Spring Again (2)

The place where the fight took place turned out to be Blackwood, the grove built in the school. All other places were visible enough so that students or faculty could walk by and see them at any time. That was why Do Woojin was able to get the information quickly. He had been in the training camp working hard in his own time these days, and when he left in the morning, he saw freshmen with a hostile atmosphere going into the forest.

“Karen said she wanted to hang them out to dry, but… It seems difficult.”

“Did you come to school with Karen?”

“Because she also stays at the training center these days.”

What? There was an odd feeling in what he said. Kang Shin-hyuk stared at him, and Do Woojin blushed very slightly before turning away.

“Well, what?”

“Are you two dating?”

“Are you crazy? Why would I?”

“Then, you still like being alone?”

“Shut up.”

Kang Shin-hyuk smiled and slapped Do Woojin on the shoulder.

“I’ll cheer you on. But to be recognized, you have to do better.”

“What? Before, it was just fine… No, I don’t like it!”

Do Woojin was an easy-to-read guy. The days when they hated each other felt like a distant past now.

“Be strong; your brother will push you.”

“What sort of brother are you, ah, get rid of it! Besides, she’s…”

When Do Woojin was crying out, trying to say something, they arrived at the scene.

“Kh…”

“Ah, ah…”

“Oh Hye-na, calm down!”

“Let me go, oppa, let me go…!”

There were four male students scattered on the ground, and Oh Hye-na, who was unharmed, was being held up by Baek.

“Hick.”

“Why are you upset?”

On the other side, two female students who hadn’t yet been identified were hiding behind Karen’s back with terrified faces. Strangely, looking at that, the scenario was drawn in his head. Maybe those guys had heard of Oh Hye-na and brought her here. The fact that her father was mankind’s traitor would remain over her like a scarlet letter, and people would continue to harass her. Perhaps what happened today was just a preview.

‘I don’t know, but… I can’t pretend I don’t know.’

He stepped forward and spoke up.

“What about a teacher? Has one come yet?”

“Ah, Shin-hyuk!”

Karen waved at him with a bright expression after noticing him. Next to him, Do Woojin glared at Kang Shin-hyuk with fearsome eyes. He knew what he was thinking, but that’s not it. Deciding that he would tell Do Woojin later that he already had a girlfriend, he stepped forward again.

“Baek In-ha, take her to class before things get worse. I’ll talk to them.”

“There are still…!”

He spoke to Baek, but it was Oh Hye-na who answered. She shouted sharply and reached out to try and demonstrate her abilities at the girls behind Karen, but when Kang Shin-hyuk shook his hand, it vaporized and disappeared. It was cold mana, so it was easy to remove with a little heat.

“How…?!”

“Hey, take her away quickly.”

“Y-yeah!”

Baek picked her up and disappeared from the spot. Her voice could be heard spouting out all kinds of curses from further and further away. Kang Shin-hyuk waved his hand at them and then checked the condition of the boys who had fallen.

“Oh, but it’s neat.”

“Are they not hurt?”

When Oh Hye-na vanished, Karen stopped protecting the girls and approached Kang Shin-hyuk. He replied with a refreshing smile.

“She broke their bones neatly.”

“…”

“Will she be punished in the new semester?”

“Alright, nothing happened here.”

Kang Shin-hyuk produced a small plastic bottle full of red liquid from his chest. As soon as he did, one of the girls raised her voice.

“Potion?!”

“Right.”

It wasn’t, it was just a drink, but he carefully treated it as if it were a potion and shared it with the four students. It was his Golden Dragon that healed them, not the potion. He had prepared it to trick others, but to think it would be used so quickly.

“Now, like this…”

“Wow…”

Golden Dragon Fighter had the power to activate and regenerate the body. The bones were cleanly broken, so it was really easy to mend them together. Rather, it was faster and more effective than a lot of potions, and those who watched it thought it was a rather expensive potion. He quickly brought the four to a healthy state and raised his head.

“Look at this, nothing happened.”

“Yes? But senior…”

“Nothing happened.”

Kang Shin-hyuk repeated himself in a stronger tone.

“No?”

“Yes, yes!”

“Yep!”

As the girls quickly grasped the situation and began to nod, Kang Shin-hyuk smiled and pointed at the unconscious students.

“Tell them too. If you can’t convince them, have them come to me later.”

“Well, that…”

“Will they listen to us?”

At first glance, it seemed that it was the girls who were in charge, but instead of pointing that out, he took it step-by-step.

“The second year who took that girl with him, is he familiar? He’s the vice-president of this year’s student council and the successor of Baekyang. The two of them are close. As a bonus, I’m the vice-captain of the Wyvern Knights.”

“Well, I know that.”

“Then, you know that you don’t have to raise trouble for nothing?”

“Ooh….”

He laughed at the freshmen before continuing in a much quieter tone.

“Don’t talk back in a place that won’t bring you to the future. If you don’t like Oh Hye-na, beat her with your skills in front of everyone. That’s the right superhuman way… Understand?”

He declared it as he put a little of his trait and spiritual power into them like they were his enemies. The results were very effective.

“Yeah…”

“Yeah!”

“Okay, then wake them up and go.”

“Yes!”

Kang Shin-hyuk saw the two wake up the others and run out of the forest. As soon as things were cleared up, Karen and Do Woojin looked at him blankly.

“Shin-hyuk, you were a little weird just now.”

“How do you wield power like that without hesitation?”

“It’s easier than using force. Moreover, I rather protected them who didn’t know anything.”

If those students told the teacher what happened with Oh Hye-na, who would be punished? It would be them. Even though her father died, Vanguard was still a very large guild, and Oh Hye-na was their princess. The school itself would give a little penalty to Oh Hye-na and scold the students later for being just as violent. The reason Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t call a teacher was that he was considerate of them.

‘It’ll be simpler to keep it between students… Hopefully, this incident won’t spread… Probably not.’

He was sure about the boys, but he could read the girls’ hearts roughly with his spiritual power. At least they wouldn’t talk first. There seemed to be some side effects too, but… He frowned while thinking of the feelings he had read from them as Karen, who was checking her phone, spoke up.

“Shin-hyuk, you’re just posting on the school bulletin board?”

“Yeah, kids these days seem to start there.”

Kang Shin-hyuk sighed and turned around.

“Let’s go too; the class will be starting.”

“I left our bags in our seats so that we won’t be late.”

“Oh, was that why you took my bag? Your sense is impressive.”

“This arrangement…”

Kang Shin-hyuk’s heart lightened a little at the sight of Do Woojin puffing his chest in front of the girl he liked. But this was by no means a fundamental solution. Perhaps even more annoying things would happen in the future. There might even be someone who hated Oh Hye-na among the young teachers. Considering that, in order to be less stressed at school, he had to avoid her…

“Hey, when will we receive the new recruits for the Wyvern Knights?”

“Maybe this week?”

“If I asked you not to take in Oh Hye-na, would you not?”

“If she wants to join, why not?”

“What about using my authority as the vice-captain?”

“Consult with the captain. Wouldn’t she listen if you kissed her?”

“What? Kiss?”

Kang Shin-hyuk seriously thought about it, but eventually decided he needed to have a serious conversation with Oh Hye-na.

***

After school, Kang Shin-hyuk headed to the café on the first floor of Unyu hall with Baek. Karen and Do Woojin were also eager to meet Oh Hye-na, but today could result in a bit of an intimate story, so the two were left behind. No matter if Baek was involved, he thought Oh Hye-na would try to escape if he were there, but fortunately, she arrived first and sat at the table. Then, upon discovering Kang Shin-hyuk, her eyes went wide. Indeed, it meant she didn’t know he would be coming.

“You!”

Calling him ‘you’ now. Kang Shin-hyuk flicked the air to hit her.

“Ouch!”

“Call me senior.”

“What kind of senior are you… Ouch!”

Oh Hye-na, who was hit by a couple of air shots in a row, grabbed her forehead.

Kang Shin-hyuk took a café mocha from the counter (extra whipped cream), three butter croissants, two cinnamon rolls, three scones, five mini jams, and a large bottle of clotted cream, as well as custard, fresh cream crocanche, and chocolate cream. He put all of that down and picked up the scone first.

“Why did you buy so much?”

“If you don’t eat like this before and after training, your body won’t be able to withstand it.”

Kang Shin-hyuk liberally applied cream and jam to the scones before biting into them. In order to restore the energy for his Golden Dragon, he needed to eat a lot.

“Ah…”

Oh Hye-na nodded with conviction because she knew that his level of training was tremendous.

“So… Why did you come? To interfere with me and In-ha oppa…?”

“I want to ask you something.”

Kang Shin-hyuk, who devoured three scones in an instant, began to sip at his café mocha.

“It’s about what happened today.”

“I walked over and laid them down. That’s it.”

“Is the world funny because you are Vanguard?”

“What, no…”

Oh Hye-na flinched at his sharp words, but he continued.

“Whenever there’s a dispute in the future, Vanguard’s image will be very good if you ignore all the rules and beat it, right?”

“…”

“No, maybe you will leave a witness. With no honor or authority, only pride remains. That’ll show that Vanguard, the forefront of humanity’s protectors, is completely destroyed…”

“You!”

“Sit down.”

Kang Shin-hyuk easily quelled her. He continued to eat as he looked over at Baek In-ha, who sat next to him. Oh Hye-na was looking at him for help, but he was ignoring it with the air of a leader.

“I’m not mad. It’s true. Even Baek asked you to be good.”

“Don’t…!”

-I will kill her now.

‘Be patient.’

It felt funny to him that he was teaching freshmen when he was just a second-year himself. However, it was inevitable because Baek was too soft on Oh Hye-na, and at least he could give her some advice before things got worse.

“Do you think it will end like that? It was nice when everyone in the world supported Oh Joo-young, but now it’s the opposite.”

“Huh?!”

Kang Shin-hyuk shrugged as he watched Oh Hye-na chew on her lip. Now that he had torn her down, it was time to cheer her up.

“I’m not saying you should only be patient. If it’s school, you have to fight like a student. The most representative thing is grades and duels. The closest is the rookie exhibition held in April. There are endless means of fighting back according to the rules.”

“…Huh?”

Oh Hye-na’s eyes began to sparkle in the unexpected direction. Instead, Baek’s eyes went wide as he glared at him.

“Hey, Kang Shin-hyuk.”

“Why, that’s right. What’s the point of my words?”

Kang Shin-hyuk paused to take a couple more bites of his pastries.

“In the future, don’t think about polluting Vanguard’s name, and build up your own strength in the school.”

“Huh…”

“Power is also a good tool. How about becoming a student council officer? Then no one can ignore you.”

He finished it with a sip of his mocha. Both Baek and Oh Hye-na looked a bit possessed as he finished off his cinnamon roll and licked his fingers clean. Of course, the words that came out of his mouth didn’t match the fresh atmosphere he had.

“It’s the same when you go out into society. If you cultivate your own values, others will respect you as an individual. In extreme terms, if you surpass your father, there will be no one who can speak against you.”

“Teaching really good things.”

“It’s the type of advice that boils the blood.”

Baek put a hand to his forehead and sighed. But before long, he nodded.

“Actually, what I wanted to say is no different, Hye-na. In the morning… I may have made you angry.”

“No, oppa.”

Indeed, it seemed that something went wrong after he tried to persuade Oh Hye-na earlier. However, her expression was lighter.

“Now, I know what you wanted to say. I need to be me.”

“No, that’s not what I mean.”

“I want to enter the student council.”

Kang Shin-hyuk’s ears twitched. If she did it on her own, she would have less contact with him, and naturally, he would be less bothered! But the words that followed rotted that idea away.

“And I want to enter the Wyvern knights.”

“What? You can’t be an adjunct.”

“There’s no rule like that, sir.”

Baek In-ha corrected him, tapping on Kang Shin-hyuk’s head. Oh Hye-na, her heart already resolved, stood up and bowed her head to Kang Shin-hyuk. Her long hair poured down like a waterfall to cover her expression.

“Thanks, senior. Preventing the teachers from hearing… You’ve persuaded me.”

“Ah.”

“Look at Hye-na, all grown up…”

“You wake up a little.”

Baek had proud tears in his eyes.

“Senior.”

Oh Hye-na raised her head; her cold blue eyes looked straight at him.

“I want to train with you.”

“Nope.”

Oh Hye-na bit her lip at his immediate answer.

“I’ll enter the informal guild that you make.”

“Hey, Baek.”

“I didn’t say anything important! Just that you wanted to create a public interest group that transcends guilds…”

“This child…”

No matter how close Baek In-ha and Oh Hye-na were, in the end, they were in competing guilds. In other words, he wanted her to join Masked Bacchus. Of course, his real purpose was to have her grow with Kang Shin-hyuk’s ability, but Oh Hye-na moved according to her own will.

“So, please make me strong.”

Oh Hye-na bowed her head again. Seeing that she could bow her head to the person who killed her father, Kang Shin-hyuk felt like seeing her again.

“Please!”

“Damn it…”

The dozens of people in the café were all watching them now. Kang Shin-hyuk let out a deep sigh over the new rumors that would undoubtedly come out.