Chapter 13: Old Counseling Department vs. New Counseling Department

After finishing my exploration of the Hakdo Gallery, I turned my attention to the two women who had entered the classroom.

One was the familiar class president of our class, Kim Noeul, and the other was someone I had never seen before.

‘She wasn’t an important character in the webtoon, so she didn’t appear much.’

Even when she did appear, it was a male teacher who only showed his face a few times. But here, the gender was changed to a female teacher.

‘The name is the same, Chae Yubin. She’s wearing a suit and has a model image, so that’s similar.’

She had neat appearance with brown dyed hair that reached her waist and a skirt suit. Her high heels twitched as she wiggled her toes in black stockings.

“Hello, I’m Chae Yubin. I came because I was asked to be the advisor…”

“That’s right. We’ll use this as the club room, and I just need to submit the club establishment documents to the staff room. Before that, the advisor needs to sign here.”

“Ah, yes. I understand.”

Even to me, a student, teacher Chae Yubin used polite language and bowed her head to take out a fountain pen.

As she bowed her head, her brown hair flowed down and slightly touched the documents. Her face, visible through her hair, was stiff and looked nervous.

“I signed it. Should I just go and submit it?”

“Ah, this needs to be submitted by the students themselves, so we’ll just go.”

Kim Noeul stopped teacher Chae Yubin, who offered to submit it herself. Chae Yubin slowly nodded and stood still.

“Um… then is my work done?”

“That’s right, but you should listen to the future club activity plan.”

“Yes.”

But it was rather uncomfortable for an adult woman to use polite language. Especially a mature woman who has completed her military service.

“You can speak informally.”

“I’m actually at my first post here, so I’m still unfamiliar with the students.”

‘She’s an elite?’

She looks young, but she’s already finished her 2 years of military service and became a teacher, and her first assignment is a high school belonging to Hakdo, so it’s not a normal start.

“You were appointed very quickly. You’re young.”

“I’m not that young. I’m already in my mid-twenties…”

“As I get older, it’s more awkward to hear polite language. Just speak informally.”

“…Okay. If you’re really uncomfortable.”

Chae Yubin eventually accepted my suggestion and spoke informally.

“So what’s the plan? I already ran into a counseling club member on the way here. The rumor seems to have spread.”

Kim Noeul sat next to teacher Chae Yubin and asked me. I explained the picture I was drawing without hesitation.

As I explained, the changes in their expressions changed dramatically.

Teacher Chae Yubin stared at me with her mouth wide open, and Kim Noeul glared at me with the same polite expression as when she faced Ahn Hyojin.

“W, wait, Maru? Am I misunderstanding something? I was curious about which students you would be counseling and how the counseling would take place?”

Chae Yubin spoke rapidly.

“Are you going to take the risk by making such a plan again? Like last time?”

Kim Noeul frowned, thinking it was too dangerous a plan.

I made a gesture of helplessness and started a rebuttal.

“Anyway, to continue the counseling club activities, a clash with those guys is inevitable. Let’s rather prepare and counterattack from this side.”

Then teacher Chae Yubin interrupted me.

“Even if the students’ autonomy is guaranteed, as a teacher, I can’t just stand by and watch this. How about changing the club’s theme? For example, math research or something.”

“…I can’t stand idly by while delinquent students eat away at Haneul High School.”

Hearing those words, Kim Noeul’s expression softened slightly. She must be admitting it in her heart.

Someday, she wants to become the student council president and make Haneul High School a good school.

Then my current plan fits her cause. At least before becoming the student council president, it’s safe to cut off the unruly sprouts in advance.

“Of course, I heard that the existing counseling club has a bad reputation…”

Chae Yubin was still hesitant. Perhaps she’s a new teacher, so she’s not familiar with the situation in Hakdo.

“Anyway, the establishment of the counseling club will be fine if it goes as I planned. Then I’ll go submit it. Kim Noeul, follow me.”

Kim Noeul followed me with an expression that still showed she didn’t understand. Teacher Chae Yubin tried to persuade me until the end.

“Maru, at least use a moderate method…”

“Don’t worry.”

I immediately dismissed her worries and left the old school building. It takes quite a while to walk to the main school building.

Even while walking, Kim Noeul had a thoughtful expression and then sighed and opened her mouth.

“You know well.”

“Instead, you’re out of the conflict with the existing counseling club.”

“……”

“It’s dangerous.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s too late. Look around.”

While we were moving quickly to establish the counseling club, the existing counseling club must have finished preparations, unless they were fools.

Because they’re bullies, they’ll probably surround us and threaten us.

As expected, even before we arrived at the main school building, several female students who were loosening their joints here and there approached.

There were a total of four. The existing counseling club had a total of six members, so two are missing.

‘The people who aren’t here are probably the president and that girl. The president is not the type to move first, and the other one is an outcast who is far from a bully.’

“Juniors~. Can we talk for a moment?”

One of the approaching female students said with a smile. Kim Noeul blocked between the approaching female student and me and made me step back.

The surrounding girls whistled and giggled.

“Do you know that there is already a counseling club in Haneul High School?”

“I know.”

At Kim Noeul’s concise answer, the female student touched her forehead and shook her head.

“No, you don’t know. If you knew, you wouldn’t have done this. Why are you creating a similar club and trying to close it down?”

“It doesn’t look good to do this, so if you have something to say, let’s talk later with our supervising teacher and your supervising teacher together.”

“…That’s why nerds are no good.”

The female student’s atmosphere changed. At the same time, the other three surrounded me and Kim Noeul.

“Do you really not know because you don’t know? You’re still in your second year and haven’t adapted to Hakdo yet, but the teachers here don’t interfere. That’s Hakdo.”

“They try to keep the minimum rules. I think so.”

“But the law is far and the fist is close, right?”

The female student smirked and suddenly threw a jab. Kim Noeul reflexively raised her two arms and blocked the fist.

Bang!

A hitting sound was heard, and Kim Noeul stepped back slightly.

“Oh? You blocked it?”

“Wow, this b*tch said she learned boxing, but she’s nothing.”

The other female students laughed at the female student who threw the jab. The female student who threw the punch smiled awkwardly.

“Well, she must be able to put up some fight to stand up to Jin Heeyoung.”

Jin Heeyoung.

The name of the counseling club president. A piece of trash who uses the counseling club as a pretext to get activity expenses and engage in bullying activities.

She is running the counseling club with the gang that follows her.

And she is a woman who is close to Je Galyeonhwa’s younger sister, Je Galhwalin. With that kind of backing, she can do whatever she wants.

I observed the situation and nodded.

‘It’s doable.’

And provoked.

“Whether it’s Jin Heeyoung or whatever, if you’re going to attack, attack quickly. It’s a waste of time.”

“……”

“……”

The female students’ and Kim Noeul’s eyes turn to me. The common point between them is that they all had dumbfounded expressions.

“Ha…. Hey, it’s not a situation for a guy to intervene, so just cry quietly.”

“You’re the ones who will be crying, you trash.”

“Wow, really, this fcking bastard!”

A female student who couldn’t contain her anger tried to slap her, and Kim Noeul hurriedly turned her body.

“Kim Maru!”

“You have to play with me!”

Kim Noeul, who was trying to help me, was kicked by the female student who had thrown the jab and flew away. I had no time to worry about Kim Noeul and grabbed the arm of the approaching woman.

“Huh?”

And I pulled her in and placed her on my back for a moment, then slammed her to the ground.

“Ugh!”

The female student who hit her back on the ground trembled and convulsed. While the remaining female students were embarrassed with foolish expressions, I rushed at another one.

“Huh!?”

The female student crouched down, hitting her stomach with my kick.

“Ugh! W, wait…”

Without missing the opportunity, at the moment of grabbing her hair, another female student approached me.

I gave up grabbing her hair and distanced myself from the two.

One female student who was convulsing on the ground is retired.

Currently, I’m facing two women, and Kim Noeul is dealing with the woman who said she learned boxing.

One of the two women looked at me, holding her sore stomach.

“F*ck! I thought I could go easy on you because you’re a man, but you don’t know your place!”

“Hey, be calm. That bastard seems to have learned exercise.”

“He’s still a man!”

The woman, who had already lost her reason, ignored her colleague’s dissuasion and rushed at me.

It’s a really stupid choice.

Even though women are strong in this world, men still have the upper hand in physique. And I inherited the strength of my previous life.

I stared at the approaching woman and kicked.

Perhaps embarrassed by the unexpectedly long reach, the woman, who couldn’t avoid it in time, fell down, holding her stomach again with the shock added to her own momentum.

It must hurt a lot to be hit in the same place twice.

“Now there’s only you left?”

When I smiled eerily, the woman swallowed dryly. And she called the woman who said she learned boxing.

“Hey! Finish that b*tch quickly and come here!”

But there was no answer. When the female student turned her head strangely, she saw Kim Noeul punching the female student’s face.

“Guh!”

Making a strange sound and holding her face, she tried to get away from Kim Noeul, who was approaching her.

But she was soon grabbed by the collar by Kim Noeul, gave up running away, and threw a punch, hitting her face.

Bang!

The sound of a punch was heard.

Kim Noeul looked down at the woman who was grabbed by her as if she was not hurt even though she was punched.

“…You started it.”

Kim Noeul returned the punch in the same way.

Bang!

This time, a much louder sound was heard. The woman who was punched trembled and slumped. When Kim Noeul released her collar, the female student fell helplessly.

“Cr, crazy!”

The woman who was dealing with me ran away in fear. Me and Kim Noeul looked at her back.

“Well, it’s earlier than planned, but we’ve roughly taught them a lesson.”

I originally planned to have a fight like this after the club was established, but the timing was advanced.

It’s rather good. I can build up my internal strength during the remaining time.

“Then to the staff room…”

“Kim Maru.”

Kim Noeul’s voice changed. I turned around and looked at Kim Noeul. She was clenching her fists and trembling.

“Did you expect this too?”

“No. It was earlier than I thought.”

“…It’s dangerous.”

“Can’t you see the two women lying next to me now? It’s embarrassing to think of me as an ordinary man.”

“Whether you fight well or not, it’s hard for me to see you in such a dangerous situation.”

Kim Noeul wasn’t angry at me.

Her anger was directed somewhere else.

“Kim Noeul, you know now, but I have the same goal as you. And Haneul High School has a lot of problems now.”

“……”

“To change that, the two of us have to cooperate… and sometimes we have to go through fights like this. I exercised for that.”

In fact, I hardly exercised. I fight well because I inherited the strength of a man from the previous world.

“I know, I know. That you’re a strange guy. You fight strangely well and you’re strangely smart.”

“Strange…”

Was that how you saw me?

“But just… I don’t know. You seem to be walking a dangerous tightrope… I can’t just stand by and watch.”

“Because I’m a man?”

“No, it’s not for that reason.”

Kim Noeul is showing this hysterical reaction, and I know the reason.

‘Is it because of her past trauma?’

But the way I handle things so toughly, she has to get used to it for her trauma to be overcome paradoxically.

It can’t be helped. In the original, Kim Noeul changed from the moment she was no longer trapped in the past.

“Then let’s slowly compromise.”

“Compromise?”

At my suggestion, Kim Noeul raised her head. Her black eyes were slightly moist.

“You want to cooperate with me, right? Honestly, I’m useful, right?”

At my words, Kim Noeul narrowed her eyes. But she didn’t refute.

“But I also need you, Kim Noeul.”

I’m not a leader. In the end, Kim Noeul has the quality to attract people.

If Kim Noeul is Liu Bei (with martial arts), I’m an administrator who assists her. Feeling like the Gan-Son-Mi trio (means “Simple,” (Son) means “Effort,” and (Mi) means “Beauty”)? It’s not for nothing that the title of the webtoon is Hakdo’yeonui’.

“Since we need each other, we have to accept each other’s thoughts in part. I won’t step forward as much as possible in the future.”

“…Are you not thinking of not stepping forward at all?”

“Would I? You said to compromise.”

“Sigh.”

Perhaps she couldn’t refuse my reasonable suggestion, Kim Noeul covered her face with both hands.

“I want to ask you. Why are you so fussed about me?”

When I asked subtly, Kim Noeul closed her mouth. It seems that we weren’t close enough to open up about the past yet.

“…I’ll tell you someday.”

“Huh?”

I was surprised by the unexpected answer. In fact, I had given up on hearing the past story directly from her mouth until she graduated from Haneul High School.

But she says she’ll tell me someday.

‘She seems to have a pretty good image of me.’

For some reason, I felt good and the corners of my mouth went up. I tried to manage my expression and hurriedly walked back to the staff room.

Kim Noeul looked at the back of Kim Maru, who was walking briskly, and gently closed her eyes.

‘Yeah, he’s a different person. There’s no guarantee that it will end the same way.’

But if she experiences the same ending…

After thinking, Kim Noeul opened her eyes little by little.

She stared at Kim Maru with an obsessive, psychopathic gaze, not the gentle gaze of a class president she usually had.

‘I’ll protect you.’