Chapter 40: Newspaper Club Part 1

For some reason, today of all days, Mr. Park Youngha didn’t take a single step out of the library.

Meticulously organizing documents, she left no room for escape.

I had assumed she would do the usual attendance check and leave.

An unexpected variable had appeared.

‘…Hmm.’

Pretending to read a book, I quietly thought of a way to slip out.

The easiest method…

‘Feigning illness.’

A classic trick students use to skip night study sessions.

That should work.

I slightly scrunched my face and placed a hand over my stomach.

Leaning against my chair, I put on a weak expression.

From the front row, Choi Dabin glanced at me.

“What’s wrong?”

I tried to sound as pained as possible.

“My stomach… feels off all of a sudden.”

She narrowed her eyes at me, full of suspicion.

She and the others were probably worried I’d cause trouble at the newspaper club.

At that moment, Mr. Park Youngha lifted her head.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“…Yes. May I go to the nurse’s office for a bit?”

“Go ahead.”

Maybe because I usually just read books quietly, he allowed it surprisingly easily.

Walking weakly, I left the library.

The moment I closed the door, I cheered internally.

Now, straight to the newspaper club.

‘You bastards, just wait for me.’

***

Second floor of Hanbit Academy.

At the very end of the hallway, tucked away in a corner.

[Newspaper Club]

Voices leaked out from behind the door.

“This is crazy! The views are blowing up. We’ve never had a reaction like this before.”

“See? I knew the club president would deliver!”

“Hehe… No need to flatter me so much.”

Standing outside the door, I crossed my arms and smirked.

‘Using my face to farm views and celebrating among yourselves, huh?’

Slowly, I raised my hand and flung the door open.

The room smelled of old paper and greasy dust.

Scattered across the desks were sticky notes, notebooks, and laptops.

One wall was covered in article clippings and view count graphs.

The members, who had been busily typing away, all turned their heads at once.

“H-hey! Unauthorized personnel aren’t allowed—”

BAM.

I shut the door without responding.

“Wait! Let’s calm down for a second!”

At the center of the room.

A guy sat on the desk with his legs propped up.

Greasy shoulder-length hair, silver-rimmed glasses.

Pale skin with sharp, overly intense eyes.

In his hand was a plastic cup covered in suspicious Japanese writing.

Waving his arm dismissively, he spoke.

“There’s no need to be so aggressive right away, is there?”

Silence filled the room.

Glaring at him, I slowly opened my mouth.

“You shouldn’t use someone’s face without permission.”

He chuckled, pushing up his glasses.

“Ehh~ What are you talking about? When did we ever use your face?”

Unbelievable.

The proof was sitting right in front of him.

“Cut the nonsense and take it down immediately.”

He deliberately adjusted his posture, sweeping a hand through his hair.

“Ahem! I am the proud president of the Newspaper Club, Oh Deokhan.”

As he spoke, he shook the plastic cup in his hand.

A thick yellow liquid sloshed inside.

‘…Is this freak drinking his own piss?’

I shot the cup a disgusted glance, and he seemed to misunderstand.

Grinning, he held it out to me.

“Would you like a taste? This is ‘Real Melon Soda,’ a limited edition release from Japan. You can’t get this anymore.”

“I’ll pass.”

Without hesitation, he took a sip, humming contentedly.

“Aah~ The strong artificial flavor! Just one sip, and I feel like I’m in Japan.”

‘…What is wrong with this guy?’

An overwhelming sense of self-indulgence.

A bizarre, personal worldview.

Something about him made me feel like I’d be dragged into his pace if I wasn’t careful.

I got straight to the point.

“I’m not interested. Delete the article.”

Oh Deokhan took another sip of his soda before leisurely adjusting his glasses.

“Hmm~ You really need a better sense of humor.”

“That’s none of your concern.”

“But seriously, Dohyun.”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”

His shameless attitude made me glare at him as I snatched up a printed sheet from the desk.

[The Hidden Hero of Hanbit Academy – Episode 1: Protagonist Sketch]

A black-and-white drawing of a boy.

Sharp eyes, messy black hair.

‘That’s obviously me.’

I waved the printout in front of his face.

“Here. This is all the proof I need.”

Oh Deokhan just shrugged.

“It could be someone who just looks similar.”

“Then why is the main character’s name ‘Do Kimhyun’?”

“Uh, well… just a coincidence.”

Coincidence, my ass.

This crazy bastard was clearly planning to deny it no matter what.

I was itching to punch him, but unlike last time when I put that thug Choi Gihoonand his gang in their place, this was different.

Hitting a regular student—especially an upperclassman—would definitely get me punished.

‘Expulsion is a possibility.’

And if I got expelled, I wouldn’t be able to participate in future events.

Which meant… I’d die.

But hold on.

‘How did the newspaper club even know about me taking down Choi Gihoon’s gang?’

‘Lee Jinyoung? No, maybe Kang Minwoo?’

‘Or did Choi Gihoon’s gang talk about it themselves?’

My head throbbed.

“This manga… Who came up with the story?”

“Uh… well…”

Caught off guard, Oh Deokhan let out an awkward cough.

“Do not underestimate the extensive intelligence network of the historic Newspaper Club. We have eyes and ears everywhere in this academy.”

I pressed my fingers against my temple.

“What, did you stalk me or something?”

“And~”

Ignoring my remark, Oh Deokhan spun his laptop around, pointing at a familiar scene.

The protagonist sat quietly by the classroom window.

Suddenly, a group of thugs started harassing the heroine.

• I can’t just sit back and let this trash do as they please…

The protagonist threw a punch.

One blow sent a thug flying.

Grinning brightly, Oh Deokhan said, “You really are an impressive figure.”

He said it so earnestly that it made me cringe.

With a deep sigh, I asked, “What kind of nonsense…”

“Wouldn’t it be a waste for such an amazing story to end here?”

For a second, I was at a loss for words.

This lunatic…

Sighing again, I glanced at Oh Deokhan’s laptop screen.

Do Kimhyun.

On the screen, a character who still looked just like me was throwing a punch.

The comment section was full of praise.

[Anonymous1]: This is crazy good ㅋㅋㅋ The characters feel oddly familiar, which makes it even funnier ㅋㅋ

[Anonymous2]: Maybe it’s based on a true story? I heard rumors about Kim Dohyun taking down Choi Gihoon’s gang.

[Anonymous3]: Do Kimhyun is way too handsome ㅇㅇ

[Anonymous4]: When’s episode 2 coming out?

Frowning, I slowly spoke.

“So… you’re saying you’re going to keep publishing this?”

Oh Deokhan adjusted his glasses, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

“Of course! The response has been phenomenal, and the students are eagerly waiting! Just look at the comments from today alone—”

I held my head as a headache started forming.

‘So the saying about avoiding lunatics really is true…’

Oh Deokhan took another sip of his melon soda and smirked.

“Honestly, it’s not so bad for you either, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Even if the protagonist resembles you, the story itself is a kind of hero’s journey. Doesn’t it feel good to see the positive comments? Doesn’t it fill you with pride?”

“You think I’d be happy to be compared to some cringey protagonist like this?”

I glanced back at the laptop screen.

[- I’m here to put an end to you all.]
[- I am the one who upholds justice from the shadows.]
[- For those who transcend the boundary of good and evil, the law is meaningless.]

I buried my face in my hands.

“…For fuck’s sake.”

Oh Deokhan, however, remained completely serious.

“A true hero always has cool lines to say!”

…This guy was the real deal.

A lunatic lost in his own world.

I realized arguing with him emotionally would get me nowhere.

“I’ll be reporting you for violating my image rights.”

“Go ahead. It’s not like we’re profiting off this, and there’s no way a complaint would hold up just because a character happens to look like you.”

So he had planned this out carefully.

The bastard.

In this situation, negotiating seemed like the best option.

“I have conditions.”

Oh Deokhan raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? Negotiation? Very well, let’s hear them.”

I picked up the printed sheet from the desk.

“First, change the protagonist’s name. Do Kimhyun is way too obvious.”

Oh Deokhan stroked his chin thoughtfully and nodded.

“Hmm… That’s reasonable. I can agree to that.”

Taking another deep breath, I laid out my next demand.

“Second, make his face noticeably different from mine.”

“Oh? Different how?”

I tapped on the laptop screen with my finger.

“Give him a scar or something.”

“OH?!!!!”

Oh Deokhan’s eyes sparkled as he smacked his knee.

“You have great instincts! That will make the character stand out even more!”

Excitedly, he started typing away at his laptop.

“Is that all you want?”

“For now, yeah.”

After a brief pause, Oh Deokhan grinned and extended his hand.

“You’re a cool guy! I like you! If you ever need a favor, just come find me!”

Yeah, like hell I would.

Let’s never meet again.

With a satisfied expression, Oh Deokhan adjusted the settings on his laptop.

“Alright! From now on, the protagonist’s name is ‘Do Geumhwan’! And he gets a mole on his nose! Perfect!”

Even as I stood up, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.

‘Was this really the best I could do? Do I really have to let this lunatic have his way?’

For now, we had settled on changing the protagonist’s name and adding a small distinguishing feature.

But the core problem remained.

It was still my story.

And the fact that the Newspaper Club was planning to keep publishing it? That was another issue entirely.

I turned my head and scanned the room again.

Messy desks covered with laptops and notes.

The wall plastered with article clippings and view count graphs.

And then…

Oh Deokhan’s laptop, where he was saving all the future chapters.

‘Deleting the files would be the quickest way…’

But I couldn’t just snatch the Newspaper Club president’s laptop and erase everything by force.

No matter how I looked at it, the best way to handle this was—

To wipe the files clean.

‘There’s gotta be a way to do that…’