Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 77

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

Rank 0 at the Awakener Special School
Episode 77
The sound of footsteps rounding the corner grew faster.
When the figure finally came into view, it was a face both of them knew well.
The Secretary Director.
And following the Secretary Director came the suited men who had brought Ji-u not long before.
At the arrival of a third party, Ji-u finally released Seol Ji-min’s head, which he’d been gripping, flinging it away from his grasp.
“Ugh…!”
Seol Ji-min, hurled like garbage, crashed to the floor.
The Secretary Director looked down at him with startled eyes, his body drenched in blood.
“What in the world… is the meaning of this?”
At that, Seol Ji-min snarled and glared at him.
“Can’t you see? This bastard’s lost his mind and left me like this!”
The fear that had gripped him moments before was gone without a trace.
He thought his allies had arrived.
Seol Ji-min raised his voice even higher.
“Damn it, my nose! Hey, you guys—what are you doing? Get my father on the phone, now!”
As he clutched his nose and bellowed, the men in black suits showed signs of bewilderment.
One of them was reaching for his smartphone when the Secretary Director quietly stopped him with a gesture.
Then he turned his gaze, as if trying to assess the situation more fully.
The wall, crumbling and torn.
Blood streaked across the floor.
Seol Ji-min, thoroughly disheveled.
And beside him, standing with an expressionless face—the ‘young lady.’
Ji-u’s eyes met the Secretary Director’s behind the dark glasses.
“Was it you who did this, Miss?”
…….
Ji-u’s hands silently clenched into fists.
He admitted that his eyes had turned for a moment at Seol Ji-min’s words. And so he’d gone ahead and done it without thinking.
He would certainly face blame for this.
Perhaps this would be the time he’d have to stop his Proxy Attendance and return to that house.
The moment that thought reached him, the heat that had stretched to his very scalp instantly subsided.
“…Yes.”
Ji-u answered calmly.
“I did it.”
He simply couldn’t have sat still.
How could anyone bear to hear those words and do nothing? It was impossible for him.
Now that his reason had returned, if you asked whether he wasn’t at all flustered by what he’d done, that would be a lie—.
Even if he went back, he wouldn’t let Seol Ji-min off.
“Sigh.”
Then a shallow breath was heard.
The Secretary Director, pressing his temple slightly, turned his body around.
“Take the young master and go.”
“Yes, sir.”
The other men helped Seol Ji-min up from where he lay sprawled on the floor.
“Brother.”
At the voice that suddenly rang out, Seol Ji-min, who’d been turning to leave, flinched and his shoulders trembled.
Goosebumps erupted across his entire body. Without thinking, his breath caught, and he turned to look at Ji-u.
“You promised me.”
……!
Seol Ji-min’s face went deathly pale.
Then he began to tremble as if he might scream at any moment.
“Young master? Young master!”
Seol Ji-min shook off the men who were supporting him and bolted from the room. The bewildered suited men hastily chased after him and disappeared into the distance.
At last everyone left, and only one person remained.
The Secretary Director murmured quietly to the remaining man.
“Handle this as quietly as possible. You understand what I mean.”
“…Yes, sir.”
“I’ll explain the situation to the Executive Director myself. Keep a close watch to see the young master doesn’t cause trouble for a while.”
“Understood, sir.”
The man gave a slight bow and left.
Soon only Ji-u and the Secretary Director remained in that place.
Meanwhile, Ji-u, who had heard their entire exchange, felt a strange question arise.
‘…Handle it quietly?’
He’d been certain he’d face serious punishment for this. He’d even prepared himself for the worst—cessation of his Proxy Attendance.
Yet the Secretary Director seemed intent on quietly managing the aftermath.
The ‘Executive Director’ he’d mentioned was a title for Seol Ji-min’s father.
In other words, the Secretary Director was trying to persuade Seol Ji-min’s parents and keep this matter from escalating.
‘Why?’
What Ji-u had just done was no minor incident.
Seol Ji-min was also a blood member of Seolhwa Pharmaceuticals, and regardless, he was the Eldest Son in Line by order of birth.
If one had seen Seol Ji-min covered in blood, you would have easily understood this wasn’t a simple argument.
And yet.
He appeared intent on suppressing it.
“Are you hurt anywhere, Miss?”
The Secretary Director approached respectfully, closing the distance. Then he examined Ji-u as if scrutinizing him.
It was bewildering.
‘Is he treating me this way because I’m Seol Ji-hyo right now?’
…No, that wasn’t quite right.
The Secretary Director knew his true identity from the start, after all.
It wasn’t a show for anyone’s benefit—there was no one else here anyway.
Moreover, he’d learned something just now thanks to Seol Ji-min.
The family members might not have been as kind to Seol Ji-hyo as Ji-u had thought.
‘Then… me?’
‘Me’—were they treating Ji-u kindly?
Come to think of it, something had been strange from the beginning.
The helicopter that came all the way to the Gaon School Gate.
The respectful attitude the entire way.
And now this reaction.
Perhaps—.
“Secretary Director.”
“Yes?”
“My hand hurts a bit. I’d like to ice it.”
“I’ll see to it at once. Is there anything else you require?”
Right.
It was distinctly—no, openly—kind.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have bothered with ice or anything else, nor would he have cared how badly Ji-u was hurt.
He’d surely know that Ji-u possessed a Regeneration Core.
Ji-u, who’d been thinking for a moment, spoke again.
“Actually, there is something I need.”
“And what might that be?”
“On the way here, the helicopter was a bit cramped. I’d like something more spacious for the way back. Do you have a private jet or something?”
Even as he said it, Ji-u thought it was absurd.
Suddenly demanding a private jet out of nowhere.
But he’d deliberately brought it up. To observe the Secretary Director’s reaction.
And yet.
“I’ll have it prepared.”
The Secretary Director readily nodded, and Ji-u’s mouth went slightly dry.
It wasn’t his imagination after all.
‘…Why?’
Why had his attitude changed?
It didn’t add up.
Could it be because of the good score from the recent test?
The moment that thought occurred to him, Ji-u remembered why he’d come here.
“Before that, where is Grandfather?”
“…The Chairman.”
Instead of answering immediately, the Secretary Director showed hesitation behind his sunglasses.
“The Chairman has important matters to attend to and finds it difficult to set aside time. However, he has instructed me to ensure that Miss wants for nothing during her stay at the Main Family House.”
…He’d anticipated this to some degree.
It wasn’t as though Ji-u had desperately wanted to meet that man. He hadn’t held out hope for sitting down for a meal or having a conversation with him.
The important thing lay elsewhere.
“Then what about Seol Ji-hyo?”
The reason Ji-u had come all this way was precisely that.
To meet Seol Ji-hyo.
Yet the Secretary Director abruptly fell silent.
“Director?”
…….
A bad premonition crept over him.
Ji-u’s expression hardened in an instant.
“You said it clearly back then. If I scored the highest in every subject on the test, I’d get to meet Seol Ji-hyo.”
“Miss Seol Ji-hyo has currently been transferred to a university hospital for more efficient treatment and has left the Main Family House. This time it’s unavoidable, but perhaps during the next school break—”
The next school break? A hollow laugh escaped him.
How was he supposed to know if that girl would even be alive by then?
And how could he trust such words?
“Wasn’t it you who conveyed my message to Grandfather?”
“I did convey it. However, the Chairman made no comment regarding it.”
He knew.
That he hadn’t received a definitive answer at the time.
But after the test, hadn’t they even left him a note?
They’d mobilized a helicopter to bring him here like this, and now, what was this?
“…I want to go home.”
He no longer wanted to stay here.
Ji-u clenched his fists tightly and spun around.
“You know where my house is, don’t you? Prepare for my departure right now.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible, Miss.”
“Why not? You just said you’d prepare a private jet.”
“That is… not for now, but rather, to be prepared for when Miss departs later.”
“So I’m leaving now. Grandfather isn’t here, and I can’t meet her—what reason do I have to be here?”
His mood had already sunk to the depths because of Seol Ji-min.
Hearing this on top of it made him feel as if he’d retch if he stayed in this place another second.
And yet.
“Just a moment, Miss.”
The Secretary Director ultimately stopped Ji-u.
“Returning home, I’m afraid, is impossible.”
“Then why—”
“That house you would return to has already been disposed of by the Chairman.”
“…What did you say?”
Ji-u lifted his head with a stiffened face.

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