Ju Seojun was caught off guard.

He’d watched Yoon Chaeha longer than anyone.

And probably—aside from her parents—there was no one who understood her better than he did.

Her easygoing nature. That perpetually detached attitude.

She never rushed anything, never got flustered, and always let things slide.

That was why she remained ranked 5th at Kalos Academy.

But he knew.

If Yoon Chaeha ever truly set her mind to something, there was no way he could hold on to his 1st place ranking.

That’s why, even now, he thought her decision was just another whim.

When she said, “I’m transferring to Gaon,” Ju Seojun didn’t take it as a serious plan—just a momentary impulse.

The kind of fleeting mood that would vanish by morning.

But this time, he had to admit—it was different.

—Bang!

“God, seriously.”

Yoon Chaeha slammed the door behind her as she stormed out of the professor’s office.

Unlike her usual composed demeanor, her face was twisted in irritation. From the tone of the voices heard during the meeting, it was clear the negotiation hadn’t gone well.

Even after closing the door, she let out a long, frustrated sigh.

“Shit...”

She ran a hand through her hair with force.

The hem of her uniform fluttered over her shoulder.

Between strands of her windswept blonde hair, her fiery orange eyes glimmered faintly.

And then she stomped off in frustration.

The pace of her actions—was too fast.

Once she made up her mind, there was nothing that could stop her.

The problem was that she rarely made up her mind.

—In the past fifteen years, she had made up her mind only once.

He couldn’t even clearly remember what the first time had been.

But he knew this was the second.

“Seojun.”

At that moment, the professor’s assistant cracked the office door open and called for him.

She looked just as drained, dark circles under her eyes—clearly exhausted from the earlier meeting.

Today’s “Arena of Exchange” consultations had been scheduled for both Yoon Chaeha and Ju Seojun.

“If you’re ready, come in...”

“Yes.”

She trailed off, opening the door.

He stepped into the office.

Once it closed behind him, the interior came into view.

Walls lined with tomes on magic, shelves stacked with devices, flasks, and crystalline instruments etched with spell circles ticking away like machines.

His supervising professor sat frowning over paperwork, just as usual.

But the moment Ju Seojun entered, the professor’s face lit up.

—Scrape.

Sliding the chair out eagerly, the professor greeted him with forced cheer.

“Take a seat, Seojun.”

Ju Seojun sat down.

And right away, the persuasion began.

Unlike Yoon Chaeha, who never listened, the model student Ju Seojun was someone the professor figured could still be reasoned with. His tone softened slightly.

“So... I was hoping you could talk some sense into Chaeha...”

The message was simple in the end.

You can’t both go. Please stop her.

Or rather, more accurately—even if you can’t stop her, at least you should stay.

“Even the higher-ups are in a frenzy. If two top-rankers leave...”

The professor waved his hands in frustration.

“We’re offering full scholarships, grad school placement, Magic Tower sponsorships—so why the hell...”

He didn’t even give him a chance to reply. The words just kept flowing.

And for a moment, Ju Seojun—

Understood why Yoon Chaeha had grown so tired of this.

“Professor.”

Eventually, he cut him off.

“Y-yes?”

The professor still looked hopeful.

Only for that hope to be shattered by what came next.

“I think you should start looking for another candidate for graduate school.”

Ju Seojun smiled as he spoke.

“What...?”

“I’m going to Gaon too.”

The professor scrambled to say something else—

But Ju Seojun had no intention of continuing the conversation.

“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

He offered a brief farewell and stepped out of the office.

The sun had set, and the air brushing his face was a little colder now.

She was nowhere to be seen. She must have gone far ahead.

That was how it always was.

She always walked ahead, pulled away, and never looked back.

That was her way.

Ju Seojun paused there for a moment. And he thought.

It wasn’t love.

Something drier than that—maybe admiration.

In any case—

Ju Seojun decided to follow. At least as far as he could.

***

A few more days passed after the temporary suspension was declared.

The academy had nearly returned to normal.

Some buildings even seemed better than before.

And starting today, classes resumed.

Instead of redoing the interrupted midterms, Gaon decided to factor incomplete scores into the finals.

Written exams had already been completed, so they would integrate the practical portion into the final evaluation.

The students breathed a collective sigh of relief at the decision.

After all, any score delay was a small blessing.

Reuniting after so long, the students gathered in small groups, chatting and catching up.

Laughter began to spread, like they were trying to shake off the heavy atmosphere.

And before long—

“It’s been a while.”

The classroom door opened, and Instructor Do Hanseong walked in.

His tone was always drained, but today he sounded even more lifeless than usual.

The chattering students fell silent.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward a single spot.

An empty desk.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

On top of it rested a single white flower, as if someone had quietly placed it there.

In the end, it was officially announced that Sung Siwoo had died in battle against the demons.

The truth—that he had been corrupted and then killed—was too problematic to be released.

The official story had been a carefully crafted act of mercy.

Instructor Do Hanseong let out a quiet sigh.

But he said nothing more beyond that.

***

There was nothing special about today’s class. Just the midterm deferment announcement and the "Arena of Exchange."

Overall, it was more of a chance to see the professors again after a long break.

“As you probably know, the midterms have been postponed. Only the written exam results will be announced soon.”

As Instructor Do Hanseong finished, quiet sighs and murmurs of relief spread across the classroom.

Thanks to that, my rank was also frozen. Until finals, I’d be living as “Unranked.”

—That’s him?

—Medusa?

But the way people looked at me now was completely different.

The video clip of me beheading Medusa had surpassed twenty million views.

It seemed like it had been shared just about everywhere.

Most of the students loitering outside the classroom were here just to catch a glimpse of me.

I quietly stood up from my seat.

As soon as class ended, I made a swift exit.

But the moment I stepped into the hallway, someone stepped in front of me.

“You’re Jeong Haein, right?”

Gaon Academy had no dress code, but there were still students who wore uniforms—like the one standing in front of me now.

Light green collar.

That was the color for second-years.

Black hair, dark eyes.

I had a rough idea of who she was.

And even before she opened her mouth, whispers began rising around us. She didn’t seem to care in the slightest as she extended her hand toward me.

“How about joining Frontier?”

Frontier—a long-standing and prestigious club at Gaon. Known for producing some of the most accomplished active heroes, and only inviting the most promising students from each year.

In other words, it was a place optimized for networking.

In the original story, this event was triggered once your recognition reached a certain threshold.

Thank you.

This made it clear just how much attention I’d drawn.

And from the way she handed me a card engraved with black and gold, it didn’t seem like “no” was even a possibility in her mind.

Probably a name card or something similar.

Given how far the second-year classrooms were from here, she must’ve come all this way personally.

Her posture radiated confidence.

Like everything was just naturally falling into place.

But I answered,

“Not interested.”

“Alright, then let’s head to the—”

She cut off mid-sentence, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} her face stiffening.

“...Sorry, what did you just say?”

“I said I’m not interested.”

The hallway fell silent in an instant. No one had expected that.

Everyone wanted to join.

Many students even worked hard just to get invited.

But I declined.

And added, without much emotion,

“I’ve already decided where I’m going.”

I had planned to join a certain club. But after his death, there was no reason to anymore.

And I didn’t need club points to boost my grades, so I had no reason to join at all...

But this event had just made something very clear to me.

With this level of attention, it was practically guaranteed—

Yoon Chaeha is coming.

I was going to join the same club as her.

“Um, so... what I meant, friend, was that this offer is—”

The upperclassman in front of me still didn’t seem to understand and kept trying to explain.

A little strange—Frontier didn’t usually cling like this.

Normally, if someone declined, they just turned and walked away.

And that’s when someone stepped in and gently returned the card.

I turned to look.

It was Sion.

She gave a small bow and said,

“Sorry, sunbae. He’s already joining with me.”

With a smile, Sion lightly brushed the upperclassman aside.

The senior bit her lip in frustration but didn’t say anything more.

Sion immediately grabbed my wrist and started walking.

Once we’d gotten far enough down the hallway, she finally spoke.

“Sheesh... What was her deal? Why so clingy?”

“She got rejected. Should’ve taken the hint.”

I looked at her.

And said playfully,

“Who said I was joining with you?”

She flinched.

“W-well, we did talk about joining the same club, didn’t we? That last one was kind of a mess, but I looked into a few better ones...”

We arrived at Gaon’s main hall.

There, a massive screen was live-broadcasting the "Arena of Exchange."

Kalos on the left. Gaon on the right.

Each academy’s emblem shimmered with light as names moved with dramatic effects.

—Ooh!

A wave of cheers burst from the students gathered around. Even Sion turned her attention to the screen.

Just now, Dave—formerly ranked 10th at Gaon—had transferred to Kalos.

He was a magic user. It seemed he’d finally concluded that Gaon wasn’t the right fit and made his choice.

His name shimmered and crossed to Kalos.

I waited.

Something felt good about this moment.

Sion, watching intently, slowly moved closer to me.

“...There’s nothing too exciting here, right? This exchange thing. Nothing really worth paying attention to...”

She asked cautiously.

But I didn’t answer.

And then—

“...Huh?”

“Wait, is that for real?”

[Rank 1: Ju Seojun]

[Rank 5: Yoon Chaeha]

Two names, glowing with blue light, slowly began to drift toward Gaon.

Sion instinctively gasped.

She blinked a few times, then double-checked the screen.

Her lips parted slightly—then closed again.

Slowly—very slowly—she turned her head toward me.

I happened to be looking at her too.

Our eyes met, quietly.

I spoke naturally.

“Sorry, but I don’t think we’ll be in the same club after all.”

I turned back to the screen.

The blue-lit names settled into Gaon’s side, leaving afterimages in their wake.

I smiled quietly, watching them appear.