Chapter 11: Jo Eunbi’s Tears, Too Late Regret

Inside Broad Academy.

Jo Eunbi was sitting with a gloomy expression, waiting for the class to start.

Her daily routine now mainly consisted of helping an elderly woman collect cardboard every morning, and then staring blankly at the walls in an empty classroom.

There was no real need for her to help the old lady, reducing her sleep in the process. However, Jo Eunbi was doing it out of guilt towards Lee Hyunseung.

If he hadn’t been expelled, he would have helped the old lady every day.

Every morning, in silence, she thought about Lee Hyunseung, who had left—no, who had been suspended. She remembered his frustrated expression, his tone of voice, and his desperate pleas.

–I swear, I didn’t do anything.

She couldn’t forget his expression. Sometimes, he even appeared in her dreams, tormenting her.

Jo Eunbi was one of the few who had been close to Lee Hyunseung. She would often ask him difficult questions during breaks or lunchtime, and he would answer them without hesitation, forming a certain level of friendship between them.

In fact, within the academy, it was rare for someone to freely share information like Lee Hyunseung did, since everyone was a competitor. Whether he realized it or not, he had shown great kindness to Jo Eunbi.

She liked that about him. Unlike others, he wasn’t childish; he was calm, poised, and seemed unbothered by competition. She admired his mature attitude.

She liked his calm demeanor, how he respected his elders, and his dedication to his studies.

–Missed call.

–Missed call.

She stared at her phone. The call log was filled with missed calls. She wanted to contact him, to talk to him, but Lee Hyunseung didn’t answer any calls. She understood why. He had been unfairly expelled, cast out with no one to believe in him.

He probably didn’t want to talk to anyone. If she were in his shoes, she would feel the same way.

Jo Eunbi began typing a message, one letter at a time.

–Hyunseung, it’s Jo Eunbi… I don’t think you did it… It’s strange to say this now, but I just felt like I had to tell you…

She hesitated, unsure whether to send the message or not. In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to hit send.

–Click.

Jo Eunbi closed her phone, sighed, and thought to herself.

‘It’s already been a while since he was suspended. What would be the point of contacting him now…?’

She hated herself. She hadn’t been able to help when Lee Hyunseung was being attacked by others. Now, from the safety of her position, she was worrying about him from a distance, and she was disgusted with herself.

‘Honestly… I was scared…’

She had wanted to take Lee Hyunseung’s side. The Lee Hyunseung she knew would never do something like that. He was just a passionate and upright student.

But she was afraid. She was afraid of Yoo Heeyeon, the daughter of the Artemis Guild leader.

Yoo Heeyeon had strongly criticized Lee Hyunseung. What would have happened if Jo Eunbi had defended him? The outcome was clear. She would’ve been marked by Yoo Heeyeon, making her school life difficult. It would also cause problems when she graduated and joined a guild, and might even negatively affect her parents, who were already active in a guild.

‘I really am pathetic…’

She had been afraid, so she turned her back. She avoided Lee Hyunseung’s desperate gaze. As a result, her school life was peaceful, but she didn’t feel any joy.

Her expression grew darker and darker.

–Rattle.

–Et-!

One by one, academy students began entering the classroom. But she continued to stare blankly ahead.

Time passed, and it was about time for the class to start.

–Swoosh.

With a heavy heart, she pulled out her textbooks from the desk, preparing for class.

Finally, Jo Eunbi, with vacant eyes, gazed into the air.

Her friend sitting next to her, Han Goeun, noticed and asked with a worried look.

“Eunbi, are you okay? Your face doesn’t look too good…”

“Huh? Oh… really? Maybe I’m coming down with something…”

Jo Eunbi gave a vague response. Han Goeun, concerned, leaned in closer to ask more questions.

“You’re not just sick. Your lips are pale… and now that I think about it, you’ve lost a lot of weight. Are you even eating properly? You don’t seem to eat lunch these days.”

“I’m just… not feeling very hungry lately…”

As Jo Eun-bi responded weakly, Han Go-eun continued to express concern for a while.

Then.

—Drdrdrk

—Bang!

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Seong Hyun-wook shouted loudly.

“Hey guys, wanna hear something crazy? That criminal is here! That stalker bastard!”

The room quickly buzzed with chatter after Seong Hyun-wook’s words.

“What? Why would he come here?”

“Pathetic loser. Why is he showing up at the academy after getting suspended?”

“Ugh, it’s going to get noisy again. Can’t they just expel him already?”

As the students murmured, Jo Eun-bi shot up from her seat.

“W-wait, Eun-bi, where are you going!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Jo Eun-bi rushed toward Seong Hyun-wook. Looking him directly in the eyes, she asked urgently.

“Wh-who came? Tell me clearly.”

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Who else would it be? That stalker bastard, Lee Hyunseung!”

Thud!

Jo Eun-bi shoved Seong Hyun-wook aside and bolted toward the central staircase. She quickly glanced out the window overlooking the stairs, and there, she saw him—Lee Hyunseung, standing with a man wearing a brown fedora and a pretty-looking woman.

‘He… he really came.’

Jo Eun-bi wanted to run to him, to apologize for not believing in him, to say that she didn’t think he was guilty, to tell him she was sorry for not defending him sooner. But as soon as she saw his face, her legs refused to move.

She was overwhelmed with guilt. It felt wrong to now say she believed in him, after standing by and doing nothing for so long.

—Thud

Her legs gave out, and she collapsed on the spot, trembling uncontrollably.

As time passed, Lee Hyunseung walked through the front door and slowly made his way up the central staircase.

—Step

—Step

—Step

Before long, Lee Hyunseung had reached the stairs where Jo Eun-bi sat.

‘I… I should hide…’

Jo Eun-bi had imagined what she would say to him countless times.

At the same time, she was terrified of his reaction. She feared the disappointment in his face, his voice, and his actions.

She wanted to hide, to disappear into a hole, to avoid confronting him. She couldn’t bear to see his disappointed expression.

But her legs wouldn’t move. Even as Lee Hyunseung approached closer and closer, she remained frozen in place, slumped on the stairs.

—Step

—Step

Finally, Lee Hyunseung stood right in front of her.

—Swoosh

Lee Hyunseung paused as he climbed the stairs, staring at Jo Eunbi, who sat collapsed on the ground, blankly looking at him.

Jung Eunseo, standing next to him, glanced at Jo Eunbi sitting there and then asked Lee Hyunseung, “Is something wrong? Do you know her?”

Lee Hyunseung briefly scanned Jo Eunbi, then turned his head sharply and replied, “No, I don’t know her. Let’s go.”

—Step

—Step

With that, he walked away.

—Stunned

Jo Eunbi could only watch as he walked farther and farther away, unable to say anything for a long time.

She had been ready to endure whatever reaction he would give—resentment, hatred, or disgust. She knew better than anyone that she was the closest person to Lee Hyunseung, and not believing in him, despite all the times he helped her without expecting anything in return, made her feel like she deserved any treatment.

But his response was nothing like what she had expected.

Complete indifference.

There was no emotion in Lee Hyunseung’s eyes.

No hostility, no anger, no malice, no resentment—nothing.

He looked at her as if she were just a passing stone.

“Ugh…”

“Aaaahhh…”

Jo Eunbi burst into tears.

His once clear and bright eyes had turned dull and lifeless during his suspension. His once kind voice was now filled only with coldness. The person who used to be her friend had now become a stranger.

Instinctively, she felt it. She had already crossed a river she could never return from. No matter what she did now, the Lee Hyunseung she once knew was never coming back. She felt it, cruelly so.

Jo Eunbi cried for a long time, sitting there.

—Step

—Step

Meanwhile, Lee Hyunseung continued past the central staircase, heading toward the principal’s office.

‘Finally… I’ve made it this far.’

He thought back to his unfair suspension, the scorn, and hatred he had received from everyone around him.

But because he was an unawakened individual, there was nothing he could do.

All he could do was accept and endure the unjust decision.

‘I was furious. I felt like I was going to lose my mind from how unfair it all was.’

Yoo Hee-yeon had used her family’s power to crush me.

Without even confirming that I was the real culprit, she had made me a criminal overnight, based solely on the fact that my phone was found in my locker.

And all those people around her—they were no better. Even before proper fingerprint analysis or investigation was done, they all acted as if I were already a convicted criminal, ganging up on me.

I knew the reason. They were afraid of the Artemis Guild. For the sake of their careers or their own safety, they went along with Yoo Hee-yeon’s claims. That’s the law of Class A—whatever Yoo Hee-yeon says, everyone else must agree. Such is the authority of the Artemis Guild.

‘They’re nothing but bootlickers, waiting to pick up the scraps.’

No matter why they went along with it, it didn’t matter to me. They destroyed my life, and there’s no point in saying they had no choice.

‘Yoo Hee-yeon, starting today, your academy life is going to get a lot harder. You’ll lose your trust, and I’ll pressure you from all sides.’

Everything she enjoys now—the top scores in practical skills, the overwhelming first-place finishes in every exam or test the academy holds.

She’s the only daughter of the Artemis Guild leader, so she’s burdened with tremendous expectations. But all those expectations will soon be shattered, crushed by a trashy Gunslinger like me, someone they regard as an F-rank.

‘I’ll destroy it all. Your once smooth life, your perfectly paved road.’

I’ll take everything from you, just like you ruined my life.

I can do it now. I’m no longer an unawakened nobody—I’m a dual awakener of legendary rank.

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