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*
The moment I stood in front of the podium.
Ayeon’s speech that she had worked on all night just flew away.
“No way, are you out of your mind? What on earth are you doing!!!”
“……Mom, f*ck.”
[You said you would stand in the sky, but your speech just stood in the sky!]
‘This sucks.’
I had been loosening my grip, but that didn’t mean I was about to let it go.
After all, it was Ayeon who made it for me.
Just then, someone entered my line of sight.
The front row was clearly filled with students and research students.
There, I could see some professor guy splitting apart.
With a number floating above his head, no less.
The place where the professors were supposed to be was likely meant for faculty members in the back row.
[Looks like he blew it away.]
‘That momf*cker must be planning to follow his mother.’
My mind went blank.
Not a single word from Ayeon’s script remained in my head.
But now, everyone was waiting for my speech.
Standing there like a deer in headlights while saying nothing would result in the worst outcome.
I cleared my throat and spoke as gently as possible.
“Dear everyone.”
“Starting with a lie, huh? You little sh*t!!!”
A sharp rebuttal.
This time, it was a student.
Given the dissatisfaction on his face, it was clear he was one whose money I had lost.
I immediately gave up on being polite.
I never cared about them anyways.
“That’s me. You little sh*ts.”
With that, everyone shot me open contempt and hatred.
It’s only natural for jeers and curses to follow.
Ignoring it, I shouted even louder than before.
“Who do you think owns this academy!”
“It’s the students!”
The voice came from a research student I had planted.
Not a bad response.
But.
That answer was a bit lacking.
It needed to be corrected properly.
“That’s right! But to be exact, it’s ‘people’!”
The hatred and contempt directed at me lessened a bit.
Instead, curiosity about my statement increased.
What the heck does ‘people’ mean?
What exactly would I call ‘people’?
To answer that question, I opened my mouth again.
“Students who learn at the academy!
The security department and ability users working tirelessly for safety!
Those preparing meals for everyday sustenance with buckets of sweat!
And research students contributing to society while sacrificing their very lives!”
I slammed my fist down on the podium.
As if to engrave it in their ears.
“All of them are ‘people’!!!”
Jeers and gasps began to erupt, disagreeing with my words.
Most of that came from the back row where professors and faculty gathered.
There were some from the students, but compared to the initial reactions, they were angels.
This time, I reached out to the ‘people’ and shouted.
“Then can you truly call yourselves the owners of the academy!”
A momentary silence fell.
Of course, they couldn’t respond.
Not only had I called them ‘people’ out of the blue, but I also just hit them with the owner question.
Instead, I was met with skeptical glances of “What the hell is this guy talking about?”
To smash down that wall of doubt, I spat out my next words forcefully.
“Naturally impossible! Because of them!”
I immediately pointed a finger.
Pointing sequentially at the professors in the back row, the faculty.
And even at the chief office who had been observing everything.
Slowly naming them, I slammed my fist down with all my might.
BANG!
“Greedy professors!
BANG!!!
“Filthy faculty members!
*BANG!!!!!
“Pigs worse than pigs, chief!”
As if they recognized my seriousness, the suspicious glances from earlier vanished.
Instead, the ‘people’ took on an attitude as if to say, “Go on, speak!”
It was an opportunity.
Now was the time to strike.
“Who are they!”
Suddenly, I felt pain in my hand.
A quick look revealed that the shards from the broken podium had sliced into my hand and blood was flowing.
But my mouth didn’t stop at all.
Because.
“You took the place where the owners should sit!
And you guys, too busy trampling on and exploiting those who deserve to be treated as true owners!”
The pent-up anger I had kept inside started to spill out.
Moreover.
Once the dam of my emotions broke.
“And above all!”
The contents within me could no longer be contained.
Instead.
“They are the ones stuffing their bellies with what the true owners rightfully deserve!”
I let everything flow out until nothing remained.
I brought the podium down harder than before.
The shards of the podium scattered everywhere.
Through them, my bloodshot gaze locked onto the ‘people’ in the front row.
“It’s because such f*cked up beings occupy the owners’ seats!!!
That’s why you can’t claim you are the owners!!!”
The front row of ‘people’ remained silent.
It was clear my statement was shocking.
But this was just the beginning.
This was just the start.
I opened my mouth again but with a slightly softer tone directed at them.
“Do you remember the ‘Human Rights Promotion Act’ commonly known as the ‘Kim Shinwoo Law’?”
“””We remember!!!”””
This time, the response came from a few research students.
But that wasn’t just a simple cheer.
Because.
Within their eyes shone tears.
Tears of resentment (??).
“Remember what happened when the Kim Shinwoo Law was introduced!
The professors throwing a fit! The faculty frothing at the mouth!
And the chief who turned a blind eye to it all!”
I could hear the sounds of sobbing students scattered in the audience.
To the weeping research students, I calmly asked.
“Did I do anything dangerous? Did I hold someone else’s life in my hands? Did I kill someone directly?”
“””No!!!”””
The research students strongly rebuffed while shedding tears.
No, it wasn’t true at all.
I too shouted with a heart-wrenching voice.
“I merely allowed those living a miserable life at the bottom!!!
To live as ‘people’!!! That’s all it is!!!”
In an instant, the space where I was speaking filled with sorrow (??).
The accumulated pain from the research students.
And the sadness expressed by the students towards that pain.
As a result, a wave of tears began to spread among them.
Against the backdrop of that weeping.
A surge of sorrow came crashing in.
“Is it so wrong for ‘people’ to live as ‘people’!!!”
By the time the weeping had subsided to some degree.
What remained was ash.
But this was far from the end.
Ash longs for embers.
Embers, in turn, long for bigger flames.
I slammed my fist on the podium once more.
To stir up the last spark from the ash.
“But!!!”
CRACK sounded like something breaking.
I might have thought the podium I slammed down couldn’t take it anymore and broke.
But what really cracked was.
“Those filthy bastards only made a fuss here because they happened to rise to the position of ‘people’!!!
While denying the fundamental rights that should be enjoyed by ‘people’!!!”
It was my patience.
I immediately raised a finger to point.
This time, it was at the group of professors and faculty.
“Do those dog-like bastards even look like ‘people’ to you?
I can’t understand that at all! And I don’t want to understand!”
The ugly beings erupted with insults and jeers.
But that wasn’t really important.
What truly mattered was different.
After the wave of sorrow passed, what was left with the ‘people’.
From there, finally.
The embers flared up.
The hatred against those who took the owners’ seats.
The resentment of the oppressed.
Those two combined to turn the ash into embers.
And it didn’t end there.
What seemed like an extinguishing ember.
“They will be the true goal of removing them from the owners’ seats!
So, ‘people’! Confirm it! Who the true enemy is!”
Finally, it became a wildfire.
“Look with your eyes! Listen with your ears! Reach out with your hands! And feel with your heart!
How ugly they are! How they devour the academy!
And their trashy acts trying to treat ‘people’ like slaves!”
The wildfire spread in an instant.
From one point, to all directions.
And wildly to everywhere the flames reached.
Quickly. Fiercely.
And roughly.
In the end, the wildfire ignited the flames of hatred among the ‘people’.
Before I knew it, the fire had grown to its maximum size.
I pointed my finger at those ugly beings.
“You wretched beings who dare sit in the owners’ seats yet continue to covet even more!!!
This time, even the ugly beings couldn’t respond to my pointing.
Because even the flames were glaring at them ferociously.
Thus, all they could do was.
Desperately hope the flames would go out while averting their fierce gazes.
I yelled with all my might, keeping my finger fixed.
“You will die!!! You won’t die trembling!!!
You will die pathetically like straw!!! Scattered to nothing without a trace!!!”
With that proclamation, I slammed down the podium which had barely held on until the end.
Thanks to that, my hand became a bloody mess, torn all over.
But I didn’t care.
I felt no pain at all.
Compared to the raging flames of anger.
This wasn’t anything.
“So all of you ‘people’ shout it out loud!”
With those words, I raised my hand high into the sky.
This was a banner, a symbol of an oath.
As I raised my hand, blood splattered everywhere.
Yet nobody was shocked, not a single soul was surprised.
“We are not slaves!!!”
“”””””””We are not slaves!!!””””””””
Instead, the flames of hatred ignited in the hearts of the ‘people’.
“We will become the true owners of the academy!!!”
“”””””””We will become the owners!!!””””””””
Using that blood as a sacrifice, it began to burn even fiercer.
The flames of hatred, resentment, and madness showed no signs of stopping.
The only thing that could stop them was the anesthetic of time.
The moment the flames began to wane, someone asked me.
“What are you?!”
“I am merely a worthless monkey that has yet to become ‘people’!”
Then someone else asked me.
“What is your promise?!”
“I haven’t completely defined it yet.”
“……Is that so.”
“But!!!”
Before disappointment could extinguish the flames.
I quickly raised my bloodied hand high.
“I swear on this worthless monkey’s hand! The second years will have early graduation!”
With that, the flames that were about to die regained their vigor.
Until the host mediating several times.
Finally, the flames extinguished, but I felt relieved, as if everything had been shown.
Just as I was about to return.
Suddenly the host grabbed me.
“Kim Shinwoo! One moment please.”
“What’s up?”
I was still breathing heavily, not having calmed down yet.
But the host calmly extended his hand to me as if nothing was wrong.
“Please pay for the podium damage before you leave.”
“Oh, f*ck.”
It looked sloppy, but surprisingly, he handled things pretty well.
*
