Chapter 969

Everyone was curious about the relationship between the two, but no one could ask.

Hwang Bo-yun was the principal chosen by Hwang Ji-ho himself, and it was known that his tenure had been quite long.

Due to his surname, Hwang Bo-yun was often mistaken as being related to the Hwang family of Hwangmyeong Group, but this was, in fact, a misunderstanding.

His surname is not Hwang, but Hwangbo. Just like how the surname of Jeong Je-gal is Je-gal and his name is Je-gal.

“But, can we really have this conversation here? If it becomes known that I accepted the position of principal, despite knowing that I am truly of the bloodline, the fact will get out.”

“It’s easier to talk when the information is shared. They are old enough, but still, there’s much they don’t know. But if students hear the principal speaking arrogantly, many will feel uncomfortable. Please refrain from leaving the premises.”

The veteran players in their 70s, whom Hwang Bo-yun had pointed out, looked at them with complex expressions.

Song Man-seok. Hong Gyeong-bok and Tak Geo-san had known Hwang Ji-ho since the beginning of the last semester, but suddenly, when they learned that their grandson and classmate were such old tigers, their minds became tangled.

However, they quickly accepted the situation without much surprise, as if they had guessed it already.

All three had been deeply involved in the player world for a long time and had probably heard about Hwangmyeong Group.

“Daseok’s classmate, thinking he’s the head of a prestigious family. He has lived for a long time, so many things have happened.”

“Hahaha! From my perspective, he seems quite young.”

Song Man-seok immediately realized that Hwang Ji-ho was not merely Jin (진), but the head of a baron’s family, Hwang Ho.

He also realized that another persona was being used by Chairman Hwang Myung-ho to maintain a core position, even though it seemed like there was no intention to hide his true identity with a pseudonym.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Song Man-seok came to this conclusion right away.

“Does Daseok know?”

“Yes. Your grandson may not notice, but he’s quite smart.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Though not sure if it was a compliment, it was certainly the truth. After Song Man-seok, Tak Geo-san and Hong Gyeong-bok added their comments.

“Hwangmyeong Foundation has been very considerate of Hyodon.”

“I owe a lot to Green. Next time, if anyone needs their wrist cut off, call me.”

“Oh dear, painter, what are you saying?”

“It’s a joke. Being indebted to such a powerful family means I feel a lot of affection.”

Hong Gyeong-bok made a bloody joke while pretending it was a joke. It seemed like he was trying to pinpoint the backstory of the incident where his former student had cut off the wrist of Min Green after leaving nasty comments.

He had pretended it was an accident, but it hurt his heart. I was sure I had said those words.

“Thank you to Jo Shin. Thanks to Jo Yi-shin, I moved.”

Hwang Ji-ho suddenly pulled me, and all eyes turned to us.

If I had known this was going to happen, I would have just written more messages on my terminal and eaten the leftover snacks.

While I was regretting it late, Hwang Bo-yun spoke.

“It was because of this child that the chairman’s attitude changed. Do you think the board of directors changed because of trust?”

Song Man-seok immediately realized that Hwang Ji-ho was not merely Jin (眞), but the head of the baron’s family, Hwang Ho.

Using another persona, he understood that Chairman Hwang Myung-ho was positioned in a crucial place, even though it seemed like there was no intention to hide his identity.

It wouldn’t be strange if Song Man-seok had concluded this immediately.

“Does Daseok know?”

“Yes. Your grandson might not notice, but he’s smart.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

It was unclear whether it was a compliment, but it was certainly accurate. Following Song Man-seok, Tak Geo-san and Hong Gyeong-bok added.

“The Hwangmyeong Foundation has been very considerate of Hyodon.”

“I owe a lot to Green. Next time, if someone needs to have their wrist cut off, call me.”

“Oh dear, painter, what are you saying?”

“It’s a joke. Being indebted to such a powerful family means I feel a lot of affection.”

Hong Gyeong-bok made a bloody sound while pretending to joke. It seemed like he was trying to get to the bottom of the incident involving Min Green’s former student who cut off the wrist.

He acted as though it was an accident, but I knew he was hurting inside.

“Thank you to Jo Yi-shin. It’s thanks to Jo Yi-shin that I moved.”

Hwang Ji-ho suddenly pulled me, and the attention was drawn to us.

If I had known this would happen, I would have just written more messages on my device and eaten the remaining snacks.

Regretfully, while I thought about it, Hwang Bo-yun spoke again.

“Was the change in the chairman’s attitude due to this child? Did the board of directors change because of trust?”

Hwang Bo-yun was wearing a linen scarf and covering his face, but the gaze between the scarf and his hair seemed sharp.

Hwang Bo-yun was looking at Hwang Ji-ho, but it seemed like he was talking about Chairman Hwang Myung-ho.

“The chairman has been watching as the board of directors takes away my authority one by one, overturning every decision I made, and turning me into a puppet. If I had let go of the school’s management pretending to be obsessed with collecting old books, my head would’ve been cut off long ago. But I’m glad it’s changed, even if it’s late.”

Hwang Bo-yun, the eldest, had held a high position among the staff of Eungwang High for a long time, excluding the true descendants and successors of the family.

Yong Jegyeon and Kim Shin-rok had likely kept their positions at the top during their years of service, but they were somewhat distant from the core of school management.

In other words, the person who knew best how Hwang Ji-ho had given up control over school management was none other than Hwang Bo-yun.

Hwang Bo-yun worried about what Hwang Ji-ho might think of him during the neglectful times, but it seemed like it didn’t sit well with him.

Seeing that he didn’t deny it, it was undoubtedly true.

The principal of Eungwang High was often considered as invisible, not just because his face was hidden.

Hwang Bo-yun had chosen to become invisible, or rather, to become a puppet controlled by the board, instead of fighting with the directors.

Rather than kicking out the principal, the board quietly stepped back.

Before Hwang Ji-ho could answer, Song Man-seok and Hong Gyeong-bok intervened.

“Isn’t it true that I was against collecting old books?”

“Man-seok and I remember him bragging about buying the books for school with the school’s money. I thought I was getting old, and had nothing to brag about.”

The mood lightened immediately with the candid remarks of the two elderly men.

Yong Jegyeon seemed to be feeling regret, maybe because he had been silent for too long, as his expression showed a clear sense of dissatisfaction.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Unlike the immature Yong Jegyeon, the elders skillfully intervened in the conversation, preventing Hwang Bo-yun and Hwang Ji-ho from talking directly to each other.

“I didn’t know you liked being a principal so much. If someone wants to cut off my neck, I’d rather give up and run away.”

“I can’t easily leave the silver ad. I’ve done something and have places I like.”

“The library, you mean?”

“Well, yeah.”

It seemed like Hwang Bo-yun was talking about the things he had done for the silver advertisement, mentioning places that came to his mind as the objects he favored.

It didn’t seem like he was just talking about the library, which was a source of pride for Eungwang High.

That place must be connected to secret societies. After all, Hwang Bo-yun had directly helped create a secret passage in the silver advertisement.

The late Mr. Seongwoo had convinced Hwang Bo-yun, a long-time teacher at Eungwang High, to create the secret passage.

Considering the scale of the secret passage, it wasn’t likely that he helped alone, but among the people who participated, Hwang Bo-yun was the only one left at Eungwang High.

Thinking about the late Mr. Seongwoo’s legacy, it was clear that Hwang Bo-yun couldn’t just easily give up the silver advertisement and leave.

Instead of actively fighting against the corrupt board of directors and engaging in an endless battle, he chose to remain.

“It seems like everything that moved today was because of that person.”

“It seems so.”

Another arrow came flying toward us.

Though I wanted to avoid the unfamiliar sound, I knew that if I didn’t handle this, stories from Hwang Ji-ho’s negligent days would surface, so I didn’t run away.

“I didn’t expect to be here for today’s event, but you’re quite good at improvising.”

“Are you saying that the administrator didn’t foresee this and resisted?”

“It seems so. In that case, they must have prepared the head teacher in charge of students. If they knew Hongcheon well and brought him, the incident would’ve been initiated a bit earlier.”

Yeah, if I had known the incident would happen in Hongcheon, I would have come with Ham Geun-hyung.

This incident occurred in multiple places at the same time, so if you knew the geography well and could attack from afar, it would have been very easy to create a strategy.

However, unfortunately, Ham Geun-hyung wasn’t in Hongcheon today.

Did the darkness know this?

I wondered if this information had spread beyond the school.

“Is it well known that Ham Geun-hyung often travels to Hongcheon?”

“I’m not sure, but as the principal, I know the student affairs director travels there frequently.”

I didn’t think the president from the negligent days was unaware of this.

Even though the chairman once did the same, I felt reassured that the principal knew the school’s situation well.

Hwang Bo-yun looked at me and smiled faintly as he spoke.

“Are your classmates dissatisfied? The homeroom teacher has sent several letters asking to stop traveling so often.”

“I wondered whether I should send them, but it seems like I should.”

The kind-hearted kids who liked our homeroom teacher were definitely different.

Since this had already happened, wouldn’t it be a good idea to negotiate with the principal to reduce Ham Geun-hyung’s workload in the future?

At that time, the draft for the negotiation was already forming in my mind.

“I’m sorry for making you wait so long. Let’s go get grandpa.”

Seong Guk-eon appeared wearing a black suit with a mourning ribbon.

Behind Seong Guk-eon stood Jeon Mu-young, who was also in a black suit.

Having blocked the pillar of flame with his own strength, he must have faced stunned citizens and news reporters, responded to the investigations from the police and the association, and become exhausted, but Seong Guk-eon stood calmly.

Though it was only outwardly visible, considering the supernatural energy at play, there were traces of battle.