I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 37 : Weekend (2)

Saturday morning.

"Straighten your back! Keep proper posture!"

"Ack!"

Despite being rolled through harsh roll calls from before sunrise, the cadets' faces were filled with happiness.

"Taking a nap after this would be truly blissful."

"Ugh. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water."

"You there! Who said you could chat!"

"We're sorry!"

After the morning training filled with blooming smiles, the instructor delivered precautionary notes.

"...Therefore, even during rest periods, make sure to maintain minimum discipline and dignity while resting."

It was a message heard all too often.

"Yes, sir!"

The cadets responded energetically, grateful even for that much.

"If an emergency situation occurs, don't forget the procedure for reporting to the assistant instructor. I'm not giving a sermon on the difference between freedom and indulgence because I don't think it's necessary."

"Yes, sir!"

"Don't betray my trust."

"Understood!"

'At least he's not making us stand in the sun to dry.'

Su-hyeon thought.

"Man, that guy is really intense."

Nam Tae-hoon stuck out his tongue, watching Su-hyeon's back as he headed to the third training field to run alone while everyone else dispersed after the morning roll call.

'No matter what, he's taking too little rest. He must know the dangers of overtraining.'

Perhaps there was some other reason he didn't know about.

Nam Tae-hoon still couldn't understand Su-hyeon.

'I get that he had to be tough because of his upbringing environment, but hmm. That alone doesn't explain so many things.'

From the beginning, Nam Tae-hoon's main targets to check were definitely the top three: Seo Jun-seong, Hwang Ji-su, and Lee Yu-jin.

In comparison, he had only suddenly become interested in Su-hyeon because of his achievements against the Ma-in Shin Jong-gil and his recommendation from Song Young-hwan, the leader of an Execution Force squad.

'But in my opinion, the most concerning one is that bastard Su-hyeon.'

What he had shown since enrollment was enough to give him that impression.

"Hmmmm. I'm not sure."

Personally, he didn't dislike his type.

What was clear was that he probably had secrets just like himself.

'Well. No instructions have come down, so I can't help it.'

A smile returned to Nam Tae-hoon's face as he organized his thoughts.

"Since it's a rare holiday, maybe I'll slack off a bit."

"Uuugh."

Hwang Ji-su asked incredulously, watching Kwon Seung-yeon agonize and mess up her own hair.

"What's wrong? You're the one who suggested we eat together."

"That's true, but."

Seung-yeon sighed.

"When I think that I should save this money and buy something more delicious for my siblings, it doesn't feel good."

"Sheesh."

Hwang Ji-su, who was well aware of Seung-yeon's situation, sighed.

"It's not like your siblings are asking you to do that. You're the family's hope anyway. Take care of yourself first. Would any of your family members want you to suffer by giving up even your own enjoyment?"

'Except maybe my parents.'

Hwang Ji-su swallowed those words.

"You're right. That's why I feel heavy-hearted."

Kwon Seung-yeon was a child who had to grow up early from a young age.

Her family had been a wealthy household running a famous local restaurant with a long history until the Gates opened.

But when the Gates opened, everything crumbled, and after a grueling evacuation that resulted in the death of most of her family, her grandfather, the only survivor, struggled to settle down and restart a small food business.

Still, since their traditional recipes hadn't disappeared, they were able to rebuild their fortune during the boom period when the rampage of demonic beasts was contained.

Eventually, when her father inherited the restaurant and was enthusiastically expanding the business.

This time, they were unfortunately caught up in the chaos of the mass emergence of Ma-in, causing their fortunes to decline once again.

In the midst of a collapsed social structure, it was difficult to expect safety nets like compensation or insurance.

And her father, who injured his hand in that turmoil, was raising three siblings very difficultly on his own.

'Shit. The truly fucked up thing is that cases like Seung-yeon's are commonplace in this era.'

Is it a consolation that they might all see light together if they endure a little more, thanks to Seung-yeon who was born with tremendous talent?

'But it's foolish to take all that on as your responsibility.'

Not voicing such thoughts was Hwang Ji-su's own consideration.

'She seems bright and cheerful on the outside, not even knowing her insides are rotting.'

Although she needed money, she didn't want to live a life obsessed with it, so she aimed for the Execution Force rather than becoming a hunter.

At times like this, she didn't like seeing her friend being constrained by money unavoidably.

'Just being prideful.'

To preserve her friend's pride, Ji-su didn't say, even jokingly, that she would help or lend money.

"I understand you need to be frugal, but you can still eat at a reasonable price range. You'll spend on food anyway, and it's not like you won't eat at all if you don't eat with him. That's not the case, right?"

Kwon Seung-yeon smacked her lips at the point-by-point accurate statement.

"Yeah. That's not the issue, but somehow my heart..."

"Enough already. Are you going to be like this until graduation?"

"Of course not."

"Don't feel guilty over unnecessary things. That's a really bad habit."

"......"

Seung-yeon nodded at her friend's sincerity.

"Okay. I get what you're saying."

"Good. That's all fine, but take care of yourself too."

Ji-su grumbled, poking Seung-yeon's side sharply.

"And are you trying to cancel after you're the one who suggested eating together?"

"Oh, that would make me feel bad."

"But I heard Jeong Su-hyeon didn't seem too eager either?"

"Yeah. You could tell he was concerned about his diet."

Seung-yeon giggled, saying she understood that feeling well.

"See? But he still agreed, right? It wouldn't be polite if you canceled now."

"Hmm, you're right. Indeed, our Ji-su always makes the right points."

"Hmph."

Ji-su snorted.

"And why are you giving it so much meaning? Are you dating now?"

"What are you saying! Are you crazy!"

"It's just friends having a meal together, so don't overthink it and just go."

"Alright, I got it."

"What are you going to eat?"

"Hmm."

At that, Seung-yeon's expression turned serious again.

"What is it?"

"...There probably isn't a place that just grills chicken breast, right?"

"Just stop it."

But the first place the two headed when they met wasn't a restaurant, but the strength training room.

"Muscle!"

"Muscllllle!"

"Your spirit is weak!"

"We're sorryyy!"

"This won't do! Since the instructor isn't here, I'll take the lead! Muscle Creed!"

"Our resolve!"

Even on weekend mornings, the strength training room was as noisy as ever.

"Hmm! You adorable little gym babies! Working hard today too, I see!"

Park Gangjeong, the fixture of the strength training room boasting 3% body fat, nodded with satisfaction seeing the two.

"After all, the real workout is the one you do on weekends when others are resting!"

"That's right, senior!"

"......"

Su-hyeon deliberately remained silent.

"Hmm. But are you resting well? Excessive overtraining is prohibited."

"Of course."

Instead, Seung-yeon cheekily responded.

"Are you replenishing your nutrition well? Diet is important, but it's not bad to occasionally eat something delicious on days like this to recover. Excessive stress isn't good for muscles."

"Ah. Actually, I'm planning to go eat something with Su-hyeon later."

"Oh? Just the two of you?"

"Yes."

At those words, Park Gangjeong's expression changed subtly.

"H-hmm. Looks good."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's nothing. Let's get those gains then."

"Yes, sir!"

"...Hmm."

After finishing the conversation and returning to his spot, Park Gangjeong muttered bitterly.

"Damn it. Some people train to death and only attract guys asking for routines, while others..."

He felt needlessly dispirited.

❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀

We finally decided to happily replenish carbohydrates and protein with pasta accompanied by steak.

"I heard that restaurant has excellent reviews. The price seems reasonable too."

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Hehe. Thanks to you, I'll get to eat something delicious."

"It's thanks to you."

When I said that, Seung-yeon poked my shoulder with her elbow, saying, "Nice line there?"

"By the way..."

While listening to Seung-yeon's story, I glanced around.

The biggest drawback of the academy was that since the hangout spots were all the same, we often ran into each other.

'It's unnecessarily distracting.'

There's nothing to be embarrassed about.

But becoming the subject of various rumors and unnecessarily increasing my visibility wasn't what I wanted.

...that's what I was thinking when.

"Ohhh? What's going on with you two!"

Kim Ho-su, who spotted us from afar, ran up to us in the blink of an eye and made a fuss.

"What! Has Class 1's first couple already formed?"

"Oh, stop it!"

Seung-yeon grimaced.

"We're just going to eat together, okay?"

"Specifically on a weekend?"

"What's the difference between weekends and weekdays? We're both on the same diet, so we eat dinner together."

"Ohooo?"

At those words, Kim Ho-su's lips curled up with even more interest.

"I didn't know that. This is quite intriguing."

"This guy, really."

Swoosh!

Kim Ho-su dodged Seung-yeon's jab with his characteristic speed and ran away, waving his hand as he disappeared.

"Have fun anyway!"

"I'll kill you if you spread rumors!"

"Even if I don't, the way you two are going around, rumors will spread anyway!"

Hmm.

That was true.

'In a small group, rumors spread quickly one way or another.'

Somehow, even going out for a meal felt tiresome.

"I'll beat you first if rumors spread!"

Seung-yeon's threat echoed emptily.

❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀

Around that time.

Song Yu-ha was having lunch with her classmates, discussing the previous day's practical training.

'Ugh, why is the mood like this.'

Everyone had gloomy faces, so Yu-ha was quietly just eating her meal.

'Sigh.'

Of course, from Class 3's perspective, it was a serious issue.

While in Class 1, as many as four out of six teams successfully completed the training.

In Class 2, only one team succeeded, and Class 3 had to accept a result of total annihilation.

"In terms of understanding characteristics, strategy, and skill, Class 1 is ahead of us in every aspect."

"That's undeniable, but accepting that they're them and we can't help it would be the end."

"But honestly, I'm not sure. In terms of combat ability, it's a given that we're at a disadvantage."

"No. I don't think we should approach it that way. If you actually look at Class 1's fighting..."

'Ah, I'm yawning.'

Yu-ha barely suppressed her yawn by pinching her leg.

"...In the end, the instructors' intention was probably for us to understand and combine team members' abilities well to achieve victory. They probably set the difficulty level of the opponents so we could win if we did that."

"That makes sense. Weren't all the Ma-in we faced C+ rank?"

"Right. B- and C+ are literally worlds apart."

"Alright. What we need to do is clear. We should review the fights and think about how we could win if we fought again now..."

'Sigh. I should have just eaten with Yu-jin. Why did I come here?'

Lost among friends discussing things seriously, Yu-ha rolled her eyes around, looking for something to watch.

'...Huh?'

A familiar figure caught her eye.

'Isn't that Su-hyeon? Who's that girl next to him?'

It couldn't be Yu-jin.

'...Could it be Seung-yeon?'

"I'm going to the bathroom for a bit!"

Yu-ha jumped up and ran to the bathroom, taking out her phone.

-Yu-jin!

-Su-hyeon is with another girl?

-Can't see well from here but it looks like Seung-yeon

-What what

-Looks like he didn't just make plans with you

-What's up with Jeong Su-hyeon~

A reply came in less than 10 seconds.

-Seung-yeon?

-They exercise together, so maybe that's why?

-That's true, but

-Looks like they're going to have lunch together?

A moment of silence.

Finally, a one-letter reply came back.

-?