Chapter 31: Leading Manager Kang Seol-yeon (2)

Kang Seol-yeon.
She was notorious for being the head of the academy’s Disciplinary Committee and boasting power on par with the Student Council.
But surprisingly, she liked to look after her juniors.
It’s just that her sharp features made it difficult for others to approach her properly.
Even when she said something nice, most people would fearfully avoid her, so she couldn’t help but be cautious.
However, Yooshin had long since passed the stage of running away just because someone looked intimidating.
Thanks to that, unlike Hayoung and Yuri, Yooshin could answer calmly.
“The head of the Disciplinary Committee herself is giving me a tour? Aren’t you busy?”
“That’s not a problem.”
“In that case, I’ll take you up on that.”
The expressions on Hayoung and Yuri’s faces next to Yooshin soured in an instant, but Yooshin lightly ignored them.
She was offering to give a tour herself, was there any reason to refuse?
Rather, this was an opportunity to get a considerable amount of information from an insider.
Holding the position of Disciplinary Committee head, she must know a fair bit of information, at the very least.
On top of that, this faction fight seemed unusual from the start.
Faction fights in academies usually lead to the main scenario.
And as Yooshin expected, this situation was indeed part of the scenario.
The only difference was…
Originally, Yooshin was supposed to be promoted to S-Class at the beginning of his second year, perform various feats, and based on those feats, create a third force to mediate between the two.
That’s how the Student Council and the Disciplinary Committee were supposed to gradually grow closer through dialogue.
And finally, when a great crisis arrived, they would join hands and help each other.
In a way, it was a scenario that could be called a classic storyline.
But someone intervened in the middle and messed everything up.
Thanks to that, the relationship between the Disciplinary Committee and the Student Council was only getting worse with each passing day.
It wasn’t too late to intervene now, though.
Of course, their resentment for each other had already piled up.
But they still didn’t consider each other irreconcilable, mortal enemies yet.
In any case, Yooshin gladly accepted Seol-yeon’s guidance.
Seol-yeon guided them through S-Class far more seriously and in more detail than he had expected.
She said the building that housed S-Class was commonly called the Special Building from the outside.
“They say it’s called that because it has many special facilities for S-Class.”
“The Special Building, huh? Is it like the concept of an old building and a new building?”
“Exactly. In other words, you could say this academy has three school buildings.”
S-Class is in the Special Building, A-Class is in the New Building, and the rest of the classes are in the Old Building, she added.
This academy practiced more full-blown discrimination than he thought.
Usually, in cases like this, problems would erupt later.
But Yooshin soon shook his head to clear his distracting thoughts.
Getting a grasp on the current situation was more important than worrying about an uncertain future.
‘This is bad, I have no idea.’
Even with his fair share of web novel experience, just by hearing this, Yooshin couldn’t even begin to guess how the immediate main scenario would unfold.
“Um, may I ask a question?”
In that situation, it was Hayoung who posed a question to Seol-yeon.
Seol-yeon turned her head to look at Hayoung.
Her sharp eyes glinted.
Surprisingly, she wasn’t angry, but was concentrating on her junior’s question.
However, Hayoung, still lacking courage, flinched with a “Eek!”
“My apologies, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Sorry, this one gets scared easily.”
“Is that so? Then I shall be more careful next time.”
In an academy where survival of the fittest was the rule, Seol-yeon showed a rare consideration for the weak.
Of course, he couldn’t trust her based on her appearance alone.
But at least Yooshin could clearly see that she was an oddball.
In any case, Seol-yeon answered Hayoung’s question with all her heart, telling her everything she knew.
“I founded the Disciplinary Committee to create a better academy.”
“What kind of academy, specifically?”
“Not an academy that follows the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest. At the very least, I wanted to restore the appearance of a normal school. Not this murderous atmosphere.”
From her first year until now, Seol-yeon had seen too many friends get trampled by others in the name of survival of the fittest.
She tried to stop it somehow.
But there was a limit to what she could do alone, so after much deliberation, she entered S-Class and founded the Disciplinary Committee to stop unreasonable bullying and violence.
“The current principal’s policy is wrong. I intend to deny it and change the academy.”
Seol-yeon’s power-filled voice made Yooshin recall old memories.
And it was the same for Athena, who was right beside Yooshin.
“You remind me of an old comrade of mine.”
“An old comrade? Who was that?”
“There was one who saved the world. A true hero who, even while sacrificing himself, continuously resisted the mastermind.”
Of course, the one Athena was talking about now was the hero, that is, the current Yooshin.
From her perspective, even after being exiled, the hero never gave up until the end.
And in the end, he returned to plunge his sword into the mastermind who had orchestrated everything until now.
Because she still remembered his indomitable will, a longing began to tinge her golden eyes.
But Yooshin interpreted it differently.
‘Is she talking about the Saintess? Well, she was pretty amazing too.’
The Saintess, who was the healer in the hero’s party, had a gentle personality but was surprisingly resilient.
She never bowed to injustice and continuously fought against it.
Thanks to that, Yooshin didn’t even think for a moment that the person Athena was talking about could be him.
A surprisingly heartwarming atmosphere continued.
However, that warmth didn’t last long, because a scoffing laugh could be heard from the side.
The owner of the mocking laughter was none other than Yuri.
“You’ll create a better academy?”
‘Even though you neglected my brother who was being collectively bullied?’
*
Yuri’s single remark brought about a greater ripple effect than imagined.
As proof, look at Seol-yeon’s expression right now.
With a shocked face as if she had been struck by lightning, her mouth hung open, and she could only stare at Yuri.
Seol-yeon wasn’t the only one flustered by Yuri’s sudden outburst.
Yooshin himself was taken aback.
Just a moment ago, she was cowering in fear.
He never dreamed she would suddenly lash out like this.
Actually, her judgment wasn’t wrong.
If it hadn’t been about her brother, that’s surely how it would have been.
In reality, Yuri’s legs were trembling with fear.
Given who her opponent was, no matter how much Yuri was praised as the top student of the first year and a genius.
She was still just a bud that hadn’t fully blossomed.
On the other hand, Kang Seol-yeon was a powerhouse who had already firmly established her name among the strongest in the academy.
And Yuri knew that wasn’t an empty boast.
‘Even though she has no fighting spirit, this pressure… it feels similar to oppa.’
Even though she was just looking at her, without any emotion, the pressure was no joke.
But Yuri didn’t back down.
No, she couldn’t back down.
Because it was a matter concerning her brother.
It’s not just that the Disciplinary Committee failed to discover the group bullying.
She didn’t want to admit it, but they bullied him very secretly and persistently.
Of course, looking at it objectively.
It’s a plausible thing to happen.
The Disciplinary Committee isn’t omnipotent.
Especially in the current situation where they are in direct opposition to the Student Council, if no one speaks up, it’s certainly possible they wouldn’t know.
But that’s only from an objective standpoint.
From the victim and family’s perspective, it doesn’t resonate at all.
In fact, her brother had already made an extreme choice.
And she has the nerve to say what?
That she’ll change the academy?
It’s utterly ridiculous.
Detestable.
Unable to bear the emotion, Yuri spat it all out.
But Seol-yeon didn’t turn away from Yuri’s feelings.
Instead, she directly asked for the reason.
“Did something happen?”
“Nothing happened.”
“…”
“Yuri, you were in the wrong this time.”
While trying to handle the situation, Yooshin didn’t forget to nail it in that Yuri was at fault.
It’s not that he didn’t understand.
She almost lost a family member.
But this right now was nothing more than venting.
And above all, Yooshin wanted to avoid souring relations with the Disciplinary Committee head, Kang Seol-yeon, who clearly seemed deeply involved in the main scenario.
So he had no choice but to quietly, but firmly, reprimand Yuri.
Unable to disobey her precious brother’s words, Yuri eventually bowed her head to Seol-yeon and apologized.
Seol-yeon readily accepted Yuri’s apology.
‘Something definitely happened.’
But Seol-yeon could guess that there was a serious story behind it.
The intense reaction just now was similar to that of someone who had lost a family member.
Seol-yeon decided she needed to investigate this matter properly.