Ch.180180. Agitated Heart

All representatives chosen from first to third year gather in the auditorium for a celebration.

It’s not a party, just dressing up nicely and receiving congratulations in front of all students.

The selected male and female representatives change into formal attire—dresses and suits—and serve as the face of the school.

‘At most, it’s just photo shoots and being cover models.’

And Eun Serin, the “previous” representative, felt strange emotions as she heard the applause in the auditorium.

Do Jonghyun being selected was, by her standards, expected.

She just hadn’t known Seol Yuhwa would be chosen.

‘That girl beat Ariel in the competition.’

It was the biggest topic of conversation. The second-year female representative position had seemingly been predetermined to be either Ariel or Seol Yuhwa.

And Seol Yuhwa had won.

‘Well, Ariel was originally aggressive in nature, wasn’t she? Probably.’

She was someone who paid attention only to things that interested her. The reason Ariel came to mind was because they had crossed paths several times, and she was related to Do Jonghyun.

It was truly a peaceful scene. Look at the happy expressions between those congratulating and being congratulated.

But while it appeared calm on the surface, beneath the water it was fierce.

Morgan, an executive of the Goegeopdan, was already targeting the academy interior at the request of the Watching Eyes.

[Controlling emotions? That’s a powerful weapon, Morgan.]

Morgan was planning to use his ability to amplify emotions.

And who were his targets? The academy students. He intended to manipulate the four individuals already identified by the Watching Eyes.

‘But Ariel has too many obstacles around her. Seol Yuhwa has little value. As for Jonghyun…’

The Watching Eyes had already requested clarification on several suspicions.

Specifically about Do Jonghyun, whom Eun Serin had reported to the Goegeopdan as not being suspicious.

Although Eun Serin had tried to deny it, unfortunately, during the previous operation, the Watching Eyes had discovered clues that could “suggest” Do Jonghyun’s involvement.

‘Well, if someone disappears from school and returns after a case is resolved… they’d naturally become suspicious.’

The truth she had wanted to hide was now exposed. However, since it was still in the realm of speculation, they had sent a request to Eun Serin first.

Besides the “reconnaissance” role of the Watching Eyes, they had also sent a monster with the role of “warning.”

[I’ll at least extend the grace period for your child. And take responsibility for the previous Watching Eyes.]

It was half blackmail.

So she was trying to find out more about Do Jonghyun, though she could report right now if she wanted to.

She already knew.

She was simply not acting because of her personal feelings.

‘Is there no other way?’

Do Jonghyun was her hidden card. She didn’t know which side would use him, but he was someone who could cause major repercussions.

She couldn’t let him be ambushed here.

So she laid out conditions.

[It’s nice to have a more normal conversation than with the Watching Eyes. If Do Jonghyun is a monster, there are three obstacles.]

Eun Serin warned them not to move carelessly, citing three reasons.

[First, if Do Jonghyun is the monster itself, even if you subdue his human form, the monster form might emerge. Second, if there are people watching over him, approaching rashly could deplete your forces. Third, if the human and monster forms exist separately, what if the monster form appears even after killing the human form? If you want to attack, you should send as many troops as possible to address these three hypotheses. But you don’t have that luxury these days, right? There are many monsters, but you need to create ‘strong monsters.’]

Eun Serin promised to report interesting results from the monster.

‘This will be the last time.’

However, to carry this out, she absolutely couldn’t face Do Jonghyun herself.

As she watched with complicated feelings, Eun Serin noticed an interesting dynamic.

“Hmm?”

While Ariel’s fierce glare was understandable given her personality, an unexpected person, Seo Jinwon, was also glaring intensely.

She recalled what Morgan had said.

[From what I’ve observed, he strangely meets with the suspect, Do Jonghyun, frequently and gets angry. It would be easy to manipulate his emotions, but I want to know why.]

At that moment, Eun Serin had a brilliant thought but quickly shook her head.

‘That’s too uncertain. To provoke jealousy…’

She needed a more fundamental reason. But her concerns were revealed that day due to Morgan secretly checking on the two.

[Hand over the card deck. This is your last warning. I’ll go to Dokgo Jun. Dokgo Jun would smash your head without question. The monster’s power should be mine! If you can transform without a summoning spirit, I should be able to as well!]

Surprisingly, Seo Jinwon had figured out Do Jonghyun’s identity.

At the same time, Eun Serin’s plan automatically formed in her mind.

*

No matter how much he demanded, Do Jonghyun absolutely refused to hand over the card deck.

“Damn bastard. Should I really tell Dokgo Jun?”

But fear held him back. It was certain that revealing someone as a monster would have major repercussions.

However, his own motives—driven by jealousy—would also be exposed.

Revealing someone’s identity out of jealousy. How pathetic.

It was a childish emotion, but he was only a second-year high school student.

Naturally immature, his emotions were currently out of control.

[Stop revealing my identity like this! What if I get attacked?]

Do Jonghyun had already shown aversion to Seo Jinwon, who frequently summoned him to discuss his abilities.

Normally, no one should know his identity unless he revealed it himself.

But because of Seo Jinwon’s periodic summons and intimidation, it was obvious that if anyone overheard, it would pose a serious danger.

And indeed, thanks to this, Morgan had successfully caught their conversation.

In this situation, Seo Jinwon felt his desire growing stronger.

He needed to be special.

More than anyone else.

‘If Do Jonghyun can transform without a summoning spirit, doesn’t that mean anyone could? That’s right.’

He coveted that power. Couldn’t he just take his place?

As he was walking, he saw Seol Yuhwa and Do Jonghyun walking ahead.

As representatives, they were now the face of the school from today.

Desire.

Anger.

Hatred. Everything was rising like flames. Unnaturally so.

Desire beyond jealousy.

Moreover, Do Jonghyun, despite having his secret exposed, wasn’t even being compliant with him.

‘He says he wants to save people? A monster, no less.’

While he kept escaping using noble pretexts, fundamentally, monsters were dangerous beings.

Using ‘such excuses,’ Seo Jinwon was currently pressuring Do Jonghyun.

In the irony of cursing him for being a monster while coveting his power, he encountered Eun Serin.

“You look troubled. Do you have concerns?”

“…”

“Or is it because of the representative selection?”

“It’s not that. I didn’t even run.”

“Then is it a matter of the heart? Like Yuhwa?”

Just as Seo Jinwon was about to burst out in anger, Eun Serin suddenly covered his mouth.

“Calm down. Seeing you so emotionally agitated, you must have a lot bottled up? The counseling room isn’t there for nothing.”

With emotions further disturbed by Morgan’s support, the manipulation began calmly in the counseling room.

She touched on one thing at a time.

About Do Jonghyun, about Seol Yuhwa, and about academics.

Among these, the strongest reactions were to academics and Do Jonghyun.

Eun Serin focused her attack on these points.

“Even I can see that Jonghyun is exceptional. Right? But these are objective grades. He seems to get along well with Yuhwa, so why?”

“Do Jonghyun is cheating!”

“What kind of cheating?”

Heightened emotions were Morgan’s food. They made him open his heart’s door and speak the truth.

At that moment, Seo Jinwon’s body froze like a doll.

Simultaneously, Morgan appeared, twitching his fox ears.

“I’ve opened it. With this, he won’t be able to tell lies. Brainwashing is also possible, but I’ll leave that to you.”

“Thank you. I’ll thoroughly test Do Jonghyun. That way, the hunt will be more stable.”

“I’ll be going then.”

Eun Serin smiled interestingly as she saw cat ears twitching.

As Morgan disappeared like mist, Seo Jinwon, now conscious, told everything.

“Do Jonghyun… was a monster. And, please don’t tell anyone else about this.”

“Do Jonghyun is a monster?”

Though she already knew, Eun Serin pretended to be surprised.

“It sounds unbelievable, but I believe you. Do you dislike him because he’s a monster?”

“No. I just… hate how he unfairly uses it for grades. I could use it too, so why only Do Jonghyun…! And why does Yuhwa, who doesn’t even get along with other kids…”

His desire for power was strongest, and suddenly his romantic issues also surged.

Using an open mind, Morgan’s specialty was that brainwashing was always possible.

“But if that child is a monster, it’s dangerous. He needs to be monitored.”

“Exactly. I, because of that…”

“Your claim is that he maintains his grades using monster powers? Then it’s simple. Bring me that card deck he uses to transform.”

Eun Serin was gradually ensnaring her target.

“But he won’t give it to me.”

“You said it’s cheating, right?”

“Yes. It’s cheating! Cheating!”

“Then to stop cheating, sometimes drastic actions are necessary.”

Seo Jinwon’s eyes lit up at those words.

“That’s right. Even if it seems a bit forceful, such actions must be stopped.”

“But it’s surprising that he transforms using monster power. Take it from him and bring it to me. I have something to check. I’m on your side.”

When she showed a welcoming business smile, Seo Jinwon looked enticed.

After sending Seo Jinwon away, Eun Serin sighed.

“I don’t know by what principle he controls it, but this will do.”

Fortunately, this meant she could postpone her plan to pit her own child against Do Jonghyun.

Sacrificing one Seo Jinwon would be enough to gather data on how Do Jonghyun responds in crisis situations.

Eun Serin felt increasingly empty as she left the counseling room.

*

For Seol Yuhwa, this was her second time in the spotlight. The first was becoming a White Dragon Guild member. The second was now, beating Ariel in the representative selection vote.

It was an extremely close margin.

A fate decided by just 10 votes. But she had done it.

‘I did it. Really.’

She had always been forced to hide and deceive others due to her family circumstances.

And now, not only was she the grade representative, but she was selected alongside the person she liked?

‘Don’t look at Ariel.’

Seol Yuhwa understood the atmosphere well. She knew that Ariel liked Do Jonghyun.

‘But things are different now. I’ll have everything. Ariel, you’re done.’

Given Do Jonghyun’s personality, it was obvious he would console Ariel next.

‘Just choose one already. Stop worrying about everyone!’

While his attitude was annoying, she couldn’t say anything directly. She was afraid to speak up.

However, since she couldn’t let him go to Ariel, she immediately grabbed Do Jonghyun.

“Today, the representatives are having a dinner together. Don’t go anywhere else.”

“Ah… okay.”

“You and I are the representatives. Stop paying attention to Ariel. She’s not the only one who lost.”

Seol Yuhwa’s personality had become more resolute than before. Now, the grade representatives had dinner together and enjoyed their time.

With Do Jonghyun’s original personality, he got along well with everyone.

She parted from Do Jonghyun with a happy smile.

Everything had gone according to Seol Yuhwa’s plan so far. As she was about to leave to meet her siblings to celebrate becoming a representative, a mysterious shadow followed her.

Ariel was watching closely as Seol Yuhwa shared her joy with her siblings in a rundown basement apartment.

“Dignity? How can you talk about dignity while living like a beggar?”

Ariel was sneering.