As soon as Ak Simin looked at him, Namgung Il turned his head sharply.
'Help with what?'
That blatant gaze was undoubtedly directed at him.
He could tell the aning of that gaze without even asking.
Naturally, Namgung Il had no intention of responding to that gaze.
"..."
Until just a few days ago, he had been on patrol all night.
He had just returned to his daily life and was about to live comfortably, but if he were to help with the festival preparations, it was clear that he would beco busy again.
'At that ti, I did it because I had the purpose of breaking into Cha Yul-ryeong's office, but this ti, there's no particular reason to do it.'
He wanted to decline his labor being exploited any further without compensation.
Well, considering his relationship with Ak Simin, it might be good to help, but hadn't he already given Ak Simin a great deal of help?
It didn't seem like refusing one trivial request like this would cause any problems in their relationship.
"Namgung Il, I think the class president has been looking at you for a while now."
Just then, Jeong Hyeon-yeong whispered to Namgung Il from the side.
"It must be a misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding?"
As Namgung Il answered as if nothing was wrong, Jeong Hyeon-yeong was montarily at a loss for words.
No matter how he looked at it, it seed he was looking at Namgung Il...
Seeing that he didn't even turn his head to check, he could tell that Namgung Il was also blatantly avoiding Ak Simin's gaze.
Smirk—.
A laugh escaped Ak Simin's mouth as he looked at Namgung Il.
To think he would avoid his courtship so openly.
Since he had roughly expected Namgung Il to be like that, Ak Simin moved his gaze elsewhere with a smile on his lips.
"Is there no one to help?"
"Um... if we help, what exactly do we do?"
A student asked.
As if he had been waiting, Ak Simin imdiately answered the question with a smile.
"It's just as it sounds."
"..."
"We'll be preparing for the festival together. Of course, we'll be gathering people not only from the first year but also from other years to form a committee."
It was the so-called festival preparation committee.
The role of the committee was to operate sothing on the day of the Cheongmyeongje Festival, representing the Vermilion Bird Class.
Whether it was a street stall or a performance, anything was fine. The purpose was to prepare sothing that people could pay money for and enjoy.
"Students can also act individually during the Cheongmyeongje Festival. That's the individual freedom of the students, but as the teacher said earlier, each class must put out sothing."
"..."
"Since we're putting it out on behalf of the class, the scale has to be a bit bigger than acting individually. We need a lot of people to et the deadline."
Ak Simin said and glanced at Namgung Il.
But Namgung Il was still avoiding his gaze.
After quickly confirming that, Ak Simin turned his head back to the student who had just asked the question.
"Of course, I don't expect much help from the first-years."
"..."
"Even if you join the committee, the responsible work will be handled by
or the upperclassn, and the first-years just have to do what they're told. Then it won't be much of a burden, right?"
He wouldn't ask the first-years to do anything burdenso.
Although Ak Simin was looking elsewhere as he said that, perhaps it was just his imagination, but Namgung Il heard those words as if they were directed at him.
'He wants
to believe that?'
For so reason, Namgung Il didn't have much faith in Ak Simin's words.
In the first place, who would want to join the committee if he said it would be hard work from the beginning?
Even outside, when you ask soone to do sothing, you rarely threaten them by saying it's hard from the beginning.
The general flow was to coax them like that and then add work one by one once the work actually started.
'I'm not doing it.'
He didn't know what the naive first-years would think of those words, but Namgung Il's mind was still the sa.
"I hope the first-years will have a more active exchange with the upperclassn through this opportunity."
"..."
"The Cheongmyeongje Festival originally has that purpose as well. To get to know each other while preparing together."
Ak Simin added.
Exchange between upperclassn and underclassn.
Since there were not many opportunities for exchange with the upperclassn within the Vermilion Bird Class, the students who had been thinking about that seed to be interested in those words.
"The committee... sounds like it would be fun."
"I know. From what I hear, it doesn't seem like it will be very hard."
"Wouldn't it be good to get to know the upperclassn through this opportunity?"
Whispering voices were heard from here and there.
Even at a glance, the atmosphere was mostly positive, so Ak Simin thought that the first-years would co over in a little while.
'Good, just like this, little by little...'
It was then.
While Ak Simin was nodding his head inwardly with satisfaction, an unexpected intruder interrupted.
"Don't forget! As long as you're in the committee, your sales must be better than the Azure Dragon Class!"
"...!"
"You can prepare while fooling around. But you'll have to be prepared when the results are not as good as the Azure Dragon Class."
Ho Jeong-won, who had been silent for a while, suddenly shouted at the first-years.
At that mont, the atmosphere inside changed as if a palm had been flipped.
The students' expressions, which had been bright until just a mont ago, were filled with tension as if nothing had happened.
Thud—.
Seeing that, Ak Simin put his palm on his forehead.
'All I had to do was put a spoon on the table...'
Ho Jeong-won had just flipped that table.
As if ruining it like that wasn't enough, Ho Jeong-won was still shouting sothing at the students.
"I won't go easy on you just because you're first-years!"
"..."
"Down with the Azure Dragon Class! As long as you're in the committee, you'll have to face this Cheongmyeongje Festival with that spirit!"
Ho Jeong-won, not content with flipping the table, was stomping on it with his feet.
Accordingly, the students' expressions grew darker.
Since it seed he couldn't handle it any longer if this continued, Ak Simin hurriedly approached Ho Jeong-won and said.
"Teacher, didn't you say you would leave this to ?"
"Yes, so I'm leaving it to you."
"..."
Usually, you don't say you're leaving sothing like this.
But in Ho Jeong-won's case, it seed he really didn't realize that.
"Teacher, could you please step aside until the talk is over?"
"What? You want
to get lost?"
"That's not it, it's just that the talk seems like it will be a bit long. I'd appreciate it if you could just lend
this entire class."
If Ho Jeong-won was in the sa space, the result was as clear as day.
As if to block such a thing from happening in the first place, Ak Simin said to Ho Jeong-won in a roundabout way.
"Hmm... I understand."
"Thank you."
"But don't forget what I said. Down with the Azure Dragon Class. Down with the Azure Dragon Class!"
"...Haha, I understand."
Just get lost already.
Ak Simin said so in his heart and barely managed to get Ho Jeong-won out of the lecture hall.
Thud—.
The door closed and Ho Jeong-won's figure was no longer visible.
"Now, where was I?"
"..."
"Right, exchange between upperclassn and underclassn! The festival committee is a place where you can promote friendship while preparing for the festival with a very joyful heart."
As if nothing had happened, Ak Simin looked at the first-years and said.
But you can't pick up spilled water.
The water that Ho Jeong-won had sprinkled on the first-years was considerable, enough to drench their entire bodies, and although Ak Simin tried to liven up the atmosphere again, the air inside was still heavy.
'...I'm screwed.'
Of course, Ak Simin could sense the depressed atmosphere.
It was a self-evident fact that no one would participate in the committee like this.
If only he had had a little more ti, things would have gone smoothly... Ak Simin sighed inwardly as he thought of the departed Ho Jeong-won.
"..."
It can't be helped.
Since things seed to be going well, he had thought there was no need to bring this up... but now it seed he had no choice but to bring it up.
"Anyone who wants to join the committee? No one?"
"..."
As Ak Simin asked, of course, no one raised their hand.
Seeing that, Ak Simin continued to speak as if he were in a difficult situation.
"This is troubleso. If no one joins, we'll be too short of manpower."
"..."
"This year's Cheongmyeongje Festival is already short of people from other years, so I had high hopes for the first-years."
Ak Simin said with a deep sigh.
An expression and tone that felt sympathetic.
Accordingly, so first-years had a question about what Ak Simin had just said.
"Um... why are there not enough people from other years?"
A student asked.
At those words, Ak Simin answered with a complaining voice as if he had been waiting.
"Usually, when you beco a second-year, you often join a society."
"...?"
"I said you can also act individually, right? But in that case, you often participate as a society. So it's difficult to recomnd soone who is already in a society to join the committee."
There are nurous societies in the Flying Dragon Academy.
A society is a group that studies academics. In other words, it was a kind of club made up of students with similar interests.
Usually, a society was often made up of students from the sa class, but that was not an absolute condition.
In fact, there were also societies with mixed classes, and there were quite a lot of students who interacted with each other through them.
Swoosh—.
Just then, Ak Simin's gaze turned to Namgung Il.
"On top of that, most of the guys who didn't join a society because of soone are in a state of physical discomfort."
"...?"
"The range was already narrow. But the options have beco even narrower."
Hearing those words, Namgung Il felt a pang of guilt.
'Is he now... blaming
for that?'
It seed so.
He turned his head with a thought of 'could it be?', but as expected, Ak Simin was looking this way.
"..."
The guys who had been beaten by Namgung Il at that ti, including Hwang Dong-jae, were still not out of the infirmary.
Of course, they were not hospitalized in the Heavenly Doctor Hall like Hwang Dong-jae, but most of them were still going back and forth for treatnt.
'This brat...'
To think he would use this to find fault with him now.
Although Ak Simin didn't say it openly, Namgung Il could tell that those words and gaze were giving him a hint.
Swoosh—.
Accordingly, the students' gazes were now directed at Namgung Il.
The incident where a large number of students from the Vermilion Bird Class were hospitalized in the Heavenly Doctor Hall a while ago.
The students also knew about that, so they could roughly understand what Ak Simin was talking about now.
"So I'd really appreciate it if you could help ."
"...
"Ah, of course, it's not a compulsion. It's a request."
Ak Simin said, looking at Namgung Il.
A look as if he were now speaking openly to Namgung Il.
Although he said it wasn't a compulsion, the fact that he had said it publicly like this was already a compulsion that was not a compulsion.
"...Haa—."
In the end, Namgung Il let out a deep sigh.
'It can't be helped.'
It was an undeniable fact that Ak Simin had been hard by that incident, albeit unintentionally.
He had wanted to live comfortably for a while... but if this continued, only his own heart would beco uncomfortable, so Namgung Il eventually raised his right hand.
"...I'll do it."
"Wow, really?"
"..."
"I didn't expect it. Thank you."
What do you an you didn't expect it, you bastard.
Looking at the smiling Ak Simin, Namgung Il silently cursed him a bucketful.
(End of Chapter)
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