“Sihyeon.”
“Please don’t call me.”
Sihyeon walked while looking at a navigation app. Seowoo peeked over, craning his head to look at the phone in his hand, then noticed Sihyeon lengthening his stride as if trying to shake him off. Smiling, he quickened his pace as well.
Glancing at the screen, a small red arrow scurried along in sync with each of Sihyeon’s steps.
“I could just guide you, you know.”
“I’m more comfortable with this.”
“Even though I’d be faster?”
“I’ve got plenty of time anyway. And decide whether you’re going to speak casually or formally. It’s distracting.”
He had come out early to avoid Dawoon, so even after wasting time in what felt like a chase, it was only 7:30. They were told to arrive at the auditorium by 8:30, so there was more than enough time. When Sihyeon refused, Seowoo, who had been chattering, fell silent and obediently followed behind him.
They had clearly agreed to go their separate ways, but before he knew it, they were walking together. Even if they attended the same school, there was no way this was the only path there. Yet somehow, he was still stuck with Seowoo—and Sihyeon found it deeply uncomfortable.
“Do you know a faster route?”
“Of course.”
“Then go that way.”
“I prefer being alone.”
Since he seemed to have settled on speaking formally, Seowoo answered casually. Sihyeon responded indifferently and sped up again. He had already widened his stride to shake him off, but since Seowoo stubbornly matched his pace, the only option left was to walk even faster.
“We’re going to the same school anyway. Why do you dislike it so much?”
“I just don’t want to go with you.”
“Did I do something wrong? We only met today.”
It sounded like a complaint, but his tone was soft, so it didn’t come off as sharp. Still, Sihyeon couldn’t exactly say, Because you’re one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the strongest high school. Letting out a sigh, he instead voiced what he’d been wondering.
“Then why are you so interested in me? We just met today.”
They were clearly strangers. So why was he being this persistent? As Sihyeon threw his own words back at him, Seowoo blinked, then smiled faintly. The curve of his eyes made Sihyeon’s expression harden. One of them felt anxious and uncomfortable enough to die, while the other looked like he was frolicking in a flower field.
“You seem interesting.”
“What exactly?”
“Hmm… maybe because you’re like a hamster?”
“…….”
At the cold, flat stare, Seowoo chuckled softly. Even at the low laugh brushing against his ears, Sihyeon showed no sign of relaxing his expression. A headache crept in, and he pressed his forehead, shaking his head.
It felt like he’d gotten tangled up with a lunatic.
Maybe he’ll calm down once he sees Jung Dawoon.
Yoo Seowoo was one of the sub male leads. Right now, for some reason, he seemed interested in Sihyeon, calling him “interesting,” but once he met the female lead, things would follow the original story anyway. Swallowing his frustration, Sihyeon looked back at his phone and resumed walking.
Seowoo still stuck close beside him.
***
Considering he had come out of an alley, the distance from home to school seemed to be about a 20-minute walk. After wasting about 10 minutes bickering with Seowoo over why he was using formal speech despite them being the same age, Sihyeon arrived at the school a little past 8:10 and turned to look at Seowoo from a distance away from the school gate.
Even now, people were sneaking glances at him. He couldn’t even imagine how many eyes would be on him once he stepped inside.
And Sihyeon had absolutely no desire to be the center of that attention.
“I’ll go in first, so you come in about 10 minutes later.”
“After we came all this way together?”
“Technically, you just followed me on your own.”
It seemed he’d hit the mark, because Seowoo closed his mouth—but didn’t stop smiling. Despite the pointed remark, it didn’t seem to affect him at all, which left Sihyeon vaguely dissatisfied. As he stood there, he could feel even more gazes gathering, and he frowned.
“Anyway, let’s do that. We’ll say goodbye here and pretend we don’t know each other.”
Growing impatient, he spoke quickly. Seowoo said nothing, just stared at him. That gaze felt unsettling, and Sihyeon took a step back. Figuring he’d said enough, he turned away and headed toward the gate.
As Sihyeon walked off alone, leaving him behind, Seowoo’s eyes followed him for a long time. Standing still like a stone statue, Seowoo found Sihyeon’s earlier words echoing in his ears.
“Let’s say goodbye here and act like we don’t know each other.”
The way he had emphasized strangers while meeting his gaze was vivid and clear. His voice had been so calm, so gentle, that it lingered in Seowoo’s mind.
With a small chuckle, Seowoo replayed Sihyeon’s actions—the ones that had captured his interest without pause.
At first, when he fell, it hadn’t been particularly noteworthy. But everything after that had stood out. Acting normal one moment, then suddenly freezing as if startled by something. For some reason, he refused to give even the smallest opening and tried to avoid him at all costs.
Not only that, he openly showed annoyance and acted as though he was desperate to avoid getting entangled with him.
To Seowoo, who had only ever seen people desperate to get close to him, it was refreshingly intriguing.
The way he stayed on guard and tried to run away—it really was like a hamster.
Remembering the look of exasperation Sihyeon had given him at that comment, Seowoo shrugged once and slowly started walking toward the gate Sihyeon had disappeared through.
Without even waiting the full ten minutes Sihyeon had mentioned.
***
Was it because he had been with Seowoo? Even after passing through the gate alone, it felt like the gazes of the arriving students were still subtly directed at him. Or maybe it was because of Kang Sihyeon’s face.
Either way, it felt like being treated as a zoo animal. Uncomfortable, Sihyeon scratched at his neck. There had been a small variable, but he had successfully made it to school, so his initial goal was achieved.
Now all that remained was to enter the auditorium, finish the entrance ceremony without being noticed by Dawoon, and then move to his assigned class.
He hadn’t checked which class he was in yet, but in This Kind of Ending, ‘Kang Sihyeon’ was a relatively minor sub male lead, so he likely wouldn’t be in the same class as Dawoon. Probably a neighboring class at best, appearing occasionally as a rival to the male lead and other sub male leads.
Meanwhile, Dawoon would end up in the same class as all Four Heavenly Kings, going through every cliché imaginable and becoming the quintessential web novel heroine. Just imagining himself at the center of that chaos made his skin crawl.
After taking several deep breaths, Sihyeon headed toward the auditorium. Just in case, he checked the transparent doors, but there was no paper listing class assignments.
The moment he stepped inside, his eyes darted around as he quickly searched for Dawoon. It wasn’t difficult to find her in the crowded space. There was no need to check hair color—he just had to look where people’s attention was focused.
Sure enough, as soon as he entered, he heard several male and female students chattering.
“Isn’t she really pretty?”
Following the direction a male student pointed, Sihyeon spotted Dawoon standing near the edge of the auditorium and unconsciously gasped.
At that moment, her head seemed to turn toward him.
Startled, he quickly ducked to avoid her gaze. Keeping low, he moved to the farthest spot from where she stood and only straightened up once he had wedged himself into a corner.
Thank god Kang Sihyeon was just an ordinary sub male lead. If he had been one of the Four Heavenly Kings, his hair would’ve been red or blue or something equally eye-catching.
Come to think of it, Yoo Seowoo had platinum blond hair. Remembering how it shimmered in the sunlight, Sihyeon instinctively pressed himself further into the corner as the surroundings suddenly grew noisy, as if on cue. His eyes fixed on the entrance.
“Kyaaa—!”
Screams erupted like an idol had arrived, and everyone’s attention turned toward the entrance. As if summoned by the thought itself, Seowoo, with his platinum blond hair, appeared at the doorway.
“Kyaaa! Seowoo-nim!”
At the deafening screams from all directions, Sihyeon grimaced and let out a sigh. Watching him walk in like he was on a runway, he noticed three more unfamiliar figures behind Seowoo.
One with black hair, one with bright blue hair, and one with silver hair. A total of three entered alongside him. Seeing the four of them stride in confidently, Sihyeon instinctively realized who they were, and his face twisted.
No way…
As unease crept in, one of the female students beside him drove the final nail in the coffin.
“Kyaaa, it’s the Four Heavenly Kings of the strongest high school!”
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Horrified, Sihyeon covered his face with his pale hand. Goosebumps rose all over his skin.
The Four Heavenly Kings.
Reading it in text was one thing, but hearing it said out loud made his whole body curl up in secondhand embarrassment. The girl had said it, but somehow the shame felt like his.
Thank god he had separated from Seowoo earlier. If not, he might have ended up entering with all four of them.
Just imagining it was horrifying. Hugging his arms, Sihyeon deliberately turned his gaze away from the four attention-grabbing figures and leaned his head against the stiff auditorium wall.
From a quick glance, it seemed like the rude one and the cold one were among the black-haired and blue-haired guys, while the silver-haired one looked like the cute type. Since they were called the Four Heavenly Kings even back in middle school, they must have been inseparable for a long time.
And in high school, they’d be entangled with Dawoon.
Given Dawoon’s personality, if the rude one acted out, she might just punch him straight in the face. And then that jerk would probably brush back his hair and say something like, “You’re the first woman who’s ever hit me.” And then Jung Dawoon would—
Ugh.
That scene had been fine when he read it as a novel, but imagining it happening in real life made his stomach churn. Covering his mouth, Sihyeon turned pale as he stared ahead.
Fiction was only enjoyable because it was fiction. Seeing a cringey web novel unfold in reality made his insides twist.
Only after the Four Heavenly Kings had fully entered did the bell signaling 8:30 ring out. The grand, almost military-like chime instantly silenced the noisy auditorium.
Click. The lights on the stage, which had been off the entire time, turned on.
Under the lights, a woman who appeared to be the principal revealed herself on stage. Even from the far end of the auditorium, where she looked no bigger than a finger, her overwhelming presence was unmistakable.
The atmosphere grew solemn. Just as Sihyeon wondered if entrance ceremonies were always this heavy, a sudden bang! sounded from both sides as confetti cannons exploded. Multicolored paper rained down, and the principal’s booming voice echoed through the speakers.
“Welcome, everyone, to Mir Military Training Institution, Strongest High School!”
“Waaaaa!”
The auditorium erupted with excitement. Amid the cheers that made it feel like a festival, Sihyeon stood there in a daze, as if detached from the world, staring at the podium with his blue eyes.
‘Mir Military Training Institution.’
The syllables rang clearly in his ears, embedding themselves into his mind. Whatever it meant, Strongest High School clearly wasn’t an ordinary school, despite its name.
…That wasn’t in the story that he knew.
