How to Survive as an Extra

Chapter 50

Lee Eunho pressed the vending machine and a warm drink rattled out.

“As expected, you... are always ahead of me.”

A lingering murmur. Then, he muttered to himself, “Then as now, in everything.”

“...”

Was the emotion Lee Eunho held for me not just resentment? What exactly happened in Gangneung...? Whatever it was, if my existence was influencing his actions, then that in itself was dangerous.

“The situation seems pretty difficult, for you to come all this way to find me.”

“...”

“Why don’t you just claim innocence? There’s no way you would have used forbidden drugs.”

“...If that were possible, I wouldn’t have come to find you.”

Was he already aware that he would lose the deliberation? That meant he also suspected who the exposer was. Sure enough, Lee Eunho mentioned the exposer first.

“Vice Principal Park Cheolyeong, he’s the mastermind behind this exposure, isn’t he?”

“Perhaps.”

“You don’t have to answer. Whether it’s circumstantial evidence or strong suspicion, I already know he doesn’t like me. It’s probably because I’m a cadet who received the Principal’s recommendation. He wants a higher position, after all.”

The more Lee Eunho excelled, the stronger the Principal’s position became. Therefore, Lee Eunho was a thorn in Park Cheolyeong’s side. Not a bad deduction. According to his character setting, I thought he had academic intelligence but no talent for this kind of thing.

“But one thing bothers me... The fact that you knew who the exposer was from the start, but have kept it a secret until now.”

Lee Eunho stared at the corners of my eyes, as if subtly pointing to my Demonic Eye.

“You must have seen it, with those eyes. Who the individual carrying two smartwatches was.”

Smartwatches were items. Since items possessed mana, his argument wasn’t far off. That is, if the exposer carried both of them around. However, Yun Jeongseop knew I possessed the Demonic Eye, so he didn’t take such a careless action.

“Why didn’t you tell everyone the truth from the beginning? If you had, we could have stopped it before things got out of hand.”

“Could have stopped it? In a situation where you can’t even manage your own deliberation?”

“If enough time had been given, the situation would have improved.”

Indeed, Choi Suhyuk was right. Lee Eunho was frustrating. Before his regression in the original story, he was so soft-hearted that he was even murdered by a colleague. The sparkling coffee I occasionally drank tasted unusually bitter.

“The reason I didn’t reveal the exposer is because there was nothing to gain.”

“What?”

“On the contrary, I might incur Park Cheolyeong’s displeasure, and it would be a meaningless testimony unless I could prove my Demonic Eye to the other cadets. More than anything, you and I aren’t in a relationship where we’d exchange help out of goodwill.”

“As expected, I just don’t understand you.”

“Then, shall I ask why you came to find me, whom you don’t understand, in the middle of the night?”

Lee Eunho briefly showed a bitter expression. But it was only for a moment; he soon swallowed a deep sigh and uttered words he clearly didn’t want to say.

“...Help me.”

It was an unexpected statement. And at the same time, it was the statement I had been waiting for. I had expected Lee Eunho to ask for help, but not so directly. Well, that probably meant he was desperate.

“That’s rather embarrassing to hear. Why don’t you just threaten me instead? With my eyes and my background as leverage.”

“I have no intention of surviving as disreputably as you.”

“Does that mean you’ll pay a suitable price for my help? Interesting.”

“You might regret it tomorrow morning. But, even so... you and I are in the same boat, having nowhere to return to.”

I didn’t know the real reason Lee Eunho wasn’t exposing my true identity, but one thing was certain: beyond the difference in our ways of thinking, sacrificing me for revenge wouldn’t hold much meaning.

As he said, even if I died in a Demonic Being execution ceremony, he would only feel momentary exhilaration. Even more so now, without his hometown people to rejoice with.

Therefore, making me live with guilt for the rest of my life—that would be the revenge he sought. The problem was that I didn’t feel much guilt at all.

I feigned ignorance and said, “But why do you think I can help?”

“If you couldn’t help, you wouldn’t have come out here after receiving my call. You know I didn’t just come to complain.”

“And you, you probably don’t think I’ll help easily either.”

“...I’m prepared for it.”

A hint of resolve was visible in his eyes. An atmosphere only felt from the Lee Eunho of the original story.

“Even I would find it hard to overturn the deliberation itself. But...”

“...?”

“There is a way to prevent the deliberation from even being held.”

“H-how exactly?”

“More importantly, I think my condition comes first.”

Lee Eunho’s Adam’s apple moved noticeably. He was nervous, unsure what condition I would propose. In truth, my condition had been set from the beginning. Even if Lee Eunho hadn’t sought me out, I had intended to conclude this episode myself. I curled one corner of my lip, as if mocking his nervous state.

“Withdraw your club withdrawal application. If you do that, I’ll cleanly resolve this exposure.”

“...My withdrawal wasn’t just a decision for myself. And the Vice Principal is involved too.”

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not begging you to stay in the club; I’m saying hand over your authority to me.”

“...”

“And Park Cheolyeong... Is there a problem with him? Your staunch ally will arrive soon.”

Principal Kim Shinwoo. The moment he returned to Hero Prep, Park Cheolyeong would quiet down as if he had never rebelled.

“As expected, I still don’t understand you.”

“You’re not saying you don’t like the condition.”

“...Never mind that, just tell me the method.”

The method, of course, was to act before the deliberation could be held. The grounds for this deliberation were based on the possibility of the exposure being true.

Conversely, if Park Cheolyeong, the mastermind of the exposure, became the victim of an exposure, he would naturally have no choice but to deny the deliberation. In other words, I just needed to use the Countdown to expose a false rumor about Park Cheolyeong. And in a field that he absolutely couldn’t deny.

Of course, I would have to reveal the fact that I had rooted a smartwatch, but there was no possibility that he would suddenly suspect me as the exposer. Not only did I confirm the arrival of the exposure message in the same place, but just as I didn’t believe Lee Eunho’s exposure, he wouldn’t believe that I had made the exposure.

Well, whatever the circumstances, using the message presented in the original story as is would be fine. To be precise, the one Lee Eunho had written. Furthermore, giving it a slight alteration would also be acceptable. After all, Lee Eunho wasn’t the only protagonist of this episode.

“The method is simple.”

I raised my wrist and continued.

“To become the exposer myself.”

***

A few minutes before midnight.

In a forest on the border of Seoul’s District 5 and 4th Scholastic District. Vice Principal Park Cheolyeong grabbed the collar of Yun Jeongseop, who wasn’t even properly dressed.

“What in the world is this, Cadet! You should have hidden Park Oseok’s watch properly!”

“I double-checked, but there were no signs of theft. Nor any signs of it being returned, of course...”

“Then are you saying a ghost appeared and sent a message like this?!”

Park Cheolyeong, still clutching his collar with one hand, raised his wrist. A Countdown message radiated from his smartwatch.

-Count 0: ‘Park Cheolyeong’ is mana-insensitive.

The exposed target was, strangely enough, Vice Principal Park Cheolyeong.

“If it’s not a ghost, then you yourself exposed me. And you fabricated a lie!”

“I swear I didn’t do it.”

“Didn’t you? You’re mana-insensitive, aren’t you? Why would ’mana insensitivity’ be written on the message that just arrived? It must be a protest directed at me! How dare you repay kindness with hostility, you who were so insignificantly dumped by Dispel?”

“I swear...”

“Silence! I just checked the footage around your research lab! No one approached after Count 1! Do you still have anything to say?!”

“...I swear it wasn’t me.”

Park Cheolyeong threw Yun Jeongseop to the ground with all his might.

CRASH.

A thick cloud of dust and a heavy thud erupted as his back hit the ground. Perhaps it was an attack imbued with mana, as blood began to trickle from the corner of Yun Jeongseop’s mouth.

“Why don’t you just say you have a perception-inhibiting ability that cameras can’t capture? Say that someone in the school possesses an ability that even the Phantom Thief doesn’t have!”

“...”

“It was just one step! For this humble dream! For your lifelong wish! I only took one step!”

Park Cheolyeong had already let go of his collar and was unilaterally stomping on Yun Jeongseop. Repeatedly.

“Gasp!”

If Yun Jeongseop could have emitted mana, he might have been able to withstand some of the impact, but for a mana-insensitive person, it was impossible to even try. However, Yun Jeongseop neither dodged the attacks nor parried them; he received all of Park Cheolyeong’s stomps. As if trying to assert his innocence with his body.

“How ridiculous, both your state and mine. Thanks to this, Lee Eunho’s deliberation will also have to be withdrawn. Perhaps I’ll even have to prove that I’m not mana-insensitive in front of the cadets.”

“...”

“Do you know why I’m even angrier? It’s because tomorrow morning, gossip will surely spread that I’m mana-insensitive. If I prove my mana, people will say that my skills are so poor that I’m suspected of being mana-insensitive, and no matter how great an achievement I make, they’ll always bring up mana insensitivity and question me. All thanks to you. This matter was ruined because of your impatience.”

“I swear... Gasp!”

Again, dust rose. Along with it, Yun Jeongseop’s blood mixed with the mud.

“Go to Hero Prep right now and clean up this mess. First, smash Park Oseok’s watch. ...You’ll have to undo this before the Principal returns. Annihilate it so that the old man can’t even take an interest in this matter.”

Park Cheolyeong grabbed the blood-stained Yun Jeongseop with one hand and lifted him to his eye level.

“This is my last chance to show you grace as your superior. Remember, if I fall, you will fall too.”

“...”

“Unless you want to be confined in Muspel.”

***

Campus holiday, Friday.

The episode Countdown was completed.

[Episode completed.]

[630 Remake Coins awarded.]

[Additional rewards for episode fluctuations will be added.]

[1,635 Remake Coins awarded.]

The basic reward for the last Main Episode was 590. The fact that this reward was 630 meant that the outcome did not deviate significantly from the original story’s progression. Simply put, it could be said to have been ’very effective.’

As if to prove it, cadets were chattering about Park Cheolyeong from early morning, and naturally, the dominant argument was that the revelation about Lee Eunho was false.

Today’s scheduled deliberation was also canceled. Most of the other victims’ exposures were also dismissed as rumors, and even Lee Ukjin’s deliberation was called off. Even though his deliberation was under the Student Council’s jurisdiction.

Even amidst this rapid shift in perception, exceptions existed.

“I told you. Does that social care beneficiary bastard and Cha Yeri make sense?”

“Yeah, I should have noticed from the message... But then, what about that guy getting extorted?”

“When you’re telling a lie, you have to mix in a bit of truth. He just threw out a plausible exposure as bait.”

“Then only Cha Yeri became pitiful. Her image was ruined for being mentioned alongside him for no reason.”

“What image does Cha Yeri have to ruin? If her image were a metal, she’d be Platium. Not a single scratch.”

This was the gossip I overheard about myself while having lunch at Grand Pistachio a moment ago. I had no intention of refuting the exposure content as truth, but Park Cheolyeong’s issue was so hot that my insults were quickly buried. More than anything, the food was so delicious that I had no time to be upset.

Anyway, after finishing breakfast, the place I headed to was the Hall of Justice, the main building of the Investigation Division. This was because Yun Jeongseop, who was busy with cleanup, had sent a club activity message.

“It’s surprising, actually... I thought he wouldn’t do club activities.”

Soon, the elevator arrived in the lobby, and I pressed the floor button and was about to press the close button out of habit when I spotted a figure running toward the elevator and held the open button.

“Aren’t you getting on?”

“...”

It was Yun Jeongseop. He hesitated in front of the elevator door, showing an undecided posture, but soon ended his internal conflict and stepped into the elevator.

“Doors closing.”

“Instructor, you run for the elevator too.”

“Because I’m Korean.”

“But why did you run, yet not get on?”

“Because there’s an uncomfortable person here.”

“Well, did you commit a crime or something?”

“...”

Silence. The elevator’s speed felt unusually long. Even if this world was steeped in the scent of steampunk, was it really this slow?

“Doors opening.”

The elevator finally arrived. But Yun Jeongseop made no move to get off this time. I looked at him pointedly and stepped into the hallway first, at which point his question burst out.

“...What’s happening with the Elixir?”

A sudden question. But the intention of the question was clear. Yun Jeongseop was wavering. I calmly responded, suppressing the involuntary upward curl of my lips.

“I’m trying quite hard for a cadet. But it’s not some cheap potion sold at a convenience store, you know.”

“Is that so... I suppose so...”

His voice seemed lower than usual, deeply subdued. Yun Jeongseop’s already weary expression had turned into something noir overnight.

“But it’s not entirely pessimistic.”

“...?”

“They say there’s an ability information update before the Spring Scholastic War the week after next, don’t they? When I report my Demonic Eye to the Bureau then, won’t people from all over Seoul bring items, asking, ’Please confirm if the Elixir I have is genuine or not’? Well, one could hope for something like that.”

“The moment you reveal that, your life will be in danger. Because in this world, an ability too outstanding is poison.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve gained quite a good backer.”

“Backer?”

“Besides, I promised to help you, Instructor... Ah! But if I reveal my Demonic Eye, it would be as if that promise never happened, wouldn’t it? Or perhaps I’d gain leverage over you instead...”

“...”

For a moment, Yun Jeongseop’s expression, his facial muscles, twitched. His Adam’s apple also moved simultaneously. I didn’t know how he would take my words, but it was undoubtedly an effective reaction. Now, all that was left was to observe. I consciously looked around the hallway once and said, “But aren’t you getting off?”

“Oh...?”

“Don’t you want to walk to the classroom with me?”

“...No, I should get off.”