Three Outsiders
-Bang! The homeroom teacher projected a PPT onto the beam projector screen pulled down over the blackboard, then slammed his pot-lid-sized palm onto the podium.
"Attention, everyone!"
[Jang Han-nam (35 years old)]
A muscular alpha male in just a black tank top and shorts, with a whistle around his neck.
"From today, I'm Jang Han-nam, your homeroom teacher for 1st year Class A."
A familiar face, as expected. Jang Han-nam was the polar opposite of the sly, bespectacled brainiac Jeong Da-un—a hot-blooded teacher who handled both Class A homeroom duties and guidance counselor for the student disciplinary committee.
Being assigned to Class A, full of top academic performers, meant he was strong enough to subdue any student troublemakers. And his guidance role meant he was a stickler for rules.
As you can see, he fit the typical image of a Shangju academy instructor far better than Jeong Da-un—
"Why do they keep glaring at us like that since earlier?"
That gaze lingered on me, just as Gemma said, for some reason.
"I'm retired, sure, but it's only been a year, and I trust you all know what I was like in my prime."
Oh, we know. I watched those flashback scenes plenty during my playthroughs.
"Got it? Don't test me."
The moment the homeroom teacher declared it, intense spiritual power erupted from his body.
"You there. Showing up on the first day of class with that cocky hairdo. Bold move."
-Whoosh!
The moment Jang Han-nam shouted, the wet chalk on the blackboard floated up on its own.
"Dodge."
As Gemma warned, the chalk hurtled toward me at tremendous speed.
-Boom!
I reflexively jerked my head aside, and the chalk whistled past overhead.
-Crack!
The teacher's real target was the student seated behind me. I'd gotten spooked for nothing.
"Urk."
The male student, who'd thrown his head back, groaned and straightened up. Thanks to Jang Han-nam using poltergeist to slow the chalk at the last second, it hadn't pierced his skull. Performing such delicate trickery from over 20 meters away without lifting a finger, just with basic technique applications. Not someone to underestimate.
"Why me only..."
The boy kept rubbing the dead center of his forehead where the chalk had struck.
Right, this guy's the one. The owner of an afro so striking it overshadowed my blond dye job entirely. A hairdo that could rival even Bob the Builder's infamous 'Easy peasy, right?' catchphrase.
"Name."
"U Hyo-chung."
"Watch your tone."
"—sir."
Class A gathered only the highest-rated students from entrance exams, but there were exceptions. Me first, thanks to my unknown trait letting me ace the placement test despite everything. And second, U Hyo-chung, who passed the spirit summoning exam not on skill, but sheer luck.
This guy with the unique trait 'Unwished Fortune' scored high because his direct ancestor's memorial tablet got misplaced into the exam room by a supervisor's error.
"Why pick on me only..."
Watching U Hyo-chung mutter bitterly made me oddly glad to see him. In the game, I'd raised him on affection and used him for minigames like gacha pulls and rock-paper-scissors. Wonder how he'll turn out this time. As the story's ultimate lucky charm, he probably burned through his accumulated fortune on the placement test, explaining why he couldn't dodge the chalk.
"Teacher, isn't hair free-form on Argo?"
"I won't tolerate that mop in my classroom. Shave it bald before first period tomorrow."
Not about my hair, so whatever, but that phrasing could spark a shooting spree from a Black exchange student.
"Um, there's a blond tanned kid up front—"
"What's weird about a foreign student being blond?"
Laughter erupted from all around at Jang Han-nam's words.
"Teacher, he's Korean."
"What? Hey, you blondie."
"Kim Taeyang."
"Yeah, you. Is that story true?!"
My face screamed East Asian features from every angle. Right, this musclehead was a total dimwit.
"Hah."
Instead of answering, I sighed and summoned Gemma. For some reason, she was in a cheerleader outfit, instantly drawing every eye in the classroom. Whispers rose: "Our ancestor's so pretty and open-minded", "Dragging the family name through the mud in that getup—what are the elders thinking?"
"Why the cosplay bullshit?"
"Cause in American high school shows, all the cute girls dress like this..."
"Cut back on Netflix."
Dumbass Gemma strikes again. Lingering resentment from never going to school herself?
"Mixed heritage, huh. Natural blond's fine, then."
Jang Han-nam checked Gemma's hair color and withdrew his spiritual power.
"To keep the dye job from showing roots, you'll need weekly touch-ups."
"Gonna go black."
"Why? Blond suits you."
I ignored her giggling and glanced back. U Hyo-chung stared at me with a dumbfounded look. Who told a veteran with dozens of endings under their belt to snitch?
"No time to waste—open the first page of the student handbook you got yesterday."
With the show of authority done, Jang Han-nam launched into morning roll call proper. As the first one, it covered Argo Academy's founding purpose, history, and such. Including why it was built on a massive ship sailing international waters, not Korean territory.
"Ancestors buried in prime spiritual sites see massive power boosts. The closer your activity area to the main house, the stronger they get."
"Argo Academy floats at sea to train in a ley-line severed space, eliminating those variables for fair cadet evaluation."
"And above all, the ocean's hard for monsters and terrorists to reach. Know that Argo's entire staff pulls every lever to secure cadets' safety—the future of humanity."
I'd heard it dozens of times already and nearly yawned, but Gemma glared straight at Teacher Jang Han-nam.
"As expected, they don't tell students the real reason."
What real reason? Not in the game, so intriguing, but I wasn't itching to dig now.
Soon, staff entered distributing textbooks.
"Ugh... gotta memorize all this?"
Gemma muttered in horror. Fair—the books were more specialized texts than textbooks, hefty tomes. Flipping through, the content was dense and systematic. Real scholarship, not game filler. Starting to get why pre-possession Kim Taeyang bolted mid-written exam.
"Theory's vital, but Argo trains heroes, not scholars. Mock battles and spars are the real bloom here. Once distribution's done, we'll form 3-man teams for training."
As books finished handing out, Jang Han-nam announced. Soon, our mock battle partners for the whole semester would be set. Excitement and tension rippled through the class. Everyone eyed attractive opposites or familiar same-sex friends, but more frantically scanned top exam performers.
"......"
But I wasn't on anyone's wishlist, it seemed. Despite acing placement, they all avoided my gaze. Do I look that much like a group project freeloader? My college nickname "Baemin Rider" came from buying snacks daily to wrangle deadweight teammates—unfair.
"What'd you expect? You bombed the written test. Checked entrance cuts—acing mocks despite that is miracle territory."
"When'd you see that?"
"Borrowed your phone while you slept."
"...?!"
When'd she memorize my lock pattern? That morning Google Play charge was her doing. Thief gonna thief. On brand.
"Ancestral rites for the next week."
"Cheapskate, threatening over snacks?"
"Call it retaliatory budget cut."
"Same diff!"
I ignored Gemma poking me with a poltergeist pencil lead and pondered. Teammates get paired by mixing high and low exam scorers. As an extra admit, I'm dead last in theory and practice for Class A. High chance of teaming with one of the protagonist trio. Gong In-myeong slacks early but shapes up mid-semester. Seol Romi hates seeing #1 slip, so she'll carry. Shin Sua dislikes me but lives for scores—won't slack even with me.
Who knew bombing exams would pay off here? Phone fortune or dark horse—
"Team 7. Leader: Kim Taeyang. Members: U Hyo-chung, Mun Hee-jeong."
Bzzt. Kimchi soup dreams dashed.
The top and runner-up I'd hoped for scattered to other teams.
"Ha..."
Jang Han-nam, announcing Team 7, stared right at us. Afro-haired U Hyo-chung. Blond-tanned delinquent me. Bet he lumped the visual oddballs together. Calling it now. Third member Mun Hee-jeong packed visual impact too. By the window, bundled head-to-toe in cotton clothes, furry gloves, and hoodie. Timid small-animal vibe, cute but gloomy, not standout. Defying warming weather—that's Mun Hee-jeong.
"......"
Mun Hee-jeong eyed us with half-lidded gaze, face screaming "Why lump me with these delinquents?"
"Roll call's over. Groups, gather and sit before first period. 5-minute break!"
Jang Han-nam declared and exited. The classroom erupted in shuffling chaos.
"This is nuts."
I racked my brain fast. Can this crew survive semester mock battles? U Hyo-chung's luck can't fix trash basics yet; Mun Hee-jeong hasn't mastered her power fully.
"Heard earlier, but I'm U Hyo-chung. Don't mock the name—it's legit, even in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty."
He slid down from the back row to the seat beside me mid-thought.
"Wasn't planning to."
My name's bluntly prophetic too—pot meet kettle.
"Kim Taeyang. How's the chalk hit?"
Semester fate-bound teammate—better get friendly.
"Homeroom's a monster. No clue how, but my skull's still rattling."
"Lucky it didn't swell. So, position?"
Knew already, but played dumb. U Hyo-chung pulled handcuffs, gripped like knuckles.
"Frontliner, huh. Me too."
I pointed to the long wooden staff poking from my bag, bullshitting.
"Then the last one's..."
Post-intro, his eyes scanned. Hunting Mun Hee-jeong's face on the screen, probably. Hood made it tricky.
"...Hah."
Sigh from my left—she'd sat there unnoticed.
"Whoa, scared me."
U Hyo-chung jumped, but Mun Hee-jeong said nothing, chin on crossed arms, staring front. Ignoring us like porcupine quills.
"Uh, hi?"
"......"
U Hyo-chung manned up, living his name's vibe, but iced out. Team 7's mood plunged frigid. "Let's do this, fighting!" No way that flies. Even girl-charming U wilted before her cynical aura.
"Mun Hee-jeong."
She muttered her name mosquito-soft, eyes averted, then clammed up. Mood hit rock-bottom—no team spirit hopes.
"How about gentlemanly ice-breaking to thaw the lady? I've read a dozen rec games in books—"
"Do it solo."
"Eek."
Rec games? Boomer bullshit.
"Ow, my head."
U took the hit, why's my skull aching? Expected at announce, but this semester's mocks look rough.