Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 64

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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 Ranking: 0
Episode 64
After a moment to collect himself, Ji-u carefully opened the Shoe Locker door again.
……It wasn’t a mistake.
It was definitely a Red Envelope.
Ji-u pulled it out and looked down at it with an uncomfortable expression.
“Eek!”
Rim-sa, poking her head through the gap, eyes widened.
“Already getting a Partner Request? That’s amazing, Ji-hyo! Who sent it?”
“That’s what I want to know.”
Ji-u was curious about that too.
“Isn’t there a name on the back?”
At Rim-sa’s suggestion, Ji-u flipped the envelope over.
“…Kang Woo-hyeon?”
“Oh! That’s him from Class 3. The one on the Soccer Club who usually plays soccer with Han-gyeol at lunch. You know?”
……I have no idea who that is.
“How lucky, Ji-hyo!”
Rim-sa said that, but—
Honestly, Ji-u wasn’t sure this was something to be happy about.
Whoever this Soccer Club guy was, why would he suddenly send a Partner Request to someone he’d never even had a conversation with?
“…Let’s go.”
Ji-u gripped the Red Envelope in one hand and switched shoes using only the other.
Then, without bothering to open the letter, Ji-u started to leave—
—when he collided head-on with someone unexpected around the corner.
“Oh, Yu-jin.”
Rim-sa recognized him and waved slightly.
“Did you come to change shoes too?”
“…Yeah.”
Yu-jin answered a beat late, his eyes fixed on Ji-u.
More precisely, on the Red Envelope in Ji-u’s right hand.
“…….”
“…….”
A moment of silence stretched between them.
“What?”
When Ji-u asked, Yu-jin finally parted his lips slowly.
“…Who gave you that?”
Rim-sa answered for him.
“Someone named Woo-hyeon from Class 3.”
Woo-hyeon? Yu-jin’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“So you’re going to…”
Ding-dong, ding-dong—
The bell announcing the start of class rang before Yu-jin could finish.
Ji-u, who glanced toward the speaker, resumed walking.
“Come on. We’ll be late.”
“R-right…!”
Just as Ji-u and Rim-sa were about to pass Yu-jin, he spun around quickly to face Ji-u.
“Wait, Seol Ji-hyo.”
“What?”
“You’re going to?”
“Going to what…”
“Dance. Are you going to dance with him?”
Why would he suddenly ask that?
And with such a serious expression, too.
Ji-u alternated his gaze between the stern-faced Yu-jin and the Red Envelope in his hand.
“Why would I dance with someone I don’t even know?”
Ji-u was the one who answered like that, but immediately afterward, Ji-u found himself at a loss for words.
Because—
“…Really?”
The relief that flooded Yu-jin’s expression.
“Then that’s fine.”
The slight upturn of his lips, as if reassured.
It was somewhat bewildering.
“…Yu-jin’s been smiling a lot lately, hasn’t he?”
“Has he? I hadn’t noticed.”
Rim-sa tilted her head.
……Maybe it’s just my imagination.
Ji-u watched Yu-jin’s retreating back with confusion.
* * *
But that day, the embarrassing incidents didn’t end there.
Just before heading back to the Dormitory after class.
At the Shoe Locker again, where he’d come to change into indoor shoes, Ji-u encountered another Red Envelope.
‘Again…?’
It was the moment Ji-u pulled out the Red Envelope with a puzzled face.
“Ji-hyo.”
Someone called from behind.
A boy in gym clothes—someone Ji-u had never seen before.
Not particularly tall, but with a sturdy frame and sharp, open features. The boy, cradling a Soccer Ball at his side, approached with firm steps.
“Did you read my request?”
“…Kang Woo-hyeon?”
“Yeah, me. Kang Woo-hyeon.”
Woo-hyeon displayed a toothy grin and pointed to his own chest.
“Actually, I wanted to get closer to you for a while, but I never had the chance. We’re not even in the same class. After the exam, I tried to find your class, but I heard you were hospitalized.”
“Oh, I see…”
“So, what do you think? Would you be interested in having a partner? Or, uh, do you have a boyfriend?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Great, then it’s settled. Dance with me.”
The distance between them narrowed abruptly.
Woo-hyeon placed a hand on Ji-u’s shoulder without permission.
“I saw how you performed in the exam. There’s a saying about striking while the iron is hot, right? If you take me as your partner at the Campfire this time, people’s perception of you will change quite a bit.”
……Whatever else aside,
one thing was clear: this Kang Woo-hyeon had extraordinary confidence.
Ji-u barely suppressed a sigh and responded as calmly as possible.
“I’ve never cared about that kind of thing.”
“Huh?”
“How people see me. I don’t care about that at all. And I’m not interested in the Campfire.”
“Ah.”
Woo-hyeon nodded as if he understood.
“Is it pressure then? You don’t have to feel that way. There’s no rule saying quiet kids can’t dance, right?”
What was he talking about?
Ji-u stared at him in disbelief.
“Of course, if you partner with me, you’ll stand out a bit… but I’ve already told the others. Nobody’s going to give you any trouble.”
Tap, tap.
Woo-hyeon tapped Ji-u’s shoulder lightly for emphasis and grinned straightforwardly.
“You’re going to dance with me, right? After all, you didn’t get any other envelopes anyway.”
The way he spoke, he’d already decided that Ji-u had no other choice.
……What a rude kid.
That was Ji-u’s final conclusion about Woo-hyeon’s first impression.
“You said your name was Kang Woo-hyeon, right? And you said you wanted to get closer to me from before?”
“Yeah, but—”
“Exactly when did that start?”
“…What?”
It was an unexpected question; Woo-hyeon’s lips parted slightly.
“Even though our classes are different now, we’ve been at this school together since elementary. If you’d really wanted to get closer, there would’ve been plenty of opportunities before now.”
Ji-u smiled faintly, watching Woo-hyeon’s expression stiffen.
“Back then, you didn’t avoid me because I was being bullied, did you?”
“What are you—”
“You don’t know what I’m talking about?”
Ji-u gently pushed away Woo-hyeon’s hand from his shoulder.
“I’m not going to dance with you.”
There was no time for him to respond.
With those words, Ji-u turned and left the place in a flash.
Laughter echoed around the now-solitary Woo-hyeon.
“Look at Seol Ji-hyo’s popularity exploding.”
“Wait, did Kang Woo-hyeon just get rejected?”
“Totally got shot down, man.”
Among that mockery, a familiar voice emerged.
“Hey, there you are. Woo-hyeon, the guys gathered at the Sports Field.”
It was Han-gyeol from Class 1.
Woo-hyeon, who had been staring after Ji-u, slowly turned his head.
“…Yeah, coming now.”
It was a day when close friends had decided to gather after school to play soccer.
Some Soccer Club members including Woo-hyeon, plus Han-gyeol, an athlete with special distinction, and a few others brought in to round out the numbers.
Yu-jin was among them as well.
“Pass, pass!”
“Nice!”
The spirited voices of boys rang out across the wide Sports Field.
The soccer match continued until dusk before finally ending.
The boys who had roamed the field gathered at the Water Fountain behind the Gymnasium.
As the sunset settled over the water pooling on the ground, the boys’ voices rose in scattered conversation.
“Man, we’ve gotta start picking partners soon—”
While some rinsed their mouths with tap water and washed the sweat from their hair, someone spoke up.
It was about the upcoming festival, the Campfire partners.
Then the boys, who had been gulping down water from plastic bottles, reacted.
“What about you, Han-gyeol?”
“Me?”
“Didn’t you see during soccer earlier? Kim Han-na was outside the field. She definitely came to see you.”
“Dude, you already got an envelope from Han-na, didn’t you?”
“…Han-na and I aren’t like that. We’re just friends.”
“Man, I’m doomed without a girl friend.”
Han-gyeol, surrounded by the boys, scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“Yu-jin probably gets way more envelopes than I do.”
“……Yu-jin?”
All eyes turned toward Yu-jin.
Well, maybe.
Yu-jin certainly was popular. After all, he lacked nothing—background, looks, height, grades.
But……
“Are girls stupid? They’d send an envelope knowing they’d get rejected?”
That legendary 0 Confessions 100 Rejections Legend.
Since elementary school, plenty of girls had liked Yu-jin, but not a single one had stepped forward to confess.
Because it was obvious.
That Yu-jin had no interest in romance. He’d sooner spare a glance at a pebble beneath his feet.
“Speaking of which, what about you, Woo-hyeon?”
“What about Kang Woo-hyeon?”
“Didn’t he send an envelope to Seol Ji-hyo?”
At that, Woo-hyeon’s movements at the Water Fountain froze.
Han-gyeol, surrounded by the boys, was no different.
“……Woo-hyeon sent it to Ji-hyo?”
“Han-gyeol, you didn’t know? That guy waited for Ji-hyo to be discharged. Soon as he came back to school, he was ready to make his move.”
Squeak.
Woo-hyeon, who had turned off the faucet, lifted his bowed head.
“Oh, that? I’m dropping it.”
“Dropping it?”
“Yeah, I talked to him for a bit just now, and the guy’s got terrible character…… Has a real talent for embarrassing people. No wonder he gets bullied.”
Woo-hyeon pulled off his soccer uniform and wiped his face carelessly.
The boy next to him poked him in the side with a laugh.
“Come on, be honest. You got rejected by Seol Ji-hyo, didn’t you?”
“……Hey.”
Woo-hyeon’s expression turned cold in an instant as he turned to face him.
“Don’t talk so thoughtlessly.”
“What, what? Why are you glaring? You were the one who said Seol Ji-hyo seemed decent.”
“Just the face was worth looking at. Why would I care about being rejected by someone like that?”
It was then.
“What do you mean by ‘someone like that’?”
A dry, almost toneless voice. Eyes of cold, ashen gray.
It was Yu-jin.

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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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