Chapter 13
As I headed to the lounge, Choi Hyun-Woo and Han Soo-Young, who had already arrived, were waiting for me.
“Oh, sorry.”
“No, we just got here too.”
Choi Hyun-Woo still had a nice smile.
Then he said, naturally lifting Han Soo-Young’s luggage.
“Then why don’t we eat together? I heard that the food here is very good.”
“Did you come here just to eat?”
Han Soo-Young muttered as if she were scolding Choi Hyun-Woo, taking out her luggage that was hanging on his shoulder naturally as well.
Still, there was a small smile on her lips, and I thought this was their usual way of talking.
“What about it. Good food is good food. Master always said that eating well is part of the training.”
“That’s just… .”
“So what do you say Ji-Hyuk?”
There was no particular reason to refuse, so I decided to accompany them.
I almost thought that the cafeteria that arrived while having a simple chat was a restaurant, but in fact, all the food that was actually served had that quality.
Nevertheless, because there were young men and women from rich families, there were surprisingly few students who use the student cafeteria.
It was something I could never understand.
“Is that all you want to eat? You’re so skinny that it’s sad to look at you. You slept late for a few days, so are you not feeling well?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not eating because I’m on a diet….. .”
Unlike Choi Hyun-Woo’s tray, which was filled with pork cutlet and various meat side dishes, Han Soo-Young’s tray only had salads and sandwiches.
I ordered ramen and gimbap because I wanted to eat them after a long time.
“By the way, Ji-Hyuk. Why did you quit your part-time job right away?”
“Huh?”
As soon as we sat down, Choi Hyun-Woo asked me casually.
I just lifted my chopsticks and looked at him.
“That’s… To be honest, you actively defended me when things got a little dicey. It was the first time we had ever met, and I was curious as to why. We fought together even though it was a little bit of a mess, right? I just wanted to say thank you more than anything. But I was a little sad to hear that you quit right away.”
Choi Hyun-Woo, who had said that, immediately smiled and added.
“So, it made me so happy to be in the same academy, and in the same class with you.”
“… .”
Why is he so honest?
As I stared at him with a bewildered eye, Han Soo-Young sighed softly and spoke to me as if asking for understanding.
“That’s how he talks. Can you please understand? Still, there are problems in my hometown… there were so many. Do you want to know how much trouble this guy has caused… .”
The last words were almost a complaint.
Come to think of it, one of Choi Hyun-Woo’s settings was a natural gigolo, that is, a typical Harem-style protagonist.
Realizing that fact, I could suddenly feel compassion for Han Soo-Young, the closest girlfriend to him, who was like family to him.
“… It must have been hard.”
At my words, Han Soo-Young nodded silently.
She then began to stir her salad with her fork, and Choi Hyun-Woo looked as if he couldn’t understand the conversation between me and Han Soo-Young.
‘Even insensitive? huh, seriously.’
I was speechless.
It was frustrating to see people like this around me in person.
“I’m glad you two are getting along.”
Han Soo-Young looked at Choi Hyeon-Woo, who picked and spat out such words, in a ridiculous way, mumbled the salad with a crunching sound.
And starting with her actions, Choi Hyun-Woo and I also started eating the food we each ordered.
Aside from the two of them, even though what I ordered was just ramen and gimbap, it was amazing.
It was when I was constantly using the chopsticks in admiration.
Buuung.
“Oh, sorry.”
I said to them and pulled out my cell phone.
Very few people had my number, so I didn’t get any text messages.
In other words, it meant that the signal had come from something else.
‘As expected.’
A simple text floated across the screen of my phone.
[Quest has been created!]
‘As expected, quests appear only when they are related to the original story?’
With that thought in mind, I operated my cell phone and checked the contents of the quest.
[Quest]
― A fox with the authority of a tiger
[Description]
― You, who had an argument with another student from the first day, can be said to be amazing in a way.
However, it can be said that it is a headache that the student you were arguing with was Na Il-Jun.
Na Il-Jun himself is an insignificant person, but the man behind him, Ahn Do-Hoon, is not to be underestimated.
However, along with that fact, Na Il-Jun, who mistook Ahn Do-Hoon’s prestige for his own ability, had higher self-esteem than necessary and looked down on other students.
Naturally, he would not look at you and your group nicely, who were in open conflict with him.
Surely he’ll openly pick a fight with you and your group in the near future.
And by its nature, it’s a self-evident fact that if you bend in, he will be a nuisance to you throughout your time in the academy.
Let’s remind Na Il-Jun that you’re not an easy opponent.
[Success Condition]
― Make Na Il-Jun feel defeated.
[Success Reward]
― Your reputation among your peers will increase.
— ???
“… .”
I was hoping for a quest, but I didn’t want something like this.
After thinking about it for a while, I quickly put my phone in my pocket.
Han Soo-Young, who had been munching on her salad in a mechanical motion, looked at me and asked.
“I guess it wasn’t very good.”
“Yeah, well.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
I thought there was no need to talk about that it was a problem that involved not only me, but them as well.
Because it was an ambiguous problem to explain anyway.
“Sort of, yeah? It was more of a hassle than a problem.”
Saying that, I picked up my chopsticks again.
It was because the fact that Na Il-Jun was aiming for the three of us, including me, was not enough to stop me from eating.
* * *
‘… He’s a really diligent guy.’
It was the thought that came to my mind as soon as I saw Na Il-Jun on our way back, with a gang of about five or six people in a sullen attitude.
It would have been more beneficial to train with that effort.
“Hey, are you out now? I waited so long, I thought I was going to catch a cold.”
At Na Il-Jun’s sarcastic remark, the gang burst into laughter.
They probably gathered together to look intimidating to us, but it was only funny, let alone intimidating, when Choi Hyun-Woo and Han Soo-Young alone could put them all together.
‘I think it’ll be easy for me to do it alone.’
When I thought about it, Na Il-Jun came closer to us with a chuckle.
“You’ll be embarrassed here, so why don’t we go somewhere quiet?”
While saying that, he grumbled at Han Soo-Young, who looked annoyed.
“Hey, smile. If the other students see us, they’ll think we’re picking on you, right?”
“… .”
“Why, are you scared? You’re really going to die today, you bastard. I’ll let you know who you’ve been barking at.”
“Hey, Il-Jun. I’m going to cry!”
At the shout of one of the boys from the gang, he burst into laughter again.
When I looked at him to see what was so funny, Han Soo-Young turned her head to look at Choi Hyun-Woo without paying any attention to Na Il-Jun.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Did you hear that?”
“Yes.”
“It’s your fault it happened but I am getting cursed at. You know how to fix it, I’m not going to help you.”
“Okay.”
With those words, Choi Hyun-Woo stepped forward.
Nevertheless, Na Il-Jun only smirked and laughed.
“Oh, my. What’s this? I’m going to try to be a little flashy because I’m in front of a girl. Is this it? Don’t be so cheap… .”
“Why are you moving?”
“What?”
Choi Hyun-woo, who said so, was still smiling softly.
“It would be over before the kids gather anyway.”
With those words, Choi Hyun-Woo quickly reached out and grabbed Na Il-Jun’s hand.
Na Il-Jun, who was suddenly caught, was bewildered and stuttered.
“Wha, what? You crazy bastard! suddenly, Gee! Ah, aak!”
Then, with a scream, Na Il-Jun collapsed and began to struggle to release Choi Hyun-Woo’s hand.
In terms of pure physical specs, Choi Hyun-Woo would not be pushed back by the heroes who were already active, so there was no way Na Il-Jun could endure it, who was a student.
The sight of Choi Hyun-Woo overpowering Na Il-Jun with only one hand had the gang frozen for a moment, but they immediately spit out harsh swear words and rushed towards Choi Hyun-Woo.
“Ee, dog bast… !”
And I moved softly and caught their feet in the Henir’s shadow that was hidden in my shadow.
As soon as I saw them fall with a thud, I felt somewhat amused that I naturally burst into laughter.
“Doesn’t that hurt, guys?”
Still, perhaps because they were academy students, they seemed to realize that they hadn’t just stepped off their feet, but had done so through some sort of action.
Perhaps that was why their eyes were filled with bewilderment as well as a sense of incomprehension.
“Ah, aak… ! ah, fuck… ! Let go, let go, you bastard… !”
Looking back, I saw that he was now mostly crawling on the ground, only occasionally swearing.
The ending was so trivial that I wondered if I needed to intervene.
As I was thinking this, I remembered that there was a ‘???’ in the quest reward.
‘Ah, I’m going to be tied up with Ahn Do-Hoon later because of this bastard.’
Ahn Do-Hoon was the successor of a large corporation competing for the top spot in Korea, a hero candidate with tremendous potential, and most importantly, he was also one of the playable characters of ‘Clouds on the Horizon’.
As such, I was well aware that he was a ruler type student, who almost instinctively stood above others, and at the same time was the leader of a faction leading a huge gang.
In particular, he often showed interest in students who were particularly strong or had unique abilities.
‘Because even in the original story, if you beat up a guy who is not even known as a subordinate, you will become involved with Ahn Do-Hoon.’
It was because Ahn Do-Hoon had an outrageous way of thinking that, rather than avenging his subordinates in such a situation, he thought that having a conflict with his gang was a challenge against him.
‘Well, Ahn Do-Hoon is friendlier than him. Is it something like this?’
While I was thinking that, Na Il-Jun was still groaning.
Choi Hyun-Woo looked down at him and said.
“Apologize to Soo-Young.”
“What the…”
Na Il-Jun, who was about to swear again, could not even scream this time and lowered his head.
He was in so much pain that his complexion turned pale and he was even breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Don’t make any unnecessary movements, just watch. Don’t make things complicated.”
The guys who were trying to sneak away flinched, at my words.
From the looks of them, it seemed that they had hardly anything to do in Ahn Do-Hoon’s gang.
‘He has useless pride… This isn’t just going to happen only today.’
He was the type of person who, as the saying goes, would rebel even if you smashed him up.
We had a lot of time anyway, so it would be okay to spare another day or two.
I moved my fingers lightly and looked at Choi Hyun-Woo.
“Hey, Hyun-Woo. I think it would be better to let it go now.”
“He hasn’t apologized to Soo-Young yet.”
“There’s no way that apology from that guy right now will be a sincere apology.”
Saying that, I looked at Han Soo-Young.
“Isn’t that right? And you don’t need to associate with these people to lower your standards.”
“…If you put it that way, you’re right.”
Choi Hyun-Woo quietly released Na Il-Jun’s hand at Han Soo-Young’s answer, who had been silent for a while.
Then, he grabbed the hand that was caught and crawled backward, shuddering.
“You bastards… I’m not going to let you go…!”
‘Dude, even in this situation like this, those words come out.’
With that in mind, I and muttered in a soft voice as I looked at Na Il-Jun, who was shuddering and getting up.
“You’re going to catch a cold. Why don’t you go to the dorm and sleep?”
“Fuck, what kind of bullshit are you… .”
As Na Il-Jun was saying this, his pants slipped down.
It was because I had cut off his pants and belt with Henir’s shadow earlier.
“… Oh, my eyes.”
Han Soo-Young, who suddenly witnessed him wearing his underwear, muttered as if lamenting and turned her head away.
And Na Il-Jun, whose face was dyed even redder than the classroom, yelled something and disappeared as if running away.
As I was looking at the scene with a calm face, my cell phone rang.
[Quest complete!]
‘… What?’
Don’t tell me that the condition that made you feel defeated was not by force, but in that direction?
I was just thinking that.
“Haa, look at this.”
[Ahn Do-Hoon will be interested in you and your group! People around you start to think you’re not as easy as you seem!]
I let out a small sigh at the predictable content and put the phone straight into my pocket.