Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 9

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

Rank 0 of Awakener Special School
Episode 9
A scream near the Academic Building at this hour?
Ji-u turned his head toward the sound.
“Ugh, what? Why’d you trip me like that, you idiot.”
Near the entrance.
Voices drifted from beyond the corner.
He stepped out of his school shoes and moved closer to where the voices were coming from.
Someone had fallen hard to the floor with a thud—books and items from a bag scattered everywhere around them.
Ji-u narrowed his eyes and studied the scene carefully.
A black bag.
Black socks and school shoes.
A girl with dark purple hair braided loosely down her back, her overall bearing somewhat melancholic.
‘I think she was in my class.’
He’d been observant enough yesterday to remember the faces of his classmates.
But then again…
What was she doing lying on the ground?
The moment that question crossed his mind—
“Hey, aren’t you gonna apologize? Because you tripped over my foot like an idiot, my shoes got dirty.”
A sharp voice cut through the air, snapping him to attention.
There was someone else standing beside the fallen girl.
…The fluorescent-haired one.
The one with piercings scattered all over his face.
He was shouting at the prone girl.
“I-I’m sorry…”
“Louder. Did you get a bug stuck in your throat or something? Huh?”
Ji-u watched with a startled expression.
‘What? So he wasn’t just harassing Ji-hyo?’
He’d thought things would stay quiet all day yesterday when he enrolled, but it did.
…Had he switched targets while Ji-hyo was away?
Or was he just the type who bullied others whenever he got bored?
‘What do I do?’
Ji-u stood motionless at the corner, pondering for a moment.
Was stepping in really the right choice?
Absolutely not.
Between the running during PE and the Kim Yeon-hee situation, he’d already drawn quite a bit of attention yesterday.
And he still hadn’t even confirmed the existence of whoever his grandfather had planted to watch him.
He really couldn’t afford to cause a scene.
Ji-u calmly removed his school shoes.
Whoosh!
The shoe in his hand lifted into the air, then shot forward like a bullet.
“Gah?!”
It struck the back of that bastard’s head.
“What the hell, who is it!”
Ji-u quickly ducked behind the corner.
…There was no help for it. If he let this slide, he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.
He sensed the figure over there picking up the shoe and glancing around.
He peeked out just enough to see.
Since the shoe had hit right on top of his head, the fluorescent-haired one seemed to think it had fallen from above—he was staring toward the Academic Building’s windows.
“Which bastard’s trying to die!”
The moment he turned his body to search for the shoe’s owner, the girl on the floor quickly gathered her bag and scrambled up.
“Hey! Where’re you going!”
She fled in haste.
“What’re you doing, Gu Min-jae.”
“Idiot.”
Another group nearby approached, snickering.
‘Gu Min-jae?’
…So that was the fluorescent-haired bastard’s name.
“When’re you gonna let go of those filthy shoes?”
“You know you look like a total moron right now, right?”
“…Shut up.”
Meanwhile, Ji-u watching from a distance narrowed his eyes.
‘Are they all part of the same group?’
One of them might be the one who’d been harassing Ji-hyo.
Most of them seemed to be from his class…
‘Can’t quite see them.’
They were too far away—he couldn’t even make out their facial features, let alone any accessories they wore.
He wanted to get closer and confirm, but that would get him spotted.
Gu Min-jae glared savagely at Ji-u’s shoe.
“Damn it, whoever you are, I’ll find you.”
“Looks pretty small—isn’t that a girl’s shoe?”
“It’s a 240. Probably a girl’s.”
“But how’re you gonna figure out who from that? You planning to go on a Cinderella hunt?”
Gaon Special School had regulation school shoes.
But unlike uniforms, they weren’t mandatory, so not every student wore the same ones.
Which meant the owner of this shoe was—’probably’—a female student at Gaon who wore the regulation shoes.
There were no other clues.
“Hey, just toss it. You’re not seriously planning to keep carrying around those filthy things?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it myself.”
Gu Min-jae crumpled the shoe in his grip and strode away.
A group of boys with flashy, multicolored hair departed noisily.
…Taking Ji-u’s shoe with them.
‘Ah, my shoes…’
Ji-u watched the shoes disappear into the distance helplessly, then hobbled back to the shoe rack on one foot.
It was fine. He could just chalk up losing a pair of shoes.
According to what he’d been told on his first day, uniforms and shoes could be exchanged or reissued anytime.
After changing into indoor slippers, Ji-u headed to the classroom with a calm mind.
‘Was the supply room on the first floor of the Dormitory?’
He could go back to the Dormitory right after classes ended today and get a new pair of shoes.
He’d be in the Academic Building during classes anyway, and he could manage fine in slippers, so there shouldn’t be any problem…
“As I announced beforehand, today is group project day. Everyone, stop dawdling and get on the bus.”
…Right, about that.
He was out of luck.
Today was the day of ‘that class.’
Core Application.
One of Gaon’s signature courses—a class designed to help young Awakeners develop and strengthen their own Cores.
‘This was probably the class when Ji-hyo entered the Abyss that day in the video.’
In any case, unlike regular subjects like Korean, math, science, and English, this was the main event—running all day from first period straight through the afternoon.
And of course, they’d be taking a bus to get there. Which meant outdoor training.
Which meant he might be entering the Abyss again today…
‘Wait, what about my shoes?’
What about them? He’d have to get on the bus barefoot.
Why barefoot? Because wearing just one shoe seemed worse.
“Ji-u, what about your shoes?”
The teacher asked the moment he boarded the bus.
“I lost them.”
“How’d that happen?”
“I’m not sure. Someone probably hid them.”
“Hid them?”
“It’s fine. It happens pretty often.”
Ji-u had never personally experienced that, but if Ji-hyo had been bullied, this kind of thing would’ve been routine.
So he just lied smoothly.
“After class today, I’m planning to get a new pair from the supply room. For now, this is what I’ve got…”
“Ah, yes, well then, at least wear these for now.”
The teacher offered Ji-u an extra pair of slippers he had on him.
“Thank you.”
After changing into the slippers, Ji-u stepped inside the bus.
“…”
“…”
The eyes of his classmates fixed on him.
Gu Min-jae—the fluorescent-haired one—stared at him with a hardened expression.
Behind him sat Kim Yeon-hee, the girl he’d clashed with in the hallway yesterday.
“…!”
The instant their eyes met, Kim Yeon-hee hurriedly looked away. The cola incident must have shaken her badly.
As Ji-u scanned the available seats, he found one that seemed relatively open.
“Ah…”
It was next to the girl from this morning—the one Gu Min-jae had been bullying outside the Academic Building.

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