Joo Seo-joon was flustered.
He had known Yoon Chae-ha longer than anyone else. And perhaps, aside from her parents, he could confidently claim that he knew her better than anyone else.
Her easygoing nature. Her perpetually nonchalant attitude. A temperament that seemed to glide through everything lightly, never in a rush, always indifferent.
The reason she remained ranked fifth in the Realm was because of that very disposition.
He knew it. If Yoon Chae-ha truly set her mind to it, he wouldn’t be able to maintain his position at the top.
So, he had thought her recent decision was just a passing whim. When she said, “I want to go to Gaon,” he interpreted it as a momentary impulse, something trivial that would probably change by the next morning.
But this time, he had to admit, it was different.
-BOOM!
“Ah, come on, really.”
Yoon Chae-ha exited the professor’s office, slamming the door behind her. Unlike her usual laid-back demeanor, her expression was contorted, and judging by the varying tones of their conversation inside, the negotiation hadn’t gone well.
She sighed for a long time after closing the door.
“F—.”
She ran a hand roughly through her hair. The hem of her uniform fluttered over her shoulder. Between the strands of her tousled blonde hair, her fierce orange eyes were faintly visible. And then, gritting her teeth, she left.
The progression of her actions was unnaturally fast.
When she truly set her mind to something, there was no hesitation in her actions. The problem was that she rarely set her mind to anything at all—over the past fifteen years, this was only the second time.
He no longer remembered exactly when the first time was, but this was undoubtedly the second.
“Student Seo-joon…”
Just then, a teaching assistant from the half-opened office called out to him. The TA, too, appeared to have been scolded by the professor, evident by the dark circles under their eyes.
Today’s consultation session for the interschool exchange wasn’t only for Yoon Chae-ha but also for Joo Seo-joon.
“Come in if you’re ready…”
“Yes.”
The assistant hesitated while opening the door fully, and he entered.
Once inside, the room was clearly visible. Magic tomes lined the walls; various magic devices and flasks sat atop shelves. Crystal devices engraved with intricate magical arrays gleamed, moving mechanically.
His professor was as usual, furrowing their brow while writing something. But the moment Joo Seo-joon stepped in, the professor’s face lit up.
-Squeak
The professor pulled out a chair and greeted him warmly.
“Sit down, Student Seo-joon.”
Joo Seo-joon sat. And then, the professor began to plead earnestly.
The professor likely believed that since Joo Seo-joon was more of a model student compared to the stubborn Yoon Chae-ha, convincing him would be easier, so they spoke in a rather pleasant tone.
“… So, Student Seo-joon, would you mind talking to Chae-ha about this?”
At the end of the day, it was simple.
You two shouldn’t go. Stop Yoon Chae-ha from leaving.
Or, more precisely—whether or not you can stop Chae-ha from leaving, at least you need to stay behind.
“Higher-ups are panicking, too. If two top-ranking students leave…”
The professor waved their hand as they continued.
“Scholarships, graduate school, even collaborations with the Mage Tower… Why would you give all that up…?”
The professor’s endless stream of words came too fast for Joo Seo-joon to interject.
For a moment, he understood why Yoon Chae-ha had been so exasperated.
“Professor.”
He finally interrupted.
“Ah, yes?”
The professor continued to look at him with an expectant smile.
And with a single sentence, Joo Seo-joon shattered that expectation.
“You should find another student for graduate studies.”
Still smiling, Joo Seo-joon told him.
“Huh?”
“I’m going to Gaon too.”
The professor hastily tried to say something more, but Joo Seo-joon had no intention of prolonging the conversation.
“Then, I’ll take my leave.”
He politely bowed and exited the office. The sun had set, and the air brushed against his face with a cold sensation.
She was already far away, nowhere to be seen.
As always, she went first, distanced herself, never looking back. That was her style.
Joo Seo-joon stopped for a moment there, contemplating.
It wasn’t romantic affection.
A somewhat dry emotion. Perhaps it could be called admiration.
Regardless, Joo Seo-joon had decided to follow, at least as far as he could.
A few more days had passed since the leave of absence decision.
The school had mostly returned to normal—or rather, some buildings even seemed to have improved.
And today, classes resumed.
Gaon decided to replace the postponed midterm exams by integrating the missing scores into the final exams. Since the theoretical portion had already been administered, the practical portion would be combined with the finals for evaluation.
Students breathed sighs of relief. Being on academic hold wasn’t a bad thing.
After such an extended absence, students naturally gathered in small groups, catching up and exchanging stories. Laughter reverberated in various places, as if trying to dispel the lingering heaviness.
And then, not long after,
“Long time no see.”
The lecture room door opened, and Professor Do Han-seong entered. His tone was weaker than usual, quieter even than his typical demeanor.
The murmuring students quickly quieted down. Their eyes all fixated on the same spot.
An empty desk.
On top of it lay a single white flower, placed there as if by someone who had just left.
Seong Si-woo’s death in his battle with the Demon was officially reported, but it was concealed that he had been assimilated by the Demon and later killed. It was impractical to disclose the truth for several reasons.
This official statement was a result of multiple considerations regarding Si-woo’s reputation.
Professor Do Han-seong quietly sighed but chose not to add anything further.
Today’s class had no special content—just information about the postponed midterms and the interschool exchange program. Overall, it was merely a session to reconnect with professors after such a long time.
“As you may already know, the midterms have been postponed. The results of the theoretical exam will be announced soon.”
When the professor’s words concluded, small exclamations of relief mixed with sighs spread across the classroom. As a result, my rank was frozen. I would remain without a rank until the finals were over.
-Hey?
-Medusa?
However, the looks directed at me were completely different from before. The clip of me severing Medusa’s head had already surpassed twenty million views.
It appeared it was even being widely shared around.
Thanks to that, most of the students gathered outside the classroom were there to see me.
I quietly stood up from my seat. After the class ended, I quickly exited the classroom.
However, upon stepping into the hallway, someone stepped in front of me.
“Is that Jung Hae-in?”
At the Gaon Academy, casual clothing was the norm, but some, like this student in front of me, chose to wear the uniform with a lime green collar, symbolizing the sophomore class.
Dark eyes and jet-black hair. Though I didn’t know her personally, I had a vague idea of who she might be.
Even before she spoke, the buzz around us grew louder. Ignoring everyone’s stares, she stretched out a hand.
“How about joining the Frontier Club?”
Frontier was one of Gaon Academy’s most established clubs. It was also renowned for producing excellent active heroes, and only select students from each grade were invited, making it somewhat exclusive.
In essence, it was the ultimate space for networking.
According to the original storyline, this was an event that occurred once you had reached a certain level of recognition.
‘Thank you.’
Through this, I could now feel just how much attention I was getting.
Moreover, without giving me the option to decline, she held out a card with black and gold engravings.
Possibly something similar to a business card.
It seemed she had come from quite far, specifically for this, even though it was a sophomore session.
Her attitude exuded confidence.
The type that made everything seem completely natural.
However, I responded.
“No, thank you.”
“Ah, let’s head to the club room then…”
She stopped mid-sentence, momentarily frowning.
“…Wait, what did you just say?”
“I said, no.”
The atmosphere around us immediately went quiet. Everyone was caught off guard by the unexpected response.
This was a club everyone wanted to join.
Students were known to even go out of their way to be invited.
Yet, I had declined.
And without much emotion, I added.
“I’ve already decided where to go.”
I had already decided which club to join, but the death of a certain person made it unnecessary for me to attend anymore.
Since I also didn’t need the club point reflected in the grade anymore, I had decided not to join.
Just now, I confirmed something.
At this level of attention, it was almost a certainty.
‘Yoon Chae-ha will come here.’
I would soon be joining the same club as her when she arrives here.
“Err… What… I mean, we’d love to have you…,”
The senior in front of me continued explaining, seemingly unable to comprehend the situation.
It was unusual that she pressed on like this. Normally, if rejected, Frontier members would promptly leave without looking back.
That’s when someone else, nearby, turned down the card she had offered.
I looked to see who it was.
It was Sion.
She bowed slightly to the senior and spoke.
“I’m sorry, Senior. We’ve already made plans together.”
Sion smiled and gently nudged the senior away, who bit her lip in disappointment but didn’t make another move. Sion then grabbed my wrist and walked off.
Once we’d walked a reasonable distance, she finally spoke.
“Umm… Why was that senior so pushy?”
“Yeah, why won’t they take no for an answer?”
I stared at her for a while, then teased.
“Who said we’re going together?”
She looked slightly taken aback.
“Hmph, we already agreed to join a club together, right? Just because it was a bit awkward last time doesn’t matter. I’ve looked into a few more.”
We had arrived at Gaon’s main hall.
There, a massive screen displayed the interschool exchange program in real-time. On the left was Realm, and on the right, Gaon. Students’ names, symbolizing their academies, shimmered as they made their decisions to switch.
“Wow!”
The students cheered. Sion, who had been chatting, turned to look as well.
Right at that moment, Dabe, ranked 10th at Gaon, had chosen to switch to Realm.
He was a student specializing in magic. It seemed he finally decided Gaon wasn’t suited for him and chose Realm instead. His name shone brightly as it crossed over to Realm.
I waited.
It felt good.
Sion watched the scene carefully and edged closer to me.
“…Isn’t there anything interesting? About those interschool exchanges?”
She asked cautiously, but I didn’t respond.
At that exact moment,
“Huh?”
“Is that for real?”
[Rank 1: Joo Seo-joon]
[Rank 5: Yoon Chae-ha]
The two names, glowing blue, gradually moved toward Gaon.
Sion, watching alongside me, gasped instantly. Blinking a few times, she checked the screen again. Her lips parted, then closed, uncertainly.
And then—slowly, really slowly, she turned her head to look at me.
I was looking at her too.
Our eyes met quietly.
I naturally opened my mouth and spoke.
“Unfortunately, we can’t join the club together.”
I turned my gaze back to the screen.
The glowing blue names came to rest in their new academy.
I quietly gazed at the screen, smiling softly.
