episode_0028

“Uh, uh… ?”

“Hey. Won’t you shut up? Since I wanted to listen to it earlier… ”

The person who stepped forward to replace Yeon-i, who was embarrassed by the sharp reaction, was the blonde girl from earlier.

He clearly took the oath as a representative of freshmen… Was his name Jin Ye-seo?

The pair of eyes looking at me burned brightly, as if they were looking at an enemy.

Next to him was a muscular male student who was looking at me with interest.

On the other side, there was a female student who looked like a young lady from earlier, and a good-looking male student who had no idea what to do in an unexpected situation.

However, the male student’s appearance looked somewhat familiar.

I didn’t really notice it when I saw it from afar yesterday, but when I saw it up close, it definitely resembled Sehwa’s older sister.

Come to think of it, the male student’s last name was Ryu. My older sister definitely asked me to be close to her younger brother…

“A bastard who doesn’t even know where he came from dares… ”

“Stop… stop… !”

When the atmosphere seemed to be about to get heated, Yeon intervened, waving her hand.

“Phew… ”

At Yeon’s restraint, the students sat back down in their seats. Only then did Yeon sigh lightly and look a little troubled.

“… Sorry, juniors. Should we stop here for today? I think I need to clear up some misunderstandings with my junior here, Jinhyeon Yoo. Well, Minha and I aren’t that bad of a relationship. I don’t know why the rumor spread like that… ”

“No, senior! I knew what would happen if I was left alone with a guy like that… !”

“Hehe, thank you for your concern. But there’s nothing to worry about. You can rest assured… ”

Jin Ye-seo’s protest was soon cut off by Yeon-i’s light laughter. It was a tone that exuded confidence in his own abilities.

Eventually, the social gathering broke up and the students left the salon. Now there was only me and Yeon in this space.

Although he said he would clear up the misunderstanding, Yeon sat in silence for a long time.

Then, after picking up the cooled tea cup and taking a sip, he finally opened his mouth.

“… okay. From what you’re saying, it seems like our junior has completely decided on his route, right?”

Still with a bright smile and a tone full of kindness.

But that voice now pierced me as cold as ice.

“… well. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I don’t really want to be that close to my senior.”

“Really? That’s good. Actually, I didn’t want to get along with trash like you either.”

The friendly atmosphere from before was now gone. I couldn’t believe that the person who had just stopped those who pointed out my appearance was the same person.

“You say trash to someone you meet for the first time. I can’t believe those words came out of Baek Seo-yeon’s mouth. It’s as if he knows me well… ”

“Do you know well? then. I know very well. He’s from Unit 66, a group of trash stragglers. Did you really think I didn’t know?”

My sentence was cut off before I could finish it.

“Our family’s information network extends to the military. You think that’s it, right? I know that you had a private meeting with the principal before entering school. How can you not have a hard time at that age? ”

“… Don’t insult the leader and sisters. They are not the ones to listen to such things… ”

“Why? It’s trash. The leader comes from a prestigious family, but he is a spoiled brat, and the women are so crazy about the brat that they have abandoned the family and wandered around the outskirts for over ten years?”

“… ”

“Jinhyeon Yoo. I know you too. He most recently enlisted in Unit 66, but his cruelty is nothing short of comparable to that of the gangster leader. There were rumors spreading among the criminals that were captured. A strange guy with a mask on his face.”

The words Yeon spoke were full of thorns.

“Not only did they mercilessly kill those who surrendered, but they also had no hesitation in manhandling civilians, so they were almost sent to court-martial. And how many times did Sa Jae-hyuk prevent it? Should we really say that the leader has no subordinates? ”

“… ”

I already knew that the people around me had a bad perception of Unit 66.

We mainly dealt with demons and guerrilla rebels, not regular troops, and because of that, we often had to drain all the demon energy from their bodies and arrest demons disguised as humans or rebels hiding among civilians.

The eyewitness account of such an incident, combined with the leader’s unusual personality, soon became a false rumor and spread around, but thanks to the leader’s failure to take any action, the rumor soon became reality.

I asked why, but the leader just waved his hand and went into the barracks.

According to the explanation given by the sisters, thanks to the rumor, the enemies were scared in advance and the hassle was reduced considerably, so they were satisfied.

Of course, if they were thinking of entering central politics later, the blow would be a bit big, but they sighed heavily and said that they had given up a long time ago.

Of course in my case… Honestly, this is true to some extent.

I can bet my life that I have never once touched an innocent person, but… It was true that I gave in to the anger that erupted every time I had to deal with criminals and trash.

But even if that were the case for me, I would have easily been able to find out the inside story of the matters related to the leader and Unit 66 if I had investigated them in just a little more detail.

No, maybe I didn’t intend to do that from the beginning.

If you know my origins and my private conversations with the principal, you can probably guess what kind of attitude I will have from the cradle.

There is no need to objectively evaluate someone who clearly appears to be on the other side of you. There is no need to show your good side.

It is enough that they have already shown an attitude of embracing me in front of other students. It would be good if I passed over, and there would be absolutely no harm to Yeon if I came out like this.

I guess I’m glad that Yeon’s knowledge of my activities is limited to what happened after I got my new name…

“… I don’t know what information you’ve heard, but we’ve never laid hands on civilians. I hope you don’t talk like that if you don’t know much.”

“Well, of course you would say that. I had no intention of hearing the answer in the first place.”

Yeon lightly shook her shoulders as if it was funny.

“Still, my junior, it seems like you’re a lot quicker to notice than I thought. I won’t go anywhere and starve to death.”

“… Was this your original personality?”

“Well? I don’t think you need to know.”

Yeon’s voice was once again filled with only peace.

“Why? Do you have any complaints? Then, how about telling it to your other friends? Then, wouldn’t it be possible to resolve some of your concerns? Well, I don’t know if anyone will believe what you say.”

Suddenly, a conversation we had in the past came to mind.

-I wasn’t in that village from the beginning. She is the daughter who receives the utmost love from the head of the family, and because of that, she is raised with great care and has never left the capital.

-Everyone who knows my whereabouts is dead, and no one will believe you even if you tell them. Of course it is. Who would believe a country bumpkin like you?

“… Do not worry. I don’t plan on telling anyone.”

The conversation now or the conversation back then.

“… I guess I’m more stupid than I thought. But I’m not sure if Minha will accept you if you show such loyalty? I don’t know what’s going on, but he seems to be having a bit of a hard time these days. Well, try your best until the end.”

Yeon looked at me and smiled her characteristic fresh smile.

“And if I were to give you one piece of advice as a senior, it would be better not to do anything unnecessary. Only four people will lead the line.”

“… ”

I left the living room without answering.

***

“Can you hear what’s coming from inside?”

“There is no sound. I think it’s also anti-eavesdropping.”

“… Just try to lay a finger on your sister. I’ll kill you right away.”

Some students did not return and still remained in the hallway. The reason was the stubbornness of Jin Ye-seo, the blonde female student grinding her teeth.

“How can a person’s personality be like that? What kind of attitude is that towards the person you invited to take care of you… ”

“It’s the first time in my life that I’ve seen someone who doesn’t even know the subject like that. When should we establish discipline in Dalian… ”

“Ugh, what’s wrong with you too? really… ”

Moon Yeo-ul and Guk Jae-ryong confronted Ye-seo with disapproving faces. Next to him, Ryu Seung-heon looked troubled and tried to dissuade them.

“Hmm, I think I look better than I thought. Isn’t that better than panting like a dog right away when a senior calls you? Rather, I saw it again… ”

“If Seoyeon calls you, you should bark like a grateful dog. I guess you’re just a rude bastard and don’t know what manners are?”

“This bitch is being damned again… ”

“Huh? Door, door opens… !”

Woojin and Yeseo growled and were on the verge of colliding. Yeoul, who was staring at the door, whispered to them in an urgent voice.

What came out soon was a masked male student who seemed somewhat weak in his walking.

“Hey. See you there for a moment. What on earth are you doing? ”

It was just as Ye-seo was about to block the male student’s path and fire a shot. The male student ignored the courtesy letter as if it were not there and just passed by. Yeseo, who had forgotten what to say at that absurd action, opened his mouth silently.

“… Puheup.”

Woojin, who saw that scene, could no longer bear it and burst out laughing lightly.

The masked male student, who was about to leave after passing by Yeseo, paused for a moment, then turned and walked towards them again. He stopped walking only when he reached Seungheon.

“… Hmm?”

The masked male student seemed to have something to see from Seungheon. He stood in front of him for a while, hesitated, and then held out his right hand with a very stiff gesture. The voice that came out was full of awkwardness.

“That… hi… ”

“… ?”

“… well… Let’s get along… ?”

“Uh… ? uh. okay. Let’s get along well. Nice to meet you too… ”

Seungheon suddenly grabbed the male student’s outstretched hand. Perhaps satisfied with the return of the handshake, the masked male student quickly disappeared from their sight.

“… Isn’t this a real idiot?”

Yeoul, looking at the empty space he had left, muttered in an absurd voice.