The last person to join the Titan extermination trip, filled more with tension than excitement or emotion, was Yoo Seowoo. I had secretly hoped Kang Haewoon would be chosen since we were missing a Buffer, so the outcome was unexpected.
I wanted to ask what conversation took place and what responses were given that led to the selection, but sadly, there wasn't time to delve into that.
It was because Jeong Daun, who had returned from the rift, had heard the news.
In just half a day, all members of Class A were gathered in the room again. In the subtly tense atmosphere, Daun was the only one making any sound.
Even that wasn't with words.
Tap, tap.
The girl making intermittent tapping noises by lifting and lowering her toes, as if to prove her irritation, looked at the people sitting in front of her. Kang Sihyun surveyed the children sitting guiltily with him, part of the team responding to Titan.
Everyone's expressions were ambivalent, but it seemed no one wanted to rebel or express discontent with the situation.
It's better to remain silent than to speak up and get more tired.
Perhaps Daun is the true power in Class A.
Or maybe it's someone who can control Daun, like Jihye.
Having faced Daun's cold demeanor more than the others, Kang Sihyun could afford relatively leisurely thoughts. Among the children tensing up or swallowing sighs, he alone was lost in frivolous thoughts, so the girl with her arms crossed leaned her head back against the wall with a thud.
It was a very slight noise, but in the dead silent room, it was enough to echo.
"So, you're going to exterminate a catastrophe-class."
"Yeah."
"Tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
"Titan?"
"Yeah."
As I kept agreeing, there was nothing to deny. Kang Sihyun, who had responded with simple affirmations, was watched by the other kids with eyes that seemed to wonder whether he was brave or indifferent, and he just opened his mouth once more.
Creak.
Suddenly, a sound like something bursting came from the front. Daun's facial muscles twitched weakly as if maintaining the calm before a storm. Soon, wrinkles formed on her smooth forehead.
At the same time, the girl spun around and stomped her foot. Kang Haewoon, who had been watching Daun attentively, opened his mouth in surprise.
"Daun's caught!"
At that shout, the black-haired girl grabbed the angry one's arm. Daun, caught by Jihye, grimaced.
"Ah, let go! I'll just go and talk to the guild master of Redem!"
"It's 10 PM now, Daun!"
"So what if it's 10 PM! Does that mean people stop breathing?"
Of course, people are still breathing. But that wasn't the point.
I thought of a retort but wasn't about to honestly voice it in this situation, not unless I had lives to spare. Kang Sihyun waited until Jihye somewhat calmed Daun down. No matter how you looked at it, Daun clearly had a bulldozer in her stomach.
Otherwise, how could she charge forward so recklessly whenever something happened?
Was she a bull in a past life?
It took another 5 minutes for the situation, akin to an intern yelling to meet the CEO in a company, to settle down.
"What is the guild master thinking? Does he have any idea what he's doing, sending kids who just faced a catastrophe-class back out there?"
Correcting myself. Given that Daun was still agitated, it was premature to say things had calmed down. Only to the extent that she wasn't about to kick up and run to see Iha Hyuk right away, Kang Sihyun, watching Daun stabilize, slowly opened his mouth.
"So, you would prefer if someone else went instead of us?"
"…"
"It has to be us going, Iha Hyuk knows that."
I habitually used Iha Hyuk's full name without the title of guild master, but few reacted to that. What caught their attention was not the latter part of my statement but the earlier mention.
'It has to be us.'
Because we have experienced Titan, sharpened our blades against it, and despite being frozen in fear, clenched our teeth, and moved our paralyzed legs by beating them until they bruised if necessary.
That's why it had to be us, not someone else.
There was no one here who couldn't understand that. Daun knew it too. As Kang Sihyun caught a glimpse of a much calmer Daun, he was about to speak again.
"I know. It has to be us. But what I'm upset about is why only Jihye and I were excluded from the team candidates."
Daun, brushing her brown hair irritably, spoke with a sullen look. Learning the whole story, she was upset that she and Jih
ye were the only ones not called by Iha Hyuk at some point, which bruised her pride.
The kids glanced around, or more precisely, everyone except Kang Haewoon and Baek Geonu, meaning those chosen for the Titan response team, exchanged looks.
Iha Hyuk was notoriously hard to read, but there seemed to be a guessable answer to Daun's question.
Ban Haru looked at Lee Hamin, who looked at Yoo Seowoo, who then looked back at me. With a tongue-click at the natural evasion, Kang Sihyun glanced back and forth between Jihye, still with wide eyes, and Daun, still looking disgruntled, then clenched his fist slightly.
Why is it always my role to say these things?
After slowly opening and then closing his eyes, Kang Sihyun gave the answer everyone avoided saying.
"You and Jihye just don't have enough achievements."
"…"
"I know you and Jihye have tried, but these kids have been through large-scale rifts or catastrophe-classes, and Yoo Seowoo practically went insane from not sleeping and running through rifts, so it's natural there'd be a difference in achievements."
Even if it sounds harsh, there was no alternative reason. Iha Hyuk, who might as well have cried "achievements!" instead of wailing at birth, was such a result-oriented and merit-based person that he wouldn't have considered asking Jihye and Daun, who clearly had less experience, if they wanted to join the mission against a catastrophe-class opponent.
Lack of experience is directly linked to survival in battle. If I were Iha Hyuk, I too would have chosen the three who had experience fighting Karis over Jihye and Daun, who still lacked experience, and would have picked Yoo Seowoo, who had the highest achievements.
"It's not that you're lacking; it's just that you have a bit less experience. And that means, if you think about it, you have more room for growth because you're less experienced. That's probably why he didn't call you. It's too precious to waste your time on a ship where you might encounter Titan without knowing when."
Yoo Seowoo had pushed himself to the limit in battle, and Lee Hamin, Ban Haru, and I had experienced potentially fatal fights against Karis. Kang Haewoon and Baek Geonu would have gone through similar experiences in large-scale rifts.
But Daun and Jihye were different.
They had only repeated battles where victory was almost guaranteed.
Perhaps Iha Hyuk would have instructed the operations team before leaving to throw large-scale or dangerous rifts at Daun and Jihye to foster their growth. To follow to the battle against Titan would have been arrogance beyond stubbornness.
I swallowed the remaining reasons out of consideration, and Daun clenched her fist. Jihye's eyes darkened. Feeling responsible for the heavy atmosphere, I was searching for words to lighten the mood when,
"Ugh! It's really annoying!"
"…?"
"We've been working hard in our own ways, but what does it mean if we're just lacking in experience? It's you guys who are crazy for accumulating that much experience at this age, isn't it?"
Kang Haewoon's booming voice filled the room. Kang Sihyun was baffled, not sure if it was an insult or a compliment. Turning around, I saw the other kids' expressions weren't much different from mine.
Regardless, the silver-haired boy who had been shouting took a seat next to Daun and Jihye. Baek Geonu joined them. Without intending, a confrontation seemed to form with four on each side.
"Do you think we don't know? That you guys keep getting ahead of us? It's really frustrating. I tried not to be lazy and worked hard, but how can I compete with Ban Haru, who wakes up after only two hours of sleep to go on support?"
"And Lee Hamin is always out on support. Is his bed just for fainting?"
"Kang Sihyun, you're hardly ever seen lying in bed either."
"Comparing with you guys, isn't it natural to see a difference in experience?"
Following Kang Haewoon's lead, Daun, Baek Geonu, and Jihye joined in the conversation. Amid their complaints, Kang Sihyun found himself speechless. After scanning the foolishly smiling boys, Daun came to a conclusion.
"It's annoying feeling like you guys are drifting further away."
"…"
"We all awakened and learned together, but suddenly, you guys are running ahead. It's not like we didn't try."
"Right, you damn talented jerks!"
Kang Haewoon agreed, supporting Daun. It was a harsh but subtly touching statement.
It was a vaguely acknowledged fact.
Within Class A, where only outstanding kids were gathered, Kang Sihyun, Ban Haru, Lee Hamin, and Yoo Seowoo were showing faster growth. Probably not just I but other kids had guessed it too.
Yet, we hadn't explicitly mentioned it, preferring to walk together, but as the world changed, there was no longer leisure to walk together.
Those who could had to run busier and grow steeper. That was the only way to achieve our goals, so lately, we only ran forward.
There was no leisure to look back. And so, the gap had widened this much. The gap that hadn't been visible to the eye until now was blatantly obvious, and it was impossible for Daun, with her strong pride, not to notice it.
Just as the mood was about to become solemn, Daun yelled out.
"Are you guys criminals? Why are you acting like that?"
"…"
"Since I understand why Jihye and I weren't chosen as candidates, you just make sure to return safely. Next time we see each other, I'll make sure you can't say we lack experience."
"Maybe if you sleep 3 hours less?"
"That might be worth a try."
"Well, I don't think I can do that."
"
Then you're out, Kang Haewoon."
When it seemed to be gloomy, the kids were now bickering among themselves again. As the atmosphere softened and became more bearable, Daun and Jihye cornered Haewoon against the wall. Watching them with a smile, suddenly a low voice filled the room.
"Return safely."
As if Baek Geonu had the power to quell the commotion, the room quieted down. Only then did the expressions of the other kids truly register. Pretending to be angry, joking, but above all, the worry that surfaced on their faces was read by Kang Sihyun, who let out a small laugh with his exhale.
"With the country's top 1 and 2 Awakeners, it'd be weird if we got hurt, right?"
"...That's true."
"If we get hurt, let's complain!"
"Lee Hamin will lead the charge."
"Why me?"
"You have the power, the power. Aren't you the future guild master of Redem?"
"Yeah, maybe when I'm about forty. Such power."
As Lee Hamin muttered in resignation, Kang Haewoon suddenly stood up.
"This isn't the time for this! We need to decide who's sleeping where!"
"What are you talking about?"
"If you go like this, we won't see each other for at least a week! So, let's all sleep together tonight. Jihye and Daun, too!"
"Then you guys give up one bed and sleep on the floor or the sofa."
Before realizing it, it had become natural for all of Class A to sleep in my room. While the room's owners wore reluctant expressions, the conversation, led mainly by Haewoon and Daun, picked up again. Despite several disputes over sleeping arrangements, in the end, that night Kang Sihyun had to contentedly sleep on the floor with seven other kids.
Why leave a good bed and sofa for this?
Though I questioned it, I didn't voice it out loud. The room wasn't too small, so eight people sleeping was manageable, and the bustling feeling was pleasantly nostalgic.
It was a foolish thing, but sleeping like this once seemed not too bad.
And precisely 30 minutes later, Kang Sihyun, sleeping in the middle, had to retract all thoughts as he watched the kids rolling towards him.
Not bad, what?
I'm about to be crushed in my sleep.
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