* * *
There is an old saying, “Strike while the iron is hot.”
Although Jihak was still in the hospital, he would be discharged soon.
Since it was early in the morning, he thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to head straight to school.
“You’re already thinking of going to school? Why not rest for a few more days?”
“I’ve rested enough. I need to work hard to catch up with my classmates.”
Jihak’s mother seemed a bit uneasy about him going straight to school after being discharged.
Jihak, unable to reveal that he had not only recovered completely but had even surpassed his previous condition, could only reassure his mother with kind words.
“I’ll be fine. If I feel even a little off, I’ll leave early and come home.”
The place where Jihak first collapsed was at school.
They said he fell down the stairs, but his mother knew the truth.
She knew that Jihak was being bullied at school.
“Jihak, if anything happens…”
“Don’t worry, Mom. Your son isn’t so easily defeated.”
Jihak smiled back at his worried mother.
Seeing his smile, she still felt uneasy but also found some comfort in his reassuring demeanor.
After being discharged, Jihak headed home with his mother first.
He didn’t want to send her home alone.
“I’m off to school!!”
Jihak shouted in a loud voice in front of the house’s entrance.
His mother nodded gently and said,
“Have a good day. Is there anything special you want to eat tonight? I’ll make something delicious.”
Excited at the thought of eating his mother’s cooking instead of hospital food, Jihak responded,
“Hmm… kimchi stew?”
“Is that all? How about I grill some ribs or pork belly?”
His mother wanted to make something nicer for her son who was home after a long time, but Jihak wanted just one thing.
“Kimchi stew. With lots of pork belly in it.”
“Oh my… you have the same taste as your father.”
At the mention of his father, a bit of longing crept into his mother’s voice.
“I’m off!”
“Okay.”
Jihak knew that being cheerful was the best way to reassure his mother, so he put on a bright face as he headed to school.
“Shall we go?”
It was a 15-minute walk from Jihak’s house to the school.
The school day was already well underway, so he would arrive around the second or third period.
“No need to rush and get there early, right?”
If he wanted, he could get to school in less than a minute.
Or he could open a gate and teleport there instantly.
However, that would draw too much attention, so Jihak decided to walk slowly.
“The neighborhood hasn’t changed. Am I the only one who’s different?”
Walking the familiar path to school brought back old memories.
The road he walked every day sometimes felt tedious and stifling, but today it felt new, familiar, and even a bit nostalgic.
As he enjoyed the flood of emotions and walked slowly, the school gate came into view.
“It’s been a while.”
When he entered the school, it was already in the middle of a class, and some kids were outside for physical education.
“Huh…? Who’s that? Someone’s just coming to school now?”
The kids in the schoolyard looked at Jihak in disbelief as he arrived so late.
“Hey, hey… isn’t that Yoo Jihak?”
“What!?”
When someone recognized Jihak and mentioned his name, the other kids all turned their heads towards him in surprise.
“I feel like a celebrity.”
Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sudden attention, Jihak shrugged and continued walking into the school.
“He’s ignoring us… Hey! Yoo Jihak!!”
Kim Jihyun shouted as Jihak walked past without acknowledging them.
“Hmm?”
Jihak turned to see who called him and recognized their faces.
‘Kim Jihyun…? And that’s Kang Hyunmin and Park Doogi? Wait, these are my classmates!’
It turned out that the kids in the schoolyard for P.E. were his classmates.
Apart from the three names he had a special connection with, he couldn’t immediately recall the faces and names of the other kids.
It had been a long time for Jihak, after all.
But they weren’t just any classmates.
“Jihak? Yoo Jihak?”
As his name spread, the kids began murmuring, and the P.E. teacher, realizing the situation, hurried over to Jihak.
“Jihak, I heard you were badly injured. Are you okay?”
“Yes… as you can see?”
Jihak glanced up and down at the teacher, trying to remember his name but failing.
‘What was it…?’
He didn’t particularly want to remember.
To Jihak, the teachers and students here had mostly ignored or distanced themselves from him after his father’s incident.
“Let’s go see the principal first. Class rep, split the kids into groups for soccer and dodgeball.”
The teacher roughly instructed the kids and led Jihak to the teachers’ office.
Naturally, the school was concerned about a student who had been injured returning.
As Jihak walked towards the principal’s office with the P.E. teacher, the familiar smell and atmosphere of the school brought back memories.
‘This unique smell… the vigorous energy… I used to hate it, but now it feels pretty nice.’
Jihak, feeling the school atmosphere, entered the principal’s office.
There was only one thing he couldn’t get used to: the principal’s long-winded speeches.
“Ugh…”
Jihak felt more exhausted than when he was chased by lower demons in hell.
He couldn’t even remember what the principal said.
“Go back to your classroom for now. Class is over, and the other students will be waiting.”
‘Friends? More like a pain…’
By the time the principal’s speech ended, the P.E. class was over, and break time had passed, moving on to the next period.
If it hadn’t been for the P.E. teacher cutting in, Jihak might still be there.
If not for that, who knows how much longer I would have been held up.
“Yes. Then I’ll go in now.”
Finally free, Jihak took his first step to find his classroom.
But then a problem arose.
“Which class am I in?”
He couldn’t remember which class he belonged to.
Gulp.
He swallowed nervously and looked around in a hurry.
‘If I keep standing here and get dragged back inside, it’ll be hell.’
Jihak was standing in front of the principal’s office.
Hesitating any longer could mean experiencing a fate worse than hell.
“Well, since it’s come to this, why not take a little walk around?”
Studying wasn’t urgent at the moment, so he strolled through the corridors, taking in the school’s interior.
As he looked around, memories began to resurface, bringing a sense of nostalgia.
But then…
‘Who’s that? Daring to watch me secretly?’
He sensed a piercing gaze from somewhere.
Since entering the school, he had felt someone watching him in secret.
Jihak carefully summoned his magic.
He raised his magic subtly, focusing it into a single point to increase its density without anyone noticing.
Whoosh—
‘I need to teach this punk a lesson.’
This attack wouldn’t be lethal.
Causing unnecessary commotion wouldn’t benefit Jihak, so he planned just a warning shot.
Zap!
Once he gathered enough power, he shot it towards the direction of the gaze.
Then…
Crash— Crack!
“Huh?”
The sound of something breaking and shattering on the floor reached his ears.
Looking back at the direction he had aimed, Jihak saw a CCTV camera inside the school, now broken and lying on the floor.
“…”
Realizing that the gaze he had felt since entering the school was from the CCTV, Jihak was embarrassed but quickly left the area.
‘What the? When did they install those?’
Later, he learned that the CCTV was installed after his incident to prevent further accidents.
As he continued to wander around the school, a familiar face caught his eye.
“Here it is, Class 1…”
Jihak saw Kim Jihyun, who was bored and fiddling with something inside the classroom, confirming this was his class.
Hope High School, second year, Class 1, Yoo Jihak.
Finally, it started to come back to him.
Screeech—
He confidently opened the classroom door and walked in.
“Okay, so as I was saying about Joseon’s…”
He immediately locked eyes with the teacher who was conducting the class.
Caught off guard, the teacher stared at Jihak, lost for words, and Jihak, sensing something, stepped back outside and closed the door.
Then…
Screeech—
He entered through the back door.
‘Gotta keep basic manners, after all.’
Even as the king of hell, he knew how to be polite.
“Take your seat… please.”
The teacher’s voice trembled, moved by Jihak’s gesture, while the students giggled.
However, Jihak found no empty seat, no matter how much he looked around.
“Teacher, Jihak’s desk was taken away.”
Since they didn’t know when Jihak would return, his desk had long been put in storage and needed to be brought back.
“Is that so? Then, can someone go get Jihak’s desk…”
“We will! We’ll go!”
Before the teacher could finish, several students raised their hands and shouted.
‘Kim Jihyun. Kang Hyunmin. Park Doogi…’
The three main culprits behind his incident stood up, raising their hands.
“Alright… all of you go together.”
Since these kids never focused on the class anyway, the teacher didn’t mind sending them all.
“Let’s go. We’ll help you.”
“We know where your desk is.”
The three of them grabbed Jihak’s hand and hurried out of the classroom.
‘Putting on a show…’
Jihak knew well enough that they weren’t volunteering out of kindness.
The place with the desks and chairs was an old, secluded storage room next to the gym, a place often used to bully Jihak in the past.
“Quietly follow us.”
Jihyun nudged Jihak’s side, giving him a look.
“Fine.”
Jihak obediently followed them out of the classroom towards the storage room.
They didn’t do anything to him on the way, probably aware of the CCTV installed around the school.
Finally, when they reached the storage room, Jihyun signaled to Hyunmin, pointing at the CCTV.
There was one installed here as well.
Hyunmin, the tallest among them, quietly approached the CCTV and turned it sideways so it wouldn’t capture them.
Confirming the preparations were complete, Jihyun changed his expression and approached Jihak.
“Thought you were dead. But you’re back, huh?”
* * *
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