Chapter 24 Part 12: Adaptation.

Thanks to taking a sleeping pill, I had no trouble getting to school the next day.

I felt pretty strange from sleeping so much, though…

It was better than staying up all night and dozing off at the academy.

Thinking it wasn’t so bad, I entered the classroom.

Since I arrived early, at 7:40 AM, there was no one inside.

Considering that school started at 8:20 AM, I was indeed early.

So, I stood still for a moment and then started reading the downloaded textbook.

It was as interesting as the thesis Uncle Ceylon had sent me.

If someone else saw me, they might laugh and say it’s strange to find it interesting, but it was interesting anyway.

So I kept my eyes fixed on my phone until another student arrived, but I felt someone watching me.

Honestly, I wanted to pretend I didn’t notice, but the other person’s gaze was too blatant.

First of all, it didn’t seem like they had bad intentions.

If they had, I would have noticed it earlier.

So I sighed and turned my head to see who was staring at me.

“…Jinhoo?”

Gong Jinhoo gave a really awkward smile and cleared his throat.

And without even answering, he walked towards me.

I watched Gong Jinhoo put down his bag for a moment, then sighed again and pressed him.

“Why on earth were you looking at someone like that in broad daylight?”

“Um, first of all, I didn’t have any bad intentions.”

“…If you had bad intentions, I would have done something about it already.”

“Could we, perhaps, talk?”

Gong Jinhoo said that and looked at my reaction.

Of course, I had no intention of doing anything to Gong Jinhoo.

He was just asking to talk, so there was no reason to refuse, right?

So, I slowly got up from my seat and said.

“Of course. Is it something we can’t talk about here?”

“I-It’s not like that.”

“I see, then we can just sit down and talk, right?”

I said that and sat down.

Gong Jinhoo looked like he’d been hit with something, then sat down next to me.

Then he looked around and suddenly said.

“Are you really okay?”

“…Suddenly?”

“…It’s not something you can say is sudden.”

“It’s sudden to me.”

I said that and smiled a little coldly.

I didn’t like the way he spoke, as if he was confirming that someone had a problem.

…Well, there is a real problem. Let’s just gloss over that.

“…I apologize if I was rude.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s understandable to misunderstand.”

“…”

I was glad I was used to acting.

If I wasn’t, Gong Jinhoo would have definitely noticed.

I’m quite familiar with that kind of probing gaze.

So it seemed like I got away without being discovered.

Well, whatever the case, I was relieved.

But I didn’t feel good.

It felt like it had been 10 years since I’d seen such a probing gaze.

It was like the gaze of my brothers, so it was hard to look at it properly.

Luckily, Gong Jinhoo didn’t press me about avoiding his gaze.

He probably thought I was doing it because I was upset…

Which was a relief.

If I met his eyes in this situation, I might have revealed my secret.

While Gong Jinhoo was lost in other thoughts, I slowly turned on my phone screen.

And I started reading the textbook I had been reading a little while ago.

If I was lucky, I could enjoy some time alone until class started.

No, I just needed to hold out until the other students came in.

Gong Jinhoo wasn’t a clueless student, so he probably wouldn’t bring up such a topic in front of other students.

One second felt like ten minutes.

Luckily, when other students came in, Gong Jinhoo didn’t talk to me.

Rather, he seemed to not care about me at all because he was talking with other students.

So I read the textbook with relief, and I managed to hold out until homeroom started.

“Now, class will begin… everyone, please focus.”

After homeroom, the homeroom teacher said that and started class.

Only then did I put away my phone and diligently attend the class.

It goes without saying, but the class was nothing special.

It was like going through the curriculum I had already completed perfectly years ago from the beginning.

Being curious about the changed curriculum in the past few years only lasted for a few minutes.

As time went on, the class became so boring that I couldn’t stand it.

Still, it’s polite to concentrate in class, so I had no choice but to endure it.

When the class was over, I immediately got up from my seat.

The thought of having to listen to things I already knew again made me feel frustrated.

So I felt like I had to wander around aimlessly during break time to feel better.

The academy building was large, so it would be nice to look around.

So I went out of the classroom without hesitation and started to explore the building.

Fortunately, looking around the building was very fun.

It was very large and the facilities were elaborate, so it was nice to look at.

Thanks to that, I was able to soothe my boredom for the first few classes.

But I soon got tired of looking around the building.

It was nice that there were many elaborate facilities…

But there were only a handful of places I could enter during break time.

Most of them were only accessible during specific class hours, so I was exhausted by the time the 5th period came.

“Isn’t there any fun place?”

So it was no wonder I was grumbling like this.

It would be one thing if I could learn something completely new.

But learning what I had already learned was a very boring thing.

Still, there were still things to look forward to.

I heard that after a few more days, the number of training subjects would increase.

If that happened, it would be a very interesting day.

I hadn’t decided on a career path yet, but that wouldn’t matter.

So I was waiting for the number of training subjects to increase soon, when I heard the sound of shoes.

It was a sound like *toctoctoc*, but strangely unpleasant.

No, it was unpleasant.

It was intentionally making the sound of shoes to say that it was going that way.

It was a sound I often heard when I was a test subject, so I didn’t feel good.

So I tried to see who it was, but I shut my mouth.

“Ah, student. I was looking for you.”

“…Vice Principal, what brings you here?”

“Of course, to hear your answer about special management!”

“…Ah.”

There was a lot I wanted to say.

First of all, that was something I could ask the homeroom teacher to do.

All they had to do was tell student Lee Yeji to ask about special management again.

Even if that wasn’t the case, it was something I could be called to the vice principal’s office for.

Whatever it was, it wasn’t something that needed to come all the way here.

Thanks to that, my stomach was starting to hurt.

I felt gazes from around me.

Who would have known that the Vice Principal would come in person.

But there was nothing I could do, so I managed my expression.

And I decided to get straight to the point and said to the Vice Principal.

“I talked to my aunt, and she said it would be good to do it.”

“Good. If it’s a student, you can enhance the reputation of our Busan International Academy.”

“…You flatter me.”

“It’s not flattery. The teacher is looking forward to the student’s potential.”

“I see. Then, when will the special management start?”

“From next week. Ah, student. Are you thinking of doing night self-study?”

“Yes. I probably will.”

“As you know, the academy’s night self-study is mainly training.”

“…Aha.”

“Along with a few other students, you will learn a more advanced course.”

The Vice Principal started with those words and told me various things.

To summarize in one word, it meant to be prepared because I would be taught hard from now on.

…That was said in a very long way.

Thanks to that, the break time passed in an instant, and I almost missed class.

If the Vice Principal hadn’t done something with magic in time, I would have definitely been late.

…Still, it didn’t feel too bad.

Being able to start training in earnest meant that I was one step closer to the future I wanted.

It could be said to be adapting.

To this society.

To this society where hunters and heroes roam around, hunting villains and monsters.

The fact that I, who originally would have met my end as a villain, could meet my end as a hero or hunter.

It was a very exciting and overwhelming thing just to think about.

A fighting dog.

A villain that shakes the world.

You are the masterpiece of fear we created.

You can be anything you can be, and you can do anything you can do.

Become such a monster and destroy this world.

It was also a way to get revenge on the sisters and brothers who raised me saying that.

It was a declaration that the test subject they had put so much effort into did not grow up as they intended.

So, my heart was pounding.

So I needed to adapt more.

Organize my still confused head.

Find a way to calm this hallucination with my aunt on the weekend.

Avoid Gong Jinhoo’s suspicions, and work hard on special management.

Like a snake, I need to wait calmly.

It really felt like a snake more than anything.

It was no wonder that I was holding my breath and blending in with my surroundings to catch my prey.

So I could be said to be a snake.

Clumsy, but at least holding my breath and staring at the prey.

Such a huge snake.

I laughed thinking that.

So much so that Gong Jinhoo asked me if something good happened from the side.

Of course, I couldn’t answer.

If I told him honestly, Gong Jinhoo would obviously look at me with suspicion.

More than anything, it was soon career time, so I couldn’t talk.