NOVPUB‘This is bad.’
Even after finishing the shoot, no clear solution had come up.
I tried to steer the conversation to lighten the mood, but the more I spoke, the worse the situation seemed to get.
Joo Suhyeok and Ahn Dain awkwardly headed to their respective positions in the student council and the student leadership.
“Suspicious vice president, are you just going to sit there quietly?”
Moon Saeron came over, using the excuse of an interview, and bit her teeth, speaking in a low voice.
It wasn’t that she was deliberately trying to interfere with my playable character’s romance, but I couldn’t deny that I was indeed an obstacle.
Moon Saeron continued to give me side-eye until she left.
Dokgo Miro, realizing what was going on, clicked her tongue.
“Hey, why are you acting like this when you're usually so clever?”
Dokgo Miro spoke with a tone that had more of a kingly air than her usual idol or classmate version.
It seemed even the king of the Eungwang District was rooting for the Joo Suhyeok and Ahn Dain couple.
It was such a joy to see more supporters for them among the promotional ambassadors.
Dokgo Miro looked at the photos with Joo Suhyeok and Ahn Dain in them and gently spoke.
“They suit each other well.”
“Yeah, they look really good together.”
“Right? They must be used to cameras. Their expressions are so natural.”
Looking at the perfect shot of the two from today’s shoot made my mood lift, at least a little.
I checked several photos, and the one Dokgo Miro was looking at had one of mine too.
Having modeled a lot during my chess master days, I was used to standing in front of the camera.
I didn’t particularly want to, but it wasn’t something I couldn’t do.
And Dokgo Miro looked amazing in the photos, too.
“You too.”
“Yeah, I worked hard for it.”
I couldn’t even imagine how much effort Dokgo Miro had put in to overcome her fear of the camera.
Dokgo Miro had to feel the same sensation I felt when I started playing chess again, but she had to feel it in front of an audience, in broadcasts watched by countless people.
Even though her debut didn’t go as planned, Dokgo Miro’s weaknesses had now turned into strengths.
Now, Dokgo Miro could face every camera and meet eyes with them confidently.
“I can’t go into details, but I’m involved in a project right now.”
Seeing her concentrating on vocal training, I could guess what it was.
Dokgo Miro was taking part in quite a large project, and while she couldn’t reveal specifics yet, I was sure it was something big.
Most of our classmates had already noticed, but none of us asked about it directly, instead cheering her on silently.
Dokgo Miro smiled brightly and said,
“I really hope you listen to my song. A lot has changed because of the busking you suggested, and that’s why I am who I am now.”
Thinking of how Dokgo Miro caused a ruckus single-handedly for the sake of our class, my suggestion or efforts felt like nothing in comparison.
I reminded her of that, but Dokgo Miro just retorted with a “So?” and gave a neutral expression, showing no particular reaction.
She told me again to listen to her song and then left.
After arriving at the Tiger Mansion, they started talking about the shoot again.
Since I didn’t hand over the photos, it seemed like they had used their authority as the director to check them.
“I saw the photos. They came out well.”
There were dozens of holograms floating around Hwang Jiho, and they were all photos of me.
I wondered if Eunho had also received my photo files as he was dragging and organizing the holograms.
“There’s one where you’re wearing your gym uniform. Weren’t you cold?”
“It wasn’t cold thanks to the lighting. I also had energy-based powers around me.”
“Yishin, your hands must have been cold. Please have some tea.”
Even though I said I was fine, Eunho offered me a cup of tea.
I wasn’t particularly sensitive to the cold.
Ever since I stopped playing chess, my hands have become prone to getting cold, but wearing the gloves I received as a Christmas gift had improved things a lot.
But do they still show?
I’ll have to be more careful going forward.
“Yishin, the more you try to hide it, the more it worries others. You should keep warm. If that’s difficult, it might be better to avoid going out.”
Did I accidentally say that out loud?
Looking at the expressions on the tigers’ faces, it seemed like Eunho had read my thoughts.
I still don’t know how he knew, even without using any special abilities.
“I know everything.”
Not being able to hide my expression at all... am I disqualified as a chess player?
Even though I stopped being a chess master a long time ago.
In the end, I had to continue drinking warm tea until Eunho said I was done.
Graduation Day
There was a crowd surrounding the Merchant’s Hall.
It was the first time since the entrance ceremony that I’d seen such a large gathering.
With the students from the self-government organization guiding people, everything moved in an orderly fashion, and beneath the bright-colored graduation banners, I spotted a familiar face.
“Yishin! It’s a relief to see you. I thought I wouldn’t be able to see you until the ceremony was over because of how many people there are. You’ve been well, right? I was worried you might’ve gotten into some trouble again. I thought if you weren’t responding by Seollal, something big must’ve happened...”
“It’s too long.”
Jang Namwook’s greeting, along with his long rant, was interrupted by Yoo Sanghoon.
It seemed like Jang Namwook was happy to see me and Yoo Sanghoon, not at all upset, but instead, he spoke even more to silence Yoo Sanghoon.
Yoo Sanghoon seemed so lazy that he didn’t even bother cutting Jang Namwook off, just nodding while half-listening to his words.
“Is Do Sihoo coming? Didn’t he say he would join us?”
“He’s meeting with Hyung Do Wonwoo.”
As expected, Do Sihoo, the relative of Do Wonwoo, was also here today.
While Jang Namwook had come to congratulate Yoo Sanghee’s graduation, Do Sihoo, being blood-related to Do Wonwoo, was likely the priority.
Although Do Sihoo was a friend of Yoo Sanghee, the priority would be his relative side.
“...”
As soon as Do Wonwoo’s name was mentioned, Yoo Sanghoon suddenly twisted his face and grabbed the bouquet tightly.
We had agreed to give Yoo Sanghee just one bouquet because it would be hard to handle if she received too many, and now, it looked like the one we bought would get ruined.
‘Is the reason Yoo Sanghoon’s mood has been off because of Do Wonwoo?’
Since the TC Research Institute incident, Do Wonwoo hadn’t done anything unpleasant or behaved badly.
Since then, he and Yoo Sanghoon had likely been keeping their distance.
There were a few occasions where they had to talk due to the aftermath of the incident, but now that things had calmed down, there was no reason for them to interact.
‘If it’s Do Wonwoo bothering him, shouldn’t he feel relieved after graduation?’
I felt happy but also bittersweet about my playable character graduating.
However, I understood why Yoo Sanghoon might feel relieved.
There were older students who also wished to graduate quickly.
“I don’t want to graduate, aaahhh!”
“I don’t either! Aaaahhh!”
“Let’s repeat the year!”
From somewhere, loud screams could be heard.
Even without checking, I knew these were the voices of current third-year students, probably the ones from class 3-0.
I looked around and found Dokgo Miro’s fans.
“We’ve fulfilled all the graduation requirements. It’s hard to repeat now.”
One of the older students made a sensible comment.
“Then let’s re-enroll! We can transfer to the class with Miro!”
The next comment was absolutely insane.
I realized my assumption that a sensible student had spoken was wrong.
Even after becoming a second-year student, Dokgo Miro said she would stay in class 0.
Does that mean she would come to our class?
Just imagining that gave me the chills.
The students from the self-government organization who were patrolling must have anticipated this situation, as they calmly sent messages via their devices.
“I’ve called Teacher Lim Yeonhwa. We’ll handle things until she arrives.”
“Should we call Junyeol?”
“Junyeol’s busy preparing for the dispute. I’ll take care of it.”
Among the self-government students, Cheon Dongha appeared.
Cheon Dongha gave orders to the leadership students to guide the visitors without meeting the older students directly, and he moved forward.
Despite being busy, his calm handling of the situation was impressive.
‘He must not have had proper rest during the holiday.’
Cheon Dongha had come to meet Eunho during the holiday period.
According to Hwang Jiho, who had taken the form of Hwang Yuhyo, Cheon Dongha had eaten holiday food with Eunho, despite being tired.
Cheon Dongha had said this as well.
—I’m so happy I can attend the same school as my younger sibling soon. It’s been a long time since I’ve been excited for a new semester.
The TC Institute was, as Oh Hyejeong once expressed, a mess.
Having come from a not-so-great family background, Cheon Dongha probably hadn’t experienced what it felt like to have a real family.
But now, after getting a sibling and forming a bond, even after finding out that the sibling was his real blood, he had continued to care for them.
He even made time during the busy period to spend the holiday with them and was looking forward to the semester when his sibling would enroll.
“There are many good seniors at Eungwang High. I was worried because some of them seemed too wild, but it’ll be sorted soon. Yishin, you’re holding so many flowers. There are a lot of seniors giving flowers today, right? Let’s head into the graduation hall. You might be able to give them out there.”
As Jang Namwook said, there were many seniors to congratulate today.
The third-year students who were graduating today.
The newspaper club seniors, members of the same club as me.
Seong Siwan, who I had helped from the first day of school.
My playable character, Oh Hyeji, Do Wonwoo, Yoo Sanghee, Ji Myeongsoo, who hadn’t graduated from Flama High.
And many other third-year students involved in big and small matters.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Inside the graduation hall, I met Ji Myeongsoo, who was one of the first to approach with a bouquet.
Ji Myeongsoo, the former student council president, had many people to meet and tasks to do, but upon hearing the commotion from the third-year 0 class, he had come out.
When I greeted him, he immediately asked about the situation outside.
“Congratulations on your graduation. I think you can leave the third-year 0 class situation to Senior Cheon Dongha and go in.”
As I handed him the flowers, Ji Myeongsoo spoke with a mix of relief and regret.
“Right, it’s not my responsibility anymore. I can’t believe I’m actually graduating.”
“Are you planning to join a pro player team right after graduation and conquer the other world?”
“That’s the plan. The team master personally made the strategy schedule for me.”
Ji Myeongsoo would be joining the famous pro player team, Su Guk Hyang Gi, after graduation.
The team master of Su Guk Hyang Gi, Baek Hwa Nanman, was someone who had been close to Ji Myeongsoo, even escorting him during a festival.
It seemed that people were placing a lot of expectations on Ji Myeongsoo, as the team master had personally prepared his strategy schedule.
I felt proud for my playable character’s bright future.
‘Baek Hwa Nanman is said to know the former Hong Witch. I wonder if she has heard the news from the Dragon Palace.’
When Yeom Bangyeol organized information about the former Hong Witch, he had told me about her connection with Baek Hwa Nanman.
If she’s a traitor, she could be linked to the pro player team, so I couldn’t ignore it.
However, it had been revealed that the former Hong Witch wasn’t involved in betrayal willingly, and she had been manipulated.
Yeom Bangyeol must have been greatly relieved when this was cleared up.
‘That could’ve led to a confrontation between the four major pro teams. I’m glad it was resolved.’
Personally, I wanted to look into the relationship between the former Hong Witch and Baek Hwa Nanman a little more.
“Graduation ceremony will start soon. I’ll go ahead. You’ll see better from the second floor, so go up.”
As Ji Myeongsoo said, the graduation ceremony was about to start.
I saw him off and went upstairs.
From the second floor, the entire Merchant’s Hall came into view.
The third-year students celebrating their graduation were easily visible.
The ceremony had begun.
