# Chapter 16
“Now, let’s begin the final day of the rank determination-!”
There was even an MC—this was seriously official. Along with the ceremonial opening remark, thunderous cheers erupted. Behind the scenes, students who appeared to be from the broadcasting club were running around diligently, fulfilling their roles.
“Is the live streaming working properly?!”
“Yeah! No problems so far!”
“Hey! Camera 2, what are you doing instead of standing by!”
If I’d known they were doing live streaming, I would’ve watched from my bed.
Having been guided to quite good seats just because I came with Kwon Dojin, I looked around the arena that appeared close from where I sat. In truth, I was afraid to look around carelessly since there seemed to be more people involved in the ranking system than ordinary students around us.
“When are you going up?”
“Later. They’re starting with the battle for 10th place, so it won’t take too long.”
There were even snacks prepared next to the seats. After taking a sip of the plum drink I poured, Dojin, who had been intently watching the arena, leaned deep into the chair’s backrest and let out a hollow laugh.
“What a load of—”
“Oh my~ It’s Dojin!”
As I was cautiously glancing at him since he didn’t look to be in a good mood, I heard someone calling out to Dojin, stretching the end of their words. There was only one person who would call him like this.
When I turned my head toward the voice, sure enough, Ahn Ji Yu was smiling brightly and waving his hands excitedly at Dojin.
“Hello.”
Dojin hid his displeasure and smiled back, waving his hand. Sunwoo Hyun, who was with Ahn Ji Yu, approached us.
“Oh? Habin came too~?”
“Hello.”
As Ahn Ji Yu leaned in close, I sank deeper into my seat. Though Dojin often did similar things, unlike him, Ji Yu made me feel uncomfortable, and I couldn’t manage my expression well.
“Ji Yu.”
“Hmm, Hyun-ah. Ji Yu is sad~.”
When Sunwoo Hyun grabbed the back of Ji Yu’s neck and pulled him away from me, Ji Yu immediately wrapped his arms around Hyun’s neck and clung to him.
“I see.”
His response was concise, though he seemed used to dealing with the whining. With Ji Yu still hanging from his neck, Sunwoo Hyun took the seat next to us and nodded a greeting, which I awkwardly returned.
‘Somehow I feel like I’ve unintentionally become a celebrity.’
Exchanging greetings with the Four Heavenly Kings and all.
Of course, I’d never greeted the first-ranked, but I had no desire to exchange pleasantries with that one anyway, so it was fine.
Ahn Ji Yu, who had been clinging to Sunwoo Hyun for quite a while, must have recovered because he suddenly thrust his face close to mine again.
“Where did you get that pin? It’s so cute~!”
“Huh? Pin?”
Another mention of the pin. Wondering what pin they were talking about, I tried to remove the hairpin I was wearing, but Dojin stopped me.
“Can’t you keep wearing it?”
When he tilted his head slightly and looked at me with such earnest eyes—there was only one possible answer.
“…I’ll keep it on.”
Dojin was a fox who knew exactly how to use his face to his advantage.
“Hmm~. Did Dojin give it to you?”
Ahn Ji Yu rested his elbows on the armrest, cupped his face with his hands, and tilted his head from side to side.
“Yeah. What shape is it that you’re making such a fuss?”
I couldn’t take it off since I’d promised Dojin, so I just pressed the pin firmly. Just by touching it, I couldn’t figure out what shape it was.
“See it for yourself later!”
Ahn Ji Yu, with a playful smile on his lips, examined the pin closely once more before changing the subject.
“Are we betting again this time? How many ranking changes will there be?”
“Betting?”
“Ji Yu loves to bet.”
“That’s right! Ji Yu loves betting so much~!”
As if already familiar with this, Dojin and Sunwoo Hyun willingly expressed their intention to participate in the bet. When Ahn Ji Yu naturally looked at me, I firmly shook my head.
“I don’t bet without information. It’s disadvantageous. Besides, I don’t have anything to put up as a prize.”
“What~? Habin is too firm! Ji Yu is lonely!”
Though the bet prize was just buying a meal, and the bet content was merely predicting how many rank changes there would be, there was no particular need for me to participate.
Despite my repeated refusals, Ahn Ji Yu, with his cheeks fully puffed up, grumbled but didn’t press further. He seemed to give up rather quickly.
“Ah! As expected from Rank 8 Kang Jinwoo! He easily evades the attack!”
“There won’t be any changes.”
“This can’t be! I predicted there would be changes!”
“…At this point, isn’t this an official combat sport?”
What they’re doing is basically sports gambling, I guess.
The MC’s voice echoed throughout the auditorium. The audience reacted accordingly, making it feel like we were really at a sporting event.
“Are you bored?”
Dojin asked, leaning his upper body halfway toward me. I don’t know why he needed to press so close to ask, but I dutifully answered his question.
“No, it’s not that I’m bored, but rather that I’m not used to it yet…”
The atmosphere was completely different from what I had expected. I thought it would be a solemn one-on-one fight, not a nationwide festival-like format with streaming. Who could have imagined that?
And to be honest, saying it wasn’t boring wasn’t entirely true. I was never interested in people beating each other up to begin with. What I was curious about was what form the rank determination took and in what kind of atmosphere it was conducted.
“If you’re bored, do you want to step out for a bit?”
“No. It’s not that bad.”
It was practically my own desire that brought me here, so I couldn’t burden Dojin.
“Perhaps it’s because these are fights between those ranked in the top 10! There haven’t been any significant changes yet! The next match is between Rank 6 Jeon Hae-in and Rank 5 Baek Han.”
“Where’s everyone placing their bets this time?”
“No change.”
“I’ll bet the same as Hyun.”
“What~? Ji Yu was going to bet that too! If all three of us bet the same, there’s no point in betting!”
Despite Ahn Ji Yu puffing his cheeks and expressing his dissatisfaction, the other two showed no particular reaction. Instead, Sunwoo Hyun stood up from his seat and left.
“Ah~, Hyun-ah left without even telling us his predictions for the remaining bets!”
“The betting was only up to this point anyway, Ji Yu.”
“That’s true, but—”
Clicking his tongue, Ahn Ji Yu suddenly clung to me.
“Habin-ah, Habin-ah.”
I felt uncomfortable with him repeatedly calling my name while blinking his large eyes. When I gave a vague response, he puffed his cheeks, seemingly dissatisfied.
“What do you think, can Han beat Hyun?”
“…I don’t know much about fighting, so I’m not sure.”
I evasively avoided answering. I genuinely didn’t know, and I couldn’t speak carelessly because I didn’t understand what kind of answer Ahn Ji Yu was hoping for with such a question.
“Ji Yu, shouldn’t you go prepare like Hyun?”
“Hmm? Is Dojin trying to monopolize Habin?”
Dojin wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his embrace while appropriately detaching Ahn Ji Yu. I secretly felt relieved that Ji Yu, who had been filling my entire field of vision, was now moving away.
“Well…, since Habin isn’t an object, I can’t monopolize him even if I want to.”
“Hmm? Another soft statement!”
Standing up abruptly from his seat, Ahn Ji Yu looked at Dojin with a fresh smile.
“If you keep that up, you’ll lose him again, Dojin.”
“I’ll handle it my way.”
Wow… Everything’s fine, but why do they have to have this conversation with me in the middle?
After a brief confrontation, Ahn Ji Yu left with a bright, bouncy walk, leaving an awkward silence between Dojin and me. We had never had such an atmosphere before, even when he threw all kinds of flirting my way, but thanks to Ahn Ji Yu, it became awkward in an instant.
“I’m going to the restroom for a bit.”
I wasn’t shameless enough to stay here any longer. Just as I was about to stand up to take a brief escape, Dojin grabbed my wrist.
“…Don’t mind what Ji Yu just said.”
Rather than openly exchanging words in front of me. A complaint suddenly popped up, but I knew that Dojin hadn’t started it, so it wasn’t something he could help.
“Yeah. I don’t mind.”
In reality, it bothered me a lot, but I wasn’t tactless enough to say that outright. Dojin stared into my eyes for a long time before giving a faint smile and releasing my arm.
“Be careful on your way. As I said, be cautious not to get into any disputes.”
“Today only people within the top 10 ranks have fought. Would such people act recklessly?”
“That’s exactly why you need to be careful.”
Got it?
Thanks to Dojin personally planting yet another flag, I considered just staying in my seat, but it wasn’t an incident that would be avoided by simply staying put.
“I’ll be careful.”
Only after I emphasized it again did Dojin show a satisfied expression. After looking at him, I turned to go to the restroom.
Though there were many people, the paths were well-marked, so I had no trouble exiting. Then I looked back to where Dojin would be. He was partially hidden by the crowd, but I could faintly see blue-black hair.
“He stood up.”
I guess he’s going to prepare.
Well, since Sunwoo Hyun and Baek Han were already fighting, it was indeed time for Dojin to prepare too.
Feeling that staying in one place would obstruct passage, I moved outside the auditorium while listening to the MC’s voice providing real-time commentary.
“This is incredible! There’s a big change in this rank determination! Rank 5 Baek Han has defeated Rank 4 Sunwoo Hyun and is now challenging Rank 3 Ahn Ji Yu!”
“Huh?”
What did they say?
Does this mean the title of the Four Heavenly Kings is breaking? How will the story develop from now on? Can it change so easily?
“As expected. I knew Baek Han could beat him.”
“He can easily defeat Ahn Ji Yu too. The real problem is Kwon Dojin.”
Unlike my bewilderment, the reactions of those around me were utterly composed. Their matter-of-fact acceptance made me feel like the strange one.
