# Chapter 2
“Devil Apex, Sunbae Gu Haejin.”
Someone called my name. Tsk, what? Has a day passed already?
Being someone who particularly hates being woken up in the middle of a good sleep, my face automatically scrunched up in annoyance. Is it time to start walking on eggshells again today? I sluggishly raised my body that had been slumped over a desk.
Wait, a desk?
I stared stupidly at the nicely textured, varnished wooden desk in front of me. Did I fall asleep on a desk? At that moment, someone spoke to me again, as if hurrying me along.
“Apex Gu Haejin.”
Grind. I ground my teeth. Apex. APEX! Ugh, why do I keep hearing that cringeworthy title?! The problem must have been that I browsed through that book yesterday. The term “Apex” gave me goosebumps and sounded so disgusting to my ears, yet somehow it was now being heard by my real ears in reality…!
I lifted my face. What? Apex?
But I immediately regretted lifting my face. I had to confront a guy in school uniform standing at attention with a tense expression frozen on his face.
My goodness, what are you?
As I stared blankly with a stiff expression, the uniformed kid—probably thinking I didn’t know who he was (which was true)—began introducing himself without being asked.
“Ah. Hello, Sunbae Gu Haejin. I’m Park Hanseo, a second-year from Shinju High School, who was promoted in rank this year and appointed as a Devil staff member! I received orders from Action Leader Jung Ion sunbae to escort the Apex…”
“Wait, stop. STOP! STOP!!”
“Yes?”
Stooooop!! My man, what did you say? Devil st-staff? Action… Leader? Aaaaapex~?! Oh, goddamn. My goosebumps. What the hell are you talking about?!
Cringe. Cringe… Not only did I wake up facing a uniformed boy I’ve never seen before, but now all these ridiculous terms are being hurled directly at my ears as if they’re perfectly normal. It was unsettling, extremely unsettling.
No way, right?
Something so unrealistic couldn’t possibly happen. And I didn’t even finish reading the book, I threw it away halfway through! Haha, no way. Like, being possessed into a book? That sort of…
“Hey. Do you have a mirror?”
“Pardon?”
“Yes or no?”
“I have a hand mirror.”
“Give it to me.”
I hastily snatched the hand mirror from the uniformed kid’s hand. I was the one who asked if he had one, but it was still surprising that he actually did. What kind of decent young man carries a hand mirror? Well, I guess it’s not impossible. Anyway, that’s not the issue right now.
I need to confirm. I absolutely need to confirm.
“…Shit…”
The uniformed kid flinched at my quiet curse. But who cares about that right now? My brain refused to process any further thoughts, as if it had crashed with a static noise—overloaded and shutting down.
Damn. So that sort of thing was actually possible!
[Pitch-black hair dark as night, and as if to match it, deep black eyes that shone just as darkly. In contrast, his skin was so white it looked almost pale. His gaze, which seemed to draw in anyone who looked at him, was indifferent enough to make his thoughts unreadable, and as cold as frost. A high, straight nose bridge like one sculpted by God, sharp jawline, and finally, blood-red lips so mesmerizing they made you swallow hard… Perfect in every way, Gu Haejin possessed looks that could enchant anyone. Ah, Gu Haejin, the Apex of Devil, ranked second. He was the most beautiful among the four Apexes.]
Fuck! FUCK! Oh shit! Damn it! Huuuuaaaargh. I must be crazy, seriously.
I despaired. And I was more confident than anyone else. My face must look more miserable than it ever has before.
The person in the mirror was Gu Haejin.
That is, not the ordinary-looking, 26-year-old job seeker Gu Haejin, but THIS Gu Haejin.
I had been possessed into that damn novel. “Those School Gang Guys,” with that disgusting title… The content was so cringeworthy and skin-crawling that I couldn’t bear to read more, reaching the universe, multiverse, omniverse, piercing through the mantle to the inner core. I ended up being possessed as Gu Haejin, the Apex of Devil, the “Rank! 2!” school gang among those rotten school gangs. …Yes, I did. I really did.
My appearance was identical to the Gu Haejin described in the novel. Well, shit. My face is incredibly handsome. But so what? Playing school gang at eighteen years old… And the scale is unnecessarily huge—a nationwide school gang!
“Apex, are you alright?”
No, I’m not alright. So shut your mouth. Don’t say the word “Apex.” The novel’s Gu Haejin must have been quite a cold and frightening person, as this kid doesn’t dare approach me, afraid of upsetting me. Still, being concerned for his Apex or whatever, he asks me in a trembling voice while I remain silent, still holding the hand mirror.
Right. What did you do wrong? You have no idea that a different personality has entered your Apex’s body.
“What’s your name again?”
When I asked his name, the uniformed kid was startled. Ah, poor thing.
“I’m Park Hanseo, a second-year from Shinju High School, promoted to Devil staff this year! It’s an honor to escort the Apex on such an important day today.”
You bastard. I take back my sympathy.
What do you mean escort? What honor? His irritating word choices made me feel annoyed. Above all, what disturbed me more was the phrase “such an important day today.” I could vaguely recall from the novel’s content what important day Park Hanseo was referring to.
‘School Gang Grand Assembly.’
According to the novel, this was a large-scale assembly held not only by the Devil school gang where Apex Gu Haejin belonged, but by all four major school gangs—Focus, Choigang, Coup d’état—taking place in the schoolyard of the school the Apex attended. All nationwide school gang members gather to boost morale, plan future directions or strategies (what are they, going to war?), celebrate small and large fights with hostile rival gangs, or just discipline their members as they please, or… issue declarations of war that would trigger incidents.
It was a massive event that could only be held by the Apex’s authority, occurring just two or three times a year at most. Right now, it’s completely incomprehensible to me—these absurd displays of power. Fortunately, it’s only held two or three times. How could anyone do this cringeworthy shit more often? Fuck. Anyway, despite being just a minor, a high school student who can’t even buy cigarettes or alcohol at a convenience store, the Apex has considerably more power here than expected.
Anyway, in the beginning of “Those School Gang Guys,” the Devil school gang holds a grand assembly. This is where Devil’s Apex Gu Haejin first appears. And I hate this scene the most. The reason is because of what Gu Haejin said here.
Gu Haejin gathered the Devil gang members and stood in the center of the podium, spouting these words:
[“As the Apex of Devil, I will behead Kim Pyeonghwa, the Apex of Focus, and rise to rank number one.”]
Damn, this guy, seriously. What are you, a prosecutor? Behead? With that normal… no, extremely handsome face, what kind of mental state do you have? It’s not like middle school syndrome hit at eighteen. I thought I would die of embarrassment for sharing the same name. No? I wanted to hide in a mouse hole in your place. You damn Apex.
Today was the day those words would be spoken. Of all times, I had to be possessed right at the moment of Gu Haejin’s declaration of war, which would have a profound impact on future events. Oh my, my fate. From this moment on, the already fierce power struggles between Focus, Choigang, Coup d’état, and the rest would transform into a tremendous mud fight. On top of that, with the appearance of a female lead who receives the love of all four Apexes, the situation would become a complete disaster. So, how did Gu Haejin end up again?
“Sunbae, we’re running out of time…”
“How would I know how this guy ended up?”
“Pardon?”
“Huh? Haha… It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
At Park Hanseo’s bewildered expression, I, lost in thought, awkwardly laughed and pushed his back. Park Hanseo responded with a dazed “Yes, yes,” trailing off before slowly starting to walk. His earlobe seems to be turning red, doesn’t it? For some reason, that bothered me, and I followed behind him, fixating on his earlobe.
Gasp. Fuck.
As soon as we stepped outside, I had to widen my eyes at the scene before me. Oh my god. What’s with all these people? I was shocked at the various uniform-clad groups standing so densely packed in the schoolyard that there wasn’t a single gap visible. Are th-those the… school gang kids…? They’re practically at the level of organized crime! This is quite a crazy world.
Shocked stiff, I barely made my way toward the podium, and the noisy crowd suddenly became as quiet as death, despite there being about 2,000 people gathered in one place. Um… surely this isn’t because of me? Please say it isn’t…
“Gu Haejin, you’re here.”
And who are you?
On the podium, besides Park Hanseo and myself who had just arrived, there were two more people. Among them, a red-haired guy with slightly tanned skin and refreshing features greeted me. Oh. While Gu Haejin has insanely beautiful looks, this guy is quite the looker too. So, unfamiliar yet familiar, seemingly unfamiliar you~ are what, a potential love interest?
This face belongs to Jung Ion, the Action Leader and number two of Devil. Apparently the only one who plays friend to Gu Haejin. As I stared fixedly, observing him, Jung Ion chuckled softly, then said with a serious face:
“Everything’s ready. I’m looking forward to what you’ll say, Savior of Devil, Apex Gu Haejin.”
For fuck’s sake.
Savior my ass. Someone please rescue me from this world. Crunch—my face crumpled mercilessly like a piece of paper. The microphone was on, and Jung Ion’s words were resonating throughout the spacious schoolyard as if traveling through the wires. In response, thunderous cheers erupted from the uniformed troops. Hah, is that how it is? These punks not doing their studies like they should.
I sneered.
I don’t know how I ended up possessed into this wretched world, but now that it’s happened, I made one resolution. I absolutely will not live as Gu Haejin, the Apex of Devil. Am I crazy? To live such a cringeworthy life as it is? Ugh. I decline.
Rankings and school gangs and whatever—I’m still just a 26-year-old job seeker. Damn it. When finding employment is as difficult as catching a star from the sky, this is no time to be playing school gang. In that sense, if reality doesn’t work out, I’m determined to succeed in getting a job, even as this Gu Haejin. Then the first thing to do is study normally. Become an ordinary Gu Haejin! Ooh, that sounds good!
So. What’s most needed right now is.
Screeeeech—
The microphone makes a tearing noise once.
“As of today, I resign as Apex.”
I quit the school gang less than a day after being possessed.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
