Rule 8: The Disciplinary Committee Leader Maintains Dignity Even at the Exchange (3)

"The recreation games will be scored! Win a game, earn one point! The academy with the highest score at the end takes the victory! Now then, Ahseong High V.S. Mahyeon High — which side will come out on top? Let's all enjoy this together!"

As the emcee shouted, special effects washed over the stage.

The Disciplinary Committee members broke into applause.

Ahseong High V.S. Mahyeon High.

It was a brazenly explicit statement of intent.

Except for a few oblivious students, most of them grasped the hidden meaning behind Ahseong's recreation plans immediately.

"So they want a fight."

"How arrogant of Ahseong."

This wasn't mere recreation — it was a contest of pride between the two schools' Disciplinary Committees.

It was exactly what both sides had wanted.

"How entertaining of you."

"Glad you could appreciate it."

Mahyeon High's Disciplinary Committee Leader, Lee Je-ho, pushed up his glasses. Ahseong High's Disciplinary Committee Leader, Ahn Woo-jin, gave a casual shrug.

"You didn't rig any of the games, I trust?"

"Would we stoop to something so cheap? Our pride is on the line. If it bothers you that much, feel free to swap out the events yourself."

"Fine. Let's settle this, then."

Perhaps because both had laid their true cards on the table, the awkwardness from their first meeting had evaporated somewhere along the way.

And so the contest between Ahseong and Mahyeon began.

"Let's start with something simple... a quiz!"

From the first game through the fourth, the Disciplinary Committee members went head to head.

An all-comers quiz, target shooting, mana contests, and more.

Thanks to that, the atmosphere ripened nicely.

Mahyeon pulled ahead, and from the fifth round onward, the real contest began in earnest.

"Starting with the fifth game, we'll have representative showdowns! Our most capable representatives will step up and battle it out!"

The emcee shouted with a beaming face.

"First, from each Disciplinary Committee, please send out one person who believes they have the best memory!"

Je-ho perked up at the announcement.

"A memory contest? Excellent. Go, Secretary!"

Je-ho sent out his secretary.

"Park Min-hyuk. You're up!"

"Y-yes!?"

At Woo-jin's declaration, Ahseong's secretary, Park Min-hyuk, began to tremble.

"M-me...?"

"Your memorization is the best we have."

"B-but, in front of all those people, me...? Leader, no matter how you look at it, this is...!"

"Get up there. The honor of our Disciplinary Committee rests on your head."

"Urk..."

Muttering, If it's the Leader's order, then I have no choice..., Min-hyuk dragged himself toward the stage.

Mahyeon's secretary and Ahseong's secretary stood facing each other under the lights.

Aaaagh...

Crushed under an immense weight of pressure, Min-hyuk's legs wobbled beneath him.

"Both committees have sent out their secretaries! What an absolutely thrilling lineup! Shall we get the fifth game underway? This round is... Card Flip!"

The Disciplinary Committee members carried out a table, which was projected onto the screen behind the stage.

More than a hundred cards lay scattered across it in total disarray, all face-down.

"Players take turns flipping cards, and whoever matches the most pairs wins! The side that flips the most cards takes the point! Two full decks — that's over a hundred cards — are spread across the table! This is going to demand enormous memorization and focus. Are you both ready?"

"Yes."

"Y-yes..."

"Then let's decide the order... All right, Mahyeon's secretary first! Ready... and begin!"

They went back and forth several rounds each, mapping out the cards.

Min-hyuk, who had started out shaking like a leaf in fear, gradually lost himself in the game.

"That card and that one... and then..."

With timid little hand gestures, Min-hyuk flipped through the cards relentlessly, and the Ahseong members marveled, Ooooh.

The expressions of the Mahyeon members, on the other hand, grew steadily stiffer.

Pa-pat! The last cards flipped over, and the match was swiftly decided.

"Unbelievable! A crushing victory for Park Min-hyuk, secretary of the Ahseong Disciplinary Committee! Point to Ahseong! Ahseong is closing the gap at a terrifying pace!"

"Ugh."

Je-ho scowled and clenched his fist.

Woo-jin, meanwhile, hid his rising smirk behind the fist propped under his chin.

"Vice Leader, we're moving to lock in the win."

"Excuse me?"

Je-ho had no intention whatsoever of letting Ahseong seize the momentum.

"The whole thing might be set up in Ahseong's favor. Which means we have to intervene here, don't we."

Whispering to his vice leader, Je-ho turned his gaze on Woo-jin.

"Hey, Leader Ahn Woo-jin. We're allowed to choose the game events, right?"

Je-ho asked, staring at him.

"Yeah."

"Then..."

Je-ho whispered instructions to his vice leader, Shin Ga-yeon.

"...Understood."

Vice Leader Ga-yeon climbed onto the stage and murmured something to the emcee. The committee members looked on, puzzled.

When the emcee glanced at Woo-jin, he gave a nod. The emcee then handed the microphone and script cards to Ga-yeon.

"From this point on, I will be running the show, and starting with the next event, Mahyeon will decide the games."

The Mahyeon Disciplinary Committee members erupted in cheers.

This was a Disciplinary Committee contest disguised under the banner of 'recreation,' but the ones who had rigged the board in the first place were, ultimately, Ahseong.

For all anyone knew, the recreation events had been designed so that Ahseong's advantage would only grow deeper as things went on.

To the Mahyeon members, who had harbored exactly those suspicions, their own vice leader's declaration that she would personally choose the game events could only be welcome news.

The spirit of play had already faded from this gathering; all that remained was the meaning of a contest to determine who stood above whom.

No one had any reason to care who ran the show, emcee or otherwise.

The original emcee, regretful that she could no longer continue, stepped down from the stage.

And so only one person remained on stage: Mahyeon's Disciplinary Committee Vice Leader, Shin Ga-yeon.

"Two games remain. Mahyeon will decide both of them. Then, the next event is... a mental arithmetic showdown. Each side, please send out your best mental calculator."

A mental arithmetic showdown.

Questions could be drawn up on the spot, and its fairness was beyond reproach.

Mahyeon's ironclad resolve — no cheating, no events tilted toward Ahseong, none of it — struck home with the committee members.

"A mental arithmetic contest. Excellent. I'm counting on you, Treasurer!"

Je-ho sent out his treasurer.

"Min-hyuk, come back down. Go, Yoo Do-ha!"

"Hmph."

Woo-jin sent out his treasurer as well.

Ahseong's treasurer, Yoo Do-ha, blew a dismissive snort through her nose and climbed onto the stage.

And so the two schools' treasurers stood side by side beneath the lights.

"Gu Jin-doo! Gu Jin-doo!"

"Our Mahyeon genius!"

"The master of mental arithmetic!"

The Mahyeon Disciplinary Committee let out a roar of cheering.

Mahyeon's treasurer, Gu Jin-doo.

He was a mathematical genius who had swept math Olympiads since childhood, a master of mental arithmetic with extraordinary reasoning power.

That was precisely why Mahyeon had adopted the arithmetic showdown as an event, trusting it to Jin-doo.

"I will write the questions and administer the contest myself."

Ga-yeon walked over to an Ahseong member seated at the computer beside the stage, and together they began composing calculation problems.

Meanwhile, Jin-doo studied Do-ha.

Yoo Do-ha... I knew you'd be here, but I never imagined we'd meet like this.

Jin-doo knew Do-ha.

Since we were kids, you were the one I wanted to beat, more than anyone.

Just once, on the day Yoo Do-ha entered a math Olympiad.

She had outplaced Jin-doo and taken first.

A supernova's sudden debut.

For Jin-doo, who had believed himself peerless in mathematics among everyone his age, it had been a shattering experience.

Vowing to defeat Do-ha, he threw everything he had into his studies.

But Do-ha never entered another competition.

And so Jin-doo had spent his years chasing her phantom.

Nurturing the burning desire to beat her.

Then, last year.

He happened to learn that Do-ha had become the treasurer of her Disciplinary Committee.

Why would such a genius take a club treasurer's post?

Had she abandoned the path of mathematics?

Those questions gnawed at Jin-doo, and he resolved to become Mahyeon's Disciplinary Committee treasurer himself.

Because he wanted to understand why a genius like Yoo Do-ha had chosen that road.

"So you're the treasurer of the Ahseong Disciplinary Committee?"

Mahyeon's treasurer, Gu Jin-doo, spoke to Do-ha.

As far as Do-ha knew, the two of them had never met.

That was why he had approached her this way.

"So what if I am?"

"You're a pitiful creature, aren't you..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

In a conversation pitched for their ears alone.

Do-ha's eyes narrowed.

"You're an executive officer, and yet you serve as treasurer under a Leader who falls so embarrassingly short of Vice Leader Oh Baek-seo. A pathetic man who folds at the first provocation from some district tuber. If it were me, I'd be so disillusioned I couldn't stay~. The Leader's chair ought to be occupied by someone actually worthy of serving, don't you think?"

Jin-doo deliberately flashed an odious grin.

"In that respect, our Mahyeon Leader Lee Je-ho is a superb talent. A Tier 5 genius, and peerless in combat besides. A man worthy of a genius like me bowing my head and serving him. Unlike certain Disciplinary Committees that take orders from a Tier 4."

Jin-doo was Je-ho's man.

He stood in service of Je-ho's will — that Mahyeon must claim superiority over Ahseong by the logic of raw power.

More than that, Jin-doo had long yearned for a rematch with Yoo Do-ha.

So he tore into the Ahseong Disciplinary Committee Leader with gusto, and goaded Do-ha to his heart's content.

In other words, an opening gambit.

However.

"Ha! How pathetic."

"?"

It didn't land.

She bared her white teeth in a crooked grin.

"I remember you. Gu Jin-doo... weren't you called a math genius, once upon a time?"

"...And if I was?"

For a moment, Jin-doo felt grateful that she remembered him at all. It didn't last.

"Ridiculous, really. No matter how generously anyone rated you, all you ever amounted to was a has-been prodigy."

"What did you say?"

"The rice stalk bows lower as it ripens, as they say — but the more washed-up you get, the more humble you ought to become. At this point you've graduated to being a straight-up defective."

As Do-ha spoke with an imperious smirk, Jin-doo's composure cracked.

A beat later, his brow furrowed and he glared daggers at her.

"...You. Are you confident? Confident you can beat me?"

"Hmph."

Do-ha answered with nothing but a contemptuous snort, as if it went without saying.

Before long, emcee Ga-yeon spoke into the microphone.

"All the questions are complete. When a question appears on the screen, press your buzzer and state your answer. The first student to solve it correctly earns the point."

Emcee Ga-yeon switched on her smartphone's voice recorder, intending to verify whether the contestants' answers were correct.

"Now, first question."

The white screen above the stage filled with numbers.

"What is the product of the following?"

Beep!

"162,726,355,641,251,339,887,408."

"......!?"

The instant the question appeared on screen, a buzzer rang out, and its owner recited the answer without a moment's pause.

At an impossible speed, every committee member present — and treasurer Gu Jin-doo himself — stared in open astonishment.

The one who'd answered was Ahseong's treasurer, Yoo Do-ha.

I haven't even finished reading the question yet...?

Jin-doo was confident he could compute any string of digits, however long, within four seconds.

But... Do-ha's calculation speed belonged to a different dimension entirely.

"Next question!"

Beep!

"63,535,204,842,302,171,750,112,507,137,882."

"Next question!"

Beep!

"729,217,309,281,496,226,404,840,339,658,521,620,358."

"N-next product, then...?"

Beep!

Beep!

Beep!

Every time a question appeared, Do-ha slammed her buzzer and lazily spat out the answer — reading the numbers off in rapid-fire chunks, seven-two, two-nine, one-seven, the way you'd rattle off units.

Checked against a calculator, every number that left her lips was correct.

Just in case, emcee Ga-yeon even played back the recorded files to double-check.

Each time, the disbelief only deepened.

And so, all ten questions ended in a flash.

A crushing, total defeat.

"...The winner is Yoo Do-ha of the Ahseong Disciplinary Committee. With that, Mahyeon and Ahseong are dead even."

The Mahyeon Disciplinary Committee, which had assumed victory was a foregone conclusion, was struck speechless.

Je-ho was, and even Vice Leader Ga-yeon too.

"WHOOOAA!!"

"Incredible!"

"Do-ha, you're amazing!"

The Ahseong Disciplinary Committee erupted in a chorus of cheers.

Having seized her victory, Do-ha answered with a haughty Hmph and an upturned nose.

"How... how can anyone calculate like that...?"

"That was basic mental arithmetic."

Jin-doo simply could not believe it.

He had always believed that no one in Academy City could match him at mental arithmetic.

Even the sole person who had ever beaten him — Yoo Do-ha — included.

An unlooked-for sense of powerlessness crept over him, and his body began to tremble.

Jin-doo decided to ask one last thing.

"...Do you remember? The math Olympiad. When you competed."

"Huh? You knew about me? What about it?"

"Why did you compete once and then quit?"

"That?" Do-ha squinted her right eye and dug a pinky finger into her right ear.

"It was boring."

"......!"

That one sentence ignited a violent disillusionment in the pit of Jin-doo's chest.

The stage he had thrown his whole heart into attacking had been nothing more than a fleeting amusement to her.

Jin-doo could no longer open his mouth.

He simply bowed his head, swallowed by despair, his body shaking uncontrollably.

Do-ha watched him in silence for a moment, then spoke.

"Hey."

"?"

Her voice was grave.

"Ahn Woo-jin didn't become our school's Disciplinary Committee Leader by accident."

A memory surfaced unbidden in Do-ha's mind.

Last year, when she herself had been a first-year.

During a survival exam held in a forest on the outskirts of Academy City, a dangerous accident had occurred — a swarm of magic beasts had breached the test grounds, because of a hole in the exam's management.

The students who hadn't managed to evacuate and were driven back by the beasts all spiraled into panic.

At the time, Ahn Woo-jin had hidden them in a makeshift shelter nearby, locked the door, and — saying he would buy them time — fought the magic beasts alone.

Even as the beasts' savage claws tore the flesh from his body, even as he vomited blood under their crushing blows, Ahn Woo-jin had roared and fought on against the swarm.

The upperclassmen of the Disciplinary Committee serving as exam proctors, along with one of the few teachers remaining in Academy City, came running and together with Woo-jin subjugated the magic beasts.

Afterward, despite having bled so much, Woo-jin wore a perfectly easy expression as he checked on the students' safety first.

Try as she might, Do-ha couldn't understand him.

How could he stake his life on it — how could he fight such a lonely battle, all to protect the students?

So she had asked.

Why fight that hard?

Do-ha regretted it the moment the words left her mouth.

Even she thought the question was laughable. And she thought it was an especially poor thing to ask one's benefactor, at that.

But Woo-jin, perfectly composed, answered as though she'd asked something utterly obvious — tossing it off like it was nothing.

Do-ha could never forget Woo-jin as he was that day.

She would remember it until the day she died.

"He earned it, that's all. If you don't know what you're talking about, keep your mouth shut."

"......"

"A dullard who can't even do mental arithmetic properly."

Flinging out the insult bluntly, Do-ha stepped down from the stage.

That's our treasurer for you!

Thank you!

I didn't know about her personality or her social skills, but her mental arithmetic I had always trusted without reservation.

With that, Ahseong and Mahyeon were tied.

"Tch..."

Je-ho clicked his tongue.

Watching the pride of the Mahyeon Disciplinary Committee get annihilated had clearly left him seething.

"The next game is the last one. What will it be?"

"...Watch and find out."

Je-ho answered, glaring resentfully at the stage.

"Now, for the final game. The person whose mana-reinforced body is strongest — in other words, the person with the greatest raw strength. Please step forward."

"I'll go."

Unable to bear watching any longer, Je-ho decided to send himself out.

There was nowhere left to retreat.

Je-ho looked at me.

"Why don't you come out too, Leader Ahn Woo-jin?"

"What?"

"We ought to settle things properly between us, don't you think?"

I see.

So for the final game, he wants the Leaders to face off.

...Why me?

I didn't want to.

If I lost, it would be a total humiliation.

The only reason I'd been able to plan a contest disguised as recreation was because my subordinates were so absurdly capable.

The memorization genius Park Min-hyuk, the calculation genius Yoo Do-ha, the all-rounder Oh Baek-seo...

With them on the field, losing seemed outright impossible.

But suppose the Leaders went head to head.

After my officers had carried us this far, what if I went and lost?

My honor as Disciplinary Committee Leader would crater dramatically, to say nothing of the catastrophic blow to my image...!

And those who still doubted my competence would get to sink even deeper into the valley of contempt.

Worse yet, the score between Ahseong and Mahyeon was tied.

This was the climax stretch — the last game.

If I thought of this match as the final chapter of the two committees' contest of pride, the crushing weight of it was inescapable.

Therefore.

Best to dodge this challenge by any means...

"Leader...!"

"Leader, you're not thinking of bailing, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are you? We fought and won our matches — obviously it's the Leader's turn now."

Secretary Min-hyuk and Treasurer Do-ha urged me on.

"Leader?"

Perhaps because I was stalling, even Baek-seo turned a doubtful gaze quietly toward me.

Ah...

Only then did I realize.

Come to think of it, it's been secretary versus secretary and treasurer versus treasurer so far, hasn't it?

Of all the possible lineups, it had to be that one.

And in the middle of all that, their Leader was volunteering to compete — if I refused to step up...

I can't weasel out of this one...!

There was no way the Ahseong Disciplinary Committee Leader could commit such a shameless act.

"Hm... right, I suppose I should."

In the end, I had no choice but to rise from my seat, feigning composure.

A single bead of cold sweat slid down my cheek.

This is bad...

If I'd known this situation was coming, I never would have prepared a recreation event in the first place...

"Leader, fighting...!"

"If you lose, I won't let it slide, Leader."

After receiving the secretary's and treasurer's send-offs, I headed for the stage with Vice Leader Oh Baek-seo in tow.

My opponent is a genius who's reached Tier 5. A man ranked among Mahyeon's very strongest, no less...

In just about any ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠game, he'd have the advantage over me.

This was genuinely dire.

My footsteps were heavy.

It felt as though my legs might give out at any moment.

As I forced one foot in front of the other, the committee members' cheers filled my ears.

"Leader! Vice Leader!"

"You look so cool...!"

"Please bring down Mahyeon!"

Maintaining my icy exterior, I took their encouragement to heart.

It dawned on me anew that every single member of the Disciplinary Committee — everyone except those on duty — was gathered here.

I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut.

But I barely suppressed the impulse, and instead offered up a prayer to the heavens with all my heart.

Can't lose, can't lose, can't lose...! I have to win...! Please, just let me win...!

I begged.

Anyone — if some divine being is out there, please hear my prayer. Please...

I can't lose. Think of this as a cliff's edge. If you fall, you're pushed off. The end...!

"Leader."

In the middle of my frantic self-hypnosis, Baek-seo's voice pulled my attention away.

"What?"

Playing it cool, I kept my expression flat as I looked at her.

"You do remember that you're the one I serve, Leader?"

"?"

Why bring that up out of nowhere?

"You can win. That Leader over there — beat him. If you do, I'll give you a prize."

Baek-seo smiled warmly.

How should I put it...

The Vice Leader had a habit of producing exactly the right thing I needed to hear at exactly the right moment.

As though she could see straight through my psychology.

No way that's actually the case.

Had I shown it on my face?

No... I was in full poker-face mode right now, so that was impossible.

It must simply be encouragement from a vice leader to her leader.

Anyway, a prize, huh.

"Can I ask what the prize is, by any chance?"

"Hmm... how about the stockings I'm wearing right now."

"!"

My eyes reflexively began drifting toward Baek-seo's legs, sheathed in black stockings.

I swiftly reclaimed control of both ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyeballs and returned them to their original position.

"Don't joke about that. Especially not in the Disciplinary Committee."

I shot her a sharp glare.

"Fufu, my apologies."

Baek-seo covered her mouth with a loosely clenched fist and laughed in that soft, silken way of hers.

I felt it anew — with her, I could never let my guard down for an instant.

...Still, I feel a little better.

Maybe it was because her joke had crossed a line.

Or maybe the shock therapy had worked; either way, some of the tension had drained away.

Baek-seo and I took the stage.

Je-ho mounted the opposite side.

"Both Disciplinary Committee Leaders have graciously entered the arena."

Emcee Ga-yeon announced, standing at Je-ho's side.

All the while, I glowered at Ga-yeon and steeled my resolve.

Go ahead, announce anything you like. The moment it smells even slightly unfair, I'm lodging a formal protest on the spot...!

Truthfully, even if the game was fair, I planned to scramble together some excuse and protest anyway if it looked disadvantageous to me.

For that purpose, my brain was already running at full capacity.

"Vice Leader, announce the next game, if you would."

Je-ho pushed up his glasses without taking his eyes off me.

"Yes. The next game is..."

The committee members hauled over a single solid-looking table and two chairs, setting them down between me and Je-ho.

"An arm-wrestling match. With mana permitted, however."

Arm wrestling?

The committee members began murmuring among themselves.

A smile spread across Je-ho's lips.

"This should be fun."

He clearly liked the event.

Come to think of it, he had asked for 'the person with the greatest strength,' hadn't he?

And the event was arm wrestling, of all things...

This looks... suspiciously fair?

I couldn't find a shred of ground for protest.

Arm wrestling.

It was the most intuitive contest imaginable for measuring who was stronger — tailor-made for the job.

And at the arm-wrestling level, at least, I could hold my own.

"The use of mana is authorized for this match. For body reinforcement only. In other words, this arm-wrestling contest will decide the outcome not only through raw physical ability, but through mana as well."

In other words, it would settle, once and for all, whose power was superior.

"Then, Leaders of both committees — to the table, please."

"Hm-hm."

Mahyeon's Disciplinary Committee Leader, Lee Je-ho, pushed up his glasses and flashed a confident grin.

This match...

Inside, however, he was dripping with cold sweat.

If I lose, it's all over...! I absolutely cannot lose!

Ahseong and Mahyeon.

A stage watched by both Disciplinary Committees in their entirety.

His secretary had already fallen, his treasurer had already fallen — cracks had spread ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all through Mahyeon's pride.

The score was tied, and this was the final match.

That was why an anxious Je-ho had stepped forward himself.

I got swept up in the moment and told him to come out. To the Ahseong Disciplinary Committee Leader, of all people...! I should have bitten my tongue somehow!

Je-ho clenched his fist in regret.

Looking back over the lineup so far, he had judged that the Leaders had no choice but to face each other, and in a flush of feeling had called Woo-jin out.

But Je-ho quickly reconsidered.

No. Those resolute eyes, that expression... Even if I hadn't called him out, that man would have stepped up without fail...!

Either way, the Leader-versus-Leader showdown was bound to happen.

An immense pressure bore down on Je-ho.

If he lost here too...

Mahyeon's Disciplinary Committee self-esteem would shatter to pieces, and they would be written off as a club inferior to Ahseong's in both ability and caliber.

Besides, Je-ho had rated Woo-jin highly ever since watching footage of his sparring session against the Sindorim Swordmaster.

The belittling remarks he'd made about Woo-jin earlier had been nothing more than deliberate provocation for their war of nerves.

That was why he had meekly backed down the moment Baek-seo stepped in.

Damn it, why does this guy carry himself so gravely!? He looks unnecessarily strong...!

In Je-ho's eyes, Woo-jin hadn't wavered a fraction from the moment they'd first met.

Level-headed. Solemn.

Perhaps because of that, an inexplicable aura of menace seemed to radiate off him in waves.

Je-ho swallowed dryly.

Then, all at once, assorted imaginings bloomed in his mind.

'Did you hear? Our school's Disciplinary Committee Leader went up against Ahseong's Leader and got crushed!'

'In an arm-wrestling match with mana allowed, apparently.'

'Their secretary and treasurer got wiped out too. Each beaten at their own specialty.'

'So what, our Disciplinary Committee is just inferior to Ahseong's in ability and skill?'

'Was our school's committee always that weak?'

'Pathetic.'

The students' gossip echoed through his imagination.

At the vision of Mahyeon's Disciplinary Committee reputation plummeting into the abyss, Je-ho let out a silent scream.

Calm yourself, Lee Je-ho...! The honor of Mahyeon's Disciplinary Committee Leader hangs on this moment. Even if it costs me my life, I absolutely cannot lose here...!

Je-ho couldn't help but feel tension at its absolute extreme.

If his concentration slipped even a little, his legs would give out from under him.

"Come at me, Leader Ahn Woo-jin. Right here, right now, we'll settle once and for all which of us is superior!"

"Just what I wanted."

Je-ho tilted his chin up and let out an easy laugh.

Woo-jin gripped the brim of his officer's cap and bowed his head ever so slightly, radiating a chill air.

The two men rested their elbows on the table and clasped hands.

And then.

'Please, let me win...!'

'Don't let me lose, please...!'

Both men prayed with everything they had.