14 Play Dead III

After the harsh combat training from Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I should have time for myself to rest this Friday. But no. My precious time has to go to the Academic Club. The successive training is brutal for my fragile self! And I am getting no rest!

The lengths that I have to go through... sigh...

"Hyon, you look more haggard than usual." Hajin good-naturedly asks me.

I mean, good. He is at least talking to me. He is not depressed, not feeling suspicious of me, and definitely not at the bottom point of self-denial yet. That's good. My dear Kim Hajin, please don't get depressed or edgy on me. Kay? Maybe, in Hajin's mind, he is just doing Kim Chundong a favor so that when he returns to his own world, and Chundong returns to his own body, Chundong will at least have a friend.

Yeah, something like that.

But fuck you, Hajin. You and your cheats, and lack of no need to kill yourself with training. Sigh… I am getting moody lately. Is it my period? Ah~ What a dumbass… Of course not… I wish... I am a girl, so I can just go and try seducing Hajin, Suho... or Jonghak... No, screw Jonghak. Forget Jonghak.

"Hey, Hyon... Are you okay... Your eyes don't look straight..." Hajin worriedly inquires.

"Nah," With eyes deader than a fish, I perfunctorily answer  "I am fine…"

The least I can do is not to be a jerk to him.

I and Hajin head to the clubroom in silence. Hajin is not much of a talker, and I am in no mood to chitchat. My back pain hurts like hell. I think my exercise last night with Suho has gone too out of hand, but the mentor himself is saying that it is for the best.

The more exhausted I become doesn't mean I will improve faster, but it will help hone my mental endurance. According to Suho, if I manage to reach a passable level of mental fortitude, I can at least be able to train by myself without others' help.

I am clearly eating away at Suho's time, but he is happy to help. I cannot let his efforts go to waste.

"I see it, room 304…" Hajin calls to me while he leads the way.

There are only two seats left. Apparently, the number of seats is predetermined, thus I have no choice but to compete with Hajin. I glance at Hajin and he returns the gaze back at me. He walks forward like a breeze getting a headstart against me.

We race on a chair in a brisk walk, but clearly, I am inferior to Hajin.

Hajin claims the seat behind Yoo Yeonha. It is certainly not because he wants to smell Yoenha's hair from behind and observe how silky smooth her hair is.

I reluctantly sit beside Yoenha.

Among the two remaining chairs, only the one at Yoenha's rear and beside her remains clear.

"Tsk," I can hear Yeonha clicking her tongue, and I ignore her.

"Birds of a feather flock together… You two crazies must be friends already, huh?" Yeonha sarcastically comments. I simply snicker. The sight of Hajin must be reminding her of the Anti-personnel Training when he starts biting the instructor's hair.

And then, with bright expectant eyes, I call to her. "Y-Yoo Yeonha… Are you suggesting you are my friend?"

"Are you crazy?" She immediately blurts out, realizing her folly too late as the eyes of others collide in her direction. But impressively enough, she manages to communicate her feelings to me with but a gaze. "Are you suggesting I am crazy?"

I nod repeatedly, emphasizing how really crazy she is…

This only ticks her off as she snarls at me. In the end, she simply bats her eyes away at me deciding that I am a waste of her time.

After five minutes, the club president finally arrives.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Yun Hyuk. Welcome to our Academic Club, Veritas."

He introduces himself in a gentlemanly behavior, projecting a reliable sunbae-vibe, which his hubaes can depend on. "We'll only briefly discuss what our club is about since today's just orientation." He adds.

The eyes of the female cadets sparkle from his charming voice. Clearly an effect of his Djinn Abilities. He is a villain hiding in plain sight which sends a shiver down my spine. I am this close to danger, and I cannot do anything about it.

I feel a strong temptation to just go crazy and shout "He is a Djinn! Get him!" or something…

I realize, there are many things I can do, but should not do… I glance at Yeonha. After this, there will be a scene where Hajin will interact with her. In the future, Hajin will tell her the weakness of a certain monster, in exchange for buying him a gun.

Right at this moment, I can steal that opportunity, and it will not do any harm to Hajin as his gift 'Observation and Reading' allows him to see the essence of things, in a way, he can just sell a different information.

I contemplate my choices in silence, while Yun Hyuk proceeds with the orientation.

"In Veritas, we research and discuss the classifications, weaknesses, behaviors, and attributes of monsters. Topics include how they behave, where their vital points are, what their attribute is, and how to efficiently deal with them."

I nod perfunctorily, showing that I am listening when my mind is somewhere else. I am lending half an ear though as I come to the conclusion that the Academic Club might not be entirely useless. I don't have Hajin's cheats and easier access to information.

Damn, I am so envious, but at the same time… regretful… If only Hajin learns to love this world as his own from the very beginning of the novel, maybe such tragedy in 'The Novel's Extra' would not even happen.

"I'll give a quick example. Let's take a look at this monster. I'm sure you all know a Totem Scallop." Yun Hyuk calmly gives a class demonstration of what we will learn from this club.

I am attentively listening to the lecture. Monster Analysis is generally deskwork, but a competent hero should at least know how to interpret data, thus in Cube, learning the more academic side is as important as the major subjects.

A hologram pops out from the device on a table Yun Hyuk is using. Totem Scallops are high-intermediate rank, grade 3 monsters with high intelligence and magic. They act gently and won't attack as long as one stays out of their territory. However, their pearls are fetched at an incredible price and every guild is targetting them.

"As you know, it's extremely hard to kill Totem Scallops, but careful analysis shows they're classified no differently than an ordinary scallop. It's quite difficult to locate their vital points because no other monster shares similarities with them."

Yun Hyuk continues his explanation with so much passion, I cannot help but feel awkward. It is like… he is singing…

"Yaaawn…"

Suddenly, I hear a yawn from my back. I don't even need to look as I know who the culprit is. The eyes of the female cadets land on Hajin's sole figure. From my peripheral vision, I can see him giving a dull look at the glares he receives.

"Yeah, man, go attract their aggro…" I inwardly keep my funny thoughts to my own.

Only Yoo Yeonha's eyes remain on the holographic screen.

I see it as a chance. I tuck a folded piece of paper into her textbook while she is concentrating on the holographic screen. "Hmmm… I hope Yeonha is kind enough to ignore my scuffles with her…"

***

Yoo Yeonha closes her notebook realizing that she can finish reviewing the data back in the dorm.

The orientation ends exactly after 40 minutes. She checks on her watch for the time and realizes she has more free time before her next appointment. After fixing her stuff, Yun Hyuk approaches her. Yeonha's inner thoughts are not positive as even with a glance, she can see that Yun Hyuk is a player, but she doesn't think too badly of Yun Hyuk.

Maybe, it is because of her odd taste towards bad boys as she recalls Shin Jonghak which makes her blush. Yun Hyuk misinterprets this, which makes him more eager to claim Yoenha.

"Cadet Yeonha."

"Yes?"

"You almost forget this."

Yun Hyuk hands something to Yeonha. It is her paper which she seems to forget tucking in her bag. Her memory is not so bad to forget things so easily, thus making her frown at the sudden development.

"Ah," Yeonha receives the paper. "Yes. Thank you."

What she doesn't know is that it is due to Yun Hyuk's tricks. By using his magic power, he sneakily grabs Yeonha's paper and returns it to her to build a positive impression.

Yeonha takes the paper with a smile which ends their encounter.

Strangely, Yun Hyuk seems reluctant to part with her. Yeonha starts thinking to herself how cruel this is. A lot of female cadets want Yun Hyuk for themselves when Yeonha alone cannot even get the person she wants. Yun Hyuk and Yoo Yeonha are both very popular, yet their love life was starkly different. It is not that she is jealous of Yun Hyuk considering his almost illicit behavior of being a playboy.

Yoo Yeonha leaves the clubroom.

On her way out, someone suddenly blocks her path. She doesn't know the person, but she has an impression of him— the gunner, the crazy guy's friend, and someone who bites hair. For some reason, Yeonha is starting to shiver in fear as she might be in danger. Why are their perverts everywhere? 

"Here." The gunner shortly hands her a can of Coke.

"…?"

Yeonha's face is full of question marks. The red tin can, and the moisture is vibrantly calling to her. What is this crazy guy doing? She resists with all her might to accept the gesture.

"I'm in the same club. Same team, same club. Funny coincidence, right?" Hajin tries making small talk.

He is making a test on how he can earn SP on the side. Maybe this little interaction with Yoenha will net him some SP, which might be a good way for him to farm for more.

"Do you think I'll drink something like this?"

Yoo Yeonha frowns and her lips protrude as though she is angry. And yes, she is. She is seething with hatred as to why the crazies keep on buzzing around her. She has an image to maintain, and she cannot let others see her enjoying junk foods… such as this. However, this is not the core reason for her anger.

The reason why she is angry is because of the fact that she cannot drink the can of Coke. What the hell is this bastard doing on the Vending Machine? Is this an ambush?

Yoo Yeonha reluctantly turns her gaze away from the Vending Machine, while she heads on her own way back to the Female Dormitory. But the gunner, Hajin, continues blocking her path.

"It is fresh from the vending machine," Hajin explains, insisting that she take it.

Yeonha likes bad boys, but the looks are also a requirement. She gives Hajin a stink-eye who clearly is not up to her aesthetics. She doesn't even know the guy's name so she keeps calling him 'gunner' in her head.

"Touch it. It's cold." Hajin offers the can of Coke to her, with no change in his facial expression.

"I'm fine. You can have it. Also…" Yeonha glares at Hajin with hostility, while hiding her true feelings behind the mask. I really want to drink a can, but…

"Don't talk to me so casually. This is your first warning." She threatens him with scary momentum.

But Hajin is unfazed. He simply pops up his can of Sprite, creating a sizzling noice to which Yeonha cannot help but feel a shuddering sensation.

Psssh — Gulp, gulp.

Yoo Yeonha twitches at the sexy sound of the carbonated drink.

For someone like her of high society who has an image to manage, her love for carbonated drinks, hamburgers, fried chicken, and ramen is like a curse. She can only eat them once a week with her butler's or assistant's help.

Yeonh cannot take it anymore and avoids eye contact with Hajin. She then sets off on a brisk walk.

"Carry me next time too," Hajin adds as her hurrying footsteps increase their speed by a notch just to escape the weird guy. What Yeonha doesn't know is that a can of Coke is already in her bag all due to Hajin's accurate throw.

"Who is this crazy guy?" Yeonha trembles at the thought of crazies multiplying around her. Then she imagines Jonghak in that situation, making her blush all too suddenly.

***

I watch Hajin's shenanigans from the sides. That scene is definitely iconic. "Pfft…" I cannot imagine what Yeonha's expression will be like after learning Hajin forced a can of Coke on her. And then… there is that 'something else' I tuck on her textbook for her to see.

"I swear, Hajin… That's smooth… You have the rizz, bro..." I tease him.

The way he is talking like that will definitely create a lot of misunderstandings. I secretly hide my camera that has their whole exchange. My intentions are definitely good… He he he he… Someday, the little stalking videos I have will be a great tool for Hajin to earn extra SP in the future.

I cannot let him know I am the one responsible for it though. He he he… Just imagine what will happen if I show this to Chae Nayun… Oh my… The little shit stirrer inside me is feeling jittery.

"Hyon… Go die in the corner will you?" Hajin tells me to fuck off, while I get my Fanta from the Vending Machine. "Sigh… Hajin… Are you boning her?"

"You crazy bastard…" He comes tackling my sides, and I laugh over it.

Yeah, just another normal day in school.