Chapter 33: I miss you

“Hey, Teacher Choi! What is this disgrace!”

In the middle of the hallway, managers and the vice-principal pointed fingers furiously.
Teacher Choi and the other instructors implicated in this situation turned deathly pale.

The four of us from Haneul High, including me, watched the farce from a corner of the hallway along with other students.

“Leaking it just the day before!? Knowing how important the mock exam’s sample data is? This basically makes this test meaningless!”

“It’s absurd. How much did the question setters’ hiring fees and printing costs alone amount to…. And you just gave it all away to a student….”

“We’re getting calls from the Daechi-dong branch. They’re demanding to speak to the director immediately….”

The instructor called Teacher Choi was trembling but also searching for someone with her eyes.
She was probably looking for Joo Wonyoung.

However, Joo Wonyoung had already left the academy.
Finding it hard to endure people’s stares, he had gone down the elevator while gagging.

He’ll probably be surprised when the sun rises.
Because Veritas’s real attack begins tomorrow.

“You, you kids, hurry home now! Hurry!”

“Don’t spread any weird rumors today, just go home quickly!”

The instructors urged the students strongly, trying to chase them out, but there was no way the students would listen to their recommendation.
Even as they left, they spread the news all over social media.

“Circumstantially, it seems things have turned out favorably for Haneul High.”

At Han Doa’s words, Na Yuna sighed in relief.

“I was so surprised…. When I heard that kid Joo Wonyoung got a perfect score, my vision went dark.”

“……”

Unlike the other two, Kim Noeul said nothing.
She just kept her mouth shut with a serious expression, seemingly lost in thought.

“It’s already 10 PM. Isn’t it almost curfew time?”

“Ah, right? G-Gotta go first!”

“You all worked hard today. I’m proud you raised Haneul High’s status.”

Na Yuna held down her fluttering bangs with her hand and ran towards the dormitory.
Han Doa also walked off in a different direction from Na Yuna.

“…Shall we go too.”

“Yeah.”

Kim Noeul replied curtly to my words.
Her expression was still serious, making it awkward to joke around.
Still, I tried to lighten the mood.

“Don’t tell me you’re sulking because I proceeded with the plan without consulting you?”

“I’m not sulking.”

“You totally are.”

“That’s not it.”

Kim Noeul stopped walking and lowered her head deeply.
I stopped along with her.

“…Am I helpful to you?”

“What?”

Kim Noeul cautiously lifted her head and asked carefully.
It was an unexpected question, so I asked back.

“You proactively devise plans and execute them, but I feel like I’m not doing anything. You said it. We’re partners.”

“……”

“I feel like I’m not a partner worthy of you.”

From Kim Noeul’s perspective, it’s understandable she might think that.

When Je Galhwarin attacked the Counseling Club, she was participating in a competition, and this time too, she didn’t achieve a satisfactory score.

But she’s overlooking something.

Winning the gold medal in the competition brought many benefits to Haneul High, and the number of Haneul High students admiring her fighting skills was increasing.

Haneul High students were no longer beings who were helplessly victimized by Ojakgyo but were beginning to resist, little by little.

Kim Noeul is a symbolic figure of that resistance.

Kim Noeul has already built up enough qualifications to be considered the next student council president.

That wasn’t my order; Kim Noeul achieved it herself.

“Do you know your approval rating is incredibly high right now?”

“Approval rating?”

“Haneul High’s approval rating. There’s the student council president election at the beginning of the second semester.”

I went into Haneul High’s community app and showed her the ‘Haneul People Poll’.

“Look, here, you’re number 1 in popularity in the female category. In Haneul High’s history, whoever ranked first here mostly became the student council president.”

“President….”

“See? You’re already doing well. Why are you being uncharacteristically pathetic again?”

“Pathetic.”

Kim Noeul frowned and retorted.

“You are pathetic. If you’re doing well but stumble over your own anxiety, there’s nothing more foolish than that.”

I placed my hand on Kim Noeul’s shoulder.
Kim Noeul flinched and looked up at me.

‘In the original work, what lines did the colleagues say to Kim Noeul.’

After thinking for a moment, I opened my mouth.

“You’re already doing well enough, and you’ll continue to do well. Why? Because I chose you.”

Kim Noeul’s eyes wavered.

“Kim Noeul, do you think I’m capable?”

“…Yeah.”

“That capable person chose you.”

I patted her shoulder lightly and continued.

“Confidence is key for a woman. There’s even a saying that the brave one gets the handsome man.”

I said it trying my best to encourage her.
But the proverb seems a bit inappropriate for the situation.
Perhaps Kim Noeul felt it too, as she chuckled.

“Was that supposed to be encouragement just now?”

“…Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.”

Seeing that Kim Noeul seemed to have regained her spirits, I tried to turn away, but my hand was caught by hers.
I ended up looking at her again.

Kim Noeul’s smile came into my view.

For a moment, her face, illuminated by the moonlight, looked truly radiant.

“Thank you.”

“……”

Warmth spread from her hand.
It was smaller and slenderer than mine, but I felt strong confidence from that hand.

“Alright, it’s good you’ve come to your senses. It’s late now, let’s go back.”

“Let’s go.”

“But aren’t you letting go of my hand?”

“This is how I can recharge my confidence. Let’s go like this.”

“…Do as you please.”

Like that, we walked hand in hand for a while.
Until we parted ways.

“Extra! Extra~!”

Many students ran around the Hakdo streets, promoting newspapers.
Students who had stayed in Hakdo for a long time knew well that they were from Veritas.

“Check Hakdogal and your school’s community app~! A Dowon High student committed fraud at the academy~!”

The incident of Joo Wonyoung and the academy instructor leaking questions spread throughout Hakdo in an instant.

“Crazy. Did they really think they wouldn’t get caught? Haven’t they been doing this all along?”

“It’s Ojakgyo. They probably kept it quiet until now.”

“Heard Dowon High opened a disciplinary committee.”

“Wonder how Lee Jihye will react.”

Everywhere in Hakdo, the talk was only about Dowon High.

The situation was similar in the online world.

[Ah, is it you again… F*cking Won High! (Views 2,001) (Likes 1,866)]

[Upvote if you’re most curious about Lee Jihye’s mood right now lol, starting with me (Views 1,822) (Likes 1,821)]

[Current Situation Summary.txt (Views 508) (Likes 324)]

[Haneul High Produces Perfect Score Achiever on The Premium Mock Exam (Views 449) (Likes 100)]

On the rooftop of Dowon High, a female student leaned against the railing, browsing Hakdogal.
She had a small frame for a high schooler.

Despite her small frame, several students stood before her with their heads bowed.
As if obeying the female student in front of them.

She was sipping apple juice from a pack with a straw, and seeming to have finished, she tossed the pack away.

The pack hit the crown of a male student’s head.
A small amount of juice that leaked out wet his hair.

However, the male student whose hair got wet, Joo Wonyoung, dared not complain.
His body was currently consumed by fear, trembling uncontrollably.

The female student who threw the juice pack rolled her eyes here and there, seemingly staring at her phone screen.

-Took The Premium Mock Exam at TT Academy > But there are 2 perfect scorers? > However, 1 person cheated with an academy teacher and already knew the answers > The other 1 got a perfect score with real skill

-Dowon High, which acted haughtily in the academy district, got pushed down in rankings, and Haneul High students gained more benefits

-Eun Yuri’s gentle expression is about to crack lol

-Comments (221)

[MiddleAgedAdulteress: Honestly, satisfying seeing those Dowon High b*stards get schooled lol]
[Anon: Fr, they acted so annoying whenever I saw them at the academy]

[Alice(223.68): Listen up, don’t stir the Dowon High pot while I’m asking nicely… “That’s an order”]
[Anon: Shivers]
[VaginalDck: Yes, My Master]
[Anon: Is that really Alice?]
[PapangPnisJo: You shouldn’t make contracts like that]

[Anon: But who is the kid who got a perfect score without seeing the answer key? Did they just eat and study?]
[Anon: It’s amazing, but I can kinda guess what they look like;; Probably a life of only studying]
[Yuna(38.14): I saw them in person, they’re handsome]
[PacificShoulderLicker: I saw them in person, they’re ugly]
[Yuna(38.14): I said handsome]
[Anon: Semi-nicks are science…]

The female student turned off her phone and put it in the pocket of her windbreaker.
She then straightened up from leaning against the railing.

“I looked into it separately, and you all played quite spectacularly.”

At the sound of her voice, some students flinched.
It was Joo Wonyoung’s group.

“I told you to cook, not to get cooked.”

“J-Jihye! I can explain! First, listen to me…!”

Joo Wonyoung shouted in fear but couldn’t finish his sentence.

Because Lee Jihye raised her index finger and brought it to her lips.

“I was in a really good mood lately. Waiting for the stage to be set, anticipating a connection I’d meet after a long time….”

Joo Wonyoung swallowed dryly at the sight of Lee Jihye muttering like a mad person while looking up at the sky.

“That stage shattered into pieces. After beating up those protesting bastards and coming back, the very stage I was supposed to run wild on disappeared.”

Lee Jihye strode forward and grabbed Joo Wonyoung by the hair.

“Did I ask for something so difficult? Is suppressing those few Haneul High b*tches at the academy so hard?”

“…Th-There was someone with good grades.”

“Ha…. Hey, is that supposed to be an excuse?”

Lee Jihye flung Joo Wonyoung to the ground while still holding his hair.
Joo Wonyoung naturally ended up in a kneeling position, and Lee Jihye crouched down to meet his eye level.

“If your head doesn’t work, shouldn’t you at least educate them with your fists? Why did you come to Ojakgyo? Did you join just to grovel like this defeated son of a b*tch?”

“I-I’ll do well. If you just give me one more chance….”

“Chance? You call this a chance? Ahahaha!”

“……”

“I have to report this damn result to Eun Yuri. Eun Yuri will judge it as my negligence and give me disciplinary action. Is that all? How much will that crazy sadist b*tch Je Galyeonhwa taunt me? Who will comfort me when I have to endure all that physical and mental damage!?”

Lee Jihye, who had laughed cheerfully, spat out words like a machine gun.

And stared closely at Joo Wonyoung’s face.
Joo Wonyoung groaned at Lee Jihye’s eyes filling his vision.

“I… don’t hit you guys first, do I? If you do your job well, I’m an angel too. Have you ever seen me use my fists on you first?”

“N-No….”

“That’s the problem. I fcking hate that Je Gal btch, but there’s one thing to learn from her. And that is not to spare the fists for those below.”

Silence fell.
There was no one here who didn’t understand the meaning of what Lee Jihye just said.

“Please…. This will never happen again next time….”

Joo Wonyoung pressed his head to the ground and grabbed Lee Jihye’s ankle.
Lee Jihye spoke in a toneless voice.

“Hit me.”

“…Huh?”

“Hit me. Quickly.”

“I-I was wrongggg! My thinking was shallow! Because I was stupid…!”

“Last warning. Hit me.”

“Ugh, uhuhu…. Sob…!”

Joo Wonyoung struck Lee Jihye’s shoe with a limp punch.
At that moment, Lee Jihye immediately drove her knee into Joo Wonyoung’s face.

“Keok…”

Joo Wonyoung spewed blood from his nose and fell backward flat on his back.

“You hit first.”

Lee Jihye doesn’t hit unless hit first.
But the current situation was sophistry.

However, no one present here could challenge Lee Jihye’s sophistry.

Brutal sounds were heard as Joo Wonyoung’s body trembled violently.
Lee Jihye mounted Joo Wonyoung until she broke a sweat, swinging her fists as if pounding rice cakes.

The male students covered their mouths and shed tears, while the female students squeezed their eyes shut and didn’t lift their heads.

Only after beating him for a long time did Lee Jihye stand up, panting heavily.
Below her lay Joo Wonyoung, covered in bruises, completely still.

“Hey, clean this up.”

At Lee Jihye’s words, two female students picked up Joo Wonyoung and moved him.

“Listen up, you all. I’ll end it here, but that Yankee b*tch won’t end it here.”

Yankee btch.
There was only one woman in Hakdo whom Lee Jihye called Yankee btch.

The head of Ojakgyo, Alice.

“The reason I’m telling you this is because it’s about time for her to return to Hakdo.”

“……”

“If we leave the Rotary academy district in this state until then, you know what happens to us, right?”

“We’ll restore it.”

“We have to take it back.”

Some students answered timidly.
Lee Jihye stretched and turned to leave.

“I haven’t caught all the protesting btches yet, so I’ll focus on that for a while. In the meantime, you guys clean up the sht you made yourselves. Everyone, dismiss.”

The students poured out of the rooftop.
Left alone, Lee Jihye sighed deeply and lifted her bangs.

And took out her phone to check the group chat.

It was a chatroom with a total of 5 members, but besides public conversations, no one engaged in private talk.

Lee Jihye’s eyes fixed on the profile at the very top among the chatroom members.

-Status Message: I miss you

Frowning at that, Lee Jihye fidgeted her lips and then spat on the floor.

‘Sh*t, I don’t want to get beaten up again….’