Kolon felt there was sothing wrong with Wildfire.
Yaxi was problematic.
This class was problematic.
The school itself was problematic.
These people were all problematic.
He had signed up for this class and was also a mber of this group called "Wildfire".
However, unlike the others, he had not attended the second or third class as he had been sick and taken leave.
But when he returned, he found that everything had changed.
These classmates...
They had beco unusually fanatical, regardless of whether they were tall or short, fat or thin, attractive or ugly, good or bad students.
Silent, yet with strong initiative, they showed spontaneous unity and a sense of discipline, always carrying themselves with an unintended superiority in their daily lives.
It was as if their "Wildfire" was sothing supre.
He recalled what "Wildfire" had been like in the first class.
At that ti, everything was normal, it was just a group, like any other small group in the school.
But ever since Mr. Yaxi asked them to unify their attire, slogans, and manners, the direction of the class took a complete turn for the strange.
It was not good, yet, looking at these unfamiliar classmates who constantly spoke of "collective pride", "achievent", "equality", and "as Mr. Yaxi said", he consciously refrained from raising any objections.
Until he noticed the change in Erin.
Erin was the top student who had talked back to Mr. Yaxi in the first class, the one like a black swan.
He took an instant liking to her, but, like the other boys, only dared to watch her from a distance, not daring to approach or strike up a conversation.
Kolon could see that, at first, Erin was like him, always cooperating but always staying on the periphery of the group.
Until one day, she went to see Mr. Yaxi alone.
He saw her enter his private office with his own eyes, but he didn’t manage to see her co out.
The Erin who arrived at school the next day seed like a completely different person; she wholeheartedly supported Mr. Yaxi, becoming his fervent disciple.
No one could speak ill of Mr. Yaxi in her presence, of course, by this point in the course, no one had any objections to "Wildfire" anymore.
Any overt objections were t with attacks from the mbers of "Wildfire", they acted like a genuine whole, speaking with only one voice.
Just like...
Now.
"Fire! Fire! Fire!" As Mr. Yaxi walked into the room, the students in the classroom simultaneously raised their left fists while shouting the slogan at the top of their lungs.
Originally they had chanted "Mr. Yaxi" before class, but Mr. Yaxi suggested that such a call sign was too frivolous, lacking in spirit and vigor, so it was changed.
The first task of the class was to design a LOGO for their group.
Unlike those students eagerly voicing their ideas, he just sat alone in the midst of the crowd, pretending to fit in.
He glanced towards Erin, who stood among the crowd, gesticulating passionately yet with a grave expression, as if engaged in a life’s work worth pursuing.
This was not normal.
He thought to himself, unable to understand how she could’ve leaped from a bystander to the most fanatical believer in just one day.
This was really not normal.
So he decided to go see Mr. Yaxi after class, he was desperate to know what really happened here.
The class ended quickly, and "Wildfire" acquired its own logo.
A simple fla symbol that could be sketched with just a few strokes to depict this fla’s surging vitality.
The structure of the symbol was simple and distinctive, such that even soone with no artistic skill could easily replicate it.
During the class, Erin suggested a constructive idea, to no longer restrict outsiders from joining Wildfire.
Mr. Yaxi nodded his agreent and further emphasized that anyone who joined Wildfire should have equal status, regardless of when they joined.
All beings are equal.
Afterward, though Mr. Yaxi did not define such behavior, the do-gooders within Wildfire still called it "spreading the fire".
Class ended.
Kolon decided to see Mr. Yaxi in person.
Walking through the corridor, he found Mr. Yaxi’s private office.
"Knock, knock, knock—" Kolon rapped at the door.
"Co in," ca a voice from inside, warm as a spring breeze.
Kolon entered the office and greeted the man seated inside: "Mr. Yaxi."
Realizing he might have spoken too softly, he raised his voice and called out again: "Mr. Yaxi!"
But suddenly, Kolon saw soone he did not want to see here.
Erin was standing behind Mr. Yaxi, giving him a back massage with natural motions, as if she considered it her rightful duty.
Her face was flushed with a rosy tint, a hue mixed with adoration, fanaticism, and deep affection.
"You may leave," Mr. Yaxi said, turning towards Erin.
Erin nodded, "Yes, Mr. Yaxi."
And Kolon just watched her leave, unable to say a word.
"What brings you here?" Mr. Yaxi asked, looking up. He recognized Kolon at once, "I rember you, you’re Kolon, a fine kid, but it seems you don’t like to speak up much."
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