Midterm Exams – The Leader’s Secret Edge
‘……Is it true that Jinhyuk’s team is in first place?’
Jin Soyeon blinked slowly, eyes fixed on the ranking board in front of her. She could not quite calm the surprise in her chest.
It was hard to believe. She had never imagined her childhood friend’s team could score this high.
Dungeon clear time: twenty-five minutes and fifteen seconds.
That was more than double her team’s pace.
If the instructors told her to retake the exam right now, could she beat Jinhyuk’s time?
She shook her head side to side, thoughts racing. No, that was impossible.
‘Even if I teamed up with Nari and Jung-hoon, we’d still be too slow.’
Nari and Jung-hoon were both top-tier anomaly ability users. They had been famous since middle school. Backed by their clans, they were already being called future heroes who would carry the next generation.
Seventeenth and twenty-ninth respectively—still the upper ranks at Union Academy.
But.
‘Our side’s power wasn’t weak either. We had a nineteenth and a forty-sixth.’
Still, the gap was huge.
‘……It must be thanks to Jinhyuk.’
His tactical command and strategy were solid. In dungeon clears, his edge would only grow.
Hmm…… anyway.
She had never expected first place, but it was decent, Jinhyuk.
‘Siwoo and Daehan took thirty-seven minutes. We beat them by more than half.’
The dungeon test wasn’t over yet. Dozens of students were still waiting to enter.
Could any team finish in under twenty-five minutes?
Even Siwoo and Daehan had taken thirty-seven. But then she noticed them.
“Hey, there they are.”
“Yeah.”
Yu Seolhyeon glanced toward the distant crowd and nodded once.
A cluster of students huddled together, buzzing with excitement. Familiar faces stood out in the crowd—Lee Jinhyuk and Seo Nari.
“Whoa! Nari! What happened? Twenty-five minutes? How?!”
“Our Nari is really something, huh?”
“You guys are first place now?”
“Oh man, thanks to Jinhyuk! Even with Nari here, that’s just too fast.”
“I knew there was something when Seolhyeon dragged Jinhyuk into dungeon strategy. Turns out there was.”
“Talentless Siwoo sucks~! We believed in you! Jinhyuk, you’re the hero of our class!”
“What the hell are you saying, you brat?”
The excited students swarmed around Jinhyuk and Nari, chattering nonstop.
Soon Nari lifted one eyebrow, voice loud enough to cut through the noise.
“Hey, kids! Stop blocking the way and move!”
She shoved through the crowd, grumbling the whole time, and Jinhyuk followed easily.
“Phew. People sure love making a fuss. It’s just one test.”
“Hi, Nari. You looked like you did great on this one.”
“U-um, yeah? Hehe. Just lucky, I guess.”
Seolhyeon stepped closer. Nari widened her eyes for a second, then scratched the back of her neck shyly.
Seolhyeon’s praise clearly made her happy.
“Calling it pure luck feels wrong. Someone worked hard for this.”
Seolhyeon’s gaze drifted sideways. She studied Jinhyuk standing quietly beside her, then smiled.
“That’s right, Jinhyuk?”
“Mm.”
His calm nod made Jinhyuk shrug with a wry smile.
“A bunch of monsters showed up during study sessions. Nari’s right—I got lucky too.”
“Heh. Good. If you say so, it must be.”
Seolhyeon was the kind who believed Jinhyuk was a future-sight ability user. She offered only a small, knowing smile.
If future sight had been used, this dungeon would have been child’s play. The only annoying part was the difficulty of activating the ability and not being able to control the visions freely. Still, he was a talent worth envying.
Plus, he could already use Sword Qi Projection. How suspicious that a near-bottom-ranker hid such strength.
Seolhyeon had been hoping to catch a glimpse of his true power today.
Thinking back to the Sword Qi Projection she had seen in the dungeon made her wonder how he stacked up against Siwoo. Hmm. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to know.
Stronger than Siwoo……
It was hard to picture. At Union Academy, where so many prodigies gathered, only a handful could stand shoulder to shoulder with Siwoo. Brilliant mind, brilliant skill, brilliant ability?
It was a little funny—Seolhyeon, the talentless daughter of a wealthy family, thinking that way. But Jinhyuk felt like an unfair advantage.
‘If Jinhyuk had been born into a better family, he might have been even more famous than Siwoo.’
Remembering the way he had swung his sword to save her back then still made her chest tight. That moment had been life-or-death. The memory burned vivid.
It had been rather cool, honestly.
Most girls would have felt a spark of something for him back then.
Well, Seolhyon wasn’t most girls.
“……Ah, Jinhyuk. Congratulations on first place.”
“First place? The test isn’t even over yet. There are still plenty of students waiting to enter. Besides, it’s just the first test.”
“Still, it’s something to celebrate. Honestly, I never thought you’d do this well.”
Jin Soyeon greeted her childhood friend with a light, warm voice.
She had been a little worried he might fail. He had entered Union Academy near the bottom. She had feared he might not adjust and crash the test.
‘This is actually pretty good. Nothing to worry about.’
Thinking back, he had also done well on the practical evaluations and notebook tests—better than her.
‘Maybe he’s adapting to Union Academy even better than me.’
Then it hit her.
The words her younger self had once sung to Jinhyuk echoed in her mind.
—Are you worried about academy life?
—Yeah, our Jinhyuk barely scraped in with the supplemental exam~.
—Aww, I can’t help you. This sister will take care of you. You remember you’re ranked 257th, right?
Jealous. Embarrassed.
Was she going to be caught up in rank?
She would probably get teased for a long time. Why had she said that?
‘Back in middle school I secretly helped him with practical tests. Now I probably don’t need to anymore?’
Back then Jinhyuk had been terrible at practical evaluations.
Whenever she had free time, she had helped him train—together, running, planning strategies.
But now……
‘Jinhyuk doesn’t even seem to fit with me anymore.’
Back then they had trained and played together every day. Now she noticed Jinhyuk always sitting beside her, but he was laughing and talking with someone else.
Back then he had always looked at her. Now he only talked with people like Seolhyeon.
Had Jinhyuk ever hung out with another girl like that before?
From what Jin Soyeon remembered, no.
He had no interest in other girls, and they had been fake boyfriends anyway.
But now? They weren’t even fake boyfriends—just childhood friends.
‘……’
Jin Soyeon glanced at him without thinking.
He was chatting with Seolhyeon and Nari right now.
His face showed no discomfort as he listened to their words. She felt an odd, hard-to-name emotion stir inside her.
Was it wistful? Or a little frustrated?
She knew Jinhyuk had grown tired of her fake-romance act and wanted to build a real relationship with someone else.
She felt deep guilt toward him, and she wanted to apologize.
But why did seeing him with another girl like this make her feel this way?
She didn’t understand herself.
She frowned and tilted her head, trying to pinpoint the feeling.
This emotion…… a little suffocated…… was it even the right word?
It felt a bit more negative. Almost sad.
“Soyeon? What are you zoning out for?”
“Huh?”
“You just took one test. You’re not getting tired already, are you?”
“Just thinking about the next one……”
“Next test is hostage rescue, right?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s a big one. A lot to consider when it’s a team test.”
Jinhyuk nodded once, as if he already knew.
“I’ll give you a few tips if you want. I might be able to help a little.”
“……No. It’s fine. I’ll do it alone this time.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
She didn’t want his help. She didn’t know why, but something inside her said she shouldn’t accept it.
“What? How did your team clear it so fast? Did you cheat?”
“……”
“Don’t worry about it, Siwoo. They just got lucky.”
“……”
“Hey, Siwoo?”
“……”
In the middle of the noisy crowd, Lee Siwoo watched Jin Soyeon and Jinhyuk with calm, quiet eyes.
He replayed the recent events in his mind.
A few days before the midterm.
Jin Soyeon had called him aside.
She had apologized sincerely, saying if she had any romantic feelings for him, she was truly sorry.
Siwoo had roughly guessed what she was thinking when she had grabbed Choi Chang-won.
He had looked at her quietly, then asked one question.
“Do you like anyone right now?”
Jin Soyeon had looked startled for a second, then smiled and said she had no interest in anyone as a man, and wasn’t dating anyway.
But Siwoo knew better.
He had noticed that when Jin Soyeon talked with him, she unconsciously scanned the surroundings, chasing someone with her eyes.
He had also seen the beautiful, bright smile she rarely showed anyone else.
She had shown weakness around that one person.
……Siwoo had known everything.
‘She said she broke up because she didn’t feel it as a man.’
Her eyes had been a strange mix of feelings, not the usual gentle gaze of a former girlfriend and childhood friend. He had no choice but to bite his lower lip.
The way Jin Soyeon looked at Jinhyuk……
Siwoo could never forget it.
Couldn’t forget it.
‘Jinhyuk…… Jinhyuk……’
His fists had tightened without him realizing. It took a long time before he finally understood.