# Chapter 1
I didn’t know until that moment.
“Aren’t you going to your own room?”
I kicked repeatedly at the butt of my sister Gu Arin, who was sprawled across my bed—which I proudly considered quite large, even if not king-sized—giggling while reading some internet novel that seemed fit for middle schoolers despite being twenty years old this year. She was my mortal enemy and blood relative I was cursed to live with.
Hey, get out.
“Stop kicking me, asshole. Do you want to die?”
“‘Do you want to die?’ There’s nothing you won’t say to your oppa, you brat. Get out. I want to sleep.”
“Making a fuss about sleeping in broad daylight! You unemployed bastard.”
My blood boiled.
Hey. Hey. Unemployed?!
I might be a job-seeker who graduated but hasn’t done anything productive, just loafing around at home eating free meals! But fuck. Unemployed? That’s really rude? I’m hurt.
“Says the one reading childish books with zero plausibility.”
What. What.
Gu Arin shot me a glare as she whipped her head around, but I deliberately ignored her and climbed onto the bed. Hurry up and leave. Why are you hanging out here instead of your own room? As I grumbled and forcefully pushed her away, Arin let out a shriek. Ah, shit. You scared me. What’s wrong with you?
“Do you even know what I’m reading to be talking like that?!”
“It’s obviously some cringeworthy third-rate novel. That’s your level, Arin.”
“Shut up. I’m reading something with ‘you’ in it.”
What nonsense is she spouting now? My sister often says crazy things, so I found it difficult to grasp her meaning. I just stared at her with a perplexed expression like I was hearing a dog bark, which apparently frustrated her.
“Ugh, YOU! Gu Haejin! I’m reading something with YOU in it!!”
What?
Gu Arin violently shook the third-rate novel up and down.
Shit, you’re spitting everywhere.
“You’re in here, oppa. Even with the exact same name, ‘Gu Haejin.’ If you knew how this Gu Haejin is portrayed, you’d get so annoyed you’d burn this book immediately.”
“What did you say?”
“It’s hilarious reading about this book’s Gu Haejin while sitting next to the actual person! Nothing’s more entertaining! It feels like I’m torturing Gu Haejin, which totally satisfies my desires! Kyahahahaha!!”
This… crazy girl.
So there’s a character with my exact name, Gu Haejin, in that book, and I don’t know how bad the content is, but she finds it extremely amusing to imagine that character as me?!
I got goosebumps watching Gu Arin laugh so grotesquely. She wanted to torment me that badly. Right. This is how it should be between us. Enemies. Damn, and I’m supposed to call her my sister.
“If you’re curious, you could read it. I’ve already finished it.”
“Hey. I don’t need it, so take it and get out. You’re not taking it? Take it with you!!”
Arin, you bastard. I’m not curious!!
SLAM. With an annoying smile on her face, Arin closed the door and disappeared, leaving me forcibly holding that internet novel.
This trash. This worthless!
《Those School Gang Guys》
Oh, fuck. Look at this. The title is so damn lame. The cover alone makes me want to tear off my hands and feet! But human curiosity can sometimes be overwhelming. That’s why Pandora’s box was opened, right? Though I grimaced at the title, somehow I found myself turning to the next page.
[For high school students, the only living value was strength—the ability to survive in a world of survival of the fittest. This led to endless power struggles starting in middle school, and those who survived until high school were given the opportunity to join the Iljinhoe (School Gang Association). The strong defined justice, and that justice was realized there. The nationwide high school gangs’ association, Iljinhoe, consisted of four top-seeded factions. We called those great names like this: The Four Major Iljinhoe—Focus, Devil, Choigang, and Coup d’état.]
“Ah… Arin. Your taste is, fucking hell.”
Pure garbage. The author seemed to be playing the role of an explainer, elaborately describing things, but seriously… Iljinhoe in this day and age…? What? Focus? Deeevil?? The naming makes me shudder.
So what? Where is my name supposed to appear?
[“Ah, Gu Haejin? The apex of the second-ranked Devil…?”
“Kim Pyeonghwa, the apex of Focus. Are you declaring all-out war?”
“Hmph. Not right now, but if your ass keeps fluttering around in front of my eyes, I might eventually want to crush that Devil of yours.”
“That’s not even funny.”
“Whether it’s funny or not, we’ll see then. Just what happens when you dare to challenge us, the top-ranked Focus. It’s not just you. I’ll crush all those bastards from the third-ranked Choigang and fourth-ranked Coup d’état who go around bragging about being in Iljinhoe. I despise being lumped together with you all as the Four Major Iljinhoe.”
“The feeling is mutual. Putting my name, Gu Haejin, on the line, I’ll soon make our Devil rise to the top rank. Your Focus will just be sacrificial lambs for that moment.”]
“Hrrk… kuhk… kuuugh…”
Save me. Mom, I promise I’ll get a job soon. So please tell me I didn’t actually read this…
I had to cover my mouth and choke back sounds. My body trembled. Haejin. Gu Haejin. What are you doing here? Fuck. Ranked… ugh. The apex of the second-ranked~? The apex of Devil?? Oh my. With the same name as mine, you’ve brought me tremendous humiliation.
What is this! I understood what Arin meant by the feeling of torment. This novel’s Gu Haejin was indeed tormenting me. I want to sue for defamation. Damn it.
The high school political landscape in this book, which went beyond cringe to utter madness, simply made readers laugh. While it tried to portray a savage and serious world in its own way, it was actually just pathetic. It was the kind of dark history that would make school kids kick their blankets in embarrassment later—a nationwide gang association called Iljinh… oe and the bloody power struggles (sigh….) between these gangs, within which bloomed a romance.
The problem came next. The Iljinhoe in this awful story actually consisted of four factions, as mentioned in the explanation.
The top-ranked Iljinhoe “Focus,” with approximately 2,600 gang members, led by the national gang apex “Kim Pyeonghwa.” (Damn.)
The second-ranked Iljinhoe “Devil,” which had about 2,000 gang members, led by the culprit irritating my nerves and making Arin laugh hysterically, “Gu Haejin.” Ughhh… fuck!
Then the third-ranked Iljinhoe “Choigang,” with about 1,500 gang members, led by “Oh Eundo.” (Annoying.)
Finally, the fourth-ranked Iljinhoe “Coup d’état,” with about 1,000 gang members, led by “Jang Seoldam.” (Please.) These four factions dominated the nationwide high school gang scene.
Damn, I need to talk to the author. How can someone write such unrealistic, crazy content? I felt even worse because there was a protagonist with the exact same name as mine. The apex of the second-ranked gang, they say.
Hahaha… hahahahaha. This is insane.
I need to throw this away.
Without hesitation, I tossed the book into the trash can. Ah, now I feel at peace. I should have known from the way Arin was giggling while reading this. How dare she hurt the feelings of a pitiful, sad unemploy… no, job-seeker.
Having wasted my time on something useless, my already poor stamina was making me feel drowsy. Even that thing, which barely qualified as a book, served its purpose by making me sleepy. Yaaawn…. I buried my face in the pillow as I yawned. My eyelids grew heavy.
I’ll start job hunting tomorrow. Sayonara.
…I didn’t know until that moment.
“Devil apex, Senior Gu Haejin.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
