EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school-Chapter 932: Night walk (5)

The Hideout of Thieves Located in Yeonggwang District.

It was late, but within the hideout, Guseulbi, Onggildong, and In Seon-o were having a late tea time.

Until recently, they had been influenced by the realms of both sides, causing them to sleep longer than usual.

However, they had recently succeeded in breaking free from this influence, though their sleep schedules were now a mess, and they found themselves awake at late hours.

"Staying up all night is one of the skills of a thief. A thief doesn't mind the day or night, but must know how to get things done while hiding in the darkness!"

"What are you talking about? Just say you're not sleepy."

"Mm, I'm not sleepy!"

Onggildong and Guseulbi, sipping on lavender honey tea, which was said to help with insomnia, continued their noisy conversation.

In Seon-o, who had joined them for this peculiar tea time, added his own words.

"Hahaha, forcing yourself to sleep only makes it harder. Let's just relax and take it easy."

"Mm, that sounds good. So, how about we use this time effectively with a relaxed mind?"

"Yeah! We have so much to do. The class is expecting us to cheer for them in the exchange competition, so we need to prepare something!"

Rather than forcing themselves to sleep, the trio decided to prepare for the cheering event.

In Seon-o mostly watched, occasionally refilling their tea or offering snacks, while Onggildong and Guseulbi poured out dizzying ideas.

It seemed like they were preparing for the cheering event just to stand out, but from the way they acted, it was clear they genuinely wanted to cheer for their selected friends.

The ones chosen from Class 0 were Dokomi, Maeng Hyo-don, and Jo Eui-shin.

It seemed Guseulbi and Onggildong were particularly rooting for Jo Eui-shin.

In Seon-o quietly listened whenever they mentioned Jo Eui-shin.

"They say Jo Eui-shin is doing an excellent job as vice-class president. Even when we're not around."

"That's why he must've been selected. He’s also a school ambassador. Being vice-president must be a busy job, so we need to cheer him on with all our might!"

"That's a good idea!"

Jo Eui-shin would likely be more pleased with a regular school day than with flashy cheers, but Guseulbi and Onggildong didn’t consider that.

The two continued to talk about Jo Eui-shin.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is freewebnøvel.coɱ.

"I heard from Yuri, today they're starting their camp in the landscaping area. They must've been assigned their accommodations by now."

"Camp! Ugh, now that I think about it, we missed last year's youth retreat. I guess we’ll just have to look forward to next year's school trip."

"Let’s definitely go next year! If we’re not there, the class will feel disappointed."

Just as Guseulbi and Onggildong were about to start discussing the outfits they'd wear for the school trip, In Seon-o placed his cup down with a soft clink and spoke up.

His cautious demeanor seemed to prevent the subject from changing too abruptly.

"...The exchange team members are staying at the landscaping area? I thought they’d be staying at the dorms in the living area."

"They're probably doing it to build teamwork, just like how we’re all staying together in the thief's hideout!"

"Well, our teamwork is already pretty solid."

"That’s true."

After agreeing with them a few times, In Seon-o continued.

"The school's website didn't have much information on the landscaping area... but if they’re staying there, it must be pretty spacious."

"It’s spacious, but I don't think it's like the dorms in the living area. I heard Jo Eui-shin and Maeng Hyo-don are sharing a room."

"Really? Did they decide to share? They’ve been going to school together since the beginning, so they must be close."

"I heard they were assigned randomly. They’ll probably use their break times to study math, so it worked out well."

In Seon-o didn’t press any further on the accommodation issue, and the conversation topic soon shifted.

He continued to sip his tea, occasionally agreeing with his friends.

About an hour later, when conversation topics were becoming scarce, In Seon-o stood up from his seat.

"Looks like I still can't sleep. I’ll go take a walk for a bit."

"A walk? At this hour?"

It was already past midnight.

While it was still quite early for the sun to rise, it was possible the sun might come up during a long walk.

Considering In Seon-o’s abilities, he would have no trouble walking around Yeonggwang District, which had a good security setup, but his friends still felt worried.

"A thief is capable of acting alone... but isn't it getting a bit late? I heard last year there were illegal facilities and police corruption issues in Yeonggwang. Why don’t you go in the daytime?"

Onggildong spoke in a gentle tone, expressing concern for In Seon-o.

The overly gentle tone made Guseulbi clench his jaw for a moment.

He didn’t like seeing Onggildong speak that way to a peer, even though he too wanted to stop the walk.

While Guseulbi fought the contradiction in his heart, In Seon-o responded.

"It’s fine. I’ll just take a walk around the school."

Maeng Hyo-don’s dream, which had only been a simple recollection, turned into a terrifying nightmare.

He had been holding on, thinking that if he could just endure until the day Jo Eui-shin and Ham Geun-hyeong arrived, it would be over, but now he couldn’t hold on any longer.

Maeng Hyo-don fought a lonely and brutal battle in the fight club.

As time passed, Maeng Hyo-don felt as though something dark and ominous was rising within him.

'Could it be that everything up until now has been a dream?'

A small doubt arose in Maeng Hyo-don’s heart.

Looking back, everything that had happened since he escaped the fight club had seemed like a dream.

He had eaten rare and delicious food he’d never tasted before, had an enjoyable school life that was far from ordinary, met a good teacher, and grown stronger alongside his friends to fight...

For Maeng Hyo-don, who had lived a suffocatingly difficult life, everything had seemed like a dream.

Perhaps he had just been dreaming because of some enemy, and this might be the real world?

'No! This is the dream!'

Someone had planted a seed of doubt in Maeng Hyo-don’s mind, making his thoughts more complicated.

Fortunately, Maeng Hyo-don couldn’t follow such complicated reasoning, so he simply cut off those thoughts.

But the dark nightmare kept gnawing at his heart.

It seemed as though, if the darkness consumed his mind, it would consume his body as well.

Then, it happened.

Rrrr...

A tiger’s roar, as though it came from the depths of hell, echoed in his ears.

But strangely, the sound didn’t trigger Maeng Hyo-don’s fear.

Compared to the threatening sounds or the death cries of enemies, this roar sounded very clean and noble.

Maeng Hyo-don turned his head toward the direction of the sound.

It was the window he had chosen as an escape route the day he received help from Jo Eui-shin.

As Maeng Hyo-don absentmindedly stared through the blackened window, something happened.

Screech!

With the sound of something splitting, his vision turned white.

It felt as though whatever had been gnawing at Maeng Hyo-don’s heart had split apart with that flash.

Then, the building’s windows shattered, everything around him exploded, and everything collapsed.

Crash! Boom! Bang!

Amid the explosive sounds, Maeng Hyo-don stood firm.

He didn’t even think about fleeing or escaping.

Although he had no concrete reason, after that white flash, it felt as though whatever had been gnawing at his heart had disappeared.

Just as Maeng Hyo-don was about to gaze at that white light a bit longer, he suddenly gasped.

“Hah...”

Maeng Hyo-don exhaled heavily as he sat up.

The room temperature was set properly, but he was drenched in sweat.

After confirming the feel of the bed sheet, his wet palms, and the shape of the summer gym uniform with the Yeonggwang High logo, Maeng Hyo-don sighed with relief.

It was clear now that the dream he had, the one without Jo Eui-shin, had just been a bizarre and meaningless dream.

'Ah, what a weird dream.'

Maeng Hyo-don quickly brightened his thoughts and tried to lie back down, but oddly enough, his heart kept pounding.

He had a strange feeling that he shouldn’t fall asleep again.

He glanced at the bed across from him.

Maeng Hyo-don, who had excellent night vision, could make out Jo Eui-shin's figure even in the dark.

'Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve seen the vice-class president sleep. He sleeps like a model student.'

Whenever they had late-night meetings, Jo Eui-shin would always stay awake, so Maeng Hyo-don had never seen him asleep.

As Jo Eui-shin had said, it seemed he didn’t have any particular sleep habits—he was sleeping soundly, lying straight.

After Maeng Hyo-don had fallen asleep, it seemed Jo Eui-shin finished editing the video and went to sleep as well.

Seeing Jo Eui-shin’s face, Maeng Hyo-don realized that he had truly woken up from the dream and felt a sense of relief.

For a while, Maeng Hyo-don stared at Jo Eui-shin, lost in thought.

Whooo...

At that moment, a faint wind sound could be heard.

He looked toward the source of the sound, and saw that the window was open.

'Did the vice-class president open the window? The screen should be closed.'

Without thinking too much, Maeng Hyo-don got out of bed and closed only the window screen.

The others in the dormitory were likely all asleep, and the area was quiet, with no visible light except the emergency lighting.

As Maeng Hyo-don stood by the window and looked around, he quietly turned and left the room.

‘I’ll take a walk around the school. The residential area, the central area, the first-year area, the second-year area... and the places I trained with the Taoists.’

Maeng Hyo-don decided to take a nighttime stroll and headed outside.

Given Jo Eui-shin’s skill level, Maeng Hyo-don figured he would have sensed his movement and woken up, but it seemed that Jo Eui-shin didn’t feel any threat from his actions, as he remained asleep.

Less than a minute after Maeng Hyo-don left, the window silently closed.

A faint white shadow flickered and disappeared beyond the closed window, but no one witnessed it.

Unaware of what had just happened inside the room, Maeng Hyo-don walked out of the landscaping area.

The entire landscaping area was covered by a fog barrier, but it didn’t block Maeng Hyo-don’s path.

It seemed as though the fog parted just to let him through, as if it were wishing him well on his way.

When Maeng Hyo-don reached the area near the Cheongrangho, which connected to the central area, he saw something.

"...Hm?"

On the other side of Cheongrangho, there was a familiar face.

It was In Seon-o, walking along the streetlights near the Cheongrangho.

It seemed strange that In Seon-o would be out walking at this hour, but since he was from Class 0, and their eccentricities were nothing new, Maeng Hyo-don didn’t find it odd.

As the exam period approached, students like Maeng Hyo-don, who wanted to study, would often wander around the school to stay awake, so Maeng Hyo-don didn’t think much of it.

In Seon-o, likely having noticed Maeng Hyo-don, greeted him and spoke up.

"Hey, I see you’re out for a night walk."

"Uh, uh..."

Since In Seon-o was still a relatively unfamiliar peer to Maeng Hyo-don, speaking to him felt a bit awkward.

Maeng Hyo-don stuttered, but In Seon-o didn’t seem to care.

In Seon-o walked closer to Maeng Hyo-don.

After a few steps, In Seon-o spoke again.

"I heard the selected students are doing morning training. Is it really okay for you to be up this early?"

"No, I slept...”

"It seems a bit early to be waking up though."

In Seon-o casually spoke, as though making small talk.

"Did you have a nightmare or something?"