People Can't Be Fixed (5)

12:10 a.m. Three students, their faces hidden by masks and hats, were loitering near the monster enclosure.

Since this was an institution for hunter training, it was only natural that such a facility existed, as they conducted practical training using monsters.

"Are you sure we won't get caught?"

"It's fine. The person on security duty at the enclosure right now is an acquaintance of mine."

If you dreamed of becoming a hunter whose profession was monster hunting, you were supposed to enter the enclosure right away and train.

However, since those monsters were strictly for student training, the school managed them very strictly.

Normally, there were plenty of students who wished to get stronger, beat up monsters, and gain 'karma', but only authorized personnel were allowed inside the enclosure.

Any student caught breaking this rule could not avoid suspension. But these students had already made arrangements to gain access.

"When is that caretaker coming?"

"He'll be here soon. Looks like he's running late because he's tampering with the surveillance cameras."

"It's pretty amazing, though. That caretaker is a hunter belonging to your dad's guild."

"If I so much as say a word to my dad, he'll get fired right away. So if he doesn't want to get sacked, he'd better do me this favor."

Two of the students, faces obscured, chatted excitedly. Then, they looked over at the ringleader of this scheme.

"Hey Michael, if this plan works, you'd better give us a fat reward, got it?"

"I definitely heard you say it on the phone. I recorded it, so don't try to back out later."

"Don't worry, I said I would."

Michael attempted to calm their frazzled nerves.

"This time, my dad's giving me a hefty allowance as a reward for getting through the Recovery Center safely. Though, it'll take about a week to get deposited."

"That's good to hear."

"Guess we get to finally handle some real money."

To Michael, whose spoon sparkled, it was just a bit of pocket money.

But for his average companions, it was quite a sum.

With just that allowance, they could instantly pay off the tab they'd racked up at the steakhouse.

"But are you sure if this works, that Ma Seongjin guy will really get expelled?"

One of the students finally touched on the real motive behind tonight's gathering—they all had only one reason for being together so late.

"Ma Seongjin... ever since he enrolled, I bet your school life got pretty uncomfortable too."

Just like Michael, these students were the sort who flaunted their power, bullying others.

They'd suffered an embarrassing defeat when they'd challenged Ma Seongjin with a gang of thirty before.

"So what do you think would happen if... say, a liquor bottle filled with drugs turned up in that jerk's locker?"

Getting caught with alcohol alone would mean disciplinary action, but drugs?

Expulsion was guaranteed. Their aim was to get Ma Seongjin thrown out of this school once and for all.

And for that, booze, cigarettes, or adult magazines wouldn't cut it.

"The ingredient to make it is right over there."

As Michael pointed his chin at the enclosure, the caretaker finally arrived and told them not to worry about the surveillance cameras before unlocking the door with a click.

Beyond the now open, unlocked door, the cages were packed with monsters.

What they were interested in was the 'Venom Crow'. For middle schoolers, it was a B-rank monster far beyond their ability to handle.

― Kr-rr...

The Venom Crow, most securely isolated, was snoring ominously. What they needed, though, was its droppings.

"With just this, we can make the drug?"

"If you ingest it, it triggers a physical doping effect, but as a side effect, you lose your senses and attack others indiscriminately. That's what my acquaintance told me."

At that point, calling it anything but a drug would be odd.

While the monster was captured to educate about the dangers of such toxins, these students were now determined to use that knowledge for something wrong.

Michael scooped the droppings into a bag and handed it to the accompanying student.

"How long does it take to make the drug?"

"My acquaintance says it'll take about five days."

One person handled access to the enclosure. Another did the drug manufacturing.

Thus, Michael's accomplices were each assigned their roles.

"Freshman... you're dead now."

Michael's eyes blazed as he thought back to the resentment over the 200,000 won his wallet had been pickpocketed for that day.

Five days later, the finished drug arrived at Michael's dorm room. The drug in the box was disguised as orange juice.

As soon as dawn broke, he put his plan into action. First, he poured the drug into a liquor bottle to make it more conspicuous.

Then, under the cover of night, he snuck into Class 1-10 and placed the liquor bottle filled with drugs in Ma Seongjin's locker.

The security guard was making rounds, but just like the caretaker, he was also on Michael's side.

****

In broad daylight, a tip-off arrived at Middle School 2.

The principal was thrown into turmoil when told that a student had brought in some strange substance.

Instead of morning assembly, the faculty thoroughly checked students' personal belongings.

The students had to follow their homeroom teacher's instructions as soon as they arrived at school, which meant they couldn't touch their desks or lockers.

'By now...'

There wasn't a chance for anyone to remove anything from their locker, since the belongings inspection was underway from early morning.

With the classroom frozen in tension, Michael was secretly grinning.

Both classes were being searched, but the drugs were in his target's locker, not his own.

'Surely that liquor bottle in the locker will get caught and he'll be dragged to the principal's office.'

Michael quietly hummed in anticipation of that scene—until he was suddenly interrupted.

"Michael, what is this?"

The homeroom teacher called Michael's name in a sharp tone. As Michael turned, wondering what it was, he was aghast.

"Huh?"

"Why is this coming out of your locker?"

Michael looked utterly dumbfounded. The liquor bottle filled with drugs had come out of his own locker.

"Come with me to the principal's office."

Being a liquor bottle, it looked extremely suspicious. But more than that, what he couldn't understand was why it had been found in his own locker.

The bottle that should have been in Ma Seongjin's locker...

'Why...?'

The plan had been perfect. Both the caretaker and the security guard were on Michael's side. So where had it all gone wrong?

Stewing in anxiety as he walked down the hallway, Michael passed Class 1-10 and was even more stunned.

Their lockers were open too, and in Ma Seongjin's, there was nothing but gym clothes.

'No... This can't be happening!'

At that moment, Michael locked eyes with Ma Seongjin through a window reflected in the corridor.

The guy suddenly smiled brightly—almost as if mocking him.

'Don't tell me...?'

Michael stopped in his tracks, lost in thought. He didn't even hear the teacher asking why he wasn't hurrying up.

It had to be Ma Seongjin's doing. Why else would he smile at him like that?

"You son of a bitch!!!"

Suddenly, Michael's eyes went wild as he burst through the door of Class 10.

He lunged at Ma Seongjin, grabbing his collar and throwing him to the ground as he screamed.

The entire class was shocked at the commotion, but Michael saw nothing else.

"How did you know? How did you find out?!"

The Class 10 teacher quickly came over to restrain him. But Michael shook him off, mounted Ma Seongjin, and screamed in his face.

"Who ratted on me? Who was it? Tell me!!"

Surely, someone must have revealed the plan to Ma Seongjin. That's why he was able to foil Michael so easily.

"Tell me, damn it!"

In a fury, Michael punched Ma Seongjin in the face. Watching in horror, the teachers had to physically restrain Michael.

"You little punk!!"

"Stop this instantly!"

Fortunately, since there were faculty members who used to be hunters, Michael was soon subdued and couldn't move his arms anymore.

Yet, he continued to shout at Ma Seongjin.

"Ma Seongjin, you son of a bitch!! Tell me who it was!!"

Because of the snitch, Michael was now facing expulsion. He at least wanted to drag that student down with him.

Yet, despite being punched, Ma Seongjin didn't even seem annoyed.

"How pathetic."

He only threw out that indifferent remark and watched as Michael was dragged away.

****

"It hurts more than I thought."

It was after school, and as I was mopping the floor during cleaning duty, my face ached. The place where Michael had hit me that morning hurt more than expected.

"Are you okay?"

"It stings, but I can deal with it."

Kwon Sang-ah, who was mopping with me, asked with concern. In truth, the MVP of this incident was her.

"Thanks for telling me. Thanks to you I dealt with it easily."

"N-no problem..."

She fidgeted and turned her head away.

Five days ago, on an ordinary morning, she'd suddenly come up and told me all sorts of things.

She'd overheard Michael and his crew's scheme with her superhuman hearing. I made a counter-plan accordingly.

Actually, it was a simple job, not even a full-blown plan. Using the 'Observer' skill, I tracked Michael every day for those five days and, when he moved at dawn, I moved at the same time.

With 'Stealth', I avoided the security guard and secretly swapped the drugs into Michael's own locker.

"If you hadn't been there... I would have really been at their mercy."

This morning, as soon as I entered the classroom, I saw the teacher lining everyone up at the front of the class.

Because of that, no one could open their lockers. The same applied to Michael's class, I was sure.

"Thank you again."

"No, I was just doing the right thing. Don't you remember?"

"Remember?"

"I told you before. I'll do anything you ask."

I remembered. On the day of the entrance ceremony, when she bowed deeply to apologize.

For attacking me in a frenzy, she'd promised to help me with anything.

And now—even though she didn't specifically fulfill a request, she'd proved her promise true.

"You don't have to make a big deal out of this. Whenever I see you, I still remember how I lost control back then."

She still couldn't forget being overcome by her own trait.

Since I'd been the target, it was only natural that seeing my face brought back that bad memory.

The reason she'd overheard their plan was because she'd been training secretly in the training hall at night.

"Anyway, that Michael-sunbae is really out of his mind. How could he hit you even as he was being dragged away?"

Kwon Sang-ah swiftly changed the subject. Her embarrassment was clear, but I just let it flow.

"Either way, since the drugs he made got found in his own locker, he'll never have a normal school life again."

Michael wasn't the only one dragged to the principal's office.

The others involved were outed by Michael's own testimony—not wanting to go down alone, evidently.

There'd be hell in the principal's office all day, and the disciplinary results would be out in a few days.

No matter how wealthy his family was, this wasn't a charge he could get out of lightly.

"Suspension or expulsion at the very least, I guess. After all that time at the Recovery Center, he caused another huge incident."

"Yeah..."

Done cleaning, I handed the mop to Kwon Sang-ah. She stepped outside to rinse it.

All that was left was to tidy up the blackboard, and cleaning was done.

"Wait!"

"Hm? What is it?"

I stopped her as she was about to head outside. While mopping the floor, I'd thought it over and realized I should return the favor.

"This time, how about I grant your request?"

"..."

"What do you think?"

Kwon Sang-ah paused, holding two mops in one hand, lost in thought at my offer.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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