Ch 227
Became a swordsmanship instructor at the academy
Chapter 227
I wanted to call Seong Ji-an aside immediately after the stage greeting to confront her about it, but I couldn't.
Se-jin and Eunseo's piercing gazes were one thing, but as soon as the play ended, the crowd of parents approached the students without anyone taking the lead.
Seong Jin-cheol, Ji-an's father, was the same.
Just looking at him, not only Se-jin and Eunseo but Seong Jin-cheol also had quite a displeased expression.
Ji-an was also making excuses to Jin-cheol that she didn't really do it, and if I went over there and asked "Why on earth did you do that?" it would turn into a hell party right away.
"Chan-seong... I, really, enjoyed, the, play."
What's with the staccato?
This isn't the usual way Eunseo speaks that I know.
"Chan-seong, shall we go outside and talk for a moment?"
Se-jin is also smiling with her mouth, but her eyes aren't smiling at all.
"Um, well... right. I need to clean up the stage first."
"The cleanup can be done slowly. Take him away...."
"That's right. Hey, Min Chan-seong, you said you'd give us autographs earlier. Don't forget."
No... you guys, autographs aren't the problem right now.
Those idiots don't even know what situation I'm in right now.
In the end, I was dragged to a corner of the small auditorium with Eunseo and Se-jin grabbing my arms on both sides.
"Um... I think you're both misunderstanding something."
"Mis, under, stand, ing?"
"No, Eunseo, why are you speaking so scarily by cutting your words?"
"What, am, I, do, ing?"
"I'm not in the mood for jokes. That at the end just now, it actually touched, right?"
...What do I do about this?
It's not that I don't know that lies breed bigger lies, but if I tell the truth, it'll definitely be death.
"What... what touched what? It's acting."
I have no choice.
"It looked like you really did it."
"When, I, saw, it, too."
"Stop it. There's no way kids would actually do something like kissing in a play. With so many people watching like this."
"Hmm, really?"
I feel a bit guilty, but it wasn't something I did of my own will, and I'm ultimately the victim in this situation.
Well, it's not like I'd develop feelings for Ji-an that weren't there before just because of one kiss.
For me, there are only three: Luciel, Se-jin, and Eunseo.
"That's what I'm saying."
Fortunately, when I came out strong, both of them seemed to withdraw their suspicions.
"But it was too realistic...."
"That's right. From the audience, it really looked like you were doing it."
"It's because we practiced to look that way during rehearsals."
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. It's probably because both of you don't usually have faith in me. It's my fault."
I spoke while making the most wistful and lonely expression possible.
"Oh, no. I was the one who misunderstood...."
"That's not right. We just overreacted. There's no way Teacher would do that to us."
Both of them looked apologetic.
It seems like I managed to get through it well... phew, I really feel like my lifespan shortened by about 10 years.
"Stop making innocent people suffer, how was the play? I was a bit nervous since you two were watching from the front row."
"I didn't feel that at all and I really enjoyed it. Other audience members were also saying you really seemed like a teacher, weren't they?"
"Well, that's natural since I'm actually a real teacher."
I don't think I have any particular talent for acting, but I have been teaching for 2 years.
"Um, then I'll go first. I skipped student council work to watch the play, so my senior is furious."
Eunseo left first.
"Se-jin, how was it for you?"
"I liked the story. It reminded me a lot of you, Teacher."
"Really? Aside from being teacher and student, there's hardly anything similar."
"But the ending was the same, wasn't it? It was a happy ending."
...I felt a bit guilty since I can't even give her a proper answer in my current situation, but Se-jin didn't seem to be thinking about that when she said it.
"Then would you like to meet the kid who wrote the script? She seems to be a fan of yours too."
Just like when I was being dragged by those two earlier, and right before the play started, when Se-jin was sitting in the front row, there was quite a commotion among the class kids.
I knew that Se-jin was famous as the youngest S-rank Hunter and guild master of a top 10 guild, but she seems much more popular than I thought.
Nam Ji-hyeon, who wrote the script, even teared up saying that Se-jin-nim came to watch her play.
When we went on the field trip to the guild before, she didn't seem to admire her that much. Of course, that was before Se-jin became an S-rank Hunter.
"Who wrote the script?"
"A kid named Ji-hyeon, she went to your guild with us before. Her father is Nam Il-seong Hunter from Bicheon Guild."
"Ah, I remember. But I didn't see Hunter Nam earlier."
"I didn't see him either. Well, he'll probably come tomorrow or the day after. Let's go. Go give out autographs directly. For guild promotion too."
"They're still first-year students, so they'll get caught for recruiting."
"Our great Hunter Kim Se-jin came all the way here, and if I don't introduce her properly, I think I'll be in trouble first?"
I went with Se-jin to introduce her to the class kids and handed out autographs.
It feels a bit over the top, but since Se-jin is my guardian, none of the kids will think it's strange.
The summer camp connection was also big news, so everyone knows about it.
Se-jin didn't have much time either, so after giving out autographs and taking a few photos, she left right away.
"Chan-seong, thank you so much."
"To see Hunter Kim Se-jin in person and get autographs and photos...."
It's nothing special, but everyone is so happy.
Right. This life only has less than a month left anyway, so I should at least do things like this.
"Alright, alright. Everyone gather. Let's start cleaning up now."
Since we have to perform in the afternoon too, I said let's finish cleaning before lunch, so everyone cooperated and finished cleaning.
"Everyone worked hard. You know we're promoting again after lunch, right? There's no rehearsal for the afternoon performance, but actors should come by 2:30."
"Yes."
Everyone was leaving in groups of three or five to eat lunch, but look at that girl Ji-an?
After committing such an act against me, she's going out with Ji-hyeon as if nothing happened.
"Ji-an, let's talk for a moment."
"Min Chan-seong? What is it? We're going to eat."
"It'll just take a moment, so go ahead first."
Ji-hyeon made her characteristic displeased expression, but since Ji-an obediently came over to me, she left.
"Why did you do that earlier?"
"The kids pointed it out earlier. They said it looked too fake."
"No, even so, something like that...."
"I won't do it in the next performance if you don't like it. But you don't hate me, right? Was it your first time by any chance?"
Not hating someone doesn't mean liking them, does it?
Her overly confident attitude makes me even more flustered.
"No, that's not what's important right now."
"I wanted to express my feelings a little more too. And it was my first time too, so it's okay."
She said that and went straight toward where Ji-hyeon was.
Really, why are kids these days like this... Just when I was thinking I should just let it go, I heard a familiar voice in my head.
―So you really did it?
My goodness, it's Luciel's voice.
***
"The winner is First Hunter School first-year student Lee Ji-sung!"
I raised my arm at the same time as the referee's declaration.
Following the initial round of 32, I won this round of 16 overwhelmingly as well, but I'm not happy at all.
Usually when a contestant from your school wins, applause and cheers pour out, but there's none of that for me.
Of course, it's not that there are no First Hunter School students or related people in the main auditorium where the martial arts tournament is being held.
There's more than just me as the First Hunter School student who advanced to the main tournament.
But no one cheers for me.
There's so little applause and cheering that even the broadcasting companies covering the event and officials from other schools find it strange.
With this much, it's only a matter of time before rumors spread externally....
I came down from the dueling stage with a frustrated heart.
Of course, the media will hush it up since the group will exert pressure.
"That's the guy, right? The son of the Hwasin Electronics president."
"Right. They say he's a real piece of human trash."
"Huh?"
"You didn't hear that rumor? That guy put a classmate in a vegetative state in middle school."
"Really? But how is he still going to school?"
"He must have covered it up with money. You know what's even more vicious?"
"What?"
"The student who woke up from the vegetative state initially had no memory. But this bastard knew that and pretended to be close friends with the kid he had put in a vegetative state."
It's really unfair.
I knew all the facts, but I wasn't the one who put Min Chan-seong in a vegetative state....
"He probably did that so he couldn't be sued later when his memory came back, right? In the end, he didn't sue."
"Wow, you're right. How can a person think like that?"
"Because he's not the same kind of person as us. He's a complete psychopath."
"At First Hunter School, the rumor has already spread so much that no one cheers for him."
"I heard from a friend at First Hunter School that he was a complete delinquent since middle school. Beating kids up, bullying them...."
Looking at the school uniform of the student whispering about me as I came down, it's a student from another school.
Like this, no matter how much they control the media, they can't stop rumors that spread from mouth to mouth.
If even students from other schools know about it, it seems to have spread as far as it can go.
I need to do some image laundering quickly....
I don't know if they're doing it on purpose, but they're talking trash about me loud enough for me to hear.
I deliberately ignored them and left the auditorium.
Passing by the main building entrance, I spotted our class kids promoting the play, but I pretended not to see them and headed to the dormitory.
Even if I went over, I'd be treated like a ghost rather than being welcomed.
I returned to the empty dormitory and was changing clothes when I felt a vibration in my pocket.
I took out my phone and saw it was Secretary Oh.
Has the terrorist attack finally happened?
For that, the outside looked no different from when I came in earlier.
Maybe he discovered something strange.
I immediately pressed the call button.
"Yes, Secretary Oh. What's the matter?"
―Young Master, did the match end well?
What, is this just a courtesy call?
"I advanced to the quarterfinals. More importantly, are there any signs of terrorism?"
―I was actually contacting you about that matter. Are you certain about the information you obtained, Young Master?
"I'm telling you it's certain."
―Among the Antas Korea figures that our Hwasin Group is aware of, none of them have come to Hunter First Hunter School.
...Is it not today?
I know that terrorism will occur, but my memory is hazy about exactly which day of the festival it happens.
One thing that's certain is that there was an incident on the last day of the festival, but the vice principal gave a speech saying it was fortunate that they managed to handle it well and finish properly, so it must be either today or tomorrow.
―Um, Young Master? If you could tell us the source, we could verify its authenticity.
"If it's not today, it will happen tomorrow. Aren't those my security personnel that you deployed anyway?"
I'm already frustrated to death, and now he keeps showing doubt, making my irritation rise.
―Since Young Master is usually at school, everyone was working on other tasks during this period....
"It's reliable information. If it's too much to withdraw personnel for the entire festival, please at least have them standby nearby until tomorrow."
―Understood. Then I hope your match goes well tomorrow too.
He said he understood and hung up.
According to the original work, terrorism will definitely occur, but Secretary Oh's constant whining is making anxiety rise.
If Choi Seo-ra's escape from Antas caused the terrorism to be called off....
No, that can't be.
That bastard Kang Shin-hyeok did intervene in various ways, helping Kim Do-hyun's family and supporting Min Chan-seong's treatment costs, but there was no record of him fighting Antas Korea.
Of course, there must have been friction when rescuing Choi Seo-ra, but Antas Korea is still intact.
Right. It'll definitely be fine.
But my prediction was completely wrong.
On the second day of the festival, even after finishing the quarterfinals and semifinals of the martial arts tournament and confirming advancement to the finals, not only was there no terrorism, but nothing happened at all.