Chapter 5 – Don’t Do Anything That Would Bring Revenge

The empty seats in the classroom started to disappear from my view as I conversed with Hayeon.

Time flew by so quickly.

During our short break, we chatted about many things like the small events that occurred when we were little, unusual happenings as well as interesting and fun experiences from our childhood.

Hayeon threw a question to me with a smile and excitement in her eyes.

“Do you remember? When we first met.”

“Oh, that?”

Our first meeting.

All of a sudden, I mysteriously remembered meeting Hayeon for the first time.

I wondered if the body contained the memories or if the soul did.

It was the question of what came first, the chicken or the egg?

No matter how much I contemplated it, I just got a headache.

I also couldn’t tell which Han Sijoon I was.

Putting that aside, my first meeting with Yoo Hayeon was the absolute worst.

“You bullied me at the playground.“

“What do you mean I bullied you?! I only did it because I wanted to play with you…!”

“…So tying people up counts as play?”

I was five years old back then.

My first encounter with Hayeon began at a kindergarten near my house.

I’m gonna build a sand castle~

According to my memories, I was sitting on the ground, building a sand castle, since I couldn’t romp around like the other children.

I remembered seeing an impressive ice castle from a movie so I wanted to build a castle no matter what. 

And so this tiny kid had a blast playing by himself.

Until an obstructor appeared. 

What are you up to alone?

Were we in the same class?

Anyway, it seemed the girl from my memory approached me.

The child asked me in an awkward manner why I was by myself unlike the other kids.

At that time, I think I kindly said, “I want to be alone, so can you play over there?” 

“Bullcrap. When did you say that? You were rude, you told me to move since I was in the way.”

“…Did I?”

Well, anyway, we ended up getting into a scuffle. Hayeon broke my sand castle, and I said something to her. The altercation ultimately got physical, and my feeble self ended up getting tied to a swing at the playground.

I wondered how a 5-year-old could tie me up, but well, she was someone who was going to become an S-Rank.

It made sense to some degree.

“We ran into each other at the front door the next day.”

“Ah, that’s..”

The day after our fight, I bumped into Hayeon in the morning at the front of the door while I was on my way to school.

It was a tragic story of us being next door neighbors.

I think I cried the instant I saw her…

It would just damage my pride so I won’t go into detail.

As we reminisced about the past, our classroom teacher stood behind the lectern.

She looked familiar.

I could never forget her.

She had been our interviewer for today. There weren’t more than one or two people who glowed red either.

Class 1-A’s homeroom teacher was Shin Sihwa, a former A-Rank hero.

“Hello, students. I believe you heard about me.”

Before becoming a teacher, Sihwa was famous as a hero.

If you were to ask someone on the street, “Do you know Shin Sihwa?” and they did not answer, it was more likely that person was a spy if anything.

With her level of renown, practically all the students knew her nickname.

But from what I remembered…

“Woah! The Great War Devil!! Is it you, Ms. Shin…”

“You there, student, please don’t address me by that name…”

“O-Okay…”

She absolutely detested that childish nickname of hers, “The Great War Devil.”

It was crass to call someone with the ability to wield fire, the devil anyway.

Although Sihwa tried to put on her best smile as she spoke, the corners of her lips were quivering.

I watched her when her gaze turned in my direction.

…She wasn’t looking at me, was she?

The look was probably her expectations for Hayeon.

What’s there to expect from someone like me who didn’t have magic?

After she took a good look at the students from the lectern, Sihwa began to speak.

“Ahem. Anyway, I’m your homeroom teacher for the year. Although I’d like to greet and welcome you all, let us pick a temporary class president first. Is there anyone who’s up for the job?”

A temporary class president.

If I did it, I could work hard and gain my teachers’ favor.

It certainly had its benefits.

That said, I didn’t intend to become one. 

If you did something wrong, you could end up becoming the teacher’s slave. Besides, I barely had the time to build up my own strength, how could I become a president much less a vice president?

I hated bothersome stuff like that. 

There were also a set number of individuals who wanted to become class president other than me.

“Ms. Shin. I’m Yoo Hayeon. I’ll be the class president.”

Hayeon, who sat next to me, raised her hand and declared herself as class president in a soft and gentle manner.

No matter how much I saw it, I couldn’t get used to it. 

She always came off kind and serene unless she was talking to me.

Pretentious in the front while fake in the back…

Fwip.

Yoo Hayeon turned her head to face me. It was as if she had heard what I was thinking

From the way she frowned, it seemed like she actually did.

I didn’t say anything though?

Hayeon’s shoulders heaved before she turned to face Sihwa.

“Hayeon wants to be the class president, is that correct?”

“Yes, I definitely want to do it!”

There was no way she would miss this opportunity to become the class president when her specialty was standing above others.

Looks like Hayeon was going to be the class president for the year.

It happened at that moment of my speculation.

“Then, the VP who will assist the temporary class president will be…”

When Shin Sihwa was about to choose the vice president, the students quickly avoided her gaze.

Hayeon was still standing from her spot.

“Huhu…”

“Don’t tell me, you…”

Hayeon was smiling at me with a playful expression.

Hey, you’re not going to, are you?

You’re not supposed to be like this?

“Ms. Shin!”

My anxiety gradually intensified before what I was anxious about turned into reality.

“I recommend Han Sijoon for vice president!”

Ah.

My head.

As I covered my head from the burdensome shock of becoming VP, Hayeon approached me and whispered softly in my ear.

“Hehe, this is revenge.”

…I had forgotten one thing about her.

Hayeon was a real grudge holder.

***  

The first day of the entrance ceremony was just so-so.

Everyone knew the first day was an explanation of how the classes would go and a pep talk, which would put you to sleep, about how we should prepare our mindset.

There was no class, rather the class was simply asking and answering questions.

After the boring hours ended, I headed to the dormitory.

“Hah, vice president…”

I’m supposed to help the class president when it’s hard to even take care of myself?

Assisting was okay, but I was more frustrated by the fact that Hayeon was the object of my help.

I sighed, and went back to the dormitory.

“Still, it feels nice to be alone after a long time.”

How long has it been since I had freedom?

Hayeon had gotten close to some girls during breaktime and left with them after school.

It’s a given considering her naturally bright personality.

It would be nice if she acted that way towards me rather than being so standoffish.

One disappointment after another.

That’s how I arrived at the male dormitory alone. 

It was much bigger than I thought.

My luggage had already been placed in a box and in the room. Even if I finished sorting through my stuff, I could see I had more than enough space. 

A single bed and a study desk.

A closet and a bookcase.

And a window where the light drifted in.

The Hero Academy’s dormitory, which boasted its high tuition, was to my liking.

“Ugh, what good is this when I could get expelled within a year.“

It was depressing just thinking about scoring poorly in important subjects.

My physical ability was no good and I didn’t have any magic either.

Is this really a human body?

The only thing I could do was yell, “Help me, Hayeon~”

Had I known this would happen, I would’ve set my skills around average.

What’s so good about having a childhood friend that I did this to myself?

Although I regretted my actions, the only thing that changed was the ticking clock.

Tick. Tock.

The clock was moving with this much effort. 

Is it okay for me to idle away like this?

No.

That’s something that should never happen.

I had to do something.

This fortitude of mine was enough to get me out of bed.

“…Is that the only thing I have left to rely on?”

It’s impossible for me to catch up with the other students through exercise considering my ability.

The students would work just as consistently as me.

There was a significant gap between their molded bodies and mine.

There was only one thing available for me.

In V. AGE, it was called a cheat. 

I would have to grab hold of the so-called fraud item first.

It’s risky, but I have to do it.

I didn’t want to die easily, swept away by the vortex of fate.

I took off my school uniform and name tag which would give away my student identity, and changed into outdoor attire.

A place where you could gain power in the shortest amount of time.

The back alleyway.

It was a place that handled illegal weapons, drugs, and artifacts. It was also where villains were very likely to show up. Hence there were many items there that were worth taking the risk for.

“Let’s put the phone on silent mode…”

Wasn’t there a scene in the movie?

Where the main character was being chased by a murderer.

While they were hiding, holding their breath in order to not get caught…

Ring.

The phone would ring.

I mean, why didn’t the main character use vibration or silent mode in the first place?

I didn’t want to be that narrow-minded.

I set the volume to the lowest it could go and prepared myself for the very worst.

Things were bound to happen in moments of doubt.

I have become strong.

It was time for me to change.

Since I knew the future, I had to gain the strength to cope with danger.

For my own safety, I would sometimes have to take risks.

And that’s how I took the steps into a deep dark place.