Chapter 16: What happened in his first year? (3)

He must have had an ideal in his heart at first.

However, his high ideals were completely shattered by the cold reality.

Under the name of the law of the jungle, Cheongwol became greatly twisted.

In that twisted place, it was never easy to maintain his ideals.

Nevertheless, Yu Shin steadfastly maintained his ideals.

To do what is right and not tolerate injustice. That was Yu Shin’s ideal.

Naturally, his childhood friend, Ha Young, believed in Yu Shin’s ideal.

She believed that Yu Shin would surely be able to change this twisted world.

[I don’t think so.]

[What do you mean?]

[You need power to protect ideals. But Yu Shin… unfortunately doesn’t have power. Right?]

[….]

It was probably around that time. When he first met Hyun Woo and became close friends.

Hyun Woo shook Ha Young’s belief. At first, she denied Hyun Woo’s words.

However, facing the harsh reality, Ha Young gradually began to side with Hyun Woo.

[Hey, Yu Shin. Can’t we just do what everyone else does now?]

[What are you talking about? We have to correct what’s wrong!]

[That’s true, but….]

Yu Shin chose to resist. The student council, and even the academy itself.

Originally, it was possible. Because Baek Yu Shin was the protagonist.

In his first year, he would meet numerous opportunities and connections, grow, and overcome trials.

That was the original story. However, due to someone’s intervention,

The original story was distorted. Yu Shin ultimately failed to grow.

He was defeated by the trials that came, and the repercussions naturally spread to those around him.

[Why, why are you doing this?!]

[Didn’t you hang out with Baek Yu Shin?]

[Do you even know how annoying it is because of that b*stard?]

Baek Yu Shin was defeated. Not by the student council or the disciplinary committee, but by mere Class C students.

And the victor can do whatever they want with the loser. That is the academy’s teaching.

Of course, crimes are not allowed. But how they treated others in the classroom was their freedom.

In a world where the strong prey on the weak, being thrown to the bottom was truly hellish.

[What are you doing right now?]

[Hyun Woo…!!]

In the continuing hellish days, it was none other than Hyun Woo who saved Ha Young and Yu Shin.

Hyun Woo, who was in Class B at the time, single-handedly crushed Class C, who were bullying him and Yu Shin.

Thanks to him, we were no longer bullied from then on. We could live peacefully.

It was probably from then on.

That moment when all of Ha Young’s emotions and thoughts shifted from Yu Shin to Hyun Woo.

Looking back now, something felt strange. It was difficult to meet Hyun Woo after that day.

For some reason, she always thought only of Hyun Woo and supported everything he did.

Like a fanatic. Of course, she was still grateful to Hyun Woo for saving them.

But, even so.

Monitoring Yu Shin’s every move and reporting it to Hyun Woo.

That’s definitely not normal, is it?

Why didn’t she realize it then? Ha Young blamed herself for her foolishness.

A Distorted Friendship

However, she couldn’t completely ignore Hyun Woo.

No matter what, it was Hyun Woo who saved her and Yu Shin from hell.

So, Ha Young received Hyun Woo’s call and met him again at the location he mentioned.

As the sun slowly set below the horizon, Ha Young faced Hyun Woo.

“Have I done something wrong recently?”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

“Your attitude has completely changed!”

“…”

Perhaps because things weren’t going as he wished, Hyun Woo even shouted in frustration.

Ha Young flinched for a moment, and seeing her reaction, Hyun Woo scratched his head.

“S-Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“Changed attitude? We’re just friends, aren’t we?”

“W-Weren’t we more than friends and less than lovers?”

“…? What in the world is that supposed to mean?”

For the first time in her life, Ha Young openly displayed contempt on her face in front of another person.

No, if they were friends, they were friends. If they were lovers, they were lovers.

What on earth was a relationship that was less than lovers?

Kang Hyun Woo was always like this. He only ever sought out Ha Young when he needed her.

If he made even a slight mistake, he would first yell and then apologize late.

Looking back, that was definitely not an equal friendship.

It was already evident in his demeanor. Why had she been so blind?

No matter how grateful she was, if something wasn’t right, it simply wasn’t. Ha Young sighed and said,

“Hyun Woo, I’m grateful that you saved us.”

“R-Right? I saved you guys in first year.”

“But… that doesn’t mean I’m your slave, does it? Huh?”

“…”

“Let’s cool our heads for a bit.”

Ha Young said those words and left Hyun Woo. She had nothing more to say.

Favorability Lost

Hyun Woo, left alone, said nothing and opened the favorability window.

Soon, a translucent screen appeared before his eyes, showing Ha Young’s favorability.

[Yoo Ha Young]

[Favorability: 0]

[She has no feelings for you!]

“Why is the favorability decreasing?!”

The favorability system was unexpectedly a terrifying power.

It could make strangers feel emotions usually reserved for long-term lovers.

It could make someone blindly devoted to only one person. Such things were possible.

However, the favorability system was not perfect.

To be precise, it was certainly perfect in the past.

But now, it could be said that its perfection was broken.

Hyun Woo used the favorability system to easily take many things.

Thanks to this, Yu Shin, who was originally supposed to grow through trials,

Was ultimately sidelined after Hyun Woo took all his opportunities and connections.

If things continued like this, he would soon be able to usurp the protagonist’s position.

Hyun Woo thought so. That is, until Yoo Ha Young’s favorability became 0.

A Dark Scheme

“……There’s no choice.”

Left alone, Hyun Woo pressed his forehead, muttering to himself in a trembling voice.

He hadn’t wanted to use this method.

Hyun Woo immediately pulled out his phone. Then he made a call to someone.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

[So, should we proceed with it then?]

“Yes.”

[But if this goes wrong…….]

“I’ll cover everything, okay? Don’t you want revenge on Yu Shin?”

At Hyun Woo’s single sentence, there was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.

However, it was only for a very brief moment.

Soon, the familiar scream of a girl echoed. At that, Hyun Woo laughed loudly.

Uninvited Guests

Yu Shin was currently in a very foul mood.

He had just finished school and returned home, looking forward to a long-awaited leisurely rest.

But sudden uninvited guests arrived and disturbed his sweet, honey-like relaxation.

And it wasn’t just one or two people. At least 10 or more uninvited guests showed up.

Moreover, each of them had an unusual aura. Yu Shin sighed and spoke.

“Who are you guys?”

“Don’t you recognize your own classmates?”

“I never thought of you as friends.”

Yu Shin only kept the faces of people worth remembering in his mind.

In other words, the students of Class C were not worth remembering to Yu Shin at all.

Some of the Class C students who understood the meaning were furious and tried to step forward.

But the girl with cheap blonde hair at the front, Min Young, raised her hand to stop them.

“Hey.”

“Hey? Short on words, aren’t you?”

“It won’t be good if you keep acting so arrogant.”

“???”

Have these guys finally lost their minds and gone on a picnic?

Yu Shin was so dumbfounded by their blatant arrogance that he couldn’t even get angry.

What exactly were they relying on to act like this? Were they perhaps relying on some powerful backing again?

However, Yu Shin soon understood the reason. Min Young pulled out her phone.

And showed Yu Shin a photo. Yu Shin clicked his tongue after seeing the photo.

“You’re relying on this to act so arrogant?”

The photo on the phone showed Ha Young with her arms and legs tied with ropes.

Yu Shin was speechless. So, they had decided to go all out and act recklessly now?

However, Min Young was just smiling. As if she didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation.

Thwack!

At that moment, Min Young raised her hand and tried to slap Yu Shin hard.

However, Yu Shin dodged Min Young’s hand, so the slap missed.

Min Young glared at Yu Shin, who tilted his head, and gave a sinister smile.

“It seems you still don’t grasp the situation.”

“What about it?”

“Your childhood friend can fall into hell with just one word from me. Do you understand?”

“Hey.”

However, Min Young, who had directly threatened Yu Shin to gain the upper hand,

Had instead poked the nose of a sleeping lion.

Yu Shin’s previously calm demeanor turned ferociously aggressive again. Min Young was shocked.

An oppressive aura, on a completely different level from anything she had experienced before, weighed down on her.

“Cough…!!!”

She couldn’t even breathe properly. It felt like a heavy rock was crushing her chest.

Yu Shin had finally become enraged after his precious childhood friend was used as a threat.

Anyone witnessing this situation, whether nearby or not, would probably think that. However, unfortunately, that was not it.

Yu Shin was angry for only one reason.

“How dare you people.”

Threaten me?