The news that the two top students at Eungwang High had both achieved perfect scores quickly spread far and wide.

At the same time, the longstanding jinx that the first and second places at Eungwang High would remain unchanged through the college entrance exam was broken.

‘Last year, it was Do Won-woo and Woo Ki-hwan.’

In last year’s notoriously difficult exam, Do Won-woo scored a perfect score, while Woo Ki-hwan missed one question and fell just slightly short of a perfect score.

The difficulty was so extreme that the gap between them and the third place was huge, and the two secured first and second places alone in the college entrance exam.

Still, this year’s exam was said not to have been as difficult as last year’s.

However, it was confirmed that nationwide, only those two received perfect scores.

The official results had not yet been released, so this was based on preliminary scoring, but among the top students in the mock exams, only Yeom Jun-yeol and Cheon Dong-ha had perfect scores.

Although the gap between them and the students behind was smaller than last year, it was still an incredible achievement.

‘They got the same score, but the spotlight is on Yeom Jun-yeol.’

Yeom Jun-yeol had taken first place in his first year, but from the second year onward, he had been overshadowed by Cheon Dong-ha, always settling for second place.

Considering the power Hongryong held, rankings were a trivial matter, and second place was still a very respectable position.

But for the person himself and his fans, it was normal to care deeply about it.

Even if Yeom Jun-yeol accepted the results humbly, whenever he saw Cheon Dong-ha’s name above his own, his mind couldn’t help but linger.

Also, celebrating second place was fine, but no matter how much he tried to ignore it, fans were constantly provoked by anti-fans teasing, “Yeah, your Hongryong is still only second place,” leading to fierce and bitter fights.

So this result was good news not only for Yeom Jun-yeol but also for many who supported him.

Besides, since Yeom Jun-yeol took second place, if anyone tried to pick a fight, it might really have ended with dragons and lions going head to head in a showdown.

“I was going to take first place alone this time with a perfect score, but it didn’t work out.”

A little before the festival, when visiting the student council hall as a class officer, Yeom Jun-yeol unexpectedly met Cheon Dong-ha, who had come for a similar purpose.

Yeom Jun-yeol was also there, and Cheon Dong-ha spoke playfully.

“When Won-woo got a perfect score and took first place alone, the news videos and article views went quite high. I wanted that too. Even thinking back, it’s a pity.”

“Haha, when the final results come out and it’s confirmed that you and I both got perfect scores, the views will be even higher than last year’s. You said you wanted attention, right? Then sharing first place with me wouldn’t be bad at all.”

Yeom Jun-yeol didn’t back down and retorted.

Videos and articles with the name of the star player Hongryong would surely get more attention and views than when it was Do Won-woo alone, whether the first place was shared or not.

If someone who disliked Hongryong had heard that, they might have been annoyed, but since there was no bad blood between him and Cheon Dong-ha, he didn’t think that way.

Personally, Yeom Jun-yeol’s clear understanding of his own fame and popularity and the way he fired back was admirable and cool.

“That’s true. Still, I wanted to keep winning, so I’m disappointed.”

Until a moment ago, it had sounded like a joke, but somehow the tone of regret sounded sincere.

Cheon Dong-ha was looking at Yeom Jun-yeol with serious eyes.

Now that he thought about it, he had always known that Cheon Dong-ha felt disappointed whenever Yeom Jun-yeol placed second, but he never really knew what was going through the mind of the one who took first place.

In the case of Do Won-woo, he didn’t care if Woo Ki-hwan howled or went crazy.

But Cheon Dong-ha’s rival wasn’t a fanatic like Woo Ki-hwan, but his friend Yeom Jun-yeol, so the feelings had to be different.

“You wanted to keep winning?”

“Yes.”

Yeom Jun-yeol raised his eyebrows after asking once again.

His gaze showed all the feelings built up from two years of being second.

In a low voice, Yeom Jun-yeol said.

“...Dong-ha, I thought you weren’t really interested in grades. You always seemed to take first place for granted.”

“That’s impossible. You studied with me and know better—Eungwang High’s exams are not easy.”

Cheon Dong-ha answered with a smile.

Since the person who always took first place in that tough exam said so, it wasn’t very convincing, but sincerity was felt.

Unlike expectations, Cheon Dong-ha, who seemed to run ahead looking only forward from the top like Do Won-woo, was thinking deeply.

“It’s because you were there that I worked harder. I could see you right behind me, and I didn’t want to give up first place.”

“Dong-ha...”

Yeom Jun-yeol’s eyes widened in surprise, as if he never imagined that Cheon Dong-ha was thinking that way.

There was no mirror nearby to see his own face, but he guessed his expression was probably similar.

Cheon Dong-ha looked at Yeom Jun-yeol and then at me and spoke lightly. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“I’ll win the final exam this time. The gift from Eui-shin before entering the exam room seemed effective, so give me another one.”

That much was easy to prepare.

Would it be better to prepare chocolate and hot packs just like last time?

The college entrance exam and the third-year final exams had little time between them due to the academic schedule, so it might be better to prepare something different, but superstitiously it seemed good to bring the same.

Thanks to the lighthearted mood broken by involving me, Yeom Jun-yeol also answered brightly.

“Haha, Eui-shin will give me one too, so it won’t work. We might get perfect scores together like the college entrance exam.”

“You’ve never gotten a perfect score on a school exam yet.”

“This might be the time.”

Of course, I would prepare gifts for both of them.

Maybe because of those two, rumors would spread that my gifts were effective, so it might be better to prepare plenty.

Seeing the two talking so casually, even if it meant spending a lot on gifts, it wouldn’t feel like a waste.

While I was calculating costs and scheduling the orders in my head, Cheon Dong-ha looked back at me.

“Oh, was that something I shouldn’t have said in front of a junior? Still, I hope it gave something to the junior who always gets second place.”

Cheon Dong-ha’s gaze turned beyond the meeting room door.

Only the three of us were there now, but sounds approached from outside.

Other officers who had gone to get office supplies and extra desks were entering the meeting room where we were.

Because a joint steering committee was to be formed for the upcoming Eungwang High festival, students from four autonomous groups were mixed together.

Of course, Joo Suhyuk and Ahn Da-in were among them.

It seemed Cheon Dong-ha’s words were meant with those two in mind, the eternal top students of our grade.

‘Still, only those two are the top students of our grade. Neither I nor the White Tiger must get involved.’

If I made even a small mistake and took first place, it would be a nerve-wracking situation.

Just imagining the White Tiger happily taking first place gave me chills.

Just as I shook off the fearful thought, Kim Yuri, who was moving desks with Ahn Da-in, noticed me and called out.

“Ah, Eui-shin! So you were here. Did you come to get the festival event theme candidates reviewed by the class?”

“Yeah, and also to get invitation tickets to give to outside guests. I thought it’d be better to have the actual tickets early.”

Then Ahn Da-in and Joo Suhyuk, who were nearby, naturally joined our conversation.

They were the next student council president and disciplinary captain, but since they were still class president and vice president of Class 2-1, they had to pay attention to class matters too.

When the festival of Class 0 came up, they showed interest.

“Has Class 0’s theme already been decided? We haven’t yet.”

“You’re fast. Since Yuri and Eui-shin are here, it must have been decided quickly.”

“Hahaha, it’s not finalized yet! We just came to get the candidates reviewed to see if there are any problems.”

“Oh... because of the incidents caused by Class 0 before, we were advised to get the themes reviewed in advance.”

Because of many bizarre events caused by Geum Chan-wang, Do Won-woo, and their gang during festivals, the steering committee had recommended that themes be checked before deciding.

That didn’t mean those guys wouldn’t cause trouble, but the management was doing their best to prepare.

Of course, our class was different.

Only very normal themes were among the candidates.

Joo Suhyuk asked without selfishness.

“Class 0 performed around a maze last year, right? How about this year?”

“There was talk of performing, but it’s difficult. Miro is busy, and so are the others.”

Guseulbi and Ong Gildong had difficulty letting go of the idea of a performance even though they knew it was difficult.

So they included it as a candidate, but it was probably impossible.

Because the festival was brought forward by everyone’s cooperation, there ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) was no time to practice, and it was hard for class members to gather on time.

There were still chances to discuss, but everyone’s minds were already united.

“The strongest candidate is a tea house.”

“Oh, that fits well. I’ve been there a few times and enjoyed it. Their menu selection was always good.”

Joo Suhyuk, who often came to our class when fewer students were attending school, nodded.

But then he looked a little worried.

Joo Suhyuk and Ahn Da-in seemed to share the same concern.

“If you plan to do a café, you should hurry to secure the space. We’ll check the central area.”

“Yeah, we’ll help too. It’d be best to find the largest and best place.”

They opened a hologram of the central hall in front of them and started discussing.

Though I appreciated their help, there was no need for that.

So to save them trouble, I said.

“If we do it, it will be in our classroom...”

My words suddenly quieted the surroundings.

Not only Joo Suhyuk and Ahn Da-in, but also Yeom Jun-yeol, Cheon Dong-ha, and even Kim Yuri who had been talking a few steps away, blinked and looked my way.

Cheon Dong-ha was the first to speak coldly.

“The classroom won’t do. Considering the scale, the waiting time will be long, and the line will be too long. Those who come late and can’t get in may cause a disturbance. Other booths nearby will be disturbed, and a lot of manpower will be needed to manage it.”

“That’s true. Unless you limit the number of people with invitation tickets from the start like I did, there will be hundreds of underclassmen at our school who can enter without tickets. The normal size of a classroom can’t handle that.”

After Cheon Dong-ha, Yeom Jun-yeol spoke seriously as well.

Maybe it was because our class had celebrities like Dokgo Miro and Mingrin.

Dokgo Miro couldn’t stay at the festival all the time, and Mingrin was expected to manage the exhibition rather than the café, but their opinions were completely ignored.

Other officers gathered and started discussing the location.

Kim Yuri seemed to have predicted this.

“Eui-shin, I was planning from the start to rent a large space if we do the café. And...”

Kim Yuri looked at the invitation ticket application I had written and smiled as if she expected this.

“You’ll need several times more than that. Otherwise, it’ll be a big problem.”

The nature of the big problem Kim Yuri mentioned became clear shortly after.

Even though it wasn’t confirmed that the café would happen, messages demanding invitation tickets poured into my device.