What the Hell Are You?
‘No matter how much I think about it, it just doesn’t make sense.’
Kang Hana walked along, lost in thought. As promised the day before, she had gone to deliver the news of Jeong Yuhyeon’s demotion to Bronze. When she arrived, a student evaluation was already underway. A Silver-rank assessment. Kang Hana herself had taken the same test right after enrolling. It hadn’t been difficult. Her own skills were solid, but the exam itself hadn’t been particularly strict either. At the Academy, Silver was considered the bare minimum threshold. Staying below it for too long earned you a warning about lacking the will to improve. It felt unfair to the students. She hated the implication that she was looking down on Bronze-ranks. But there was no helping it. If you couldn’t grow, falling behind wasn’t the end of it. Awakening an ability only to never step onto the field was far more terrifying.
Lee Hyunwoo. A freshman in the Weaponry department. His abilities had been more than sufficient by that standard. She could see his growth potential. Promoting him to Silver wouldn’t have been a problem at all. Any other examiner would have approved the advancement without hesitation.
‘But not Examiner Baek Seojin.’
Just like in yesterday’s sparring match against Jeong Yuhyeon, the man was impossible to understand. He wasn’t even an Academy staff member, just a civil servant on dispatch. As a Silver-rank examiner from that side, his limit should have been around C-rank at best. Better than Bronze, sure, but still on the same level as Silver. ‘Naturally, he should be weaker than Jeong Yuhyeon. That would be normal.’
Yet the results told a different story. Lee Hyunwoo, who had been more than ready for Silver, had been crushed. Jeong Yuhyeon, a capable Gold-rank student, had been dropped to Bronze. Of course, her own pressure had played a part in the process, but she knew the truth. Even if the match had continued, Jeong Yuhyeon wouldn’t have won easily. She had the distinct feeling he would have suffered an even more miserable defeat.
This wasn’t ordinary skill. Those judgments, those movements, and that gaze. Everything about him belonged to someone who had experienced real combat at least in the double digits. Kang Hana could tell because she herself had seen her fair share of real battles.
‘Come to think of it, that incident from the other day.’
A few days ago, her father, Kang Inbum, the master of the Matap Clan, had mentioned something strange. An Elder had attacked students and then suddenly retreated. Even though an Elder should have had more than enough time to cause real damage in those few minutes, all records of that window had vanished completely.
“Officially, it’s said that Principal Ma Hakjun stopped the Elder. But doesn’t that seem odd? I’m not underestimating the principal, but the opponent was an Elder. Blocking one repeatedly should have been impossible.”
Recalling her father’s words, Kang Hana felt a fresh pang of regret that she hadn’t been present. The student council members had been scattered across the battlefield as well. That thought brought back something Yu Dasom had said. That Baek Seojin might actually be a special operative. Now the idea didn’t feel like a joke anymore. It was starting to seem far more plausible.
‘And just now. Even when I mentioned Jeong Yuhyeon’s backers, he didn’t look surprised at all. When I said the guy would fight for his life, he just brushed it off. That’s not the reaction of an ordinary Silver examiner.’
Could Baek Seojin himself have something massive backing him? It probably wasn’t a top-tier clan like hers. If it were, she would have heard about it. It was also unlikely he had corporate connections like Jeong Yuhyeon.
‘Dasom said she’d never seen him before.’
Yu Dasom, the student council treasurer. As the granddaughter of the Mirae Group’s representative director, her network in the business world was wider than Kang Hana’s own. If even she didn’t recognize him, then he wasn’t from that side either.
‘That only leaves one possibility.’
Just as Yu Dasom had suggested, a secretly trained ability user working for the government. Someone who operated unofficially against monsters or villains. Yes, a special operative. That explanation fit every inconsistency.
Someone with no parents or relatives who didn’t bow to those with powerful backers. Officially a Silver-rank examiner, yet possessing far greater skill. Someone who thoroughly rejected anything that didn’t meet his standards. Someone with no documented combat experience, yet whose responses were clearly forged in real battles.
‘I’m curious…! It’s driving me crazy!’
Kang Hana was normally a very composed person. But once something piqued her interest, she couldn’t rest until she uncovered the truth. Yu Dasom had even nagged her about it, but there was nothing she could do. ‘I just can’t stand not knowing.’
She was seriously considering asking her father for help when she spotted a female student on her way back to the main building.
“Ah, hello, sunbae.”
“Hey, Suhyun.”
Kim Suhyun. The granddaughter of Kang Minsung, one of the great heroes of the past. Kang Inbum, Kang Hana’s father, respected Kang Minsung above all others. He was always boasting about how proud he was to share the same surname. ‘Even though they’re from completely different branches.’
The two families had met and spoken once. Thanks to that, Kang Hana had developed quite a few connections with the Kang family, and through them, she had gotten to know Kim Suhyun as well.
“Where are you headed?”
“I, um, have something to take care of…”
“Something to take care of? Are you going for an evaluation?”
“Huh?”
“The direction you’re walking is toward the evaluation hall.”
Just as Kang Hana said, Kim Suhyun was heading straight for the evaluation area. More precisely, toward the place where Examiner Baek Seojin was waiting.
“You’re really planning to take the evaluation?”
“Well… not right now. I was thinking of doing it next week…”
“So you’re going to take it eventually?”
Kim Suhyun nodded. It was a little sudden, but Kang Hana felt quietly relieved. She knew how much pressure Kim Suhyun felt from other people’s gazes and expectations. It had only been a short time since she enrolled, yet she still hadn’t adapted, which was a shame. At the same time, showing too much concern might only burden her further. So Kang Hana had been watching from a distance, and it seemed things were finally improving.
“Good luck, Suhyun. Don’t stress too much over what other people say.”
“Yes. Thank you, sunbae.”
“You’re not going to call me unni? You can just call me that like before.”
When Kang Hana smiled, Kim Suhyun hesitated for a moment before nodding. Even so, she was one of the few people who accepted Suhyun for who she was.
“Anyway, I should get going. Take care, Suhyun.”
“You too… Good luck with the student council, unni.”
After a brief exchange, Kim Suhyun continued on her way. Kang Hana watched her quietly, then let out a small sound of surprise.
‘Wait. Now that I think about it, has Suhyun ever gone looking for someone before?’
No. She couldn’t recall a single instance. Suhyun had never sought anyone out or voiced her own opinions. She had always been the type to only follow when someone else took the initiative. Maybe it was because she was completely exhausted from the weight of excessive expectations and the pressure that came with them. Yet now, Kim Suhyun was heading to the evaluation hall of her own accord. And the person waiting there was none other than Examiner Baek Seojin.
Naturally, the Kang Minsung family maintained close ties with government agencies. Though they hadn’t founded their own clan, the family itself functioned as one massive organization, deeply entangled with the business world, politics, and every other sphere of influence. In that situation, Kim Suhyun, the granddaughter Kang Minsung doted on, was going to meet the examiner who seemed suspicious in so many ways?
‘Kim Suhyun. Kang Minsung. The great hero. Baek Seojin. Special operative…’
The curiosity that had only just begun to settle flared up once more.
*
A small bar located in the entertainment district. A place where neither ability users nor villains gathered, just ordinary people who were neither one nor the other.
“…So that’s the target, right?”
“That’s right.”
“The method. Kidnapping? Surgery? Or the usual setup?”
The man covered in scars spoke, and the other man in a suit clicked his tongue.
“Either way, he’s a civil servant. Doing surgery or setting him up openly would be a pain.”
“Kidnapping would be the same. He’s not just any civil servant. If he’s dispatched to the Academy, that’s trouble.”
“It’s not like there’s no way. Social ruin should be enough.”
The suited man handed something to the scarred man.
“These are the ones we narrowed it down to. Pick one and attach her to him.”
“Amateurs won’t cut it.”
“Don’t worry. They’re all the type whose eyes light up at the sight of money. They’ll do whatever it takes.”
What the suited man offered were documents containing information on several women. Their ages and appearances were all different, but they shared one thing in common. Each had a record of causing incidents as ability users and serving time. And after being expelled from their clans, they were now struggling to make ends meet.
“It won’t be difficult. Just twist the situation however you need so the two of them end up together.”
“Not bad. They say there are three things a man has to be careful about.”
“Three things?”
“His neck. His tongue. And that.”
The scarred man pointed near the suited man’s groin. The suited man let out a short laugh and nodded.
“If a civil servant gets caught up in rumors, it’s fatal. If we add a little seasoning on top, the media will latch on like it’s the story of the year. A civil servant accused of sexual harassment. That’s the kind of headline that makes their mouths water.”
The scarred man nodded and picked up the documents.
“By the way, why is that young master of yours suddenly making this request?”
“Who knows. Probably pissed someone off again. Things had been quiet for a while.”
“The chairman won’t be happy if he finds out.”
“He’ll side with the young master in the end. He can’t stand ants trying to climb up.”
The scarred man agreed with a grunt.
“Another poor civil servant heading straight to ruin.”
“What can you do? He stuck his neck out and got unlucky.”
“Baek Seojin… Pretty soon we’ll be seeing news about some civil servant named Baek committing suicide.”
The two men were about to stand up when—
Thud—
Their bodies were suddenly forced back into their chairs.
“I think I just heard something interesting. Care to repeat that?”
A stunning blonde beauty with blue eyes, her hair tied back tightly, was smiling at them.