I Became a Troublemaker at the Academy

After quickly escaping from Sky Forge and putting some distance between him and the place, Kim Baram stopped to look back. 

The street was crowded with people, but the distinctive yellow hair and flashy appearance of Yeo Ji-hye were nowhere to be seen.

“If I’ve run this far, she probably won’t chase me any further.”

Given Yeo Ji-hye’s personality as described in the novel, it seemed highly unlikely that she would pursue him this far.

Regaining his composure, he started to stroll around the bustling streets with lighter steps.

“Since I’m out anyway, I might as well grab some lunch.”

Checking his smartwatch, he saw that it was already 2 p.m. He decided to avoid the crowded main streets and headed down a quieter alley.

The real hidden gems were always in those kinds of alleyways.

Entering the alley, he began to carefully examine the signs and atmosphere of various restaurants, and looked for a place run by a hidden culinary master.

And then, suddenly, a desperate voice called out from the end of the alley he had just passed.

“Wa-wait!”

Turning around, Kim Baram saw a woman with simple features, black hair tied back, and thick black-framed glasses, running toward him at full speed.

“What’s this? Could it be?”

It seemed that the nine points he gained in charm this morning, combined with Casa’s perfume, had created a synergy of some sort, and he had stolen the heart of a passing girl.

‘What a sinful man I am… Heh.’

While he was indulging in self-admiration, blaming his fatal charm with a finger to his forehead, the girl closed the distance and grabbed his wrist tightly while panting heavily.

“Huff… Huff… Gotcha, you bastard.”

“Huh?”

Something about her voice appeared familiar. 

As Kim Baram took a closer look at her, he noticed her slightly loose-fitting white blouse with a black ribbon and her navy tennis skirt, which seemed oddly familiar.

‘This outfit looks familiar… Ah!’

A scene flashed through his mind. The moment when he had seen Yeo Ji-hye wearing the same outfit at Sky Forge. 

Suddenly, the girl’s appearance and Yeo Ji-hye’s overlapped perfectly in his mind.

Realizing one of Yeo Ji-hye’s traits mentioned in the novel and grasping the current situation, he quickly tried to turn around and shake off her hand to escape.

But with his weak strength, Kim Baram couldn’t free his wrist from her tight grip.

“What kind of strength is this…”

Kim Baram looked at the woman, who he now assumed to be Yeo Ji-hye, with a puzzled expression. 

She raised her head, met his eyes with her blazing gaze, and with a sinister smile, spoke.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

—

Inside a pork soup restaurant in a secluded alley.

Here, there were only two customers seated.

Yeo Ji-hye glared at Kim Baram with a menacing look with her arms crossed, and he had his head lowered as he glanced at her cautiously.

‘Why am I sitting here with Yeo Ji-hye…?’

He recalled the situation in the alley earlier.

That was right.

He had been looking around for a place to eat.

But Yeo Ji-hye, who had disguised herself, had persistently chased him down. 

She grabbed his wrist and tried to say something, but he was so terrified by her intimidating aura that he screamed desperately for help.

As a result, more and more people passing through the alley turned their attention to them. 

Yeo Ji-hye frowned and still held onto his wrist. Then, she dragged Kim Baram into this pork soup restaurant, which was devoid of other customers.

Since they arrived here, Yeo Ji-hye hadn’t said a word. She just sat with her arms crossed and glared at him.

Meanwhile, the rich smell wafting through the restaurant and his growling stomach made it impossible for Kim Baram to resist any longer. 

Cautiously, while watching her reactions, he asked.

“Um… Can we at least eat…?”

At his suggestion, Yeo Ji-hye continued to glare at him as if she wanted to kill him.

‘Is she telling me to figure it out on my own?’

“Grandma! Two pork soup bowls, please!”

“Alright.”

Yeo Ji-hye let out a small, incredulous laugh at his obliviousness, then sighed lightly and spoke to Kim Baram.

“What’s your name?”

“Huh? Why do you want to know my name?”

“I’ve been calling you this ba… Anyway, just tell me your name.”

Her question sounded more like a command, and he hesitated for a moment before replying.

“Uh… Joo Jin-Yong.”

“How old are you?”

“… Nineteen years old.”

For the record, Yeo Ji-hye was actually eighteen years old, making her a year older than Kim Baram at this point in time.

At his confident lie, Yeo Ji-hye scrutinized his face suspiciously.

“Are you really nineteen? You look younger than that.”

“Haha. I get told I have a baby face quite often.”

“… So, we’re the same age. Since we’re the same age, I’ll speak casually.”

It seemed she wasn’t pleased about being younger than him, as she briefly frowned before nonchalantly lying just like he did.

“Sure… Why not? But why did you chase after me? Even if you’re upset, this bracelet already belongs to me…”

Thud!

“Hah…”

Yeo Ji-hye straightened her arms and slammed her right hand down on the table with a loud sigh, interrupting his words.

‘Does that mean she’ll hit me if I keep talking?’

Slightly intimidated by her sudden action, Kim Baram immediately shut his mouth, silencing himself like a mute.

“Alright… Joo Jin-Yong, I don’t know what trick you pulled to get that bracelet, but I’ll admit it…”

“That’s because I’m charming on the inside as well… Haha… Sorry. Please continue.”

Unable to resist the urge to interrupt, he made a quip while she was speaking. 

She shot him a sharp glare and raised her fist, so he quickly apologized and clammed up again.

Thankfully, Kim Baram’s quick apology seemed to calm her down as she lowered her fist and continued.

“… Anyway, I’ll acknowledge that you’re the rightful owner of that bracelet. But I feel wronged too. I spent a lot of money to rent out the entire Sky Forge for a day just for this event, and then some charming someone swooped in and ruined the content before I even got a chance to try it.”

‘You’re the one who told me to try the bracelet first.’

Of course, he kept that thought to himself this time.

“What I’m saying is, you should take some responsibility for the losses I’ve suffered. I’m not asking you to compensate me with money. Instead, after we eat, help me come up with new content to replace the one that was ruined. If you do that, I’ll let this whole thing slide.”

‘New content… Ah…!’

As he pondered her suggestion, a brilliant idea suddenly came to mind. 

He immediately leaned in toward her and spoke excitedly.

“How about this? You could upload a video with the title, ‘Legendary General Jeong So-cheon’s Weapon Stolen Right in Front of Me by a Mysterious, Charming Man.’ You were really angry earlier, so I’m sure that would get some views…”

“Do you really think that’ll work, you idiot?!”

Yeo Ji-hye was enraged by his ‘brilliant’ idea and swung her fist at him in genuine anger.

Ding!

[Aegis’s special ability has been activated. Remaining uses: 2]

Bang!

‘It’s not working.’

Kim Baram thought it was a good idea.

—

“Both of you are so pretty and handsome, why are you fighting? I put in extra meat, so don’t fight and enjoy your meal. Let me know if you need more rice.”

“Thank you for the meal.”

Fortunately, Yeo Ji-hye’s next attack was thwarted by the appearance of the restaurant’s grandmotherly owner.

“Shall we eat first?”

With the situation temporarily calming down, Kim Baram suggested a truce to Yeo Ji-hye and picked up his spoon, mixing the rice into the savory pork soup. 

Yeo Ji-hye appeared to have agreed to the truce and silently picked up her spoon as well.

As she brought her face closer to the soup, her black-rimmed glasses fogged up from the steam, turning opaque. 

Annoyed, Yeo Ji-hye took off her glasses and began eating her soup in earnest.

She ate with such gusto.

He found himself staring at Yeo Ji-hye’s unpretentious demeanor, and their eyes met as she ate her soup.

“… What are you looking at?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that, compared to earlier, your hair color and overall appearance seem quite different.”

Feeling awkward about being caught staring, he quickly changed the subject to her altered appearance.

“… And you’re just asking about that now. Just so you don’t misunderstand, the way I looked earlier is my real appearance. Right now, I’m disguised using magic. Unlike someone, I’m so attractive ‘on the outside’ that if I go out in my true form, it causes too much trouble, so I avoid it.”

Yeo Ji-hye tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and muttered, “Being beautiful is such a hassle,” as she resumed eating her soup.

In fact, he was aware of this trait.

In the novel, Yeo Ji-hye was depicted as someone who, despite having a job that involved being in the public eye, ironically disliked drawing attention to herself. 

That was why she usually wore a magic ring that completely altered her appearance when she went out. And she rented out entire locations for filming like she did today, and only uploaded pre-recorded videos to her channel and never did live broadcasts. 

She was extremely careful not to expose her personal information.

‘Why does she dislike attention so much? I’m not sure…’

Even though there were parts of the novel that were written from Yeo Ji-hye’s perspective, there was never any mention of her past, so he didn’t know the exact reason why she avoided attention. 

She claimed it was because it was exhausting, but Kim Baram had a feeling there might be a more specific reason.

‘Who knows.’

‘I should just focus on eating.’

He decided to stop thinking about Yeo Ji-hye and concentrated on enjoying the perfect pork soup, whose rich broth didn’t have any unpleasant odors and captured the full flavor of the pork.

‘This restaurant’s grandma must be a hidden culinary master. Yum.’

—

“That was a great meal.”

“Indeed.”

Yeo Ji-hye agreed with Kim Baram’s review as they left the restaurant, still savoring the lingering taste of the pork soup.

“Now, let’s go plan some new content.”

“Oh, well, you have fun with that. I’m going to head home.”

Maybe it was because he’d eaten, but he was feeling really sleepy.

‘I should go home and take a nap.’

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Yeo Ji-hye grabbed Kim Baram by the back of his neck as he tried to walk away.

‘Damn! I thought I was being subtle.’

‘The detailed escape plan I was setting up while eating… Given the situation, it’s time to move to Plan B.’

As Yeo Ji-hye glared at him fiercely, he quickly pulled out his phone from the pocket and raised it as he began to speak.

“Actually, my mom just called a little while ag—”

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

“Huh? It’s a real call.”

“Wait, I got one too.”

‘No way.’

At Yeo Ji-hye’s words, he looked around, and everyone else was also looking at their phones as the alarms went off.

In the novel, there was only one situation where this could happen.

WEEE-WOO! WEEE-WOO!

[Gate Alert! Gate Alert! A gate has appeared near Sindorim Station. Citizens nearby are advised to quickly take shelter inside buildings or evacuate the area.]

The announcement was amplified by magic. It echoed through the streets. 

And Sindorim Station, where the gate had appeared, was right near where they were standing.

Kim Baram turned to Yeo Ji-hye, who was staring at her phone with a serious expression, and jokingly said.

“Well, here’s some new content for you.”

But Yeo Ji-hye’s expression turned serious as she replied.

“What? Don’t joke around. You’re a player too, so you should know. There’s no time for filming—let’s go help right away.”

Yeo Ji-hye quickly ran back into the restaurant, urging the owner to lock the door and hide, then grabbed Kim Baram’s sleeve and started pulling him toward Sindorim Station.

‘I’m screwed.’

‘I can’t fight.’