The Constellations Are My Disciples - Chapter 19
◈ Episode 019. I took the midterm exam alone (1)
The main house of the Choi Jin family located in Siheung, Gyeonggi-do.
Inside, most of the buildings are built like traditional Korean houses, as if to show on the outside that they value tradition.
“….”
Three men and women were living alone.
There was one man sitting at the head of the huge room.
And there are one man and one woman sitting facing the man.
How long was the silence?
The man sitting at the head of the table was slowly becoming uncomfortable with silence.
He is the head of the Choi Jin family and the guild leader of the Jinsa guild.
Jonseok Choi opened his mouth as he looked at his children sitting in front of him.
“As you all know, the reason I called you two today is to ask about your intentions before taking the selection test to succeed to our family.”
The two quietly nod their heads at Choi Jonseok’s words.
Jonseok Choi continued the story.
“Well then, before I ask for your opinion, let me say it again. If you both take the selection test to inherit the family line-”
Tak!
Jonseok Choi opened his mouth while showing ‘Cheongwoldo’, a relic of the Choi Jin family, shining blue in front of them.
“-If you have the opportunity to sign a contract with this Blue Moon Province and at the same time lose the exam, you will have to leave the family. “You both know that, right?”
“I know.”
The first person to respond to Choi Jon-seok’s words was Choi Jin-geon, the eldest son of the Choi Jin family and currently serving as the attack leader of the Jinsa Guild.
He answers confidently with a clear confidence in his eyes.
However, unlike him, Choi A-rin who was next to him.
“yes.”
He simply nodded and answered quietly in a low voice.
And Choi Jon-seok was talking about the two, looking at Choi A-rin, to be exact.
“I’ll say it again, it doesn’t matter if you don’t participate in the exam, but since you participated in the exam, if you lose, you have to leave the clan. “Because this is a long-standing family tradition.”
“I know.”
“…Will you still do it?”
“I’ll do it.”
Choi A-rin’s words.
Choi Jon-seok looked at her intently and immediately looked strangely uncomfortable, but then nodded and said.
“i get it. “The screening test will be held in three weeks, so both of you can take it.”
At his words, Choi Jin-geon and Choi A-rin bowed their heads and left Choi Jon-seok’s room.
“Tsk, why are you being like this?”
“what…?”
Choi Jin-gun did not hide his blatant hostility.
“Did you see my father’s expression? “I told you to give up right away?”
“….”
“Oh, I guess you somehow coveted the position of head of the family just because your half-child was your own child?”
For a moment, Choi A-rin looked at Choi Jin-geon with a venomous expression on his face, but he smiled and continued talking as if it was not the same.
“Why am I wrong?”
“….”
“Remember, you are just a useless foreign matter to this Choi Jin family. And if possible, take care of your wits as well. Also-”
Choi Jin-geon chuckled and spoke.
“No matter how much you entered Valhalla in second place, don’t think you can beat me in the selection test.”
When she saw Choi Jin-gun’s back, she unconsciously tried to open her mouth, but soon closed her mouth without saying anything.
“If I had stayed quiet, I could have lived by sucking up the family’s money. “That’s stupid.”
Choi Jin-gun laughed when he saw her like that, then turned around and disappeared somewhere else.
“….”
Thinking over Choi Jin-geon’s words, she was once again reminded of her situation.
‘Choi Arin’ of the Choi Jin family.
Obviously, she was portrayed that way on the outside, but in fact, within the family, she was treated as a ‘foreign member of the family.’
That’s because he was the illegitimate son of Choi Jon-seok and his mistress.
Of course, the Choi Jin family was a prestigious 5th generation family, so they desperately hid that fact, and in fact, they hid it well, but her treatment within the family was always the same.
A life of always being ignored by people from the main family, and similarly being strangely ignored even by the attendants of the main family.
That was the real life of Choi A-rin, hidden behind an external mask.
However, the reason she stayed silently, enduring such humiliation and insults, was for one reason.
‘I hope you become the head of the family and do what you want.’
Even my voice is now faint, so I can only remember it as a single sentence. It has been over 10 years since my mother passed away.
Thanks to that will, Choi A-rin has survived until now.
To keep the will of my mother who died of illness.
That was the reason why he overcame the loneliness of not receiving affection from anyone and wielded the sword alone without anyone to help him.
However, Choi Arin knew very well that even if she tried hard, it would be difficult to keep her will.
It was certainly an incredible achievement to take second place in Valhalla by wielding the sword alone without receiving much support, but Choi Jin-geon, who would take the selection test with her, was an elite among the elite who received support from his family as much as possible.
Moreover, unlike Choi A-rin, who had only received the protection of the Guardian Constellation, Choi Jin-geon had already signed a general contract with the Guardian Constellation.
An absurdity that can be felt even when you look at it.
However, even if she felt such absurdity, she could not give up on the test.
‘I must do it.’
The head of the Choi Jin family.
Of course, she had never once imagined what she would do after becoming the head of the family.
However, the goal of becoming the head of the Choi Jin family was actually her only support.
so that.
‘…I have to learn. That Tao.’
Choi Arin clenched her fists, recalling the image Kim Joo-hyuk showed her back then.
####
Kim Joo-hyuk’s personal relationships are not that diverse.
No, his interpersonal relationships were destroyed to the extent that it would be more correct to say that he was not diverse rather than saying that he was not diverse.
You can see it the moment you sit down, but even though Kim Joo-hyuk always sits in the center of the back of the classroom, there are almost no students sitting near that seat.
In the past, Yoo So-yeon sat down a few times, but that was only for a few days, and recently, Choi A-rin was the only one sitting next to Kim Joo-hyuk and talking to him.
Other than her, the person who did not sit next to Kim Joo-hyuk but often talked to him was Liliya, the labyrinth monster instructor.
There was nothing else.
Yes, only two.
In the few weeks since Kim Joo-hyuk entered Valhalla, the only normal relationships he could have had with which he could talk were these two people.
However, Kim Joo-hyuk was rather pleased with this part.
That was because Kim Joo-hyuk was not relaxed enough to focus on human relationships in the first place, and he initially thought of this place as a passing place.
‘I’m going to leave anyway if I meet the conditions, so why?’
Literally, after entering the Great Forest, Kim Joo-hyuk planned to leave Valhalla unless there were any new conditions.
The reason he was here was to satisfy the conditions.
anyway. With that in mind, Kim Joo-hyuk was not particularly dissatisfied with his personal relationships.
Or, if I had to complain about one thing, would it be that the Samoyeds have been pushing me too hard recently and it can sometimes be ridiculous?
“Joohyuk!”
“Welcome Samoyed~”
Physical training center.
Kim Joo-hyuk, who was bench pressing with a weight that was clearly different from two weeks ago, mumbled to end the exercise at the sound of a voice coming from afar.
“Look at this!”
Liliya held a wad of paper in front of Kim Joo-hyuk.
“…Report on reestablishing the ecology of jungle goblins?”
“Thanks to you, the academy is now in a state of emergency! Everyone is having meeting after meeting?! “If this theory is completely redefined, my name will rise to the top!”
“That’s great.”
Kim Joo-hyuk now speaks informally without any intention of using polite language.
However, Liliya opened her mouth without any hesitation even though Kim Joo-hyuk was speaking informally.
“Now tell me about the stone goblins!”
“Nope?”
“Oh, don’t do that~”
Lily is running, shaking her white short hair here and there.
Looking at her like that, Kim Joo-hyuk shook his head and recalled a week ago.
1 week ago.
There was a time when Kim Joo-hyuk couldn’t resist Liliya, who kept coming to visit her, so he ended up telling her a few words about what he knew about the ecology of jungle goblins.
Kim Joo-hyuk obviously told her not to come visit him anymore, but from then on, Liliya started clinging to him even more.
‘No, this is so bad~! ‘Stop it!’
‘Please~ Just once~’
Now, despite the fact that he used informal language and swear words several times, Liliya did not show any signs of being offended and did not leave Kim Joo-hyuk.
However, Kim Joo-hyuk did not intend to give information to Liliya obediently.
Annoying things are annoying, and information is information.
…In fact, Kim Joo-hyuk continued this relationship with Liliya because he felt like he was losing by giving out information just because he was annoying.
Liliya clings to him somehow and cries out for information.
Kim Joo-hyuk doesn’t want to lose, so he chooses not to give out information.
“Yes, I absolutely hate it~”
“Then, are we going to trade information this time like last time?”
“I don’t need any information~”
“Is that really true? “Is it information about the midterm exam?”
Kim Joo-hyuk spoke with a somewhat uneasy expression as he looked at Samoyed, who was grinning with a smile of remorse… no, Liliya.
“Isn’t that illegal?”
To begin with, the midterm exams at Valhalla are much stricter than those elsewhere.
This is because Valhalla selects students to be dismissed from school based on the grades of the midterm and final exams of the semester.
Of course, performance evaluations also have a certain amount of influence, but that is only to a certain extent, so I heard a rumor that Valhalla’s midterm exams are very strict and fair.
“People cannot always live by following the law.”
“Didn’t you say something about doing your duty as a teacher not long ago?”
“That is that and this is this!”
“Oh yeah.”
“So you don’t need it?”
“Yeah, no need~”
After that, we argued for about 10 minutes.
“I’ll come again tomorrow!”
“Do not come!”
“Then I’ll do a line chat!”
“Block it right away~”
She left the fitness room like the wind and disappeared because she had a school affairs meeting.
[What a loud woman.]
“I think so too.”
[Rather than that, the midterm exams are now approaching.]
“?”
[Why do you make that face?]
“No, I am a student, but why do you talk like a student?”
[Hmm, I guess that’s what I’m hearing from inside.]
Kim Joo-hyuk certainly took all the classes because from the moment he brought out the barche, he always used the storage skill to store the sword except for a few times.
Kim Joo-hyuk, who was thinking about that thought, let out an exclamation as if he suddenly realized something and spoke.
“Hey, so you’ve almost finished the class?”
[Why are you doing this all of a sudden? Well, that’s right first.]
“Then you can take the test.”
[…What?]
“I barely went to class, so you take the test. “I will check it manually.”
[…isn’t that illegal because it’s a proxy test?]
“People can’t always live by abiding by the law, right?”
Barce remained silent at Kim Joo-hyuk’s words.