Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 97

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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 97
Ji-u said nothing in return.
Instead, he pressed his forehead as if trying to cool his head.
He knew. Nam Rae-in had nothing to do with Tae Ga-young’s disappearance. He hadn’t even gone to Jeju Island with her.
Whether to grieve over Tae Ga-young’s disappearance was his own choice to make.
It was his choice, but—
“…Did you really have to say it like that?”
He felt Nam Rae-in’s gaze on him, but Ji-u deliberately didn’t look his way.
“I…”
With fists clenched, he added in the same tone:
“I thought you were a better person than this.”
“…What?”
“Well. We were never that close to each other anyway.”
“Wait, Seol Ji-hyo—”
“Don’t touch me.”
A clear rejection came before Nam Rae-in’s hand could reach him.
Cold, frozen eyes.
Ji-u plucked the blue doll hanging from his bag and tore it away.
“I don’t think I’ll need this after all.”
……
“I’ll give it back.”
The doll that had been forced into his hands.
With that, Ji-u turned on his heel and walked away.
Nam Rae-in simply watched Ji-u’s receding figure with his eyes.
He wasn’t holding him back.
Or perhaps he couldn’t.
With nothing but the blue doll clutched in his hand, Nam Rae-in stood motionless, as if frozen.
“……Damn.”
Only when Ji-u’s form had completely vanished did a stifled curse escape between his teeth.
* * *
Ji-u returned to the Annex immediately.
Upon entering, he saw that Do Min-ki and Moon Yu-jin had already arrived.
Noticing Ji-u’s return, Do Min-ki gave a brief nod.
Then he covered the documents he’d been examining.
“How was it? Did you find anything noteworthy?”
“Nothing that stood out.”
At Ji-u’s answer, Do Min-ki murmured “I see” and began to turn his gaze away, then stopped short.
“…? Is something the matter with you?”
“No, it’s just that there’s nothing odd about the—”
“I’m not asking about the mission.”
Do Min-ki studied Ji-u quietly.
“You seem upset.”
……
Ji-u fell silent.
His reflexively turned gaze met Moon Yu-jin’s eyes as well.
Ji-u immediately dropped his gaze to his shoes.
“No, it’s just…”
Hesitating as if searching for words, Ji-u looked up again.
“There was something on my mind.”
“Something on your mind?”
“Yes. I thought I saw someone lurking around Narac.”
Do Min-ki’s expression changed.
“A person, you say… Was it a student? Or an outsider of some kind?”
“I’m not sure about that. All I saw was a shadow moving through the bushes. I tried to chase after it, but I lost them in the end.”
“…I see.”
With a thoughtful look, Do Min-ki gently adjusted his glasses.
Since the break hadn’t ended yet, the number of students on Campus was extremely small.
Researchers and shop staff would still be around, of course, but they wouldn’t have reason to approach Narac.
“Once the other team members return, we should check the area around Narac once more together.”
But the mysterious figure Ji-u had spotted never appeared again.
Do Min-ki, acting as interim captain, drew up a schedule so that team members could take turns keeping a careful watch over Narac.
The team members moved according to that schedule and kept watch, but time passed without any significant findings.
‘Was it just my imagination that day?’
By the time such thoughts began to creep in, summer break was drawing to a close.
One day until school starts.
As the start of the semester drew near, Narac, which had been showing signs of instability, began to stabilize as if by magic.
As if all the signs it had shown until now were merely illusions. Calm and quiet.
[Group Message] [from. Do Min-ki]
Thank you all for coming in during the break to complete the mission. Narac seems to be stabilizing now, so I’m planning to suspend surveillance operations unless anything significant comes up. You worked hard. (Next▶)
Some of you may have already heard, but there will be a Cultural Exchange immediately after the semester starts.
In any case, we’ll likely be busy with Cultural Exchange preparations for the time being, so if you have any important suggestions or inquiries, please drop by the Annex.
That’s all.
It was a message that had arrived from Do Min-ki the night before.
On the way to school on the first day back.
Ji-u, who had been staring at the message on his smartphone, tilted his head slightly.
‘…What’s a Cultural Exchange?’
That’s what he’d been wondering since yesterday.
It seemed like he’d never heard of it before. Was it like a festival? But didn’t they already have one during first semester?
Lost in such thoughts, he found himself already in the Classroom.
“Ji-hyo, hey…!”
Rim-sa, who had arrived early and was waiting, spotted Ji-u and stood up abruptly to greet him.
“Rim-sa, hello.”
“Did you have a good break?”
“…Yeah, well.”
There had been quite a lot going on, but there was no need to tell Rim-sa about all that.
With that thought, he kept quiet.
But there was something Ji-u hadn’t anticipated.
“Hey, did you hear? About Tae Ga-young—”
A pause.
Ji-u’s footsteps halted as he entered the Classroom.
“I saw it too. On the news. The Narac thing in Jeju Island, right?”
“Was Ga-young really sent there? Did she really go missing?”
“A senior from third year said so. She didn’t show up for roll call today.”
True to the saying that words travel a thousand miles without feet.
On the very first day of school for the second semester, the news of Tae Ga-young’s disappearance had already spread throughout the campus.
Given that she was a celebrity within the school, the spread of rumors was inevitable.
“That’s insane… Someone like that goes missing. So what happens to the Special Team now?”
“What do you mean? They’ll appoint a new captain.”
“But wasn’t Seol Ji-hyo pretty close with Ga-young? Should we ask?”
“I’m not going to ask. You ask if you want to.”
The moment the students’ murmuring drew attention to Ji-u standing by the back door.
Screech.
Moon Yu-jin, who had been sitting in the back row, suddenly stood up.
“If you’re going to keep chattering back there, would you mind leaving?”
“…Huh? What?”
“It’s too loud.”
He stared at those students with an expressionless face.
They hesitated and averted their eyes.
They had momentarily forgotten that Moon Yu-jin was on the Special Team.
The thoughtless gossip from moments before would have been more than enough to offend him.
“S-sorry. Yu-jin.”
……
Moon Yu-jin put his earbuds back in and sat down.
After that, the students’ whispering ceased.
……
“Ji-hyo?”
“…Oh.”
Coming to himself belatedly, Ji-u turned his head.
Rim-sa was looking at him with worried eyes.
But she didn’t speak, as if unsure what to say.
Before she could, Ji-u spoke first.
“It’s okay.”
“Um, yeah?”
“Rumors like that fade in no time.”
If he let them talk freely, it would die down on its own.
These kids weren’t on the Special Team. They probably didn’t have a close relationship with Tae Ga-young either.
To them, Tae Ga-young’s disappearance was nothing more than snack-culture gossip—or worse.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Those words Ji-u spoke were also directed at himself.
To be brief, Ji-u was right.
The talk of Tae Ga-young among the students lasted barely a day—not even a few hours, really.
“The students from the Sister School are scheduled to arrive tonight.”
During homeroom.
The classroom atmosphere changed noticeably at the teacher’s words.
“Teacher, why are they coming so soon? I thought they came in winter?”
“The Sister School had to move up the schedule due to their circumstances.”
“Seriously…!”
“Everyone quiet. I’m not done yet. The students from the Sister School will experience our Gaon classes for four days. And as you all know, we’ll have the Cultural Exchange on Friday.”
【Cultural Exchange】.
At that word precisely, the students’ eyes lit up.
In front of the teacher, they began to stir without exception.
In the midst of it all, Ji-u blinked silently.
‘Cultural Exchange… That must be what the vice-captain was talking about.’
Why was everyone making such a fuss about it?
Even as such doubts lingered, the teacher continued.
“Since it’s a big event right at the start of the semester, I understand the excitement, but don’t show an embarrassing side in front of students from other schools. You are proud students of Gaon. Keep that in mind.”
Yes, sir.
After hearing the students’ reply, the teacher nodded and said “Good,” then left the Classroom.
The moment the front door closed, chair-scraping sounds were heard here and there.
“Dude, wow! Cultural Exchange!”
“I used to only see it on the school TV, but now that we’re in high school, we can actually watch it in person, right?”
“Obviously. It’s a high school event. I thought we’d have to wait until winter, but since they moved it up, isn’t that actually a win?”
“Yeah! No classes on Friday!”
The students were visibly excited. The atmosphere was more charged than any festival.
“How many people from Leonhardt are coming this time? Wasn’t it five last year?”
“Who knows? Probably about the same?”
“Who cares who comes? We’re going to win anyway.”
“Right. We’re on a two-year streak, aren’t we? Gaon won last year and the year before.”
There was one person who couldn’t keep up with that heated atmosphere.
Ji-u, who had been quietly observing the students, muttered softly to Rim-sa.
“Rim-sa.”
“Hmm?”
“Why is everyone freaking out like this?”
At that, Rim-sa’s eyes widened.

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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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