While Jo Yi-shin and Kim Yoo-ri were absent for Andain's election campaign, signs of division appeared in Class 0, despite their previously strong bond built on shared strengths such as the class's relatively young average age.

Although their homeroom teacher, Ham Geun-hyeong, intended to trust the students and wait patiently, his assistant, Yong Je-geon, saw an opportunity to seize the position of class president during the turmoil. Ham Geun-hyeong, sensing this, decided to intervene.

"...Let’s settle this before the student representative election is over."

"Yes!"

The students interpreted this as permission to do whatever they wanted during the election period, thinking that they had Ham Geun-hyeong's approval. They were even more determined to do everything they could in this short span of time.

As a result, Class 0, which had split into five factions over the class president position, saw intense political maneuvering and small-scale conspiracies. The most prominent moves involved the usual neutral Group 1 trying to persuade and sway others, while Group 5, which had connections to Jo Yi-shin through Hwang Ho and Baek Ho, focused on keeping their enemies in check.

The internal conflict, fueled by temporary, factional scheming, seemed like it could drag on for a while. However, two key factors led to a resolution.

One of these factors was an outside force, which had joined the fray, declaring their intention to run for class president alongside Jo Yi-shin.

"A senior who just graduated contacted us and asked about the registration process for the class president position."

"That must be Woo Gi-hwan, right?"

"Yes, he said he was frustrated about losing to Yi-shin and Baek Ho, and now he wants to win the class president position."

"What? It was Baek Ho's fault?"

"Baek Ho's always been good at provoking others."

Although Sa Wol-se-eum mentioned Jo Yi-shin's name, naturally, the blame shifted toward Baek Ho.

Starting with Cheong Ho, the group naturally began to place the blame on Baek Ho as soon as Hwang Ho jumped in with similar remarks. The situation began to build against him.

This sparked a movement to rally the votes and eliminate one of the candidates for class president, though Baek Ho remained unmoved. He skillfully redirected the conversation, taking advantage of the attention focused on him.

"Anyway, Jo Yi-shin will never acknowledge him as our class president. He’s polite to seniors, but he’s ruthless when it comes to what matters."

"That’s true."

The murmurs of agreement grew louder.

Some of the most proactive faction members, who had been the most adamant about removing Baek Ho from the race, reluctantly acknowledged his words. While they nodded stiffly, their eyes were cold.

Baek Ho, with a sly smile, continued with a statement that no one could easily refute.

"But if a junior sincerely asks, Jo Yi-shin would probably accept. You know how considerate he is with juniors, right? And if internal divisions get worse, Jo Yi-shin might just pick someone from outside the class to be president and eliminate the seeds of discord."

Jo Yi-shin had indeed briefly considered such a possibility when he heard juniors desperately trying to become class president. The words felt uncomfortably convincing, as if they reflected his own thoughts.

Baek Ho’s words successfully gathered the class members, who now saw the wisdom in his reasoning.

"Vice presidents are weak to juniors. If we don’t pick a class president soon, there’s a risk that a junior will sway them."

"How could we let a student from another year or class become our class president? I can’t accept that unless they’re as cool and impressive as we are!"

"We need to pick a president quickly! Please vote for me!"

The class managed to rally, though they still hadn’t decided who would be the president. While their attention turned outward, the deadline Ham Geun-hyeong set loomed closer, and the class still hadn’t reached a conclusion internally.

Fortunately, Jo Yi-shin’s support speech for Andain during the student council election, and the resulting ripple effect, gave them a moment of clarity.

Some students felt ashamed, realizing that Jo Yi-shin, who genuinely cared about the school, had been wasting his time in this internal squabble over the class president position.

"Yi-shin’s been thinking about the school like this, but here we are wasting time on picking a president..."

"Green, this isn’t wasting time! We’re just investing your precious time!"

"Isn’t it a waste if there’s no return on investment?"

The Ho-jok faction, who were typically indifferent to school matters, didn’t think much of it. But the students were different. They realized that it might be better if the number of candidates for class president decreased.

At that moment, the player community’s unintended opinion about Yi-shin and Andain’s rumored relationship created an unexpected shift. The "Se-gat-sal" (rumors about the relationship) spread quickly through the class.

"People were fighting over who was dating whom. That’s better than fighting, I think."

"Just like Lena said, fighting is worse."

"Does the vice president think the same?"

"Even if he doesn’t, the people who left those comments can be found and dealt with."

"If Yi-shin wants, we could find them and deal with them."

Several voices echoed back and forth.

As the students fell silent, In Seon-oh, seizing the opportunity, made her remark.

"By choosing no one, we’ve avoided the conflict."

Although In Seon-oh didn’t explicitly say they should do anything, her intent was quickly understood. The students began to visualize what had previously been an abstract concept: by not choosing anyone, they wouldn’t fight.

"You mean, let’s all be class presidents together?"

"Yeah, Dae-seok, let’s do it together."

"Okay, I’ll do it."

"Dividing attention among many usually reduces it, but it’s better than having it taken by outsiders. I’m in favor!"

Opposing voices quickly disappeared. In the end, Hwang Ho, a prominent figure, made a practical point.

"Well, there’s no rule saying we can’t share the class president position. The unique nature of a specialized high school like this, with frequent absences due to external activities or injuries, requires flexible rules for leadership positions."

"You’re just saying that because you want to be class president too, aren’t you?"

That was, in fact, a valid criticism. If they continued down this path, it was unlikely Baek Ho would win. But if they all shared the position, it was almost certain he would.

However, since Hwang Ho wasn’t wrong, the issue was resolved. Ham Geun-hyeong, though looking somewhat exasperated, accepted the conclusion, noting that it was better than the alternative of having a class that stubbornly refused to choose a president.

"There was a class that refused to pick a president, right? Well, this is better than that."

Following Ham Geun-hyeong, Kim Yoo-ri quickly accepted the students' decision. Even amid her busy schedule with elections and such, Kim Yoo-ri, as the current class president, could sense the shifting atmosphere among the students. She concluded that it was better for everyone to work together on the class president position and happily welcomed the new "class presidents."

The "14 class presidents" were born not by chance but through a series of events.

Kim Yoo-ri, surprised by the unexpected decision, smiled warmly at the students.

"Don’t worry, Jo Yi-shin. If there’s a problem with the school system, I’ll fix it, and Andain, the next student council president, will handle the self-governing body."

Hwang Ji-ho remarked, "Does that mean you’re reassuring Yi-shin?"

Yet, the students were taking the new leadership situation seriously. As the next student council president, Cheong Ho spoke up.

"Yi-shin, I’ve been studying with the other class presidents lately. They’re really looking forward to working with you."

And despite all this talk about leadership, Yi-shin couldn’t help but feel that mid-term exams and finals should probably be the focus.

Still, seeing his peers come together for this cause, Yi-shin thought, ‘There’s no need to be overly negative. After all, there are some benefits to this.’ 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

As the year-end events began, including a celebratory dinner for Andain’s election as student council president, there was still the upcoming sports exchange with the military academy to consider.

This year’s exchange was different from last year. Despite its official status, it had been more of an event than a formal school activity. Now, with additional regulations and a larger scale, the venue had been moved to the military ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ academy grounds.

This year, the home team was the military academy, which added an extra layer of complexity.

"Hey, look, Jang Nam-uk is coming out."

At the opening ceremony of the sports exchange at the military academy, Jang Nam-uk was leading the marching cadets. His stiff movements, almost robotic, made his friends, including Yoo Sang-hoon, chuckle.

As the national anthem played and the ceremony commenced, Jang Nam-uk snapped to attention, leading the cadets with discipline.

The exchange, now formalized with the military academy, had started under the leadership of Jang Nam-uk.