The Demon of the In-Seoul Class
EP 5 The Demon of the In-Seoul Class at the Retake Academy. Baek Seol was the apex predator of the In-Seoul class. In a closed society like this, she stood at the very peak—more bluntly, she belonged to the ruling class. People like her tended to fight in rather refined ways. To preserve their own elegance, they needed someone else to handle the dirty work. In other words, they outsourced it.
Three mid-tier female academy students accepted the bullying subcontract in exchange for ten spirit pills. “Don’t worry, Unni. I’ll drive her out today.” “Mm. I’m counting on you.” Baek Seol smiled and clasped Servant 1’s hand. Servant 1’s eyes widened. The fact that Baek Seol was thinking of her sent a surge of deep gratitude through her. “U-Unni…!” “Looking forward to it?” “Yes! I’ll do my best!” Servant 1 answered loudly, stamping her feet in excitement.
‘This child is far too easy. She’ll have a hard time later.’ Naturally, Baek Seol didn’t even know the servants’ names. She only remembered and distinguished them by their faces. In her mind, she simply labeled them Servant 1, Servant 2, and Servant 3. Servant 1 had a large chest, Servant 2 was tall, and Servant 3 was underdeveloped. She had never found anything strange about it. Baek Seol had lived the same way when she was at the bottom. She felt no hesitation about ordering people around. Not only that—she knew how to orchestrate these schemes, so she never made mistakes when giving instructions. It was the thoroughness typical of those who had climbed up through their own efforts.
Thus, the operation began.
EP 5 The Demon of the In-Seoul Class. Lunchtime. Baek Seol watched from a distant table as Servants 1, 2, and 3 carried their trays. The three servants would approach the table where Lee Se-rin was eating and start a quarrel. Any excuse would do. The goal was simply to provoke her until she exploded. Send the underlings to stir up trouble while she herself sat back and laughed at the muddy brawl. Then, when the story eventually came up, she would say— “Oh my! How unfortunate!” ‘This is true power.’ Baek Seol looked in the direction the servants had gone. They had stopped beside Lee Se-rin’s table with their trays. It was finally starting. Like watching a TV show, Baek Seol observed the scene from afar.
“Oh? It’s Serin-unni. Nice to see you.” “Ah. Uh-huh.” Lee Se-rin answered while avoiding eye contact, practically burying her face in her tray. “Serin-unni, you should look at people when you talk. I’m hurt.” “…Yeah.” Yoo Ji-tae forced himself to raise his head and smile with his eyes. The wig’s bangs were too long, giving him a bookish impression, and even while eating he kept the mask pulled up to his chin, so his expression was barely visible. This only boosted Servant 1’s confidence. If the top-ranked student had replied with something like “Hmm? What’s your rank? You seem rather arrogant,” she would have been terrified. But this timid attitude only encouraged her to push further.
“Unni, how did your grades suddenly improve so much? Do you have some secret?” She pressed her hand firmly on the table while smiling. The lower-ranked students could only watch nervously, not daring to speak. Yoo Ji-tae felt like he was dying. Even if he possessed real strength, whether he had the will to use it was another matter. He wasn’t the type to enjoy violence in the first place. “…I just trained.” “Huh? Unni, do you dislike me? I really want to get along with you from now on.” “…Yeah. Let’s get along.” “Oh, then we’re friends starting today? Wow, I’m so happy.” There was no warmth in the words “I’m so happy.” Only mockery and derision flowed through them. Yoo Ji-tae hated this atmosphere. It reminded him of his childhood. Because he had moved so often as a child, he had met many different women—and been hated by them. That was why, whenever someone tried to harm him, he had developed the habit of not resisting. He simply hoped they would stop on their own. But in the current situation, this only backfired. Seeing someone ranked at the very top act this way naturally made others want to trample him.
When Servant 1 poked his shoulder with her finger and saw him trembling, a sadistic impulse bloomed in her heart. The twisted feeling women often experienced when looking at men surged from within. ‘Wow, he’s cute.’ Wanting to torment him more, Servant 1’s gaze fell on the tray on the table. For someone at the top, the meal was rather meager. ‘So it was true that she had no money?’ A smile spread across her lips. A woman with neither money nor courage was nothing more than prey. Without hesitation, she brushed the tip of the wig. “Unni, your hair looks quite damaged. Well, eating such poor food would do that. Shall I get you something better?” The two servants behind her let out a snicker. “…Can’t you just leave me alone?” The voice that came out was utterly servile. The way he seemed to be begging them to stop only made them want to go even further. Servant 1 lifted the tray in one hand above his head. “Here. Eat up, Unni.” She poured it straight down. His entire body was drenched in leftover food, looking like a sick puppy. They burst into mocking laughter at the sight. “Ah, the smell—” Crack. A fist shot upward from below, snapping Servant 1’s head backward. There was a sickening crunch as her cervical vertebrae broke. Her head rebounded from the recoil. A sound that should never come from inside a neck echoed—thud, crack. Servant 1 clutched her neck with both hands. The bones supporting it from within had shattered. She barely managed to keep her head and neck fixed with her hands to prevent irreversible damage. “Krrk.” A thin line of blood trickled from her lips. Something other than bone had torn inside her neck, and blood began flowing backward. She collapsed on the spot, vomiting blood while struggling to steady her breathing. It was her mental technique. Because mental techniques activated the mana within the body, they guaranteed a certain degree of healing effect. It was her own makeshift countermeasure since she hadn’t learned healing magic. After about ten seconds, her neck finally healed. She couldn’t understand the look in her opponent’s eyes. The woman who had seemed plain and fragile just moments ago was now radiating the aura of a wild beast, doubling the terror she felt. Servant 1’s posture had unconsciously become respectful. Yoo Ji-tae found the current situation extremely chilling. He had simply been sitting there when trouble suddenly came his way. Still, he had believed it would pass quickly and endured in silence—only for food to be dumped on his head. Malice had appeared out of nowhere and clung to him like a swamp. It was almost cosmic horror level. If he hadn’t possessed the Taeguk Cheonji Mental Technique, he might have curled up trembling on the spot. Even throwing the punch had been closer to a reflexive, impulsive act of violence. The words “please stop” had come out as a fist. Yoo Ji-tae spent several seconds sorting through his chaotic emotions, then forced his brain into overdrive to find a way out of the situation. The solution he came up with was conversation. “Sorry for hitting you. But did I do something wrong? Tell me and I’ll fix it.” “Ugh…” Servant 1 began to cry. It was fear. The woman who had just broken someone’s neck with a single punch was now speaking softly and apologizing—it only made her look like a demon wearing human skin. At first, she had thought it was no big deal. Even a top-ranked student wouldn’t just kill someone. It would be troublesome if they got sued or fined. But after staring death in the face, her thoughts changed. Ah. This person is actually insane. “I’m sorry, Unni. I’m sorry.” “I’m not trying to scold you. If I did something wrong, I want to apologize and move on. If there’s something I did wrong, I want to talk it out here and put it behind us.” “…No. There’s nothing like that.” “Then you just came to pick a fight for no reason? That can’t be it.” Servant 1 dropped to her knees. “I’m sorry, Unni.” “I heard that the higher your rank, the more important you are here. Why did you all do this to me? I don’t understand.” “Y-You can pour it on me instead.” “…I don’t want to do that. Listen, I really don’t have any ill feelings toward you. If possible, I’d like to get along. Okay? I mean it.” “R-Really…?” Yoo Ji-tae gave a bitter smile at the question. In truth, he had not the slightest desire to get close to women. Especially not women who had tried to torment him. ‘But I refuse to keep getting dragged into these petty conflicts. If the cause is with me, I’ll fix it. If it’s something else, I’ll resolve it.’ ‘…I’m sick of being bullied.’ Yoo Ji-tae’s fingertips trembled slightly. While he kept his gaze lowered, a voice muttered from in front of him. “…I’m going to report this to the police.” “Huh? What did you say?” Servant 1 waved her hands frantically. “It wasn’t me!” Only then did Yoo Ji-tae shift his gaze behind Servant 1. There, Servant 2 with long hair was giggling while waving her phone. “Oh. That was me.” The phone displayed the police report screen, and a police officer’s voice could be heard from within. Servant 2’s lips curled upward. No matter how strong she was, she was still only in the Refined Realm. If she got arrested for assault, it was game over. She could even be expelled from the academy. “The police?” “That’s right, Unni. You shouldn’t hit people. You’re not an animal. Eun-ah, are you okay?” “…S-Stop it.” Lee Eun-ah, the closest servant, began to sob, afraid she would be hit again. Yoo Ji-tae found himself in a rather difficult position watching this. If the police came and started an investigation, his gender would be exposed. ‘So this was their goal from the beginning. How calculated.’ “…Why are you bullying me like this? There has to be a reason.” “Because it’s fun.” Servant 2 giggled. Yoo Ji-tae’s breathing trembled. It reminded him of those women from his childhood. “…I have a question. If I were a man, would you have done the same?” Servant 2 let out a sigh. “Unni, are you crazy?” Then she raised her voice. “Who do you think you are? How dare you compare yourself to a man? Don’t tell me you think you deserve the same treatment as a man. Is that it? Wow, Unni. Were you a feminist?” “Then that’s enough. I just wanted to confirm something.” This world might claim to value men above women, but that didn’t mean every woman actually respected men. Some might pretend to honor men on the surface while harboring hatred inside. But if someone in an all-female environment went so far as to mock and show hostility at the mere mention of comparing men and women, then he could believe it to a certain extent. Yoo Ji-tae pushed his chair back and stood up. “Follow me to the restroom for a moment. I have something to say.” “Pfft. No thanks. Why should I follow you?” “The police are coming anyway. It doesn’t matter. Or are you saying you’re scared of one person even though there are three of you?” The word “scared” was an enormous provocation to women. “…Oh? Really? Then let’s go. Let’s go, Eun-ah.” “Huh? Go…?” Servant 2 grabbed Servant 1’s arm and followed Yoo Ji-tae. Servant 3 trailed behind them. After entering the women’s restroom and confirming no one else was inside, Yoo Ji-tae removed his food-soaked gym uniform. A white short-sleeved shirt was visible underneath. A firm, flat chest. Masculine shoulders. Servants 1, 2, and 3 held their breath. “Huh…?” Splash. He placed the soup-soaked wig on the sink. “Uh…???” Foul water dripped steadily from the wig. He also removed his mask and tossed it into the trash. Clasping his hands together as if pleading, he spoke in a sorrowful voice while casting a pitiful gaze. “Can’t you just stop? Please. I don’t want you to bully me anymore.”