Chapter 25 – Rule 12. The Leader Receives Top Marks (4)

 

Whirr.

 

In the Disciplinary Committee office, I was leisurely enjoying my morning coffee when my smartphone buzzed.

 

“Whoa!” I exclaimed, nearly spilling my coffee and falling off the chair. Thankfully, neither of these disasters occurred.

 

It was a relief that no one else was in the office.

 

I swiftly grabbed my phone and checked the message. As expected, it was a notification to check my exam results.

 

Midterms.

 

Written and practical exams.

 

Everything was over.

 

Today, the comprehensive report card would be released.

 

I quickly accessed the academy app.

 

‘Please…!’

 

My heart was pounding wildly.

 

‘Please let me uphold my dignity as the Leader…!’

 

After a brief prayer with my eyes closed, I opened the report card with a thumping heart.

 

My grades were….

 

[Ahsung High School Midterm Comprehensive Results]

 

─ Name: Ahn Woo-jin
─ Total Score: 98
─ Rank: 1

 

“Yes!!”

 

I couldn’t help but shout.

 

First place.

 

I was first place.

 

I wanted to open the window, shout, “Take off your pants and scream!” and do a joyful Spider-Man dance on the windowsill.

 

Of course, doing that might shatter my dignity as the Leader, not to mention my human dignity. I restrained myself, though the urge was strong.

 

“Khaha…!”

 

I couldn’t control the trembling corners of my mouth.

 

The joy of being first place had such a powerful impact that even my well-trained poker face was useless.

 

I had to contain myself.

 

When Baek-seo came in, I needed to display the composure of a victor.

 

That was the highest pleasure I could savor at this moment.

 

Baek-seo would be here soon.

 

Taking a deep breath to calm my emotions, I sipped my coffee.

 

“Leader, good morning.”

 

Finally, the awaited Baek-seo entered the office.

 

“Oh, hello.”

 

I greeted her simply.

 

From her perspective, my face would now be radiating the composure of a first-place winner.

 

‘I shouldn’t bring up the grades first.’

 

I waited as naturally as possible for her to mention the grades. That too would show the composure of a victor.

 

Baek-seo began brewing tea in the kitchenette.

 

“By the way, have you checked your grades?”

 

Here it came.

 

“Not yet. Did you do well?”

 

I asked nonchalantly, expecting her answer.

 

“Yeah, I got first place.”

 

?

 

“I tied with someone. Was it you, Leader?”

 

What?

 

I quickly checked my smartphone while she was in the kitchenette.

 

‘Oh…!’

 

I had only seen ‘Rank: 1’ and was so elated that I hadn’t noticed the ‘Special Notes’ below it.

 

Now I saw it.

 

[Ahsung High School Midterm Comprehensive Results]

 

─ Rank: 1

 

※ Tied for first place.

 

“…It seems so.”

 

Baek-seo and I had tied.

 

I didn’t know whether to be happy or not…. My mind was in turmoil.

 

Thanks to my diligent preparation, I had been hopeful for a good outcome.

 

But this meant I was still not better than Baek-seo…!

 

“Leader, would you like some tea?”

 

“No, I’m fine….”

 

I should be happy about being first, but all I felt was emptiness.

 

Baek-seo sipped her tea peacefully at the table while casually browsing internet news on her smartphone. She exuded the true composure and elegance of a first-place winner.

 

Meanwhile, I stared blankly at the black coffee in my cup.

 

‘If only I had answered one more question correctly….’

 

I wanted to close my eyes tightly.

 

I didn’t want to adopt the annoying mindset of a study nerd who laments over a single missed question.

 

But the fact that I hadn’t beaten Baek-seo left a bitter feeling in my heart.

 

‘Ugh.’

 

I swallowed my disappointment with the bitter coffee.

 

Just then, the office door opened.

 

“Hello….”

 

“Oh, hi.”

 

“Good morning.”

 

It was Secretary Park Minhyuk who walked in.

 

He looked despondent, his shoulders slumped. He was utterly dejected.

 

‘He looks down.’

 

Although he spent most of the year in that state, he had seemed better recently.

 

“Minhyuk, your grades…?”

 

“Argh…!”

 

“Sorry, I won’t mention it.”

 

Minhyuk buried his face in his desk and let out a groan, so I stopped speaking. One more word and Minhyuk might run straight to the school trash bin, sweeping up leaves in despair.

 

In his self-deprecating state, Minhyuk croaked like a zombie, then knelt before me, wailing.

 

“Leader, I’m so sorry…! I only managed to rank 45th in the whole school. How can someone like me serve a great leader like you? Please don’t forgive a failure like me…!”

 

Minhyuk apologized as if prostrating himself.

 

Being 45th in the entire school should be a high rank.

 

Apparently, his pride wouldn’t accept that ranking.

 

“A worthless piece of trash like me should commit seppuku…!”

 

“Hello, Leader, Baek-seo…. Trash Minhyuk too….”

 

Once again, the office door opened, and the discipline enforcement officer Ha Yesong greeted us with a lifeless voice as she entered.

 

“Oh, hi.”

 

“Come in.”

 

There was no sign of her usual energy. She didn’t head straight for Baek-seo either.

 

She was clearly expressing a ‘Please ask me what’s wrong’ vibe. It was overwhelming.

 

Though I had a good guess why, I asked out of courtesy.

 

“Yesong, what’s wrong?”

 

“Leader….”

 

As if waiting for this, Yesong quickly looked at me, teary-eyed.

 

“I guess I was too arrogant, right…!?”

 

“What?”

 

Yesong clenched her right fist tightly against her chest, her body trembling.

 

A torrent of futile regret spilled from her mouth like rapid-fire.

 

“I was overconfident…! I was fine in my first year, so I let my guard down. If I had known the second-year exams would be this hard, I wouldn’t have wasted time playing around…. Why did I do that? Why was I so foolish and complacent…!?”

 

“Are you unhappy with your grades? How bad were they?”

 

Yesong extended her fingers in a display that lacked any semblance of confidence.

 

She held up five fingers on one hand and three on the other.

 

“53rd place is still in the upper ranks….”

 

“Both hands…. So, 253rd place….”

 

“Oh.”

 

Given the large student body, 253rd place wasn’t terrible, but it was a significant drop compared to Yesong’s first-year performance.

 

“……”

 

Minhyuk, observing Yesong quietly, stood up and approached her.

 

He placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke in a clear tone.

 

“You’re trash.”

 

Yesong flinched.

 

Then she went to the sofa, hugged her knees, and buried her head.

 

“I am trash… I’m sorry….”

 

“Puhahaha! Ha… ha….”

 

Minhyuk pointed at the dejected Yesong and laughed heartily.

 

But soon, realizing his own situation wasn’t much different, he sat across from her and hung his head low.

 

“I should have done better…. I feel ashamed in front of you, Leader….”

 

“I’ll go on a diet….”

 

The two began a collective lament.

 

As the Disciplinary Committee Leader, I had an obligation to strive for peace and harmony within the committee. But this kind of melancholia didn’t seem worth addressing.

 

Then, bang! The door burst open.

 

“I’m here!”

 

“Oh, hi.”

 

“Come in.”

 

The confident voice belonged to the treasurer, Yoo Do-ha.

 

There are three reasons someone could be this cheerful on a day when grades are released.

 

Either they scored well, didn’t care about the exams, or had given up on life.

 

“Do-ha, did your grades turn out well?”

 

“Hmph. Does that matter? I can’t help but be amazed at the academy’s audacity to evaluate me with mere exams!”

 

“Well, it’s good you’re positive.”

 

I realized that engaging with his middle school syndrome was a mistake.

 

……

 

After school.

 

Clouds tinged with the evening glow drifted across the sky like flowing water.

 

‘Maybe I’ll just finish up the paperwork and head out.’

 

With no urgent tasks today, I decided to catch up on paperwork. Post-exams, things typically slowed down unless something unexpected cropped up.

 

I needed to resume volunteer work with Lee Se-Ah soon. Both she and I had been too busy during the exam period to continue.

 

The main purpose was to keep an eye on Se-Ah.

 

With Anomia, the rival of the mafia group Do-hwa, now destroyed, the need for surveillance had increased.

 

I had also asked a stoic junior to keep an eye on her. I told him not to actively surveil but to keep an ear out and report any updates on Se-Ah’s activities.

 

‘Se-Ah… The more I spend time with her, the less she seems like a bad person….’

 

A different impression had taken root compared to what I felt in the game.