Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: The Purpose of the Class Reunion
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“Woojin, that thing on your wrist—is that a smartwatch? How many years is the contract for?”
The friend who’d lured me out for a smoke under the pretense of stepping away for a quick cig asked.
“Next time you need to upgrade your device, come to my shop. Don’t get ripped off somewhere else. What’s the point of friends if not for this?”
From car salesmen to now phone hawkers.
I couldn’t help but sigh at the reality of these twenty-year-olds who had no place in the Academy.
But keeping a straight face, I glanced down at the smartwatch Cynthia had given me and replied.
“I don’t really know. A friend gave it to me, so I doubt there’s any contract.”
It had originally belonged to Choi Si-hyeok.
In the past, Cynthia had agonized over what to do with his gift and nearly tossed the smartwatch before handing it off to me instead.
The thing itself was innocent, but wearing it as-is felt off.
And so, I ended up with Choi Si-hyeok’s generously bestowed smartwatch.
Of course, I didn’t just take it for free—I bought Cynthia a brand-new one in exchange for accepting his old one.
“Whoa, damn. Someone who buys a smartwatch outright. Kang Woojin, you don’t buy your phone on a plan either, do you?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“What, are your parents landlords or something?”
“Nah, nothing like that.”
“Then did you win the lottery or what?”
I shrugged and brushed it off casually.
“Not the lottery, but the stock market’s been good to me lately.”
“Whoa... You’re self-made, huh? Those guys yapping about stocks earlier should learn from you.”
With that, I brushed off the sales pitches from the car guy and phone guy, grinding my cigarette into the ashtray in the smoking area.
I’d sworn to quit, but days like today made it feel okay to bend the rules a bit.
There was that saying: school ties, regional ties, blood ties—and then smoking ties.
“Ah, there you are. Woojin-ah, what about insurance...”
“My parents still handle that.”
“Oh, right...”
I shut down the insurance salesman heading into the smoking area with one shot and stuffed the pile of business cards crammed into my hand into my pocket.
“...Finally, some peace.”
After that, I headed to the bathroom to wash off the smoke smell.
Shwaaa!
It suddenly hit me, but the middle school classmates at this reunion all seemed to be the types who didn’t attend the Academy.
‘Still, the salespeople are the lesser evil.’
Honestly, the ones hawking wares were the better ones.
There were plenty trying to pick up girls, just like me.
And beyond that, folks snapping pics for social media, boosting their egos with bragging, or just here for the free food and drinks.
Every middle school alum at this gathering had some impure(?) motive.
Poor Park Jung-hwan, who’d gathered everyone just to hand out wedding invites.
Han Ye-eun was pretty much the only one purely here to reminisce, reconnect, and celebrate for Park Jung-hwan.
Not that I had room to judge, since getting close to that very Han Ye-eun was my goal.
Creeeak.
Soon after washing my hands thoroughly, I spritzed some air freshener and stepped out of the bathroom.
“Hm?”
It was right then.
Swish.
A shadow blocked my path.
“Hey.”
He was built the same as me—or maybe a bit bulkier. None other than Kim Taeyang.
“Kang Woojin, why are you acting so cocky?”
Arms crossed, blocking the bathroom entrance, he furrowed his brow and added.
“Why’s a total loser like you strutting around like that?”
He clearly resented how my exposed wealth from the car salesman chat had drawn all the classmates’ attention.
“And why are you clinging to Han Ye-eun like that?”
Above all, he seemed to have a thing for Han Ye-eun. He stepped closer, jabbing my shoulder with his index finger.
“Huh? Kang Woojin, you lost it? What makes you think you can act this way? You got that much money?”
Of course, I didn’t budge an inch from his poke.
No matter his size or strength, he was just a regular guy.
Kim Taeyang might put up a decent fight against Park Taesoo—forget Choi Si-hyeok—but to me, he was still a kid.
“Naturally, I trust in myself. There’s no one else in this world worth trusting. Oh, wait—Chang-sik hyung’s an exception.”
I let out a scoff and answered his repeated questions.
“This bastard’s really lost it. Be straight with me—you’re not Kang Woojin, are you? How could a loser like that change this much?”
Kim Taeyang barked a hollow laugh.
“Whatever. Kim Taeyang, you got a thing for Ye-eun, don’t you?”
“What?”
“Back in middle school, rumor was you confessed to her? Or that you dated? Something like that went around.”
“...”
“And fooling around with other girls was just for show, right?”
“Sh-shut up!”
Seeing his anger flare, I’d clearly hit the nail on the head.
“Look, the past is the past. If you like Ye-eun, drop it before you get hurt.”
I gave him the advice straight from the heart.
Han Ye-eun wasn’t a girl a normie like Kim Taeyang could handle.
I meant it for his own good, but he twisted my words and lunged at me.
“You bastard!”
His pig-like temper flared as he swung. I reflexively jerked my head back.
“If I like Ye-eun, what’re you gonna do about it?!”
But he was dead wrong and kept swinging wildly.
“Make me bleed, you punk!”
“Fine, if that’s how you want it.”
I caught his fist palm-first, clamping down with exceptional grip strength.
Crack!
With mana infused, his thick hand bones snapped in an instant.
“Gaaah?!”
“I give you good advice out of kindness, and you just don’t get it.”
“L-let go, you bastard!”
“Truth be told, I never liked your name from the start. Sounds like the type who’d steal another guy’s girl.”
In the original story, Kim Taeyang seduces Han Ye-eun and ends up joining the Peach Garden Truth Church.
Recalling how he rises to a high position thanks to his talents, I hurled him into the corner of the bathroom.
Crash! Thud!
Whatever happened later, right now he was just an ordinary guy.
“Ugh...”
I slowly approached him groaning on the floor.
“Taeyang-ah.”
Then, with the sleaziest grin I could muster—like something a Golden Sun type would say—I added.
“You got a mom? Sisters?”
I flashed a creepy smile for good measure.
“Wh-what?!”
Kim Taeyang’s face twisted in panic as he mulled over my words before yelling.
“You son of a bitch! Touch my family, and I won’t let you off!”
He was furious, but it was just desperate flailing to shake off his fear.
Like they say, you see what you expect.
Quickly catching on, Kim Taeyang trembled all over with sudden dread.
“Hmm.”
Facing his quivering, terrified form made me think of Choi Si-hyeok for some reason.
I wonder if this Taeyang likes edging in defeat too?
“D-don’t get any weird ideas! I’ll kill you! For real!”
He warned me, clutching his broken fist.
They say people live up to their names.
Was Kim Taeyang destined to become a criminal no matter what?
“Don’t talk so tough. Makes you look weak.”
I shook my head and shoved him aside.
His threats, from someone who’d never even killed a single monster, were laughable.
And whether he became a Peach Garden Truth Church villain like in the original or not.
For now, pressing down on the shoulders of this clueless punk was enough.
With his hand busted, he’d lay low for a while.
* * *
Back at the table, Han Ye-eun said to me.
“What took you so long?”
“Just hit the bathroom.”
“Liar. You smoked, didn’t you?”
She sniffed at me interrogatively.
“Smoking now too? Woojin-ah, you’ve turned into a total bad boy.”
The real bad stuff starts now.
What if she already likes—no, gets disappointed—in me?
“I only smoke when I’m with friends. To fit in.”
She dug in even more at my shrug.
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. Never otherwise.”
Then she suddenly burst out laughing.
“Pfft.”
“Huh?”
“Kidding, kidding. It’s fine to have one now and then.”
“...”
“And I’m not your girlfriend, so why explain? Just own it.”
Maybe it was the booze, but she’d shed all that earlier awkwardness, speaking with a flushed, tipsy face.
And she wasn’t the only one.
As time passed, the bar grew even rowdier.
A few with business—like the sales guys—had dipped out, leaving about ten people, but the vibe was way better.
Kim Taeyang never returned, even after a long while.
Probably straight to the hospital or home.
‘At least he saved face.’
Right then, emboldened by liquor, Jeong Yong-uk picked up where Kim Taeyang left off.
“Hey, hey, that’s Kang Woojin, right? The super timid one. Used to eat lunch alone every day back then.”
Punches didn’t work, so now it was insults.
“Haha, yeah, true.”
Several guys who’d been glaring at me chimed in.
“Not totally alone. Woojin was always glued to Cynthia.”
“Come to think of it, she’s not here today?”
“Busy, probably. Heard through a friend of a friend she awakened. Living in a different world now—why would she come to a dump like this?”
“Oh, our esteemed Awakened. So Woojin got dumped by Sia? Tough break, huh?”
Their blatant mockery reminded me of the original story.
Just like they said, the original protagonist shows up to the reunion broken after losing Cynthia, becoming prime drinking fodder.
Han Ye-eun and other girls pitied him, but no one had the loyalty to flip the mood.
He parts without even chatting much with Han Ye-eun, only reuniting later in the worst way.
Witnessing her and Lee Yeon-hee fully corrupted.
No chance to intervene.
Already sunk in despair from Sia’s situation, he becomes their plaything, a product of selfishness.
Never tasting the two saints’ bodies, just a witness to their pure days.
‘He cried buckets over that back then.’
And the irony—his Flame Guild takes down the Peach Garden Truth Church alongside those very women.
For the original protagonist, a pathetically miserable end.
But I was different, and the current scene diverged sharply from the original.
“You guys are too much. How can you gang up on someone like that?”
Han Ye-eun, fed up with their jeers, narrowed her eyes and defended me.
“Ye-eun’s right. Past is past, now is now. You jealous of Woojin or what?”
Lee Ji-hye, sitting beside me, backed her up.
“It’s just a joke—why so serious?”
“J-jealous? As if...”
I hadn’t lifted a finger, but the girls’ fierce glares cowed the guys into averting their eyes.
Thud.
And right at that moment.
“Heard this was the place. Ah! Woojin-ah!”
Cynthia approached our table with a bright smile—the very topic of conversation.
“Seriously, a class reunion at a dump like this?”
Yoo Harin was with her.
After late-night studying, they naturally gravitated to my side.
The guys froze at Sia and Harin—both stunning, rivaling Ye-eun—instantly.
Their stunned faces were too good not to savor alone.
“Like you said, you all know Sia. And this is Yoo Harin.”
Rubbing it in, I flaunted my connections and introduced the two to various classmates.
“Say hi, everyone.”
Not just the guys—Jeong Yong-uk’s reaction was priceless too.
“What’s that pig bastard doing here?”
Yoo Harin’s blunt mouth twisted his face instantly.