EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school-Chapter 980: Regret (14)

Even after Jo Yi-shin had left, Hirano Seiji was unable to leave right away.

He wanted to leave quickly, feeling as though he were being watched, but since he had been ordered to wait, he couldn’t move.

Hirano Seiji searched for Eungwang High's café on his device while waiting, but he couldn’t focus on the content at all.

About ten minutes later, he heard a voice from the voice receiver again.

[Jo Yi-shin hasn’t come out of the building yet. It seems the meeting place is inside the building. The person he’s meeting might be in a similar situation as Jo Yi-shin, so they could be discussing today’s events.]

The voice was soft and kind, but Hirano Seiji froze as though ice water had been poured over him.

The woman speaking to him was the highest-ranking official from Japan's team in this exchange competition and the exclusive coach of the unique genius from the Hojo family.

‘Have they already investigated Yi-shin’s meeting partner? So soon?’

Just before parting ways, Jo Yi-shin had casually mentioned his next meeting.

The person he was meeting was Cheon Eun-ha, a first-year student at Eungwang High.

Jo Yi-shin had said he had a meal scheduled with his junior, Cheon Eun-ha from the 0th class, and left the building. It seemed that he had arranged the meeting at a restaurant inside the building.

What made Hirano Seiji uneasy was the phrase "someone in a similar situation as Jo Yi-shin."

[Cheon Eun-ha is the top of the first-year class and the younger sibling of Cheon Dong-ha, the top student of the third-year class. However, they didn’t participate in this exchange competition and even refused to compete in the preliminary selection.]

The woman’s voice, coming through the receiver, casually revealed her findings.

Cheon Eun-ha had suffered from Stockholm Syndrome before entering Eungwang High and had been physically restricted. Cheon Dong-ha had worked with Hwangmyung Research Institute to help his sibling recover.

Ultimately, Cheon Eun-ha fully recovered and was able to attend Eungwang High without issue.

Behind the two siblings was the TC Group, but their family wasn’t in a powerful position, and they owed a debt to the Hwangmyung Group.

Therefore, whenever the Hwangmyung Group asked for something, the siblings had no choice but to comply.

‘This time, unlike Japan and China, which selected representatives from several schools, Korea only picked candidates from Eungwang High. So it should have been easier to decide the best, but it’s odd that the top students from both the first and third years aren’t participating.’

I had heard that two first-year students were included in the selection team from Eungwang High.

Also, being the top student in the third year would mean they had achieved better results than a descendant of the dragon clan.

Yet the fact that neither of them participated was strange, and it was only natural for the coaches to suspect the involvement of the Hwangmyung Group in the decision-making.

Of course, all of this was a misunderstanding and distortion caused by the fact that Cheon Eun-ha’s true identity was thoroughly concealed.

[If there are others in the same position as Jo Yi-shin, I’d like to help. Maybe Jo Yi-shin is talking to Cheon Eun-ha about this matter right now? Even though they’re a bastard child, if they have connections with the young master of the TC Group, things could get easier.]

The words "I’d like to help" made Hirano Seiji feel like screaming.

Extending a hand while demanding a price wasn’t help; it was just a transaction.

Also, forcing an unwanted deal to go through would be classified as blackmail or fraud.

‘Are there others in the same position as Yi-shin? But what is Yi-shin’s intention...?'

Hirano Seiji was confused.

He began to struggle to understand Jo Yi-shin’s intentions, even though he knew about the eavesdropping device.

To him, Jo Yi-shin didn’t seem like someone who would seek help from outside forces to solve problems.

He kept recalling the image of Jo Yi-shin, who had smiled suspiciously and written "It’s okay."

"I’ll help with the packaging. Do you need a fork?"

"...Yes, I’m eating with a friend."

After hearing that it was fine for him to return, Hirano Seiji stumbled toward the café counter.

He had gone out but couldn’t return empty-handed, so he picked up scones and cookies as gifts for everyone. However, the voice he thought he wouldn’t hear until he returned to the hotel spoke again.

[Packaging a gift for a friend, huh? If someone witnesses it, you’ll be able to show that the representative team is close. Well done.]

Hirano Seiji felt an urge to shove the neatly packaged desserts into the trash can near the entrance.

However, he clenched his fist and suppressed the impulse.

[Then let’s talk face-to-face. Be careful on your way back.]

Hirano Seiji kept his eyes on the unfamiliar street scenery as he headed toward his accommodation.

When he first came to Korea, he’d been struck by the feeling of freedom, gazing at streets he had never seen before, but now it just felt strange.

He thought he would feel better if he removed the eavesdropping device from his ear, but he didn’t even reach for it.

Hirano Seiji planned to mimic a moderately competent, obedient student who understood well.

However, there was one person who couldn’t let him leave it at that.

Peeing...!

As soon as he stepped onto the floor rented by the Japanese representative team, he felt a sharp wave of energy against his skin.

Hirano Seiji materialized the weapon item card he had hidden on his wrist into shuriken and threw them in four directions.

Whoosh!

The shuriken flew in an instant, leaving only a faint breeze behind.

The blades of the shuriken pierced the wires connected to explosive triggers, temperature sensors, and pressure detectors.

Without even looking, the shuriken silently destroyed the detection devices of a booby trap.

As Hirano Seiji was collecting the shuriken with his ability, he heard a clicking sound.

"Trying to look pathetic, huh?"

The culprit was the person Hirano Seiji had expected.

Arihara Tomoaki.

The biggest troublemaker in the representative team and a constant headache for the coaching staff.

Arihara Tomoaki’s father was a world-renowned literary award winner, and his mother was a giant in the field of chemistry.

Having lived abroad for a long time following his parents, Arihara Tomoaki was out of touch with Japanese affairs and dismissed the plan to create a single genius as a foolish and mad scheme.

The reason he was chosen for the team, despite being a troublemaker, was due to two factors: his excellence as a player and the fact that he was Hirano Seiji’s childhood friend.

The coaches had hoped for a second Hirano Seiji but had found instead an uncontrollable troublemaker.

"You’re moving better than you did in the showcase tournament? Why were you so bad back then?"

His childhood friend’s eyes were filled with disdain.

Even though he was being looked at like that, Hirano Seiji had to act as though he felt nothing.

If he had fought with full strength in the showcase tournament, his parents' pro-player team would probably be under tax investigation by now, or even if they were tackling high-level otherworld conquests, they wouldn’t receive any support.

Hirano Seiji had no intention of telling his childhood friend about these circumstances.

For now, he planned to act like a clueless high schooler who had just realized the limits of his talent, felt respect for his peers, and was emotionally moved by the genius of his generation.

Hirano Seiji barely managed to speak nonchalantly.

"I’ll take it as a compliment. Anyway, stop with the dangerous pranks. You clean up after yourself."

"I don’t know. Someone will clean it up."

"If you clean up properly, I’ll give you a gift. I stopped by a café."

"No need. That fox made you go out, right? What else did you do?"

Hirano Seiji silently prayed that the word ‘fox’ wouldn’t be recorded by the eavesdropping device.

The "fox" Arihara Tomoaki referred to was the one who had been giving him orders: Kozuka Yashiro.

Because her surname included "fox" (狐), people who had negative feelings about her always called her "fox."

"You should be calling her Teacher Kozuka."

"She’s still a fox, though. If you don’t like it, should I call her ‘lady’s dog’?"

There was only one person the Japanese representative team referred to as "lady."

Though she adamantly rejected it, the adults around her, as well as higher-ups, had pushed for others to avoid mixing with her, which led to this nickname.

The ones supporting the plan to create a genius referred to her respectfully as "lady," while those opposed to it used the sarcastic term.

Arihara Tomoaki belonged to the latter group.

"Arihara, you better be careful. There are many ears listening."

"Seiji, every time you call me by my family name, I’ll break something in here."

Arihara Tomoaki growled, but Hirano Seiji ignored him and kept walking.

Because of his famous family name, "Arihara" was something he couldn’t stand to be called, and Hirano Seiji deliberately used it to provoke him.

It was safer to have Arihara Tomoaki clash with him rather than risk causing a big problem with the "fox."

As a senior appeared, shouting, "What is all this noise!" Hirano Seiji explained the situation.

"Arihara will clean it up. If you call an external cleaning company, charge Arihara for the cost."

Deliberately invoking Arihara’s name, the response came quickly.

Having heard his family name twice, Arihara Tomoaki reacted violently.

Bang! Crash!

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A porcelain item with a golden frame and a vase with lotus flowers shattered.

These weren’t just hotel supplies but decorative items the coaching staff had brought from Japan, meant to fit the “lady’s” standards.

Arihara Tomoaki had always gritted his teeth whenever he saw these items, and whenever the opportunity arose, he destroyed them.

He had broken them for all sorts of reasons: his hand slipped while using his abilities, the decorations blocked his view of the window, or simply because he didn’t like them.

In fact, Hirano Seiji also felt a sense of relief every time he saw these items broken, but he had never shown it.

Now, hiding his feelings, Hirano Seiji left the cleanup to the senior before heading to the coach's room to report.

‘Arihara doesn’t belong here. I told them not to bring him...’

I had advised against him joining, but the excited childhood friend hadn’t listened to me.

After realizing the odd atmosphere of the Japanese representative team, he became more aggressive.

Before reaching the coach’s room, a device alarm rang.

One was the shared device given by the coaching staff, and the other was the personal device Hirano Seiji had secretly brought.

With tired eyes, Hirano Seiji checked the messages.

‘A message from Yi-shin.’

Both devices had messages from Jo Yi-shin.

The device code marked with an X had a standard greeting and a note to meet again, while the other one contained a greeting along with a link.

[Yi-shin] (Link)

[Yi-shin] Here’s a list of cafés around Eungwang High that are worth visiting.

Looking at the list of cafés and menus included in the link, Hirano Seiji strangely felt a bit lighter.

It seemed like he was feeling just a tiny bit better.