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Chapter : 15
Seohyunwoo slowly shook his head, denying the question he had posed to himself.
If he had come this far, there was no turning back anymore.
Above all, it was impossible to give up other possibilities just to obtain one person—Jin Sehee.
‘It’s true that Seohyunwoo possesses superior abilities. But there’s no way to know what will happen to Seohyunwoo in the future. Especially after Kang Jinha graduates from Miterich, I can’t even predict what kind of events will unfold. So I need more allies. And I need to become stronger myself.’
What mattered to him was not the protagonist Kang Jinha, but Seohyunwoo himself.
Right now, he was Seohyunwoo, and he had room to subtly interfere with various characters and events.
In this situation, acting exactly like the original Seohyunwoo would be nothing but a foolish choice.
‘Even if things gradually deviate from the original, there’s nothing I can do about it. What matters is my own survival. And the first incident isn’t even that helpful for the protagonist’s growth. If I had to give it meaning, it would just be the stage where Baek Seoyeon helps out and they recognize each other.’
Seohyunwoo knew in detail how the relationships between Kang Jinha and the heroines would develop.
When ranking the heroines’ importance and presence around the protagonist Kang Jinha, Baek Seoyeon was not particularly high.
She only appeared in the early and middle parts of the story, and didn’t show up much later on.
‘In that sense, Jin Sehee should also be considered one of the heroines. Eventually, she gives up on her feelings and ends up dating Seohyunwoo. The higher-ranked heroines are separate. Among them, Yoo Si-eun has the highest importance.’
Yoo Si-eun, as the head of the Security Department, only appears after the Security Office is disciplined.
After that, she becomes entangled with Kang Jinha, gradually growing in presence as a heroine.
Especially in the mid-to-late parts of the story, Yoo Si-eun appears frequently and builds a strong relationship with Kang Jinha.
‘But Min Hayoung and Lee Dajeong aren’t low in importance either. Relatively speaking, they sit between Baek Seoyeon and Yoo Si-eun. What matters is that there are still more heroines left.’
Seohyunwoo felt his head ache and closed his eyes.
Even excluding Jin Sehee, there were already four heroines in total.
On top of that, after Kang Jinha graduated from Miterich, two more heroines would appear.
In other words, Kang Jinha would have six heroines in total.
‘The author of the novel is definitely a pathetic guy who’s never even had a girlfriend. Seriously, what kind of story has six heroines? My head hurts. If they were all weak, I could understand, but they’re all above average in ability.’
The novel Seohyunwoo had read was categorized as a school or academy story.
Because of that genre, it was inevitable that there were many heroines, and the protagonist inevitably got swept up in them.
In some ways, Seohyunwoo—who was like a mid-boss—was the only one looking ridiculous.
‘There’s no way I can pay attention to heroines outside Miterich. They haven’t even appeared yet, and they’ll only have eyes for Kang Jinha anyway. One of them is actually connected to this incident.’
The Kim Taejun who died yesterday was a case of someone who turned into a monster after taking an illegal drug.
And that drug must have been obtained at a high price through a special distribution route.
The religious organization that created the drug would go on to be involved in various incidents and eventually clash with Kang Jinha.
‘A heroine involved in all kinds of crimes, huh… Now that I think about it, it’s ridiculous. In the end, they just let her off easily because she’s a heroine. There might be some justification, but it doesn’t change the fact that she committed crimes.’
Seohyunwoo felt a sense of resistance, but soon gave up thinking about it.
No matter how much he argued about right and wrong, nothing would change.
Getting involved in the protagonist’s affairs would only create problems.
‘What was the next incident again… Ah, right. There was a test of combat equipment against Seohyunwoo. It wasn’t described in much detail in the novel, but in reality, it ends up causing a huge change in this world…’
Knock, knock.
Hearing the knock, Seohyunwoo immediately opened his eyes and turned his head.
Baek Seoyeon entered with her usual expressionless face.
Seeing him, she spoke first.
“Were you sleeping?”
“No. I just closed my eyes for a bit. Staring at the monitor was a little tiring.”
“So you really couldn’t stand my nagging, I assume.”
“Not really. You’re the only one who bothers to nag me. I actually kind of enjoy it.”
“I don’t even have the energy to nag. I couldn’t sleep properly because I felt so unpleasant.”
Baek Seoyeon suppressed a yawn as exhaustion showed on her face.
No one had died or been injured in yesterday’s incident, but she couldn’t suppress her discomfort and had to return to the dormitory.
Because of that, she couldn’t sleep properly and barely made it to the regular meeting.
“Then why don’t you rest a bit now? Knowing your personality, you’ve probably finished most of your work already.”
“That’s not possible. I can’t slack off during working hours.”
“You’re too strict. There’s no need to work yourself so hard. Other students take breaks during training too.”
“That’s precisely why I hold the position of vice president. If I were to act like everyone else, I wouldn’t deserve this position.”
Seohyunwoo responded with a faint smile and moved to the sofa.
Baek Seoyeon was not only meticulous and detail-oriented, but also had a strong sense of responsibility and conviction.
That was why the original Seohyunwoo never treated her as harshly as he did with other department heads.
“Are you here for the department inspection, by any chance? I was planning to talk with the vice president anyway.”
“You are well-informed. The inspection cannot be completed in a single day. Moreover, we also need to inspect the Security Department this time. Writing the report alone will take at least three days.”
“Then let’s just schedule four days and begin the inspection. Since the Security Department has been added, the administration office shouldn’t object.”
“…That doesn’t seem like a bad idea. An extra day would give us more breathing room.”
Seohyunwoo and Baek Seoyeon exchanged opinions and finalized the inspection plan.
It had been about five months since Seohyunwoo became student council president, but this was his first department inspection.
So he intended to proceed carefully.
Conveniently, he would also be able to assess Kang Jinha’s abilities and potential during this inspection.
“Oh, and regarding yesterday’s incident, the Security Office will be conducting a separate investigation. I heard they also requested cooperation from the Hunter Committee.”
“Of course. A human turned into a monster. Isn’t there CCTV footage as well?”
“They will be reviewing our testimonies and the CCTV data. Separately, there are already opinions that the number of CCTV cameras is insufficient and that the response time of security personnel was too slow.”
“The principal must be quite displeased. Or was it the chairman who stepped in?”
Miterich had a chairman who stood above even the principal.
The one who built Miterich, its training system, and funded its massive investments single-handedly was this chairman.
Of course, there was support from the Hunter Committee and the government, but none of it could surpass the chairman’s wealth and influence.
That was because the chairman of Miterich was a top-tier hunter classified as a Cetinos hunter and known as the strongest attribute-type awakener.
“I understand the chairman is very fond of Miterich. If something like this happens, it’s only natural that they would step in.”
“On top of that, two student council executives were involved in the incident. Even though we handled it ourselves, from the chairman’s perspective, the security must seem lax.”
“Perhaps they believe there was a reason behind the student turning into a monster. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have requested cooperation from the committee.”
Seohyunwoo nodded slightly and leaned back.
All of this was practically already predetermined.
The only difference was that the person who resolved the incident was Seohyunwoo and Baek Seoyeon instead of Kang Jinha.
But because of that, the relationship between Kang Jinha and Baek Seoyeon had not drawn closer, which bothered him a little.
‘We’ll be doing the department inspection together anyway. If things go well, maybe I can use this opportunity to connect Kang Jinha and Baek Seoyeon.’
Of course, Seohyunwoo was not confident about this.
Even if he artificially created such a situation, there was no guarantee it would lead to good results.
But if he could at least make Kang Jinha more noticeable, the flow might continue in some way.
‘By now, Kang Jinha should have joined the Transformation Department. He’ll start showing his true value soon and attract attention. The department inspection there is scheduled for the second day.’
Seohyunwoo recalled how Kang Jinha had gained attention and felt slightly relieved.
It was not easy for a newly admitted temporary member to defeat a full-fledged member.
But Kang Jinha’s skills already surpassed full members, and if he wanted, he could even beat the management-level member above them.
‘Baek Seoyeon is the type who becomes interested in strong people. Even if someone is weak, she doesn’t look down on those who work hard. In that sense, connecting the two shouldn’t be too difficult.’
“You’re spacing out again. Is there something that needs changing?”
“No. Nothing in particular. We’ll proceed as planned.”
“…Understood.”
Baek Seoyeon glanced at Seohyunwoo and recalled the hairpin she had received yesterday.
Because it broke in less than a day after receiving it, she felt even more lingering attachment to it.
Maybe she should have just accepted it when he said he would buy her a new one.
‘…But that’s still not right. I don’t want to burden the president unnecessarily. I left it to a specialist, so it should be fine.’
Day 2 of the department inspection.
Seohyunwoo was touring the inner areas of the Transformation Department with Baek Seoyeon.
While actual training and battles were mostly conducted outdoors, theoretical education and various administrative tasks were handled inside each department, so they needed to be carefully examined.
Above all, the inspection itself was Seohyunwoo and Baek Seoyeon’s responsibility, so if they failed to properly check things, they could be held accountable later.
‘The inspection of the Enhancement Department and the Special Department is already finished. I’ve already written the reports too. So maybe I can secretly rest for a day.’
Listening to Min Hayoung, who was walking ahead explaining things, Seohyunwoo looked around.
Min Hayoung was the head of the Transformation Department and was in charge of its overall operation and management.
Moreover, depending on the results of the inspection, future budget allocation and operational policies would be decided, so she had to eliminate anything that could be criticized in advance.
‘Hmm… by now, Kang Jinha and the full member should be having a training battle. That’s where his hidden skills will be revealed. And Min Hayoung will also start taking interest in him from that point on.’
