rivalry between him and Giju due to them being the same age. While Doyun is a large brute, Giju is a slender and effeminate man with long hair and make-up.
• Sissy Villain: Has long hair, eyeshadow, a beauty mark, and black nail polish, and is the resident psycho of Cheongang with an eerie fixation on Wolf.
• Slasher Smile:
  • When the Union first arrive at Cheongang's hideout, Juwon and Doyun greet them with intimidating scowls. Giju, meanwhile, is overjoyed at getting to fight Wolf, and grins widely instead.
  • After tricking Wolf into thinking the fight is over, Giju leaps to his feet and attacks Wolf from behind with a terrifyingly wide and bloodshot grin that shows off all of his teeth.

Juwon Lee

Juwon Lee (이주원)

"Discipline is needed wherever you go, and it is the leader's job to make sure there is no flaw."

The second executive of Cheongang. Cheongang's strongest fighter, and the one most dedicated to expanding its power.

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• The Ace: Despite being second-in-command, he was a candidate for Cheongang's leader and is acknowledged as Cheongang's best fighter even by Changhui.
• Killing Intent: He fights with brutal efficiency and a lack of hesitation. Jake notices that he fights to kill and compares it to his last battle with Ben, who fights to protect his friends and not to kill his opponent. Despite the higher risk, Jake finds their battle boring in comparison to Ben's passion.
• Principles Zealot: He is laser-focused on his promise to Changhui to help expand Cheongang. This ends up being his downfall in his fight against Jake, who he needlessly provokes by comparing his brother's failure to the structured tradition of the Cheongang. Not only that, but fighting only for the sake of his principles leaves him weaker than Jake, who fights for the sake of revenge and without thinking of the consequences.
• Red Baron: The "Jungle Sickle", named such for the terrifyingly calm and effective way that he fights- like an explorer effortlessly swathing through the flora with a sickle.
• Tranquil Fury: His calmness extends into battle, where he effortlessly pummels his foes without a hint of expression on his face. It's been known to terrify witnesses.

Changhui Han

Changhui Han (한창희)

"We should've hit 'em first when they took down Manwol... Now their arrogance knows no bounds. Those motherfuckers better understand what they've gotten themselves into."

The head of Cheongang. Having taken over leadership thanks to his unmatched tenacity, Changhui finds himself facing off against Donald when Yeongdeungpo comes to blow with Cheongang.

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• The Determinator: It's ultimately Changhui's tenacity that allowed him to take on the role of Cheongang's leader, even though Juwon was the candidate with better fighting skills. Even when faced with overwhelming odds, he still finds a way to come out top via pure grit.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Changhui would look like a regular businessman if it wasn't for the large T-shaped scar across his cheek that marks him as a dangerous fighter.
• Master of All: Much like Donald, Changhui's near-unmatched strength, overwhelming charisma, and business savvy led none to doubt that he was destined to lead. Jaeryeong calls him the "quintessence of Cheongang".

Drop Out Gang

Jeongmu Choi

Jeongmu Choi (최정무)

"You did this to me. Now, it's your turn to lose everything that matters to you."

An envious bully from Do-Eui Middle School who becomes obsessed with getting revenge on Gerard after the Mad Hound puts him in his place.

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• Barbaric Bully: He's loud and physically abusive, forming the second half of the appropriately-titled Scum Duo. When Gerard proves to be physically superior to him, Jeongmu takes to bullying his wimpier friend as revenge.
• Dirty Coward: Jeongmu thought he could take on Gray, but when it became apparent that he couldn't, he tried to escape in order to get backup to fight him. Unfortunately for Jeongmu, Gerard had long since beaten up said backup earlier.
• Hate Sink: He follows the likes of Phillip, Jared, and Bryce in being an unrepentant, cowardly Jerkass completely lacking in sympathetic traits. He ruins other people's successes out of petty jealousy and fixates on ruining Gerard's life over a minor beating, culminating in him setting the band's practise room on fire, which leads to Gerard getting hospitalised. The only good point of it all is the cathartic satisfaction of him taking a beating from the guys he hired to attack Gerard.
• Laser-Guided Karma: After all the bullying he's already done, Jeongmu tops things off by tricking members of the Manwol Gang into fighting Gerard for him. Gerard takes them down and then beats Jeongmu into a pulp. After he leaves, the Manwol members realise that Jeongmu duped them- the last we see of the bully is his face screwed up in terror as he receives his second ass-beating.
  • He gets another ass-beating from Gerard after an unexpected run-in with him when Jeongmu tried to run and get back-up after getting beaten badly by Gray. After getting another beating from Gerard, he tried to score a psychological victory by hypocritically blabbing how much of a "crazy monster" Gerard is to Gray and Eugene. Gray shuts him up with a vicious kick to the face, coldly telling him his ranting is annoying.
• Never My Fault: He blames Gerard for him having to drop out of school, which is why his bullying escalates to such a deadly level. The thing is, all Gerard did to Jeongmu was give him a single beating (and that was in retaliation to Jeongmu picking on him); there was no reason that Jeongmu needed to drop out of school, he just did so because his fragile pride couldn't handle a little embarrassment.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Thinks very highly of himself when in fact he's just a jealous coward who doesn't know when he's in too deep until it's too late. When Jeongmu gets his ass beat by Gray, he panics when Eugene mentions that Gray's the feared "White Mamba" who defeated Wolf. Jeongmu earlier lied to his posse that he once defeated Wolf himself (a flashback showed the total opposite is true) just to build a rep, then panics when one of his followers tells him he should take on Gray since he "defeated Wolf", making him take back what he said in order to not fight Gray.
• Sore Loser: His bullying only gets worse the more that Gerard beats him down, which eventually escalates to him setting the practise room for Gerard's band on fire out of a petty need for revenge.
• Tall Poppy Syndrome: His own lack of talent leads him to seek those who do have it and destroy all their hard work. If he can't climb to where others are, then he'll just drag them back down to his level.

Lala Lee

Lala Lee

"Isn't it obvious? I'm just so happy to see you, you dumb bitch."

A former student who used to hang out with Lily and Julia in middle school. She joined the Drop Out Gang as Jeongmu Choi's girlfriend.

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• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Acts all nice when in Lily's presence, but Lala is an extreme bitch when left alone, especially with Julia.
• Connected All Along: Was first introduced way back in chapter 10 when she attended a bar party held by Phillip Kim when he was trying to manipulate Teddy into going after Gray.
• Inconsistent Spelling: Her first appearance, her English name is given as "Lara", which is dropped later on. This can be attributed to Korean lacking a distinction between the "L" and "R" sounds.
• It's All About Me: Thinks everything should revolve around her. Lala expects people to give her attention, be happy when she's happy, and that others should drop what they're doing to comfort her when she feels "depressed". In reality, Lala is nothing more than an Attention Whore.
• Moral Myopia: Lala had no problem embarrassing Julia at a mixer, but gets angry when Julia does the same to her in response.
• Never My Fault: She likes to blame her problems on her so-called depression or on Julia, who she has a deep hatred for. When she tries to victim blame Julia to Lily, she coldly cuts Lala off.
• Staredown Faceoff: Lala is indignant when Julia looks her straight in the eyes instead of cowering in fear when she first begins threatning her former friend.

Other

Pool Hall Receptionist

Receptionist

"What's with boys and war all day, everyday..."

A part-time worker at the pool hall that Ben and his friends frequent. Ordinary in every way, with little knowledge of Yeongdeungpo' gangs.

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• Head-Turning Beauty: Students start showing up at the pool hall just to get a look at the beautiful new part-time worker. Alex, Ben, and Gerard are quick to fall head over heels when they first meet her.
• In-Series Nickname: In the Korean version, Ben calls her "Suji", given her resemblance to Bae Suzy (born Bae Suji). This is omitted from the English translation, which instead has the boys compare her looks to that of a goddess.
• Locked Out of the Loop: She doesn't know about the ongoing hierarchical war between the Union and Ben's gang, which leads to her bafflement when a fight breaks out in the pool hall, and also when Ben comments on the "upcoming war".
• No Name Given: Though she's shown up multiple times, and many of the main characters have a crush on her, her name has yet to be revealed.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: The boys don't end up visiting the pool hall for a long time, due to the continuous battle against Hyeongshin, Ganghak, and Daehyeon, but even when they return there, at the end of Season 2, the receptionist is nowhere to be seen.

Julia Chae

Julia Chae (채유진; Chae Yujin)

"I'm no different... I've become exactly like the people I've always despised."

A mysterious girl who's brought in by Jared Sun to help him with his scheme. Calm and collected, though with a turbulent past that's yet to be revealed.

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• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She has long dark hair, dark eyes to match, and pale skin accentuated by makeup. She also has an aloof and disinterested personality. When Rowan first meets her, he's quickly smitten.
• Brutal Honesty: Lily wonders why Julia and Lala don't get along. Julia tells her she never liked Lala in the first place and only put up with her for Lily's sake.
• Call It Karma: Through Julia's actions, Rowan and his friends end up getting beaten up by Ganghak students. When she's hounded by Ganghak students herself, Rowan refuses to offer his aid.
• Cathartic Crying: Breaks down in Lily's arms when Lily firmly defends their friendship and asks her to cry out her emotions instead of bottling them up.
• Connected All Along: She's first introduced as a mysterious girl who somehow knows Jared Sun. Then it's revealed that Lily from the cram school also has a history with her. Then it's revealed that Jack, Jimmy's Number Two, also happened to meet her once during a blind group date.
• Creepy Loner Girl: First appears to be this way when she tears up Rowan's bag for no good reason and apologises in a dull, dead-eyed tone. Subverted when it's revealed later that the whole thing was an act to lure Rowan into using a certain other bag that she offered him.
• Only in It for the Money: Going by her meeting with Jared, where she tells him to be quiet and hand over the money for her job, she's only in his scheme for the cash and not any personal reason.
• Oral Fixation: Julia is often see blowing bubbles with gum, showing her general disinterest in the situations around her.
• Quaking with Fear: Despite her cold appearance, Julia is just as scared of being hurt as anyone else. She trembles in fear when cornered by Lala and members of the Drop Out Gang. This fear is justified as later, Jeongmu ruthlessly strikes her on the cheek. Later subverted as she gains the courage to stand up and tell Lala she's the one at fault for her misfortunes.

Kenny Ji

Kenny Ji (지광석; Ji Gwangseok)

"I'm going to stop wasting time with the gang and put all my energy into soccer. Jake, you should focus on your studies too. Don't stray, alright?"

Jake Ji's older brother. A former member of the Manwol Gang who attempted to quit after they tried recruiting his brother. This led to them crippling his leg, ruining his soccer dreams and setting Jake on the path of revenge.

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• Big Brother Instinct: While he tells Jake that he's leaving Manwol to focus exclusively on soccer, another scene reveals that he actually left because Manwol wanted to recruit his brother, and he didn't want Jake to be involved with their unscrupulous activities.
• Career-Ending Injury: Kenny expects that the Manwol won't let him off easy when he leaves them. What he doesn't expect is for them to smash his leg with a wooden beam, ruining his future career as a soccer player.
• Early-Bird Cameo: In Episode 91, Ben visits the hospital to get a check-up for his arm. While he's leaving, Kenny is rolled into the doctor's office in the background. It's not until ten episodes later that Kenny is revealed to be Jake's brother and shows up in the story proper.
• Irony: Kenny attempts to leave the Manwol so that his brother won't get involved in gang business. As a result the Manwol break his leg, and Jake joins the Yeongdeungpo Union, the biggest gang in the city, to get revenge for him.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Though he's only appeared once or twice, his actions in the past proved very important to the establishment of the Yeongdeungpo Union. The Career-Ending Injury that the Manwol Gang inflicts on him spurs Jake to seek revenge, which in turn causes him to join the Union, which in turn gives Donald the excuse he needs to obliterate the Manwol and establish the Union as the strongest gang in the city.

Hyeonjin Cha

Hyeonjin Cha (차현진)

"We play for the love of music, not for the money."

A former bandmate of Gerard's. His opinionated nature caused him to clash with Gerard often, though Gerard had a soft spot for the amazing music that Hyeonjin created.

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• I Never Said It Was Poison: While Hyeonjin was trying to keep up his jerk persona and leave Gerald while looking disinterested about the band, he lets it slip that he knew that all the sheet music, which Hyeonjin left for Gerald, is all gone. This lets Gerald catch on (after a second of realization) that it must've been Hyeonjin who hauled his ass out of the burning building, since only Slam knew about the sheet music being there and Jinu told Gerald that he couldn't get in contact with Hyeonjin.
• Insufferable Genius: For as much as a pain it can be for the rest of the band to deal with his pretentious attitude, he is genuinely a musical genius. Gerard argues with Hyeonjin the most, and yet is also the one most besotted by Hyeonjin's musical pieces.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: His genuine love and talent for music makes it seem like he might have a more sentimental side underneath his insufferable persona... right up until he quits the band and confides in Gerard that he never gave a shit about it in the first place. Then it's subverted as it turns out he's a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who saved Gerard from the fire and didn't tell Gerard anything to keep himself from hurting Gerard. He leaves Gerard knowing that he wasn't a jerk and tells him to protect his hands for a year because his hands are precious.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: He's the only band member who objects to taking on Sinma Entertainment as their agent. It turns out to be a bad idea, as the agents end up scamming the kids, but Hyeonjin was objecting on the grounds that taking on an agent would be selling out.
• Starving Artist: He riles at the idea of taking on an agent, and accuses the rest of the band members of only caring about profits over their music. This is one of the many points that he and Gerard argue over.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Both he and Gerard care about the band, but their wildly different ideas cause them to constantly clash. The band is even introduced with Hyeonjin being the only dissenter against an idea that the rest of the band agree with. It then turns out that Hyeonjin doesn't care as much as was initially thought; when the band get screwed over by their agent, Hyeonjin gives up on playing nice and quits altogether. But then it's revealed he's not really as uncaring as he presented himself.

Chungil Lee

Chungil Lee

"The greater good? Compassion? Sympathy? None of that will be between us. We'll work hand in hand strictly for our own profit."

The actual head of the Yeongdeungpo Union. He recognises Donald's immense business savvy and so is content to let him handle the Union's affairs.

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• Affably Evil: He's polite and cheerful when he introduces himself, and doesn't try to hide that he's only getting involved for the sake of his own profits.
• The Alleged Boss: He's the guy who should be in charge of Yeongdeungpo affairs, but recognises Donald's talents and is content to let him handle all the work, with his own involvement being closer to that of a sponsor.
• Brutal Honesty: The reason that Donald trusts him enough to enter into a business partnership is because he's completely transparent about their relationship being strictly for-profit, and doesn't pretend that there's any actual friendship between them.

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