บท 11: 425
[Chapter 123]
[The Value of That Name]
[The more I think about it, the angrier I get lol
Some people meet well-off kids and get treated like 031st grade even though they're 31st grade, while others can't even have a normal social life now lolololol
The world is such a nice place to live. Right? lol
Why, isn't it over once you meet well-off kids? lololol]
└ Why? What happened?
└ I keep sighing when I think of my friend, so I'm doing this in the middle of the night... ㅠㅠ
└?? Spill the tea ㄱㄱ
└Sigh... You know... I don't know if I should say this. You know the hottest kids in our academy right now? Those gathered around that kid who briefly appeared on CayouPlay...
└OMG!? Could it be No Eun-ha's group!?
└I'd appreciate if you didn't mention real names. I feel like something might go wrong... ㅠㅠ
└So you're saying it's related to them?
└No ㅠㅠ I'm a 31st grade student too so I don't know their gossip, I'm talking about a kid who joined recently...
└What is it, what! Tell us!
└Are you sleeping? Wake up!
[Hello! Guys! I was surprised to find myself in the HOT board when I woke up!
There are many people sending me messages, and comments have piled up, so I thought it would be better to just write a new post like this!
When I checked the previous post in the morning, I was so nervous wondering if No○○'s group had hacked EveryFine to dig up my information.
I'm glad that didn't happen ㅠㅠ There are so many urban legends about them, but it seems we don't have to believe the rumor that EveryFine is being monitored because of this.
As I said in the previous post, I'm a 31st grade student who entered the academy after graduating middle school. I'm a Vaisya who's always involved in status controversies on EFA among high academy graduates.
The kid I'm about to talk about is also from a Vaisya background like me. Such a kid caught their eye (or more precisely, should I say caught that person's eye?), and experienced a status rise to be called a Royal among Nobles. Life is really spectacular. Right? haha
But this kid was talked about a lot at the middle school I came from. You know there are kids who only study even during breaks? Not interested in dressing up at all.
That kid was exactly like that, but changed unrecognizably after meeting well-off kids in 3rd year. The kid who always wore glasses started wearing makeup and cut their hair, so they became somewhat pretty?
Now well... they're wearing glasses again and grew out their hair...
From now on I'll call that kid A, the girl who was closest to that kid B, and the boy who was really really popular at that middle school C. B and C are childhood friends who've known each other since they were young!
This happened in 3rd year of middle school.
A who hung out with kids who quietly studied in the classroom suddenly became close with B and laundered their status in one go! (It's a bit similar now too...? I get goosebumps thinking maybe this kid is doing it intentionally...)
But when this kid's status changed, they became extremely lively. You know how some people respond enthusiastically to small things? This kid was a bit extreme with that.
We could see it ㅠㅠ Whether this kid was putting on airs or not... Especially pretending to be modest in front of boys while putting on airs...
Once they gained popularity, they thought they were all that. Putting on airs like that and seducing this boy and that boy...
Of all people, even C got caught in that kid's fishing grounds.
Isn't that crazy?
At that time, C was getting along well with B!! B told me they were getting along well, and A who was close with B must have known too.
But how could they completely seduce C!?
What's funnier is that C confessed in the end but they just flatly rejected him!! Of course B and C's relationship completely fell apart, and A became the ultimate bitch.
They deserve to be ostracized. It serves them right.
B was so mentally distressed because of that incident... The more I think about it, the angrier I get.
But what makes me even angrier is that they're pretending not to know what happened in middle school and hanging out with them with an innocent face at the academy where no one knows them.]
└Wow... You're saying there's such a kid at the academy?
└This is why they shouldn't accept high academy graduates --;
└Hey, honestly Brahmins and Kshatriyas should be excluded. There's not much difference between us and you.
└Who are the 31st grade kids that joined that person's group this time?
└If it's girls, isn't it ㅇㅇㅂ and ㅇㄹㅇ?
└But Eins are treated as Sudras so they're not Vaisyas, right?
└Then it's just one person. ㅇㅇㅂ. Looking at the post above, it matches her description exactly... tsk tsk
└It was ㅇㅇㅂ? Wow... I thought she looked so kind but she was that kind of person? ㄷㄷ
└lololol Actually I got that vibe from her from before. She came looking for that person at the beginning of the semester, right? But it seems ㅇㅇㅂ had met that person before entering.
└I heard that story too. ㅇㅇㅂ, she gave gloves as a gift to that person? Looking at the post the writer uploaded, it seems ㅇㅇㅂ has a meticulous personality, so maybe she even intended to meet that person before entering? Wow, it's a big picture 5G, 5G.
└According to my kingri-like god-like intuition, ㅇㅇㅂ intentionally approached that person. She tasted power in middle school, so wouldn't she want to taste it here too???? Moreover, the academy is an incomparable power society compared to middle school...
└Anyway it's amazing. Did she want to enter that person's group that badly? If it were me, I'd just live as I am.
[Sigh... My emotions are bursting again in the middle of the night so I should go drink.
But do they know?
That ㅇㅇㅂ is that kind of person...]
☆
Yoon I-byeol rarely uses her smartphone.
She doesn't have many people to contact, and it interferes with studying.
[I'm fine!]
"Ah, it must be from Riel."
Actually, she did use her smartphone frequently during the past year.
Because close friends sent messages all day long.
Now it's become a thing of the past.
Yoon I-byeol reduced looking at her smartphone since deciding to apply to the academy.
「Ariel」: I'm sorry ㅠㅠ It looks like the telepathist meeting time will be longer so I don't think I can eat lunch together...
I'm so sorry (T.T )
(12:12 PM)
However, since entering the academy.
She unexpectedly met good friends and increased her smartphone usage again.
She was busy reading over 300 messages throughout the day.
"Riel can't eat... Then do I have to eat alone today..."
Yoon I-byeol who received Ariel's fine talk dropped her head.
Of all times, other friends seemed to have classes or meetings with sponsoring groups at this time.
Also, she had class next period.
Do I have to eat alone...
In front of the student cafeteria where you can eat lunch while looking at the lake.
She kept leaning against the wall like other people waiting for appointment partners.
But the difference between her and them was that she had no one waiting for her.
Yoon I-byeol fell into thought about how to handle lunch.
"...I guess I'll have to make do at the snack bar."
It's awkward to eat alone after all.
Just as she finally concluded and tried to find the snack bar.
"Huh? I-byeol, what are you doing there?"
"Ah... Hello? Just... I was about to go to the snack bar."
"Leaving this cafeteria?"
"The person I was supposed to eat with can't make it... But Tae-yang, did you come alone? Where's A-ra?"
"A-ra has class."
She happened to meet On Tae-yang.
She inwardly felt unfamiliar with him calling her name intimately, but didn't show it and matched his attitude.
Though there had been no point of contact between them since On Tae-yang withdrew from the club.
Nevertheless, he was among the few people she knew.
"If you don't have anyone to eat lunch with, you can eat with me. I have to eat alone too since A-ra is in class. Want to eat together?"
"Hmm..."
On Tae-yang's proposal.
I-byeol was inwardly quite surprised but tried her best not to express it outwardly.
It'll probably be awkward...
She was very shy.
So it took considerable time for her to become close with someone since childhood.
Moreover, she became more cautious of people due to the incident in middle school.
"Food tastes bad when eaten alone! Let's eat together!"
"...Okay. Sure, let's eat together."
However, she was weak to people who approached actively.
Moreover, when On Tae-yang spoke with a bright face, she couldn't firmly refuse either.
Above all, On Tae-yang's smiling words reminded her exactly of someone.
Eun-ha said that before too...
They seemed not to match but this aspect is exactly the same.
She couldn't help but smile.
Eun-ha looked annoyed but often brought up being hungry.
She covered her mouth with the back of her hand and soon decided to enter the student cafeteria with On Tae-yang.
"...Huh?"
"What's wrong?"
"No, just... Didn't it seem like people just looked at us?"
"I didn't feel anything like that? They probably just looked that way because someone entered the entrance."
"Is that so..."
"Let's quickly choose the menu. What will you eat, I-byeol? Set A? Set B?"
"Hmm, I have an active afternoon class so I'll eat Set D."
"Okay. Then let's meet after getting food."
They purchase meal tickets at the machine installed at the entrance.
Yoon I-byeol purchased a meal ticket and parted with On Tae-yang midway.
As she stood in line to receive the Set D menu holding her tray─.
"─What does an active class have to do with Set D? Kick."
"I'm a girl who eats little~ What's with this flirting."
"For eating little... Her figure doesn't look very thin though."
Giggling heard from the front of the line.
At that moment, Yoon I-byeol hesitated.
She couldn't hear their giggling completely, but could see them laughing.
...It must be my imagination?
It must be my imagination.
Maybe I'm being overly sensitive.
I thought I had fixed it somewhat after graduating middle school, but it seems to still be ingrained.
lololololololol
"..."
It feels like everyone is looking at her and laughing.
She soon looked down at the floor trying not to see the gazes that seemed to be pouring on her.
It must be my imagination.
She who received her menu decided to quickly eat lunch and leave this place.
"I-byeol! Over here! Here!"
"Oh... Tae-yang. But where should we sit?"
She left that place as if escaping.
She who ran to the place agreed to meet On Tae-yang in advance asked while looking around.
Then On Tae-yang turned his body as if it was no big deal.
"There don't seem to be seats downstairs so let's eat upstairs. I know where the best seats are upstairs too."
"...Huh? But upstairs isn't a place we can eat freely..."
"Where is there such a thing? Trust me. It's okay, other kids won't be able to say anything."
Tae-yang led her to the stairs going up to the 2nd floor.
Yoon I-byeol couldn't readily step forward in front of the stairs.
Ah, this won't work...
It's not that she hadn't eaten on the 2nd floor before.
When she ate lunch with Eun-ha and friends, she did sit with them.
However, that was because students who were allowed to eat upstairs implicitly gave permission.
On days like today when she ate with just Ariel, she ate downstairs so as not to create controversy.
"T-Tae-yang. Can't we just eat downstairs?"
"If that's what you want I-byeol, that's fine too, but it's okay? There's no one who can say anything to us!! If there is, that person is wrong."
"You might be okay since you got permission from Choi Ga-in, but I..."
"Is it because of No Eun-ha? Did he tell you not to eat on the 2nd floor when not eating with him?"
"It's not like that."
"If it's not like that then that's fortunate... If he ever says anything to you, tell me. I'll help you."
"No. There's nothing like that. I just want to eat downstairs today... That's all."
"...You... are a good person. To be able to consider others like this..."
Setting aside On Tae-yang saying incomprehensible things.
Yoon I-byeol was determined to persuade him and eat lunch downstairs.
She decided to quickly eat lunch and go to the lecture hall to find peace of mind.
lolololololololololol
Did you hear? She says she wants to eat downstairs today to consider lower people.
Yoon I-byeol's personality lolololololol
Under the guise of anonymity.
Just as the two set out to find seats, loud giggling sounds were heard.
Yoon I-byeol's steps stopped abruptly, and On Tae-yang looked around trying to find people laughing hidden among others.
I wonder why she's eating alone today?
According to my kingri-like god-like intuition, that Yoon I-byeol must have been abandoned by No Eun-ha.
Well, since they use EveryFine too, they probably know about the post that went up on HOT today.
We all EveryFine! It's so nice not to be fooled thanks to EFA! I almost would have been fooled by her too.
lolol What do you have to do with her? lololol
"..."
"Who keeps making strange noises! Stop it right now!?"
"...No."
Her hands are trembling.
She can't raise her head.
She only denies it in a timid voice.
Yoon I-byeol stood frozen in place like a criminal listening to the words anonymous people were pouring out.
Meanwhile, Tae-yang flared up and stepped forward, but the mockery did not subside.
But isn't that Yoon I-byeol amazing? How can she be close with Tae-yang too? What insider power lolololol
Tae-yang! Didn't you see EFA too? They say Yoon I-byeol is a dirty bitch. They say she seduced her friend's boyfriend in middle school, then rejected him after doing that.
The truth bombs are intense lolololol If it were me, I'd be too embarrassed to even show my face at the academy now lololol
"...No. It's not..."
Huh, the academy is on fire every day. I don't know why this damn academy always burns like this.
That's because your level is low. What do you mean every day when you didn't even go to middle academy lololol
Well lolol Middle academy guys always have to put others down to feel satisfied lol They're just jealous of us because of our skills.
"I... didn't do that."
Laughter calls for laughter.
An unstoppable chain of laughter instantly filled the space.
I-byeol soon couldn't hold back her tears and dropped them.
However, her sound of sobbing while shaking her shoulders is buried in the mockery.
"Everyone, be quiet─!!"
And among the people present, On Tae-yang, who was the only one who had taken her side, shouted loudly.
His voice, infused with mana, spread through the space and suppressed the anonymity.
""""...""""
Silence fell.
Tae-yang opened his mouth towards the students who seemed to be eating, or perhaps mocking Yoon I-byeol.
"─I believe in Yoon I-byeol. The I-byeol I know would never do such a thing. Don't say strange things about I-byeol when you don't even know her well!"
Yoon I-byeol looked at Tae-yang with tears in her eyes.
She didn't understand why he was suddenly saying he believed in her.
But she was grateful.
For him taking her side in a place where no one else would.
"Even if I-byeol really did that... She's not doing it anymore now, right? Do you have to bring up old stories and make her cry like this?"
But the gratitude was short-lived.
Yoon I-byeol's eyes widened at On Tae-yang's words towards the people.
"...I'm saying... it's not true..."
It's not true.
There's not even a hypothetical "if".
She shook her head weakly.
But her timidly muttered voice didn't reach him.
"─So I believe in Yoon I-byeol!"
You don't know anything about me.
Don't try to make assumptions about me when you don't know.
I said it's not true. I said it's not true.
She shakes her head.
But his gaze is directed not at her, but at unknown people.
As if what he's saying is justice.
As if he's going to save her.
On Tae-yang expounded his thoughts to the silent majority.
His thoughts.
Not her thoughts.
"As long as I'm by her side, I-byeol will absolutely never do such things again!"
He arbitrarily concludes the past.
He arbitrarily ties up the story.
Can't we believe in Tae-yang?
Still, it's Tae-yang saying it... Our 31st grade hero! How admirable and cool!
Well... what wealth and glory would we gain from this talk... Let's just do it moderately and end it.
So is On Tae-yang saying he'll manage the academy's water quality? Not bad. As long as he doesn't upset us.
And people started to agree with On Tae-yang's thoughts one by one.
To the story that On Tae-yang would take responsibility and reform Yoon I-byeol.
Yoon I-byeol realized that no matter what she said, they would no longer listen to her story.
No, they probably never listened to her words from the beginning.
The people she had encountered so far only saw what they wanted to see and heard what they wanted to hear.
""""...""""
But just as there are such people.
In the world, there are also people who say what they want to say regardless of what others see or hear─.
"─These bastards are making a fuss without fear, what a fuss..."
No Eun-ha scattered his killing intent.
☆
The post about Yoon I-byeol uploaded to EveryFine two days ago.
Though it used the initials ㅇㅇㅂ, Eun-ha and his friends couldn't not know who it was referring to.
So Eun-ha asked his friends to monitor whether unnecessary rumors were being produced secondarily.
But in the end, a problem erupted.
With so many people, geez...
Even manipulating public opinion isn't easy...
The number of students attending high academy totaled about 6,600 across all grades.
While managing people directly connected to business groups was one thing, it took a lot of time to manage even ordinary students.
As a result, friends were delayed in giving instructions to students.
Of all times, no one was by Yoon I-byeol's side when the problem erupted.
It's fortunate there were kids on our side here and there in the cafeteria...
It almost led to a situation where Yoon I-byeol would bow her head and apologize in front of the students.
It was literally a public execution.
"Why? Why don't you babble like before. Though if you do, I'm thinking of ripping out your tongue."
""""...""""
Students standing on his side.
Contact came from them.
Saying Yoon I-byeol was being criticized by people in the student cafeteria.
Unfortunately, the contact took some time to reach Eun-ha as it went through several channels.
So Eun-ha ran here as soon as he received the contact, skipping class in front of the instructor.
Some friends did the same.
"I heard everything clearly, you bastards! Do you know how good my ears are?"
Especially Jin Seo-na, Jin Pa-rang, and Ariel who were at the telepathist meeting arrived here first.
They said they were grasping the situation and spying on the state of affairs from outside the door.
Eun-ha, with the three behind him, looked around at students who quickly averted their gaze when they met his eyes.
Meanwhile, friends kept arriving by his side.
"─Yoon I-byeol. Come here."
"...Okay."
Finally, Eun-ha called Yoon I-byeol.
She who had been standing next to On Tae-yang and constantly shedding tears slowly nodded her head.
He who brought her almost into his arms looked at the students frightened by his killing intent.
"Jin Pa-rang, Jin Seo-na."
"Yeah."
"Yes."
When No Eun-ha called in a commanding tone.
It was no different from saying he would use them as his people.
So Jin Pa-rang didn't panic, but rather smiled showing his canine teeth.
Jin Seo-na calmly answered as if she had grasped his thoughts.
"Ariel."
"Ow!"
Ariel answered aggressively.
As if she would follow his words anytime if he just gave the order.
"Convey my words to the people here now."
As one who will become the party leader someday, No Eun-ha ordered the three who will become the party's telepathists.
The three sparked between their two ears.
"I'll say this here─."
[You guys listen well to No Eun-ha─!!]
[This is high academy 031st grade 1st year class 18 No Eun-ha's message to you.]
[No Eun-ha conveys!!]
"─From this moment on, know that anyone who touches my people is finished with that."
[Anyone who touches my people dies. Know that's when your life ends. This was Jin Pa-rang.]
[As of 12:45 PM, know that I won't leave alone anyone who touches my people. I'll add, Eun-ha doesn't lie at times like this. This is Jin Seo-na conveying.]
[If you're thinking of touching my people in the future, it would be good to wash your neck and come. Don't touch I-byeol! This is Ariel conveying.]
Telepathy with different timbres pierced through the students' minds.
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