HLSEBT - 63

Kang Jin-ho swiftly snatched the device.

“Such a rude brat.”

“Does this only contain data about the first round?”

“The second round is still undisclosed even to the teachers. How could we know what the company hasn’t revealed?”

“You’re sure about this, right?”

“What do you think? What would I gain by lying to you?”

“Don’t even think about replacing me,” Kang Jin-ho growled through gritted teeth, showing Goh Myeong-seong the spot where his bandages were wrapped.

“It’s just a light sprain.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Aren’t you the one who’s supposed to deliver the message? I’m different from that bastard Kwon Min-gi. No side effects, and I can graduate at the top of my class.”

“Stop whining and talk…”

“You know our sales doubled because of me, right?”

Goh Myeong-seong placated Kang Jin-ho, who was brimming with desperation. Each time he patted his shoulder, Kang Jin-ho made a face as if live bugs were crawling in his mouth.

“I know everything. Those people are setting the stage—who wouldn’t know?”

“Then why did they tell us so late that all evaluations would be team battles?”

“I swear, we didn’t know either! There were rumors it might happen, but no one expected it to start this year.”

What a suspicious brat. Goh Myeong-seong found Kang Jin-ho tiresome. At least Kwon Min-gi didn’t complain as long as he got his enhancers on time.

“Uncle.”

“What?”

Goh Myeong-seong, violating the school’s no-smoking policy, lit a cigarette and grumbled.

“Promise me something. If they try to change the rankings, intervene at least once.”

“Tsk… What power do I have? My job is just ladling rice with a shovel.”

Kang Jin-ho pulled out an envelope made from torn textbook pages and shoved it into Goh Myeong-seong’s pocket while he smoked.

After subtly feeling the thickness of the envelope, Goh Myeong-seong exhaled smoke toward Kang Jin-ho and chuckled. The smoke draped over his uneven face like a curtain.

“How much do I care for you… Where else in this world would you find talent like Kang Jin-ho?”

“Also, keep an eye on whether that bastard Hwang Seong-bin approaches other espers. Make sure he doesn’t pass my share to another promising esper instead of me.”

“That much… I can do as a service. After all, every place you pick up your enhancers is under my control.”

Having extracted multiple promises, Kang Jin-ho turned around.

Watching his sturdy back, Goh Myeong-seong sneered at the foolish boy. Was rank really that important? Despite being at the school for so long, espers seemed like nothing more than dumb kids with big bodies to him.

To an ordinary person like him, they were merely gullible prey that boosted the earnings of his side hustle.

After finishing his cigarette cleanly, he called out casually before Kang Jin-ho disappeared.

“Who’s your opponent for the first round? I haven’t heard about that.”

“What use is knowing the names of those who’ll die?”

With that eerie reply, Kang Jin-ho vanished back into the shadows.

Goh Myeong-seong didn’t toss the cigarette butt on the ground but wrapped it in tissue from his pocket before leaving.

The only thing left behind was the long-broken CCTV camera.

________________________________________

“They’re moving exactly as planned.”

Yoon Tae-ha reviewed the information collected by the pre-installed camera. She nudged Cheon Geon-young’s elbow beside her.

Cheon Geon-young, who had been downloading last year’s evaluation videos onto a tablet, turned his head.

Since early morning on the weekend, the two had been pretending to prepare for the evaluations at the library.

Students who noticed the transfer student exchanged coded glances as they passed by.

A clicking sound caused her to turn around, revealing someone hastily teleporting away. Fortunately, it was just a low-level teleporter.

Limited to horizontal movement, they were easily spotted by Yoon Tae-ha. Seeing no need to catch them, she let them escape.

“There’s quite a gap between levels in teleportation abilities.”

Cheon Geon-young knew his esper could cross the Hangang Bridge in the blink of an eye. A hint of pride lingered in his voice.

Equally proud of her own mobility skill, Yoon Tae-ha straightened her chest confidently.

“There’s not much difference between low and mid-levels. The jump from mid to high is what’s difficult.”

Glancing at an approaching student, Yoon Tae-ha added naturally,

“Teleportation is the ability I want most.”

Cheon Geon-young tapped the screen with his pen and smiled faintly. When a student fetching water from the nearby water dispenser disappeared, she whispered again.

“Low-level teleportation has a horizontal range of 10 meters. They can’t even pass through glass. Mid-level teleportation requires a horizontal range of 30 meters and vertical movement of 10 meters.”

“Vertical movement is tough.”

“A whole truckload of kids break their legs trying to go up. It’s lucky if they only hurt themselves. More often, they end up injuring companions too.”

“I must’ve picked a good parachute, then.”

Autumn sunlight poured over Cheon Geon-young’s black hair as he scribbled something. A cool breeze blew through the open window across from them.

“With luck like that, what don’t you have?”

Watching his fluttering bangs, Yoon Tae-ha chimed in agreement. Cheon Geon-young, lifting his head, continued.

“What about high-level teleportation?”

“High-level requires a horizontal range of at least 100 meters and vertical movement of 30 meters. That’s where the range really jumps.”

“Equivalent to a five-story building.”

“There aren’t any 100-story apartments in the anarchic zones… So that’s actually decent.”

He handed her the downloaded materials on the tablet.

Yoon Tae-ha began reviewing the video at five times speed, checking if the dungeon-clearing methods matched what she knew.

Cheon Geon-young started watching her as she leaned her chin on her hand, engrossed in the video.

The shadow created by the curtains rippled over the two-person desk near the window.

Every three movements of the shadow, her hand moved in sync. She spun the pen between her fingers or marked the air when something displeased her.

Her tie had loosened again, as if it had never been neat. It was only tidy on the day of their meeting. She never fastened the top button of her shirt.

The wind grew stronger, brushing against her fallen hair. Annoyed, she furrowed her brow slightly and tucked her hair behind her ear.

As the distraction disappeared, his gaze deepened.

Was it okay for her to concentrate so deeply with someone beside her? Suddenly dissatisfied, he couldn’t resist breaking the silence.

“Jeong Seong-ha.”

She raised her head a beat later, eyes widening as if the name sounded unfamiliar. Any guilt over interrupting her focus melted away like snow. Not even leaves remained in this season.

“What do you call someone who can move from building to building?”

Hearing the question, she blinked. Then, leaning back, she checked the opposite side of Cheon Geon-young. Confirming no one was there, she finally spoke.

In a very small voice, as if calling someone else’s name.

“Yoon Tae-ha.”

Satisfied with her answer, she smirked and returned her attention to the screen.

A strong gust caused the curtains to rise wildly, charging toward Cheon Geon-young. Reflexively, he leaned back. Watching her partner suffer this sudden “attack,” Yoon Tae-ha shook her head.

“Are you an idiot?”

She placed a black hair tie from her wrist onto his palm. It was the type nine out of ten female students used.

“Use this to tie the curtains.”

“What a waste.”

“…What? Didn’t you buy it and give it to me?”

“It could still be a waste.”

He wasn’t the type to lament over a pack of three hair ties costing a thousand won.

Shrugging, she said if he thought it wasteful, he didn’t have to tie them. Picking up her pen again, she refocused on the video.

Cheon Geon-young glared at the flapping curtains before standing and closing the window.

After spending the morning in the library, lunchtime arrived.

The two compromised on replacing cafeteria food with sandwiches from the school store.

The first reason lunch became sandwiches was, of course, the abysmal cafeteria food. There was a second reason too. Cheon Geon-young promised to show her how to purchase enhancers.

Boldly, not long after the free sample candies were distributed, enhancers began to circulate.

Yoon Tae-ha planned to pretend to be a regular student buying enhancers ahead of today’s evaluation.

The convenience store, with its air conditioning cranked up, was bustling with students. Most held snacks in one hand and writing utensils in the other.

“What kind of sandwich should we get?”

“Double ham and cheese.”

“What about drinks?”

“Vanilla shake.”

Ordering the most classic menu items, Cheon Geon-young left to buy the sandwiches.

Following his instructions, Yoon Tae-ha moved.

I’m doing something bad right now.

Self-suggesting, she headed to the stationery section. Notebooks and three-color ballpoint pens were the main products.

Pretending to browse notebooks, she wandered until a group of espers appeared, whispering among themselves. She perked her ears.

“…Didn’t the price go up this time?”

The espers glanced her way, assuming the noise would drown out their conversation, and began whispering.

“Did yours go up too? What level did you buy?”

“S-level.”

“Hey, I bought S-level too, but it’s 1.5 times last year’s price. And the quantity decreased…”

The convenience store was noisy. Only someone with her heightened senses could eavesdrop.

“No choice since my partner sucks. Plus, everyone’s trying to buy this time.”

“Aren’t they saying they’re out of stock?”

“Some guy almost bought all the SSS-level ones.”

“Almost a million won per dose—do you know who?”

“No clue. Some heartless bastard with no ethics.”

Here, the students spoke freely. She understood why they openly discussed enhancers in the convenience store.

“Isn’t he doing this to prevent others from buying?”

“Hey… That makes sense. It’s true!”

“He’s hoarding it all for himself, throwing money around!”

“Such a jerk.”

The convenience store supplied enhancers. Payment was handled individually, transferred to Hwang Seong-bin, and students only picked up the enhancers here.

The students planned to pass off transactions as borrowing money if caught.

Hwang Seong-bin didn’t fully trust his friends. He feared they might steal enhancers for personal profit.

“This is her first time buying.”

“Really? Easy. Just grab a pen.”

The girl buying enhancers for the first time nodded nervously.

Yoon Tae-ha tracked their movements through the shelves. Encouraged by her friends, the girl soon picked a thick three-color ballpoint pen from the container.