Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Seo Hyun-woo felt satisfied with Baek Seo-yeon’s reaction and looked back at the monitor.

The Vice President he knew had always shown a cold demeanor and faithfully carried out the work assigned to her.

If there was one thing he personally disliked, it was the fact that Baek Seo-yeon was one of the protagonist’s heroines.

‘It can’t be helped. He’s the protagonist, and I’m only a mid-boss at best. No matter how great I am, I can’t beat the protagonist.’

Seo Hyun-woo had no particular intention of coveting the protagonist’s position.

He was only trying to protect the Student Council President’s seat in order to survive.

There was no reason to go out of his way to interfere and prevent the protagonist from becoming connected with the heroines.

Of course, if an unexpected situation occurred, his course of action could change accordingly.

‘I don’t think they’ll let me leave this world just because I safely graduate from Miterich. After that, they’ll probably set some other conditions...’

But this, too, was nothing more than a vague guess, and since he would only know when the time came, he could not be certain of anything.

Why had he been dragged here, and what purpose did the other party have? He did not properly know even a single thing.

It was a one-sided condition, and he had no choice but to move according to it no matter what.

‘Why doesn’t Seo Hyun-woo have good connections or a lot of wealth? How on earth did he become the Student Council President?’

Seo Hyun-woo lamented inwardly, unable to accept it easily.

Judging by the setting alone, becoming Miterich’s Student Council President was by no means easy.

Talent and skill were basic requirements, and one’s connections and status in society also had a fairly large influence.

On top of that, did the Student Council President not have to manage each department within Miterich while building his own faction?

‘It feels like someone born with a dirt spoon in his mouth used talent alone to bite down on a golden spoon. It couldn’t have been easy to surpass the Vice President and the department heads.’

The departments belonging to the Student Council were divided into five systems.

The Enhancement Department, the Form Department, the Transformation Department, the Attribute Department, and the Special Department.

They were also systems divided according to the abilities Awakened could obtain.

The people who represented each department were the students who held the position of department head.

‘Now that I happen to be thinking of the department heads, I feel like I’ve forgotten something. There was something I had to do.......’

“President, how long do you plan on staying like that?”

Baek Seo-yeon spoke first and broke the silence.

However, Seo Hyun-woo did not understand Baek Seo-yeon’s words and merely wore a calm expression.

“Phew....... I never expected you to forget this, President. You were always saying that we must be punctual.”

“I’m also one of the ordinary humans. Couldn’t I make a mistake or two?”

“Pfft....... Ah, I am so dumbfounded that I cannot help laughing. If I had known you were this cute, I would have treated you well long ago.”

Contrary to her words, Baek Seo-yeon wore a chilly expression.

Seo Hyun-woo knew very well what that word, “cute,” meant.

It was a word that always came out in certain situations, so there was no way he would not know.

“I hope you don’t find me too cute. I don’t want to fight you.”

“Now you even know what my words mean. Since you are already quite late, how about going to the meeting room?”

“......Ah, was it that?”

The moment Seo Hyun-woo heard the words “meeting room,” he belatedly realized what he had forgotten.

It was work that proceeded every day, so normally, he could not have forgotten it even if he tried.

He had merely forgotten it completely because he had been worrying about various things.

“We can still go now. Showing a human side once in a while probably isn’t bad.”

“You truly say only the cutest things.”

“I didn’t think I’d hear that twice.”

Seo Hyun-woo immediately rose from his seat and stood in front of the full-length mirror.

It was to check whether there was any problem with his attire.

Over his black uniform, the golden insignia and epaulettes were properly in place.

Other than that, gold thread had also been embroidered along the collar, cuffs, and the hems of the upper and lower garments.

“Let’s go now. Have all the department heads arrived?”

“As always. Nothing changes even when you tell them to come, President.”

“I see. At least they’re consistent, so it isn’t bad.”

“.......”

Baek Seo-yeon followed behind Seo Hyun-woo, at a loss for words.

No matter how she thought about it, Seo Hyun-woo’s personality and way of speaking had changed far too much from before.

Perhaps he had suffered a great shock because of some accident, or perhaps he was trying to bring about some kind of change.

‘Was it that obvious? I should also reduce how often I call him cute. It keeps popping out like a habit, and that’s the problem.’

***

Inside the Student Council meeting room.

A total of seven seats had been prepared around one table.

Among them, only three seats were occupied.

All of them were students who held the position of department head, and they could only show the same reaction.

“This is a little unexpected. I never thought the President would be late to the morning meeting.”

“I suppose the President is human after all. A person can’t always be perfect.”

“.......”

The three exchanged glances and watched one another’s reactions.

Until now, there had not been a single time when the Student Council President had been the first to break a set schedule or appointment.

On the contrary, had he not always arrived earlier than the appointed time and pointed it out without fail if anyone was even a little late?

Creeeak....

The meeting room door opened, and two students in black uniforms stepped inside.

At the same time, the three turned their gazes and looked at only one person.

It was Seo Hyun-woo, Miterich’s Student Council President and the one known as the strongest in the school.

“As expected, those three absolutely refuse to show up. Maybe they’ll appear if a major accident breaks out.”

Seo Hyun-woo took the seat at the center of the table and spoke first.

Baek Seo-yeon took a seat near the corner of the table and kept silent.

However, the remaining three could not help being visibly surprised the moment they heard Seo Hyun-woo’s words.

“That really is unexpected. I never thought the President would say something like that.”

“Are you saying that seriously? The President I know would not speak so lightly about accidents.”

“.......”

Baek Seo-yeon fully understood their reactions, but she merely watched Seo Hyun-woo’s behavior.

She no longer had the strength to be amazed, and she thought she should observe him for a while.

She did not know what had happened during all that time, but he had changed so excessively that she was now growing curious.

“Being too rigid won’t do us any good, right? Wouldn’t it be better to take things a little more gently?”

“Hah....... I have lived long enough to see something like this.”

“President, did you eat something wrong today?”

“.......”

One of the three kept his expression unchanged and spared his words.

Seo Hyun-woo noticed that characteristic and immediately figured out the person’s identity.

It was certainly An Jung-hoon, the head of the Special Department.

“Special Department Head, do you have something to say to me? You look a little frustrated.”

“......Then are we no longer required to attend the morning meeting and the end-of-day meeting?”

“By all means. However, you and your department members will have to bear the disadvantages that arise from it. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Seo Hyun-woo answered without hesitation and looked at An Jung-hoon.

It was not that he had any particularly special intention, nor was there any trick involved.

He was simply making a meaningful statement and applying psychological pressure.

“I only asked because you said you would be gentle. I have no intention of not attending.”

“Good. First, before we begin the morning meeting, I will apologize to all of you. It was not intentional, but I was still late to the morning meeting. This will not happen again.”

“The President knew how to apologize?”

“I’m starting to have trouble adjusting. How am I supposed to take this?”

Jin Se-hee, the head of the Attribute Department, and Choi Jae-yeon, the head of the Enhancement Department, looked at him suspiciously.

To be honest, until just a moment ago, they had wondered whether the Student Council President was playing a prank.

Of course, there was no reason for the Student Council President to play an unnecessary prank, but if that was not the case, they could not believe the situation unfolding before their eyes.

Could it be that only his appearance was the same, and someone else was actually pretending to be the Student Council President?

“Just accept it. The Student Council is not something I lead alone. I lead it together with all of you. We need to have a somewhat flexible way of thinking.”

“I think last time you said we had to obey your words unconditionally.”

“Erase that from your heads now. I have no intention of running a dictatorship.”

Indeed, the original Seo Hyun-woo had tried to carry out all the work while drawing a line between himself and the department heads.

Seo Hyun-woo’s abilities and skills were superior to the department heads’, but he was behind them in background and connections.

In other words, he had made that choice in order not to lose in the power struggle against the department heads.

‘There’s no need to go that far. In the novel, there were definitely many people dissatisfied with Seo Hyun-woo’s methods. Rather than making them enemies, it would be better to make them all allies or at least keep them neutral.’

Unlike the original Seo Hyun-woo, Seo Hyun-woo intended to reduce the number of enemies.

This was both a way to protect the Student Council President’s seat and an attempt to broaden his connections.

Above all, since he did not know what would happen after graduating from the academy, he was trying to prepare in advance.

“Now, then, let’s begin the morning meeting. First, I will check the official notice sent down by the Administrative Office.”

Seo Hyun-woo opened the folder in front of him and began mentioning the main points.

Before becoming Seo Hyun-woo, he had known nothing about this, but he was able to adapt rather easily.

Perhaps, as he became Seo Hyun-woo, he had naturally assimilated into the work Seo Hyun-woo had been experiencing directly.

“An issue has been raised about budget management again this time. I understand how you feel, but we must produce the greatest effect at the lowest possible cost. From now on, the Administrative Office will be involved in budget reviews as well, not just me. In other words, just because you submit a review request recklessly does not mean it will necessarily be approved.”

“That has no great meaning. The President did not hand out budgets easily anyway.”

“Maybe it would be better to have the budget reviewed only by the Administrative Office without the President.”

Seo Hyun-woo let out a faint laugh and realized his situation anew.

The original Seo Hyun-woo had not even had anyone he could call a friend, let alone connections.

It was likely because he had only thought of becoming the Student Council President, displaying his power, and pressing down the departments under him.

“Still, I have never used the budget for personal purposes, so couldn’t I be considered reasonably clean?”

“......Now he doesn’t even rise to provocation.”

“It would have been easier on my mind if he had ignored us instead.”

“.......”

The department heads each showed different reactions and could not easily accept this situation.

Baek Seo-yeon had already given up on thinking and was trying to accept Seo Hyun-woo’s changed appearance.

However, she simply could not erase his old image, so her confusion only grew heavier.

‘I really think we need to send him to the hospital. Whatever happens to the President is none of my business, but if he keeps acting like that, it bothers me a little. Maybe he has something else in mind.’