Chapter 30: Touching the Lion’s Nose

“Can you handle this? I don’t know what Lee Jihye wrote, but if you act like this….”

Han Doa drew the wooden sword from her waist.

As the threateningly long wooden sword pointed towards them, the two female students turned pale.

They too had heard of Han Doa’s reputation.

“Hey, let’s just go….”

“Y-Yeah. Just don’t regret it later.”

The two women exited, uttering lines like third-rate villains.

Han Doa stared at the retreating backs of the two women for a long time before sheathing her sword back at her belt.

She watched me with eyes that held a hint of fear.

“Aren’t you going to ask?”

“About what?”

“…About the letter Lee Jihye wrote.”

Han Doa said that, but asking seriously here would make the atmosphere awkward.

‘I already know the background clearly, so there’s no need to ask.’

“Looking at the current situation, it just seems like your relationship is bad? Other than that, I don’t know. And I don’t particularly want to pry further.”

Seeing that I wasn’t trying to force information out of her, Han Doa’s expression softened.

“As I’ve felt before, Maru-hubae, you’re very considerate. Not like students these days.”

“…You’re not like students these days either, sunbae.”

Honestly, based on her words and actions, Han Doa seemed like a mature middle-aged person.

“What do you mean?”

“Y-You promised to buy me fruit juice. I’m thirsty.”

“Hmm….”

Han Doa, who had been staring at me with a meaningful look, silently got the juice from the vending machine.

I sipped the juice and got lost in thought.

‘Those Dowon High punks will probably pick a fight soon. Lee Jihye won’t just stay quiet.’

And my prediction turned out to be surprisingly accurate.

A few days after Han Doa received the letter, when Na Yuna and I finished studying and came out of the study room, some Dowon High male students nearby started whispering.

“Hey, look at him. He came out with a girl again.”

“Ugh…. Does he really want to act like that at the academy? Disgusting.”

Because I often used the study room alone with Na Yuna and Han Doa to help them study, they were targeting that to pick a fight.

It seemed they were trying to paint me as some kind of male prostitute… having lewd relations in the study room.

‘How pathetic.’

It was similar to the bullying I experienced when I first came to Haneul High.

Just like back then, if I ignored this provocation, the harassment would intensify.

“What they’re saying is harsh….”

Na Yuna muttered timidly.

Before, she wouldn’t have been able to talk back to delinquent male students, but now she was resisting, even in this small way.

“Just leave them be. If we ignore them, they’ll get bored and stop on their own.”

I placated Na Yuna with these words, but I had no intention of actually staying still.

This is Hakdo, and since those male students were instigated by Ojakgyo, I had to step in.

‘In the original work, the one who instigated the academy bullying was nearby…. I need to find him.’

The name is Joo Wonyoung.

Assigned the TT Academy territory by Lee Jihye, this person sinisterly caused trouble.

In the original work, Joo Wonyoung was a girl who studied quite a bit, but I don’t know their gender here yet.

‘I can just ask those two boys during break time.’

Of course, there might be a slight(?) conflict, but if you think about it, those guys who started trash-talking first are the ones in the wrong.

“Yuna-sunbae, don’t you have your next class?”

“Ah, right. I should get going….”

She slung her bag over one shoulder.

Before leaving, she carefully spoke.

“Maru. Um… Don’t pay attention to those words.”

“Are you worried about me?”

When I asked, Na Yuna’s cheeks turned red.

Even though her face turned strawberry-red, she didn’t avert her gaze looking up at me.

“For me, hearing trash talk is routine, but I didn’t think it would be for you.”

“I’ve gotten used to it now too.”

Only after confirming I seemed okay did Na Yuna wave her hands flutteringly and head to her classroom.

After Na Yuna left, I observed the two male students.

They seemed to be S-class too, killing time in the study room before coming out shortly after.

I followed behind them.

The two guys left the academy building.

And they entered a secluded alleyway and took out cigarettes.

“Ugh, it’s stuffy. Why is the study room air so thick?”

“My skin is cracking. Being an exam student is a crime.”

“Right, how did that blind date setup go?”

The two chatted idly as they lit up.

I disliked the smell of cigarettes, so I spoke before they really started smoking.

“Kids who aren’t even dry behind the ears are already smoking.”

At my dry words, the two male students looked at me in surprise.

They probably mistook my voice for an academy teacher’s.

“Put out the cigarettes.”

Seeing me in a Haneul High uniform, the two narrowed their eyes.

“You’re that guy from before, right? The one with the girl in the study room.”

“Just how many girls do you have? You f*cking manwhore.”

They spewed harsh words as if they held some deep grudge against me.

Even though it was likely instigated by someone, their words seemed sincere.

It was a familiar gaze I’d experienced since puberty.

The gazes of jealousy male students sent my way.

‘Poor males buried in hatred….’

Sighing, I strode towards the two.

And flicked the cigarette out of one guy’s mouth with my fingers.

“I told you not to smoke.”

“This crazy b*stard.”

Perhaps emboldened by their numerical superiority, one male student swung his arm aiming for my cheek.

I knocked his arm away and slapped his cheek just the same.

Slap!

Staggering from the immense force, the male student glared at me with a confused expression.

You can tell just from one hit.

They likely had never directly experienced this level of strength before.

Unexperienced pain breeds fear.

“Wh-Why are you picking a fight with us….”

The male student who hadn’t been hit stammered, putting out his cigarette himself.

It seemed they didn’t remember they were the ones who picked a fight with me first.

“I don’t want to hit you guys either, okay? So answer honestly. Who instigated this?”

“I-Instigated?”

“Who gave you the order? Seems like a Dowon High student.”

“Uh, that….”

When I made a motion as if raising my arm towards the hesitant male student, he confessed in a terrified voice.

“J-Joo Wonyoung! Someone named Joo Wonyoung told us to mess with any Haneul High students we see at the academy!”

‘So it is him.’

“What class is he in?”

“S-Same as us. Same as you too.”

Their academic level followed the original work.

I didn’t stop there and continued digging for information from them.

“Do you have his timetable?”

“Tell me about his friendships.”

“Point out the places he frequents.”

I questioned them relentlessly.

The male students, looking tearful, would startle and spill everything as if experiencing PTSD whenever I ‘raised my arm’ to scratch my head.

Only after getting as much information as I wanted did I let them go.

“Thanks for the info. Good work, everyone. Don’t run into me at the academy from now on.”

“……”

“…Go.”

When I raised my hand, they fled towards the academy building as if running for their lives.

Recording the information I just heard on my phone, I formulated a plan in my head.

‘The main plot will follow the original anyway, so I just need to intervene slightly.’

Finishing my thoughts, I returned to the academy.

Soon, I had a class with Kim Noeul.

Kim Noeul usually sits down early before class starts, so she should be in the classroom by now.

‘This class is physics….’

Entering the physics lecture hall, I saw Kim Noeul sitting in the very back row.

There was only one empty seat left near her.

Just as I was about to sit there, someone zipped past me like an arrow.

‘Whoa, surprised me.’

A male student who passed me sat down in the seat next to Kim Noeul.

And greeted Kim Noeul familiarly.

“Hi? You’re Kim Noeul, right?”

“Huh?”

Kim Noeul looked at the male student talking to her.

She looked flustered, seemingly not recognizing him.

“I’m Joo Wonyoung.”

“…Yeah, hi.”

Kim Noeul, though flustered, responded with a natural smile fitting her popular status.

Joo Wonyoung, perhaps moved by Kim Noeul’s reaction, continued speaking.

“Actually, you’re really famous. I hear you’re good at studying? This is my first year taking physics, so I don’t know much. Is it okay if I ask you if I don’t understand something during class?”

As an aside, Joo Wonyoung got a perfect score in physics on the Dowon High midterms.

“It’s fine to ask. I don’t mind.”

Kim Noeul treated him just like she would anyone in a purely formal friendly relationship.

The problem was that Kim Noeul’s appearance was so overwhelming that the other person misunderstood even that attitude as flirting.

As expected, Joo Wonyoung started getting excited, perhaps mistaking that Kim Noeul was interested in him.

‘That’s an alpha girl…. Truly amazing.’

She attracts guys just by breathing.

[Class will begin shortly.]

A voice came from the ceiling speaker.

Hearing the announcement, Kim Noeul looked around.

As if looking for someone.

And her eyes met mine, as I was watching her.

“M-Maru?”

Her pupils trembled violently as if she were a sinner.

Her fair skin seemed even paler.

“Why are you so late…?”

When Kim Noeul asked in a trembling voice, I answered nonchalantly.

“Just had a conversation with some guys.”

A physical conversation, that is.

“Ah, I see….”

Kim Noeul fidgeted with her lips, seemingly at a loss for words.

While subtly giving Joo Wonyoung a look.

It was a signal for him to move from the seat.

Of course, given Kim Noeul’s personality, she probably couldn’t tell a student who had already sat down to go somewhere else.

‘First come, first served, I suppose.’

I turned away without any lingering attachment.

“…Where are you going?”

Kim Noeul asked, her voice rising uncharacteristically at the end.

“Where else? To that empty seat over there.”

While I was watching Kim Noeul’s little farce, only one seat remained.

I went to the empty seat and sat down.

Kim Noeul stood blankly with a desolate gaze before finally sitting down weakly.

Joo Wonyoung cluelessly kept chattering at Kim Noeul.

But Kim Noeul’s responses were lukewarm.

“Mechanics is important in physics, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah, but these days, non-mechanics topics also appear at a semi-killer level, so it’s good to study everything evenly. I’ll probably have a lot to ask you.”

“Yeah.”

“S-So, please take care of me.”

“Yeah.”

Just moments ago, she was a princess listening intently to his words, but now she was frowning like a bad-tempered villainess.

Even her frowning face was pretty, but Joo Wonyoung focused on the change in Kim Noeul’s attitude.

Joo Wonyoung wasn’t an idiot either.

Kim Noeul was subtly ignoring Joo Wonyoung’s words while staring intently at someone’s back.

Following her gaze, he saw the male student who had been talking with Kim Noeul earlier.

His name was Maru, wasn’t it.

He was the male student Joo Wonyoung had designated as the first target after Lee Jihye ordered pressure on Haneul High.

Annoyed by his recent popularity at the academy, Joo Wonyoung had decided he would be the first sacrificial lamb.

The female students sitting around Kim Maru kept glancing at him repeatedly.

Kim Maru, whether aware of their gazes or not, diligently solved physics N-series problems.

‘…What the, don’t tell me she likes him?’

As Kim Noeul kept looking only at Kim Maru, a dark flame surged in Joo Wonyoung’s heart.

‘Sht, what’s so good about that fcking manwhore. He looks like an empty-headed idiot.’

Even within the same S-class, there are different levels.

He’s a guy who got into S-class purely based on his grade report without a level test, lacking real distinction.

The sight of him seducing girls without having anything in his head.

‘Kim Maru, I’ll mess with you meticulously.’

Meanwhile, Kim Maru was also keeping an eye on Joo Wonyoung’s movements.

It was hard not to notice, as Joo Wonyoung kept glaring intensely at him.

‘Joo Wonyoung, you’re Heo Yoonsoo Mk.2.’

Heo Yoonsoo was the male student who led the bullying against me out of jealousy over my relationship with Kim Noeul.

What was that male student’s ending again?

‘I’ll make you end up just like Heo Yoonsoo.’

I took a business card out of my pocket.

On the Veritas joint club business card, the name Gu Miho was written.