Dinner time at Yoo Sanghoon’s house.
Yoo Sanghoon was lying on the living room sofa while watching a basketball game.
Being the youngest of the family of four, Yoo Sanghoon rarely had the chance to get remote-control-privilege so it was quite difficult for him to watch his well-loved basketball games with the ultra-high-definition hologram in their living room, but these days have been different.
He had more days when he was alone in the living room.
He welcomed it at first.
He wasn’t too happy to stay in his room to watch a basketball game using the device he got from school.
However, as the days became longer and longer, he began to feel uncomfortable.
‘She’s late again.’
Yoo Sanghoon’s parents, who are working together, were often away on business trips.
However, Yoo Sanghee always arrived home around the same time Yoo Sanghoon does, sometimes even earlier than him.
However, she’s been out late often lately.
Looking out the window, Yoo Sanghoon saw that it was all dark except for the artificial light illuminating the roads.
It’s November so the weather is cooler and the skies turn dark earlier.
Even after the basketball game and the final commentary analysis of the game was over, Yoo Sanghee still hasn’t returned home.
Yoo Sanghoon was absent-minded for a while as the news program, which he didn’t bother listening to, came on.
Beep.
As the main headlines were all over and the weather forecast was almost done, he heard the signal to their front door opening.
Yoo Sanghee was home.
As if she didn’t have the time to change into her civilian clothes, Yoo Sanghee was still wearing her school uniform.
‘The seniors aren’t active in the student association anymore, and they have shorter classes because the CSAT is just around the corner. What has she been doing?’
At the beginning of her senior year when the career surveys were conducted, Yoo Sanghee said she wanted to continue to tertiary education.
She completed the applications for the College Scholastic Ability Test and was steadily preparing for it.
Yoo Sanghoon thought that it was possible that she was just studying outside, but he soon changed his mind.
Yoo Sanghee usually studies at home to avoid encountering Do Wonwoo, who often appears near her under the guise of simple coincidence.
“I’m back.”
“… You’re home.”
Yoo Sanghee’s voice was laced with a strong sense of fatigue.
She took off her shoes and tried to head straight to her room.
Normally, she would give a sisterly scolding at Yoo Sanghoon for his habit of keeping his words short and for lying on the sofa while eating snacks.
However, Yoo Sanghee seemed to have no energy to argue with Yoo Sanghoon today.
“Hey, wait.”
Without realizing it, Yoo Sanghoon called for his sister.
Yoo Sanghee stopped and spoke weakly.
“You say ‘hey’ to your noona? Sigh… Why?
Right.
Why did I call her?
Yoo Sanghoon thought so, but if he spoke those honest words out loud, a karate chop might come his way.
He decided to play a trick.
Thinking of a common topic of conversation between him and his sister, Yoo Sanghoon suddenly remembered Jo Euishin, a friend who recently celebrated his birthday.
He planned on going to his dorm to meet up and have a meal, but since Jo Euishin was away, he settled with giving him a short device message.
By the looks on her face, Yoo Sanghee seems to have missed wishing Jo Euishin a happy birthday so Yoo Sanghoon thought it would be a good excuse to bring it up.
“Jo Euishin’s birthday was yesterday. Did you get him anything?”
He thought it was a poor excuse, but it seemed to do for now.
Yoo Sanghee looked surprised at the mention of Jo Euishin’s name.
She had asked about Jo Euishin’s birthday when he visited their house before, so she knew when his birthday was.
It seemed to have completely slipped her mind.
“Oh right, it was Euishin’s birthday… What should I do? I forgot.”
“…”
“Should I call him now? No, it’s quite late. I’ll go see him in person tomorrow and greet him a happy birthday…”
Yoo Sanghee was flustered as she repeatedly turned her device on and off.
Usually, Yoo Sanghoon would jab at his sister for forgetting something, saying that it was because her brain is already aging.
However, seeing Yoo Sanghee’s exhausted look, such words dissipated quickly.
“He wouldn’t care about that. Just greet him anytime.”
“Right, Euishin is not one to get upset about that…”
They spent some seconds talking about Jo Euishin, but their conversation was soon cut off.
Yoo Sanghoon tried to think of something again, but nothing came to mind that he could say to his sister.
His sister looked tired, but he couldn’t seem to bring himself to ask her why.
In the end, he gave up and just reached for his snacks, but then Yoo Sanghee looked at him as she hesitated about something.
“Sanghoon-ah, do you happen to…”
However, Yoo Sanghee cut off her words.
Yoo Sanghoon waited for her to finish her sentence, but after an agonizing ten seconds, he couldn’t hold out so he asked her.
“Say it if you have something to say.”
“No.”
“Ugh, what is it?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Why did you stop talking then.”
Yoo Sanghee didn’t answer back.
Instead, she turned her body and headed toward her room.
Yoo Sanghoon jumped from his seat, calling his sister.
“Yah, Yoo Sanghee!”
However, his sister disappeared to her room, not bothering to call out her brother’s rude attitude.
Yoo Sanghoon was left alone, the thought of eating his snacks long gone from his mind.
‘Something’s not right…’
Yoo Sanghee was one who tends to speak honestly to the point where she comes off as aggressive.
It wasn’t like her to say something like that.
‘No, didn’t this happen before?’
Thinking over and over, he remembered a time when Yoo Sanghee showed a similar attitude.
When Yoo Sanghoon was young.
To be exact, it was the time when he was ill.
‘…Wasn’t she like that when she took me to an energy center?’
During that time, he was brought in a wheelchair because it was difficult for him to control his own body.
Yoo Sanghee wheeled him in while their parents were away.
‘I remember going there but… I don’t remember what happened. I think I saw the TC Research Institute logo though.’
The day after visiting the energy center, Yoo Sanghoon was seriously ill.
Yoo Sanghee was severely scolded by their parents for dragging the sick Yoo Sanghoon outside, but Yoo Sanghoon repeatedly said that he was okay.
Fortunately, the scolding was over quickly.
Yoo Sanghoon’s energy wave woke up suddenly, and the disease that was greatly pushing down on him disappeared like a bubble.
‘…Does it have something to do with this?’
There’s no concrete basis for it yet, but somehow it seemed so.
Yoo Sanghoon began to think seriously.
Just as the day he was carried by his sister that day when his energy wave suddenly awakened, Yoo Sanghoon didn’t want this situation to unfold with him being helpless and doing nothing.
‘I can’t solve it myself if it’s related to TC…’
Yoo Sanghoon objectively judged so.
Although he’s a student at Korea’s most prestigious high school, that’s still what he was — a student.
Even Yoo Sanghee, the top player at Eungwang High, couldn’t solve this problem of hers.
Yoo Sanghoon thought it would be better to ask someone for help.
‘…It’s the TC Research Institute. Should I ask that bastard for help?’
The word “TC” reminded him of Do Wonwoo, the former student representative and a son of the TC Group.
Since it’s related to Yoo Sanghee, Do Wonwoo would surely actively take initiative.
However, Yoo Sanghoon quickly erased Do Wonwoo from his mind.
‘I don’t want to be indebted to that guy. That guy’s been acting up lately too…’
Every close acquaintance he had shared the same opinion that Do Wonwoo’s ugliness disappeared after the exchange games with the military academy.
Do Wonwoo’s sudden change in attitude was worrisome as well, and so Yoo Sanghooon erased him from the list of people he could ask for help.
Also partly because he doesn’t want to be indebted to him.
Aside from him, Do Sihoo also came to mind, but he heard rumors that Do Sihoo’s position within the TC Group wasn’t good.
He decided not to bother Do Sihoo for nothing.
‘Should I talk to my homeroom teacher…’
The homeroom teacher of Year One Class Zero is Kim Shinrok.
Kim Shinrok is a fair, sincere, and competent homeroom teacher.
Some students are disappointed though that the teacher seems to draw a strict line between him and the students.
However, Kim Shinrok has a good reputation for responding sincerely whenever his students are in trouble or in need of counseling, and Yoo Sanghoon was well aware of it too.
‘No, Professor Shinrok looked absent-minded today too. Maybe he has something going on.’
Kim Shinrok has thoughts of Sung Gukeon in his mind.
All the more so because he had to meet Sung Gukeon with the head of the Tiger Clan disguised as an elementary student.
Yoo Sanghoon isn’t aware of such detailed circumstances, but he knew well that his homeroom teacher’s mental state wasn’t so good.
After excluding the candidates one by one, there was only one person left.
He was the first one that came to mind, but he was someone Yoo Sanghoon couldn’t readily ask for help since he was already so indebted to him.
‘Maybe Jo Euishin is busy… Should I consult him…’
Yoo Sanghoon roughly noticed Jo Euishin’s busy life.
At the beginning of the first semester, he dealt with a fraudulent student in Yoo Sanghoon’s class.
Despite not being on the list of players who participated in dealing with the Kimopolea attack, Jo Euishin did something.
Jo Euishin had also done something to fix the incident that broke out during their summer youth retreat.
During the sports exchange exhibition with the military academy, he did something on behalf of either Do Sihoo or Jang Namwook.
Yoo Sanghee thought that it was possible Jo Euishin is involved in several other suspicious cases.
‘Class Zero’s attendance is slowly going up. Jo Euishin must’ve done something with that too.’
It’s certain that Jo Euishin did something to improve the attendance of Year One Class Zero.
Though he doesn’t say it because he doesn’t want to reveal it.
‘…What should I do?’
Yoo Sanghoon agonized before opening the group message room with Jang Namwook and Jo Euishin.
The message room has Jang Namwook’s long-winded message.
In the fall season of baseball, the Joo-Oh Dragons finished in second place again.
They had been in second place 11 times in the past 16 years now, and any real fan would have their minds shaken after going through that.
Being a hardcore fan of the Joo-Oh Dragons, Jang Namwook was expressing his mental breakdown with tens and thousands of lines of messages.
[Jang Namwook] The closing pitcher who left the best record in the games was injured so he couldn’t play. However, I think the main reason for the defeat is that the physical and mental strength of the Joo-Oh Dragon players were shaken when the Korean Series went to Game 7. I should’ve given more support as a fan, but I guess my support was insufficient.
Jang Namwook’s words went round and round.
Yoo Sanghoon skimmed through the messages, giving an occasional ‘lol’ and ‘yea’ here and there.
On the other hand, Jo Euishin doesn’t seem to be reading the messages.
‘Is he busy…’
When he was about to close the message window…
He saw that Jo Euishin read the messages.
‘He’s on his device now.’
Yoo Sanghoon hesitated for a while, then pressed the call button and opened his mouth.
“Hey, Jo Euishin. It’s me… Let’s meet up for a while tomorrow.”
