Chapter 85

n

n

n“What are you going there for!”

nWhen he heard the destination of the air taxi, hyo-don Maeng did not respond for a few seconds but then yelled at us.

n“To skip class.”

n“Me too!”

nSuhyuk Joo agreed with a bright, naive tone of voice.

nAt our shameless replies, Hyo-don looked at us outrageously.

nSuhyuk ate two whole pretzels hungrily while Hyo-don was still zoned out from shock.

nHyo-don scowled at Suhyuk’s *mukbang.

n*for those of you who don’t know, mukbang is a video of a person eating a large quantity of food on YouTube, etc. It is a word from Korea, muk meaning eat and bang meaning broadcast.

n“Look at you, stuffing your face full of food.”

n

n

n“This pretzel, there are no franchises in Korea yet, so we can only eat this when in an air taxi. You gotta try one now!”

nWith Suhyuk holding a pretzel up like that, the ordinary pretzel mukbang suddenly turned into a pretzel advertisement.

nHyo-don seemed to think similarly because his frown deepened.

n“You’ve all gone mad.”

nAs he said so, Hyo-don clutched onto his basket of carnation flowers tightly.

n‘Is he worried about us stealing that again?’

nWhen Suhyuk saw Hyo-don clutching the basket of flowers, he smiled brightly and seemed to think the same thing.

n“I’m not gonna steal that, so leave it and eat a pretzel.”

nI had no further plans to lure him with that anyway.

nInstead, if Hyo-don chickens out at the school, Suhyuk and I will capture him and drag him to his third-grade homeroom teacher.

n“Who said I was worried about that!”

nHyo-don retorted angrily.

nBut he hesitantly released the handle of the basket and reached for the pretzel.

nYeah, I think he really was worried.

n“……Oh, this is tasty.”

n“Delicious, right? The coffee here is nice too. Ui-shin, you want something to drink?”

n“Anything other than coffee, please.”

n“If you don’t mind sour stuff, lemonade is okay too.”

nWhile I was drinking the lemonade recommended by Suhyuk, Hyo-don ate the entire pretzel menu.

nHe even commented that the one with cinnamon and hazelnut flavors was the most delicious.

nHe was eating so well that I just had to ask.

n“You skipped lunch too?”

n“……Yeah.”

nBirds of a feather flock together. This dude was probably sulking in a corner during lunchtime just like his friend Suhyuk.

n“I didn’t eat, too! After we go to Hyo-don’s school, let’s get lunch.”

n“Like I said, WHY ARE YOU GUYS GOING THERE?”

nHyo-don grumbled, but he did not disapprove of eating.

nWait.

nSo…… the huge amount of pretzels they’re eating now were a snack, not a meal.

n* * *

nOn the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do.

nWe arrived at Tanrae Middle school after an hour, even on the air taxi.

n“It’s like a movie set!”

nSuhyuk exclaimed at the dingy, old building.

nEven considering that the school was a public school, this was severely deteriorated.

nJinsu Middle School, where I went to school once, was also deteriorated, but this was way worse.

n‘Did they embezzle the money from the Education Department or something? This place is a wreck.’

nHyo-don glumly looked at the half-rusty school gate.

nJust then, when he was looking at the gate, Hyo-don suddenly yelled furiously.

n“What the **! What is that?”

nThe end of Hyo don’s gaze was two placards.

nHanging proudly.

nCongratulations Acceptance into Eun-kwang High School Hyo-don Maeng

n-Tanrae Middle School-

nTribute to Our proud son of Tanrae Middle School, Hyo-don Maeng! Congratulations on your acceptance into Eun-kwang High School! Congratulations

n– General Alumni Association and Parent’s Association of Tanrae Middle School―

nThe placard highlighted the words “Eun-kwang High School” rather than Hyo-don’s name.

nThe letters of Eun-kwang High were large, bold, and colorful.

n‘It’s not even from the student council, it’s from the school, general alumni association, and parent’s association.’

nI recalled the harrowing experiences of junior high school from Hyo-don’s past recollections of the game.

nThose who said horrible things to Hyo-don were not only teachers.

nThere were parents from the parent’s association, too, who picked on Hyo-don but got what they deserved in the end, thankfully.

n“Those bastards.”

nHyo-don looked at the placard and gritted his teeth.

n‘It’s not even high school entrance season right now. They’ve treated him like trash, but uses his name for publicity until May?

nThey probably didn’t even know Hyo-don was sold off to a fighting club.

nSuhyuk, who had been observing the placards and Hyo-don’s reaction, asked something.

n“Was this done without your consent?”

n“Yeah.”

nThey knew Hyo-don wouldn’t agree, so they did this behind his back.

nIf you disclose personal information without their consent, even if they are a graduate, it violates the Personal Information Protection act.

n“Let’s make them take that down.”

nI started my device.

n“Ui-shin, where are you calling?”

n“Players Association. These guys are ‘bastards’ who did this without consent. I thought it would be useless to tell them directly.”

nI only have fragmentary information that has been obtained in the game and information from now, but this school looks like it’s full of garbage that mastered the arts of picking on students.

nIn modern times, students’ human rights have been improved and laws have been made.

nHowever, it was impossible to arrest a teacher who had decades of career experience picking on students that were helpless, had no money, and had no adults to protect them.

n‘It wouldn’t work if Hyo-don protested in person.’

nThere were several expected reactions when Hyo-don addressed the school directly.

n‘How dare you intervene in what we do?’

n‘He’s gotten so rude after graduation.’

n‘A person in charge somewhere can check and maybe take it down for you. But I don’t know when that will happen.’

nSuch bull** and avoiding responsibility were expected.

nOf course, even if you go through all that bull**, they won’t take down the placard.

n‘If Hyo-don was a regular person, he would have to go to the police, Local Authorities, or his lawyer. But since Hyo-don is a player, we can ask the association for help.’

nThe goals of the association are “The annihilation of Enemies” and “the protection of players.”

nThis protection also includes the protection of personal information.

nGuided by the association, I asked Hyo-don to fill out a document on my device.

n“How do you do an electronic signature?”

n“Yeah. You can just write down your name.”

n“Sent it.”

nHyo-don took the advice of me and Suhyuk and completed and transferred the documents.

nWhen we finally passed the front gate and made our way into the teacher’s office,

n“Look! They’re about to take it down!”

n“Ah.”

nWe could see, out the window, a couple of middle-aged teachers running toward the placards.

n‘Employees of the association have been replaced many times, so it seems that they only hired legit hard-working people this time.’

nThe teachers of Tanrae Middle school barely succeeded in removing placards, as they were tightly secured.

n* * *

nIn front of the teacher’s office.

nThe three of us crept in silence the whole time we got here.

nWe have not yet encountered another teacher or student.

nHyo-don, looking inside from the window of the hallway of the office, muttered,

n“There he is.”

nCurrently, it was Tanrae middle school’s afternoon class time.

nI was worried that Hyo-don’s teacher might be in class also, but fortunately, he had no class.

n‘So that’s Hyo-don’s middle school third-grade homeroom teacher.’

nBeyond the scratched, old glass window.

nA skinny teacher was working diligently.

nOther teachers in the office were surfing the web or chatting and laughing.

n‘He’s the only one working.’

nThis is a middle school where talented people like Hyo-don are treated badly.

nThere was no way that the school’s administration could run properly.

n“What’chu doin’. Let’s go.”

nHyo-don, not taking his eyes from the glass window, said,

n“Hey, can’t you guys just give him this instead?”

nAbsolutely not.

n“Yeah, NO.”

n“Nope.”

nI and Suhyuk refused firmly, but Hyo-don didn’t answer and just clutched on his basket of carnations.

nDo we have to shove him in the office?

nSuhyuk and I looked for the right time to push Hyo-don into the teacher’s office.

nBefore that, the teacher moved first.

n“Oh……”

nHyo-don’s third-grade teacher was looking at us, surprised.

nHe shouldn’t be able to detect us, not being a player and all, but somehow he must’ve sensed his former student coming.

nHe hastily rose from his seat and sprang toward us.

n“Hyo-don!”

nThe door of the office opened and a dry hand gripped Hyo-don’s arm firmly.

n“Do you know how worried I was? Why didn’t you come to school even once after your acceptance to Eun-kwang high! I’ve been to your house a few times, and your father always told me you were busy, and then the house was sold and gone!”

n“······Sorry.”

nHyo-don said that he heard about his acceptance of Eun-kwang high through his teacher.

nThen he probably got sold off to the fighting club.

nThat would have been the reason behind losing contact with his teacher.

n‘He kept worrying about Hyo-don.’

nThe teacher, who was scolding Hyo-don, listened to his apology, calmed down, and feebly said,

n“Thank you for coming, Hyo-don…… You healthy? Eating well?”

n“…… Yeah.”

nIt was almost like Q&A time, where the teacher did the asking and Hyo-don answered from time to time, but they were talking.

nI and Suhyuk decided to leave the two for their privacy.

n“We’re waiting outside.”

n“Yeah, come when you’re done.”

nWe waited for Hyo-don in the nearest building exit from the office.

nAfter about 30 minutes.

nThe teacher, eyes a little swollen, appeared with a basket of flowers in one hand and the other hand patting Hyo-don’s back.

n“Are you guys Hyo-don’s friends from school?”

n“Yup!”

nThe teacher was very pleased with Suhyuk’s answer.

n“Great! If anything happens, will you please contact me?”

nSuhyuk and I exchanged device codes with Hyo-don’s teacher.

nHe then left, saying he had classes and work to do, and that he was sorry that he couldn’t buy them lunch.

n“You have his device code too, right?”

n“Yeah. I told him I’ll contact him if I have any trouble with math.”

nHe must’ve told him about his math class.

nHyo-don did not elaborate on his and his teacher’s conversation, but his face looked better than it had been before he came here.

nHe would’ve at least said thank you.

n‘I’m glad he delivered the carnations safely. By the way······.’

nAs we were heading out the front gate, I looked back.

nI could see inside the teacher’s office through the window.

nSitting on some kind of boss’s seat, a man with a mean face seemed to be saying something bitter to Hyo-don’s teacher.

nHe was one of the guys who didn’t work earlier and chewed the fat.

n‘The level of facilities is poor compared to the budget that’s assigned to the school.

nMaybe I should file a complaint to the Gyeonggi-do Education Department or the National *Shinmungo.’

n*Shinmungo means ‘drum of the people.’ There was a drum in front of the royal palace in ancient Korea, and it was used for filing a direct complaint to the King. Anyone, regardless of class, was able to use it. These days, the Korean government revived the tradition online. Anyone can make petitions on the online Shinmungo.

nI was writing a petition

/complaint document in my head when Hyo-don said something.

n“Why the hell are you making that weird face again?”

nIt is that weird?

nSuhyuk also glanced at my face and agreed, ‘Oh, it is!’

nAnd now the title hero thinks I make a weird face, too.

n* * *

nAs we were waiting for an air taxi, we stayed at a Korean traditional fast-food place.

nHyo-don ordered one of everything on the menu.

nTtukbokki, Labokki, ramen, sundae, mini kimbap, kim-mari, eggs, Korean fries……

nThe table was full of fast food.

n“I always wanted to come here.”

n“This is your first time? You never ate here?”

n“Yeah.”

nHyo-don never had an allowance, so he couldn’t afford to eat out in places like this.

nSuhyuk looked bewildered, but asked no more and began dominating the plates one by one.

nIt wasn’t the best fast-food I have eaten, but we cleared all the dishes.

nWe tried to split up the bill but Hyo-don insisted he should pay, so we had to let him.

n* * *

nWhen we got to school, all the afternoon classes had ended.

nI had dinner plans with Siwan Sung, so I parted ways with Hyo-don at the school gate.

nAfter I was alone, I checked my device and there were many unread messages.

n‘My classmates and club members texted me.’

nI missed class dismissal time and club activities, so the kids sent me texts looking for me.

nI told Mr. Ham and the head of the Newspaper class, but I guess the word wasn’t delivered well.

nAfter I responded to every text except Jiho Hwang’s, a new message arrived.

nGreen Min Hey.

nGreen Min Send me a picture of our classmates.

nThat was unexpected.

nGreen Min is curious about what our classmates look like.

nMe Sure.

nI sent her the photo we took at the Han river picnic after racing on the duck pedal boats.

nWe all had names on our matching class t-shirts, so she’ll be able to tell.

nExcept for Se-eum Sawol, so I specially texted ‘Chicken=Se-eum Sawol’ as well.

nGreen Min ······That’s a lot.

nMe You want to use this photo as a virtual visual information?

nIs she going to edit the faces in the photo and put them on the virtual reality stuffed dolls?

nWon’t it increase the chance of her brain mistaking that as real people?

nGreen Min No.

nGreen Min I’m going to put portraits I drew.

nIf they were drawn by her, it shouldn’t be a problem.

nShe must be planning to draw everyone’s faces.

n‘Guess she really liked the Kids.’

nThat goes without question because they were all nice kids.

nWell, although I can’t technically say that Jiho was a nice kid.

nGreen Min When did you guys take this picture?

n나 During our picnic.

nGreen Min You guys went on a picnic to Han river? Was it a school field trip?

nI told her about our picnic.

nOur matching t-shirts with matching phrases written on them.

nThe duck pedal boat race on who gets to the fried chicken flavor.

nThe boardgame, which Mr. Ham totally won.

nImmediately after my depiction, Green texted back,

nGreen Min I wish I could go next time······.

nGreen Min But Han river has so many people, so guess I can’t go.

nIt would be nice to be able to take Green and Dae-seok Song for the next picnic.

nI could remember Man-suk Song’s figure from behind as he dragged his bike along the Han river.

nI was wondering how I could bring the two along on a picnic when someone came up to me.

n“Hi, Ui-shin! Sorry to keep you waiting.”

nIt was Siwan.

n“No, I arrived early.”

n“Hahaha, the host should be here earlier though.”

nIn front of the school’s main gate.

nSiwan and I decided to wait for his cousin there.

n“What’s your cousin like?”

n“Ooh, this is going to be an endless brag!”

nOff he went with his brags about his cousin.

nHe seems cold but was actually cool.

nHe is strong against other strong people but never abused his power to people weaker than him.

nHe had superb psychic powers.

nHe was the top student during his years in Eun-kwang high.

nAs Siwan said, the brags were endless.

n“The reason I went into the Ji-ik council was because of him.”

n“Your cousin was the head of the Ji-ik council?”

n

n

n“No, school president. There was no Ji-ik council at the time. 13, no, I’m in third grade now, so 15 years ago. That was when the council was founded, my cousin…….”

nNo way. His cousin was ‘that’ school president 15 years ago?

nBefore going into detail, Siwan suddenly stopped talking.

n“Oh, I think he’s here!”

nAn air sedan stopped in front of us.

nFirst, the door to the driver’s seat opened.

nThen the driver opened a back door.

n“Bro! Long time no see!”

nThe person Siwan was talking to now was someone I knew.

nThat school president from 15 years ago was a playable character.

n