# Chapter 33
“Did You Miss Me?”
I had to doubt my own eyes for a moment, wondering if the person standing in front of me really was Jang Seoldam, the Apex of Coup d’état whom gang members nationwide had been searching for without finding even a single strand of hair. But seeing his face, still as insufferably smug as ever with that smirk, I knew it was him. Did you miss me? Did you just casually ask if I missed you?
“…Since when are you speaking informally to me?”
After disappearing like a rat for two whole months, he appears out of nowhere like a ghost and has the nerve to speak so casually—it’s absurd. There was no way anything pleasant would come out of my mouth. I’m nine years older than you, by the way. Huh?
When I reacted with irritation, Jang Seoldam shrugged as if it was nothing new. Maybe it’s because I haven’t seen him in two months, or because teenagers grow every day, but he seemed to have gotten taller. His already sharp mixed-race features looked even sharper, doubling his mysterious aura.
“I really missed you. The Devil Apex, for the past two months.”
“Have you lost your mind for two months?”
“Oh, come on. Of course not.”
With his hands in his pockets, Jang Seoldam slowly approached me.
I frowned in displeasure at this guy who suddenly appeared after so long and was getting on my nerves. When our distance closed to about one step, I backed away a couple of steps and looked at him with wary eyes. He’s such a lunatic that you never know what crazy thing he might do. Stay calm, Gu Haejin.
“So what’s your angle here?”
“Angle? Don’t you understand my pure intentions of rushing here simply because I suddenly missed you, hyung?”
“No.”
At my blunt answer, as if I’d bitten into a hard pumpkin, Jang Seoldam chuckled. What’s so funny, you little shit? You know the word “pure” doesn’t suit you in the slightest, don’t you?!
“Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! It’s the Guardian of Darkness!”
“Why is the Apex of Coup d’état in our Devil sacred grounds…!!”
“Wasn’t he reported missing?!”
“Oh no. He’s confronting our Thousand-Year Prince! It’s dangerous. Call the executives!”
Ha. Shit. I had momentarily forgotten where the two of us were standing.
The front courtyard of Shinju High School.
That is, right in the middle of the main gate where the students of Shinju High—the sacred grounds of the Devil Apex—were arriving for school. Caught off guard by Jang Seoldam’s unexpected appearance, I hadn’t had a chance to notice my surroundings, and now I realized that we were surrounded by all the students, including the gang members.
Given the current state of affairs in the hierarchical world, and considering that at the center of this commotion stood the missing Apex of Coup d’état, the fact that the disappeared Jang Seoldam was now directly confronting the Apex of Devil—the faction suffering the most serious damage—was nothing short of shocking material for the HioIl community.
—and whatever else. Fuck. It’s always like this. I was about to go crazy because of these people making a fuss and watching my every move wherever I go.
Shinju High had turned into a pandemonium in an instant. The Devil gang members were shouting at the top of their lungs—why are you here, what are you doing here, what business do you have with our Apex, what have you done to Devil—but not daring to actually attack Jang Seoldam, seemingly out of fear. Watching this chaos, I quietly covered my face with my hand.
Ah. I want to die of embarrassment. Usually, in a situation like this, wouldn’t at least one or two teachers come down? At the very least, the principal should come out. Why the hell aren’t they showing their faces? Please show me what normal school life is like. This damned novel world!
“This place isn’t ideal, is it? But I don’t really care.”
“What the hell?”
Even as my face twisted with self-loathing, Seoldam was stroking his jawline, maintaining his consistently relaxed expression and smile. This lunatic. You can make such a sinister smile and still talk about having “pure” intentions?
Hoo… I let out a small sigh.
“Stop being annoying and get to the point. What have you been up to, Jang Seoldam?”
“Up to?”
“Why you disappeared for two months. And…”
“And?”
“Why traitors are popping up all over Devil.”
“Hooo…”
Hooo~?
Ugh. I wish I could just punch that irritating face of his, pretending not to know while clearly understanding what I’m talking about. Since it was certain that Jang Seoldam was connected to this, I, wearing the title of Apex, asked him directly.
“I thought the recent Gu Haejin had gotten dumber than before, but maybe not?”
“What… dumb?”
“Hmm. No comment on the first question. As for the second…”
“……”
“What could it be? Perhaps…”
After a brief pause, Jang Seoldam took another step closer to me. Startled by his face suddenly coming right up to mine, I lost my balance and started to fall backward. Jang Seoldam lightly caught me by the waist with one hand and held me firmly.
Whoa. Before I could even be surprised, he brought his lips close to my ear and whispered:
“It’s because you’re fucking incompetent.”
That playful whisper was filled with a cold sneer, more contemptuous than ever before. Jang Seoldam immediately let go of my waist and stepped back.
Incompetent…. Haha. I could only laugh hollowly.
……
The atmosphere instantly turned vicious.
Although I glared at him with my mood sinking to rock bottom, I could only keep my mouth shut because there was nothing I could refute in what he said.
Incompetent… Well, a 26-year-old unemployed job seeker who possessed the body of a high schooler—it’s not wrong to call me incompetent, is it? Right? I let out a self-deprecating laugh.
But strangely, intense irritation washed over me. It had been a long time since I felt this kind of shittiness. Was it because I had unknowingly gotten used to being idolized and praised and treated specially since possessing Gu Haejin? Or was it because my pride was hurt from painfully realizing my true place?
“Look, here come your minions.”
At his words that came as I was sinking into gloomy thoughts, I turned my head in that direction.
“Fuck. Jang Seoldam, you’re dead!”
“What are you doing to our Apex!”
“Gu Haejin Apex~!”
“Thousand-Year Prince…!!”
I blinked.
The people rushing toward us with murderous expressions were none other than the trio—Jung Ion, Park Hanseo, Shin Amin—and other remaining Devil executive gang members. They must have rushed out of the classroom after hearing about the chaotic situation at the front gate, that Jang Seoldam had appeared and was confronting me, their Apex.
They were all running toward us, calling my name with anxious voices or hurling all sorts of insults at Jang Seoldam, looking ready to tear him apart. These idiots were so recklessly foolish, even though they knew they couldn’t match Jang Seoldam in fighting ability.
This time, an absurd laugh burst out of me.
“Hey, Jang Seoldam.”
“Yes?”
“Those kids over there. That’s proof that I’m not completely incompetent yet.”
I had just thought of them as annoying and bothersome, but it seems I’ve built some kind of bond with them over time. Why had I forgotten about those kids standing firmly behind me? Even if it’s not for the real me, even if this is a ridiculous novel world, isn’t it okay? The feeling that had been crawling along the floor until now suddenly felt as light as if it could fly.
I grabbed Jang Seoldam’s collar firmly and without hesitation. I looked straight into his slightly surprised eyes.
“Even if Devil shakes, Gu Haejin doesn’t.”
“……”
“So Devil, where I am, won’t fall.”
“…Kuk…”
“That means don’t look down on me. You mere. Pathetic. Ranked 4th.”
That was hostility I impulsively revealed. When I released his collar, Jang Seoldam winced as if his neck area hurt from my grip. Yet the expression with which he looked at me was strangely bright, as if filled with ecstasy. This guy is seriously asking for a beating. Getting his collar grabbed and still grinning like an idiot.
“Now that’s the Thousand-Year Prince.”
Ugh. Damn. That stupid nickname is like a Ssang Ssang Bar!
“Want to just take a few hits?”
“I’ll pass on the journey to the afterlife for now. What happened earlier was painful enough.”
“Let’s just make it one hit.”
“…Soon.”
The guy who had been grinning suddenly changes his expression again. Shit. What are you going to do to piss me off this time, you bastard?
“It’s going to happen.”
“What?”
“All preparations are complete. I came to provoke you today because I was bored.”
I still didn’t understand what Jang Seoldam was saying. As I narrowed my eyes and glared at him, he smiled brightly and left with just one last remark.
“August 1st. Showtime.”
August 1st…? Showtime?
“Fuck. That bastard dares to enter our sacred grounds!”
“Apex. You grabbed his collar earlier, are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?!”
“For him to show up after two months right in front of our Apex… What’s going on?”
“What did that bastard say to you?”
Jang Seoldam left behind only mysterious words and disappeared leisurely. His excessively relaxed and carefree demeanor left me speechless. Even amidst the fuss of the trio who gathered around me, I just stared silently into space.
What preparations are complete, you bastard? Shit. Speak clearly, will you? Jang Seoldam. Huh? Anyway, he’s still an annoying bastard to the end. Ugh. It’s bothering me.
August 1st is Friday, about two weeks from now.
It’s the first day of summer vacation for the schools attended by the Apexes of the four major factions: Focus, Devil, Choigang, and Coup d’état.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
