Chapter 24
The guidance counseling office is located near the faculty office.
There, I find myself in a situation where Ji-hyun and I have a one-on-one with each other.
“You look like you’re dying to know, don’t you?”
Ji-hyun is holding a rolled-up piece of paper in her hand, patting herself on the shoulder and making a mocking face. She looked as if she was dying to be entertained by the current situation.
“I’ve never seen you look like that before.”
“Really? Then don’t tell me.”
Even in the game, I always felt that she was a human with an irritating personality.
“I’m just wondering …….”
“Right?”
After giving in, Ji-hyun smiled brightly and handed me the paper.
When I looked away from her face and unfolded the contents, I saw the words [Club Registration Permit] written on the front.
“I was anxious because the results came out sooner than I thought, but it looks like you passed in the end.”
“I said I’d take care of it and get you through unconditionally. Also, there was someone in the student council who saw your duel, so that’s part of what made things easier.”
“You mean my duel?”
“Because you were so overpowering, he thought he could trust you to lead the club.”
“Hmm?”
I read the papers Ji-hyun handed me and found a strange part.
“Instructor, is there still a room available for our club?”
“Apparently, there are no vacancies right now but they said they’d assign one as soon as possible.”
“Isn’t room Z on the basement level vacant?”
The names of the rooms run from A-Z. But unlike the other floors, Room Z in the basement wasn’t even a designated room. It was just a room full of stuff, like luggage.
“Room Z? Isn’t that the one the guys from the first floor use for storage?”
“Yeah, as far as I know, it can be used as a stale room.”
Room Z was indeed a stale room in the game. It was also the location of one of the Academy’s hidden gimmicks.
“Yeah? Well, I’ll ask later but is there a reason you’re snooping around there?”
……There was no way I was going to tell her there was something I wanted there so I decided to play it cool for now.
“It’s bigger than the others, isn’t it, and I thought it would be a good place if it’s cleaned up.”
“…… Yeah, it’s spacious.”
Ji-hyun smiled and stood up, as if she had said all she needed to say.
“Well, it’s liberal arts class in a little while, so go to class, and if you don’t want to go, you can go after school. Oh, by the way. Give me your cell phone.”
“What?”
“Quickly.”
Ji-hyun opens her palm to me and waves it around like she’s begging me. I cautiously placed the phone in her hand, and with a very fast hand, she added her number and handed it to me.
“I’m also the club advisor, so if you have any problems, call me here. This is my personal number.”
It was a different number than the one I know as the instructor’s number. Apparently, she kept her official and personal cell phones separate.
“Shall we?”
I turn quickly and bow to her as she leaves.
It’s Ji-hyun’s personal number…….I think I can use this properly later.
After Ji-hyun left, I headed to class A, where the other kids would be.
Gazes gather around me as I push open the door. I wondered if the rumors of this morning’s events had already spread, but even as I entered the classroom, I saw [Baby Boss] activated in the corner of my vision.
“Oh, Boss, how did it go?”
Jin-woo, who had been chatting with Se-ah and Young-jae from the back of the classroom, waved and giggled.
I can tell the other kids are excited too so I walk to my seat and sit down, and everyone gathers around my desk.
“So, Eugene, how did it go? Did you pass?”
Se-ah leans towards me as she takes her seat, unable to contain her curiosity.
“Yeah, I just got word that my club passed and that I’ve been assigned a room.”
Se-ah’s jaw drops when she hears my words.
“This really happened in one day?”
“The boss is a god, the boss is a god, the boss is a god, the boss is a god.”
“I believed in Mr. Eugene!”
I burst out laughing at the raucous response.
“I’m going to pay a visit to the office after school today, so I want you all to know.”
The three people nod vigorously as they hear my words. It’s a far cry from the worried faces I saw this morning.
* * *
Nothing much happened in my liberal arts classes. It was all about how to be a hero, how to behave, etc.
“……I’m bored.”
We took a short break and as if to echo my thoughts, Jin-woo, who was sitting next to me, leaned over and muttered.
“Boss, aren’t you bored?”
“Listen, it’ll help you too. Concentrate.”
“Eh, I didn’t expect the boss to say that.”
In the game, there was a setting where taking all the liberal arts classes would increase your intelligence stats.
I’m not sure if that’s still true in the real world, but it can’t hurt.
Of course, since it was set to increase your intelligence just by participating in liberal arts classes, I was killing time on the internet with my smart lens.
With such a good product, it’s honestly ridiculous that I’m just sitting in class.
“But I heard there’s an external lecturer for the next class, right?”
Se-ah, who has been listening to our conversation, walks over to my seat with a smile on her face and Jin-woo tilts his head as if he hasn’t heard this before.
“An outside lecturer?”
“Yes. Didn’t you check the pamphlet? It says someone famous is coming.”
I wondered if there was an outside lecturer at this time of year, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to raise my stakes.
“The instructor says the next lecture will be held in Convention Hall A in the main building, please go there.”
Young-jae, who had gone to the staff room at the instructor’s call, returned to the class and said the message.
Judging from the fact that it was being held in the convention hall instead of the classroom, it seemed that a somewhat famous person had come.
“Let’s go.”
I stood up from my seat and headed outside, and I could see the two of them and the other kids who had been watching me follow me out the door.
The other kids naturally realized that the power was with me.
As I stepped out into the hallway, I saw the other kids in my class moving toward Hall A as well.
At the same time, the [Bloodline: Corleone] marker appeared on the interface. It meant that someone had a grudge against me.
If I were to name a person here who would have a grudge against me…….That’s him.
I looked at the back of the other class, which was far ahead of my class. Among them, I saw the figure of Jung-hoon, who was glaring at me with snake eyes.
“Who the hell is that guy, glaring at the boss?”
Jin-woo, who was walking alongside me, spotted him and raised his middle finger. Jung-hoon’s eyes widen in response but Jin-woo giggles and holds up his other hand as well.
“That guy’s pissed off. Boss, do you know him?”
“No. He’s……not the kind of guy I’d care about.”
“Really? That’s interesting.”
I decided not to tell Jin-woo that he was the son of the police chief, as it would only make him feel worse.
After a short walk, I saw the entrance to Hall A, where other first-year students were entering one by one.
The color of the nametags indicated that this lecture was for first-year students only.
Soon after I found an empty seat and sat down, I heard the voice of a student who appeared to be the moderator from the podium.
[There will be a guest lecture by an outside lecturer in a few minutes, all freshmen, please take your seats]
The noisy surroundings gradually become quiet.
[From now on, we will begin the afternoon schedule of the 3rd day of freshman orientation, the outside lecture. Today, please give a big round of applause to our special lecturer, Kang Seung-tae, who has traveled a long way to speak to the freshmen!]
Simultaneous applause echoed through the convention hall but amidst the applause, I lowered my head to hide my agitation.
“Kang Seung-Tae? He’s here now?”
The reason for my panic was because it was Kang Seung-tae, a close friend of my father, Vito Corleone, and the head of the Incheon branch of the Korean Heroes Association.
“What, what, what is he doing here?!”
Jin-woo, whose father was the boss of the Bevalt family, also realizes that Kang Seung-tae is familiar with him and begins to shake with fear.
The reason for his reaction is obvious. Kang Seung-tae was a man who was obsessed with power, achievements, and friends to the point of insanity.
“Hahahaha! You must be the new students at the academy this year! Nice to meet you! I’m Kang Seung-tae!”
His voice echoed through the hall even though he wasn’t holding a microphone. At the same time, the hall goes from roaring to quiet at the sound of his name.
“I’m not that great, I’m just a guy who came here because my friends asked me to do them a favor, so I don’t want to keep you all here for hours and nag you.”
Kang Seung-tae’s words made the kids around him smile.
His words were like a promise of a quick fix but…
“One representative from each class!”
He extends his index finger toward the students and bares his teeth.
“If the strongest one comes forward and wins the bet with me, the class can leave. But if you lose, not only will you lose your attendance points, but you’ll have to listen to me nag you until the end of time.”
Kang Seung-tae then looked at his wristwatch.
“Since it’s 2:00, I’ll give you until……2:10 to confer with each other and bring your representatives to me. That’s it!”
Still sitting on the stage, Kang Seung-tae crossed his arms and began to look around.
I couldn’t believe he was going to hold a special lecture like this and just I was wondering what I should do I suddenly realized that all eyes were on me.
“……What?”
Looking at their faces, I realized that they were all from Class A, including Jin-woo, Se-ah, and Young-jae.
“The boss is the strongest among us.”
“That’s true. Is there anyone else besides Mr. Eugene?”
The others nodded their heads.
As I was sighing at the scene, I felt a gaze directed at me from the podium below and when I turned around, I saw Jung-hoon making eye contact with me. Apparently, they had sent him as their representative.
‘Come down.’
He taunted me by moving his mouth toward me and kept glaring at me as if he wanted to take this opportunity to fight me.
I was about to ignore his taunts because I had no intention of making a big splash in front of Kang Seung-tae.
‘Come down.’
Behind him, I could see the shape of Kang Seung-tae’s mouth as he grinned, but it was a smile reminiscent of a demonic grin.
‘Quickly.’
As expected, the friend who asked for the favor was my father.
……Holy shit, man.
