I Become a Mafia in the Academy 33
"Who the hell posts something like that on the internet..."
I fired off message after message laced with fury at Jinwoo, who was happily shoveling food into his mouth while wiggling his fingers. But that damn number wouldn't budge. In the end, I had to call him out in the group chat before he finally panicked and deleted the post.
"Ever since enrolling in the academy, there hasn't been a single quiet day."
Once the situation settled, I rubbed my dry face and looked at Inomiya Haru sitting in front of me.
She was blankly, mechanically working her jaw and cheeks to chew her food. Maybe sensing my gaze, she swallowed everything in her mouth, wiped around her lips with a handkerchief, and spoke.
"I thought it was fine, but it's a shame."
"That post you just deleted?"
"Yes. Club founding in one day, sub-room assignment in another. Anyone who's not an idiot would know you're no ordinary guy and wouldn't dare crawl up without thinking."
I twitched my mouth for a split second.
"...Was there something funny about it?"
"No, it's just that your name is Haru, and you kept saying 'one day, one day'..."
"...This suddenly reminds me of the old days. Back then, you brought that song 'Day by Day' and kept playing it for me—"
"I'll apologize, so please drop the past stories..."
"What a pity. I had so much more to say. So, is the only reason you came today the laundry?"
Haru glanced at her wristwatch and asked. Lunchtime was almost over.
"Oh, besides that, I wanted to commission some items. Things to put in the sub-room from now on."
I handed her the list I'd prepared in advance.
Haru scanned the list with an expressionless face.
"...Is there anything hard to get?"
"No, everything can be obtained... but are you really planning to put these in the sub-room? They're pretty large."
She seemed doubtful if I could actually use the items on the list.
"No issue there—just procure them as is. Oh, pay from the account I entrusted you with."
"It might cost a pretty penny."
"Money? Does that matter?"
"...My apologies for the slip."
To me right now, money wasn't even worth considering.
Fast growth meant shelling out cash, after all.
"It's reassuring that our allied club is backed by chaebols. But for future commissions, are you really going to follow what was in that post? These look like gear only major guilds would use."
Maybe because we're partnering going forward, she asked about my plans. I gave her a simple explanation.
"We'll do more varied activities than that. Taking loose change like in the post? What are we, neighborhood errand boys?"
That's why I named the club Famiglia.
In Korean, it means family or clan. I chose it thinking of the Calione family, but also as an explanation for aiming for a family-like club—plus, it fit nicely with submitting that we focus on bonding activities.
Above all, it had a classy ring to it. Mafia game club or bodyguard club sounded childish and tacky.
That's when a new message popped up in my smart lens view.
It got assigned faster than expected. I replied asking where, and soon a curt response came: [Z Room].
"Guess I should head out. Just got word the sub-room is Z Room. Probably send the stuff there too."
As I stood, I suddenly remembered something I hadn't mentioned and looked at Haru, who had risen with me.
"Oh, by the way, that was delicious. I'd love to have it again sometime."
Haru faintly lifted the corner of her mouth at my words.
"Thank you. I'll contact you as soon as the requested items are ready, so no need to worry. Some are already in the external warehouse, so we'll deliver those first in sequence."
"Appreciate it."
Leaving the 'International Trade Club' behind, I headed back to class and saw Jinwoo looking glum, with the others staring at him like he was pathetic.
"Why's Jinwoo like that?"
I sat and asked Sea-a in front of me. She snorted in disbelief.
"Oh, Jinwoo? Apparently, while deleting the post on your orders, he erased a woman's number from the comments too. Pathetic, really..."
...What an utterly pointless thing to do.
"Here, this is what I mentioned earlier!"
Sea-a handed me the paper in front of her.
It read [Club Hall Entry Confirmation], with the address of our club's sub-room.
"Basement 1, Z Room. Perfect."
I stored the paper in my cube and addressed the kids.
"Everyone knows afternoon academy classes can be skipped for club activities, except sparring, right?"
"Of course."
"Duh."
"Huh? For real?"
...One guy didn't know.
I sighed and told Jinwoo.
"Yeah, so with no sparring today, we skip afternoons for club."
"...No way. We can ditch basic English? Mamma mia."
Just skipping class, and he's rolling his eyes in ecstasy...
We slipped out of the classroom and headed straight to the club hall corridor where Z Room was.
Lunch had just ended, so tons of students heading to their clubs. Among them, our 'Familia' stood out like sore thumbs.
'What're those guys? First-years, right? Why are first-years at the hall?'
'Hey, it's those kids from yesterday. The ones who took over the "Fund Investment Club." They started their own club, probably that.'
'What? They haven't even been here a week.'
'Special ones, gotta be. Man, becoming club president in under a week—what's that feel like?'
Whispers about us started buzzing. It was only natural—we were total irregularities in the academy.
"Jinwoo, shoulders down when you walk? You haven't done jack."
"I did stuff! I posted! And you? You did nothing!"
"I did plenty! Keeping you from screwing up is a full person's worth!"
"Who screwed up?!"
"You! You did!"
The two started bickering again. Young-je cleverly wedged between them to calm things down.
Maybe vice president suits Young-je best...
"We're here."
Thanks to the noisy pair, we hurried to avoid embarrassment and arrived in a flash.
A massive iron double door, larger than any other club rooms we'd seen, designed to swing open both ways.
"Boss, this is really our sub-room? Looks like a boiler room."
Jinwoo, spooked by the industrial exterior, asked worriedly.
"Yeah, Z Room. The farthest corner on the club hall's lowest floor. And... the largest sub-room."
I grabbed both handles and flung the doors wide like wings.
A cool breeze rushed in, revealing a vast, refreshingly empty space.
"Whoa... President was right, it's huge."
Young-je entered first, flipped the lights. Warehouse-style fluorescents hummed on, illuminating everything.
Just concrete pillars here and there—no furniture, like an empty warehouse. No dust or cobwebs, though, so they'd probably cleared out prior storage and cleaned.
"Damn, it's empty. Just one table over there?"
Jinwoo pointed to the room's center while looking around.
Sure enough, a single table sat awkwardly amid the barrenness.
Approaching, I spotted a note on it.
I had some other guys clean the whole place. Heard new offices shouldn't feel empty, so left a desk. -Ji Suhyun
"Instructor left it. At least it's clean—small mercies."
"Boss, got a question."
Jinwoo leaned his butt on the desk opposite my chair.
"Doesn't seem like you'd take this place just 'cause it's big, right? There's gotta be more. Yeah?"
Maybe because he's been with me longest, he grinned and asked.
Sharp kid, as always.
"Yeah. Something good."
"Hahaha! Knew it! So, what is it?"
I pointed behind me at his eager face.
"That."
"That?"
The back of Z Room. A massive iron door that didn't fit the space at all.
"Huh? That's... an elevator, right?"
Built for underground construction convenience, exclusive to Z Room: a freight elevator.
"Right. Elevator. One reason I wanted this sub-room."
Larger than others, with a heavy-duty freight elevator.
This space could be reborn in any form.
"Whoa, with that, we could spin it 180 and never leave."
...Is that all you can think of?
"So, where's it go?"
"To the incinerator behind the club hall, I think."
That's how it was in the game.
Why Z Room was biggest. Why it had the only freight elevator.
Because when players founded clubs, this was the first sub-room assigned.
Base-building was key content, hence the elevator... but did City of Seoul add it just for that?
I walked slowly to the elevator.
Two simple up/down buttons, like any ordinary one.
But sharp players notice: you can see the basement through the shaft gap.
Meaning it connected to Basement 2.
The secret underground players dreamed of.
But we weren't ready to dive in yet—I planned to prep thoroughly first.
"Alright, let's clear the incinerator side first. Luggage arrives soon."
"Luggage?"
Sea-a tilted her head as I drew eyes to the elevator.
"We can't live here, right?"
Who'd use a sub-room like that?