# Chapter 4
After sacrificing my rotted ears and mental health, somehow that absurd grand assembly ended, and Devil held a pathetic after-party at a bar (what the fuck?) despite being just high school brats. Since there obviously wasn’t a bar that could fit 2,000 people, they formed groups centered around Shinju High School—Gu Haejin’s school and Devil’s territory—and drank and played at nearby bars.
Of course, I tried to slip away. Not only did I have zero intention of staying with this cringeworthy group, but I also urgently needed to take care of my mental health. Th-thousand-year… Prin… Ha… To actually hear that word in real life—immediate treatment appears necessary.
But the annoying trio—Ion, Hanseo, and Amin—was the problem. Fuck, they followed Gu Haejin too closely. My plan to flee without looking back was instantly ruined by these guys who refused to leave my side. Eventually, I ended up at the largest table in the center of the biggest and supposedly best pub near Shinju High, sitting with the Devil’s highest-ranking officials (fuck me).
Wow, this feeling that nothing goes my way despite supposedly being the Apex. Is this guy actually just a figurehead Apex? I desperately want to get up and bolt right now.
I had forgotten one fact.
That in “Those School Gang Guys,” all four Iljinhoe Apexes each had nicknames that were passed down like legends. Wait, they’re just high school sophomores, and even if they became Apexes as freshmen, it’s been less than two years—doesn’t “passed down like legends” sound a bit off? This novel’s vocabulary choices and plausibility are completely screwed up. Poor pitiful me, possessed into such a world. Mourn for me.
In public, they were called:
Focus Apex Kim Pyeonghwa, “Creator of Cruelty.”
Choigang Apex Oh Eundo, “Warrior of Blood Fragrance.”
Coup d’état Apex Jang Seoldam, “Guardian of Darkness.”
And… Devil Apex Gu Haejin, “Thousand-Year Prince.”
…Want to die?
Even if the main characters collectively grabbed me by the collar, I’d have nothing to say. Oh my god. How could anyone come up with such ridiculous names… When I first read these words in the novel, I instinctively recoiled, trembled, and threw the book away. Look at those terrible word combinations. Beyond cursing, they made me question if what I was reading was actually Korean… Fuck. It was shit.
Little did I know that was just the beginning of my misfortune.
Thousand-Year Prince… They say… That’s me… Ahuhuhu… Someone please help me escape from here…
“Thousand-year… Prin… Fuck…”
“Huh? What did you say?”
In the midst of experiencing endless despair and self-loathing enough to want to dig a tunnel and crawl in, I jumped and looked at Jung Ion beside me. Damn, you scared me. My heart nearly stopped, you bastard.
I swallowed once and smiled brightly as if nothing was wrong.
“Nothing at all.”
I was just cursing this world setting.
Clatter.
Huh?
Jung Ion suddenly dropped the chopsticks he was holding.
When I turned my head to look around, I saw that not only Jung Ion but all the Devil officials including Park Hanseo and Shin Amin had frozen in place while looking at me, whether holding drinks or grabbing snacks. Some were spitting out their drinks like waterfalls. Ugh, gross. What’s with them? Why are they acting like this? Feeling awkward about the suddenly heavy atmosphere and their staring eyes, I rubbed around my chin and spoke again with another awkward smile.
“What…? Is there something on my face?”
CRASH-!
What the hell?!
Park Hanseo finally dropped the beer glass he was holding. As my expression hardened looking at the miserably shattered pieces, he jumped up in surprise.
“I-I’m sorry, Apex! M-my hand slipped… gasp!!”
“Why are you apologizing to me for that? Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
Worried that he might have been cut by the glass, I took Park Hanseo’s hands and checked them carefully. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to be injured anywhere… Phew. Your body is precious, given by your parents, so you shouldn’t get hurt, right? Maybe it’s because he’s the first person I met after being possessed, but I care about him a bit more than the others. But why is he trembling so much?
“Y-yes… No, n-no. I’m fine. Not hurt at all! I’ll… I’ll go to the b-bathroom…!”
Tilting my head in confusion at Park Hanseo’s strange behavior, I looked at his face, but he yanked his arm from my hand, mumbled incoherently, and disappeared quickly. Seriously, what’s wrong with him? Hmm… Even though we’re both guys, maybe touching his hand was uncomfortable? But I was just worried about him, how embarrassing… I guess this is what they call the stormy adolescence? Hmph.
“Gu Haejin…”
“What?”
Sitting sullenly, feeling annoyed for no reason, I was called by Jung Ion. Turning to him, I found him staring at me with an incredibly complex expression. Geez. Is there really something on my face? How remarkable must it be that you can’t even speak! Not just him, but Park Hanseo earlier, and the rest of the guys who are still frozen—they’re all acting extremely weird.
“…The Apex smiled.”
“Right? I wasn’t seeing things, was I?”
“Yeah. He smiled exactly twice… What day is it today?”
“And he even gently caressed the staff member’s hands!”
“Breathtakingly beautiful, fucking hell…”
“Thousand-Year Prince… has. Arrived.”
My face began to rapidly sour.
What the hell are they saying? I simply cannot understand with my brain right now. Of course, I know what they’re saying. I’m not that stupid. But… hahaha. Why is that extremely disgusting term coming up here?
They’re whispering quietly among themselves, but the problem is I can still hear them. Everyone smiles! It’s not something so extraordinary that you need to wonder what special day it is! Don’t emphasize “arrived” with a period like that! You’ll all regret this later with embarrassment, you know?!
But there was someone who really drove the point home.
“You, did something good happen today…?”
“What?”
“Thousand-Year Prince. A nickname given because you rarely smile, if ever, being cold and rational, and because on those extremely rare occasions when you do smile, it’s so sacred that you’re known as ‘the prince with the thousand-year smile,’ the Apex of Devil, Gu Haejin….”
“……”
“And you just smiled twice.”
What are you saying, man?
“It was so genuinely sacred it was embarrassing, paralyzing us all. You shredded our souls. Park Hanseo, who received it head-on, is probably dead by now. To think he received your concern… that’s something even I haven’t experienced yet. Fuck…”
You crazy bastard, please shut up. Don’t say that like you’re upset about it.
My mouth slowly began to open. I alternately looked at the Devil members, each nodding their heads as if completely agreeing with the number two’s words, and then at the crazy Jung Ion. I… I’m really scared of these guys now. And at Jung Ion’s final words, delivered as if deeply moved, I had to close my eyes for a moment.
“You truly are our king.”
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
