Chapter 12 – Rule 8. The Leader Maintains Dignity Even at Exchange Meetings (1)

 

“Apparently, the student council president wants us to hold an exchange meeting with Mayeon High’s Disciplinary Committee.”

 

I was in the middle of eating an egg mayo sandwich made by Oh Baek-seo when my friend from the student council suddenly mentioned this odd proposal.

 

“An exchange meeting with Mayeon High’s Disciplinary Committee?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Mayeon High School: the school we had the most conflicts with and avoided the most. And now, an exchange meeting?

 

If it were a business partner, we’d need to be polite, but there’s no reason to be on good terms with these guys.

 

As the Disciplinary Committee Leader, I intended to avoid any involvement with them. There’s no need to step in dog poop if you can walk around it.

 

“Why the hell?”

 

“How should I know? Apparently, it was agreed upon.”

 

“Getting friendly with street rats would be more realistic. Aren’t Mayeon High and Ahsung High practically in a cold war?”

 

“Honestly, it seems like you won’t be able to refuse. There’s a positive atmosphere about it in the student council.”

 

Really?

 

“Why?”

 

“Our school district and Mayeon High’s district are very closely connected. Continuing to fight is just a game of chicken. If we cut off the exchange meeting too, things will just get more awkward. They probably want to reconcile, at least on the surface, and establish a somewhat peaceful relationship.”

 

If it were any other school, I would welcome it with open arms.

 

But not Mayeon High. Historically, we have fought countless dirty battles and snarled at each other.

 

Naturally, I felt resistant.

 

“Why do we have to do this? We can just stay awkward with them.”

 

So I argued.

 

“Our student council president wants to show some achievements.”

 

“Oh…”

 

I immediately shut my mouth.

 

Improving relations with Mayeon High.

 

If such an achievement were recorded in the school life record under the student council president’s tenure…

 

That would be a very powerful credential.

 

“I don’t know what the other student council president’s motive is, but there’s nothing to lose. On the contrary, establishing a friendly relationship on the surface might benefit both sides. Since there hasn’t been any recent conflict, the student council president wants to proceed positively for their and the school’s future. What can we do?”

 

It was a carefree statement.

 

“…But the exchange meeting is between the Disciplinary Committees, not the student councils.”

 

I’m the one stepping in shit.

 

“All conflicts originated from the Disciplinary Committees. The student council presidents will likely meet too, but you have to bear with it. If you handle this well, it’ll be an achievement for you too. If the Mayeon High students act up, just handle them appropriately.”

 

I sighed.

 

As the Disciplinary Committee Leader, I couldn’t ignore the student council president’s orders.

 

“Who suggested this?”

 

“The Mayeon High student council president.”

 

“What?”

 

They suggested it first?

 

‘Oh, right.’

 

I recalled some game information I had noted down. It was information I had forgotten because I didn’t think it was important.

 

The current student council president of Mayeon High was a bright, cheerful girl who seemed to have a field of flowers blooming in her mind.

 

She was always saying “Peace forever, peace.”

 

She prioritized peace and friendship, only considering the school’s interests afterward. You could say she had an altruistic nature.

 

I remember being fond of her character in the game because she was exceptionally kind. She just lacked a bit of awareness.

 

‘If it’s her, there likely aren’t any shady motives.’

 

Therefore, the reason why the Mayeon High student council president wanted to proceed with the exchange meeting was probably because she genuinely wished for her school’s Disciplinary Committee to reconcile with ours.

 

‘The problem is their Disciplinary Committee members.’

 

The student council president’s kindness didn’t necessarily reflect the character of the Disciplinary Committee members.

 

The street scum I referred to were not the student council president, but the members of the Mayeon High Disciplinary Committee.

 

“Anyway, I’ve told you. Sorry, but bear with it. As I said, if it goes well, you’ll benefit too.”

 

My student council friend patted my shoulder and left.

 

Did I have any say in this?

 

If the higher-ups command, I have to comply.

 

If this were an opportunity to build a record of achievements, I’d welcome it.

 

…

 

“…So that’s how it is.”

 

I informed Deputy Oh Baek-seo and officer Ha Yesong about the exchange meeting with Mayeon High’s Disciplinary Committee.

 

Since it was the student council president’s directive, the exchange meeting proposal was swiftly and decisively approved.

 

There’s no port to escape the storm.

 

Under these circumstances, the Disciplinary Committee had no choice but to go through with this exchange meeting.

 

“Ugh, looks like we’ll have a lot of work to do…”

 

Ye-song sighed.

 

She worried about preparing for the exchange meeting, not about the confrontation with Mayeon High’s Disciplinary Committee.

 

Since she wasn’t interested in the history of conflicts between Ahsung High and Mayeon High, her reaction was understandable.

 

“When is it?”

 

“In nine days.”

 

“My god, why is it so rushed!?”

 

“I was just informed about this proposal yesterday, so I have nothing to say.”

 

“How could such a big event get approved in just one day?”

 

“Because it’s the student council president’s order.”

 

“Oh, then I understand.”

 

Yesong also understood the basic social order that if the higher-ups command, you have to comply.

 

“Oh dear…, we’ll have to start preparing right away.”

 

“We need to gather the rest of the officers. Since it’s an exchange meeting, all officers must participate.”

 

Baek-seo spoke with her usual kind smile on her face.

 

“Other executives. That means, the secretary and the treasurer.”

 

The exchange meeting with Mayeon High School is an important event. We need to start preparing immediately. Thus, it was necessary to assemble the five executive parts in one place for an executive assembly.

 

“I’ll call the treasurer.”

 

“I’ll handle Minhyuk!”

 

Park Minhyuk was the name of the Disciplinary Committee’s secretary.

 

Yesong and I each called the executives. …They aren’t picking up.

 

“They’re not answering.”

 

“Neither are mine. Oh, I got a text.”

 

“What does it say?”

 

Yesong showed the text message to Baek-seo and me.

 

[Please do not look for someone like me…]

 

How poignant. It was clear that the low self-esteem secretary, who falls in love easily, was once again heartbroken or feeling self-deprecating.

 

“I guess he might be hiding in the trash can, so I’ll go check there.”

 

Yesong deduced calmly.

 

“Alright. Vice-Leader, help Yesong.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“I’ll go find the treasurer.”

 

“Let’s contact each other once we find them!”

 

After leaving the room, we scattered.

 

The treasurer of Ahsung High’s Disciplinary Committee, ‘Yoo Doha’. Among the students, Doha is humorously called ‘Calculating Ghost’ because she calculates everything before taking action.

 

Fortunately, there was no participatory class in the class the treasurer belonged to. When she had free time, she usually locked herself in an empty classroom, saying she needed to prove various things.

 

She didn’t stay in one fixed place. She moved to any classroom she liked daily. However, she preferred classrooms with large blackboards, so some classrooms could be excluded.

 

“Senior!”

 

While crossing the schoolyard, a female student called out to me. I stopped and looked over.

 

“Lee Se-Ah?”

 

The girl in the black uniform, Lee Se-Ah, ran towards me. A bright smile spread across her face as if she was happy to find me.

 

“Where are you headed?”

 

“I’m just looking for someone.”

 

“That sounds fun! Can I help? I’m a specialist at finding people.”

 

Se-Ah showed a confident attitude. She was an expert at everything, it seemed.

 

“What about your classes?”

 

“I only have BD class left. I have plenty of free time.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

Having someone to help was welcome.

 

I didn’t assign the task of finding the executives to the Disciplinary Committee members because it would look bad. So, if someone unrelated to the committee helped, it wouldn’t be a problem.

 

Lee Se-Ah might become a great villain in the Black Market someday, but she wasn’t someone who would bring about the dystopia I feared. Therefore, I had no ill feelings towards her. In fact, having frequent conversations through CoconutTalk made us somewhat close.

 

Additionally, keeping my distance from her would look strange, and there was no reason to distance myself from her anyway. She didn’t seem like someone who would harm the Disciplinary Committee.

 

So, I spoke without hesitation.

 

“I’m looking for the Disciplinary Committee treasurer. She looks like this.”

 

I showed her a photo of Yoo Doha on my smartphone. Se-Ah nodded.

 

“Okay, okay.”

 

“She should be in an empty classroom. One with a large blackboard. I’ll search from this direction.”

 

“Then I’ll check this line. Let’s contact each other if we find her.”

 

Se-Ah waved her smartphone and started backing away before turning towards the classroom building.