Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 33

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Rank Zero Among Awakened Elite Academy
Episode 33
“Ji Hyo, let’s go grab lunch.”
During lunch hour, Lisa approached.
“Is your body all right now?”
“Well, it wasn’t anything serious.”
“Moon Yu Jin gave you First Aid?”
“Yeah.”
I glanced sideways at his empty seat.
Moon Yu Jin had vanished the moment lunch period began.
According to the others in class, Moon Yu Jin typically avoided the crowded Cafeteria, instead eating a box lunch alone somewhere quiet.
Every now and then he’d show up with Bae Han Gyeol, but that was rare.
“Moon Yu Jin seems to be treating you pretty well.”
“…What?”
At the sudden, unexpected remark, I—who had been staring at Moon Yu Jin’s empty seat—jerked my head up.
Lisa too was gazing at his desk.
“I think… maybe Moon Yu Jin wants to get closer to you?”
“Him? No way.”
I couldn’t claim to know him well, but from what I’d observed so far, he seemed indifferent to everyone around him.
Though he did seem like a decent person, contrary to first impressions.
‘Moon Yu Jin wanting to get close to me?’
That was almost certainly not going to happen. I felt almost certain of it.
But Lisa seemed to think otherwise.
“Lately our eyes have been meeting pretty often.”
“What does your eyes meeting have to do with him wanting to get close to me?”
“Well…”
I’ve been following you with my eyes the whole time too.
Lisa couldn’t quite bring herself to say it out loud—she was worried it might make Ji Hyo uncomfortable.
But even as the words remained unspoken, she felt some conviction in what she was saying.
It had started during the Core Application Class.
She’d been startled when Ji Hyo came to rescue her after she fell behind in the group.
But she was even more shocked when she discovered Moon Yu Jin with the rescue team in the forest later.
She’d never imagined that Moon Yu Jin would stay through that time to help with the search.
After that incident, Lisa naturally found her eyes following Ji Hyo…
And gradually, she began to notice something.
Moon Yu Jin was watching Ji Hyo too.
But Ji Hyo didn’t seem to think about it that way at all, and got up from his seat with an indifferent expression.
“Let’s go.”
After that, Ji Hyo and Lisa headed to the Cafeteria together.
Since coming to Gaon, I’d always eaten lunch alone—but something felt strange about it now.
…Right. This works out well.
I set down my tray and opened my mouth as naturally as I could.
“Hey, do you know anyone named Nam Rae In?”
Lisa always seemed to eat alone, so I didn’t expect she’d be close to him, but I asked on the off chance.
But what came back was an unexpected response.
“Huh? If it’s Rae In, wouldn’t you know him way better than me?”
“…What?”
What did that mean?
Did it mean Ji Hyo and Nam Rae In were close?
But if that were true, the messages still in my phone were far from warm—they were ice cold.
“What do you mean by—”
Just as I was about to press for details, the Cafeteria entrance suddenly grew noisy.
I could even hear scattered screams.
It was like some celebrity had just walked in.
“…?”
Lisa and I both naturally turned to look.
A boy entered the Cafeteria surrounded by a swarm of students.
Despite the crowd around him, his figure stood out immediately.
Lisa spoke, watching him.
“That’s Nam Rae In.”
My eyes widened.
‘Him? That’s Nam Rae In?’
He was nothing like what I’d imagined.
If he shared contact information with Ji Hyo, I’d expected someone more like a model student.
But Nam Rae In was clearly a strikingly beautiful boy.
In other words, his vibe was completely different from the quiet, composed Ji Hyo.
The Ji Hyo I knew would never have exchanged contact info with someone like that in the first place…
At that moment, Nam Rae In suddenly turned his gaze toward us.
‘Ah.’
Our eyes… met?
I couldn’t tell. He definitely seemed to look this way, but Nam Rae In sat down far away with his crowd as if nothing had happened.
“Phew, thank goodness. I was worried he might come over here.”
Lisa let out a relieved breath.
She hated standing out, so it made sense. If that crowd came near us, we’d get caught in the spotlight too.
“I was anxious he might come talk to us. It would’ve been awkward for you too…”
…What? Me?
I looked at Lisa in confusion, and she tilted her head instead.
“You wanted to keep your distance from Nam Rae In, didn’t you?”
“How did you know that?”
“You two used to hang out together all the time, but at some point you stopped, so I just figured that’s how it was…”
Used to hang out together? So that meant Ji Hyo and Nam Rae In had been close.
But then why had Ji Hyo spoken to him so coldly? That didn’t seem like him at all.
‘Something definitely happened between them.’
As I kept glancing at Nam Rae In’s table from afar, Lisa suddenly spoke up.
“Oh right, speaking of which—Ji Hyo, what about that senior?”
Senior? Only then did I look away from Nam Rae In’s direction and turn back to Lisa.
“What senior?”
“Remember? That senior, Gyeon Bo Seong, who used to come by our class all the time back in eighth grade. The one who seemed close to Bit Na…”
My expression hardened at those words.
“A senior came by our class back in eighth grade?”
It was completely news to me.
“Yeah, wasn’t that senior the one bullying you? I was worried that if he found out later that Bit Na got held back, he’d kick up a fuss…”
If what she said was true, then this ‘Gyeon Bo Seong’ would also be counted among the perpetrators who ostracized Ji Hyo.
Of course, I hadn’t thought everything was over just because Jo Bit Na and her group had disappeared either.
‘I didn’t know there were bullies in other grades too, though.’
I chewed my side dish nonchalantly and spoke.
“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.”
I thought that whatever was going to happen wouldn’t be something Lisa needed to worry about.
“But…”
“Think about it. It’s been days since Jo Bit Na’s group got punished, and it’s been quiet the whole time. That means this Gyeon Bo Seong character probably doesn’t care much either, right?”
“That’s because… that senior isn’t at school right now.”
“Not at school?”
“The Special Division.”
…The Special Division? Ah.
– Some students even get permission to enter the Abyss Deep Levels.
– So you too?
– No way. I’m not at that level. There are only a handful of students in the entire school who are.
I see.
I’d been trying to remember what Ji Hyo had mentioned back then—those people were the ‘Special Division.’
An elite unit of select few, recognized by the director himself. A class of assembled geniuses, what I’d heard called Gaon’s final trump card.
But…
A senior from the Special Division—someone who had tormented Ji Hyo since middle school.
– Students in the Special Division have really unusual Cores. Once you join, the school foundation supports you too.
– So everyone must want to get in?
– Not necessarily. Special Division members take on incredibly dangerous missions. I’ve heard there have even been students who died on those missions…
So the Special Division’s reputation was famous both inside and outside the school.
My spoon had long since stopped moving.
“So this senior, Gyeon Bo Seong—”
Just as I opened my mouth, lost in thought,
“Are you Ji Hyo?”
Someone called me from behind.
I turned to see an adult woman in sharp glasses and a suit.
Clearly not a student.
Which meant one of two things.
A teacher or school staff.
“…Yes? Can I help you?”
I set down my spoon and asked.
“Finish your meal and come with me.”
“Where to?”
“The Staff Meeting Room. There was an incident at the Dormitory Courtyard not long ago, wasn’t there?”
She looked me up and down, then adjusted her glasses and spoke.
“A Discipline Committee hearing will be held. We need to decide on your punishment.”
…What?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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