Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: False Rumor (2)
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“...Hah?! Ch-childhood, ch-childhood friend? Me, Yang Woo-bin's childhood friend?”
“No, you're not. Why are you so surprised? And why didn't you react earlier—why wait until the promotion ceremony was over?”
“Oh? B-back then... Principal Go was so incredible, it didn't even cross my mind...”
“Hm, yeah. She is pretty amazing.”
The promotion ceremony had ended, and I was walking with Fuyuno Tsubaki to pick up my things from the General Class dorm.
Some weird talk about us being childhood friends had come out of Go Yeo-ryeong's mouth, but it was baseless gossip from the start. She'd even corrected herself, saying, “Oh, the rumor didn't really spread. It was just something my secretary and I chatted about.” So, no real issues there.
Besides, even if the rumor that Fuyuno Tsubaki and I were childhood friends spread, it wouldn't matter. We'd be sticking together anyway. Whether the rumor flew or not, nothing would change. Yeah...
As I was thinking it was no big deal even if the rumor spread, a certain face suddenly popped into my head.
My real childhood friend from seven years ago, the one I called my little kiddo.
I wondered what she'd think if she heard this nonsense. Would she get jealous? Nah, no way.
Unlike the kid from back then—who was called a total mess while being the messiest one herself—the current her was the Guidance Department Chief, respected by all.
Dabcheon's Guidance Department Chief was the strongest member, tasked with suppressing any deviants by force.
Even in the game Reverse Hero Saga, taking the Guidance route meant you needed at least two years of growth to become chief. For a first-year who'd only been at Dabcheon for a month and a half to claim that spot showed just how big a deal she'd become.
I missed my little kiddo a ton, but there was no guarantee she felt the same. With her status and busy schedule, it wouldn't make sense for her to care about some childhood friend popping up.
I figured she'd just snort at the rumor about Fuyuno Tsubaki being my childhood friend and move on. Shaking off the needless worry, I cleared my mind.
In my refreshed headspace, I started sorting out once more how to act in the main story ahead for the best outcome.
“Hey, Yang Woo-bin...”
Three steps behind me, Fuyuno Tsubaki's call snapped me out of my thoughts.
If it were some stranger interrupting, I'd have unleashed a flurry of punches, but for Fuyuno Tsubaki, I'd let a little thought-interruption slide.
“Yeah?”
When I turned to ask, she fumbled in her inner pocket and pulled out a navy card.
“There's something I wanna ask. About this card we got at the promotion ceremony...”
“Oh? The Jincheon Card?”
“Yeah.”
The Jincheon Card was a pass for Jincheon-dong, with colors based on ranking.
70th to 100th got gray, 50th to 69th white, 30th to 49th blue, 11th to 29th navy. And 1st to 10th got the black Cheondap Card.
Higher ranks meant better perks, with the Cheondap basically being a free pass to all of Dabcheon Academy.
“What's up with the Jincheon Card?”
“Well, I beat 15th, so I got navy... but you beat 100th, so gray...”
“Yeah.”
“But even if 100th dropped to General Class after losing to you, 15th—Han Yu-jin—should've become 16th, right? Doesn't that make you 101st? Jincheon Class has a cap of 100...”
“Ah.”
Her question made me nod, thinking, Yeah, someone clueless would totally think that.
Jincheon Class was capped at 100, so adding me would make 101. Totally reasonable for her to find it weird.
But this wasn't some admin error or Dabcheon's mistake.
I grinned at Fuyuno Tsubaki and spoke up.
“You're right. Jincheon Class caps at 100, but here I am at 101st. Guess I have no choice but to drop to General Class, huh.”
“...Huh?”
She went blank at my words.
When a joke lands this well, it just makes you wanna keep going.
Holding back a laugh, I looked past her into the distance like I was gazing at far-off mountains, then added in a bitter tone.
“Yeah, that's how it is, Fuyuno Tsubaki. You can handle Jincheon without me, right? Next promotion battle's in a month and a half, so tough it out till then. Got it?”
Passing the promotion battle only to get cut for capacity? It didn't make sense, so anyone thinking twice would know it was a joke.
That's why I'd tossed it out just to see her squirm a bit. But she just stayed silent.
“...Fuyuno Tsubaki?”
Turning back to look, I saw her face pale as a ghost, teeth chattering.
What the—
“...”
“Hey, why are you suddenly...”
“Yang Woo-bin. If 101's too many, we just need to make it 100. Right?”
“Huh?”
“...Wait here. I'll fix it and come back. I-I won't let us get separated, Yang Woo-bin.”
“Wha—?”
With that, Fuyuno Tsubaki whipped around and marched off with the resolve of a general heading into battle.
She was heading back toward Jincheon-dong, the way we'd come.
Crazy. No way, right?
Her words about trimming from 101 to 100 and “fixing” it sent a chill down my spine.
I yelled desperately at her retreating back.
“Stop! Stop, you idiot! Fuyuno Tsubaki, at attention!”
“Eep?!”
Whatever her resolve, she was still Fuyuno Tsubaki. She snapped to attention, heels together.
Rushing up and grabbing her shoulder, I let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew. It was a joke, dummy! You passed the promotion and the ceremony—they're not gonna kick you out for capacity.”
“Huh? Oh, r-right? Y-yeah, of course.”
Her eyes went wide, then reason returned as her face flushed. She scratched her cheek awkwardly.
Probably embarrassed about taking the joke seriously and acting on it.
I wanted to tease her more seeing that, but the image of her storming off to “fix” the numbers stopped me.
“Anyway, you're wondering why they called me 100th even though I'm really 101st, right?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Instead, I decided to answer her original question.
The answer was simple.
“It's just not a big deal. 100th or 101st, doesn't matter.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. The culling's about to start. It's Jincheon Class's surprise mid-term eval that nobody sees coming.”
“...Culling?”
She flinched instinctively at the word, shoulders hunching.
I pulled out my gray Jincheon Card from my inner pocket and showed her.
“Dabcheon's elite, Jincheon Class at 100? Too many. So when culling starts, anyone with a gray card gets booted. Trash that's gonna drop out soon anyway—doesn't matter if it's 100th or 101st.”
“...Huh?”
“Saying it now, that joke from earlier isn't 100% joke anymore, huh? Good instincts, Fuyuno Tsubaki.”
“Eep...!”
She stared at me, lost and wide-eyed.
She was taking the gray card eviction seriously.
Teasing her more might make her cry, so I gave the solution instead.
“Of course, cadets from 70th to 100th—er, 101st this time—aren't totally doomed if they sit tight. Steal a card of another color. This isn't just an ID; it's a pass.”
Jincheon Class's mid-term “culling” was a chaotic survival scramble.
It was the first superhuman training initiative from the newly appointed principal, Blue Dragon Go Yeo-ryeong.
So right now, only she, her secretary Belita, me as a veteran, and Fuyuno Tsubaki—who I'd told—knew about it.
“So, when culling starts, you protect your navy Jincheon Card, and I snag another color. What do we do to prep?”
“Train!”
“Good. Now we're on the same wavelength. Worth sticking by you.”
I ruffled her hair as she blurted the right answer without hesitation.
Seeing her grin with an “Ehehe,” I smirked and refined my culling plan in my head.
While Yang Woo-bin chatted with Fuyuno Tsubaki about the culling, oblivious Jincheon Class buzzed about those two.
“Turning down the principal's direct promotion offer to climb up together as childhood friends... Total romance vibes. Wish I had a childhood friend like that.”
“Rejected the offer, then trained their asses off sweating together and proved themselves fair and square. How do they pull that off?”
“Guy looks kinda thuggish, but the girl's a total lady, so the combo's super fresh. Saw him pet her head at the arena earlier—gave me chills just watching.”
Especially their “special” childhood friend bond was the High-value topic.
Jincheon Class gathered the elite, and in superhuman society, elites were default women.
So the gender ratio skewed heavily female, and women turned girly at the whiff of romance regardless of age. They squealed and spun wild fantasies about Yang Woo-bin and Fuyuno Tsubaki's saga.
And amid that flowery vibe...
“...”
Grind.
Guidance Chief Jin Se-jeong, with her sea-blue hair, ground her teeth where no one could see.