chapter 3
3. Eunbi Jo’s Regret
Lee Hyun-seung left Broad Academy
In class A, where he had been a part of before, numerous students were cursing Lee Hyun-seung among themselves.
The girl, Hana Park, spoke.
“Isn’t Lee Hyun-seung really creepy? I don’t know why he did that.”
The man, Seong Hyun-wook, answered her words.
“Well, maybe it was because you liked Yoo Hee-yeon, or you were jealous of Yoo Hee-yeon’s performance? Isn’t it obvious?”
Hana Park thought for a moment and then spoke.
“To be honest, I like what I like, but I think there is a possibility that it was because of my practical grades. That bastard was, frankly, a f*cking drug. Like a scholar, he took the class from the front and tried hard, but what could an unenlightened bastard do even then? Every time I get close to perfect marks in my writing, but I come last in practical skills that require physical use or use of mana. Either way, I hate it.”
People thought of Lee Hyeon-seung’s reason for stalking Yoo Hee-yeon in two ways.
First, Lee Hyeon-seung likes Yoo Hee-yeon rationally, so he showed conflicting interest.
Second, Lee Hyeon-seung secretly followed her and recorded her whereabouts in order to find out about Yoo Hee-yeon’s hidden training methods and secrets. Mana training and job training are all different for each individual, and the efficiency is also very different, so it was quite possible.
Either way, it was equally disgusting and repulsive. That’s why Lee Hyeon-seung had to continue to be bullied by the students.
At that time, Jo Eun-bi spoke quietly in the corner.
“That… but is that really Lee Hyun-seung’s cell phone? When I saw your face, it looked really unfair…”
At the story of Jo Eun-bi, the expressions of the people around her all turned cold.
Yoo Hee-yeon, who was the victim of the stalker, looked at Eun-bi Cho coldly and talked.
“Eunbi, what are you talking about? You said that bastard looked unfair? It’s an unfair expression, anyone can make it. And, have you ever seen a criminal say that he is his own criminal? Of course he would shout no and deny that he had ever done that.”
“That… is that so…”
Leaving Eunbi Jo saying absurd things, the students belonging to class A began to criticize Lee Hyunseung among themselves.
*****
the next morning.
Eunbi Jo heading to the academy, the girl felt strange.
‘Really… did Lee Hyeon-seung do such a thing…’
She had seen Lee Hyun-seung before. Jo Eun-bi said that she had seen Lee Hyun-seung sitting in the front seat every day, enthusiastically listening to class and talking to teachers with a respectful attitude. The way he enthusiastically takes classes and gets close to perfect marks in his writing every time, is close to the ideal type for Jo Eun-bi, who likes intelligent men.
That’s why Jo Eun-bi would talk to Lee Hyeon-seung from time to time.
-Hyunseung, do you know how to solve this problem? Because I really don’t know…
-Ah… this? This…
Lee Hyeon-seung was a bit awkward, but if there was a problem he didn’t know, he taught me wholeheartedly and diligently. When Lee Hyeonseung talked about magic, his expression always showed a happy smile.
Hyunseung Lee seemed to love various studies. A person who enjoys just solving problems. A person who seeks knowledge and lives passionately for the future. To Jo Eun-bi, Lee Hyeon-seung was that kind of person.
‘Really… did I really stalk…’
Hearing that Lee Hyeon-seung stalked her, Jo Eun-bi couldn’t believe it. However, at the time, the cell phone that came out of Lee Hyun-seung’s locker contained photos of Yoo Hee-yeon’s private life. Photos taken in sensitive places such as houses, cafes, and magic streaks.
That’s why Eunbi Cho had no choice but to stare at Hyunseung Lee.
-Sueug
Lee Hyeon-seung, who was being questioned by other students at the time, naturally looked at Jo Eun-bi. There were only a few close friends to Lee Hyeon-seung, and Jo Eun-bi was one of them, so it was an instinctive act to find a friend who could trust him and testify for him in adverse circumstances.
‘…’
When Lee Hyeon-seung looked at Jo Eun-bi and sent a desperate look as if asking for help, Jo Eun-bi turned her head away. When people criticized Hyunseung Lee, he pretended not to know.
Because I felt betrayed. Feeling betrayed that the man you liked stalked another woman, or disappointed that he might be a selfish person who covets other people’s training methods. In an instant, Jo Eun-bi looked at Lee Hyeon-seung like that. The man he liked turned into an obscene person in an instant.
However, after he left, questions continued to arise.
– I made it clear, I didn’t do anything. And you’re the one who spurred me on first, know that whatever happens in the future is your responsibility.
He looked really pitiful. Life, resentment, frustration, and various emotions were visible in his eyes. So it was confusing. Eunbi Cho wondered if the cell phone in Hyunseung Lee’s locker was really his.
-Jerbuck
-Jerbuck
The girl was almost at the academy’s front gate. My heart was complicated, so I went to the academy much earlier than usual today.
“Aigoo…”
Eunbi Jo found her grandmother at the main gate of the academy, whimpering and carrying waste paper. She quickly reached out and helped her grandmother.
“Aigoo… Baby, thank you… Thanks to you, I saved my breath.”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Jo Eun-bi put waste paper and a lump of paper taller than herself in her grandmother’s cart. After putting all the luggage on the cart, the old woman was looking around the academy, turning her head here and there as if she was looking for someone. Eunbi Jo, who saw that, asked her grandmother a question with a doubtful mind.
“Grandma, is there something wrong with you?”
“It’s not like that… but the student who was always here is nowhere to be seen…”
“Are you a student?”
“Yeah… I’m a student named Hyeonseung, and he helped me a lot every morning, so this grandmother brought an egg to give to that child… but it’s gone today. I’m worried that it might not be painful…”
Jo Eun-bi, she doubted her ears.
“Ho… is the student Hyunseung’s name, Hyunseung Lee?”
“Oh, that’s right. Do you know Hyunseung?”
“Yes… we know each other, but…”
The grandmother put three eggs in Jo Eun-bi’s hand and talked.
“If you see Hyunseung, could you pass me some eggs? Student Hyeonseung came out every morning without missing a day and helped this grandmother pick up the waste paper… I brought eggs today as I am grateful for helping her every day… The last time she gave it to me, she ate it so well… So I brought it today too. came I’m really worried… I wonder if you’re sick somewhere…”
– flinch
As soon as Jo Eun-bi saw the egg, she remembered a conversation she had with Lee Hyun-seung in the past.
-Hyunseung, do you have a favorite food?
– Um… no? There are no foods I like, and there are foods I don’t like.
-What?
-boiled egg. It’s not tasty, it’s tough, so I don’t eat it.
-That…is it?
Jo Eunbi pondered over her grandmother’s words.
‘Did you say it was delicious?… I’m sure… I said it was my least favorite food…’
Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind.’
‘If it’s an egg that my grandmother gave me with a grateful heart, thinking of her sincerity and forcing me to eat it, and then pretending it was delicious…’
For a moment, I got goosebumps. Because it was a plausible thing. And the question in her mind grew even bigger.
‘A nice guy like this who helps me pick up waste paper every morning and enjoys the food he hates out of sincerity… Is it really true that he stalked me?…’
-click
Eunbi Jo wondered if Lee Hyunseung had really been framed.
-Fall r
Shaking her hands, she opened her phone and called Hyunseung Lee.
-Turrr
-Turrr
-You are not answering the phone…
However, Hyunseung Lee did not answer the phone.
‘ah….’
Eunbi Cho stared blankly at the unanswered phone call for a long time.
***
-Turrr
‘What the f*ck?’
Lee Hyunseung’s cell phone rang. He looked at his phone.
‘Cho Eun-bi?’
Lee Hyun-seung recalled the situation of progress before being kicked out of the academy. At that time, Jo Eun-bi avoided Lee Hyun-seung’s eyes and did not listen to him.
‘Did you call me to say some bullsh*t?’
– Boom
‘What are you calling me now, pretending not to know when you’re being treated as an idiot. If you had a problem you didn’t know about, I helped you that way. Disgusting bastard.”
Hyunseung Lee hung up the phone without any regrets. And I looked at the man in front of me. It was the gatekeeper who guarded the entrance to the labyrinth.
“Haa… So, student. how many times are you talking Isn’t this a place anyone can enter? At least any job is good, so you have to wake up. It’s too dangerous for non-awakened people to enter.”
“Is it okay? I’ll go inside and look for something, and I’ll come out right away.”
“Ha… so that’s not okay. If there is a problem inside, only you will be in trouble.”
Hyunseung Lee entered the labyrinth and tried to find the hidden piece. What Lee Hyeon-seung wants to find is an object called the Eye of God, which can check all objects and detailed information about them. Because it is a growth-type hidden piece, the difficulty of obtaining it is low, but the grade itself is a very high artifact.
When the level of cognition increases, it is possible to confirm the source of an object or various information just by looking at the object. Even if it wasn’t that, it was also an essential artifact because it showed the enemy’s weaknesses. Above all, if Taman’s level rises in the future, you will be able to find out who the owner of the cell phone containing the evidence of Yoo Hee-yeon’s stalking is.
For reference, Tam’an is inside the Labyrinth. However, I can’t enter the labyrinth now. It’s because Lee Hyeon-seung is a non-awakened person.
Only Awakened people can enter the labyrinth where monsters exist.
Hyunseung Lee also knew this. However, he still dared to talk to the gatekeeper. It was to get his attention. After a while, Hyunseung Lee spoke.
“All right. Then I will wake up and come back.”
Hyunseung Lee had a scuffle with the man, but pretended to give up and stepped back.
“Yeah, well thought out. At least come after you wake up.”
When the gatekeeper spoke, Hyunseung Lee nodded with a kind face, took a fruit from his pocket, and rubbed it in his hand.
[Fruits of Deception]
– It is a fruit made by combining various fruits in the correct ratio. Smelling it causes temporary delirium.
Fruit of Deception, a fruit of delirium that can be made by combining various fruits commonly seen in the correct ratio. He already knew that the gatekeeper would not allow him to enter the labyrinth. That’s why I prepared it after making it at home in advance to cheat.
“Mister, do you know what the name of this fruit is? I found it on the street, because it looks unusual?”
“hmm?’
When asked with an innocent-looking face, the gatekeeper inspected the fruit up close and sniffed it without any doubt.
“It’s strange… A fruit like this…um…”
The gatekeeper began to speak more and more slurred, then stared blankly into space. The effect of the Fruit of Deception had been activated.
-Sueug
Lee Hyeon-seung entered the labyrinth, leaving the gatekeeper standing there blankly.
“Now… wait a minute, where are you going?”
The gatekeeper soon came to his senses and asked Lee Hyeon-seung a question. Then, Lee Hyunseung answered naturally.
“Of course it’s a labyrinth. Didn’t you say you could go in earlier?”
“Huh?… My… Did I?”
“Yes, he said earlier that it is okay to go in after confirming the awakened person.”
“Um… it was. I’m sorry, I’m out of my mind these days.”
I stepped on the entrance of the labyrinth, leaving behind the gatekeeper, who couldn’t properly discern what was going on.
– belt ring
-You have achieved a hidden achievement.
– The first non-awakened person to enter the labyrinth.
– Reckless challenges, achievements are achieved.
[Reckless Challenge]
▶Condition: Enter the labyrinth as a non-awakened person.
▶Reward: Acquire 3 stat distribution points.
I smiled at the message window that popped up.
‘Now is the time to grow. Yoo Hee-yeon, a b*tch like that has become so strong that it can’t be compared, and when the suspension period is over, all of that b*tch’s career will be trampled on. It will take away the chief seat, make me feel overwhelming despair, and use the coveted eye to uncover the true culprit of the stalking case and clear my name. And in the end, even the guild run by that b*tch’s father will give the dog slaughter.’
With that promise, I entered the labyrinth.