I Became the Student Council President of Academy City-Chapter 83

The problem was...

'But would the Principal really send someone so suspicious?'

The fact that it seemed suspicious was itself suspicious.

"Hmm..."

What was this ominous feeling?

It felt like some unforeseen force was targeting me, like things were about to get horribly complicated—a dirty feeling.

'Enough...'

I leaned back in my chair and sighed.

'I'll take a closer look at Kim Yeon-hee during the interview. But first, I need to focus on taking down the Principal.'

That's why I was meticulously investigating Moon Chae-yeon's underground facility.

I needed to find evidence that could expose the Principal's crimes.

The top priority was to get Lee Doo-hee to resign as Principal. I had to dismantle the power that supported her and disrupt the chain of command.

'But, will the Principal really take her own life this semester?'

In the original work, the Principal was supposed to take her own life this semester.

Why would she do that?

'Perhaps it was Baek-seo's doing.'

In the original story, Baek-seo meticulously planned the assassination of the Principal and executed that plan during the second semester.

In other words, the Principal's suicide was likely the result of Baek-seo's actions. There was no other dramatic factor that could explain it.

'And that plan...'

I recalled the "Principal Assassination Plan" I had seen at Baek-seo's house.

Baek-seo had devised a plan to eliminate the Principal while avoiding Seokang-jin, the strongest of the Spartoi.

Considering Baek-seo's competence, it was an assassination plan that had a good chance of succeeding. Though now it had become an obsolete plan.

However, even if the plan had succeeded, a question remained.

'Why did it become suicide instead of an assassination?'

If the plan had gone as intended, the Principal should have died by Baek-seo's blade.

But what was the expression on the Principal's face when she committed suicide in the original story? It was serene. As if she had accepted everything and was calmly awaiting death.

Considering the Principal's previous actions, such a psychological change was incomprehensible.

How could a person change so drastically in just one semester?

'Anyway, I'm no longer sure the Principal will commit suicide.'

Therefore, I needed to prepare for the worst-case scenario, in which the Principal doesn't take her own life.

I couldn't afford to let my guard down.

Presently.

The interviews for new Disciplinary Committee members were progressing smoothly.

Kim Yeon-hee appeared nervous but answered the questions adequately. I suppose you could say she was doing well enough.

Still, she kept tapping her thigh.

'Is that Morse code... No, it doesn't seem like it.'

When I tried to interpret it as Morse code, it didn't make any sense. Maybe she was just nervous.

I glanced sideways at Baek-seo. Her eyes were fixed on the documents. It was clear she wasn't interested in the applicants.

I was worried that Baek-seo might ask an outlandish question, but it seemed that wouldn't be the case.

'Kim Yeon-hee is definitely going to pass.'

The transfer student Kim Yeon-hee had decent grades at Hanyang Federal Academy. Her combat abilities were good, and there were no significant red flags.

It was practically certain she would join the Disciplinary Committee.

Failing Kim Yeon-hee would almost be an act of misconduct.

"Thank you. Do you have any final remarks?"

Each person answered in turn.

There were extreme statements about stripping criminals of their flesh and bones, moderate statements about upholding justice, and doing their best.

Then it was Kim Yeon-hee's turn.

"I..."

Kim Yeon-hee took a moment to steady her breath before speaking.

"I want to be a Disciplinary Committee member who ensures that no criminal escapes justice and pays for their crimes. Please consider selecting me."

Her eyes were filled with determination.

Her calmness at that moment stood out compared to her earlier demeanor.

"......"

I quietly observed Kim Yeon-hee.

'Somehow...'

There was nothing particularly suspicious, but...

There was an oddly familiar feeling.

I couldn't quite identify the source of this unease.

Time passed, and the interview concluded without any issues.

I gathered the documents, stretched my shoulders, exchanged pleasantries with the other interviewers, and sent them off, leaving only me and Baek-seo in the interview room.

Baek-seo put the sorted documents into her briefcase.

"You did well, Leader."

"You too."

"We need to stay strong tomorrow, right?"

"Tomorrow too... Yes, we do."

There was another round of interviews tomorrow.

'This feels overwhelming...'

I felt like throwing up...

On the other hand, Baek-seo seemed relaxed.

"Are you heading straight to the training ground?"

"I plan to. What about you?"

"I'm heading straight home. I want to rest today."

No, she wasn't really relaxed.

Baek-seo must have been exhausted too. She just wasn't showing it.

After all, Baek-seo had also helped me with the HR work I brought over.

"Alright. Be careful on your way home. Should I bring you something for a late-night snack?"

Baek-seo shook her head with a soft, nasal sound.

"If I eat late at night, it'll be hard to restrain myself."

"Oh, right."

That made sense. Baek-seo is also a girl. And she's dating me.

She must be conscious of her weight...

Wait, hold on.

"...You meant the late-night snack, right?"

"Hmm? Who knows?"

"...?"

I tilted my head in confusion as I looked at Baek-seo.

That gentle smile of hers carried a hint of mischief.

"Well, see you later."

"Huh? Oh... Okay."

Before I could ask further, Baek-seo left the room.

At the Training Ground.

I was training my unique ability as usual.

I could feel that the penalty had been significantly delayed. Thanks to that, I was able to focus on my training without any burden, sweating profusely.

Even as Geum-yang rolled on the floor, munching on snacks, she would eerily approach and grab my hand just before the penalty kicked in.

"Hoo..."

I caught my breath, wiped the sweat, and waited for the penalty to subside.

Then I asked Geum-yang a question.

"Last time, you mentioned that it might be possible to drop a meteor from space, right?"

"Indeed."

"If that's possible... wouldn't it be more effective to open a crack near the enemy and attack them with the environment on the other side of the crack? Like using the deep-sea environment to attack them?"

Geum-yang shook her head.

"That's not possible. The environment on the other side of the crack stabilizes in the wormhole. If that were possible, I would have taught you a long time ago."

In the end, it seemed the wormhole acted as a stabilizer.

"Even in extreme environments like absolute zero or extreme heat, the same applies. To the extent that even if you create a crack connecting here and the sun, it won't matter as long as you don't cross the crack."

"The sun too...? The wormhole is that powerful?"

"You had no idea how amazing the wormhole is, did you?"

Geum-yang furrowed one of her eyebrows and shook her head in disbelief.

I frowned in response.

"How could I know when you didn't explain it?"

"Alright. Let me explain it to you."

Geum-yang stepped in front of me, extended her right index finger, and held out her left fist.

"To ignore the laws of this world and connect random spaces means creating a distortion in spacetime. What happens if you travel through a crack without a wormhole?"

She started to bring her right index finger toward her left fist but then folded her right index finger back.

"Whether it's your body or an object, it will be completely disassembled. The immense energy and unimaginable speed would be too much to handle. There's no way you could survive it."

"Hmm..."

"To successfully travel through space in such a state, the objects that go through the crack would need to be perfectly reassembled at the destination. Maybe a single atom could make it, but anything larger would struggle."

So, you'd die, basically.

Geum-yang extended her right index finger again.

"Moreover, space and time are inseparable concepts. They form a 'spacetime' continuum. Even if you successfully travel, temporal errors would occur. The side effects of that fall into the realm of the 'unknown.'"

She touched her right index finger to her left fist and then bent her right index finger wildly.

It seemed to signify that "something would happen."

"And what would happen?"

"You might end up overlapping with your counterpart in another timeline. It would be better if that were all, but more serious problems could arise. You can't take temporal errors lightly. I don't know the details."

"...So the wormhole solves all these problems?"

"Exactly. It's like a 'breakwater.'"

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Geum-yang retracted her hands.

"Space travel comes with many side effects and requires an enormous amount of energy. Moreover, to control the ability, you have to deal with the distortion of spacetime. My authority and magic overcome these challenges and are integrated into the mechanism of your spatial manipulation ability as the wormhole."

Geum-yang laughed and placed her hands on her hips proudly.

"The wormhole itself is a colossal concentration of magic energy!"

It felt like a miraculous phenomenon caused by magic...

Geum-yang pointed at me with her index finger.

"Even when you only channeled a little magic in the wormhole, the magic was amplified, right? That's why. And that's also why staying in the wormhole for too long negatively affects you."

Geum-yang then walked over to stand next to me.

"Do you understand now? Even if the crack connects to an extreme environment, the wormhole stabilizes it, and you can't change the environment of a wormhole made of extreme magical energy. What's the point of adding a drop of cold water to boiling water? The only thing you can do is release the changes that happen inside the wormhole to the outside."

"I always wondered why... I think I understand it a bit better now."

The wormhole is a massive concentration of magical energy.

That's why even a small amount of magic channeled inside the wormhole would get amplified.

"But why are you only telling me this now?"

"What's the point of telling a novice? It would only give you a headache."

"...That makes sense."

I accepted her explanation.

"Now, keep training, kid. You've still got a long way to go."

Geum-yang patted me on the back as she passed by.

'The wormhole...'

A space I was now so familiar with that I even greeted it every time I crossed a crack.

'Is there a way to apply this?'

Suddenly, a new concern arose.

Kim Yeon-hee settled into her seat at the theater with popcorn and a drink. The rest of the seats were empty.

The movie began to play on the large screen.

It was a late-night screening. And it had a very low rating.

Considering the late hour, it wasn't surprising that there were no other patrons.

However, another person entered the theater.

That person ignored the many available seats and sat next to Yeon-hee. It was a short-haired female student.

But Yeon-hee didn't look at the person sitting beside her.

"You’re here?"

She simply greeted her while munching on her popcorn.

"Yes."

The short-haired student, Baek-seo, answered calmly while keeping her gaze fixed on the screen.

"Have they gotten sloppy with surveillance?"

"Yes, it's lax. There have been more and more days like this lately. It must mean the old hag's condition has worsened."

"I see."

"...Hmm?"

Yeon-hee squinted and gave a mocking smile as she noticed the absence of Baek-seo’s weapon at her waist.

"Did you lose the Baekryun-do... really? The great Baek-seo walking around with just an ordinary sword. That's surprising. It must have been an important weapon.... Can't you even take care of your own things?"

"Oh, right. How's your thigh? It's probably healed by now, but it must have hurt quite a bit. I’m sincerely worried about any lingering psychological pain. You have such a fragile mind, after all."

"Hehe, you reacted just as I expected."

The two exchanged words with smiles on their faces.

The truth that the Principal had been sowing discord between them had come to light, and the misunderstandings had been resolved.

In the end, the feelings left between them were a mix of the anger and hatred that had developed from fighting as enemies, and... a bit of regret.

"...It's been a while since I've seen modified Morse code."

Baek-seo said.

The Principal's subordinates communicated using Morse code that had been modified according to specific rules.

During the Disciplinary Committee interview, Yeon-hee had tapped her thigh, feigning nervousness, to send the modified Morse code to Baek-seo.

Of course, Baek-seo recognized it immediately.

Through this, Yeon-hee had communicated the meeting place, time, movie being shown, seat location, and that she had something to discuss about the Principal.

"The mission must be the same as Han Seo-jin's, right?"

"Yes. There's nothing to hide."

In the last semester, Han Seo-jin's mission had been to monitor Baek-seo.

Baek-seo assumed that by now, Ahn Woo-jin would have been added to the surveillance list.

"By the way, your disguise skills are impressive. I didn’t recognize you at first."

"You would have figured it out eventually. You’d have noticed all my subtle habits. And I was already aware that your side was keeping a close eye on me."

Yeon-hee, or rather, Kim Dal-bi, took off her glasses and swept her braided silver hair forward over her shoulder.

"So, are you saying you're voluntarily giving up and surrendering?"

"I didn't have much choice~. So I changed my approach. I decided to reveal myself and talk to you directly."

"That’s quite clever. So, what do you want to talk about?"

Although the misunderstanding had been cleared, Baek-seo did not lower her guard.

She had been extremely cautious on her way to this theater, checking the surroundings thoroughly.

No matter what, the two of them were still on opposite sides. It wouldn't have been surprising if Dal-bi suddenly turned against her.

Dal-bi watched the movie playing on the screen.

It was a boring movie with a low rating, so there was no point in expecting entertainment. However, it was convenient that she didn't have to awkwardly avert her gaze.

The sound of the movie filled the ears of the two girls.

The scene showed the protagonist sneaking into a house at night, holding his breath.

His family welcomed him, but the protagonist, suffering from amnesia due to a head injury, didn't recognize them, and the family was shocked.

At that moment, Dal-bi spoke again.

"Baek-seo, tell me why you were granted freedom."

Baek-seo, despite being one of the Principal's subordinates, was now enjoying a certain level of freedom. The reason for this was kept secret.

"Why should I tell you?"

Baek-seo asked kindly.

A shadow fell over Dal-bi's lifeless eyes.

"Because I'm going to take down that damn hag. So tell me the Principal's weakness. The reason you were given freedom. It’s because you’re holding onto the Principal’s weakness, right? If you fail, I can take over."

Dal-bi had already made up her mind.

"I... just can't forgive that hag."

"You know, I haven't given up on anything either."

"...Huh?"

Dal-bi turned to Baek-seo.

"Since they're obviously going to target us soon, we can't just sit back and do nothing."

"'Us'?"

"Our Disciplinary Committee."

The situation was beyond repair.

Even though Woo-jin knew who the enemy was, he had chosen to side with Baek-seo. And Baek-seo had accepted him.

"We're going to bring that person down."

So Baek-seo was determined to fight alongside him.

"And…."

Baek-seo turned to Dal-bi, and their eyes met.

Baek-seo's gentle smile was reflected in Dal-bi's dark eyes.

"You'll be joining 'us' too, won't you?"

"...?"

Dal-bi's eyes widened in surprise. Slowly, life returned to her eyes.

"What did you just say…?"

Baek-seo's words seemed to imply that she was considering Dal-bi an ally.

Could it mean something else?

Dal-bi would need to ponder over Baek-seo's words for a while to fully grasp their meaning.

"Now that we've clarified our positions, it's settled. I haven't forgiven you for what you did to the Leader, but… they say the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"

"Are you serious? Are you really changing your mind like this?"

"Yes. It feels like the right thing to do."

Dal-bi was almost at a loss for words, but Baek-seo didn't care. It seemed Baek-seo had also been through a lot of internal struggle.

After a pause, Baek-seo made a confession.

"You know, I liked you a lot."

"What! Why are you saying that all of a sudden…!?"

Dal-bi's face turned red with embarrassment at the completely unexpected statement.

"Even though there are things about you that annoy me now, and there were misunderstandings, I had to stop you… So, I'm sorry. I did something stupid."

Baek-seo scratched her cheek awkwardly as she said this.

Dal-bi, now fully understanding Baek-seo's words, was left speechless as she fell into thought, then let out a sigh of admiration.

"Wow…. You, really…."

The words "how unfair" escaped Dal-bi's lips quietly, followed by a small chuckle.

The heavy atmosphere instantly lightened.

Dal-bi had declared her intention to oppose the Principal, and Baek-seo had resolved the misunderstandings she had held against Dal-bi.

The negative feelings between them were not that significant, and in fact, Baek-seo had even liked Dal-bi as a friend.

There was no longer anything between them that could keep them apart.

Given this, Baek-seo didn't want to leave Dal-bi on her own anymore.

"So, don't go it alone."

Baek-seo leaned in toward Dal-bi as she spoke.

"From now on, let’s do it together. We promised, didn't we?"

"Promised…?"

"Yes."

Baek-seo nodded.

She recalled a time in their childhood when they had picked peony flowers together in a flower field.

"Remember, when we picked peony flowers and vowed to properly confront that person? Back then…."

"……?"

"So, back then…."

Baek-seo's smile slowly faded.

Because Dal-bi's expression showed she couldn't recall a single memory.

A sense of foreboding gripped Baek-seo.

"When did we ever… do that…?"

Dal-bi's cautious question brought Baek-seo to a standstill.

The sound stopped. The movie had reached a quiet scene.

It was a scene where the protagonist, who had lost his memory, stared blankly at the meadow with his father, struggling to recall memories that wouldn't come.