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Eungwang High, at the Central District, Student Association Hall.
Students from the association were studying throughout the conference room.
Although extracurricular activities were suspended due to the start of the exam period, students from autonomous organizations form study groups and gather in insolvency to prepare for emergencies.
Members of organizations couldn’t lower their guard because some students accidentally damaged objects while using their energy waves to prepare for practical tests.
Some students do it on purpose from frustration from having to study.
Yeom Junyeol and Kwak Gyungu, heads of the student association, especially can’t let their guard down.
“Almost 80% of the books and data chips spread by Woo Kihwan have been collected.”
Kwak Gyungu put a pile of books on Yeom Junyeol’s desk.
They were books with odd titles that showcased Woo Kihwan’s odd mind.
The cover and title were different, but the contents were the same.
They were texts that could make anyone space out just by looking at them.
Ridiculous topics like the energy of the universe, their confrontation with their homeroom teacher, and the sadness of being continuously in second place.
Listening to Kwak Gyungu’s report, Yeom Junyeol asked.
“Can we recover the remaining 20%?”
“No, the rest seems to be taken by the examinees.”
“Alright… Well done. I’ll do the digging.”
“It’s fine. Myungsoo hyung said he’ll take care of it. They’re bored these days since they’ve got nothing to do.”
The third graders were busy taking care of their careers, but some of them were already done.
Such people were divided into two — those who are going to college and those who will join professional player teams.
Ji Myungsoo was the latter.
‘Myungsoo hyung said he passed the interview recently.’
Instead of going to college after graduation, he decided to join a professional player team.
Thinking of a congratulatory team, Yeom Junyeol asked something.
“I thought he’ll be called up right away to the Hydrangea Scent. Isn’t he busy?”
“Oh, I heard he’s going to go attack an otherworld with them during the winter vacation.”
Ji Myungsoo was set to enter one of the world’s top ten-player teams and one of the four top teams in Korea.
He’s set to enter as an apprentice until his performance is proven to be satisfactory, but he was the only one
Team master Baekhwa Nanman participated in his interview, becoming a hot topic.
Rumors have it that only Ji Myungsoo caught her attention among the candidates.
Ji Myungsoo doesn’t have the overwhelming ability to compete with the likes of Do Wonwoo and Woo Kihwan academically, and he had no rare abilities like Yoo Sanghee’s healing skills.
But Ji Myungsoo was good at adapting quickly to situations, and he was highly sociable so I thought he was a good fit.
‘Maybe the team master saw it too. Myungsoo hyung isn’t easily intimidated and can fit well with anyone.’
Case in point, Ji Myungsoo is very good friends with Do Wonwoo.
It was easy for Do Wonwoo to be a public enemy because of his childhood and naturally crooked personality, but Ji Myungsoo managed to become friends with him.
Ji Myungsoo made Do Wonwoo his friend, disregarding the fact that he was the son of a chaebol family.
There were a lot of people who approached him when they saw him getting close to Do Wonwoo.
“Wonwoo hyung must be upset. He must’ve thought they’ll be going to the same university.”
“Well, Myungsoo hyung wants to join a professional player team so it can’t be helped.”
Do Wonwoo was disappointed with Ji Myungsoo’s choice of career path.
Do Wonwoo seemed them to go to the same university and have Ji Myungsoo work with TC in the future.
Do Wonwoo’s parents also trust him, so if he enters TC, his future is guaranteed.
Nevertheless, Ji Myungsoo chose to be a professional player.
When Do Wonwoo suggested that they go to college together, Ji Myungsoo replied like this;
— If you create a pro-player team, I’ll go there.
That’s when Do Wonwoo realized that Ji Myungsoo’s intentions were firm.
He didn’t want to go to college or work for TC.
Anyway, it might sound boastful but after Ji Myungsoo’s career path was set, he became bored and as a result, he often helped out with student association work.
“Alright, I’ll leave Woo Kihwan sunbaenim to Myungsoo hyung then.”
“You did great, Gyungu.”
“If you’re grateful then summon the Hongryong on your way home from school. The weather’s too cold.”
“Hahaha, got it.”
Kwak Gyungu went back to studying after his half-truthful joke, and Yeom Junyeol was left on his own.
He picked up the book written by Woo Kihwan and his group.
The title was Do You Think Being Second Place is Good Enough?
Woo Kihwan’s deep anger was conveyed.
Maybe it’s because it was the exam period, but Yeom Junyeol felt bad.
‘A forever second place…’
When they became sophomores, Cheon Dongha began to overtake Yeom Junyeol in academics.
Yeom Junyeol was in second place, and his self-proclaimed rival Ma Jinseung, teases him for it.
He had extracurriculars as a star player, and he was busy with work with the student association — both things affecting his studies.
But in that sense, Cheon Dongha was in a similar position.
Cheon Dongha has always been troubled by TC Group matters, and he works hard as a guest researcher at the Hwangmyeong Research Institute.
He also had work with the student council.
Nevertheless, Cheon Dongha was always in the first place.
‘…I got first place once during freshman year.’
Yeom Junyeol was the top scorer in the final exam of his second semester freshman year.
He was happy to take the spot for the first time, but it turned out that Cheon Dongha wasn’t in good condition at that time.
Nevertheless, Yeom Junyeol was very disappointed in himself as the joy of being in first place didn’t disappear.
‘I was happy even though I saw Dongha was having a hard time.’
Even though he cared for Cheon Dongha as a friend, he couldn’t suppress the sense of competition.
He regarded his win as a cowardly victory.
At that time, he couldn’t figure out why Cheon Dongha was in a bad condition, but he has a guess now.
Perhaps it was because of his hidden brother.
Cheon Eunha, who took the Eungwang High entrance exam this year, was suffering from locked-in syndrome and Cheon Dongha helped wake him up.
That was Yeom Junyeol’s guess based on what he knew and Cheon Dongha’s attitude.
‘…I guess that’s when Dongha knew about his younger brother. And I was happy that I beat him?’
Yeom Junyeol fell into a deeper sense of shame than when he decided to study abroad after finishing his freshman year.
The decision stemmed from his shame and disappointment in himself.
He told his family he wanted to experience a wider world because being a top scorer in Eungwang High meant too much to him and he wanted a reality check.
Or maybe he just wanted to run away from Cheon Dongha.
If it weren’t for the Red Wall Thief, he wouldn’t have come back so soon.
Dingdong.
At that time, Yeom Junyeol’s device rang.
It was from the person who spoke to him while he was studying abroad.
The message was of encouragement for the final exam period.
Still lost in thought, Yeom Junyeol answered mechanically.
‘Jegun hyung hasn’t contacted me yet.’
Yeom Junyeol was curious about what was happening, excited to know details even though he knew that communication wasn’t available at the palace.
He thought he should ask Cheongryong to say hello to Yong Jegun using waterscape.
Yeom Junyeol tried to study again after, but he just couldn’t concentrate.
‘This won’t do. I can’t study.’
Yeom Junyeol got up to buy snacks to refresh himself.
When he looked at the number of people currently in the Student Association Hall through his device, he was shocked to see an unexpected name.
Ahn Dain.
‘Dain’s here. She’s not on duty today though… doesn’t she usually study at the library?’
Whether it was a coincidence or not, Ahn Dain often runs into Joo Soohyuk in the library and they naturally study together.
Today, however, Ahn Dain was studying at the student association hall.
Checking Ahn Dain’s log in the hall, Yeom Junyeol saw that she had been studying there recently.
Yeom Junyeol found it a little strange, but he vowed to buy delicious food for his junior who was studying at the hall for the first time in a long time.
***
Students are expected to be busy during the exam period, but the festival and Christmas preparations made things heavier.
I am sometimes forced to take a rest because of Hwang Jiho’s interventions, but we can’t neglect our preparations.
And there were other things to do.
[Hong Gyubin] Euishin-ah, are you preparing well for the exams? Though I guess I don’t have to worry about you.
[Hong Gyubin] I found something when I investigated TC’s funds.
Hong Gyubin has been having a hard time tracking down the background of TC Research Institute’s Superior Being Artificial Descent Project.
It was a huge project to tie up Jecheondaesung’s younger sister and use Yoo Sanghee to call gods to earth.
The larger the amount of money, the easier it is to track, but it was odd that TC’s funding was so protected.
Nevertheless, he finally succeeded in tracking down the fund, perhaps because Do Wonwoo cooperated with the association.
[Hong Gyubin] It wasn’t a single funding source. They had a lot of sponsors…
[Hong Gyubin] A huge amount of money was connected to an auction.
An auction.
I have been involved in a few of those in this world — Hwangmong Auction, the secret auction that Year Two Class Zero and the newspaper department encountered in the UK, and the Fomorian auction.
[Hong Gyubin] It’ll be easier to show you the data.
[Hong Gyubin] (Attached file)
The data sent by Hong Gyubin was a mess with the flow of funds.
Slowly going through the dizzying texts and numbers, I could guess how hard Hong Gyubin has been working.
‘It’s connected to the Hwanmong Auction and the secret auction in the UK. The Black Screen was cutting, collecting, dividing, and distributing money in hundreds or thousands.’
Money has a strong influence even in the world where the otherworldly occurs.
The Black Screen understood this fact and moved to secure strong funding and strong economic power.
Some of it seemed to have been used in TC’s project.
‘This alone doesn’t give a full picture of the Black Screen though.’
Still, I thought I should be satisfied that I at least got a glimpse of their shadow.
While memorizing the names and figures from the data, Hong Gyubin sent a brief.
I thought we’d end the conversation at that point, but Hong Gyubin started talking again.
Perhaps it was the original purpose of his contact.
[Hong Gyubin] So, Euishin. I have a favor to ask.
If it was about TC, it’s better to ask Cheon Dongha or Do Wonwoo.
Of course, if I could relieve the burden from my playable characters, I would come forward myself.
[Hong Gyubin] I heard about Professor Jegal’s photo book that Class Zero is preparing.
[Hong Gyubin] Can you get me an invitation?
The entrance to the festival must be very important to Jegal’s pet student.
Hong Gyubin’s messages continued to come in.
[Hong Gyubin] I need a collection too so as much as possible…
Hong Gyubin is also likely to collect admission tickets.
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