NOVEL WEB Chapter 4 - Concept Holder
To kidnap Seo Ga-eul, I needed a connection point first.
I had to run into her somewhere, right?
While contemplating various methods, the admission documents for Yeongsa High School caught my eye.
Yeongsa High School was an institution that educated and nurtured adolescent Awakeners.
So, at this time, there was a high chance that Seo Ga-eul was attending this school as well.
It seemed like Baek Yeoul, who was standing in front of me, was also a student at this school, so I could easily get an answer by asking her.
So, when I asked, “Does Seo Ga-eul go to this school too?” the expression of Baek Yeoul, the high school girl who had been looking at me pitifully as if I were a UNICEF starving child, turned cold instantly.
“Seo Ga-eul?”
I could tell just by looking at her twitching facial muscles that Baek Yeoul and Seo Ga-eul didn’t get along well.
I’m quick to catch onto things like that.
People who are smart tend to be sharp like that.
“I’m leaving.”
Baek Yeoul abruptly turned her head and left my house.
The men in suits followed her out, along with the loan sharks I was planning to bury in the yard, all hurrying out of the house.
“What? I need to ask about kidnapping.”
But well, does it matter?
The loan sharks would definitely come back to my house to try and extort money from me again.
More importantly, the pork belly I bought wasn’t enough for me to share anyway.
How great is it that they left on their own?
There’s an old saying: if you can’t share, don’t even let the smoke out of the chimney.
Sizzle sizzle—.
The pork belly I grilled for the first time in years was so delicious it brought tears to my eyes.
# # #
Three days had passed since I returned to the past.
“The victims, including Mr. Kim Tae-yang and two others, were involved in loan sharking and were under investigation for assault and murder. Police are focusing on the possibility of revenge killings─.”
“No way, those bastards are dead?”
Early in the morning, the news on TV snapped me to attention.
It seemed someone had taken care of the loan sharks.
I had planned to ask those guys for a “foolproof kidnapping method” without any aftereffects, so I couldn’t help but be angry.
Whoever interfered with my plans, I promised myself I’d kick them in the groin when we met later.
Damn bastard!
At this point, I had to figure out the kidnapping method from ‘A’ to ‘Z’ on my own.
But there was no need to worry.
Who am I?
I’m Han Nam-jin, the smartest of all middle school dropouts.
“The original plan is to adapt as you go.”
Slurp, slurp—.
After filling up on some ramen with ssamjang, it was already 7:30 in the morning.
The school started at 8 a.m., right?
Creak—.
When I stepped outside after closing the rusty iron gate, the weather was pleasantly warm.
The only uncomfortable thing was that the school uniform I hadn’t worn since first year was tight and suffocating.
It used to feel a bit loose when I was a first-year in high school.
“Looks like I’ll have to get a new uniform tailored.”
I glanced at the students passing by on the street.
Kids around my age were wearing uniforms that looked like they were heading in the same direction, and if I wasn’t mistaken, that Nazi-looking outfit was the Yeongsa High School uniform.
The design, which seemed to prioritize aesthetics over practicality, stood out.
Would I have to wear something like that if I became a student?
The thought of looking like an imperialist supporter made me shiver, but I calmed down quickly.
After all, I was only enrolling in Yeongsa High School to get close to Seo Ga-eul.
Once I successfully kidnapped her, there’d be no need to continue attending school.
In a world that would collapse a year later, a high school diploma would be worth less than toilet paper.
Honestly, graduation certificates and diplomas are made of A4 paper, so they’re too rough to even use as toilet paper.
As I was lost in such thoughts, I soon arrived at the gates of Yeongsa High School.
“This place is huge.”
It felt more like a university campus than a high school.
I’d heard they bought a failed university’s campus because of the lack of new students.
From what I gathered, they even had a university program here.
“Who’s that?”
“Why is his uniform different?”
“Is he a transfer student?”
It seemed I stood out in this strange place.
Well, I was the only one with a different uniform, so it couldn’t be helped.
Yeongsa High School uniforms cost over a million won, so I couldn’t afford one right away and had to wear the uniform from my old high school.
My navy uniform looked ridiculously outdated, even to me.
I took the admission papers and headed towards the main building of Yeongsa High School.
The main building looked like the Blue House where the old presidents used to live, so it wasn’t hard to find.
At 8 a.m., the staff had already arrived for work, so I approached the reception desk where the kindest-looking lady was sitting and asked.
“Excuse me. I’m here for the admission process.”
“Hm? Oh, show me the documents.”
Swish—. Flip—.
The female staff member began looking through the documents I handed her.
I stared at her face intently for a while.
I was trying to use the “Emotion Reader” I received from Seo Ga-eul.
But no special text appeared.
There was definitely some rule to how the 《Emotion Reader》 worked, and after three days since returning to the past, I was starting to get a vague sense of it.
“You’re Han Nam-jin, right? It’s been about a month since your Awakener test? Haven’t had another test since?”
“I haven’t. It costs two million won just for one test.”
They said it required the latest equipment for testing.
They used that as an excuse to draw my blood and drain me of a ton of money—real thieves.
“Then we’ll have to do a simplified test. Since you Awakened not long ago, you’re probably still a first-stage Awakener. We need to confirm to assign you to a class.”
“Whatever it is, just do it quickly.”
“Alright, follow me.”
I followed the staff member into a white lab-like room.
A huge MRI-like machine greeted me, and it was round and cylindrical, looking quite grand.
“Lie down here.”
Swish—.
As soon as I lay down on the hard and uncomfortable device, a large cylindrical machine began to rotate above me with a loud buzzing noise.
I’d been lying there for about five minutes when I started to get bored.
“How long do I have to stay like this?”
“Don’t talk. This machine is imbued with the concept of ‘examination’. It’s a national treasure, and there are only two in the world. If it breaks because you mess with it, it’ll be a huge problem.”
“Noona, do you have a boyfriend? How do you feel about younger guys?”
“I said don’t talk!”
Anyway, that’s how the test ended, and as I sat idly in the admissions office, the staff lady said to me,
“It’s a simple concept test, so the results will be out in 10 minutes. Just sit tight.”
“Concept?”
“You don’t know? If you acquire the concept of ‘muscle’, you gain strength. If someone possesses the concept of ‘lizard’, even if their arm is cut off, it’ll grow back like a lizard’s tail. Don’t you know how Awakeners gain their abilities?”
Someone had recently asked me a similar question.
It was Seo Ga-eul.
I never expected to be reminded of our fateful meeting like this.
“They say abilities come from strong desires, right?”
“That’s right. When the strong desires of teenagers meet with powerful resonance, they can become second-stage Awakeners who possess a specific ‘concept’. About 30 percent of Awakeners reach that stage.”
A “Concept Holder” is among the top 30 percent of Awakeners.
In other words, this test was to determine whether I was in the top 30 percent or the bottom 70 percent.
“New Awakeners usually don’t possess any concepts, so don’t be too disappointed with the results. With enough training and education, people eventually discover their talents. Ah, the data’s out!”
The staff lady exclaimed brightly as she looked at the paper coming out of the printer.
Then, she seemed startled, scratching the back of her head in confusion.
“What the heck? You have two concepts…!? Chief! Chief!”
The lady rushed off somewhere.
Soon, a group of men came rushing in.
“Leap. Emotion. Wow, it’s real. A student who recently Awakened has two concepts. Chief, you’re from the National Defense Research Institute, right? Have you seen anything like this?”
“This is what we call a multi-concept holder. Usually, one in ten Awakeners ends up like this. But this kid is particularly unique, even among the students I’ve seen.”
The men were marveling at my test results, which seemed to exceed everyone’s expectations.
[Test Result Sheet
Name: Han Nam-jin
Concepts: Leap, Emotion]
The half-bald man in the white coat kept scanning the paper.
Then, he examined my face, touched my head, and even had me open my mouth.
“Huh, amazing. I’ve seen quite a few multi-concept holders in my time. There are about 100 at this school alone. But this kid is really something.”
“Chief, stop talking in riddles and explain it in a way we can understand! What’s so special about this student?”
“This concept thing has a certain compatibility. You all know that Awakeners’ abilities manifest from strong desires, right? This boy’s concept of Leap is exactly that.”
Swish—.
The half-bald man massaged my thigh.
Squish squish—.
The touch felt so unpleasant that I stroked the bald part of the man’s head in return.
“What are you doing?”
“Since you touched my leg, I thought it was only fair to touch your forehead.”
[Name: Lee Dae-ryong
Status: 《Flustered》 – Greatly surprised by the boldness of today’s youth.]
“Ahem, anyway, for some reason, this boy must have had a strong desire to run extremely fast. That’s why the concept of Leap was embedded in his body. Kid, what’s your 100-meter dash time?”
“Three seconds? Two seconds? Something like that.”
Everyone gasped in awe at my honest answer.
“Wow, that’s amazing. What are you, a sports car?”
“No wonder the Olympics are getting less exciting every year.”
“This is unimaginable in our generation.”
Only the middle-aged man called Chief remained calm.
As if trying to calm the crowd, he continued his explanation in a composed tone.
“Leap, by itself, seems like an excellent physical enhancement concept. But what’s unique is this second concept: Emotion. Emotion is the power of discernment. It has no relation to the first concept, Leap.”
“No relation?”
“Chief, look at Yeo-reum, the senior graduating this year. She possesses the rare concept of ‘Light’. And the second concept she manifested was ‘Photosynthesis’.”
“Light and photosynthesis… That’s definitely related!”
“Exactly. Multi-concept holders usually develop and advance their concepts through this kind of relationship. Our curriculum is also designed with that in mind.”
All eyes turned to me.
Leap and Emotion.
It seemed everyone was curious about how I ended up with two completely unrelated concepts.
“What the heck happened to you?”