Chapter 54

< Episode 55: If You’re On an Island, You Gotta Catch at Least the Boss, Right?

Ding-a-ling! Young-hee dropped the kitchen knife she was holding.

She had no idea why she was even holding it in the first place.

She just woke up out of nowhere while sleeping.

But for some reason, there it was—clutched tightly in her hand.

“A-ah! No, it’s a misunderstanding!”

Young-hee quickly tried to justify herself.

What exactly was being misunderstood?

She didn’t even know what she was defending herself against—but somehow, it felt like the right thing to do.

“It’s not…like that…”

Yu-jin silently picked up the fallen knife. He brushed off the dirt with a flick of his wrist and then placed a hand on Young-hee’s shoulder.

“It’s okay. I understand.”

“…Huh?”

Young-hee blinked in confusion.

You know what’s going on?

Wait, you’re *understanding* me?

I don’t even know why I’m doing this!

“How…how could you…?”

“I know something’s up with you. I get it if it’s hard to talk about. But this feels pretty serious.”

Yu-jin glanced down at the knife before pausing briefly, deep in thought.

“If you’re okay with it…how about we stop the exam here? I’ll explain things to the others.”

“No, absolutely not!”

Young-hee immediately dropped to her knees. Crawling forward, she clung desperately to Yu-jin’s pants.

“Please, please let me continue the exam!”

She had a mission—a purpose. She didn’t know what it was or why it mattered, but one thing was clear: she had to see it through. That feeling burned strongly within her.

“I’ll do anything! I won’t cause any trouble! Just please let me keep going!”

Yu-jin stared silently at Young-hee for a moment.

Realizing she’d grabbed his pants, Young-hee instinctively let go, suddenly aware that she might’ve overstepped.

After pondering for a bit, Yu-jin finally nodded.

“Alright.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but I’ll be keeping an eye on you. Got it?”

“Yes, yes!”

Young-hee nodded enthusiastically without fully understanding what he meant. As long as she could complete her “mission,” everything else was irrelevant.

“For now, go back inside and finish resting. You’ve got watch duty later, so don’t try anything funny.”

Happy to comply, Young-hee scurried into the tent.

Inside, she caught sight of Chul-soo sleeping soundly. The moment she saw his face, her expression turned cold, and her heart grew heavy.

“…Something feels off.”

Though she couldn’t pinpoint why, Young-hee dismissed the strange sensation and crawled back into her sleeping bag. Her eyes, however, lacked their usual spark.

—

Day three of survival training.

The class president glanced backward with a hint of dissatisfaction.

“Are they sticking together *that* much?”

From start to finish, Young-hee and Yu-jin had been glued together like glue. It was almost suspicious—so much so that they might actually be a couple.

“Still, I can’t exactly tell them to switch positions…”

Currently, the party formation followed standard strategy: Chul-soo led the charge, followed by the class president, then Young-hee, and finally Yu-jin bringing up the rear. This arrangement prioritized healer safety above all else—a basic principle for every team. Additionally, everyone knew that both the front and back were the most dangerous spots during travel.

Thus, the vanguard typically handled these roles, sandwiching mages and healers safely in between.

With this setup, having Chul-soo at the front and Yu-jin at the back seemed textbook perfect. But that didn’t mean it sat well with the class president.

“To be honest, I never really thought much about Young-hee and Yu-jin’s relationship before…”

She sneakily glanced behind her again. Young-hee was flirting shamelessly with Yu-jin as usual. Normally, Yu-jin would brush it off casually—but today, there was a noticeable difference. He seemed genuinely attentive toward Young-hee.

The class president couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

It probably had something to do with what Yu-jin said yesterday:

“Yeah, Class President…or should I say, Young-hee is really helpful to the team.”

She knew it wasn’t meant to carry any special weight—it was likely just a slip of the tongue. But when you liked someone, even small comments stuck in your head.

That’s just how teenage girls worked.

“Does Chul-soo not care at all about this?”

Of course, the class president knew Young-hee’s behavior was all an act. Still, if it bothered her so much, how could Chul-soo remain unfazed?

‘He must be amazing to handle this so calmly…’

In the midst of all this, Chul-soo continued to fulfill his role as vanguard without complaint.

This only made the class president question whether she was being too narrow-minded.

‘Am I…jealous of Young-hee?’

While she wasn’t privy to all the details of their situation, she knew enough about the general story.

Apparently, Yu-jin had used various schemes to take Young-hee away from Chul-soo because he fancied her. Meanwhile, Chul-soo still hoped to win her back.

‘Why does it have to be Young-hee?’

Even the class president recognized Young-hee’s appeal.

First off, she was one of the top beauties at the academy. Despite her fragile appearance, she exuded grace and charm. There was an irresistible sweetness to her demeanor that made people want to protect her. Her shy smiles could make even other girls swoon.

When she cut her long hair short, everyone was initially surprised—but she pulled it off effortlessly, proving once again how versatile she was.

And looks weren’t all she had going for her.

Her healing abilities ranked among the best at the academy, and her buff skills were unmatched by any of her peers. Her kind personality earned her widespread admiration, and despite coming from an orphanage, she rarely complained or put herself first. Every week, she received at least one confession before Yu-jin entered the picture.

She was truly a flower blooming amidst adversity—a classic shoujo manga heroine brought to life.

‘So maybe it’s natural that she’s so popular…’

Thinking about it this way made the class president feel increasingly inadequate.

Sure, she excelled academically and could hold her own in terms of style. Even Young-hee admitted she admired the class president’s mature figure.

But she was the daughter of a hero who’d lived a privileged life. Her sole claim to fame—her combat growth ability—had been deemed useless by Yu-jin himself.

‘Well, he did say there’s someone else who can replace me…so maybe “useless” isn’t quite the right word.’

Regardless, the fact remained: she currently held no value in Yu-jin’s eyes. This realization filled the class president with frustration and fear.

Once they graduated from the academy, she might never see Yu-jin again. Even before then, if they ended up in different classes, the chances of meeting would drop drastically.

At best, she had less than a year—including summer break—to prove her worth.

If she failed to win his affection during that time…

There would be no second chance.

Anxiety gnawed at her relentlessly.

‘If I were in Young-hee’s position, I’d be thrilled…’

Shaking her head violently, the class president banished the thought. She hadn’t realized it, but self-loathing had begun creeping back in.

How could she envy Young-hee when she knew her struggles with Chul-soo?

There had to be limits to how far one could go.

“Class President, are you alright? You seem worried.”

“Ah, yeah! I’m fine! Just feeling a bit awkward about the forest trail.”

“That’s understandable. We’ll reach a rest spot soon. Let’s push through until then!”

Forcing a smile, the class president nodded.

She cared for this friend who looked out for her so kindly. Betraying those feelings for romance wouldn’t be right.

No matter how tempting, certain lines shouldn’t be crossed.

‘Alright, focus on helping Chul-soo and Young-hee score well. Time to reflect on my priorities.’

Resolving firmly, the class president nodded to herself.

‘Right, concentrate on the exam. Don’t let distractions cloud your judgment—we need to stay alert for monsters.’

As if summoned by her thoughts, a monster suddenly leapt from the bushes.

But this wasn’t just any monster.

“Wait, that snake has two heads?”

Yu-jin’s observation hit the nail on the head.

The legendary boss-level monster known as the ‘Two-Headed Serpent’ had appeared.

‘We let our guard down!’

Their exceptional skill had lulled them into a false sense of security. They hadn’t anticipated such danger—and now they paid the price.

‘Of all the monsters, we run into the boss?!’

The Two-Headed Serpent was a massive, boss-level creature. Bosses were notoriously harder to defeat than regular monsters, often requiring double the effort. And since this one was large-scale, its difficulty level skyrocketed further.

It was arguably the strongest creature on the island—and definitely beyond their capabilities.

Even a decent guild might struggle to take it down.

Still, encounters with bosses were rare.

They’d merely assumed they’d avoid crossing paths with it.

Sometimes, bad luck knows no bounds.

Clearly, something was off about this survival test.

“Everyone, prepare for battle—”

Before Chul-soo could finish his sentence, the serpent’s twin heads opened wide.

Perhaps mistaking itself for a dragon, flames began licking at its gaping maws.

Moments later, torrents of blazing fire erupted from both heads.

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