"What's that?"
"Huh?"
"That."
"Oh, this?"
Following Sihyun's gaze, Haewoon confidently presented the black plastic bag he had brought. As the bags clashed with each other in his vigorous movements, a rattling sound was heard. Intuitively recognizing what it was, Sihyun walked up to the door and stared at Haewoon as he entered the training room after locking the door.
He couldn't believe it, but there he was, confidently seated in the center of the training room, pulling out cold bottles from the bag. They were bottles that Sihyun had seen countless times during his part-time job at the convenience store.
Well, not when he was Kang Sihyun, but when he was Yoo Sihyun.
"Ta-da!"
Haewoon, with both hands spread out as if performing magic, revealed everything from the bag. Seeing several cans and green bottles, Sihyun furrowed his usually composed brow. His eyes widened in astonishment.
"Are you crazy?"
Asked in surprise, Haewoon chuckled. Sihyun couldn't fathom what was so amusing. With a puzzled look on his face, Sihyun glanced at the blue bottles by his side, curious about their contents. There were various types, so he couldn't help but laugh nervously.
Drinking alcohol secretly from teachers during the training camp.
It was a common cliche in Insu. He knew that. Even high school students used to go to bars there. So if it was Insu. No, even if it wasn't a deliberate internet novel, but just a high school training camp, this level of deviation was usually tolerated. But, at least not where he was.
Even if he didn't know much else, this couldn't be allowed, so Sihyun firmly told him to get rid of it. Haewoon openly expressed his disappointment. Sihyun looked at the boy who had managed to get alcohol even though he couldn't leave school with a sense of bewilderment.
"Where did you even get this from?"
"That's a trade secret."
Haewoon squinted his eyes. Sihyun sighed as he glanced at Haewoon's intriguing demeanor. It seemed unlikely that there would be a proper conversation with him.
Passing by the boy who was laughing freely without a care in the world, Sihyun's gaze fell on the three boys standing quietly behind him. After meeting the eyes of the three pairs of eyes of different colors, Sihyun groaned as if this situation seemed familiar. Judging by their expressions, they seemed to be accomplices as well.
Whether Haewoon was dragged into it or volunteered, it was still a problem. After pondering where to start pointing out the mistake, Sihyun came to a conclusion. They couldn't possibly not know that this was not only a violation of the rules but also illegal behavior. Although they were currently driven by impulse or curiosity, if they had a conscience, they would surely feel a bit hesitant. After all, the nature of the offense wasn't that bad in itself. So, all he needed to do was give them a little push to make sure they didn't make the wrong choice.
Sihyun pointed to the plentiful bottles of alcohol with his fingertip.
"Take them back."
"Come on. If not now, when will we ever try this? Huh?"
"After you become adults."
"But it won't feel the same then."
Haewoon said with a cheeky smile, tongue-in-cheek. Sihyun looked at him, the main culprit behind everything, and took a deep breath.
"...Fine. If you don't want to get rid of it, leave it as it is."
"Really?"
"Yeah. But don't expect me to look the other way in the future."
"Huh?"
"I'm telling you, Kang Haewoon."
"...."
"You guys too."
Sihyun's gaze shifted from Haewoon to Hamin, Geonwoo, and Seowoo. As he went out strongly, expecting opposition, the boy with the silver hair presented a fluent persuasion. Claiming that this would also be a special experience for Haewoon, he asserted that he knew Sihyun was particularly weak against Haewoon, so he went out of his way.
The black-hearted scheme of Haewoon was hidden, as he blinked innocently when his name was mentioned. He lightly grabbed the edge of Sihyun's clothes, implying curiosity. Normally, Sihyun would have found it cute and overlooked it, but today was not the day.
"Sihyun..."
"You won't look at me either, right?"
"....!"
Surprised by the abrupt words, Haru turned his head sideways. Sihyun, who had already known that he hadn't asked with any malicious intent, comforted the boy who looked at him apologetically. He already knew that the boy hadn't asked with any bad intentions.
"No need to rush. Just wait two years and then drink."
"Yeah."
"You're a good guy."
With a faint smile and a word of praise, Haru, who had previously been curious, now quietly accepted Kang Sihyun's touch. Kang Sihyun, having successfully persuaded him, turned his cool gaze towards the remaining four boys. With Daun and Jihye still confined to the girls' dormitory for eight hours straight, the training room was left with only six people.
Despite the standoff of two against four, the tide quickly turned in Kang Sihyun's favor. First, Geonu stated that he didn't really mind either way, but if he had to choose, he thought this side would be better, and then smoothly shifted to Kang Sihyun's side. Kang Sihyun lightly praised Geonu for choosing the honest path. At Haru's request, Kang Sihyun brushed his blue hair aside and straightened it, then moved on to organizing it. Seowoo, watching him with a barely suppressed smile, joined the opposition as the third batter.
As Kang Sihyun, inadvertently tangling even platinum-colored hair during the process of petting, looked down at the boy who bowed his head, he now reluctantly groomed Hamin, who had been left alone as the fourth to come to him. As Kang Sihyun saw the youth's vacant expression, he made sure to remind him that all the bottles should be returned to their bag. Perhaps to prevent naive kids from sneaking alcohol in his absence.
Anyway, there was no separate evil intent.
Kang Sihyun, who thought that surely Hamin, Seowoo, and Geonu had also been influenced by him, hesitated as he watched Haeun. Haeun, who had lost all his allies in an instant, initially wore a hopeless expression, but then made another attempt to persuade them. But his explanations were futile.
Understandably, Kang Sihyun had memories of studying in his room while others secretly drank alcohol during the training camp. Kang Sihyun had never regretted his choice back then. Three weeks after the training camp, he had come first in the exam. So, Kang Sihyun had no intention of succumbing to Haeun's persuasion.
After trying hard to persuade Kang Sihyun but failing, Haeun realized nothing would work and reluctantly put the bottles back into the bag. Kang Sihyun watched as all the bottles returned to their bag and instructed him to throw them away. It was perhaps to prevent innocent kids from being tempted to drink alcohol when he wasn't around.
Anyway, there was no separate evil intent.
Surely thinking that Hamin, Seowoo, and Geonu would have been influenced by him, Kang Sihyun hesitated, observing Haeun. With his head bowed, Haeun, who even inadvertently messed up his hair once, looked up with an innocent look, and Kang Sihyun finally agreed to his condition. The training room was tidied up as it seemed unlikely that it would be used for ability training or anything else. After returning to his room and washing up, Kang Sihyun checked the clock, which indicated 9 PM.
Seeing posts on social media about late-night school tours usually done when there were no people in school, Kang Sihyun assumed it was something done when there were no people in school, but now, except for the first-year students, the number of people was the same as usual. Of course, many third-year students were often not at school, and some second-year students stayed in the dormitories provided by the guild, but it was an undeniable fact that there were still school supervisors, security guards, etc.
He felt that he might be caught. Remembering that the homeroom teacher had thought they shouldn't cause trouble, Kang Sihyun, feeling uneasy, tried to convey his anxiety through his facial expression. Seeing this, Hamin, who understood Kang Sihyun's feelings, suggested to cancel the training session. But before Kang Sihyun could contact Haeun, the homeroom teacher came in and started roll call.
Worried that the homeroom teacher might notice something suspicious, Kang Sihyun focused on acting calm and finished the roll call. And then, midnight.
Since it was too sudden today, Kang Sihyun thought it would be better to make a proper plan for next time, but Haeun, who ignored all the messages suggesting that, came to Kang Sihyun's room with Geonu, holding a flashlight from who knows where.
Feeling a headache coming on, Kang Sihyun reluctantly put on his shoes as Haeun handed him something that wasn't a bottle of alcohol. Worried that they might be seen as troublemakers by the teachers, Kang Sihyun briefly worried that the teachers might think of them as problem students.
...But he had been diligent in his school life.
Reflecting on past events, Kang Sihyun sighed as he watched the excited Haeun.
Quad-ranked, having promoted the school in various ways and even featured in magazines, Kang Sihyun hoped this slight deviation would be seen as a minor offense.
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