Chapter 38

Chapter 38

"......"

At Seo Hyun-woo's remark, the Department Heads fell silent and stared only at the brooch.

A few days ago had indeed been Seo Hyun-woo's birthday, and there was nothing strange about receiving a birthday present.

Moreover, since Seo Hyun-woo had no family, the only people who could give him a birthday present would be a close friend or a romantic partner.

"If it's a gift from your girlfriend, you'd have to wear it, of course."

"Hmm......... It suits you, that's true. It's subtle enough that it doesn't run afoul of regulations."

"Oh, I see......."

Choi Jae-yeon and Jin Se-hee responded in turn, followed by Irev, who answered with a puzzled expression.

There was no way Seo Hyun-woo had a girlfriend.

It was only a guess, but close to a certainty, and no matter how many times she looked again, she couldn't sense the feeling of someone in love.

If this was truly the case, then either she was wrong or Seo Hyun-woo was lying -- it had to be one or the other.

'So the Vice President isn't dating him after all.'

'Was it just that they looked good together?'

Jin Se-hee and Yoo Si-eun each drifted into their own thoughts and turned their gazes toward Baek Seo-yeon.

All of the Student Council's Department Heads were colleagues doing the same work and competitors vying for the Student Council President's seat.

Naturally, Baek Seo-yeon as Vice Student Council President was no different from a competitor, and there was no way Seo Hyun-woo didn't know that.

'Student Council officers don't exchange birthday gifts or offer separate congratulations. They're colleagues who could be ousted at any time and competitors eyeing the same seat. It's not in the regulations, but it's been the convention since Miterich's founding.'

Jin Se-hee suddenly burst out laughing and shook her head.

If Seo Hyun-woo and Baek Seo-yeon were truly in a relationship, there would be no reason to voluntarily reveal that he had received a gift.

They would have to conceal the fact that they were dating, and they surely wouldn't break the tacit convention in front of the Department Heads.

'Of course, it's possible he deliberately bought a brooch to support the lie, but......... that doesn't make sense. There'd be no reason to do something like that in the first place. The President isn't the type who cares about grooming. Anyone would assume the brooch was a gift, and that would only deepen the suspicion.'

Jin Se-hee stood up first, paying no mind to the gazes around her.

She had been thinking all along that Seo Hyun-woo and Baek Seo-yeon were secretly dating.

But it had been nothing more than a rumor, and she was beginning to suspect there were circumstances she didn't know about.

'But separate from all that, one thing has become clear. The President doesn't have a girlfriend. His attempt to use the brooch to prove otherwise was a nice try, but it's far too obvious.'

Jin Se-hee left the conference room with certainty.

A single brooch had resolved two suspicions at once.

Because Seo Hyun-woo had displayed words and actions he would never normally show, she had seen through the lie immediately.

'Ultimately, it all leads to one conclusion. Why did the President lie about having a girlfriend? There's no way he'd go to such lengths just because he doesn't want to give his contact information to female students. There must be a reason.........'

***

Inside the Student Council President's office.

The moment the closing meeting ended, Seo Hyun-woo returned straight to the Student Council President's office.

Naturally, Baek Seo-yeon had no choice but to follow in order to get answers.

He had said something both absurd and unacceptable, and she absolutely needed an explanation.

"President, why did you say that in the conference room?"

"I'm surprised you're not showing much of a reaction. Have you already grown accustomed to this kind of situation?"

"It was so ridiculous that I couldn't even bring myself to be surprised."

Baek Seo-yeon sat on the sofa and turned her gaze toward Seo Hyun-woo.

More precisely, she was staring at the brooch on Seo Hyun-woo's collar.

It was the birthday present she had given Seo Hyun-woo a few days ago, and he had been wearing it every day since.

It was gratifying that he was making good use of the gift, but had it really been necessary to say something like that?

"Would you believe me if I said there was a reason for it?"

"Knowing there's a reason is somewhat reassuring."

"I'd been thinking it over for a while, and in some ways, it was something I did on impulse. But since I've already set things in motion, I need to clean it up, don't I?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Seo Hyun-woo showed a faint smile and sat down on the sofa.

He then touched the brooch and continued the conversation.

"After I said I had a girlfriend back then, the female students who used to approach me disappeared. What about you?"

"The same for me. The male students asking for my contact information vanished completely."

"The results were fortunate, but there was an unintended side effect. The rumor that you and I are dating spread, didn't it?"

"......It was noisy for a while, but I understand things have calmed down considerably. Is there another problem?"

"Other students aside, the Department Heads are probably still suspicious. So I was trying to put that suspicion to rest completely."

Seo Hyun-woo had been wary of the variable created by Jin Se-hee following the ambush incident on Baek Seo-yeon.

The psychologically altered Jin Se-hee had appeared alongside Kang Jin-ha on the day Baek Seo-yeon was ambushed.

But after Seo Hyun-woo demonstrated his overwhelming prowess to Jin Se-hee, hadn't she stopped being seen with Kang Jin-ha entirely?

'The rumor about Baek Seo-yeon and me dating was supposed to quickly die down as Kang Jin-ha and Baek Seo-yeon grew closer. But this time, they never got close.'

The Department Heads were probably harboring the same suspicion as Jin Se-hee -- that he and Baek Seo-yeon might be dating.

But since Kang Jin-ha had failed to quash the rumor, that suspicion had nowhere to go.

In other words, depending on the situation, the other Department Heads could potentially carry the same variable as Jin Se-hee.

'As things stand, Kang Jin-ha can't put this rumor to rest. I have no choice but to handle it myself.'

During the closing meeting, Seo Hyun-woo had received a question from Irev Kanashuel and found a solution.

If he tied the brooch he had received from Baek Seo-yeon to the convention, perhaps the Department Heads would change their minds.

That was why he had abruptly mentioned the word "girlfriend."

"But how would saying that completely dispel the suspicion?"

"Think about it carefully. Exchanging birthday presents between Student Council officers goes against convention. But if I then say I received a birthday present from my girlfriend, what happens?"

"......They wouldn't be able to think that I'm your girlfriend, President."

"If you and I were truly dating, I'd have no choice but to hide the brooch. It's the convention, and it would be better for both of us."

"But couldn't they suspect the opposite?"

"Then it gets even stranger. It would look too careless, wouldn't it? On top of that, I'm not the type to wear accessories. Wouldn't the first thought be whether there's really any reason to go that far to tell a lie?"

As Baek Seo-yeon listened to the explanation, things gradually began to make sense.

It wasn't entirely unreasonable.

If the Department Heads didn't think too deeply about it, they would likely move exactly as Seo Hyun-woo intended.

"It would have been nice if you'd told me beforehand."

"I had to do it on the fly. It came to me right at that moment. If the Special Department Head hadn't helped, it would've been a bit difficult. Though she didn't intend to, of course."

"......"

Baek Seo-yeon kept her mouth shut and gazed steadily at Seo Hyun-woo.

It sounded like an excuse, yet he was laying out plausible reasoning and rationale.

On top of that, he had happened to use the very brooch she had given him as a gift, which left her feeling both annoyed and oddly embarrassed.

"Are you planning to brush this off by saying you did it for my sake again?"

"Hmm......... When you think about it, it was for your sake as well. You wouldn't want to be the subject of baseless misunderstandings from the Department Heads, would you?"

"You're not wrong, but there must have been a better way. And this is the kind of thing you shouldn't do on impulse without getting my consent first."

"I'll apologize for that. I thought you, of all people, would understand."

"......Excuse me?"

Baek Seo-yeon opened her eyes wide and immediately asked again.

She hadn't expected words like that to come from Seo Hyun-woo.

It meant he trusted her, and that he believed she could handle the situation flexibly no matter what he did.

"So you're saying you acted that way because you trusted me?"

"I believe I've told you several times now. I trust you. Even if I do a poor job, you'll find a way to assist smoothly, and no matter what happens, you'll handle it well. Where else among the Student Council officers would I find someone as reliable as you?"

Seo Hyun-woo answered calmly, with genuine sincerity.

He could say this with certainty because he knew, to a reasonable extent, the upcoming events as well as each character's personality and behavioral patterns.

Baek Seo-yeon was more dependable than anyone and held strict convictions.

That was why she had faithfully carried out her duties as Vice Student Council President and would have grieved with guilt over the secretaries' deaths.

"I thought you were just saying that to be polite."

"Did you? Well, I do joke around a lot normally, so you might've gotten the wrong idea."

"......I think I may have been misunderstanding you a little."

Baek Seo-yeon immediately erased what had happened in the conference room from her mind and mulled over the words Seo Hyun-woo had given her.

She hadn't done anything specific to earn his trust.

If anything, looking at recent events alone, she was the one who should be trusting and following Seo Hyun-woo more.

'The President has always helped me. So why can't I bring myself to trust him?'

Seo Hyun-woo had helped her during the ambush incident and told her to save the secretary first during the spy incident.

In moments of crisis, he always appeared like a hero and resolved everything smoothly with his sharp judgment.

He was so overwhelmingly superior that she couldn't even begin to approach him.

'Am I still trapped in my own prejudice? I thought he was just saying things without thinking, but.........'

***

Park Yong-jun.

A Setinos Hunter bearing the title of Scarlet Dragon King and an Awakened with the dragon transformation ability.

He had already passed forty years of age, but perhaps due to his abilities, he still maintained the appearance of someone in their twenties.

Moreover, his mana reserves were considerable, and because he could also use attribute-type abilities, he was frequently compared to the Black Demon King.

'Hmm......... They've set this up nicely. They've divided the departments by ability type?'

Park Yong-jun had come to Miterich for a brief visit at the personal request of Han Yu-jeong, the Black Demon King.

He wasn't particularly close with Han Yu-jeong, but as fellow Setinos Hunters, they could help each other without reservation.

Networking was critically important for Hunters, and for fellow Setinos Hunters, that value only increased.

'Feral instinct control isn't really something I can help with. Feral instinct can't be suppressed unless you learn to master your emotions and instincts.'

Park Yong-jun surveyed the interior of the Transformation Department and gave its members a cursory look.

But as he had expected, almost no student caught his eye.

If there were any students who piqued his interest, it would only be the Student Council officers moving alongside him.

'The Vice Student Council President and the Transformation Department Head aren't bad, but......... the Student Council President looks the most interesting. Once this is over, I should have a quick match with the Student Council President.'