12 – Rule 8. The Discipline Head must maintain dignity, even at a social gathering (1)
“The student council president says we’re going to have a social gathering with the discipline committee from Mahyeon High.”
I was in the middle of eating an egg mayo sandwich prepared by Baek Seo.
My friend, the student council treasurer, came out of the blue with this odd proposal.
“A social gathering with the discipline committee from Mahyeon High?”
“Yes.”
Mahyeon High School.
Wasn’t it the number one school on Asung High School’s blacklist, a source of constant conflicts until now? But a social gathering?
If it were a business partner, I might have had to play nice, but there was absolutely no reason to curry favor with these people.
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It was my intention to avoid any entanglement with them for as long as I presided as the Discipline Head. There’s no need to intentionally step in dung on the road.
“Are you crazy? Why?”
“Who knows? But that’s the decision they’ve reached.”
“It would be more realistic to befriend the street rats. Ma-Hyun High and Ah-Seung High are basically in the cold war, right?”
“Honestly, no matter what I say, it seems hard for you to refuse. There’s a positive atmosphere in the student council.”
This one?
“Why?”
“Our school district and Ma-Hyun High school district are the most closely related by ratio. What’s the point in constantly fighting? It’s just like a game of chicken. Try to cancel the exchange meeting here too. It’s obvious that the atmosphere will become more awkward, right? At least on the surface, they’re trying to reconcile and maintain a moderately peaceful relationship.”
Any other school would be welcomed with open arms.
But not Ma-Hyun High.
Historically, there have been many disagreements and conflicts between Ah-Seung High and Ma-Hyun High.
I couldn’t help but feel repelled.
“But why does it have to be that way? We can just keep being awkward with each other.”
So I asked.
“Our student council president wants achievements.”
“Ah…”
I kept my mouth shut right away.
Improving relationship with Ma-Hyun High.
Assume this achievement is recorded in your student record during your tenure as a student council president.
That specification would have wielded enormous power.
“I don’t know what the student council president from their side wants, but well, there’s no loss in it, right? Rather, if we maintain at least an outward friendly relationship, both sides might gain from it. There haven’t been any conflicts lately, so this is a good opportunity for the student council president to move forward peacefully for oneself and the school’s future. What can we do about it?”
That was a very comfortable answer.
“…But isn’t the exchange meeting organized by the guidance department, not the student council?”
The one stepping on the sh*t is me.
“After all, the source of all disputes was the guidance department. Even the student council presidents have to face each other, so endure it. If you finish this well, it’ll be good for you too, right? You can simply cut them off if the kids from Ma-Hyun High show any strange signs. “
“….”
I sighed.
As a head of the guidance department, I couldn’t ignore the president of the student council’s orders.
“But who proposed this?”
“The student council president of Ma-Hyun High.”
“?”
They proposed first?
‘Ah, right.’
The information from the game that I had recorded came to mind. It was information that I thought was not important and had forgotten about.
If she were the student council president of Hyunma High School, she would be a refreshing female student with a flower garden in her hair.
She lived with the words ‘Long live peace, peace’ in her mouth.
She prioritized peace and fraternity to such an extent and only then considered the gains and losses of the school. She showed an altruistic nature.
I remember having affection for this character in the game who was particularly virtuous.
She was just a bit clueless.
‘She doesn’t seem to have any malicious intentions.’
So, the reason the Hyunma High School student council president wanted to conduct an exchange meeting was likely because she genuinely wanted the student council of her school and Ahseong High School to reconcile.
‘The problem is those student council bastards.’
The goodness of the student council president and the character of the student council members were not necessarily proportional.
In the end, the street trash I mentioned was not the student council president, but the guys on the Hyunma High School’s student council.
“Anyway, I told you. I’m sorry, but please suffer through it. Again, if it goes well, it’s also to your advantage.”
The friend from the student council tapped my shoulder lightly and walked away.
I had no decision-making authority.
If they decide from above, there is no choice but to comply.
Rather, if it was an opportunity to build a track record, I welcomed it.
……
“So it happened.”
I talked to deputy manager Oh Baek-Seo and executive Ha Ye-Song about the exchange meeting with Hyunma High School’s student council.
Whether it was the student council president’s instruction or not, the exchange proposal was approved like a flash of lightning.
There was no port to avoid the storm.
Given the situation, the student council had to go through this exchange meeting.
“Aw, there will be more work to do…”
Ye-Song murmured in despair.
Ye-Song, worried about the preparation process for the exchange, not the confrontation with Hyunma High School’s student council.
She had no interest in the history of fighting between Ahseong High School and Hyunma High School, so it was a natural response.
“When is it?”
“In 9 days.”
“What, why so soon!?”
“I can’t say anything because I just got the announcement about this proposal yesterday, too.”
“How? Was such a large event approved in just one day?”
“It was the student council president’s directive.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
Ye-song also knew the fundamental societal order that those above must be obeyed.
“Goodness…, we’ll have to start preparing from today then.”
“We should gather the remaining officers. Since it’s an exchange meeting, all the officers should attend.”
Baek Seo spoke with the same gentle smile she always wore.
The remaining officers.
In other words, the secretary and the treasurer.
The Ma-hyeon High School exchange meeting was a significant event.
They needed to start preparing immediately.
Therefore, they needed to gather the five officer parts in one place for an officers assembly.
“I’ll call the treasurer.”
“I’ll take care of Min-hyuk!”
Park Min-hyuk was the name of the head of the conduct department’s secretary.
Ye-song and I each dialed our respective officer’s numbers.
…Of course, they didn’t pick up.
“He’s not answering.”
“Same here. Ah, I got a text message.”
“What does it say?”
Ye-song showed Baek Seo and me the text message.
[ Please stop searching for someone like me… ]
It was poignant.
It was clear that the quick-tempered and self-deprecating secretary had either suffered another heartbreak from a girl or sunk into self-loathing.
“I think he might be curled up in a garbage can somewhere. I’ll go and check on that.”
Ye-song calmly inferred.
“Alright. Vice president, please help Ye-song.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll go search for the treasurer.”
“Then let’s touch base when we’ve all been found!”
We dispersed as soon as we left the meeting room.
Asung High School Student Council treasurer – ‘Yudoha’.
Among the students, he was playfully called ‘the calculating ghost’ because he would calculate everything first due to his meticulous nature.
Luckily, there were no participation lessons in his class.
Whenever he had spare time like this, he would lock himself in an empty classroom, claiming that he had to prove this and that.
And he didn’t just stick to one place.
He had the habit of moving to any classroom as he pleased every day.
However, he did have a tendency to prefer places with large blackboards.
Therefore, some classrooms could be eliminated from the list of potential locations.
“Huh? Senior!”
As I was crossing the corridor, a female student passing by called out to me.
I stopped in my tracks and looked towards her.
“Is it Saea?”
A female student in a black school uniform, Lee Saea, ran towards me.
A graceful smile hung on her lips, as if she were happy to find me.
“Where are you headed?”
“I’m just looking for someone.”
“That sounds fun! Can I help? I’m an expert at finding people.”
Saea showed a confident demeanor.
She seems to be an expert at everything.
“Aren’t you in class?”
“The only class left is BD. So, I’m free, you see?”
“Hmm.”
It was always better to have someone else’s help.
The reason I hadn’t assigned the task of finding the executive to a student council member was that it was an uncool task.
So, there was no problem if someone not involved with the student council helped.
Though Lee Saea will someday become a monster in the black market, she’s not a figure who would cause the dystopia I fear.
As such, I had no particular ill feelings towards her.
Rather, through frequent chats on Coconut Talk, there was a sense of becoming familiar with her.
Also, distancing here would make things awkward, and there was no reason to keep distance in the first place.
It didn’t seem like Se-A was going to cause any harm to the student council.
So, I spoke without hesitation.
“I’m looking for the student council treasurer. She looks like this.”
I showed her a photo of the treasurer, Yoo Do-Ha, on my smartphone.
Se-A nodded her head.
“Yes, okay.”
“She’ll likely be in an empty classroom. One with a large blackboard. I plan to search from there.”
“Then, I’ll search this line. If I find her, I’ll contact you.”
Se-A waved her smartphone, took a step back, turned around and headed towards the classrooms.
I hurried in the direction I was heading too.
My smartphone vibrated as I was passing by the classrooms, checking each one.
[ Lee Se-A : Senior ]
[ Lee Se-A : Treasurer found! ]
[ Lee Se-A : (Photo) ]
[ Lee Se-A : In the research room at Chrysanthemum Hall ]
Se-A secretly sent me a photo of a female student writing an equation on the blackboard in the research room.
It was the back of Yoo Do-Ha, the treasurer.
‘She already found her?’
That was quick.
Did she use some kind of method?
Or was it luck?
In any case, I was grateful.
[ An Woo-Jin : Thanks ]
[ An Woo-Jin : (GIF of a thumbs-up from a puppy) ]
[ Lee Se-A : Praise me ]
[ An Woo-Jin : Good job ]
[ Lee Se-A : ㅋㅋㅋㅋ ]
[ Lee Se-A : (GIF of a squirrel dancing with a bright smile) ]
The place I arrived at was right before the Chrysanthemum Lab.
Se-Ah who was leaning against the corridor wall waved to greet me. She put a hand on her lips and whispered lightly.
“He’s completely focused right now.”
Se-Ah pointed towards the lab’s open entrance.
At the lab’s entrance, a female student, Yoo Dohwa, was fully occupied in front of the blackboard. Se-Ah and I each leaned on the doorframe and sneakily extended our heads to peek at Dohwa.
“I need to deconstruct each of these … If I apply complex exponentials here … This relationship is beautiful…! Now I need to reorganize these kids…!”
Account clerk Yoo Dohwa, like a mad scientist, was amusing herself with a piece of chalk, her eyes wide open, grinning.
I couldn’t understand the equations densely written on the blackboard, nor what she was saying.
I was always a liberal arts person both in my past life and in my present one.
Just looking at the equations made me feel sick.
“Should we take that person with us?”
“Yes, but not yet.”
“Why?”
“She hates to be interrupted when concentrating on something. We have to wait until she loses her concentration.”
If I were to interrupt in this state, even if Neo Seoul was in the middle of a disaster, she would sternly push me away saying “Do not disturb me at this hour, Woojin…!”, Dohwa was indeed like an impregnable wall.
This was an established rule since our freshman year.
I was in charge of bringing this eccentric Dohwa from the student council.
“So, is that so?”
“Anyway, thanks for finding her. You can now go back… Wait, what are you doing?”
Without warning, Se-Ah walked into the lab. She put her hands back behind her and approached Account clerk Dohwa.
“Is this Fermat’s Last Theorem?”
“!”
When the unexpected voice echoed in the lab, Dohwa was startled.
She quickly turned her head backwards to see Se-Ah.
“Who are you?”
Dohwa grew wary.
“Do you know if this proof has been completed?”
“Ha!”
Dohwa laughed out loud.
“You’re asking me something obvious. Do you think I don’t know that Andrew Wiles proved it? However, I want to fully understand the process…! His method of proving and Taniyama-Shimura’s conjecture, and all those elliptic curves….”
“Goodness, are you basking in the beauty of proofs? That’s tremendous.”
“What?”
Do-ha, who had been explaining with fervor, looked puzzled.
‘Huh?’
It was the first time I had seen such a reaction from Do-ha.
Sae-ah smirkily retorted.
“How do elliptical curves connect with modular forms? It indeed is an intriguing topic.”
“Indeed! The connection itself is a riveting topic…!”
Huh?
I couldn’t really understand their conversation, but I could surely feel Do-ha’s growing enthusiasm.
Do-ha and Sae-ah were babbling about topics that were entirely incomprehensible.
Even more so, Sae-ah scrutinized the equations on the blackboard and even picked up the chalk to jot down some notes.
Do-ha was nodding his head with a fascinated look.
‘What’s happening?’
It was alarming.
“Oh, by the way.”
In a little while, Sae-ah spoke.
“The department head was looking for the finance officer.”
“The department head?”
“Yes, do you have time?”
Amazingly, Sae-ah naturally created the timing for me to step in.
It took just about 2 minutes for her to buy Do-ha’s favor, infringe her territory, and reach this point.
Considering my previous record was 15 minutes, it was an astonishing speed.
“The department head?”
Do-ha tilted his head.
Expecting something like this to happen, I had been leaning against the doorframe, my arms folded, setting the mood.
“Do-ha, it’s an emergency summons from the executives. Stop what you’re doing and come with me.”
“…What’s the matter?”
“I’ll tell you when we get there.”
“Hmm.”
Doha alternately looked at Sae-a and the chalkboard. Sae-a was still grinning slyly.
“Okay. Let’s go together.”
……
“Wow, Manager! You’ve successfully brought the accountant!”
“Of course. I had some help though.”
“That’s the fastest record ever! As expected of the manager!”
Yae-song greeted me as I arrived at the office with accountant Yudo.
Doha said, “Don’t make it a mission to bring me,” sternly, but Yae-song ignored him, flustered.
“Where’s the secretary?”
“Over there. He is overcoming the pain of heartbreak.”
Inside the open cabinet, a male student, hiding, was startled, “Ma, Manager!”
It was secretary Park Minhyuk.
“Come out.”
“Ye, yes….”
On receiving the firm command, he staggered out of the cabinet, holding his head down.
“Manager.”
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, Baek Seo approached me.
His face was so close that it surprised me, but I didn’t show it.
“Who did you bring the accountant with?”
Baek Seo asked in a whisper-like small voice.
Chilling.
Although his tone was certainly considerate, I felt as though a cold blade had just slid down my throat.
I think I felt this way before too….
“Why do you ask?”
Baek Seo was staring me in the eyes and then
“…Nevermind. Nothing at all.”
He shook his head with a smile and returned to the couch.
What was that…?
I felt a little shiver.
Into the frightening side.
Anyway, all five executives of the student council gathered in the council office.
The Assistant Head, Oh Baek-Seo, maintained his considerate smile as always.
The male secretary, Park Min-Hyuk, seemed lost, his shoulders slumped and leaves stuck in his hair.
The female accountant, Yoo Do-Ha, sat arrogantly with her arms crossed and her legs crossed.
A dog, Ha Ye-Song.
And me.
After explaining why I convened the executives, I made a declaration.
“Starting today, we’re plunging into preparing for the Student Council Exchange meeting. We have 9 days left. Because time is tight, everyone should put in their best effort to prepare.”
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“Yes.”
“Okay…..”
“Sure.”
“Yup!”
And so, after 9 days.
The council from Ma-Hyun High School visited Ah-Sung High School.