How to Take Revenge as an Academy Scoundrel

Chapter 16. Smoke

“Fuck!”

Bang!

Woo Tae-sung kicked an innocent trash can, seething with anger.

“That b*stard is really something. Hah….”

Perhaps his anger was a bit slow to rise; it was only now, far from the music room where Kim Do-jin was, that Woo Tae-sung unleashed his fury.

“What can we do, huh?”

“You hold it in.”

The gang beside him bowed and tried to calm him, but Woo Tae-sung’s rage showed no signs of abating.

“Just because I play nice with the money source, does he think I’m his servant to fillet his fish bones? I offered to share a bit of my bounty, and he thinks he can gobble it all up? Damn it, the fish I fillet is for me to eat, right?”

It was curious why he was only now throwing a fit when he hadn’t said a word before.

Yet the gang nodded along, echoing Woo Tae-sung’s words.

“Ugh, damn….”

Finally, as his anger began to subside, Woo Tae-sung’s mind quickly spiraled back into darker thoughts.

And after some time had passed.

“……!”

As if a good idea had struck him, he suddenly opened his eyes wide and turned his head toward the music room where Kim Do-jin was.

“Yeah. I’ll take what’s mine, you b*stard.”

In Woo Tae-sung’s eyes, a dark malice simmered.

* * *

Time continued to flow, and Saturday arrived.

It was now the seventh day since he had possessed this reckless body.

Kim Do-jin planned to set out early in the morning to grow this fool as quickly as possible.

The destination was Daemamsan in Inje-gun, Gangwon-do.

—

Of course, it wasn’t a place to wear a school uniform, so I opened the wardrobe and rummaged through the clothes.

“Oh… it’s more impressive than I thought.”

No wonder he was the heir of South Korea’s top conglomerate; every piece of clothing was a high-priced luxury item.

“Now, this is nice.”

Kim Do-jin took out various outfits, marveling at them, before settling on today’s attire.

A neat pair of black training pants and a black hoodie.

Finally, he adjusted his outfit while looking in the mirror and pulled out his smartphone, turning on the screen.

[Im So-hee – When can I go out?]

[Kim Do-jin – Come out exactly at 9 o’clock.]

[Im So-hee – Got it. See you later……!]

[Kim Do-jin – Okay.]

There was still plenty of time until the meeting.

So, while he played with Winter, the phone rang.

[Caller: Secretary Jin Seo-hyun]

It was the call from Secretary Jin Seo-hyun, who he had considered taking a taxi to Gangwon-do.

As it turned out, Kim Do-jin had a personal secretary who assisted him with everything from driving to menial tasks, so there was no reason not to accept that help.

– Tick.

Kim Do-jin held the smartphone to his cheek and spoke.

“Yes.”

[Really?]

“Oh, uh.”

[Huh… I thought you were losing your mind again. It’s creepy to hear you speak so formally……. Anyway, I’m here, so when will you come down?]

“I told you, I’ll come down at 8:50.”

[Yes, I’ll wait in the car!]

– Tick.

Kim Do-jin hung up and let out a wry smile.

Even when he first learned of the secretary’s existence and called, he hadn’t expected their relationship to be this casual, using formal speech.

Despite the professional hierarchy, gender, and a six-year age difference, it seemed he and Kim Do-jin were quite close.

‘What kind of story do I have with this guy? Or maybe it’s just that he has a peculiar personality…’

As he absentmindedly stroked Winter’s belly, he realized the time was drawing near.

“Let us go, Winter.”

Kim Do-jin soon fastened the leash onto Winter and stepped out through the front door.

“What’s that puppy?”

After a while, as he opened the dormitory’s main gate, Jin Seo-hyun, the secretary, suddenly popped up beside him, her voice curious.

“Oh! You startled me.”

Her neat appearance, clad in a sharp black suit, complemented by a well-kept bob, was striking.

Kim Do-jin observed Jin’s features, which were quite similar to what he had imagined, and replied.

“Winter.”

“Winter? Where did you adopt him all of a sudden?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Eh…?”

Jin, for a moment, affectionately patted Winter, but soon made her way to the driver’s seat of the car parked right in front of the gate.

Naturally, the car was a gleaming, top-of-the-line sedan.

‘Looks like it’s been modified too.’

Kim Do-jin admired the vehicle for a moment before getting into the back seat with Winter.

“Where to, young master?”

“The women’s dormitory.”

“Excuse me?”

“Park the car in front of the women’s dormitory gate. Someone’s coming to get me.”

“….”

Jin stared blankly for a moment, as if caught off guard, before speaking.

“Your fiancée?”

Kim Do-jin met Jin’s gaze in the mirror and answered.

“No.”

“Then… a girlfriend?”

“…Something like that.”

Jin wore a puzzled expression, but she refrained from prying further.

“Yes, sir.”

Jin parked the car right in front of the women’s dormitory building, and after a short while, as expected, Lim So-hee appeared.

– Click.

Kim Do-jin deliberately opened the car door and stepped out to greet Im So-hee.

“Ah!”

Im So-hee flinched at the sight of him, then quickly lowered her head and scurried over.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“Crazy… Is Kim Do-jin really here to pick up Im So-hee? …Why?”

Naturally, the students passing by glanced over, whispering among themselves, and that was exactly what Kim Do-jin had hoped for.

‘This should keep Woo Tae-sung and his gang at bay.’

Rumors would surely spread about him dating Im So-hee because of this, but it was all a mess anyway, so it wouldn’t hurt much.

“Get in.”

Kim Do-jin helped Im So-hee into the back seat, where she had rushed to meet him.

But for some reason, Im So-hee was glowing with embarrassment, drawing even more attention from onlookers.

‘This should be enough.’

Kim Do-jin soon joined her in the back seat, slamming the door shut with a thud.

And then, at that moment.

“Whoa…!”

Seeing Im So-hee still glowing, Secretary Jin expressed his surprise.

“Oh, hello…”

Im So-hee, flustered, bowed her head in greeting to Secretary Jin, who had caught her gaze.

“Yes, hello. I’ve never seen someone with such a radiant aura before. You’re truly dazzlingly cute.”

“Woof!”

I shook my head vigorously, addressing Secretary Jin.

“Just get us out of the Arc.”

Secretary Jin nodded and replied before starting the engine, and only then did Im So-hee stop glowing and look up at Kim Do-jin.

“Um… Is this okay?”

Kim Do-jin, noticing Winter perched on Im So-hee’s thigh, playfully nuzzling her, replied.

“What’s okay?”

“Doing that in front of people…”

Im So-hee seemed more concerned about Kim Do-jin’s position than her own, but that worry was pointless.

What image could possibly fall further with this reckless fool?

“Oh, it’s fine. More importantly, where should I drop you off?”

“Uh? Ah….”

Im So-hee mumbled, her voice slipping out like a whisper.

“Anywhere is fine….”

As she began to glow softly once more, Kim Do-jin tilted his head in confusion.

‘What is this? …Does she want to follow me?’

Originally, his suggestion had been simple: he didn’t know what plans she had for the weekend, but they could at least go out together beyond the Arc.

He wanted to create a rumor that he genuinely liked her.

But he never imagined she would want to follow him as if it were a real date, so after a moment of thought, he replied.

“Then I’ll drop you off in front of Mapo Station. Should I send a car for you when you want to return to the Arc?”

To this, Im So-hee responded with a face that seemed oddly disappointed.

“Yeah… it’s fine….”

Anyway, he dropped her off in front of Mapo Station, and the car moved on again.

“Where to now, young master?”

“Daemasan in Gangwon-do.”

“Excuse me? Why there?”

“To hike.”

“…Of all places?”

“Uh.”

About two hours passed since then.

‘I really miss my flying powers…’

If he were in his true form, he would have arrived at their destination long ago using his ability to fly.

But here he was, sitting still in the car for two whole hours…

“Ha….”

As Kim Do-jin let out a deep sigh, lamenting his pitiful state, it was then that he heard her voice.

“Is this good?”

Finally, the car arrived near Daemasan.

“Yeah. I’ll be back in about two hours, so just come back here then.”

“Huh? I want to hike too!”

“I don’t want to.”

“Yes, sir.”

—

Thus, Kim Do-jin stepped out of the car with Winter and gazed up at the mountain peak.

It was a mountain of considerable size, rising over 1,000 meters above sea level, but knowing the location of their target, the journey would not take long.

“Let’s go.”

At those words, Winter, who had been as bored as Kim Do-jin, began to bark excitedly and sprint ahead.

“Woof!”

After running for a while, when no signs of life were in sight, Kim Do-jin suddenly halted Winter.

“Wait a moment.”

“Woof?”

Without further explanation, Kim Do-jin abruptly climbed onto Winter.

No, to be precise, he wedged himself between Winter’s legs.

“…Woof.”

Winter looked up, a puzzled expression on his face, as if to ask what on earth this was all about.

“Give me a ride.”

“Woof.”

Now understanding the intent, Winter finally tapped into his long-dormant powers.

Vroom!

Though Winter was a Shiba Inu, weighing just under 10 kg—barely a small to medium-sized dog—he was no longer that.

“Is this still the limit?”

As Winter’s body gradually expanded, he ultimately grew to about twice the size of a tiger, and Kim Do-jin, perched on his nape, surveyed the surroundings.

“Still, this size is just right for riding. Now, shall we practice a bit?”

With a firm grip on the fur at Winter’s nape, he gave the command, and Winter took off at a gallop.

“Woof!”

Being a creature imbued with mana, Winter was strong, and he swiftly traversed the mountain path at a speed that far surpassed that of a horse.

‘More useful as a mount than I expected.’

After a considerable run, they finally arrived at their destination.

Passing through a place known as the Dragon Marsh, they stood before a peculiar rock formation that Kim Do-jin had seen once before.

Hidden here was the ‘Naedan’ that he sought.