Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

#### Episode 5

He probably didn’t expect a greeting from Ji-woo, as his calm, empty pupils widened slightly.

But that was it.

“…Hi.”

He replied, tossing the word out, then immediately averted his gaze. As if he had never looked this way to begin with.

It was a very short conversation, but that was enough data.

‘That’s not the voice I heard in the video.’

I couldn’t say for sure, but this handsome seatmate was highly likely not the person captured in the video.

In other words, it meant he wasn’t the ‘target’.

Ji-woo stared blankly at those flawless, clear white cheeks.

“…….”

She, too, averted her gaze as if nothing had happened.

The first period began.

The first class was PE.

That was welcome news.

Having received various treatments for Core issues since she was young, Ji-woo had undergone special home training. Thanks to that, she was quite confident in moving her body.

…However, things never go that easily.

First, just finding the changing room to change into her gym clothes was a challenge.

“Excuse me, do you know where the changing room is?”

“…….”

No one in the same classroom gave her a proper answer.

In the end, Ji-woo had no choice but to find the changing room on her own.

‘I think the kids went this way earlier.’

She found the changing room late and quickly changed into her gym clothes, but…….

That wasn’t the end of the problem.

‘What the, where did everyone go?’

When Ji-woo finished getting ready and came out of the changing room, the hallway was already empty.

She had planned to just follow the kids, but that plan failed.

Can’t be helped. She’d just have to find the playground on her own too.

‘Was it… this way?’

Why is this damn school building so big?

She was exhausted just from trying to get out of the building.

In fact, she had even taken a boat to get to the island this morning.

There were over a dozen buses operating within the campus alone. That was the overwhelming scale of Gaon.

About 900 students from elementary to high school. Over 100 staff members.

Besides that, there were instructors for special training, the Purification Team managing the Narak, and medical personnel managing students’ health.

If you add other specialized personnel like the security team, facility maintenance team, and logistics support team…

‘Maybe around 2,000 people?’

Or maybe even more.

Even just this one high school building was so large that ‘fortress’ would be a more accurate description than ‘school’.

‘Where on earth am I?’

Arriving on the first floor, she had a hard time finding the exit.

If there had been anyone passing by, she would have grabbed them to ask, but there was no way anyone would be wandering around when class had already started.

‘Ah, found it.’

Fortunately, she saw a door leading outside in the distance. Once she went out there, she’d surely see the playground.

Ji-woo, who had quickly exited the school building, was looking around to find the playground.

“…Ugh.”

A faint groan was heard from somewhere.

It was a child’s voice.

Ji-woo stopped walking and looked around widely.

‘…Where is that coming from?’

A large fir tree stretched out next to the school entrance.

A small shadow was seen crouching beneath it.

Maybe about 10 years old. It was a young boy. Whether he fell from a tree or just tripped, there was a scraped wound on the back of his hand.

‘Is he an elementary student? Why is such a young kid at the high school building?’

There was no one around who looked like a guardian.

After a moment of hesitation, Ji-woo strode toward the child.

“……?”

Round, clear eyes like silver beads looked up at Ji-woo.

Ji-woo crouched in front of him and reached out.

“Your hand. Let me see it for a second.”

“…….”

The boy just stared at Ji-woo with wide eyes.

Is he wary? Or is he surprised by the appearance of a stranger?

“It hurts, doesn’t it? Let me see.”

When she said it again, the boy hesitantly held out his hand.

Ji-woo gently placed her palm over the boy’s wound.

*Fwoosh……. *

The skin surface warmed up slightly.

A faint, pale light leaked from Ji-woo’s palm covering the wound.

Soon, she withdrew her hand and asked the boy.

“It doesn’t hurt now, right?”

The boy stared at the back of his hand with wide eyes.

“Huh…….”

The place where there had been a scraped wound just a moment ago had become clean as if by magic.

“How did you do that?”

…Huh?

The boy looked at Ji-woo with round eyes.

What is this. His way of speaking seems a bit strange for a young child…….

“And why is your hand like that?”

The boy’s eyes now landed on the back of Ji-woo’s hand.

On Ji-woo’s previously unblemished hand, the exact same wound as the boy’s had appeared.

As if she had copied the boy’s wound exactly.

“It’s fine. It heals quickly.”

Ji-woo shoved her hand into her pocket.

“Pain?”

“None.”

Should I call his tone arrogant or just weird…….

Anyway, he was a strange kid, but this wasn’t the time to be doing this.

“Is that so? Be careful next time.”

Ji-woo stood up without lingering.

And just as she was about to walk away.

She suddenly realized an important fact and turned back.

“Sorry, but do you happen to know where the playground is?”

“……That way.”

“Thank you.”

Tap-tap-tap.

Ji-woo left the spot immediately.

While the boy left alone stared blankly at Ji-woo’s retreating figure.

Another set of footsteps was heard from the other side.

“Are you here? I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

A man in a suit stood in front of the boy.

However, the boy said, keeping his gaze fixed solely on the direction where Ji-woo had disappeared.

“Find out what grade and class that child is in.”

It was about 15 minutes after class started when Ji-woo arrived at the playground.

“Seol Ji-hyo, why are you so late? How long has class been going on?”

Ji-woo bowed her head to the scolding PE teacher.

“I’m sorry, I got a bit lost.”

“Lost? Come to think of it, didn’t you attend the high school entrance ceremony?”

“Yes. Today is my first day of school.”

“…….”

The PE teacher let out a small sigh, as if he had no intention of scolding her further.

Then, he said in a slightly softened voice.

“Today is the day for the running evaluation. You can rest if you want, what will you do?”

It was probably out of consideration for Ji-hyo, who had been in an accident.

However.

“I’ll do it.”

Ji-woo decided to participate.

If today’s class was going to be reflected in her grades, she couldn’t skip it.

She thought that since it was an Awakener school, they would have slightly more special classes… but if it was just running, it wasn’t a difficult task.

The problem, however, was…….

“Is that so? Then go stand in that last group over there.”

The students in the same class had already finished forming groups.

In other words, it meant that the authority to choose group members was long gone.

“Damn it, why is she coming here…….”

The kids who ended up in the same group openly showed their displeasure.

Amidst that unpleasant whispering, Ji-woo walked toward them calmly.

Even after she sat down in a suitable spot, the whispering didn’t stop.

“Hey, it’s not that bad. If Seol Ji-hyo is at the bottom, it’s actually a benefit for us.”

“True, that’s true. I was worried that since we’re in the same group as Yu-jin, our scores might come out low.”

…Yu-jin? I thought I had heard that name somewhere.

Turning her head, she saw black hair sitting alone a little distance away.

It was Moon Yu-jin, who had been sitting next to her in the classroom.