NOVPUBThe day after the picnic, in the morning.
After parting ways with Eun-ho, I was on my way to the second-year district when I ran into Joo Soo-hyuk.
“Ui-shin, thanks for making time for me, even though you must have been busy with the picnic yesterday.”
Joo Soo-hyuk expressed his gratitude for something trivial.
Right after the game ended, I had stepped away briefly to ask for permission from my class, at Joo Soo-hyuk’s request.
The place Joo Soo-hyuk had guided me to was the Joo Dragons' club office, specifically the office of the club president.
I couldn’t figure out why I had been called here, but seeing the bodyguards surrounding the office, I had a sense of who might be waiting for me.
As I had expected, the next head of the Joo Group family was waiting for me.
“Thanks for helping us find Soo-ri last time. My uncle and aunt have been wanting to express their gratitude, but it’s been hard to meet you...”
The next head of the Joo Group and their spouse were Joo Soo-hyuk’s uncle and aunt.
Their daughter, Joo Soo-ri, was Joo Soo-hyuk’s cousin.
‘It was actually my fault that Soo-ri got lost during the Eungwang High Festival last year.’
However, I couldn’t reveal that, so I politely declined their overly generous thanks.
Somehow misunderstanding the situation, the next head of the family and their spouse seemed pleased, thinking that Joo Soo-hyuk’s friend was being modest.
Soo-ri did thank me, but most of her comments were about Andain.
Was Soo-ri also a fan of Andain?
It seemed like Joo Soo-hyuk and Soo-ri were alike in that they both liked Andain.
“I last met Soo-ri at the Joo Construction 30th Anniversary event, and at that time, she asked me all sorts of things about you and Andain. Also, she was disappointed that Andain didn’t come to the baseball game.”
I too had been disappointed that Andain hadn’t come.
Do Won-woo had invited Yoo Sang-hee to the stadium every year, and this year, he had finally succeeded in bringing her along.
Joo Soo-hyuk hadn’t thought of inviting Andain, however, and had gone to enjoy himself with Do Shi-hoo and Jang Nam-wook.
Perhaps because he was a flawless hero with no flaws, Joo Soo-hyuk didn’t quite have Do Won-woo’s charm when it came to making advances.
The conversation naturally shifted to the Joo Construction 30th Anniversary event that had occurred recently.
“Actually, I was worried about Hye-ji noona. I thought she might have to attend forcefully with me and Soo-gyum hyung.”
It was understandable that Joo Soo-hyuk was concerned.
When thinking about the brutal tactics used by the O family to tie Hye-ji with the Joo family, it wasn’t hard to imagine them doing something like that.
But since Joo Soo-hyuk brought it up, it seemed like nothing unusual had happened.
“Was everything okay?”
“Yeah. Chairman O, I mean, Hye-ji noona’s father didn’t attend, and neither did Hye-ji noona.”
According to Joo Soo-hyuk, most of the O family members affiliated with the Joo Construction Board had attended, but Chairman O hadn’t shown up.
Chairman O had told Hye-ji that her attendance was optional.
I couldn’t know the exact details, but I had a guess about who was behind this change.
‘It must have been Joo Soo-gyum.’
Joo Soo-gyum had analyzed the will printed on the otherworld paper and found clues about the missing will of the O family.
It seemed like Joo Soo-gyum had used that information to start negotiations with Chairman O.
One of the conditions of the negotiations must have been Hye-ji’s freedom.
‘Since it was a big event where even Hwang Ji-ho was invited, and Hye-ji wasn’t tied to the Joo family, it can only be that Joo Soo-gyum was involved.’
Joo Soo-hyuk interpreted the situation positively, thinking that it was a sign of respect for Hye-ji from the O family now that she was an adult, but he didn’t seem fully convinced.
It was strange that he didn’t suspect anything, given how persistent they had been.
Perhaps Joo Soo-hyuk would later investigate Joo Soo-gyum’s actions and figure out the full picture on his own.
I had seen him get closer to the core of several incidents in Plmago in such a manner.
“Ui-shin! Soo-hyuk!”
“Oh, both of you are here!”
Just as we arrived at the second-year building, I ran into Kim Yoo-ri and Sa Wol-seum.
I was impressed by the two of them for coming to school so early, but their anxious expressions made me worried.
Joo Soo-hyuk asked.
“Yoo-ri, Se-eum, what’s going on?”
“Hyo-don was attacked, and Do-in teacher is fighting in his place!”
“We need to head to the west gate quickly.”
From Sa Wol-seum’s words, I couldn’t understand what exactly had happened, but I decided to move immediately, as Kim Yoo-ri confirmed the situation.
During our movement, I sent messages to Hyo-don via device and tried to call, but I got no response.
A warning notice was posted on the Eungwang High bulletin board about Do-in running amok at the west gate and advising people to avoid the area.
Feeling unsure about what was going on, the four of us geared up for a fight and headed to the west gate.
When we arrived, a chaotic scene unfolded before us.
“My goodness...”
The landscaping was destroyed, streetlights bent, and the ground was overturned.
Among all of that, I could see Hyo-don in his school uniform, crumpled and kicked around.
“Hyo-don!”
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“...I’m fine.”
Seeing Hyo-don in such a miserable state, the others were deeply concerned.
Despite his quirky nature, Hyo-don was as tough as Joo Soo-hyuk when it came to physical confrontation.
It was only natural to think that he must have been severely injured in such a state.
However, Hyo-don was not seriously hurt.
‘He must have let himself take the hit on purpose.’
I’m sure everyone who examined Hyo-don’s state had the same thought as me.
Hyo-don wasn’t looking at us properly and had his head down.
Seeing his lifeless posture reminded me of the first time I met him last year.
‘Could it be that the one who attacked Hyo-don is...?’
As I figured out the situation, anger boiled up inside me.
Before I could express my anger, a fiery figure stepped forward.
“How could a father do this to his child! Disrespecting the heavens and earth, how can you live with such cruelty!”
CRASH!
As Tak Geo-san’s powerful roar echoed, Cheon Dong-ha quickly activated his energy barrier, enclosing the area.
The energy barrier created by Cheon Dong-ha crumbled instantly under Tak Geo-san’s overwhelming presence.
However, he managed to reduce the shock, so it only left a tingling sensation on our skin.
“Tak Geo-san, calm down. Someone from the association will be coming soon.”
“Calm down? How can I calm down when my disciple has been beaten like this!”
Cheon Dong-ha stared coldly at Hyo-don’s biological father.
Hyo-don’s body was covered in footprints, and his clothes were in tatters.
He was in a much worse state than Hyo-don.
“You’ll be hearing complaints about over-defense. If things escalate, even the Huangmyeong Foundation’s legal team might not be able to handle it. For the sake of your disciple, you need to calm down.”
“Oh, I’m not even close to finished. Calm down, you say!”
“Fine. If Tak Geo-san uses his energy barrier again, I’ll use Guanglin.”
The shadowy figure who had been silently standing finally nodded.
It seemed like Cheon Dong-ha had come to help because the Ji Ik-hoe was unable to mediate properly.
The west gate was much closer to the residential area managed by Ji Ik-hoe, while Cheon Dong-ha usually handled the gate near the main entrance, so it wasn’t hard to imagine.
Thankfully, Cheon Dong-ha seemed to be handling the situation, so I decided to protect Hyo-don first.
“Cheon Dong-ha, we’ll head to the infirmary. If anything happens, contact me, not Hyo-don.”
“Okay. Go quickly. I should have removed Hyo-don from the scene earlier. I’m sorry.”
It was clear that Cheon Dong-ha had his hands full calming Tak Geo-san, so dealing with Hyo-don’s care was a tough task.
Tak Geo-san glared at the trembling man and then looked at me and nodded.
It seemed like he trusted me to handle it.
“Let’s go.”
“...Okay.”
“Hyo-don, have you eaten breakfast? Let’s get checked out first, then go grab something to eat!”
When I spoke, Hyo-don walked slowly, mechanically, while the others tried to engage him in conversation.
Still, the somber mood didn’t improve.
I couldn’t help but think of how Hyo-don had been so happy when he got over 40 points in math for the midterm, or how he was picking out gifts and carnations for his mentor at Tan-rae Middle, or how excited he was playing at the baseball game yesterday. All of these memories made my anger surge once more.
The results of the comprehensive examination at the infirmary showed that Hyo-don was physically fine.
However, Hyo-don was absent from class.
It seemed like there were many matters to discuss with the Huangmyeong Foundation’s legal team.
I had many things to discuss as well, so I headed to the Tiger Mansion.
“It’s my fault. I underestimated the opponent.”
Hwang Ji-ho, who had grasped the situation, spoke with a complicated expression.
Hyo-don’s biological father, apart from the fight club incident, had other crimes uncovered, and he was now detained as an awaiting trial prisoner in the detention center.
It was almost certain that he would be found guilty, so everyone had let their guard down.
“I never thought he’d be released on bail. I’ll find out where the bail money came from and who helped him with that difficult process.”
Hyo-don’s biological father had never been judged by the law, and therefore had no criminal record.
Moreover, the court had judged that Hyo-don, being an exceptional player, was unlikely to be harmed by his father, who was a regular citizen.
The bail decision was made in a flash, and Hyo-don’s biological father immediately called for his son.
Somehow, he had contacted Hyo-don using a device code and even sold out his own mother to lure him.
He threatened that if Hyo-don didn’t come, he would dispose of his mother’s ashes, which were kept in a mausoleum.
After luring Hyo-don, he testified to get himself acquitted and started a violent scene demanding money in front of Eungwang High’s west gate.
‘If Tak Geo-san hadn’t come to find Hyo-don, this would’ve been a huge disaster.’
Hyo-don’s biological father couldn’t have done this alone.
Someone with a purpose had used him as a pawn to set things in motion.
A chill ran down my spine.
As I continued to block the moves, the dark forces found an unexpected gap and struck.
“Do you remember if there was anyone else with Hyo-don’s biological father? I heard that he met a player through connections in the detention center.”
Among the things destroyed in the morning was a group of players.
It seemed like they had been preparing to stop the Eungwang High students from interfering and to orchestrate things.
Of course, they weren’t strong enough to stop Tak Geo-san.
Tak Geo-san had spared Hyo-don’s father, a regular citizen, from severe injury, but the players weren’t so lucky.
The investigator who had been cooperating on the case spoke up.
“I checked the records. One of the players tried to use an item on Hyo-don. Tak Geo-san destroyed it before it could hit, though.”
“What kind of item was it?”
“It was an offensive consumable item. Since Hyo-don didn’t resist, it probably hit. The user’s abilities were so poor that they couldn’t kill Hyo-don, but it would have left aftereffects.”
“Even so, considering Hyo-don’s condition, it would have left some aftereffects even if it didn’t kill him.”
Although Hyo-don’s recovery from the item addiction had improved over the past year, it wasn’t perfect compared to a normal person.
If the item had hit, Hyo-don would have been in a state where he wouldn’t have been able to attend school for a long time.
As my sense of devastation settled, a new question emerged.
‘Why did they target Hyo-don now? And in front of Eungwang High?’
If a student was seriously injured or killed in front of Eungwang High, it would be a great example to the world.
Eungwang High would become a target for attacks, and if the association got involved in Hyo-don’s lawsuit, the reputation of the association would plummet as well.
Still, I couldn’t understand why they targeted Hyo-don specifically.
There must have been easier targets for them to make an example of, so why him?
The unresolved questions and guilt for not being prepared weighed heavily on my mind.
“Ui-shin, don’t blame yourself for not stopping this move. It’s my fault for not catching the bail situation sooner.”
“Ui-shin, as Hwang Ho said, it’s Hwang Ho’s fault.”
“......”
Hwang Ji-ho and the investigator nodded in agreement, but my thoughts were different.
If I had gathered information about why the dark forces were targeting Hyo-don and shared it in advance, Hwang Ji-ho would have paid more attention to it.
“The moves you made piled up, and Tak Geo-san ended up becoming Hyo-don’s mentor and protected him. Eungwang High’s self-governing body worked well, and it was thanks to you that Cheon Dong-ha came right away.”
Even though hearing this didn’t lighten my mind, it didn’t make it heavier either.
Thanks to that, I was able to continue my thoughts.
‘What’s different now from the past, like with Plmago? Why would they target Hyo-don so seriously now?’
There were many variables, and it was hard to think clearly.
Thinking about Seong Guk-eon, Jeon Moo-young, and Hyo-don all being targeted at the same time made me feel anxious.
‘To think they’re using Hyo-don’s father just before Parent’s Day. That’s such a disgusting tactic. And with Teacher’s Day coming up soon.’
As I silently cursed the dark forces, my thoughts suddenly became clearer.
I think I understood what the dark forces were truly after.
I broke the long silence and spoke.
“I think we should assign security to Hyo-don.”
“Tak Geo-san will probably follow him around, but should we assign someone from the Hojok as well?”
“Yes.”
The dark forces in Plmago had kept Hyo-don alive until his third year.
But now, in his second year, Hyo-don was healthier than during the Plmago days, though his skills were worse than before.
Yet, despite that, if they were still targeting him, it wasn’t just because they wanted him dead.
When I combined the suspicious elements that hadn’t been detected in Plmago with Hyo-don’s recent movements, the answer became clear.
“Hyo-don will visit Tan-rae Middle on May 15. We cannot let our guard down until that day has passed.”
