Chapter 85

“What are you going there for!”

When he heard the destination of the air taxi, hyo-don Maeng did not respond for a few seconds but then yelled at us.

“To skip class.”

“Me too!”

Suhyuk Joo agreed with a bright, naive tone of voice.

At our shameless replies, Hyo-don looked at us outrageously.

Suhyuk ate two whole pretzels hungrily while Hyo-don was still zoned out from shock.

Hyo-don scowled at Suhyuk’s *mukbang.

*for those of you who don’t know, mukbang is a video of a person eating a large quantity of food on YouTube, etc. It is a word from Korea, muk meaning eat and bang meaning broadcast.

“Look at you, stuffing your face full of food.”

“This pretzel, there are no franchises in Korea yet, so we can only eat this when in an air taxi. You gotta try one now!”

With Suhyuk holding a pretzel up like that, the ordinary pretzel mukbang suddenly turned into a pretzel advertisement.

Hyo-don seemed to think similarly because his frown deepened.

“You’ve all gone mad.”

As he said so, Hyo-don clutched onto his basket of carnation flowers tightly.

‘Is he worried about us stealing that again?’

When Suhyuk saw Hyo-don clutching the basket of flowers, he smiled brightly and seemed to think the same thing.

“I’m not gonna steal that, so leave it and eat a pretzel.”

I had no further plans to lure him with that anyway.

Instead, if Hyo-don chickens out at the school, Suhyuk and I will capture him and drag him to his third-grade homeroom teacher.

“Who said I was worried about that!”

Hyo-don retorted angrily.

But he hesitantly released the handle of the basket and reached for the pretzel.

Yeah, I think he really was worried.

“……Oh, this is tasty.”

“Delicious, right? The coffee here is nice too. Ui-shin, you want something to drink?”

“Anything other than coffee, please.”

“If you don’t mind sour stuff, lemonade is okay too.”

While I was drinking the lemonade recommended by Suhyuk, Hyo-don ate the entire pretzel menu.

He even commented that the one with cinnamon and hazelnut flavors was the most delicious.

He was eating so well that I just had to ask.

“You skipped lunch too?”

“……Yeah.”

Birds of a feather flock together. This dude was probably sulking in a corner during lunchtime just like his friend Suhyuk.

“I didn’t eat, too! After we go to Hyo-don’s school, let’s get lunch.”

“Like I said, WHY ARE YOU GUYS GOING THERE?”

Hyo-don grumbled, but he did not disapprove of eating.

Wait.

So…… the huge amount of pretzels they’re eating now were a snack, not a meal.

*    *    *

On the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do.

We arrived at Tanrae Middle school after an hour, even on the air taxi.

“It’s like a movie set!”

Suhyuk exclaimed at the dingy, old building.

Even considering that the school was a public school, this was severely deteriorated.

Jinsu Middle School, where I went to school once, was also deteriorated, but this was way worse.

‘Did they embezzle the money from the Education Department or something? This place is a wreck.’

Hyo-don glumly looked at the half-rusty school gate.

Just then, when he was looking at the gate, Hyo-don suddenly yelled furiously.

“What the fuck! What is that?”

The end of Hyo don’s gaze was two placards.

Hanging proudly.

[Congratulations] [Acceptance into] Eun-kwang High School Hyo-don Maeng

-Tanrae Middle School-

[Tribute to] Our proud son of Tanrae Middle School, Hyo-don Maeng! Congratulations on your acceptance into Eun-kwang High School! [Congratulations]

– General Alumni Association and Parent’s Association of Tanrae Middle School―

The placard highlighted the words “Eun-kwang High School” rather than Hyo-don’s name.

The letters of Eun-kwang High were large, bold, and colorful.

‘It’s not even from the student council, it’s from the school, general alumni association, and parent’s association.’

I recalled the harrowing experiences of junior high school from Hyo-don’s past recollections of the game.

Those who said horrible things to Hyo-don were not only teachers.

There were parents from the parent’s association, too, who picked on Hyo-don but got what they deserved in the end, thankfully.

“Those bastards.”

Hyo-don looked at the placard and gritted his teeth.

‘It’s not even high school entrance season right now. They’ve treated him like trash, but uses his name for publicity until May?

They probably didn’t even know Hyo-don was sold off to a fighting club.

Suhyuk, who had been observing the placards and Hyo-don’s reaction, asked something.

“Was this done without your consent?”

“Yeah.”

They knew Hyo-don wouldn’t agree, so they did this behind his back.

If you disclose personal information without their consent, even if they are a graduate, it violates the Personal Information Protection act.

“Let’s make them take that down.”

I started my device.

“Ui-shin, where are you calling?”

“Players Association. These guys are ‘bastards’ who did this without consent. I thought it would be useless to tell them directly.”

I only have fragmentary information that has been obtained in the game and information from now, but this school looks like it’s full of garbage that mastered the arts of picking on students.

In modern times, students’ human rights have been improved and laws have been made.

However, it was impossible to arrest a teacher who had decades of career experience picking on students that were helpless, had no money, and had no adults to protect them.

‘It wouldn’t work if Hyo-don protested in person.’

There were several expected reactions when Hyo-don addressed the school directly.

‘How dare you intervene in what we do?’

‘He’s gotten so rude after graduation.’

‘A person in charge somewhere can check and maybe take it down for you. But I don’t know when that will happen.’n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Such bullshit and avoiding responsibility were expected.

Of course, even if you go through all that bullshit, they won’t take down the placard.

‘If Hyo-don was a regular person, he would have to go to the police, Local Authorities, or his lawyer. But since Hyo-don is a player, we can ask the association for help.’

The goals of the association are “The annihilation of Enemies” and “the protection of players.”

This protection also includes the protection of personal information.

Guided by the association, I asked Hyo-don to fill out a document on my device.

“How do you do an electronic signature?”

“Yeah. You can just write down your name.”

“Sent it.”

Hyo-don took the advice of me and Suhyuk and completed and transferred the documents.

When we finally passed the front gate and made our way into the teacher’s office,

“Look! They’re about to take it down!”

“Ah.”

We could see, out the window, a couple of middle-aged teachers running toward the placards.

‘Employees of the association have been replaced many times, so it seems that they only hired legit hard-working people this time.’

The teachers of Tanrae Middle school barely succeeded in removing placards, as they were tightly secured.

*    *    *

In front of the teacher’s office.

The three of us crept in silence the whole time we got here.

We have not yet encountered another teacher or student.

Hyo-don, looking inside from the window of the hallway of the office, muttered,

“There he is.”

Currently, it was Tanrae middle school’s afternoon class time.

I was worried that Hyo-don’s teacher might be in class also, but fortunately, he had no class.

‘So that’s Hyo-don’s middle school third-grade homeroom teacher.’

Beyond the scratched, old glass window.

A skinny teacher was working diligently.

Other teachers in the office were surfing the web or chatting and laughing.

‘He’s the only one working.’

This is a middle school where talented people like Hyo-don are treated badly.

There was no way that the school’s administration could run properly.

“What’chu doin’. Let’s go.”

Hyo-don, not taking his eyes from the glass window, said,

“Hey, can’t you guys just give him this instead?”

Absolutely not.

“Yeah, NO.”

“Nope.”

I and Suhyuk refused firmly, but Hyo-don didn’t answer and just clutched on his basket of carnations.

Do we have to shove him in the office?

Suhyuk and I looked for the right time to push Hyo-don into the teacher’s office.

Before that, the teacher moved first.

“Oh……”

Hyo-don’s third-grade teacher was looking at us, surprised.

He shouldn’t be able to detect us, not being a player and all, but somehow he must’ve sensed his former student coming.

He hastily rose from his seat and sprang toward us.

“Hyo-don!”

The door of the office opened and a dry hand gripped Hyo-don’s arm firmly.

“Do you know how worried I was? Why didn’t you come to school even once after your acceptance to Eun-kwang high! I’ve been to your house a few times, and your father always told me you were busy, and then the house was sold and gone!”

“······Sorry.”

Hyo-don said that he heard about his acceptance of Eun-kwang high through his teacher.

Then he probably got sold off to the fighting club.

That would have been the reason behind losing contact with his teacher.

‘He kept worrying about Hyo-don.’

The teacher, who was scolding Hyo-don, listened to his apology, calmed down, and feebly said,

“Thank you for coming, Hyo-don…… You healthy? Eating well?”

“…… Yeah.”

It was almost like Q&A time, where the teacher did the asking and Hyo-don answered from time to time, but they were talking.

I and Suhyuk decided to leave the two for their privacy.

“We’re waiting outside.”

“Yeah, come when you’re done.”

We waited for Hyo-don in the nearest building exit from the office.

After about 30 minutes.

The teacher, eyes a little swollen, appeared with a basket of flowers in one hand and the other hand patting Hyo-don’s back.

“Are you guys Hyo-don’s friends from school?”

“Yup!”

The teacher was very pleased with Suhyuk’s answer.

“Great! If anything happens, will you please contact me?”

Suhyuk and I exchanged device codes with Hyo-don’s teacher.

He then left, saying he had classes and work to do, and that he was sorry that he couldn’t buy them lunch.

“You have his device code too, right?”

“Yeah. I told him I’ll contact him if I have any trouble with math.”

He must’ve told him about his math class.

Hyo-don did not elaborate on his and his teacher’s conversation, but his face looked better than it had been before he came here.

He would’ve at least said thank you.

‘I’m glad he delivered the carnations safely. By the way······.’

As we were heading out the front gate, I looked back.

I could see inside the teacher’s office through the window.

Sitting on some kind of boss’s seat, a man with a mean face seemed to be saying something bitter to Hyo-don’s teacher.

He was one of the guys who didn’t work earlier and chewed the fat.

‘The level of facilities is poor compared to the budget that’s assigned to the school.

Maybe I should file a complaint to the Gyeonggi-do Education Department or the National *Shinmungo.’

*Shinmungo means ‘drum of the people.’ There was a drum in front of the royal palace in ancient Korea, and it was used for filing a direct complaint to the King. Anyone, regardless of class, was able to use it. These days, the Korean government revived the tradition online. Anyone can make petitions on the online Shinmungo.

I was writing a petition/complaint document in my head when Hyo-don said something.

“Why the hell are you making that weird face again?”

It is that weird?

Suhyuk also glanced at my face and agreed, ‘Oh, it is!’

And now the title hero thinks I make a weird face, too.

*    *    *

As we were waiting for an air taxi, we stayed at a Korean traditional fast-food place.

Hyo-don ordered one of everything on the menu.

Ttukbokki, Labokki, ramen, sundae, mini kimbap, kim-mari, eggs, Korean fries……

The table was full of fast food.

“I always wanted to come here.”

“This is your first time? You never ate here?”

“Yeah.”

Hyo-don never had an allowance, so he couldn’t afford to eat out in places like this.

Suhyuk looked bewildered, but asked no more and began dominating the plates one by one.

It wasn’t the best fast-food I have eaten, but we cleared all the dishes.

We tried to split up the bill but Hyo-don insisted he should pay, so we had to let him.

*    *    *

When we got to school, all the afternoon classes had ended.

I had dinner plans with Siwan Sung, so I parted ways with Hyo-don at the school gate.

After I was alone, I checked my device and there were many unread messages.

‘My classmates and club members texted me.’

I missed class dismissal time and club activities, so the kids sent me texts looking for me.

I told Mr. Ham and the head of the Newspaper class, but I guess the word wasn’t delivered well.

After I responded to every text except Jiho Hwang’s, a new message arrived.

[Green Min] Hey.

[Green Min] Send me a picture of our classmates.

That was unexpected.

Green Min is curious about what our classmates look like.

[Me] Sure.

I sent her the photo we took at the Han river picnic after racing on the duck pedal boats.

We all had names on our matching class t-shirts, so she’ll be able to tell.

Except for Se-eum Sawol, so I specially texted ‘Chicken=Se-eum Sawol’ as well.

[Green Min] ······That’s a lot.

[Me] You want to use this photo as a virtual visual information?

Is she going to edit the faces in the photo and put them on the virtual reality stuffed dolls?

Won’t it increase the chance of her brain mistaking that as real people?

[Green Min] No.

[Green Min] I’m going to put portraits I drew.

If they were drawn by her, it shouldn’t be a problem.

She must be planning to draw everyone’s faces.

‘Guess she really liked the Kids.’

That goes without question because they were all nice kids.

Well, although I can’t technically say that Jiho was a nice kid.

[Green Min] When did you guys take this picture?

[나] During our picnic.

[Green Min] You guys went on a picnic to Han river? Was it a school field trip?

I told her about our picnic.

Our matching t-shirts with matching phrases written on them.

The duck pedal boat race on who gets to the fried chicken flavor.

The boardgame, which Mr. Ham totally won.

Immediately after my depiction, Green texted back,

[Green Min] I wish I could go next time······.

[Green Min] But Han river has so many people, so guess I can’t go.

It would be nice to be able to take Green and Dae-seok Song for the next picnic.

I could remember Man-suk Song’s figure from behind as he dragged his bike along the Han river.

I was wondering how I could bring the two along on a picnic when someone came up to me.

“Hi, Ui-shin! Sorry to keep you waiting.”

It was Siwan.

“No, I arrived early.”

“Hahaha, the host should be here earlier though.”

In front of the school’s main gate.

Siwan and I decided to wait for his cousin there.

“What’s your cousin like?”

“Ooh, this is going to be an endless brag!”

Off he went with his brags about his cousin.

He seems cold but was actually cool.

He is strong against other strong people but never abused his power to people weaker than him.

He had superb psychic powers.

He was the top student during his years in Eun-kwang high.

As Siwan said, the brags were endless.

“The reason I went into the Ji-ik council was because of him.”

“Your cousin was the head of the Ji-ik council?”

“No, school president. There was no Ji-ik council at the time. 13, no, I’m in third grade now, so 15 years ago. That was when the council was founded, my cousin…….”

No way. His cousin was ‘that’ school president 15 years ago?

Before going into detail, Siwan suddenly stopped talking.

“Oh, I think he’s here!”

An air sedan stopped in front of us.

First, the door to the driver’s seat opened.

Then the driver opened a back door.

“Bro! Long time no see!”

The person Siwan was talking to now was someone I knew.

That school president from 15 years ago was a playable character.[