Welcome to the Union Hero Academy (1)
We took our first steps toward the assigned classroom.
When I glanced sideways, the wide corridor was filled with countless students chatting happily.
The fresh, vibrant atmosphere of new students wafted through the air.
“Hufufufu. We ended up in the same class again?”
As we walked down the corridor for a while, Jin Soyeon spoke up with her bright, cheerful voice.
“I wonder how many years it’s been since we’ve been in the same class~. Ah~ I’m so bored, I’m so bored~.”
She hummed a tune.
And then she poked my side lightly.
She must have been in a good mood since we were assigned to the same class.
Thinking about it, because of the childhood friend setting, I recalled that Jin Soyeon and I had always been in the same class since elementary school.
“By the way, this place is way bigger than middle school. Right? Even after taking the school shuttle, how much farther do we have to walk? At the entrance ceremony, I almost got lost!”
“The total area of the Union Hero Academy is a bit bigger than Yeouido.”
“Wow~ That much? It really is the nation’s top hero training institution after all.”
According to the setting, the Union was one of the most prestigious academies in the world.
Artificial dungeons, combat training grounds, simulation centers, endurance training halls, special security rooms, internal relic research sites, magic academies, medical facilities, historical museums, staff apartments, student dormitories, and so on.
There were so many facilities and equipment it was hard to count.
Just the population living on campus was like a small city.
“That must be first-year first-class.”
After walking for a few more minutes, we finally reached the classroom.
I let out a slow breath inside my heart.
My heart was racing for many reasons.
The 1-1 class we had been assigned to at the Union Hero Academy was far from ordinary.
That was because it was the class where I, Jin Soyeon, and the male leads were all together.
1-1 class was the main stage of the Romance Hero Academy.
Opening the door of this classroom would plunge us into the main story.
“Oh, wait a second.”
“Huh? Why?”
Jin Soyeon suddenly blushed a little and hesitated.
“I need to go to the bathroom for a bit…….”
“Suddenly? Were you nervous or something?”
“Not exactly nervous…… anyway, you go in first, Jinhyuk.”
“But if I go alone, won’t you just get lost? You’re good with directions.”
“Well, no~?”
Jin Soyeon flinched at the words “you’re good with directions,” but soon pouted her lips in dissatisfaction.
Why is she acting so cute? ……She really is adorable.
“You used to cry and cling to me when I was little and you got lost after running an errand, remember?”
“Ah!”
Wanting to tease her a little, I brought up an old trauma from our childhood.
Jin Soyeon hurriedly cut me off.
“Anyway! I’ll be right back, so hold down my seat, okay?”
“Sure, sure.”
Jin Soyeon shot me a sharp glare.
And then she walked steadily toward the bathroom.
I watched her back for a moment before turning my eyes away again.
Thanks to Soyeon, my tension was easing.
Huu…… I guess I’m feeling better now.
After making up my mind, I swallowed dryly and gripped the door handle.
Slowly pushing it open, the view inside the classroom unfolded before me.
Neat interior and an extremely spacious room.
Centered around the teacher’s desk, the classroom’s semicircular layout reminded me of a university lecture hall.
I had only seen this kind of classroom in the game, but it really looked well-equipped.
“Let me see…….”
The classroom was quite noisy.
Many students were gathered in small groups, chatting away.
Since quite a few were fellow alumni from the same school, the group formed quickly.
Students who already knew each other were happily chatting up a storm.
Some still looked awkward, but they were trying to build rapport through conversation.
Among them, one group stood out.
Surrounded by both boys and girls in a circle, they were all talking together.
I glanced at the boy in the center.
His hair had a faint blue tint, and his eyes were sharp.
His appearance evoked the image of a meticulously crafted piece of art, as if a master had painstakingly sculpted it.
It was truly captivating.
“That’s Siwoo.”
Lee Siwoo, the young master of the SL Group.
Up close, he looked even more handsome.
Handsome, talented, great family background…….
I could understand why the female fans loved him so much.
To be honest, I was a little jealous.
“Siwoo, have you seen him at the GB Group event before? I’m Kim Hanna, and my father said…….”
“One of the disciples of the Ten Strongest Sword Master, right? Do you know Baek Yurin too?”
“Congratulations on your top rank, Siwoo. You really are amazing.”
Because he was the young master of a top conglomerate in Korea, countless students were glued to his side, fawning over him.
They were trying to get even a tiny scrap of attention by acting overly eager.
At their age, why were they already acting like this?
“Yeah, Hanna. How’s your dad?”
“Ah! Yes! One day, let’s come to our house……”
Siwoo responded calmly, as if he was used to this reaction.
When he gave a slight smile and nodded, the girls squealed in delight.
I stared at Siwoo for a moment before turning away.
There was one more important male lead in this classroom.
It was Kang Daehan.
The second male lead.
“Haaaaam.”
“Hey, Daehan?”
“Huh?”
“So, that’s……”
In the back row sat Kang Daehan with his fiery red hair.
He had kicked back his chair, put his legs on the desk, and was dozing off, nodding occasionally.
His loosened tie and unbuttoned shirt made him look like a typical playboy.
“I’m Chae Hwa-young, but…….”
“Hey.”
A brown-haired girl next to him kept chatting, waking Kang Daehan up with a somewhat irritated tone.
According to his character setting, he hated being disturbed no matter the gender.
“What? What are you doing? It’s noisy, so get out of here.”
“Ah, sorry.”
The girl flinched in shock at his curse and apologized hurriedly, sweating.
He let out a puff of air and went back to sleeping.
“You idiot. I told you not to talk to Daehan in the first place.”
“Yeah……”
The friend next to her patted Chae Hwa-young’s shoulder, trying to console her.
“B-but talking to Daehan at least…… hehe.”
“……You’re really intense, intense. You like Daehan that much?”
“Y-yeah. He’s cool.”
Chae Hwa-young blushed slightly and smiled brightly.
Even after receiving a curse, she was unfazed.
It was completely beyond my understanding.
Wow, so that’s how it is?
That’s the life of a handsome guy, huh.
Damn.
“By the way, that Kang Daehan guy…… his temper is exactly like in the game.”
I meant the blood of the hero who once represented the nation.
He was quite arrogant, self-centered, and sharp-tongued.
Though many female fans disliked him for his rough exterior, they liked him because he was gentle with his own woman.
Whatever they called it.
“……Hoo.”
Kang Daehan had fallen asleep again.
Few students were around him.
They were simply watching him nervously.
He looked quite intimidating.
“Yeah, their family’s pretty scary after all.”
The Black Shadow Clan founded by the legendary hero.
But the origin of the clan wasn’t very good.
It was founded by crushing talented people who were half villains to unify them.
Lately it had calmed down, but the atmosphere was strict and somewhat intimidating compared to other clans.
“Siwoo and Daehan…… I hope they get along well with Soyeon.”
If I recruited those two as allies, it would be really helpful.
Their talent and abilities were off the charts.
Their families were also solid.
Top corporations and representative clans.
They would be incredibly useful in the worst-case scenario.
“Oh? Jinhyuk~ Hi.”
At that moment, a male student approached and patted my shoulder.
“Yo. I saw you at the class assignment yesterday, but it’s really surprising. You passed the Union too.”
He grinned and acted like a close friend.
“Your performance was average.”
This boy with short cropped hair and muscular build was Kim Useong.
“But what? The Union isn’t the kind of place where high entrance scores keep you in. Jinhyuk’s gonna struggle.”
Unfortunately, we had some interaction because we were from the same school in middle school.
This guy was the typical hyena type.
A human who stepped on the weak to boost his own pride and laughed.
His nature was to cling to strong people and look down on others.
“If Soyeon and I hadn’t broken up, he would have been the first to cling to jealous Siwoo or Daehan later and try to harass me.”
It was fortunate that I could cut off the fake relationship from the start of the academy.
“Isn’t that right?”
“Whatever. Let go of my shoulder.”
I brushed off his arm.
Whoa, why is the guy doing shoulder hugging?
“By the way, are you still dating Soyeon?”
“None of your business.”
Kim Useong casually mentioned Soyeon’s name.
This guy had been worried about me dating Soyeon for a while.
They didn’t match, why are you dating, you’re so envious, and so on.
“You’re really insensitive. Honestly, I’m curious. How long have you and Soyeon been…….”
“What?”
Suddenly.
A familiar voice rang out from behind me.
“Ah, Soyeon hi.”
“Hmm.”
Jin Soyeon, who had finished her business, was already close by.
“Hey, Useong. Why did you bring up my name?”
“I, just…….”
Kim Useong hesitated slightly.
He probably couldn’t openly ask why we were dating in front of Soyeon.
So I jumped in.
It was the perfect chance.
“He asked if we’re still dating.”
“What?”
With a straight face, I answered.
Jin Soyeon furrowed her brows slightly and glared at Useong.
“What? Why are you asking that?”
“I was just curious.”
Jin Soyeon shot me an annoyed look.
Kim Useong could only smile awkwardly.
“From the very first day, you’re so interested in other people’s love affairs……”
“We broke up.”
Instantly.
“I mean, we decided to just stay friends.”
When Jin Soyeon finished her sentence and revealed the breakup, Kim Useong blinked in surprise.
He hadn’t imagined we would break up.
“Ah, I see. I asked something unnecessary.”
“Don’t worry about it. We didn’t break up badly.”
I laughed lightly and shrugged as if it was nothing.
“We’re childhood friends and have been dating for a long time, so it doesn’t feel like the opposite sex anymore. Right, Soyeon?”
“Ah, yeah. That’s right.”
Jin Soyeon frowned slightly, then twirled a strand of her hair.
It seemed like something bothered her.
She was annoyed that I revealed the breakup on the first day.
Well, that made sense from her point of view.
She had used the fake relationship as a shield against annoying guys, but now she couldn’t.
“Do we really need to announce it on the first day? The male leads would just gossip.”
“But we should clarify these things clearly.”
Because.
There were people right now listening with their ears perked up.
The fact that I and Jin Soyeon were no longer dating.
“Isn’t that so?”
“If you say so.”
From behind Jin Soyeon’s calm answer.
There was one male student staring straight at us from afar.
He was surrounded by many students, but his gaze was only fixed on me and Soyeon.
It was Siwoo.
“……”
“Siwoo, why?”
“……No, it’s nothing.”
“Huh?”
A girl who had been chatting earlier looked at Siwoo with a puzzled expression.
She felt that he was staring at a single spot.
But even after answering, Siwoo glanced sideways.
Of course he would.
Because the fact that we had broken up would bother him.
“Since I know from the first day that Jinhyuk and Soyeon broke up, it would be easier for her to approach.”
Actually, in middle school, I had gone to the same school as Siwoo.
Of course, I had barely spoken a word to him back then.
But as someone who knew his character setting, I knew he had been in love with Soyeon since long ago, and the small incident had triggered it.
Until now, I had hesitated to approach because I was her boyfriend.
But now, I wasn’t?
Right. Siwoo?