S Chapter 8

The school Shin Jukyeong attended was what they called a ‘chaebol school’. From teachers to students, everyone was entangled in various personal connections. Although it was ridiculed as ‘their own league,’ it was clear that people from Seoul to Busan were lining up, even borrowing money, just to get in.

Hanguk High School. This name truly exerted its power when one stepped out into society. Politics, business, academia, culture, and so on. Any field was dominated by Hanguk High School alumni. It was even a running joke that ‘Hanguk High School is above prestigious universities.’ As you might have guessed, the Hunter world was no different. Except for one person.

‘It’s both familiar and tiresome.’

Shin Jukyeong’s feelings were monotonous. He had no great attachment or pride in his alma mater. To him, Hanguk High School was just a school. Connections or whatever, he didn’t care; it was just a school. A school where smart kids were a dime a dozen.

Currently, he was walking with his hands in his pockets, searching for his classroom. In fact, he couldn’t remember which class he was in, so he’d been wandering for a while.

‘If I get it wrong this time, I’ll just go to the staff room. …But which floor was the staff room on?’

Even thinking to himself, there was no answer.

‘Damn it.’

A frown naturally formed between his brows. An adult with no time had no patience for this sort of thing.

‘It’s inefficient.’

Shin Jukyeong, his ‘old man’ instincts kicking in, glared around him. ‘Where’s the sign?’

“Oh? Shin Jukyeong!”

As he walked, feeling annoyed, some guy recognized him. He just turned his head to confirm the person. A hooked nose and deep double eyelids… How to put it, he had an impression that made one crave kimchi stew.

“Why were you absent from school?”

“…”

“Huh?”

‘Who is this guy?’ Shin Jukyeong was flustered. ‘Should I follow him? Since I don’t remember him, he probably wasn’t someone I interacted with much. What if I follow him all the way only to find out he’s in the next class?’

“Is there something on my face?”

“Hmm…”

Shin Jukyeong narrowed his eyes, assessing the person, when a memory suddenly flashed. He snapped his middle finger and thumb together. He remembered. This butter-faced guy.

“The guy who lost all his money gambling.”

“What?”

“…To prevent that from happening, let’s stay away from speculative gambling. Hwaiting.”

He looked at him like he was an idiot. ‘Damn it.’

In the end, Shin Jukyeong followed the ‘gambling prodigy’ into the classroom. Familiar faces and unfamiliar faces were all gathered. But there was no one particularly worth reminiscing about.

Assuming the one remaining seat was his, he subtly sat down, and immediately, probing questions disguised as greetings flew at him. ‘Why did you miss school?’, ‘Are you sick?’, ‘Did something happen?’ All trivial questions. They had other things they were curious about, but were deliberately testing the waters.

‘These kids, with the blood still wet on their heads, already learning only bad things.’

Shin Jukyeong easily noticed the gazes filled with subtle schadenfreude and mockery.

“Yeah. I took some time off because of side effects.”

As expected, murmurs arose.

“Side effects? What kind of side effects? Are you taking any medication?”

Some of them expressed ‘concern’ in exaggerated tones. ‘Medication, my ass,’ they meant, ‘just tell us more about your failure story.’ What should he do? Play along, or not?

‘Would it be strange if I’m too quiet? Does it even matter? I’m not going to be a successor or a Hunter anyway. Hmm, in fact, it would be good if my reputation goes to hell.’

While he was pondering, someone who arbitrarily interpreted his reaction stopped observing him and burst into boisterous laughter. It seemed like the pecking order had been decided in his mind. Then, the little brat started smacking his back. Shin Jukyeong counted, one, two. He counted a total of five hits. ‘You bastard, come here.’

“Well, it’d be hard for you to say it yourself. I wasn’t considerate. Sorry, sorry.”

‘Lick your lips before you speak.’

“Wow~ F. Shin Jukyeong failed his Ability Manifestation. That’s crazy.”

“Yeah. I thought Jukyeong would definitely manifest. Like an A-rank.”

“Whoa! So what happens now? Since Shin Jukyeong is out, it’s totally Won Go-yu’s world.”

“Exactly. Won Go-yu gets everything. That’s awesome…”

“The Association will keep being run by his family, right? Did his rank come out? What did they say?”

A clamor erupted. Shin Jukyeong, who had been listening silently, cracked his knuckles one by one and spoke indifferently.

“S-rank.”

Silence fell for a moment.

“Go congratulate him. Lavishly.”

He was S-rank in the past, so he’d be the same now, probably. Thinking complacently, he rose from his seat.

A shadow fell over the ‘someone’. His physique, a head taller, created a huge sense of intimidation for children his age. Only then did the chattering classmates falter. It seemed they were now intimidated after all their mocking.

But everyone misunderstood something. Shin Jukyeong wasn’t angry. He had no intention of having a power struggle with children, nor was he specifically retaliating. He merely threw out ‘Won Go-yu’ as new bait to redirect their attention because the concentrated barrage was annoying.

From the start, his cool tone and low voice were his default settings. Shin Jukyeong only softened when it came to his younger brothers.

‘I want to be excluded.’

Shin Jukyeong wanted to get away from the center of attention and quickly go to U-dam, who was probably trembling.

After a long wait, lunchtime finally arrived. Shin Jukyeong hastily left the classroom. U-dam was a year below him, so if he hurried, he might be able to meet him.

‘…He’s not here.’

But life wasn’t easy. He searched every class from one to the last, but couldn’t find a single strand of U-dam’s hair. ‘Damn it, is it pork cutlet day today? Why is he so fast?’ Shin Jukyeong trudged along in disappointment.

Just as he was debating whether to change his destination and go to the cafeteria, his forearm was grabbed. Since he was off guard, his body turned without resistance.

“Shin Jukyeong?”

‘Who… Ah.’ He’d become so young that he didn’t recognize him. It was the person he had thrown out as new bait as soon as he arrived at school. Won Go-yu. A third-year at Hanguk High School and the grandson of the current Hunter Association Chairman.

‘And the guy who will become my enemy in the distant future.’

But well… he had no excuse, as he was the one who acted like a scoundrel. Hmm, to summarize, it was to the extent that he’d half-killed that guy’s grandfather to make him give up the Chairman position? No, there were reasons, but… Yeah, he knew. In a Confucian country, failing to respect elders was a mistake.

‘It’s understandable to be angry. Besides, if I hadn’t been there, he would have become the Chairman.’

Shin Jukyeong’s gaze went to Won Go-yu’s chest. A ‘Provisional Hunter’ certification badge was glinting. In fact, Won Go-yu himself was a famous Hunter, adorned with many epithets such as ‘Rising Sun,’ ‘New Rookie,’ and ‘Unwavering Lineage.’

But sorry was sorry. He was a bit busy right now.

“Let go.”

Shin Jukyeong shook his arm, and Won Go-yu slowly released his hand. He was strong. The part that had been grabbed was already aching.

“You-”

“Do you have something to say?”

At the somewhat gruff voice, Won Go-yu flinched. However, Shin Jukyeong had no time for consideration. In his mind, an image of his younger brother being bullied and crying had already naturally formed. That’s right. Shin Jukyeong was half-convinced that his brother was a victim of school violence.

“If not, I’m leaving.”

“Is it true?”

The subject was omitted, but it was clear. He was probably asking about the failed Ability Manifestation.

“Yeah. It’s true.”

Shin Jukyeong replied, neither too fast nor too slow.

“…”

“I’m going.”

“Are you running away?”

‘What is this bastard saying?’ Shin Jukyeong stopped walking and turned around. Won Go-yu was standing defiantly, glaring. His aura was so menacing that even the air felt heavy.

‘Why, in the world?’ Shin Jukyeong felt wronged. Maybe in the future, but right now, he hadn’t done anything wrong. Even if it was about grades, that was something he had to work on himself, not blame others, so he couldn’t accept it. More than anything, he was arrogant. Unlike the childish jealousy of his classmates, Won Go-yu was clearly emitting murderous intent.

‘He sure is ill-mannered.’

He thought, ‘What’s the point of fighting with a kid?’ but… it was a bit uncomfortable that he was genuinely trying to provoke him.

“Running away? Who?”

‘This little peanut, already acting like this.’ Shin Jukyeong deliberately let out a chuckle.

“Me?”

‘That’s right. Yes, goodbye.’

He ran away without looking back. A non-manifested person challenging a manifested one was not something a sane person would do. Shin Jukyeong was a man who knew how to perfectly stick to his concept. He still couldn’t guess why Won Go-yu was angry, but he didn’t particularly want to know. He just didn’t want to get involved with someone who had a bright future as a Hunter.

‘My time was wasted unnecessarily.’

Twelve fifty in the afternoon. Lunchtime would be over soon. The students were already returning to their classrooms. He looked around again, wondering if U-dam had returned to class, but found nothing.

‘Where in the world did this kid go?’

Ding-dong-ding-dong-

The bell finally rang, but Shin Jukyeong was still wandering the school grounds. This would have been unimaginable in the past. But now it was different. He had no interest in grades or behavioral assessments. His sole objective was Yang U-dam.

‘This won’t do.’

At this rate, spending the entire afternoon would be pointless. Shin Jukyeong had no choice but to activate his ability. Simultaneously, his senses became several times sharper than an ordinary person’s.

“Hmm…”

He found him immediately. He should have done this sooner. He swiftly evaded even the security Hunters, then followed U-dam’s footsteps until he reached his location.

‘The Infirmary?’