Chapter 24: Club Dinner

The conflict with Je Galwhalin’s gang was quite large, but the news didn’t spread throughout Hakdo immediately.

I suspected Ojakgyo’s media control as the reason.

‘Although it wasn’t mentioned explicitly in the original, there were members of the broadcasting club or newspaper club of each school among the Ojakgyo members.’

If I were Alice, would I have left the media club students alone?

Absolutely not.

I think I would force those idle girls to belong to Ojakgyo and control the media.

Highlighting the volunteer activities of Ojakgyo students, showcasing the outstanding academic achievements of Ojakgyo students, or students who receive benefits from Ojakgyo praising Ojakgyo, and so on.

There are many ways to use it that come to my mind right now.

Alice’s Ojakgyo was not established solely on fists.

Even in the news section of Hakdogal that I’m looking at now, there were many posts highlighting the positive aspects of Ojakgyo.

[Ojakgyo executive, Je Galyeonhwa. Donates most of her modeling income to the Hakdo branch of the Red Cross (Views 1,088) (Likes 350)]

[Hakdo top student Eun Yuri, establishes a group Zoom class curriculum within Ojakgyo. “I want to reduce the educational gap between students.” (Views 668) (Likes 121)]

“It’s the end of the world, the end of the world.”

As I muttered quietly, Kim Noeul, who was next to me, showed interest.

“What’s the end of the world? The world?”

“School is the world for students, so it’s not a wrong statement. This Hakdo is crazy now.”

I grumbled and told Kim Noeul.

“So Kim Noeul, you have to work harder. Are you confident about winning the competition? It’ll be really depressing if Ojakgyo takes the gold medal this time too.”

“Don’t worry. There were no problems I didn’t know in the written test.”

“That’s a relief then.”

It’s a mistake to view Hakdo’s competition at the level of a general competition.

The students of Hakdo have higher academic abilities on average than students outside of Hakdo, so the difficulty of the problems for differentiation is much higher.

A representative example of this is the Hakdo-specific mock exam, which is administered separately from the national mock exam.

Even students who get a perfect score on the CSAT mock exam often struggle in the Hakdo-specific mock exam.

Even I got a perfect score on the March national mock exam, but I missed several questions on the Hakdo mock exam.

Of course, there are superhumans who achieve a perfect score even in the Hakdo mock exam.

The problem is that those two superhumans are both Ojakgyo executives.

‘If Kim Noeul is going to deal with Alice with force, I have to deal with Eun Yuri with academics…’

Is it possible?

While I was having complicated worries, Kim Noeul brought up the story of the fight with Je Galwhalin’s gang the other day.

“You and Senior Yuna were also attacked by Je Galwhalin. Did the disciplinary department members protect you well?”

“They were reliable. Even Je Galwhalin couldn’t stand up to the disciplinary department head. If possible, I want to go home with the disciplinary department from now on.”

In fact, in the latter half of the original, the conflict with Ojakgyo became extremely acute, and there was an incident where the disciplinary department went home with the students.

Kim Noeul narrowed her eyes at my words that I wanted to go home with the disciplinary department.

“Weren’t you going home with me anyway? There’s no need to involve the disciplinary department. They’re already busy people.”

“…….”

“…Why?”

Kim Noeul responded to my mysterious gaze with a sullen expression.

I sighed and gave her the answer she wanted.

“Yeah, you’re more reliable than the disciplinary department. Okay?”

Kim Noeul’s cheeks turned slightly red when I said it with a smile.

She cleared her throat and changed the subject.

“Speaking of which, our counseling club get-together was canceled, but since we dealt with a big issue, let’s get together today. Ask Senior Yuna.”

As Kim Noeul said, I had forgotten about the counseling club get-together.

Why couldn’t we have the get-together?

‘Ah, right. At that time, Senior Yuna was being robbed by delinquents. After that, I went to senior’s house…’

Thinking up to that point, I stopped imagining because my face was burning.

Since it’s an event that Kim Noeul doesn’t need to know, I focused on managing my expression.

“I’ll send a text.”

Pretending to be nonchalant, I entered the counseling club group chat.

[Me: Senior, shall we go to the get-together today?]

[Me: We defeated Je Galwhalin, and the president said the competition is over]

[Na Yuna: Anytime!]

[Na Yuna: I saved a lot of money for this]

[Na Yuna: (Cow with sunglasses Flexing emoticon)]

[Na Yuna: I’ll buy the meat]

I was embarrassed when I confirmed her intention to suddenly offer a large sum of money.

Kim Noeul, who checked the contents of the text, also had an uncomfortable expression.

[Kim Noeul: Let’s just pay separately]

[Me: I think that’s better too]

[Na Yuna: No, I’ll pay, I’ve received a lot of help from you guys This time when Je Galwhalin attacked, I couldn’t help at all]

[Na Yuna: I want to ease my burden of conscience]

At her serious tone, Kim Noeul thought for a moment and looked at me.

“Then let’s have senior pay this time, and we’ll pay next time. She doesn’t seem to have any intention of changing her mind.”

“…That would be right.”

I agreed with Kim Noeul’s words, but I felt frustrated inside.

Because I know the underlying basis of Na Yuna’s psychology.

She still doesn’t see the two of us as equal friends.

Na Yuna seems to think of herself as a bug that is parasitizing the two of us.

Her self-loathing was famous in the original.

Since she was a man in the webtoon, she was popular with female fans for her ‘loser-like’ charm, but I didn’t think it was good.

‘She needs to change.’

She’s relieving her desire for recognition, which she can’t satisfy in reality, through broadcasting, but if this phenomenon continues, it won’t be good for Na Yuna at all.

Me, Kim Noeul, and Ms. Chae Yubin need to continue to take care of her.

Speaking of care, a certain person who appeared in the original came to mind.

‘The adult who helped Na Yuna find confidence in reality… She’ll be in contact with Na Yuna soon.’

Na Yuna meeting that adult was a few weeks before the final exam in terms of timing, so it’s around now.

I sent a reply to Na Yuna with a complicated expression.

[Me: If you say so, I’ll gratefully eat]

[Na Yuna: What do you want to eat? Pork? Beef?]

[Kim Noeul: Pork belly is good]

After discussing, the three of us met at the school gate after school.

Na Yuna still had long bangs covering her eyes.

Kim Noeul approached Na Yuna and stared intently at her bangs.

“Noeul? Is there something on my hair?”

“Senior, have you ever thought about getting highlights?”

“Highlights?”

Na Yuna was embarrassed when Kim Noeul’s makeup lecture started.

Kim Noeul lightly touched Na Yuna’s skin and admired it.

“Leaf cool tone suits you well, but this is rare. It’s summer, so green tones are popular. It’s a shame not to dress up.”

“Th, thank you…?”

I couldn’t intervene in the conversation between the two girls at all.

It was natural since I had never put on makeup in my previous life or in my current life.

Even though it’s a gender-reversed world, it’s not like girls don’t wear makeup at all.

The makeup itself is as much as the girls of the previous life.

It’s just that their behavior has become more relaxed.

Even Kim Noeul, who fights toughly, pays a lot of attention to her appearance when you look closely.

Her eyebrows are trimmed, her lips are shining beautifully, and there is a scent of perfume near her collarbone.

Looking like she’s dressed up but not dressed up is Kim Noeul’s style.

While Kim Noeul was giving Na Yuna a long lecture, I thought to myself.

‘Noeul, Senior Yuna already knows everything you’re saying.’

How could she not know, when she’s a broadcaster.

She’s even a streamer famous for her appearance…

“I think we should bring a full-length mirror to the counseling club sometime. Counselors should look good to their clients, right? Let’s match it together.”

“I, I’ll work hard.”

Na Yuna, burning with enthusiasm, clenching her fists.

Kim Noeul, who was looking at Na Yuna with a satisfied expression, soon turned her gaze to my face.

After staring for a moment, she opened her mouth.

“Maru, you’re better off not dressing up.”

“What?”

It sounded like it was useless to dress up, so I was momentarily down.

Just as I was about to say something, Kim Noeul muttered quietly.

“You’ll just attract more girls.”

I lost my words.

Kim Noeul had a serious expression, so I couldn’t even joke.

“Maru is already a wall even without dressing up…”

Na Yuna, who couldn’t read the mood, praised my appearance.

Kim Noeul sighed as if to say, “See.”

“We’re already dealing with Ojakgyo girls, so we’ll be attracting attention, but if you dress up your appearance, Maru. It’ll be even more annoying.”

“You put on makeup, so why are you saying that to me?”

“…I’m a girl. Guys need to be more careful.”

We walked along Hakdo’s food street, bickering with meaningless conversations.

There aren’t many times when we can walk around comfortably without any worries like this.

It is necessary to be faithful to the present time.

Before we knew it, we arrived at the meat restaurant.

Perhaps because tomorrow is the weekend, the conversations of the customers could be heard everywhere.

“Three people.”

“I’ll guide you to your seats.”

At Kim Noeul’s answer, the employee led us to a table for six.

“Press the call button when you’ve decided on the menu.”

The employee was busy, so after saying that, he immediately ran to another table.

Kim Noeul and Na Yuna took off their school uniform jackets.

“Phew, it was stuffy.”

Na Yuna stretched, saying it was refreshing, with her vast chest heaving greatly.

It seems that her uniform was a bit small.

“Shall we order 3 servings first?”

“Yes, choose as much as you want.”

Na Yuna nodded at Kim Noeul’s question.

I stood up from my seat and looked around.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to pick flowers.”

Hearing the answer, Kim Noeul looked unconcerned and turned her gaze back to the menu.

“Then we’ll order first?”

“Okay.”

I answered and asked the employee for the location of the restroom and headed to the restroom.

I entered the men’s restroom on the right and quickly relieved myself.

While washing my hands at the sink, I found a CCTV pointing towards the entrance of the men’s restroom.

There was no CCTV on the women’s restroom side.

Every time I see a scene like this, I keenly realize that it’s a reversed world.

While I was washing my hands, I heard a murmuring sound from the women’s restroom.

“Yeonhwa, your shots were shaking a lot today, is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I’m just not feeling well.”

“A model shouldn’t be like that. Take a good rest when you’re tired. Your tired face shouldn’t be in the magazine.”

I stopped shaking my hands and focused on their conversation.

‘Yeonhwa? It’s not a common name, could it be…’

“It’s almost the finals, so I have to finish the schedule quickly in the meantime. It’s not like I don’t want to rest because I don’t want to.”

“You’re working hard too. Eat a lot today and relieve stress. You don’t like a lot of people, so I left all the staff behind, right?”

The two women came out of the restroom and I met them.

One was a woman in a sophisticated outfit that looked like she was in her late 20s or early 30s, and the other was a female student wearing a white shirt and a short skirt.

The female student had proportions reminiscent of a Barbie doll, and she looked close to 8 heads tall even by rough estimation.

Even though I’m taller, her leg length seemed to be similar to mine.

Another unique feature is that the female student’s face resembled someone I know.

It was a very familiar face.

Because it’s the face of the girl I slapped.

But the girl I slapped had short hair, and this girl in front of me has long hair.

‘Je Galyeonhwa…’

Ojakgyo’s executive, Hankook High School student council president, and Hakdo’s representative celebrity.

I overheard the phone conversation the other day, but I didn’t meet her directly, but now I’ve met her gaze for quite a long time.

“Huh? Do you know each other?”

The woman next to her asked Je Galyeonhwa, who was staring at me.

Je Galyeonhwa glanced at my name tag and the corners of her mouth went up.

“Ah~. I know him well. My sister was indebted to him.”

It seems that the fact that Je Galwhalin was beaten up has reached her ears.

“Hmm…”

The woman who heard Je Galyeonhwa’s explanation examined my various parts.

Then she made a strange moaning sound and her eyes sparkled.

Perhaps she noticed my embarrassed expression, she waved her hand.

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not sexual harassment, it’s just seeing potential.”

I don’t understand the use of the word sexual harassment, but I understand even less the words that I saw potential.

“What potential.”

“I’m this kind of person.”

She handed me a business card.

I took the business card and my eyes widened.

She raised her nose as if my surprised reaction was natural.

“You must have heard of it at least once. We almost monopolize the model market in Hakdo.”

The business card said:

-School Celebrity Co., Ltd., CEO Lim Juhee

The reason I was surprised was not because of the company’s name, contrary to Lim Juhee’s expectation.

Lim Juhee was a character in the original who cast Na Yuna and played the role of a mentor who instilled confidence in her as a model.

She was also TSed and was a woman, unlike in the original.

“Your name on the name tag is… Maru student? I feel infinite potential in you. My intuition is never wrong. Won’t you spread the wings of possibility?”

“…….”

When I didn’t answer, CEO Lim Juhee had an impatient expression, which was unlike her.

“Th, this student next to me is Je Galyeonhwa. That Je Galyeonhwa. You can see this child’s face everywhere you go in Hakdo. I discovered her too. You can also become a star!”

Lim Juhee is the CEO of a company with a fairly large size, but when she meets a rough diamond, she takes the attitude of a subordinate, not a superior.

Perhaps that’s why Lim Juhee succeeded.

“Let’s not talk standing like this, shall we join you? Do you have company? I can pay for the food.”

For Na Yuna’s development, it would be good to build a relationship with Lim Juhee here.

But if Lim Juhee joins, Je Galyeonhwa will too…

When I looked at Je Galyeonhwa, Lim Juhee also looked at Je Galyeonhwa.

“Aha. You’re respecting Yeonhwa’s opinion? You’re a sweet guy? Yeonhwa, if joining is uncomfortable, I’ll give up too. No matter what, I value existing models more, you know?”

Hearing those words, I gave up joining in my heart.

Je Galyeonhwa must have hostility towards me.

There’s no way she’ll join.

But Je Galyeonhwa nodded unexpectedly.

“It’s okay to join.”

“Really? It’s unusual for a child who doesn’t like a lot of people.”

Je Galyeonhwa smiled and stared at me.

I looked at her smiling face with crescent-shaped eyes and made a conclusion after much deliberation.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll just accept your kindness. It’s a club get-together, so I can’t decide on my own.”

“That’s a shame. But I gave you my business card, so it’s okay. We finished eating, so we should go now.”

Lim Juhee smacked her lips and started walking.

Je Galyeonhwa waited until Lim Juhee was completely gone and then opened her mouth.

“Why did you refuse? I thought you would use joining as an excuse to get my information.”

“Because I don’t like you.”

I answered honestly.

“You’re talking informally to me, even though I’m a year older? It’s more charming than being too gentle.”

It’s not working.

I provoked her like I would with other girls, but Je Galyeonhwa was rather excited.

“Sigh, I have an interesting goal for the first time in a while.”

Je Galyeonhwa, who caught her breath, walked away from me.

A short while later, I got a text.

[Kim Noeul: What are you doing We’re grilling meat]

[Me: I’m coming now]

After texting, I left the restroom entrance with a complicated heart.