Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 96

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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 Rank 0
Chapter 96
The real reason I’d joined the Special Class in the first place was that guy called Gyeon Bo-sung.
There’d been a small thought that if I racked up bonus points for the Special Class, it might help Ji-hyo’s grades.
But…
More than I’d realized, I might have been giving my heart to Tae Ga-young all along.
Ji-u’s eyes darkened.
But he forced his chin up.
“…Bacteria.”
Bacteria. Bacteria.
Ji-u muttered the words to himself, and with a sharp zip, he pulled his bag’s zipper.
Just as Ji-u, shouldering the bag, tried to move his reluctant legs—
Rustle—
“…?”
A presence suddenly felt near.
Ji-u, who had been lost in thought, slowly turned his head.
Rustle—
An odd sound came again, faint and distant.
It was the sound of something moving through the Thicket.
‘…Behind me?’
He turned his body completely around.
That direction was where the Chasm lay.
He was sure no one had been there when he’d passed it earlier. Or had he just missed them, lost in thought?
The distance was considerable, and the Thicket was so overgrown that it was hard to see clearly.
‘Someone… seems to be there.’
A black shadow moved between the trees.
Ji-u hurried forward, following it.
When he finally emerged fully from the Thicket, the open Field appeared just as expected.
A massive Chasm, and—
Yellow Tape strung in a circle around it.
Ji-u’s footsteps stopped.
‘No one’s here.’
It was strange. He could’ve sworn he saw someone heading this way.
Was it just his imagination? No, that couldn’t be right.
Then where exactly had that person gone?—
“What’re you doing here?”
“…!”
Tap.
A hand landed on his shoulder.
Startled, Ji-u spun around to find Nam Rae-in standing there.
“Why so jumpy? I didn’t even try to be quiet.”
Nam Rae-in withdrew his hand from Ji-u’s shoulder and tilted his head.
“If you’re done looking around, let’s head back. I’m finished over here.”
…Come to think of it, Nam Rae-in had been assigned to search this area around the Chasm too.
So that shadow Ji-u saw earlier was Nam Rae-in?
No, the direction was completely different for that to make sense.
“Did you happen to see anyone around here?”
“No one but you. Why?”
“I could’ve sworn someone was in the area just now. But they vanished without a trace. Could they have gone down into the Chasm?”
“That doesn’t make sense. The break’s not even over yet—who’d be wandering around here?”
“…An Infected Being, maybe.”
“Then wouldn’t that be even stranger? An Infected Being crawls out of the Chasm, then walks back down into it on its own?”
He had a point.
Ji-u thought for a moment, then turned around.
“I should probably go back and report this to the captain—”
He stopped mid-sentence.
Ji-u’s mouth closed shut.
Nam Rae-in either hadn’t heard or was looking up at the trees with a slightly furrowed brow.
“Man, these cicadas are loud.”
“…”
“Break’s almost over, but they’re still singing like it’s the height of summer.”
True enough, it was still hot. Nam Rae-in, with his top button slightly undone, fanned himself slowly.
Watching him intently, Ji-u asked suddenly.
“Doesn’t it bother you?”
“What?”
“The captain… what happened to her. But you don’t seem bothered at all.”
Tae Ga-young had vanished, and the mood in the Special Class was unbearable.
No one openly mentioned it, but the somber atmosphere was unavoidable.
Except for one person.
Everyone except Nam Rae-in.
“I wouldn’t say I’m not bothered. I was surprised when I heard the news too.”
Nam Rae-in shrugged lightly, as he always did.
“But honestly, I’m grateful you came back safe.”
“…What?”
“If it’d been you left behind instead of the captain, it would’ve been terrible.”
His violet eyes, which had been gazing up at the trees, now landed on Ji-u.
“I’m actually thankful the captain stayed in your place.”
In that moment, Ji-u’s eyes changed.
And the next instant—
Whish!
Ji-u grabbed Nam Rae-in by the collar.
“Do you even realize what you’re saying?”
His grip tightened on the fabric.
Though Ji-u hadn’t been in the Special Class long, there was no way Nam Rae-in didn’t know he was often close to Tae Ga-young.
In fact, the day Tae Ga-young vanished, Ji-u was the only one with her.
Knowing all that, how could such words come out?
‘Grateful I came back safe?’
…What about the captain?
Contrary to Ji-u’s heavy breathing, Nam Rae-in replied with a composed face, entirely unshaken.
“Why are you suddenly so angry?”
“You’re the one who misspoke.”
“Misspoke?”
“You’re saying it’s good the captain went missing instead of me.”
“You’re twisting my words. I meant I’m glad you came back safely.”
“That’s the same thing!”
In the thick Thicket, Ji-u’s voice echoed back like a reverberation.
It was the first time Ji-u had raised his voice this much.
Yet Nam Rae-in’s expression didn’t change.
In fact—
“So what? Should I cry here?”
Between his teeth came a faint hiss of laughter.
“The Special Class people seem to have their own memories with the captain, but I don’t exactly have that kind of bond.”
Do Min-ki was Tae Ga-young’s childhood friend. He’d seen her often through his parents’ connection even before entering Gaon.
Despite their opposite personalities, the two of them worked well together.
Being the same age, and becoming captain and vice captain of the Special Class, they’d relied on each other all the more.
Moon Yu-jin was similar.
He’d been in the Kendo Club from early childhood through elementary, and so had Tae Ga-young.
In fact, until recently, Tae Ga-young had been serving as both captain of the Special Class and vice principal of the Kendo Club.
In any case, those two had known each other before joining the Special Class.
The other members also had connections with Tae Ga-young.
But Nam Rae-in did not.
“Before you joined the Special Class, I’d barely participated in any real missions. The captain’s disappearance is unfortunate, but that’s all it means to me.”
Nam Rae-in’s voice was staggeringly calm.
As if reciting words written in a book, his tone was emotionless.
“You should know by now what it means to be part of the Special Class. You can vanish or die at any moment during a mission. This time it just happened to be the captain.”
“…”
He was right.
There was nothing to refute in his words.
But why was it that Ji-u found Nam Rae-in before him strangely unfamiliar?
Of course, he’d never been confident he truly knew him. They’d only just met not long ago, after all.
But…
“Still, I didn’t think you’d be this shaken. Would’ve watched my tongue if I’d known. Sorry.”
Nam Rae-in lowered his gaze before meeting Ji-u’s eyes again.
“Can you let go of this now?”
Only then did Ji-u realize he was still gripping Nam Rae-in’s collar.
His grip had been so strong that through the torn fabric, red marks were visible on the skin beneath.
Someone of Nam Rae-in’s strength and build could easily have shaken off Ji-u’s hand with a light flick.
Yet he stood motionless, held fast, just watching Ji-u.
“If you want to keep holding me, I’d prefer a different position.”
Somewhere along the way, his voice had returned to the playful tone Ji-u knew.
Ji-u loosened his grip on the collar and let it slide away.
“You’re stronger than you look?”
“…”
“Seol Ji-hyo?”
“…”

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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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