EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school - Chapter 827

(T/N: The title can mean “flower” or “status quo”)

The morning after the picnic.

After parting ways with Eunho and heading to the sophomore district, I ran into Joo Soohyuk.

“Thanks for lending some time yesterday even though you looked busy with your picnic, Euishin-ah.”

Joo Soohyuk thanked me for something menial.

He requested to see me right after the match so I excused myself from my classmates and left for a bit.

He led me to the Joo-Oh Dragons’ team lounge, at the team manager’s office.

I had no idea why I was invited here, but seeing the security guards around the area, I got a sense of who was behind the door.

As expected, the family of the Joo-Oh Group’s successors was there.

“My aunt and uncle wanted to thank you last time when you found Soori, but we didn’t really get the chance, so…”

The next CEO of Joo-Oh Group and his wife are Joo Soohyuk’s uncle and aunt.

Their daughter is Joo Soohyuk’s cousin, Joo Soori.

‘I’m actually the reason why Joo Soori got lost in Eungwang High that time.’

Since I can’t reveal that fact, I just politely declined the expression of gratitude.

Then, as if some kind of mistake, the couple smiled and remarked that Joo Soohyuk’s friend was humble.

Joo Soori also thanked me, but somehow she talked more about Ahn Dain.

Is she also a fan of hers?

That’s a common ground between her and Joo Soohyuk.

“The last time I saw Soori was at the Joo-Oh Construction’s 30th anniversary, and even then she was talking about you and Dain. She’s disappointed that Dain wasn’t at the game today too.”

I’m disappointed about that as well.

After years of inviting Yoo Sanghee to watch a baseball game together, Do Wonwoo finally succeeded this year, so at least there’s that.

Joo Soohyuk on the other hand, without the thought of inviting Ahn Dain even crossing his mind, had fun hanging out with Do Sihoo and Jang Namwook.

The title hero has a few shortcomings, which seem to include Do Wonwoo’s dashing behavior.

The topic naturally flowed to the Joo-Oh Construction’s 30th Anniversary held some time ago.

“Honestly, I was worried about Hyeji noona at that time. I thought she’d be forced to attend the event with me or Soogyeom hyung.”

Joo Soohyuk’s worries were natural.

Considering the evils that the Oh Family household did to entangle Oh Hyeji with the Joo Family, they’re capable of doing something like that.

Judging from Joo Soohyuk’s words though, it seems like things didn’t go that way.

“Was she okay?”

“Yeah. Hyeji noona’s father, Chairman Oh, wasn’t there, and she didn’t attend either.”

It seems like some of the Oh Family members who were part of the Joo-Oh Construction Board of Directors went to the event but not the guy called “Chairman Oh.”

And it seems like Chairman Oh told Oh Hyeji that she was free to attend if she wanted.

‘Joo Soogyeom did something.’

He found something about the family’s missing will, and it seems like he’s using it to negotiate with Chairman Oh. 

He would’ve demanded Oh Hyeji’s freedom as one of the conditions.

‘It was such a big event that Hwang Jiho was invited. The fact that Oh Hyeji wasn’t forced to attend with the Joo Family means that it’s surely Joo Soogyeom’s doing.’

Joo Soohyuk’s interpretation is that the Oh Family respects Oh Hyeji now that she’s an adult, but he’s completely amiss.

It’s a little strange that he’s not getting suspicious considering how Oh Hyeji’s family has been so stubborn before.

I’m sure he’ll be able to figure out Joo Soogyeom’s actions in the future and grasp the situation on his own.

Just like he did in PMH.

“Euishin-ah, Soohyuk-ah!”

“We were just looking for you guys!”

We ran into Kim Yuri and Saeum of April when we arrived at the sophomore building.

While I admired the two’s diligence, I was worried because they seemed panicked.

Joo Soohyuk asked,

“Yuri-yah, Saeum-ah, what’s the matter?”

“Hyodon was attacked and the Taoist sunsaengnim is fighting for him instead!”

“Let’s go to the west gate, quick.”

I couldn’t figure out what was going on based on Saeum of April’s words, but Kim Yuri’s words made me move right away.

I sent Maeng Hyodon a message and tried to call him while on the way, but he wasn’t answering.

An announcement on the school’s online bulletin board warned people of a rampaging Taoist near the west gate.

Wondering what was really going on, the four of us got ready to fight as we headed to the gate.

When we arrived, chaos unfolded before our eyes.

“My goodness…”

The landscape was destroyed, streetlights were bent, and the ground was turned upside down.

In the middle of the mess was Maeng Hyodon, his uniform torn as if he had been beaten.

“Hyodon-ah!”

“Are you okay? Where are you hurt?”

“…I’m okay.”

The kids were very worried when they saw Maeng Hyodon.

He may be a stonehead, but he can fight as good as Joo Soohyuk.

It’s natural to think that he would’ve been seriously injured seeing the messy he looked.

But it seems like he’s not seriously hurt.

‘He got hit on purpose.’

The other kids must’ve had the same thoughts.

Maeng Hyodon kept his head down, unable to look at us in the eye.

The sight of it reminded me of last year.

‘Don’t tell me the one who attacked him was…’

I felt my blood boil as I realized the situation.

Before I could unleash my anger, someone more furious than me erupted.

“How can a father do this to his child?! Are you not afraid of the laws of heaven?!”

Gwaaaa!

As Tak Geosan’s roar spread, Cheon Dongha quickly spread energy waves to contain the area.

It was instantly torn down by Tak Geosan’s vivacity, but it lessened the damage to some extent.

“Professor Tak Geosan, please calm down. People from the association are coming soon.”

“That man hit my student, how can I calm down you bastard!”

Cheon Dongha examined Maeng Hyodon’s father with cold eyes.

There were footprints all over his body, a sign that he’d been kicked repeatedly.

His injuries are far more severe than Maeng Hyodon’s.

“I’m sure he’s got more defense for his side. If more trouble comes from this, even the Hwangmyeong Foundation’s legal team will have a hard time resolving things. Please do it for your student.”

“Ha, he’s not had what he deserved yet!”

“Idam-ah, use your light skill the next time Professor Tak Geosan uses his energy waves.”

The gloomy wallflower, who couldn’t do anything but stand there, nodded.

It seems like Cheon Dongha had to rescue the Jiikhoe Chairman who couldn’t resolve things on his own.

Jiikhoe is in charge of the west gate since the residential area is much closer there.

Thankfully Cheon Dongha is handling the situation well so I decided to protect Maeng Hyodon.

“Cheon Dongha sunbaenim, we’re going to the nurse’s office. If something happens, contact me instead of Maeng Hyodon.”

“Alright, go quickly. Sorry you had to take Maeng Hyodon when you just got here.”

Cheon Dongha was busy making Tak Geosan calm down, so the least I could do was take care of Maeng Hyodon.

Tak Geosan confronted the father with shaking eyes and then turned to me and nodded.

It means he’s entrusting me his student.

“Let’s go.”

“…Yeah.”

“Did you have breakfast, Hyodon? Let’s get something to eat after we get you checked up!”

Maeng Hyodon trudged mechanically while the other kids assisted.

The dark atmosphere wasn’t eased.

My anger rose as I remembered how happy he looked when he got over 40 points on his math test, when he was choosing a gift and a carnation flower for his teacher, and when we were at the baseball stadium yesterday.

* * *

A comprehensive examination revealed that Maeng Hyodon’s physical condition was normal.

However, Maeng Hyodon was absent, which meant he had a lot of things to discuss with the Hwangmyeong Foundation legal team.

I had a lot of things to talk about with the tigers too, so I headed to the mansion.

“It was my fault. I underestimated the intruder.”

Hwang Jiho, who came to understand the situation, said so with a complex expression.

Maeng Hyodon’s father was found to have committed other crimes after the fight club incident, and he was detained for his pre-trial.

A guilty ruling was almost certain so everyone was on guard.

“I never thought he’d get out on bail. I’ll find out where the bail money came from and who helped him through that difficult process.”

Although Maeng Hyodon’s father lived a dirty life, he was never found guilty of crimes just yet and he still had no criminal record.

On top of that, the court ruled that Maeng Hyodon’s father can’t really damage his child given that he’s a non-player.

The bail was decided in an instant, and Maeng Hyodon’s father immediately summoned him.

He got his device code through god knows where and used Maeng Hyodon’s mother as bait, threatening to throw away Maeng Hyodon’s mother’s ashes kept in the charnel house if he didn’t show up.

He ambushed him in front of Eungwang High as he demanded money from Maeng Hyodon.

‘It would’ve been bad if Tak Geosan hadn’t gone searching for Maeng Hyodon when he missed his morning training.’

There’s no way his father could’ve done this on his own.

Someone with a deeper purpose used Maeng Hyodon’s father as a pawn.

I felt a chill run down my spine.

As I kept blocking its moves, the Black Screen found ways to attack unexpectedly.

“Do you remember that other person besides Maeng Hyodon’s father? They said he was a player he met at the detention center.”

There were a few players during the morning attack at that time.

It seems like the enemy was prepared enough to prevent Eungwang High students from interfering with the situation.

Of course, even if they were prepared for players, their strengths weren’t enough to deal with Tak Geosan.

Tak Geosan spared Maeng Hyodon’s father, a non-player, from being seriously injured, but he didn’t show the same mercy to the players.

Jeokho, who helped in investigating this case, said,

“I checked the recording devices. One of the players tried to use an item on Student Maeng Hyodon, but Tak Geosan was able to blow it up before he did.”

“What kind of item was it?”

“A consumable attack item. Student Maeng Hyodon wasn’t resisting so he was an easy target. The piece of trash tried to use a low-level item so it wouldn’t have been able to kill Maeng Hyodon.”

“Even so, considering his physical condition, there would still be effects.”

Although his symptoms of recovery item addiction have improved significantly over the past year, he’s still much more dependent than normal players.

If he had been hit, Maeng Hyodon would’ve found it hard to go to school for a long time.

As the feeling of misery subsided, questions began to rise in my head.

‘Why did he go after Maeng Hyodon now? And why in front of Eungwang High?’

Having a student die or get seriously injured in front of Eungwang High would surely be bad.

The school will be targeted for failing to prevent students, and if it’s revealed that the association is involved in Maeng Hyodon’s lawsuit, its reputation will also fall.

Still, the questions remain.

If they wanted to kill someone to set an example, they could’ve gone for a simpler target.

Why Maeng Hyodon?

The unanswered questions and guilt for not having prepared for the situation weighed on my mind.

“Don’t blame yourself for not being able to prevent this, Jo Euishin. It’s my fault that I didn’t foresee the bail situation quickly.”

“Hwangho is right, Jo Euishin. It’s his fault.”

“…”

Hwang Jiho and Jeokho spoke consecutively while Baekho-gun nodded, but my thoughts were different.

If I had known in advance about the reason why the Black Screen would want to target Maeng Hyodon, then Hwang Jiho would’ve been alerted.

“It’s thanks to you that Maeng Hyodon got someone like Tak Geosan as a teacher who would protect him. And it’s thanks to you that Eungwang High’s autonomous organizations function properly, which is why Cheon Dongha was able to respond right away.”

The words didn’t make my heart lighter, but it didn’t make it feel heavier either.

I was able to clear my thoughts a little.

‘It’s different from PMH now. The reason why they put so much effort in coming after Maeng Hyodon…”

There were too many variables, making it difficult to arrive at an answer.

I felt nervous thinking that Sung Gukeon, Jeon Muyeong, and Maeng Hyodon were being targeted at the same time.

‘Why are they taking advantage of Maeng Hyodon’s father right before Parents’ Day? It’s in bad taste. Besides, the Teachers’ Day is coming soon.’

While I swore at the Black Screen in my head, my thoughts suddenly came together.

I felt like I knew what the Black Screen was really aiming for.

I broke the long silence.

“I want you to assign security to Maeng Hyodon.”

“It looks like Tak Geosan will follow him around. Would it be better to give him bodyguards still?”

“Yeah.”

The Black Screen in PMH kept Maeng Hyodon alive until the third year.

We’re now in the second year, and although Maeng Hyodon is healthier than he was in PMH, his skills aren’t as good as then.

The reason they’re targeting Maeng Hyodon is probably not because they just want to kill him.

After combining the factors that I couldn’t figure out from PMH and Maeng Hyodon’s actions, I was able to get to an answer.

“Maeng Hyodon will visit Tanrae Middle School on May 15th. Don’t let down your guard until then.”