Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 7

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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: 0th Place
Episode 7
After first-period PE class.
The atmosphere in the entire classroom had shifted noticeably from the usual.
“What? Seol Jihyo came in second?”
“Only one second behind Yujin?”
Every student who had witnessed Seol Jihyo’s run seized upon the topic, buzzing with speculation.
“Wasn’t Seol Jihyo terrible at PE?”
“Don’t you remember middle school? She rolled all over the place during PE and had to be carried to the Infirmary by the teacher.”
“I was in her class back then. I’ve never seen her run like this before.”
“Maybe she was just in good condition today?”
Talk sense, will you? You think she suddenly runs like that just because she’s feeling good? That slowpoke?”
In the midst of it all, one student sat alone in the very back of the classroom, inhabiting a quiet world of their own.
Seol Jihyo’s desk partner, Moon Yujin.
He showed no interest in joining his classmates’ chatter, methodically preparing the textbook for the next period.
Then three girls from the class approached Yujin hesitantly.
“Hey, Yujin.”
“…Yes?”
Eyes like cold ash-gray silver, utterly devoid of warmth.
The girls who met his gaze faltered for a moment, exchanging glances to gauge each other’s nerve.
“So, like, about the race today.”
You tell him. No, you tell him.
After they’d nudged each other and whispered back and forth for a while, their attention finally returned to Yujin.
“Did you, like, go easy on Seol Jihyo because she’d been injured and just came back?”
“No.”
“Then, how did she manage to place second?”
…Was that a question?
Yujin’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Huh?”
“If you’re curious, just ask her directly.”
“Oh…”
Before the visibly stiffened girls, Yujin lowered his gaze back to his textbook.
A clear signal that the conversation was over.
Yet they showed no sign of leaving. If anything, they seemed determined to naturally continue the exchange.
“But anyway! Yujin, how was studying abroad? We never really asked you in detail.”
“You were in Germany, right? You came back faster than we expected! Oh, have you decided on a club?”
“You were in the Kendo Club in elementary school, weren’t you? Are you thinking of joining it again in high school?”
Chatter, chatter, chatter.
An unending stream of voices.
Hadn’t they wanted to ask about Seol Jihyo? Did that matter now, apparently?
…He didn’t understand any of it.
He was simply tired.
The Earphones that Yujin had apparently been wearing for some time came out with a soft pull.
“Class is starting soon.”
“Huh, what?”
“Next period. Math. Did you do the homework?”
“…Oh!”
The girls’ faces drained of color as panic set in.
“Did you do it? Show me!”
“What do I do, I forgot too. How much time is left before class?”
“Hey! Anyone who did the math homework! Show us and I’ll buy you something from the canteen!”
They scattered like a receding tide, their backs retreating rapidly.
In the quiet that finally arrived, Yujin exhaled softly.
‘…Noisy.’
Yujin put the Earphones back in his ears.
Not long after, the sound of someone sliding open the back door came through over his music.
Seol Jihyo. Moon Yujin’s desk partner.
He glanced at her without turning his head fully.
Long black hair and blue eyes.
Noticeably pale skin, and a stern face that showed almost no expression.
Had she always looked this way? He paused to think for a moment.
But he couldn’t quite remember.
He’d never been particularly close with Seol Jihyo in the first place, and the moment he finished elementary school, he’d left for Germany to study abroad.
After three years of studying abroad—short yet long—he’d returned to Korea just as he was entering the high school division of Gaon Special School.
—Well, your desk partner is Jihyo, but she had an accident recently and has been absent from school. If you have any questions, ask the friend in front of you.
Seol Jihyo. The girl who would have been his desk partner under normal circumstances.
Gaon was an Escalator-type School, so Yujin had known of Seol Jihyo’s existence since elementary school.
Granddaughter of a famous pharmaceutical company. That was all.
Since they’d never been close, he hadn’t bothered asking around about what kind of accident she’d had. He’d simply accepted it as fact.
And now that same Seol Jihyo had returned today.
“…….”
Seol Jihyo, now seated at the desk next to his, checked the schedule board at the back of the classroom, then deftly pulled out writing materials and textbooks from her bag.
She looked completely fine—hard to believe she’d been in an accident serious enough to require absence from school.
In fact, during PE class just moments ago, she’d chased right on his heels.
…Though from how the other kids reacted, it seemed her physical abilities hadn’t originally been that high.
“Hey, Seol Jihyo’s here.”
Since Seol Jihyo’s appearance in the classroom, the frantic energy surrounding the math homework had begun to shift.
Now that he thought about it, during PE class the other students had seemed reluctant to be in a group with Seol Jihyo.
Was there a reason for that?
‘I don’t see anything particularly strange about her.’
If he had to point out something odd, it was Seol Jihyo’s attitude.
She must have felt it—the eyes fixed upon her from all directions.
Yet Seol Jihyo opened her textbook calmly without the slightest twitch of an eyebrow.
‘…She’s an interesting one.’
After studying Seol Jihyo intently for a while, Yujin finally lowered his gaze to his own textbook, his interest apparently satisfied.
* * *
After school.
“Yujin!”
The moment homeroom ended, the back door flew open with enthusiasm.
Moon Yujin, who’d been neatly placing his textbooks into his bag, glanced sideways.
There were eyes as bright as sunlight, glossy golden eyes glinting like glass marbles.
“Class is over, right? Let’s head to the Dormitory together.”
He’d probably just finished exercising. The light brown hair that looked soft as down was disheveled like a puppy’s fur fresh from a walk.
The loose-fitting hoodie he wore instead of his uniform jacket suited his bright, cheerful demeanor perfectly.
Bae Hangyeol.
Someone who’d clicked well with Moon Yujin since elementary school—his best friend, really.
“Where’s Jihyo? I heard she came back to school today.”
“Yeah. She left right after class ended.”
Yujin finished packing his bag and stepped out of the classroom.
Hangyeol quickly followed behind him.
“So how did Jihyo seem?”
The question that followed caught him off guard.
“What do you mean?”
“Did she seem okay? She was pretty badly injured.”
“She’s got Core Regeneration, remember? Looks like she’s all healed.”
“Still, I’m surprised they’re letting her come back to school already.”
“If she stayed home on medical leave for months without graduating, she’d get expelled.”
“Yeah, I know that, but…”
Hangyeol trailed off, glancing back toward the now-empty classroom.
He seemed quite worried.
Despite not being particularly close.
From what Yujin knew, this guy had never once been in the same class as Seol Jihyo from elementary school to now.
Yet he was this concerned. It was something Yujin found difficult to emulate.
Of course, that quality was also this guy’s greatest strength.
Yujin pulled out a vocabulary notebook and responded casually.
“At least she didn’t look in bad shape.”
Especially not when she’d kept pace with him in PE, finishing just one second behind.
Recalling that moment again, Yujin’s lips moved unexpectedly.
“By the way, was Seol Jihyo not on good terms with the rest of the class originally?”
“…What?”
“The atmosphere seemed off. I don’t think it was like that in elementary school.”
……Ah. Hangyeol’s mouth closed of its own accord.
Seol Jihyo had started experiencing serious bullying beginning in middle school.
Yujin, who’d been in Germany throughout middle school, wouldn’t necessarily know the full story.
Still, it was unexpected for someone as indifferent to his surroundings as Yujin to ask about Jihyo first.
“I don’t know the details myself. Something happened, it seems, but Jihyo never told me about it.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. But why suddenly—”
Why ask about that?
Just as he was about to say that, Hangyeol’s gaze caught a familiar silhouette.
At the far end of the corridor.
The back of Jihyo’s figure, sipping from a Canned Cola as she walked.
“Oh, there’s Jihyo.”
A pleased expression bloomed across Hangyeol’s face. Just as he was about to rush toward her,
“Hey, did you hear? Seol Jihyo came back to school?”
The suddenly shifted atmosphere around them brought his footsteps to an involuntary halt.
“Whoa. There she is. That’s Seol Jihyo walking at the end of the corridor.”
“You gotta give her credit for courage. Going back to school after experiencing such harsh bullying.”
“Right.”
The murmur around them grew steadily louder.
At this volume, Jihyo had to be hearing it.
Yet no one stopped.
“If it were me, I’d be too embarrassed to even lift my head. What’s with that confident face?”
“She’s got Core Regeneration. Guess her body and her mind are both tough as nails.”
“Hah, at that rate, isn’t she basically a cockroach?”
Flinch. Hangyeol’s shoulders twitched.
“You guys…”
The moment Hangyeol, unable to listen any longer, took a step forward—
“Ah—ahhh!!”
A scream suddenly pierced the air.
Hangyeol’s movement froze.
──Silence descended abruptly over the corridor.
In the frigid air, someone let out a sharp cry.
“Wh—what are you doing!”
Splash, splash, splash……
A figure stood with an upturned Canned Cola can pouring down over someone’s head.
An expressionless face.
It was Seol Jihyo.

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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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