An Ordinary High School Youth Story (2)
Red threads burst from Senior Iseo's fingertips and coiled tightly around Taeo's ankle.
In that instant, Senior Taeo's body twisted in a grotesque spasm and began shrinking at blinding speed.
He had been fairly tall, yet in the blink of an eye he had become a tiny figure no bigger than the palm of my hand.
"Huh...?"
My jaw dropped.
Senior Taeo stared back and forth between his own shrunken hands and the now-gigantic student council sofa.
Even his voice had changed, squeaking in a high-pitched whine like he'd inhaled helium.
"Song Iseo. You gonna undo this or what?"
"Hmph. How does it feel to be a pint-sized little gremlin?"
Iseo loomed over him like a giant and burst into laughter.
"So who's the middle-schooler now?"
But even at that size, Senior Taeo swung his dagger and sliced through the red threads, then rocketed toward Iseo's ankle at incredible speed.
Though his body had shrunk, the mass and velocity of his mana remained unchanged, turning him into something like a high-velocity bullet.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The clash between tiny Taeo and gigantic Iseo tore up the student council room floor and smashed the remaining furniture with screams of splintering wood.
Watching the scene, I realized something.
The Gaon High Student Council members were all monsters whose powers had already surpassed common sense.
"That's Iseo's ability, Gulliver's Travels," explained Senior Gangcheol, who now looked more like he was melting into the sofa than sitting on it.
"She can twist the relative scale of space itself."
"It's a terrifying ability," Senior Dohee agreed, nodding as she admired the crimson mana flowing from Iseo.
"She can shrink her opponent down to a dwarf or turn herself into a giant."
"Whoa... that's amazing."
Seeing a spatial distortion ability I'd only known from theory unfold right before my eyes sent a thrill racing down my spine.
Even while shrunken, Senior Taeo moved at unbelievable speed, slicing apart every one of Iseo's red threads one by one.
It was a high-level duel that was hard to believe was just a fight between second-years.
Whiiiir—
Suddenly the air inside the student council room froze with a biting chill.
It wasn't the wind blowing through the broken wall; this was refined, almost noble cold.
Beautiful hexagonal snowflakes began drifting down from the ceiling.
The moment the snowflakes touched Taeo's tiny body, the red mana binding him scattered like mist and he instantly returned to his original size.
And then—
Craaaack—
"Ah...!"
Iseo and Taeo's bodies froze at the same time.
More precisely, the mana flow in every spot the snowflakes had touched seemed to stop completely. The two of them stood rooted to the spot like statues.
"Don't you kids think you're a little too full of energy?"
A soft yet heavy voice accompanied the opening of the student council room door.
White hair, blue eyes.
A senior with such refined features he looked like he'd stepped out of a manhwa walked in.
"Oh, you came?"
Senior Gangcheol rose from the sofa, lightly clasped hands with him, and bumped shoulders in greeting.
"It's been way too long since I've been in the student council room~ I've been busy lately."
"Senior! Have you been well?"
Senior Dohee stood up and approached the newcomer.
The white-haired senior gently ruffled Dohee's hair, then turned his gaze toward me.
"New face. A first-year freshman?"
The moment our eyes met, I felt an overwhelming wave of mana carrying an intense chill wash over me.
Intimidated by that cold, I bowed my head and greeted him.
"Hello, Senior. I'm Baek Gangjin, a first-year."
The senior patted my tense shoulder a couple of times and smiled.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Baek Donghyun, third-year Q."
The icy chill I'd felt a moment ago softened into something pleasantly cool.
"My kids were making a bit of a racket, huh?"
When Senior Donghyun snapped his fingers, the frozen Taeo and Iseo could move again.
"Whoa...!"
Unable to handle the rebound in her own body, Senior Iseo toppled over.
"Iseo, long time no see. You been okay...?"
Senior Donghyun walked over to her and crouched down.
"Senior... that was way too cold."
Senior Taeo silently stared into the distance and wiped away the snot dripping from his nose.
"Aigoo, you little troublemakers."
Senior Sua approached the pair and extended her hand, letting her mana flow into them.
Senior Donghyun's chill lifted, and the pale color returned to the seniors' faces.
"I get that you two are close, but it's about time we got started."
Senior Seungwoo adjusted his glasses as he spoke.
Clap, clap—
A short round of applause followed.
"Alright, now that everyone's calmed down, shall we begin today's meeting?"
At Senior Dohee's words, everyone gathered around the table.
"Gangjin, and Senior Gangcheol...?"
Senior Dohee called us forward.
In front of the massive blackboard, all the information gathered so far about the Plague Doctor was neatly listed.
"Would you organize the information we learned from the abandoned factory battle?"
Senior Dohee looked at us and asked.
Senior Donghyun and every other senior turned serious eyes toward me.
I steadied my nerves once more and opened my mouth.
"The Plague Doctor we encountered in the abandoned factory was no ordinary residue."
I pointed at the Plague Doctor's data on the mana-infused blackboard and continued.
"It used the word dissection and openly coveted my mana. It also used a magical tool called a mana suppressant."
The moment I finished speaking, Senior Donghyun's blue eyes sharpened.
"A mana suppressant? That's a magical tool that requires quite advanced knowledge of mana science."
Senior Seungwoo wore a grave expression as he jotted notes in his notebook.
"Not something a low-grade residue should possess."
"Exactly. It used that syringe to temporarily block my mana circuit..."
I placed a hand on my own backside.
"And while I was incapacitated, it tried to forcibly capture Jinny."
Senior Gangcheol stepped forward and planted both hands on the desk.
"I eventually put an end to the situation, but the group it belongs to—the Hunters—will keep targeting Jinny and Gangjin."
A heavy silence fell over the seniors.
Senior Donghyun scanned the mana wavelength data on the Plague Doctor that I'd described and murmured in a low voice.
"Looks like they're operating in a far more organized way than we thought."
Senior Dohee summarized the discussion.
"In addition to the Plague Doctor, let's add any information we gather about the Hunters as we collect it."
Senior Seungwoo chimed in.
"The number of victims who've had their abilities stolen by the Hunters is steadily increasing."
He clenched his fist tightly.
"We have to make sure no more innocent people become victims."
Senior Dohee tried to lighten the heavy atmosphere by changing the subject.
"We'll supplement the Hunter information gradually!"
She smiled brightly and asked the group.
"Any other agenda items?"
I cautiously raised my hand.
"Oh, Gangjin! What's up?"
"There's a friend in my class, the vice president named Jang Bora."
All eyes turned to me.
"I'd like to recruit her as this year's first-year Q. Her grades are excellent, and her healing ability is outstanding."
A brief silence.
Then all the seniors burst out laughing at once. "Pfft!"
"Gangjin, I admire your enthusiasm, but..."
Senior Dohee held back her laughter as she explained.
"First-years don't have official titles yet. You're simply a freshman."
Oh...?
So you couldn't hold a position like that starting from your first year.
"If we had to give it a name, it'd be more like apprentice? Titles like K, Q, or J only come after you're a second-year."
Senior Dohee looked at me with an adorable smile.
"Those are basically our versions of 'president' or 'vice-president,' so first-years are still far from being officers."
"Ah, I see... I thought I was the first-year K this whole time."
Exactly as I'd said.
I had believed I was the first-year K.
Since I wasn't a healer, I knew I couldn't be Q.
And I wasn't proactive enough to serve as general secretary or head of the discipline committee.
So I'd figured vice-president K would be a nice fit for me.
In the end it had just been a delusion I'd cooked up while showering.
At my awkward answer, Senior Gangcheol and Senior Dohee exchanged glances.
Then they gave mysterious smiles.
"Well, I wonder about that?"
Senior Gangcheol let out a pleased chuckle.
"Everyone else has probably already guessed what your role will be."
Huh?
What position would I get once I became a second-year?
Could it be the president's A instead of the vice-president's K...?
While all sorts of thoughts swirled in my head, Senior Dohee reached out and ruffled my hair.
"Still, student recommendations are always welcome. Bring her to the student council room sometime."
Sliiide—
Just then the student council room door opened and Chaeyeon walked in.
"I'm sorry...! My homeroom teacher suddenly called me to the staff room, so I was a little late...!"
Chaeyeon bowed to the seniors in greeting.
"It's fine, it's fine. You already told us in the group chat."
Senior Dohee waved her phone and gave Chaeyeon a bright smile.
Senior Donghyun, who had been sitting quietly, greeted her warmly when he saw her.
"Oh, are you the Lee Chaeyeon who took second place in the national Taekwondo junior tournament?"
Chaeyeon's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Senior Donghyun.
"Eh? Yes, that's me...!"
"I watched your matches. Impressive for someone so young."
Senior Donghyun extended his hand for a handshake.
Still a bit dazed, Chaeyeon took it.
"It was a small competition, so not many people pay attention... Are you an athlete too, Senior?"
Instead of answering Chaeyeon's question, Baek Donghyun simply gave her a mysterious smile.
***
"Alright, that wraps up today's meeting!"
Though it had been a bit chaotic, the lively and free-spirited student council meeting came to an end.
"Good work on the residue extermination cleanup! Good work on the theory classes!"
Senior Dohee wrapped up the gathering with high energy.
"Prepare well for next week's Practical Mana Exam. That's all for today—dismissed!"
At Senior's declaration, everyone headed back to their respective classes.
The moment the closing bell rang, the first thing I did was approach Bora.
"Hm? Gangjin, what's up?"
I asked whether she'd be interested in joining the student council.
"Bora, are you in any clubs yet...?"
Bora shook her head.
"N-no, not yet. I haven't found one that really clicks, so I've been looking."
I took Bora's hand and spoke.
"Would you like to join the student council...?"
"Eh...?"
Bora looked startled.
Probably because I'd asked so abruptly.
Her face flushed bright red.
"We're looking for first-year members, and when I told the other seniors about you, they all said you'd be great..."
Bora seemed lost in thought, her mind clearly racing.
"If it's okay with you, let's go to the student council room together during lunch tomorrow!"
"Uh...? Y-yeah."
"Thanks! We'll talk more tomorrow!"
I shook the hand I was still holding a few times,
then waved goodbye and left the classroom.
Bora remained standing exactly where she was, motionless as she seemed to be deeply contemplating my proposal.