Chapter 21

"We're in the same school, same class, but we're not on the same level…"

"That's right."

"But doesn't that also apply to you?"

"…What?"

I chuckled seeing his eyes widen as though he didn't expect to hear that.

"That's right. How are you and I on the same level?"

"Ki Yoon Jae…"

"How could the World Party be on the same level as Sungwoon? Don't you think so?"

His smile gradually faded away from his face. Although the World Party was said to be the largest party in politics which held a strong power, it could not be compared to Sungwoon.

That was because the company, Sungwoon, wielded everything in Korea. If someone joked that Sungwoon went bankrupt and it really happened, Korea would also go bankrupt. It would be no laughing matter then.

Sungwoon existed in all areas of people's lives. Food, clothing, residential space, delivery, communication…

From small service industries to large businesses. There was no place where Sungwoon did not reach.

Sungwoon collapsing? It meant that everything in Korea would grind to a halt. In comparison to such a Sungwoon… I could not say that the World Party was on the same level.

The collapse of the World Party did not mean that everything in Korea would grind to a halt.

"That's funny."

"…"

"Compared to Sungwoon, it would be foolish to say trivial things like the World Party are on the same level."

"…"

"To be honest, you and him are the same in my eyes."

I pointed my finger at Jang Eui Yeol and then pointed at him. I laughed, and when I said he was no better than a poor person, his face heated up.

The guy fumed, but he didn't have the guts to go at me, so he turned around and went back to his seat instead.

Nothing good comes from getting involved with the bad guys1…

The mood suddenly turned cold.

Heh, it wasn't a big deal… I snorted, and Jung Yi Joon looked at me with an indecipherable gaze.

"What?"

"No… Just…"

"What is it?"

"Just…you don't seem to have changed, but you seem to have changed a lot."

It was the first time I'd seen him wear such a stupid expression. Jung Yi Joon giggled and laughed as he thought about that guy's face in his head.

Only Jang Eui Yeol, who sat in front of me, looked puzzled by the situation and what we were talking about.

"Hello? Thanks for your help…"

He looked at me and smiled.

Jang Eui Yeol became a little bitter at my confusion, but I didn't remember helping him, it was just that I had decided to cut ties with those guys after all.

"I didn't know you were such a great person."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You said you are in the Sungwoon group. I'm not familiar with this kind of thing, but there is no one in Korea who doesn't know about the Sungwoon Group."

Spies and foreigners also knew. Thus, if you didn't recognise the Sungwoon name, you might as well be from space. He was saying that I'm great because I was related to such a group.

They say everything is great… Of course, in Ki Yoon Jae's life, it was true that Sungwoon was great, but it was just funny for me who knew about the future.

Even that great Sungwoon had no choice but to bow its head to Jang Eui Yeol, who was sitting in front of me.

The only gifted person who tamed the divine beast. It was now sealed, so it looked like a pet dog, but even with that sealed form, it was strong enough to beat any monster.

Therefore, Ki Yoon Jae tried to get his hands on it somehow, but eventually died and Ki Hyun Joo who took over Sungwoon, bowed her head and went under Jang Eui Yeol.

How can you say that I'm great…?

Compared to his luck and ability, Ki Yoon Jae and I were nothing.

"On the other hand… Oh, do I have the right to say this?"

"What do you mean?"

I was extremely shocked when the main character suddenly appeared, cut his losses, and made a comeback.2

Hiik! To kill me in the future! As I was busy wracking my mind on how to survive, I somehow spat out whatever came to mind.

"I… told you! So he and you are the same."

"…"

"No, it's not that I'm saying you're insignificant. But if there's something on your mind, you can tell me freely and I won't mind it…"

"Hey."

As I was speaking gibberish, I heard a cold voice from the side. Glancing back, Jung Yi Joon looked very angry.

When I turned away from Jung Yi Joon, he placed his hand on my head. As his fingers grabbed my head, my head turned towards Jung Yi Joon again.

"Uh?"

"What are you doing?"

"W-why are you doing this…?"

Why was he in a bad mood again? As I was desperately reading the atmosphere to figure out what I'd done wrong, Jung Yi Joon asked:

"Why are you desperately making excuses for him?"

"…Uh?"

"Why? Is there a reason why you should do that?"

Was there any reason why I felt sorry for him…? Of course, I felt sorry for him. Since I didn't know what he would do to me in the future?

But how would you explain that? The person in question was watching too.

As my answer was delayed, Jung Yi Joon's eyes grew cloudy with anger and it was none other than the person who caused Jung Yi Joon's jealousy in the first place that saved the shivering me.

"Stop it."

"Who are you, you bastard? Why are you interrupting?"

"He's scared."

Jung Yi Joon spoke like a bully.

D-don't do this… Even Jung Yi Joon couldn't antagonise those 3 guys from earlier, so I tried to stop him because his temper was easily triggered.

"Who do you think you are, regardless of whether I do this or that?"

"Ugh…!"

Jung Yi Joon provoked Jang Eui Yeol by spinning my head around. As Jung Yi Joon shook the tightly held skull, my vision went back and forth, and I got motion sickness.

Jang Eui Yeol, who couldn't stand it, reached out and stopped it.

Jung Yi Joon covered Jang Eui Yeol's hand with his, saying, "What?" and Jang Eui Yeol also put his hand over Jung Yi Joon's hand as if he would not lose.

It felt like they were playing Jenga with my head.

What are these jerks doing?

I felt strange when Jung Yi Joon's hand and Jang Eui Yeol's hand were placed alternately on my head. The cats3 were not playing with their hands, and I couldn't tell what the hell was going on.

"Hey! Stop it!"

When I slapped the two of them with both hands and got angry, the two of them fell silent, unexpectedly. I wondered why the two of them were fighting.

"I didn't expect to see you again in high school after meeting you back then."

Jang Eui Yeol talked to me with a calm face. He spoke with a calm face. He had a calm face until earlier. It was as if the war of nerves he had with Jung Yi Joon earlier never transpired.

I didn't expect to see you in high school either. It felt old seeing him here so I answered yes, and Jang Eui Yeol smiled broadly.

"I'm Jang Eui Yeol. What about you?"

"Hey, Ki Yoon Jae. Didn't you tell him?"

Jung Yi Joon said, staring at Jang Eui Yeol who had asked for my name. No, but you've already said it. He has also kindly informed me of his surname.

Jung Yi Joon already said it, but I wondered if I should introduce myself. Jang Eui Yeol was ignoring him as if he didn't exist.

Isn't he meant to have a good personality?

In the beginning of the original novel, he was so nice that he went back and forth while listening to some pushover… but he didn't seem to be kind at all to Jung Yi Joon.

Jung Yi Joon's eyes were so heated as he looked at Jang Eui Yeol who asked again what my name was, and so, wondering if a second game would kick off, I urgently said,

"Ki Yoon Jae."

"Ki Yoon Jae… so it's Yoon Jae-gun."

Jang Eui Yeol repeated my name a few times and smiled broadly. On the contrary, Jung Yi Joon's eyes grew even more heated, staring at me as if he were angry I hadn't followed his cue.

Jang Eui Yeol still reached out to me ignoring Jung Yi Joon.

"Let's get along well."

"Uh, yes…".

I felt a warmth in my palm as I held out my outstretched hand. Jang Eui Yeol, holding my hand in a strong grip but not enough for it to hurt, smiled brightly.

* * *

Unexpectedly, Jang Eui Yeol and Jung Yi Joon quarreled only on the first day, and since then, they'd not caused any problems.

Rather than saying they'd not caused any problems… they're just ignoring each other.

With me in between, they seemed to dismiss the opponent on the other side as just being absent. It was a relief.

Besides, the three guys who were originally insulted by me did nothing more than just stare at me from a distance, so I thought it was all over.

"What? Where's Jung Yi Joon?"

"I think he went out for a bit…"

Jung Yi Joon was overprotective of me, but he didn't follow me to the bathroom, so I went to the bathroom alone but I couldn't find him afterwards.

Oh? I asked Jang Eui Yeol, who was still there, wondering where he had gone. Jang Eui Yeol smiled awkwardly and said that he seemed to have left for a while.

That awkward expression seemed to be hiding something, but I thought it was nothing. That's right, Jung Yi Joon was a gifted person, and because of that, he could overcome any crisis with his ability.

It was a fleeting thought, thinking about what could happen to Jung Yi Joon, whose existence itself was like a weapon to the general public who were ordinary people.

It was lunch time, so I went to the restaurant with Jang Eui Yeol and ate, thinking he would make his way there himself after finishing his business. But Jung Yi Joon didn't appear until I finished my lunch.

"

"

Footnotes

Literal TL: "I'd be struck by lightning while standing next to a tough guy." A metaphorical saying that if you get close to a bad guy, you will inevitably get hurt.

I know this is very weird but if someone has a better translation please do correct me. Imo JEY suddenly make a trouble and it's look like he made a comeback.

I think this is the idiom that Author means: For two to be on bad terms with each other.