An explosive biological reaction occurs in the life forms that have been overlapped at an ultra-high density.
After organizing what needed to be organized, our CA session quickly came to an end.
"The spade totems of those guys that keep appearing. The rosary. If that is considered the divine component mentioned in the doctrine, then whose Component it is becomes clear."
The Demon King buried beneath the school.
They were extracting his cells through
some unknown method.
"There must be a hidden space within the school that we don't know about. One that leads all the way to the Demon King underground."
"My God....."
"The shotgun they brought during the
science competition incident. And the
location they were trying to safely evacuate to. It's probably all the same place. Starting today, I want you to observe closely while going about your school life to see if there's such a place. And you, Teacher, while working together in the teachers' office, please keep a close eye on the movements of the other teachers."
"You mean the Soccer Club?"
"Yes, that's right."
I nodded in response to Teacher Jang
Hwaeun's question.
"You need to keep a close watch on places where they might all rush together, or rooms where people go in but no one comes out. It could be anywhere. Like the meeting room
inside the teachers' office, or a specific
stall in the staff restroom. It might even be inside the Vice Principal's office."
"Got it. I'll keep a close watch."
"Thank you."
As our discussion was wrapping up.
Sunah timidly looked at me and asked.
"But Joon... about the Void cult you saw in the future..."
"Yeah. What about that?"
"Could you tell me a little more detail about what it was exactly like..?"
"Hey, I was curious about that too. I never really got to hear the full story of how they even managed to get to that position."
"Same here. I'm curious too. Prez."
"Me too,"
The club members all agreed in unison, their expressions filled with curiosity, but I could only scratch my head.
"...Sorry. I don't really know that part either."
"How can you not know? You lived through it."
"I was just a student back then too. I've already told you everything know. But still, if you want me to go over it again..."
I cleared my throat and began to recount the story I had told before.
"....Before I knew it, the Void cult's influence gradually grew Over time, and starting with In Taesang's election as President, it explosively expanded to a state religion level... Every Wednesday and Sunday, the
streets would become almost deserted
as nearly everyone went to their gatherings. And also... what else was there... Ah, they owned broadcasting stations that held positions equivalent to the current three major public networks. They published newspapers too. Hmm, other than that.."
"Then, Prez, what about In Taesang as an individual, aside from the cult? You must have seen him on TV often, right?"
"..Just his appearance, his voice, things
like that. I don't know any other details.
I was really just an ordinary high school student studying for the college entrance exam."
Still, the only thing I could recall was
something about his campaign slogan.
As I mentioned that part, Jinhee tapped her finger on the desk and asked.
"What is it? What was the slogan?"
"Even if it's something minor, just tell us. You never know, it might be important."
"Well... it was something like."
I cleared my throat with a 'ahem' and then shouted the slogan.
"This man Taesang, only this man will save the country~! It was something like that."
Silent
"..."
"....."
"...That's so common."
"Why are you all making such disappointed faces? I told you it was nothing special."
"I didn't expect it to be this bland."
"Actually. it's a kind of wordplay. If you write it with Hanja characters and overlap them.."
I began to explain in detail, writing on the whiteboard as I spoke.
This man (ㅅ) Taesang, only this man will save the country!
"Like this, in "This man Taesang~' the
pronunciation of the character 'In' for
'man' is repeated so that..."
The club members looked at me, who
was explaining enthusiastically, with
somewhat awkward expressions.
"Because the Hanja character 'ㅅ' (In)
means 'Man', so by inserting it between This man Taesang~" it creates a linguistic play on the overlapping pronunciation of In'"
"We get it, Prez. You can stop now. You're telling a completely nonsense story.."
Feeling awkward, I put down the pen.
'your the ones who told me to explain even the minor details.'
It was proof that I really didn't know anything
"Alright then, let's wrap this up, install
the TV, and go home."
"Let's do that."
We got up from the desks and gathered around the TV box in a crowd. Then, using Sunah's boxcutter, we sliced through the large packaging box and opened it right where it stood.
Since it was a 55-inch TV, it was so big that we had to be careful even when laying it down to take it out.
"It's so wide, but so thin; it might break if we even hold it wrong. Okay, everyone, be careful,"
"Hey Joon, look at the numbers here... It weighs over 20kg..."
"Okay, you two face each other. Lift on three. One, two, three."
"Hup!"
"Ugh!"
"Ah, damn, this is heavy. Hey! Forget Ahn Gyeongwon, someone else and come help!"
Jinhee stopped lifting and snapped at
Gyeongwon across from her.
"You have no strength but you're still
standing right across from me.."
Soon, Gyeongwon stepped out and Dukhun took his place across from her, breathing heavily as they lifted together.
"Okay, carefully. This way."
Following my directions, the two moved towards the floor next to the sofa.
"Put it down here"
[Picture]
"Huu, huu. Damn it, the clubroom has
gotten ridiculously spacious."
Jinhee wiped her sweat as she looked
At the empty space behind the sofa which had been expanded due to the sudden expansion.
But it only looked empty because there was no furniture; once we started bringing in all sorts of appliances like computers, air conditioners, refrigerators, and so on, even this would start to feel cramped.
Just as we were about to Wrap things up, Teacher Jang Hwaeun suddenly approached.
"Wait, wait a minute, kids. Are you planning to put it on the floor and use it like this?"
"..Yeah, well.."
"Oh my goodness. How are you going to watch TV on the floor? You need at least a TV stand. Who just leaves it on the floor like this? Are you going to watch it while looking down?"
"...Then where would be a good place?"
"Wouldn't it obviously be better to put it on the desk?"
"Alright, let's move it."
Dukhun and Jinhee struggled again as they carried the TV over to the desk.
Just as they were about to set it down, this time Gyeongwon approached, waving both hands.
"Whoa, back, move it back. You can't just place it here like this. It's wide but thin, so the center of gravity is unstable; one little bump and it'll tip right over. You need to mount it on the wall or something. You can't leave it on a desk like this, looking so unstable."
"Then where should we put it?"
"Let's just lean it against the wall over there for now, and call our handyman Mr. Kim to mount it on the wall."
Dukhun and Jinhee, grunting with effort, moved the item all the way to the wall, when Sunah came rushing Over.
" I have poor eyesight, I won't be able to see it if you put it against the wall... Could you please put it in front of me...?"
"Oh, for crying out loud! Isn't there anyone who can decide that!?"
Jinhee, her face flushed, yelled in frustration.
"Someone just decide! Right now!"
"On the desk, put it on the desk."
I quickly waved my hand to hold the club members back.
"To where Teacher Hwaeun pointed earlier. Opposite the whiteboard."
This way, if the presenter needs to reference materials during the presentation, instead of having them look at their phone like before, they could just point to the TV.
"Wheeze, wheeze."
"Huff, huff."
[ illustration ]
"No, wait a minute, Club Prez. If we're going to use it for that purpose, the presenter and the TV should be together. Who puts the projector behind them during a presentation?"
Come to think of it, he was right.
"Hey, I'm really sorry. This is the last time, no joke. It makes sense to put it up front. Around where the chalkboard would be in a regular classroom. Please set it up over there."
"Wheeze, wheeze...."
"Haa, haa...."
[illustration]
"Let's just lean it against the wall here for now, and as Gyeongwon suggested, we'll mount it on the wall later."
In the spot where we used to explain things while looking at the whiteboard, we were now going to mount a large TV and use it for PPT.
"The board has wheels, so when we need to write something down while explaining, we can just pull the board over and use it. And when we need to look at the TV, we can slide the board out of the way, like this.."
"I get it, move it now, dammit.. Haah, haah...."
Finally having placed the TV in it's spot, Jinhee wiped away her sweat and glared at me.
"Wow, that was f*cking heavy. Hey, but no matter how much I think about it, was there really a need to buy something this expensive?"
"Why? What's wrong with it? It's big and nice."
"No, there are plenty of big, cheap ones too. Why splurge on an OLED of all things?"
"My choice."
"You're an idiot..."
While Jinhee wiped her sweat, Gyeongwon brought the instruction manual and took care of the rest.
Actually, there wasn't much to take care of since a TV is a product where you just plug in the cord and that's it.
After finding an outlet and plugging in the power cord, Gyeongwon fiddled with the wireless remote and added a Comment.
"Actually, I felt the same way, Club Prez. The points are something you collected, even risking your life for them."
"..."
"I don't understand how you'd spend
260 points on this. And you also wasted another 200 points on sudden,unnecessary space expansion."
As he said, as a result, I only had 142 points left.
Soon, Jinhee, Gyeongwon, and even the other club members looked at me with expressions of agreement.
Everyone had a look on their faces that said this was weighing on their minds.
The atmnosphere was one of interrogation; likeI wouldn't be able to brush it off with a vague 'it's my choice' this time.
I looked back at them, who were staring at me, with an expression that questioned why they found it strange, and gave them my answer.
"...I was just testing to see if Space Expansion could defeat ghost stories in this way. Don't go assuming I did something unnecessary on a whim."
"Then what about the TV?"
"....."
"Why did you buy such an expensive TV?"
I ended up scratching my head at Gyeongwon, who was staring at me and asking.
I really just bought it with the mindset that since I was buying one anyway, I might as well get a good one.
"..That was just because."
"....."
"I just wanted to try buying something a bit better and more expensive for once, you know. That's it."
"Is that seriously the reason?"
Gyeongwon turned his head away with a look of disbelief.
The other club members looked at me
with expressions that seemed to ask if I was joking.
Suddenly, I felt upset.
It's not like I was going to use the TV alone. I kept it in the clubroom for everyone to share.
I pickeda good one so we could watch movies together and build memories. Was that really something I should be interrogated for like this?
"...No, it's my points to begin with, so why are they making such a fuss?'
I touched my lips for a moment, then opened my mouth again.
".I paid you guys already. The points are mine, so why are you surprised like this?"
"Still, Prez. It was a bit much."
Gyeongwon argued back sharply, as if he had already prepared his response in his head.
"I get that we're getting paid, but it's not like you hired us for that. We're friends who risk our lives together, aren't we? It's just not right for Prez to be so careless with something as important as points."
The guy pushed his glasses, looking as if he had to say what needed to be said.
I could sense his firm resolve that wanted to prove I was indeed in the Wrong here.
"It feels a bit awkward saying this after I was the one who suggested buying it. But even so, I didn't expect you to suddenly splurge on something worth 2.6 million won."
"....."
"I think you should be more careful about things like this from now on, Prez. This was clearly something we could have saved on, but it's like you just threw those points away. And you didn't even ask us."
After saying what he wanted to say, Gyeongwon turned back to what he was doing and started reading the TV manual again.
I looked at his back, waited for a moment, then quietly said.
"....So what?"
".....?"
"...."
Gyeongwon stopped reading the manual and looked at me.
I, too, stared at Gyeongwon with a blank expression.
"..."
"..."
A brief silence flowed between us.
Gyeongwon spoke again with an indifferent expression.
"I was just saying."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah."
Gyeongwon wore his usual expression, as if asking why I was making a big deal out of it.
I let out a sigh with a stiff expression.
"..Hoo."
I also looked around at the others.
Jinhee, Dukhun, and even Teacher Hwaeun.
They all watched me with awkward expressions.
I remained silent for a moment, then asked everyone.
".....Do you all think the same way? That I was wrong to buy this?,So I have to fix it?"
"..."
A moment of silence passed among the club members.
Soon, Dukhun, sticking his belly out, spoke first with a 'Hmm.!.
"....I agree. I also think that you made a mistake on this one, President."
"..Really? What about you, Sunah?"
".....!"
Sunah was startled when I pointed at her.
She hesitated and looked away.
"...Sorry, Joon... Honestly, I don't understand it either...."
"I think you were wrong on this part, Joon... Not discussing it with us, not saying anything.."
"..Discussing."
I nodded, mulling over that word.
And then I quietly muttered to myself.
"Yeah, you're right, I was Wrong. Using the points however I wanted without consulting you."
"I should have asked you guys first. Right?"
A brief silence fell over the clubroom again.
"That's what's bothering you, isn't it? That I didn't get your permission?"
"Hey. Why are you acting like this?"
Jinhee looked at me and spoke as if scolding me.
"It's not that we don't like it, it's that it's
wasteful,"
"That's the same thing as not liking it, isn't it?"
"... Seriously."
Jinhee turned her head away as if dumbfounded.
This time, my finger pointed toward Hayoon, as if demanding an answer.
At that, Hayoon slightly lifted her chin and spoke as if she couldn't care less.
"I don't care. Whatever you do with it, Joon."
"That's right. That's how it should be."
I glanced around at the other members and let out a slight, mocking laugh as if to show them.
"You're so disappointed I didn't ask for
permission. You think it's a waste to buy something so expensive."
"....."
"Aren't I the club president here? Don't I have the authority to make even that kind of decision on my own?"
"...Joon, don't take it to heart..."
Sunah looked at me as if trying to appease me.
"It was just something we said between
friends..."
"I've never spoken to you guys like that. Telling me to fix things, saying you don't like it."
"....."
"Can't I buy expensive things? Can't I use good stuff?"
The words slipped out of my mouth with a slight sarcasm.
I felt hurt.
We were supposed to be a party who comforted and cheered each other on this journey, but instead, it turned into a hearing to criticize me.
"You guys take your 1 million won and spend it wherever you want, so why can't I spend mine where I want to? Huh?"
"..."
"Was that something you felt so——disappointed, so regretful about that I had to ask for your permission first? Was it really like that?"
In my own way, I bought it thinking that if I bought something nice, we could watch movies together and make memories.
But I never thought they'd hold onto it like this.
Gyeongwon watched me speak sarcastically for a moment, then finally let out a sigh.
"..That's not what I meant, Prez."
"Then. What is it?"
"I was just saying it because it's a waste to use points unnecessarily for something you could buy with money. If you had splurged on 1 million or 10 million won in cash for your own use none of us would have said anything. It's just that it was points."
"Didn't I explain that earlier? If I bought it with cash. who was going to carry the TV up to the 5th floor for me?"
"....I understand. I understand you didn't want to draw the attention of the teachers of Void cult, and that carrying it up to the 5th floor wouldn't have been easy either, so you bought it with points. But even taking that
into account, we're just saying that
because you bought such an expensive product." Gyeongwon said.
"So, can't I even do that?"
"...."
"Can't I buy something a little expensive?"
"...It's not like you can't. But it's not like we can't say this either, right?"
Gyeongwon glared at me, his tone gradually sharpening.
"We were just sharing our thoughts. We just said it seemed like you bought something too expensive."
"You weren't just stating your thoughts; you're interrogating me."
"You're the one who made it that way, Prez. You're the one making the atmosphere serious right now over something you could've just said 'okay' and moved on from."
"I should have just said okay. So you're
basically saying I was wrong in the end. Is that it?"
I bit my lip and curled the corners of my mouth.
"Spending 260 points on that TV. I don't
think I did anything wrong to you guys, but in the end, you're saying I was the one at fault right now."
"...Is that what you think is wrong, Prez?"
Gyeongwon pushed up his glasses with a stiff expression.
"Is that why you're acting like this now,
because you don't want to admit it from that point?"
"....You're saying I don't want to admit it?"
I bit my lip and gave a twisted smile. Then I looked at Gyeongwon.
"Ah, this b*stard is really impossible to reason with. Let me answer you again; the very fact that you're asking if I don't want to admit it already presupposes that I did something wrong. You're basically saying that since I did something wrong, I must
apologize unconditionally and fix my mistake. That's clearly the mindset behind your words, so how can I not be angry?"
"..So you're saying that wasn't wrong?"
Gyeongwon looked at me with a face that said he couldn't understand.
"You spent 260 points lavishly on a TV when you could have gotten one for 50 points. How can that not be considered Wrong?"
"Do you want to really p*ss me off. you f*cking b*stard?"
"huh?"
"You're making me repeat myself. F*ck...."
Gyeongwon closed his mouth and stared at me intently, frozen in place.
I glared back at him with a silent, hardened face.
The expressions of the other members
quickly hardened, and the atmosphere in the clubroom turned.