Chapter 7: Locker Room Secrets
The locker room on the fourth floor of the old building was never used.
It had no windows, the lights flickered constantly, and the tiles were cracked and water-stained.
Rumors said a student once broke his back here during an unsanctioned fight—and the school quietly shut it down.
But tonight, it was open.
Because Dae-hyun had the key.
---
10:42 PM
Rain pattered against the nearby glass stairwell as the Grey List gathered outside the rusted door.
Chan-mi stood by the stairwell like a shadow. "Whatever's inside, don't touch it until you understand it."
> "It's just an old locker room," Sun-woo muttered.
> "No," Dae-hyun said. "It's a record hall. Division 2 uses this place to store names, ranks, fight logs... secrets."
Min-ji leaned against the wall, her expression unreadable. "And this Seo Mi-rae gave it to you for free?"
> "Nothing in this school is free," Tae-yul added, spinning the keycard between his fingers. "She's either helping us... or setting us up."
Dae-hyun slid the keycard.
Beep.
The lock clicked.
They stepped into the dark.
---
Inside the Room
The fluorescent lights flickered on, revealing a space larger than expected. Ten rows of metal lockers, a steel table in the middle, and two old monitors hooked to the wall.
A Crimson Division flag was pinned to the back wall—red with five circles and a symbol of a closed fist.
The floor creaked under their feet.
Dae-hyun moved to the monitors and powered them on. They buzzed—slow and old—but still alive.
Then—on-screen—a login prompt:
"ID: ____________
PASSCODE: ____________"
> "We need an admin code," he muttered.
> "Try 'Mi-rae,'" Min-ji said.
He did.
Incorrect.
Sun-woo stepped closer and tapped the side of the monitor. "Wait… look at the base."
There, etched into the frame with a knife:
> "K.I.R.A."
> "What the hell is that?" Tae-yul asked.
Dae-hyun typed it.
Login accepted.
The screen blinked—and opened into a directory.
Rows and rows of names. Folders. Data.
[ CRIMSON SYSTEM LOG – DIVISION STRUCTURE ]
[ BANNED FIGHTERS LIST ]
[ PROJECT KRAKEN – LOCKED ]
[ STRATEGISTS – ACTIVE / INACTIVE ]
[ SURVEILLANCE TARGETS – LIVE TRACKING ]
The room fell silent.
---
Revealing the System
Dae-hyun clicked open [CRIMSON SYSTEM LOG].
A chart loaded on-screen, with student names, ID numbers, fight stats, video logs, and notes.
Next to each name were numbers: PTS and LVL.
> "What's PTS?" Sun-woo asked.
> "Points," Min-ji answered. "Like a power rating."
> "And LVL?" Tae-yul added.
Dae-hyun frowned. "Level. Not based on grades—based on observed combat value and influence."
He clicked on Park Sun-woo's file.
> PTS: 48 / 100
LVL: C-Rank
Status: Unstable due to temperament. Potential if bonded with a strategist.
> "They're watching all of us," Dae-hyun muttered.
Min-ji's file was next.
> PTS: 55 / 100
LVL: C+ Rank
Note: Uses real combat tactics. History of trauma-response violence. Unreliable under emotional pressure.
She said nothing.
Then came Dae-hyun's.
> PTS: 63 / 100
LVL: B- Rank
Class: Strategist – Ascending
Note: Unorthodox approach. Reads opponents like an algorithm. Dangerous if allowed time.
Flagged: ACTIVE SURVEILLANCE
Requested by: Jin Do-won.
They all stared at the screen.
> "Do-won?" Tae-yul said. "Top Crimson Captain?"
Dae-hyun nodded slowly. "He's watching us."
---
The Forbidden Folder
Then Dae-hyun noticed something flashing in red:
[ PROJECT KRAKEN – LOCKED ]
Chan-mi entered the room silently, reading the screen over his shoulder.
> "Don't open that," she said.
> "Why?"
> "Because if you do, it won't just be Division 2 coming for you. It'll be the school's shadow system."
> "What is it?"
Chan-mi hesitated.
> "A secret program. Started by the founders of the Crimson Division. Not about students—but about creating control."
> "Control of what?"
> "Fighters. Think of it like… weaponized rankings. If you can predict every move a student will make—you can build the perfect team. Or army."
> "Like us?" Min-ji asked.
> "No," Chan-mi said softly. "You're variables. Kraken is trying to erase variables."
---
The Scorched File
Sun-woo, now curious, flipped open a nearby locker.
A charred folder fell out.
On it:
[ DELETED – EXPULSION RECORD – #042: YUN JI-SEOK ]
Inside were photos—black-and-white, grainy—of a boy fighting five others at once. All unconscious around him.
> "Who was he?" Tae-yul asked.
Chan-mi answered, "A fighter from three years ago. The strongest the Crimson Division had ever seen. He didn't lose. Ever."
> "What happened?"
> "They tried to test Kraken on him. They fed him patterns. Predictive combat. Tried to make him a machine."
> "And?"
> "He turned it back on them."
The folder's final page was a CCTV image:
Yun Ji-seok, walking alone through a burning hallway.
> "He exposed the system. Then vanished. Rumor is he's still in Seoul... underground."
---
The Final Discovery
Dae-hyun returned to the terminal and opened the last safe folder:
[ STRATEGISTS – INACTIVE ]
Dozens of names appeared. Most were labeled "removed," "transferred," "suspended," or worse—"missing."
One caught his eye:
> NAME: Han Soo-bin
Class: S-Rank Strategist
Status: Inactive – Refused compliance
Last seen: Gym Building, Basement Level 2.
> "What is this?" Dae-hyun muttered.
Chan-mi said nothing.
But her silence spoke volumes.
> "She was your friend," he said.
Chan-mi nodded once. "She was like you. Too smart. Too dangerous."
> "And now?"
> "Now she's gone."
Dae-hyun looked around at his team.
> "They've been trying to erase minds like ours."
Min-ji stepped forward. "Then it's time we burn the map they're using."
---
Back at the Top
Inside the Captain's lounge, Jin Do-won stared at a different screen.
He watched the locker room footage live—because, of course, it was bugged.
Na Jae-hyuk
sat beside him, sharpening a knife.
> "They accessed the strategist records," Jae-hyuk said. "They're poking the Kraken."
Do-won didn't flinch.
> "Let them."
> "Sir?"
Do-won smiled.
> "Grey List is a candle. Let it burn. It'll reveal every shadow in this school.
When it burns out… I'll step on the ashes."
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End of Chapter 7