The Midterm Exam (Part 1)
‘How did it all end so cleanly?’
Ultimately, this stalker incident wrapped up with Cho Chang-won simply withdrawing from the academy.
From the academy’s perspective, they were reluctant to have something as unseemly as a stalker case leak to the media. Since Soyeon, the victim, had shown her a fair amount of leniency, the decision fell on withdrawal rather than expulsion.
That’s why Cho Chang-won could be asked to withdraw immediately without needing to convene a disciplinary committee or go through any complicated procedures.
Cho Chang-won himself went straight to Soyeon, head bowed low, and accepted the withdrawal with sincere apologies and thanks.
After all, the academy’s and Soyeon’s judgment had been far too merciful.
If they had followed normal procedures, the disciplinary level would have been set, and Cho Chang-won would have been expelled and punished in various ways.
He might have been blacklisted at every other academy, left scrambling in fear and uncertainty.
His parents, who had worked so hard to raise their only son through double shifts, would have been shattered by the news that their son had been expelled for a sick, perverted crime like stalking.
And Cho Chang-won would have wandered aimlessly for a long time after being shunned by his parents, despised by his friends, and criticized by the media.
Eventually he might have turned his hatred and resentment toward Soyeon—who was the root cause of everything—and fallen into becoming another villain.
……No, actually, that route does exist in the game.
Of course, since this is reality and not the game, Cho Chang-won might not fall into that trap.
But who knows? Maybe he does. Stranger things have happened.
Still, it was a good thing the matter ended without any loose ends.
Cho Chang-won seemed to have come to his senses thanks to the generous leniency Soyeon showed him.
He had been thoroughly corrupted by evil after repeatedly repeating his crimes, but since this was still the very beginning of the stalking phase, he had apparently snapped out of it quickly.
‘Siwoo looked a little displeased, but…… with a few warnings from Soyeon, he just let it go. That guy really is weak to Soyeon.’
I let out a wry smile in my heart.
In the game, Soyeon had definitely punished Cho Chang-won more harshly.
After all, by that point he had already caused countless victims through his evil acts.
Seeing all those victims suffering would have made it impossible for her to show any leniency.
She would have believed only punishment fitting the crime could bring even a little comfort to the victims’ hearts.
‘But this case is a bit different.’
In truth, the only victim here is Soyeon herself.
Only a little damage had been done to Gang Yoo-jung, and honestly she probably deserved it.
Her “crimes” were nothing more than spreading a few bad rumors, gossiping behind Soyeon’s back, stealing Soyeon’s things, and taking photos.
Nothing on the level of a truly vicious crime.
Combined with the fact that he was a first-time offender, Soyeon seemed to have given Cho Chang-won a somewhat lenient decision in this stalker case.
Since she had kept it a secret, the other students had no idea why he was withdrawing.
Well, a few sharp-eyed ones had figured it out, but still.
‘Speaking of which, I thought that because of this incident, Soyeon would get closer to Siwoo, but the atmosphere feels a little off.’
The two of them looked perfectly normal on the surface, but there was something subtle, almost awkward about it.
They were talking calmly, yet a faint trace of discomfort lingered.
Did something happen after I left the room?
“Why are you staring so much?”
“Huh?”
Seol-hyeon, with her shimmering gold hair swaying, approached with her usual elegant steps and casually greeted me as if we knew each other.
With a gentle smile, she turned her gaze toward the direction I had been looking, which happened to be Soyeon and Siwoo.
She then slowly curved her lips upward.
It was as if a mischievous thought had just crossed her mind.
“Hehe. You’ve been staring at those two like you’re glued to them. Curious?”
“Just……”
I shrugged as if it was nothing.
But Seol-hyeon sat down on the empty desk beside me with a faint smile and simply watched with curious eyes.
Because I had earlier given her a fake, passionate speech about my feelings for Soyeon, Seol-hyeon had started making sarcastic remarks more often.
She knew I still had feelings for Soyeon.
My performance had been accepted.
But maybe that was the problem—it had been accepted too well.
‘Lately it seems like Seol-hyeon has been taking the initiative to act like she knows me more…… Is that a sign that we’ve become closer over these past few months?’
Originally, in a classroom full of students, Seol-hyeon barely spoke to anyone.
But recently, I could tell the number of conversations between us had increased.
“So? What do you think of those two?”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh? You’re acting like you don’t know? How do they seem after this incident?”
“……What do you think?”
“Is answering a question with another question really okay?”
“No, I’m genuinely asking because I don’t know. The atmosphere between those two feels a little ambiguous, doesn’t it?”
I glanced sideways at the pair and asked Seol-hyeon for her opinion.
After all, she was Siwoo’s childhood friend. Or at least someone he had known for a very long time. Her insight into Siwoo should be unmatched.
“Definitely.”
Seol-hyeon nodded to herself before looking at me and pursing her lips.
“Siwoo’s expression is a bit strange.”
“Right?”
“I guess he confessed and got rejected right away?”
While laughing quietly, I stared at Seol-hyeon, who was spouting such nonsense.
I shook my head vigorously.
Siwoo had almost no chance of confessing at this early stage.
Given how much emotional pain he was already suffering because he liked Soyeon and Cho Chang-won had committed those perverted crimes, he wouldn’t suddenly start confessing.
“That’s not likely.”
“Heh, that would have been interesting. Siwoo being rejected by a girl…… Hehe.”
Seol-hyeon smiled quietly, as if enjoying herself, before changing the subject.
“Ah, what if Jin Soyeon is the one who confessed?”
“That wouldn’t make sense either.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Even though Soyeon had cleverly dealt with Cho Chang-won, there was no way her heart would tilt that quickly.
Soyeon was slow to notice her own feelings, and even slower to open the locked door of her heart.
In the game, the decisive turning point would have been my death.
Yeah, death.
My death.
Only after I died would Soyeon finally realize rationally how much she had come to like me, feel regret, and slowly break down.
The sadness of not being able to protect me, the rage at the person who took me away, the resentment toward herself for doing nothing.
The scene of Soyeon crying and shouting my name still vividly lingered in a corner of my mind.
In the game, Soyeon’s emotionally drained and broken state after my death was shown through CG and illustrations.
Her always bright smile had been replaced by a sharp, icy expression.
In the game, my death was simply a device to create a tragic heroine who would grow through suffering.
But in reality……
‘I never intended to die anyway.’
I knew that through my death, Soyeon would grow emotionally and gain comfort from the male leads, opening the door to her heart.
I also knew she would awaken her hidden power from the shock and anger of losing someone precious.
But dammit, I couldn’t die.
No matter how much my death was the “official route” in the game, I had to survive and live in this world.
If I died, everything would be pointless.
‘For Soyeon’s awakening, pretending to die…… Is pretending to die okay? Ah, but if she finds out, wouldn’t it really kill me? Uh-huh.’
I rubbed my chin thoughtfully for a moment.
Because this is a hero genre, the protagonist usually only awakens after his loved one dies……
Thinking about the future, Soyeon definitely needed to become stronger.
But since this was still the beginning, maybe it was still fine.
The enemies weren’t dangerous yet, and we were still early in the game.
Still, it was probably wise to prepare a little.
My death and Soyeon’s awakening…… Huh?
……Ah. You finally noticed?”
……
I realized Seol-hyeon was staring at my face with a strange expression, as if she had been watching the entire time.
Ah, right.
I had been talking to her.
Having quietly watched without saying much, I ended up awkwardly clearing my throat.
“Ahem. I wasn’t talking.”
“I thought you were thinking really hard about something.”
“You’re being so considerate to me.”
“Heh.”
Seol-hyeon lifted the corner of her eye and gave a small laugh.
“I felt sorry for you worrying because of Jin Soyeon……”
“Worrying because of me?”
Suddenly Soyeon approached and looked between us.
“Worrying? Worrying about……?”
Soyeon muttered to herself quietly before turning her gaze to Seol-hyeon.
“The homeroom teacher is coming soon. Mind if I sit here?”
“Sure.”
Seol-hyeon glanced at Soyeon, smiled faintly, and stood up from her seat without hesitation.
Soyeon watched Seol-hyeon’s retreating back for a moment.
She stared quietly at that back and muttered to herself.
“Hey, Jinhyuk.”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“I…… I have something I need to apologize for.”
“Apologize? Suddenly?”
“I…… I wasn’t sure when to bring it up, so I kept worrying, but it turned out to be harder than I thought.”
Soyeon wouldn’t meet my eyes.
As if looking me in the eyes made her uncomfortable.
“What is it?”
“Well, um……”
Her gaze dropped as she shifted awkwardly.
“After the midterm exam…… I’ll tell you. I…… I didn’t want to make you worry.”
“You’ve been talking like this and now it worries me more.”
“Ah, anyway.”
I nodded as if it was nothing.
I had no idea what she was apologizing for, but her face looked serious.
But what on earth could she be apologizing for? I had no idea, though.
‘Well, she said she’d tell me after the midterm, so I guess that’s that.’
Midterm exam……
Now it was time.
I planned to score high on this midterm without doing the practical or written sections.
Since I knew exactly how the exam would be conducted, I had a huge advantage over the others.
And with the Subspace Ring, I could pull all sorts of tricks.
Since I had brought plenty of supplies that Seol-hyeon had asked for, I could get excellent results if I used them properly.
‘……I hope those guys don’t move this time.’
Originally, they would have started moving again during the camp episode.
But just in case, it was better to prepare for any unexpected situation.
Right?