Chapter 133 – GOY 133
#133
Once the announcement for the second semester schedule and the professor’s remarks ended, the after-party began in earnest. Because there were so many people, instead of moving to a different venue, tables were set up and food was laid out right there in the auditorium.
“Yeon-soo, have a drink.”
As soon as I sat down, a Seonbae sitting opposite me offered me a drink. His name was Jo Jin-han, and as a fourth-year, he was high up in the seniority ranks. I wasn’t close to him, but he was one of those people who was uncomfortable to deal with because he had a strange habit of picking fights whenever we crossed paths.
Of all the luck, I had to be at the same table as this man on the very first day of the semester.
“Seonbae, I’m sorry, but I’ve quit drinking….”
“One glass is fine.”
“But….”
“What do you mean ’but’? When a Seonbae offers a drink, you should treat it like medicine and just drink it.”
There were fewer people pushing drinks here than at gatherings where Guides and Espers mixed, but that didn’t mean there were none. Moreover, since the Esper Academy had a strong sense of hierarchy, it was difficult to refuse when someone pressured you like that.
“Then I will only accept it….”
As I held out the glass with both hands and bowed my head, Jo Jin-han spat out irritably.
“Ah, seriously, you’re killing the mood.”
A sudden silence fell over the table. It was Kang In-ho who broke it.
“I wonder who is actually killing the mood.”
When Kang In-ho, who was sitting next to me, spoke up with a cold tone, Jo Seonbae’s expression twisted uglily.
“Kang In-ho, are you talking to me right now?”
“Who else would it be?”
“What? How dare you speak to a Seonbae like that!”
Jo Seonbae shouted, but Kang In-ho didn’t even blink.
“I heard that guidelines from the Center were issued to eliminate the culture of forcing alcohol on Hubaes. If you keep this up, I will report you [stolen content]to the Ability User Human Rights Committee.”
Jo Seonbae’s face froze stiffly.
He was a C1-class Guide aspiring to join the Center. However, since his rank wasn’t high and he had no special achievements, it wasn’t an easy path. In this situation, if he were to receive disciplinary action from the Human Rights Committee, his chances of entering the Center would vanish.
“Hey! How can you bring up the Human Rights Committee just because a Seonbae offered a drink? How do you plan to survive in society like that?”
“There are plenty of places wanting to scout me, so please don’t worry about things that aren’t your concern.”
“You…!”
Jo Seonbae clenched his fists, but in the end, he stormed away from the table without saying another word.
Kang In-ho was an A-class Guide with genuine skill and was highly likely to be recruited by the Center. At the same time, he possessed a personality that would actually go through with reporting someone to the Human Rights Committee.
Knowing that touching him could lead to real trouble, Jo Seonbae left while pretending to be angry.
“In-ho, thanks.”
“I only stopped him because he would’ve pulled that shit with me too,” Kang In-ho replied indifferently, taking a sip of bottled water.
Kang In-ho didn’t drink either. I had never seen him touch alcohol.
Kwon Jin-sung, a B-class Guide, took the seat Jo Seonbae had vacated.
Me, Kang In-ho, Jeong Sang-cheol, and Kwon Jin-sung. We were all second-year classmates, so no one was forcing anyone to drink.
Even if we weren’t close, talking with classmates was definitely more comfortable than talking with Seonbaes.
“Is this opening party completely separate from the Espers?”
When Jeong Sang-cheol asked while drinking beer, Kwon Jin-sung answered.
“Yeah. Apparently, there were complaints from freshmen during the welcome party about the Alpha Pheromones being uncomfortable. They couldn’t have separate welcome parties, so it seems they separated the opening parties instead.”
“Bullshit. You’d think everyone was a Dominant. There are barely any Dominants in this year’s group, which is the biggest failure in history. I wonder if they can even smell pheromones properly. People with nothing always act the most pretentious.”
“…….”
Silence returned. The only Dominant Omega at this table was Jeong Sang-cheol. Kang In-ho and I were Betas, and while Kwon Jin-sung was an Omega, he wasn’t a Dominant.
“…Ah, I heard the Nemeshield Necklace was a fake!”
Kwon Jin-sung glanced at me and Kang In-ho, then hurriedly changed the subject.
Even within the same rank, those who had undergone Manifestation tended to be more highly valued. I had heard it to the point of boredom that it was a shame I was a Beta. Aside from Aaron, there were countless people who made comments about traits.
That was why Kwon Jin-sung was walking on eggshells around us Betas. However, contrary to his worries, neither Kang In-ho nor I were the type to care about traits.
“So I heard,” Kang In-ho replied nonchalantly.
I tried to give a similar casual response, but my mouth wouldn’t open.
I was a Beta who couldn’t even smell pheromones, let alone be a Dominant Omega. I hadn’t been able to smell Joo Seung-hyuk’s pheromones throughout his Rut. That obvious fact suddenly felt depressing.
‘Lee Yeon-soo, don’t think about useless things. Why be depressed over a mere trait….’
I tried to sound indifferent, pretending not to care about Jeong Sang-cheol’s words, just like Kang In-ho.
“…I guess so.”
But my expression wouldn’t brighten. Still, it didn’t seem obvious enough for others to notice, as Kwon Jin-sung naturally continued the conversation.
“I heard David was the one who won the bid; he must be devastated.”
Even though ten days had passed, the ‘Fake Nemeshield Necklace’ incident was still the center of attention.
“It seems Han Gun-cheol’s family is doomed. They scraped together all sorts of funds to finally get their hands on the Nemeshield Necklace, and yet they got scammed?”
Jeong Sang-cheol stuffed a handful of snacks from the table into his mouth and chewed loudly.
He seemed completely unaware that he had almost ruined the mood. He was a guy whose peace of mind was almost enviable.
“I wonder why the culprit hasn’t been caught yet? Achilles must be searching for them with everything they’ve got.”
When Kwon Jin-sung expressed his doubt, Jeong Sang-cheol looked around and lowered his voice to a secretive whisper.
“I heard this from my uncle; he said it seems David caught the culprit first and is hiding them.”
His uncle was the Vice Chairman of the Korea Ability User Association.
I didn’t trust Jeong Sang-cheol much, but if his uncle had actually said it, there was credibility to it.
“Really?”
When I showed interest, Jeong Sang-cheol answered excitedly.
“I’m telling you. I heard [unauthorized copy]Achilles is absolutely pissed [Read on Read BL Novels]that David is hiding the culprit.”
Then Kwon Jin-sung asked, “Why would David do that? Isn’t it better for David if the culprit is caught?”
“You’re so slow. David is currently demanding full material and mental compensation from Achilles for this incident. I heard he even used mafia money to buy the Nemeshield, so the interest must be astronomical. But Achilles doesn’t want to do that. They just want to return the auction price and be done with it. They want to catch the culprit quickly and say, ‘If you have claims for damages, take them to these guys.’”
“Wouldn’t that work?”
“What money would scammers have? Even if they did, if they just refuse to pay, that’s the end of it. From David’s perspective, the best move is to crush the culprit himself and squeeze the money out of Achilles.”
It made sense. David had to bear massive interest because of this. The plan to film a broadcast using the Nemeshield Necklace had also fallen through, so all the production costs and investment funds spent so far would have vanished. Simply getting the auction price back wouldn’t be enough. And to receive compensation for such immense losses, it was a hundred times better to claim damages from Achilles than from a gang of scammers.
Still, given David’s personality, he couldn’t just leave the scammers alone, so he would likely seek private revenge behind the scenes.
But how did David know who the culprit was? Could Joo Seung-hyuk have leaked the culprit’s information to David? Joo Seung-hyuk seemed to know who the real culprit was.
No matter how capable David was, it would be difficult to pinpoint the culprit’s identity in such a short time, especially before Achilles. If Joo Seung-hyuk really gave him the information, why? He didn’t seem to have good feelings toward David….
“Yeon-soo, you participated in the Achilles auction, right?” Kwon Jin-sung asked me.
“Yeah.”
The fact that Joo Seung-hyuk and I attended the Achilles [Read on Read BL Novels]auction together had [stolen content]already spread through [Read on Read BL Novels]news articles worldwide, so there was no reason to deny it.
“Did you see the Nemeshield?”
“Yeah.”
“Could you tell it was fake?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t really interested.”
“Wow. As expected, an Esper-Guide couple with a 93% matching rate is different. You’re saying you don’t even need a Nemeshield?”
“Ah, no. It’s not that….”
As I waved my hands in denial, Jo Seonbae, who had somehow moved to the next table, spat out bluntly.
“He sat in a box seat, so there’s no way he saw it properly.”
His tone was provocative. It seemed the resentment from me refusing the drink still remained. If he disliked me, he could have gone elsewhere; I couldn’t understand why he insisted on sitting at the next table just to pick a fight.
Kwon Jin-sung laughed awkwardly, glancing at me.
“…Wow, Yeon-soo, you sat in a box seat? That must have been great.”
But Kwon Jin-sung’s efforts to lighten the mood were in vain. Jo Seonbae stared at me and spoke in a sneering tone.
“Right. Lee Yeon-soo, you’ve really made it after dating Joo Seung-hyuk. Even getting to sit in a box seat.”
“…….”
“That’s the thrill of dating a chaebol. Isn’t it?”
“…Jo Seonbae, I think you’ve gone too far.”
Unable to endure it any longer, I spoke up, but Jo Seonbae only raised his voice.
“Why? Does it hit too close to home? Did I say something wrong?”
“You did.”
The person who helped me was, surprisingly, Jeong Sang-cheol.
“What?”
“S-Classes always get box seats at Achilles auctions. Whether [visit our site]he went with Joo Seung-hyuk or alone, Lee Yeon-soo would be in a box seat.”
He corrected the fact.
‘Jeong Sang-cheol, what’s gotten into you?’
Just as gratitude for Jeong Sang-cheol taking my side was about to well up, he added a postscript.
“I guess Jo Seonbae didn’t know because he’s only a C-class.”
“I’m C1-class!”
“C1 or C, it’s all the same C, so why are you so worked up? Isn’t it a bit pathetic to insist on calling yourself C1?”
Right, this is the Jeong Sang-cheol I know.
He suddenly cast a wide-range aggro spell on all the C1-class Guides attending the opening party, and the atmosphere became uncontrollably hostile.
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