# Chapter 22
“An alliance is impossible.”
Though I hadn’t voiced my question aloud, Kwon Dojin answered as if my confusion was written all over my face.
“You can figure out why with Ahn Ji Yu and Ji Haecheon without me explaining, right?”
“Ah… yeah.”
Hilariously enough, I did understand.
Considering Ahn Ji Yu’s personality, he would probably say “Ji Yu doesn’t know about that stuff~” and refuse to get involved altogether. And thinking about Ji Haecheon’s rudeness and his complicated relationship with Kwon Dojin, an alliance with him was definitely out of the question.
“Sunwoo Hyun is the only viable option, but he won’t do anything if Ahn Ji Yu doesn’t step up. His reason for joining the ranks was because of Ahn Ji Yu, so that says it all.”
“He joined the ranks because of Ahn Ji Yu?”
“He’s probably better at fighting than Ahn Ji Yu. He just can’t bring himself to hit anyone because he hates seeing Ahn Ji Yu get hurt.”
I blinked at this unexpected revelation. Had Ahn Ji Yu and Sunwoo Hyun seemed particularly close? I couldn’t remember since I’d never paid much attention.
“Then what about losing to Baek Han this time?”
“Well, it’s true that Baek Han is better at fighting.”
“I see.”
I let out an impressed sound at this fresh bit of information, which made Kwon Dojin let out a soft laugh.
“So anyway, that leaves us with Baek Han, right?”
“Yes. Baek Han is already on board since he raised the issue, but that’s not enough. The influence of the other top-ranked students is surprisingly strong. That’s why you’re the remaining key, Habin.”
Me?
Not understanding why I was suddenly being brought into this, I poked my chest with my index finger, and Kwon Dojin nodded in confirmation.
I wasn’t sure at which point I had become the “remaining key,” but he must have his reasons, so I decided to let it go. However, there was something else bothering me.
“To begin with, I’m not that desperate to see that person face consequences.”
“You should be. If not, you could be in more danger—we need to make an example.”
To show clearly what happens when someone messes with you.
Kwon Dojin skillfully concealed his sharp, honed gaze and slowly pulled on our interlocked hands. The image of him kissing the back of my hand so ostentatiously burned into my mind, making me forget this was the moment I should have shuddered in disgust, and instead I was left completely dazed.
“So, please?”
The moment I directly experienced Kwon Dojin’s desperate pleading, my defeat was sealed. This was a battle I was destined to lose from the start. From the moment I faced him and started talking.
“You’re cunning.”
“Only with Habin.”
I turned my gaze away from Kwon Dojin’s smiling eyes. He quietly moved closer, rested his head on my shoulder, and whispered softly.
“Thank you for indulging me, Habin.”
I swallowed the words that I wasn’t even angry because I knew he was being forceful for my own sake, and instead carelessly waved our joined hands. Kwon Dojin burst into laughter at the gesture and spoke in a voice still lingering with emotion.
“Habin.”
“What.”
“…I like you.”
The words came out like a mumble with his lips pressed against my shoulder, so I couldn’t hear them clearly, but because we were so close, I could understand what he meant.
After blinking silently for a moment, I glanced at my watch before responding.
“Okay.”
Though my answer was nothing special, it seemed sufficient for him as he moved on without saying anything more.
* * *
After regular classes ended, I spotted Baek Han standing at the back door of the classroom as if it were perfectly natural and waved at him. He waved back, still carrying nothing as usual.
“You don’t have your indoor shoes bag today either?”
“No.”
“You’re quite bold for a student.”
Baek Han didn’t even pretend to listen to the comment, seemingly unbothered despite Kwon Dojin’s teasing. It seemed like his savviness was increasing as time passed, and I was about to mentally applaud him when I quickly withdrew as they looked ready to fight in that brief moment. Instead, I firmly pushed both their backs.
“So where is this rank meeting being held?”
“We rented out a café.”
“…Where does all this money come from?”
These guys who just fight all the time have so much money they can rent an entire café?
I made no attempt to hide my astonishment, which made both Kwon Dojin and Baek Han burst out laughing.
“Is that really something to be so surprised about?”
“Former seniors who used to be in the ranks sponsor us.”
“Enough to rent out an entire café?”
“More accurately, enough to do that and then some.”
This is truly an amazing world in so many ways.
My mind, steeped in the common sense of a different world, refused to accept this, but judging by their reactions, it seemed like a completely normal thing. That graduates who had long left the ranking system would sponsor their juniors.
In a typical school senior-junior relationship, sponsorship might be possible, but this was the ranking system, wasn’t it? The kind of ranking system that would probably become an embarrassing part of their past when they got older.
How could such significant sponsorship be maintained? I felt the urge to dissect the entire sponsorship structure, but knowing that would be impossible, I firmly suppressed my curiosity.
“It’s my first time going to a rank meeting this late.”
Baek Han muttered while stretching his neck from side to side, which made me open my eyes wide. Come to think of it, when Kwon Dojin asked me to go to the rank meeting, he definitely said it started at 1 PM.
“Why does the rank meeting start so early? You’re all students—don’t you attend class?”
“Because they count it as attendance.”
“…Huh?”
“You didn’t know?”
You didn’t tell me, you bastard.
The moment Baek Han realized this was a mishap due to miscommunication, he turned the arrow of blame toward Kwon Dojin.
“You didn’t tell him the most important part?”
“I thought Habin already knew. It’s a well-known fact that even ordinary people know about.”
“They might not be interested. Does he look like he falls into that category of normal people? Lee Habin, who didn’t even know my name despite how famous I supposedly was?”
I could hear Baek Han saying some rather offensive things while pointing at me, but I didn’t have the mental capacity to point it out. Wait, why would they count attendance for participating in a rank meeting? I can hear the complaints of most ordinary Korean middle and high school students from here!
“…Since Habin likes studying, I simply thought he wanted to attend classes. And when he said he needed to prepare for early admissions, I thought, ‘He must mean he needs to attend classes to prepare for midterms.'”
“Now that I hear it, that makes sense too.”
Seeing Baek Han readily agree, my emotions welled up, and I shouted without realizing it.
“That’s not true! I like skipping classes legally too, you know!”
People might think I’m a study bug! Well, I might be one in others’ eyes, but still!
And when I said I was preparing for early admissions, I meant I couldn’t have any unexcused absences. As for midterms, they’re just first-year exams—how difficult could they be?
“Let’s think positively. They say the main character always makes a late entrance.”
“Isn’t this too late? You need to be fashionably late to look cool.”
“At this point, they might think you’re too scared to show up?”
Kwon Dojin tried to maintain a positive mindset while running his hand through his hair, but Baek Han and I immediately shot him down.
“More importantly, why do they count it as attendance? How? What does the school gain from recognizing rank meetings as attendance?”
“They probably count it as field trip attendance?”
“I think the official reason is inter-school student exchange, maybe?”
If that was really the case, then I’d missed an important opportunity.
Looking back and forth between the two of them as they shook their heads, saying they didn’t know the exact reason because it was tradition, I smacked my forehead. Honestly, I wanted to grab Kwon Dojin by the collar and shake him for not telling me the most important thing, but I held back. There were too many students from our school still visible on the way home.
“How long does it take to get from here to the café where the rank meeting is held?”
I asked while practically glaring at Kwon Dojin, who subtly averted his gaze.
“About 20 minutes walking?”
“Call a taxi. Kwon Dojin’s paying.”
“You’re really calling a taxi?”
“Yeah. I’ll pay.”
“Woohoo!”
When he readily agreed to pay, I even forgave him for not telling me about the attendance recognition and gave him a round of applause. The taxi Baek Han called was apparently nearby and quickly arrived in front of us.
Kwon Dojin got in first, and Baek Han pushed me in next, saying he didn’t want to sit next to Kwon Dojin, so I ended up sandwiched between them.
“You guys are surprisingly bulky.”
It wasn’t obvious from the outside, but it became apparent in the taxi. It felt like they were pushing me from both sides, making it feel cramped.
“Habin, you’re just as delicate as you look.”
“You should gain some weight. You’d blow away in the wind.”
“I’m average!”
Baek Han’s comment annoyed me. He subtly knew how to get under people’s skin. When I punched his arm, Baek Han raised his eyebrows with a ‘see what I mean?’ expression.
“Oh, now you know how to hit too?”
“He hits me too, so why wouldn’t he hit you?”
“You’re as strict with your standards as Kwon Dojin. What just happened wasn’t hitting.”
Baek Han looked upset at being compared to Kwon Dojin. With an openly displeased expression and deeply furrowed brows, he quickly corrected himself.
“Right, what just happened wasn’t hitting.”
“How childish.”
“Alright, alright, we’re in a taxi. And I’m in the middle, got it? Save the fighting for after we get out of the taxi.”
Baek Han, who had directly pushed me into the middle, kept his mouth shut at my words. Kwon Dojin also seemed uninterested in breaking my back like a shrimp, so he clicked his tongue once and closed his mouth.
Instead, he rested his head on my shoulder, which was much better than needlessly arguing and hurting my ears, so I raised my arm and stroked his hair.
