novelraw Chapter 14 : Chapter 14
Chapter 14 : Chapter 14
Chapter 14. Clumsy Justice (2)
A park inside Glory Academy.
On a bench in that park, Kim Su-hyeok had his eyes closed, recalling what had happened earlier in the day.
"Clumsy justice..."
The words Choi Yu-seong had said to him.
For Kim Su-hyeok, those were words he could never simply brush off.
It was especially true because justice was the sole driving force that allowed him to move forward without giving up.
"But it's not like Yu-seong's words were wrong."
Of course, he did not know what the outcome would have been. His actions might not have been wrong.
However, Choi Yu-seong's words were also right.
In the end, that Cadet was in a different class from him, and he would not have been able to continuously protect that Cadet.
"Were my actions irresponsible?"
A justice that he thought was right simply by acting upon it.
However, the clumsy justice that Choi Yu-seong mentioned had completely denied the justice he had believed in.
If it was a justice he could not take responsibility for until the end, it might be right not to act on it in the first place.
"Then what am I supposed to fight for?"
He was afraid. Was what he was doing truly right? What if someone ended up suffering even greater harm because of him? Thinking like that terrified him.
"Haa..."
Kim Su-hyeok buried his face in his hands and let out a deep sigh.
No matter how much he thought about it, he could not come up with any proper answer, leaving him feeling incredibly frustrated.
Just then, someone spoke to the despairing Kim Su-hyeok.
"What exactly are you doing here?"
"Huh? Jin-oh."
The person who spoke to him was Ryu Jin-oh.
Ryu Jin-oh, who seemed to have just finished his training, swept back his still-damp hair and stared at Kim Su-hyeok.
"It is quite a sight, watching you mope around alone. Do you have time overflowing?"
"Haha... Tell me about it. I wish I had time overflowing."
"What are you talking about?"
Ryu Jin-oh frowned heavily at Kim Su-hyeok's reaction.
Because usually, Kim Su-hyeok would have grinned foolishly and given an irrelevant reply, asking if he had trained hard.
While Ryu Jin-oh was having those thoughts, Kim Su-hyeok called his name.
"Jin-oh."
"Gross. Do not call this great me like that."
"Haha, but Jin-oh is Jin-oh, so what else should I call you?"
"Tsk, so why did you call me?"
Kim Su-hyeok, who had been pondering Ryu Jin-oh's response for a moment, soon opened his mouth.
Because to Kim Su-hyeok, clumsy justice was too difficult of a problem to solve and find an answer to entirely on his own.
"What did you enter this academy for?"
"You are asking the obvious. For the honor of my family, and to obtain the strength to reign at the absolute top."
"Then... hypothetically speaking. If you realized that what you had been doing in that process was wrong, what would you do?"
"What kind of nonsense is that? I have done nothing wrong."
"I am not saying you did, but what if."
Ryu Jin-oh briefly pondered Kim Su-hyeok's words. However, that pondering did not last long.
Soon, he stared at Kim Su-hyeok with an even deeper frown than before.
"Is that the reason you were moping around?"
"......."
"How funny. To think you were moping around over something as trivial as that."
Ryu Jin-oh's words were quite harsh, but Kim Su-hyeok did not say anything about them.
Because they had known each other even before coming to Glory, he was already aware of Ryu Jin-oh's personality.
Therefore, Kim Su-hyeok simply waited for the answer Ryu Jin-oh would give him.
And Ryu Jin-oh, who had paused for a moment, soon continued speaking.
"Start over from the beginning."
"What?"
"Did your ears get blocked too from doing things you don't normally do, Kim Su-hyeok?"
Having said that, Ryu Jin-oh repeated his answer once again.
"There is no way I would make a mistake, but if I did, this great me would just start over."
As he said that, Ryu Jin-oh's eyes were shining incredibly bright.
Eyes so bright that they would make even the moonlight floating in the sky pale in comparison.
"Start over?"
"Yes. If it were a dream I would give up on after a single mistake, I wouldn't have dreamed it in the first place."
"......."
"I do not know what you heard, but was your dream so fragile that it would collapse from something like that?"
"That is..."
"You had better not say that it is."
Ryu Jin-oh looked at Kim Su-hyeok with a fierce expression.
"Because I do not want to hear that the guy who was ahead of me was just a piece of trash with such a weak goal."
Kim Su-hyeok had no choice but to shut his mouth at those words.
At the same time, he recalled the goal he had held onto.
The goal he had steadily run toward without changing even once since his childhood.
'A world where no one is unhappy.'
Perhaps it was a nonsensical dream. It might even be an impossible dream.
However, he had never once thought about giving up just because it was a nonsensical or impossible dream.
"Jin-oh."
"What is it this time?"
"Thank you. I am glad I ran into you today."
"Tsk, gross!"
Ryu Jin-oh made a look of pure disgust at Kim Su-hyeok's words.
However, Kim Su-hyeok paid no mind to Ryu Jin-oh's reaction and smiled brightly.
Because from Kim Su-hyeok's perspective, he truly meant it.
'If it wasn't for Jin-oh, I probably wouldn't have heard such a clear answer.'
Because Ryu Jin-oh was a man who was more confident in himself than anyone else.
He was a man whose self-esteem could be called the strongest in the world.
'I just need to act like Jin-oh.'
If it was a wrong action, I just need to repent and start over.
If clumsy justice is an action that causes harm, I just need to realize perfect justice.
All I have to do is not repeat my mistakes in the future, right?
Thinking like that made him feel as if his mind was finally at ease.
'I will have to talk to Yu-seong about this later.'
Because now that he had solidified his firm resolve, he felt there would be no problem helping that Cadet.
But before that, there was something he had to do first.
Kim Su-hyeok looked at Ryu Jin-oh with serious eyes and spoke.
"Jin-oh. But if you walk around without drying your hair, you'll catch a cold, you know?"
...Kim Su-hyeok had a much more meticulous personality than one would think.
***
A weekday afternoon with warm sunlight and a slightly chilly breeze.
At the time when everyone was off to work for their daily routines, I left the academy and was walking down the streets of Seoul.
'Whew, yesterday was really something...'
When I told Im Seong-cheol I was going out on a weekday, I thought I was really going to die.
Without a single lie, I think I genuinely listened to his nagging for three hours.
Things like how it made no sense to skip classes no matter what, and how it was troubling to do this during the most crucial beginning of the first year, and so on.
Still, fortunately, I got his permission.
If I had listened to all that nagging and still didn't get permission... Let's just stop there.
"It should be in sight around now... Ah, there it is."
The only reason I came to Seoul was to meet Shin Yu-hwan.
Therefore, while wandering around looking for where Shin Yu-hwan would be, I was able to spot a certain building.
A building roughly ten stories high. It was a place where government-affiliated Players operated.
"The timing might not match up, so I should hurry and go."
In principle, first-year Cadets of Glory are not allowed to meet with Players affiliated with any organization until the Midterm Exams are over.
A system created to prevent talented Cadets from being pestered by scouts.
So, I needed to meet Shin Yu-hwan as quickly as possible.
Because waiting until the Midterm Exams would be too late.
SWISH.
Fitting for a high-class building, even the sound of the doors opening was truly smooth.
Having entered the building, I first walked toward the direction of the front desk.
"Hello. What brings you here today?"
The receptionist who spoke to me as I arrived at the desk. I replied to her question in a polite voice.
"I came to meet Mr. Shin Yu-hwan."
"Did you schedule an appointment?"
"No."
"In that case, you might have to wait a long time. Player Shin Yu-hwan is a very busy person, so..."
I snorted inwardly at the receptionist's words.
A very busy person? Other than catching Villains, Shin Yu-hwan is someone who just fools around every day.
'Still, she probably can't say that to an outsider.'
However, I did not have the time to sit quietly and wait.
Pondering how I could meet Shin Yu-hwan right away, I soon spoke to the receptionist.
"Then could you pass this message along to Mr. Shin Yu-hwan for me?"
"Please go ahead."
"Tell him that the boy he met at the Exhibition Hall has come to see him."
I felt it back then, but Shin Yu-hwan did seem to have some level of interest in me.
That being said, I did not know whether he would actually meet me or not.
Because he had such a peculiar personality, even I, who had read the novel, could not predict him.
Still, upon hearing my words, the lobby receptionist started making a call somewhere.
"Yes. Yes... So in the lobby... Yes. Understood."
Soon after finishing the call, the receptionist turned her head back to me.
"He says it is okay for you to come in. He is usually someone who doesn't let just anyone in, so you must be quite close with him."
"Ah. Yes. Something like that."
We are not particularly close, though. Exchanging just a few words is all we have done.
However, it was not a bad misunderstanding, so I did not go out of my way to correct her.
"Mr. Shin Yu-hwan is in the office you'll see right as you get off on the 9th floor. He uses the 9th floor all by himself, so it will be easy to find."
"Thank you."
After ending the short conversation, I followed the receptionist's directions and took the elevator up to the 9th floor.
DING! 9th floor.
The office on the 9th floor I arrived at was a much larger room than I had expected.
Considering that the highest-ranking official in the Player department used the 10th floor alone, this was a part where you could tell just how incredible Shin Yu-hwan's existence was.
Just as I was looking around to find Shin Yu-hwan in this vast office.
"Boy! It's been a while. No, has it not been a while? Haha, I am not really sure."
A bright and playful voice rang out within the office.
"It hasn't even been a week yet, so it hasn't been a while."
"Hahaha! Is that so? If the boy says so, then it must be."
Shin Yu-hwan, who laughed heartily as he said that, soon stared at me quietly.
"But..."
A suddenly drastically changed atmosphere. What on earth was he trying to say?
"What is the boy's name?"
"......."
I felt embarrassed for having been even slightly tense.
He created that kind of atmosphere just to ask that?
He is a hero I admire, but it is hard to admire a personality like this.
"My name is Choi Yu-seong."
"I see! Haha! Because I didn't get to hear the boy's name last time."
Was that the case? I had been so busy at the time that I could not remember properly.
Since he says he didn't hear it, that must be it.
However, my name was not what was important right now. After all, I didn't visit this place just to tell him my name.
"Mr. Shin Yu-hwan. I have a request..."
"Ah! Wait just a moment, boy."
"Pardon?"
"By the looks of it, you came to see me because you have something to say, right?"
I nodded my head at Shin Yu-hwan's question.
"Haha, then that means you are my guest, so it wouldn't do to not offer you any hospitality. Wait just a moment, boy."
Saying that, Shin Yu-hwan disappeared somewhere.
'The great Shin Yu-hwan is offering hospitality?'
He was a man who would turn away even the President at the door if it was an uncomfortable meeting.
And yet, offering hospitality to me. Whatever the reason, it meant he liked me quite a bit.
'If that's the case, things might work out a bit easily.'
Because Shin Yu-hwan took pretty good care of the people he liked.
While I was staying in my spot, indulging in such wishful thinking, Shin Yu-hwan, who had disappeared, revealed himself once again. With tea in both his hands.
"Did you wait long? I am sorry about this. I couldn't find it quickly since it has been a while since I brought it out."
"This is... a considerably good tea."
"Haha, the boy has a good eye! An older sister I know doesn't know a thing about this kind of stuff."
If it was an older sister Shin Yu-hwan knew...
'He is talking about the Guildmaster of the Horizon Guild, right?'
As expected of Shin Yu-hwan. He even talks behind the back of the number one guild without changing his expression.
While I was having such trivial thoughts, Shin Yu-hwan set down the tea and began to talk about the main point of today.
"So, boy, what brings you here today? Seeing you last time, it didn't seem like you were very interested in rewards."
I pondered his words for a moment. Whether I should beat around the bush, or speak straightforwardly.
'It would be better to just speak straightforwardly.'
It seemed like he favored me, and in the first place, Shin Yu-hwan wasn't particularly fond of people beating around the bush.
Having reached that conclusion, I took a deep breath and stared straight at Shin Yu-hwan as I spoke.
"Please grant me a favor."
"Sure, why not."
"...Pardon?"
At the unexpected permission, I was left rather speechless.