NOVEL NEXT chapter 5
5 – Rule 4. The head prefect monitors the potential villains (1)
This place is the academy city ‘Neo Seoul’.
And the villain controlling Neo Seoul is referred to as ‘Korak’, meaning ‘huge villain’.
The villains I have to catch are those who will become Korak.
To be specific, there are six of them, known as the ‘Six Sinners’.
Among them is my childhood friend Kim Dal-bi, also known as the ‘Six Sinners’.
In the game, there was an event independent of the original story where players could choose to hunt down the Six Sinners since it was an open-world game.
This means that the likelihood of the original protagonist, Lee Tae-sung, intervening is low unless he dramatically declares, “I will catch the six sinners!”
Subjugation of the Six Sinners… that was the end content. It was quite difficult at first.
The Six Sinners event was one of the most difficult in the game.
Fortunately, I remember when each of the Six Sinners events occurred.
It was easier to remember as it was end content, and the event was also memorable.
‘I have to catch them somehow.’
Without defeating the Six Sinners before the end, they each become the Korak that overthrows Neo Seoul, claiming the throne as the city’s ruler.
Regardless of who it becomes, the city’s order collapses and a dystopia sets in.
Even if you leave the academy city, it’s an apocalyptic world full of monsters.
In order to defend my homeland, I had to stop the Six Sinners.
What about Lee Se-ah?
‘Lee Se-ah too. She’s not one of the Six Sinners, but she’ll eventually become a Korak.’
Lee Se-ah.
First-year high school student at Asung High School.
Age, 17.
Affiliation, Service Department.
She is a female student scheduled to be the next boss of the ‘Dohwa Faction’, one of the syndicate-looking organizations in the academy city.
She becomes a villain, a Korak of the black market, but she loses her life shortly thereafter.
So even though she’s an event villain, there’s no case where Lee Se-ah turns the academy city into a dystopia.
However, this is no reason to ignore Lee Se-ah.
‘She must be planning something illegal by now. Even if she hasn’t done anything yet, there is a need to keep an eye on. Because there’s no guarantee that the world will go the way of the game.’
In this world, An Woo Jin, literally me, is intervening.
So what if variables are ignited by the butterfly effect, preventing Lee Se Ah from dying?
What if she becomes a harmful being in the Academy City?
It’s not allowed.
I couldn’t accept it.
So, it was only right to keep an eye on Lee Se Ah.
“So, you want me to watch over Lee Se Ah, my classmate?”
The student council office.
A female freshman asked me.
I nodded.
She’s a junior who I called into the office.
A new member who joined the student council this term.
I took notice of her during the final interview I attended as an interviewer.
Because I noticed her expertise in maintaining a poker face.
‘Looking at her again, her expressionlessness is astonishing.’
No emotions could be read from her.
It was truly an art form.
She seemed as if she might have undergone assassin training from somewhere.
Since her poker face was expertly managed, and her personality was cautious, she would do a better job observing Lee Se Ah, than most members.
“I repeat, Lee Se Ah is a colleague affiliated with a large secret organization, and this time even Anomie targeted her. I judged that she needs to be observed.”
“Then may I ask why you are giving me this task?”
Because your expressionlessness is excellent.
But.
‘I won’t answer honestly.’
She might unnecessarily worry about her expression.
“You’re in the same Plum Blossom hall, first-year class C as Lee Se Ah. That’s the only reason you’ve caught my eye.”
“…I understand. Thank you for entrusting me, senior. I will bring the best results.”
“Well, okay. I’m counting on you.”
My expressionless junior gave a polite bow.
Look at her confidence.
For some reason, I’m proud.
When the Branch Head arrives, I must boast about the one I found.
…
A week later.
It was the day to receive the first surveillance reports on Isa.
‘Again, an impressive poker face.’
My stoic junior associate appeared with his unreadable expression.
I felt quite satisfied with his perfect poker face.
Sharp. He saluted to me formally.
“Sir, I’ve come to report.”
“Alright.”
“This report is based on my personal observations and secretly gathered information. It has been cross-verified.”
The stoic junior associate handed me a report that he had personally drafted.
The report was well-designed and had excellent readability.
‘Did I ask for this?’
How did he produce such a report despite the tight deadline…?
This must truly be the promising talent that I found.
“Tell me about it.”
I said, hiding a sense of pride.
“Yes. Firstly, Isa leads a group. She has an excellent ability to bring people onto her side, and she is being mentioned as a powerful candidate for the gang leader.”
It was an obvious thing.
After all, Isa was the one who would become a master of the underworld in the future.
No doubt her handling skills must be good, and her networking skills must be considerable.
“And?”
I asked, while starting to read the report he presented.
“Secondly, she frequently performs good deeds.”
’What?’
My head was jerked up involuntarily.
“Good deeds?”
The one who would later become the worst villain, the Evil Incarnate, was doing good deeds?
Is it like a snake pretending to be naive, under the guise of sheep’s wool?
“Yes, that’s right.”
A junior with a poker face answered without hesitation.
“You aren’t just saying this because of club activities?”
“No, I’m not.”
He promptly skimmed through the report.
There seemed to be a lot of content, with most of it discussing Isea’s good deeds.
I read through those details.
*
The first case.
This story concerns Min Hana, a first-year student in Class C from Mehwagwan.
One day, Min Hana had to run to school to avoid being late due to oversleeping.
In the end, she forgot to bring money with her.
She also didn’t have a packed lunch.
Being timid, she hadn’t made any friends yet.
In the end, she had no choice but to skip lunch.
Min Hana concealed her hunger from everyone and endured it as best as she could.
Suddenly, four female students flocked to Min Hana.
They were in Isea’s clique.
“Heh heh…”
“Tee hee…”
Isea’s clique let out witch-like laughter.
A dangerous, sinister smile flowed on Isea’s face.
The fact that Isea belonged to a gang known as the Mafia was publicly known within the school. Her clique was even presumed to be in the top-ranked gang position in Class C of the first year.
It was scary, and she always avoided making eye contact, but they came to her first….
‘Why me…?’
Min Hana’s heart pounded wildly.
Was she their next target for bullying?
Min Hana felt a sense of impending crisis that her high school life might go awry from the get-go.
“Can I just take a look at you? You seemed to miss lunch earlier?”
Isea approached, pressing her face close, and asked in a teasing tone.
“Hiccup…!”
Min Hana was so startled that she involuntarily hiccuped.
“Y-yes…! I…I skipped lunch. But why…?”
Her answer was unintentionally tinged with a sob.
Isea cracked a smile.
“Well, why don’t you go buy some bread with this money?”
With a snort.
Isea placed some money gently on Min Hana’s desk with a sinister smile.
“Ah…!”
She’s doomed.
That sentence just now…
It was nothing less than a proclamation that she’d be Isea’s “bread fetcher.”
Is she going to be a toy for the wilful mafia?
Should she expect to spend days in agonizing torment, surrounded by bullies?
Her heart was pounding.
Hungry as she was, a sorrowful emotion seemed to pour in.
Regretfully, she came to Alpha High School.
If she had known this, she wouldn’t have tried so hard to pass the entrance examination.
With deep regret, Min Hana envisioned her worst future.
But then.
“…Huh?”
Looking at the money Isea had placed on her desk, Min Hana cocked her head.
The money on the desk was a green note with a picture of King Sejong, ten thousand won.
Considering that the price of bread from the cafeteria was between one to two thousand won, it was quite a generous amount
Skeptical, Min Hana stared at Isea.
“You should eat something expensive and delicious. Because it’s sad when you’re hungry. hehehe…”
“Heehee…”
“Giggle…”
Isea and her gang left with eerie laughter.
How should she process this situation? For a moment, Min Hana was steeply immersed in confusion.
When Min Hana brought bread from the snack stand, Iseah and her group happily chatted, munching on their snacks together.
Then, Min Hana noticed. “These kids are good ones!” A warmth seeped into her heart.
This was the story recorded in a report by a junior who hid his expression as he witnessed the situation and listened to Min Hana sharing the feelings from that time.
*
Second case.
This is the story of Kim Deoksun, a second-year student from Yeonhwa Hall belonging to the student council.
It happened as Kim Deoksun was patrolling the outskirts with two junior members of the student council.
Vroom!
An exceptionally loud engine sound caught the patrol’s attention.
“What is it? The sound of motorcycles?”
“Senior, over there!”
Multiple bikes were emitting raucous engine sounds.
Female students in Asung High School uniforms were riding like a motor gang across the street.
“hahahahaha!”
“Teeheehee!”
While roguishly laughing, they were dutifully adhering to the speed limit.
Behind each bike was a luggage rack, with heavy, bulky luggage secured there.
At the center of them, a female student in sunglasses pulled a quad bike, an ATV, for cargo transportation. The ATV’s rack was burdened with even more luggage.
“Aren’t those people suspicious…?”
As the junior member said, after a closer look, they did seem suspicious.
Could they be transporting prohibited goods?
Thinking back on the student council’s crime log, it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence.
Asung High School was the closest to the black market among various schools. Every year, a few students from Asung were arrested for illegal transportation suspicions.
In the first place, it was extraordinary for a group to ride such bikes.
As soon as the patrol noticed a suspicious situation, it was their duty to intervene immediately.
Whether they were about to rebel or not, verification was needed.
Desperately, Kim Deoksun shouted out.
“Stop them!”
“Yes, sir!”
The patrol team blocked the group of bikers who were obeying the speed limit.
Screech. The biker group came to a simultaneous halt.
“What’s the matter… who are you guys?”
A female student, amidst them driving a four-wheel bike, casually asked while taking off her sunglasses.
Her bright eyes, reminiscent of a fox’s playful smirk, scanned the disciplinary members.
She was Lee Se-Ah, a first-year student of Asung High School.
“We are the disciplinary team!”
“Is that so? Can you move aside now?”
“Ha, such audacity…!”
Crack!
Kim Deok-Soo took out his baton, pointing at Lee Se-Ah and shouted.
“You guys, where did all these bikes come from!? And what’s with all these goods!? Are you trying to arrange an illegal transaction on the black market? Or are you transporting prohibited goods?”
Deok-Soo’s subordinates all tensely assumed their battle positions.
Just in case, they might have to suppress Lee Se-Ah’s group.
“Hmm, this is troublesome. What kind of misunderstanding is this?”
Lee Se-Ah glanced at the muscular girl who had been riding the bike next to her.
“Chief, please help me out?”
“Huh!”
Responding to Se-Ah’s request, the muscular girl looked threateningly at Kim Deok-Soo.
She was one of the strongest people in Asung High, the head of the volunteer club.
“We are the volunteer club. We were just delivering food, including rice, to help our less fortunate neighbors. If you don’t want to get hurt, move aside right now.”
“Heh, heh….”
“Snicker… if you block our way, we’ll turn you into minced meat…!”
The volunteer club let out a villainous laughter.
“Don’t joke around! Why would a bunch of thugs ride around on…!”
“Gangsters? These are precious bikes donated by Lee Se-Ah’s family, members of the Dohwa Faction, for our new member to help the less fortunate. If you insult our donors, we won’t stand it, risking the honor of the volunteer club.”
“Snicker…!”
The volunteer club was ready to launch into battle at any moment.
Lee Se-Ah, with a foxlike smirk, leisurely swayed the sunglasses held between her fingers.
Regardless of the disciplinary team being ranked first in the power hierarchy, they couldn’t possibly best them with only Kim Deok-Soo and two new members. If necessary, they may have to call for backup.
“You lot…”
Kim Deok-soo felt a surge of indignation. His pride was wounded.
Still, the authority of the student council was formidable.
“Well then, we’ll control the streets and conduct inspections under the authority of the student council! We’ll have to check what those bundles are. Unpack them all right here!”
In that moment, the atmosphere grew heavy, and the faces of the service club members all hardened.
‘Apparently, they’re not so innocent.’
The fact that Lee Sa-ya was a mafioso was already widely known around the school. The organization was a potential threat, armed illegally and vast enough to rival Anomia.
Even if they didn’t know the organization’s identity, who’s the dumb one who wouldn’t know that ‘mafia’ implies a criminal organization?
If it were Lee Sa-ya, he could’ve even coaxed the service club.
The head of the service club had mentioned ‘sponsorship.’
Kim Deok-soo had given weight to the likelihood that they had accepted the role of transporting illicit items on behalf of the gang.
“This is quite troublesome…”
Lee Sa-ya let out a deep sigh, resting his sunglasses on his chin.
“So you’re saying all pretty-wrapped presents I had for people’s joy are aaall for nothing? Student Council, can’t you overlook it for once?”
“I told you not to joke.”
“Oh, oh, oh…”
Lee Sa-ya hummed, seeming to ponder, then “Ah”, he started laughing cunningly as though something sprang to mind.
‘What trick is he trying to pull now…?’
Kim Deok-soo felt cold sweat bead on his forehead.
“Student Council, were you patrolling outside by any chance?”
“And if we were?”
Lee Sa-ya gestured towards himself, tilting his head to one side.
His face was full of crafty smiles.
“How’d you like to join us?”
“What?”
Kim Deok-soo was at a loss.
Afterwards, the service club had the Kim Deok-soo’s team mount their bikes and they sped off, strictly adhering to the speed limit.
Lee Sa-ya’s proposition was this.
After all, shouldn’t the range of the student council’s outdoor patrol cover all jurisdictional sectors, wherever they may be?
Therefore, you should ride the bikes along with our service club while patrolling. Keep an eye on us.
Our volunteer party was determined to proceed with the work at hand.
“Let’s see if they dare to act suspicious.”
Kim Deok-su was all braced up.
He vowed to completely overturn their deceitful schemes.
“Huh?”
However, Kim Deok-su’s resolve turned out to be futile.
The volunteer party, seeming almost like Santa Claus, distributed the gift boxes packed in bundles to the citizens leading difficult lives.
A student with a disability that hindered them from proper economic activity due to an accident.
Dropouts or students on leave who were in economic strife due to various difficult circumstances.
They all expressed gratitude to the volunteer party after opening their gifts.
Although there were some who took the gesture of benevolence for granted and accepted their gifts as a matter of course, the volunteer party didn’t let it bother them.
In the process, the guidance patrol sought understanding from the citizens and even tasted a very small portion of the rice or other foods.
“Is it real…?”
It was all ordinary food.
It didn’t look of high quality. But for those who received the donation, that alone was more than enough.
Although the situation seemed to annoy Iseah occasionally, causing her brows to furrow, the patrol didn’t pay it any heed.
Finally, the volunteer party supplied a lot of food to the joint volunteer club leading the cause of helping the less fortunate.
That day, Kim Deok-su’s patrol put an end to their mission, carrying the warm realization that “the world is still warm,” in their hearts.
This was the content reported by a stoic junior who had secretly learned of the volunteer party’s plans and was informed of the situation at the time by Kim Deok-su.
*
“… …”
The report contained nothing else but endearing tales of Iseah.
Such as the time when she was the first to carry a female student who got injured during physical education to the infirmary, or when she found a lost child on the street and found their home, or her volunteering at a free meal center three times a week…
‘What is this? Why are there only heart-warming stories…?’
This was implausible.
Iseah is supposed to be a villain…!
‘Did she find out that she was being observed?’
Even if he didn’t know Iseah well, he knew well enough that she was as cunning as a snake.
Chances are that even if he keeps his stoic junior on surveillance, more heartwarming tales would likely be added.
This isn’t going to work.
“From today, you can stop monitoring.”
“Did you not find it satisfactory?”
“No. From now on, I’ll do it myself.”
Anyway, the game is over with my indifferent junior.
Iseah thinks I should keep a close watch personally.
* * *
“Please… save me…! Se-ah!”
Dark night.
In a building located in the neutral area, the black market.
Amid the dim lamp light only illuminating the room, a man was prostrate on the ground, trembling. He was a dropout student, also a businessman active in the black market.
His bodyguards were scattered around, bleeding. It was the aftermath of a battle.
Groaning.
“Ugh….”
A girl in a black school uniform stepped on the man’s head.
And slowly, she pressed his head down. Til his nose was about to get crushed against the marble floor.
“Maintaining business ethic is a very important issue. Even here in the black market. Yet, market manipulation, hiking up prices, selling inferior products disguised as quality…. Your arrogance had grown out of bounds. Did you see us as fools to be ripped off?”
The girl’s stern eyes bore into the man as she lectured him.
She was Se-ah, a freshman of Asung High School.
Two students in black clothes stood guarding her sides. Each of them had the power to convert magic into elements.
“No, no! I was wrong! Please forgive me…! I’ll do anything…!”
The man who until the deal had been full of himself, felt the overwhelming difference in power after all his bodyguards were taken out.
That was why he was desperately begging for his life.
Se-ah chuckled.
“Your lines are too cliché, aren’t they? Hmm…, should I spare you then?”
Color returned to the man’s face.
As Se-ah lifted her foot, he quickly looked up at her with blood dripping from his nose. His face was filled with hope, as if he had found a lifeline.
“Thank…thank you for giving me a chance! If you do so, I’ll do anything, really…!”
Se-ah sat down, folding her legs, looking down at the man
“…Huh?”
The man’s face registered surprise.
He thought she would definitely demand money.
Her directive was no different from calling him to lay down his human dignity.
An attitude of not seeking to gain anything despite being at an advantage.
This essentially meant, ‘You are no longer needed.’
Sea laughed.
“You might be charged with public indecency, but it’ll be fine, right? This is a neutral zone where enforcement is lax.”
“Se, Sea… please!”
“If you’re nothing more than a pig, at least you should entertain me, right?”
The man lost his words.
“This is my kind of mercy. Don’t you like it?”
“That, that…”
“You saw it once. If you don’t want to do anything, it’ll be hard to see it twice.”
The man hung his head and shed tears.
“I, I’ll do it….”
“Well, you made the right decision. From tonight for a week, I’m looking forward to it.”
Sea rose from her seat with a broad smile.
A buzz. Her smartphone, stored in the pocket of her uniform, vibrated. She checked the caller.
“Let’s go.”
Sea, followed by a duo dressed in black, left the place.
In a deserted factory located in the black market district.
Surrounding the desolate factory, a woman in a neat uniform with a blend of blue and gold, leaning against a pillar, seemed out of place.
It was the Han-Yang Federal Academy uniform. The uniform coat hung over her shoulders.
Soon, the clip-clop of heels echoed, and she moved away from the pillar.
“Ouch, I’ve kept Jungmi waiting!”
Sea’s voice echoed in the abandoned factory. She ventured towards a female student of the Han-Yang Federal Academy, Lee Jeongmi, with a sly smile.
This was where they had agreed to meet.
“No, Ms. Sea.”
Jungmi slightly bowed her head in greeting.
Se-Ah dragged over an old chair, then sat with her legs spread and the chairback facing her.
“By the way, have you found it? The surveillance device the head monitor has on our organization.”
Se-Ah folded her arms on the back of the chair, resting her chin atop them as she asked.
The Anomia subway terrorism incident.
At the time, An Woo Jin had discovered Anomia’s plan in advance and had taken action. Moreover, he had managed to equip himself with a device that could monitor the movements of various organizations in real time.
So Se-Ah had instructed Do Hwa Tribe subordinate Lee Jung Mi to find An Woo Jin’s means of surveillance.
If An Woo Jin was still monitoring her, Se-Ah would have no choice but to take a passive approach.
“I’m sorry, I failed.”
One of Se-Ah’s eyebrows arched.
“I couldn’t tell whether the head monitor of Ah Sung High stepped back or manipulated us while tracking our movements. Anyway, I could not find his means of surveillance.”
“That’s… This is problematic.”
Se-Ah straightened her back, lowered her head and let out a deep breath.
Her eyes slowly opened.
They were a clear, vivid red.
“He’s not someone to be underestimated. I didn’t expect this level…”
An Woo Jin’s skill far exceeded Se-Ah’s anticipation.
He was a figure who had become the head monitor after outshining a genius named O Baek Seo, known all over Neo Seoul. It was a given that he possessed exceptional abilities.
Even so, the fact that he could wage an information war with several organizations was something unbelievable, however much you chewed on it.
The situation felt almost fictional, to the point where she felt she might be mistaken.
But there was already clear evidence: the case of the Anomia subway kidnapping laid right in front of her, only deepening the chaos in her mind.
Se-Ah felt as if she was a clown dancing on An Woo Jin’s palm.
“This will delay our plan to take over the black market.”
This place, the black market, was one dark side of the school city.
Illegal trades were rampant, making it a hive of black money.
As soon as Se-Ah became the boss of the Do Hwa Tribe, she had devised a plan to take over the black market.
Her purpose was to rule the underworld.
She would turn herself into a necessary evil, harnessing the underworld to pursue goodness.
Thus, improving the school city, even if just a little, was Se-Ah’s ideology.
Even if she couldn’t create a utopia where everyone was happy, she wanted to make a world where at least one person was less miserable.
“My head hurts. I’m not worried about the dogs from Anomia, but the director is a real headache…”
Even though she faced gratings with the Anomia due to the black market gun, they weren’t the problem.
The real challenge was Woo-jin’s intelligence network.
Unless she could uncover his covert surveillance method, which was spread out like a spider web throughout the academy city, it was hard for Se-ah to carry out her plan.
The black market is a neutral area that doesn’t belong to anyone’s jurisdiction, but conversely, it is a place where any student council can intervene. As students commit crimes there, it is also a place where various academy student councils are on the lookout.
In other words, if Se-ah showed even a little suspicious circumstances, she would become a target for the student council.
“…Hmm.”
As she pondered, a smile gradually spread across Se-ah’s face.
A small idea that had occurred since the subway incident finally sparked into a flame, and this was the reason the flames spread in her mind.
“Miss Se-ah…?”
“Shall we put the plan on hold for a bit?”
Se-ah turned her steely eyes back and flashed an enchanting smile like a vixen.
“I came up with something I want to do.”
“What is it?”
Se-ah entered the SNS of Ahsung High School student council on her smartphone.
She zoomed in on the profile picture of the 45th head of the student council, Woo-jin Ahn, and showed it to Jung-mi. Then she pointed at it with her index finger.
“I want this man.”
Se-ah smiled craftily.
“I have to have him.”
At this moment, Se-ah’s desire was solidified.
Her interest in the director deepened. This interest turned into a desire to ‘have him’.
It may be foolish to challenge a monster like Woo-jin Ahn, who possesses the power of the client and exceptional abilities.
So, wouldn’t it be better to capture Dean as an ally, rather than as an enemy or a person to be wary of?
“…Huh?”
Jung-mi had to take time to understand what Se-ah meant.
And then.
“Wha-at!?”
Her voice echoed around the abandoned factory.