O Junsu
With so many letters of challenge flying in, it had become too much for him to manage the schedule on his own.
Even so, Kang Hanbyeol did not want to discriminate by accepting some and rejecting others.
He believed that, as a student no different from them, he was in no position to act high and mighty.
One must never harbor arrogance.
It was the quickest path to a fatal mistake.
Therefore, one must always keep oneself in check and humbly know one’s place.
As someone who remembered the teachings of his master, Seo Jeongjin, he could not afford to commit such foolishness.
So he made a proposal to Bak Sagun.
—Sagun, you like organizing data, right? Want to help me with my work?
—I do like recording things and reading, but… what exactly are you asking me to help with?
—Nothing much. I’d like you to manage my sparring schedule for me. As daily pay, I’ll treat you to a meal for every challenge time slot. There have been a lot of challenges lately, so you’ll probably be able to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus snacks and late-night meals. Of course, I’ll buy you drinks with every meal too. I’ll even buy you alcohol from time to time!
—Hmm… Food and drinks, huh…. I’d been wondering if I should get a part-time job anyway, since I’ve been hanging out with you guys so often lately. That doesn’t sound bad. Just covering my food expenses would loosen up my wallet quite a bit.
—And if there’s a weapon I take from a sparring match that suits you, I’ll give it to you!
—Boss, what should I start with? Let’s keep this going for life, even after we graduate.
Since they were in the same class and stuck together often, the diligent and dependable Bak Sagun would surely lessen his burden.
Kang Hanbyeol’s judgment was correct.
In fact, once Bak Sagun accepted the offer and took care of the miscellaneous tasks related to the schedule, their efficiency improved.
And so the two of them would often join forces and go around taking care of challenges.
That day was no different.
“Sagun, who am I fighting today?”
“A senior in the second year from the gun arts line. His name is Choe Minchan, and his alias is the Nimble Flying Squirrel… Like his alias suggests, he’s quick on his feet, and they say he specializes in rapid fire. The artifact he agreed to put up if he loses is a pair of socks. They’re called the Fire Rat’s Socks, and their effect is….”
“A gun arts type, huh. I’m looking forward to it. Lately I’ve mostly been fighting people from the dark magic line.”
After finishing their morning classes at the Cultivation Hall, the two did not head straight to lunch, but instead tried to make their way to the Training Hall.
They planned to eat lunch afterward.
At that moment, Lisa followed them out.
“Wait, I’m going too today.”
“You too, Lisa? Are you sure it’s okay not to eat lunch with the others?”
“If we’d had class in the same building, I would have gone with the others, but ours was the only class that had lessons in the Cultivation Hall today. So it feels a little awkward to go alone. Even if I go, everyone will already be eating first, and I’d feel out of place for no reason.”
“Sure, then. Come eat with us after it’s over.”
Kang Hanbyeol readily allowed Lisa to accompany them.
With that, the three of them left for the sparring location in time for the appointment.
Not long after the sparring began, it ended in Kang Hanbyeol’s victory.
He wore an expression of refreshing satisfaction, as though the sweat had done him good.
“Good work, senior! Thanks to you, I learned something. As promised, I’ll be taking this.”
After paying his respects to the fallen male student.
Kang Hanbyeol set about acquiring his reward for the sparring match.
Kneeling on the floor, he arbitrarily took off the male student’s shoes and seized his red socks.
It was the artifact the male student had staked when issuing the challenge, one that granted resistance to the fire attribute.
Soon, with one sock in hand, he grinned in delight and felt a sense of reward.
At that moment, Lisa spoke to him.
“Hanbyeol…. Are you perhaps going to wear those? No matter how much of an artifact they are, wearing something someone else wore is a bit….”
“These? They’re artifacts, so what’s the problem? And if I wash them, they’ll be clean.”
“You may be able to solve the cleanliness issue to some extent, but there’s still the matter of how it feels….”
Lisa shook her head in disgust.
Kang Hanbyeol, who did understand how she felt, chuckled lightly.
Then he explained.
“The effect is fairly useful, but I don’t really plan on using them. They say artifacts have compatibility with each other, and if you combine them badly, they can end up being counterproductive. These don’t seem compatible with Lucid. I’ve got good instincts, you know.”
“Artifacts do cancel each other out. They also say that even if their compatibility is good, the more artifacts you equip, the weaker their effects become. Considering that too, wearing socks just to slightly increase fire resistance doesn’t seem worth it. There’s no need to increase the number of equipped items for no reason.”
“Right. So if there’s someone who needs them, I’ll give them away for that person to wear, or else I’ll keep them in the safe I have at Hunter Bank as a memento.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea.”
“Let me know if you need them.”
“No, I absolutely do not want to wear them.”
As the flood of challenge requests had also led to an increase in the number of weapons he collected, Kang Hanbyeol had recently opened a separate safe at Hunter Bank.
Intending to follow his master’s example and fill that safe with the arms he had gathered, he put the sock into his pocket.
Meanwhile, Lisa seemed relieved after confirming that he had no intention of wearing them.
She stroked her chest in relief.
“Then that’s the end of the schedule, right? Let’s go eat lunch now.”
“I was hungry anyway, so let’s do that! I wonder if the others are still there? If not, we’ll just eat by ourselves.”
“Yes, let’s.”
While the male student who had lost the sparring match resigned himself and put on his shoes barefoot.
Kang Hanbyeol decided to go eat lunch together with Lisa and Bak Sagun.
As it happened, Do Gyeonu and the others seemed to be eating first at the cafeteria near the Training Hall.
They headed straight to the cafeteria.
“Where are Gyeonu and the others….”
“How about we choose our menus first?”
“Wow, Hanbyeol. Today’s Korean food is bossam. Looks delicious.”
After entering the cafeteria, the three decided on their own menus.
Following Bak Sagun’s lead and choosing Korean food, Kang Hanbyeol stood in line to receive his meal.
It was then that someone spoke to him.
“You’re Kang Hanbyeol?”
“Hm?”
Hearing his name called, Kang Hanbyeol turned his head toward the direction of the voice.
A group of students was approaching.
Among them, a male student who seemed to be leading the group stopped in front of him.
“I was just about to go meet you, and here I run into you by chance.”
“….”
He was a male student with a mole under his left eye.
Kang Hanbyeol quickly scanned him from top to bottom.
In that fleeting instant, his gaze settled on the male student’s shoes.
‘Those look nice. I want to take them.’
Judging by the finishing and texture, they were quite luxurious shoes.
In particular, the buckles, which seemed to be made of gold, were far from ordinary.
Kang Hanbyeol’s instincts instantly realized that they were artifacts.
At that moment, the male student introduced himself arrogantly.
“I am O Junsu of the O family of black mages. I’m sure you’ve heard my name.”
* * *
Lately, there had been many days when I couldn’t eat lunch with Kang Hanbyeol and Bak Sagun.
The two of them were busy enough, running around accepting challenges from students and sparring with them.
For some reason, Lisa was absent today too.
It was a shame, but there was nothing I could do.
‘Still, Haneul is here.’
I left the three of them behind and went to eat lunch with the other friends who had time.
Afterward, until the next class, I planned to kill time in the clubroom or at Brilliant Cafe, so if the timing was right, I might be able to meet the three of them then.
So for now, I decided to focus on eating lunch together and chatting.
That was when Min Arin fumed.
“I seriously can’t understand it.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? What can’t you understand?”
“I mean, aren’t you supposed to read quietly or study in the library?”
“Right?”
“Then why do those people come to the library and flirt? It’s distracting and annoying.”
Min Arin suddenly got angry while twirling jjolmyeon around her fork.
After the Thorn Vine Spire raid incident, she had been devoting herself to volunteer work at the library.
She had visited it often before as well, but now the amount of time she spent at the library had increased even more.
Because of that, it seemed there were various things about the library that had caught her eye.
After swallowing a mouthful of jjolmyeon, she began counting them off one by one on her fingers.
“A lot of villains come to the library, but among them, those people are the worst. Villains who hide books so no one else can borrow them because they want to monopolize them. Ghost villains who leave only their belongings on a seat and don’t show up for hours. Villains who always bring in smelly food to eat, and so on. I’ve dealt with all kinds of villains, but none of them can compare to those people.”
“Yum yum. That’s right, the library is a place to sleep, so they shouldn’t do that. They should be quiet without bothering others.”
“Arin-Arin, why are you so angry? Did those people cause you trouble?”
“Of course they caused trouble. Try watching them fool around right in front of your eyes. Kissing in a public place—are they out of their minds? Are they sane?”
“Hmm, I think I roughly understand how you feel. If people did things like that on the training grounds instead of training, I would be very angry too. It’s an insult to those who are diligently trying to better themselves.”
“Right, I agree too. Personally, I also hate kids who come to the library just to ask for numbers. If they’re doing it because they’re genuinely interested, maybe that’s one thing, but if that’s what they want, they should go out onto the streets. I also hate it when I step out for a moment and come back to find a drink on my desk. How am I supposed to drink something given by someone I don’t even know? It’s scary, and how am I supposed to give them my number too….”
With Min Arin raising the topic, our friends agreed with her opinion and each added their own comments.
‘They’re right. Why date in the library? If they’re going to do it, they should go somewhere out of sight….’
Since my thoughts aligned with my friends’, I nodded in agreement.
Then I tried to join the conversation.
After swallowing the food in my mouth, I opened it.
“I don’t understand those people either. Do they want to rub it in that badly? Don’t they have any consideration for the people around them? Kids like that should fail everything, exams or whatever. I hope it all goes wrong for them.”
“I think so too. People like that are really unpleasant to watch. They have no sense, and no manners either.”
“….”
Yeon Haneul, who was sitting beside me, responded to what I said.
She seemed to think the same as me and was quite enthusiastic.
I kept agreeing with her, saying that whatever she said was absolutely right.
But….
‘Why aren’t they saying anything?’
Coming to my senses, I tilted my head.
For some reason, the friends who had been chattering until just now were looking at us with dumbfounded expressions.
Starting with Min Arin, who clicked her tongue, they spoke.
“Are you two really the ones to say that? You’re exactly the same as them, so stay quiet.”
“Come to think of it, do you know what happened last time when Haneul and Gyeonu went to the library to study? Well, Gyeonu went out saying he was going to the bathroom, then came back after buying only Haneul a strawberry milk. After that, I even caught him cornering Haneul against the wall by the stairs…. You two have no right to say that, nope!”
“Listening to the story, it sounds like Gyeonu-Gyeonu and Haneul-Haneul were in the wrong!”
“So something like that happened without my knowing. Do Gyeonu, Yeon Haneul, reflect on yourselves.”
“….”
Our friends nagged us and ganged up on us, saying we were no different from those guys.
I found it absurd.
‘No, what’s wrong with that? Did we cause any of you trouble? Is that flirting? I just saw strawberry milk in the vending machine, thought of Haneul, and bought it for her, and I only cornered her against the wall in a place where people didn’t come. Did we do something wrong? Though I didn’t expect Eunbi to show up then….’
Yeon Haneul probably felt the same way.
Judging by how her head was lowered, it seemed she was too dumbfounded to speak.
I tried to confidently refute my friends’ claims on her behalf.
At that moment, Cha Eunsol brought up something else.
“Come to think of it, a post like this went up on Akatime earlier.”
Cha Eunsol was naturally stealing bites of Min Arin’s lunch as if it were her own.
With a fork in her mouth, she showed us her smartphone.
We leaned forward and checked the screen.
Author: Anonymous
“A Story About Seeing Bunny-Bunny at the Library Yesterday”
Writing this because I don’t want to attend class.
Last night, I went to the library to borrow a book for an assignment, and Bunny-Bunny was there, you know?
You know, Bunny and Rabbit. The hottest lovey-dovey couple among the first-years.
I’m a third-year, so it was my first time seeing them yesterday, and just like I’d heard, they looked all fresh and innocent.
They were practically dripping sweetness, you know?
Ah, why didn’t I have a thing with anyone in my first year?
No, wait. Why don’t I have a childhood friend?
Sorry, I got sidetracked.
Anyway, do you know what atrocities(?) those two committed in the library yesterday?
Fine, I can let it slide that Bunny couldn’t reach, so Rabbit took the book down from behind for her.
But what was with them not moving away afterward and staying pressed together for a while, gazing deeply into each other’s eyes?
Even that, I can endure.
The problem came after that.
I got curious and secretly watched them, and what they did after was...
Hoo... Those two started playing hide-and-seek with the bookshelves between them?
Bunny dodged this way and that, like she was telling him to try and find her.
Rabbit kept trying to make eye contact through the narrow gaps in the shelves...
Guys, did you really have to do that?
What did the person looking for a book next to Rabbit do to deserve that? Huh???
That person looked seriously pitiful.
They were glaring at Rabbit like they wanted to kill him.
If he hadn’t been from the Divine Sword Do Family, I don’t think they would’ve stayed quiet lol
Seeing them made me want to date too.
Is there any guy out there who wants to go on a blind date with me!!!!?????
I’ll take care of all the money, so you just have to show up hahaha
My older brother got contacted by a major clan this time, so I don’t have to worry about money anymore lol
But you have to be pretty and handsome!!!
Anonymous: No lololol please!!! The library isn’t a place for that!!
Anonymous: I’m a first-year, so I know, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Those two seriously rub it in like crazy. But the scary part is, they don’t even realize it. Ack lololololol fuck
└Anonymous: 22222222222222
└Anonymous: No, how bad is it for you to say that?
└Anonymous: These days they just hold hands in public whether people are watching or not. So their classmates thought, are they finally dating? But apparently they’re ‘not yet’ dating lololol If they’re not dating, they’re not dating, so why do they have to add ‘yet’?? When the hell are they going to date lolololol
└Anonymous: Stop pissing people off and just date already, pleeeeeease!!!!
Anonymous: Haneul is pretty. I want to touch her rabbit ears. I want to pat her tail too. Haha
└Anonymous: Sh-sh-shit, just because you’re anonymous doesn’t mean you won’t get screwed later, so be careful;; If you mention Bunny’s name carelessly, you could die
└Anonymous: You don’t know how scary the Rabbit Corps is, do you? They usually hide who they are, so it doesn’t feel real, but their unity is no joke
└Anonymous: Yeah, yeah, last time someone here mentioned Bunny’s name wrong and got sent to the grave
└Anonymous: Seeing what happened to Do Seungwoo’s gang gives you an idea of Rabbit’s personality too
└Anonymous: The Rabbit Corps, whose influence is suspiciously strong shudder shudder shudder
└Anonymous: Just reported this to the Fighting Princess of the Crimson No Family. Bye
└Anonymous: I reported it to Cerberus lololol
Anonymous: Noona!! Me! I’m handsome and pretty! Go on a blind date with me!
└Anonymous: Sh-sh-shit, read the post carefully
└Anonymous: They said he’s a guy;;; I flinched earlier too
Anonymous: I was the person there at the time^^; Rabbit was doing that while treating me like I didn’t exist, and it was so ridiculous—am I air? Ha, fuck
└Anonymous: The person himself has appeared lolololol
└Anonymous: You are air! You are air! You are air! lololol
Anonymous: Seriously, that blue bastard...
└Anonymous: You can’t call him by that alias either. You’re going to get reported too.
└Anonymous: It’s easier to just call him Rabbitㅠㅠ Otherwise you have to call him That Person
“Did you two really do this?”
“...What’s wrong with this? Can’t childhood friends do this much?”
“Y-Yeah...”
“Wow... You two are really... That’s all I can say. Wow...”
“...”
From our perspective, there hadn’t been anyone around, so we were just fooling around.
I never imagined there had been a witness at the time.
Still, I gathered my emotions as best I could and answered calmly.
Even though Go Eunbi and my friends shook their heads and clicked their tongues as if there was no answer for us, I paid it no mind.
To protect the embarrassed Yeon Haneul, I somehow hid my agitation and proudly straightened my shoulders.
“If you’re upset, make a childhood friend of your own. Childhood friends don’t have walls between them, so this kind of thing is fine. I guess people don’t know because they don’t have childhood friends.”
“Gyeonu, did your conscience run away from home? If you keep that up, someone might throw stones at you. The only reason nothing serious happens is because you’re from the Divine Sword Do Family. Got it?”
“Gyeonu, Gyeonu! You make it sound plausible, but you’re spouting bullshit, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, that’s bullshit.”
“Bullshit indeed.”
“Woof woof? Yum yum.”
My friends looked down on my words.
As for me, I only felt wronged.
At the same time, my thoughts drifted elsewhere.
‘Who the hell is the bastard who posted a comment harassing Haneul?’
When I checked the comments a little while ago, there were quite a few people hiding behind anonymity and insulting Yeon Haneul.
It wasn’t the first time.
Whenever a story about us was posted on AcaTime, they would inevitably appear.
Each time, I used the power of the Divine Sword Do Family to track those guys down and give them a lesson.
I intended to do the same this time.
I’d have to take appropriate measures.
‘If I do it here, Haneul will worry, so I should talk to Hyowon after we get back to the dormitory.’
Only I could touch and stroke Yeon Haneul’s rabbit ears and tail.
I didn’t want to allow anyone else, especially another man, to lay a hand on them.
Glancing sideways at her as her face flushed red, I gathered my emotions again.
It was then that I sensed something strange.
‘What is it?’
The students around us were getting up one by one and heading somewhere.
What had at first been nothing more than a small point of interest was steadily growing larger.
“Did something happen? Why are they acting like that?”
“...”
Go Eunbi and the others also followed my gaze.
To figure out what was going on, I listened to the chatter of the students passing by.
“They say Oh Junsu and Gang Hanbyeol are facing off.”
“What? Facing off? Did a fight break out?”
“Not a fight. They’re apparently exchanging greetings...”
“Then everyone’s swarming over just because they’re saying hello? Seriously, do they have nothing better to do?”
“If they were just introducing themselves normally, maybe. But apparently Oh Junsu is talking like he’s picking a fight. Looks like that ruffian has really set his sights on him.”
“What did the Young Fighting Demon even do wrong... Ah, is it because of that? I heard he took a family treasure from someone of the Black Horse Oh Family during the class competition.”
“There’s that too, and recently, a lot of kids from the black magic faction got beaten by Gang Hanbyeol. As the representative of the black magic faction, his pride must’ve taken a hit too. I heard Oh Junsu’s gang was among the people who got done in by him.”
“...”
It wasn’t difficult to grasp the situation.
Gang Hanbyeol had finally encountered Oh Junsu of the Black Horse Oh Family.
Realizing that the game’s story had occurred, I quickly got to my feet.
Taking my friends, who stood up after me, I moved toward the center of the commotion.
‘No doubt about it. It’s Oh Junsu.’
At the center, crowded with students, two groups were facing off.
On one side were Gang Hanbyeol, Lisa, and Bak Sagun, and on the other were Oh Junsu and his gang.
Oh Junsu of the Black Horse Oh Family, publicly known as Black Feather and commonly called a ruffian.
With a mole beneath his eye, he looked almost exactly like his illustration from the game.
He sneered as he provoked Gang Hanbyeol.
It was just as the game’s flow dictated.
Before long, the conversation between the two had escalated and reached its endpoint.
“...You insolent bastard. I see words won’t work on you. For a brat who doesn’t know how to respect his senior, a beating is the only answer. You don’t refuse challenges that come your way? Fine, good. As your senior, I’ll show you an example right here. Gang Hanbyeol, I challenge you to a ranking match.”
Oh Junsu requested an official duel.
The students watching their confrontation stirred loudly.
An atmosphere naturally formed in which Gang Hanbyeol had no choice but to accept.
That was probably what Oh Junsu had intended.
But Gang Hanbyeol was not the kind of person to avoid a duel, no matter who his opponent was.
On the contrary, he accepted the request as if he had been waiting for it.
The corners of his mouth lifted as he answered.
“My master told me respect is for people who deserve respect. Do I need to respect and speak politely to someone who looks down on me? A challenge? Fine by me. I was looking forward to fighting you anyway. But shouldn’t you at least tell me exactly what a ranking match is? And...”
Gang Hanbyeol, drawing the attention of the students, continued.
His eyes gleamed greedily as he smiled brightly.
“What’s your shoe size?”
“What?”
“I’m asking what size your feet are.”
It was a question typical of Gang Hanbyeol.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss