Um… Hi Guys. I wanted to clarify some things before proceeding to this chapter:
1_ This is a « fanfiction ». I know that the characters don't act like that canonly but I wrote this in the first place to accentuate their personalities in a funny way.
2_ I'm not pointing anyone with this. It's only a clarification! If you feel like something's wrong, you can always comment about it. I don't take recommendations badly or for insults.
3_ I already know that my orthography and vocabulary are far from perfect and I hope that it doesn't bother you too much.
4_ If you're confused about the seats it's in this order:
Rachel Elizabeth Louise – Kim Suho – Yoo Yeonha – Chae Nayun – Kim Jonghak.
5_ This fanfiction kind of has a co-author now. They helped to extract the chapter from the internet so thank you! I hope that there'll be less plot holes and grammatical mistakes in the future!
Such a funny situation isn't it? A co-author that corrects plot holes and incoherencies in the work of the original author.
Does it remind you of a novel you've read?
[What do you want?]
I knew Yoo Yeonha would agree. She was the type who couldn't stand one-sided favors.
« He sure didn't bother to hide this fact about her… » Nayun sighed.
« But he hid her gourmand side. » Jonghak turned his head toward Nayun while trying to hide his smirk. « Does that make any sense to you? »
Chae Nayun found the situation funny and decided to play along with him.
« I'm with you for once ~ That's too bad, we would have gone out more often with you to take a bite of these… How do you qualify them again? Ah yes: 'unhealthy and despising food' » Nayun smirked while addressing Yeonha.
Rachel looked at the two with an amused smile. Kim Jonghak and Chae Nayun truly acted alike in some ways.
Yoo Yeonha was red from embarrassment and the moment she opened her mouth to speak, no sound came out of it. She tried to close it as fast as she could but it was too late. The duo's comment earned some smiles and a choked laugh from Suho and Rachel.
They soon felt a glare piercing their faces and decided to look back at the screen in front of them and not drag the particular situation they were in.
Now, I wondered I should ask for.
« I bet he will ask for this gun he was talking about a while ago. » stated Nayun confident.
« How can you be so sure of yourself? » retorted Rachel.
« Did you see how much he dreamed about it? He even zoned out during class! Well, he technically zones out every time but still- » she mumbled the last part to herself and since it wasn't loud enough, Rachel didn't hear it and responded:
« You have a good point… » She seemed to be lost in thought.
Asking for money didn't feel right. It was Yoo Yeonha I was talking about, but she was still a minor.
« Isn't he physically a minor too? And from what I recall, seventeen years old to be precise. » Said Jonghak.
« That's the first time you can recall something after seeing it only one time… » Jonghak hears Nayun's badmouthing and was about to defend himself when Suho interrupted their little scene and said:
« Maybe he forgets it sometimes? After all, he's not used to be a teenager for a long time now. ». He smiled while responding and sent chills down Yeonha's spine. Cold sweat was running down Rachel's neck from the tension in the room.
°You all stop debating here. You're here to entertain readers and not to fight. °
« Are you an author too to say that there are reader's we need to not deceive? » The cadets frowned at the thought of being used again for some people's entertainment. It was true that they didn't have the right to complain since they exist because Hajin decided to create them.
He was the one who chose them and gave them these lives they're living and destined to have a great fate. Who were they to complain? (Here, I included a person's comment in this chapter. How do you find it dear reader? Thanks again for your comment ^^)
She likely couldn't freely spend tens of millions of won.
« You sure about that? ~ » asked Yeonha in a daring tone. Her parents were confident in her so she didn't have as much restriction as one would think.
[It's simple. I need a weapon.]
Nayun turned to Rachel and smiled proudly. Rachel only gave her back a small smile while scratching her cheek awkwardly. Were they this close before reacting to Hajin's point of view?
The answer to her question was obviously no and she felt a warm feeling stuck in her chest.
After sending her the above message, I sent her the link to Essential Armory's Desert Eagle.
« Wow... He doesn't bother to turn around the pot... » Jonghak looked at the screen with an unreadable expression.
« Well, Hajin is mostly straightforward from what I recall. » added Yoo Yeonha. Nayun looked at her weirdly. Was this girl crushing that much on Jonghak to agree with him every time he opens his mouth?
Yoo Yeonha looked at the link I sent her and looked back up at me. She didn't seem to have any hostility.
Yeonha was the kind to always repay her debt. That was what Hajin said. She clearly was curious about him and also wanted to gain from him other information like the one she got about the Mountain Tyrant's weakness.
[I think it's pretty cheap.]
« The audacity… » whispered Nayun.
« I can't believe he texted that and thought it was too expensive last chapter. » Hajin was hard to understand at first but when you get to know him, you can identify his motives.
Right now he didn't have something behind his head. (I'm not sure if we can say that in English but it means that he isn't thinking about something bad while doing that in my country. It's a sage quote!)
[…I understand.]
Great, she agreed.
'You didn't let give her a choice to be honest…' thought Suho.
[Is it possible to get it by tomorrow?]
« I find his personality and actions infuriating… I can't seem to hate him for that though… ». Jonghak frowned at Nayun's declaration.
« You're not the only one Nayun. I feel the same. » whispered Rachel in the other girl's ear.
The quicker it was, the more money I would make. Even if tomorrow was too difficult, I hoped to get it by the end of the week.
« Can I consider him like a manipulator now? » asked Jonghak.
« Sort of… if you want… » Rachel doesn't know how to respond but felt like answering like that was the right thing to do.
« If you take it like that… Hey no! - Hajin's not manipulating anyone! » Retorted Nayun.
'Since when was she a lawyer?' Yeonha sighed.
« You're too delusional to see that he's a nobody compared to me-. » Jonghak didn't finish his sentence and got hit in the back of his head.
He didn't say anything since it was Nayun but Yeonha swore that if someone else dared to even raise their tone in front of Jonghak, they wouldn't get away without damages.
[Yes, I'll take care of it.]
Surprisingly, she replied without hesitation, even though her parents should still be in charge of guild work. I was impressed by her decisiveness.
Yoo Yeonha was destined to become the queen of Seoul for a good reason. Hajin didn't make unnecessary and futile choices.
He knew what he was doing and tried to make everything stick together even after the syndrome of the white page. (It means that the author can't find ideas and is stuck on a blank page of paper. In other words, he doesn't know how to continue his work.)
"Get back to your seats."
The break ended at just the right time, as the old professor resumed class after drinking some water.
'So many unnecessary details.' Thought Yeonha to herself after regaining her composure. If what they were reading or watching was Hajin's style of writing, was his novel written the same way?
Not even one of them wanted to argue about his style. It was pretty normal and brief but it has its charm. It only included the necessary information about the story and kept the strict required amount of suspense.
**
Wednesday's theory class ended. And at 3 P.M., anti-personnel training began.
In a fairly large training field, each cadet met with others they promised to spar. Meanwhile, I looked for the instructor pitifully.
«Poor Hajin… He didn't ask to spare with anyone and here he is training with the instructor…» said Rachel.
«A true black cat. » added Suho beside her. Since she was isolated from everyone else in this room, the only person she could talk to or interact with was Kim Suho.
She supposed that she was lucky. If she was sitting next to Yoo Yeonha or Chae Nayun, it would have been a little bit complicated and she can't even imagine how she would have felt if she was beside Kim Jonghak.
"Hey."
A sharp voice stabbed my ear from the back. It had to be calling me. I turned around and instantly froze. Chae Nayun was glaring at me with terrifying eyes.
«Is he scared of a girl? » Jonghak glanced at Nayun sitting at his elbow. He doesn't know if he should feel proud or scared about her. To be with a person that has nearly the same personality as you should be convenient right?
Or does he have to agree with The opposites attract each other thingy? He still hopes to end with Nayun in a romantic relationship with the girl.
She asked, "Spar with me."
'I'm way stronger than him why can't she spare with me!' Yeonha didn't need to read Jonghak's mind to know what he was thinking. It became obvious after all the years they spent together as friends.
The last word was stuck in her throat as she thought that it was normal and shook it off. She gulped and decided to stop bothering about it.
Suho looked at her with sad eyes. She was really oblivious right now even though she didn't notice it.
The hostility in her tone bordered on killing intent.
«Are you intimidated by me now Rachel? » Nayun scoffed. Rachel didn't take her eyes off the screen and responded right away to the provocation. The rivalry between the two seemed to increase as time passed.
«Why would I be? I also have high chances to win if we sparred. » Nayun's brows furrowed at the girl's response. She didn't find something to say back and only turned her head as if she said "I don't care".
Gulp. I swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
'Don't be scared Hajin, I have no clue if you can win but I doubt it's that important.' Suho didn't say it out loud unless he wasn't aware of it.
When Rachel looked at him while he was thinking, it made him dubious and he just answered with an awkward smile on his face.
Like the saying, 'a word causes a debt worth a thousand gold taels,' I had made a terrifying enemy with a sentence. Indeed, Chae Nayun was too dangerous of a person to have as an enemy. In order to live a peaceful life, I had to mend our relationship even at the cost of kneeling and begging.
The cadets looked at the screen unsure how to feel about Hajin's statement.
«He… doesn't have to go this far. » Nayun looked away of the disturbing and unsettling situation. She was one of the main characters after Suho and Hajin indubitably made this fact stand out.
But looking at Chae Nayun, I fell in thought. Would she be able to forgive me for my rash insult just because I apologized?
«Maybe-»
«Absolutely not-» said Yoo Yeonha and Chae Nayun at the same time. While Nayun didn't want to admit her harsh personality, Yeonha knew her more than she knew herself.
She was sure that with her friend's behaviour, she won't forgive him easily especially after the insulting and disrespectful comment he made about her brother. Now that she knows the truth, it won't change anything unless you can go back in time which is impossible.
Rachel looked at the two worried of another argument happening but to her relief, nothing happened.
Seeing me silent, Chae Nayun pointed at my gun and spoke.
"Your gun. Take it out."
«Nayun…» Yoo Yeonha sighed. «You already know that it's not permitted to use weapons against each other if we're not supervised. »
Nayun ignored her friend's preaching. Yeonha frowned and tried to gain a reaction from the brunette.
«Why are you so obsessed with Hajin-» she didn't finish her sentence as she saw Nayun trying to hit her. The girl quickly moved and dodged the hit with a smirk.
«And here goes the peace…» whispered Rachel. Suho convulsed with laughter at her comment and at the same time, Nayun was as red as a tomato.
The first training gun broke when I fought the Djinn. This was a new one. I looked down at my holster, then back up at Chae Nayun.
"I don't want to."
"…You scared?"
«He's not, I bet he's just lazy as always. » said Yeonha.
«Nah, I think he doesn't want to attract attention. He seems like an introvert to me. » It was the first time that Jonghak was agreeing with Yeonha. Rachel had to rub her eyes to be sure it was real.
Was she hallucinating?
These two words carried a great echo, causing the eyes on the training field to fall on us.
«Here goes his introvert self. »
"Mm…"
How should I act in front of Chae Nayun?
Without a doubt, the 'incident' I was clueless about was well known among all cadets. The original Kim Chundong should have known about it too. So if I apologized now, it might seem like an even greater insult.
«He never apologised from what I can remember. » said Nayun pouting.
«It's more logical to conclude that he judged the action useless or not appropriate for the continuation of the story. » Suho managed to kick off Nayun's head the idea of Hajin being rude to her because he didn't apologise.
«You may be right…» Suho sighed in relief.
"No."
…Furthermore, it might be better for me to remain a bad guy to Chae Nayun. My first and foremost goal and the reason I worked so hard without resting… was all to kill her older brother within a certain amount of time.
It happened a long time ago. Is the date of Nayun's brother death soon? The room fell silent and not one sound was heard except for the fly moving across the room.
Since when insects were in this room? Didn't the voice say that everything here was teleported intentionally?
°Yeah you're right… I needed the fly for the ambience in the room…° The cadets only groaned at the stupid action.
Even if I mended my relationship with Chae Nayun and even became friends, my actions would only leave her with a cruel sense of betrayal and hatred.
«In my opinion, it's the best decision he can make for now. » Yeonha thought long and hard about the events and it seemed clear to her. If he wasn't in good terms with Nayun, the shock won't be that hard on her.
Since he was already hated, there was no way she would feel betrayed by him since they weren't friends.
"I'm afraid you might get hurt. This thing uses real bullets, you see."
«He shouldn't provoke her so much even if he attends to make her hate him…» Suho found the cadet's decision a bit too extreme but Hajin always choose the solution with better profits and less consequences.
He learned it while observing his way of making plans and guide everyone through emergency situations like the one in the museum.
Immediately, the weight of the atmosphere changed. Chae Nayun clenched her bow. I could see the amount of force she put in through the veins popping out of her hand.
"I don't think your bullets will hurt me even if they hit."
«What a show-off. » mocked Yeonha. The girl was very talkative from the beginning of the chapter unlike her usual self.
The other ones in the room found the situation amusing with Yeonha and Nayun arguing for a yes or a no.
Chae Nayun forcefully suppressed her anger and retorted with a cold sneer.
My response was simple.
"You won't get hurt. You'll die instead."
«Ouch-» The sound came out of Jonghak's mouth as he surprisingly scoffed at Nayun. The girl was flabbergasted even more after Rachel added:
«Touché. » that earned the blonde wide eyes from Suho and Yeonha. Were these two forming a team against Nayun?
«Aren't you ashamed to take me on a 2v1? » Nayun didn't believe her own eyes. The boy always agreed with her in everything and now he was teaming against her with Rachel who was normally quite.
(2v1 means a two versus one for people who don't know that. Personally I learned it in a manhua called double click. Very funny by the way.)
"…Ha, say that again, punk."
«If eyes weren't on you, I'm sure he would have said it again. » Nayun only turned her head at her so called ally. Suho was also against her this time.
What did she do to have the four other teenagers team against her?
Chae Nayun approached me up close. She looked like she would explode at any moment. She was technically 165 while I was 174, but she seemed a lot bigger for some reason.
«May I call him a coward now? » asked Jonghak turning to Yeonha. The girl was surprised by the sudden gesture and responded while stuttering.
«T-technically, y-yes-»
"Really, who do you think you are?"
The atmosphere turned for the worse and more spectators gathered to watch the fight. At that moment…
"Chae Nayun, get back."
The instructor stepped in. I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that she came before it was too late.
«The instructor always interrupts conversations at the best parts. » Jonghak shook his head holding his laughter.
«Right? » How unexpected… Rachel was the one agreeing with him now. He didn't hold his laughter and ended up cracking.
Chae Nayun turned towards the instructor.
"Why should I?"
«Why do you ask a stupid question then? » Nayun was beginning to lose her temper at the constant teasing of her friends but decided to let go for now.
"Before he gets a gun for sparring, no one can spar with Kim Hajin cadet."
"But I don't mind."
"I mind."
«We mind-» said the cadets in the room in unison with the voice on teh screen. Only Nayun remained silent and Jonghak retorted:
«I don't mind either to be honest. » Was this guy for real? Nayun was really losing it.
"Why—"
"Failure to heed an instructor's order will be met with disciplinary action."
"…"
«Do you only work with menace? » asked Rachel sarcastically to Nayun. Suho looked at the two with exhausted eyes. He truly thought that Rachel was different from the other ones in the room. Guess he wasn't right after all.
«And do you only work only if it's Hajin proposing? » Chae Nayun's eye twitched. Anger can't be held for a long time they say.
Yeonha on the other hand was searching for popcorn to enjoy the drama unfolding before her.
An instructor's words were absolute. Chae Nayun clenched her teeth with a wronged look. But in the end, she gave me a final glare before leaving. The spectators also dispersed and went back to their training.
«I at least have my own drama here. » The crowd dispersing was obviously disappointed to not see a fight but Yeonha merely pitied them. She had her own show to enjoy before her eyes in this reaction room.
She was eating popcorn by the way, where did she found that in such an isolated and weird place?
She certainly saw advantage in the situation they were stuck in. She was slowly learning the meaning of optimism while watching Hajin's thoughts. He probably was more of a pessimist person but he knows how to see some situations in a good light sometimes.
Everything had returned to normal.
«You sure about that gun boy? » Jonghak snorted at the situation.
"Take your gun out."
The instructor spoke as she wrapped her hands in bandages. Her name… Park Hyun-Ah, was it? I asked the instructor.
"Does a gun for sparring even exist?"
"How the hell would I know?"
«Were did they find someone like that to teach students? » asked Yeonha with an amused look.
«Probably in random events? » tried to answer Nayun.
«Or maybe gun boy didn't write about them in such details as he did with us and where did you find this pot of popcorn? » he asked looking at Yeonha.
«Dunno? » she responded too casually from her initial safe while having popcorn in her mo