8 – Rule 6. The Guidance Chief Rejects the Attention-Seeking (1)
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Roaming around the city or school campus, you occasionally come across students who are either live-streaming or filming a video.
For example, a male student chattering away with a smartphone attached to a selfie stick while sitting by a fountain.
Or, in front of the central staircase near the school plaza, a girl dancing while holding her smartphone for her audience.
They continued their broadcasts and recordings, oblivious to the stares of other students passing by.
“It looks like they’re making a Z-tube video.”
Ha Ye-Song, in charge of patrolling for indecent behavior, commented as we walked together.
Beside her followed Oh Baek Seo.
“It does seem to have increased lately. It wasn’t this much even last year.”
“It’s because a kid from our school started a craze. It’s the era of Z-tube now, isn’t it?”
“Is that so?”
Z-tube.
That’s the name of the video platform that’s become popular among students.
Anyone can upload videos, and with a bit of popularity, you can start earning an income. The earnings from sponsorship were also substantial.
However, I tended to steer clear of Z-tube videos.
He was well aware of the dangers of addictive visual content.
To maintain the dignity of his role as a chief adviser, it was necessary to balance the brain’s stability. Simply put, he prioritized maintaining a healthy dopamine system and efficiency in academic achievement.
Hence, he was unaware of who the student, who as Ye-song mentioned, ’caused a frenzy of Jtube at Ashung High School’, was.
“If our Baekseo Jin starts a talk show, she would earn a fortune…”
He agreed.
If a polite and pretty female student like his deputy starts a talk show, his wallet would certainly be the first to open without any resistance.
“I’m fine, I’m not interested.”
Baekseo gestured with a smiling face.
“But who is this person who supposedly caused the frenzy?”
“ShinsoTV. The ‘Sindorim Swordmaster’!”
Ye-song answered confidently, like a mother bragging about her child.
‘Sindorim Swordmaster?’
Isn’t that name…too lame?
Instead of cool nicknames like Sword Saint or Sword Knight, why on earth…?
“There’s also Invincible Mushroom ranked second in Ashung High’s popularity! That person is called ‘Muber’.”
“Mmm… okay…”
He gave up thinking after hearing the name ranked second in popularity.
For a while, Ye-song eagerly talked about Sindorim Swordmaster.
He had quickly gained popularity with videos showcasing his swordplay action, in sync with thrilling music with his colleagues, or unfolding his sword dance.
“You should check it out. It’s really cool. He recently topped my potential boyfriend list.”
It was a drowsy moment right after lunch. Which was partly why he was taking a walk.
So it wouldn’t hurt to watch it out of boredom.
“Then let’s take a look.”
They sat on a bench where there were few people.
Ye-song showed him the video on her smartphone.
She was looking forward to his reaction, her eyes twinkling with anticipation.
He ignored her and started watching the video.
The intro featured a male student wearing a goblin mask, unfolding a sword dance to cool music.
‘So this is the Sindorim Swordmaster.’
Pretty cool indeed.
Romance, phase one, pass.
As soon as the video started, the male student who appeared in the intro greeted.
─ Hello, dear viewers! I’m Sindorim Swordmaster, it’s ShinsoTV!
His voice was distorted.
He was in the uniform of Asung High School, but his name tag was removed so it was impossible to tell who he was.
After delivering his broadcast greeting, he continued with light chit-chat.
Frankly, it wasn’t really fun. But he was somewhat witty and the distorted voice seemed appealing to girls.
Eventually, Shinso began his substantial sword dance.
Inside the room filled with darkness.
Background music befitting an animated battle scene started to play.
Shinso infused magic into the sword he held.
Whoosh!
The magic was converted into ‘fire’.
The conversion of magical elements.
It was a trick only possible for those who reached at least the 4th rank.
The ranks of achievement based on abilities went from 1 to 9, and being at the 4th rank meant you could be considered significantly strong in the academy city.
‘Ah.’
Sword dancing with a flame sword.
Very cool.
Romance, phase two, pass.
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The flaming sword, brandished to the rhythm of the music, brilliantly cut through the darkness.
Shinso’s movements were smooth yet executed with precision.
At the highlight moments, the action dramatically slowed down, using slow motion to depict an impressive scene.
Shinso’s sword dance captivated watchers, causing them to lose themselves in it. I began to see why he was popular. Since the most addictive way to watch something is to be drawn in mindlessly.
‘It seems showy…, but it looks like he also has a good sense of practicality.’
I assessed that Shinso was ‘deliberately’ displaying a flashy sword dance all-over. He seemed to be a skilled swordsmen who had a sense of practical ability.
The video eventually ended.
“hehehe.”
Yeseong seemed to anticipate my reaction.
She seemed proud, as if showing off her own boyfriend.
“Well, I did say he was my top boyfriend candidate.”
“…Not bad. It’s quite flashy.”
That was the entirety of my evaluation.
Ye Song, who had been waiting for me to continue, revealed a bewildered look in his eyes.
“Huh? That’s it?”
“What more do you want?”
“You don’t have any compliments?”
“I kept them to myself.”
“…Please, don’t ever go into reaction broadcasting.”
Ye Song produced a disgruntled expression.
Why, though?
…
Ever since I watched the Sword Master of Sindorim video that Ha Ye Song showed me, I had lost interest in him.
And then one day.
An incident happened.
[ Lee Se Ah: Senior! Have you seen the new Shinso video? ]
[ Lee Se Ah: It’s going crazy right now! ]
[ Lee Se Ah: (laughing cat emoticon) ]
[ An Woo Jin: ? ]
A high school girl destined to become a great evil in the future, Lee Se Ah, sent me a message on Coconutalk.
‘Shinso?’
Shinso meant Sindorim Sword Master, didn’t it?
I couldn’t understand why it was causing a commotion, or why she was telling me this.
As I was pondering these questions, I received a message from another person.
[ Ha Ye Song: Boss!!! ]
[ Ha Ye Song: Urgent!!! ]
[ Ha Ye Song: Please quickly watch the new Shinso video!! ]
[ Ha Ye Song: It’s amazing!! ]
Even Ha Ye Song was making a fuss about it.
‘What’s the big deal?’
Accessing YouTube via smartphone, I clicked into Shinso TV.
There was a video uploaded this dawn. It seemed unrelated to the usual sword dances that were posted.
The title read ‘To the Prefectural Head of Asung High.’
In the current academy city, the ‘Prefectural Head of Asung High’—that’s me, isn’t it?
I immediately entered to check out the video.
In the video, a male student wearing a goblin mask, Shinso, greeted the camera before starting his monologue.
─ I’m pursuing strength. Imagining the future when I’ll be called a ‘Sword Master,’ I’ve judged that to attain that status, one must battle the strong and carve out a legend.
‘Ah.’
I could guess what he was about to say.
Please.
We haven’t even properly met yet, don’t do this….
─ To the Prefectural Head of Asung High School!
Shinso daringly uttered a phrase that should not have been spoken.
─ From the first day of the term, you protected countless students from an armed group that hijacked a subway train. You wouldn’t know how deeply I admired your bravery.
Not interested.
─ Moreover, as the Prefectural Head, you even have the famous genius, Vice Head Ohbaek-seo, following you. I can’t even begin to grasp how incredible you are…! That’s why I’ve been longing for a match with you. Please honor me by teaching me a lesson! I implore you!
Shinso bowed respectfully.
The dreaded line I feared spilled out.
‘Teach me a lesson…? What? Is this some martial arts world?’
Shinso’s challenge, no, his challenge video, was rapidly climbing, no, soaring up the live trending video rankings.
A deluge of likes poured from viewer after viewer.
The comments section was in an uproar.
There were students who criticized Shinso for throwing down a challenge to me out of the blue, yet most seemed eager for a showdown between Shinso and me.
It couldn’t be helped.
People inherently seek out provocative fun.
And when that fun is connected to everyday life, the excitement is only amplified.
‘Selfish bastard.’
I was irritated.
This attention-seeker didn’t care about my wishes; he only pursued topicality and self-realization. It was apparent he had mulled over this thoroughly, but if such was the outcome of his contemplation, all I could offer in return was foul language.
Given the buzz it had stirred up, it was hard to ignore with a straight face. Shinso must have been aiming for that, too.
This curious little one.
He’s causing a fuss…
Moreover, Shinso praised me as the ‘famous head genius of the five hundred, who leads the front.’ The bastard must’ve been sincere, but it was no different than irritating me.
‘There must be plenty of members who are disgruntled about me becoming the head…’
Thanks to my debut with the subway incident on the first day, I could feel the suspicion towards me lessening, but among the second and third year members, there were quite a few who had doubts about my capabilities.
I planned to gradually accumulate achievements and dismiss those questions, but Shinso managed to stir up even a fire.
“Head.”
Five hundred, who was in my thoughts, called me.
Suddenly, a subtle scent of black tea filled my sense of smell.
She put a warm cup of black tea on my desk without me noticing.
“What will you do about that kid?”
“Shinso?”
Baekseo nodded.
Her usual tender smile was on her face, but unlike usual, there was a cold in her.
“Shall I go solve it?”
“Excuse me?”
Baekseo said calmly, yet with a clear tone.
“The head doesn’t need to deal with such annoying children. It is obvious that a video will be filmed when dealing with it, so if you try to interfere with the guidance activities with such a challenge, I will leave a strong warning. There’s school rules and precedents for that.”
Baekseo was softly talking. Her gentle tone showed a firmness.
She too must be annoyed with Shinso’s challenge.
But.
“I can’t do that.”
“Huh?”
I knew that what Baekseo was saying was for my consideration, but if I follow what she’s saying, it will complicate things.
‘If I hand this over to the deputy head….’
If the majority of council members believed I was the right fit for the head position, then it might be okay.
But in a situation like this, if I let the deputy head handle it, in the end, only the deputy head’s authority would be highlighted.
My authority as the head would be hidden in Baekseo’s shadow.
‘I can’t do that…!’
That’s something I cannot accept.
How much I struggled to rise to this position.
“I’ll do it.”
Good, it worked out better this way.
Perhaps, I could even turn Shinso’s proposal to my advantage.
‘If I can overpower that guy, maybe it’ll even improve my image within the Student Guard.’
I wasn’t sure how strong Shinso was, but it definitely was another chance to show off my skills to the Student Guard.
…Well.
All this might just be an excuse when it comes down to it.
“You don’t need to step in…”
“Just annoyed, is all. So leave it to me.”
I was genuinely irritated.
I wanted to personally take down this bratty, delusional second-year student.
“Mmm… Alright. Let’s do it that way.”
Baek Seo responded with a benevolent smile.
* * *
A comment from Woojin was posted on the challenge video uploaded by ShinsoTV.
It was a message accepting the challenge.
“The head of the Student Guard at Ahsung High School has accepted Shinso’s challenge.”
Renowned as Ahsung High School’s rival, is the prestigious Maehyun High School.
Upon receiving the report, their Student Guard head, Lee Jeho, lifted his glasses with an impassive face.
“The head of the Student Guard at Ahsung High…. The guy who took the position from Oh Baek Seo?”
Last year, Lee Jeho was certain that the 45th head of Ahsung High School’s Student Guard would be the genius Oh Baek Seo.
However, the outcome was different.
An unexpected male student had beaten Oh Baek Seo to the position.
That student was the 45th head of the Student Guard, Ahn Woojin.
“This should be interesting. Finally, a chance to analyze what kind of person Ahn Woojin is.”
The Shinso that Ahn Woojin would face was a contender ranked fourth or higher.
Strong figures like Lee Jeho within the academy were already assessing him through videos.
Therefore, this duel was a perfect opportunity to gauge the skills of the 45th head of the Student Guard at Ahsung High, Ahn Woojin.
And they were not the only ones interested.
“Say it again. The Discipline Head of Asung High is sparring with Shin So? Are you talking about that YouTuber?”
“Good news. I was curious how skilled the Discipline Head of Asung High really is.”
“Now I can finally see his true abilities.”
Most autonomous schools in Neo Seoul showed interest in the news of the public sparring between An Woojin and Shin So.
And at some point, the duel between the two had become the main topic of interest in the academy city.