Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 52

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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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Awakener Special School Hierarchy Rank 0
Episode 52
It was around 10 p.m. when all members of the Special Unit, who had left for Boundary Work, reconvened at the Annex Building.
The first to arrive were the Spades group, Tae Ga-yeong and Seol Ji-hyo.
Then came the Diamonds group and the Clubs group in turn.
Last were the Hearts group, Moon Yu-jin and Nam Rae-in.
“Rae-in! Why are you so late?”
……
Huh?
Shin Cho-rok, a second-year senior, greeted him warmly, but for some reason Nam Rae-in ignored him and walked straight past.
About a minute later, Moon Yu-jin, who arrived next, did the same.
After a brief report to Commander Tae Ga-yeong, he excused himself and vanished on his own.
“Did they fight?”
“Yeah, they did.”
“But what would the two of them fight over?”
“Who knows? Not us.”
Moon Yu-jin and Nam Rae-in had never been particularly close to begin with. Even Ji-u had rarely seen the two of them having a proper conversation.
But the atmosphere just now was practically a frozen lake.
In the end, it was Tae Ga-yeong who defused the situation.
“You two, don’t stand there. Come over here.”
Once Moon Yu-jin returned, Tae Ga-yeong gathered everyone in one place.
……
……
Moon Yu-jin and Nam Rae-in reluctantly came over, but a chill still hung between them. They acted as though the other didn’t exist.
In that awkward silence, Tae Ga-yeong spoke.
“Tomorrow everyone will head to school on their own, so now is the only time we have.”
“Yes? For what?”
“What else? We need to make some memories.”
With a flourish, Tae Ga-yeong pulled out a camera.
At that, Do Min-gi gave her a tired look.
“…Commander, when did you pick that up?”
“I brought it along. Didn’t you know? Today’s a Supermoon, so it has to be now.”
Setting the camera on a small table, Tae Ga-yeong hurried over to the balcony railing and positioned herself with the moon at her back.
Then she beckoned everyone forward urgently.
“What are you doing? Come on, everyone gather up!”
“Then I’ll stand in front.”
“The spot next to the commander is mine!”
“…Let’s just snap it and call it done.”
The seniors took their places one by one.
“Ji-u, hurry up. The timer is running.”
Tae Ga-yeong waved toward Ji-u.
…Wait, what am I supposed to do?
This was his first time taking a photo with so many people. He had no idea where to stand, what expression to make, or what pose to strike.
“Come over here.”
Tae Ga-yeong stretched out her arm.
Ah….
He was practically dragged to a spot directly to Tae Ga-yeong’s right.
Tae Ga-yeong bent her knees slightly and pressed her face right next to Ji-u’s.
Click!
The shutter sounded.
“Done.”
Tae Ga-yeong trotted over to check the camera. A photograph instantly developed at the bottom of the camera and began sliding out.
Tae Ga-yeong handed it to Ji-u.
“A gift.”
“…For me?”
“Yes. Keep it as a keepsake.”
Ji-u awkwardly took it.
A few seconds later, colors began appearing across the previously hazy photograph surface.
The photo that emerged showed eight students in identical uniforms tangled together in what could only be described as total chaos.
At the center was Tae Ga-yeong, beaming with the biggest smile.
To her left were the other seniors of the Special Unit, looking equally delighted.
Behind them was Do Min-gi with a tired expression.
And diagonally across from Ji-u were Moon Yu-jin with a slight frown and Nam Rae-in not even looking toward the camera.
‘They don’t look close at all.’
And his own face in the photo was downright embarrassing.
A stiff expression, an awkward stance, an uncomfortable gaze. There wasn’t a single thing about it that wasn’t a mess.
But.
“Thank you.”
Holding the photo in both hands, Ji-u found himself thinking dimly.
About everything captured here.
‘Surprisingly……’
Surprisingly, it didn’t seem so bad at all.
* * *
Time passed, and it became May.
It seemed like only yesterday that he’d started attending Gaon as Seol Ji-hyo’s replacement, yet time felt like it was flying by.
In the meantime, Ji-u had spent most of his time with Rim-sa.
They went to moving classes together and walked home together, and sometimes when needed, they’d go out to the outskirts together after school to shop.
Oh. And one more person.
– Ji-u, are you free today?
– I’m thinking of training in the Annex Building. Want to join?
– Oh, perfect timing. I was looking for you. If it’s okay, let’s grab lunch together.
Tae Ga-yeong made a point of acknowledging him whenever they crossed paths at school.
She was famous, but in a different way than Moon Yu-jin and Nam Rae-in. It made sense—she was the commander of the Special Unit after all.
As Ji-u grew closer to Tae Ga-yeong, he began to notice that the way people around him looked at him gradually shifted.
– Did you see? Tae Ga-yeong came to our classroom during break.- So it’s true about Seol Ji-hyo?
-I saw Do Min-gi come by once to lend out a reference book.
– Wait. So the rumor that Seol Ji-hyo actually joined the Special Unit was real?
Because of that, the number of people who came looking for trouble had decreased significantly lately.
Though it wasn’t that they’d disappeared entirely.
Getting the right number of people for group projects during class was still difficult, and textbooks continued to disappear from desk drawers.
They just weren’t openly ignoring him anymore, but the petty antics behind his back were ongoing.
Besides, quite a few students still didn’t believe that ‘Seol Ji-hyo’ had actually joined the Special Unit.
– Seol Ji-hyo in the Special Unit? Yong Myeong-ju, a third-year senior, couldn’t even get in. How is she supposed to manage it?
– No, that senior got invited to join but turned it down because of college plans.
– That’s not it. He went through some kind of hazing ritual and ended up in the hospital. That was ages ago.
– The point is, if even that scary senior couldn’t get in, how did she manage it?
– But remember when she and Yu-jin were both absent from school for a few days……
– 100% playing hooky. Don’t you know? She was like that a lot in middle school too. If not for her grandfather, she would’ve been expelled long ago for poor attendance.
Ji-u didn’t feel the need to speak up and clarify anything.
The piranhas weren’t what Ji-u needed to concern himself with.
In crude terms, the ‘head honcho’.
Finding whoever was orchestrating the bullying or wielding the real influence behind it all.
In that sense, Ji-u had been suspecting a third-year named Gyeon Bo-seong. That guy supposedly belonged to the Special Unit.
‘But… I haven’t gathered any information yet.’
Ji-u stopped mopping and glanced sideways out of the corner of his eye.
Nearby, Tae Ga-yeong was cleaning the floor with a squeegee.
He’d come today to help with cleaning the Annex Building, which belonged to the Special Unit.
He’d been unable to ask about Gyeon Bo-seong with all sorts of things going on, but now was the perfect opportunity.
“Commander, there’s a senior named Gyeon Bo-seong in the Special Unit, isn’t there?”
He threw the question directly without any preamble, and Tae Ga-yeong responded.
“Gyeon Bo-seong? Yeah, there is. But why do you ask?”
The way she said ‘why’ suggested….
She probably didn’t know that Gyeon Bo-seong had visited Ji-hyo’s class sporadically back in middle school.
“I happened to overhear some kids talking about it.”
“About what? That he almost became commander instead of me?”
…That person, commander?
Ji-u was momentarily taken aback, but he composed himself and responded calmly.
“So this Gyeon Bo-seong has quite a strong Core, it seems.”
“That’s what I’ve heard. From the moment he entered as a first-year in the high school division, he was lined up to be the next commander.”
“Then why didn’t he become one?”
“He tends to focus mainly on external missions rather than operations within campus.”
This too was news to him.
Mainly external missions.
That meant Gyeon Bo-seong wasn’t on this campus at all right now.
“Well, we’ll probably run into him someday or another.”
Unlike the stiffened Ji-u, Tae Ga-yeong, having finished with her mopping, added in an offhand tone.
“But anyway, Ji-u, shouldn’t you be focusing on something else right now?”
“Yes?”
“I know I’m the one who asked for your help with the cleaning, but I believe the first-year exams are next week.”
……Exams?

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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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