THE GUY IN MAMMON NEWSLETTER!

Without a word, they silently agreed: Let's just ignore him.

Zen shifted focus back to Konan. "You said you're from outside the city, right?"

Konan nodded, still wiping the stubborn dust. "South to be exact."

That's pretty far.

Despite being in the same situation, he seemed to know his way around better than Zen did.

"Are you and Kozen friends?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

But he was actually quiet curious. They seem to know each other.

Konan blinked, caught off guard. Then he laughed.

"Not in a million years. Kozen's in a whole different league."

He added after a pause, "He moved to my neighborhood two years ago, but he's originally from Heichil. Nice guy though."

Zen's brow twitched.

Nice guy.

Yeah… he could see that.

While they were talking, Pawen found himself a corner and put on his headphones, isolating himself.

Zen could sense a few of their classmates passing by while he and Konan concentrated on the piece of wood.

The main problem was that one leg was missing, causing it to constantly squeak and making it difficult to clean, especially with who knows how many layers of dust it had absorbed.

"If only we could level this," Zen muttered.

Konan agreed.

"We could have a place to rest our things."

Right.

They were still carrying their backpacks.

Zen, for example, hadn't expected any of this. His bag was stuffed with notebooks and stationery he thought would be useful.

Now he felt oddly motivated instantly.

.

.

.

Pawen watched these outsiders talking and laughing, knowing only a thing or two about this place.

They probably thought of it as a lottery ticket, a gateway to riches.

It pissed him off.

What did they know about this place? They'd wish they never came here.

And why were they arguing about something so simple?

While the two were still talking, Pawen stood up and coldly ordered,

"Move."

Zen paused and raised his eyebrows.

He stepped aside, curious to see what Pawen was going to do.

Without a word, Pawen lifted the table lightly, then chopped the legs off.

Yes. He chopped them. With his bare hands.

"Here," he said, laying the wooden tabletop cleanly on the floor.

"Now shut it."

Then he returned to his corner and put his headphones back on, like he couldn't hear a damn thing.

"Th-thanks," Konan still muttered, even though Pawen probably wasn't listening.

Zen looked down at the flat wooden surface, then at Pawen.

Maybe he's not a bad guy. Just a shitty personality.

Zen sat down, his fingers grazing the part where the leg used to be attached. He knew it hadn't been as easy as it looked.

At that moment, Konan scooted over and whispered,

"I know that guy. He was in the Mammon Newsletter."

"A newsletter?" Zen asked.

"It's a popular news outlet here in Heichil. He was on the list of the top 10 most anticipated entries of the year."

"Wow, really?"

Zen didn't know what that list was, but it sounded impressive.

He glanced at Konan with newfound respect.

"You know a lot. Compared to me… I'm no good."

Konan scratched his head awkwardly.

"It's nothing. I just pestered Kozen to teach me more so I could get familiar with things here."

"That's even more awesome."

After all, Kozen was the guy Hako called the mad dog.

"It's okay," Konan smiled shyly. "Hako Lisson was on the list too. You're also awesome, being friends with him."

"Damn, really?!" Zen was caught off guard.

Konan: "..."

Konan was surprised he didn't know. Then again, Zen didn't even seem aware of the newsletter.

Zen shook his head.

'Wow… I'm friends with such an awesome guy.'

No wonder the class went pin-drop silent when Hako spoke, except for Fabasa, who always messed around.

Zen had thought it was just because people wanted to listen like him.

Turns out… he was so wrong.

After a short pause, Konan suggested,

"I could show you where to buy the newsletter when we get a chance."

"No, I think I'm good," Zen blurted.

He coughed and added,

"I'm not that interested in these things."

To be honest, he was curious.

But he had his little pride. He didn't want anyone looking down on him because he couldn't read yet.

When he properly learned the alphabet again, he'd ask Konan to show him.

Zen sighed and stood up. He glanced at their makeshift table.

It was spotless — as much as they could manage.

"Great," Konan cheered. "I'll inform the others if they want to keep their things here."

Zen nodded and placed his backpack down, claiming the best spot.

He wanted to ask Pawen, but since the guy didn't seem to be carrying anything, he let it slide.

In no time, their classmates started arriving—including Hako.

He entered with a grimace on his face.

"Hako," Zen called out, waving him over.

"What's with that face? Weren't you cleaning the first floor…?"

The first floor had the most decent space, with all four walls still intact, so Hako and most of their classmates had been assigned there.

Hako shrugged off the black jacket he'd been proudly showing off earlier and dusted it off.

"Don't get me started. It's almost done."

"Eh? That fast?"

Hako's mouth twitched. He replied vaguely,

"Yeah, finished clearing the space. Just need to sweep off the last of the dust."

Then he paused.

His eyes locked onto Pawen, lounging comfortably in his corner.

Hako's expression darkened as he trudged over, spitting out his words:

"You motherf**ker! I've been waiting for you. I told you to throw out a damn piece of wood, not skip work!"