Kiss kiss when Dad goes to work~ Mom…
This was the 15th time. Already the 15th time today that Hamin had replayed that song, and Sihyeon’s face twisted as he bit down on his lip with a grind. Normally, he didn’t even listen to music much, but ever since that incident, he’d been playing that children’s song every chance he got. It was driving him to the brink of neurosis.
It had already been two weeks, yet Hamin still kept playing the song. Unable to take it anymore, Sihyeon threw his pencil case at him. As expected, Lee Hamin dodged it far too easily. Seeing him avoid it so effortlessly made Sihyeon’s insides burn.
“Can you tone it down?”
“Why? It’s such a great song.”
“Hey.”
“I heard there are stories going around among the girls that you and Yoo Seowoo are dating.”
“What?”
“With just one kiss, you’ve become a superstar, Kang Sihyeon?”
It was just a peck!
Unable to shout it out loud, Sihyeon corrected him inwardly and clenched his fist. This was all because of that damned talent show. The talent show that started on Friday had ended with cheers and applause, far from the mountain of worries he’d had. He’d danced better than expected, and the reaction had been even better. Yes, it ended well. Except for that little incident in the latter half of the performance.
There was a move in the choreography where they got close enough to almost kiss, matching the lyric about stealing lips. Feeling uncomfortable doing that move in front of everyone, Sihyeon had tried to back off—but he fell for Yoo Seowoo’s provocation and ended up grabbing him by the collar during the next turn of the choreography. Sure, seeing Yoo Seowoo’s flustered expression had been fine. The problem came after that.
How was he supposed to know that, in sync with the lyric about stealing lips, his lips would actually get stolen?
Despite being taller, Yoo Seowoo got yanked forward just as sharply when Sihyeon pulled him—and the two collided. If they’d just bumped heads, it would’ve been laughable and over with, but unfortunately, the point of impact was their lips. Without a doubt, the cheers at that moment were the loudest of the entire performance.
After that, Yoo Seowoo kept smiling vaguely whenever he saw him, skipped meals that day with a look of utter shock on his face, and Lee Hamin teased him nonstop. Even now, just thinking about it made Sihyeon’s blood pressure spike—but Hamin, fully aware of that, still kept playing that damned song.
“Ah.”
Just thinking about it made his blood pressure rise again. Grabbing the back of his neck, Sihyeon tightened his fist. As his curled hand trembled slightly, Haru’s hand gently overlapped his.
“You should hold back.”
At the quiet attempt to comfort him, Sihyeon took a deep breath and, still frowning, looked at Hamin. As he muttered under his breath like a chant for him to go kiss Kang Haeun instead, Haeun, who heard it, twisted his body shyly. Watching that, Hamin frowned—and only then did Sihyeon feel a bit of relief.
Though quite some time had passed since they entered, Sihyeon stared at the door that still hadn’t opened.
“Are they building a road just to get here or what?”
Hamin, who followed his gaze, propped his chin on his hand and grumbled about their teammates who still hadn’t arrived. This was their first meeting before the Monthly Evaluation, yet being late already didn’t bode well for their reputation. Sihyeon recalled the notice for the Monthly Evaluation, which had come earlier than usual since the closing ceremony was on July 29.
[Monthly Evaluation Notice]
1st Year, 1st Semester, 3rd Monthly Evaluation
Topic: Cooperation
Details: Eliminate Irregulars together with your team members. The evaluation will focus entirely on teamwork and coordination displayed during the elimination process. This is a group evaluation, and the team’s score will be applied equally to each member, so no individual report cards will be issued. The Irregulars you must eliminate and your teammates will be revealed after you arrive at the designated team meeting room, which will be notified via Pairing three days before the evaluation. Teammates will be randomly assigned four days before the evaluation.
Type: Group Evaluation
Date: July 19
Note: You and your partner are required to be on the same team, and each team will consist of a total of 8 members.
Today was exactly three days before the Monthly Evaluation mentioned in the notice. Following the instruction sent through the Pairing to move to Meeting Room B, Sihyeon left the classroom with Haru—only to find, strangely, that Hamin and Haeun were heading in the same direction. He’d thought, No way…, but they ended up entering the same meeting room, and it had already been ten minutes since he’d grabbed the back of his neck in disbelief. The other four teammates who were supposed to join them still hadn’t shown up. Hamin’s comment about them building a road to get here felt all too accurate.
“Don’t tell me there are four from Class A, so to balance it out, our group only has four members?”
“That’d actually be great.”
At Haeun’s assumption, Hamin responded. It was much more comfortable teaming up with three people you already knew than with strangers you’d only seen a few times—or never at all. Besides, being from Class A meant their skills were guaranteed. Sihyeon also agreed with Hamin’s opinion when Haru, shoulders twitching slightly, stared at the door.
“…I think they’re coming.”
As the one with the sharpest hearing among the four, Haru’s words drew everyone’s attention to the closed door. Soon, it slowly opened, and a female student with reddish hair falling to her shoulders appeared.
“…Gasp!”
Seeing the members in the room, the girl stepped back in surprise. Haeun let out a whistle and greeted her brightly. Behind the hesitantly entering girl was another—perhaps her partner—with black hair falling past her shoulders and dark eyes. She looked strangely familiar to Sihyeon.
Where have I seen her before…
As he stared at her, trying to recall, the girl—like the one before her—seemed startled upon seeing the group and turned toward Sihyeon. When their eyes met, she lowered her head.
“Hey, isn’t she the one Sihyeon saved before?”
Haeun recognized her before Sihyeon did, despite Sihyeon having seen her up close. Only then did Sihyeon let out an “Ah” and look at her.
“You’re on Team B?”
“Huh? Yeah… I’m Ha Yeon from Class C.”
“Single-syllable name?”
“Yeah.”
She nodded. Since the girl who introduced herself as Yesol sat next to Hamin, Ha Yeon naturally took the seat beside Sihyeon. When Sihyeon glanced at her, she followed his gaze and then lowered her head again.
“Thank you for earlier.”
A quiet expression of gratitude reached him. Sihyeon nodded, then turned his gaze as he heard the door open again. The student entering this time was also a familiar face.
“Wow, this is like the Avengers…?”
A boy about his height widened his eyes as he spoke. It was a face Sihyeon had seen a few times before.
“I’m Shin Yijae from Class B. I’m one of the younger ones, so I’ll just use formal speech.”
The boy who had ranked before spoke as if filling Kang Donghyeok’s spot. Four from Class A, two from Class B, and two from Class C. Even with four from Class A, filling the rest with Class D might not have balanced things—but instead, another ranked student had been added. Understanding what Shin Yijae meant by “Avengers,” Sihyeon listened as he introduced his partner, his expression turning slightly uneasy.
With this lineup, even if other groups complained, it would be understandable. Including Kwon Yesol, Ha Yeon, Shin Yijae, and his partner Choi Hajin—four unfamiliar people in total. As the evaluation with them loomed, Sihyeon felt a weight settle over his hand. Only then did he realize Haru’s hand was still resting on top of his. As if to calm the visibly tense Haru, Sihyeon gently patted it a few times.
Once all eight were seated, music began to play from the speaker in the meeting room.
Kiss kiss when Dad goes to work~
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Of all songs, it had to be that one. Pfft—Hamin burst into laughter, while Haeun slapped the table and laughed loudly. The others, who didn’t understand, looked at them in confusion. Watching that, Sihyeon clenched his fist. This time, Haru tapped his hand. A sigh escaped Sihyeon’s lips. Then, a cheerful voice came through the speaker.
“Ahem, hello Team B!”
“It’s the homeroom teacher!”
Recognizing the familiar voice, Haeun waved enthusiastically. Even though they couldn’t see him, he cheerfully greeted back. After a brief crackle, the voice of Class A’s homeroom teacher came through the speaker.
“I’m Lee Hyeji, the teacher in charge of Team B! Now, I’ll explain the Irregulars you’ll be eliminating and the precautions for the evaluation.”
At the mention of the Irregulars they had to eliminate, the students instinctively leaned slightly toward the speaker.
“In this evaluation, you will be facing a proper ‘Warning-level’ Irregular for the first time! The group assigned to Team B is an ‘Orc’ unit—one of the more dangerous types even among Warning-level Irregulars. You’ll be facing a force equivalent to a single unit.”
“What?”
Yesol shouted in shock—not because of the target itself, but because of the phrase a single unit. Orcs, who lived in groups, typically had 30 to 40 members per unit. The idea of eight people facing that many Warning-level Irregulars made everyone frown—but the teacher continued with something even worse.
“There are two clear conditions. First, you may eliminate the Orc Lord. Among the nearly 40 Orcs, you must identify the Lord and kill it. Second, you may eliminate at least 20 Orcs.”
“That’s tough…”
Unlike the teacher’s bright tone, Shin Yijae’s expression darkened. A Lord—the leader of an Irregular group—possessed at least twice the power of ordinary individuals of the same type, commanded the group, and could even open Rifts. Sihyeon’s expression darkened as well; he hadn’t expected a Lord to be included.
“Each team receives a different mission, with difficulty adjusted based on the team’s skill level. Team B’s mission has been slightly increased to match your abilities. But I believe you’ll do well. Now, I’ll go over the precautions.”
At the word increased, Sihyeon let out a groan, lamenting his fate. It felt like Team B had the highest difficulty.
“Since this is a cooperative mission, having only a few highly skilled members carry the team will not result in a high score. This evaluation requires proper role distribution. Please take on roles suited to your class and abilities, and demonstrate teamwork with your teammates.”
In other words, unlike before, Hamin or Haru couldn’t dominate alone. Even if someone was far weaker than the others, they still had to fulfill their role. And even if someone was overwhelmingly strong, they were expected to contribute only their share. In that sense, having four from Class A might actually be a disadvantage—since it only raised the difficulty.
“Until the Monthly Evaluation, you may only conduct meetings and training in Team B’s meeting room and training room. Personal training rooms are not allowed. Good luck, Team B!”
With that, the voice from the speaker cut off. Unlike the teacher’s cheerful farewell, the atmosphere in the meeting room grew heavy. Sihyeon let out a low hum. As expected of the final evaluation of the semester, it was far more demanding than the previous ones.
“First, let’s go around and state our classes, then figure out our overall strength. That way, we can decide whether to go for the Lord route or the 20-kill route.”
After a moment of thought, Sihyeon spoke, and Hamin started, followed by the others. Yesol was a Swordsman, Ha Yeon a Sniper, and Hajin an Alchemist—a class Sihyeon had never heard of. When Sihyeon showed brief interest, Hajin waved his hands, saying he mostly just threw potions and bombs. Nodding, Sihyeon then looked at Shin Yijae, who hadn’t spoken yet.
Whatever his class was, being ranked meant his skill was guaranteed. Thinking that, Sihyeon watched him. Receiving the gaze of all seven others, Shin Yijae’s squirrel-like face flushed red, and he smiled awkwardly.
“Everyone’s looking at me, so this is kind of embarrassing…”
“So what’s your class?”
“Ah, I’m a Berserker.”
A Berserker, a Berserker.
The boy said it with a bright smile. The word echoed in Sihyeon’s ears. He had been about to nod—but then he froze. Shin Yijae, who looked about his size or even smaller, was a…
“Berserker?”
Everyone reacted in surprise. Perhaps used to such reactions, Shin Yijae simply smiled innocently with that cute face.
