episode_0086

086.

After the kidnapping incident, Jin Soyeon felt a significant change within herself.

It was because her immense talent, which had been dormant, exploded after the death(?) of a loved one.

Jin Soyeon’s potential was dare I say, at the world’s highest level.

Hidden within her was an exceptional ability and talent that could rival even Yoo Dahee, who had already reached the top rank.

Originally, Jin Soyeon was supposed to realize her own strength at a later date.

She possessed a truly powerful ability that could enable a mere hero trainee like herself to defeat formidable villains.

If she had awakened from the early days of the academy, it would have caused a disruption in the story’s progression.

That’s because Jin Soyeon, who had just awakened, single-handedly defeated Sung Yura’s bodyguards.

At that time, she was in a half-crazed state, so she couldn’t remember clearly, but the bodyguards’ skills were comparable to those of regular active heroes.

It was by no means an opponent that a hero trainee like Jin Soyeon could easily defeat.

Therefore, Jin Soyeon’s awakened power far surpassed that of an ordinary student. It even surprised herself.

“You’re not letting go of this?!”

“….”

“This, this is real!”

“….”

The thug couldn’t move a muscle.

Although she had exerted her strength, she couldn’t escape from Jin Soyeon’s grasp.

Jin Soyeon held the thug’s fist tightly with one hand, lost in thought.

“Sure, I had confidence in stopping her, but I didn’t expect it to be this easy….”

Was she a bit impressed?

After the kidnapping incident, she had never properly sparred with anyone, so she couldn’t accurately gauge her own strength.

But thanks to the thug-like woman, she could feel it vividly.

Because the thug’s attack was not as simple to block as it seemed.

In the past, Jin Soyeon would have been too quick to dodge or avoid it, let alone block it with one hand.

But not now.

Strangely, the thug’s movements seemed slow, and her senses had become very sharp.

It felt like she had broken free from the restraints that had bound her body.

“You… Your ranking was around 100, right?”

“You b*tch!”

The thug furrowed her brows.

Jin Soyeon’s words felt like a provocation to her.

Of course, Jin Soyeon was simply curious when she asked, but to the thug who was being held tightly, it could only feel mocking.

“Just don’t look down on me now, think of me as dead, Jin So… huh?!”

Suddenly, Jin Soyeon’s fist struck the thug’s abdomen.

It was a steel-like solid abdomen, but upon Jin Soyeon’s fist making contact, it crumpled without any resistance.

The thug staggered back, retching once, then bent over, trying to expel something from her stomach.

“Uh, ugh, d*mn….”

“How effective.”

The thug was a body enhancement type ability user who could cover her entire body with an iron-like hardness.

With bare hands, it was difficult to inflict significant damage unless it was a powerful attack.

But for some reason, a simple punch from Jin Soyeon caused a considerable amount of shock to the thug.

If she were a powerful body enhancement ability user like Seonari, it would be different, but how could Jin Soyeon do this?

It didn’t seem like Jin Soyeon’s strength was particularly strong.

Rather, the problem was that the thug’s superpower, which had covered her entire body, had been disrupted when Jin Soyeon’s fist made contact.

“Lee Hyeseong! Hyeseong, are you okay?!”

“Uh, ugh, d*mn….”

Did that thug’s name happen to be Lee Hyesung?

When Lee Hyesung fell down with a single punch, the other girls who had been silently watching until just now looked at Jinsuyeon with expressions that seemed to say, ‘How dare she?!’

It seemed like they were slowly starting to join forces.

“Jinsuyeon! Look at this!”

“Stop it.”

At the moment when things were about to get out of hand,

Joo Jiyeon quickly reached out and stopped the girls.

Because she missed the timing to intervene due to the unexpected actions of Jinsuyeon, she only now stepped in.

“Stop it, everyone.”

“But, Jiyeon!”

“I mean it. I don’t like repeating the same thing over and over.”

“Ugh.”

Joo Jiyeon glanced at the girls with a calm look in her eyes.

As soon as their eyes met, the girls flinched and shivered.

Although she didn’t want to leave that arrogant Jinsuyeon alone, she couldn’t bring herself to oppose Jiyeon.

Joo Jiyeon was not only a member of the Ohseong Group but also a prominent figure who had a strong influence over Class 5.

“Do you want me to repeat myself?”

Although it was a short sentence, it was enough to stop the girls.

They feared Joo Jiyeon’s power, abilities, background, and connections.

From the beginning, it was possible for them to gather like this and intimidate Jinsuyeon because of Joo Jiyeon.

The girls glanced at Joo Jiyeon as if to say they had no choice but to nod their heads in resignation.

“Oh, no… sorry…”

“Okay, Jiyeon.”

As the girls obediently listened, Joo Jiyeon could breathe a sigh of relief in her heart.

Although the club room had good soundproofing, she didn’t know if causing more trouble would attract others.

It might be best to end things here today… huh?

For a moment, she could see that the club room door was slightly ajar.

Something was glittering, as if a lens was reflecting light, so Joo Jiyeon blinked her eyes rapidly.

Wait a minute.

A lens?

Is someone secretly filming right now?

Surely the door was locked, so how?

“Oh, no. Did I get caught?”

With a bitter smile, a man opened the club room door wide and entered slowly…

“J-Jinhyuk?”

It was Jinhyuk.

“Hello.”

“It’s not hello, is it? How did you get here?”

“Someone from another class brought you here in a suspicious atmosphere, so I thought I should check on you.”

I’ve been watching you, thinking that the stubborn lady might move.

But if she did, would she?

“Jiyeon, what were you trying to do by calling her alone?”

“Are you interested?”

Jinhyuk chuckled and tapped on his phone.

Jiyeon frowned as she looked at the phone.

Wait, did he film everything that happened until now?

“Yeah, these days, phone cameras are amazing. The video quality is really good.”

“You…”

“If it were to be revealed that the third daughter of the Ohseong Group gathered a bunch of people to collectively assault a female student, wouldn’t that be troublesome?”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Just, please, I’m asking. We don’t need to embarrass each other, right? If you don’t do anything unnecessary, I won’t either. Deal?”

If this fact were to be leaked, it would be troublesome.

Without solid evidence, they could just deny it, but if there was clear video footage, the story would be different.

If they made a mistake, not only could they face the media, but there was also a high chance of angering her father.

Her father, who had been reluctant for her to enroll in Union Academy in the first place, would be furious if this were to be exposed… Ugh!

“Ha, but I can’t just back down here. The kids are watching, the kids.”

Ju Ji-yeon discreetly glanced at the girls.

If she were to easily give in to such threats, Ju Ji-yeon’s dignity in front of the kids would truly be at stake.

After all, isn’t Lee Jin-hyuk just a commoner?

If it were someone like Lee Si-woon or Yoo Seol-hyun, she might be able to pretend to give in, but being threatened by Lee Jin-hyuk was a blow to her pride…

Just smash that phone to pieces?

As she was thinking that…

“Oh, so there really was something interesting to see here?”

Yoo Seol-hyun, who had been waiting outside the door, quietly stepped into the club room.

Ju Ji-yeon was taken aback.

Why, why Yoo Seol-hyun?

“Heh. Ji-yeon, you’ve been playing around like this? Didn’t you get scolded by the old man a few times for causing accidents in the past?”

“Yes, why are you here?”

“Heh heh. Why? Can’t I come to a place like this?”

Ju Ji-yeon felt a slight pressure from Yoo Seol-hyun’s smiling face.

She had known Yoo Seol-hyun to some extent since childhood, and she had vivid memories of losing to Yoo Seol-hyun during the entrance exams.

“With the media’s attention already focused on the Union, wouldn’t it be tiring if some strange article came out?”

“Ugh.”

Come to think of it, she had heard before.

Lee Jin-hyuk and Yoo Seol-hyun were quite close.

Considering Yoo Seol-hyun’s usual personality, she wouldn’t have intervened like this, but if Lee Jin-hyuk was involved, the situation could change.

“And if Kang Dae-han finds out about what you did, wouldn’t he be disappointed?”

“…!”

“I’ll talk to So-yeon, so how about stopping here, Ji-yeon?”

Although Yoo Seol-hyun spoke with a smiling face, Ju Ji-yeon felt a significant pressure and could only swallow her dry saliva.

Uh, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to step back seeing Yoo Seol-hyun talk like that?

It’s not because I’m scared of Yoo Seol-hyun, no, no, that’s not it!

Oh, right.

I almost forgot.

I have to say this.

“The video?”

“Here, look. I’ll delete it.”

Lee Jin-hyuk raised his phone and deleted the video he had filmed.

Oh, of course, the deletion was fake.

In fact, the video was already saved on the internet server. Just in case, you know, just in case.

“…Hmph. Fine, let’s end it here today.”

Ju Ji-yeon confidently crossed her arms and nodded her head.

The girls seemed a bit annoyed, but with Yoo Seol-hyun appearing, they couldn’t dare to do anything unnecessary.

And so, Lee Jin-hyuk, Jin So-yeon, and Yoo Seol-hyun were able to safely leave the club room.

“I didn’t know Seol-hyun would help you…”

“No need to thank me. I saw something good because of you.”

Whether it was Ju Ji-yeon’s weakness or Jin So-yeon’s extraordinary abilities…

…No, in the first place, the reason for helping was to receive a small favor from Lee Jin-hyuk. But there was no need to mention such things.

“Jin-hyuk, thank you too, I owe you.”

“What do you owe me?”

Lee Jin-hyuk shook his head slightly.

There was no need to thank him.

He was going to owe Jin So-yeon a lot in the future.

So-yeon, we should go dungeon exploring together during the summer vacation. I saw your awakened ability today, so now I can trust you. It seems like you really awakened.

“But So-yeon, how did you knock down that girl, Lee Hye-sung, with one blow earlier?”

“Oh, that’s…”

Jin So-yeon hesitated for a moment at Yoo Seol-hyun’s question, repeatedly opening and closing her lips.

She was tempted to tell her since she had received help from her, but she hesitated a bit because of the upcoming ranking match.

It was best to keep information about her abilities hidden as much as possible.

“Ah, I shouldn’t have asked for no reason. It’s considered impolite to inquire about supernatural abilities.”

With many supernatural abilities that become useless once revealed to others, Yoo Seol-hyun shrugged as if she had nothing to worry about.

It seemed like Lee Jin-hyuk had not been hiding his ability up until now, and well, it’s common for supernatural abilities to expand and transform under certain circumstances.

“Hey, Jin-hyuk.”

“What?”

“About the conversation that happened in the club room… did you hear everything?”

“Almost?”

“Ah, I see. Hmm.”

Jin So-yeon hesitated for a moment.

“Why are you asking?”

“Oh, it’s just… I feel like this is all my fault. I didn’t intend for it to happen, but I guess I couldn’t control the distance between me and the guys. I should have been more careful.”

“Oh. Have you finally realized it? Surprising, isn’t it?”

“Seol-hyun, are you being noisy?”

Yoo Seol-hyun’s sarcastic remark made Jin So-yeon furrow her brows.

But Yoo Seol-hyun continued to speak.

“So-yeon, honestly, when I first saw you, I thought you were really standoffish. Oh, was I right about that?”

“What, what do you mean standoffish?! I really didn’t mean to!”

Jin So-yeon was startled and glanced at Lee Jin-hyuk.

Lee Jin-hyuk shouldn’t have any strange misunderstandings…

Well, if it’s Jin So-yeon’s fault for not properly adjusting the distance between men and women, then it must be her fault, but she really didn’t have any strange thoughts.

“I understand, I didn’t mean to have those thoughts.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah. But considering what happened with Choi Chang-won, it might be good to adjust the distance a bit.”

“Okay… That’s why I’ve been keeping my distance lately. Really, I have.”

“Heh heh. For someone like you, Kang Dae-han seemed quite interested in you, right? You’re really something, Jin So-yeon. When will you entangle him again?”

Jin So-yeon flinched and trembled.

Honestly, it was hard to believe that Kang Dae-han was showing interest in Jin So-yeon even now, but seeing what Ju Ji-yeon did, it seemed real.

No, why? That thought passed through Jin So-yeon’s mind.

They really had nothing special with Kang Dae-han.

They were not close enough to hang out together, just exchanging greetings occasionally.

The only significant event was during the cat incident when he gave her a knife and ointment.

No way, did he fall for her because of that?

“Don’t tease me like that! I really didn’t mean that!”

“Did you unintentionally tease him? Wow, you’re a femme fatale, completely.”

“Are you really going to keep talking like that?!”

“Oh? Did I say something wrong? If so, I’ll apologize. Sorry?”

“Ugh!”

Lee Jin-hyuk sighed deeply as he looked at them on the swings.

Hey, Yoo Seol-hyun, stop bothering So-yeon.

***

“…Lee Jin-hyuk is a tease?”

The cold, stern expression on Baek Yu-rin’s face sharpened like a blade. The subtle anger and resentment in Baek Yu-rin’s eyes were palpable.