Ex Rank Supporting Role’s Replay in a Prestigious School

Chapter 990

The day before the Korea-China-Japan Exchange Tournament opening ceremony, at the Eungwang Global Stadium located within Eungwang District.

Until last year, it was called Eungwang Stadium, but ahead of the tournament, it underwent massive renovations and reopened with the addition of the “Global” name.

According to some rumors, Huangmyeong Group's chairman had wanted to build a new stadium for the tournament, but due to land acquisition and time issues, this decision was made.

From Huang Ho's perspective, he wanted to celebrate both the Hojo family's benefactor and his classmates’ first international stage debut, but it ended up being a failure.

Even the result of this failure ended up costing quite a lot of money and time.

The renovation costs, along with the issue of not being able to use Eungwang Stadium during the construction period, made the expenses quite substantial.

"Normally, such things wouldn't even be attempted due to budget issues. Maybe it's because they're relatives of that idiot in our class, but the scale of what they're doing is on another level."

Dukgo Miro thought as he took the stage for rehearsal.

It seemed like a strange thing to do, but it had unexpectedly earned Dukgo Miro an honor.

Since the Exchange Tournament marked the grand opening of the Eungwang Global Stadium, it was only natural that the first singer to perform here would be Dukgo Miro.

Although he hadn’t debuted yet, he was just going to perform as a student player from Eungwang High, but it remained a fact that Dukgo Miro was the first to sing here.

He tried not to show it, but he couldn’t help but smile or get nervous repeatedly.

“Lighting adjustments. Please wait on stage for a moment!”

“Okay!”

Dukgo Miro responded brightly as the voice of the lighting director was heard.

The colors of the lights installed around him changed, and amidst the flashing lights, cameras moved busily.

Looking at the camera lens, his hands trembled slightly, and his thoughts wandered elsewhere.

Those thoughts mostly concerned his classmates.

“If he had that kind of wealth, he could have just built a new stadium and put off the vice-president rumors or dealt with them somehow. I bet he's up to something shady again….”

Recently, what frustrated Dukgo Miro the most was the rumor of a rift between Ahn Da-in and Jo Yi-shin.

If this rumor had spread during their training camp, they would have been able to release live videos of them eating and training together to squash the rumors, but with the timing right before the tournament, it was difficult to manage.

No one who personally knew Dukgo Miro or Jo Yi-shin at Eungwang High believed the rumor.

The problem was that the person who spread the rumor had identified themselves as an Eungwang High student. Just thinking about the fact that there was someone spreading such rumors at Eungwang High made Dukgo Miro’s fists clench.

If he could move like he did during his past as a powerful figure, Dukgo Miro would have physically dealt with each suspicious person one by one, but his situation wasn’t favorable.

“Since I have to train for the tournament and rehearse for the opening, I'll need to be on stage even after the opening ceremony for the PlayerZ competition tournament finals opening ceremony performance... If the rumors don’t settle after everything’s over, I’ll have to take action.”

Because of those rumors, students from all grades in Class 0 were stirred up.

First-year Class 0 students, who had planned to take action against the lazy, vacation-worn-out Gold Chanwang and his gang and solidify their position as the true Class 0, were too busy making countermeasures to declare a ceasefire.

Third-year Class 0 didn’t stop their trip with Jeong Jae-gul because of some negative comments from younger students, but they kept replying with counterarguments or comments and were repeatedly targeted by harsh trolls.

Kim Chan-sol and Wang Chan-sol wanted to enlist Jeong Hae-on, who was very good at fighting trolls, for the comment battlefront, but unfortunately, Jeong Hae-on was too busy preparing for the tournament and following Dukgo Miro around.

Even now, Jeong Hae-on was using his identity as a participant in the Exchange Tournament to take pictures of Dukgo Miro at the stadium.

“If I ask, my seniors will fight for me, but just fighting won’t have any meaning. Even if we win, it won't matter.”

Jo Yi-shin reassured them, but most of the second-year Class 0 students weren’t okay.

Jin Jeong-mook, a martial artist who had been busy training to fight the evil sects during the vacation, even expressed his displeasure.

“A true master isn’t shaken by rumors. But relationships between people are easily swayed, so it’s only natural to be concerned.”

If Kim Yuri hadn’t reassured them with, “Yi-shin seems like he has a plan, let’s just wait,” someone might have already started tracking the trolls down in almost criminal ways.

Gu Seul-bi and Ong Gil-dong even tried to do some mischievous deeds in the server room of the portal where many negative comments were posted, but a little incident occurred when In Seon-o stopped them.

Dukgo Miro sometimes thought that this could all be part of Jo Yi-shin’s suspicious plans.

Sa Wol-se-eum had even said this:

“Not just Yi-shin, but Ji-ho also staying quiet is a bit strange. Ji-ho has money, power, and is close with Yi-shin. Why is he staying quiet? Lately, Ji-ho has also become close with Da-in!”

At that, Dukgo Miro began to suspect that the Class 0 idiots might have played a role in spreading that rumor.

If those two were doing something suspicious, Dukgo Miro had no intention of interfering.

The problem would arise if their actions went too far.

“If the rumors don’t quiet down after the Exchange Tournament, it means the vice president’s plan failed. If that happens, I’ll have to find and eliminate the culprit.”

Standing in the center of the stage, staring at the lights and lenses, Dukgo Miro’s eyes burned with strong determination to catch and deal with the culprit.

After the Exchange Tournament, he was full of intentions to swing a bat around.

The staff, who saw his intense gaze, couldn’t help but be impressed.

Most of the staff were from Eungwang High’s broadcasting team, but due to the issue of overseas broadcasts, a large number of external video production companies were also involved.

“Oh, looks like you’re not nervous at all?”

“Being a runner-up in the playlist competition must be different.”

Those who were seeing Dukgo Miro for the first time whispered together.

Dukgo Miro hid his deadly thoughts and prepared to showcase his rehearsal stage.

The day of the Korea-China-Japan Exchange Tournament’s opening ceremony had arrived.

Though sleep had been short due to sorting through plans and preparing countermeasures for various scenarios, the sight of the excellent representatives from the team made it feel as though his energy was replenished just by watching them.

The only thing that bothered him was how many people were worried about him.

“Yi-shin, you need to get some sleep. You won’t grow if you keep staying up like this.”

Yong Je-geon spoke in a soft tone.

Noticing the unusual way he spoke, Yi-shin wondered if it was that obvious that he hadn’t gotten enough rest.

He had tried his best to hide his fatigue, but apparently, it wasn’t enough.

To ease Yong Je-geon’s worries, Yi-shin answered quickly.

“I’m fine.”

“Jun-yeol, what should we do? Yi-shin seems like he hasn’t slept much.”

Immediately, Yong Je-geon turned to look at Yeom Jun-yeol with a sly expression.

Even though Yong Je-geon knew Yi-shin well, why did he always fall for these subtle interrogations?

If Yi-shin wasn’t a playable character, he never would have been tricked into saying something he didn’t mean.

Yeom Jun-yeol, who had been checking the hologram of the event schedule, suddenly looked up and locked eyes with Yi-shin.

“Yi-shin, are you really struggling? If it’s too much, you can take a break. The Eungwang High banner will be carried by Hong-ryong during the entrance, and if you raise the output, no one will notice if a seat is empty.”

Yeom Jun-yeol, with a calm tone, went on to list his plans.

Yi-shin felt a deep appreciation for Yeom Jun-yeol’s consideration, but he wasn’t planning on resting just yet.

“I’m fine. I’m not tired enough to miss the opening ceremony.”

“I see… but if you feel tired, just tell me right away. I’ll make sure you can rest whenever you need.”

When Yi-shin said he was fine, Yeom Jun-yeol didn’t insist any further.

Yeom Jun-yeol seemed to have considered adjusting the order of the entrance, but Yi-shin planned to enter as originally scheduled.

The entrance order was decided by grade and in alphabetical order.

This meant Yi-shin would be placed between Ahn Da-in and Joo Su-hyeok, effectively blocking the two. But if they suddenly changed it, it would surely cause suspicion.

“The seed has already been planted, and I’ve gotten what I needed. There’s no need to fan the flames further.”

Among the second-year students, no one doubted the rumor about the rift between Yi-shin and Ahn Da-in.

Even in the third year, people like Kwak Kyung-gu, Ma Jin-seung, and Yeom Jun-yeol showed no signs of doubt.

But Yi-shin couldn’t be sure what the others thought.

Ahn Da-in was just quietly staring at Yi-shin, as if wondering if she would keep her promise to wait for him or if she was just observing him.

The silence from her reminded Yi-shin of the sadness he felt when he first conveyed his feelings, and it pained his heart.

To try to erase that pain, he spoke gently.

“There’s no issue between Ahn Da-in and me. So, I’d like to enter alongside her.”

When Yi-shin spoke, Ahn Da-in smiled brightly.

The sight was like the rain stopping on a flower and sunlight breaking through, and for a moment, all his fatigue disappeared.

“I feel the same, Yi-shin. Let’s enter together.”

As Yi-shin and Ahn Da-in spoke with bright faces, the atmosphere in the waiting room lightened as well.

Of course, there was still an issue.

Joo Su-hyeok, while smiling in relief, seemed to hide a hint of bitterness.

Moon Sae-ron, taking photos of the waiting room scene, looked like he was biting his lip in frustration.

“...I want to warn them not to do anything suspicious, but it’s probably because of the rumor between Ahn Da-in and me that I can’t say anything.”

Soon, the time came for the Eungwang High representatives to enter.

The countdown hologram in front of the waiting room displayed zero, and the door opened wide.

The corridor was filled with filming devices, and staff members with badges stood around.

Following the arrows leading to the stadium’s entrance, the Eungwang High representative team entered.

[Finally, the host country’s Korean team, Eungwang High students, will enter!]

With the announcer’s commentary, cheers erupted.

Yi-shin blinked hard due to the intense lights, and when his eyes adjusted, he saw the grand spectacle of the stadium.

All 15,000 seats of the stadium were filled.

There were some students and families who had come from China and Japan, but most were Eungwang High students, faculty, or fans.

Sa Wol-se-eum, who had struggled with identifying ticket scalpers at the hunting party with the best profits, couldn’t help but feel the effort was real when seeing the audience.

Waaaaah!

Yeom Jun-yeol, controlling Hong-ryong, circled around the representative team, and as he shot flames into the sky to draw the Taegukgi, cheers erupted once again.

As the representative of the Korean team and the star player with the highest popularity, Yeom Jun-yeol showcased his immense powers, and the enthusiastic reaction was inevitable.

“The Chinese team performed shadow play and music during their entrance, and the Japanese team showcased a blooming lotus,” Yi-shin recalled.

Around the teams that had entered earlier, the traces of these performances remained.

The representative of the Chinese team was Lu Bo-won, skilled in the arts of Pyung-hye, and the representative of the Japanese team was the same lady as before.

It seemed that the artificial lotus flowers seen everywhere in the Japanese team’s accommodations were symbolic of that lady.

From afar, the enormous lotus created by the powers of the Inung-pa floated, and that lady, smiling, could be seen.

As all the representatives from Korea, China, and Japan entered, the stage at the center of the stadium was suddenly bathed in golden light.

Khaaa!

In an instant, a solid barrier appeared and vanished, and then Huang Ji-ho, who resembled the chairman of Huangmyeong Group, appeared.

That tiger seemed like it was planning to show off his showmanship, even using the powers of the Jin-gok today.

The tiger, appearing in a grand fashion amidst the golden light, drew as much attention as the representatives from the three countries.

The tiger began to deliver the opening speech to the audience.

“Greetings. I am Huang Myeong-ho, the chairman of Eungwang Player Meister High School.”

With the chairman’s welcoming address, the opening ceremony of the Korea-China-Japan Exchange Tournament began.