PM CHAPTER 2.1

“It doesn’t even look like a difficult job, and it seems like I can just take it easy.”

Take it easy…

The hand that had been about to turn the doorknob suddenly froze. He knew well enough that eavesdropping on someone else’s conversation was fundamentally wrong, but his feet felt as if they were nailed to the ground, making it hard to step back. It was because he had heard a word that was all too familiar to him from beyond the door.

“You were always drinking and getting the contact numbers of student ambassadors from other schools.”

Student ambassador. As he continued listening, the man inside the room seemed to be pleading with someone about applying to be a student ambassador, and it was likely that the person he was speaking to was the very senior he had come to meet.

His grip on the doorknob tightened. Should he keep listening? Open the door? Or step away for a moment?

While he was caught in indecision, the door suddenly swung open. The person inside hadn’t expected anyone to be standing outside, and as he rushed out, he bumped hard into Han Irok’s solid frame.

“Oh! I’m sorry.”

A quick apology was followed by an even quicker retreat. Han I-rok stood there for a long moment, watching his retreating figure, before turning his head at the sound of a voice calling him from inside.

“Han I-rok? What brings you here?”

“Hello.”

As he closed the door behind him and stepped inside, his senior, Choi Young-hoon, pushed a chair out with his foot and mumbled, “Sit, sit,” his mouth still full of ramen.

“Go ahead and eat first.”

“I’ll finish quickly. It’s been a while, man. How was your break?”

Holding his cup of ramen, Young-hoon got up and pulled out a drink from the fridge, handing it over. His habit of taking care of his juniors was evident even in the middle of his meal.

“Who was that person just now?”

“Oh, a junior from our department.”

I-rok quietly nodded as he opened the drink.

“He suddenly said he wanted to be a student ambassador. I was actually thinking of scouting him, so I was going to accept his application this time. That’s fine, right? He’s in the same third year as you.”

“I see.”

I-rok replied in an indifferent tone, vaguely recalling the face of the person who had just brushed past him.

Even though he had been wearing a cap pulled down low, the person had been tall enough to enter his field of vision. But it had all happened too fast for him to remember his face clearly. Only the image of jet-black hair flying as he dashed away, with the messenger bag slung across his back bouncing with each hurried step, lingered in his mind.

“If he gets accepted, look after him, will you?”

Requests to show favoritism were the kind that I-rok disliked the most. If someone was good at their work, or at least put in the effort, they would naturally earn attention and support, wouldn’t they?

However, the conversation he overheard through the crack in the door made it clear that the person in question was far from being the kind of ideal individual I-rok valued.

Wanting to join a group just because it seemed easy to slack off?

In truth, a person’s motives didn’t matter much to him. Whether someone joined to enhance their resume, because they liked the uniform, or because being part of the group allowed them to officially miss classes when school events overlapped—whatever trivial reason they had, it wasn’t I-rok’s concern.

After all, he himself hadn’t become a student ambassador for any grand reason. The admissions staff had practically begged him at the entrance ceremony, and the dean had spent three weeks persuading him, insisting that Han I-rok was needed for the collective good of the school.

As long as one did their job properly, that was enough.

Regardless of whether the decision was made willingly or under pressure, once chosen, one had to take responsibility for it.

“We’ll see.”

He could have let the conversation slide without comment, but I-rok deliberately responded, his words dripping with cold indifference. Someone who openly declared their intention to take it easy even before officially joining—could they really be trusted to fulfill their responsibilities? And why should I-rok, of all people, be the one to look after them from the start?

“You haven’t changed a bit.”

Young-hoon, familiar with Irok’s rigid nature, chuckled as he finished his cup of ramen.

“Anyway, what brings you here?”

“Oh. About the upcoming alumni event…”

I-rok finally got to the point, addressing the person sitting across from him. And with that, he pushed away any lingering thoughts about the man who had crashed into him earlier.

With that kind of attitude, there was no reason he should be selected.

———–

He was selected.

“…Ha.”

From the moment I-rok saw a third-year student on the list of successful applicants passed down by the admissions office, he had a bad feeling. And when the first meeting for new student ambassadors finally arrived, he immediately recognized the man who had bumped into him and let out a quiet sigh.

So, I-rok took the podium. He stated outright that anyone who planned to slack off should leave now. His gaze swept over those who yawned as if bored or absentmindedly fidgeted with their arms, their attention already wavering.

To I-rok, this was a polite suggestion.

A student ambassador was the face of the school, constantly in the public eye both online and offline. The role demanded personal sacrifices—giving up free time, working as a team, always coming in second to assist in formal events. It was a tiresome responsibility, not something to be taken lightly. His words carried layers of meaning, urging those who weren’t prepared for that commitment to reconsider.

Unfortunately, Baek Do-won showed no sign of quitting.

In fact, he didn’t even seem to realize that I-rok’s words had been directed at him.

Realizing this, I-rok decided that spending any more energy thinking about him was a complete waste of time. He steadied himself. It wasn’t difficult for him to regain his composure—so long as Baek Do-won didn’t try to start a conversation with him.

“Hey, we’re the same age. Is it okay if I drop the formal speech?”

At the team dinner following their first meeting, Baek Do-won, who had been sitting far away, finally brought his beer over and took a seat in front of I-rok.

“Oh, is there a seniority system?”

I-rok briefly raised an eyebrow before giving a simple response.

“There are seniority levels, but no hierarchy.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Since Do-won had stated incorrect information, I-rok had no choice but to correct him.

“I’m Baek Do-won.”

“……”

“A third-year business major.”

“……”

I-rok couldn’t quite understand why Do-won was reciting information he already knew. Without any intention of continuing the conversation, he simply took a sip of his drink in silence.

“You’re in the Korean literature department, right?”

“Yeah.”

He answered only the questions that were asked, keeping his responses short. For statements that weren’t direct questions, there was nothing for him to add. They were practically monologues, after all, so he found it only natural to remain silent. However, Do-won seemed slightly embarrassed by I-rok’s lack of response, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

Apparently, Baek Do-won wasn’t the type to persistently push a conversation forward with his charm. He didn’t try too hard beyond that, simply joining the others who had gathered around them and occasionally directing a few words toward I-rok.

As I-rok emptied his glass, he glanced sideways at Do-won. He briefly wondered how long the guy would last.

————-

Perhaps because of that, I-rok occasionally checked in with Yoo Seongmin, the leader of the lower class year, to ask how the new ambassador training was going.

“How’s the training atmosphere?”

“It’s going well.”

“Alright.”

The student ambassador training lasted about two weeks. It included theoretical lessons on school information and protocol, as well as group assignments based on the training material.

Though there were no formal exams or scores, the process was tedious, with numerous small tasks and requirements. As a result, quite a few newcomers quickly lost interest.

“I think it’s going better than last year. Back then, three people dropped out during training, and we had to recruit replacements.”

“Don’t lower the difficulty just because of that.”

“We won’t. I’m just following the training structure I inherited from last year.”

I-rok studied Seongmin for a moment. Since Seongmin had unexpectedly taken over as class leader after the previous 19th-generation leader had to leave for an unplanned study abroad trip, I-rok couldn’t help but feel a bit concerned. It wasn’t originally his responsibility, so he worried that it might be difficult and overwhelming for him.

“…If you need anything, just let me know.”

Seongmin readily accepted Irok’s offer of support—so much so that I-rok ended up agreeing to handle a day of training for the new ambassadors on his behalf.

It was the first time I-rok was facing the new ambassadors since the team dinner. It was also the first time in a while that he was seeing Baek Do-won. And—

“Baek Do-won. Are you paying attention?”

Any fleeting hope that he might have changed after the training vanished in an instant. Just like at the first meeting, Baek Do-won was completely unfocused, looking at a different printout.

No matter how much exam season it was, this was still a training session. The idea of not being able to endure an hour and a half of training and instead doing something else was simply incomprehensible to I-rok.

‘If he can’t even spare this much time, why did he join in the first place?’

It wasn’t as if cramming for an extra hour and a half would drastically expand his knowledge. If anything, he was more likely to accomplish neither task properly.

Sensing Irok’s glare, Baek Do-won casually put away the printout. But his focus didn’t last long. Soon, he picked up his pen and began scribbling something. At a glance, it looked like he was drawing lines straight through sentences—was he marking off parts he wasn’t going to read? Eventually, he even flipped to a completely different page and started skimming it with his eyes.

‘Unbelievable.’

It seemed he hadn’t realized that, from where I-rok stood at the podium, he could see all the way to the very back of the lecture hall. Which meant he could also see exactly what Baek Do-won was doing.

‘What should I do with him?’

I-rok couldn’t ignore Baek Do-won’s repeated attempts to break the rules.

Ecological disturbance. A siren went off in his mind.

“I have an exam that evening, so I probably won’t make it to training…”

With that statement, Baek Do-won only further proved that he hadn’t been paying proper attention.

So I-rok made a decision.

“I’m going to keep you under close watch.”

He was going to personally monitor Baek Do-won from now on.

Baek Do-won’s eyes widened in surprise, reflecting the quiet determination in Irok’s own gaze.

————

Australia once fought a war against rabbits.

About 150 years ago, when rabbits did not yet exist on Australian soil, the British released a few for hunting purposes. That small introduction of an invasive species ended up devastating Australia’s natural environment.

As the rabbits dug burrows everywhere and gnawed on tree roots, the land rapidly turned to desert. Their unchecked reproduction caused their population to explode exponentially, devastating other species.

I-rok recalled the old saying: One loach can cloud an entire stream.

Baek Do-won’s half-hearted attitude was undoubtedly a problem. It could negatively influence the other ambassadors, and if things got out of hand, it could even bring trouble to the entire school and unrelated students.

It was common for newcomers to struggle when integrating into an established group. From Baek Do-won’s perspective, adapting quickly to group life would be far more beneficial. So, I-rok decided to keep an eye on him. Perhaps, as he settled in, that lazy attitude of his would improve.

“Why do you even bother answering those personal questions? Oh, wait—could it be that there’s some rule in the ambassador program that says you can’t argue back?”

But Baek Do-won had no regard for other people’s efforts and simply nitpicked like that.

“You have to take pictures at just the right angle—an amazing angle—so that no students show up in them.”

He even went out of his way to be sarcastic.

‘Is he slacking off or trying to take this seriously? I really can’t tell.’

Baek Do-won was even more unpredictable than I-rok had thought. Just what kind of twisted mindset did he have to be this dissatisfied with everything?

‘Smells like alcohol. Is he just spouting nonsense because he’s hungover?’

Since I-rok couldn’t comprehend Baek Do-won’s attitude in any logical way, he found himself wondering if alcohol was to blame.

Not only was he insincere in his work, but he also seemed intent on shaking up the school’s established rules. It wasn’t that he genuinely wanted to change the system—he just seemed to enjoy nitpicking for the sake of it. If that were truly the case, then the ambassador team would face even greater disorder in the future.

“We’ve wasted far too much time on pointless nonsense.”

There was an unusual forcefulness in I-rok’s voice as he said that. He didn’t care how others perceived his unfamiliar tone. While he disliked unnecessary arguments, he wasn’t a saint who would quietly avoid every provocation thrown his way.

“If you really want to change the system, then draft a new program yourself.”

Rabbit hunting.

It seemed he and Baek Do-won were bound by a rather stubborn fate.