Chapter 23
“Is the food at the Academy supposed to be this good? I feel like I’ve eaten my fill!”
Walking out of the cafeteria after eating Kim Se-ah smiles wryly as she strokes her stomach in satisfaction.
“You’ll be eating again and again anyway, so why are you so desperate?”
Jin-woo smirks and teases her, and Se-ah glares at him.
“You said you should only eat dessert, but you only ate cake!”
“It’s the most delicious, so what can I do!”
The two suddenly start bickering.
I thought to myself that it was probably because they had been following me around all day and had gone through all sorts of things that they had gotten along so quickly.
“President, just like you said, I uploaded the ledger of the ‘Fund Investment Club’ to the school community, and they’re already threatening to sue me or kill me.”
Young-jae laughed bloodily as he reported on the things I had asked him to do before the challenge.
“I asked the other classmates at lunch, and it seems that all the new students who were supposed to join today have also canceled. The atmosphere there is…… I don’t have to tell you, right?”
“Of course.”
I had a pretty good idea without being told.
At this rate, the Fund Investment Club will not only have to pay a huge amount of compensation, but will also be stigmatized as a club with a history of embezzling investors’ money.
It was clear that the club’s members would start to leave the club one by one if they couldn’t deal with this stigma, leaving the club’s president to bear the brunt of the responsibility.
In other words, the Fund Investment Club was effectively dead.
“I didn’t think it was possible to disintegrate a gold club in one day, but where did you get the evidence?”
It was a fair question, in a way since the ‘ledger’ that contained their dirty tricks played the biggest role in this situation.
“Through connections.”
“Connections?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t hard.”
Dirty money eventually finds its way into the back alleys to be laundered and it was inevitable that it would pass through Corleone in the process.
“By the way, Glasses, why are you suddenly calling me President?”
“Are you wondering about that?”
He nods, and I tell him it’s no big deal.
“Because I knew it was going to happen.”
“Hmm?”
“After hearing your plan, I was pretty sure the club was going to happen. At this rate, you’ll soon be the club’s President, which is why I called you President in advance.”
“……Yes.”
In other words, he believed in me completely. The corners of my mouth turned up at the sight of Young-jae’s face.
“Well, president isn’t a bad word.”
As I turn and walk away, I hear Young-jae’s voice behind me.
“President, isn’t your classroom that way?”
“I have to stop by somewhere.”
“A stop? Oh.”
Young-jae nods, realizing that the direction I’m walking is where the club hall is located.
“The president is really busy.”
“I’ll get used to it.”
Leaving the three of them behind, I reached the club hall and headed straight for the International Trade Club on the fourth floor, where Haru is located.
This time, I arrived at the club without any hindrance, and the staff bowed their heads as I approached.
“Is the club president inside?”
I asked the bowed employees, and one of them spoke up.
“The president is having a meal inside but she told us to let you in as soon as you come in, so you can go in now.”
Apparently, she thought I would come during lunch.
As I entered the president’s office, I saw Haru sitting at her desk, eating a sandwich and furiously signing documents.
“You must be busy.”
As I closed the door behind me and approached Haru’s desk, she chewed her sandwich thoughtfully, then swallowed it and said.
“Yes, I apologize for not being able to properly greet you but I was informed that many of the other clubs that had contracts with the ‘Fund Investment Club’ had dropped out. I’ll be done as soon as I can.”
“I don’t mind if you take your time.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
With a brief bow to me, she resumed chewing her sandwich and going through the papers.
Her eyes never wavered as she scanned the papers, and her puffy white cheeks were constantly moving.
As I watched her work, it wasn’t long before she swallowed the last of her sandwich and stood up.
“Sorry to keep you waiting so long.”
“Hmm? You were done sooner than I thought.”
“Thanks to your consideration.”
Thanking me, Haru politely sits down across from me then unfolds the paper in her hand and begins to talk.
“The documents we submitted against the ‘Fund Investment Club’ are currently being reviewed by the Student Council. Apparently, there are other clubs that are targeting the already weakened Fund Investment Club, but since we’ve already applied for the club war, they won’t be able to take it away from us.”
“So you’re effectively spelling their downfall.”
“Exactly. If all goes according to plan, the club war will be declared within the day, and at the same time, the Fund Investment Club will admit defeat and be absorbed into our side.”
In other words, it’s already over.
“Well done.”
“I don’t deserve all the praise, I was just a spoon on the table you set.”
After saying that, still in a humble demeanor, Haru hangs her head low and an awkward silence follows.
“So, then……what do you think about the offer I made you?”
I cautiously bring up the subject of why I’ve come to see her now, something I didn’t want to bring up right away and Haru turns her eyes from the papers to me.
“Is this the confession you made earlier in the day?”
“……You’re carrying on the joke from then to now.”
“I’ve been told by other club members lately that I need to crack some jokes.”
For me, every single one of these jokes was deadly.
It’s a good thing I have ……[Trait: Hitman]
“You might want to crack a joke once in a while, too. After all, there are studies that show that emotionless leaders have a hard time gaining the trust of their subordinates.”
There’s such a study……?
‘Where the hell do they study such things?’
“It’s the psychology club at Hero Academy in Seoul.”
“I see. ……Then that’s something to look into.”
If it’s the research results of a club with a bunch of crazy people, it must be true and it seemed like a good idea.
“So, why do you keep changing the subject without answering my question?”
Hearing my question, Haru’s body stood still. Her pupils suddenly began to twitch violently, and the paper in her hand was already starting to crackle.
“Well, I wonder if it’s …….”
“Hmm?”
It was a very small voice, so I didn’t really hear it and when she realized I didn’t hear her, she ducks her head. Then I hear her voice, a little louder than before.
“Are you not ashamed…….to ask me to be yours…….?”
“What?”
I flinch and shudder at the unexpected response.
Then her body starts to shake but raising her head, she covers the corner of her mouth with her hand, her eyes narrowed as if she’s holding back laughter.
“This is a joke, too.”
“If you …… any more, I’m going to lose my shit.”
“I’m glad the joke seems to have gotten through this time.”
It was interesting to see her smile so often, unlike the first time I saw her.
Even in the game, had she ever shown such a wide range of facial expressions? Surely she was always the kind of character who received customers with an expressionless face…….
“Young master?”
Looking at this, who would think it was her?
I couldn’t help but smile when suddenly, Haru tilted her head.
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“…….you know how to tell a joke.”
“Jokes?”
“……something like that.”
What’s wrong with her?
Did I do something wrong? I thought, trying to figure out how to react.
“Well, I’ll give you the answer to your question now.”
I wonder if it’s because we’re back to the point.
With her expression becoming businesslike again, Haru rises from her seat and kneels down on one knee in front of me.
“Haru of the Inomiya Group, I pledge my allegiance to Corleone, past and present.”
“But,” she trails off.
“Only to the firstborn and sole heir of Corleone, who now stands before me. I wish to offer my allegiance to Master Eugene Han Corleone. Please, will you accept it?”
It was a formal family declaration but no words were needed for her allegiance, just a silent hand was extended.
Feeling my hand come to rest on hers, she silently kissed the Heir’s Ring my father had given me.
“Your enemies will be my enemies, Haru. Those who wish to hurt you will be erased by my hand.”
And the price for joining me was not great.
“All you have to do is forge a new friendship with me. Isn’t that too good to be true?”
When I’m done, she slowly raises her head and looks me in the face.
“Really, you’re a bit of a jokester.”
“I’m glad to hear it, then.”
“As you said, I and the International Trade Club will be with you.”
I turned my outstretched hand over to show her my palm, and she naturally took it and stood up.
Then she turned her head and took a quick look at the current time.
“It looks like we have a little time left, would you like some tea?”
“Tea…….”
We still have quite a bit of time before classes start and I was about to relax a bit and make small talk with Haru when a picture of what looked like a letter envelope appeared in the corner of my vision and began to flicker.
“Master?”
“One moment.”
I thought about opening the envelope in the corner of my vision, and a message appeared in front of me.
[Instructor Ji-hyun: The club screening is over. Come to the staff room right now]
How long has it been since she said she was going to the student council and the results are already out?
I wondered, but Ji-hyun wasn’t the kind of person to joke about this.
“I’m sorry, but tea will have to wait, I have something urgent on my mind.”
“Urgent business……?”
For a moment, I thought her eyes fluttered.
“Then I suppose we’ll have to postpone it for another time. We, the International Trade Club, look forward to your visit anytime.”
As I stood up from my seat, Haru bowed toward me. I turn away from her and quickly walk toward the Academy’s main building, where the faculty office is located.
“What the hell did she do to the student council to get the results so quickly?”
An uneasy premonition was starting to set in.
