Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 65

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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 0 of the Awakener Special School
Episode 65
His brief question froze the atmosphere in an instant.
The boys gathered there exchanged glances with one another.
‘…Why is Moon Yu-jin suddenly butting in?’
It was strange enough for everyone to wonder. Moon Yu-jin was simply not the type to fit in with this crowd.
It was certain he wouldn’t have joined today if not for Bae Han-gyeol.
Kang Woo-hyun seemed briefly startled by Moon Yu-jin’s intervention, but soon let out a scoff and shot back.
“Exactly. A girl from such a good family, yet she gets bullied and skulks around in silence. Then she shows some decent test scores and suddenly her head’s in the clouds.”
“….”
“And that test too. You let her pass, didn’t you? I saw you forfeit at the end.”
That wasn’t all. The Rescue Target Confirmation test was the same.
The apparatus suddenly malfunctioned and the test site collapsed, but Seol Ji-hyo, who got caught up in it by chance, miraculously came out unscathed.
Thanks to that miraculous stroke of luck, Seol Ji-hyo secured bonus points and ultimately achieved the highest score.
Come to think of it, in the Non-lethal Suppression test, which was tournament-style, she might have simply had good luck in matchups.
“She doesn’t have the ability herself, yet now she walks around with her head held high, treating everyone else like trash. I guess she’s completely forgotten the days when she used to get bullied.”
At that point, Moon Yu-jin suddenly let out a stifled laugh.
Kang Woo-hyun, thinking this signaled agreement, brightened.
His confident voice grew louder still.
“You think the same way, don’t you? Don’t coddle her just because she’s your partner. If she gets cocky—”
“That’s my call to make.”
…What?
Kang Woo-hyun froze mid-sentence.
Staring steadily at Kang Woo-hyun, Moon Yu-jin spoke softly.
“By the way, did you know Seol Ji-hyo already has a fiancé? You didn’t hear the rumor before you sent her a partner request, did you?”
“…You mean Nam Rae-in? That’s just a rumor.”
“It’s true.”
Moon Yu-jin’s expression didn’t look like he was joking. Kang Woo-hyun, irritation etched across his face, raised his voice.
“So what if it’s true? What does that have to do with anything? There’s a goalkeeper—”
“There’s a goalkeeper, but that doesn’t mean no goals get scored. Is that what you’re trying to say?”
Moon Yu-jin fixed Kang Woo-hyun with a steady gaze.
“You’re shameless.”
“…What?”
Cracks appeared in Kang Woo-hyun’s laughing face.
“I haven’t heard anyone say something like that in a while. And honestly, that’s not a line you should be throwing around—not when you couldn’t score a single goal yourself.”
Thud! Thud-thud-roll…
Moon Yu-jin lightly kicked the soccer ball at his feet.
The ball he’d kicked soon rolled back and gently bumped against Kang Woo-hyun’s ankle.
“….”
Kang Woo-hyun’s mouth twisted.
In the earlier soccer game, it was true—he hadn’t scored a single goal. But that was because Moon Yu-jin, playing goalkeeper, had blocked every shot—
“Give it up.”
Give up what?
Soccer? Or the partner request?
But Moon Yu-jin said nothing more and left the Water Fountain Area.
“…Damn it, acting all high and mighty.”
Kick!
Only after Moon Yu-jin had completely disappeared did Kang Woo-hyun vent his frustration, roughly kicking the soccer ball.
“God, this is ridiculous. Because his dad’s a politician, he thinks he can look down on everyone? Where does he get off telling me to give up? Huh?! Why are you all staring? He’s not even on the Soccer Club!”
“But we were the ones who asked him to play with us in the first place…”
“Shut up!”
Though Kang Woo-hyun shouted at the remaining boys, he showed no sign of actually chasing after Moon Yu-jin.
While the bewildered boys exchanged nervous glances, Bae Han-gyeol suddenly snapped to attention and hurried after Moon Yu-jin.
“Hey, Yu-jin, come on—”
Come with me.
That’s what he’d meant to say.
But the moment Moon Yu-jin’s expression came into view, Han-gyeol found himself swallowing the words instead.
“Why—”
Why.
Were you making such an unpleasant face?
Somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to ask.
* * *
“So you’re completely recovered now?”
The Special Unit Exclusive Building.
Tae Ga-young had called Ji-u here again, using cleaning as an excuse.
Since assignments rarely came down to the Special Unit these days, she had to see his face somehow.
…But.
“You already saw I was fine when you came to visit me in the hospital.”
During his roughly two weeks in the Medical Wing, the ones who visited most were none other than Tae Ga-young and Do Min-gi.
So much so that the attending medical staff eventually posted a “no visitors” notice on the hospital room door, insisting the patient needed rest.
“Well, the outcome’s good, so that’s what matters. You’ve been discharged, your test scores came out well. I’m not going to nag like everyone else. But—”
Tae Ga-young, who had been sweeping with practiced ease, turned to look at Ji-u.
“Ji-u, why do you look like that?”
“…Yes?”
“I know things worked out well, but your face looks grim. Is something troubling you?”
…So it showed that obviously.
“It’s really nothing major.”
“Mm.”
“The Festival’s coming up soon, you know. There’s a Campfire in the evening too.”
“Mm, there is.”
“And… it’s a little about a Partner.”
“Ah! So that’s what it is.”
Tae Ga-young clapped her hands as if she understood everything now.
“But the Campfire isn’t mandatory, so you don’t need to worry if you haven’t found a Partner yet. And if you really need one, there’s Nam Rae-in and Moon Yu-jin too—”
“No, that’s not it… actually…”
“What?”
“…I’m getting too many requests.”
Tae Ga-young’s eyes widened.
Then a smile of ineffable cunning spread across her face.
…If someone saw this, they might think Ji-u was boasting in a roundabout way.
But the situation had truly become troublesome.
You could only reject so many times.
Starting with Kang Woo-hyun from Class 3, Red Envelopes were appearing in the Shoe Locker by the handful each day.
Even when he tried to ignore them after receiving them, the senders would come to the classroom and ask if he’d gotten them.
So when he started rejecting them outright, he ended up getting labeled as “arrogant” or “an ungrateful brat who doesn’t know his place.”
‘It doesn’t really matter what they think.’
…The problem was that this barrage of Red Envelopes showed no sign of stopping.
In simpler terms, it was annoying.
And he had a bad feeling that this would continue all the way through Festival day.
“That’s an easy problem.”
Meanwhile, Tae Ga-young, who had been listening to Ji-u’s troubles with amusement, offered a clear solution.
“Just pick someone and be done with it. No one’s going to send Red Envelopes to someone who already has a Partner.”
“…I suppose that’s true.”
But Ji-u’s response was lukewarm.
Tae Ga-young, confident she’d offered a brilliant idea, tilted her head in surprise.
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“…I just don’t think I have to choose someone.”
Ji-u, who had been wiping the window frame, paused.
His stern face reflected in the now-clean glass.
“You might know this, but ever since the tests, people have been looking at me differently. Not just the students, but the teachers too. And… I don’t really like it.”
“Hmm. In other words, they used to ignore you, but now that you’ve proven yourself, they’re shameless enough to flatter you—and you resent them for it.”
“….”
“That’s reasonable. I wouldn’t want those kinds of people as my Partner either.”
Tae Ga-young nodded in complete agreement.
“But Ji-u, think about it carefully. Not everyone’s like that.”
“…Yes?”
“There’s definitely someone who’s been the same toward you from then until now. This school has plenty of hopeless cases, but that doesn’t mean everyone here is trash.”
“….”
“This might be a good opportunity to clearly decide who your people are.”
…Do I need to?
‘My people’ aren’t necessary. Eventually, I’ll have to leave this place anyway.
‘I’m only here standing in for Ji-hyo.’
What I need to do is revenge… and eventually lay the groundwork so that girl can return to school without problems.
The Festival and everything else is irrelevant to me.
Yet… ‘my people’?
Is that allowed?
Shouldn’t it be forbidden?
“Captain, you said you have a younger sibling, right?”
“I do.”
“…What if, hypothetically, your sibling was severely bullied at school?”
Ji-u turned around slowly.
“If the people who tormented your sibling came up to you with a smile, not knowing you were their older sibling?”
Tae Ga-young closed her lips.
That question might very well give her a crucial clue.
Should she ever become curious about Ji-u’s true identity, it could be a decisive hint.
And yet she wanted to ask.
An older sister who cherishes her younger sibling.
What would you do?
“Hmm, I’m not sure.”
After thinking for quite some time, Tae Ga-young opened her mouth with genuine seriousness.
“I’d probably kill the ringleaders first, I think.”
…This person had similar thoughts to Ji-u, after all.
“But in the end, I probably couldn’t actually do it.”
“…Yes?”
“My sibling would stop me. Even knowing what my Core is, that child would refuse with everything they have if I ever drew a blade.”
Tae Ga-young laughed softly.
“If I touched those people, they’d say they’d never show my face respect again. They’d throw a fit. I’m certain of it.”
Her tone sounded like she was speaking ill of her sibling, but Tae Ga-young’s face was suffused with warmth.
“I’m not the only one thinking of my sibling.”
“….”
“That’s just their manner of speaking. Whether this answers your question, I’m not sure.”
Having said that much, Tae Ga-young picked up the broom she’d left leaning against the wall.
“In any case, we only get one youth. The Festival is opening, so I hope you’ll enjoy it somehow, Ji-u. In whatever way feels right.”
She spoke with her chin resting on the broom handle, smiling.
“A big sibling’s advice.”
With the face of an older sister.

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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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