Student Council Reunion
After class ended, Lucy and Lumi scurried off somewhere in a hurry.
They seemed to be heading toward the club rooms.
How did I know? Because I was going that way too.
I'd set my course for the club building to head to the student council. Lucy and Lumi were walking ahead of me, giggling to each other. Since they'd told me to look forward to it with such hype, I hung back, hiding so they wouldn't spot me.
Once I confirmed the two of them entering the building, I sent a message via my smartwatch.
It had been a while since I'd thought about visiting the student council. Sure, I was technically part of the publicity department, but my activity had been spotty lately... Not that I had much choice. The publicity department was something Moon Sulin had created just to drag me into the student council in the first place. With both of us swamped these days, real activity was out of the question.
Anyway, I stepped into the club building after a long time away.
"Feels awkward."
I was curious what Lucy and Lumi might be up to in the club room, but I had a rough idea, so I left them be and headed for the elevator. The student council room was on the top floor of the building—the 17th.
Vrrr— The elevator hummed to life and started moving.
A total loner like me in the student council... Even now, it felt surreal.
Ding-dong. 17th floor.
Ching— The elevator doors slid open, revealing the student council room, the president's office, lounge, and other facilities. It had the vibe of a company office.
Anyone I know around?
As I stepped out and glanced around, one of the female members, who had been working on a hologram monitor, looked up and met my eyes.
"Oh? It's the junior!"
"Huh? What're you— Whoa, it really is."
A few seniors I'd gotten close to when I first joined recognized me and came over.
"Long time no see. I stopped by to celebrate my discharge."
"Tch. Our junior shot to fame so fast, it's kinda awkward acting chummy now."
"Right...?"
"We're still his student council seniors, though. We can treat him casual, yeah?"
"You do it first, then."
"... Pass."
The seniors exchanged glances and scratched their heads. Fair enough—I had gotten pretty famous in the meantime.
This'll stall things forever. I kept smiling and pressed on.
"Haha... Where's the president? I'd like to say hi."
Nice folks, sure. But Moon Sulin took priority. Sorry, everyone.
"President's in her office right now. She's swamped with work—might not be a good time?"
"If Ho-yeon junior's here, she'll make time. Just knock and go in."
"Got it. Thanks."
I gave the kind seniors a quick bow. They seemed buried in work, waving me off vaguely before returning to their seats and hammering at their keyboards.
Knock knock—
"President. It's me."
No response.
They said she was definitely inside.
I pressed my ear to the door and focused my mana. Faint sounds from within started filtering through.
Scratch scratch—
"That bastard... Shin Dong-min, you shitty bastard... What am I supposed to do with all this work if you just run off."
Scratch scratch—
The quiet cursing from inside made me flinch.
"...."
Sulin noona's voice was terrifying.
I glanced back—the seniors were glued to their monitors, pounding keys like warriors. The vibe screamed do not disturb.
Why was she like this...? Oh. Got it.
No wonder there were so few people around. They all bailed.
Just recently, under Moon Sulin's lead, articles exposing Vice President Shin Dong-min had blown up one after another. Since he was student council VP, the academy had quickly cut ties for image control, and all his cronies had vanished from the council.
"No surprise it's tough with half the members gone overnight."
That explained the dead look in the seniors' eyes.
Hmm...
But no matter how busy she was, I couldn't just stand here. I knocked again.
Knock knock—
Still no response.
"... Noona? I'm coming in?"
I turned the handle gently, and the door opened. There was Moon Sulin, pen in hand, brow furrowed in concentration.
She wouldn't chew me out for this, right...?
Moon Sulin was oblivious to the door opening, lost in her work. I slipped in quietly and approached from behind. Her platinum blonde hair swayed, revealing the crown of her head. The way her curvaceous figure strained against her neat uniform drew my gaze.
I was right behind her now—close enough to hear each other's breaths. But her eyes stayed locked on the papers.
She had to notice by now... Guess the stress was really getting to her.
"Shin Dong-min, you fucking bastard... Shitty prick... Son of a—"
"Noona. I'm here."
"Kyaaak!"
Any longer, and worse would come out, so I cut in quick. As I laid a hand on her shoulder, she let out a weird squeak and shrank back. Papers on the desk started floating up via telekinesis.
This could get messy.
"H-Hey... Noona, it's me. Lee Ho-yeon."
"Kyaa— Huh? H-Ho-yeon? When did you get here?"
"No answer when I knocked... so I came in. Sorry if I startled you."
"No, it's fine. Yeah. Not startled at all."
The floating papers settled neatly onto the desk as if to say this was how I planned to sort them anyway. Moon Sulin brushed back her hair and met my eyes.
"You came since you're discharged. Should've given me a heads-up."
"I left a message, but no reply."
"... Sorry. Been swamped."
The dark circles under her eyes confirmed it.
"Nah, it's cool. How've you been, noona?"
"Good. Just waiting for your discharge day. Reserved a spot at Pungmi-dang."
"Haha... I'm down anytime."
We chatted casually, catching up. Today, I needed to fish for Conquer hints naturally.
"Any troubles lately?"
"Like what?"
"Hmm..."
The stalker was gone, but her mindset might not have changed. She'd voiced disgust at stalking before—or at least, something like it. Worth probing.
"Reporters have been stressing me out big time lately. They swarm every chance they get... Even hid out for my discharge. You dealing with that?"
"... Dunno. I've adapted. Comes with fame."
"...."
Sorry, but she shouldn't adapt. If a heroine who gets Conquered via stalker stuff just rolls with it, what then?
"... I kinda get where those people are coming from. Fan feelings and all."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing."
That was definitely something.
Current Status: Sorry, Ho-yeon...
What the hell.
Why's she sorry to me, noona? And why's the favorability still climbing? If she Conquers herself like this, what am I supposed to do?
I stared at Moon Sulin in frustration, but she avoided my gaze and spoke up.
"Ahem... Anyway, I'm fine. Don't worry."
Her profile as she continued... It looked like she was apologizing to me.
"Haa..."
After Lee Ho-yeon left, Moon Sulin sighed in the empty student council room.
She'd learned he was stressed by the paparazzi. From his perspective, it was just a probe about her, but oblivious Moon Sulin took it seriously. She'd struggled with it once herself.
"Sorry, Ho-yeon..."
Her affection was hurting him. She activated her smartwatch and started deleting photos.
Saved shots from his news appearances. Paparazzi and sasaeng fan pics. She wiped them all, then checked her recordings.
"...."
Deleting these would leave her smartwatch empty. All traces of Lee Ho-yeon gone.
"His voice should be fine, right...?"
She couldn't bring herself to delete them. Didn't want to. It would feel like drifting even further from the hard-to-see Lee Ho-yeon.
"Yeah. He doesn't know about this..."
How could it stress him if he didn't know? Innocent.
Moon Sulin played Lee Ho-yeon's voice.
"Sulin noona. I love you."
Burying the surging guilt, she slowly closed her eyes.
"This is tough..."
My head hurt thinking how to Conquer Moon Sulin. At first, it was auto-progressing, which was great... But now I knew the deal.
Once favorability hit 99, each heroine required a specific action to cap it at 100 for full Conquer. Rising favorability alone meant little. It could even make finding the action harder.
"Gotta see Professor Im Sol first."
I'd promised Moon Sulin a weekend meal. Plenty of time to talk it out then.
"Welcome. Cadet Lee Ho-yeon."
I tabled Moon Sulin thoughts. I'd arrived at the Magic Tower where Im Sol was.
"Visiting Professor Im Sol on the second floor."
After getting clearance from the lobby guide, I took the elevator up.
Im Sol's lab was its usual mess. Dodging experiment remnants, I went deeper and saw her frowning at a magic circle.
Everyone's so busy. Always working when I visit.
"Professor. It's me."
"Yeah, perfect timing. I needed you."
Im Sol greeted me without looking up from the magic circle.
"What's that? A magic circle?"
"Yep. End stages of research, but stumped on this part."
I peeked at the circle she was studying.
"Hmm..."
"What?"
Im Sol's research focused on core spell formulas—the heart of magic. Strengthening those in magic circles to boost power was the goal. Many applications, but that was key.
This one was what we'd dubbed the Irregular Magic Circle. Unlike ones with fixed rules for core formulas, its formulas were irregular.
Rare among magic circles, thus tricky and complex... But not this stumping for her?
Ah... I see.
"Professor, you were wondering how to explain this to others, right?"
"... How'd you know?"
Im Sol sounded genuinely surprised.
Not hard, really. With her, speak one level above what I thought, and it usually hit.
"Knew it. Whose disciple am I? Let's grab coffee first. Then I'll take a look."
"... Heh, sure."
Her furrowed brow eased into a slight smile as she sat across from me.