I Became the Student Council President of Academy City-Chapter 89

Before long, the virtual streamer started playing a game.

‘Oh…!’

When a game Min-hyuk liked appeared, he decided to postpone his work.

At that moment...

Click! Whoosh!

The cabinet door swung open, and the light from the outside world flooded into the dark space.

"Ahh!"

Min-hyuk jumped in shock and quickly slammed his laptop shut.

Outside the cabinet, a female student stood with the light from the overhead lamps casting a shadow, glaring at Min-hyuk with sharp eyes.

It was Ha Ye-song.

"Min-hyuk-ssi, what are you doing, giggling alone in the dark? Watching something naughty?"

"W-What are you talking about…! I was just taking a break…."

"Confiscated!"

Snatch!

Ye-song swiftly snatched Min-hyuk's laptop. The earphones popped out of his ears and dangled from the laptop.

"Hey! What are you doing!?"

Min-hyuk jumped out of the cabinet, chasing after Ye-song to get his laptop back. But there was no way he could overpower her.

"I have to check what you were secretly watching in the sacred office space! As the one in charge of maintaining decency, I must see it with my own eyes!"

"Since when have you been so diligent!? Give it back!"

Ye-song turned her back to him and opened the laptop, her eyes scanning the screen.

Her eyes widened.

"This is...! Chief, look at this!"

"What is it?"

Ahn Woo-jin, who had been working with Oh Baek-seo, looked at Ye-song with a puzzled expression.

Ye-song giggled, her eyes gleaming as if she had found a new toy.

Next to her, Min-hyuk was fidgeting nervously, sweat running down his face. Now that Woo-jin was interested, he couldn’t resist any longer.

Ye-song placed Min-hyuk's laptop on Woo-jin's desk and pulled out the earphones. Woo-jin and Baek-seo looked at the screen.

‘What’s the fuss about?’

On the laptop that Ha Ye-song placed on my desk, a live broadcast was playing. I watched the screen closely.

[Kyaaah…! What should I do, what should I do!? What should I do!?]

"...A V-tuber?"

A "V-tuber" is a term for a virtual streamer active on G-tube.

"Is this a horror game?"

The V-tuber on the screen was screaming vividly as she was chased by a grotesque toy in a horror game. The louder her screams grew, the more sweat trickled down Park Min-hyuk’s face.

“Explanation time!”

Ye-song raised her index finger and switched into explanation mode.

“That V-tuber is ‘Iaring’! She’s been blowing up recently.”

“How do you know that?”

Min-hyuk interjected.

“These days, all the otakus are watching it, you know? My role requires me to be aware of trends in various fields, right? So even if I didn’t want to know, I couldn’t help but know. She has over a million subscribers; how could I not know?”

Min-hyuk seemed surprised by Ye-song’s unexpected knowledge of otaku culture.

“Iaring… I think I’ve heard of her too.”

“See? Even the Chief knows. That says a lot.”

It was hard not to know about her, given that she had recently risen rapidly in the G-tube rankings.

Though, I wasn’t sure if “recently” was the right term, as I knew she had been around for a while.

She had been unnoticed until one day when she suddenly caught a wave and rode it well.

[No, no! Kyaaah!]

“!”

In the end, the character the V-tuber was playing got caught by the toy monster, leading to a game over. I found myself involuntarily flinching.

‘Wow, that startled me….’

I almost let out a scream. That was close.

The chat was flooded with “ㅋㅋㅋ” laughter.

“This game looks fun. Should I try it later?”

Baek-seo showed interest.

“You like horror games?”

“I don’t particularly like them, but it looks fun, doesn’t it?”

Baek-seo smiled meaningfully, her gaze predatory like a snake eyeing its prey.

…Could she have noticed that I was startled?

‘She’s definitely planning to make me play this with her….’

She probably wanted to see if I could keep a straight face even in front of a horror game. I could see right through her insidious intentions.

A sudden tension gripped me. Would I survive this?

“Um, that’s not the reaction I was hoping for?”

Ye-song seemed frustrated, pointing at the V-tuber on the screen.

“Park Min-hyuk was watching Iaring’s stream alone, you know? While we’re all busy working late into the night without going home! And he’s sitting there in the dark, laughing to himself!”

“Dark and creepy, huh….”

“Sitting alone in a dark cabinet, curled up with earphones in, watching a V-tuber stream and giggling—isn’t that the definition of creepy?”

“Ugh, I can’t argue with that….”

Min-hyuk trembled.

Meanwhile, Yoo Do-ha, who had been lying on the sofa looking over some documents, didn’t seem interested in joining the conversation.

Honestly, like Do-ha, I didn’t really want to get involved in this situation either.

Let’s just move on.

“Well, it could be seen as Min-hyuk’s way of taking a break. Since there’s a lot of work, taking a short break is fine. I only care about the results, so you all manage your work and don’t pry into each other’s personal lives.”

“Chief…!”

Min-hyuk looked at me with teary-eyed gratitude, while Ye-song squinted her eyes, as if to say, “You’re making sense….”

The V-tuber’s voice continued to fill the room.

“Here.”

“Th-Thank you….”

As I handed the laptop back to Min-hyuk.

[Phew… I survived…! That was scary… Let’s take a quick break, ha…. Oh? Wow~, Galbi-rib-nim! Thank you for the 10,000 won donation!]

The V-tuber had reached a safe zone after surviving the toy monster and was taking a moment to catch her breath.

Then, an unexpected comment slipped out of her mouth.

[Huh? You’re asking if there’s someone I think of when I’m scared…? I think of the Disciplinary Committee Chief of Ahseong High.]

Freeze.

For a brief moment, time seemed to stop in the room.

Baek-seo’s gaze snapped sharply toward the laptop.

Ye-song’s eyes widened in surprise.

Suddenly, Do-ha sat up on the sofa and looked at the laptop with a puzzled expression.

Min-hyuk and I froze in place, as if we could read each other’s thoughts.

What… was that?

“Um…. Why is the Chief’s name coming up here?”

Baek-seo’s measured voice pierced my eardrums.

‘Why is my name being mentioned out of nowhere…?’

I felt the same way.

The chat was suddenly flooded with question marks.

The V-tuber, realizing she had made a slip of the tongue due to the excitement of the horror game, exclaimed, “Ah, ah!” in a panicked voice.

[Ah, well! He saved me once. I was in a really scary situation once, you know? It was terrifying back then. But when the Disciplinary Committee Chief showed up, I felt so reassured! I guess that’s why I think of him when I’m scared. Someday, I hope I can repay the favor.]

It was a heartwarming story.

But for some reason, the looks from the officers around me were rather significant.

Were they thinking I had been flirting?

But seriously.

‘Could it be someone I saved…? I can’t recognize the voice, though.’

I couldn’t pinpoint who Iaring was.

Hearing her voice didn’t bring anyone to mind, which meant she probably wasn’t someone particularly significant in my memory.

As part of the Disciplinary Committee, I naturally saved a lot of people. I couldn’t possibly remember each and every one of them.

[Do I like him, you say!? W-What are you talking about…! That would be rude to him! Do you know what kind of person he is! Don’t say things like that! Anyway, let’s continue now that I’ve rested…!]

“I see….”

Min-hyuk, now holding the laptop, gently stroked the screen where Iaring’s face was. His eyes reflected a mix of sadness and longing.

“I guess girls like Iaring already have their own princes….”

This was a new situation for me, so I wasn’t sure how to react.

Sigh.

A hand suddenly landed on my shoulder. It was Baek-seo.

“Hehe, she’s someone who knows gratitude. Aren’t you lucky, Chief? So popular.”

“No, that’s not…”

She’s smiling, right…?

“You know.”

Baek-seo leaned in and whispered in my ear, so softly that it was almost inaudible.

“Don’t forget that you’re mine.”

Her whisper sent a shiver down my spine.

‘Of course….’

But somehow, hearing Baek-seo honestly express her feelings made me feel much better than before.

Do-ha muttered “Iaring…” under her breath as she started fiddling with her smartphone, and Ye-song stroked her chin, deep in thought.

“If she was saved by the Chief, then Iaring must at least live within our school’s jurisdiction…. Chief, should I track her down and introduce you? Or should I threaten her, saying she’s not good enough for our Chief!?”

“Why on earth would you do that…?”

“Heh, it sounds fun.”

“Don’t do anything unnecessary, whichever it is.”

Behind me, Baek-seo was still standing with her hand on my shoulder. Even though she wasn’t exerting any pressure, the sense of pressure was overwhelming.

Ye-song was spouting nonsense, Min-hyuk was moping, and Do-ha was losing focus….

I needed to change the subject quickly.

“Speaking of which.”

Seeing the V-tuber reminded me of someone.

“What’s Shin-dong-lim Sword Master up to these days?”

Shin-dong-lim Sword Master. He was also a G-tube content creator, a publicity seeker who disappeared after having a duel with me.

I hadn’t paid him any mind since then. But now, I was curious.

“Ah, Shin-so? He seems to have started a new account and is somehow surviving. Last I heard, the rule about confiscating his earnings was brought to the Constitutional Court for review.”

Ye-song answered.

“You used to call him your top boyfriend candidate, but now your reaction is pretty indifferent.”

“The number one candidate for Ha Ye-song’s boyfriend is currently vacant. Shin-so doesn’t even make it into the top ten now. He’s a loser, not worthy of my attention.”

Why is she so full of herself without knowing the other person’s feelings?

‘So she has a top ten list….’

It was such useless information, and I regretted that it automatically got stored in my memory.

“Oh, right. Did you know Shin-so posted an apology video?”

“An apology video?”

“Yes, apologizing to the Chief. He said he caused too much trouble. It’s been up for a while, but I forgot about it…. Want to see it?”

I nodded, and Ye-song showed me the video that Shin-dong-lim Sword Master had uploaded.

In a serious tone, while wearing his mask, Shin-so looked into the camera and apologized, saying, "I apologize to the Ahseong High Disciplinary Committee Chief.”

He mentioned that upon reflection, he realized how much trouble he had caused and felt guilty.

“Well, it’s probably just for appearances. A guy making a decent living from G-tube had his image tank after messing with you. Even though it was a hot topic, it was a huge hassle, wasn’t it?”

“But you seemed to enjoy it back then?”

“That’s because it’s comedy from a distance. If it’s fun, that’s all that matters to me!”

As the video neared its end, Shin-so said,

[Sometime, I hope I can repay the debt I owe to the Chief of the Ahseong High Disciplinary Committee.]

‘This feels somehow….’

The people I’ve saved. The people I’ve fought with.

‘This is interesting.’

The process of forming new relationships with them… was quite intriguing.

“Goodbye~.”

Min Hana waved at her computer monitor.

“Goodbye” had become shortened to “Jiba” on G-tube, meaning the same as “bye.”

“Haaah…”

Hana turned off the broadcast and slumped back in her chair. A deep sigh escaped her.

“I misspoke. I got too excited….”

As a virtual streamer, her real appearance was hidden behind her skin.

And due to the excitement from the horror game, she accidentally mentioned the Ahseong High Disciplinary Committee Chief, who had been occupying her thoughts.

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Once she had said it, she couldn’t take it back, and she regretted it immediately after.

She worried that she might have caused trouble for Woo-jin.

Hana recalled the time when Woo-jin had taken down Han So-jeong’s gang, who had been bullying her. Even though Woo-jin probably didn’t remember her, he had become someone very important to her.

It was easy to see why the students respected him so much.

‘Thanks to him… I’ve gained so much.’

She no longer had to live in fear.

Gradually, Hana had grown as a virtual streamer, and now she was a popular broadcaster.

‘Someday… if there’s a way I can help.’

To Hana, Woo-jin was a benefactor.

So, from now on, Hana would be on Woo-jin’s side.

Meanwhile.

Whoosh whoosh!

Park Sung-tae, the male student once known as the Shin-dong-lim Sword Master, was relentlessly swinging his sword in the training ground.

“Huff, huff…!”

He was training like a madman, over and over.

After feeling the overwhelming power of Ahn Woo-jin firsthand, despite being on the same level, Sung-tae couldn’t allow himself to stay still.

‘At least… if I could even reach the Chief’s heels…!’

He desperately wanted to get stronger.

Woo-jin had crushed Sung-tae’s pride to the point where he was driven to the brink of madness.

But instead of succumbing to despair, Sung-tae found himself feeling grateful.

He had come to fully realize how weak and insignificant his skills were, and it allowed him to face the truth about himself.

He acknowledged that he was selfish and petty. And he accepted that about himself.

So now, he decided to live as someone who pursued his own gain.

Clinging to the defeat that Woo-jin had handed him.

‘Someday, I’ll restore my image…!’

The price for causing such a disturbance and forcing the Ahseong High Disciplinary Committee Chief to intervene couldn’t be repaid with just an apology video.

Just as the creases in folded paper never fully disappear.

So, he would pretend to be repentant while helping others like the Disciplinary Committee did. To do that, he needed to get stronger. And in the process, he could work on restoring his image.

Opportunity favors the prepared.

Sung-tae swung his sword, dreaming of rising again as the Shin-dong-lim Sword Master.

Waiting for the breakfast that Oh Baek-seo was preparing, Ahn Woo-jin received a phone call.

─ Woo-jin, it’s me.

As Woo-jin listened to the call, his expression gradually hardened. Baek-seo, sensing that something was wrong, glanced at him.

Click.

Woo-jin listened silently to the conversation before ending the call. Uncharacteristically, he seemed dazed, causing Baek-seo to ask, puzzled.

“Chief, did something happen?”

“Master….”

Woo-jin’s pupils quivered. As if he couldn’t believe it, a hollow laugh escaped him.

“They say he… passed away?”