Chapter 45

Chapter 45

"Hmm...... you're quite the detective. It's like you've read my mind."

Yoon Se-in tilted her head and lowered her gaze.

Yang Jeong-ae's reasoning was sound, and she had no intention of denying it.

After all, it was true that she had gotten a feeling from Miterich's Student Council President similar to what she felt from Yoo Jin-seob.

"But I don't think you're seeing it in a positive light. You dislike the strongest Hunter in history, do you not?"

"I do. He's an opponent I couldn't beat, and I'm not particularly fond of his behavior."

The trace of a smile vanished from Yoon Se-in's face, and her eyes sharpened.

Yoo Jin-seob had always ignored the Committee's advisories and charged into dungeons without so much as consulting other subjugation teams.

Worst of all, he had done all of this while bearing the title of the strongest in history—acting as though he believed himself to be some kind of god.

"But I should acknowledge what deserves acknowledgment. He's stronger than I am, and he's saved countless civilian lives by subjugating numerous dungeons over the years. The title of 'hero' would suit him better than 'strongest in history.'"

With those final words, Yoon Se-in rose from her seat.

She had already received information about the Student Council President from Han Yu-jeong, a fellow Setinos Hunter.

She knew he had earned Baek Jeong-woon's recognition, and she was aware that the ability he had copied from the Scarlet Dragon King had undergone a transformation.

He was entangled in a surprising number of affairs, which only raised the Student Council President's value further.

'With talent like that, the odds of becoming a Setinos Hunter are high. He might even end up inheriting the title of strongest in history. I should meet him and get a feel for things.'

***

Seo Hyun-woo and Choi Jae-yeon unpacked in their assigned room and headed straight to the hotel's sauna.

They intended to freshen up before having lunch.

There was no telling what the other Student Council officers were up to, but since they were here to relax, everyone was presumably managing just fine on their own.

"You don't have to follow me around. I'm sure you have things you want to do."

"......Does it bother you when I tag along?"

"That's not what I meant. Personally, I'd rather be with you than wander around alone. It gets a bit boring by myself."

Seo Hyun-woo showered briefly and entered the hot bath first.

Choi Jae-yeon followed without a word, sinking deep into the water.

A few people were scattered around the sauna's interior, but for a space this size, it was a remarkably small number.

It was excessively quiet—only the occasional sound of running water broke the silence.

"Now that I think about it, I don't think we've had a proper conversation since that time."

"Which time do you mean? Oh, that time. You restrained the student whose feral instinct went out of control and then dropped quite the statement."

"Thanks to that, the girls stopped asking for my contact information. Made life much easier."

That was the end of the conversation.

Neither of them opened their mouths after that, simply staring vacantly at the ceiling or straight ahead.

They were the only two men among the Student Council officers, yet they had never once had a personal conversation.

Seo Hyun-woo felt the awkwardness of the silence and found himself oddly missing the times he spent talking with Baek Seo-yeon.

'......I feel like I'm sitting on a bed of thorns, not on vacation. I don't know much about Choi Jae-yeon since he has so little presence in the story. Should I start by fishing for information?'

Seo Hyun-woo began mulling over conversation topics that might break the mood.

Bringing up objects or hobbies Choi Jae-yeon might enjoy would be ideal.

But Choi Jae-yeon only spoke when necessary, so there was no way of knowing what he liked.

'Ah, this is hard. I need something to work with before I can carry a conversation, but I've got nothing. Maybe talking about swordsmanship or weapons would be the way to go......'

"President, can I ask you one thing?"

"......You don't have to limit it to one."

Seo Hyun-woo answered Choi Jae-yeon's question immediately, without so much as a twitch.

The conversation was finally about to resume.

If Choi Jae-yeon had something he was curious about, all Seo Hyun-woo needed to do was answer earnestly.

"Am I not living up to your expectations?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by that."

"Mm...... then let me put it more clearly. Am I being ostracized?"

"......What?"

Seo Hyun-woo whipped his head around to look at Choi Jae-yeon.

Choi Jae-yeon wore a more serious expression than ever before, his gaze fixed on the ceiling.

He looked as though he had given up on everything and let go without any lingering attachment.

"I'm prepared for it. I'd appreciate it if you were honest with me."

"I never once tried to ostracize you."

"Ah, figures. That's how you're going to play it. Trying to dodge it like that?"

Choi Jae-yeon let out a small laugh and closed his eyes.

Seeing that, Seo Hyun-woo's expression hardened.

Where had things gone wrong for him to be showing such unwavering resolve?

"Hah...... this time, I'll be the one asking. Why do you think you're being ostracized?"

"I don't have concrete proof. I just think you're at the center, and the Vice President and Department Heads have all rallied around you."

"So you're saying you had these thoughts without any evidence?"

"It's plain as day. You may not have intended it, but the Vice President and Department Heads have already gravitated toward you. And I was cleanly cast aside."

"......"

Choi Jae-yeon answered with the definitive tone of someone who knew it all.

In contrast, Seo Hyun-woo found himself at a loss for words, his brow furrowing.

Perhaps Choi Jae-yeon had been acting nonchalant all along while secretly feeling the loneliness inside.

But since the story hadn't described it in any detail, there had been no way to notice in advance.

"Let me go back to the basics. If I had been ostracizing you, why would I be doing all this?"

"......What do you mean?"

"If I'd really been ostracizing you, why would I be having conversations with you and trying to spend time with you? Don't tell me you're going to say I'm pretending to be friendly just to mess with you?"

"That's...... uh......"

Choi Jae-yeon stammered in surprise.

But Seo Hyun-woo didn't stop for a second and pressed on.

"And I'm not that close with the Department Heads. I'm with the Vice President often simply because we share a lot of overlapping duties. And I already warned the Special Department Head about making unnecessary remarks during meetings. Do I need to explain the Rank Battle with the Attribute Department Head too?"

"......"

"On top of that, the Transformation Department Head and the Form Department Head have both been publicly called out by me. The Security Department Head had all the misconduct and budget embezzlement from when Security was transferred to the Student Council exposed. In a situation like that, is getting closer even possible?"

Choi Jae-yeon was left speechless, stealing cautious glances at Seo Hyun-woo.

Seo Hyun-woo fixed him with a cold stare.

He wanted to defend himself, but the atmosphere was too tense to say anything, leaving him with nothing to do but remain silent.

"And if I were going to ostracize someone, I wouldn't do it this sloppily. I'd nitpick every little thing—whether it's work or meetings—the moment anything caught my eye. I'd tell the Vice President and Department Heads only the bad things about you, making sure no one would even talk to you. Do I really need to spell it out this far for you to feel better?"

Seo Hyun-woo said only what needed to be said, deliberately avoiding any points that might raise further doubts or provoke Choi Jae-yeon.

He had never intended to exclude Choi Jae-yeon in the first place, and nipping this in the bud now was the only way to ensure such talk never surfaced again.

Or perhaps this was an opportunity to grow a little closer to Choi Jae-yeon, which wouldn't be bad at all.

"I...... I'm sorry. I think I may have misunderstood."

"That's not enough. You need to be completely certain it's not the case."

"No, there's really no need to go that far......"

"Shh. Just listen. You may have started this, but I'll be the one to end it. Understood?"

"......"

***

Seo Hyun-woo and Choi Jae-yeon ended up spending far more time than expected before leaving the sauna.

Seo Hyun-woo wore his usual impassive expression, but Choi Jae-yeon trailed behind him looking utterly drained.

He had been sapped of all energy after sitting through Seo Hyun-woo's discourse on the meaning of friendship and the nature of romantic relationships.

'The friendship stuff, fine—but why did I have to sit through a lecture on relationships too? I've dated a girl before......'

Choi Jae-yeon stared at Seo Hyun-woo's back for a moment before looking away.

He was the one who had jumped to conclusions first, and his careless words had provoked Seo Hyun-woo.

He couldn't exactly complain about it, and could only be grateful that the misunderstanding had been cleared up.

"Hm?"

Seo Hyun-woo stopped at the sauna entrance upon running into familiar faces.

At the same time, the other party spotted Seo Hyun-woo and approached.

"Oh, did you come here first too, President?"

"I figured I should wash up before eating. Did the Security Department Head come along too?"

"Yes."

Baek Seo-yeon and Yoo Si-eun, freshly out of the bath, stood before him.

Since they were sharing a hotel room, they must have ended up moving together without really planning to.

Their personalities and demeanors were fairly similar as well, so perhaps they got along better than expected.

"Are you two going separately from the other Department Heads?"

"There's no particular need to move as a group, is there? We're in different rooms, so we'd hardly run into each other anyway."

"Fair point. By the way......"

Seo Hyun-woo trailed off as he studied Baek Seo-yeon's face.

Baek Seo-yeon tensed involuntarily and peered into Seo Hyun-woo's eyes.

Surely he wasn't going to make a fuss just because she had taken off her makeup for a bit.

"Your hairstyle looks similar to the Security Department Head's. Did she do it for you?"

"Yes. She saw me trying to tie my hair up and offered to help."

Seo Hyun-woo nodded at the answer and glanced at Baek Seo-yeon's hair.

Like Yoo Si-eun, she had tied her hair back and pinned it up on top.

Since she always wore her hair straight, the difference was unmistakable.

"It suits you. It wouldn't be a bad idea to wear it like that once in a while."

"......Do you really think so?"

"I mean it. It really suits you. Outside of today, I probably won't get to see it. That's a bit of a shame. Oh—we're about to head to lunch. Do you two want to come along?"

At Seo Hyun-woo's invitation, Baek Seo-yeon immediately turned to check Yoo Si-eun's response.

Yoo Si-eun gave a cautious nod, signaling her agreement.

"If you go ahead, we'll follow shortly after."

"Got it. See you in a bit, then."

Seo Hyun-woo said that and left with Choi Jae-yeon.

Baek Seo-yeon watched Seo Hyun-woo's retreating figure for a brief moment before setting off herself.

'It suits me? That didn't sound like a joke...... Should I keep this style going for the rest of today?'

***

'They said they'd be around here......'

Yoon Se-in stepped into the cafe lounge and glanced around.

The hotel staff recognized her instantly, but Yoon Se-in gave a subtle shake of her head, signaling them to pretend they hadn't noticed.

She wanted to have a quiet conversation with them without being spotted by anyone who might recognize her.

'Ah, there they are. Two men and two women—the Student Council President has to be among them. Is the Vice Student Council President there too? I heard she's quite the looker, unlike Baek Jeong-woon.'