Chapter 695: Gift (14)

Ahn Dain was looking forward to meeting Joo Soohyuk today.

She was excited just thinking about what they were going to talk about, where they’d walk, and when she’d hand her gift.

However, her excitement and anticipation collapsed after some calls.

‘They call me out of nowhere and ask for compensation and reparations from the school…’

She felt more miserable answering her parents than answering seas of messages asking for her safety.

Ahn Dain felt even more down seeing that among the guests who came to Eungwang High for the festival, most of them were families.

Joo Soohyuk said he’d help the Student Association with work deploying and patrolling, but she never encountered him.

However, in reality, Joo Soohyuk was so busy that he couldn’t afford to stop by and see her.

The Student Association members tried to make them meet naturally, but unfortunately, they all failed.

So, Ahn Dain suffered from the phone call and work, and as time passed, her appointment with Joo Soohyuk came.

“…”

“…”

After seeing and greeting each other under the black snowflakes, the conversation did not flow.

They only exchanged a few words, but they were always cut off because they didn’t have anything to say.

Sometimes, they would try to talk at the same time, making it even more awkward.

‘I don’t think Soohyuk is in the mood to talk right now. I feel sorry for holding him up on such a nice day, so it’s better to part ways early. I want to stay with him a little longer though…’

Of course, Joo Soohyuk was thinking the same things as Ahn Dain.

Both of them were ignorant of this, and the date between the two, which the whole school had been looking forward to, was on the verge of being destroyed.

When the two were about to make a needless, grim, and sad resolution…

“Hi.”

Jo Euishin, the person behind the original black snow, spoke to them.

Behind him was Hwangho in the form of Hwang Jiho.

Seeing the two, Joo Soohyuk jumped from the bench and approached them.

“Euishin-ah! You’re safe! Are you okay too, Jiho?”

“Hahahaha! Of course.”

Joo Soohyuk looked relieved that Jo Euishin wasn’t injured, but he went on to speak with a guilty look.

“I didn’t know if you were safe, Euishin-ah, but I was selfishly excited about the Christmas event…”

“I wasn’t in danger. Sorry to worry you.”

“Not in danger? Jo Euishin, it’s a bad habit to underestimate danger.”

Jo Euishin cut off Joo Soohyuk in the middle, and Hwang Jiho suddenly butted into the conversation.

Jo Euishin ignored it and said what he had to say.

“You’re here to see the newspaper department’s exhibition, aren’t you? That’s perfect. The photos have been added, but you two have a lot of pictures so they wanted to get your consent.”

“Are you talking about the pictures from Saeron? If so, I already gave her…”

“These are new ones. Moon Saeron is preparing for the exhibition. Let’s go there first.”

Because of Jo Euishin’s intervention, Joo Soohyuk and Ahn Dain headed to the exhibition room with less awkwardness.

The conversation between the four flowed smoothly along the way.

Jo Euishin threw in topics that the two could answer lightly, and thanks to that, the conversation proceeded smoothly without awkward silence or anyone monopolizing the talk.

“It’s here.”

There was a huge wall with the logo of Eungwang High where Jo Euishin pointed.

Looking closely, it was a huge mosaic of pictures collected and arranged.

The moment they saw the pictures, Joo Soohyuk and Ahn Dain’s eyes opened wide at the same time.

‘Have I been with Dain so many times? Why didn’t I know?’

‘Is it just me? I think there are a lot of pictures of me and Soohyuk.’

The photos showed Eungwang High’s freshmen, and most were of the two.

There were not so many cases where only the two of them were in the photo, but they were in the same frame nonetheless.

“Did the newspaper department take all these?”

“No, we also took pictures displayed elsewhere. These were taken through the official social media account of the newspaper department.”

Jo Euishin explained as he floated a hologram.

As he said, the newspaper department took in submissions of photos under the theme ‘The Past Year of Eungwang High’ through its official social media account.

It hasn’t been long since they posted it, but there are quite a few people who submitted photos already.

“The newspaper department thought it would be nice to have photos from the perspective of other students too.”

The mosaic was made with the photos from the official account of the newspaper department, but why were there so many pictures of Ahn Dain and Joo Soohyuk?

Jo Euishin revealed the reason for that too.

“I think a lot of people uploaded photos inspired by the sample picture.”

The newspaper department used the photo from the entrance ceremony.

In the photo, Joo Soohyuk and Ahn Dain were standing side by side on the podium as freshmen representatives leading the oath.

‘That’s from when we first met…’

The two heard about each other before, but that was the first time they met in person.

Joo Soohyuk, who was looking at the entrance ceremony picture, asked.

“Do you remember that time?”

“Yeah, I was very nervous. There were a lot of people…”

“Me too, actually.”

The tension they felt upon seeing each other made them more nervous than the huge crowd, but the two couldn’t admit it.

After giving their consent to display the photos, Joo Soohyuk and Ahn Dain began to examine the mosaic.

They saw a photo of Class Zero and Joo Soohyuk eating pizza, and right behind was Ahn Dain drinking something.

“This was during the first class.”

“Oh, so we were sitting next to each other that time.”

Joo Soohyuk and Ahn Dain reminisced on their first year through the photos sent by the students.

There were a lot of crises, but there were overwhelmingly good memories.

The more pictures they looked at, the more lively the conversation between the two became.

The negative thoughts that dominated the two were now replaced by good memories.

Joo Soohyuk and Ahn Dain fell into a world of their own in front of the mosaic wall.

***

It felt overwhelming seeing the two main characters like that.

I knew the two would naturally start talking again if their memories were brought up.

Moon Saeron cheered quietly by capturing the scene with her device camera, perhaps sharing the same sentiments as me.

“Ha, good work. Thanks, Suspicious VP!”

“No, it would’ve been more difficult organizing the pictures.”

“Not at all. We got good pictures and… Oh?”

While Moon Saeron was looking for a place where she could take better pictures, her eyes stopped at one place.

She was looking at the exhibition’s exit, and I also stopped when I saw it.

There was garbage in front of the masterpiece featuring Joo Soohyuk and Ahn Dain.

“…”

Jiikhoe’s Chairman, Gye Bastard.

He glanced at the photos and then at the two people.

He’s expressionless at first glance, but the back of his neck must be exploding right now.

I guess he dares to be a fan of Ahn Dain in this busy and important time.

I need to get rid of him before he runs into Ahn Dain.

“I heard the Jiikhoe is busy, so what’s the chairman doing here?”

“Euhk…!”

Gye Idam jumped in surprise when he heard my voice.

Doesn’t he know that I’m part of the newspaper department?

I can’t believe he’s fearlessly wandering around this area instead of working as the chairman of Jiikhoe during such a busy time.

This Gye Bastard must be out of his mind.

“Ah, I heard that the Jiikhoe’s busy right now. A strong person has been added to Woo Kihwan’s group.”

What does that mean?

The word ‘strong’ felt very ominous

“The strong homeroom teacher, who returned from her work trip, said she’d grant their wishes because she’s proud of them. That’s why she said they’d help them search for the energy of the universe.”

Moon Saeron, who once failed to cover that story, was unhappy.

Im Yeonhwa returned home earlier than scheduled and went to Eungwang High.

After hearing what Class 3-0 went through, she seemed deeply moved by her students’ growth and relieved by their safety.

From her perspective, she’s very proud of her weak students for eradicating royal lineage.

Anyway, Class 3-0 is already difficult to deal with, and it will be even more difficult with the addition of Im Yeonhwa.

‘I can’t believe Im Yeonhwa, who’s supposed to stop the seniors, actually joined them… Jiikhoe’s done for. Although it ended a long time ago when this joke of a kid Gye Bastard became its chairman.’

It’s a relief that Sung Siwan is still here.

The seniors would graduate soon too.

Can Park Seunghyun handle Jiikhoe on his own?

He’s told me about Jiikhoe’s work through message, and I worried because they seem to have a lot of work.

I looked at Gye Bastard and he began making excuses.

“…I’m taking a break. I’ll go back soon.”

I was only able to enjoy the exhibition after Gye Bastard left.

I looked at the photos from the First Christmas, and with Joo Soohyuk and Ahn Dain’s photo at the end, I felt overwhelmed.

“Hey, I’ll let you hear something nice! Get closer to the picture.”

The moment I did what Moon Saeron said, a sound automatically played and I heard a sweet violin sound.

It was Kwon Jein improvising a song inspired by the sight of the two.

‘A song composed and played by the world’s best violinist inspired by the two!’

It was a shame that I didn’t see the scene in person.

There was a video version too, but it’s incomparable with the actual scene.

Hwang Jiho laughed next to me as I listened to the carol in regret.

“Hahaha! You should’ve stayed then, Jo Euishin.”

I ignored the laughing Hwang Jiho and watched the carol until the end.

I was supposed to stop by the Student Association Hall to meet with Kim Yuri next, but a message arrived on my device.

[Kim Yuri] Euishin-ah, are you at the Student Association Hall?

[Kim Yuri] Sorry, I don’t think I can go there. There were too many people at our class’ screening ㅠ▿ㅠ;;

I knew it the moment people flocked to the Black Forest.

Kim Yuri seems to be busy arranging additional seats and adjusting the screening time.

I felt sorry for not being able to help despite being the class vice president.

I promised to go to my class to help.

[Kim Yuri] The item I was talking about is in my locker at the Student Association Hall! I’ll tell you the location and password.

It’s a bit awkward to open the locker in the absence of the owner, but I couldn’t bother Kim Yuri further so I decided to follow.

I arrived at the Student Association Hall and saw numerous lockers lined up in the quiet hallway.

Each member seems to use several lockers.

The moment I found the locker and checked my device for the code…

Fwaaaa!

Energy waves burst out from beside me out of nowhere.

I turned my head and saw golden energy waves in Hwang Jiho’s eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

Hwang Jiho’s eyes were fixed on the locker.

With an expression of disbelief, he opened his mouth instead of the object.

“Jo Euishin, this is… The Tiger Clan’s treasure.”