Chapter 53
Midterm Exams (5)
‘…Is Jinhyuk’s team really in first place?’
Jin Soyeon blinked as she quietly stared at the ranking board. She couldn’t calm her surprise.
This was because she had never imagined that Jinhyuk’s team would achieve such a high score.
Dungeon clear time: 25 minutes and 15 seconds.
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That was more than twice as fast as Jin Soyeon’s team.
If she were to take the test again, could she possibly reduce her time more than Jinhyuk’s team did?
As she pondered quietly, Jin Soyeon shook her head from side to side.
No, it would be impossible.
‘Even with people like Sunari and Lee Jeonghoon on the team, that’s too fast.’
Sunari and Lee Jeonghoon were exceptionally powerful Ability Users.
They had been quite famous since their middle school years.
They had grown up with full support from their clans, and it was no exaggeration to say that they would be the heroes of the next generation.
Sunari was ranked 17th, and Lee Jeonghoon was ranked 29th.
Both were among the top tier at Union Academy.
But…
‘In terms of overall power, my team wasn’t lacking either.’
Jin Soyeon’s team had considerable strength as well.
They had members ranked 19th and 46th.
Yet there was such a significant difference in the results…
‘…Is it because of Jinhyuk?’
Jinhyuk’s command and tactical abilities were quite impressive.
In a dungeon conquest, Jinhyuk’s abilities would shine even brighter.
Hmm… well.
She hadn’t expected him to take first place, though.
Still, Jinhyuk did pretty well.
‘To think he cleared it much faster than Siwoon and Daehan.’
Of course, the dungeon exam wasn’t over yet.
There were still many trainees waiting to take the test.
But would any team be able to clear the dungeon in under 25 minutes?
Even Lee Siwoon and Kang Daehan took 37 minutes.
“Oh, here they come.”
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“Yeah.”
Yoo Seolhyun glanced over and pointed with her chin.
A group of kids surrounded someone, chattering excitedly. Amid the crowd, she spotted two familiar faces—Lee Jinhyuk and Sunari.
“Wow! Sunari, what’s up with that? 25 minutes? How did you manage that?”
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“Our Sunari is really something!”
“Did you know your team is currently in first place?”
“Whoa, Jinhyuk, was it because of you? Even with Sunari on the team, that was way too fast.”
“I was wondering why Yoo Seolhyun took you along for her dungeon conquest. Turns out there was a reason, huh?”
“Siwoon got dethroned! Damn! I had faith in you! Jinhyuk, you’re the hero of our class!”
“What are you babbling on about, you idiot?”
The kids, shocked by the unexpected results, swarmed around Jinhyuk and Sunari, chattering away.
Soon, Sunari quirked an eyebrow and raised her voice.
“Hey, guys? Stop blocking the way and let us through.”
Sunari squeezed her way out of the crowd with some effort. Jinhyuk easily followed her lead.
“Phew. Seriously, people make such a big deal out of it. It’s just one test.”
“Hello, Sunari. Looks like you did pretty well on this exam, huh?”
“Huh? Uh, yeah? Hehe. I just got lucky, that’s all.”
When Yoo Seolhyun approached and spoke to her, Sunari’s eyes widened momentarily before she sheepishly scratched the back of her neck.
It seemed she was quite pleased with Yoo Seolhyun’s compliment.
“It might have been more than just luck. It looks like someone worked really hard.”
Yoo Seolhyun subtly shifted her gaze and stared at Jinhyuk, who was standing there nonchalantly.
“Isn’t that right, Jinhyuk?”
“Hmm.”
Since she looked at him as if she knew everything, Jinhyuk responded with a wry smile and a shrug.
“The dungeon was filled with monsters I had studied before. Like Sunari said, maybe I just got lucky.”
“Hmm. Well, if you say so.”
Since Yoo Seolhyun mistakenly believed that Jinhyuk had the ability to foresee the future, she simply smiled without saying much more.
If he had used his future vision ability, clearing a dungeon like this would have been a breeze.
Except for the fact that the conditions for using the ability were tricky, and he couldn’t see whatever future he wanted, Jinhyuk was someone to covet.
Moreover, wasn’t Jinhyuk also a master who could use the Sword Qi Wounder technique?
It was strange how he hid his strength to such an extent that he barely made it into the academy, but Yoo Seolhyun was expecting that more of his true capabilities might be revealed in this midterm exam.
Considering the power of the Sword Qi Wounder that he had displayed in the dungeon, he might even be stronger than Lee Siwoon. Hmm. This is why she was even more excited.
Stronger than Lee Siwoon, huh…
Honestly, it was hard to imagine.
At Union Academy, where countless geniuses gathered, there were only a few who could dare to stand shoulder to shoulder with Lee Siwoon.
Smart, skilled, and with a strong ability?
It was a bit funny that Yoo Seolhyun, a talented rich girl herself, thought this way, but Jinhyuk seemed like a bit of a cheat, a cheat.
‘If Jinhyuk had been born into a good family, he might have become more famous than Lee Siwoon.’
Come to think of it, Yoo Seolhyun couldn’t forget the image of Jinhyuk swinging his sword to save her.
That moment was still vividly imprinted in her memory as it had been a truly life-or-death situation.
To be honest, it had been quite a cool scene.
If she were an ordinary girl, she might have developed some feelings for him.
Well, but Yoo Seolhyun wasn’t an ordinary girl.
“…Ah, Jinhyuk. Congratulations on getting first place.”
“It’s just first place in one test. The exams aren’t even over yet. There are still plenty of kids waiting to enter the dungeon. And it’s only the first test.”
“But it’s something to celebrate. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to do this well.”
Jin Soyeon congratulated her childhood friend in a straightforward tone.
To be honest, she had been a little worried that Jinhyuk wouldn’t do well on the exams. After all, Jinhyuk had barely made it into Union Academy. She thought he might struggle to adapt and end up failing the tests…
‘But it’s good. At this rate, there shouldn’t be any major problems.’
In hindsight, hadn’t he also scored well in the performance assessment and pop quizzes?
Even better than Jin Soyeon.
‘…Maybe he’s adapting to Union Academy better than I am.’
Suddenly.
Fragments of words she had once spoken to Jinhyuk in an overly confident tone flashed through her mind.
– Are you worried about life at the academy?
– Well, given that you barely got in as a substitute, I guess it’s understandable.
– Ah, I can’t help it. As your senior, I’ll take care of you, so don’t worry too much. After all, I’m ranked 257th, you know?
Ugh. How embarrassing.
Am I going to be overtaken by Jinhyuk at this rate?
If that happens, he’ll tease me endlessly. Ah, why did I say something like that…
‘Come to think of it, I used to help Jinhyuk a lot with his practical evaluations during middle school. I guess he doesn’t need that anymore?’
Back then, Jinhyuk was extremely, extremely weak when it came to practical evaluations.
So, whenever she had time, Jin Soyeon would help him out.
They would train together, work out together, and even devise strategies together.
But now…
‘Lately, Jinhyuk hasn’t been hanging out with me much.’
In middle school, they used to train together and hang out together all the time, just the two of them. But at some point, Jinhyuk was no longer by her side.
When she glanced around, she would realize that Jinhyuk, who had always been there, was now laughing and chatting with others.
In the past, in the past, it wasn’t like this…
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Jinhyuk used to always look at her more than anyone else, but now he was spending time with others like Yoo Seolhyun.
Had there been a time when Jinhyuk got along this well with another girl?
No, as far as Jin Soyeon could remember, there hadn’t been.
Jinhyuk wasn’t particularly interested in other girls, and he was her fake boyfriend, after all.
But now, that wasn’t the case.
Jinhyuk wasn’t even her fake boyfriend anymore, just a childhood friend.
‘…’
Jin Soyeon unintentionally glanced over at Jinhyuk.
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He was currently chatting with Yoo Seolhyun and Sunari, seemingly enjoying himself.
Watching him talk with a wry smile, as if he didn’t mind it at all, she felt a peculiar emotion.
It was a feeling she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
Should she call it bittersweet, or maybe somewhat stifling?
In any case, she understood that from Jinhyuk’s perspective, he might have been tired of playing the fake boyfriend for the girl he had liked for so long, so it made sense that he would want to form positive relationships with others.
Jin Soyeon personally felt a lot of guilt and regret towards Jinhyuk, and she wanted to apologize to him for it.
But why was it that when she saw Jinhyuk with other girls, she felt this strange emotion?
Jin Soyeon couldn’t quite understand it herself.
She furrowed her brow slightly and tilted her head.
This emotion, this feeling, what exactly is it?
Bittersweet… somewhat stifling… Is that accurate?
No, it feels like something a bit more negative, a bit more unpleasant. How should she describe this emotion…
How should she put it… it feels a bit…
“Soyeon? What are you daydreaming about?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t tell me you’re already tired after just one test?”
“I was just thinking about the next exam…”
“The next exam is the hostage rescue, right?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s definitely something worth worrying about. Since it’s a team exam, there’s a lot to consider.”
Jinhyuk nodded his head in understanding.
“They won’t be administering the hostage rescue test today, but… do you want me to give you a few tips that might help?”
“…No. It’s fine. I’ll do it on my own this time.”
“Really?”
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“Yeah.”
For some reason, she didn’t want Jinhyuk’s help this time. She felt like she shouldn’t rely on his help. She didn’t know why, but that’s how she felt.
“What? How did their team clear it so quickly? Did they use some kind of trick?”
“……”
“Don’t let it get to you, Siwoon. They just got a bit lucky, that’s all.”
“……”
“Hey, Siwoon?”
“……”
Amidst the crowd of people, Lee Siwoon was quietly watching Jin Soyeon and Lee Jinhyuk.
With his gaze fixed on those two, he replayed a recent event in his mind.
Just a few days before the midterms.
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Jin Soyeon had asked to speak with Lee Siwoon in private.
With a serious expression, she had apologized to him, saying that she was sorry if he had any feelings for her.
It seemed she had sensed the emotions Lee Siwoon had felt for her on the day he restrained Choi Changwon.
Lee Siwoon had silently stared at Jin Soyeon for a moment before suddenly denying her words and thoughts, and then he had asked her a question.
He had asked if there was someone she liked.
Upon hearing that, Jin Soyeon had looked slightly flustered, but then she had given a dry laugh and replied that she didn’t have feelings for anyone, that she wasn’t interested in romance at the moment.
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But Lee Siwoon knew.
He knew that whenever he and Jin Soyeon were talking at the academy, she would unconsciously glance around, as if searching for someone with her eyes.
He knew that when she talked about that person, a beautiful smile and a bright expression, which were usually unseen, would grace her face.
He knew that Jin Soyeon was strangely sensitive and vulnerable when it came to that one person.
…Lee Siwoon knew it all.
‘I heard they broke up because she didn’t see him as a romantic partner.’
But the way she looked at him wasn’t just the gaze of someone who was looking at an ex-boyfriend or a childhood friend. There were so many mixed emotions in her eyes that Lee Siwoon couldn’t help but bite his lower lip slightly.
That look in Jin Soyeon’s eyes when she looked at Lee Jinhyuk.
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Lee Siwoon couldn’t forget it.
No, he couldn’t erase it from his memory.
‘Lee Jinhyuk, Lee Jinhyuk, huh…’
At some point, his fists had clenched tightly, but it took Lee Siwoon quite a while to realize it.
End of Chapter.
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