NOVPUBAfter leaving the sports field, Yeom Jun-yeol headed toward the building designated for contestants in the finals.
Yong Je-geon, walking beside him, mentioned that the announcement had been made confirming that both Yeom Jun-yeol and Ju Su-hyeok would be the selected members for the exchange competition, but the words barely registered in his ears.
After his duel with Ju Su-hyeok, he couldn’t help but feel down, thinking about Jo Eui-shin, who had been the first to cheer and clap enthusiastically.
‘...I lost again in front of my master.’
Although he had fought with all his might, Yeom Jun-yeol had lost.
He wasn’t feeling humiliated just because of the loss itself.
It was the fact that, having gained a new power through the Inungpa link and excited about the possibility of Hongryonghwa, he now felt ashamed.
‘I still can’t fully handle the Inungpa link, and I failed at Hongryonghwa. Yet, I acted like I had gained immense strength.’
There were many around Yeom Jun-yeol who doted on him excessively.
For the sake of his family and himself, Yeom Jun-yeol had always tried to view himself objectively.
He was aware that he grew up in a blessed environment and had been born with great potential.
Just as there were people like Ma Jin-seung, who relentlessly chased after him every day, trying to defeat him.
However, he also knew that he wasn’t the best.
A year ahead of him was Do Won-woo, in his grade were Cheon Dong-ha, and among the underclassmen were Ju Su-hyeok, Anda-in, and Jo Eui-shin.
Today’s loss had made this fact all too clear, and it was hard for him to shake off the feeling.
‘If I handle the Inungpa link... and Hongryonghwa better, will things change?’
The Inungpa link was a powerful force that not just anyone could control, and Yeom Jun-yeol was growing rapidly.
He wasn’t unaware of this, but his mood remained unchanged.
If Jo Eui-shin had to choose someone to fight alongside, he’d probably pick Ju Su-hyeok or Anda-in over Yeom Jun-yeol.
Those two were stronger, and they didn’t have critical weaknesses like Yeom Jun-yeol, whose vulnerabilities were linked to Yongsal or the source.
Yeom Jun-yeol’s anxious feelings only grew stronger.
“Jun-yeol.”
Yeom Jun-yeol snapped out of his thoughts at Yong Je-geon’s voice.
Looking at Yong Je-geon, who seemed far more cheerful than before the match, Yeom Jun-yeol noticed that the students had fled, leaving the area empty.
Feeling gratitude toward Yong Je-geon in his heart, Yeom Jun-yeol tried to sound cheerful.
“Hmm? Oh, I should clear the waiting room. I’ll be ready soon.”
“Take your time. I’m not rushing you. A guest came and called for you.”
A guest? Given the timing, it was likely someone from the press club.
Yeom Jun-yeol felt a little tense, wondering if it might be Jo Eui-shin.
He didn’t feel ready to face his master again.
Yong Je-geon, observing Yeom Jun-yeol’s reaction, hesitated before speaking.
“Su-hyeok, come in.”
The person who came to find Yeom Jun-yeol was Ju Su-hyeok.
Ju Su-hyeok had changed into a fresh outfit, looking neat.
Considering the time, it seemed that he had just finished changing and came straight to find Yeom Jun-yeol.
“Hello, and I see Teacher Yong Je-geon is here too.”
“Yeah, I watched your match. You’re strong.”
“Thank you.”
Meeting the junior who had just defeated him in the match felt awkward, but Yeom Jun-yeol thought it was still better than facing Jo Eui-shin.
He realized with a bit of shock that he had even considered who would be better to face.
While he was lost in thought, Yong Je-geon and Ju Su-hyeok continued their conversation.
“I think Su-hyeok has something to say to Jun-yeol. Should I leave? But I’d like to stay and listen. Is that okay?”
“Of course. You probably know about Eui-shin already.”
Yong Je-geon thought that Su-hyeok might hesitate or bring it up later, but Su-hyeok seemed fine with him being there. He even seemed welcoming.
Yong Je-geon asked.
“What do you think I know?”
“About Eui-shin.”
“Yeah, I know a lot about him since I’ve been his homeroom teacher for two years.”
“That’s right. Eui-shin’s situation is connected to the fact that you suddenly took over the homeroom teacher position for Class 0.”
Su-hyeok spoke with absolute certainty.
The vague sense he had felt when Jo Eui-shin appeared before the match had now become clearer.
It seemed that Ju Su-hyeok also wanted to show Jo Eui-shin how he fought, and this didn’t seem to be Yeom Jun-yeol’s misunderstanding.
‘Su-hyeok said he fought on Master’s Day. If he wasn’t caught up by chance...’
There had been someone aiming for Maeng Hyo-don during that event.
So it made sense if his friend Ju Su-hyeok had been inadvertently dragged into it.
They had visited their mentor together last year, so it wasn’t unusual.
But there was also a possibility that Ju Su-hyeok had feigned coincidence and helped Jo Eui-shin.
Su-hyeok continued.
“You’ve never volunteered to be a homeroom teacher or a deputy before, right? You’ve never actually taken on that role either.”
“You’ve checked my records.”
“Yes, I looked into all the unusual matters related to Eui-shin. The dragon race treats Eui-shin like family, so I made sure to check the related records carefully.”
A few months ago, Ju Su-hyeok had experienced a shocking event.
When it was revealed that Anda-in was living in the same mansion as the Red Lion and Jo Eui-shin, Ju Su-hyeok had been momentarily stunned.
So shocked that he failed to notice the facts he would later realize.
One of those facts was that Jo Eui-shin had been invited to Yeom Jun-yeol’s birthday party, held by his family or those close to him.
Upon learning this, Ju Su-hyeok had later connected the dots.
This triggered Ju Su-hyeok’s interest in the relationship between the dragon race and Jo Eui-shin.
“Teacher Yong Je-geon, you’ve never volunteered to be a homeroom teacher for Jun-yeol’s class before, so this is strange. Eui-shin must have been really interesting to you.”
“Taking on the homeroom teacher position was an unprecedented act, but can we conclusively say it’s because of Eui-shin?”
“Given how the dragon race treats Eui-shin like family, it makes sense. And there’s more.”
Su-hyeok looked away from Yong Je-geon and focused on Yeom Jun-yeol as he spoke.
“Last Children’s Day, I heard the first-choice person for the opening pitch was someone else. Jun-yeol, you took Eui-shin's request and did the pitch, right?”
Ju Su-hyeok had focused on the events linked to the dragon race and Jo Eui-shin’s involvement.
Among these were the mysterious Red Flame Thieves and the Children’s Day incident at the Jamsil baseball stadium.
Su-hyeok had revisited the process through the leader of the Jo-Dragon’s team, verifying how the opening pitcher had been selected.
Upon verification, he found that Jun-yeol had requested the change himself.
“There was also the Playlist Incident. I don’t know the details, but I heard Eui-shin left with Teacher Yong Je-geon early, leaving the class behind, which made me suspicious. And then on Christmas Eve, the Red Lions and the dragons came to Yeonggwang High with an elite team, possibly...”
Su-hyeok had almost unraveled the entire relationship between the dragon race and Jo Eui-shin.
While Su-hyeok explained, the corners of Yong Je-geon’s mouth began to curl up.
Yong Je-geon found Su-hyeok’s keen insights and talent fascinating, which had been revealed during the pressing events and crises.
Thanks to Jo Eui-shin’s devotion, things had remained relatively peaceful, but Su-hyeok’s abilities had not dulled.
“I’m going to fight alongside Eui-shin too, Teacher Yong Je-geon. I came to tell you that.”
Ju Su-hyeok said firmly.
Both Yong Je-geon and Yeom Jun-yeol couldn’t ignore his words.
After demonstrating his ability to fight, Ju Su-hyeok’s words carried weight.
Yeom Jun-yeol, seeing his confidence, felt both admiration and a renewed sense of determination to work harder.
“Eui-shin doesn’t usually involve students in his fights. He’s a student himself.”
“Yeah, I know. But I’ll prove I can fight alongside him.”
“Eui-shin doesn’t think that’s enough?”
“I haven’t asked him yet, but even if I’m still lacking, it doesn’t matter.”
Yong Je-geon teased him, but Ju Su-hyeok responded earnestly.
“There will be more chances to prove myself.”
It seemed that Ju Su-hyeok was eager to show more of his strength in the Korea-China-Japan Youth Exchange.
Even after showing his immense strength, he still wanted to prove himself, which sparked a fire in Yeom Jun-yeol’s chest.
It felt like embers reigniting in the sunlight.
Yeom Jun-yeol shook off his downcast mood and responded brightly.
The idea that there were still opportunities gave him strength.
“Alright, I’ll prove myself too.”
Upon hearing Yeom Jun-yeol’s response, Yong Je-geon smiled broadly, almost squinting his eyes in joy.
Yong Je-geon was certain that he had spent the most enjoyable moment of the day here.
The next day.
The whole school buzzed with talks about the duel between Ju Su-hyeok and Yeom Jun-yeol.
Not only the students, but also those who witnessed the fight had strong reactions.
Scouts who saw the fight were so eager that they immediately suggested the two join professional player teams, but it was rejected respectfully by their families, making the proposal fall through.
‘With the Jo-Dragon Group and the Red Lion Team behind them, they couldn’t force them anyway.’
It wasn’t just the scouts.
Officials from the exchange competition from other countries had strong reactions as well.
Some reportedly returned to their countries immediately to come up with new strategies.
Others started investigating whether the two truly met the requirements to participate in the exchange competition and whether there were any disqualifying reasons.
They were either planning to adjust their strategies to defeat them or were thoroughly checking and planning to exclude them if needed.
‘There can’t be any disqualifying reasons for them. Descendants meet the qualifications, so it should be fine.’
Though descendants were generally stronger than humans, there were still humans stronger than a descendant, like Ju Su-hyeok.
Also, worldwide, no one would dare to discriminate against descendants following human laws, so they were eligible to participate in the competition.
In fact, while the regulations technically allowed even the ancient dragon race to participate, age restrictions applied.
It was impossible for someone like Hwang Ji-ho, who was old but disguised as a younger age, to participate.
Since it was a youth exchange, only actual youths could participate.
‘The newly born ancient dragon race could participate, but I doubt they will.’
Even if the ancient dragon race wasn’t involved, there were schools without any descendants who would argue that sending one would be unfair.
But, well, what can you do? 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝖔𝔪
As Jeokho put it, if they’re upset, they can admit descendants into the school.
“Hey, suspicious vice-president. Is the article done?”
“Yeah, I’ve finished the first draft.”
“Can I see it?”
Moon Saeron, who had run into me on my way to school, asked.
The article I had written was an analysis of the duel between Ju Su-hyeok and Yeom Jun-yeol.
Whenever there was a battle between strong students, some would struggle to keep up with their moves, and the newspaper club would often ask for an analysis.
I’d written several articles in the past for similar requests, so it was no surprise I was tasked with this one as well.
“No, I also analyzed it using my intuition and the recording device, but how did I miss this part? Can you explain it to me?”
“This time, Hongryong moved to deceive Ju Su-hyeok. That’s why he got out of the audience’s sight...”
As I was explaining to Moon Saeron, a message arrived on my device.
It was from a sender I saw every morning, but this time, I felt a bit heavy.
The message was from Yeom Jun-yeol.
