bookpower Chapter 828
Chapter 828
May 8th, Saturday.
Today was Parent’s Day, and also the birthday of the homeroom teacher of Class 2-1, Kim Shin-rok.
Up until now, Kim Shin-rok had never revealed his birthday, but apparently, he had been persuaded by Andain’s sincere request to share it this time.
Kim Shin-rok had advised the students to spend the day with their parents since it was also Parent’s Day, but the students insisted on having lunch together with him and enjoying the specially ordered dried persimmon cake.@@@@
As a result, the students of Class 2-1, including Joo Soo-hyuk, ended up having lunch with Kim Shin-rok.
Joo Soo-hyuk had decided to spend the morning with his family and then head to Eungwang District.
“I’ve finished the investigation. Please check the device.”
“Thank you, Hyung.”
In the air-stretched limousine heading to the meeting point, Kim Cheol, the bodyguard and secretary, handed over the report.
The report was about Hyo-don.
Joo Soo-hyuk had almost been involved in the incident in front of the west gate, so there was a justification for the investigation for safety reasons, but it was essentially driven by concern for his friend.
The more Joo Soo-hyuk read the report, the darker his expression became.
‘The reason Hyo-don didn’t participate in competitions during middle school and even after entering Eungwang High...’
Joo Soo-hyuk and Hyo-don had been rivals, often competing for the championship in the youth sports tournaments for aspiring players.
They frequently crossed paths, and naturally, they became rivals, but eventually, Joo Soo-hyuk initiated a conversation, and they became friends.
However, Joo Soo-hyuk realized he didn’t know anything about Hyo-don.
Hyo-don had been in a dire situation, unable to even have three meals a day. The prize money from the tournaments was all used to pay off his father’s alcohol debts and gambling losses.
He had been dragged into the Fight Club right after passing the entrance exam for Eungwang High.
It was also related to the incident in early last year, when the fall of Choi Pyeon-deuk and the Energy Monster chaos at Eungwang District, which led to Hyo-don’s escape.
‘If I had just thought for a moment and looked into things properly, there might have been something I could have done.’
Joo Soo-hyuk agonized over the memories of Hyo-don during their middle school days.
Looking back now, there were so many odd things.
It was strange that Hyo-don, who could have bought wearable devices or smartphones with his tournament prize money, didn’t even have a contact number.
It had been odd that when Hyo-don met the special admission criteria for Eungwang High, he hadn’t been seen at the school either.
But before Joo Soo-hyuk could take action, Hyo-don had started attending school, and he had forgotten the unease.
“Because of the recent incident, his bail was revoked, and he was detained in the detention center. The Huangmyeong Foundation’s legal team and the association are handling it, so there doesn’t seem to be room for us to intervene.”
Kim Cheol spoke comfortingly to Joo Soo-hyuk.
However, his words didn’t fully register with Joo Soo-hyuk.
He recalled the image of Hyo-don with his head lowered.
Hyo-don, with tears in his eyes, desperately trying to offer food to others.
Kim Yoo-ri, trying her best to smile while brushing off Hyo-don’s school uniform, hiding her own discomfort.
Han Geun-hyeong, appearing with such a vicious face that it seemed like he could knock someone unconscious with his expression alone.
Jo Ui-shin, leading Hyo-don to the infirmary with a face full of guilt.
The faces of those who had been there that day kept spinning in Joo Soo-hyuk’s mind.
Of those people, Joo Soo-hyuk had known Hyo-don the longest and had the power to intervene, yet he had done nothing.
‘If luck hadn’t been on his side, Hyo-don might still be stuck in the Fight Club. If Tak Geo-san hadn’t happened to destroy that building and helped Hyo-don escape in the middle of the night when the Energy Monster chaos happened...’
As those thoughts came to mind, Joo Soo-hyuk felt a sense of unease.
Was Hyo-don’s escape just a coincidence?
At that time, even though the Dark Portals had been exposed by the Red Cliff Thief, Choi Pyeon-deuk and the Fight Club were still intact.
Despite the fear that Eungwang High students had for Choi Pyeon-deuk, he had lived without worry until the Eungwang District purification incident.
Even though Choi Pyeon-deuk likely kept a low profile because of the Dark Portal incident, it was strange that the Fight Club was randomly discovered and destroyed by some hero, and that Tak Geo-san happened to help Hyo-don escape that night.
‘Why did Ui-shin act like it was his fault that day? He wasn’t someone who had known Hyo-don for long like I did.’
When Hyo-don was attacked by his biological father, Jo Ui-shin’s actions seemed more suspicious than just a responsibility-driven vice class president.
Jo Ui-shin appeared to feel more guilt than the class president, Kim Yoo-ri, or the homeroom teacher, Han Geun-hyeong.
The suspicion and unease surrounding Jo Ui-shin had been building up for over a year.
Jo Ui-shin was the top student at Eungwang High and an active participant in the world conquest, always in the shadow of Joo Soo-hyuk and Andain, but he was an extraordinary player.
Joo Soo-hyuk’s suspicions were solidified on Christmas.
Thinking of Christmas, Joo Soo-hyuk’s eyes widened.
When Hyo-don was walking through the memorial hall corridor, his steps came to a halt.
He seemed to scan an old photo with his device, the hologram blurry due to its low quality.
Without needing to ask, it was clear that this was the photo of Hyo-don’s mother.
After seeing the photo of his mother, Hyo-don seemed to sigh in relief.
He seemed to relax a little, but I caught the bouquet of carnations as he almost dropped it.
As Hyo-don greeted his mother, I looked around at our family’s resting place.
‘It’s well-maintained. There are decorations that fit the season...’
There were no artificial flowers placed in other areas, so it didn’t seem like the memorial hall had provided them.
Could it be that the Hojok had taken care of it?
Thinking back to when the Hojok had offered flowers for our family, I felt a sense of gratitude.
“Mom, this is our vice class president who saved me.”
After staring silently at the photo for a while, Hyo-don introduced me.
His voice was thick with emotion, so I purposefully looked away and placed the flowers as a gesture instead of speaking.
“...Vice president, thank you.”
After paying respects to our family, Hyo-don finally spoke.
“You also offered flowers to our family. You don’t have to thank me.”
“Ah, not just that. I’m thankful for the flowers... but...”
It seemed like Hyo-don was having trouble putting his words together, as he muttered to himself.
After a brief silence, he spoke again.
“...I should have consulted with you before we left. I’m sorry.”
This was the first time Hyo-don had voluntarily brought up that day’s events.
It seemed like the act of offering flowers helped Hyo-don find some peace of mind.
“No, it’s alright. You were probably flustered since it was about your family. But next time, consult with me first. If something’s difficult to talk about or if you don’t have time, just leave a clue. I’ll respond if I notice something strange.”
“Uh-huh...”
I took the opportunity to give Hyo-don some advice.
Hyo-don nodded obediently, even though he had a pained expression on his face.
As we left the memorial hall...
“May I pay my respects as well?”
Tak Geo-san was standing in front of the memorial hall.
Tak Geo-san had been busy with the investigation for beating up Hyo-don’s biological father and the players involved, but since he had come here, it seemed like things had settled down.
When Hyo-don saw Tak Geo-san, his face lit up with a smile.
It was a bright expression, far from the one he had shown earlier.
“...Yes!”
“Haha, you’ve got a cheerful response. Lead the way.”
Hyo-don confidently responded and led the way, with Tak Geo-san following behind.
Now that Tak Geo-san was here, there was no need to worry about safety, so I decided to step aside to let the two priests pay their respects.
‘Thanks to Hyo-don, I was able to offer carnations to my parents.’
I hadn’t thought about this last year, but it seemed like a good idea to continue this tradition next year as well.
As we headed back to the dormitory...
[Hwang Ji-ho] Jo Ui-shin is planning to hold a birthday party.
If it were any other time, I would have just passed it off with a "so what?" but this time, I couldn’t ignore it.
It was because of the artificial flowers that had appeared before me, which I suspected had been sent by the Hojok.
[Hwang Ji-ho] Come to the mansion. I’ve sent a car to pick you up.
It seemed like Hwang Ji-ho had already arranged for the Hojok to wait in front of the memorial hall.
I looked around, expecting to see an air limousine, but there was no car in sight.
Instead, I saw the angel and my last playable character.
“......”
Bang!
The ones who came to meet us were Baek Ho and the angel.