Jeong Soyeon was surprisingly fast.
Even running at full speed, I couldn’t catch her quickly.
As Jeong Soyeon stopped where Choyeon High students were gathered, I slowed down and followed.
She scanned the students.
Seeing a student from another school loitering around, the Choyeon High students’ attention turned towards Jeong Soyeon.
“What’s with her?”
“Isn’t she a model?”
“I saw her in a magazine.”
“But why did she come here?”
Perhaps because she couldn’t find the person she was looking for, Jeong Soyeon grabbed a student and asked.
“Do you happen to know where Seo Yoon is?”
“Seo Yoon?”
“She probably went to listen to the basketball briefing by now…”
“The indoor gymnasium?”
“Yes…”
Just before Jeong Soyeon headed towards the indoor gymnasium, I grabbed her.
Caught by me, she turned around irritably, then her eyes widened seeing me.
“Let go of my hand…!”
“K-Kim Maru?”
“You followed me?”
“You ran off with an angry face, I couldn’t just stand by and watch.”
“…No need to worry.”
“It’s nothing you need to be concerned about.”
“But your face clearly says you’re about to cause trouble.”
If Jeong Soyeon escapes my control, the situation could worsen.
To persuade Jeong Soyeon, I had to bring up our promise.
“You asked me to take care of Seo Yoon.”
Jeong Soyeon also remembered her words, and the trembling in her body lessened.
Her excitement subsided.
“First… let’s get out of here.”
“There are many eyes here.”
The Choyeon High students were watching us with great interest.
Jeong Soyeon also didn’t want to become their spectacle, so she obediently followed my words.
We went to the flower bed behind the school building, where there was no sports field.
Even though summer had passed, the flowers in the flower bed were still in full bloom.
Jeong Soyeon, staring blankly at the flower bed, opened her mouth.
“Maybe I made an unreasonable request of you, I still regret it.”
“…Do you think Seo Yoon won’t change?”
Jeong Soyeon mulled over my words and let out a quiet sigh.
“It wasn’t like this until yesterday.”
“I thought Seo Yoon would come to her senses someday and return to our embrace, but seeing Yuna get hurt today…”
Jeong Soyeon’s faith in Seo Yoon was gradually wavering.
Because Na Yuna was attacked by a Choyeon High student.
First, it was necessary to dispel her misunderstanding.
“It probably wasn’t Seo Yoon’s doing.”
“Can you be sure?”
“Kim Seulbi is famous.”
“Her planned executive position was snatched by Seo Yoon, and now she’s taking orders from Ojakgyo individually.”
“…You mean she received orders from someone else, not Seo Yoon?”
“Probably not that either.”
“Eun Yuri isn’t the type to gamble in a place with so many eyes watching.”
Even though I was rattling off speculations about Ojakgyo, Jeong Soyeon didn’t counter anymore and listened intently to my explanation.
In this Hakdo, I was one of the people who knew Ojakgyo well, and she trusted me enough to entrust Seo Yoon to me.
“Kim Seulbi probably acted unilaterally.”
“In her mind, she must have benefited from doing so until now, but if the tail is too long, it gets stepped on.”
“Seo Yoon or Eun Yuri won’t stand idly by if they find out.”
While listening to my explanation, Jeong Soyeon chewed her lip.
“Hearing you say that… makes me feel somewhat self-loathing.”
Jeong Soyeon gnawed her lip.
“I actually suspected Seo Yoon, but you say it wasn’t Seo Yoon’s doing… It makes me feel like I don’t trust Seo Yoon.”
Thinking about it carefully, I thought that could be the case.
“But Senior, you were very disappointed in Seo Yoon.”
“So you must be tired.”
“It’s natural for people to get tired.”
After finishing my words, Jeong Soyeon’s gaze turned towards me.
Enduring that gaze for a long time felt burdensome.
“It doesn’t feel like clumsy consolation, there’s weight to your words.”
“Is it perhaps from experience?”
“…”
I was inwardly surprised by her words.
But I didn’t bother reacting.
As I kept my mouth firmly shut, Jeong Soyeon didn’t press further and changed the subject.
“So your stance is to watch for now?”
“…This might be a bit of a strange method though.”
As I made an uncomfortable expression, Jeong Soyeon tilted her head.
“It’s okay.”
“I was the one who asked you.”
“Go ahead and say it.”
“What if Seo Yoon plays dumb?”
That won’t happen.
Even if Seo Yoon deceives everyone in the world, there is one person she cannot lie to.
“But if we ask Seo Yoon directly, we can gain information by watching her reaction.”
“There’s no harm in trying it first.”
“Hmm…”
Jeong Soyeon didn’t immediately accept my opinion of using Seo Yoon.
I understood Jeong Soyeon’s feelings too.
Still, Jeong Soyeon eventually accepted it.
“Okay.”
“I’ll probe her once.”
“If Seo Yoon still has a conscience left, she’ll tell me honestly.”
“Thank you for agreeing.”
“If Seo Yoon steps up herself, Kim Seulbi won’t be able to do anything either.”
As the conversation ended, students poured out from the gymnasium exit.
The basketball team draw and briefing session were over.
“They’re coming out just in time.”
“We should go right now, right?”
“Are you going too?”
“It’s probably better if you go alone.”
“I’ll stay nearby.”
Immediately after parting with Jeong Soyeon, I joined Kim Noeul.
Han Doa wasn’t visible.
“Where’s Senior Doa?”
“Archery isn’t over yet.”
“Seems like organizing the groups takes a long time.”
Kim Noeul was practicing, bouncing a basketball.
Staring intently at her, I decided to take her along too.
“Senior Jeong Soyeon just went to Seo Yoon.”
“What?!”
“You didn’t stop her?”
Jeong Soyeon explained her situation to us and made a request.
Meaning, Kim Noeul and Han Doa also roughly knew Jeong Soyeon’s past.
Knowing her past, a reaction like Kim Noeul’s was inevitable.
“She went to grill her about whether Seo Yoon demanded foul play from the students.”
“Surely she won’t act shamelessly even in front of Senior Jeong Soyeon.”
“I plan to wait nearby.”
“Eavesdropping….”
“It can’t be helped if we want to confirm.”
Kim Noeul and I followed behind Jeong Soyeon.
Jeong Soyeon found Seo Yoon among the basketball team and approached her.
Seo Yoon stopped upon spotting Jeong Soyeon.
After Jeong Soyeon said something, Seo Yoon hesitated, then followed Jeong Soyeon.
Jeong Soyeon and Seo Yoon went to a deserted open space.
As we got closer to them, their voices became clearer.
“Still no intention of granting my request?”
“It’s not too late to quit Ojakgyo even now.”
“…I told you.”
“This is for you and Sohae, unni.”
“For me?”
“Touching my friend, was that for me?”
As Jeong Soyeon spoke sharply, the sound of Seo Yoon swallowing hard was heard.
“What do you mean…?”
“Touching your friend…”
“A Choyeon High kid touched my acquaintance.”
“Must have wanted to win badly at the sports festival, huh, Seo Yoon?”
“What…!”
“It’s a misunderstanding!”
“I had no such intention!”
“But the result already happened.”
“Meaning there was a cause.”
“I definitely don’t know…”
Seo Yoon, cutting off her words mid-sentence, suddenly covered her face with one hand.
And she muttered in a chilly voice.
“…Ah, is it that woman?”
“What?”
“Unni… you don’t need to worry.”
“I’ll clear up the misunderstanding.”
“It’ll end soon.”
Seo Yoon continued speaking as she passed by Jeong Soyeon.
“I’ll prove that everything I do is for you and Sohae, unni.”
Before Jeong Soyeon could grab her, Seo Yoon ran off.
Coming out of the open space, Jeong Soyeon’s eyes met mine.
“S-Seo Yoon suddenly ran off!”
“What should I do?”
“Calm down.”
“It will probably flow as I expected, but…”
Since Seo Yoon stepped up herself, Kim Seulbi can’t pull any tricks.
Perhaps Seo Yoon might report this matter to Eun Yuri and demand action.
“I really can’t calm down.”
“I need to follow her.”
“…Maru, what are you going to do?”
Kim Noeul asked for my opinion.
I accepted Jeong Soyeon’s opinion.
I wanted to confirm with my own eyes how the ending of this sports festival would turn out.
My head felt dizzy.
Heat rushed to my face due to uncontrollable anger.
Seo Yoon, running frantically, found Kim Seulbi.
Kim Seulbi was smoking with two other female students.
The two female students were startled upon seeing Seo Yoon.
“Wh-what.”
“Why did she come.”
“…Kim Seulbi, didn’t she come to see you?”
The female students swallowed dryly, frightened.
Seo Yoon paid no attention to the two women and only glared at Kim Seulbi.
Kim Seulbi, perhaps intending to finish her cigarette, took a long drag.
Finishing smoking and throwing the butt into the flower bed, she dusted off her pants and stood up.
“…Hey, Seo Yoon.”
“I don’t expect a greeting, but that glare isn’t nice.”
“Did you throw your manners away with rice?” (TL Note: Korean idiom meaning having no manners)
Seo Yoon’s teeth ground as Kim Seulbi provoked her.
“I already know what kind of trick you’re trying to pull.”
“Trick?”
“The sports festival must proceed fairly.”
“That is my thought.”
“What kind of nonsense is this…”
Kim Seulbi smirked and stood with her weight on one leg.
“Trick, what damn trick?”
“Got proof?”
“Proof isn’t necessary.”
“Because I will block it at the source.”
“I will report it to the committee chair.”
At the mention of Eun Yuri, the smirk on Kim Seulbi’s face cracked.
This time, Kim Seulbi gritted her teeth.
“Ha, f*ck.”
“Do you really have to go this far?”
“Okay, let’s say I did it.”
“What’s your problem?”
“Isn’t it good for you if you win?”
“I never asked for your help, so just stay put.”
“…I can’t stand it anymore.”
As Kim Seulbi cracked her knuckles, the two female students exchanged glances.
Their expressions showed they were debating whether to join Kim Seulbi.
“You f*cking b*tches.”
“You’re in the same boat as me.”
“If you back down here, it’s utter humiliation, you still don’t care?”
At Kim Seulbi’s words, the two women stood beside Kim Seulbi, albeit with anxious faces.
“I yielded the executive position to you, helped you win, a normal person shouldn’t act like this.”
“You lack basics.”
“There’s much I want to say, but let me say just one thing.”
Seo Yoon took a judo defensive stance and continued speaking.
“You didn’t give it up — it was taken from you.”
“You b*tch!”
Kim Seulbi charged.
Her fist flew towards Seo Yoon’s face.
Seo Yoon parried it with a right-hand block and then closed in on the approaching female student.
“Uh!?”
The female student, flustered seeing Seo Yoon’s massive body attached to her, struck Seo Yoon’s back, but Seo Yoon didn’t budge.
With a kiai shout, Seo Yoon brought her down to the ground.
The female student, her stomach crushed by the impact of the mount, couldn’t even groan and convulsed.
“Don’t give her breathing room!”
At Kim Seulbi’s roar, the other female student threw a kick.
Seo Yoon grabbed her opponent’s ankle and slammed her elbow into the girl’s leg.
“Kyaak!”
The female student screamed and lost her balance.
Seo Yoon fell to the ground with the female student.
The female student panicked seeing her arm and neck trapped in Seo Yoon’s joint lock.
“Kyaaaaak!”
The female student struggled to escape Seo Yoon’s side control .
Kim Seulbi kicked Seo Yoon’s head, but Seo Yoon resolutely subdued the female student completely and stood up.
Seeing the two female students taken down in an instant, Kim Seulbi bit her lip.
“F*cking b*tch….”
“You rained on Je Galhwarin’s parade, are you going to do it again this time?”
“Do you think you’ll get away unscathed?”
“At least I’m better than you, who caused trouble without the executives’ permission.”
“Managing Choyeon High students is also my duty.”
“Why the hell should I be managed by you!”
Kim Seulbi threw a punch, filled with malice.
Seo Yoon lightly caught that fist.
And she applied force.
“Kkeueueu!”
Kim Seulbi endured the pain and swung her other fist at Seo Yoon’s cheek.
Seo Yoon’s head snapped back, but Seo Yoon looked back at Kim Seulbi and kicked her shin.
“Keoheok!”
Kim Seulbi collapsed, screaming as her fist was still held by Seo Yoon.
“This is a warning.”
“The reason I left you alone was because you didn’t get on the other executives’ nerves.”
“But with this incident, you have displeased me, and Senior Eun Yuri.”
“Sh… it…!”
Seo Yoon looked down at Kim Seulbi, then landed a knee kick to her face.
Kim Seulbi spurted a nosebleed and fell backwards flat on her back.
Leaving the trembling Kim Seulbi behind, Seo Yoon left the scene.
Leaving the spot, she found the three people who were at the nearby flower bed.
‘They followed…’
She avoided the gazes of Jeong Soyeon, Kim Maru, and Kim Noeul staring intently at her.
She felt ashamed, as if her secret weakness had been exposed.
Especially, she was flustered having shown her violent side to Jeong Soyeon.
“…Now, Choyeon High won’t touch you anymore.”
Seo Yoon conveyed her intention in a small voice.
“Do you think this isn’t enough?”
“I will go to the committee chair right now and demand a replacement for the basketball referee.”
“Why are you going that far?”
It was Kim Noeul’s question.
Seo Yoon couldn’t answer that immediately.
“…Seo Yoon, as expected, you don’t fit in with Ojakgyo.”
Jeong Soyeon muttered in a trembling voice.
Only after hearing Jeong Soyeon’s words did Seo Yoon give an answer.
“Because I want to win… with my own skills.”
“It’s not like I’m acting for justice… or some contradictory reason like that.”
Kim Noeul stood in front of Seo Yoon.
Since Seo Yoon was much taller, Kim Noeul looked up at her.
“Basketball today, let’s play well.”
Hearing Kim Noeul’s words, Seo Yoon’s eyes trembled violently.
Seo Yoon clenched her fists tightly and lowered her head.
“…It’s absurd.”
“Have you forgotten our relationship?”
“At least for the sports festival, you said you wanted to win with your skills.”
“Let’s set aside Ojakgyo matters for a moment.”
“…”
“Of course, after the sports festival ends, there’s no mercy.”
“If we meet on the street, the fight starts immediately.”
Seo Yoon’s gaze lingered on Kim Noeul for a long time.
She seemed flustered, as if seeing a human type like Kim Noeul for the first time.
“You’re somewhat different.”
As I added a word, Seo Yoon looked at me.
She seemed to be thinking deeply about something while gazing at me.
‘…Will she realize?’
I wondered if she could connect the anonymous informant providing her information with me.
But Seo Yoon turned her steps without saying anything else.