• Offer And Suspicion

As Ji-Hoon and Seo-Yeon turned, they were met with the sight of a slightly bulky guy with black hair and piercing blue eyes, flanked by a few other guys. He gave off an air of authority, unmistakably the student council president. His name was Kang Min-joon.

"Hey there, pretty boy," Min-joon's voice boomed, his tone dripping with a mix of sarcasm and amusement. His gaze flickered between Ji-Hoon and Seo-Yeon, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. "I'm surprised you're still alive. Was sure one of the psycho girls on campus would have already knocked you out and pulled you away by now."

Ji-Hoon's eyebrows furrowed slightly at the unexpected encounter, while Seo-Yeon shot a cautious glance at Min-joon and his companions.

"What do you want, Ed?" Ji-Hoon spoke calmly, but there was an underlying tension in his voice as he called Min-joon by his nickname.

Inwardly, Ji-Hoon thought, "It's this bastard again. Should I just kill him now? So I can avoid all the shit he's going to try pulling off later?" Ji-Hoon then glanced at all the other guys that stood behind him with a smug look on their faces. He then let out a sigh as he thought, "It isn't worth the risk yet. I'm not so blinded by revenge that I'll get myself into a fight I currently can't win."

Ji-Hoon narrowed his gaze as he thought futher, "Besides, I'm not even sure he's worth the effort." He gazed at Min-joon with a look of disgust.

Ji-Hoon's fleeting thought of revenge or perhaps some punishment stemmed from what happened in the first decent.

It hit when no one expected it, and as such, the students believed in teamwork. Min-joon, who possessed a knight class at the time and was the student council president, led the students to battle and gather resources.

They all believed he was a charismatic and respectable figure.

But it is well known that the apocalypse has the habit of revealing the true nature of people.

Unfortunately, when he led his little team of students into uncharted territory with powerful monsters, he was the first to turn tail and run, leaving behind the people who believed in him, momentarily frozen with shock at his sudden change in behavior. A lot of them died that day.

And it was rather surprising to see people by his side yet again. Perhaps they were not aware of his blunder in the first descent.

Ji-Hoon had decided he would have to put an end to Min-joon because he would be targeting him. Obviously, the people whom Min-joon had left to die would want to seek revenge.

He was well aware of this, and of course, if he didn't want to be killed because he was taken by surprise, he would have to kill them first. It was obvious the people behind him would be helping him do that.

It was a kill or be killed senario, yet something in the cafeteria seemed to be preventing them from beginning.

Min-joon chuckled, a smug expression spreading across his face. He leaned casually against a nearby table, his arms crossed over his chest. "Oh, just thought I'd check in on my favorite couple. Make sure you two haven't killed each other yet."

Seo-Yeon bristled at the comment, her grip on Ji-Hoon's arm tightening slightly. Ji-Hoon shot her a reassuring gaze before turning his attention back to Min-joon.

"We're fine," Ji-Hoon replied evenly, his gaze steady. "Now, if you don't mind, we would rather be somewhere else."

Just as Ji-Hoon was about to turn around, Min-joon's hand shot out, grabbing him firmly by the shoulder. "Hey, wait up," Min-joon said, his voice insistent. "There's something I need to tell you." Wearing a forced fake smile on his face.

Ji-Hoon stiffened at the touch, his expression turning cold. "Get your hand off me," he said, his tone icy.

Min-joon chuckled nervously, trying to defuse the tension. "Come on, don't be like that," he said, his hand still on Ji-Hoon's shoulder.

Suddenly, Ji-Hoon turned to face Min-joon, his gaze piercing. His yellow eyes seemed to glow slightly as he spoke, his voice low and commanding. "I said, hands off, Ed."

A chill ran down Min-joon's spine at the intensity in Ji-Hoon's eyes. Swiftly, he removed his hand, raising his palms in a placating gesture. "Okay, okay, calm down, Ji-Hoon," he said, his voice shaky. "You're making it seem like I'm some kind of bad guy."

In his thoughts, Min-joon mused as a bead of sweat streamed down his face, "What was that just now? That pressure? Was it a skill?... No, the apocalypse hasn't even decended yet, so nobody should have any skills, this could make things a bit difficult." He gritted his teeth slightly.

Min-joon lifted his palm to his face as he gazed at it, noticing he was trembling slightly. He thought further, "But if that wasn't a skill... What was it?" Min-joon couldn't tell what caused him to pull back a moment ago, but there was something he was certain of: Ji-Hoon wasn't who he remembered him to be.

Perhaps he had experienced a series of events that made his very gaze capable of making people tremble.

Min-joon raised his hand, gesturing for Ji-Hoon to wait, his expression serious yet slightly pleading. "Wait," he said, his voice urgent. "If you cooperate with us, we could secure something to eat."

Ji-Hoon paused, his gaze flickering toward Min-joon and his companions out of the corner of his eyes. His expression remained guarded as he considered the offer. "I'm listening,"