Rule 8: The Disciplinary Committee Leader Maintains Dignity Even at the Exchange (2)
Mahyeon High School.
One of the major academies in Academy City that held self-governing authority. Of all the academies, its district was the most closely intertwined with Ahseong High School's jurisdiction — the two school districts shared the highest proportion of overlapping territory.
Because of that, disputes over how to punish offenders who crossed between the two districts broke out often, and as the rift deepened over time, the two schools had grown accustomed to snarling at each other from across the fence. It was why Ahseong and Mahyeon were famously on the worst of terms.
In the time since I'd become Disciplinary Committee Leader, I had never once picked a fight with Mahyeon. Of course, I was fully prepared for one to come eventually. I just hadn't expected it to arrive today.
Let the exchange go off without a hitch….
I'm not religious, but I'd said a morning prayer anyway. God, Buddha, the Golden Ram — whoever was listening, I hoped one of them took pity on me.
The Disciplinary Committee exchange was scheduled to happen twice this year: once at Ahseong in the first semester, and once at Mahyeon in the second. Which meant this time, Ahseong was hosting.
We welcomed the Mahyeon students, who filed in wearing their dark-brown uniforms.
"Welcome to Ahseong High School, everyone. It's a pleasure to have you."
"Thank you for the warm reception, Ahseong High School."
The two student council presidents led the way, exchanging pleasantries with practiced warmth.
So that's the Mahyeon president.
The girl smiling as radiantly as a flower in full bloom was Mahyeon's student council president. Her smile was so bright you could almost picture a romantic-manga flower garden unfolding around her.
Which made the Disciplinary Committee members standing behind her look dramatic by contrast. Gloomy, to put it bluntly.
Our side looked much the same. We were both sizing each other up, after all.
The committee leaders greeted each other next.
"Welcome, Leader of Mahyeon High School. I'm Ahn Woo-jin, Disciplinary Committee Leader of Ahseong. This is our Vice Leader, Oh Baek-seo."
"Haha. A pleasure, Leader Ahn Woo-jin. I'm Lee Je-ho, the leader, and this is our Vice Leader, Shin Ga-yeon."
We shook hands as a matter of courtesy.
"Haha."
"Heh heh."
Ouch. Squeezing hard, are we? Can we please not have a power struggle right here….
That bespectacled committee leader — Lee Je-ho — was making no attempt whatsoever to hide his wariness of me. I recognized him at a glance: a tiger cub with its claws sheathed. Poised, at any moment, to rake them across my face.
Well then, I had no choice but to show my own wariness right back.
"My, how nice to see you all smiling at one another. What a relief…."
"Indeed. It seems goodwill is already budding. How wonderful."
The two student council presidents chattered nonsense at us as they watched.
This is already giving me a headache. And I'm supposed to deal with this guy twice?
"Everyone, come this way! We've got tons of good food ready!"
Ha Ye-song brightly ushered the Mahyeon students along. Thank goodness at least one of us was cheerful.
We moved to the banquet hall and enjoyed the food and drinks laid out buffet-style, courtesy of the student councils. The tense atmosphere in the air was leavened considerably by the cheerful music filling the hall.
The two student council presidents had arranged to dine separately with their key staff, while I was stuck eating with Oh Baek-seo beside Mahyeon's leader and vice leader. There was no helping it — if the heads weren't seated together, the whole tableau looked strange.
Amid the awkward silence, with only the sound of utensils moving, Lee Je-ho raised his glass and spoke.
"I don't care for it."
Je-ho muttered it almost to himself, his gaze fixed on the banner hanging over the stage. It read, in large letters: Ahseong High School & Mahyeon High School Exchange.
"Ahseong's name comes before Mahyeon's. This won't do."
Je-ho clicked his tongue.
You're actually saying that out loud?
The sheer absurdity of it left me speechless.
"This is Ahseong, after all. Put Mahyeon first at the next exchange."
"I see you heard me. That was my intention regardless."
Call it thanks to Je-ho's insufferable muttering or not, but the silence broke within minutes and conversation finally began to flow. That much I was grateful for.
"Come to think of it, news of you travels far, Leader Ahn Woo-jin."
"Does it?"
"Yes. You solved Anomia's armored abduction case single-handedly on your very first day of duty, then overwhelmed Shinseo's Sword Master in a recent exhibition match… You've already racked up quite a few eye-catching achievements. You'll be quite the famous figure soon, won't you?"
"Things just worked out that way. Though the match with Shinseo was rather a nuisance."
Je-ho pushed up his glasses.
"Still, it's a relief. You've so far refrained from troubling us over jurisdictional matters, Leader Ahn. So you do have some sense."
"……."
Was that a roundabout attempt at intimidation?
It was unbearably irritating.
"Leader Lee Je-ho."
"Yes?"
"We have no intention of stirring up conflict with Mahyeon's Disciplinary Committee if we can avoid it."
"Nor do we. But do understand one thing — we have no intention of forging a friendship with Ahseong."
Isn't this guy being a little too honest…?
Shin Ga-yeon, Mahyeon's vice leader, flinched at her leader's words and began discreetly jabbing him in the thigh. Sure enough, he looked pained.
But Je-ho wiped the seasoning from the corner of his mouth with a napkin, utterly resolute.
"Our attendance at this exchange is, above all else, at the student council president's instruction. I would ask that you not misunderstand."
This guy, seriously….
"…Leader Lee Je-ho."
I considered keeping up the courtesies out of deference to his vice leader's warning glances, but no. This bespectacled brat was determined to cross the line, and if I sat here silently, my dignity as Disciplinary Committee Leader would be a joke.
I leaned back against my chair.
"Why don't you just drop the formalities entirely? You look uncomfortable speaking politely."
"Would that really be acceptable?"
"Go ahead. We're the same age anyway, aren't we?"
"I'm a year older than you, little brother."
He dropped honorifics as if he'd been waiting for the invitation, and the discomfort eased considerably.
The mood worsened further, and my morning prayer went to waste — but honestly, this was better.
"Leader, your composure…."
Ga-yeon chastised her leader in a whisper.
"Still, I can't help but marvel."
But Je-ho didn't stop.
Arms crossed, he pressed on.
"Why Ahseong's Disciplinary Committee, with Oh Baek-seo on the roster, would appoint a mere 4th Tier as its leader… Tsk."
Je-ho clicked his tongue again.
Is that a provocation?
Whether he intended it as one or not, he clearly knew that particular statement was my sore spot. Which meant he was provoking me, hoping I'd take the bait.
If I showed anger here, it was obvious how badly things would escalate. Yes — the audacity of it — Je-ho was testing me.
Just as I was about to change the subject—
"Don't waste your breath on—"
"Say it one more time. I dare you."
"……?"
Just as I tried to sidestep the provocation and steer the conversation elsewhere, a razor-sharp voice cut in from beside me.
Gentle — and yet cold as frost.
It was Baek-seo, seated beside me. Only her mouth was smiling; both her eyes were boring furiously into the Mahyeon leader.
Je-ho and Ga-yeon both showed visible shock. Je-ho in particular looked as though he'd never imagined it would be Oh Baek-seo, of all people, who lost her temper — not me.
"Woo-jin became leader because he's earned it, that's why."
While the rest of us sat with our mouths shut, Baek-seo spoke in a voice that was soft as silk and yet perfectly clear.
"Why should we bother getting close to children who can't even tell people apart properly? We've been wondering the same thing, you see?"
Baek-seo smiled sweetly.
She'd chosen the politest possible phrasing, but there was no mistaking the fury beneath it.
"…I see. My apologies for the rudeness just now."
Je-ho closed his eyes and adjusted his glasses.
It was now unmistakable that his provocation had been aimed at me, the leader, and me alone. What he wanted was a battle of nerves between committee leaders.
Had he held a grudge against Ahseong's Disciplinary Committee as a whole, he would have flared up when Baek-seo's barbed words came out. He hadn't.
"Tsk."
I clicked my tongue lightly, riding the wave of tension Baek-seo had created.
"The recreation will be starting soon."
I said it while looking toward the stage.
"We've prepared something absolutely brimming with 'competitive elements' to deepen our 'friendship.' I do hope everyone enjoys themselves to the fullest."
I deliberately stressed the words friendship and competitive elements.
Recreation. On paper, it was nothing more than a supplementary event meant to wring a little enjoyment out of an awkward group gathering.
And given how poorly Ahseong and Mahyeon got along, planning a recreation like this could easily have been called tone-deaf.
But.
What if 'recreation' was merely the name — and what it actually was, in practice, a contest to determine who was superior?
Then its meaning changed entirely.
"Excellent. You've prepared quite a lot. We'll enjoy it gratefully, Ahseong."
Je-ho smirked.
Thankfully, he caught the true meaning of my words right away.
The truth was, I'd expected him to come out swinging from the start. While preparing for the exchange, I'd gathered intelligence on Mahyeon's current Disciplinary Committee Leader, Lee Je-ho.
He had a habit of trying to position himself above Ahseong's Disciplinary Committee.
As the saying goes, a people that forgets its history has no future — Je-ho seemed to believe that standing above Ahseong, the source of so many past disputes, was the path forward for Mahyeon.
I could respect that. It was a judgment made in service of his school's interests — a resolve to claim the upper hand in the logic of power.
Which was exactly why I'd prepared this 'contest' under the name of recreation. Out of respect for his conviction, I intended to settle once and for all which Disciplinary Committee stood above.
This is no small matter. My dignity as Disciplinary Committee Leader — and the honor of our entire committee — is riding on it.
What good was playing nice with people who wanted to grind you down and stand on your back? All that would earn me was being taken for a fool.
So I had to win this. Victory would elevate my standing as committee leader — and let me stomp the Mahyeon crowd into the dirt where they belonged.
Before long, the lights in the banquet hall went down, leaving only the stage illuminated. The music faded, and an Ahseong committee member took the microphone and stepped up.
"Welcome, everyone, to today's Disciplinary Committee exchange!"
Every committee member's attention converged on the stage. A large camera stared down at it, broadcasting the feed to the rest of the committee members in other banquet halls.
Naturally, not all of the Disciplinary Committee was packed into this one hall — it would have burst at the seams. So the attendees had been split, with the remainder enjoying the exchange in separate venues.
"For a joyful day like today, Ahseong has prepared some recreation for us."
The emcee introduced the games and even the prizes, drawing polite, ceremonial cheers from both committees.
"Wow… you even prepared recreation! How lovely… Do you think this could actually help the Mahyeon and Ahseong committees get along?"
"Of course it will. Just look at the leaders — laughing and chatting away like that. They seem to get along wonderfully. Best friends already, perhaps…?"
"Oh my, what happy news! My little sister is such a good girl — she only ever makes friends with good children. If Lee Je-ho actually likes her, she must be genuinely kind…! How sweet to see…."
Mahyeon's student council president chatted cheerfully with Ahseong's president, watching the atmosphere in the banquet hall through the window. Her eyes sparkled.
She's more innocent than she looks.
Ahseong's student council president thought, sipping her drink.
She had been wary of Mahyeon's exchange proposal at first. The only reason she'd accepted was the track record it promised. She'd assumed she could simply go through the motions and leave it at that.
But after testing Mahyeon's president several times and concluding that her intentions were pure, Ahseong's president had set aside her misgivings entirely.
If it comes to it, might as well just get along.
If the two committees grew close, a whole category of headaches would vanish from her term as president.
People were meant to link hands and get along, after all. That was Ahseong's president's thinking.
She had let her guard down, just a little.
And as the recreation reached its final event, the very thing she had feared finally came to pass.