I Became the Leader of Academy City

4 – Rule 3: The Discipline Head Pays Attention to Freshmen

Every morning, a solemn atmosphere tends to envelope the gates of Ahseong High School.

The reason being the patrol students, clipboard in hand, always standing by the school entrance during the time of school arrival.

Underneath the clear spring sky, at gate number one, flower petals scattered around Ahseong High.

Six patrol students stood at their respective posts, upholding the authority of the discipline committee.

They scrutinized every student passing through the gate.

“Hold up, you there!”

“Me?”

“Wearing gym shorts under your skirt is a clear violation of school rules. State your class and grade.”

“Oh, I must’ve forgotten. If I take one off, it’s okay?”

“Of course, you’re supposed to. But since you already violated the school rule, you will be penalized.”

“Jeez, you’re so petty….”

The female student muttered complaints as she told the discipline committee member her class and grade before leaving.

Every school day, at the four gates of Ahseong High, uniform and hair regulations were conducted.

Disciplinary members took turns going around each gate.

Of course, the process was not always smooth.

“You there! Where’s your hat and name tag?”

“The hat is in my bag, but I forgot my name tag…I just forgot. Can’t you just let it slide?”

“No, I can’t. Give me your class, grade, and name.”

“Please just let it go this once. I forgot the name tag in my classroom. As soon as I go there, I’ll wear it.”

“No. Without any nonsense, tell me quickly.”

“Oh, geez! The first-year students lack flexibility…”

“Excuse me? What did you just say…?”

“You, junior. If you keep being so pedantic, the students are going to suffocate, you know…”

Then, a dark shadow loomed over the male student who was grumbling rudely to the disciplinary committee member.

Feeling the intimidating aura, the male student abruptly stopped mid-sentence.

His survival instinct screamed at him to immediately shut his mouth.

“Pre, Prefect….”

The first-year prefect member’s voice trembled.

A figure belongs to the top echelon of the strong within Asung High School.

Prefect head, Wonjin An, stood behind the male student, emanating a cold aura.

Wonjin’s authority as the prefect head was exceptional, and his character was also very strict and firm.

Isn’t there a ridiculous story about him suppressing an armed group that hijacked a subway on his first day of prefect activity?

He was a monster, no two ways about it.

“That, um…”

If he displeased Wonjin, he couldn’t even begin to imagine how twisted his school life would become.

The male student, flush with fear, glanced at Wonjin, caught a glimpse of his threatening gaze, and hung his head low.

“Such a disgrace.”

His voice cold as ice, Wonjin spoke and the male student shuddered.

“Your class and name.”

“I am Mansu Jo, second year, of Gukhwa dormitory…!”

“Record it.”

As directed by Wonjin, the prefect member shouted “Yes, sir!” and noted ‘Mansu Jo, second year, Gukhwa dormitory’ in the roll book.

“Mansu Jo.”

“Y-Yes…!

“You shall strictly conform to the school rules. Also,”

Speaking gravely, Wonjin looked down at Mansu Jo. Jo couldn’t make eye contact.

Wonjin warned.

“If you show the same behavior towards our members again, it won’t just end with a deduction of points next time.”

His icy, sarcastic whisper turned Jo’s blood cold.

“I, I’m sorry…. I’ll leave now….”

Mansu hastily bowed, apologized and left the spot quickly.

The prefect member watched Mansu’s retreating figure. Wonjin clicked his tongue.

Then, the prefect member sent a look of admiration towards Wonjin.

“Prefect, thank you…!”

Prefect Wonjin An.

He seemed to live in an entirely different world, even though he was only a year older than the new student council member.

Should one say that it gave off a sense of maturity?

He was handsome, strong, one of the top performance academically in the second year, even overflowing with charisma.

He was, truly, a more complete person than any other man he had ever seen.

“You’re working hard.”

“Pardon?”

The student council member was startled.

He hadn’t expected Woojin to offer consolation.

Woojin reached up to adjust the brim of the uniform cap he wore. His teal eyes sparkled brightly in the shade beneath the brim.

“Usually, guys like that show up quite frequently. They know that student council members can’t cross the line, and if the opponent is a junior, they’ll often back down with a little intimidation. Plus, you’re a first-year freshman who joined us not too long ago. You probably seem more vulnerable.”

“I see…”

Woojin said it and then felt a brief sense of incongruity.

‘Wait. Isn’t this…rather obvious?’

Seeing the new council member dealing with a problem student, he felt the urge to teach him a thing or two.

As though a game player wanting to teach a newbie.

For some reason, he felt more irritated.

“Ahem.”

Woojin made a light, well-mannered cough.

It seemed better to end the conversation here.

A faintly awkward smile crossed his lips.

“Anyway, it’ll get better as you keep going. You can do it.”

“…!”

The student council member saw it.

The corners of Woojin’s mouth, which usually held nothing but coolness, were subtly lifted.

His understated thoughtfulness moved the student council member.

“President, I’ll work hard…!”

Suddenly, the inspired student council member saluted and exclaimed his resolution.

His voice was filled with passion.

“Oh? Oh, sure…”

Woojin nodded and then left the spot.

Unaware he had just become the role model for the new members.

* * *

He had just given a moment’s attention to the new members.

As predicted, the class of the problematic students was the same as always.

However, he felt relieved seeing the energetic enthusiasm of the new recruits.

‘I should treat them well. They’re the ones who will help me catch the villains.’

It was imperative to maintain charisma and authority, and also to impart an impression that he was attentive to each member.

All of this was for his purpose.

This year when he became the student council president, the application rate for student council hit an all-time high.

The application rate had always been high. This was because it was of great assistance in maintaining their school records as they carried out important tasks for their school.

The sharp rise in the application rate was supposedly due to more students hearing rumors about him. He had no idea what these rumors were, but it felt rewarding to have built such an image.

Thanks to this, the probabilities of selecting even more talented individuals had increased.

That’s why he actively intervened in the personnel matters.

In order to catch the villains, wasn’t it necessary to elect suitable talents?

At that time, the HR representatives were overwhelmed with the massive workload.

Dark circles had formed under their eyes, and they were looking as pitiful as zombies.

‘Are… are you saying you will review all of these, sir?’

‘There’s no need, sir! This is our responsibility! We’ve only missed four nights of sleep, it’s nothing! Just give us energy drinks, we can do this!’

‘Are…are you relieving us…to help us?’

‘Sobbing…we will follow you for life, sir!’

He thought his interference would cause discomfort, he was even prepared for their disapproval.

On the contrary, they seemed moved to tears.

He still could not understand why they would pledge to follow him for life as his term as a president was only for a year.

Anyway, he diligently shortlisted applicants that boasted potential assistance.

He primarily focused on the criteria that could measure the strength of each candidate.

Because it would certainly be better to have a strong team to catch the villains.

Additionally, the stronger the student council of the year, the more weight would be added to his authority.

‘It was quite tough…’

The sheer number of applicants made the task much harder than anticipated.

‘Have I unnecessarily involved myself?’ he pondered with regret.

Thanks to the deputy director stepping in to help, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. She was terrifyingly fast at handling tasks.

Otherwise, I might have suffocated under the mountain of paperwork…

“Do you have something to say?”

“Huh?”

In the executive office of the guidance department. While sitting at the work desk, reflecting on the past.

It was when I was looking at the back of Baek Seo who was reviewing the agenda on the reception sofa.

As if she had eyes on the back of her head, Baek Seo asked me.

She turned towards me, her gentle smile as always.

“No, I just happened to look. But how did you know I did?”

“Do you want to guess?”

“…There’s a mirror.”

“Correct.”

Upon closer inspection, there was a small mirror on the table in front of Baek Seo.

It had been obscured by her body until a moment ago and I hadn’t noticed.

‘I thought she was just looking at the paperwork….’

Was she secretly watching me through the mirror?

…Nah, that can’t be it.

I’m being too self-conscious.

She must have seen me by chance.

Suddenly, Baek Seo moved to the opposite sofa with her paperwork. That’s when I got a full view of her.

“Why’d you change your seat?”

“It seems the director wants to see my face. You can see better from here, can’t you?”

That sly grin.

She’s teasing me because I took the bait.

“Stop making fun and get back to work…it’s not like that.”

“hehehe, alright.”

When we got back to business mode, silence returned to the office.

Soon, Bang! The door opened violently, shattering the silence.

“Director, I came as summoned~.”

A complaining voice filled the office.

“You’ve arrived.”

“Welcome.”

Baek Seo and I greeted the new girl in school uniform who had just entered.

Her beret was precariously perched atop her head like a piece of modern art, seemingly about to fall off at any moment.

As her voice had suggested, she was drowsy, evident from her long yawn.

“Yaaawn… Would it be okay if I take a little nap before the meeting starts, President? I’m so sleepy… I think I have spring fatigue…”

“If you don’t stop referring to yourself in the third person immediately, I’ll double your workload.”

“Isn’t that an abuse of power!?”

I’d rather not hesitate to abuse my power than listen to that kind of language in Korean.

That was crossing the line.

In charge of discipline for indecency, second-year student Ha Ye-sung.

I had called this friend for an informal meeting that was to take place today.

“Baek Seo, honey…! I’m so scared of the President…!”

Ye-sung pretended to sob.

She put down the beret from her head and the clipboard in her hand on the table and sat next to Baek Seo. She then promptly threw her arms around Baek Seo’s.

“You wouldn’t do that, would you? Don’t worry, dear.”

Baek Seo smiled at her with the gentle love of a saint as she stroked Ye-sung’s hair.

Every time, Baek Seo warmly indulged Ye-sung’s playful antics.

“Your touch, Baek Seo honey, is so nice. I feel healed…”

Ye-sung melted under the caress of Baek Seo’s gentle hands, displaying an expression of pure contentment.

She looked like a dog who had found its master.

Quite dog-like.

……

“Here. This is the proof of my hard work!”

The three of us decided to start the meeting.

I received the documents Ye-sung handed us, sitting side by side with Baek Seo. It was a report prepared by Ye-sung.

“I’ve compiled a list of freshmen we need to keep an eye on.”

The topic of the meeting was ‘to select targets that the guidance department must monitor and to what extent.’

It was an unofficial meeting topic that had been passed down as a custom among the officers.

It was not against school regulations, but ethically questionable and therefore not to be disclosed publicly. Yet, this meeting had become a custom because, I heard, it had produced visible results.

‘How it was verified was a mystery.’

Well, I acknowledged the intent.

Managing all the students of Asung High was a daunting task. After all, over two thousand students enroll at Asung High School each year. There was a need to selectively identify the students who needed to be closely monitored.

Moreover, students in this world could handle a mysterious power called ‘magic’. The potential danger of a malignant-minded person was incomparable to my past life.

And there even exist statistics that say ex-offenders have a high probability of recidivating.

So, I decided to follow this practice.

‘This report is neatly made.’

I examined the report I received from Yesong.

It recorded students among this year’s newcomers who had peculiarities to be ‘noteworthy as a guidance team leader’ before entering Asung High School.

‘I heard there were 54 last year, but this year… oh, it’s not?’

I did think the folder was thin, but I did not expect it to be just ten students.

What’s going on?

I was prepared, but?

“Fewer than you thought? It’s…quite a lot.”

Yesong answered confidently.

“In fact, there was a pool of 60 candidates, but I already thoroughly investigated most of them. The rest were people who needed only minimal attention. I’ll show you separately later! Anyway, these are the ones we need to be most mindful of. So, this little ‘Yesong’ here has meticulously dug into them!”

The reason I hired Yesong as an executive when I became the head of student guidance was because, contrary to appearances, he was diligent and good at work.

The information on the ten students that Yesong chose was meticulously and neatly organized.

Among them were troublemakers I had seen in the game. Although they were not villain-level bad, it was clear that they should warrant attention as members of the student guidance office.

Indeed, it was a trustworthy report. I was able to lessen my load thanks to it.

“You worked hard.”

“hehehe.”

I looked over this week’s list of attentions.

One student’s information immediately caught my eye.

A person related to a subway incident that happened previously.

‘Sea. She’s here, too.’

In the passport photo, she was a real-eyed female student with a lovely smile.

‘The future boss of the ‘Mafia’… I didn’t suspect she was from our school at first.’

Seah was a character who would later lead the mafia ‘Dohwapa’.

Hence, the mafia dotes on her.

He would later become a significant evil in the black market, doomed to die a mysterious death.

‘His mafia affiliation had already been made known to the public.’

Investigating an anomia led to the discovery that the target from the last subway incident was Isaiah.

So, the leaders summoned Isaiah and received a confession from her saying ‘I am affiliated with the Mafia.’

Isaiah didn’t even try to hide it. She must have thought it was fine to expose it.

Indeed it was.

‘The mafia doesn’t have any problem for now.’

Because the rotten underside of the mafia hasn’t surfaced yet.

In the end, the subway incident was concluded as a result of a power struggle between two organizations, causing a conflict of force, and the investigation was concluded.

Anomia members who were arrested were handed over to the Judicial Academy on suspicion of committing terror in the public subway, after passing through several jurisdictions.

Anyway.

The fact that she was affiliated with a so-called ‘mafia’ organization, a group suspicious enough to conflict with anomia, and meaning a criminal group.

Considering that, as a byproduct, students who badmouthed or secretly bullied Isaiah in junior high suddenly dropped out …, Isaiah ended up on the list of suspects.

‘She is a veiled existence and there are many suspicious circumstances…’

Was written in the report.

Yetsong evaluated Isaiah that way.

‘Even if she becomes a villain later, she is not yet. It would be good to watch and figure out if there’s anything suspicious.’

Whether she is conducting preparatory work to become a villain, secretly committing a villainous act, or not doing anything at all, they decided to watch Isaiah.

If there are signs of Isaiah about to commit a crime, it would certainly be beneficial. They could prevent her crime before it happens by striking first.

“Boss?”

“What”

Suddenly, Yetsong called me.

She looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“Why are you staring at her picture so much? It seems like love at first sight. Is she your type?”

Surprised!

Suddenly, Baekseo quickly flipped back the report he was reading without any facial expression change and looked at Isaiah’s page.

His hand movement was so quick and accurate that it was barely noticeable.

He was clearly interested now.

“……”

He narrowed his eyes and glared silently at YetSong.

“It’s a joke. hehehe. … I apologize.”

Yesung apologized tactfully.