I Became a Troublemaker at the Academy

“Nice to meet you. My name is Joo Jin-Yong. I’m in class 1-5. You’re Kim Baram, right?”

“Uh… Yeah, nice to meet you.”

Despite Kim Baram’s indifferent response, Joo Jin-Yong continued to smile warmly at him.

In truth, he was internally very conflicted due to this unexpected encounter.

‘Why’s this guy interested in me?’

“Munch. Munch.”

“You’re eating something quite unique. Most people don’t eat it because it’s originally from the dungeon, so they find it unfamiliar. Oh, mine is called xiaolongbao. I tried one, and it’s really delicious. It reminded me of the taste I had when I visited China as a kid. The person who made this must be Chinese. And also, I…”

{TN:- Xiaolongbao are Chinese steamed buns, often filled with pork and soup, and they are a well-known dish from Shanghai.}

Despite his lack of reaction, Joo Jin-Yong continued to speak cheerfully as if he was trying to be friendly.

‘He must have some purpose for approaching me.’

Kim Baram guessed it was probably because of the incident at the entrance ceremony.

Joo Jin-Yong.

A character who possessed a very rare mobility skill called [Teleportation].

In fact, he was a Chinese secret special agent who had infiltrated the academy. He was basically a ‘spy’.

Born to a Chinese father and a Korean mother, Joo Jin-Yong had awakened as a player at a young age. Due to his rare unique ability, he was trained as a special agent by the Chinese association.

His mission was ‘information gathering.’

After infiltrating Korea, his main task was to continuously gather and send critical information about Korean players back to China.

‘The reason he’s approaching me now is probably because I was among the top 7 at the entrance ceremony.’

In the original story, he used to stick with Shin Hae-seong, who was also in the top 7 and in the same class. Later, he joined the Geumseong Guild led by Shin Hae-seong’s father and continued to leak information to China.

‘But he’s an ambiguous character to call a villain.’

Actually, as a reader, Joo Jin-Yong was one of his favorite characters.

The reason was due to his hidden story revealed from his perspective. He was called the ‘tragic character’ because his fate was so unfortunate.

In his childhood.

His father, who worked as a porter for players, died in an unexpected accident in a dungeon. With only his mother to accompany him, Joo Jin-Yong faced financial hardships.

Fortunately, he awakened as a player at a young age with the rare ability [Teleportation]. 

Upon discovering this, the Chinese Association scouted him as a special agent and promised to take care of his mother in return. 

Determined to make his only family, his mother, happy and live without envy, Joo Jin-Yong endured hellish training. Finally, he was assigned to infiltrate the Korean Player Academy and extract information.

‘The only way Joo Jin-Yong, who’s separated from his mother, could contact her was through a single ‘letter.’’

For Joo Jin-Yong, who lived in a foreign land, exchanging letters with his mother was his sole source of hope and happiness. 

After graduating from the academy, he continued his spy mission at the Geumseong Guild. There, he suddenly received the news of his mother’s death.

Suspicious of her sudden death, Joo Jin-Yong secretly investigated and discovered a stack of letters his mother never sent in her drawer.

Initially.

The letters received by Joo Jin-Yong were all ‘fake.’

They were fabricated by the Chinese association, who used them to monitor him and prevent any wavering loyalty.

After realizing that his mother had lived under surveillance and control, and how loneliness had accompanied her all her life and even death, Joo Jin-Yong was devastated.

‘In the end, Joo Jin-Yong also…’

[Mother… May you rest in peace.]

With those last words, Joo Jin-Yong’s heart burned with a desire for revenge. He strapped a large number of bombs to his body and used his unique ability [Teleportation] to blow himself up in the Chinese Player Association building, and eventually met his end.

‘As I read about Joo Jin-Yong weeping over his mother’s real letters in the novel made me cry too… In this life, I’ll save you somehow.’

Sensing Kim Baram’s affectionate gaze, Joo Jin-Yong, who had been talking nonstop, paused and looked slightly flustered. 

Touching his face, he asked him.

“Is there something on my face…?”

“Oh no. I was just lost in thought for a moment. So, what’s your purpose in approaching me? I don’t think you came here just to have this meaningless conversation.”

At Kim Baram’s straightforward question, the smile on Joo Jin-Yong’s lips faltered slightly.

‘Maybe because he’s still young. He doesn’t seem to be good at controlling his expressions.’

“Well… We both made it into the top 7 at the entrance ceremony, and I wanted to get along for the future… Haha… I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

“No. It’s fine. I don’t really know anyone here since I just got admitted, so even though we’re in different classes, let’s be friends. But usually, don’t people get close to those in their own class? For example, eating together?”

In the original story, Joo Jin-Yong always stuck with Shin Hae-seong.

They even joined the Gold Star Clan, which was sponsored by the Geumseong Guild.

Noticing Joo Jin-Yong acting differently from the original, Kim Baram felt curious and asked him about it.

Joo Jin-Yong appeared troubled and hesitated before continuing.

“Well. Actually… Do you remember Shin Hae-seong? The one who shouted at you for cheating during the entrance ceremony?”

“Yeah. I remember. He’s the one who got scolded by the principal for complaining.”

“He’s in my class, and he’s the son of the guild master of the Geumseong Guild, one of Korea’s top 8 guilds. So, he’s kind of influential in our class. Anyway, he’s been telling our classmates that I also cheated to pass the entrance exam, so I don’t really have any friends in my class. Haha…”

Joo Jin-Yong answered with a bitter smile and a gloomy expression.

It seemed that Kim Baram’s presence in the top 7 at the entrance ceremony had changed the future.

Ever since he saved Jeong Ye-Rin with his unique ability, he had already prepared himself for the future to shift from the novel.

The problem was that he didn’t know whether these changes would lead to better or worse outcomes.

At least, he was determined to try his best to ensure the future he altered would flow in the best possible direction.

‘Since it’s come to this, let’s keep Joo Jin-Yong close. Even though he hides his skills, he’s as strong as a top-tier player because of the harsh training he’s undergone since childhood. If I can utilize him well as an ally, he’ll be a tremendous asset.’

Having made up his mind, Kim Baram looked at Joo Jin-Yong with an apologetic expression and spoke.

“I’m sorry. It looks like you got hurt because of me.”

At his apologetic reaction, Joo Jin-Yong waved his hands frantically and answered.

“No, no. What are you talking about? It’s not because of you. Even if it wasn’t you, Shin Hae-seong would have probably called me a cheater and isolated me.”

‘Ugh… No, Jin-Yong.’

‘If it weren’t for me, you and Shin Hae-Sung would have become close friends.’

Hearing Joo Jin-Yong’s response made Kim Baram feel even more guilty.

So, he quickly changed the subject.

“… I see. By the way, did you see the clan promotions on the way here? Do you have any clan in mind that you’re interested in?”

“A clan? No, I haven’t decided on any yet. There are so many, and I don’t know which one to choose.”

“Then do you want to join the one I’m considering? I have a couple in mind. If you find it hard to decide right away, we can look around while eating. You can come along if you want.”

“Really? I’ve been feeling lost without any friends to hang out with, so I’d be grateful.”

After deciding to visit the clans Kim Baram had noted in the afternoon, Joo Jin-Yong and he finished their lunch and left the cafeteria.

“What clan are you thinking of?”

“The first one is the ‘Dungeon Slayers’ clan. Have you heard of it?”

“I saw their promotion on the way to the cafeteria. They focus on dungeon raids, right?”

“Yeah. I think I’ll be working in that field after graduation, so I thought it’d be good to gain some experience in advance. Let’s head to Building K.”

Joo Jin-Yong nodded at his suggestion.

After locating Building K on his smart watch, Joo Jin-Yong and Kim Baram headed there.

Since Building K was primarily used by many clans for their rooms, the area in and around it was crowded with new cadets like them who had come to look at the clans.

“There are so many people.”

“Looks like everyone had the same idea and decided to look around after lunch.”

“It’s hard to go together. Let’s meet in front of room 303 on the third floor.”

“Oh okay. I’ll go ahead and wait for you.”

With that, Joo Jin-Yong glanced up at the third floor and suddenly disappeared right in front of Kim Baram.

Realizing what he had done, Kim Baram immediately looked up at the third-floor window, where Joo Jin-Yong was waving at him with his signature sly smile.

He must have used his unique ability, [Teleportation], to get up there.

Heartless guy.

Left alone, Kim Baram sighed deeply at the massive crowd in front of Building K and dived into the sea of people to make his way to the third floor.

——-

“Phew. It’s somewhat better up here.”

Having been jostled around by people, Kim Baram finally made it up. He was relieved to see the third floor was less crowded than the first. 

He looked at the direction sign in front of him to find Room 303 where he was supposed to meet Joo Jin-Yong.

[<-305,310 // 315,306->]

‘Looks like I need to go left.’

As he turned left and headed toward Room 303, he spotted Joo Jin-Yong waiting in front of it.

“Jin-Yong—”

“Hyung! This is the guy I was talking about. One of the kids who cheated during the entrance exam. Looks like he knows our clan is good, so he’s been waiting here.”

{TN:- Hyung > Older Brother.}

That whining voice sounded familiar.

When Kim Baram slightly turned his head to look at the person in front of Joo Jin-Yong, he saw Shin Hae-seong standing there with a smug expression. He was surrounded by cadets who appeared like his seniors.

“No. I was thinking of joining the clan—”

“Hah! After coming all the way here, now you’re pretending otherwise. If you admit you cheated during the entrance exam, I might consider letting you join our clan.”

‘What’s going on here?’

***

Joo Jin-Yong dreamed.

A memory from his childhood when everyone was together.

While holding his father and mother’s hands, he walked through the market. They bought delicious dumplings and returned home to eat them happily together.

It was a memory from his childhood that would never come true again.

Warm tears, which he believed to never fall again, streamed down his cheeks.

Even after he woke up, his mind still lingered in the dream. Joo Jin-Yong quietly called out the names he missed.

“Father… Mother, I will make sure you live in comfort.”

After his father died in an accident, he witnessed his mother struggle to raise him alone, Joo Jin-Yong had vowed a thousand, no, tens of thousands of times in his heart.

He had to get up and start his work for the day, but Joo Jin-Yong wanted to hold onto the happy memories for a little while longer. He closed his eyes and leaned back on his pillow.

———

Clunk!

“Jin-Yong, are you asleep? Father called for us this morning. I think he found out about what I did with the new girl who joined the guild last week. You need to cover for me.”

The door suddenly opened, and a rather urgent voice of a man echoed.

A well-built figure with a handsome face. However, he somehow exuded a sleazy feeling.

It was Shin Hae-seong, the son of the guild master of Geumseong Guild. The place where Joo Jin-Yong had infiltrated.

Joo Jin-Yong sighed softly so he wouldn’t be heard, then got up from the bed, put on a smiling face, and spoke.

“Oh, that new girl. The one who graduated from the academy recently?”

“Yeah. She’s pretty cute, so I brought her home to give her some advice as a senior, had some drinks, and then…”

Considering what Shin Hae-seong usually did, he didn’t need to hear the rest to know.

He had intentionally stayed close to him since the academy for the sake of his mission, but this guy, who was arrogant and looked down on anyone he thought was beneath him, had remained a piece of trash even into adulthood.

“I’ll talk to the guild master for you. You didn’t mean to cause trouble, right?”

“Huh? Uh… Yeah, it was a mistake. I drank too much. Anyway, thanks, Jin-Yong. Father listens to you, so he’ll let it slide.”

Shin Hae-seong felt relieved by Joo Jin-Yong’s words. He switched from his urgent tone to a brighter one. He patted Joo Jin-Yong’s shoulder and started speaking to him again.

“I’ll be waiting outside. Bring the car around. If things go well today, I’ll treat you at Maehwaru. I heard a lot of pretty girls joined today.”

“Got it. I’ll just change my clothes and come out.”

With that, Shin Hae-seong closed the door and left. His cheerful footsteps seemed to reflect his mood. Once Shin Hae-seong’s footsteps could no longer be heard, Joo Jin-Yong’s smiling face turned into a cold, expressionless one. He roughly brushed off the shoulder that Shin Hae-seong had touched.

“Simple-minded bastard. Acting like a horny dog. He’s already thinking about playing with girls again after causing trouble.”

Cursing the worthless Shin Hae-seong, Joo Jin-Yong got off the bed. He changed into a dark navy suit and found another phone hidden in his drawer.

Ring! Ring!

Click!

[Hello.]

“Bat.”

[Is there anything unusual?]

“Everything is the same as usual.”

[Got it. Report if there’s any change.]

“By the way… How’s my mother?”

[She’s doing well so focus on your mission.]

“Yes.”

Click!

After ending the weekly report call, Joo Jin-Yong took out his mother’s letter from the drawer. The letter, which came only once every few months. It was the only thing that kept him going during his mission in Korea, his mother’s homeland.

The letter contained a very brief message saying she was doing well and not to worry. 

Troubled by the deep longing for his mother, he had opened and read the letter so many times that the edges were frayed and worn out.

After carefully folding the letter and putting it back in the drawer, Joo Jin-Yong buried his longing and sorrow deep in his heart and headed to the parking lot.