Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 8

Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School

Chapter 8

“Hey, are you crazy?! Why the hell are you acting like a psycho all of a sudden!”

The kid who got a cola shower yelled furiously.

1st year, Class 2, Kim Yeon-hee. Come to think of it, she was a classmate.

“Sorry, wasn’t it you?”

“…What?”

“The one who called me a cockroach. If it wasn’t you, then sorry.”

“…….”

“But it was you.”

Eyes filled with certainty and confidence.

For a moment, she was speechless. It was because of the disconnect from the ‘Seol Ji-hyo’ she had known until now.

However, this girl in front of her was Seol Ji-hyo, no matter how you looked at it. In other words, there was absolutely no need to be scared.

It was obvious she would flinch and back down if she just raised her voice a little.

Kim Yeon-hee said with a sneer.

“You’re really something with your bullshit.”

The warmth vanished from Ji-woo’s face.

It wasn’t that she was provoked by those words just now.

Kim Yeon-hee, who was looking at her with her arms crossed as if she’d heard a funny story.

On her wrist, a bracelet with a four-leaf clover pendant glittered.

That bracelet. She had seen it in a video.

No doubt about it. This kid is…….

“I called you that because you’re like a cockroach, so what’s the problem, huh?”

When Ji-woo shut her mouth, Kim Yeon-hee’s voice gained a bit of confidence, thinking she was scared.

Ji-woo, who had been staring intently at the four-leaf clover pendant dangling from her wrist, raised her gaze and met her eyes directly.

“…Then, is it a problem that I poured cola on a bitch who talks shit about me loud enough for me to hear?”

Bang!

Ji-woo dropped the empty can she was holding onto the floor.

“…What?”

“Are you saying I should’ve just giggled and walked past after hearing someone call me a cockroach behind my back?”

Crunch, Ji-woo crushed the empty can with her foot and looked down at Kim Yeon-hee.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

Kim Yeon-hee flinched. It was a reflexive action.

“Did Kim Yeon-hee just get scared of Seol Ji-hyo?”

“She’s scared, she’s definitely scared.”

Kim Yeon-hee furrowed her brow aggressively.

She didn’t want to lose face in a place like this. Especially to a kid like Seol Ji-hyo.

Kim Yeon-hee’s voice grew even louder.

“Did you hit your head in an accident or something?”

“You think it’s just my head?”

“You little—where do you think you are—.”

Whoosh!

Kim Yeon-hee swung her hand.

However, it was helplessly caught by Ji-woo’s hand.

“Fuck, are you not letting go?”

“You’re not the only one who can curse.”

Ji-woo leaned her face in slightly while holding her wrist.

“Where the hell does a bitch like you get off cursing all the time.”

A voice so cold it was hard to believe it belonged to Seol Ji-hyo.

As if reacting to it, the cola can that had been on the floor crumpled with a kka-gang sound, as if being crushed.

‘…What the.’

Kim Yeon-hee glanced to the side, startled. Why did the can that was just lying on the floor suddenly…?

But this wasn’t the time to worry about that.

“It’s you, right? My group member.”

“What are you……”

“The day I was bitten by an [Infected], you went into the [Narak] with me. Didn’t you?”

“What kind of bullshit are you spouting all of a sudden?”

“Answer me. Were you there or not?”

“That was ages ago, why bring it up now! What are you going to do? Report me to the police?”

Ji-woo let out a scoff.

“It won’t end with just that.”

Squeeze.

Her wrist was tightened as if it were being twisted.

At some point, other students had started gathering like a swarm of bees.

“Oh…….”

“What’s going on?”

“Hey, a fight broke out!”

Kim Yeon-hee’s face, covered in cola and shame, turned bright red.

Right now, Kim Yeon-hee was showing everyone the sight of her covered in cola and having her wrist held by Seol Ji-hyo.

But the most shameful thing was.

That she couldn’t shake this hand off.

Looking at her, she didn’t seem to be using much strength… what kind of grip strength was this?

“…Hey, but what’s up with Seol Ji-hyo? Her vibe seems different since I last saw her.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been in the same class as her. What was she like before?”

“Didn’t you see her getting bullied? Even when kids cut her hair with scissors back in 9th grade, she couldn’t say a word.”

“Whoa…….”

The murmuring grew louder.

“What’s all this commotion? Is this a back-alley market, huh?!”

Just then, one of the passing teachers noticed the commotion and pushed through the crowd.

The student dean.

Even with his appearance, Ji-woo didn’t let go of Kim Yeon-hee’s wrist.

No, rather, she lowered her head deeper and whispered into Kim Yeon-hee’s ear.

“I’m looking forward to the next day we go into the [Narak].”

“……!”

“I hope we’re in the same group then. Us.”

Snap!

The four-leaf clover bracelet Kim Yeon-hee was wearing suddenly snapped as if cut by invisible scissors.

The pendants and beads attached to the bracelet fell off and rolled across the hallway.

“You kids, separate immediately. What are you doing in the hallway?”

At the teacher’s shout, Ji-woo finally let go slowly.

Kim Yeon-hee grabbed her wrist with reddened eyes. A clear handprint remained. The bones where she had been grabbed were tingling.

“Speak. What’s going on? Where do you think you are, fighting like this! Huh?!”

“I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Ji-woo replied calmly.

“What? Then why are you causing such a commotion!”

“She started it. I just gave back what I got.”

Then the teacher turned his gaze to Kim Yeon-hee next to her.

“Is that true?”

Kim Yeon-hee, who was rubbing her wrist, glanced back at Ji-woo.

The moment her gaze met those blue eyes, her shoulders flinched.

Kim Yeon-hee, who lowered her head on her own, shut her mouth tight.

“…….”

Her lips wouldn’t open.

Dammit, she just couldn’t.

‘…I’m tired.’

It was 5 PM when Ji-woo returned to the [Dormitory].

Of all things, for that to happen in the hallway.

– Yeon-hee, don’t let this happen again. Students in the same class should get along.

– …Yes.

After that, Kim Yeon-hee disappeared quickly across the hallway without even making eye contact with Ji-woo.

It didn’t make her feel relieved, but Ji-woo didn’t want things to blow up too much either.

That kid named Kim Yeon-hee didn’t seem to have as much guts as she thought.

Thinking about it the other way, it made her even angrier that Ji-hyo had suffered like that because of such a pathetic person.

…Anyway, she had made an example of her to some extent, so she’d be careful from now on. If she had any sense, that is.

That aside.

‘I think I acted too noticeably without realizing it.’

But it couldn’t be helped.

She had lost her cool for a moment when she heard them badmouthing Ji-hyo.

…And that bracelet.

The moment she saw the bracelet glittering on Kim Yeon-hee’s wrist, she felt her blood run cold.

‘I don’t know, it’ll work out somehow.’

Perhaps because she had been thinking too much, sleepiness poured over her rapidly.

It had been a very long day, too.

Since she had come outside for the first time since entering ‘that house’ at age 6, it was understandable.

‘Besides, maybe it’s because I used my [Core] for the first time in a while today. I feel a bit sluggish.’

She had ended up using it twice.

Come to think of it, that boy who got hurt, did he make it back to the [Dormitory] okay?

Thinking about this and that, her eyelids gradually closed.

Let’s just close my eyes for a very short while.

And then wake up and organize my thoughts a bit more…….

“Gasp!”

──When she snapped her eyes open, it was already the next morning.

She hurriedly checked the wall clock, and the hands were pointing at 6 AM.

How many hours did she sleep? Had she been dead to the world for at least 12 hours?

How long had it been since she slept this long? She couldn’t stay in bed any longer.

After finishing getting ready for school and leaving the [Dormitory], Ji-woo checked the time again.

7 AM.

There were still 2 hours left until the first period started. It seemed a bit too early…….

Well, it wouldn’t hurt to go early.

She might have another unpleasant experience if she arrived at school when it was crowded for no reason.

She decided to consider it a leisurely start since she wasn’t used to the campus geography yet.

‘…It’s quiet.’

Because of the time, silence hung over the school entrance. Well, it made sense; there couldn’t be many students coming to school this early.

Ji-woo approached the shoe rack right in front of the 1st-floor entrance.

It was just as she was about to open the shoe rack door to change into her indoor shoes.

“Aaaah……!”

Her steps stopped on their own at the scream that came from somewhere.